SV17 lead the two men down the hall towards the ornate double doors leading to the dining room. Each man was silent, lost in his own thoughts. But while the Doctor was a picture of composed calm and self-control, Lavarre positively vibrated with nervous energy. His fingers twitched and flicked by his sides, and a nervous tick was jumping beneath his right eye.
The robot reached the doors and pushed them slowly open. The Doctor and Lavarre halted behind him, though Lavarre tried unsuccessfully to peer over SV17's shoulder to see into the darkened room beyond. "Ma'am, the master and his guest are here."
A relaxed voice came from within. "Thank you, SV17. Please show them in."
SV17 stepped inside the room and then stood to one side, bidding the two men entrance with a formal bow. They walked in slowly, side by side, and looked around them. Only their portion of the room was lit, and that only dimly. The far end was in darkness, and although both squinted hard they could make out nothing. They heard a chair being pushed back and soft footsteps coming towards them.
Lucylla emerged into the light and looked at both men. She smiled enigmatically.
"Good evening," she said politely.
Lavarre's face broke into a savage grin. "And good evening to you, young lady! And may I say how very, very glad I am to see you!"
"I'm sure," she replied dryly, and looked back at the Doctor. "So you did come by yourself after all. I'm so pleased, it's saved me a trip."
"Really," he said neutrally. "I'm glad I haven't put you to any trouble then."
She shook her head. "No, no trouble. I'm Lucylla. You may have heard of me."
"No, can't say as I have," the Doctor replied indifferently. Lucylla looked a little disappointed, and even Lavarre frowned, for reasons best known only to him.
"Oh," she said. "Oh well, never mind. I've heard a lot about you. Your reputation is, shall we say, unique. If not to say remarkable. I'm quite honoured to meet you, in a way."
"Thank you," he inclined his head graciously.
This display of good manners irritated Lavarre further and he made a small sound of impatience. "Yes, yes, yes, can we save the mutual admiration for another time? I've things to do."
Lucylla glanced at him wryly. "In a hurry, Lavarre? I'm surprised. I thought that perhaps you'd like to savour the moment. After all, you took so long setting it up."
Lavarre sighed. Why was everyone being so trying at the moment? "Lucylla, my dear, it's been a long night. Frankly, the sooner it's over, the better."
"Regret doing this now, Lavarre?" asked the Doctor.
"I only regret not doing this sooner, when I at least had competent people at my disposal to better accomplish the task!" he snapped back. He gestured to Lucylla. "If you please!"
"Patience never was your strong suit," goaded the Doctor. "The young lady is right. After all this effort, you're entitled to a little gloat." The Doctor stifled a yawn. "It's what your sort is usually so good at. Usually just before they come to a sticky end."
"Really!" he scoffed, rounding on the Doctor. "Well, not this time, I think! You don't fool me, Doctor, you're terrified about what it is Lucylla is hiding back there at the end of the table." He chuckled evilly. "There'll be a time for gloating, believe me." He jabbed a finger into the Doctor's chest. "And it won't be me who'll be coming to a sticky end!"
The Doctor regarded Lavarre's finger in the manner someone might regard a blob of dirt, and he flicked it away imperiously before brushing at the offending spot with his hand. Lavarre's scowl deepened. Finally the Doctor looked up again at Lucylla. "Young lady, in order to prevent this gentleman's blood pressure from raising any higher, perhaps if you would be so kind as to..." he gestured to the other end of the room.
"Are you sure?" she asked, with a faint smile.
"GET ON WITH IT!" roared Lavarre, face darkening.
Lucylla smiled further and slowly raised a small control box. She pressed a switch, and the lights slowly came up.
Lavarre gasped.
The colour drained from the Doctor's face. He returned his attention to Lucylla. His expression was... terrible. Lucylla suddenly found she couldn't look at him any longer, and had to turn her attention to what was at the other end of the table.
"Are they..." his voice came in a deathly whisper.
