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My Fiction Writing Doctor Who Bellagio Belligerence 10 - Avoiding Assassins
My Fiction Writing Doctor Who Bellagio Belligerence 10 - Avoiding Assassins
10 - Avoiding Assassins
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Las Vegas's police facility and jail was a fairly new building in the downtown area. It was built from the taxes on gambling winnings, like most of the city. As Tegan and I arrived, there was a commotion in front of the beige building. Seems the local media had received a tip about a murder in one of the casinos. As a result, cameras were everywhere.
Thankfully for Tegan and myself, they did not realize we were part of the story. We were able to get past the crush of reporters and into the courthouse. I walked up to the front desk and said "Excuse me."
The clerk looked up, obviously haggard from dealing with the press. Deadpan, he asked, "Can I help you?"
"We are the detective agency hired by Doctor Smith. Do you know where he is at?" I looked over the desk as I asked. The top story of the local news was the shooting in the Bellagio. CNN in the background had a scroll concerning the incident as well.
"He is with the accused. I believe he was finishing up posting bail." He pointed down the hall, "Three doors down, on your right." Looking over at the television, he said "Murder is sure a buzzword around here."
I smiled, "Maybe they will even make a television show about it someday." Tegan looked critically at me as we walked down the corridor. I shrugged, "It's the number one show on television in 2005."
We made it to the door and opened it. Nyssa was there, rubbing her wrists, as the Doctor chatted to the patrolman manning the bail payment center. Anne was putting away her beltpouch when she spotted it. "David!" she exclaimed as she ran at me, putting her arms around my shoulders and giving me a big kiss.
The Doctor laughted and turned back to chatting with the patrolman. Tegan gave Nyssa a comforting hug of greeting. "You okay?" she asked.
"Yes," said Nyssa. "I am still admiring that this society only requires money to be released." Tegan and Nyssa came over and sat next to where I had decided to sit with Anne. "So," asked Nyssa, "any news?"
Tegan spoke up, "You are innocent."
Nyssa rolled her eyes a bit, "I knew that. I meant have you found evidence to prove it?"
"Yes, and no, unfortunately is the answer. We found evidence on how the crime was committed, and who the real target was. However, it wont' stand up in a court of law during this time." I thought for a moment. "The murderer will try again. He killed the wrong target and had to cover it up. We need to go to the morgue and examine the body."
"Seems I do that a lot," said the Doctor as he now joined us. "Thank you, Anne, for posting the bond money. I forgot just how driven this society is when it comes to the monetary system."
Anne smiled back. Unconciously, I checked my pocket. My money roll was gone. I quietly reminded myself to ask Anne about her pickpocketing skills sometime. Now was not the time, though, considering we were sitting at the police station.
"So," continued the Doctor. "Let us rearrange things a bit. David and I will go examine the body. Since Nyssa is not allowed to do so, you girls have fun on the town. Shop, see the sites, whatever you want to do. We will meet somewhere for dinner."
"Let us meet at Treasure Island," I said. "After dark, we can take the walk from TI to the Bellagio and see the night sights."
The three women nodded. "Let's go, Nyssa. Shopping will get your mind off this dreadful incident," said Tegan.
"I would suggest you use the back door, Tegan." The Doctor smiled, "Unless you want your face plastered all over Las Vegas."
Tegan nodded and got out of her seat. Nyssa and Anne followed suit. "Treasure Island?" asked Anne. "They have a pirate-themed place?"
Tegan started describing Treasure Island to both Nyssa and Anne as they walked out the back door. As soon as they were out of hearing range, the Doctor turned to me.
"I am the target. Correct?"
The Doctor strolled into the morgue and right past the woman at the front counter. "Excuse me? Excuse me? You cannot go back there, sir!" she shouted at the Doctor. Oblivious to the shouting, the Doctor strode through the area, being chased by the receptionist. Meanwhile, I stayed at the front counter and having a bit of freedome, began to casually examine the desk.
