Chapter Three

Zoe was seated on the comfortable jump seat that was attached to the metal railing that encircled the raised control panel and rotor. Her legs were folded beneath her - she'd tried to rest them on the console but the Doctor had pushed them off with a stern glare and a short lecture about putting her dirty feet on his things. She was watching Mickey channel hop on the scanner. It looked as though it was once a TV that had been repurposed and then stuck onto the control system a little haphazardly. As a matter of fact, the closer she looked, the more chaotic the control centre of the TARDIS seemed. She liked it but she'd always imagined that alien spaceships would be a little more sleek than the grab bag that the TARDIS seemed to be.

Still, at least the scanner picked up all the channels on Earth, and some decidedly not human, which quickly caught her attention. She made Mickey pause on a channel showing an alien soap opera. It looked very dramatic because a person was having both heads slapped.

"Tell me again." She requested when she finally tore her eyes away from the soap opera and back to the Doctor, who simply rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He sighed. "It stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

"It's a bit wordy, isn't it?" She told him. "Hello, I'm the Doctor, and this is my ship – Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

"Hence the acronym." He said pointedly and she pressed her lips together.

He was fun to poke and prod with her words.

"TARDIS." She repeated the word, wrapping her mouth around it and dragging it out. "TAR-DIS. I like it. It sounds magical."

"How many channels do you get?" Mickey asked, interrupting their conversation even as he continued to tweak the scanner.

The Doctor leaned against the railing near Zoe. "All the basic packages."

"You get the sport channels?"

"Yes, I get the football." The Doctor replied; Zoe couldn't imagine him watching the football on a Sunday, not when he had all of time and space to explore. He suddenly straightened up with a small frown. "Hang on, I know that lot."

Mickey turned the volume up. "It is looking likely that the government's bringing in alien specialists - those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space."

"UNIT." The Doctor nodded, sounding pleased.

"Who are they when they're at home?" Zoe asked, tilting her head back to look at him.

"Unified Intelligence Taskforce." He said. "Good people."

"How do you know them?" She asked but, surprisingly, it was Mickey who answered.

"'Cos he worked for them." Even the Doctor looked a little taken aback. "Oh yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for 12 months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the Internet or in the history books, and there's his name. Followed by a list of the dead."

That seemed to strike home.

The Doctor scowled and immediately turned patronising. "That's nice. Good boy, Ricky."

"If you know them, why don't you go and help them?" Zoe asked. "Instead of flicking through channels with us?"

"They wouldn't recognise me," he replied, "I've changed a lot since the old days." He sighed and looked at his console. "Besides, the world's on a knife-edge right now. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We cant to keep this alien out of the mix." He made his decision. "I'm going undercover, and, er, I'd better keep the TARDIS out of sight. Ricky, you've got a car. You can do some driving."

Zoe slid from the jump seat. "Where to?"

"The roads are clearing." He said and grinned. "Let's go take a look at that spaceship."

"Brilliant!" She said, delighted at the prospect. "Two spaceships in one day. Any chance we can stop for chips on the way though? I'm a little bit hungry."

The Doctor laughed and was about to agree because he wouldn't mind some chips as well when they walked straight into a helicopter spotlight. The light swept across them and nearly blinded the humans at his side. Zoe tried to step back into the TARDIS but she'd gone too far and only succeeded in stepping on the Doctor's feet. His hands grabbed her elbows to support her as police swirled around them and, for the second time that day, Zoe had guns pointing at her.

The fear slammed back into her.

"Do not move!" An officer shouted over the sound of the helicopter rotors and the wind that they were kicking up. "Step away from the box and raise your hands above your heads!"

Police cars and armoured personnel surrounded them and there were raised voices as they kept barking orders at them. There was too much noise and it was confusing and overwhelming. Panic gripped at Zoe's chest and she made a sound in her throat. The Doctor pulled her back and angled his body in front of her – she appreciated it even though she hated herself for needing his protection. Then again, it wasn't as though guns were pointed at her everyday. If he wanted to take the bullets instead of her, she was happy to let him.

Something knocked her shoulder and she watched as Mickey sprinted past them, dashing through the crowd of police, skilfully evading their hands until he disappeared into the darkness. Zoe heard familiar voices pushing through the wave of noise and she looked around, her hands raised up over her head, and she saw her mother and sister trying to get through the crush of people to her and the Doctor.

