Doctor Who - Bernice Summerfield - 15 - Another Girl, Another Planet by Len Beech;Martin Day

Author:Len Beech;Martin Day
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: High Tech, Space Opera, General, Science Fiction, Fiction, Media Tie-In
ISBN: 9780426205289
Publisher: Virgin Books
Published: 1998-09-01T07:00:00+00:00

* * *

The young Dimetan girl was still behind the counter at

reception. She was half-turned away from Bernice, engrossed

in a conversation, a simple voicelink device held against her

cheek. Bernice stood, patiently.

‗Yeah,‘ said the girl, ‗I‘ve heard hot-metal branding is all the

rage again. Yeah. It was in that immersion flick. Brutal,

yeah?‘ By now the young woman‘s back was to the entrance.

Bernice had glimpsed the girl‘s badge earlier, and it was

obvious that she was starting out at the bottom of the heap.

Her uniform was smart enough, but her shoes – presumably

her own - were scuffed. Bernice came to the conclusion that

she wasn‘t being deliberately ignorant - but she was making

a big mistake.

‗Oh, it‘s amazing what you can brand,‘ said the girl. ‗Yeah,

you tell that to your father. That should make his hair stand

on end. Yeah.‘

Bernice tapped her on the shoulder. ‗Excuse me.‘

Immediately the young woman dropped the voicelink unit

to the counter and swung round. Her face was red with

shock. And fear. ‗I‘m sorry,‘ she said, her voice little more

than a squeaking whisper. ‗I didn‘t realize you were waiting.‘

‗That‘s fine,‘ said Bernice. Her voice was soothing, an

attempt to put the girl at rest. And win her confidence. ‗I‘m

looking for my friend, Karl Csokor. Is he here?‘

‗At the moment I‘m unable to divulge information of that

sort,‘ said the girl, a little confidence returning to her voice.

Bernice smiled. The young woman had been well trained.

‗It‘s business,‘ said Bernice. ‗Important news.‘

The girl looked lost, jammed between well-drummed

procedures and a very real knowledge that most of the hotel‘s

clientele would wipe her off their feet as much as look at her.

Bernice knew the girl didn‘t want a confrontation, so she

played her trump card. She didn‘t want to come over as the

big bully, but sometimes there was no alternative. And, given

the events at the marina earlier in the day, Bernice decided

that maybe it was time to do a bit of stamping and shouting

herself.

‗Listen,‘ said Bernice in a slow, frosty voice. ‗We don‘t want

the management to find out that you‘re using their comms

budget to talk to your friends, do we? Now, just tell me where

Karl is. If he gets funny, blame me.‘

At last the girl relented, and checked a list on a discreetly

hidden screen in front of her. ‗Yes, he‘s here.‘

‗Is he in his room?‘

The girl‘s hands hovered over the readout, indecisive for a

moment.

‗Come on,‘ cajoled Bernice. ‗He‘s a businessman, right? So

I‘m here on business.‘ Then she considered the type of

business the Bantu Cooperative engaged in, and the secrecy

seemed to make more sense.

The young woman relented, but there was no reply from his

room. ‗Would you like to leave a message?‘ asked the girl.

Bernice nodded. A second holographic display appeared in

front of her, shimmering slightly, waiting for her to input a

message. ‗But I think I‘ll take it in person.‘

Bernice walked towards the main hotel elevator. The

woman at the reception desk went to say something, but fell

silent.

Bernice had noted Csokor‘s room number from the display,

and she strode into the lift with the confidence of someone

who was just starting to believe in the game they were

playing.

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