like a good-luck charm.

A second later, the formerly Torin Chalfont grub thing flopped on to the cavern floor where they had been standing.

'Come on, Kyle.We need to get the Doctor. Run!'

Kyle seemed to finally break out of his reverie and turned to go.

Blocking the way out was Reverend Lukas and the other Church members.

'Reverend Father, we must get away from here,' he practically screamed.

But Reverend Lukas just stared at the huge monster before him.

'You called me, G.o.ddess.'

Kyle stopped and stared.

Sam just laughed.'Jesus Christ, Lukas, you can't seriously believe that's your G.o.ddess?'

While not quite as informal as Sam, Jolyon and the others seemed to be swayed more by her arguments than Reverend Lukas's now they had actually seen the 'G.o.ddess' with their own eyes.

Veronique and Max took a step aside, glancing up at Reverend Lukas, who seemed to be staring at the creature, bemused.

'He's in rapture,' muttered Phillipa, holding Jolyon tightly.

'The most perfect being in creation,' Reverend Lukas said, dropping to his knees and bowing his head. "There is nothing superior to this divine creature,' he breathed. 'She called me here. I realise that now. The wedding was just an excuse. She needed me close.'He looked up at his Church members.'Us.She needs us. Your G.o.ddess needs our love.'

Jolyon turned away, trying to ease Phillipa with him, but Veronique and Max were confused.

They had followed Reverend Lukas for so long...

'C'mon.' Sam tried to tug them away from the cavern. Only Kyle moved with her.

'Please, Reverend. This isn't the G.o.ddess. This is... evil!' Kyle was crying, begging Reverend Lukas and the others to leave. 'Quickly, we have to leave.'

'This is not evil...' Reverend Lukas stared happily at his G.o.ddess.

Sam made one last plea.'Reverend Lukas, you talked to me about belief.

About the flaws in evolutionary theory. About what keeps you going. Look at that thing. How can this be your G.o.ddess? Your G.o.ddess is good. This is just... evil.'

'This is purity, Ms Jones. The G.o.ddess is pure, through and through.'

'Pure evil, Reverend. Please!'

But he would not move. Sam gave a last desperate shout to the Church members but no one except Kyle moved.

She turned and ran, Kyle following just behind.

In the near darkness, without Torin's - as it turned out - alien-inspired sense of direction, Sam realised they could easily get lost.

Or plunge into a chasm. Or - She was grabbed by a pair of masculine hands. For a brief moment, she thought it was the Doctor.

But then she heard Kyle behind her. 'Brother Marcus! You must save us.

Help us save Reverend Lukas!'

And Sam realised she was staring at the always impa.s.sive Brother Eldritch.

At the Stadium, the Doctor was rooting through the lockers of the parading athletes.

Ms Sox was outside the changing room, keeping an eye out for any returning sportsmen or coach droids.

'Got some!' The Doctor found a handful of pills in an antigrav bag belonging to a Centauran table-tennis player.

'Red or blue? I wonder which...'

'Doctor!' hissed Ms Sox.'Someone's comingl'The Doctor was at her side in an instant.'I recognise him... wait a minute! He was the scientist who disappeared from the SSS place. One of Professor Jeol's team.'Ms Sox stared a moment longer.'Human. Er, let me think. Yes, Mason! Miles Mason, an expert in xen.o.biology. We sorted out his entry visa for the SSS, found him quarters. Very popular with the service actually. Chase Carrington even knew a bit about his background.' She swallowed, trying not to think about Carrington. 'Anyway, he's turned up here, and if he finds us, we'll be in real trouble.'

The Doctor nodded.'Oh yes. And if my suspicions about him are correct, more trouble than you antic.i.p.ate. Come on, let's go through the toilets!'

Kyle had always thought nothing could ever break Marcus's or Hdritch's concentration, but the sudden terrible screaming from the cavern behind them gave him the break he needed. He shoved at Marcus, who fell straight over. Eldritch turned to look, and Sam knocked him off balance with the toy Meep. Without waiting to see whether he toppled over, she grabbed Kyle's hand and ran, almost dragging the young man with her.

'I just hope I don't miss my footing or we could be in for a long drop,' she shouted.

But Kyle didn't answer - all he could think of was what had prompted the screaming. There was no mistaking Veronique's voice.

With his own SSS clearances plus the expertise of all the SSS agents and a variety of bloodthirsty killers from a dozen worlds all floating in his joined consciousness, Miles Mason had very little difficulty moving freely around the behind-the-scenes areas of the Olympic Stadium.

He had even less difficulty entering the area beneath the stands, adopting the persona of a Carrington worker checking the under-seating areas for safety. Were the life-forms above too heavy? Too congested in one area?

Were the emergency exits clear and safe and ready to use? That sort of thing.

The real worker sent to check this was curled up in a corner, slowly transforming into a larval Wirrrn grub.

And after a few moments, Mason sat down to relax, with his little portable box of tricks put together with the aid of all the thoughts in his head.

Directly above him, the d.u.c.h.ess of Auckland was being told in no uncertain terms by Consort Ethelredd that her place was at the Games for the rest of the afternoon.

Mason smiled. He twisted a dial on his box and the timer started its countdown. In forty minutes, the distraction the Wirrrn Queen had ordered would be provided.

