‘Because he thinks he can win it,’ Estro answered. ‘And, as matters are, I think he has a sixty‐per‐cent chance of being right. If he provokes us into attacking, he has the advantage of his home grounds and an extensive army to rely on. He would probably win such an encounter.’

‘So what are you saying?’ Downs demanded. ‘That we provoke him into attacking us openly? That we would have the advantage on our home grounds? That we should allow our territory to be razed, our homes sacked and our men, women and children be raped and murdered?’

‘No,’ Estro answered calmly. ‘I propose we change the current situation. Given matters as they are now, London will most likely win. This is why he is pushing for a war. He believes he can win and so do I – unless we change the game.’

‘And how do we do that?’ Barlow asked with interest.

‘Weaponry,’ Estro explained. ‘At the moment, both sides are in a situation of parity. Neither of us has anything larger than small rifles – oh, except for those two tanks you’ve been keeping hidden, Craddock,’ he added. Craddock said nothing, but Haldoran saw the flicker of anger in his eyes. ‘I’m sure London has one or two he’s looted from a museum, as well. But the problem is that there are very few shells for such heavy weapons, since none have been manufactured in more than thirty years. And neither side has any air capability.’

‘We know what we lack,’ Malone snapped. ‘What do you propose to do about it?’

Estro turned and snapped his gloved fingers. One of Haldoran’s soldiers came forward and placed a metal case on the table. It was three and a half feet long, and a foot wide. As the man stepped back, Estro snapped the catches on the case, and flipped open the lid.

Nestled inside the case was a Dalek ray projector.

‘This is how, gentlemen,’ he announced. ‘I have discovered a cache of Dalek guns. Using these, our troops will outclass the enemy. These will hand control of London – and subsequently the entire country – to us.’

The warriors stared at the gun in disbelief. Portney was the first to find his voice. ‘All Dalek weapons were destroyed after the war,’ he protested. ‘I don’t know where you found that, but there can’t be any more.’

‘Portney’s right,’ Malone agreed. ‘My Lord, this is some kind of a con game. Estro’s promising something he can’t possibly deliver! There are no more Dalek weapons.’

Haldoran smiled. ‘Estro has delivered eight of these ray guns so far,’ he replied. ‘They are all in working condition, because I’ve had men try them. And he has promised me several hundred more of them once we begin the assault. With these –’ he gestured at the case – ‘we cannot fail.’

The men were still astounded by the news. Finally, O’Hanley leaned forward. ‘Where are you obtaining these guns?’ he demanded.

Estro smiled and shook his head gently. ‘I see no need to inform you of their source,’ he said. ‘Not that I distrust any of you, of course, but there would be a great temptation for you then to… remove me and usurp the source for yourselves. I prefer not to give you that option.’

‘I know where they’re coming from,’ Haldoran said firmly. And that’s enough. You will all begin to ready your troops for action, gentlemen. I want our lines pushed forward towards London. We will provoke a response from London, and then use that complaint as a pretext for our attack. These Dalek weapons will be spread among your men, and at the right time, we shall use them.’ He smiled happily. ‘I estimate that London should fall within a week. After that, the other Domains will be given the choice of joining us voluntarily – or of being annexed. By the end of the year, I expect the entire country to be behind me. I shall be the first monarch of Britain in thirty‐eight years. And you, gentlemen, shall all share in my power.’ He laughed. ‘Britain will be united once again – under me.’ He picked up the Dalek weapon and brandished it. ‘With the power that these represent, we shall be invincible!’

4

The Pit

Susan cut the power on the runabout, and let the small electric car glide to a silent halt. She was about a mile away from DA‐17, and feeling more and more uneasy about matters. The site was close to the border between Domain London and Domain Haldoran, and Susan knew that the current political situation between the two groups was deteriorating. It might even end up in armed conflict. Not that this should affect her directly – Peace Officers were allowed to go wherever they must to investigate Dalek Artefacts, and it wasn’t likely that the fact that she lived in London would prompt Haldoran’s men to prevent her from travelling through their Domain. But…

She glanced at the mostly mud‐and‐dirt road she’d been travelling the past fifteen minutes. It showed evidence of a lot of traffic recently, and that didn’t look good. She’d been working on the assumption that whoever had tried to gain access to DA‐17 was either an individual or a small group of idiots. But the wear on the road suggested it was a more concerted effort than that. Perhaps even one that Haldoran was sponsoring, for some insane reason. Nobody in their right mind would interfere with a Dalek site. Haldoran was pushy and aggressive, but she’d never heard him described as insane.

Still, driving any further could lead to trouble. Susan had driven off the road and parked in the shade of several trees. Anybody passing by wouldn’t be able to see the little runabout, especially since night was falling. She would go the rest of the way on foot – just in case. She carefully strapped on her revolver, praying she wouldn’t need to use it. She still didn’t like the idea of harming anyone, and had managed to avoid doing so for most of her thirty years on the job.

The most sensible thing to do right now was to check in with Spencer. She picked up the microphone, and sent the pulse. The only response was static. That bothered her seriously, because it meant that the frequencies were being jammed. And that suggested a very deliberate attempt to hide what was going on.

There was nothing else for it but to carefully check things out. Then she could drive out of range of the jamming and report back. Susan had a serious suspicion that she’d need a lot of backup to handle whatever was going on here. She slipped out of the car and walked parallel to the road, heading for the site.

Darkness closed about her, and she saw a glow ahead of her through the trees. Haldoran must have run a power line out here, then. He had to be very serious about this to go to such lengths. But whatever did he expect to gain from all of this? It didn’t make any sense. Well, perhaps it would, closer up.

Barely leaving a ripple in her wake, Susan made her silent way up to the site. It was, as she recalled, at the base of a cliff in an old quarry. DA‐17 was simply a shaft the Daleks had sunk into the ground, with nothing of particular interest to it. But somebody was certainly very interested indeed…

Susan gained the top of the cliff, and then went down on her stomach to inch her way to the very edge. She slid between bushes, and then reached her target. The quarry was spread below her, some sixty feet down.

Arc lights had been set up around the pit itself, six of them blazing away, illuminating the activity there. Several thick cables led from the far end of the quarry and disappeared into the shaft. There were at least twenty people down there, and three lorries. The people were all working at the mouth of DA‐17, some with instruments, others assembling equipment. She was too far away to see what was happening, but there was really only one conclusion she could reach: Haldoran’s men were supplying DA‐17 with power for some reason. Those cables were capable of transmitting quite a lot of electricity. But for what purpose? What did Haldoran think he was doing? Did he want something that lay in the shaft? Did he know, somehow, what was down there?