Doctor Who: Dictatormocracy
Chapter Six
The Doctor froze with fear looking at the petrified Sami deep in thought. He couldn't just stand there and let her be murdered, but neither could he let that vicious man and his friends get inside the TARDIS. It was the worst possible situation that he could find himself in.
'I'm not bluffing' said Darien impatiently 'I'll order this man to kill her!'
The Doctor took one look at the TARDIS and then at Sami.
'Then you leave me with no choice' he said
He walked over to the TARDIS and unlocked the doors, which obligingly opened to reveal the familiar interior of the console room.
'Let her go!' he said angrily
Transfixed by the site, Darien idly gestured to the guard to release Sami. He walked through the doors followed by the Doctor. Darien examined the controls, though he had no understanding of them.
He started to walk around the console room thinking about the fame and fortune that he could gain from his discovery. A ship that looked like a large box from the outside. but that had such a disproportionally large interior space.
'You will tell me everything about it. How it works. How to control it and the principles of its movement' he said directly to the Doctor
'There's very little to it' replied the Doctor 'It's just an ordinary space ship with some minor alterations. There isn't any technology in here that you don't already have'
He had said that to avoid having to confess about the time travel element of the TARDIS, for that would be foolish. He could get away with it because they knew nothing about the controls.
What the Doctor needed was a plan. He was so near, yet so far from an escape away from the horrid planet and its thugs, but the guards still had Sami and Alice. The doors closed; their pre-set delay had passed shutting the two girls firmly outside.
'You've closed the Doors!' said Darien angrily 'Open them!'
He pulled out his gun and pointed it at the Doctor
'The doors close automatically after a certain amount of time' replied the Doctor dutifully as though he was a property agent. 'I can open them again if you like'
'You do that!'
The Doctor was now in control of the situation despite the gun in his back. He went into the engine room followed by Darien and as though it was the natural thing to do; turned on the HADS system. He then returned to the console room and opened the doors.
'There' he said 'They're open now'
Darien returned to his casual browsing of the TARDIS and went into the Doctor's room. This was very opportune thought the Doctor as he had a plan. When they were inside, the Doctor carefully opened one of the drawers and pulled out his old TARDIS tracking watch, which he promptly placed in his coat pocket. Although the TARDIS' HADS system was similar to the original, he had modified allowing it to move anywhere within a five mile radius and for this plan to work, he needed his tracking watch.
Just then, a guard entered the room and knocked on the door.
'What is it?' said Darien angrily
'Your communicator is receiving an incoming call sir' replied the guard
'Oh very well. We shall leave this ship and conclude our business later. Take this man and his friends back to the cell'
The Doctor was led out of his TARDIS as Darien rushed out to answer his communicator.
The game was up, she had been caught out. The suspicion thrown on her had been too much. Cordineezer was lead into Bohn's office. She was sitting face to face with the man himself.
'Cordineezer. I have heard an allegation from a party member this evening that you have been actively collecting and passing sensitive information about our campaign to the Caliprebun party. Furthermore, I have been informed that you are involved in the disappearance and death of Robert Byron and his three friends' said Bohn
'I assure you Mr Bohn that I wasn't' replied Cordineezer calmly.
Bohn walked over to the telescreen; placed a disc into the reader and pressed play. The visual footage was from the security cameras in the hotel. It showed Cordineezer following Rob and the others to the underground travel pod park.
'Then explain why you followed them down into the travel pod park' he said in reply.
Cordineezer did not speak. She had no reply to the evidence against her; she had failed to convince him of her innocence.
'I would like you to empty your bag onto my desk Cordineezer' he said patiently
There was no hope left; this would seal her fate. She had to be defiant.
'No' she said 'You have no right to. There is nothing important in there'
Steadwards sighed and; like was customary for a lord to summon a servant; he raised his arms above his head and clapped his hands twice. A security guard appeared at the door.
'Empty the contents of Ms Mite's bag onto this desk please' said Steadwards.
The guard obligingly walked over to Cordineezer and with some considerable difficulty snatched the bag from her hands, unzipped it and emptied the contents onto the desk.
Steadwards had found what he was intending to find. Sitting at the top of the pile was a long range communicator. It had been finely tuned and tuned to one frequency only. He picked up the communicator.
'This seals your fate' he said
Calmly he turned on the communicator and pressed the transmit button. Cordineezer froze with fear; the security guard was standing right beside her. Steadwards awaited the reply.
He was clearly unnerved by the call. The timing of Cordineezer's latest communication couldn't have been any less opportune. He hurried over to the communicator and pressed the receive button.
'What is it Cordineezer?' Darien said furiously 'I'm busy with the machine. I hope this is worth the interruption'
'Mr Darien Smythe I presume' was the reply
Darien instantly recognised the voice on the other end. It was the voice of Steadwards Bohn and it meant only one thing; Cordineezer had been caught.
'What do you want?' replied Darien angrily
'I ask only one question Mr Smythe. What has happened to Robert Byron, the Doctor and his two female friends?' replied Steadwards.
