Halfway Out Of The Dark || The Doctor

World War Three

"No." the Time Lady shook her head

"Fair enough." the Doctor nodded and with that, he and the Artist took to their heels and ran back out of the room.

Unfortunately, they didn't get very far for they ran into another bunch of officers right outside the room who promptly backed them against the wall at gunpoint. The first group of officers came bursting out of the conference room and aimed their weapons at the two Time Lords too. However, the officers didn't realise that the wall their suspects were standing in front of was actually the lift. The Doctor raised his hands with a manic grin on his face, hiding the Artist from view as she subtly hit the call lift button.

Green and Asquith pushed their way to the front of the crowd. "Under the jurisdiction of the emergency protocols, I order you to execute that man and woman!" Asquith ordered.

The officers readied their weapons. The Doctor was completely unfazed by his apparently imminent execution. "Uh, now, yes. Yer see the thing is..." he chuckled, "If I was you, and I was gonna execute someone by backing 'em up against the wall, between you and me, little word of the advice..." The lift dinged open and the Artist swiftly backed into it. "Don't stand 'em against the lift!" the Doctor finished and backed in after her. The Artist quickly flashed her sonic screwdriver on the control panel and the doors shut before security could stop them.

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Upstairs, the Margaret Slitheen was still chasing Rose and Harriet. Rose kneed a locked door in a desperate attempt to escape. Suddenly, the lift dinged open and the Slitheen turned to see the Doctor and the Artist inside. "Hello!" the Doctor waved cheerfully before the Artist soniced the controls again, sending the lift up to the next floor.

Rose got the door open and she and Harriet found themselves in a lounge. There was another door, so Rose tried it, but found that it was locked and it opened the other way, so she couldn't knee it open. "Hide!" she urged Harriet, who took refuge behind a screen while Rose hid behind a cabinet.

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The Time Lords stepped out of the lift on the second floor and began to make their way to the stairs to head back to the first floor to help their friend.

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On the ground floor, Green and Asquith were standing by the lift the Time Lords had escaped in. "I repeat, the upper floors are under quarantine." Asquith ordered security, "You will stay where you are. You will disregard all previous instructions. You will take your orders directly from me."

The lift arrived and Green and Asquith stepped into it. "Mr Green, sir, I'm sorry but you've got to come with me." Price said, "We should evacuate the entire building."

"Sergeant, have you, uh, read the emergency protocols?" Green countered.

"No, sir."

"Then don't question me." Green told him, stepping back into the lift, "Seal off No 10, secure the ground floor, and if the Doctor and that girl make it downstairs, shoot on sight!"

He shut the door and Price turned to address his men; "Well, you heard him! Move out!" And they did so.

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"Let the sport begin." Asquith crowed as he and Green rode the lift to the first floor.

Green broke wind loudly. "I'm getting poisoned by the gas exchange." he moaned, "I need to be naked!"