Chapter 2: Busted
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"So what happened then?"
"Well, I'm not precisely certain. Being knocked unconscious can do that, you know."
The red-uniformed guard stepped forward wielding a menacing-looking device trailing thick cables. He thumbed a switch and aimed the thing at the prisoner seated on the hard metal bench. The elegantly robed official presiding over the interrogation waved him back, shaking his head, then turned his attention back to the prisoner. "Go on...."
"I couldn't have been out long, because when I came round there was still some light coming from what was left of the console. Glowing embers where the fire had been." He paused and ran his fingers through his long hair -- a simple movement made more difficult by the handcuffs that bound his wrists. "There was no more... turbulence; only an unnatural stillness. I moved toward the light but none of the controls worked. I tried patching and rerouting... nothing I did made the slightest difference. I was still there, attempting to coax some kind of response from the console, when the patrol materialized their craft around mine and hauled me in. I don't remember much more. I must have passed out again." The prisoner rubbed his bruised head and cast a withering look at the red-uniformed guard. "...Or maybe they stunned me. I woke up here, in irons, and then you came in."
"That's everything you remember? You never materialized the TARDIS?"
"No," he replied wearily. "I never materialized the TARDIS. Why are you even asking me? Just check the log. It'll confirm that everything I've told you is true. I never materialized. I didn't interfere."
The robed official shook his head sadly. "The log was destroyed--"
"In the explosion!" the prisoner interrupted. "It must have been..."
"In the explosion," the official repeated, "or deliberately, by you, to conceal your activities." He paced slowly across the cramped cell. "We know you disabled the recall circuit. You could just as easily have tampered with or destroyed the log."
"I did not conceal evidence!"
"My Lord," the guard announced, "With your permission," he indicated the device he was holding, "I can easily determine the truth in this matter."
"Perhaps later," the official harrumphed, clearly unhappy at being interrupted. He then addressed the prisoner again. "Your views regarding interference are well known, Theta Sigma. And without a recoverable record from the TARDIS, there is only your word and Drax's testimony upon which to base judgment. It's not looking good for you, I'm afraid."
The red-uniformed guard smiled cruelly.
"Drax?" The prisoner paled. "Tell me you didn't use that abomination on Drax!"
There was no reply. "This session is over," the official announced, switching off a handheld recording device and following the guard from the cell. The cell door clanged shut behind them.
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"I'm so sorry Thete."
"You're sorry?" Theta Sigma raged. "They should be sorry. The way they've treated you, the way they've treated me..." He yelled at the ceiling, "There's no excuse for it!" He rattled his handcuffs to emphasize the point, pacing nervously around the cell. "One little unauthorised joy ride, and they cage me up like an animal!"
Drax put a hand on his friend's shoulder and gently steered him back to the bench. "Calm down, Thete. You'll get out of this -- you always do."
"But what about you, Drax?" His voice grew quiet with concern. "Did they... use the mind probe on you?"
"Oh, they threatened to. Turned it on, waved it around a lot, but Borusa wouldn't let them apply it."
"They did the same thing to me." Theta Sigma looked thoughtful. "Y'know, beneath that prickly exterior, old Borusa's a real softie."
"Don't you believe it, Thete. Borusa's no softie. He's determined and he's devious. He'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants." He lowered his head sadly. "He just didn't need to use the probe to get what he wanted this time. Just being in the same room with it was frightening enough." There was a long pause. "I'm so sorry! I told them everything they wanted to know!"
"Of course you did. I did too. It doesn't matter in any case -- no crime was committed. It'll take time, what with all the bureaucratic stuff and nonsense, but they'll sort this all out. Sharp slap on the wrist for both of us, stern warning against ever -- ever! -- doing anything like this again," -- Theta Sigma did a remarkable impersonation of Borusa's gruff voice -- "and we're back where we started."
Drax was doubtful. "Do you really think so?"
"Only I don't want to be back where I started! I want -- I need -- to be out there." He waved his manacled hands at the ceiling. "I don't belong here, Drax. Not in this cell and not on this planet."
"Might want to watch what you say, Thete." Drax looked nervously around the cell. "Reckon they're recording everything for evidence."
"I'm counting on it," Theta Sigma snapped. "Honestly, Drax, with my record, there's no point trying to conceal it. If I acted all contrite and pretended I didn't want out, they'd know something was up. They'd have that mind probe back in here faster than you can say--"
"Okay, I get your point. I was right to tell all. Now what's all this about no crime being committed? Unauthorized use of a time capsule is a serious offense."
"Not compared to interference. And given my views on that subject -- views I've made no attempt to hide -- I suspect that's what I'm going to be charged with. Borusa even hinted at it during my interrogation."
"But that's even worse, Thete. If you're convicted of interference--"
It was Theta Sigma's turn to interrupt. "But I won't be convicted! There's no evidence to support the charge. So I cooperate. And so do you. We truthfully answer every question they ask, and when the dust settles we go free. Because in point of fact I didn't interfere. So they can't possibly prove that I did."
"I hope you're right, Thete."
The prisoner smiled. "I'm always right, Drax."
Theta Sigma was right about one thing -- the entire conversation had been recorded. Borusa, watching the recording in his office, shook his head sadly. His former student was far too trusting, he told himself. They can and they will prove everything they set out to prove.
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The clang of the cell door woke him from a sound sleep. With a completely unnecessary jab from his staser barrel, the red-uniformed guard hauled Theta Sigma to his feet and shoved him out of the cell.
"What's going on?" the prisoner muttered, prompting another painful poke in the ribs.
"Shut up! Someone important wants to see you." More abuse followed as he was marched down the prison corridor. At the end of the corridor he was surprised to see Borusa waiting for him.
He was even more surprised at the staser the old Time Lord held in a white-knuckle grip, aimed steadily at his chest.
"I'll take him from here," Borusa barked.
"Take me where?"
The guard was about to thump him with his staser again, but Borusa stopped him with a wave of his hand.
"Are you certain you don't want an armed escort, my Lord?" the guard asked. "He is considered a high risk for escape."
Borusa glared at the guard. "I'm armed," he replied gruffly. "Unless you think I'm not capable."
The guard bowed. "No my Lord."
"I wouldn't be here at all, except that those who sent me have agreed that this whole matter would be best kept quiet. I'm sure you'll agree that an armed patrol frogmarching a prisoner through the Capitol would draw attention, even at this late hour. Now get those cuffs off him."
"Yes my Lord."
"I'm sure we can count on your discretion in this matter."
"Yes my Lord."
"You are dismissed."
The guard finished removing the handcuffs and returned to his post. Borusa turned to his prisoner, who stood rubbing his reddened wrists. "Turn and face the wall," he snapped.
"Yes my Lord," Theta Sigma replied with mock reverence, but he did as he was told.
Borusa concealed his weapon in the folds of his robe. "My staser will remain aimed at your spine at all times. It won't kill you but it will render you unconscious. And when you wake up you'll probably wish you were dead, so I suggest you do as I say."
"Yes my Lord."
"You will keep your hands at your sides. You will walk ahead of me, and you will go where I instruct you. You will not draw attention to yourself. Is that understood?"
"Yes my Lord. Might I ask where we're going?"
"You have an audience with the President," Borusa told him.
Theta Sigma was puzzled. Why was the President involved? He seemed to have gotten himself entangled in something much bigger than a simple unauthorised-use-of-time-capsules case. Bigger, even, than an interference case. But what? He hated not knowing. He had a thousand questions, but he suspected that where he was going he'd be expected to answer questions, not ask them. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to remain calm as his former teacher guided him through the Capitol at gunpoint.
TO BE CONTINUED