Cabinet

After his brief chat with their engineer, Orrin Cobb, Artie met Jim in the baggage car. They stocked up with some items from Artie's lab, then crossed to a tall cabinet in the corner. Jim unlocked the door and they both went in, closing the door behind them.

Inside - inside was far bigger than it was really possible for it to be. The room was much larger than the baggage car the cabinet resided within, with a high ceiling and far-flung walls. In the middle of the room was a six-sided console with a clear column rising from its center all the way up to the ceiling. There was a storage closet off to one side; Jim headed to it, rummaging around for more items to hide in his clothing. Meanwhile, Artie stepped up to the console and began twisting dials, flipping switches, and clacking the keys on the large typewriter anchored there beneath a blinking viewscreen.

"What do you think, Artie?"

"Me? I think we haven't been told the whole thing yet. I also think we shouldn't trust Mr Ghex any farther than we can throw him."

Jim chuckled. "Really? You'd trust him that much?"

"Ah, I see I'm being too credulous. What do you think, Jim?"

Jim, sober-faced, joined his partner at the console. "I think you're right that there's more to this than our visitor told us. Did you get any more flashes that Lily and I didn't?"

"I don't know. I don't think I did. Of course, it's easy to assume that everything I saw and heard, the two of you saw and heard as well."

"Why did you get that image when we didn't?"

Artie shrugged. "I suppose it's because I'm a Time Lord and therefore mildly telepathic already. Mr Ghex may not have been aware of that, considering how much humans resemble Gallifreyans, so in making a strong effort to communicate with us all, he opened up a little too much and my mind snagged that image."

"And what was the thing you started to mention to Lily, then changed your mind about saying it?"

Artie was silent for a bit. "Well… maybe this was a case of me picking up something the two of you didn't. Or maybe you did catch that hint of it, I don't know. It's just that, as soon as I brought it up I realized that either way, I didn't want Lily dwelling on it. But…"

"But?"

"But I, ah… I got the strong impression that the so-called scientific inquiry the Ghex do on their specimens amounts to outright torture."

"Which may well mean that we aren't doing the little doctor any favors by returning him to his makers."

"No. The only thing that lets me stomach this is the fact that he isn't really human, and that poor fellow sitting under the yellow sky is."

"Do you think the Ghex will keep their promise to exchange the two Lovelesses?"

"I hope so. And if not…"

Jim grinned. "Exactly. We have a TARDIS, so we can just go get him."

"Yep. I just hope the Ghex aren't aware of our little time machine here." Artie patted the console fondly, then went back to typing and adjusting controls. Suddenly he grinned and pushed the monitor to the side so that Jim could have a look. "Ah, here we go!" he said.

"What do we have?" asked Jim, scanning the rapidly changing charts on the viewscreen.

"All right, you see that?" Artie pointed at the screen, then pressed a couple of buttons to freeze a chart and expand it. "I've asked the TARDIS to look for energy signals that are wrong. You know, as in either alien or anachronistic. And that right there is a whopper of a wrong 'un."

"And not far from San Francisco."

"Nope, not far from San Francisco," Artie nodded. "I bet we've found our man."

"Well, let's go then."

"Right." Artie made a little more fine tuning, then threw a lever. A peculiar wheezing, groaning sound filled their ears as the time rotor in the central column began to rise and fall.

In the baggage car, the tall cabinet in the corner gently faded in and out of existence before finally disappearing entirely.

…

Dr Loveless smiled to himself as he switched off the electricity. Ah, this project was coming along splendidly! "Voltaire," he said as he turned toward his assistant to do some well deserved bragging, "I've almost finished the damper dome and… Why, Voltaire! What are you doing on the floor?"

"But, Dr Loveless, my hands get so tired…"

"That doesn't matter!" the little doctor interrupted. "Now I want a thorough test of the durability of my superior adhesive, and how can I gauge how well it holds if you keep letting go? Up, up, up you go, there's a good fellow!"

With a sigh, the gigantic Voltaire climbed back up the ladder, took hold of the sturdy metal hat that had been mounted to the ceiling by the doctor's test glue, and stepped off the ladder so that his entire frame, more than seven feet in height, was dangling from the hat. He hung there swaying, unhappy, knowing that within a few minutes his hands and arms would be aching again from trying to keep his grip on that infernal hat.

Dr Loveless smiled in satisfaction. "Very good, Voltaire, very good! Now you just keep testing the strength of my adhesive. Don't let go! Now…" He laid a long-fingered hand on a curious box bristling with wires. "It won't be long now. I've nearly completed the damper dome. Just a few more refinements, a few more tests, and it will be fully functional. And do you know what that will mean, Voltaire?"

"N-n-no, Dr Loveless!" The giant could feel his hands slipping already as his palms began to flood with sweat.

"It will mean, my dear old friend, that when I turn it on, it will so scramble and disrupt the energy signals of any experiments I am working on, that the Ghex will no longer be able to find me, much less get a lock on my location." His blue eyes glittered as a glorious grin spread over his face. "The end of Ghex interference in my life, once and for all, Voltaire! Our lives, that is." He gave a happy sigh. "Oh, to be able to live untrammeled, no longer looking over my shoulder constantly!"

"But, Dr Loveless, you'll still be looking over your shoulder for Mr West and Mr Gordon."

"Yes, yes, yes, but that is different. They are mere humans. What can they do to us, lock us up again in one of their puny prisons? Bah! It's child's play to escape from those!" He chuckled merrily. "You know, Voltaire, I only stay in their prisons for as long as I want to. I don't think they realize that. And once I am bored with the scenery, poof!" He flung up a hand. "Out we go again, off to wherever we please, hmm?"

"And then Mr West and Mr Gordon show up again." The giant's fingers were aching now; he couldn't hold on much longer.

"Well, of course they do! That's all part of the game! Life would be boring if we didn't have games to play, wouldn't it? I say, wouldn't it?"

"Ah… yes, Dr Loveless. Boring." Voltaire swung out a foot to find the ladder.

"Now, let me see…" Loveless muttered to himself, having already lost interest in the conversation. "Where did I leave that maguffin?" He strolled over to a cabinet and probed within, quickly examining the contents. "No, not here… Hmm… Ah!" He clicked his fingers and whipped about. "Voltaire, I need you to get me… Why, Voltaire! Whatever are you doing on the floor again?"

The giant moaned and pushed the overturned ladder off his back. "Sorry, Dr Loveless," he said. Wearily he clambered to his feet.

"Well, never mind that," said the little doctor. "I need the maguffin. I must have left it out there in the hall in one of those tall storage cabinets. Do go fetch it for me."

"Yes, Dr Loveless," said his colossal minion, and he headed for the door.