"Zoe!" Jackie screamed even as Rose called for the Doctor. An officer grabbed Jackie around the waist. "Zoe! No! Let me go! That's my daughter!"

"Mum!" Zoe called back and automatically made towards her but a gun was thrust in her face only for her vision to be obscured by black leather as the Doctor put himself between her and the gun.

"Oi." The Doctor warned, voice rumbling. "Leave it."

"Doctor." A tall thin man, who looked as though he'd been bred to be the poster child for Generic Human, approached them. "If you and your companion will come this way."

Now it was obvious that she wasn't about to be shot, courage wormed its way back into her chest.

She lowered her hands slowly. "Yeah, not his companion, mate."

The man ignored her and led them to a car a few feet away. The Doctor held the door open for her and she slid onto the comfortable back seat. He lumbered in after her, looking excited, tugging on his jacket. She wasn't at all surprised that he found having guns pointed at him and being forced into a dark, unmarked car exciting.

"So, I take it we're not being arrested?" She asked, heart still pounding in her chest but it was slowing down and returning to normal.

"Nah, we're being escorted." The Doctor replied, beaming at her. "To Downing Street."

Zoe groaned and let her head fall back, the adrenaline making her a bit loopy. "I just want chips and an alien spaceship. I don't want politicians."

"I'm sure they'll have food there." He said, patting her thigh reassuringly. She narrowed her eyes at him and he pulled back his hand quickly. "Come on, this is an exciting day for you. Aliens, spaceships, and now Downing Street. Beats a normal day, doesn't it?"

"I refuse to answer that question because I don't want to give you the satisfaction of being right." She said and he laughed. "Why are we going to Downing Street?"

"I hate to say it," the Doctor admitted, "but Mickey was right. Over the years, I've visited this planet a lot of times and I've been...noticed."

"But you blend in so well."

"Exactly – oh, wait, you're mocking me."

She smiled. "You catch on quick. So they want you to what? Advice?"

"Probably." He replied. "Like it said on the news. They're gathering expects in alien knowledge, and who's the biggest expert of the lot?"

"Patrick Moore."

"Apart from him."

"You're not particularly modest, are you?" She observed.

The Doctor dismissed her statement with a vague, uncaring wave of a hand.

"Let me tell you something, back in the day, Lloyd George used to drink me under the table." He looked back to her. "Who's the Prime Minister now anyway?"

"Richard Chalmers." Zoe said. "Labour Party. He won on a small majority on an anti-war platform last year."

The Doctor nodded. "I like the sound of him."

She settled back in her seat and watched as London passed by. Her fingers were tingling from the excitement and fear of the last few minutes. "Don't agree with war?"

"No."

"Me neither." She said, peering up at the night's sky. She couldn't see much. The light pollution in London always cloaked the sky in an orange-hued darkness. "People always talk about just wars but I'm not sure any war is just. It's all just a bunch of people dying because another bunch of people are making decisions in a locked room."

She scratched behind her ear and looked around at him. He was being suspiciously quiet and she paused at the unreadable expression on his face. She felt unsettled but pushed through it. "Go on then, tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Do humans ever get out into the universe?" She asked. "Properly like. You know, past the solar system – maybe out of the Milky Way?"

"Oh, yeah, you lot, you're like the plague, you reach every corner." The Doctor said and she seemed happy. "Surprisingly, humans are compatible with pretty every species out there so there's always some strain of humanity there."

"That's nice to know." Zoe mused before falling silent, watching London pass by on their journey to Downing Street.

She had lived in London all her life but never really visited the centre of London. It was widely acknowledged as being for tourists and school trips amongst the people she lived close to. She'd gone on a school trip to visit the Houses of Parliament when she was seven. She had got lost in the corridors and a janitor had to escort her back to her group before they realised she'd gone missing. One Christmas, Jackie had taken her and Rose to see A Christmas Carol at the National Theatre, having got her hands on some cheap tickets. Zoe had eaten too much popcorn and ended up vomiting on the night bus home. The driver had been furious and had made them walk the rest of the way. Despite the fact that Zoe was sick and crying and it had been very cold, it had been a good night.

