By Kyron Mallett
Part One
It was well past closing time and Staffords Department store was dark and quiet. The occasional cleaner still moved about the floors of the building, pulling mops and buckets along with them in a detached manner. A well dressed man with a neatly trimmed moustache and expensive suit stood in the shadows behind a drinks machine as he waited for a cleaner to move away. The old man had not even looked in his direction and listened to his head phones, whistling softly as he made his way to the lift and presumably another floor. As the lift closed, the man in the suit stepped out. He waited for a moment and then made his way to the offices at the end of the corridor.
The man was careful to check each office was empty before moving on to the end. It was the office marked 'Manager' that he entered using a key from his pocket and closed the door behind him. Despite the fact he failed to turn the lights on, the gentleman moved about the furniture in the office with great familiarity. He walked behind the desk and sat down in the chair. He opened all the drawers in turn. Failing to find what he was looking for, he looked over to the cabinets on the other side of the room. He froze when he saw a figure standing there. He began to breathe freely when his eyes focused enough to make out it was just a mannequin. He rose from the desk and slinked over to the cabinets. They refused to open. It was then that he realised that something was moving to his left. He turned his head slightly to see the arm descending on him with great speed.
The TARDIS - a space/time capsule in the shape of a blue police box - materialised with a peculiar groaning sound in front of the store the next morning. The Doctor and his young companion a red haired girl, Mel, emerged from the ship. The Doctor was a rather tall man dressed in a colourful Edwardian coat and sporting a mop of blonde curly hair. His young friend was dressed in matching blue top and pants. They only looked to be a slightly odd combination and drew more than the occasional stare from passers-by. The Doctor pulled out an 'out of order' sign from his pocket and hung it over the door handle.
"That's not going to work. It's 1987 and they aren't in use anymore!" Mel chirped.
"I don't think it will draw too much attention. People will think it's here as a novelty or tourist attraction," he replied with a sly grin.
Mel shrugged and walked around the box to take in the store behind: "Staffords, I used to come here as a teenager!"
"I hope their coffee is as good as you described Mel," The Doctor commented as they started to follow a group of people into the building.
The door attendant nodded politely at them as they made their way inside. As usual The Doctor seemed totally oblivious to the attention he attracted.
At that precise moment, numerous floors above and inside one of the head offices, store manager Mister Myers was in the middle of a conference with a rather attractive woman. Myers was a middle aged man, greying around the temples and dressed in a light grey business suit.
"So you see Detective Tyson, Tom has been under rather a lot of stress lately. I was going to suggest that he take some leave..."
Detective Tyson looked up from scribbling on her notebook and asked another question: "So you have no idea where he is?"
"None at all... you must have acted on this promptly considering that he was only here yesterday."
"To be honest we've been investigating some mysterious disappearances in this area. When Mrs. Earl called the station this morning to report that her husband did not come home last night it got passed onto my desk... he hasn't been gone long enough to be considered to be a missing person but he is the first... respectable person to go missing you might say."
"Well, that's very interesting Detective but I'm not sure Tom has just run off to give his head together."
The Doctor and Mel were sitting in the cafeteria. It was situated in the centre of the main foyer. Around the outskirts of the floor were individual departments. They were both having a cappuccino and The Doctor was looking a little restless.
"Relax Doctor, this is hardly a place where people would be trying to kill us or take over the world!"
"Aren't you bored Mel?!"
"No. I'm relaxing and then I'm going to do some shopping!"
The Doctor took another sip of his coffee and pulled out a copy of New Scientist from his coat pocket.
"You know I'd forgotten how much I really miss normal things..."
"Mmmmm... this hole in the ozone layer is a little worrying..."
Mel rolled her eyes: "Listen Doctor, I'm off to do some shopping."
"Mmmmmm..."
Mel finished her coffee and threw the Styrofoam cup in the bin: "I'll catch you later... maybe..."
"Mmmmm..."
He put his magazine down to find himself alone. He appeared quite surprised that Mel wasn't there. He caught the eye of one of the security guards who was circling with a tray. He was obviously waiting for a chance to clear the table away. The Doctor moved off and began to make a general orbit of the main foyer. As he was passing the newsagency he noticed the same security guard walk past him towards the lifts. The Doctor turned back to see the identical guard clearing away his coffee. The guard vanished into the lift.
"Now that is peculiar!" He exclaimed, scratching his head under his hat.
"Well thank you for your time Mister Myers," Tyson announced, extending her hand.
"So sorry Mister Stafford couldn't see you as well but - he's a very busy man and this type of thing is in my job description after all! If we can help at all please don't hesitate to contact me," Myers replied.
Tyson departed as the same security guard The Doctor had viewed in stereo entered.
"Mister Myers..."
Myers held up his hand to indicate he wanted his subordinate to wait for Tyson to close the door. As she did so she loitered for a moment, leaning her ear up against the door.
"What is it 6?"
"The body has been disintegrated."
Myers did not answer. Instead he walked calmly over to the closed door and opened it abruptly. There was no-one there. He smiled and closed the door once more. Nodding his assent for the conversation to recommence.
"As I said Sir, the organic matter has been disposed of."
"You didn't cross the main floor did you? I think 17 is on duty. What if both of you were seen together? This is a very delicate phase in our operation 6 and we have a limited number of moulds, take care next time," he chastised.
