Post by Fitz Kreiner on May 6, 2009 10:52:53 GMT
Jess stretched and stifled a yawn. The dawn sunlight was creeping over the top of the buildings and starting to shine through the window. She was sat in the UNIT lab having spent most of the night at the crime scene nearby. A Police cordon was outside, closing the street, and tents had been erected over the where the bodies of the three kids, the tramp and two police officers had been found. Forensics and scene of crime officers had been swarming about all night.
All she and Corporal Loding had been doing while they were there was taking statements from the forensics people and investigating the shop, if it could have been called a shop. It had been full of shop mannequins, which had caused Jess’ heart to skip several beats when the door had been opened. Each mannequin had been thoroughly examined by Loding and herself, but there hadn’t been any sight of a stamp for either Rutilus Allec or Les Plastiques Maîtrisent. It still hadn’t made Jess feel any better, and after a quiet word with Loding, the Corporal had arranged for the mannequins to be locked somewhere secure.
It had been when a lorry had arrived at the rear of the shop and two large men got out, that Jess first noticed the time; two A.M. The two men had been questioned by Loding and Jess; they were nothing more than delivery men, working for a well known delivery company, and had been hired to collect the mannequins and deliver them to shops across the South-East. Unfortunately, neither man knew who had hired them. Notes had been made to check up with the company when they got back to HQ.
Loding had tried at various times through the night to both radio in and call the Camden HQ, but so far had had no luck. Jess could only assume that Tom had as of yet had not succeeded in repairing the sabotage at HQ. Still, she was back there now, and there had been no sight of him. She’d been told by the private guarding the cellar that he was still down there and hadn’t appeared all night.
Jess was now sat with her back to the window, feeling the morning sun on her back. She’d spent the rest of the night, minus the time she’d spent catching up on some sleep, pouring over lists and piles of books under the flickering light of a lantern and candles. She’d gotten bored with the shop and decided under her own initiative to look up the list of names of the cabinet ministers and other important people that the Doctor had suspected of being killed by the Autons and Master. Something worried him about them and that worried Jess, she was adamant that she would find some link between the names. After all, there was little else she could do at the shop that Loding couldn’t do, and Tom was busy in the cellar and the Doctor and the rest of the UNIT lot were at a factory somewhere in London.
So far, Jess had spent several hours and her eyes were starting to hurt. She was close to giving up when she spotted the link. There was only one exception to the rule as far as she could see, but the rest linked up. It was the best link that she’d come up with all night. Grabbing the phone, she was met with the dead sound of no line, the only thing she could do was contact Corporal Loding. Jumping to her feet, Jess ran from the room.
Turning out of the reception of UNIT HQ and onto one of the main Camden streets, Jess soon found herself swept away with the already bustling crowds. Cars swept up and down the roads, not fast, but a steady stream. A few cars and taxis lined the side of the road, dropping off or waiting to pick people up. One car, out of them all, seemed rather out of place. A new Bentley Turbo R in highly polished silver caught her eye. It seemed rather ostentatious amongst the rest of the vehicles in the area. Turning back to join the throng of people on the street, Jess found herself colliding with a man dressed in a sharp, smart suit.
“Oh, I am sorry,” she apologised, stepping round the man and taking a brief look at him.
Nodding curtly, the man looked her up and down. “Yes, that’s quite alright, Miss.” He said.
Jess made to walk back down the street when she paused and looked back at the man. His dark suit was crisp and smart, almost impeccable, almost black. Underneath his suit, he was wearing a grey shirt with dark blue silk tie and matching handkerchief, folded to a point, sticking out of the breast pocket. His dark hair, greying at the sides, was swept back, revealing his high forehead and widow’s peak. Under his dark eyebrows, two dark brown eyes swept the street. He had a neatly trimmed goatee beard, going to a point at his chin, flecked with silver.
There was something about the man that stopped Jess. He reminded her greatly of someone, someone she could remember at the back of her mind. Her eyes widened as the realisation sunk in; the Master. Surely it couldn’t be? He was certainly not the man she met on Autrion, but there was something about the man’s demeanour, his voice and his appearance that screamed to her of the Master. As she watched, the man glanced around the street again as he stood beside the Bentley and reached out to the door. His deep brown eyes locked onto Jess’ and she felt a shiver run through her. Looking away, the man opened the car door and climbed into the back.
