Cold Fusion - Lance Parkin [33]
There was a bleeping from the Doctor’s pocket. He took his hand out to see what it was. The bleeping continued, now at his wrist. The time sensor! Quickly, the Doctor shut it off
‘– state-of-the-art weapons and armour. ’
‘Sir?’
Medford leant over. ‘Yes?’
‘We’re registering a scanning device.’
‘Where?’
Whitfield frowned. ‘What was that noise?’
‘The Doctor’s right wrist, sir.’ Falconstock pulled a lever, and the monitor zoomed in. It isolated the scanning device, and mapped it onto another picture. The device became a technical drawing, the location of the power source and the receptors marked out in red.
‘Just my watch alarm. It’s Adric’s bedtime.’
‘What is the function of the device?’
‘It is working on principles unknown to human science, sir. It has created a scanning beam, but it is unclear precisely what it is looking for.’
‘The Doctor has been probing the entire building?
Mapping it?’
‘May I see?’
‘No, sir. The device activated itself and only as they passed the security door.’
‘If you insist.’
‘So, he does know...’
‘If you insist.’
The Doctor slipped the sensor from his wrist and handed it over. Adric frowned, but the Doctor shook his head.
‘What is the purpose of this device?’
‘It tells the time.’
Whitfield examined it warily for a moment, before handing it back. They continued down the corridor for a few more minutes, then entered the lifts again.
‘Your room is on the level above this.’
‘Here we are, room 74.’ Nyssa watched Tegan taking the keycard from her pocket and trying to locate the keyhole.
‘Tegan, you’re clearly not in the best frame of mind to talk to him,’ she whispered.
‘So what would you suggest we do?’ Tegan was holding the card the wrong way up, and back to front. Nyssa chose not to correct her.
‘I think we should go back downstairs and wait for the Doctor.’
‘No.’
‘Well in that case, I suggest that I go in.’
‘You?’
‘You wait here, I knock on the door, have a civilized conversation. There’s no evidence that the man is armed or in any way dangerous. If there’s a problem, then I will call for you.’
Tegan considered the offer for a minute. ‘Done,’ she decided,
Nyssa knocked on the door.
They waited.
Nothing.
‘He’s not in.’
‘Try again.’
Nyssa knocked on the door. There was still no reply.
‘I’m going in,’ Tegan announced.
‘Tegan!’ Nyssa gasped, shocked by the idea.
‘If he’s not even there, who’s to know? If I’m caught, I’ll just say I’m the maid, or something.’
‘I refuse to let you.’
‘Well, one of us is going in.’
Nyssa snatched the keycard. ‘Then I will do it.’ She slid the card down the reader and the door clicked open. ‘You wait here,’ she ordered.
Nyssa closed the door behind her once she was inside.
The lights automatically blinked on. The room was quite large. A double bed took up much of the space, there was also a large wardrobe in one comer, an entertainment unit in another. There was a dressing table with a mirror, and a door – presumably leading to the water closet. She passed a patch of wall that had been plastered over. The decorator hadn’t quite managed to find a paint that matched the original colour. The bed had been slept in already. She checked under the pillows, and found nothing but a pair of yellow pyjamas. As Nyssa crept around the bed towards the wardrobe, she caught sight of the suitcase. It was large, made of a black fabric. She ran her fingers along the top, pausing at the combination lock, but decided that it would be improper to open it. Instead she folded back the wardrobe door. Three identical business suits hung from the rail. A smaller bag rested on the floor. Nyssa hesitated for a moment before deciding that the only way to prove the man’s innocence to Tegan would be to violate his privacy. She checked his jacket pockets. There was a stack of business cards in the side pocket.
BRUCE JOVANKA
NSW Solar ITEC
Regional Sales Representative
The card seemed genuine enough, with a magnetic strip down the side, which