Chapter 4

Hunted

The Doctor was beginning to feel as if he had walked for miles. The Complex was a great deal larger than he remembered, and he would have preferred a more leisurely tour to being held at gunpoint and being accused of all sorts of heinous acts. Would this boy never shut up? Finally he could stand it no longer and came to an abrupt halt, turning to face his captor.

"Must you continue in this ceaseless prattle? I've already told you, I am not a terrorist," the Time Lord protested. "I am known as the Doctor. Why don't you try calling me that?"

"I'm not interested in your alias," Benson snapped, and eyed the Doctor in a way that made him feel distinctly uncomfortable. "Thought you were pretty smart sabotaging the surveillance equipment, didn't you? You didn't know we'd put the Containment Area on another system."

With a jolt the Doctor realized he had been listening to the rantings of a man pushed to the breaking point. He could not help feeling a little sorry for the unfortunate young man before him. Someone had obviously drilled into him the fact that any tampering with the chambers in the Containment Area would be catastrophic. Dwelling on this would be enough to unbalance anyone. Even he himself had come a little unhinged in the TARDIS. On the other hand, being held at gunpoint by a raving lunatic could also prove catastrophic to one's own health.

In as even a tone as possible, the Doctor said, "I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."

Benson snorted in disbelief.

The Doctor heaved an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes heavenward before continuing his forced march. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of movement in the shadows.

Tegan and Turlough had been following the Doctor's progress through the Complex, hugging the walls and keeping to the shadows, being grateful for the semi-darkness. They ducked around a corner when the Doctor came to such an abrupt halt and Turlough chanced a quick look around the corner in time to see the Time Lord rolling his eyes to the ceiling. He was about to try and catch the Doctor's attention when Tegan yanked him back.

"Are you crazy!" she exclaimed. "I thought we weren't going charging after armed guards."

"I was trying to signal the Doctor," Turlough objected. He had no intentions of being shot at. He also had no way of knowing that he had been successful, despite Tegan's interference. In fact, it was not until that moment that the Doctor remembered his companions at all, having thought them to be safely tucked away in the TARDIS. He then experienced the same dilemma as Tegan, not knowing whether to be angry or afraid for his companions' safety, not to mention his own.

Further on ahead, the figure waiting in the shadows heard the approaching footsteps. He, too, was glad of the semi-darkness within the Complex. Like a cat ready to pounce, he waited and watched and appeared in the intersection ahead of him.

Benson ordered the Doctor to stop and the Time Lord took advantage of the chance to scan around himself as he turned back to the guard. The intersection in which he stood seemed to be the main hallway. Unlike the twisting corridors through which they had just passed, this one seemed to cut the building in half. The Doctor wondered if he were near the very heart of the sprawling Complex.

"That's a call box to security control," his captor said, pointing to a square communication center set into a wall. "I have to report in, what with the cameras out, and the radios so unreliable…"

There was a menacing edge to his voice that unsettled the Doctor even further. He could feel his face flush as adrenaline started pouring into his bloodstream.

"I'll report how bravely I tracked down a dangerous intruder, pursuing him through the building,"—Benson leveled his gun at the Doctor—"and killing him."

After diving into an alcove, Tegan and Turlough ventured a peek around a corner. They were frozen in horror when they saw the weapon aimed straight at the Doctor's chest.

The shadowy figure in the adjacent passageway heard the Time Lord saying, "You do realize that I'm unarmed?" Taking aim, the unseen assailant fired a laser bolt toward the intersection.

The shot found its mark. Benson staggered and fell against the wall. His last act in life was to strike the alarm button. A Klaxon sounded throughout the facility.

The Doctor automatically caught the dying guard as he fell. While being astonished by the sudden turn of events, he wondered if he had been saved or was just a sitting duck, having absolutely no idea where the shot came from.

The shot galvanized Turlough into action. He knew where it had not come from. He sprang out of hiding and made a mad dash for the Doctor.

