The Doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully and watched Tegan as she answered the questions of the inquistion panel. The door behind him opened, but he didn't turn to address the intruders. He held up his hand and nodded as Tegan answered yet another question with a measure of sarcasm. She was answering truthfully, but was avoiding self incrimination with any questions posed about her relationship with him.

"She avoids answering questions like a Cardinal."

"Quite, Beta. Has Psi come with you?"

"He has." Beta joined him at the window. "We heard and answered your summons quickly. Though it would not be necessary if you had not broken the law. Really…to say that…even to a woman like Tegan, Theta."

"No lecture, Beta. I didn't ask you here to lecture me. I asked you here to help me mount a firm legal recourse and continue the investigation into the death of the Terran Senator."

"It is Alpha's place in your absence…"

"I would leave the investigation to Tegan and Turlough, if I could count on the Investigative Committee to allow them to submit the evidence. But as I can't, I must rely on you and Psi."

"Such a vote of confidence," Beta grumbled, but broke off as Tegan stumbled back into the room, holding the hem of her robe high to step over doorframe.

"Men…you are all the same. Gallifreyan, Human, or humaniod…you are all the same…pigs," she said as Carol followed her into the room. The Doctor nodded to Tegan and to Grady who entered behind her and Carol. "Well done. Tegan. Now. Take a seat, you lot…we have a lot to discuss."

**

Beta shook his head and leaned over the table. Grady and Carol had left moments before to join Turlough. The Doctor had cheerfully given them the name and location of the Inn that the key had pointed to. Psi had accompanied them. Tegan was glancing over the legislative material, her fingers against her lips. She sighed. "And you are sure about this, this information, Doc?"

"As sure as I can be, Tegan…" he answered. "How is your legislative knowledge?"

"Poor."

"Ah…mine's fine," he approached the table and leaned over, calling Beta over as he did so. "This is the information provided to me by Psi. It shows the voting of the High Council and the Senatorial Liaison Committees…the pros, the cons, and the abstains. It shows the presenters of the bill, the final legislative form of the bill to law, the committees involved in the revision processes and…this…." He pulled out a paper from the bottom of the pile. "…this shows the members of the committees. Now…that is the background." He sat down and faced Tegan, leaning on his hand. "Now…you tell me what you see there…what pattern you can see."

"Don’t play the mind games, Doc. You know there is something there."

"Ah, but Tegan, child, he wishes you to acknowledge it as your own. He is unable to…"

Tegan groaned and stared up at Beta with a grimace. "No thanks to you lot."

The Doctor sighed and lowered his head. "Not now, Tegan. Beta is correct. I cannot own this information, you and Beta, Psi and Turlough must. Please. Study the papers and tell me what you see."

Tegan crossed her legs and leaned into the table further, her hands slowly moving the papers around as her eyes scanned the information. Beta rose and drew the Doctor over window. They had taken over the Inspector's office on the 42^nd floor and the window showed an incredible visage. Both Time Lord's gazed out at the world. "We should tell Alpha."

"We will," the Doctor said, nodding, rubbing his lip. "We will. But he knows this information already. I would prefer everyone to be in the same square before we tell Alpha about anything. After all, most of the information that Turlough is currently tracking was found in his retreat room."

"His? Good Rassilon and Time, Thete…did you break into his room?" Beta groaned. "It will be ill gotten gains if you find anything of worth."

"I'm hoping that it only points a direction. Besides, last evening I requested a CIA subpeona of his, and several other Time Lord's, rooms and belongings under the Article for the Internal Investigations Act. It was released last night, prior to my…" he waved his hand in the air. "…to my indictment, I suppose you would say. Therefore, anything that was found, until a few hours ago, is considered state evidence by Gallifrey. That includes that key I gave to Turlough." The Doctor sighed. "And Grady requested a search warrant for the current room search. I assure you…everything is as it should be…and quite legal."

"CIA…Investigations Act…Gallifrey…" Beta groaned and turned to look at Tegan whose head was still bent over the information.

The Doctor nodded. "A tad different from quiet life in the Academy."

