Duggan rushed back into the motel room, slamming the door behind him with a flourish that startled the Doctor and his friends.

"Wait until you all find out what I've seen!" he exclaimed, eyes gleaming in excitement as he held up his tiny camera.

"Aren't ye gonna ask wha' we found?" Jamie asked.

"Oh! Yes. Sorry. What did you find?"

Zoe looked at Jamie and then back at Duggan. "Absolutely nothing."

Jamie sunk down in his chair, looking small and flushing to his scalp as he nodded in agreement.

"So, what did you find, Mr. Duggan?" the Doctor prompted.

The detective regarded them excitedly. "We've not only got a name for their leader, but a very accurate picture as well." He gave a slight shudder. "A formidable one, that."

"And I will share this proof as soon as I get it developed," he muttered. "I'm afraid there's no shop that will instantly develop photos from a device such as this, so I'll have to use the bathroom as my dark room."

"Dark room? But we haven't any equipment for such a thing!" the Doctor said.

Duggan grinned, wagging a finger at him. "You may not. But I do!" He held up a bag and then began to remove equipment from it.

The Doctor's face lit up with a gleeful grin. "Splendid!" He exclaimed and clapped his hands together.

Jamie and Zoe shared a long-suffering eyeroll as the Doctor quickly scampered away to help Duggan set up the makeshift dark room.

Zoe sat down in a second chair that was beside Jamie's, an end table between them.

Minutes ticked by.

Jamie twiddled his thumbs, his gaze alternating between Zoe and the closed bathroom door. "Mebbe we should keep an eye on 'em," he finally said, turning more fully toward her.

"No, I think we'd best keep out of their way."

The Highlander sighed wearily. "Aye. They're like a coupla kids with all tha' stuff."

Zoe nodded in agreement then, out of idle curiosity, picked up the little spy camera and began to study it.

"It looks like it was made for a bairn. I cannae believe such a wee contraption like tha' can snap pictures," Jamie commented as he watched her examine it.

"Why not? What about that portable radio that Tobias Vaughn gave you? It was quite functional despite its compact size."

"Aye, but tha's different."

"How?"

"Er, weel, ah, um … Weel, it jist is."

Zoe turned her attention back to the camera.

"Can I see tha'?"

"One moment, I'm not done."

Jamie sighed and slumped in his chair. Boredom was creeping in. A minute later though he was startled by a snapping kind of noise. He turned and saw that a piece of the little camera seemed to have come off in Zoe's hands.

"Ye broke it!"

"Calm down, Jamie, I did nothing of the sort. It's the panel for where the film goes in. It slides right back on."

Zoe put a hand into the small kit bag that had been sitting next to the camera and pulled out a tiny canister.

"Now, let me see …" she murmured. She popped the canister into the cavity then slid and snapped the panel back into place over it. "See?" Zoe said, holding up the camera so Jamie could see it was undamaged.

"Aye, I see …" Jamie replied dryly.

Zoe brought the viewfinder of the tiny camera to her eye and looked through it at the room around her, searching for a worthy subject.

A smile suddenly crossed her face and she turned to Jamie.

"Say cheese!"

Jamie, who had been leaning his cheek into his hand, elbow propped on the armchair, suddenly straightened.

"Eh?"

Click.

"Hey! I wasnae ready!"

Zoe giggled.

"Och, take anither one!"

Zoe simply smirked and shook her head. Jamie reached forward, trying to grab the camera from her.

The door suddenly opened, all the "dark room" equipment had been switched off, and the duo, whose faces they expected to be lit up in child-like glee but instead were painted in serious astonishment, finally appeared.

"Yes, it certainly matches the voice I'd heard coming from that screen."

"Doctor?" Zoe questioned.

"Get a good look at our adversary —well, one of them," Duggan declared, gesturing to one of the photos he had developed. "There she is — 'Leader Drana.'"

Jamie's brow furrowed, his head tilted in confusion.

"Eh? A lassie Dominator?!"

Zoe bristled as she turned to him. "And why can't there be women Dominators?"

"Weel, b-because the ones we saw on Dulkis were men!" Jamie floundered.

