Chapter Two
Martha and Tish walked as quickly as they could down a flight of stairs and over to another apartment door labeled 14.
"Martha," said Tish, with a perplexed look on her face, "this isn't the station."
"I know," replied her sister as she knocked on the door. "But Seth works at the local station, so he may be able to tell us more about what's going on."
Minutes later, the door opened to reveal a rosy-cheeked, slightly plump woman with blond hair in her mid-thirties that smiled at the two women at her door.
"Hello, Martha! And you've brought your sister, too! Lovely. Shall I put the kettle on?"
"Alice," said Martha quickly, "we were wondering if Seth was in."
Alice shook her head. "Sorry, Martha, but he already left for work. If it's something important, you can leave a message with me."
"Thanks, Alice," replied Martha, "but it looks like we won't need to do that. Bye!"
Alice smiled and waved as the Jones sisters continued their hurried walk down the stairs to the street below.
-
Seth Harper walked into the door of the CT-TV broadcasting station and immediately greeted the security guard, as was his routine each and every day.
"Hey, Norman," he said to the balding guard, who smiled and waved as the tall, lanky raven-haired man made his way to his cubicle. Almost immediately, all the CT-TV employees were called into the manager's office for a meeting.
"Right," said the manager, a nervous-looking man in his early forties, "I got a call this morning from the board of directors, and it seems that we'll all have to wear these little buttons on our persons from now on. Company policy."
As the buttons were distributed and people began to exit the office, one of Seth's coworkers, Chloe, looked at him curiously.
"Set," she said with an eyebrow raised, "you seem to be smiling. I've worked with you for years, and you've never smiled over something as mundane as new buttons. Is something the matter?"
"Oh, no," replied Seth, the grin adorning his face leaving. "Nothing's wrong, Chloe. Nothing at all..."
Then he walked off, leaving Chloe confused in his wake.
-
Martha and Tish rushed down the street towards CT-TV, which was easily recognizable due to the concave roof covered with mirror panels the building sported.
"I hope we're not late," gasped Martha as she paused to catch her breath while Tish strode confidently on. "This is exhausting..."
"You should have taken advantage of the discount I got when I worked at that gym," Martha's sister replied smoothly. "Makes a world of difference."
Martha glared at Tish and quickly caught up with her just as they entered the station. Tish immediately directed her attention to the security guard.
"Hold on, ladies," he said with a frown. "You're not allowed—"
"Hello there," said Tish, walking over to Norman and shaking his hand. "My name's Tish Jones. I'm here for that interview about the LazLabs incident. You know, sort of a "six months later" kind of thing?"
Norman frowned. "I don't recall—"
"Thanks!" Before Norman could finish his sentence, Tish had walked into the main part of the station with Martha in tow.
The security guard just shrugged and continued reading the newspaper. After all, there were a lot of things that went on in this building that he wasn't privy to. Maybe this was one of them.
-
Martha and Tish entered the cubicle part of the CT-TV building to find everyone busy at work making up schedules, answering feedback lines, and various other tasks. The Jones sisters began to make their way quietly past the cubicles, but they were stopped by someone in a "Band On The Run" T-shirt and brown pants.
"Hello," he said quietly, so as not to be overheard by the other employees. Martha looked up in shock.
"Doctor?" she whispered. Tish had a different response.
"I didn't know you were a Wings fan!" she muttered as the Doctor smiled.
"Yes, I am; I have all their albums, even the one that wasn't printed due to its theft by the Bandits of San Kaloon. Anyhow, we need to get to the bottom of this. Martha, do you have any ideas as to what could be causing the static?"
Martha shook her head, at which the Doctor sighed. "No? No suspicious individuals present? No-one with a zip around their head or an iron deficiency? I've been working undercover here for the past few days, trying to figure out what the problem is, but—"
"A few days?" Tish stared at the Time Lord in shock. "B-but that's impossible! How could you have—?"
"I'll explain later, Tish," Martha said hastily. "Please continue, Doctor."
He nodded. "But there doesn't seem to be one suspicious person among the lot of them. No-one lonely or isolated, just a toilet in the basement that's broken and that no-one uses anymore. It's just a normal, cheerful work environment..."
The Doctor frowned.
"Which makes the whole thing far harder than I expected..."
-
In a dark corner of the basement washroom, a small television set glowed with a grey light. Displayed on its screen was an elderly woman with a tired look to her eyes.
"I must feed," she said quietly to the figure in front of her, "or I will die. And you don't want that to happen, do you?"
The figure nodded. "You'll have loads of food soon, I promise."
"Good." The elderly woman fell asleep as the figure headed back upstairs.