"No," she reassured him quickly. "They're unconscious. Just sleeping, that's all."
All three stared at the tableau at the other end of the dining room table.
There were five figures all seated around it, slumped back in their chairs, eyes closed. On the left-hand side, Bernice Summerfield was sitting next to Grace Holloway. At the head of the table was sat Hilda Simmons. To her right, were sat Jo Jones and Vicki.
The silver platter remained empty, glinting dully under the subdued lighting.
Lavarre began to splutter. "What... what is the meaning of this! Why have you brought them back here like this? Your orders-"
"Your orders to me, were that I was to do what I felt was best. So I did."
"You were supposed to kill them where they were, not do this! The potential chaos to the Time Line..." Then a thought dawned. "And what about the ones I assigned to these targets? Where are they?"
Lucylla ticked them off on her fingers. "Wayne is sleeping it off upstairs. Chlorys is halfway to a little planet called Tara by now. Myshka is, well, perhaps your friend beside you can answer that."
Lavarre gazed at her incredulously. "And Raychel? And Tymus?"
"Dead," she said casually. "I killed them both." She frowned, then admitted: "Well, actually, the formidable looking lady at the end of the table actually killed Raychel." She looked at the Doctor. "She's very good, isn't she?"
"Hilda has a leaning towards excellence in most areas. Sadly, occasional violence is one of them."
"Occasional... but sometimes very necessary. And very welcome too, in this case." She paused. "She saved my life."
"She's saved mine too, on a number of occasions." The Doctor looked at her hard. "I do hope you remember your debt to her when the time comes."
"I never forget my debts, Doctor. Rest assured, I always pay back" She glanced meaningfully at Lavarre. "In full."
Lavarre stepped forward and wagged a finger at Lucylla. "I know why you killed them both. They were a threat, weren't they? They were the only two who stood between you and your ultimate goal, especially after Gydeon's demise." He smiled tightly. "Besides the fact that they were both loyal to me."
"Ultimate goal?" asked the Doctor mildly. He'd moved quietly down to the other end of the table and was examining his old companions carefully. He was relieved to see that Lucylla was telling the truth. But his uneasiness remained, though he was still careful not to show it. What had she in mind for them?
"Oh yes," said Lavarre. "Her ultimate goal. To take over from me as head of the family. The stupid thing is, after this I would have retired - and very probably named Lucylla as my replacement." He uttered a short, cynical laugh. "The way things stand, she'll be the only one left to replace me at this rate!"
Lucylla walked down to join the Doctor. "When I take on a new job, I do so under my own terms. Not anyone else's'."
"My, you have got cocky over the years! You weren't like this so long ago. In fact, you were positively delighted to do what ever I asked."
Lucylla rested her arms on the back of Hilda's chair and looked at him levelly. "That was then. This is now."
A sly look crossed Lavarre's face. "As I said, Doctor, she was positively delighted to do whatever I told her. One of the things I told her to do involved an acquaintance of yours from not so long ago. A certain..." he smiled, and shook his head. "No. I think it'd be better if she told you."
"Told me? Told me what?"
"Lavarre..." started Lucylla warningly.
"Told you all about Thaylia. How she met her accident."
The Doctor's gaze shifted back to Lucylla. "Was that you?"
Lucylla was silent for a moment. "I didn't know who she was then."
"Like that would have made a difference!" Lavarre laughed.
Lucylla found she couldn't meet the Doctor's eyes again. "Is she... did she recover?" she asked quietly.
"She was just about able to regenerate in time, yes," he said coldly. "But I believe they're still treating her. And are likely to be doing so for some considerable time." He narrowed his eyes. "You inflicted a lot of damage. Physically and mentally."
"I'm sorry. For what it's worth."
The Doctor didn't reply, and turned his back on her instead.
"Is this your way of making up, then? With your new chum? For what you did to one his best friends?" Lavarre grinned.
"No," she said disgustedly. "It's my way of getting back at you!"
