Death in Venice (audio story)

 was the sixty-fifth story in the Torchwood - Monthly Range by Big Finish Productions. It was written by James Goss.

Publisher's summary
Dorothy McShane once travelled with the Doctor. She misses those days. Sure, she still saves the world, but less by beating up Daleks and catapulting Cybermen and more through running a massively successful charity.

Only, she's on the run for her life and her charity is in trouble. Someone wants Dorothy dead. And Torchwood are coming to the rescue. Can Mr Colchester keep her safe on the magical streets of Venice?

Plot
On a flight to Venice, Ms McShane, whose charity is in trouble after whistleblowers reported how some of its money was being wasted, is invited to the first-class lounge by Mr Colchester and warned of an assassin on board. Torchwood intend on keeping her safe so Mr Colchester goes with her to speak with her head of finance, Albert Congretto, at his palazzo and finds that he has been assassinated, a crime which he suspects she will be blamed of. Before Mr Colchester can remove any fingerprints, an alarm sounds and the pair of them are forced to flee from the police and a sniper by motorcycle.

Mr Colchester and Ms McShane hide out in a honeymoon suite and Elena calls to inform Ms McShane that the board have agreed that the charity needs a change of leadership in the wake of Albert's death and her being photographed in first-class. When Elena fails mistakes Mr Colchester's voice for Ms McShane's, he realises that the board has been infiltrated by aliens and they are attacked. The room is blown up by a drone and they take a dumbwaiter downstairs to the kitchens through which they escape the masked figures pursuing them to a masquerade.

Boarding a bus upon spotting people with guns, Mr Colchester and Ms McShane travel for several hours to a village at the top of a mountain in Slovenia where the charity set up a clinic. The clinic is soon attacked and the two of them flee from gunmen on a snowmobile which Mr Colchester modifies to cause an explosion, allowing them to take a cable car down the mountain. During the journey, Ms McShane realises that Torchwood intend to shut down A Charitable Earth to keep it from being exploited by aliens and calls Elena, who assures her that the charity's work will continue once it has been taken over.

The cable car is shot down and Mr Colchester and Ms McShane take a path down the mountain before taking a train to civilisation. After hours of avoiding the attackers, they take a midnight cruise back to Venice and Mr Colchester goes through evidence that he has collected, finding mind-controlling N-particles on A Charitable Earth's paperwork. Ms McShane is forced to surrender upon returning to Venice and Mr Colchester, apparently controlled by the particles, confirms that he killed Albert as he had been waiting to kill her. Elena intends to leave Ms McShane with Albert's body to get her out of the way, but Mr Colchester reveals that he is not being controlled and that Torchwood have closed the door to the aliens' dimension.

With the door to their dimension closed, the aliens are banished and the people that they have possessed have gone into comas. Mr Colchester apologises for killing Albert and suggests that he and Ms McShane continue their travels, but she declines as she needs to return to A Charitable Earth and continue helping people.

Cast

 * Mr Colchester - Paul Clayton
 * Ace - Sophie Aldred
 * Elena - Safiyya Ingar
 * Assassin - Jack Forsyth-Noble

Crew

 * Senior Producer - David Richardson
 * Additional Themes - Ben Foster
 * Cover Art - Sean Longmore
 * Director - Steven Kavuma
 * Executive Producer - Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
 * Music - Blair Mowat
 * Writer & Producer - James Goss
 * Script Editor - Tim Foley
 * Sound Design - Toby Hrycek-Robinson
 * Theme Music - Murray Gold

Worldbuilding

 * Mr Colchester offers Ms McShane champagne, canapes and an olive.
 * Mr Colchester advises Ms McShane not to eat the salmon as it has been overseasoned with dill.
 * Albert Congretto is a discreet banker and A Charitable Earth's head of finance.
 * Mr Colchester mentions Colin.
 * Albert is a fan of Sheffield Wednesday.
 * Ms McShane gave Albert a signed photograph of Paolo Di Canio.
 * Mr Colchester tries to distract a crowd by claiming that Lady Gaga is nearby.
 * The honeymoon suite overlooks St Mark's Square.
 * Mr Colchester has a scanner.
 * A Charitable Earth designed a walker for the elderly, made with bonded polycarbide.
 * Mr Colchester and his family stayed in a caravan in Rhyl in the 1960s. His mother did not like that he collected "naughty postcards".
 * Mr Colchester is concussed by a cabbage.
 * Ms McShane drinks ginger tea.
 * N-particles can be used for mind control.
 * Mr Colchester throws his mobile phone into a ravine.

Continuity

 * Ms McShane used to blow things up. (TV: Dragonfire, etc.)