Chapter Ten

The Doctor looked her straight in the eye. 'I can't be sure what his motives are. Perhaps they are noble, perhaps he thinks that what he has done will benefit the British people. He wants to make his country great again, he wants to be its leader. What I do know is that to achieve his aims he has allied himself with a warlike alien power and overthrown the elected government of this country.'

It was the Brigadier's turn to speak. ‘He's almost certainly implicated in the assassination of the Prime Minister. We've uncovered evidence of a conspiracy dating back over twenty years. Greyhaven has been using his influence all that time, collecting allies and equipment.'

'You make him sound like a Bond villain,' Eve objected.

The Doctor gestured helplessly. 'Greyhaven isn't relevant, anyway. Xznaal will use him as long as he's a good little puppet, and kill him the moment he steps out of line. Greyhaven has given them a foothold, and now he's served his purpose. At the moment, we aren't sure what the Martians are planning, but whatever they are going to do, they won't be stopping at the English Channel. The Martians want the Earth, and they'll kill the entire human race if they have to.'

Alan looked puzzled. ‘If the Martians can build spaceships and they’re hostile, then why haven’t they tried to invade Earth before?’

The Doctor peered up at the two Americans through his fringe. ‘Believe me, they tried.’

'Do you have any evidence for any of what you are saying?' It was clear that Eve knew that the Doctor was telling the truth, but that she found it almost impossible to cope with what he was saying.

The Brigadier knew as well as anyone what Eve must be feeling at the moment. Nearly a quarter of a century ago, back when he was a Colonel, he'd met the Doctor for the first time. In less than an hour everything that Lethbridge-Stewart knew to be true, his entire world-view, had been challenged. Friends were enemies, there were monsters, demons and things that existed out in space that man couldn't comprehend. From that moment until his retirement, Lethbridge-Stewart only knew two things for certain: the world depended on him, and he could trust the Doctor.

'No,' the Brigadier said, 'We have no proof. That's why we called you here. Together we can travel the country and collect the evidence.'

'You can send it back to America, show the world what is happening here,' the Doctor said, a gleam in his eye.