Doctor Who: Fury From the Deep (3 page)

'He's no such thing!' Victoria suddenly regained her fiery spirit.

'He's a Doctor - well, sort of...'

The Doctor's face creased up into its usual affable, innocent smile. 'I can assure you, sir, I was merely being inquisitive.'

Harris tried to be logical. 'Mr Robson, I don't really see how these people could've had anything to do with...'

'When I want your opinion, Harris, I'll ask for it!' Robson's eyes were bulging with anger. It was perfectly obvious there was no love lost between the Chief Engineer and his second-in-command. In fact, Robson had always resented the fact that a young man had been appointed to the job, and straight out of University at that. 'Lock them up in one of the cabins. I'll interrogate them later!'

As he turned, Robson discovered a group of engineers watching him. 'What are you lot standing around for!' he yelled, pushing his way past them. 'When are we going to get some work done around here?' The engineers scattered, and hurried back to their jobs.

Jamie watched Robson go, then turned to Harris and asked scornfully, 'Is he always as charming as that?'

Harris was clearly embarrassed by his chief's behaviour. 'Well, we've something of an emergency on at the moment. The fact is, we've just lost contact with one of our rigs out at sea.

The Doctor was immediately curious. 'You mean, your communications system has broken down?'

'No. It's just that the crew aren't answering.'

This made Victoria indignant. 'Well, you can't blame us for that!'

Harris was unconsciously biting his upper lip. 'There's also been a drop in pressure in the feed line from the rigs,' he said. Then he turned to the Doctor with a reproving, suspicious look. 'You were seen tampering with a release valve on the pipeline.'

Now it was Jamic's turn to be angry. 'That's no reason for shooting us down like animals!' His outburst provoked the two armed guards into moving in closer.

Harris shrugged his shoulders. 'I'm sorry about that, but you must realise we're under a security alert and...' he sighed apologetically, 'I'm afraid I'll have to do as Mr Robson says, and lock you up. Follow me, please.'

Harris moved off, followed by Victoria. For a moment, Jamie stubbornly refused to budge, but after a pacifying look from the Doctor, he joined the others, closely followed by the two armed guards.

As they left, a buzzing sound was heard, and a green light started flashing excitedly at the top of the Control Cone.

A young woman approached the Guard Room at the main entrance of the Refinery. She looked as though she was in her late twenties, but could have been a little older. Harris's wife, Maggie, was a beautiful woman, in a very English way. But her peach-like complexion, dark brunette hair, and strongly defined features, disguised a firm and determined nature. Maggie was the kind of woman Harris needed for a wife.

'Have you a pass, please, madam?' The guard on duty made it quite clear that no unauthorised person was going to get past him today.

'Pass?'

'We have instructions that no-one is to leave or enter the Compound without a written pass from Chief Robson. Not until after the emergency.'

Maggie was indignant. She knew something odd was going on at the Refinery today, but this was downright ludicrous. 'But you know who I am,' she said. The guard shrugged his shoulders. Maggie stiffened. 'My husband is second-in-command to Chief Robson.'

'I'm aware of that, Mrs Harris.'

'Then let me pass, please.' Maggie stepped forward as if to walk straight past the barrier. To her absolute astonishment, she found the end of an automatic rifle barrel pointing straight at her chest.

The guard stared hard into Maggie's eyes, making it perfectly obvious that he was taking his job seriously. In a polite, but firm voice, he said, 'I'm sorry, madam. I think you should return to the residential block.'

For a brief moment, Maggie stared back in disbelief at the guard. But in that split second, she had decided that it is never wise to argue with a loaded automatic rifle. She turned haughtily, and swept off towards the compound area. Only one thing was now uppermost in her mind. Something very odd was indeed going on at the Refinery today.

'A movement in the pipeline? Impossible!' Harris was doing his best to show that he wasn't at all concerned. 'Marine life couldn't possibly get inside the pipeline tube. It would never get past the drilling pumps.'

'Aye. Well, be that as it may,' said Jamie, sitting cross-legged on the top bunk, 'but there
was
something in that tube, because I heard it too!'

'And so did I,' said Victoria from the lower bunk.

