CHAPTER 35

WALKING INTO A TRAP

As he watched the events unfolding on the screen the Doctor could not help but wonder if he were making any progress or if the observers were just getting caught up in the intrigue.

When the extract ended, he brought up the lights. "My lord," he said politely, "I apologize for the interruption, but my throat is getting sore and I've run out of water. Perhaps if we could have a brief recess?"

The Inquisitor's eyes flashed to the tray beside the Doctor. The pitcher was indeed empty, as was the one beside Prince Jason. He consulted the timepiece on the corner of his desk. "We are very close to the meal hour," Eustis observed. "Instead of a recess, we'll adjourn for the meal break." With a tap of the gavel, court was adjourned for an hour and a half. Eustis floated from the room and back to his chambers.

Jason watched the activity in the room in some amusement. The observers in the gallery broke into smaller groups, some leaving, others remaining, all discussing the various aspects of the evidence. A bailiff came over and replaced the water pitchers. Behind him was Captain Reinhardt, who escorted the Doctor and Jason to the side room.

Feeling emotionally drained already, Jason dropped into a chair and stretched out, closing his eyes and heaving a heavy sigh. When he opened his eyes, he saw the Doctor studying him curiously. "Now what?" he asked pointedly. "You're not going to scold me about not wanting to be called 'the accused' all the time, are you? Or for putting that parvenu Fitzhugh in his place. Luck indeed!" he snorted.

"I wouldn't dream of it," the Doctor grinned, taking a seat. Despite his status, it wasn't often that Jason allowed his aristocratic side to show, and the Time Lord found his current indignation amusing. "Actually, I was wondering if you'd had any thoughts on who would go to such extraordinary lengths to organize all this?"

"I haven't exactly had time to think about it," Jason replied truthfully. He thought a moment, his eyes focused in the distance. "Except—No, it's too crazy."

"At this point, how can you tell?" the Doctor replied only half-joking. "Except what?"

"What if…" Looking up, Jason said, "What if all that stuff with the Benefactor was…well, secondary? What if I really was sent on a suicide mission? What if the extraction team was supposed to take me with them the way they tried to do you? And what if they were destroyed so that no one would ever learn what happened to me?"

"That's a lot of 'what ifs.'" The Doctor sat back, turning the theory over in his mind. "Oddly enough, put together, they actually make sense."

"That doesn't get us any closer to figuring out who's behind it, though, does it?" Jason remarked.

"No. But perhaps it gives us a place to start."

The break was much too short, as far as Jason was concerned. Before he knew it, he was back in the prisoner's dock listening as the Doctor gave his narrative once again. "I returned to the city at approximately the same time Prince Jason returned to the Tri Global's headquarters. Ironically, the trip required that we both cross through Founder's Park. I returned to find a second raid in progress, while Prince Jason walked into a trap."

oOo

Mission Day 50

The Doctor was standing in the playground, looking in annoyance at the empty spot where the TARDIS once stood. He heard the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow and took refuge in the trees. This section of the park seemed to be a shortcut for many, for which he was grateful. Otherwise this individual would have seen his solitary set of tracks in the snow.

To the Doctor's bewilderment, a man dressed in monk's robes walked past and he wondered if the Benefactor had also come to the city. The car that had dropped him off was still in the street near the playground and the driver leaned out and called, "Brother, do you need a lift somewhere?"

"That's very generous of you," the Brother replied urbanely.

The Doctor found himself relaxing when he heard the voice, it wasn't the Benefactor's. This man obviously was a real member of the local religious order. He watched as the Brother got into the car and did not come out of hiding until the vehicle had driven away. He turned to continue his journey, completely unaware of the fact that he had just watched Jason pass by in disguise.

o

Night was already falling by the time Jason arrived at the Tri Global building. He changed back into his green coveralls before entering and went directly to the penthouse, finding it empty, which suited him just fine. He crossed to the computer to learn what had been going on in his absence. To his horror, he discovered the memory of the entire computer network had been wiped shortly before his arrival. Wondering what the implications of this might be, he wandered aimlessly around the room, lost in thought. He was near the center of the room when ONE and TWO entered.

