CHAPTER 4

KIDNAPPED

After pacing for several minutes to clam down, the Doctor dropped into a chair and sat gazing out the patio door. It did not take a genius to realize Jason would come back as soon as he'd cooled down. Then, hopefully, they could have a reasonable discussion and not another shouting match.

The Doctor closed his eyes and sighed heavily. Perhaps if he tried a different approach he might have better luck with his companion. He might also be able to keep himself from being flung across the room like a child's toy. He reflected again on Jason's shockingly violent behavior and wondered what else the Alterran had failed to mention about himself.

A panel in the wall behind the Time Lord silently slid open. He heard some movement and thought it to be a servant. When he finally glanced up, he saw the most extraordinary creature he had ever seen looming over him. It was almost seven feet in height, and his initial impression was that of a gigantic jellyfish. There was a large, white, bulbous main body with what looked like ebony crystals evenly spaced around its circumference. Just below the body numerous, long tendrils flowed down yet barely brushed the floor. The creature was actually hovering in the air.

The astonished Time Lord barely had time to take all this in before the tendrils lashed out, entwining him completely. An alarmed cry escaped him, and then one of the coils wound around his face, silencing him as effectively as any hand.

Within seconds the Doctor was out of his chair and through the panel. He struggled against his captor but the coils were like bands of iron. He received a second shock when the creature suddenly spoke to him, the voice deep, malevolent, and somehow familiar.

"Resistance is useless, Time Lord. I have more than twenty times your strength. It's quite impossible for you to escape."

However cliché the announcement, the Doctor had already come to this conclusion, having been unable to prevent himself from being dragged deeper into the passageway. He was also thinking feverishly and had come to several disquieting conclusions. His captor was obviously intelligent, articulate and very probably dangerous in the extreme. And possibly something else.

The captive Time Lord's train of thought was broken when he was unceremoniously hauled into a corner and slammed forcefully against the wall. The reason for this became apparent when he heard the sound of voices approaching. The creature's voice suddenly hissed threateningly in his ear, "Make just one sound, Time Lord, and I'll kill them all." So saying, it entwined him further and shimmered, becoming a solid block around him—verifying his suspicions that his abductor was an Alterran.

It seemed an eternity for the unseen group to pass by. The Doctor listened helplessly inside his living prison as the voices moved within a few feet of him and then faded into the distance. Then, as suddenly as it appeared, the box was gone and the creature was back, as were the iron coils that pulled him ever deeper into the tunnels. This time his captor was moving very fast, and with his mouth still covered, the Doctor found it difficult to breathe and had to struggle to keep up.

Their progress was impeded a second time by the sound of a shuttle car approaching. The Doctor was hauled into an accessway that he reasoned must lead to the surface. The coil over his mouth abruptly dropped around his neck, allowing him to catch his breath. He took advantage of this and ventured a quick glance around himself.

As the shuttle drew nearer, the band at the Time Lord's throat tightened in an obvious threat and he immediately froze. Now was not the time for rash actions. Not while his captor still had a firm grip on him.

The reason for the sudden haste soon became apparent as the shuttle loaded with staff members drove by. Several of them were wet and discussing the sudden rain shower that had started a few minutes earlier.

The shuttle vanished and captor and captive were back in the tunnels. When they did not encounter anyone further, the Doctor noticed the grip on him had slackened considerably. He decided that now was the time to try to make his escape. As they passed another accessway he tried to break free, but only managed to enrage his abductor, who lifted him several feet into the air and tightened the tendril around his neck, almost cutting off his air completely.

"That was a very stupid thing to do!" the Alterran growled angrily.

His captive would have readily agreed with him were he not holding onto the coil at his throat and struggling desperately to breathe.

"I can just as easily carry your unconscious body, Doctor. Remember that!" the creature snarled, shaking his prisoner like a rag doll before finally returning him to solid ground. "Don't even think of trying that again!"

Gasping for breath, the Doctor was unable to do more than nod his understanding. He was then taken into a painfully strong grip and dragged on. "Where…are you taking me?" he ventured breathlessly.

"You'll find out soon enough," came the cryptic reply.

The long and arduous journey finally ended after a climb up a flight of stairs. The Doctor found himself in a large darkened storeroom that had a clear, square enclosure in the far corner. It was into this that he was unceremoniously thrust.

"This box is soundproof," the Alterran informed as the door was closed and sealed. The threatening voice suddenly came through a speaker in the ceiling, "No one can hear you unless this switch is on."

The Doctor was less than impressed. He was also getting tired of being threatened and pushed around. "Alright, now that you've got me here, what do you want?" he demanded.

He received a sinister chuckle in reply. "Are you asking for a lesson, Doctor?" the Alterran asked in mock surprise, causing the Time Lord to stiffen visibly. "The lessons begin now. The first is a lesson in respect for your betters."

The creature shimmered and the Doctor suddenly found himself face-to-face with his companion. He opened his mouth to say something but the switch was immediately turned off.