"Yes Sir," 6 replied emotionlessly.
"Oh, there you are!" The Doctor sighed.
Mel was engrossed in selecting a new pair of shoes: "Just trying to make up my mind Doctor..."
"I've just seen something rather peculiar..."
Mel's heart sank: The Doctor was always finding something amiss, no matter where they went.
"Doctor, this is a London department store... what could possibly be peculiar here!"
"I just saw the same person in two separate places," he replied.
"Perhaps they have twins working here," Mel snapped as she replaced one set of shoes on the rack and made her way over to the counter.
"I can sense something strange going on here," The Doctor insisted, following behind her.
Mel shook her head - it never failed, he always managed to find trouble of some kind.
"You'll have to investigate on your own Doctor - I'm on holiday. I'll see you later... maybe..."
The Doctor watched her head off towards the jeans department and rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. He shrugged his shoulders and moved off towards the lift. He took up a position next to an old woman.
"Going up?" She asked.
"I'm not sure - I'm after the managerial level," The Doctor revealed.
"If someone sold me a coat like that I'd be complaining as well."
The doors of the lift opened and Detective Tyson stepped out. The Doctor followed the old woman into the lift brushing his coat with an annoyed air.
DS Tyson took the escalator down to the underground car park. She followed a young couple out into the gloomy area and was abandoned when they jumped into a nearby car and tore off. Tyson walked on towards her car, down on the next level. She paused for a moment, thinking that she could hear some scuffing noises behind her. She walked a little faster until she came to her car. Inside was her partner.
"A little early for lunch!" She noted.
Her partner pulled a quarter pounder from his face: "I have a slow metabolism."
Tyson smiled and jumped inside.
"The Guv wants us back at the station. ASAP."
"Why?"
"Apparently Earl has turned up at home!"
"What?!"
"Roberts wants to know what you've been doing all morning. I told you that he probably got sloshed and checked into a motel or something!"
Tyson slammed the door closed.
"There's some connection. All those missing people and this block, they've all gone missing from around here. This Myers character... he's hiding something, I know it."
"Doesn't change the fact that Roberts is on our tail... all he's worried about is numbers, arrests and convictions. Results."
"I don't care if most of the people to have gone missing were bums Dobbin, they still matter."
Dobbin scrunched up his paper and wiped his mouth. Then he started the car.
"Better get it over with then, hey?!"
Tyson nodded as they pulled away. As they drove out, a silent figure stepped out from behind a concrete support in the shadows.
The old lady stepped out and The Doctor did not follow her. Now he was alone, he waited until the lift doors had shut and then he pressed the stop button to freeze the lift between floors. He studied the button panel and he could see that one of the buttons had been removed and replaced with a metal cover. Taking some tools from one of his pockets, The Doctor pried the cover off and stuck a long pointed implement into the hole inside. He set the elevator in motion again and it preceded up to the restricted floor. Very pleased with himself, The Doctor placed his tools back in his pocket and carefully stepped out.
In Myers office, The Doctor's arrival on the restricted floor was being monitored on a CCTV monitor.
Myers activated his intercom: "Mister Stafford... I thought you should know. The Doctor has arrived!"
"...yep and that's about it... day in, day out. A few years of this and you'll look like me," the old janitor claimed.
He was clearly training a young employee. The lad was tall, thin and dark haired. He lent on his broom as he watched the old man show him the ropes.
"You're starting to depress me. How long did you say that you've been working here Bill?"
"Oh, I've been here forever!" Bill closed the broom closet at the far end of the foyer. He noticed Tim's attention being attracted by Mel looking through the jean department: "Mind on the job lad!"
"It's actually break time," he challenged with a wink.
"Well go on then if you think you have a chance!" Bill teased as he made his way off.
Tim took a deep breath, straightened his hair and strode over in Mel's direction.
Tyson and Dobbin made their way into the local station, up the interior stairs and into the CID office on the second floor.
"Tyson! I haven't seen my wife since this morning, I was wondering if you might put out an APB for me!"
The voice shot out from the other side of the room. There was general laughter and while Dobbin chuckled along, Tyson put her nose up in the air and made her way over to the desk.
A broad necked, grey bristled man with glaring eyes emerged through the office door at the end of the room: "Tyson! Dobbin! My office now!"
There were a few more sniggers as the pair made their way to the office of the D.I., as the title on the door indicated. They made their way in and stood by his desk like school children about to be admonished by their headmaster.
"I hear you spent the morning investigating the disappearance of a man who had actually not even been classified as a missing person..."
"Guv, I was following up a lead on the Stafford lane case and..."
"That case which you convinced me meant that we were dealing with a serial killer of some kind. I just got a call from a Mister Myers from Staffords, who wanted me to pass along the news that the Mister Thomas Earl you spent the morning interviewing him about has just turned up at home. Tyson, as of now, there is no case. Every person reported missing was a bum - I don't waste valuable manpower on unemployed riff raff!"
"But Sir..."
"Shut it Tyson. Unless you'd like to be a DC again like Dobbin here. You're to give Spiller and Morrell a hand on the Mansfield case. Now get the hell out of my office!"
Tyson was about to object again by Dobbin pulled out.