"Was your tour of the competitions' operations productive, THREE?" ONE asked calmly.

"Moderately so," Jason replied blandly. "As I suspected, they're markedly inferior to—" He broke off when he saw several distant flashes in the fast darkening sky. "Now what?"

"One of the factions is attacking a storage facility," ONE informed matter of factly.

"You don't seem too surprised."

"These creatures are fleas, nothing more," TWO snorted derisively. "Not worthy even to be called an adversary."

"Unlike yourself," ONE added coldly.

Jason turned back to face him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sanctuary," ONE replied, smiling at the appalled look this single word produced.

"Don't even bother denying it, you lying alien scum," TWO snarled, plunging a knife into the unprepared Alterran's side.

At first, Jason thought he'd been punched. It wasn't until he looked down and saw the handle protruding from his body that he realized he'd been stabbed. He looked at his attacker in shock, his eyes wide. His legs gave way and he sank to the floor, the blade still in his side. He expected to be stabbed again, which had been the original plan until the Benefactor changed the scenario. To Jason's amazement, he saw TWO reaching for the laser pistol in his belt.

What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion.

As TWO pulled his weapon, ONE drew one of his own. The two shouted various insults at one another, firing at the same instant. The shots struck home, burning a gaping hole into their chests, killing them instantly. Their bodies hit the floor at almost the same instant.

Not quite believing what had just happened, Jason lay on the floor staring at the ceiling in shock. He closed his eyes in pain, a hand going to his side. Then he heard the sound of running feet. With luck, it would be security.

Telvec and his followers burst into the room and stopped short. Jason heard someone ask, "What the hell happened in here?" and another reply; "I think someone beat us to it." The next thing he knew, the Doctor was beside him. He looked at him in shock, wondering how the hell he had managed to talk himself out of the Sanctuary and back to the city. Then he heard himself saying, "They killed each other. And I think they've killed me, too."

oOo

Before the Doctor could even ask, Fitzhugh spoke up, "After you were attacked, your highness, you transported yourself to the ARGO. Was it your intention to take the Doctor with you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because…" Jason drew a deep breath. "I thought I was going to die. That's why I gave him command authorization."

"Really? Yet within minutes of your arrival, a preprogrammed sequence went into effect that prevented this happening. Surely you knew what your ship was capable of."

"I've never had to rely on the ship's medical computer alone," Jason replied firmly. "I didn't know if it could handle the extensive repairs I needed without outside direction."

"But if successful, you were aware that it would, in effect, fake your own death?"

"Yes."

"Why did you go to such extraordinary lengths to make the outside world believe you were dead?" Fitzhugh wanted to know.

"I didn't trust the Glyateven," Jason replied, much to bewilderment of his listeners.

The prosecutor scowled. "Could you expand on that?"

Jason exchanged a quick glance with the Doctor before replying. "My research into the Glyateven indicated they weren't the type to ask for outside assistance. In fact, they were of the opinion that they never made mistakes, and here I was in the middle of the biggest mistake possible." He took a sip of water before continuing. "As a back-up plan, I recorded the message and programmed the computer to revive me forty hours after the extraction team left orbit, just in case someone decided I was expendable. That's the reason I bounced all my transmissions off of the planet's communication satellites. It made the position of the ARGO untraceable."

"I applaud your attention to detail," Fitzhugh replied, adding in a condescending tone, "However excessive, or dare I say, paranoid."

"Objection!" the Doctor cried the same instant Eustis exclaimed, "Lord Fitzhugh!"

They were both silenced when Jason angrily snapped, "My paranoid obsession to detail is the very thing that saved the Doctor from being turned into a grease spot on the floor of my flight deck!" This harsh rebuke was followed by a stunned silence.

Eustis cleared his throat nervously. "Shall we proceed, my lords?"