"So? Just because you didn't see any women among them doesn't mean they don't exist! Haven't you said on more than one occasion, and I quote, 'It only took two in the beginning'?"

Failing a smart comeback, Jamie simply scowled at her.

"Please, you two, please!" the Doctor exclaimed. "It doesn't change the fact we have to deal with them again. The Krotons were bad enough. Now we've got them added to the mix."

Jamie paused in thought and then shrugged. "Weel, maybe it willnae be so bad."

"What do you mean?"

"If they've got a lassie in charge, it should be easier tae deal with them."

Zoe's eyes narrowed and she glared at him accusingly, hands on her hips. "Jamie McCrimmon, are you implying that a woman Dominator will be a naturally weaker adversary because of her sex?"

The Doctor groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"Ye seem tae think I am." The corner of his lip curled up in a smirk. "Mebbe I am, then."

Zoe started to object when the Doctor whistled loudly, successfully getting their attention.

Duggan himself regarded the Time Lord in surprise. "Well done," he muttered, impressed.

"I've had much practice," the Doctor retorted wearily.

Duggan briefly looked confused but then shook himself out of it. "Yes, well, we won't get far in this case if all we do is bicker."

"Yes, think of the victims," the Doctor added. "They may not have much time, depending on the conditions in which they're being held. We need to find out where they are."

"Mm." The detective took a moment to think. "We need to do another sweep of the office. It's possible we'll find such information there, like that pile of notes I spotted and that stack of papers you saw in the conference room earlier." His gaze was immediately on Jamie and Zoe. the corner of his mouth tugging into a smirk. "I think you two would be perfect for this next recce. Since you seem to work so well together."

The two shared a look.

"Well, Mister Duggan, as you were just very recently there, I think it best for Jamie and Zoe to wait until after hours before doing their part of the investigation, don't you?" the Doctor spoke up.

"Yes, agreed," the detective replied.

"What will you two do, then?" Jamie asked, his voice taking on a challenging tone as he gestured to the two men.

"Well, my friend, it's back to the fairgrounds!" Duggan announced, turning to the Doctor. "There's a certain … amusement we haven't studied yet."


The Doctor gazed up at the "Stellar Express", the enigmatic new attraction a handful of carnival goers had ridden but were later unaccounted for. He and Duggan noted the mechanism which swept riders in cars away into its imposing structure had long since been turned off, leaving them to explore the ride on foot.

Which suited the Doctor just fine. "Well, then, let's have a look—"

The detective held out a hand to stop him. "No, you stay outside as my backup. Make sure no one else turns up. I need to find something that will shed some light on what's happening to the victims, how they're disappearing and to where."

The Doctor frowned. "We both wish to get to the bottom of this, Mr. Duggan. Do you really think it a good idea to go blundering around in there alone?"

"I'll be fine," Duggan insisted. He suddenly puffed out his chest. "You forget, I've been in this line of work a good many years." He held up a calloused hand. "I've got a lot to show for it."

"Mm," the Doctor intoned, not quite convinced.

"Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll do a quick sweep inside and if it's safe I'll come back out and get you. For now I'd rather you be my lookout in case anyone shows up."

"If they do show up, what am I to do?"

Duggan tapped his forefinger against the side of his jaw. "Get them hard enough right there and they'll forget they ever saw you."

"I'll do no such thing!" the Doctor retorted, horrified. "I detest violence! It's the language of the animal, not of civilized man." The Doctor lifted his chin and straightened his lapel. "No, I'll leave that sort of thing to you and Jamie …"

Duggan shrugged. "My way gets results faster, but different strokes …"

The Doctor sighed wearily. "Just go inside and let me know what you've found." He pushed Duggan toward the ride entrance, eager to get something accomplished instead of standing out here, nattering.

"Alright, alright, I'm going," the detective returned. "Give me …" He paused, looking at his watch. " … Four minutes and twenty seconds."

"Call it an even five minutes." Though the Doctor doubted that would be enough time to get a good lay of the interior of a ride that large.

"Good enough," Duggan said with a nod before turning and approaching the ride entrance. He gave the Doctor a small wave before he disappeared into the dark recesses of the ride.