The Doctor had found his way to a locked door. What had attracted him to it was the fact that unlike the others that lined the corridor, it was secured with a keypad. The letters 'R&D' were painted on the outside. Fairly sure that this was what he was looking for, he began to study the mechanism.
A floor below, The Doctor was being observed on the CCTV by Myers and the owner, the quite elderly Mister Stafford. Stafford was pale and bald but moved with great flexibility of movement for an octogenarian.
"I can see why he is such a dangerous adversary. Less than 30 minutes has passed since he arrived and he has located the laboratory out of a dozen floors and hundreds of rooms!" Stafford declared.
"Shall I dispatch two units?" Myers asked.
"Yes. I want to see how easy it is to capture him," Stafford agreed.
Tim had made a show of inspecting a row of jeans before making his move on Mel.
"Hi! Do you work here?"
"You do realise that this is the female section?"
"Oh, yes... I was looking for a pair of jeans for my sister... as a present..."
"Well the actual attendant is over there."
"Oh, I think the opinion of someone off the street is far more valuable. Retail assistants are always trying to push stuff on you!"
"Well I like these..." Mel suggested, " What size is she?"
"Ah, well she's... tall... but not thin like me... err, look would you like to have a cup of coffee with me, you see I'm on my lunch break and..."
"I'm afraid not, you see I don't know your name!"
"Oh Tim, sorry... it's Tim. I work here, just started actually... today..."
Mel smiled in a way that revealed that she had known what his game was right from the beginning: "I'm Mel, Tim. And I'd be glad to have a drink with you!"
Tyson took the new file she'd been given and tossed it into her bottom drawer. She then took out a scrap of paper with the name, address and number of Mrs. Tom Earl written on it. Dobbin sat at the desk opposite her and noticed what she had done.
"I wouldn't if I were you..."
"Listen, I need you to cover for me..."
"I'll do better than that... I'll go and interview Mrs. Earl while you head back to Staffords and get on with the real work."
"You'd do that?"
"I will if you promise to buy me dinner sometime. After all I can claim you made me do it if we get caught - which we will. Anyway it's lunch time and at least for an hour we can be doing what we like."
Tyson passed Dobbin the note and patted him on the shoulder as she left. Dobbin took his time getting himself organised to leave, not realising that Roberts was watching them through the blinds in his office window.
The Doctor was attempting to punch some kind of clever combination into the key pad when he heard approaching footsteps. With surprising swiftness he sped down the corridor, testing many of the doors as he could on the way. When one opened, he dashed inside. Once inside he found it to be a small storage room full of all kind of junk.
The guards, 6 and another unit arrived at the entrance to the research and development laboratory. 6 pointed his counterpart down the corridor while he stood sentry. His colleague pointed to the slightly ajar storage room door and 6 moved to join him. They drew their guns and quietly stepped inside. While the room was full of junk but there was a ton of shelves at the back and the familiar sight of The Doctor's coat could be seen partially behind it. Each guard took one side of the room as they attempted to flank the fugitive. As they both rounded the opposite corners of the shelf they saw that it was in a fact an old mannequin wearing the coat! Then they heard the door shut and a few seconds later the lift being activated down the hall as they rushed after him.
The Doctor wore a broad smile as the lift doors opened in the foyer. It quickly vanished when he was confronted by the same guards who has been pursuing him a dozen floor above. They moved to push him back into the lift but The Doctor shoved them aside and marched out into the foyer.
"How dare you! You will be hearing from my solicitor!"
The sudden ferocity of the outburst made the guards hesitate. The immediate area went dead quiet as heads turned towards the general area of commotion. If the guards were going to take The Doctor, he was going to make sure that they were going to have to do it very publicly. With strange synchronicity the guards grabbed an arm of The Doctor and pulled it behind him.
"Stop!" The voice belonged to DS Tyson, who had just entered the store. "What is going on here?"
"This man was trespassing Ma'am," 6 replied, his individuality beginning to return.
Tyson pulled out her badge and flashed it: "I'm Detective Sergeant Tyson, I would appreciate it if you let go of that man."
The guards obliged.
"Thank you Officer - I just got off on the wrong floor..." The Doctor began.
"Shut up. I think I'll take it from here... hang on, I know you, you're Jeremy Peters, you've been missing for weeks!"
"I... work here now..." 6 replied with some difficulty.
"Some of your friends from the shelter reported you missing!"
"I got this job. I've been so busy I forgot to let them know."
"Right..." Tyson replied, obviously unconvinced.
There was an awkward moment of silence.
"Well you can both go now, thank you. If I need anything further I'll speak to Mister Myers, he's a friend of mine."
This seemed to convince the guards to retreat and they vanished into the lift.
"Thank you again!" The Doctor declared.
"I want some answers - there's something odd going on and I'm not talking about your jumper," Tyson replied curtly.
"I'm The Doctor," he explained shaking her hand, "and I've seen something you may be interested in hearing about."
"Do not impede DS Tyson!" Myers ordered into a microphone connected to a box on his desk.
Myers and Stafford were watching events on their CCTV.
"They might compare stories. Tyson is already suspicious," Myers declared.
"Calm yourself Myers. We will order The Doctor's travelling companion to be taken. She will act as insurance. The Leader wants The Doctor to uncover the truth - before he is utterly destroyed!" Stafford assured him.
