Eric, Ryan, and Peri appeared in a dark storage room. Ryan pulled out a pencil-thin torch and shined it about, revealing metal shelves along the walls and a few standing in the middle of the floor. "So, which is it?" asked Eric.
"The one that looks unique," Ryan whispered sarcastically.
"C'mon, tell me, can you tell the difference between all this stuff?"
"Hey, boys!" Peri hissed. "Shine that light over here."
Ryan did as requested and Eric could see the gadget the Doctor had given her blinking green. The pile of metal Peri had aimed it at was indistinguishable from all the other bits of machinery on the shelves. "That didn't take long. Let's load up the bags."
Peri pocketed the device and began to load up her bag, piece by piece. Eric grabbed a handful at a time and dumped them in the bag while Ryan put his open bag against the edge of the table and just shoved them in by the armful.
"OK, looks good. Peri, could you check and make sure we didn't miss anything?" Eric asked.
Peri used the scanner on the other shelves in the off chance that something was misplaced. "All clear."
"OK, Ryan, tell them we're clear and will meet them at the TARDIS."
When Ryan was done, the each grabbed their bags and Eric and Peri put a hand on Ryan's shoulders and they were gone.
Alan and Shannon materialized in Reyus Morin's office, guns at the ready and the Doctor in-between them. The office was well appointed. The wood-paneled walls were covered with reproductions of Old Masters and two black leather chairs faced a large oak (or what passed for oak here) desk. All in all, it was not what Alan expected. The man behind the desk, however, was more like what he had envisioned. He looked to be in his early fifties with scruffy, graying hair. His dark eyes were bloodshot and he sported at least two days' stubble. His suit, once fresh and crisp linen, now looked wrinkled and worn as if he were trying desperately to cling to a once prosperous and respectable life.
The minute he saw his visitors, he froze like a deer in the headlights; a dead giveaway that he had done something wrong and knew it. He quickly recovered and stood to welcome them. "Ah, the celebrated Temporal Observer Corps. I'm honored. Please, sit down, and I see that you brought a clown for the party."
"This isn't a social call," said Alan. "We've heard some interesting things about you, Mr. Morin, and we're here to check up on them."
"All business conducted out of this warehouse is legal and above board."
"We know that there is illegal contraband in this building," stated Shannon. "Anything taken from a protected planet has to be declared before it can be sold or exhibited. We could probably get you for receiving stolen goods at least."
"At least?" echoed Reyus.
/Alan, Shane, we found the stuff. See you back at the TARDIS./ Ryan's message came in good time. Now they wouldn't have to pussyfoot around.
"We could always add performing surgery without a license or acts of terrorism against the Alliance," inserted the Doctor. "Though, in my opinion, your most heinous crime was using an innocent child to do your work for you."
"For a clown, you're not very funny."
"For a reptile, you're not very swift."
"So, if you just tell us where that technology came from, we'll see what we can do for you," finished Alan. Morin's mouth opened and closed like a fish. "Now I don't think it's that hard a choice."
He heard footsteps coming up the metal stairs leading from the warehouse floor and motioned Shannon to check the door. She positioned herself flat against the wall to the side of the door where she wouldn't be noticed immediately. Alan positioned himself between the two other men and the door. If whoever came up those stairs was trigger happy, he couldn't risk the Doctor or Morin. He trained his gun on the door. It slid open to reveal a thin man possibly in his late forties with his brown hair cut in a mock Military style. He was dressed in a pair of well-worn coveralls.
"Reyus, word has come through that Shandris failed" He stopped when he saw Alan, his grey eyes full of anger and accusation. "You!"
It was those eyes that gave him away as they were so like his daughters' eyes. Alan couldn't help it; he said what was on his mind. "After losing one daughter, how could you risk the other?"
"And you were there both times! You are to blame!"
"What? I saved Shandris' life! And if Chai had listened to me from the beginning, that whole incident would have ended differently!"
"She shouldn't have listened to you at all! Doflair would be free now!" He rushed Alan.
Shannon came up behind him and knocked him unconscious with the butt of her gun. She shrugged. "He was starting to bug me."
"Tie him up and gag him. That should buy us some time."
"Shouldn't we bring him too?"
"I don't want to risk having him near Shandris right now. Who knows how she'll react to seeing him."
"You mean she might strangle him instead of me."
"You have to let that go, Shannon."
"I was near death, Doctor. I was on the ferryboat and halfway across the river. I owe Peri my life."
"That's unsurprising. She's saved my misbegotten life and my soul too many times for me to count." The Doctor raised a finger. "You never, ever tell her that."
"Of course not, Doctor." She smiled.