The laboratories at SSS Administration were almost empty. A majority of the workforce were either working or spectating at the Stadium.

'In here.' The Doctor pushed open a set of double doors to Sterile Room Four and dug into his pocket, retrieving the globular remote recorder he had obtained last time he was there. It floated up and hovered at eye level.

++h.e.l.lO DOCTOR++.

'Prepare to begin recording. Label it replacement case nine oh three oblique delta red.'

++CONFIRMED++.

The Doctor pa.s.sed some pills to Ms Sox. 'Can you prepare me some slides. The electron microscope should be good enough to tell me what I need.'

'I'm not a scientist,' she snapped.

'No, but you're an exceptional woman, with a strong personality, pretty good in a tight situation, you're intelligent and you care about people.' He smiled at her. 'I believe those are generally the main requirements to help me.'

He wasn't sure if Ms Sox would hit him or start preparing the slides. As he turned back to the recorder, he smiled faintly as he heard her activate the electron microscope.

He broke one of the blue pills open, watching tiny motes of a dusty substance spill on to a gla.s.s slide. 'Looks like talc.u.m powder. Recorder, begin recording everything that is said in this room from now on.'

++CONFIRMED++.

Ms Sox slapped a few slides down. 'Luckily for you, Doctor, despite what I said, I do have a pa.s.sing familiarity with the subject due to my augmentation.' She smiled tightly at him.

'Splendid!' The Doctor grinned as he broke open a red pill, this one containing tiny solid capsules.'What have you got for me?'

Ms Sox regarded the readout for the electron microscope.'Well, they are combined essentially of acetylsalicylic acid compounds with a metabolite of phenacetin, which appears to be acetophenetidin-based. Add to that trace elements of dichlorobenzyl alcohol, amylmetacresol BP, carmoisine and, just to make it taste better, sucrose.'

The Doctor frowned and slipped her his red pill. She crushed some of the tinier capsules, placed them in the chamber, adjusted the microscope and repeated the description.'Nothing more than a powerful paracetamol.

Effective on a headache or a mild cold, neither of which the athletes were bothered by anyway. They're identical.' The Doctor frowned. 'Identical?

Why?' He sat on the edge of the bench. 'Back to our queries again. Query One: why would someone pa.s.s out identical pills made to look different?

Query Two: why do it anyway? Query Three: are they having any effect?'

'Query Four,' added Ms Sox. 'What are we missing?'

'Missing?'

'Oh come on, Doctor. Why go this effort if they're just pain relievers. Apart from the fact that an overdose could kill certain species, they're pointless.

Yet a load of people have died or been kidnapped or subst.i.tuted by the Foamasi in an attempt to get these. Either we're being taken for a ride by the greatest scam artist in the Federation or -'

'Or we're missing something. Of course!' The Doctor reactivated the electron microscope, reading out the ingredients one by one.

'I think I just said that,' Ms Sox muttered, but any further waspish comments were cut short by the arrival of Coordinator Sumner, displaying an SSS security pa.s.s, no doubt given to him by Commandant Ritchie.

'How are things going?'

'Badly,' shouted the Doctor. 'I'm missing something.'

'You're telling me.' Ms Sox walked across to the sink. 'Gla.s.s of water, Coordinator?'

'No, thank you, Ms Sox. Doctor?'

'Uh-huh?' The Doctor was clearly not listening.

'Doctor, I have received a message from the Foamasi Amba.s.sador.

Government. Whatever he is.'

'Green Fingers,' filled in Ms Sox, pointlessly.

'Exactly. He would like us to visit his Temple in half an hour.'

'All three of us?'

'Specifically, Ms Sox. He also asked for Commandant Ritchie but he's gone to secure the Stadium with Quartermaster-Sergeant Dallion and her agents.'

The Doctor suddenly moved away from the microscope.'Got it!'

'What is it?' Ms Sox and Sumner moved closer, antic.i.p.ating his response.

'My sonic screwdriver. That's why Sam had it - she was working on my car!

I remember now.' He beamed at Sumner and Ms Sox. "That's been worrying me for a while now, you know.'

A look pa.s.sed between the Jadean PA and the human coordinator. It spoke volumes on the subject of a justifiable homicide about to take place in Sterile Room Four.

++IMPORTANT++.

'Yes?' The Doctor clicked his fingers to get the remote's attention without looking away from the electron microscope.

++DATA DOWNLOAD FROM THE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE.

SUGGESTS THAT THE BLUE PILLS HAVE A r.e.t.a.r.dING AGENT++.

'Aha! So, not quite identical. Take the red pill and whatever it is works quickly. Take the blue and it takes longer, and is therefore probably stronger.' He slapped the table top. 'Of course! If it remains dormant for a period of time, the effects will kick in long after the Games are over and the athletes are back in their own planetary systems. Spreading whatever it is halfway across the galaxy...'

The remote hovered towards the Doctor once more.

++URGENT DATA. THERE IS AN EXTRA INGREDIENT ATTACHED TO.

EACH MOLECULE. IT HAS NO RELEVANCE TO THE EXISTING.

PURPOSE OF THE ACETAMINOPHEN. UNABLE TO IDENTIFY EXACT.

INGREDIENT++.