The Mind of The Daleks

Chapter 20: Decision

Isabel slipped through the door into the former lunchroom and shut it softly, then turned.

She bit her lip and shrank back; two Dalek slaves stood at the far bed, one mechanically shaking out a blanket and the other climbing into the highest bunk. Holding her breath, Isabel edged to the opposite door, keeping an eye on them. She stepped into the hallway and then made a lightening jump sideways into the restroom as a Dalek came from the direction of the office.

If just making it to the door was going to be such a constant game of tag, then there was no way she was going to be calm enough to set up the dalekanium as the Doctor wanted! Isabel waited until she was sure nothing was coming from either direction – and until her heart stopped pounding – and darted down the hallway and into the office beyond. Now there were only a few more yards and – thank goodness! – they were empty. Isabel shifted her stack of dalekanium and walked straight to the door, keeping her eyes turned away from the desk and what it hid.

At last, she stepped outside and breathed in a deep, grateful breath of the cool November air as she looked around. The large truck was still in the parking lot and the white van was now beside it.

For a moment, Isabel debated whether to begin setting up the explosives in the front, so that she would have less to carry on the trip around. There was no way for the Dalek which had passed her inside to get down to the headquarters below and so it would have to come back this way to go in by the loading dock which led directly to the highest level. So she decided to start in the back; she would run the risk of putting most of the boxes just around the corner.

So Isabel dropped off of the platform in front of the office and found a place to temporarily stow the cases of dalekanium before she went as quick and quiet as she could through the sagebrush and tumbleweed around the side of the building.

Her guess had been right. There was no side door, but there was a door in the back of the warehouse that opened onto an empty alley, on the other side of which was a lot full of motionless semis.

It didn't take long to arrange the dalekanium among the cigarette butts and empty boxes that surrounded the doorposts. Isabel looked at her work with pride and then around at the normal world that was free of Daleks and unsettling thoughts, almost tempted to stay there for a moment to enjoy it. Or just to walk away and leave it all as if it had never happened.

A sudden memory returned to her; a memory of walking away from some operation of the Daleks in despair and doing nothing, because there was nothing that could be done. It was another part of the dream that she remembered so vaguely. But there was something to be done now – and not all that much, either! Isabel reminded herself that the ordeal was almost over and glanced at the clock on her MP3. It was 9:41, just seven minutes after she had left the oppressive atmosphere of the warehouse and high time to be getting on with the job. She wondered how the Doctor was doing as she began the journey back to the front of the building.

The front of the building was still quiet, but Isabel waited for a few seconds before venturing forward. She tackled the huge loading door first since she could hide the cases in the heavy shadows that surrounded it. Then she moved on to the office door, which she had left wedged open by a pebble just in case she wanted to get in again. She left the extra case of dalekanium inside, then arranged the wires and backed out of the desolate office.

She hesitated for a moment before she turned to make the journey across the desolate parking lot to the car, and then put the pebble back in place.

Isabel jumped off the short ledge and looked around at the parking lot, stuffing the tape and wire back into the pocket of her jacket. It was very quiet and almost peaceful now that she didn't have to think about what to do next and could focus on getting home – if the Doctor didn't have some other destination in mind after this! After he had gotten the information that he was after and the Daleks were trapped inside of the warehouse – however temporary that turned out to be – maybe she could get him to drop her off at home. She had been up since seven that morning working hard; by now she could care less what the Daleks were or where they came from or what the hell they were doing in Albuquerque!