"Can I help you, sir?" A man, dressed in a lab coat had stepped into the Doctor's path. He was about average height and build. He sported a short haircut and a moustache.
"Yes, I am here to examine the body from the Bellagio murder. I am the council for the accused. This is my cousin, David, who runs a private investigation service." The Doctor motioned, then realized I was still at the front. "Well, he's over there."
"What are you doing sitting at my desk?" the irate receiptionist asked. She was African American, and her hair done up in metallic braids. Walking over, she stared down at me as I did not stop examining the desk immediately.
"Oh, sorry," I smiled. "I am just curious." I stood up and motioned for her to sit down. I noticed the chair had extra reinforcement as I stood up, and walked back around the counter.
The examiner nodded to the Doctor. "This way, both of you please." He walked into the room he came out of originally. The Doctor and I followed him. Inside were a number of cabinets, x-ray machines, and other devices for dissecting a corpse to determine the cause of death.
The Doctor looked at the corpse laying on the bed. "It is too bad for this chap. However, we have reason to believe he was just an accident." The Doctor smiled at me and gave me a sly wink.
I picked it up from there. "Could we see the x-ray showing the angle of penetration of the knives." Both the Doctor and I had noticed the receptionist had moved to a location where she could spy on us.
The examiner said, "Right here. He was killed by the knives." He pointed to the photograph. Unfortunately for him, I had seen photo manipulations before and the picture was definately one of those. I could even see what had been hidden, the path the laser had taken through the larynx. Again, the Doctor I was sure also noticed it as well.
At this point, the door opened and four officers entered, rolling in another corpse. The examiner saw this, "If you excuse me, sirs, I must go do my job." He began to escort us back out to the secretary, "Oh, when is the preliminary hearing going to be, for setting the trial date?"
"One o'clock," said the Doctor absently. He was pondering this while we walked to the door out. I waved at the receptionist as we headed out, but she refused to acknowledge my presence.
When we were outside, the Doctor turned. "Now, why would a coroner and his receiptionist want me dead?"
"Trap?" I asked.
The Doctor nodded, "That's why he asked for the preliminary hearing time. I should have known better than to tell him. The cornoner has to show up for those things, to prove there is enough evidence to go ahead with the trial."
I nodded, "How do you want to handle this?"
"Anne and you are wild cards. They probably are expecting Nyssa, Tegan, and myself at the courtroom. That's why they did not know how to handle you being with me moments ago. They cannot predict how you will act." The Doctor suddenly smiled, "So, when are you getting your press pass to the trial?"
I blinked for a second, then realized what the Doctor was intending.
The Doctor looked over the ring, "It actually is not psychically tuned. It workes on a certain brainwave patter. It can be monitored by an electronic devise. The problem is it can scramble the neural receptors of an organic brain that cannot shield it."
I raised my eyebrow, "So, it is designed to be used by a non-organic being?"
"Precisely," responded the Doctor. "My abilities protect me from the interference. Your latent abilities partially shielded you, but also activated other parts of your mind. Tegan, or even Nyssa, would be nearly incapacitated. Thus, Nyssa cannot have used it."
"So, it would be a human-like android who had it." I said. "How many of those want you dead, Doctor?"
"That would be my assumption, though I am curious how a robot could imitate Nyssa. However, it would not surprise me." The Doctor pondered, "I know very few pure robots. Well, that would harbor a vengeance streak, at least."
I stood up and looked out the window. The first fountain show was starting. The fountains in front of the Bellagio are syncronized with music and they 'dance' for the tourists for about 10 minutes every half an hour. When it gets dark, the water is lit up with various colors. It is considered one of the best places for flirting in the city.
"So, we are dealing with an android," I stated.
"Two."
"How do you figure that, Doctor?"
"Neither the receptionist nor the examiner were sweating. Wtih all of those lights, it was warm in the room." The Doctor got up and started fussing with the minibar. "Tea?"
"Sorry, I'm a heathen." I turned from the window and grinned back. "I'm a 'new generation' type. Sodas are my drink of choice. Not diet, either, as that aspertame stuff makes my stomach churn."