"Well thanks for lunch Tim," Mel commented as she finished off a milkshake.
Tim had payed for lunch and was trying not to look at the clock on the far side of the room, realising his lunch hour was almost over.
"It sure sounds like you travel around a lot," he reflected as he caught sight of Bill over Mel's left shoulder. He was unlocking his broom closet.
"I've got to get back to work."
"Let me walk you back," Mel offered.
They got up and walked back out into the foyer. Tim pointed in the direction of the broom closet.
"Well, it was nice to meet you. Maybe we'll catch up again sometime."
"I'd like to think so," Mel called after him, perhaps a little wistfully as it was the most normal conversation that she had had in years.
She watched Tim vanish into the closet and almost turned to leave when she saw Tim remerge, pale faced.
"It's my boss, Bill, he's collapsed - can you help?"
Mel immediately rushed in after him. She found that the closet was no more than a few metres wide and fairly full of equipment. There was no body. Then she heard the door click. She turned to see Tim standing behind her with a strange grin on his face.
"Wh..what do you want?" Mel stuttered.
Tim lunged at her. In desperation Mel grabbed a broom and clouted him around the head. She screamed as his face fell off. It had been some kind of mask and beneath it was a smooth, featureless plastic face!
Bill rushed into the closet, broom in hand and struck 'Tim' from behind. There was a splitting sound and his head rolled off. There was a pulsing light beneath the cracked plastic that died after a few seconds.
"Are you alright lass?" Bill asked, pulling Mel away from the grisly sight.
"Err, yes. Thank you, um Bill is it...?"
"Take it easy lass you've had a nasty scare. I've never seen anything like that before in my life!"
"I have to find The Doctor," she announced, he'd been right, as usual.
"I'd just get out of here if I were you girl," Bill advised her.
Mel took his advice and ran out.
"18 has failed!" Myers declared staring at the CCTV.
"She won't get far. It will not be long before The Doctor returns and we will have him also," Stafford replied.
The Doctor and Tyson were at that moment sitting outside the coffee shop across the street.
"I thought it would be best if we spoke outside the store," The Doctor explained.
"Is this for real?" Tyson enquired, looking at The Doctor's UNIT ID with some scepticism.
"Oh yes, I'm employed on a casual basis. I want to be sure I'm really onto something before I request UNIT troops to storm the building. There's no guarantee they would do so on my say-so anyway."
"This picture isn't of you," Tyson commented with a raised eyebrow.
"I've had a face lift since that was taken... or two..." The Doctor replied cagily.
Tyson decided to change the subject.
"From what you're saying, they seem to have the entire store monitored and perhaps bugged."
"Yes and there's something else. I only caught a glimpse of them but I swear the two security officers that caught me in the foyer where the same two that were after me on the hidden floor," The Doctor added.
"They must have come down by the stairs."
"If that's true they must be incredibly fit... they weren't sweating at all!"
"I agree there's something weird going on. When I was in Myers office earlier today I overheard something, a fragment of conversation. Myers referred to one a guard, that Peters I think in retrospect, as a number, 6. And Peters mentioned something about a body," Tyson recounted.
"Fascinating! We could be dealing with robots then. That would explain their speed but there's something else..."
"Robots! Come on now..."
"Don't disappoint me Detective," The Doctor responded with a dark look that made Tyson's chuckle die in her throat, "when I first arrived I saw the same person in two places at the same time... I wonder..."
Tyson took out her mobile and speed dialled a number: "Dobbin? Are you there yet? I've made some progress here, let me know how you go with The Earls," she ordered.
"Doctor I want you to lead me to this restricted floor and this laboratory you found."
"Is that legal?" He teased.
"I'm already in over my head. If I don't find something, I'm finished!"
"Fair enough. I just think you should be aware that they'll be expecting us," The Doctor warned, "and whoever we're dealing with are obviously ruthless."
Dobbin pulled up outside The Earl's town house. He shoved a cold chiko roll into his glove box and wiped his hand on his shirt as he jumped out of the car. He energetically walked up the steps and pressed the bell. There were some muffled voices and then Mrs. Earl opened the door. She was a short, demure woman wearing a flowery dress. There were obvious bags under her eyes.
"Yes?"
"I'm detective Constable Dobbin. I'm here to talk to you and your husband about his disappearance."
Thomas Earl's face appeared behind his wife: "As I explained to the other Officers, I had a little too much to drink and slept it off in my car," Earl explained in an irritated way.
"It's not just that Sir, I would like to talk to you about your Company."
"Wouldn't Mister Myers, The Manager, be a better one to speak to?"
"We have spoken to him Sir and if you don't mind I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes, if that's not a problem," Dobbin answered, returning his glare.
Mrs. Earl opened the door and allowed Dobbin inside.
Mel was slightly frantic. he couldn't see The Doctor but spotted two men in uniform, store security by the look of them and went up to them: "I need to talk to you - I've just been attacked!"
"We know Miss. We'd like you to come with us," Unit 6 informed her.
It was at that moment that Mel realised that it wasn't a coincidence that they were both walking in her direction. They were coming to collect her. Mel started to back away thinking she had made a mistake but before long, she was being pulled away in the direction of the lift. Her cry was muffled by a cold hand and the closure of the lift doors.