"I guess you'll be taking a trip." Alan yanked some cords from the blinds and tossed them to her. He then walked to the Doctor and Morin.
"This is kidnapping!"
"No, we wouldn't stoop to that. You are merely 'helping with inquiries'." The Doctor helped Shannon chuck Shandris' father in the closet. "You wouldn't think he'd be this heavy to look at him," he grunted.
"I don't have to go with you! You're not police!"
"No, we're not," said Shannon as she straightened up. "The Doctor is a licensed Investigator, so who are we to argue?"
"No Investigator would dress like that," scoffed Morin. "He'd stick out like a sore thumb."
"Go on, Doctor, show him your license. If he believes you, we won't have to knock him out too."
The Doctor fumbled through his many pockets. "Since everyone knows what an Investigator wears, wouldn't it make more sense to dress like everyone else?"
/Like anyone else would be caught dead in that outfit./
Alan tried to hide his smile as the Doctor looked at him, suspiciously. "It is bad manners to talk about someone behind their back."
"I didn't say a word."
The Doctor finally found his license and showed it to Morin. "If you think he's in a foul mood now, imagine what he'd be like if he has to carry you."
"All right, all right. I'll go with you."
"I knew you'd see it our way."
Shandris finished reading the book of fairy tales and yawned. She wondered what time it was. She was hoping the others would have returned by the time she had finished. She snuggled deeper into the chair, shut her eyes, and wished this dream would never end. She was with people who cared for her and free of that thing in her head.
Shandris opened her eyes and found herself in the console room. Her hands hovering over the controls. She didn't remember leaving the library. The last thing she remembered was the movie flickering before her eyes. A movie about a pig and a spider. Then, nothing. It was alive. It had brought her to the console room. Console Room. Where did she hear that word? The Doctor? Peri? No. It knew the Doctor's ship.
"No! I won't hurt them anymore!" She backed away from the console until she bumped into the cool TARDIS wall. She sank to the floor, pulled her knees up to her chin, wrapped her arms about her legs and began to rock back and forth.
"Shandris? Can you hear me, sweetheart? It's Peri."
Shandris blinked slowly a few times then Peri's face came into focus. She reached out to touch the woman's face. Peri was really there. She threw herself into Peri's arms. "Please, don't leave me alone again!"
Grinning, Shannon pushed Morin towards the inner door of the TARDIS, enjoying every minute. He stopped short and Shannon saw his gaze rest on Shandris sitting on the floor by Peri, Eric, and Ryan. "Your plan didn't go quite the way you wanted, did it? Just look at her; she's terrified of you but she was still willing to tell us where you were. She just wants a normal life, something you and her father stole from her. I don't think a jury would have a hard time convicting."
Morin pulled his eyes from Shandris and looked at Shannon. "You didn't say anything about a trial."
"It's not really up to me... I'd sooner just shoot you."
Yow. I've never seen Shane so bloodthirsty.
/I know. Shandris really did a number on her./
/Dude, if I wanted you to read that I would have sent it to you./
/Then don't think so loudly./
/You think Shannon heard/
/Nah. Shane's still pushing off a hangover. Take a peek. I bet everything's blurry.../
/That's a small relief./
Following the Doctor's directions, she escorted him to the room that would act as his cell during his time on the TARDIS. She retraced her steps and found the others still in the console room. "Well, he's locked up. Who gets to be the one to question him?"
"For what he's done to Shandris, I'd like to do more than question him," declared Eric.
"You'll have to stand in line. I get first crack at him."
The Doctor put a restraining hand on Alan's shoulder. "There will no cracking of the witness. I will, however, take great pleasure out of breaking him."
"In your capacity of Investigator, of course," said Peri.
"Of course." He straightened his jacket. "I'll see if I can get him to remove that as soon as possible. We don't need a repeat of what happened." He left to see to Morin.
"What's he talking about? What happened?"
"The implant is still active. It almost drove her to work the TARDIS controls. What its intentions were is anybody's guess."
"Oh, I can guess. The Dalek time tunnel technology is functional but hardly deft. They would love to get their greedy little protuberances on Gallifreyan technology. Of course, she's more than that. What you see before you, ladies and gentlemen, is a work of art." The Doctor smiled and patted the console. "This is the finest ship a Time Lord ever could have. Type Forty craftsmanship. I should know since I rebuilt her piece by piece. You might say that I re-invented her. Think of her as my Mona Lisa."
Peri let her jaw drop.
"Right. Mona Lisa. Are you all right, now Shandris?"
"I'm okay."
"You're tired. Let's get you to bed."
"I'm scared to sleep."
Eric looked at Peri. "I'm sure the Doctor has something to help with that."
The American nodded. "Sure, I'll go track it down."