Harris had brought the Doctor and his companions to one of the crew cabins in the Control Compound. It was a small, confined space, with two bunk beds, a wash basin, small desk, wardrobe, and a ventilator shaft in the wall measuring about four or five feet. It was more like a prison cell.

'If the pressure is down in the pipeline, perhaps this is the reason why.' The Doctor was staring out through the porthole window, towards the beach and open sea. 'Marine life has managed to find a way into the tube.'

'Impossible!' replied Harris. 'We've spent years of time, money, and research perfecting our emergency systems.'

The Doctor smiled wryly. 'Well, perhaps there's a fracture somewhere along your pipeline, and something's got in that way?'

Harris had his doubts. And he was shocked when the Doctor suggested that they turn off the gas flow, at least until they'd had the chance to find out if there really was a movement in the pipeline.

Harris insisted that Chief Robson would never agree to that.

'Why not?' said the Doctor, turning from the window.

Harris lowered his eyes awkwardly. 'Mr Robson prides himself that the flow has never been shut off since he took charge. He doesn't believe in working to the book.'

The Doctor shook his head with a sigh. 'Then he's a very silly man.'

'Maybe so,' replied Harris, astutely, 'but he appears to be right about one thing.' He brushed his usual lock of hair from his eye. 'You do seem to know quite a lot about what we're doing here.'

Mick Carney's face was on one of the video monitors at the Control Cone. Carney had been in charge of the off-shore drilling Rig D for the past nine months, and had increased gas flow production by nearly four percent.

'Carney! What the hell's going on out there?' Robson was yelling out his frustration at the video monitor. For the past few hours, contact had been lost with Rig D, throwing the Refinery's communication network into disarray.

'Everything's quite all right, Mr Robson,' Carney's voice was calm and barely audible. Although he was a man only in his mid-thirties, his appearance had visibly changed during the past twenty-four hours. His face was white, eyes sunken, and hair flecked with grey streaks. 'We have the situation under control, sir.'

'What? What did you say?' Robson was straining to hear Carney's faint voice. 'Speak up man! I can't hear a word you're saying!'

Carney merely smiled back without saying a word. He had a strange look in his eyes.

Robson turned quickly to David Price, the video operator.

'What's wrong with this thing? Are we losing volume?'

'No, sir. It's nothing to do with us. I don't understand it.' Price adjusted the controls, and spoke louder towards the monitor. 'Mr Carney, could you speak a little louder, please?'

'Everything... is under control... ' Carney's voice was quite lifeless, almost as though he was day-dreaming.

Robson snapped back impatiently. 'What about the emergency crew we sent out to you? Have they arrived yet?'

'They must stay here now... stay here...'

'Do what?' Robson leaned forward, squinted at the monitor.

'Accident... slight accident... ' Carney's voice was now no more than a whisper. 'Two men... out of action...'

For a brief moment, the frenzied activity in the Control Hall came to an abrupt halt. All eyes were turned towards the video monitor.

Robson's patience finally cracked. 'Now you listen to me, Carney. I want that rig back into working operation right away!' And raising his voice to a shout: 'Do you hear me, Carney!'

Carney's face remained impassive, his eyes showing no sign of life. All he could be heard mumbling was, '... control... everything...

under control...

'Carney! Carney!'

Even as Robson was yelling out, Carney's voice faded, and the video picture started to break up. Suddenly, the screen was blank.

'Come in, Rig D. Come in, please!' Price was anxiously adjusting every control switch he could lay his hands on. 'I think we've lost contact again, sir!'

'Well, fix it, man!' Robson turned angrily from the Control Cone, to find himself face-to-face with Harris.

'Mr Robson, I think we should turn off the gas flow coming in from the rigs, and make a check,' he suggested.

If looks could kill, Robson would have been responsible for Harris's instant death. 'You think
what
, Mr Harris?'

Harris took a deep breath. 'That Doctor chap - the stranger - he said he heard a movement coming from inside the pipeline on the beach.'

'Oh, did he now?' replied Robson cynically, his jutting jaw more protruding than ever. 'And did he say what he thought it was?

Mice?'