Martha and Tish walked as quickly as they could down a flight of stairs and over to another apartment door labeled 14.
"Martha," said Tish, with a perplexed look on her face, "this isn't the station."
"I know," replied her sister as she knocked on the door. "But Seth works at the local station, so he may be able to tell us more about what's going on."
Minutes later, the door opened to reveal a rosy-cheeked, slightly plump woman with blond hair in her mid-thirties that smiled at the two women at her door.
"Hello, Martha! And you've brought your sister, too! Lovely. Shall I put the kettle on?"
"Alice," said Martha quickly, "we were wondering if Seth was in."
Alice shook her head. "Sorry, Martha, but he already left for work. If it's something important, you can leave a message with me."
"Thanks, Alice," replied Martha, "but it looks like we won't need to do that. Bye!"
Alice smiled and waved as the Jones sisters continued their hurried walk down the stairs to the street below.
-
Seth Harper walked into the door of the CT-TV broadcasting station and immediately greeted the security guard, as was his routine each and every day.
"Hey, Norman," he said to the balding guard, who smiled and waved as the tall, lanky raven-haired man made his way to his cubicle. Almost immediately, all the CT-TV employees were called into the manager's office for a meeting.
"Right," said the manager, a nervous-looking man in his early forties, "I got a call this morning from the board of directors, and it seems that we'll all have to wear these little buttons on our persons from now on. Company policy."
As the buttons were distributed and people began to exit the office, one of Seth's coworkers, Chloe, looked at him curiously.
"Set," she said with an eyebrow raised, "you seem to be smiling. I've worked with you for years, and you've never smiled over something as mundane as new buttons. Is something the matter?"
"Oh, no," replied Seth, the grin adorning his face leaving. "Nothing's wrong, Chloe. Nothing at all..."
Then he walked off, leaving Chloe confused in his wake.
-
Martha and Tish rushed down the street towards CT-TV, which was easily recognizable due to the concave roof covered with mirror panels the building sported.
"I hope we're not late," gasped Martha as she paused to catch her breath while Tish strode confidently on. "This is exhausting..."
"You should have taken advantage of the discount I got when I worked at that gym," Martha's sister replied smoothly. "Makes a world of difference."
Martha glared at Tish and quickly caught up with her just as they entered the station. Tish immediately directed her attention to the security guard.
"Hold on, ladies," he said with a frown. "You're not allowed—"
"Hello there," said Tish, walking over to Norman and shaking his hand. "My name's Tish Jones. I'm here for that interview about the LazLabs incident. You know, sort of a "six months later" kind of thing?"
Norman frowned. "I don't recall—"
"Thanks!" Before Norman could finish his sentence, Tish had walked into the main part of the station with Martha in tow.
The security guard just shrugged and continued reading the newspaper. After all, there were a lot of things that went on in this building that he wasn't privy to. Maybe this was one of them.
-
Martha and Tish entered the cubicle part of the CT-TV building to find everyone busy at work making up schedules, answering feedback lines, and various other tasks. The Jones sisters began to make their way quietly past the cubicles, but they were stopped by someone in a "Band On The Run" T-shirt and brown pants.
"Hello," he said quietly, so as not to be overheard by the other employees. Martha looked up in shock.
"Doctor?" she whispered. Tish had a different response.
"I didn't know you were a Wings fan!" she muttered as the Doctor smiled.
"Yes, I am; I have all their albums, even the one that wasn't printed due to its theft by the Bandits of San Kaloon. Anyhow, we need to get to the bottom of this. Martha, do you have any ideas as to what could be causing the static?"
Martha shook her head, at which the Doctor sighed. "No? No suspicious individuals present? No-one with a zip around their head or an iron deficiency? I've been working undercover here for the past few days, trying to figure out what the problem is, but—"
"A few days?" Tish stared at the Time Lord in shock. "B-but that's impossible! How could you have—?"
"I'll explain later, Tish," Martha said hastily. "Please continue, Doctor."
He nodded. "But there doesn't seem to be one suspicious person among the lot of them. No-one lonely or isolated, just a toilet in the basement that's broken and that no-one uses anymore. It's just a normal, cheerful work environment..."
The Doctor frowned.
"Which makes the whole thing far harder than I expected..."
-
In a dark corner of the basement washroom, a small television set glowed with a grey light. Displayed on its screen was an elderly woman with a tired look to her eyes.
"I must feed," she said quietly to the figure in front of her, "or I will die. And you don't want that to happen, do you?"
The figure nodded. "You'll have loads of food soon, I promise."
"Good." The elderly woman fell asleep as the figure headed back upstairs.