"You've said enough for one night, Doctor. I suggest you think about what your mistakes have cost you." So saying, Jason departed, leaving the stunned and betrayed Time Lord alone in his prison.

The Doctor had no way of knowing that Jason (the real Jason) was still roaming the grounds of the estate. He was considerably calmer by this time, his volatile temper having dissipated almost as quickly as it appeared. The sudden downpour had forced him to take refuge in a gazebo near the pond located behind the main building. As he waited out the rain, he reflected on the incident at the guesthouse, feeling very ashamed of his outburst. Once the rain let up he knew he'd have to go back, but had no idea what he was going to say to the Doctor, or even how to he was going to face him. He had not even realized until that evening that he had completely forgotten to tell the Time Lord about his volatile temper.

Seeing no alternative but to face the music, as it were, Jason slowly walked in the direction of the guesthouse and ended up running straight into the Doctor, who was apparently looking for him. Or so he thought. The impostor had now taken on the Time Lord's appearance.

Unprepared for this sudden encounter, Jason took an alarmed step back. "Doctor!" he gasped. What're you doing—? Eh, I mean…"

"Jason, I've been giving our little, er…conversation a lot of thought," the bogus Doctor said mildly.

The youth lowered his eyes guiltily, shifting on his feet. "So've I. I shouldn't've—"

"No, no, you were quite right. It's obvious this was a mistake from the start."

Jason looked up sharply, his mouth dropped open. "Wh…what're you saying?"

"I think we should end it now," the impostor said regretfully. "You can return to Tel-Shye from here. That'll make it easier on both of us."

"Doctor, you can't be serious!"

The pretender held up a hand. "I'm sorry, Jason, there's no other way. In fact, I think it's best if we say goodbye now."

The thunderstruck Alterran stared wide-eyed at the man before him. He opened his mouth, but words failed him. Suddenly the impostor was vigorously shaking his hand, giving a quick farewell, and then vanishing into the night, never knowing that with one touch he had given himself away.

Jason wasted no time returning to the guesthouse. He ran frantically from room to room calling out to the Doctor as he went. He came across one of the household staff, who told him that the Time Lord had been gone almost as long as the boy himself.

"I've got to find him," Jason said in desperation, running a hand through his hair. A thought struck him and he turned back to the lone servant, asking, "Would he be able to get into the Robotics lab at this time of night?"

"No, sir. Not without the Director's authorization," came the disappointing reply.

Jason cursed under his breath, and then thanked the servant before leaving the house. There was only one place he could go for help now, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

The Doctor had rapped, tapped and pounded on the sides and floor of his prison without success. The booth had obviously been built to withstand considerably greater force than the Time Lord was capable of producing. He eventually gave up and sat down on the floor, thinking that if he started to dwell on his current situation, he'd run a gamut of emotions and still be no closer to a solution than he was now. He tried to make out the storeroom outside the cell but even in this he was thwarted, as the room was obscured in darkness, the only light coming from directly over his head.

The Doctor was in the process of measuring the interior of his prison with his scarf for the third time, knowing the answer would still be the same, when the door on the far side of the storeroom suddenly opened. A woman stood silhouetted in the doorway, transfixed by the sight of the imprisoned Time Lord. The movement caught the Doctor's attention and he looked up from his place on the floor.

The voice of his captor suddenly came through the open doorway behind her, "What're you doing in there?"

"Browsing!" snapped the person at the door that the Doctor eventually realized to be Constance Sorenson. "What do you think you're doing, you fool? What're you playing at this time?"

"That's not important now," the unseen voice said evasively. "Wait till I tell you what I've discovered—"

"I'm not interested in your insane research, Black!" Miss Sorenson interrupted coldly.

The Doctor stiffened as his captor's identity was revealed. Then he wanted to kick himself for not having realized sooner that it could not possibly have been his companion.

Pointing in the Doctor's direction, Constance demanded, "I want to know what he's doing in the booth?"

On the other side of the doorway, Director Black sounded amused by his employer's displeasure. "I'm only following your instructions, Madam Chairman. I've restricted his movements."

"That's not funny, Black. You know how I feel about that thing."

"Why don't you remind me? Tell me how it was used. A little Presti-digitation and bye-bye Changeling," Tobias taunted, his remark obviously having a double meaning for the woman at the door.

"That's not funny, either," she said coldly.

Black's voice became harsh and threatening as he said, "Don't interfere with me, Constance. I can still turn you in. Remember that."

Even though he could not see her face, the Doctor could tell by her body language that Miss Sorenson was stung by the remark. She squared her shoulders and drew herself to her full height before leaving, venting her anger as she went.

The Doctor drew a deep breath and sat down, leaning back against the wall. "My dear Jason, I owe you my deepest and sincerest of apologies," he muttered. Looking around, he put a hand on the side of the enclosure, adding darkly, "If I ever manage to get out of here, that is."