"That will be a problem while you are travelling. Not many civilizations ever developped the carbonation process." The Doctor looked inside the minibar, "Soda, alcohol, more alcohol, and tea bags are in here. No proper tea, but something is better than nothing." He took out a tea bag and poured himself some hot water from the coffeemaker.
"When should we meet the others?" I asked.
"Oh, we have time, David. It is only three casinos over," said the Doctor.
"You do realize that the distance between here and that third casino is almost three miles, right?" I responded. I turned back towards the window and chuckled slightly. "Nevermind. They just walked into the Paris hotel across the street."
"Might as well join them," said the Doctor as he sipped on his tea. He walked to the door and I followed. We headed to the elevator and went down, the Doctor still sipping on his tea. As he drained the cup he was holding, he reached upwards through the escape hatch in the roof of the elevator. His hand came down holding what looked to be a children's toy ray gun. Tossing it to me underhand, the Doctor said in his matter of fact way, "Movellan."
My mind raced, the word clicking in my head. "The robots made by the Daleks? Very interesting, if I might say so. We have the Movellans trying to assassinate you." I tapped on my chin absently with the weapon, until the Doctor calmly turnedthe safety on, smiling at me while doing so.
"Head trauma causing many problems with the regeneration cycle," he said. He began watching the numbers of the elevator. "Interesting, is it not? Here we are, together, whereas if the Master's plan had worked, you would have been the attempted assassin."
I pondered this for a moment, "True. Which, in all honestly, pretty much rules him out as the ultimate adversary." Then realization came over me about what the Doctor had said, "Regeneration? I sincerely doubt I have that ability."
"Oh, I would not be so sure. Not that you will really know until you get hit by a fatal wound, but you are gaining all of the other powers of the Master," said the Doctor as the elevator finally arrived at the ground floor. The Doctor stepped out and immediately handed the empty cup of tea to the first uniformed person he saw. Of course, it was the frantic bridal consultant looking for a missing groom and not a janitor or waitress.
The Doctor walked outside, with myself following about a step behind. I could tell I would be exhausted by the time we were done tonight, as I'm not the fastest walker in the world. Chasing the women and the Doctor around was going to give me a workout. "Now, considering the Movellans never discovered where the Earth was, and considering their detection ring is useless to them, I do not think they will act until the court tomorrow."
"So, we can try hard to put it out of our mind tonight," I finished. The Doctor smiled and nodded. At that moment, I saw a hand waving from across the street. It was Anne. In her hand, she had a rather large bag. Nyssa was next to Anne, and also carrying a bag. Both had grins on their faces, however Tegan, the instigator of this diversion, was not with them.
The Doctor, oblivious to traffic laws, crossed the street to them. Now, in Las Vegas, if you cross the street in a jaywalking fashion, in other words against the light and not in the crosswalk, the driver that hits you is not liable. Because I did know the law, I went over to the walkway over the street. Meanwhile, the Doctor had caused even more of a traffic jam, with horns blaring and cuss words being tossed at his action.
In typical fashion, the Doctor went up to Nyssa and Anne, "This is why I do not come to America as often as Britain. There are too many uncouth citizens here." At this time, I came down the ramp and joined the others in front of Bally's. "Now," asked the Doctor, "where do you recommend to eat, David?"
"We need to wait a bit for Tegan," said Nyssa. While she spoke, Anne gave me a kiss on the cheek. I think I actually blushed at this, considering the numbers of people passing us by, it did kind of embarrass me.
"Dare I ask where Tegan is?" queried the Doctor. Before Nyssa could answer, out of Bally's 'futuristic' walkway came Tegan out to join us. She was carrying at least a dozen different bags in her hands, and was a bit unsteady as she approached.
I shook my head in somewhat disbelief. "Here," I said. "I owe you at least to carry some of that." I started taking bags from her, relieving her of her shopping burden.