"Doc!" Tegan lifted her head. "All of the bills and laws for finance had the Senator as the head of the committee and as the presenter and were voted for by Alpha, against the rest of the Gallifrey commission."

The Doctor smiled as though at a small child. "Very good. And you will see the same pattern when you look at the defense bills as well."

Tegan nodded and rose, adjusting her skirts. "One piece of the puzzle…but I still don't understand what the puzzle is."

"Given time, it will become clear."

**

Turlough nearly jumped from his skin and clutched at his chest as Grady appeared around the corner. A somberly dressed Time Lord, his red gown shiny in the sunlight, was running behind the elderly, portly inspector with a pained look on his face. He frowned further as he saw that the Time Lord was one of the Pyrodonian rank, and assumably, one of the Doctor's peers. Didn't the Doctor know that all arrows were pointing to someone of his Academy and possibly his House? What was he thinking to send another Time Lord instead of coming himself? As he asked the question, Grady, regaining his breath, barked out an answer.

"You'll have to ask him that, lad. There appears to be some legislative mess up with him conducting the investigation…something of an indictment, I’m afraid."

Turlough groaned loudly as Psi slid to a stop next to them. They were in a corridor outside a series of rooms. Even in the ultra modern wonderland of Paradise Prime, the walls held curling and peeling wall coverings and the entire hall was in sore need of a layer of paint. The Time Lord laid his gloved hand against the wall, but pulled it back quickly to wipe at the glove. "Rassilon…this place is horrible."

"What has the Doctor gotten himself into now?" Turlough asked, ignoring the Time Lord.

Grady shrugged, but wiggled his fingers to wrangle the key from the boy. Turlough handed it over quickly. Psi answered Turlough's question as he glanced about the hallway. "He was recorded by a crystal recorder saying a forbidden poem to his companion, and your friend, Tegan."

"A forbidden poem?" Turlough's jaw fell open and he felt his limbs liquefy in lack of belief. "I don't know whether to be more incredulous of him reciting poetry to Tegan of all people, the fact that a poem is against the law on Gallifrey or the fact that he knew poetry at all."

"Sarcasm will get you…"

"…everywhere," Turlough answered, cheekily. He nodded to the door. "I would worry more about getting that door open and our investigation underway more so than my choice of self-expression, Inspector." He crossed his arms over his chest, but jumped away from the wall as the door slid open next to him.

Grady looked over at the boy and lifted an eyebrow. "Lord Psi, shall we have the boy accompany us?"

"What?" Turlough was incredulous that he was having to ask permission to accompany at all. "Wait a moment, here."

"It is no longer a Paradise Prime investigation. Although the Doctor cannot head the investigation himself, he requested, by law, that a delegation of his choice would spearhead the investigation. Lord Psi, Lord Beta and I are the leaders. You, although I would say yes immediately, now need to have Lord Psi's permission to be…"

"Of course the boy may accompany. He is a companion of Thete's and that is enough for me," Psi answered, frowning at the dust that came from the room. "Shall we…"

The trio of investigators entered the room and began to search. Turlough had seen rooms like this in the depths of the TARDIS…lonely, dusty conglomerations of things, scientific instruments and trinkets. But this room, although it might have looked at home in the TARDIS, it looked lost in the shiny metal spires of Paradise Prime. "Gods…" he breathed. "Are you sure this is not a museum?"

"Positive," Psi answered seriously.

Grady gave Turlough a wry smile. "You feel like finding a proverbial needle in a fictional haystack, my boy?"

The three men groaned, two out loud, one internally. It was going to be a long day.

**

The woman leaned against the corner of the corridor, at the junction of two perpendicular major hallways and watched as the three men entered the room. She had had no time to clear out anything. She only hoped that they could not find what they were looking for easily. With a small smile, she pressed her cheek against the metal. Without the Doctor heading the investigation, she could only hope for their inability to guess at the undercurrents to impede their investigation. She waited until the door slid shut and then she backed away from the wall all the way to the lift and disappeared inside.