They arrived at Downing Street to the brilliant white flashes of cameras. Zoe climbed out of the car after the Doctor and tried to keep her face hidden. She hadn't washed her hair that morning as she'd been planning to do, distracted as she was by her sister's return and the strange alien with her, and she was vain enough to definitely did not want a picture of her in the newspapers and on the internet with grungy hair and her charity shop denim jacket.

They were ushered into the home of the British Prime Minister and shown through to a room where scientists and military personnel and politicians were all gathered. Zoe looked around for some food and found a plate of sandwiches on one side. She slipped away from the Doctor and grabbed a couple, biting into one and chewing eagerly. She found her way back to the Doctor and offered him a sandwich. He took it from her and peeled the bread back to see what was inside before he bit down on it. His face drew back in an expression of disgust and he pushed the egg salad back out of his mouth. It fell onto the floor between them. She looked down at it and then back up at him.

"Don't like egg mayo, do you?"

"Not any more." He replied, trying to scrape the taste of it out of his mouth. "Used to, but my mouth's all different now."

She stared at him. "Am I supposed to understand that?"

He gave her his bitten egg sandwich and she wasn't afraid of alien germs, biting into it after she'd finished her own. It didn't take long for someone to enter the room. Zoe stuffed the last bite of the Doctor's discarded sandwich into her mouth and she chewed quickly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, can we convene?" A man asked with a voice raised to be heard over the general din. "Quick as we can. It's right this way, on the right. May I also remind you that ID cards are to be worn at all times." He turned to the Doctor and held out an ID. "Here's your ID card. I'm sorry though, your companion doesn't have clearance."

"Not his companion." Zoe pointed out but both of them ignored her.

The Doctor shook his head. "I don't go anywhere without her."

"You're the code nine, not her." The man, Ganesh, replied, looking stressed and stretched thin. "I'm sorry, Doctor. She'll have to stay outside."

"She's saying with me." The Doctor said firmly.

"Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there." Ganesh said, frustration rising up his throat and painting itself across his words. "I can't let her in there and that's a fact."

"Doctor, it's fine." Zoe said before they could go back and forth again. "You go."

"You sure?" He asked her as a middle-aged woman hurried over and tried to speak to them but Ganesh side stepped her and drew her off course.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I doubt I'd be much use in there. Besides, the sandwiches are out here."

The Doctor nodded and patted her shoulder. "Alright. Stay out of trouble."

"I'm not Rose." Zoe said to his retreating back. "I don't go looking for it."

He just raised his hand and waved at her over his head. Ganesh turned to her. "I'm going to have to leave you with security."

"It's alright." The other woman said, collecting herself. "I'll look after her." Ganesh looked doubtful but the woman took Zoe's arm. "Walk with me. Just keep walking. Don't look around." Her voice was deliberately calm and it set Zoe's stomach churning. She just wanted the sandwiches. "Harriet Jones. MP Flydale North."

"You know, I'm good to wait next to the sandwiches." She said, trying to extract herself as Harriet Jones drew her into a side room.

"This friend of yours –"

"Not really a friend but go on."

"He's an expert, right? In alien things?"

"So he says." Zoe replied. "Why d'you want to know?"

Harriet's face wobbled and then she burst into tears. Zoe let out a sound of surprise but, used to Jackie's emotional fragility over the last year, she moved quickly. She gathered Harriet in her arms and let the other woman cry on her shoulder, her body tight with fear and confusion that Zoe tried to sooth out of her by rubbing calming circles on her back. It always worked well with Jackie and she was pleased to see that it was apparently universally applicable – although she was making that assumption on a sample size of two, so she wasn't sure it was particularly scientific. Eventually Harriet settled down and Zoe stretched to steal some tissues from a box sitting on a table.

She offered them to Harriet.

"Oh, thank you, thank you." She sniffed, wiping away her smudged mascara. "You must think I'm very silly."

"Not really." Zoe reassured her. "I think it's been a long day for everyone." She looked around the room but it seemed to be a standard greeting room. "Shame there's no tea about. My mum swears by tea. Says it can cure anything. Why don't you tell me what's wrong? Maybe I can help."

