DISCLAIMER: 20 chapters later, I still own none of this stuff
This feels like it's been quicker than other chapters but it probably hasn't. This thing is gonna end up as about 35 chapters I swear to God.
'Wait, hold on.'
The words snapped the Doctor awake, jerking up into a sitting position from where he gradually slid down to a nearly horizontal position on the sofa. The stack of newspapers he had been looking through slid off his knees, scattering across the floor. He sighed but ignored the mess, standing up with a yawn. The sun was beginning to set now, sending streaks of golden light through the partially blacked-out window, striping across the floor. The Doctor turned around to see what was going on. Sherlock was still staring intently at the computer, doing what they had been doing for hours – looking for any indicators of Section 31 activity. Adler was standing back, looking at the map which was now covered in dozens of red crosses, varying from crossing off a single building to an entire district in some areas where Section 31 decidedly couldn't be based. Still it seemed they were no closer to finding Section 31 than they had been when they arrived. However, all three heads now swivelled round to face Beth, who was sitting cross-legged on a metal stool by the table, staring at her open laptop. She was leaned forwards, her chin resting on her clasped hands, dark hair falling out of its once neat ponytail to obscure her face. There was silence for a moment and the Doctor started to wonder he had imagined her speaking when she broke the silence.
'Capel Manor.' It was barely above a whisper but there was a note of certainty in it that made the others pay attention. Beth turned her head to face the others, all focus turned to her.
'What?' eventually asked Adler.
'Capel Manor.' She repeated, louder as she stood up and strode over to the computer. As she talked, she opened a new tab and started looking for something. 'It's a college in Enfield, chucked out all its students about eight months ago without giving a reason apart from something mumbled about 'restoration' or something. But no builders have arrived; no scaffolding's gone up, nothing.' She opened two different articles for the others to read. Sherlock and the Doctor moved to see the screen as Beth grabbed the marker from Adler's hand. She quickly scanned the map before finding the college and drawing a circle around it and standing back triumphantly. Adler didn't bother with the article; she had enough confidence in her friend.
'Get the security cameras' instructed Adler, turning to Beth who nodded and quickly resumed her position in front of her laptop, typing furiously.
'Very possible:' said Sherlock slowly as he finished reading, 'plenty of room, grounds all around so unwelcome visitors are unlikely. If they sectioned it into one or two buildings they could easily divert enough power for any 24th century technology they're using.'
'Got it' said Beth, astonishingly fast. Adler moved over to stand next to her. 'This is from a couple of hours ago, about half an hour after we arrived here.' The others came over and watched as two black cars pulled up next to each other. However before they could see the occupants, the video froze and shut itself, leaving Beth's screen of code on the screen.
'What happened?' asked the Doctor. Beth frowned and started typing again, trying to find the error.
'Something's trying to block me out. Like-' Beth cut off as the screen froze pixelated and flickered before dissolving into static with a loud hissing noise. 'What..?' she muttered to herself, pressing all the keys with no effect before pushing it away with a sound of disgust.
'Crap.' She sighed. 'That was my good laptop.'
'Well surely that must be it then?' questioned the Doctor. 'It fits the bill perfectly.'
'It could be a decoy' pointed out Adler. She had a habit of finding the worst in situations so she was always prepared.
'Unlikely,' countered Sherlock, beginning to pace 'That means they would've found two separate places in London perfect for their base just to fool us for a few hours – waste of time and energy. And it's too perfect to be a coincidence.' He added, stopping Adler before she pointed it out.
'If only we had the number plate' she sighed, glancing at Sherlock who noticed and made an indignant face.
'I was unconscious.' He objected, looking away again.
'What about the timings?' asked the Doctor. 'Could they have got there in time?'
'Well how long did it take us to get here?' said Adler again, directing the question to Sherlock without having to look at him.
'Unconscious' he repeated defensively from across the room.
'About 45 minutes' answered Beth, raising her voice slightly to stop them bickering. 'So they would've got there in nearly an hour and a half.' Sherlock walked over to the PC and did a quick google.
'That seems nearly perfect judging from the rate of traffic.' The Doctor clapped his hands together.
'What are we waiting for then?" he asked. 'Let's go!' and before anyone could stop him he had grabbed his coat from the sofa and was practically out the door. The others looked at each other before shrugging and following after. Beth quickly ran over to the power box and turned everything off before grabbing her spare netbook from behind the desk and stuffing it in a bag with a printed map. Adler waited for her at the door and pulled it shut behind her.