Part Two
The Doctor and Tyson made their way back into the foyer. The Doctor's question marked sweater was drawing the occasional stare. They made their way directly to the lift.
"Floor 13 you say?" Tyson reiterated.
"You won't find a button for it," The Doctor grinned.
"Then how....?"
The Doctor pulled out the necessary instruments from his trouser pockets and smiled as they entered the lift.
"They are back," Myers announced.
Stafford rose from his chair and straightened himself up: "The Leader will want him to make the discovery unaided - don't make it too hard for him will you,," he instructed and left Myers alone.
Myers picked up his microphone and spoke into it: "Security - we have intruders on floor 13."
Mrs Earl had made Dobbin a pot of tea and brought a tray of biscuits. He was enthusiastically swallowing some as he listened to Mister Earl, talk about the office party where he had drunk too much.
"Mister Myers said that you had been under a lot of stress lately and that he was going to recommend leave," Dobbin interceded.
"Yes. There have been some major changes going on recently. We were recently taken over by a large foreign conglomerate and... I've been reconsidering my future," Earl informed him.
"Well, we take all disappearances very seriously. Could you please remember to inform your wife in future," Dobbin commented, standing up and grabbing a couple f biscuits on the way.
Mrs. Earl had been very quiet thought the whole conversation.
"Lovely tea Mrs. Earl - and homemade biscuits! Don't get them everyday!"
Tom Earl walked him to the door.
"I'm sorry that we've been a nuisance," Mrs Earl told him, shaking his hand.
Dobbin felt he put something inside it but he did not let on. Dobbin walked down the steps and into his car. It was there he opened the note that he discovered in his palm. It read: "Help me. This is not my husband!"
Mel was shuffled out of the lift and half-dragged into a small questioning room.
"There are intruders on floor 13 - come on," 6 informed his partner, locking the door behind him as he left.
Mel circled the room. It was clearly the sort of place that shop lifters were dragged into once caught. There was a table and a chair either side of it. She knew something was very wrong and the sooner she found The Doctor the better. She had begun to feel rather guilty about her earlier attitude. He did have the uncanny knack of landing them in the midst of trouble, or was it the TARDIS, or the Time Lords? What had made it seem more unlikely was the fact that it had been her idea to visit Staffords for coffee as she had been growing restless of late.
The door opened and two men in suits entered. One was quite elderly and the other a middle aged man with short bristled hair.
"My name is Stafford and I own this store. This is Inspector Roberts. We both want to have a word with you!"
The Doctor and Tyson were staring at the keypad which secured the door into the 'R&D' laboratory.
"I've a feeling we don't have too long Doctor," Tyson commented, looking about nervously.
"As primitive as these things are, they are effective - there are a million or more combinations."
"We could always kick the door down," Tyson suggested.
"Every alarm in the building will go off. No, it's times like this that I miss my sonic screwdriver," The Doctor moaned.
"Doctor someone is coming!" Tyson declared.
"Hide," The Doctor ordered, pushing her down the corridor.
Tyson took cover beneath a couch and pot plant further down the hall. The Doctor took out a lock pick and let himself into the door opposite. First he checked it was empty and then he ensured that there was an adequate gap between the frame and the door for him to observe.
Unit 6 stepped up to the key pad and typed in the combination. The Doctor silently pushed the door closed. 6 stepped inside the laboratory, turning on the lights. A few moments later he switched them off and stepped back out, closing the door behind him. The Doctor pulled the door virtually closed as he passed. After his footsteps had died away, The Doctor emerged and signalled for Tyson to join him.
"Let's hope I memorised this correctly," The Doctor commented as he keyed the combination into the keypad. The door clicked open. Tyson flashed him a smile.
"We'll take a look around shall we?"
"A young employee was found with serious head injuries Miss... Bush," Roberts explained, reading from a report.
"But he wasn't a real person, that janitor Bill came in and rescued me. He knocked his head off with a mop!"
Stafford turned to Roberts: "I think I know who she's talking about. I'll have him brought up here."
"What do you mean he wasn't a real person?" Roberts continued with the questioning.
"I mean he was wearing some kind of mask and underneath, he was some kind of faceless robot!"
"Robot," Roberts echoed.
Stafford shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Miss Bush I'm going to recommend that you see a psychiatrist - we've looked into you and have noted that you haven't lodged a tax return for the last few years or payed your poll tax or applied for an exemption..."
"Psychiatrist! I'm not barmy!" Mel countered.
"I'd like you to stay here for a few minutes while I arrange to someone contact you," Roberts insisted as both men got up and left. The door was locked as they went. Mel got up and flew at the door, slapping her palms against it. It had been a trap, she was sure of it.
"Doctor!" She shouted.
Dobbin had made a show of driving off, circled the block and pulled up a few houses away from the Earl residence. He lent forward a little when he saw Tom Earl walk out of the house and walk off down the street, presumably down to the pub or the corner shop. Taking his chance, Dobbin got out of his car and carefully approached the town house. He rang the bell. Dobbin listened for any sound and realised that he could hear no movement. Suspicious, he leaned his head around from the step and peered into the living room window. It took him a moment but he finally made out the sight of a body on the floor. He pulled out his gun from beneath his coat and kicked down the door. Storming down the hallway and into lounge room, Dobbin knelt down beside Mrs. Earl and felt for a pulse. There was none. He looked back towards the door and saw Tom Earl standing there. He immediately levelled his gun at him.