The assassin cursed the alarm. It would bring everyone in the Complex down on their heads within minutes. He took aim at the defenseless Time Lord and fired.

The same instant, Turlough hurled himself in a tackle that would have pleased the Headmaster at Brendon, knocking the Doctor and himself clear as the laser bolt cracked against the far wall.

"Come on, Doctor, this way!" Turlough cried, having to shout above the din. He pulled the astonished Time Lord to his feet, giving him a push in the right direction. He then snatched up the laser pistol dropped by the unfortunate Benson, firing a shot to cover their retreat. If someone was going to shoot at them, Turlough wanted them to know he was willing to shoot back.

Collecting Tegan as they went, the time travelers left greeting until later and fled.

The thwarted assailant cursed himself for having allowed his prey to escape so easily. He had not taken outside assistance into account and his superior would be furious over this miscalculation. Chaos was already developing throughout the building and would be upon him within seconds. There was nothing else to do now but withdraw and report to his superior.

The Doctor led the way back to the TARDIS, reasoning that by staying along the main corridor they could reach the Containment Area before being cut off. A squad of guards suddenly appeared at the far end of the hall. Before they could react, Turlough fired above their heads causing them to dive for cover.

"This way!" the Doctor called as he sprinted down another corridor. By sheer blind luck, he spotted what appeared to be a loose panel in the wall. With a mighty heave, the panel swung open to reveal a small closet-sized storage space that had simply been covered over. "Do-it-yourself priest hole," he muttered before ordering, "Inside, quickly!"

His companions needed not further prompting and vanished inside. The Doctor took a quick look around before following, slamming the panel shut behind him.

Only seconds after the panel closed, five armed guards thundered down the passageway in pursuit of their now hidden quarries. The Doctor watched them pass through the opening he had used as a handhold. It was not until the immediate danger had passed that he finally relaxed. They would be safe there for the moment.

Completely unaware of the reason for the chaos going on above him, the fuming Jason was climbing a flight of stairs. Of all the unmitigated gall of that Commander. A bodyguard! Me, needing a bodyguard! It's ludicrous. The man can't even run security properly. First the cameras go on the blink, then the communication system goes haywire, then the lifts all quit. And as if all that's not bad enough, now the Klaxon was screaming like a banshee. Why couldn't this wait until I'd gone?

The Prince came to the landing and flung the door open. It crashed loudly against the wall, the sound reverberating in the stairwell and echoing the aristocrat's anger. He was an Alterran! Jason fumed on. No one had dared assume anything about him in a very long time. He had learned a thing or two about looking after himself in the last two and a half centuries, and the last thing he needed was a babysitter.

The Prince threw an angry glance over his shoulder at the guard unfortunate enough to have been assigned to him. Jameson was breathlessly trying to keep up with the irate Prince. He would gladly have left him to himself, but the wrath of the Commander was far more terrifying a prospect than the ranting aristocrat.

Prince Jason ignored the protests of the guard at the entrance of security's administrative offices, brushing the astonished man aside and storming into the Commander's office.

It was empty.

Inside the storage space, the Doctor and his companions had managed to catch their breath. The Klaxon had mercifully been shut off by this time, and the corridor outside had been silent for some minutes.

The Doctor was trying to make sense of everything. "There's something very odd going on here," he said at last.

"Too right," Tegan agreed wholeheartedly. "This place is crawling with homicidal maniacs!"

"More like paranoid schizophrenia," corrected the Doctor. "The question is, why? This part of the galaxy's been quiet for centuries."

"It certainly wasn't all that quiet today," Turlough injected sourly.

"No, it wasn't" the Doctor agreed, peering out the crack. "But it seems to be now. Perhaps we'd better go." He carefully pushed the panel open.

Tegan was hoping he meant back to the TARDIS to leave, but knew better. He's off again, she thought. There'll be no stopping him now until he solves the mystery. Looking over to Turlough, she could see he had come to the same conclusion.

Turlough sighed. "Coming, Doctor."