"It's – oh, I don't know where to start. It's all so strange."

"Let's sit down first." Zoe suggested but Harriet shook her head, looking and feeling stronger after her little cry.

"No, no, if your friend really is an expert then he'll want to see this." Harriet said, moving towards the door.

Zoe followed her reluctantly, she really didn't want to go looking for trouble but she wasn't sure how to extract herself without being rude. She faltered outside the doors when she realised that Harriet led her into the cabinet room. Her steps took on a decidedly cautious air, as though expecting MI5 to burst in on her with guns.

Though, considering the way that her day had been going, she thought she might soon be three for three.

"I was in here, in the cupboard, when the cabinet assembled." Harriet started.

"Why were you –?" Zoe began before shaking her head. "Never mind. Not important. Please, continue."

"But – but they weren't the important cabinet members." Harriet explained. "At least, not all of them. Not the people you'd expect. As soon as they were left alone, they started talking and laughing, joking about all of this, and then – and then –"

She trailed off into a sob. Unable to say any more, she opened the cupboard door and pulled out a floppy rubber suit and placed it on the table. Zoe didn't understand what she was meant to be looking at. Harriet held it up by the shoulders. A rubber face flopped forward. She recoiled with a sound of surprise, disgust, and fear mingling in her throat.

"They opened up their foreheads and this – this alien came out. It was big and green and it was wearing this suit –" Harriet shook the suit that Zoe was rapidly coming to understand wasn't rubber.

"Aliens are wearing people?" She asked, her mind swirling with the new information.

Aliens faking aliens, faking a crash landing, impersonating British politicians. It demanded the question why?

Harriet's eyes flashed. "It happened!"

"I believe you, it's alright." Zoe told her. "I believe you it's just...why?" She looked at the suit in Harriet's hands. "There must be some serious technology behind this. Help me look."

The cabinet room wasn't actually particularly large. There was space enough for the table and a few side boards but Zoe got down on her hands and knees to check under the desks and chairs. She needn't had bothered though. Harriet opened the cupboard in the corner and let out a scream as the Prime Minister of Great Britain fell out on top of her, his dead body thudding to the ground. Zoe hit her head on the underside of the table at Harriet's screams and she crawled her way out from under there, eyes wide as she stared at Richard Chalmers.

The stunned silence was broken by Ganesh striding into the room. "Harriet, for God's sake, this has gone beyond a – oh my God! That's the Prime Minister!"

Zoe's mind went completely blank. The only dead things she had ever seen were pigeons and the space pig earlier that day. A dead human was something completely different. Her stomach flipped over and she stayed on her knees. A sound at the door had them all turning their heads. A large, blonde woman stood framed in the doorway, looking sadistically amused.

"Oh dear," she cooed in a sickly sweet voice, "has somebody been naughty?"

Zoe pushed herself to stand on weak legs. Ganesh shook his head back and forth. "This is impossible. He left this afternoon. He was driven away!"

"And who told you that?" The woman asked with a soft, unpleasant chuckle. Her fleshy lips spread into a smile that sent ice water down Zoe's spine. "Me."

She reached up to her hairline and Zoe watched, horrified, as she pulled a zipper open and brilliantly bright light spilt out. She reeled back, shielding her eyes, and watched as the flesh suit was pushed down. A huge green alien emerged from within the suit that should, by all rights, be too small for it. It towered over them, clawed hands raised up, black eyes large and round, incongruous on its baby like face. Zoe wanted to scream but she had no breath in her lungs to be able to do so. She was frozen in place, terror like she had never felt before coursing through her veins.

The alien laughed and Zoe wanted to be anywhere but in the cabinet room. She tasted something metallic in her mouth and was vaguely aware of adrenaline kicking in. The alien lunged for Ganesh but Zoe reached him first. She grabbed him by the back of his collar and yanked him backwards. She took hold of Harriet's hand and threw them both towards the door in front of her.

"RUN!"

Ganesh didn't need telling twice. He took off at a sprint and left Zoe and Harriet behind him as the alien creature roared with anger at being outwitted. She hoped he was going for help but she realised they couldn't count on it.

She made to go down the hall but Harriet doubled back. "What are you doing?"

"The emergency protocols!" Harriet exclaimed. "They're still in there!"