'I thought you would have been watching the news Bohn. They're dead. Died in a crash'
'Now you and I both know that this is not true. You forget that I have worked in the local security forces. You are holding them captive somewhere along with some stolen property of theirs'
'You will never find them. Never!'
'Oh my dear friend, it is not a case of if, but of when I find them. Your infiltration of the local security force is merely at a low level. Like us you bribe key personnel into aiding and abetting your campaign methods. My years of service have granted me some very high level allies Mr Smythe and I have enough real evidence to show them'
'You won't find them Bohn. Soon we won't need them anymore'
With that Darien turned his communicator off.
Back to square one. The four of them had been placed back into the cell. Sami was comforted by Alice whilst howling in terrible shock.
'How much have they found out?' asked Rob
'I can't tell really' replied the Doctor 'From the look on his face, he was just admiring it like a child admires a new toy'
'It won't take him long to find what he wants' replied Rob
'I'm afraid that we shall have to get out of here. The next time that he enters that room, he'll not see the TARDIS resting there'
'What do you mean?' asked a surprised Alice
'The HADS' replied the Doctor simply 'Whilst I was in there I set the HADS. The TARDIS will materialise somewhere else – somewhere safe; hidden and easily accessible I hope.'
'You better know what you're doing' replied Rob 'He's going to be furious'
'I know. I know. Now we must calculate a way to get out of here'
The Doctor and Rob both sat deep in thought. There situation was thus: there were four armed guards standing outside an alarmed magnetically sealed door. There was no other way out either. There escape could only be made once they were on the move – when there would be five armed men.
It was time to resume the investigation of the blue box. Darien had been unnerved by the call from Steadwards Bohn as it meant the end to his intelligence gathering from the rival campaign. Shrub would know this of course. He took a long look at the blue box before he picked up his communicator and informed the guard of his intention to continue the investigation of it.
He opened the door and left the room. When he had been away for ten seconds, the TARDIS began to dematerialise; leaving the room empty.
Cordineezer was still sat at Bohn's desk. He hadn't finished with her yet.
'Kidnap, wasting local security's time, theft and plotting the death of four people is enough for you and Mr Smythe to get life sentences' he said 'When I inform Michael of this; regardless of my position, he shall be most disappointed'
'I won't tell you anything. I won't confess' replied Cordineezer defiantly.
'You have no need to Cordineezer' Bohn replied 'For the evidence proves your guilty. I shall not be the one asking the questions; that shall be the local security force's job.'
'You won't find them. Damien isn't stupid!'
'I'm sorry to say that the short conversation I had with Mr Smythe proved most valuable. No doubt that it will both serve to frame him and you. It will also reveal the location of Robert and the others'
There was a knock on the door.
'Enter' said Steadwards
'A short, balding man entered silently; passed Steadwards a piece of paper and then left.
'Thank you' Steadwards replied
He picked up a communicator and dialled the number of his friend and senior local security officer Michael Stanton.
'Michael' he said 'It's nice to have the opportunity to talk to you again'
'What do you want Steadwards?' was Michael's harsh reply
'Sorry Michael. I have a matter that you would be most interested in. It's not anything to do with promoting my campaign I assure you"
With that the long conversation began.
The guards outside the cell were getting ready; they could hear it. They had not come up with a suitable plan and now knew that this was going to be nasty; very nasty indeed. Darien Smythe entered the cell and looked at the Doctor.
'Time for us to continue' he said
The guards led them (though less forcefully this time) out of the cell and into the corridor.
Sami and Alice were very scared. Sami was still in shock after what had happened to her the last time she had been in the store room. She hoped that this would end soon; that they could leave.
Whilst walking down the corridor past the cells, the Doctor noticed a large red button set behind a slit section in the corridor. It looked like this gap housed some kind of emergency door. He had an idea. What if there were more of these doors on the way to the storage room? If there were, they would have a chance of escaping.
After a ride in the lift, he noticed another red button near the end of the corridor. Luckily they were all in a wide line in front of the guards, who were walking in front of Darien. As they approached the button, he positioned himself near the wall. When they were near to it, he picked up the pace, which made the others do the same. In one fluid motion, he pressed the button and cried 'Dive!'
The security door shut with a horrifying speed. Gun shots were fired into the door far too late for the guards. It had worked.
'Right, follow me' shouted the Doctor above the wail of the alarm 'We need to find an external door'
They ran down another corridor and found what they were looking for. The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and broke the magnetic lock and with a swift shock of electricity, the door slid open.
Just behind them Darien and his guards had opened the security door
'Stop!' Darien bellowed 'Or we'll shoot!'
They were in the prison courtyard. They looked back and saw Darien, who repeated his threat.
'Oh no you don't!' came a voice from behind him. 'Put down your weapons. All of you!'
The Doctor, Rob, Sami and Alice kept running and flung open the prison gate. They had escaped.
END OF CHAPTER SIX
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