Doctor Who: Drift Read Online Free PDF

generally are. Isn‟t that right, Leela?‟
    The girl - the woman - she was an altogether different fascination. Steadfastly silent, trusting and afraid, ward and guardian both to this outlandish hobo who‟d barged in on the Captain‟s precious scene. They‟d received advanced warning from Falvi and Barnes out on the perimeter, but the snipers‟
    report hadn‟t prepared anyone for the figures that walked in.
    The other squads had suspended their room-to-room search and some of the men were out in the hall, waiting on the outcome like the final score in a football game.
    Well hell, Kristal was ready to lay a few bucks on the outsider.
    She flinched as cold liquid bit her arm. Joanna Hmieleski flashed her a wry look of apology. She was a good officer and an even better doctor, but she‟d never waste anything as rare as sympathy on scratches.
     
    „How‟s she doing?‟ Captain Shaw asked, taking a time out.
    Joanna met Kristal‟s look, and smiled. „She can walk and she can fight. She can even play the piano if she wants. I‟m just cleaning up the cuts now.‟
    Right there, thought Kristal, was the first anyone had smiled since entering this house. The atmosphere didn‟t exactly encourage it. And despite the good news, Captain Shaw wasn‟t ready to echo the expression.
    „Doesn‟t change the fact,‟ he rounded on his prisoners, „I have wounded here. Scratches or no, there‟s a lot of firepower littered around this place, and it could have been one hell of a lot worse. So you and your lady friend will understand if my temper gets shorter when I don‟t start getting answers.‟
    The Captain‟s pacing brought him in line with the woman.
    She didn‟t care for the attention. „You said these soldiers would be friendly, Doctor.‟
    The quality of the sound was like a shock through Kristal‟s heart: a native innocence that fit perfectly with the apparel. It confirmed everything Kristal had already seen in the young woman‟s eyes.
    The Captain was sharp, one of the sharpest, but there were times - just some times - when he couldn‟t see daylight in a cloudless sky.
    „Well, friendly is a relative term, Leela. Friendlier than whoever or whatever they‟ve been shooting at, I would hope.
    And where there‟s hope there‟s - what exactly have you been shooting at, Captain? Because, you know, if they were very large and very green there‟s a good chance I might be able to find an easier way of dealing with them.‟
    Captain Shaw was not a big fan of condescension. „Okay, first of all, I‟m not interested in your screwy religious experiences with Martians, how you commune with extraterrestrials. And second of all, if you‟re not cultists, I want to know who you are, what you are, what you‟re doing here, what you know about any of-‟ He gestured around, but had no words (nobody had) for the scene that possessed this house. „- this. Immediately would be nice.‟
     
    „Well, as you‟ve probably gathered, I‟m the Doctor. I‟m a Scientific Adviser with the UNIT organisation, although I‟m mostly part-time these days. More of a traveller, freelance, you might say.‟ The grin could have disarmed a legion - or provoked one into battle.
    „UNIT huh? And who is she? The People That Time Forgot?‟
    „In a manner of speaking, yes.‟ An answer for everything, it seemed, and now a new mask that seemed done with playing.
    „Her name is Leela. You might take a little more care not to hurt her feelings. She‟s very sensitive you know, and probably very tired of keeping her hands up. Do you mind if we take them down, it‟s really getting very boring.‟ His arms were already lowered and those of his young companion followed his lead.
    He leaned forward as though to whisper in the Captain‟s ear, but that voice carried to the hall and beyond. „Now I can see you‟re an intelligent fellow and I know if you had anything to do with shooting the people who lived here we‟d be knee-deep in bodies, which puts