**

Tegan moaned and rubbed at her back. Beta agreed with the sediment, but continued to stare at the paperwork. Two sergeants had relinquished most of the paperwork that Turlough and their Inspector had plowed through to them and they sat, almost head to head, going through the laws that the Senator had been part of piece by complete piece. The Doctor sat at the head of the table, his chin on his fingers, his hands clasped. He appeared, to his young companion, to be meditating.

He glanced up at her when she adjusted her stance and leaned back over the table to adjust another pile of papers. "Sit down, Tegan. It will take pressure from your saccral…"

"Too short, Doc; I can't see if I sit, not the whole picture that is," she sighed and shook her head. "Rabbits."

He scooted his chair over next to her and leaned forward on the table. With a surrepituous hand, he moved three papers into a different order and it elicited a sigh from his companion. "I should have seen that." She bemoaned.

"Not really. You are looking at the forest. My position lets me see the tree. Lean forward a bit more, and separate your legs slightly…don't lock your knees: it will help your back."

She did so, and adjusted another set of papers to see the names on the sheets. When the Doctor reached out to rub her back, she jumped, but relaxed quickly. Beta shook his head, but chose to ignore the familiar touch. Instead, he asked: "Tegan, have you found the defense legislation that was in process?"

"The second pile from the left," Tegan said, rolling her shoulders a bit.

"And did you separate…"

"By name, date and committee, as requested."

"No need to be touchy," Beta said, frowning.

"I wouldn't be touchy if…"

"Not now, Tegan," the Doctor implored, pressing his thumbs on either side of her spine. She relaxed with the caress.

Tegan ignored both of the men. Before she could say anything against either of them, she saw a note on one of the papers. Beta, however, continued the exchange. "It should be at Thete that you direct your anger, girl, not me. He is the one clearly in the wrong."

"Wrong?" the Doctor asked, lifting his eyes to his cousin.

Tegan moved the paper around to glance at more of it.

"How would you define your actions of last night?" Beta asked, grateful for the break from the paper chase.

"Applicable."

"Irresponsible."

The Doctor stopped rubbing Tegan's back and leaned into the table, spearing his cousin and friend with a stare. "Tegan has traveled with me since I regenerated; she returned to the TARDIS after an absence and is a very dear friend of mine. Explain to me how I was to use her as we are expected to…"

"Use, Thete? Utilize I believe is a better word."

"Semantics…the calling card of the Time Lords. Use, and at some level, abuse. You leave women here, you bring them here sometimes against their will; you play with their emotions, their sexuality and then you walk away…"

"And you would do otherwise? Look at her, Thete, she is not as you."

"Yes," the Doctor rose out of his chair menacingly. "I would not leave her here. I could no more leave her here and disregard her friendship then I could disregard you as my loom mate. If showing her some of the respect that she deserves requires something that is erroneously considered unlawful, then so be it."

"You know, Tegan would love to have some respect as to be not referred to in the third person when she is in the same room," Tegan answered. "I don't want to have this discussion right now, if you please. I would rather have you two look at this note."

She slid the note forward and both men leaned inward to stare at it. As they did so, she walked across the room and stood by the door, her arms crossed over her chest. When the Doctor lifted his eyes to her, she frowned. "I've had just about enough of this outfit," she said, quietly. "I am going to find clothes to change into; I'll be back."

The Doctor rose from his chair to escort her, but she held up her hand. "No."

"Tegan."

"No, I want time alone, Doctor. You stay here with Beta and see if you can see what I think is there. But I do not want you coming along with me. Please?"

He nodded once and watched as the girl left the room. Beta sighed at the sadness in his cousin's countenance. "Theta."

"It is not what you think. We are friends, close friends. My emotional detachment training has kept me from entangling myself, as it has with any of the other women I have traveled with these years. But I do owe her something. If it were not for the amount of aphrodisiac that is kept in the air here, last night would have never had happened. She agreed to relations under the aspence that I was in pain…the words of that poem were more truthful than I think I was prepared to deal with for her, but they were well and truly meant. And that…is the end of the discussion on the matter."

He held up his hand as Beta began to speak. With a finger to his lips, he pointed at the paper that Tegan had pulled out for him. "Look."

It was a receipt for the Loomlight Inn…suspiciously near where Turlough had ventured.

In Psi's name.