The door slammed closed and Jess saw the indicator flash as the car prepared to pull out into the stream of traffic. Looking round, almost panicked, Jess spotted a Hackney Carriage sat on the side of the road, the driver was sat inside, a cigarette in his mouth, reading The Sun. Dashing over, she yanked the door open and scrambled inside.
“Where to, Miss?” The driver asked, folding his paper and setting it down on the seat beside him.
Pointing to the Bentley, now pulling into the traffic, Jess slammed the door closed behind her. “Please, follow that car,” she cried.
Turning in his seat, Rutunga Mbutu smiled a brilliant white smile at Jess, his pearl white teeth contrasting with the ebony of his skin. “Missy,” He grinned. “You not know how long I wait to hear them words.”
With the roar of the engine, Mbutu pulled the taxi out into the traffic, several cars behind the Master’s Bentley and followed it down the road.
Private Harris sat asleep on a chair outside the door to the cellar, her arms folded and her legs outstretched. Her head lolled down onto her chest as she breathed softly. She’d been asked to guard the cellar whilst the Doctors assistant, Tom, worked on the fuse box. She’d seen nothing of anyone all night, and this was a rather quiet way to spend the night shift. A loud clang from the cellar woke her with a start.
Glancing round, she made sure that no senior officer was nearby watching her sleep on duty. It was the first time it had every happened, but at least nobody had been there to see it. Another clang came from the cellar and Harris cautiously opened the door. The dim light of the lantern still burnt down below and some mutterings could be heard from the Doctor’s friend. He was still down there working.
There was a sudden dull clunking sound and the strip lighting flickered on and the corridor was bathed in white artificial light. Harris looked around as the red lights on the CCTV cameras started blinking again and the hum of the air conditioning filled the air.
Heavy footsteps came from behind the door as it opened revealing Tom, in one hand he had the lantern and in the other, a large toolbox. Smudges of oil and dirt marked his face, yet his hair still seemed immaculately held back.
“Is that it?” Harris asked.
“For now,” he replied placing the toolbox on the floor and turning the lantern off. “Just the operations room to go now. Make sure that door is properly locked and then you can go.”
Harris watched as he picked up the toolbox and walked off down the corridor. She wasn’t sure why he was being so short, maybe it had been hours working in a cellar all night. Shrugging it off, Harris picked up the chair and replaced it in the reception area where she’d got it from.
“I see we’re back up and running.”
Harris turned at the voice: the reception girl was sat at the computer, tapping away at the keyboard. “For now,” she replied. “Have any of the others checked back in?”
“Not that I know of,” the girl replied. “I only got in ten minutes ago.”
“Well, let me know,” Harris said. “I’ll be in recs.”
The taxi bumped over the speed bumps as Jess held onto the yellow plastic handle bolted just beside the door. The Master’s Bentley was two cars ahead, as Jess had instructed Mbutu to follow with some cars in between. He had been initially sceptical but had agreed. Jess kept seeing his eyes glance at her in the rear view mirror as they drove. They were heading out of the centre of London and to where, she wasn’t quite sure. They’d been driving some time and the meter was starting to mount up.
“You sure you got money for this, Miss?” Mbutu asked glancing back at her.
Reaching into her pocket, Jess pulled out her UNIT ID. “I’m part of UNIT,” she said, showing the card. “If you follow that car to where it’s going, wait for me and then take me back, we’ll pay you double the meter.”
This news made Mbutu grin widely. “You sure, Miss? I never heard this UNIT ‘fore.”
“Need to know,” Jess winked as Mbutu swung the car round a corner.
“We heading to a industrial estate, Miss,” Mbutu said glancing back. “We gonna get less cars to cover us.”
“Drop back as far as you can, then. Just make sure we don’t lose that car.”
“Why, what be so ‘portant ‘bout this car?”
“The man inside it; we’re investigating him and I spotted him without my own transport.” Jess paused as she considered what she was saying. “So that kinda makes you my unofficial driver and part of an important mission.”
Mbutu grinned again as he tugged on the wheel and swerved the car round a corner. The Masters car was now disappearing round another corner up ahead. Mbutu had been right; there were now no cars between them and the Master. They were now into a large industrial estate with large office buildings and factories. Jess did a double take when she caught a glimpse of a sign out of the corner of her eye; “Les Plastiques Maîtrisent”.
Her eyes widened as she looked at the sign, it was to her right, but ahead of them. It had to be the only place that the Master was heading. She couldn’t see the Master’s car up ahead any more, but Mbutu seemed to know still where he was going. She seemed lost in the maze of roads, especially as she’d been looking out of the window at the “Les Plastiques Maîtrisent” sign on the side of the building. She became aware of the car rolling to a stop and she looked round to the driver’s seat.