"Really! And how's that, then? Like dangling a carrot? Offering me these tasty morsels for my savage amusement, and then taking them away? Or is there some dark threat attached?" Lavarre waved to the sleeping figures and giggled. "Are they all going to get up and batter me with their handbags?"
"I didn't do it for you, or your ridiculous master-plan," she snapped. She looked over to the Doctor. "I did it partly for him, yes. But it's not by way of an apology for what I did to Thaylia."
The Doctor looked round. "Then why?"
Lucylla straightened up and faced him. "Doctor, I know you're fully aware of Lavarre's organisation, and I also know you've had dealings with us in the past. Even before Thaylia."
The Doctor gave a slight nod.
"I also know that the High Council of the Time Lords know of us as well, and are spending large amounts of time, energy and resources to hunt us down. With, it must be said, a measure of success."
"Rubbish!" scoffed Lavarre. "The High Council and their Temporal Crimes Division couldn't find their backsides with both hands. It's only when you people get sloppy!"
"Be that as it may," she continued. "If I am to be the leader, I want this situation to be changed. I'm tired of being hunted, Doctor. I want it stopped."
The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "And you think I can do that?"
"You're not without your influence Doctor, even with the High Council. I know you like to pretend you're semi-retired, but you don't fool me. Someone like you never, ever fully retires."
He shrugged. "It doesn't help when people don't let me retire!" he sighed. He tapped his lips with a finger. "And you want me to use my influence to get the Time Lords to stop... pursuing you? That's all?"
"That's all."
He cocked his head on one side. "Why?"
She looked puzzled. "Why? Surely it's obvious."
"No, I can understand why you want the Time Lords to stop pursuing you, as I can understand - and endorse - their reasons for wanting to put a stop to this grisly enterprise. What I want to know is, why you think it's worth my time and energy persuading the Time Lords to cease treating you all like public enemy number one. Especially if all you're going to do is carry on as you have in the past."
Lavarre nodded. "Yes, Lucylla. Tell us why!"
She considered for a moment. "Because, under my guidance, this organisation will not simply be a collective for psychopaths and murderers. I want to use it for something different. Something better."
"That all sort of depends on your definition of better," the Doctor said quietly.
"You'd agree that the potential is there, Doctor. I'll credit Lavarre for that. He's equipped and trained us magnificently. There aren't many situations we can't deal with."
Lavarre laughed bitterly. "Except kill a few miserable humans!"
The Doctor sighed. "I don't doubt your technical resources, nor your abilities. It's simply a matter of how you use them that disturbs me. I am in full agreement with the High Council on this matter. Time and space can well do without a pack of vicious killers running loose. As you have been!"
She nodded. "Yes, I can appreciate that. But there is much we can achieve, given a little time to readjust to our new responsibilities. Our new status."
"As what?" sneered Lavarre. "Vigilantes, I suppose! Swooping out of the night to deal with evil-doers in your own special way? Oh yes, Lucylla, I'm aware of your extra-curricular activities. All those evil men you've dispatched without my permission."
The Doctor cleared his throat. "And it also depends on your definition of evil-doers. I've known countless beings who have done good things that could easily be - and have been - regarded as evil." The Doctor pursed his lips. "Where do you draw a line, Lucylla? What will your boundary be? Or will it be a matter of personal definition at the time?"
"Oh, it's always very definitely personal where Lucylla is concerned!" Lavarre laughed cynically.
Lucylla looked away. "I dispatched mindless scum. Abusers of women and children. Rapists. Paedophiles. The lowest common dominator."
"Quel surprise..." muttered Lavarre.
Lucylla shot him a venomous look. "And as to how we decide on our targets, that will be decided, fairly and squarely among those of the Kids who wish to remain with me in the new organisation."
"But you'll still be killers," said the Doctor quietly. "I can't condone murder, however much you may think it's justified."
"You've done it. You've meted out your own form of justice."