"I did not expect you to suddenly become a gentleman," Tegan said. She glanced at the Doctor a moment before starting to snicker. "Okay, okay. I cannot stay mad at you being here tonight. Especially after the stories Anne was telling."
Nyssa and Anne both started laughing as well. The Doctor and I exchanged looks, and both of us shrugged our shoulders at about the same moment, causing even more laughter from the women. "I'm not going to even bother to ask, because I know I won't get an answer," I said. All five of us headed back to the rooms to store the purchases.
While walking, Anne whispered to me, "Too bad you could not go with us."
"It is okay," I whispered back. Passing through the lobby, I glanced over at the gold-trimmed slot machines near the entrance. Sitting at one of them was the receptionist from the morgue. Slipping over near the Doctor, I whispered "C3P0 is at the slots."
In typical Doctor fashion, his head turned around, and he waved to the receptionist. I rolled my eyes as I entered the elevator, and the three women all looked at me, and especially the Doctor, curiously. When the doors shut, I had to turned to the Doctor, "Is it just me, or do you like making yourself a target sometimes, Doctor?"
Tegan, not the Doctor, answered first, "Now just what did he do?"
I shrugged, "He waved at one of the assassins."
Ever with the hot temper, Tegan exclaimed, "What? What did he just do?"
The Doctor said, "I was just being neighborly. We will see her again tomorrow."
Nyssa, tired already from the ordeal, asked, "Would someone please explain what in Traken is really going on here. It is my life that is in danger, you know."
"Actually," replied the Doctor, "It is my life in danger now, though yours could get plenty uncomfortable from things."
"Plenty uncomfortable usually means captured and put in a death trap," said Tegan in an exasperated voice. "So, spill it. What is going on?"
"They want the Doctor," I said. "Nyssa, you were just a means to an end." The door of the elevators opened and I carried the bags to Tegan's door. The Doctor carefully opened the door, then ushered us inside. While Nyssa commandeered the easy chair, Tegan directed me to put the bags into her bedroom.
I came back out and pulled up a chair. The Doctor had done the same, but was sitting in it backwards, with his chin on the back. Tegan and Anne had decided to sit on the couch. All three were looking at the Doctor, so I knew the Doctor had told them something.
"Since by the looks on your faces, the Doctor has told you what we are dealing with on this, what is the plan, Doctor?" I asked.
Thankfully for Tegan and myself, they did not realize we were part of the story. We were able to get past the crush of reporters and into the courthouse. I walked up to the front desk and said "Excuse me."
The clerk looked up, obviously haggard from dealing with the press. Deadpan, he asked, "Can I help you?"
"We are the detective agency hired by Doctor Smith. Do you know where he is at?" I looked over the desk as I asked. The top story of the local news was the shooting in the Bellagio. CNN in the background had a scroll concerning the incident as well.
"He is with the accused. I believe he was finishing up posting bail." He pointed down the hall, "Three doors down, on your right." Looking over at the television, he said "Murder is sure a buzzword around here."
I smiled, "Maybe they will even make a television show about it someday." Tegan looked critically at me as we walked down the corridor. I shrugged, "It's the number one show on television in 2005."
We made it to the door and opened it. Nyssa was there, rubbing her wrists, as the Doctor chatted to the patrolman manning the bail payment center. Anne was putting away her beltpouch when she spotted it. "David!" she exclaimed as she ran at me, putting her arms around my shoulders and giving me a big kiss.
The Doctor laughted and turned back to chatting with the patrolman. Tegan gave Nyssa a comforting hug of greeting. "You okay?" she asked.
"Yes," said Nyssa. "I am still admiring that this society only requires money to be released." Tegan and Nyssa came over and sat next to where I had decided to sit with Anne. "So," asked Nyssa, "any news?"
Tegan spoke up, "You are innocent."
Nyssa rolled her eyes a bit, "I knew that. I meant have you found evidence to prove it?"
"Yes, and no, unfortunately is the answer. We found evidence on how the crime was committed, and who the real target was. However, it wont' stand up in a court of law during this time." I thought for a moment. "The murderer will try again. He killed the wrong target and had to cover it up. We need to go to the morgue and examine the body."