The Doctor frowned after him and then peered down at his watch.


"Jamie, shhh!" Zoe hissed as they entered the 'Office' caravan.

"What're ye 'shhh'-in' me for?" Jamie hissed back. "I havenae said anythin', I'm bein' as quiet as a wee mouse!"

"It's not your voice that's the problem, it's your feet! Can't you step a little more quietly?"

"The only way I can step more quietly is if I take off ma boots."

Zoe recoiled. "With your feet? Goodness, no! They'd smell us coming."

"Hey, now, ye jist leave my feet—" Jamie suddenly stiffened. "Shhh!"

"I wasn't saying anything," Zoe snapped.

Jamie frowned emphatically at her and held a finger to her lips. "Thought I heard somethin'."

He stood still for all of several seconds, then shrugged when he heard nothing further. "Weel, come on, then. Let's go an' see what we can see."

Zoe gave one last tentative look around the front room and then nodded. She'd soon left his side, exploring the layout of the room. Jamie's gaze fell upon a random stack of papers on top of the desk nearest the door. Curiously he approached and picked them up, leafing through them. The first few pages didn't look like anything important, mainly receipts for random, innocent purchases like food from the concession stands.

That soon changed. The last few pages contained typewritten information on the slavers' identities, some which had been hastily crossed out with handwritten corrections above them. Except for various names, they were all in some strange language and Jamie's eyes crossed as he stared at them—he couldn't even begin to understand any of it. He quickly leafed through the pages but paused as he caught one of particular interest. The subject was instantly recognizable by the Polaroid picture paperclipped to the page: Amy, or at least the woman known to him as Amy. According to this typewritten page, she had several different names: "Marcie", "Lola", and "Deb."

The Highlander frowned. "Quite the swick, aren't ye, lassie," he muttered to himself. The next page revealed different information along with a picture of Jared, the one who took an interest in Zoe. Jamie's frown deepened.

"Jamie!" Zoe suddenly called out across the room.

Jamie tucked the few pages of interest under his arm before joining Zoe. She was looking down the length of the corridor to the room at the very end.

"Tha's the room the Doctor an' Duggan were talkin' aboot," he said.

"Yes." She suddenly turned to Jamie, her eyes narrowing in curiosity. "You found something?"

"Aye," he replied, holding up the papers. "I found 'em on tha' desk over there." He gestured back toward the front of the room.

Zoe held out her hand and he gave them to her. Her brow furrowed in thought as she skimmed them. "Very interesting. I've never seen this language before."

"Mebbe the Doctor knows it?"

Her lips pursed thoughtfully. "Maybe. We'll have to bring these back." She handed them back to Jamie, who folded them several times and pocketed them. Zoe's attention was back on the other room. "Come on," she urged.

The two padded softly down the corridor. Jamie was easily able to make out Zoe's unsettled expression in the dim light. Admittedly it did lend to a creepy atmosphere coupled with the absolute stillness.

A loud squeak suddenly pierced the silence as Zoe's foot made contact with a certain spot on the wooden floor.

The petite astrophysicist startled, letting out a tiny squeak herself. She wheeled around on Jamie, glaring at him. "Must you be so noisy?!"

"I'm nae doin' it!" the Highlander protested. "Ye're doin' it!"

"No I'm not!"

Jamie took a couple of steps forward, but not before hitting a squeaky spot in the floor himself. "Now I'm doin' it!" he snapped. He then purposely leaned into the spot, generating several more squeaks for emphasis.

Zoe slowly pivoted to look back at him.

Jamie's annoyance transformed into a mischievous grin and he stepped into the squeak again.

Zoe stood motionless, arms crossed, her face set in a stony glare.

"I'm glad you're having such fun. Now, imagine how much fun it would be if these slavers returned and found us here."

Jamie's grin quickly faded, wrinkling his nose slightly after Zoe as she continued down the corridor and he followed after.

The next room was a large one, and in the center stood a long table with six dark, straight back chairs. There was also a large dark screen ensconced in the back wall with some odd contraption attached to it, but Jamie was more interested in the table at the moment, remembering the papers the Doctor had mentioned seeing.