"Put your hands up, you're nicked!"
Earl began to lift his arms but then one of his hands fell away, somehow revealing a long, narrow barrel. Dobbin's jaw dropped as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was a whooshing sound and a cloud of smoke smothered Dobbin's rather ample frame. He fell in a heap next to Mrs. Earl and then his body disintegrated into dust. The creature then looked at the body of his 'wife' and disintegrated it as well, into nothingness.
"That was wasteful! Dobbin would have made a useful mould," Stafford shouted.
Myers was looking at him quizzically: "What are you talking about?"
"The Earl unit, it just disintegrated Dobbin before we could copy him."
"But how...?"
Myers question had to remain unasked as Unit 6 approached with a report: "The Doctor and DS Tyson are heading into the lab now Sir."
"Excellent. You see how subtlety succeeds where ferocity fails Myers. The Leader will be most pleased."
The Doctor and Tyson had wandered into the research and development laboratory. Once illuminated, the laboratory proved to be full of highly advanced technology.
"Some of this machinery looks familiar," The Doctor commented.
"But what is the purpose of all this?" Tyson asked.
They wandered over to a table with straps provided for arms and feet.
"Whatever it's for, it doesn't look promising does it!" The Doctor concluded.
His attention was then captured by a set of steps that lead up to an arch no more than a metre thick. It did not actually lead anywhere and The Doctor was able to circle it.
"I've been a cop almost 15 years Doctor and I've never seen anything like this," Tyson admitted.
"Oh, this is not human technology," The Doctor assured her.
At that moment Stafford and Roberts entered the room.
"I see you found our laboratory Doctor!"
The Doctor frowned at Stafford: "So, you know who I am. Where is my companion?"
"She's well... as long as you behave yourself."
"Sir, I was just about..." Tyson began to explain to Roberts.
"I see you only investigate cases you assign to yourself now DS Tyson," Roberts snapped.
"Whoever you think that is... it isn't," The Doctor whispered.
Units 6 and 17 entered the room, their hands falling away to reveal blasters.
"What are they Doctor?"
"Autons, Tyson, we're up against the Nestenes."
"You remember us Doctor? Good - as we certainly remember you," Stafford commented acidly.
He then began to operate a panel on a piece of machinery. The archway burst to life, a swirling mass of light appeared inside it.
"Now Doctor, would you be so kind as to attend an audience with our Leader?"
"Do I have a choice?" The Doctor quipped.
"No," Stafford answered coldly.
The Doctor patted Tyson reassuringly on the shoulder and ascended the steps, taking a deep breath as he walked into the vortex.
He instantly reappeared on an arid landscape. The wind was almost deafening and the glare of the sun virtually intolerable. There was no vegetation, only sand. When The Doctor's eyes adjusted to the light he could see what was waiting before him. In a massive tank, a mile long and taller than a man sat a giant tentacled, squid like creature - its appendages moving about in a restless fashion.
"At last Doctor," it cried, "I have you! At last!"
The Doctor took his hands away from his eyes: "The Nestene Intelligence I presume."
"Oh, Doctor, do you know how long I have waited for this?" The voice was very slow, deep and telepathically delivered.
"Not really... and I don't care. I can't let you have the Earth you realise, and I'm fully prepared to do whatever I have to do to stop you," The Doctor declared, defiantly, holding his waist coat where the lapels of his coat should have been.
"You are more arrogant than ever it seems Doctor," The Nestene Intelligence spat.
"I take it that you planted the invitation in the mind of my young companion as you found my mind too elusive."
"Clever wasn't it Doctor. For all we know you may have turned up anyway but we wanted to be sure of your destruction!"
The Doctor plumped himself down on a rock and took off his waistcoat: "Not the most pleasant of environments. I say, these new Autons are an improvement. Let me guess, not just physical facsimiles but psychic ones as well."
"You have a very dangerous mind Doctor. The new Autons are far more effective duplicates. They blend into their surroundings perfectly and many are not even aware that they are copies until activated!"
"I take it you've exhausted this planet and its resources and intend to take possession of the Earth," The Doctor sighed, looking around.
"Earth is full of resources. I need plastic to remain mobile."
"I? Of course, they're all a part of you aren't they... one entity, one mind, a collective mind I was forgetting. What puzzles me is why you haven't killed me?"
The Intelligence chuckled: "Doctor, you are not required in the least. It amuses me to think that you will facilitate the destruction of this world before you die. Like Stafford, you will be an extension of my will, my will Doctor... you cannot resist!"
"My will... my will... will..." The Doctor recited as he stood up and walked slowly back into the vortex behind him.
"Doctor!" Tyson shouted as he stepped down the stairs of the archway.
The Galactic portal closed behind him. Tyson was being held by units 6 and 17 - who were identical. The Doctor's face was blank and he made no eye contact with her as he passed.
"We are one!" Stafford declared, stepping forward to meet him.
"One." The Doctor repeated.
"What have you done to him?!" Tyson shouted.
"Silence! The Doctor is an extension of the very will of The Leader. His mind may be useful to us so therefore he will not be duplicated... but you Detective..."
"Yes, she would make a valuable asset in synthetic form - particularly since we have lost the chance to duplicate Dobbin," Roberts interjected.
