PART TWO
Two thugs shove the Doctor, Romana and Duggan into the château. Hermann takes them to the lounge and shoves the Doctor in at gunpoint.
The Doctor falls but gets up, delighted by “such a wonderful butler: he's so violent.” On his knees, he introduces Romana, Duggan and himself to the Countess. The Doctor crawls to a
Louis Quinze chair. Dismissing Hermann, he invites himself to a drink and seats Romana and Duggan, preparing drinks for them too. He tells her he is a thief, Romana his assistant and Duggan the detective who caught him. When the Countess tells him she was under the impression that Duggan was following
her, the Doctor says she is “a beautiful woman, probably” and that Duggan was likely after a dinner date. She asks who sent him. The Countess lets him know that the more he tries to convince her he is a fool, the more she will think otherwise. Romana picks up a Chinese puzzle box. The Countess insists she put it down, as she will never solve it; Romana opens it in seconds and takes out the bracelet. The Count enters and takes the bracelet. He seems curiously happy to meet these strangers, although he insists upon knowing why the Doctor took his wife's bracelet.
The Count ends the interview, making the Doctor jump up and talk of lunch with Duggan and Romana. The Count says " I think a better idea is if Hermann locks you in the cellar." Then Duggan picks up a chair in defence, the Doctor asks what is it he thinks he is doing with a priceless Louis Quinze. Because Hermann can shoot Duggan, the Doctor pretends to care more about the chair not being damaged. The Count orders Hermann to show them the
cellar they will be locked in.
As he enthusiastically leads the way into the cellar, the Doctor questions Hermann. He learns that the château was built four or five hundred years before. The Doctor catches a glimpse of the equipment before Hermann locks them in a cellar closet and gives them a light which will last two or three hours. Duggan asks the Doctor what he is playing at - they could have escaped at least twice. The Doctor tells him his plan: let them think they have them safe and escape after finding out what they came for. He takes out
his sonic screwdriver to open the door to the cell.
Romana calculates the horizontal length of the stairs and figures there must be an unseen area of the room. The Doctor, impressed by Romana's mathematical skill, wants to look at the lab first.
The Doctor and Romana examine the equipment. The Doctor explains what is happening to Duggan. Kerensky comes down the stairs and Romana and Duggan hide. The Doctor acts as though he has only just arrived and claims to be fascinated by the Professor's research.
The machine has three laser light projectors all pointing to a central plinth.
Kerensky puts an egg in the middle of his machine on the plinth and activates the machinery. Formed around the plinth is a yellowish bubble of light , in the bubble they watch the egg hatch and the chick inside grow to full size. The Doctor informs the Professor that he has got it all wrong.
Kerensky tells the Doctor that he is the world's foremost authority on temporal physics; the Doctor replies that the world is pretty small considering the size of the universe. When Kerensky says he can solve the world's famines, the Doctor observes that the chicken has become a skeleton and died. Kerensky has got the principle wrong — he has created a different space-time continuum, but it is incompatible with their own: he can stretch time backwards and forwards, but cannot break into it. The Doctor reverses the polarity of the machinery and the chicken reforms and becomes an egg again. Kerensky is very impressed but admits that does not ask too many questions of the Count ie where he gets his riches from. The Doctor says that he should ask questions: that is a scientist's job. At this moment, the Doctor sees Scaroth's face in the time field and Duggan knocks out the professor.
The Doctor looks down at the fallen Kerensky, " he's fainted."
" No, I hit him" says Duggan, " now can we stop bothering about conjuring tricks with chickens and get out of here. "
The Doctor says that the Count is probably out to steal the Mona Lisa, " now why don't we find out why and how , or are you just in it for the thumping?"
Duggan taken aback, " I'm in it to protect the interests of the art world. "
" Yeah, but mainly for the thumping. "
Romana is carrying boxes from one wall of the cellar to the other, the Doctor asks Duggan, " have you any idea what Romana is doing.? No, me neither, looks fascinating though. "
Romana has found another room behind the wall.
The Count has created a mock-up of part of the Louvre in the lounge for a holographic dress rehearsal to demonstrate his plan to steal the
Mona Lisa. He uses a sonic knife to cut through the glass with ease, then uses his device to disrupt the air around the laser beams so he can get to the painting. After the rehearsal ends, the Count switches off a holographic projector, which has created the Louvre scene, and the surroundings change back to the lounge. The Count removes the Countess' bracelet from the projector and returns it to her, saying she must wear it always. When she asks how he did it, he smiles enigmatically and says he comes from a family of geniuses.
The Doctor chisels on the brick. He tells Romana that the professor thinks he's breeding chickens but Scarlioni is using the equipment to distort time. Duggan tells them there are seven people in his address book that would be willing to pay for the
Mona Lisa for their private collection. To get through the last bricks, the Doctor needs some machinery. Duggan obliges by knocking into the wall. Inside, the trio finds a cupboard with a
Mona Lisa inside - one that the Doctor claims is the real one.
He finds five other "real"
Mona Lisas. The Doctor recognises the pigment and the brushwork of LeonardodaVinci. Duggan explains that if there was a
Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre, no one would buy the others: they would each have to think they were buying the stolen one. The Doctor, impressed, says he would not make a very good criminal. The Count appears behind them and tells him, "No, good criminals don't get caught. I see you've found some of my pictures."
The Doctor curious, " can I ask where you got these, or how you knew they were here?"
" No."
" I like concise answers."
" Good. I came to find Kerensky but he seems unable to speak to me. Can you shed any light on that please?"
Duggan says ," I can", he throws the gas lamp to the floor plunging the room into blackness and punches Scarlioni who falls.
The Doctor examines him , "Duggan why is it that every time I start to talk to someone you knock them out."
They leave the cellar to see the Countess covering them with a gun. Duggan picks up a vase and brings it down on her head.
Duggan, " sorry Lady."
Doctor, " I should think so, that's a Ming vase absolutely priceless. "
He asks Romana to look after Duggan as he leaves to meet a middle-aged Italian in the Renaissance.
He arrives at the Denise Rene Art Gallery, where the TARDIS is parked. He goes inside and says hello to K9 and asks how he is. The TARDIS dematerialises.
It materialises in
Florence,
Italy in the year
1505. The Doctor takes a moment to enjoy the Renaissance sunshine. He calls for Leonardo after whistling with some birds. He tells Leo that everyone loved
The Last Supper and most of his other paintings; he asks if Leonardo remembers the Mona Lisa, “that dreadful woman with no eyebrows who wouldn't sit still.” The idea for the
helicopter took a long time to catch on, however. A soldier points a long sabre at his face. Leonardo is engaged in important work for
Captain Tancredi. The Doctor gasps as if he knows the name. The guard asks the Doctor if he knows the name, which he, of course, does not. The guard makes the Doctor sit. Tancredi will want to question him; the Doctor wants to question Tancredi. Tancredi walks in.
The Doctor asks the Captain what he is doing here. Tancredi's face is that of Scarlioni. He replies, "I think that is exactly the question that I ought to be asking you, Doctor..."