“Sorry, Miss,” Mbutu said sadly, turning in the seat to find her. “I lost him.”
“I think I know where he’s going,” Jess said leaning forwards towards the Perspex partition behind the driver’s seat. “You think you can find that place?” She asked, pointing to the building.
“You be sure that where you man go?” He asked.
“Positive,” Jess replied. “But to be on the safe side, pull up outside, don’t go in.”
Nodding, Mbutu turned the wheel and set the car back into motion. After several long minutes, they were sat on the road outside the factory car park. The silver Bentley was sat incongruously in the car park, next to an MG convertible. A sign on the wall above the convertible indicated that the parking space was reserved for M. Lemaitre. It seemed odd that the owner of the factory’s car was less grand than that parked beside it.
Jess glanced at the meter. It now read £26.60. “If you can wait for me to come back, there’s another fifty pounds in the fee for you.” Jess said, hoping that UNIT would reimburse the cost of the taxi far before pausing. “And if I’m not back in fifteen minutes, let UNIT know where I am.”
“You got it, Missy,” Mbutu grinned as Jess opened the door and jumped out.
Mbutu watched as Jess made her way cautiously across the car park, looking around all the time she jogged across. As he watched, she reached the reception doors and with a last conspiratorial glance around the car park, she disappeared inside. Shrugging to himself about the girls strange behaviour, Mbutu picked up his paper and opened it where he’d left it. Shifting himself into a comfier position in his seat, he settled down to wait for his strange fare.
Jess straightened up as she entered the reception area and glanced around for some signs to tell her where she wanted to go. A map was bolted to the wall to one side, between two lush pot plants. Beside the map was a key, listing all the sections of the office and factory. Spotting it, Jess walked over and studied the map. She could see a CCTV camera blinking at her out of the corner of her eye, but ignored it. Spotting what she was looking for, Jess smiled as she heard a shuffling behind her.
Turning, Jess saw a security guard stood looking at her from behind his desk, his eyebrow raised quizzically. “Can I help you, Miss?” He asked.
Pulling her UNIT ID out of her pocket, she showed it to the guard. “UNIT, here to see Monsieur Lemaitre.”
“Oh, of course Miss,” the Guard nodded indicating to a pair of double doors to the left of the reception. “Through those door, second on the left, up the stairs and straight on.”
“Thanks,” Jess smiled and turned to follow the man’s directions.
When she was sure she was out of sight, she tried one of the doors on the corridor. The first she found was nothing more than a cleaner’s cupboard, complete with mops, buckets, vacuum cleaner, chamois leathers and numerous bottles of cleaning solution. Many of the doors she tried were locked; several had glass partitions showing their occupants busy working, either at their computers or on the telephone. One of the doors led to a conference room. The white board at the far end still had writing on, outlining the distribution of products. Jess didn’t know what sort of product, but if the Master was involved, the chances are it wasn’t good.
Turning at the sound of a door opening, Jess saw two men in overalls walking down the corridor, busy talking. Both men were wearing yellow hard hats and had ear protectors round their necks. Walking back the way she’d came, Jess retraced her steps to the stairs and quickly climbed them. She soon found herself in a large admin. block. Walking through, as the guard had instructed, Jess found herself in a separate office. The woman behind the desk looked up as Jess entered.
“Can I help you?” Andrea Rogers asked.
Jess held out her hand, which still held the UNIT ID. “Jess Lawton, from UNIT. I’m here to see your boss.”
“I’m sorry,” Andrea said. “I’m afraid Monsieur Lemaitre is in an important call and cannot be disturbed at the moment. You’re welcome to wait, but I don’t know how long he’s likely to be.”
Jess thought about what the Doctor had said about Lemaitre, and how he couldn’t have been the Master. “No, not Monsieur Lemaitre,” she replied, thinking on her feet. “Your real boss; the Master.” She knew she’d hit the nail on the head when she saw Andrea’s eyes widen.
“Erm, I’m not too sure what you mean,” Andrea started back peddling.
“Yes you do,” Jess pressed, “dark blue business suit, swept back hair, beard,”
She had just finished her brief description when a door behind Andrea’s desk, which she hadn’t seen before, as it was expertly concealed in the wall panels, opened and a figure was outlined in its open frame. She knew it was the Master before he stepped out into the light. Jess swallowed hard as her eyes met the brown eyes that returned her look.
