Donna led the way to Wakefield Tower, which was where the Peace Officers were stationed.

‘This must be the place,’ said the Doctor. ‘Capital.’ He rubbed his hands briskly together, and then used the handle of his umbrella to rap on the door.

It was opened by a Peace Officer Donna recognised. ‘Spencer,’ she said in greeting. ‘Is David Campbell in?’

‘For about the next two minutes, I’d say,’ Spencer replied.

‘Clearly a busy man, always was, splendid,’ breezed the Doctor. ‘Now…’ he removed a piece of paper from his pocket and a photograph of a young girl with shortish blonde hair and a slight scowl on her oval face. ‘This is a girl called Samantha Jones. I need to find her very urgently. All her details are written down here…’ He suddenly stared at Spencer aghast, as if a terrible thought had just occurred to him. ‘You can read my handwriting, can’t you?’

Spencer looked at the strange man sympathetically. ‘One more missing person,’ he sighed, reading the piece of paper and nodding wearily. ‘We’ll try for you.’

The Doctor continued, ‘Of course, she might look slightly older – or even a lot older, I suppose – but –’ The Doctor paused. ‘David’s rushing off?’

Spencer nodded. ‘He’s getting ready to go out into the field.’ The Doctor moved suddenly very swiftly. ‘Trouble?’ he asked, brushing the officer aside and striding into the ground‐floor room. Donna followed, in time to see him dash across the room and grab David Campbell’s hand, pumping it warmly. ‘David, my boy! So good to see you again.’ He examined the startled man’s form. ‘You’ve filled out a bit,’ he commented.

David scowled at his assailant.’ Who the devil are you?’ he demanded. ‘Never mind, I don’t have time for –’

‘For your grandfather?’

That stopped David dead in his tracks, his face now filled with confusion rather than irritation. ‘Doctor?’ he asked faintly. When the Doctor grinned and nodded, David shook his head. ‘Susan… warned me that this might happen,’ he said in a faint voice. ‘That you might… change.’ He stared at the Doctor in astonishment. ‘You’ve grown younger!’

‘Several times,’ the Doctor confessed. ‘My dear boy, I’m sorry I never came back before this to visit as I promised. But you know how it is when there’s a universe out there to visit. You put things off, and before you know it a lifetime’s gone by. But I’m very pleased to see you again. I need to find someone, a very dear friend of mine, she’s – Wait. Where’s Susan?’

‘That’s the problem,’ David said grimly. ‘She’s missing.’ He gestured at a bank of electronic equipment that lined the walls. ‘We lost radio contact with her last night, and we’re only getting a very faint reading from her transponder. I’m afraid something must have happened to her. I’m just getting ready to go after her.’

‘Then I’ll come with you,’ the Doctor decided.

‘So will I,’ Donna surprised herself by adding.

The Doctor glared at her. ‘I don’t think your father would approve. He made it plain that he wants you here in the Tower, where you’ll be safe.’

‘Doctor, it’s a war zone out there, and you aren’t even armed.’ Donna glared back at him, refusing to allow him to intimidate her. ‘And he told me to help you, remember?’

‘I rather think he meant while I was inside the family estate,’ he answered. Then he held up a hand. ‘But, as I told him, you’re a big girl and capable of making your own decisions. If David has no objections, I’d be happy to have you with us.’

He was a very confusing person, taking both sides in an argument like that. But Donna felt oddly warmed that he valued her company. It had been a long time since anyone had.

‘It’s fine with me,’ David decided. ‘Another gun along would be of great help. The fighting’s not reached DA‐17 yet, but it might well do.’

‘Dalek Artefact?’ queried the Doctor, and David nodded grimly.

‘Good,’ Donna said briskly. ‘Have you organised a runabout?’

‘Yes.’ David took a machine rifle from a rack beside the door and tossed it to her. ‘Technically, you’re not supposed to have that, since it’s Peace property. I might even make a mild complaint, provided we get back safely.’

Donna nodded. ‘Understood.’ She checked it, and discovered it had a full clip. It would cost a small fortune to buy one of these on the open or black market. He must be worried if he was simply handing her one. He took another, and turned to the Doctor.

‘Are you using guns these days?’ he asked.

‘You know me better than that,’ the Doctor answered, ramming his hands deep into his pockets. ‘Nasty, noisy things that could get you killed.’

‘Well, I feel better having one if I know the other fellow’s got one, too,’ David replied. ‘Life insurance.’

‘Not for both of you.’ The Doctor sighed. ‘However, you’d probably prefer to go off naked than unarmed, so there’s not much point in protesting, is there?’

‘No,’ David agreed. ‘Right, then – let’s go. And pray we find she’s just had a minor accident or something.’

‘I doubt that,’ the Doctor said, glumly. ‘In my family, all accidents tend to be major. I’ve a very bad feeling about this.’

Donna really didn’t want to hear that. But she slung the rifle over her shoulder and followed, unsure where this latest decision of hers was taking her. Or whether she’d survive it.

But, at the very least, with the Doctor along, she suspected it would be interesting…

6

Death in the Line of Duty

There was no real warning before disaster struck. Tomlin was watching the progress of his men, hearing the sounds of gunfire all around as they made slow but steady progress. The next second, there was a loud burst of sound, and the hillside in front of them suddenly blazed into a wall of fire.

Ears ringing, Tomlin was thrown from the runabout, which spun and overturned. The driver and the radio man were both tossed out, too. Tomlin was completely deaf, and dazed, but he could see two more bursts of flame close by. He staggered slowly to his feet, realising he was bleeding from a gash in his forehead. He dabbed at the wound with his handkerchief, and looked around in confusion. What was happening?

Slowly, his hearing began to return. He could hear, faintly, gunshots and screams. He abruptly realised that one of the screams was coming from close by. The radio operator! Tomlin lurched to where the man lay, his left leg shattered and bleeding badly. One of the man’s eyes was gone, too, and there was blood over his chest. The screams were dying as the man did the same. There was nothing to be done for him, and Tomlin turned away. The driver was clearly dead, his neck snapped. Tomlin saw he’d been astonishingly lucky to have suffered only the minor injuries he had. He made his way to the runabout, and saw that the rear axle was shattered.

But the radio was still operational. As his hearing cleared slowly, he reached for the controls, and picked up the microphone. ‘Tomlin to Haldoran. Emergency.’

‘What’s happening?’ asked the operator on the other end. ‘We heard an explosion.’

‘They’ve got some kind of big guns,’ Tomlin replied, shaken. ‘They fired them three times. I’m lucky to be alive. I haven’t made contact with the rest of my troops yet, though. We’re going to need reinforcements.’

‘Understood,’ the operator replied. ‘I’ll pass along your request.’

‘Request?’ Tomlin repeated angrily. ‘That’s not a request, that’s a military necessity. Put me through to Lord Haldoran immediately!’

‘I’m afraid that’s not possible,’ the man answered. ‘Find out your situation and report back. It see when his Lordship will be able to communicate.’

Tomlin stared at the radio in anger. What the devil was going on? How could Haldoran not be available to communicate with his own general? What could possibly be more important than this war? He threw down the microphone in disgust. Well he needed to know what was happening, anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt to take a look.