– if things not working out with Doctor laters, you do gym one month and maybe you come work for Grk. Yes? I teach you proper job you can take anywhere in Pleasant universe. Proper work. Man job. Yes?”
“Uh, yes. Sure.”
“Is good.” Grk winked at Kevin.
“He’s not travelled much,” said the Doctor, counting out a wad of twenty-pound notes into Grk’s waiting hand. “To be honest, he’s lost outside South London.”
“That’s not true!” said Kevin hotly.
“He’s been to Brighton a few times,” said the Doctor. “I suppose that counts as pretty far out in some respects.”
Grk pocketed the Doctor’s money, wrote out a receipt on a pad. “Iiiis for yoooouuuu, Doctor,” he said in a smooth voice as he scribbled. He tore away the top copy, handed it to the Doctor and tucked the pad away into his overalls again. The Doctor folded up his receipt and put it in his wallet. “Thank-you-very-muuuuuch,” said Grk. “Always a pleasure for the beezness.” He shook the Doctor’s hand. He shook Kevin’s hand, met his eyes again and gave a conspiratorial wink. “Don’t forget Grk’s offer, yes?”
He picked up the bag of cleaning equipment they’d arrived with, and opened the door for his silent but smiling colleague, who exited with the unearthly remains of the consul and Mr Plensca tucked under his arms. “Ciao laters!” he said over his shoulder as the door closed behind him. Kevin heard their footsteps recede down the hall to the lift; none of the human residents of the building were aware of the events of the morning, or of the grisly deaths of the Plenscas.
“You’ve got a finger in every pie, Doc. Ain’t ya?”
“You’d expect that if I’d set up shop here a couple of thousand years ago.” The Doctor was texting on his phone.
“But it’s like you control the whole out-of-towner economy.”
“Hardly – I just rent apartments to most of them. As I explained before – it needs careful regulation. You can’t have out-of-towners just living anywhere and everywhere, can you? Someone needs to keep an eye on everything.” A text came back to the Doctor and he gave something between a smile and a grimace.
“But why South London? Why Streatham Hill?”
“Some other time. Our next appointment is with someone who doesn’t get out much. Not much of a walk from here. And by all accounts you need to work on your fitness.”
The Doctor took one last look around the dead consul’s apartment, turning off and unplugging appliances as he went. Then he ushered Kevin out of the door and locked it behind him. Kevin looked down the corridor at half a dozen identical doors and let his imagination wander.
Tooting is Balham’s poorer neighbour to the south, and home to more recent human migrants from the more easterly corner of the British Empire. As they made it over the busy crossroads at Tooting Bec Underground station and into Tooting proper, Kevin raised a hand in the direction of Trinity Road. “Is –?”
“No,” said the Doctor. “She’s not named after a road.”
“That’s not what I was going to ask. I was going to ask if it’s because she can transform into different things.”
“No. She’s not named after the Holy Trinity. The area of religion and extraterrestrial life is a minefield. There’d be pandemonium if they knew what you know.”
“Great for Scientologists, surely?”
The Doctor sniggered. “They’re already a laughing-stock throughout the Pleasant universe.”
“Well, what or who is Trinity named after then?” “July 16 th , 1945.”
“What was that?”
“Mankind’s first nuclear explosion. It was called Trinity.”
“You mean she’s some kind of radioactive mutant? A cat who was bitten by a radioactive spider? Like Spiderman?”
“Oh, Kevin please . Attributing everything to radiation is such a lazy way of thinking. It’s cheap science fiction at its worst.”
“Well I don’t bleedin’ know, do I?”
“I’ve told you before,