The Brigadier was silent for a moment as he contemplated the Doctor's words.
"While I agree that we must stop Salamander and his ally, I would prefer doing so in a way that doesn't involve you sticking your neck out," he said, at last.
"Then what do you suggest?" the Doctor queried.
"I suggest finding a location for this Salamander and putting on a show of force to convince him and his friend to surrender."
"…Yes, of course you would," the Doctor sighed. "I am sure the old dandy has told you of how that is generally a poor idea."
"Frequently."
"You will find that I feel the same way," the Doctor informed him. "However, you do make a good point about trying to find Salamander's physical location. Zoe?"
"Yes, Doctor?" she asked.
"That data you received from the trace—any chance that you can find a general location for where the signal started?"
"…I can try," Zoe said. "But I don't know if I ought to."
"Whatever do you mean?" the Doctor asked.
"Well…" Zoe cast a glance out the window. "I'd hate to think that I accidentally upset the programming of whatever it is Salamander was using by tracing his signal in the first place. Maybe that's why the storm is spreading instead of stopping like Salamander implied it would. If I try to poke around that data, I might do more harm than good."
"Oh, Zoe, I'm sure that it was nothing you did that caused this," the Doctor assured her. "I think it's something gone wrong with Salamander's own calculations—or the calculations of the one aiding him."
"Aye, but no matter what it is, if we know where Salamander and this other fellow are, we can stop the whole mess," Jamie added.
"I suppose so," Zoe said.
She worked for a few more minutes with the data she had uncovered; as she worked, the phone rang. Captain Yates took the call and talked for a few minutes, his face growing grim as he spoke.
"The storm is still continuing to spread at an alarming rate, Sir," he reported to the Brigadier. "It's still moving at a uniform rate in all directions—and we're right in the center of it."
A quick look of worry flashed across Zoe's face; Victoria walked up to her now, gently placing a hand on her shoulder as morale support.
"If the Doctor says that it wasn't you who caused it, then I'm sure of the same," she assured her.
"Thank you," Zoe replied, half-heartedly. "Well, I've got a general location from this, at any rate."
"Where?" the Brigadier asked.
"In the countryside of Surrey Hills," Zoe announced, as she made a mental note of the relative coordinates. "Salamander obviously wanted to be as close as he could to London, but remain relatively secluded."
"Excellent; we won't have to worry about bystanders getting caught in the confrontation," the Brigadier said.
"Before you start arming everyone and sending them out there, I really think you ought to let me assess the situation!" the Doctor insisted.
"Let us assess the situation," Jamie corrected him.
"That 'us' had better include Zoe and myself," Victoria reminded the piper. "We don't intend to be letting the two of you run headlong into trouble yet again, as you always do. Isn't that right, Zoe?"
"Absolutely right!"
"Oh, very well!" the Brigadier exclaimed, frustrated. "But I want you to take one of the sturdy UNIT vehicles; I don't think Bessie will handle this weather well at all. And I will be following you with some of my men."
"Now, really, Brigadier—" the Doctor began.
"I'm afraid I must insist upon this matter," the Brigadier countered. "I am allowing you to try this your way first, but should something go wrong, you will need our aid! We'll maintain a certain distance from you so as not to alert Salamander to our presence until it is time to make our move."
"You seem certain that you'll have to," the Doctor observed.
"Well, am I wrong in assuming so? This Salamander seems to have caused you all trouble in the past!"
"Yes, but let's just say that I really don't like the idea of your men being armed to shoot at Salamander when I happen to look exactly like him!" the Doctor countered. "Add to the fact that the rain will ruin the visibility of your marksmen, it is clearly a situation that I should like to avoid!"
There was a beat of silence.
"He does have a point, ye know," Jamie said. "It's difficult to tell them apart even in bright light; with that rain oot there, falling in buckets, how will ye be able t' see past yer own nose?"
"We'll use tranquilizer guns," the Brigadier said, at last.
"Those have a tendency to produce ill effects when Gallifreyan physiology is concerned," the Doctor said.
"Fortunately for us, the other Doctor helped us develop a tranquilizer that wouldn't cause any lasting harm to your people," the Brigadier informed them. "I'll admit, I never quite imagined that we'd have to use them for this scenario, but they will prevent any lasting damage should you and Salamander get mixed up."
"Now why would my future self do a thing like that?" the Doctor wondered. "Oh, of course, because he's an insufferable, stupid—"
"Do you have any other objections to the course of action that I have decided to take, Doctor?" the Brigadier interrupted him.
"Other than the fact that I just don't like it?"
"Other than that."
"Well… no."
"I would feel better if we had some knowledge that our backs were being covered," Zoe admitted. "And since the Brigadier has resolved the problems to prevent any fatalities, I think it is our best option."
"Oh," the Doctor sighed. "Oh, very well. But you must stay back well enough and give me time, Brigadier!"
"I already said I would."
"Well, I suppose that's the best I can hope for," the Doctor conceded. "Now, I seem to recall you mentioning something about us using a UNIT vehicle?"
