THE INVISIBLE HAND

CHAPTER THREE

Donna was astonished. What had just happened? One minute, she'd been admiring a ring the shop clerk was showing her, and the next, there was a bright flash and she was standing in a mud puddle, in the middle of some wasteland.

“Doctor! If this is some sort of joke, I'm so not laughing!” Donna shouted.

No one answered. No sign of the Doctor or his Tardis. The only sound Donna could hear, was a faint wind whistling through the stony landscape.

Sighing, Donna looked down at her ruined trainers, and stepped out of the puddle. Her eyes roamed the surrounding area, but she saw nothing but piles of dirt and scree. A narrow path seemed to thread it's way through the wasteland, but where it went, she had no clue.

But, not knowing what lay ahead never stopped Donna. Because ,if she had one thing going for her, it was that she didn't balk at facing the unknown. Carefully picking her way through the mud and puddles, Donna began walking.

Dodging hordes of weekend shoppers, the Doctor tore through the floors of the mall. He bumped into various beings queued up at boot sales, making numerous apologies as he went. A policeman called out for him to stop.

But, the Doctor merely yelled, “Sorry!” and kept on running.

Thinking the Doctor was a shoplifter, the short, red, conker-headed policeman slapped on a helmet, mounted his waiting pony, and cantered off in hot pursuit of the Doctor.

The policeman caught up with the panting Doctor, in an alleyway sandwiched between a disco and a googlajuice bar. The Doctor had his back to the policeman. He was just stood there, hands limply at his sides, staring into empty space.

“You there!” said the policeman, dismounting from his pony, “I tell you to stop! Why you not stop?”

The Doctor whirled around and stared down at the policeman, wide-eyed, his face clearly distressed.

“It's gone!” He gasped to the policeman.

The policeman, P.C. Navalatamay, carefully studied the doctor for several seconds. The man didn't have the body language of a thief, more like that of a victim.

“Are you reporting theft?” he asked quietly, reaching into a pocket for his notebook and a number 27 pencil.

“Yes.” The Doctor answered tensely, swallowing hard. “Yes, I suppose am.”

“And, what has been stolen? Can you describe?” Navalatamay asked the Doctor.

“It's my Tardis.” The Doctor said, his voice almost trembling, “I left it right here, but...it's gone. It's a box, a big blue wooden box, with the word 'POLICE' on it.”

P.C. Navalatamay raised his eyebrows. A strange policeman in his jurisdiction? That was highly unusual. Why hadn't central control notified him?

“Are you saying you with police?” he asked the Doctor. “I think I need to see I.D. sir.”

The Doctor sighed with impatience, about to make an outburst about his missing Tardis and his missing friend. Then, he paused, sighed again. Maybe he should let the psychic paper do its thing, and sort out the mess, later.

Fishing out the wallet with the paper in it, he handed it over to the policeman. The paper would tell P.C. Navalatamay whatever would most impress him. The policeman glanced at the paper, and instantly came to attention and saluted the Doctor smartly.

“Oh, don't salute.” the Doctor winced. “I hate salutes.”

“Sir!” the policeman said contritely, as he handed the wallet back to the Doctor. “I had no idea you with Shadow Proclamation's Secret Service. I ask pardon!”

“Well,' the Doctor sniffed, “you wouldn't, would you. That's why it's called the 'secret' service.”

“How can Natalatamay help, sir?” the policeman asked.

“First off, I'm called the Doctor, not 'sir.” The Doctor informed him. “Secondly, you can tell me if you know of anyone who may have nicked my...erm—box. It's very important, you see. It's full of some very complicated, top secret, er—stuff.”

P.C. Navalatamay looked up at the Doctor. He'd never been allowed to help with an important investigation before. This was all very exciting.

“Natalatamay will help you, Doctor! Have friends. They live here. I ask them. If anything wrong, They will know.”

“Good. Good.” The Doctor nodded. He jammed his hands in his pockets. “And ask them if they've seen a human female, with ginger hair and a very loud voice, while you're at it.”

“Is human female important?” Natalatamay asked, as he took the reins of his pony and led it back out of the alley. The Doctor, following him, looked sharply at the policeman.

“Oh yes, she's very important. To me, right now, she's the most important human being in the whole of the universe.”

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