Chapter 3

"Right" Martha stated proudly. "Here begins the lesson."

In response, the Doctor's eyebrows raised just a bit as he spun one of the table's chairs backwards, patiently taking a seat.

"The year is 1980 and conveniently enough, the location is scenic Las Vegas, Nevada. To be more specific, the exact location is the MGM Grand hotel and casino. Close to 100 people lost their lives, but at least 650 more people suffered near fatal poisoning due to the toxic fumes that wafted through the poorly constructed elevators, stairwells and inner wall areas."

"Truly fascinating, but the point would be…?" interrupted the time lord.

"Oi!" responded Ms. Jones. "Do I cut you off when you're ranting to yourself, like no one else even exists?"

"Duly noted, counselor, " he quipped. "Please continue."

"Right…again. Now, the importance part, if you'd been paying attention, was the faulty construction, as well as an old law which basically said that if the location was occupied 24 hours a day, sprinklers were not necessary. Huge mistake, but the end result, aside from the dying part, was the overkill response. Nowadays, or actually 'then-a-days' I guess, the sprinklers in most Vegas hotels are extra sensitive. So sensitive in fact, that if a fire is detected and the sprinklers go off, a second detection system begins looking for electric anomalies."

The doctor stood, with a vague 'I don't approve' look on his face. "Oh, come on Martha. You saw the way that he had redone the interior of the lobby to look like an English castle. Certainly he…"

"Certainly he didn't care about the rest of the building – look at this room, or the entire floor, for that matter" exclaimed Martha, desperately arguing her point. "If this part of the building remained unchanged on his watch…"

The Doctor chimed in. "Assuming his tenure here was very, very, very lengthy, which could happen with periodic name changes, few public appearances, and lots of disposable income, the hotel could very likely have had few structural changes in those areas. Sure maybe some pipe replacements and such, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

"Exactly Doctor! So if we use this stuffing that I not-so-carefully extracted from the couch's cushions as a fuse, wrap it around a couple of the heat sensitive sprinkler heads in different rooms, light them in fairly quick succession to give the effect of a large fire that has spread into different rooms of the suite…"

Excitedly, the time lord leaped towards Martha, almost frightening her. "…and if the huge fire sets off the sprinklers, then the electrical sensors begin scanning for troubles, which I can happily provide with my little screwdriver! Martha Jones, you are a certifiable genius!"

Immediately, the pair began wrapping the long strands of cushion innards around a few of the sprinkler heads. Following that, they utilized pieces of rolled hotel stationary as makeshift torches and simultaneously, they lit the dangling pieces of stuffing. As they watched the flames rise to the ceiling, the Doctor crouched beside an electrical outlet, ready for action. When the sprinklers exploded into action, soaking the suite (and the duo), the sonic screwdriver sent a massive jolt through the system, immediately cutting the power to the entire hotel. This is when the next phase of Martha's plan began.

With the hotels sprinklers providing chaos and the lack of electricity providing darkness for cover, the Doctor opened the door to the suite and not surprisingly, it was no longer being guarded. However, this wasn't the greatest part of the young Ms. Jones' plan. As they made their way down through floors and floors of stairwells, the Doctor knew they must locate the TARDIS as soon as possible. The best part of Martha's plan was actually quite elementary - long as the electricity remained off; any technology that Adam had created was hopefully unpowered, provided his gigantic ego made him feel that backups were unnecessary.

Fortunately, the path through the lobby was utter madness, with Adam's staff running about in panic. Just as they were about to dart through the lobby, Martha tugged fervently on the Doctor's coat, and then merely pointed to the open door to the banquet area which they were hiding beside. Inside was an incredibly pleasant surprise – the TARDIS; completely unguarded.

"I can't believe it" the Doctor said in an exasperated manner. "After the Master, I thought that I'd never meet someone with such a belligerently huge ego, but the proof is in the pudding."

Stating that, the pair rushed to the ship, opened the door and crossed their fingers. Locking the door, the captain of the ship ran to the controls and attempted to access the time vortex. At the same time, a loud pounding sound came from the entrance doors.

"Oh no you don't, Doctor!" yelled an incensed Adam. "You may have caught me slightly off guard, but it is only a matter of seconds before the power…

Unfortunately for the crazed man, the power had returned seconds too late, lighting the room well enough to watch the TARDIS vanish into thin air.

Martha rushed to the Doctor, giving him a huge hug and a very quick peck on the cheek.

"Martha Jones, you were brilliant!" exclaimed the time lord, standing proudly at the controls. "Incredibly brilliant, as a matter of fact, but right now, I've got to resolve certain matter that is a problem of my own creation."