Shandris swayed a little on her feet and Ryan picked her up. "C'mon, love."
Shannon followed Ryan. /I'm right behind you./
/Why's that/
/In case they switch her on again, I'll switch her off...temporarily./
/Shane, you've got to let this go./
/I'm doing my active best./
/That's what frightens me. /
The Doctor walked into the "cell", closing the door behind him. Morin stood nervously as if awaiting final judgment. Without saying a word, the Doctor motioned him to resume his seat. The Doctor pulled up a chair and sat directly across from the "prisoner". Guilt and nerves were already taking a toll.
"We have all the technology that was in your warehouse. Quite an amount too. Now, you must have known what it was in order for you to implant it in that young child. And in knowing that, you must have known what created it." He stared at Morin, trying to read his face.
"I don't know who made it. Yes, I know where it came from and I know what it does, but I swear I don't know who made it."
"Let me tell you then: the Daleks." He saw the fear cross his face. "Since you know of the Daleks, you know their main goal—other than domination of the universe—is to wipe out humanity. And you helped them with that when you put alien technology in that poor girl's head. It suppressed all her emotions. We thought we had fixed that problem, but it is still active. If we don't remove it soon, she will either go mad or die. That would make you a murderer. Not something a doctor wants."
"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not a doctor, I work in shipping."
The Doctor knew he was onto something and continued. "But you were. You became a doctor to help people and save lives. What you've done goes against all your ideals. I know you wanted to help the people of Doflair, but using Dalek leftovers?"
"There were journals and manuals describing how they worked on the human brain. I followed procedure."
"Did you do any simulations, experiments, using this technology? These pieces have been sitting around for decades. Anything could have happened."
"We couldn't wait any longer. Arcto said that we had to act on his plan as soon as possible. I did the operation and then we began conditioning her."
"Arcto being the man we left in your closet."
Morin nodded. "And her father."
"What was he paying you to abandon your morals?"
"It wasn't for money. I'm from Doflair too. I was away at school when everything happened and I couldn't go back. I've done what I could to help the cause. When Arcto approached me, I couldn't say no."
"Can you remove it?"
"Not without the risk of permanent brain damage."
I might know someone who can do that. Now let's see if I have him softened up enough to tell me where he found it. "Was it one of your pilots that located the technology or was it through another source that you learned about it?"
"There's a big black market out there for Dalek items in any way, shape, or form. There were rumors flying about that this place used to be a Dalek outpost so I went with my most-trusted crew and we collected the technology."
"Did you get everything?"
"The site was expansive. As it is a protected and monitored planet, we only had a limited window before the area was scanned again."
The Doctor leaned forward, his face inches away from Morin's. "You must give me the coordinates to this planet. We have to destroy all of it before someone less scrupulous than yourself finds it."
C'mon, you guys must've heard something!" The others merely shrugged. "A protected planet that was once under Dalek control?"
"Why would they be aware of something you're not?" Peri asked him.
"Eric here was once a mercenary equally feared and respected. Ryan has had a number of shady pasts, most of them having do to with arms dealing. I'm the good one"
"And they're now considered among the Alliance's most upright citizens?"
"You know the old saying 'It takes a thief to catch a thief'? Well, it works for almost any profession. I was hoping they would have heard something in their past dealings."
"It's not like it's Atlantis or El Dorado," said Ryan.
"I have heard that there are those who would pay a ton for any Dalek relic. I could check some contacts…"
"That won't be necessary." The Doctor strode into the room and headed directly to the console, pushing everyone else out of the way.
"Do you know where we're going?" Peri asked as he began to punch a number of buttons on the panels in front of him.
"No, Peri, I'm just setting random coordinates. Use your head."
Shannon could tell there was no malice in the Doctor's comment. It seemed to be more of a soft chiding, a reminder to think before speaking. She could even see her foxy Doctor speaking in such away. Oooo. And that was only with one drink.
"Eric, you should relieve Alan."
"Feeling a little more charitable toward, Shandris. Hmmmn?"
"A little Doctor, but not as much as you might hope."
"A little goes a long way. Especially when referring to kindness."
The column in the center console shuddered to a stop. "Looks like we've arrived," commented Eric.
"Don't have too much fun, now," said Ryan before he headed into the inner recesses of the TARDIS.
The Doctor switched on the scanner to show nothing—or a dark something. Alan peered closer to attempt to discern shape from shadow. "Care to shed a little light, Doctor?"
"Your fondness for cats has gone to your head, Doctor." Peri smiled. "Or do you have some Time Lord super-power that allows you to see in the dark?"
"Oh, very droll, Peri. Ten out of ten." The Doctor flipped a switch and a beam of light shot down the tunnel, disappearing in the distance.