"Forget them!" Zoe cried and Harriet would have ignored her had the alien not burst out of the doorway, long dangerous arms waving wildly around, knocking priceless art from the wall. "Harriet, run!"

They seemed to have the advantage of being smaller and slimmer than the alien. It allowed them to run faster and they took the stairs two at a time before Harriet pulled her into a room with two sofas and a desk. It was the poshest room Zoe had ever been in but she had no chance to do more than a cursory glance as she hissed at Harriet to hide, throwing her own body behind the cabinet while Harriet slipped into the folds of the curtains. Zoe was certain that everyone in the building could hear her heart pounding in her chest. She breathed deep and held her breath when she heard the alien enter the room, its feet brushing across the floor with surprising lightness. A whispered hiss passed through the air.

"Oh, such fun. Little human children. Where are you?" Zoe closed her eyes and tried to swallow but her mouth was dry. "Sweet little children. Come to me. Let me kiss you better."

She sank her teeth into her bottom lip and bit down hard so that she could focus on something other than her overwhelming fear. To her horror, she heard more of the aliens enter the room; the whispered hiss increased in volume. The female spoke. "My brothers."

"Happy hunting?" One of the males asked and it was strange to hear human voices emerge from creatures she knew were decidedly not human.

"It's wonderful." The female purred. "The more you prolong it, the more they stink."

"Sweat and fear."

"I can smell an old girl." The other male said and Zoe wanted to cry because she could hear them getting closer and there was nothing she could do. "Stale bird and brittle bones."

"And a ripe youngster," the female whispered as though salivating and a tear slid down Zoe's cheek. This is how I die. "All hormones and adrenaline. Fresh enough to bend before she snaps."

Zoe screamed. The sound started deep in her chest and burst out of her, riding the wave of her consuming terror, as the strange baby-face appeared around the cabinet to stare at her with its shiny black eyes.

"No!" Harriet cried, wrenching back the curtain and throwing herself forwards. "Take me first! Take me!"

Zoe didn't have time to appreciate the selfless act of bravery because the Doctor kicked the door open and burst in with a fire extinguisher held securely in his hands. He sprayed the closest male with the CO2 from within and it fell back, screaming in pain. "Out! With me!"

She pushed the cabinet as hard as she could with her back against the wall and her foot against it. It fell over on top of the female. Zoe scrambled over it, grasping hold of Harriet's outstretched hand, which helped to pull her the rest of the way. They left the room, tripping over their feet while the Doctor guarded their escape. He slammed the door shut behind them and broke the handle off the door with the base of the extinguisher. He looked around to find Zoe white faced and terrified but otherwise unharmed.

"Who the hell are you?" The Doctor asked Harriet, who was panting hard; he'd heard her offer herself in place of Zoe and he appreciated that type of bravery.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North."

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Zoe came back to herself as the wood started to splinter beneath the aliens attempts to get out of the room. "Guys, run!"

"We need to head to the cabinet room." The Doctor said, keeping at the back of the group so as to protect them from the aliens that had broken free of the temporary prison.

If she hadn't thought so before, his words would have just confirmed his madness to Zoe who twisted her head over her shoulder to look at him incredulously as they ran down the stairs to the lower level. "We need to head for the fucking exit!"

"No, the Emergency Protocols are in there." Harriet replied, speaking breathlessly as they ran. "They give instructions for aliens."

"Harriet Jones," the Doctor grinned, "I like you."

Harriet blushed pink. "I like you too."

"Wonderful, we all like each other." Zoe snapped in exasperation as the aliens could be heard getting closer and closer to them. "But we should still head for the exit!"

"Turn right!"

She made a sharp right turn, bouncing of the wall when she lost her footing as the rubber sole of her trainer twisted beneath her – she really needed new trainers – and burst into the cabinet room. The Prime Minister's body was still on the floor and there was a gash in the painting where the female alien had torn at it. She only just managed to stop herself in time to avoid slamming into the table. She skidded to a halt and knocked into the wall instead – she was going to be covered in bruises by the time she got home.

The Doctor snatched up a decanter of port from the side board and held it up, his sonic screwdriver glowing blue against it.