Tyson started to struggle: "What do you mean?"
"Dobbin was eliminated," Roberts replied, matter-of-factly.
Tyson felt tears welling up in her eyes.
"The Doctor's companion can now be eliminated," Stafford instructed. He turned to Unit 6: "You will stay here and assist The Doctor in the duplication process."
Unit 6 nodded as Stafford, Roberts and 17 withdrew from the laboratory.
"Bring the specimen to the table," The Doctor ordered, coldly.
Mel was still banging on the door and shouting. Her hands were sore and her throat was dry. She jumped back when the door opened.
Bill poked his head around the door and grinned: " I thought I might find you here!"
"Oh, thank goodness Bill... look I need to get out of here and find The Doctor."
"I'm here to help - but I think that you ought to get out of here Miss," Bill commented.
Mel shook her head: "There's something very wrong here and I have a friend around here somewhere and I think he might be in a great deal of danger."
"Well if you insist, where do you think he might be?"
Mel paced up and down for a moment: "Where's the most restricted and dangerous part of the building?"
"Ah, you'll be wanting floor 13 - totally restricted, monitored I've heardd and off limits to mortals such as I!"
"If that's the case, it's not going to be easy to get in there," Mel muttered.
"Oh getting there is a cinch. They need air up there just like any other floor!" Bill revealed.
"Doctor, whatever it is you are about to do... please don't!" Tyson moaned.
She was strapped down to the table, legs and arms, with an additional two probes situated near her cranium. Unit 6 was watching from a distance in some kind of trance like state. The Doctor turned away from the operating panel to check her straps. To Tyson's surprise he began to loosen them. She looked into his eyes and he winked. Picking up on his idea, she continued to writhe on the table. The Doctor then pretended not to be able to pull the operating lever. He signalled for 6 to come out and assist. Behind his back, so only Tyson could see, he held up five fingers. He slowly used them to count down as 6 approached. When he pulled the last finger in, Tyson leaped from the table. The Doctor shouldered 6 onto the table and then he pulled the lever. Unit 6 exploded in a shower of sparks.
Stafford and Roberts were in Myers' office. They had seen the entire event on the CCTV.
"The Doctor has betrayed us," Stafford began, "he must be dealt with!"
They both left to rush to the laboratory.
"Well done Detective! Look I'm sorry about your partner..."
Tyson didn't comment about it but her voice did sound a little choked: "I thought you were one of them Doctor.
She studied the remains of the Auton on the table. He was a mass of blackened plastic and fabric: "That could have been me!"
"Oh, not really, I sort of rigged it to overload so to speak!"
"But how?"
"Well I travel around a lot and it's amazing what you pick up!" The Doctor smiled.
"Doctor what is going on here?" Tyson demanded as he started to adjust the control panel that worked the archway portal.
"I'm convinced that somehow The Nestene Intelligence managed to get a foothold here but in order to counter the vast distances involved, they've used the resources of this corporation to build this spatial portal."
"portal?"
"Yes. To another part of the universe, The Nestene's home planet in fact. When they attempted to conqueror the Earth before they arrived by accident - just a cluster of energy containers The Nestene Intelligence has been shooting out into the universe for eternity. It is partly that that has caused it to deplete its resources. Since it failed to take the Earth, it wants it even more. I have to close this portal permanently."
"What's the problem?"
"According to these instruments, a chunk of the dimensional wall has been displaced... and I'm not sure how to repair it!"
Myers and 17 approached the interview room. Even before he stepped inside Myers sensed that it was empty.
"She's been freed! But who? Apparently she spoke of another human employee who assisted her before when 18 tried to detain her. Find them! Find them now!!"
Unit 17 ran off to comply. Myers in a rage struck the door with his hand and it went straight through the wood. In disbelief he pulled up his sleeve and studied his hand. There was no blood.
"Not another air ventilation system!" Mel sighed.
"Only way up there I'm afraid, apart from the lift."
"Well, we're both thin," Mel observed, thinking perhaps of The Doctor, "and that counts if you're going to trek though a ventilation system!"
Bill had pulled the covering off the shaft and climbed inside. He could stand inside the shaft and it rose up at a gradual angle to the next floor.
Mel followed him in: "You're sure that this crosses the floors?"
"Oh yes... no one knows this building as well as me!"
Mel expertly placed her back against one side of the shaft and then lifted her legs up against the opposing wall. Slowly she began to wedge her way up by shifting her weight and angling her legs in a rhythm.
The interior control panel exploded with a loud bang.
"That should keep them out for a few minutes!" The Doctor declared.
"What are we going to do?" Tyson pleaded, beginning to panic, belting her mobile on the wall.
"Well something other than that."
"The battery must be low - I can't seem to register on the network. I thought I'd try calling for back-up," she explained.
"Oh, it's not that. The signal is being jammed. It's interference created by the portal," The Doctor explained.
"That's a door way to another part of space. I'm not really believing all of this Doctor!" Tyson revealed as she stood at the bottom of the steps leading up to the archway.
"I realise it's a lot to take in Detective but I can assure you that it is very real... and so is the danger," The Doctor assured her.
"What is on the other side of that portal Doctor?"
"I'd rather not go into that:" The Doctor responded, still studying the portal controls.