He frowned in confusion upon finding it empty.

"What was he talkin' aboot? There's no papers here!"

Zoe shrugged. "Maybe they filed them away somewhere …" Her voice trailed off as she suddenly spotted a piece of equipment in the corner along the wall. One which looked vaguely familiar. Could it be …?

Nearing it, she knelt down and studied the contraption. Her furrowed curious brow smoothed and her eyes lit up as her fingers swept across the surface.

"Wha's that?" Jamie asked, joining her.

She tried to temper her excitement as she turned to her friend. "It reminds me of the data repositories we had on the Wheel, only in a portable size."

She turned back to it again, aiming her focus like a laser upon what surely had to be the control unit. "And if I'm correct, this should …" Pushing a couple of buttons, the screen lit up with a message in an alpha-numeric language that she quickly recognized. She tried several combinations in succession, none of them working until she decided to switch to half-sigmoidal permutations to calculate what she needed. A smile spread across her face as an agreeable tone sounded and the screen lit up.

"I did it!"

The frown of confusion that Jamie had been giving the object only deepened as he glanced up at Zoe.

What did ye do?"

"I cracked the code! We can now access the data!" she told him with an almost childlike excitement.

Jamie's brow cleared and an impressed grin lifted his lips. "Och, I always knew yer canniness would come in handy someday."

"Oh, did you, now?" Zoe fixed him with a doubtful look and raised an eyebrow, all the while a gratified grin of her own tugging at her mouth.

A sheepish expression flickered across Jamie's face before morphing into a winning smile. He crossed his arms and leaned against the desk.

"Och, aye. Neiver doubted ye!" he insisted.

"Well, thank you," she said primly. But deep down there was a flutter in her chest as she found herself more satisfied by his praise and roundabout apology than by her own accomplishment.

Jamie bent as he approached the device, brow furrowing as he studied it. "Are ye able tae read any of that stuff?"

Zoe's eyes narrowed as she returned her attention to it, cycling through several screens with one of the buttons. "Hm. There is a lot of information here. It'll take time to sort through it all."

Straightening, Jamie began pacing back and forth, nervously dragging his hand across the hair at the back of his neck. "We dinnae know how much time we have before those beasties come back. We should search the rest of the place an' see wha' else is here."

Zoe gazed at the electronic repository in frustration and sighed. He was right.

"I saw a strange contraption over there next tae that screen," Jamie suddenly told her, pointing to the far end of the room.

The petite scientist tore her eyes away from the machine and stood, looking in the direction he was pointing. From a distance it looked like some kind of communication setup. Her eyes boggled in fascination as she approached and got a good look at it.

It consisted of several different pieces constructed from non-uniform materials, connected together in a rather haphazard way to form one large apparatus. One side of the setup had a strange sort of aerial sticking out on top.

There were several cords snaking out of each end that were connected to a screen of approximately fifty-five inches. Zoe's gaze swept over each piece and she closely studied them, committing their shapes to her eidetic memory as she pondered their functions.

She had just about considered one possibility when Jamie suddenly rushed over to her and grabbed her.

"Somebody's comin'," he blurted urgently.

"Wait, I just need to study it a bit more!" she hissed at him.

"Weel, ye'll have tae make do with wha' ye've got, come on!" Jamie hissed back as he quickly led her over to a small supply closet, rushing her inside with him before shutting the doors in a flourish.

Through the slats in the louvered doors, they glimpsed four male slavers entering the room and talking. One was holding a stack of papers which he held up several times as they continued their conversation.

Zoe squinted as she tried to follow along with their conversation, but it was so muffled she could only pick up a word or two here and there.

"Can ye hear wha' they're sayin'?" Jamie whispered.

"No, not really." She shifted her position, angling her head so she could hear better but ended up softly smacking her head against the door when she got too close.

"Agh!" she hissed quietly.

Jamie shushed her.

Zoe turned and glared at him as she rubbed the top of her head. "How about showing a little sympathy?" she quietly chastised, though he didn't seem to hear as he shifted a bit himself, trying to see out of the slats to make out what was written on the papers the one slaver was holding.