“Thank you, my dear,” the Master said looking at Andrea before returning his gaze to Jess, stepping back and indicating the open door. “Perhaps you had better step this way, Miss Lawton.”
All she and Corporal Loding had been doing while they were there was taking statements from the forensics people and investigating the shop, if it could have been called a shop. It had been full of shop mannequins, which had caused Jess’ heart to skip several beats when the door had been opened. Each mannequin had been thoroughly examined by Loding and herself, but there hadn’t been any sight of a stamp for either Rutilus Allec or Les Plastiques Maîtrisent. It still hadn’t made Jess feel any better, and after a quiet word with Loding, the Corporal had arranged for the mannequins to be locked somewhere secure.
It had been when a lorry had arrived at the rear of the shop and two large men got out, that Jess first noticed the time; two A.M. The two men had been questioned by Loding and Jess; they were nothing more than delivery men, working for a well known delivery company, and had been hired to collect the mannequins and deliver them to shops across the South-East. Unfortunately, neither man knew who had hired them. Notes had been made to check up with the company when they got back to HQ.
Loding had tried at various times through the night to both radio in and call the Camden HQ, but so far had had no luck. Jess could only assume that Tom had as of yet had not succeeded in repairing the sabotage at HQ. Still, she was back there now, and there had been no sight of him. She’d been told by the private guarding the cellar that he was still down there and hadn’t appeared all night.
Jess was now sat with her back to the window, feeling the morning sun on her back. She’d spent the rest of the night, minus the time she’d spent catching up on some sleep, pouring over lists and piles of books under the flickering light of a lantern and candles. She’d gotten bored with the shop and decided under her own initiative to look up the list of names of the cabinet ministers and other important people that the Doctor had suspected of being killed by the Autons and Master. Something worried him about them and that worried Jess, she was adamant that she would find some link between the names. After all, there was little else she could do at the shop that Loding couldn’t do, and Tom was busy in the cellar and the Doctor and the rest of the UNIT lot were at a factory somewhere in London.
So far, Jess had spent several hours and her eyes were starting to hurt. She was close to giving up when she spotted the link. There was only one exception to the rule as far as she could see, but the rest linked up. It was the best link that she’d come up with all night. Grabbing the phone, she was met with the dead sound of no line, the only thing she could do was contact Corporal Loding. Jumping to her feet, Jess ran from the room.
Turning out of the reception of UNIT HQ and onto one of the main Camden streets, Jess soon found herself swept away with the already bustling crowds. Cars swept up and down the roads, not fast, but a steady stream. A few cars and taxis lined the side of the road, dropping off or waiting to pick people up. One car, out of them all, seemed rather out of place. A new Bentley Turbo R in highly polished silver caught her eye. It seemed rather ostentatious amongst the rest of the vehicles in the area. Turning back to join the throng of people on the street, Jess found herself colliding with a man dressed in a sharp, smart suit.
“Oh, I am sorry,” she apologised, stepping round the man and taking a brief look at him.
Nodding curtly, the man looked her up and down. “Yes, that’s quite alright, Miss.” He said.
Jess made to walk back down the street when she paused and looked back at the man. His dark suit was crisp and smart, almost impeccable, almost black. Underneath his suit, he was wearing a grey shirt with dark blue silk tie and matching handkerchief, folded to a point, sticking out of the breast pocket. His dark hair, greying at the sides, was swept back, revealing his high forehead and widow’s peak. Under his dark eyebrows, two dark brown eyes swept the street. He had a neatly trimmed goatee beard, going to a point at his chin, flecked with silver.
There was something about the man that stopped Jess. He reminded her greatly of someone, someone she could remember at the back of her mind. Her eyes widened as the realisation sunk in; the Master. Surely it couldn’t be? He was certainly not the man she met on Autrion, but there was something about the man’s demeanour, his voice and his appearance that screamed to her of the Master. As she watched, the man glanced around the street again as he stood beside the Bentley and reached out to the door. His deep brown eyes locked onto Jess’ and she felt a shiver run through her. Looking away, the man opened the car door and climbed into the back.
The door slammed closed and Jess saw the indicator flash as the car prepared to pull out into the stream of traffic. Looking round, almost panicked, Jess spotted a Hackney Carriage sat on the side of the road, the driver was sat inside, a cigarette in his mouth, reading The Sun. Dashing over, she yanked the door open and scrambled inside.
“Where to, Miss?” The driver asked, folding his paper and setting it down on the seat beside him.