"Seems I do that a lot," said the Doctor as he now joined us. "Thank you, Anne, for posting the bond money. I forgot just how driven this society is when it comes to the monetary system."
Anne smiled back. Unconciously, I checked my pocket. My money roll was gone. I quietly reminded myself to ask Anne about her pickpocketing skills sometime. Now was not the time, though, considering we were sitting at the police station.
"So," continued the Doctor. "Let us rearrange things a bit. David and I will go examine the body. Since Nyssa is not allowed to do so, you girls have fun on the town. Shop, see the sites, whatever you want to do. We will meet somewhere for dinner."
"Let us meet at Treasure Island," I said. "After dark, we can take the walk from TI to the Bellagio and see the night sights."
The three women nodded. "Let's go, Nyssa. Shopping will get your mind off this dreadful incident," said Tegan.
"I would suggest you use the back door, Tegan." The Doctor smiled, "Unless you want your face plastered all over Las Vegas."
Tegan nodded and got out of her seat. Nyssa and Anne followed suit. "Treasure Island?" asked Anne. "They have a pirate-themed place?"
Tegan started describing Treasure Island to both Nyssa and Anne as they walked out the back door. As soon as they were out of hearing range, the Doctor turned to me.
"I am the target. Correct?"
The Doctor strolled into the morgue and right past the woman at the front counter. "Excuse me? Excuse me? You cannot go back there, sir!" she shouted at the Doctor. Oblivious to the shouting, the Doctor strode through the area, being chased by the receptionist. Meanwhile, I stayed at the front counter and having a bit of freedome, began to casually examine the desk.
"Can I help you, sir?" A man, dressed in a lab coat had stepped into the Doctor's path. He was about average height and build. He sported a short haircut and a moustache.
"Yes, I am here to examine the body from the Bellagio murder. I am the council for the accused. This is my cousin, David, who runs a private investigation service." The Doctor motioned, then realized I was still at the front. "Well, he's over there."
"What are you doing sitting at my desk?" the irate receiptionist asked. She was African American, and her hair done up in metallic braids. Walking over, she stared down at me as I did not stop examining the desk immediately.
"Oh, sorry," I smiled. "I am just curious." I stood up and motioned for her to sit down. I noticed the chair had extra reinforcement as I stood up, and walked back around the counter.
The examiner nodded to the Doctor. "This way, both of you please." He walked into the room he came out of originally. The Doctor and I followed him. Inside were a number of cabinets, x-ray machines, and other devices for dissecting a corpse to determine the cause of death.
The Doctor looked at the corpse laying on the bed. "It is too bad for this chap. However, we have reason to believe he was just an accident." The Doctor smiled at me and gave me a sly wink.
I picked it up from there. "Could we see the x-ray showing the angle of penetration of the knives." Both the Doctor and I had noticed the receptionist had moved to a location where she could spy on us.
The examiner said, "Right here. He was killed by the knives." He pointed to the photograph. Unfortunately for him, I had seen photo manipulations before and the picture was definately one of those. I could even see what had been hidden, the path the laser had taken through the larynx. Again, the Doctor I was sure also noticed it as well.
At this point, the door opened and four officers entered, rolling in another corpse. The examiner saw this, "If you excuse me, sirs, I must go do my job." He began to escort us back out to the secretary, "Oh, when is the preliminary hearing going to be, for setting the trial date?"
"One o'clock," said the Doctor absently. He was pondering this while we walked to the door out. I waved at the receptionist as we headed out, but she refused to acknowledge my presence.
When we were outside, the Doctor turned. "Now, why would a coroner and his receiptionist want me dead?"
"Trap?" I asked.
The Doctor nodded, "That's why he asked for the preliminary hearing time. I should have known better than to tell him. The cornoner has to show up for those things, to prove there is enough evidence to go ahead with the trial."
I nodded, "How do you want to handle this?"