'Mr Robson!' The chief engineer, sweat streaming down his face, was calling from the open door of the Impeller Area. 'She's down another three. Pressure's just on one-fifty-seven.'

Robson called back. He was clearly shocked. 'One-fifty-seven!

Are you sure?'

'Absolutely, sir.'

Harris quickly followed Robson towards the Impeller Area.

'That means pressure is down at the rate of three thousand cubic feet every...' he checked his watch, '... every twenty minutes. This definitely proves that something
is
blocking the pipeline.'

'It proves nothing of the sort.' Robson had reached the steps leading up to the observation platform. 'If anything, it's a faulty gauge.'

'At least give us the benefit of the doubt,' pleaded Harris. 'Let's check the inside of that pipeline.'

Robson turned suddenly. The veins in his forehead were swelling out in anger. 'For the last time Mr Harris - no!'

'Mr Robson, listen to me!' For once, Harris was determined to be heard. 'This all ties up with what I've been trying to tell you. For three weeks now there's been a regular and increasing build-up and fall in pressure. The time ratios correspond to form a definite progressive pattern.'

'Statistics! Always statistics!'

Harris persisted. 'At least look at my calculations.'

'All right! All right!' Robson's patience was running out fast.

'Go and get your stupid bits of paper, and I'll show you where you've gone wrong!'

Harris rushed across to his desk to collect the file he was referring to. His briefcase was lying on top of the desk. He quickly opened it, and felt inside. His shock was immediate. 'It's gone!' He turned, calling back to Robson who was watching him from the observation platform. 'The file - it's gone!'

There was a knowing look on Robson's face. 'Well, well, well, has it now?'

Harris was desperately tipping out the contents of his briefcase onto the desk. Some pencils, a newspaper, and a portable sonic calculator. But no file. 'I'm sure I put it in here this morning. I must have left the file in my desk at home.' He started to move off. 'I'll go and get it...

'You stay right where you are, Harris!' Robson's bronchial voice echoed across the Control Hall. 'I'm not doing your job here as well as my own!'

Harris glared back defiantly. 'What's the matter, sir? Are you afraid I might prove you wrong?'

Robson couldn't believe his ears. This was the first time anyone in the Refinery had dared to challenge him about anything.

And this, coming from a young upstart straight out of a red-brick University. He was about to yell back at Harris when he suddenly realised the entire Control Hall crew were watching him. He strolled back casually to Harris, stared him straight in the eyes and said quietly, 'All right, boy. Go and get your little pieces of paper. But you'd better have something more than a high-flown theory to show me. Because if you haven't, I'm going to kick you right back into that University - where you belong!'

In the crew cabin, Jamie was perched perilously on the Doctor's shoulders, peering out through a small metal grille above the door.

'See anything?' The Doctor called in a hushed voice.

Jamie looked along the corridor outside, then whispered back down to the Doctor, 'All clear.' He started to pull out the metal grille.

'Don't bother, Jamie,' called Victoria. 'I can do it with this.' She took a hairpin from her hair, and held it up for Jamie to see.

'Och! Don't be so stupid! Ye canna pick a door lock with a hairpin.'

The Doctor squirmed as he took the weight of Jamie on his shoulders. Suddenly, there was a loud bang as Jamie pulled out the metal grille, and accidentally dropped it to the floor.

'Clumsy!' Victoria had her fingers in her ears.

Jamie glared at her, then struggled to pull himself through the very narrow opening left by the grille. Victoria ignored him, and started to tackle the door lock with her hairpin.

In the corridor outside, Jamie was half-way through the opening above the crew cabin door. Although agile, he did, in fact, look very clumsy as he tried to pull himself through the narrow opening. Suddenly, he froze. Someone was coming along the corridor. He quickly closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn't be noticed.

Maggie Harris approached, just in time to see her husband coming down the corridor in the opposite direction. To Jamie's horror, they stopped to talk just below him.

'Maggie! Where've you been? I've been trying to contact you.'

Harris was on edge after his exchange with Robson.

'I was going into the village, but Robson's clamped down on security.' Maggie's hair was windblown from the rough weather outside. 'I was on my way to see you to get a pass.'