"Never on the scale I suspect you're intending, and then only in self-defence, or the defence of others. Never murder, Lucylla. Never that. You can question my reasons and my motives, but I've never stooped that low. Wherever possible, I leave justice to the authority responsible for the time and place concerned. I haven't made it a crusade to seek out and personally deal with evil, at least not in the manner you're accustomed to."
"How very noble," sneered Lavarre. "Tell that to all those monsters you've slaughtered. All those Daleks and Zygons and goodness only knows what else."
"I'm not proud, Lavarre. I take no pleasure in fatality at all, unlike you."
Lucylla frowned. "But death is an inevitability in what you do."
"Not always." He shook his head sadly. "Young lady, I think you've misunderstood me. Quite badly." He looked at Lavarre as well. "Both of you."
Lavarre smiled. "She's young, Doctor. Right and wrong is still as simple as black and white to her."
"In your case, Lavarre, it's black and black," he retorted.
Lavarre chuckled. "Touche! But consider, Doctor... what else would they do, my proteges? Travel and tourism, the hospitality industry, is a growth market at the moment." Lavarre sat down and laced his fingers behind his head. "Perhaps they could open my home up as a hotel? Or a theme park! Come and see the universe's most lethal killers in their natural habitat! Bring the kiddies!"
"Shut up, Lavarre," snapped the Doctor crossly. "If you've nothing sensible to add to the conversation, kindly remain quiet."
"I'll say what I like!" he bit back. "No, Doctor, the Kids have only one purpose, and one which the Time Lords will never appreciate. Certainly not, that is, unless it's under their control! Incidentally, I take it, Lucylla dear, that you already have some converts, then? Followers to your cause? You can't manage this great task all by yourself, after all."
"Some," she admitted. "It won't be hard to convince the rest."
"And with Tymus, Raychel and Gydeon gone, you'll have not much opposition." Lavarre clapped slowly. "Oh, bravo, Lucylla! Well played!"
"This is no longer a game, Lavarre," snapped the Doctor waspishly. He turned back to Lucylla. "And what guarantees do I have of your new good intentions? Presumably, my companions here are intended as some sort of lever against me."
"I prefer to think of them as being in protective custody, Doctor. I did, after all, help save them from Lavarre's assassins." She smiled knowingly. "I do know, of course, that you've being doing admirably in making sure they got plenty of help themselves..." She reached down and patted Vicki's head. "The old man on the road in ancient Greece? The operative you sent to help Sarah Jane fight Maryatta? The frogman in Frobisher's swimming pool?"
"I tried not to make it too obvious," he shrugged. "And I couldn't get to everyone in time..." He paused, a black look flickering across his face at a recent memory than threatened to enter his mind, "but I knew that some of them would be able to fend for themselves. And I was proved right."
"Plus the fact that you had inside information!" accused Lavarre. "How else would poor Gydeon have ended up dead? Dirty pool, old man!"
"Coming from the master of dirty tricks, I take that as a compliment," the Doctor said.
"How d'you do it, then? Come on, your turn to gloat a little!" Lavarre laughed.
"Mine to know, yours to find out," the Doctor taunted. "Lucylla, my diplomatic skills tend to suffer when I know I'm being blackmailed. I have a tendency to react from the hearts, rather than the head. That can be... unfortunate, at times."
She recognised the threat implied in the statement, and shook her head. "I'm not looking to blackmail you into doing anything, Doctor," Lucylla insisted. "I'd rather have your support, than your enmity." She waved around the sleeping figures. "They're free to go when you decide to leave. Unhurt."
The Doctor inclined his head graciously again. "Then I thank you for that. But, this will not be enough to convince the Time Lords. I'm afraid. I'll need something more. And so will they."
Lucylla considered. "I've already begun to weed out the nastier elements. There aren't many more left now. If I agreed to hand over a couple for trial..."
"That would help." The Doctor looked down at Lavarre, then back at Lucylla questioningly. "Of course, there is someone I could take back who would more than adequately convince them..."
