Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen Read Online Free Page B

long I can’t even picture May’s face anymore.’
    ‘So what’s to complain about,’ Hawk mumbled to himself.
    ‘What’s that?’
    ‘Nothing,’ said Hawk. By this time he was getting impatient. ‘The boss said we were to share everything.
    That includes responsibility, you know,’ he whined.
    Weismuller held up his hand to silence further debate.
    ‘Just make the call, Lex,’ he said.
    Before Hawk had a chance to act, the strained atmosphere was broken by the urgent ringing of the telephone in the police box. Weismuller snatched it up,
    ‘Weismuller here... Yes sir, no, nothing yet. Gee, that’s too bad. I’ll do my best, sir.’ He hung up, looking grim.
    ‘What’s up?’ asked Hawk, a nervous tone to his voice.
    ‘Bad news – this satellite thing has gone haywire. The scientists think it’s gonna fall to earth somewhere around here. The Pres. wants us to find it before certain enemy powers get their mitts on it.’
    Hawk collapsed the telescope and hopped into the car.
    ‘If we don’t screw upon this one then it could mean promotion. We could both be home by Christmas, Weismuller. Home!’ With fresh enthusiasm he started the engine and they puttered away down the road.
     

Chapter Eight
    Inside the TARDIS the Doctor was watching his screen in horror. The bus was spiralling towards the blue planet, impact only a few moments away. An emergency siren was whooping inside the TARDIS, drowning out the sigh of the time rotor.
    On board the bus Murray’s face was dripping with sweat as he twirled a defunct master control. ‘Keep calm, folks.
    We’re just experiencing a little technical difficulty,’ he said. Murray’s knuckles were white as he manipulated his instruments, straining to take control of his craft. The bus shook more and more violently and he hoped that it had been built to the required specifications. If there was even a slight error in manufacture the whole craft could disintegrate under such stress.
    The Doctor ran a few computations through his mind then started pushing buttons in a prescribed sequence.
    When the last switch was thrown, the TARDIS started to shudder and emitted a loud droning hum. A powerful energy beam shot out from the TARDIS and locked onto the tumbling bus.
    After a few moments the wild gyrations gave way to a more controlled yawing, and slowly the bus righted itself.
    There existed in South Wales a quiet moorland valley with a single narrow track road running through it. The road stopped at a somewhat dismal compound of low, clapboard bungalows. Over the gate in green wrought-iron was the legend ‘SHANGRI-LA.’ It was one of the least-famous holiday camps in the country, but those who knew it liked it for its unspoilt location and quiet walks, and above all, its quiet restfulness. Its peaceful tranquillity was shattered, however, when suddenly, out of a clear blue sky, a tour bus thumped onto the road outside the camp gates, rocking on its springs and releasing a shower of pyrotechnics from under its hood.
    What was even more astonishing was five seconds later a blue police phone box materialized out of thin air beside the bus. The Doctor emerged from the TARDIS and crossed to the damaged cruiser.
    Murray staggered out of the bus, still shaken. ‘Th-thanks, Doctor. We ran into a piece of space junk. What did you do?’
    The Doctor cast a critical eye over the bus which had the small satellite still embedded in its front grille. ‘I simply applied the TARDIS vortex drive to generate an anti-gravity spiral strong enough to halt your descent.’
    Murray sighed with relief. ‘They sure could use a guy like you at Head Office,’ he said. He looked around, his eyes lighting on the grey buildings nearby. ‘Hey!’ cried Murray, ‘This doesn’t look like Disneyland!’
    ‘It seems as if that satellite jammed your navigation pod.
    As near as I can tell we’re somewhere in Wales,’ said the Doctor.
    Murray squinted at the holiday camp. ‘Well, we’re going to