"I don't mind a little mystery, but with the Daleks involved, I do like to know where I stand."
"It looks like we're standing in a corridor, not a tunnel," said Eric. "It's all metal and the doors are place at specific intervals."
"Just the right size for a Dalek. Peri, get some torches from the cupboard. I'll go get Morin."
"We're taking him along?"
"Peri, he knows where he got the technology. Otherwise, we'd be wandering through identical corridors until we get horribly lost."
"Like that's never happened before," muttered Peri on her way to the closet.
Shannon entered the console room and looked at the scanner. "Ryan said we had landed. So, that's where we are; a dingy underground corridor. Looks really appealing."
"I've seen better," remarked Eric.
"And I've seen worse." The Doctor switched off the scanner.
"Sure you don't want an escort with Morin?" asked Alan. "One of us will go with you."
"No, I think I can handle him myself." He turned to Shannon. "How is Shandris?"
"Still sleeping peacefully as peacefully as a little would-be murderer can. Ryan shouldn't have a problem."
Peri tested the torches and shone one in the Doctor's eyes. "That one works." She switched it off.
"Was that quite necessary?" asked the Doctor, blinking.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it would hit you in the face."
From the look on Peri's face, Alan knew it was just the opposite. "OK, we'll be here waiting for you, Doctor."
After the Doctor left, Alan checked his ammunition. Everything was in order. There had been no need for it so far, but knowing his luck, there was still time. He looked over to see Shannon and Eric doing the same.
"Do you really think that's necessary?" Peri asked. "It's abandoned after all."
"We've studied the Daleks as part of our Military training," said Eric. "They've been known to booby trap places they left to keep others from getting their hands on their technology."
"If that's the case, how did Morin get it? He would have said if it was booby trapped."
"Not if he didn't go where they were," put in Shannon. "This place is probably riddled with corridors and tunnels."
"We'll keep an eye on him anyway. I'll take point. Shannon, you stay with Morin. Eric, you take the rear."
"But the Doctor"
"Likes to lead, I know. I'll just try to keep a few steps ahead of him."
The Doctor returned with Morin. "Everyone ready?" He switched the lever that operated the main TARDIS doors. "Let's explore."
Alan made a point of getting to the door before the Doctor, and stepped out cautiously, gun at the ready. The Doctor followed as if he were strolling in the park. Alan didn't care as long as his team did their job. "Where to, Morin?"
Morin turned in a slow circle, getting his bearings. "This way," he said, pointing down the lit hallway.
After following Morin's directions for almost half an hour, Alan felt horribly lost. /You were right about the corridors, Shane. I don't believe he can know where he's going in all this after only one visit./
/The glimpses I've been getting of his face make me believe he has something planned./
/OK, try to let Eric know without letting Morin know we're onto him./
/What of the Doctor and Peri/
/Kinda hard when he's right here./
They stopped when the hall divided. "I can't remember which way."
"You came all this way on memory. Why have you forgotten now?"
"I lost count of the turns, OK?"
"I, on the other hand, kept track, and if we follow the pattern, we go left." The Doctor moved ahead of Alan.
The light from Peri's torch barely penetrated the darkness. The three of them walked forward slowly. Alan felt a change in the floor as it became more uneven and gritty. He also could sense a change in the acoustics as if the room was widening somehow. "Doctor, we had better wait until we get a stronger light."
"Nonsense. These torches are just fine. There's nothing to wor--" His sentence was cut off by a fading yell.
Alan, too close to stop in time, felt the floor disappear from beneath him as he fell into a gaping pit. The next thing he knew, a light was shining in his face. "Pupils are responding normally," came the Doctor's voice.
Alan pushed the light away. "I'm sure there are better places to point that thing than my face."
"When you fell, you whacked your head," Peri told him. "You were out for something like twenty minutes."
Alan jumped to his feet, his headache forgotten over his concern for his friends. /Shane/ There was no response but he could tell she was conscious. They had to move. Twenty minutes was too long. "Grab hold." The Doctor and Peri each took a hold of an arm and he zeroed in on Shannon's machine.
They found her lying on the ground, just coming to. "Alan, you're ok." She sat up slowly.
"Nothing that a bottle of aspirin won't cure. What about you? What happened?"
"I heard you fall and came running up. Morin was waiting and conked me out with a rock or something—I couldn't really see. He must've forced Eric to take him to the TARDIS."
"Then that's where we're going." Alan helped Shannon stand.
"But why would they head back to the TARDIS? Why not just go to Acheron?"
"Peri, the whole point of this excursion was to prevent anyone from using existing Dalek technology."
"So?"
"So where is the Dalek technology?" the Doctor prompted.
"In the TARDIS along with Shandris."