"What!" hissed Lavarre, leaping to his feet, the chair toppling backwards to land with a bang. "If you think... Doctor, you'll never get me back to Gallifrey. Never! Do you hear me, Lucylla?"
Lucylla ignored him. "I'm sure that can be arranged, Doctor. If you haven't already made arrangements yourself, that is."
"ENOUGH!" screamed Lavarre. "Pay attention to me, young lady... if you seriously think you can make a deal with the Time Lords, through him!" and he waved a finger shaking with rage in the Doctor's direction, "You're desperately mistaken. It'll be the end for you as surely as if you surrendered yourself up for vaporisation right now. And don't think the others will go along with this ridiculous idea either, because they won't!" He turned to face the Doctor.
"And Doctor, don't for one moment be fooled by her! She's a snake, a viper! Turning over this organisation to her would be a disaster. I offer our services only to those that can afford it, and at least we do a clean job - when required. I may be cruel, ruthless and merciless, but I don't mess up the Time Lines. She would!"
"I'm no fool, Lavarre. I can handle it!"
"Rubbish! It takes more than skill with a weapon for this job, my dear. You need experience! Savoir-faire! Smarts!" He rapped his temple. "You're not even nearly qualified!"
"I think I am," she stated, folding her arms.
Lavarre shook his head. "Doctor, what she's suggesting sounds to me like some sort of personal crusade, and we both know that the Time Lords would never accept that!"
"And of course, what you were attempting to do tonight wasn't personal!" snapped Lucylla back.
The Doctor raised his hands to quell the argument. "Please, please, please...you have a counter proposal, then?" the Doctor asked Lavarre mildly.
"I'll make no bargains with either of you, nor the Time Lords!" he declared angrily. "This organisation, this family, my family!" he hammered his chest with a clenched fist, "Will flourish, and grow, and then, oh yes, then, I'll have my reckoning with the Time Lords. But for now, Doctor, I'll finish my reckoning with you!"
"How do you propose to do that, Lavarre? You're a little short of help..." said Lucylla. A knife had appeared in her hand and she was toying with it lightly.
"You don't scare me, Lucylla. You never did, and you never will. And I rather think you're over-estimating the amount of support you're going to get."
"Au contraire," she said. "I've more than enough help to deal with you, Lavarre. And so has my friend here." With that, she passed the control box to the Doctor. He studied it for a moment, then pressed a button.
The companions began to stir. The Doctor stepped back.
"Oh, my head!" groaned Benny. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, no more Tovarisch Sunrises for me!"
Grace rubbed her temples. "Too much champagne at the reception... I don't think I can hack it anymore!" she muttered.
"I don't think this is a hang-over..." replied Hilda, blinking around her in amazement.
"Where are we?" gasped Jo.
"And how did we get here?" said Vicki.
Someone cleared their throat behind them. They all swung round in their chairs to look at the three people standing behind them, two men and a girl. The older man stepped forward, a faint smile playing around his lips.
"Take it gently, please. And prepare yourselves for a little shock..."
"Who...?" began Vicki.
"What...?" started Grace.
"Doctor!" Hilda yelped suddenly, struggling to get to her feet but swaying alarmingly as she did so. The Doctor took her arm and helped her sit back down.
"Doctor!?" the others chorused as one.
"You're kidding," breathed Grace, looking the old man up and down.
"Is it really you?" squeaked Vicki, an expression of pure delight on her face.
"It can't be... can it?" said Jo, hopefully.
"Oh, good grief!" groaned Benny, sinking back into her chair. "I might have known..."
The Doctor smiled and nodded to each in turn. "Jo, Vicki, Hilda, Grace..." he frowned when he came to Benny. "Summerfield," he said curtly.
"Hmph," was all Benny could say.
"Doctor, it is nice to see you again so soon, but what is going on here?" asked Hilda.
The Doctor held up his hands to quell the questioning. "I can't go into specifics, because what you don't know won't hurt you."