Pointing to the Bentley, now pulling into the traffic, Jess slammed the door closed behind her. “Please, follow that car,” she cried.
Turning in his seat, Rutunga Mbutu smiled a brilliant white smile at Jess, his pearl white teeth contrasting with the ebony of his skin. “Missy,” He grinned. “You not know how long I wait to hear them words.”
With the roar of the engine, Mbutu pulled the taxi out into the traffic, several cars behind the Master’s Bentley and followed it down the road.
*
Private Harris sat asleep on a chair outside the door to the cellar, her arms folded and her legs outstretched. Her head lolled down onto her chest as she breathed softly. She’d been asked to guard the cellar whilst the Doctors assistant, Tom, worked on the fuse box. She’d seen nothing of anyone all night, and this was a rather quiet way to spend the night shift. A loud clang from the cellar woke her with a start.
Glancing round, she made sure that no senior officer was nearby watching her sleep on duty. It was the first time it had every happened, but at least nobody had been there to see it. Another clang came from the cellar and Harris cautiously opened the door. The dim light of the lantern still burnt down below and some mutterings could be heard from the Doctor’s friend. He was still down there working.
There was a sudden dull clunking sound and the strip lighting flickered on and the corridor was bathed in white artificial light. Harris looked around as the red lights on the CCTV cameras started blinking again and the hum of the air conditioning filled the air.
Heavy footsteps came from behind the door as it opened revealing Tom, in one hand he had the lantern and in the other, a large toolbox. Smudges of oil and dirt marked his face, yet his hair still seemed immaculately held back.
“Is that it?” Harris asked.
“For now,” he replied placing the toolbox on the floor and turning the lantern off. “Just the operations room to go now. Make sure that door is properly locked and then you can go.”
Harris watched as he picked up the toolbox and walked off down the corridor. She wasn’t sure why he was being so short, maybe it had been hours working in a cellar all night. Shrugging it off, Harris picked up the chair and replaced it in the reception area where she’d got it from.
“I see we’re back up and running.”
Harris turned at the voice: the reception girl was sat at the computer, tapping away at the keyboard. “For now,” she replied. “Have any of the others checked back in?”
“Not that I know of,” the girl replied. “I only got in ten minutes ago.”
“Well, let me know,” Harris said. “I’ll be in recs.”
*
The taxi bumped over the speed bumps as Jess held onto the yellow plastic handle bolted just beside the door. The Master’s Bentley was two cars ahead, as Jess had instructed Mbutu to follow with some cars in between. He had been initially sceptical but had agreed. Jess kept seeing his eyes glance at her in the rear view mirror as they drove. They were heading out of the centre of London and to where, she wasn’t quite sure. They’d been driving some time and the meter was starting to mount up.
“You sure you got money for this, Miss?” Mbutu asked glancing back at her.
Reaching into her pocket, Jess pulled out her UNIT ID. “I’m part of UNIT,” she said, showing the card. “If you follow that car to where it’s going, wait for me and then take me back, we’ll pay you double the meter.”
This news made Mbutu grin widely. “You sure, Miss? I never heard this UNIT ‘fore.”
“Need to know,” Jess winked as Mbutu swung the car round a corner.
“We heading to a industrial estate, Miss,” Mbutu said glancing back. “We gonna get less cars to cover us.”
“Drop back as far as you can, then. Just make sure we don’t lose that car.”
“Why, what be so ‘portant ‘bout this car?”
“The man inside it; we’re investigating him and I spotted him without my own transport.” Jess paused as she considered what she was saying. “So that kinda makes you my unofficial driver and part of an important mission.”
Mbutu grinned again as he tugged on the wheel and swerved the car round a corner. The Masters car was now disappearing round another corner up ahead. Mbutu had been right; there were now no cars between them and the Master. They were now into a large industrial estate with large office buildings and factories. Jess did a double take when she caught a glimpse of a sign out of the corner of her eye; “Les Plastiques Maîtrisent”.
Her eyes widened as she looked at the sign, it was to her right, but ahead of them. It had to be the only place that the Master was heading. She couldn’t see the Master’s car up ahead any more, but Mbutu seemed to know still where he was going. She seemed lost in the maze of roads, especially as she’d been looking out of the window at the “Les Plastiques Maîtrisent” sign on the side of the building. She became aware of the car rolling to a stop and she looked round to the driver’s seat.
“Sorry, Miss,” Mbutu said sadly, turning in the seat to find her. “I lost him.”