"Doctor what are you doing there... you aren't going to start that thing back up again are you?"
"I'm trying to lock onto the displaced energy, I may have to turn it on to get a decent lock on it."
The Doctor activated the portal. The dimensional swirl formed once more. The Doctor fell to his knees.
"What is it Doctor?"
"The Nestene Intelligence. I can feel it in my head again. It's much stronger when the portal is opened."
At the bottom of the vent, Bill was feeling faint.
"I'm up!" Mel whispered down.
"Okay."
"There's a grate here and I can't see anyone out in the corridor," Mel added.
Bill suddenly appeared to fade to partial nothingness and then back again.
"Are you coming?"
"Yes, I'll try," Bill replied, attempting to propel himself up the vent in the same manner as the much more lithe Mel.
Stafford and Roberts stood outside the laboratory door.
"The Mechanism has been damaged," Roberts announced.
"Then destroy the door!" Stafford ordered.
Roberts lifted his right hand and it fell loose, revealing a blaster. He fired a blast and the door disintegrated into a thousand pieces. They strode in to see The Doctor and Tyson shielding themselves behind the portal panel.
"You will be punished for your interference," Stafford warned The Doctor.
"Try to concentrate man! I know you aren't one of their mannequins, think, try to focus, you can fight it if you try," The Doctor pleaded with him.
"It is useless Doctor," Stafford replied with a sly grin, "Stafford is as much a tool as the Roberts unit."
Mel and Bill kicked out the ventilation grate on floor 13 and then replaced it.
"Thankfully the carpet stopped it from rattling," Mel commented.
"I think you've done that before lass," Bill reflected with a wry grin.
"With all the crawling I've done through ventilation shafts, it's a wonder I don't have legionnaire's disease!"
They heard approaching footsteps and ducked behind a nearby support pillar. They saw Myers running in a panic. He ran straight to the laboratory, holding up his right hand as if he were in pain.
"Now, what was that all about?" Bill asked.
"Perhaps he's got a paper cut," Mel joked.
"What have you done to me?!" Myers shouted.
Stafford and Roberts turned to see Myers standing in the doorway.
"Myers, what is the matter? Are you malfunctioning?" Stafford shouted.
"Malfunctioning? I put my hand through a solid door - there's no mark, no blood, just... just..."
His hand fell loose revealing a blaster: "No! Noooooo! What have you done to me?!"
Myers' blaster fired causing Stafford to explode in a cloud of smoke. Roberts turned on Myers, firing his own blaster and totally obliterating him in the process.
Outside the lab, Mel and Bill were loitering. An explosion on the floor before them caused them to run into the laboratory. Mel looked over her shoulder and saw 17 approaching at a jog.
Once inside Mel saw The Doctor at once: "Doctor!"
"Mel - get down!"
The Roberts Auton was clearly in a trigger happy mode and it fired at them both, narrowly missing Bill. Mel slid across the floor to join The Doctor and Tyson behind the portal operation panel.
"What kept you?" The Doctor jibed.
"What are those things Doctor?" Mel asked.
"Autons Mel and I'm not sure how to stop them," The Doctor admitted.
Unit 17 had entered the room and both it and Roberts were closing in on Bill. He seemed to be mesmerised by the portal.
"Bill! You must get out of there!" Mel shouted.
Unit 17 fired at Bill but incredibly at that moment he seemed to fade out of existence before becoming tangible again.
"Of course!" The Doctor declared, rising to his feet and operating the panel.
Bill continued to walk towards the archway in a trace. The energy inside the portal seemed to swirl in an even more excited way, almost spilling out of the confines of the circumference of the archway.
"No! Keep him back! He must not approach!" The Nestene Intelligence screamed from behind the portal.
Roberts and 17 fired relentlessly through Bill but he was only partially visible now and continued to walk towards the portal as if he was being pulled by an irresistible force. One of the Intelligence's own tentacles emerged through the archway in an attempt to push Bill back, but it too passed harmlessly through him. Bill slowly rose up the steps and them turned to face The Doctor, Mel and Tyson, his back to the portal. Then he fell backwards and the portal immediately collapsed into nothingness, severing The Nestene Intelligence's tentacle in the process.
Roberts and unit 17 fell limp. The Doctor walked over to Myers to check if he was dead.
"Are they...?" Tyson asked.
"I'm afraid so. Cut off from The Nestene Intelligence they are just... empty shells of plastic, albeit with a printed personality circuit in the case of Roberts and poor Myers here," The Doctor answered.
"But what about Bill?" Mel pleaded.
The Doctor shook his head: "I'm afraid Bill must have merged with the displaced energy, when the energy was placed back in the tear, his body would have been totally absorbed.
"That's terrible..."
"Yes... but he wasn't the only one to suffer and die," The Doctor reminded her coldly as he began to dismantle the operating panel.
"How am I ever going to write this one up... that's if I still have a job!" Tyson wondered aloud.
"I'll put a call into UNIT and they'll take care of all that, Believe me you'll never have to say another word about it all," The Doctor assured her, pulling out a handful of wires.
"Well... where to now?" Mel asked jumping up beside him.
"Oh, we can't leave yet..."
"Why not you can contact UNIT in the TARDIS can't you?"
"Of course... but I need to find my coat first!"
Story set between The Trial of a Timelord & Time and The Rani