Suffolk's room was a padded cell meticulously designed for his maximum protection. Anti-ligature protocols had made sure that there was nothing in the room with which he could harm himself, there were no exposed electricity points, no breakable object, and the light was built into the ceiling well above the reach of any mere mortal. The young man lay motionless on the bed, eyes wide open, humming a tune quietly to himself. Hands by his side, now unrestrained, he tapped the beat on the bed frame. The door was locked, the Doctor hoped that it had an automatic release in the event of fire but judging by the treatment of the patients he wouldn't like to guarantee it. Breaking the lock, permanently, with the screwdriver he knocked on the frame with the back of his hand and walked in quickly closing the door behind him. Suffolk did not get up but a slow smile formed on his lips.
"I knew you would come," he said.
"Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint you," the Doctor walked over to the bed, "Now listen, this is important. I've got an idea what they've been doing to you here but I need your help. But you're going to have to trust me."
Suffolk sat up. His movements were precise, planned, as though everything in his life were a script. He regarded the Doctor with an unnatural calm, searching the depths of the Doctor's eyes and reaching back through disjointed memories, "The question really is, Doctor, can you trust me?"
"Would I be here if I didn't?"
They both knew that the response was superficial, but it did not matter. To the human it was a game and to the Doctor Suffolk represented the choice between saving life or leaving it to be snuffed out. The two men studied each other for another moment, the noise from the scuffle in the corridor becoming a distant disruption.
Behind them the door banged against the wall as Margaret made her dramatic entrance, panting for breath, "It's here!"
The Doctor turned in a whirl of action and grabbed both of them by the hand, "Come on. I've got a date with destiny."
Margaret, still clutching her knitting needles and half made dishcloth in one hand, scurried behind the Doctor, the soles of her flip-flops slapping against the floor as she ran.
Suffolk stalked beside them, his face cold and dark. Withdrawing himself from the Doctor's fierce grasp Suffolk stroked the fingers of his left hand with those of his right, marvelling at their design and the ease with which his whole body could move when not contained within the straight jacket. As he walked he flexed each digit individually, feeling the muscles and tendons pull and relax as he made a lose fist to his left and right. Destiny would reach them all, he thought absently, and when it did, he would be ready.
Rounding the corner and entering the main hall where Nel was being restrained by two members of staff the lights began to flicker erratically. Electricity streaked down the walls at first in thin blue lines but growing until the walls were awash of colour, sparks of white heat bouncing out, leaping for the light fittings and metal curtain rails. One or two patients were standing motionless in awe of ultimate in light shows, a nurse was standing, hand poised over the fire alarm, unsure whether to risk electrocution and break the glass, and a gaggle of junior doctors looked on, panic stricken, as a herd of patients rampaged down the corridor screaming with euphoric pleasure.
Suffolk laughed maniacally above it all, his face split ear to ear with a grin. Margaret clung to the Doctor's hand, apparently the only sane one left in the building, "Its escaping. Through the hole in the basement. Its breaking through into this world."
The lights went out and the walls became the only source of brightness in the building, the blue glow illuminating everything in sporadic intervals.
"Everyone OUTSIDE!" the Doctor yelled above the din, "Except you two," he turned to Suffolk and Margaret, "I need you both with me. I'm sorry."
Margaret wiped a stray tear with her dishcloth and nodded resolutely. Suffolk merely smiled and stepped towards the staircase which led to the basement.
"Destiny awaits," he said with a grin, and threw open the door.