"One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol." The Doctor warned, his body blocking the entrance to the room. Zoe edged forwards, feeling her way along the wall to stand a few feet behind him. "Whoof, we all go up. So back off!"

The aliens paused, uncertain, but they all took one step back in the outer office. The tension in the Doctor's shoulders eased slightly. "Right then. Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"

Harriet was at his side. "They're aliens."

"Yes, I got that, thanks."

"Who are you?" The male asked. "If not human?"

Harriet looked around. "Who's not human?"

Zoe pointed at the Doctor. "He's not human."

"He's not human?"

"Can I have a bit of hush?" The Doctor asked, looking between them and Harriet mouthed the word sorry at him. "So what's the plan?"

"But he's got a Northern accent." Harriet said, unable to keep the comment within herself and Zoe looked at the Doctor.

"Actually, good point." Zoe agreed. "Why do you sound like you're from the North?"

"Lot's of planets have a north." He said exasperatedly. "And I said hush." Zoe and Harriet pressed their lips together in order to remain silent. "Come on. You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of the government. What for? Invasion?"

That was a lot of information to take in under ten seconds.

The male Slitheen scoffed. "Why would we invade this God-forsaken rock?"

"Then something's brought the Slitheen race here." The Doctor observed. "What is it?"

The male laughed. "The Slitheen race?"

"Slitheen is not our species." The other male said. "Slitheen is our surname." He gave a little mocking bow. "Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen, at your service."

The Doctor made a small sound of understanding. "So, you're a family."

"A family business." He said, pride seeping through into his disturbingly human voice.

"Then you're out to make a profit." The Doctor concluded. "How can you do that on a God-forsaken rock?"

Zoe was amazed at how he had whittled the questions down to find the right answers in the shortest amount of time. She should take him to the library with her next time she needed to do research. She imagined he'd be useful. Then again, given how smart he seemed to be, he might just have everything she needed in his head. The idea brightened her and then it dimmed. References. She couldn't reference the Doctor in a bibliography. Not if she wanted to pass her exams. When she realised what she was thinking about, she scolded herself. How was it possible to be distracted at such a time?

Large black eyes blinked at him. "Ah, excuse me? Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?"

The Slitheen had picked up on something that had passed Zoe and Harriet by. The Doctor's spew of scientific nonsense had been just that. Nonsense.

"Oh..." the Doctor said and Zoe felt a sinking sensation in her chest and she realised it was her hope falling out through her stomach. "Is that what I said?"

"You're making it up!" The male exclaimed and he sounded so insulted that the Doctor would lie to him that Zoe found herself inexplicably near laughter. The alien's baby face didn't show expressions as human faces did but its tone was more than enough to paint a vivid picture of how it was feeling.

"Ah, well, nice try." He concluded, holding the bottle towards Harriet. "Harriet, have a drink. I think you're going to need it."

Harriet didn't take it. "You pass it to the left first."

"Sorry."

"Thanks." Zoe said and she took the bottle and took a deep swig from it. Port was, and always would be, absolutely disgusting but her options were rather limited at that moment.

The male stepped forward, stretching and flexing its large body. Its stomach, which was round and large, didn't ripple and wobble the way that a human stomach would. Its green flesh remained stretched taut across its body. It sounded satisfied when it spoke again, as though certain it now had the upper hand. "Now we can end this hunt with a slaughter."

"Doctor," Zoe said, fingers tight around the neck of the port bottle as she set it down on the sideboard for fear of dropping it. "Far be it from me to tell you how to do your job, but don't you think we should run 'round about now?"

"Fascinating history, Downing Street." The Doctor said, apropos of nothing. "2000 years ago, this was marsh land. 1730, it was occupied by a Mr Chicken." He looked at Zoe, addressing her conversationally. "He was a nice man." His attention returned to the Slitheen. "1796, this was the cabinet room. If the cabinet's in session, and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain."

He grinned. "End of lesson."

The Doctor lifted a small panel by the door and pressed a button. Zoe jumped as thick metal shutters crashed down across the windows and the door, sealing them in. He turned to face Harriet and Zoe and grinned. "Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in."

Zoe and Harriet shared a look. Zoe set the port down on the table. "And how do you propose we get out, oh wise one?"

His grin froze on his face. "Ah."