"I've heard that before!" muttered Benny.
The Doctor ignored her and continued. "Suffice to say, you've all been on the receiving end of a rather cruel trick aimed at me, which I'm happy to report is in the process of being dealt with satisfactorily."
"I bet," muttered Benny.
Jo jumped up from her chair when she caught sight of Lucylla. "It's her! The one who killed the man in my living room!"
Vicki joined her. "She was in my carriage, on the road back home..."
"And she was in the car park at my conference!" said Grace.
"And what did you do with Wayne?" demanded Benny.
"She does get around a bit, doesn't she?" said Hilda wryly. "I'm sure she has a perfectly good explanation as to why she's kidnapped us... hasn't she, Doctor?"
"Oh yes," he said mildly. "But as I was always so fond of saying, 'I'll explain later'. In the mean time, I might require your help in subduing this gentleman." He pointed to Lavarre. "He's the one behind it all."
"Oh, is he?" Hilda rose and stepped forward, followed by Grace and Vicki. Lavarre suddenly pulled his gun from his pocket and made a grab for Jo. "It'll take more than a few old women to subdue me, Doctor!"
"Who are you calling old?" protested Benny.
But before he could even touch Jo, Lucylla had her knife to his throat.
"Drop it, Lavarre. You're beaten."
He smiled grimly at her. "Am I, indeed!" He pursed his lips and blew a sharp whistle.
The dining room doors flew open and Jaysen and Dyane ran into the room. Dyane trained an impressive looking rifle at Lucylla's head, while Jaysen covered the others with a pair of pistols. "Freeeeeeze!" he ordered dramatically, striking an exaggerated pose.
Dyane sighed and shook her head. "Idiot," she muttered. Her gaze flicked from Lucylla to the Doctor and her eyes narrowed in recognition. At last, she thought. Humiliate me, would you...
Lavarre reached up to take Lucylla's weapon. "Thank you, for a most timely entrance. You've both worked your way back into my good books for this. Come forward..." and he grinned victoriously at the Doctor, "and take your knives out. We've some unfinished business to take care of!"
"Don't speak too soon, Lavarre!"
He wheeled round to look as someone else entered the room behind Jaysen and Dyane. They made to swing round as well. "Don't even think about it!" the speaker snapped. "Hand-held particle beam cannon. I can take you both out with one shot at this range."
Lavarre made to back away, but ran into Lucylla, who wasn't budging. "And most of the rest of the room with it! Hayzel, who let you out?"
Hayzel just grinned. She was dressed in a fresh combat suit, though her face still bore the marks of Tymus's torture. "Sorry I'm late, Lucy."
Lucylla grinned back. "You're forgiven. I apologise for the delay in getting you set loose, though I'm very happy to see you managed it well enough by yourself."
She held up a hand and a set of keys dangled from it. "Someone brought me these."
A hand reached from behind Hazyel and plucked them free. "How very convenient," said an amused voice. "I'll need these to lock you back up again then. Don't turn around, Hayze! I kinda like ya, but I will blow your head off if you so much as twitch that cannon..."
Hayzel froze in recognition at the voice. "Chlorys?"
"The same!" Chlorys stepped from behind Hayzel, still clad in her Nun's habit. She gazed at Lucylla sternly. "Naughty Lucy, sending me off on a wild goose-chase like that! I'm very, very cross..." She prodded Hayzel in the back with a pistol. "Now, Hayzel, put that cannon down and back off - slowly! To where Lucy and those others are. Dy, you and Jayse round 'em up in the corner where we can keep an eye on 'em."
Lavarre released a very relieved sigh. "Chlorys, you're an angel! I knew you'd pull through for me!"
Chlorys sketched an ironic salute. "Happy to oblige, guv. I shall, of course, expect a colossal reward."
Lavarre laughed. "Name it, and it's yours!"