"Anne and you are wild cards. They probably are expecting Nyssa, Tegan, and myself at the courtroom. That's why they did not know how to handle you being with me moments ago. They cannot predict how you will act." The Doctor suddenly smiled, "So, when are you getting your press pass to the trial?"
I blinked for a second, then realized what the Doctor was intending.
The Doctor looked over the ring, "It actually is not psychically tuned. It workes on a certain brainwave patter. It can be monitored by an electronic devise. The problem is it can scramble the neural receptors of an organic brain that cannot shield it."
I raised my eyebrow, "So, it is designed to be used by a non-organic being?"
"Precisely," responded the Doctor. "My abilities protect me from the interference. Your latent abilities partially shielded you, but also activated other parts of your mind. Tegan, or even Nyssa, would be nearly incapacitated. Thus, Nyssa cannot have used it."
"So, it would be a human-like android who had it." I said. "How many of those want you dead, Doctor?"
"That would be my assumption, though I am curious how a robot could imitate Nyssa. However, it would not surprise me." The Doctor pondered, "I know very few pure robots. Well, that would harbor a vengeance streak, at least."
I stood up and looked out the window. The first fountain show was starting. The fountains in front of the Bellagio are syncronized with music and they 'dance' for the tourists for about 10 minutes every half an hour. When it gets dark, the water is lit up with various colors. It is considered one of the best places for flirting in the city.
"So, we are dealing with an android," I stated.
"Two."
"How do you figure that, Doctor?"
"Neither the receptionist nor the examiner were sweating. Wtih all of those lights, it was warm in the room." The Doctor got up and started fussing with the minibar. "Tea?"
"Sorry, I'm a heathen." I turned from the window and grinned back. "I'm a 'new generation' type. Sodas are my drink of choice. Not diet, either, as that aspertame stuff makes my stomach churn."
"That will be a problem while you are travelling. Not many civilizations ever developped the carbonation process." The Doctor looked inside the minibar, "Soda, alcohol, more alcohol, and tea bags are in here. No proper tea, but something is better than nothing." He took out a tea bag and poured himself some hot water from the coffeemaker.
"When should we meet the others?" I asked.
"Oh, we have time, David. It is only three casinos over," said the Doctor.
"You do realize that the distance between here and that third casino is almost three miles, right?" I responded. I turned back towards the window and chuckled slightly. "Nevermind. They just walked into the Paris hotel across the street."
"Might as well join them," said the Doctor as he sipped on his tea. He walked to the door and I followed. We headed to the elevator and went down, the Doctor still sipping on his tea. As he drained the cup he was holding, he reached upwards through the escape hatch in the roof of the elevator. His hand came down holding what looked to be a children's toy ray gun. Tossing it to me underhand, the Doctor said in his matter of fact way, "Movellan."
My mind raced, the word clicking in my head. "The robots made by the Daleks? Very interesting, if I might say so. We have the Movellans trying to assassinate you." I tapped on my chin absently with the weapon, until the Doctor calmly turnedthe safety on, smiling at me while doing so.
"Head trauma causing many problems with the regeneration cycle," he said. He began watching the numbers of the elevator. "Interesting, is it not? Here we are, together, whereas if the Master's plan had worked, you would have been the attempted assassin."
I pondered this for a moment, "True. Which, in all honestly, pretty much rules him out as the ultimate adversary." Then realization came over me about what the Doctor had said, "Regeneration? I sincerely doubt I have that ability."
"Oh, I would not be so sure. Not that you will really know until you get hit by a fatal wound, but you are gaining all of the other powers of the Master," said the Doctor as the elevator finally arrived at the ground floor. The Doctor stepped out and immediately handed the empty cup of tea to the first uniformed person he saw. Of course, it was the frantic bridal consultant looking for a missing groom and not a janitor or waitress.
The Doctor walked outside, with myself following about a step behind. I could tell I would be exhausted by the time we were done tonight, as I'm not the fastest walker in the world. Chasing the women and the Doctor around was going to give me a workout. "Now, considering the Movellans never discovered where the Earth was, and considering their detection ring is useless to them, I do not think they will act until the court tomorrow."
