Read Online Doctor Who: Paradise Towers by Stephen Wyatt - Free Book Online

couldn’t possibly –’ he continued, shaking his head.
    The Deputy Chief was nettled by the implied criticism. ‘If it’s there then it’s true. Rules are rules and orders are orders.’
    ‘If you say so,’ the Doctor returned, shaking his head, ‘I don’t want to make a fool of you.’
    ‘Just read out what it says.’
    Here was the crux of the Doctor’s gamble. He just had to hope that even the Deputy Chief could not memorise the entire contents of such a tome. But by now the Deputy was so angry with the Doctor for daring to question the book by which he ordered his entire life that the Doctor could not put off the attempt any longer.
    ‘Well, he began slowly, taking a surreptitious glance at his watch in preparation, ‘according to what I’ve just read here, it seems that after you’ve been guarding your condemned prisoner for thirty-five minutes, you must all stand up.’
    ‘But –’ The Deputy was puzzled but did not appear to doubt the authenticity of what he heard. Nor notice the coincidence of the time period specified being exactly the same as had elapsed since the Chief had left.
    ‘I know it sounds silly,’ the Doctor agreed sympathetically,
    ‘and of course, I’m not expecting you to do it. But it is in the rule book.’
    The Doctor got to his feet. The Deputy Chief hesitated for a moment. And then to the Doctor’s intense relief, he rose too, and the other Caretakers with him. Rules, after all, were rules.
     
    Pushing his advantage, the Doctor continued. ‘The Caretakers present must then move five paces away from the prisoner...’ The Caretakers did this unhesitatingly, the Doctor noted happily. Now for it.
    ‘Close their eyes and put their hands above their heads...’
    Just when he thought they were bound to smell a rat, the Caretakers obeyed. Eyes closed, hands on heads, five paces away.
    It was time now to carefully put down the rule book on the bench and tiptoe stealthily towards the Deputy. He had noted on their first arrival where the Deputy kept the small square he used to unlock the door of the Headquarters. In his back pocket.
    It would be a matter of moments to pull it out.
    ‘How long does the book say we do this?’ Eyes still closed, the Deputy was starting to get impatient. But even as he spoke, the Doctor’s nimble fingers had found the small square and were in the process of drawing it out of his pocket. Just a little more time needed.
    ‘Oh, about a minute and a half,’ the Doctor improvised, the key-card now firmly in his hand. He was already on his way to the exit door. ‘That’s how long the prisoner needs...’
    ‘Needs? To do what?’
    The Doctor had found where the key-square should be inserted and was pushing the card into place. The door slid silently open. ‘To find the key-card to the door and escape,’ he explained cheekily.
    ‘Sorry?’
    ‘To find the key-card to the door and escape.’ The Doctor was through the door now and it was starting to close again. The Deputy would surely be opening his eyes any second now.
    ‘But that doesn’t make sense. Why should we –’
    But the door was shut now and the rest of the Deputy Chief’s sentence was cut off from the Doctor’s ears. He was outside the Headquarters again and with a short start on his jailors. There was no time to lose. He started to run back the only way he knew, the way he had come. Somehow, he didn’t want to stay around to hear the rest of the Deputy’s comments.
    Or the Chief’s, for that matter.
     
    Bin Liner was waiting anxiously. The Red Kangs were re-assembling after the Caretakers’ attack at the pre-arranged spot on Floor 12 close to talkiphone 4. But they were not all there yet. She could not stand the thought that more Red Kangs might be unalive.
    Finally Fire Escape arrived. ‘Build High for Happiness.’
    ‘Build High for Happiness.’
    The two leaders exchanged the Kang salute. But Fire Escape saw Bin Liner’s unease.
    ‘All sound and safe?’
    ‘The