"Captain Yates, have a vehicle requisitioned for the Doctor," the Brigadier instructed. "Make certain that it's one that can handle this weather. And while you're at it, requisition three more for us to follow."
"Yes, Sir," the captain returned. He saluted before departing the room.
"It's not that I don't trust your judgment, Doctor," the Brigadier now said. "You have to understand the precautions I must take since you've described this Salamander to be a dangerous individual."
"Yes, of course I understand," the Doctor agreed. "But at least I know what to expect from Salamander. It's the other one I'm worried about; until I know who it is, there's no way of knowing exactly what precautions to take. And that's why you must stay back until one of us calls for you."
"I offer no promises, but we shall attempt to give you the adequate time you require. You'll have to settle for that."
The Doctor merely let out a quiet grunt in reply; Jamie knew that grunt all too well—more than once, it had meant that, one way or another, the Doctor would see to it that he would get his way.
The fact that he and the girls were with him now was proof of that.
Elsewhere, a very frustrated Ramon Salamander stood in a vast, round room as he attempted to get the storm under control from his iPad.
"It isn't responding to my commands!" he hissed, slamming the device against a large, circular console.
"Do not treat my console in such a manner," a voice chided him. "If you do, I shall have to force you to leave."
"You would send me out in that, huh?" Salamander asked, indicating the viewscreen. "Look at it!"
"Yes, it would seem that the storm has reached here in record time," said the other person, nonchalantly pouring himself a glass of wine.
"You seem so calm about this, Señor Maestro," Salamander said, his eyes narrowing. "You wouldn't have attempted to sabotage this effort, huh!?"
"You accusations wound me," Maestro responded, sardonically. "Exactly what would I gain from betraying you? Our main goals were identical—to get revenge on the Doctor. You, of course, had to add on a demand for money from UNIT in addition to that; your species is rarely satisfied with just one thing at a time."
Salamander muttered something under his breath in Spanish.
"Rest assured," Maestro continued. "I did nothing to change the settings of the machine. You had the device in your hands the entire time, and I was pouring the wine."
Salamander merely grunted in reply, attempting to gain control of the machine using the iPad.
"It is no use," he fumed. "It will not respond to my commands. …And something has happened to the device. It is as though there was an intrusion attempt."
"It would appear that UNIT finally brought in a computer expert," Maestro said, calmly. "It took them longer than I expected; the Brigadier is getting slower."
"Si? And what happens now, huh?" Salamander asked.
Maestro was only half-listening to him as he glanced at the viewscreen now; his eyebrows arched as a UNIT vehicle appeared on the screen, heading down the road, nearing them.
"It would seem that now, UNIT has sent people to us," he said. His expression now changed to a frown. "Let me adjust the image."
Salamander stared in growing horror as the image focused on the person driving the vehicle. The person's face was the mirror image of his own.
"The Doctor!" he hissed. "Maestro, you told me he had changed—that he no longer looks like me!"
"He has changed!" Maestro insisted. "Obviously, this Doctor has arrived here in the course of his timestream and is looking into the matter instead of the other Doctor!" He paused. "If that is the case, then, he would not know that I am here. As far as he is concerned, I am still in a black hole. Salamander, you and you alone need to speak with him."
"Que—!?"
"If this Doctor has no reason to suspect that I am here, then it is best that we keep it this way," Maestro insisted. "They will be expecting someone here. And, therefore, that must be you."
"He will kill me!" Salamander argued, gripping the console to steady himself.
"The Doctor? I think not. He will make life very miserable for you, perhaps, but kill you?" Maestro chuckled. "Definitely not."
"You think that is a better alternative, huh?" Salamander queried.
"Nevertheless, you must go."
"No!"
As the discussion between them deteriorated into an argument, the Doctor and his companions drew ever closer in the UNIT vehicle.
"I still think I could've driven," Jamie said, sulking slightly in the front passenger seat. "The other Doctor taught me the last time I was here."
"And I'm sure you were very good at it," the Doctor responded. "But I do think that this weather isn't the best for you to continue your lessons. Zoe, how close are?"
"According to my calculations, we are in the general area of where the message originated," she responded from the back seat.
"But there's nothing here!" Victoria exclaimed, squinting as she tried to see through the sheets of rain. "It's all grass and hills—except for that giant tree over there."
"That really is a great, big tree," Jamie agreed.
"So it is…" the Doctor murmured.
He pulled the UNIT vehicle over to the side of the road, staring at the tree.
"You know," Victoria said. "When I was a little girl, I used to visit here with my father. I don't ever remember seeing this tree before."
"Maybe it wasnae there during yer time," Jamie said.
"Oh, no, Jamie," the Doctor said. "A tree that large would have to have been here for centuries. That, of course, begs the question of what it's doing here…"
As if to answer the Doctor's question, a black-clad figure suddenly appeared in view, falling from one of the higher branches to a lower one; he stayed there until he slipped and fell onto the soggy ground.
"…And I think our old friend Salamander will have the answer," the Doctor finished.