Doctor Who_ Match of the Day - Chris Boucher [27]
„Do you think they are watching us?‟ Leela asked.
„They?‟
„Our captors.‟
„Oh that they,‟ the Doctor said. „I imagine so.‟ He smiled suddenly and vividly. „Smile for the camera. Hold the knife up so that everyone can see it. Perhaps we can order some prints to send home to the tribe.‟ There was natural resistance and there was stupidity, and on reflection Leela was straying towards natural stupidity.
„You are talking strangely again, Doctor,‟ Leela said frowning at him. „Is it as before? Are you feeling sick?‟
Before the Doctor could point out to her that he was merely trying to get her attention away from abusing the fixtures and fittings and back to the reality of their situation, the reality of their situation changed abruptly.
The prisoner Leela and her contract-registered agent will report to the Court of Attack in one hour for open pleading and judgement before the High Referee of Duel and the Panel of Fight Replay,‟ a voice whispered with eerie clarity, as though the words had been breathed closely and directly into the Doctor‟s ear.
„Open pleading?‟ Leela said suspiciously. „I will not plead for my life. I will not plead with these skulking cowards.‟
„Don‟t worry,‟ the Doctor said. „I think that‟s what I‟m supposed to do.‟
With a show of defiance Leela said loudly, „The judgement of these people means nothing.‟
„Unless it‟s in our favour of course,‟ the Doctor said.
„Guilty? What guilty? What are you talking about?‟ Fanson recognised a joke when he saw one but this was no time for humour. „That is not funny! This is not right, you know. This is not what‟s supposed to happen.‟
„You have the right to review the relevant sections of the examination record,‟ said the Interrogation Controller, who showed no sign of smiling but was clearly pleased with himself.
Maybe not a joke then, Fanson thought. So what? Another shakedown? Yeah, could be another shakedown. Aloud he said: „I‟m not what you‟d call a rich man, gods I‟m not what anybody‟d call a rich man, but I do have access to a little money. A little cash money...?‟
„You‟re not offering me a bribe are you?‟
Fanson tried for a wry smile. „Not necessarily,‟ he said and found that for some reason he couldn‟t quite set his face in the desired expression.
The Interrogation Controller shook his head slightly. „It‟s a pity this is such an uncomplicated case,‟ he said. „I could have made a full subroutine out of a bribe offer. Classic first-level corroboration.‟
Classic computer service ratcrud thought Fanson, who was now at a loss to know what his next move should be. It wasn‟t supposed to happen like this. Wait and see looked like his only option. One thing was for sure though: whatever this was all about it was going to get obvious pretty scuffling fast.
Gods if it had been for real it would be over and done in double-quick time.
The possibility that it was for real still did not really occur to him, not for a moment. It was too unreal to contemplate...
Once again the Doctor was almost impressed. He and Leela had set out walking into the bright white corridors of the lock-up complex with no idea where the courtroom they had been summoned to might actually be situated. The whole place seemed deserted. There was still no sign of any jailers and the occasional prisoner they did glimpse on the way through disappeared into their private quarters at the first hint that the Doctor might be planning to speak to them.
There were no signposts or map boards, no directional arrows, no whispered instructions from proximity speakers; there was nothing to show them where they were supposed to go. What there was, however, was a clear indication of where they were not supposed to go. Each time they moved away from the correct direction their wrist and ankle bands began to tighten. The longer and further they strayed the tighter the bands became and the only way they could ease them was to go back into the permitted area of