The cat's eyes fixed on Wyse's terrified realisation as he fell through the fog. Its voice was a metallic scrape, like the protesting gears of a broken mechanism.
'Got you!' the cat said.
NINETEEN
Melissa was wearing her happy face when she said good-bye. Presumably she thought it was appropriate. Rose didn't.
'We remained undetected and I have completed my mission,' she explained simply.
'Despite losing your crew,' Repple pointed out.
She shrugged. 'They were just Mechanicals.' But there was a hint of regret in her voice. Repple did not reply.
'Lucky the cat was there,' Rose said.
'It was a black cat,' the Doctor pointed out. 'Though I did have a deal to offer Wyse if all else failed.'
'You knew how to power up his ship?' Melissa asked in surprise.
The Doctor shook his head. 'I was going to give him yours.'
'I shall miss this strange planet with its ugly-looking people,' Melissa confessed as she and the Doctor shook hands on the Embankment.
They won't all miss you.'
She inclined her head, perhaps in sorrow. 'Vassily is dead,' she said quietly, 'and I have destroyed his body. I have succeeded, but it was not worth the cost.' Rose and Repple watched from the other side of the road.
The three of them stood together a few minutes later, watching as the surface of the Thames seemed to heave upwards. The slick, dark shape of Melissa's ship detached itself from the water and lifted soundlessly into the night sky. It paused over their heads, as if bidding farewell, then with a streak of impossibly bright light it was gone.
'One more job to do,' the Doctor said. They walked to Sir George's house in silence.
Repple waited for them outside. The Doctor let Rose do the talking. Sir George sat silently listening, his hands clasped tightly in his lap and his face pale as death.
'He was a hero,' Rose said. 'He really was. He saved us all, several times. He was so. . .' She couldn't think of the words and looked away.
Sir George leaned forward and put his hand over Rose's. 'Yes, he was. Such enthusiasm, such love of life. Such a willingness to help. Always wanting to help – in the house, the garden, the kitchen.' He smiled sadly. 'Drives his mother potty, you know. No wonder she worries about him so.'
'She will be all right?' Rose asked quietly.
Sir George nodded. 'I'm sure she will. She's very strong, you know. But she's been through a lot in her life. Like Freddie.'
'I'm sorry,' the Doctor said quietly. It was the first time he had spoken since they arrived.
'That's all right, Doctor,' Sir George said. 'We'll be fine now. And you never know. . .' He stood up and shook the Doctor's hand. 'It might have shocked some sense into the boy.' He smiled weakly. The smile turned to a look of surprise as Rose hugged him tight. 'I say, steady on.'
There were tears on her cheeks when she stepped away. 'Give Freddie our love, won't you. And Anna. He may not remember that we said goodbye.'
'Indeed I will.' Sir George glanced upwards as he spoke.
And in the room above, a mother sat on her son's bed, holding his pale, cold hand. She cried soundless tears. Tears of relief and joy as she felt every weak rhythm of his pulse. Tears that became sobs as he opened his eyes, and managed to smile.
Then his eyes closed again and he slept on peacefully – dreaming of clocks and cats and cogwheels. And of how he had been a hero.
The reassuring blue shape of the TARDIS was standing at the back of Melissa's house. just as she had promised.
'I'm surprised you trusted her,' Rose said.
The Doctor clicked his tongue. 'You've no faith.' He turned to Repple. 'Goodbye, then.'
Repple reached out to shake first the Doctor's hand, then Rose's.
'I like the new arm,' she said. 'And thanks. You know.' She held on to his hand for a moment. It was like the gauntlet of a medieval armoured knight. The fingers were jointed metal, the hand was stiff and cold. His arm was plain gunmetal, attached – expertly, the Doctor claimed proudly – to the shoulder.
Except that Rose couldn't see the arm, because it was hidden beneath Repple's new coat. A battered brown leather jacket.
'It's no good to me,' the Doctor had sighed. 'Stitching's coming apart.'
When she let go, Repple lifted up his hand in front of his face, inspecting it. Behind his expressionless face Rose knew was a mass of cogs and gears and sprockets. It was hard to believe. He seemed so ordinary. So human.
'I don't think the previous owner will be needing the arm back,' the Doctor reassured him. 'Sorry it's not more in keeping.'
'Thank you. Doctor.' He flexed his fingers, then let the arm drop to his side. 'It reminds me of who I really am.'
'The AI's gone,' the Doctor said. 'Burned out and disintegrated. So there's nothing to stop you leaving, assuming there ever really was. We can give you a lift, if you want,' he offered.
'Where to? This is the only home I have.'
The Doctor nodded. 'See you then.'
'You'll do all right,' Rose said. 'Hey, if you're still around in eighty years or so, come and visit me.'
'Thank you. Perhaps I will.' He stepped back, and surprised Rose by snapping a salute.
'Don't get lonely,' she said.
The Doctor opened the door of the TARDIS, and she followed him inside.
The blue box faded from reality with a grating, rasping sound. For a moment the empty outline of the TARDIS was stamped in the gathering fog.
Repple stood watching the shape blur and fade as the mist drifted across. Then, with a barely perceptible whirr of internal gears, he turned and walked back to the front of the house.
He paused in the glow of a street light, listening to the breeze ruffle the autumn leaves and the distant chimes of Big Ben. He imagined he could feel that breeze on his face, that he could smell the stink of the river. And he tried to ignore the rhythmic ticking that kept him constant company. He waited for the black cat that wandered lazily down the road to catch him up. It regarded him curiously through deep, emerald eyes.
The first traces of dawn were scattered across the skyline, silhouetting the Palace of Westminster, as the two of them started their journey.
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to a number of people who have helped with this novel, and thank them all.
In particular, I should mention everyone who is involved in the production of the new series of Doctor Who, but especially Russell T Davies – for his help, advice, encouragement and contagious enthusiasm – and script editors Helen Raynor and Elwen Rowlands, who have kept me honest and provided invaluable insight into the characters of the Doctor and Rose.
My editor, Steve Cole, has continued to work wonders, making me look good in print and providing sympathy, friendship, and beer. Working with him and with Jac Rayner on these novels has been a labour of love in the best sense.
And finally, I must thank my MP, James Plaskitt, for arranging a guided tour of the clock tower at the Palace of Westminster. Inside it is pretty much as I describe it, though I have made some small changes for dramatic reasons – there is, for example (and so far as I could tell), no infernal alien device ready to fry the Earth's atmosphere.
About the author
Justin Richards is the Creative Director for the BBC Books Doctor Who series, and has written a fair few of them himself. As well as writing for stage, screen and audio, he is the author of The Invisible Detective novels for children. His novel for older children, The Death Collector, will be published in 2006.
Justin lives in Warwick, with a lovely view of the famous castle but no cat. Being married with two children, his life is never dull and never runs like clockwork.
Also available from BBC Books
DOCTOR • WHO
Monsters and Villains
By Justin Richards
ISBN 0 563 48632 5
UK £7.99 US $12.99/$15.99 CDN
For over forty years, the Doctor has battled agai
nst the most dangerous monsters and villains in the universe. This book brings together the best – or rather the worst – of his enemies.
Discover why the Daleks were so deadly; how the Yeti invaded London; the secret of the Loch Ness Monster; and how the Cybermen have survived. Learn who the Master was, and – above all – how the Doctor defeated them all.
Whether you read it on or behind the sofa, this book provides a wealth of information about the monsters and villains that have made Doctor Who the tremendous success it has been over the years, and the galactic phenomenon that it is today.
Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man Page 18