"Ex Memoria"
20. The Business Of
Chicago, Illinois – in the year 2021
Once the Doctor had explained enough of what he had seen and what needed to be done, the conclusion had quickly been reached that they needed to split up. For all the concern they had on the matter, they didn't feel they had much of a choice. So, while the Doctor went chasing after his lead with Amy and Rory on his tail, Mike and Tina remained with Gillian Moran Fiorentino and followed her to go and see her boss. The painting, the infected painting, needed to be removed from the exhibit and isolated where it could not infect any other people.
This would prove easier said than done.
While Chris was rather accommodating as assistants went, the woman whose desk was posted outside the upper office felt much more like a guard or some predatory bird than an assistant. If she was instructed not to let anyone through, no one would get through.
She was on the phone when they approached, and by the number of flashing lights on the machine, and the hunch in her shoulders as she spoke, it looked as though the report from Trinity Wells had sent the city into a frenzy. They didn't waste time wondering one way or the other, and they slipped by the desk while the woman's head was done, hoping she would not notice them. Gillian quickly rapped at the door and opened it, letting herself in, followed by Tina, then Mike, who shut the door behind them.
"Miss Moran Fiorentino, what are you…" the man pacing before the window stopped and looked at them. Thomas Banks had been running the museum longer than Gillian had been alive, by the way he spoke about it at times, and he had always had a firm and confident look about him, but today… today he looked downright frazzled.
"Mr. Banks, I need to talk to you about something very…" Gillian started to say.
"Do you know what that Wells woman has been saying on the news? A gas leak? There's no leak, there isn't! But she's got the city convinced, and now…"
"Mr. Banks!" Gillian cut him off, just as she'd been cut off, and she might have smacked him in the face and he would have had the same look about him. "There is a critical matter at hand, not a gas leak, but something potentially much worse, and we need to act now before it's too late." His gaze fixed on her, and the way his finger took a few light jabs up in her direction, they could see he was beginning to wonder if she was behind this Trinity Wells situation. "I need your authorization to remove and isolate one of the paintings, it's…" she moved up to his desk, holding out a print out of information, which included a small photo of the work in question. The Doctor had assured her it would be harmless, only the painting itself could infect them. At this point, the people who had been exposed were more of a threat, and all the print out could do was to give someone a papercut.
"I will do no such thing, no," Mr. Banks shook his head. "Why would I even…"
"People's lives are at risk, sir," Tina stepped up.
"Maybe you should shut down the museum until…" Mike started to add, but that was where Banks drew the line, and before they knew it, the trio was chased out of his office, the old man's voice booming after them. The hawk at the desk outside stared up, first at the door, and then at Gillian and the strangers, and her glare narrowed. So they hurried away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said…"
"No, but you were right," Gillian promised, shaking her head. They had not known the woman before she'd become infected by the painting, so it was hard to know what she would have been like back then, but there was a new sort of energy about her, ever since she'd been 'cured' by the Doctor. They wondered if it was simply out of a gladness to be right minded again, or if it was whatever part of the Doctor which had passed on into her that had worked some bit of rejuvenation into her heart and mind. She could very likely lose her job over this, and she didn't look like she cared one bit.
"So… what do we do now?" Tina asked as they took to the stairs to return to Gillian's office, where Chris was waiting.
"Maybe we should wait for the Doctor to come back, see what he's found out," Mike suggested. It was the sound thing to do, but then it wasn't just about that anymore.
"We will," Gillian agreed.
"The museum won't close, and people are still coming," Tina pointed out. "We need to try and keep them away from the painting, if no one will take it down."
With Chris rejoined to their small group, they had moved into action. Gillian and Chris played diversion within the museum. Seeing as they worked there and had the ID to prove it, they had that authority on their side. Meanwhile, Mike and Tina did the best they could to redirect anyone who came around with the intention of going inside, making it seem as though they were leaving, too, having just heard about the report. It didn't always work, but they did get some people to leave, while the others, hopefully, would be deterred by Gillian and Chris.
They'd been at this for a while before Tina's phone rang, and she motioned for Mike to come to her: it was the Doctor. He and Amy and Rory were back at the TARDIS, and he wanted them to come right away.
TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)