"How many more people are there going to be?" hissed Grace, backing away to stand beside the Doctor. Confused as she was by the situation, she instinctively knew who to turn to. The old man looked nothing like her Doctor, but there was something in his manner that told her he was telling the truth. She'd developed quite a knack of identifying body language over the years. And she'd seen the look in his eye when they looked at each other for the first time just now, and that look reminded her of a cold night in a quiet park in San Francisco, a long time ago...
"It is rather getting like a Ray Cooney farce, people running in and out like this," muttered Hilda. "It's getting a bit tiresome." Hilda kept her voice light and casual, as she'd been trained to in hostage situations. Had to stay in control, if not only for herself then for the others. She suspected the Doctor would work out a way of getting them out of this, but she was determined to give him all the support she could - even as bewildered as she was. Though she told herself, she ought to be used to it by now...
"Well, so long as that's all they do!" whispered Jo. She was terrified, though the presence of the Doctor - and she felt sure it was the Doctor, as she'd met a few of his incarnations over the years, and there was always a little something the same in all of them, and this old guy had it in spades - was helping. She wouldn't let him down, whatever happened. If not for him, or herself, then for Cliff, and David, and Katy...
"What are we going to do?" asked Vicki quietly. "They've got the upper hand now!" Vicki eyed the approaching figures warily, then shifted her gaze back to the old man's face. It was set into an almost inscrutable mask of calm contemplation, only his eyes betrayed his alertness to the danger that faced them. For a moment, she caught a fleeting glimpse of someone else behind that mask - another old face, the features sharper, the hair longer and whiter - and she knew then that this man was the Doctor, and that she could trust him entirely with her life. As she'd always done.
"Don't worry," muttered Benny into her ear, while eyeing a brandy decanter on the table behind them. "I'm sure the wise and wonderful one here has some cunning plan up his sleeve." The old devil better, she thought. And not just trust to his luck like the last time. She still had the scars from that little escapade...
The Doctor looked around the little sea of familiar faces around them, and drew strength from them - as he'd always done in the past. How could he have ever contemplated travelling alone? He smiled his warmest smile, and was rewarded with five smiles in return - even Benny smiled, though she hid hers behind her hand. Silly girl. Why couldn't she forgive and forget? His gaze shifted to Lavarre and his smile faded. She wasn't the only one who could do with doing that. "Don't worry. The matter is totally under control. Any second now, and..."
"Drop your weapons! All of you!"
Everyone spun round to look at the two newcomers standing in the doorway, weapons raised. The Doctor smiled at Vicki as if to say, told you so!
"Chris!" shouted Benny joyfully. "Did he get you too?"
"Sort of," Chris Cwej grinned back. "Long story!"
"Another one?" groaned Hilda in mock dismay. The Doctor dug her in the ribs.
"Chayni!" exclaimed Lavarre disbelievingly. "What do you think you're doing?"
Chayni shook her head. "To be brutally honest, Lavarre, I don't really know. But in the meantime, just do as you're crukking well told, okay?"
"Lavarre?" Dyane looked across at Lavarre for confirmation. She, Jaysen and Chlorys were pretty well spread out, and they were only faced with two of them. If they were quick... but to her surprise...
"Do as Chayni says. Drop your weapons."
Chayni swung her weapon round to point at Lucylla. "That goes for you too, Lucylla."
Lucylla looked at the Doctor, then shrugged and put her knife on the table. "Sure. Any friend of yours, Doctor..."
There was a multitude of clunks and thumps as various weapons hit the floor. The Doctor stepped forward and smiled, relieved. "Christopher, Chayni, so nice of you to make it on time. Well, Lavarre," he said brightly, turning to regard his nemesis. "I think that makes it game, set and match to me."
Lavarre had his eyes closed, as if to shut out what was happening. He still had his weapon in his hand, and for a moment the Doctor wondered if he were debating making some final gesture of defiance. He had a nasty suspicion Lavarre wouldn't want to be taken alive. That's why he'd allowed Chris and Chayni to arm themselves with stun-weapons only. From the corner of his eye he saw that Chris had his weapon pointed directly at Lavarre. He ought to be able to get him before he tried anything, but Lavarre always was a swift reactor...
