"It"s where where he"ll escape to that worries me. What right have we to turn him lose on some other planet?" he"ll escape to that worries me. What right have we to turn him lose on some other planet?"
"Well, unless you"ve got a better plan, I see no alternative."
"My dear Brigadier, of course I"ve got a better plan. Just you listen to me..."
The Doctor drove the Black Maria along the path towards the hangar, where the Master stood waiting by his missile.
In the back sat Barnham, desperately clutching the Machine, with Jo beside him.
The Master looked suspicious as the Black Maria drove up to him.
Suddenly there was a gun in his hand. "A very strange form of transport, Doctor. I hope you"re not going to try anything silly."
"No, of course not. It"s just that Bessie"s broken down."
"Bessie?"
The Doctor made driving motions with his hands. "You know, Bessie!"
Jo opened the rear door of the Black Maria and she and Barnham began a cautious descent.
They could hear the Master"s voice. "I think I should warn you Doctor that my " the Master mimicked the Doctor"s driving movement " is all primed and ready to fire."
The Doctor looked up at the towering bulk of the missile like a tourist admiring the Eiffel Tower. "That"s very clever. My word, you have done well. Shall we get on with it?"
"Did you bring the circuit with you?"
"Ah, yes here."
The Doctor slipped a little box from his pocket, and opened the lid to reveal the circuit.
The Master"s eyes gleamed. "May I examine it?"
"How do I know you won"t take the circuit and fire the missile anyway?"
"You don"t. Just this once, Doctor, you"ll have to trust me."
The Master held out his hand.
16.
The Farewell For a moment no one moved or spoke.
Then the Doctor said slowly. "Trust you? No I don"t think so."
Jo and Barnham appeared round the side of the Black Maria.
"Now, Doctor," shouted Jo.
Barnham put the Machine down as close to the Master as he dared. The Master stared at it in horror and the Doctor kicked the gun from the Master"s hand.
The Master leaped upon him and for a moment the two Time Lords grappled furiously.
Jo grabbed Barnham"s hand and dragged him towards the hangar.
Released from the restraint of Barnham"s presence, the Machine began throbbing furiously.
With a final desperate heave, the Doctor threw the Master bodily towards the Machine, then turned and sprinted for the hangar office.
The Master tried to get to his feet and follow, but by now the Machine was fully aroused. It began drawing the Master towards it, inflamed no doubt by the super-abundance of evil in his mind...
The Master used every atom of his will to resist. He was poised, locked, trapped in an almost perfect balance between his will and the strength of the Machine.
But the Machine was stronger. The Master writhed in agony as the Machine forced him to crawl towards it.
Jo Grant was talking into her RT. "h.e.l.lo, Brigadier, Jo Grant here. Over."
The Brigadier"s voice crackled back. "h.e.l.lo, Miss Grant, we read you. Over."
"The Doctor is working on the missile abort circuit.
Stand by for abort instructions, over."
"Well done, Miss Grant. Greyhound to Windmill 342.
Come in to land. I say again, come in to land."
From somewhere overhead, Jo heard the drone of a UNIT helicopter.
The Doctor meanwhile was busy at the console, reinstating the abort circuit. Fortunately the Master had just removed it, and not destroyed it.
With the circuit in place, the Doctor finished the last few connections and ran from the hut. "Right, Jo."
Jo spoke into the RT. "We"re on our way!"
The helicopter touched down just as Jo, Barnham and the Doctor ran from the hangar towards it.
Face twisted in agony, the Master was using the last remnants of his strength to resist the power of the Machine.
The Doctor and Jo gave him a wide berth on their way to the helicopter, but Barnham couldn"t bear to see anyone in pain, not even the Master. He stopped to help.
It was a fatal mistake. Barnham"s nearness damped down the power of the Machine sufficiently for the Master to break free.
Knocking Barnham aside, the Master leaped into the driving seat of the Black Maria and sped across the tarmac.
It was unfortunate that Barnham stumbled into his way.
The Doctor and Jo turned just in time to see the Black Maria slam into Barnham, smashing him to the tarmac, and then disappear into the distance.
Jo and the Doctor ran back to Barnham, who lay twisted and still. Quickly the Doctor examined him. "He"s dead, Jo." Jo"s eyes filled with tears.
The Doctor grabbed her hand, and pulled her back towards the helicopter. They clambered inside and with a roar of its rotors the helicopter took off.
In the Mobile HQ, Major Cosgrove was saying calmly, "Twenty seconds."
The Brigadier took up the countdown. "Ten... nine...
eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... one abort."
The Doctor and Jo glanced down from the fast-climbing helicopter. They were just in time to see the rocket, the hangar and the Machine disappear in smoke and flames.
The helicopter soared upwards above the clouds.
The atmosphere in the Governor"s office was far from jubilant.
"We took Barnham there to help us, Doctor," insisted Jo.
"We should never have left him."
"I know," said the Doctor sharply. "How do you think I feel about it?"
Jo looked into his grimly-set face and realised that his distress was just as great as her own.
"I"m sorry," she said softly.
The Doctor nodded. "Here, have some coffee."
The Brigadier did his best to cheer them up. "Well, at least we"re rid of the Keller Machine and the Master."
"The creature in the Machine must have been killed in the explosion," agreed the Doctor. "But I"m not so sure about the Master."
The Brigadier said, "Well, even if he wasn"t killed, he can"t get far. You"ve still got the circuit haven"t you Doctor?"
The Doctor felt in his pockets, casually at first then with increasing alarm. "It"s gone! I must have lost it in my scuffle with the Master."
"It was probably destroyed in the explosion, Doctor,"
said the Brigadier.
"Supposing it wasn"t! Supposing the Master found it?"
The telephone rang.
Benton picked it up. "h.e.l.lo, yes, who is it?" He pa.s.sed the phone to the Doctor. "It"s for you."
"The Master!" said the Doctor grimly.
And indeed it was. "I was afraid you might be worried about me, Doctor, so I called to let you know I"m alive and well."
"I"m extremely sorry to hear that!"
The Master laughed. "I managed to reach the safety of my TARDIS now in perfect working order again thanks to your generosity, Doctor."
So, the Master had had found the circuit after all, thought the Doctor. He did his best to put a brave face on it. "I hope that means we"ve seen the last of you?" found the circuit after all, thought the Doctor. He did his best to put a brave face on it. "I hope that means we"ve seen the last of you?"
The Master"s voice vibrated with anger. "For some little time, Doctor. But rest a.s.sured one day I shall destroy this miserable planet and you with it." The Master laughed.
"Goodbye, Doctor." He paused. "Oh, and Doctor enjoy your exile!"
The Doctor slammed down the phone, cutting off the sound of the Master"s mocking laughter.
"What did he say?" asked Jo.
"Oh, the usual threats!"
"Never mind, Doctor," said Jo consolingly. "You"ve beaten him."
"Have I? His TARDIS is working again. He can go when and where he pleases. And I"m trapped on Earth,"
said the Doctor accusingly. "With you you, Brigadier!"