“I think I know where he’s going,” Jess said leaning forwards towards the Perspex partition behind the driver’s seat. “You think you can find that place?” She asked, pointing to the building.
“You be sure that where you man go?” He asked.
“Positive,” Jess replied. “But to be on the safe side, pull up outside, don’t go in.”
Nodding, Mbutu turned the wheel and set the car back into motion. After several long minutes, they were sat on the road outside the factory car park. The silver Bentley was sat incongruously in the car park, next to an MG convertible. A sign on the wall above the convertible indicated that the parking space was reserved for M. Lemaitre. It seemed odd that the owner of the factory’s car was less grand than that parked beside it.
Jess glanced at the meter. It now read £26.60. “If you can wait for me to come back, there’s another fifty pounds in the fee for you.” Jess said, hoping that UNIT would reimburse the cost of the taxi far before pausing. “And if I’m not back in fifteen minutes, let UNIT know where I am.”
“You got it, Missy,” Mbutu grinned as Jess opened the door and jumped out.
Mbutu watched as Jess made her way cautiously across the car park, looking around all the time she jogged across. As he watched, she reached the reception doors and with a last conspiratorial glance around the car park, she disappeared inside. Shrugging to himself about the girls strange behaviour, Mbutu picked up his paper and opened it where he’d left it. Shifting himself into a comfier position in his seat, he settled down to wait for his strange fare.
*
Jess straightened up as she entered the reception area and glanced around for some signs to tell her where she wanted to go. A map was bolted to the wall to one side, between two lush pot plants. Beside the map was a key, listing all the sections of the office and factory. Spotting it, Jess walked over and studied the map. She could see a CCTV camera blinking at her out of the corner of her eye, but ignored it. Spotting what she was looking for, Jess smiled as she heard a shuffling behind her.
Turning, Jess saw a security guard stood looking at her from behind his desk, his eyebrow raised quizzically. “Can I help you, Miss?” He asked.
Pulling her UNIT ID out of her pocket, she showed it to the guard. “UNIT, here to see Monsieur Lemaitre.”
“Oh, of course Miss,” the Guard nodded indicating to a pair of double doors to the left of the reception. “Through those door, second on the left, up the stairs and straight on.”
“Thanks,” Jess smiled and turned to follow the man’s directions.
When she was sure she was out of sight, she tried one of the doors on the corridor. The first she found was nothing more than a cleaner’s cupboard, complete with mops, buckets, vacuum cleaner, chamois leathers and numerous bottles of cleaning solution. Many of the doors she tried were locked; several had glass partitions showing their occupants busy working, either at their computers or on the telephone. One of the doors led to a conference room. The white board at the far end still had writing on, outlining the distribution of products. Jess didn’t know what sort of product, but if the Master was involved, the chances are it wasn’t good.
Turning at the sound of a door opening, Jess saw two men in overalls walking down the corridor, busy talking. Both men were wearing yellow hard hats and had ear protectors round their necks. Walking back the way she’d came, Jess retraced her steps to the stairs and quickly climbed them. She soon found herself in a large admin. block. Walking through, as the guard had instructed, Jess found herself in a separate office. The woman behind the desk looked up as Jess entered.
“Can I help you?” Andrea Rogers asked.
Jess held out her hand, which still held the UNIT ID. “Jess Lawton, from UNIT. I’m here to see your boss.”
“I’m sorry,” Andrea said. “I’m afraid Monsieur Lemaitre is in an important call and cannot be disturbed at the moment. You’re welcome to wait, but I don’t know how long he’s likely to be.”
Jess thought about what the Doctor had said about Lemaitre, and how he couldn’t have been the Master. “No, not Monsieur Lemaitre,” she replied, thinking on her feet. “Your real boss; the Master.” She knew she’d hit the nail on the head when she saw Andrea’s eyes widen.
“Erm, I’m not too sure what you mean,” Andrea started back peddling.
“Yes you do,” Jess pressed, “dark blue business suit, swept back hair, beard,”
She had just finished her brief description when a door behind Andrea’s desk, which she hadn’t seen before, as it was expertly concealed in the wall panels, opened and a figure was outlined in its open frame. She knew it was the Master before he stepped out into the light. Jess swallowed hard as her eyes met the brown eyes that returned her look.
“Thank you, my dear,” the Master said looking at Andrea before returning his gaze to Jess, stepping back and indicating the open door. “Perhaps you had better step this way, Miss Lawton.”