"Och," he whispered in frustration.

His eyes suddenly widened and he stifled a yelp in pain as Zoe accidentally stepped on his toes. "Hey…!"

She shushed him, but then looked contrite as she uttered a quiet "Sorry."

"Jist stand still!" Jamie hissed, he then reached out and drew Zoe tightly against him in a desperate attempt to prevent any further accidental toe squishing or possible elbow jabbing.

Minutes ticked by.

Crivens, this is a long conversation they're havin', Jamie thought. Didn't they have anywhere else to be?

As they stood there, wedged in uncomfortable silence, save for the murmuring of the slavers, Jamie's focus inevitably drifted from the conversation he was supposed to be listening to to the girl pressed up against him.

He noticed how nicely her head fit right under his chin, and how soft her hair was. Had it always been that soft and he'd just never noticed …?

Zoe seemed to have no problem with her own thoughts wandering. Did Jamie always smell this nice? Could any room air freshener be the source? I didn't smell anything before …

Perhaps it's his hair? Could it be the motel shampoo? No, of course not—if it was, my hair would smell the same way … Unless our different hair types or textures cause the chemical makeup of the fragrance to react differently … Oh, no, that's just ridiculous … But, oh, it does smell very nice …

CLUNK!

The two froze. Zoe gazed down at the floor and found a small cardboard box had shifted and fallen. Her eyes widened.

They had to have heard that.

The sight of a pair of legs approaching, visible through the slats, proved her assumption correct. Even though Zoe was already as close to him as humanly possible she tried to shrink against Jamie even more, as if that would put more space between them and the slavers.

Suddenly, Zoe felt Jamie move and heard the familiar snick of his dirk being unsheathed.

"What are you going to do?" the petite scientist asked, alarmed.

"What d'ye think? I'm going tae fight my way oot o' course. An' while I'm takin' care o' them, ye make a run fer it."

Zoe peered through the slats again.

There were four figures now; each one held a small pistol that was clearly of extraterrestrial origin, but a pistol nonetheless.

Zoe's stomach clenched in fear. Jamie was a formidable warrior, but even he could not overcome four men armed with guns. There had to be another way …

Think, Zoe, think!

Jamie raised his dirk. "Alreeght, Zoe, when I say run … ru—"

The Highlander's voice was muffled by Zoe's lips suddenly covering his.

Jamie made a noise of surprise but seemed to recover quickly as his hands found her hips and he began to kiss her in return.

Like the spark that lights the blue touchpaper, Jamie's touch set off all sorts of things inside Zoe. With a deep inner sigh she let go of all situational awareness and melted against Jamie.

It was then that the closet door was ripped open to reveal the four men standing on the other side, looking at them accusingly before smirking as the amorous pair continued to be oblivious of them.

"Honesty, what is it about our office? This is the third time …" The man speaking put his hands on his hips. "Hellooo?"

One of the other men finally prodded the pre-occupied couple.

"Alright, kids, break it up! This ain't the Tunnel of Love. Crazy teenagers …"

Sultry, humid air of a summer night quickly replaced the comfortable, climate-controlled indoor atmosphere as the two were practically thrown out of the caravan onto the fairgrounds and the door slammed roughly behind them.

"What do we do now?" wondered Zoe breathlessly as she tried to will her racing heart to slow down.

Jamie didn't answer; he was staring into space. In fact he'd been unusually docile the short time it took to be manhandled out of the office.

"Jamie!" Zoe's flustered feelings had made her tone sharper than she meant it to be.

The Scot jumped as if startled from a dream. "Hm? Eh?"

"We need to get back to the Doctor."

Jamie blinked at her, his gaze flicked down to her lips and he blushed. He forced his eyes back up.

"Oh … aye … th' Doctor … aye." His hazel eyes drifted down again to her mouth.

"Jamie!"

"Wha'?"

Zoe regarded him impatiently, feeling her blush intensifying as she stared at him.

"Weel, what are we standin' aroond here for? Let's go find the Doctor."

Jamie took a few uncertain steps forward and, with a "that's what I said" mumbled under her breath, Zoe followed.