Then a smile spread slowly across Lavarre's face, and he opened his eyes. To the Doctor's surprise, he laughed.
"Yes, Doctor. I suppose it does. Here!" he tossed the Doctor his weapon. "It's a fair cop. You win," he sighed, folding his arms in front of his chest in defeat, his hands sliding into the sleeves of his robe. The Doctor noticed this action too late.
"Stop!" he shouted, jumping forward to seize him.
Lavarre touched a control on his wrist, and with a high-pitched hum, the two men disappeared into thin air.
Lucylla and Grace had also jumped forward to stop Lavarre, but they were too late. Everyone gazed at the space they'd occupied incredulously.
"What happened?" asked Vicki.
"He must have activated the house teleport," mused Hayzel.
"Guess you weren't the only one to keep a trick up your sleeve, eh, Doc?" said Benny with a wry smile, reaching for the decanter.
"Rather remiss of you not to deactivate it, Lucy," said Chayni.
"I did," she snapped. "I don't understand it." She examined her own bracelet. "Mine's deactivated still."
"Mine isn't!" laughed Chlorys suddenly, and before anyone could react she vanished too.
Chayni swore.
Jo pointed to another empty spot in the room. "Look - those other two have gone as well!"
Dyane and Jaysen were missing too.
"Where could they have gone?" snapped Chris.
"It's a big house," said Lucylla. "They could be anywhere..."
Hilda folded her arms. "All right, but where's the likeliest place?"
"Jump Room, most likely," replied Hayzel. "That's where I'd go."
"Jump Room it is then," declared Hilda. "Let's go get them."
"I doubt it'll be that simple," said Lucylla. "And if he's got those other three with him, it'll be dangerous."
"Very dangerous!" added Hayzel.
"Who? Those three?" Chayni laughed. "Damn! Me and Chris here," and she draped an arm around his shoulders, "have been fighting off Gallifrey's finest for months. After them, Lavarre's little band'll be no problem!"
"Don't be so sure," warned Hayzel. "Jaysen might be useless, but Chlorys isn't the fool she pretends to be, and Dyane..." she shook her head. Dyane was a dark one, secretive and not at all sociable with the rest of the Kids. No one, not even Lavarre, knew much about her - beyond the fact that she was a very accomplished assassin, especially in the art of poisoning.
"Well, just talking about it isn't going to help!" yelled Grace, almost hopping up with frustration.
"Yes, the Doctor is in trouble, and it's up to us to help him now!" said Vicki determinedly. She looked across at Jo. "Right?"
"Absolutely!" agreed Jo, drawing on the strength of the others.
"We?" Chayni blinked at the diminutive figures of Vicki and Jo before her.
"Chayni's right. You'd better leave this to us!" rapped Chris.
Hilda cleared her throat. "I think some of us are more than capable of..."
"Jeez..." said Benny, slumping back into her chair and taking a long pull from her glass while the argument raged around her. "What else is going to flipping happen?" She took another sip, and a thought crossed her mind. "I wonder what has happened to Wayne?"
The dining room door swung open again. SV17 appeared in the doorway and stood motionless. Everyone stopped arguing and the room fell silent.
"What is it, 17?" asked Lucylla. "I didn't send for you."
"Maybe Lavarre sent it," said Hayzel.
"Yeah," breathed Chayni, slowly raising her weapon. "Now there's a thought."
SV17 looked at her for a moment, then it gave a slight jerk. A red haze slowly clouded its eyes.
"Kill the humans," it stated calmly, walking into the room.
And behind him, came the rest of the robots. All the Vocs and all the Dums.
They all had the red haze in their eyes.
And as one, they all took up SV17's statement, their voices echoing in one long continuous chant.
"Kill the humans... kill the humans... KILL THE HUMANS!"
To be continued in: Into the Fire