"So, we can try hard to put it out of our mind tonight," I finished. The Doctor smiled and nodded. At that moment, I saw a hand waving from across the street. It was Anne. In her hand, she had a rather large bag. Nyssa was next to Anne, and also carrying a bag. Both had grins on their faces, however Tegan, the instigator of this diversion, was not with them.
The Doctor, oblivious to traffic laws, crossed the street to them. Now, in Las Vegas, if you cross the street in a jaywalking fashion, in other words against the light and not in the crosswalk, the driver that hits you is not liable. Because I did know the law, I went over to the walkway over the street. Meanwhile, the Doctor had caused even more of a traffic jam, with horns blaring and cuss words being tossed at his action.
In typical fashion, the Doctor went up to Nyssa and Anne, "This is why I do not come to America as often as Britain. There are too many uncouth citizens here." At this time, I came down the ramp and joined the others in front of Bally's. "Now," asked the Doctor, "where do you recommend to eat, David?"
"We need to wait a bit for Tegan," said Nyssa. While she spoke, Anne gave me a kiss on the cheek. I think I actually blushed at this, considering the numbers of people passing us by, it did kind of embarrass me.
"Dare I ask where Tegan is?" queried the Doctor. Before Nyssa could answer, out of Bally's 'futuristic' walkway came Tegan out to join us. She was carrying at least a dozen different bags in her hands, and was a bit unsteady as she approached.
I shook my head in somewhat disbelief. "Here," I said. "I owe you at least to carry some of that." I started taking bags from her, relieving her of her shopping burden.
"I did not expect you to suddenly become a gentleman," Tegan said. She glanced at the Doctor a moment before starting to snicker. "Okay, okay. I cannot stay mad at you being here tonight. Especially after the stories Anne was telling."
Nyssa and Anne both started laughing as well. The Doctor and I exchanged looks, and both of us shrugged our shoulders at about the same moment, causing even more laughter from the women. "I'm not going to even bother to ask, because I know I won't get an answer," I said. All five of us headed back to the rooms to store the purchases.
While walking, Anne whispered to me, "Too bad you could not go with us."
"It is okay," I whispered back. Passing through the lobby, I glanced over at the gold-trimmed slot machines near the entrance. Sitting at one of them was the receptionist from the morgue. Slipping over near the Doctor, I whispered "C3P0 is at the slots."
In typical Doctor fashion, his head turned around, and he waved to the receptionist. I rolled my eyes as I entered the elevator, and the three women all looked at me, and especially the Doctor, curiously. When the doors shut, I had to turned to the Doctor, "Is it just me, or do you like making yourself a target sometimes, Doctor?"
Tegan, not the Doctor, answered first, "Now just what did he do?"
I shrugged, "He waved at one of the assassins."
Ever with the hot temper, Tegan exclaimed, "What? What did he just do?"
The Doctor said, "I was just being neighborly. We will see her again tomorrow."
Nyssa, tired already from the ordeal, asked, "Would someone please explain what in Traken is really going on here. It is my life that is in danger, you know."
"Actually," replied the Doctor, "It is my life in danger now, though yours could get plenty uncomfortable from things."
"Plenty uncomfortable usually means captured and put in a death trap," said Tegan in an exasperated voice. "So, spill it. What is going on?"
"They want the Doctor," I said. "Nyssa, you were just a means to an end." The door of the elevators opened and I carried the bags to Tegan's door. The Doctor carefully opened the door, then ushered us inside. While Nyssa commandeered the easy chair, Tegan directed me to put the bags into her bedroom.
I came back out and pulled up a chair. The Doctor had done the same, but was sitting in it backwards, with his chin on the back. Tegan and Anne had decided to sit on the couch. All three were looking at the Doctor, so I knew the Doctor had told them something.
"Since by the looks on your faces, the Doctor has told you what we are dealing with on this, what is the plan, Doctor?" I asked.
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