Chapter One
Martha Jones laughed out loud as she read the text. Her laughter elicited a few odd looks, but she didn't care. She read it again, just to make sure she had read it right.
Dr Mrth
U wld luv it hre, th beec, oh damm, I hate these things. Check your voice mail, Mrtha Jones.
Luv D
She did, and she laughed again.
"You'd love it hear Martha, the beaches are mauve, and the sea is purple, oh, you get the picture. Valturians, the colour co-ordinators of the universe. Take care, and don't let that Tom Milligan lead you astray, or he'll have me to answer to. Oh, I got your invitation, I wouldn't miss it for the universe."
There was the sound of someone shouting in the distance. "Gotta go, the water spout show starts in five, bye."
Martha smiled, glad that he was having fun. He sounded happy, his voice relaxed, and she was glad he was accepting the invite.
She stopped at a coffee shop and brought a latte and a banana muffin, yet another thing she'd picked up from the Doctor, and took it with her, ready for work. She didn't notice the two people following her, just a few feet behind.
"Target acquired, waiting instructions," one of them said, pressing a small earpiece.
Martha stepped out of the lift, into the car park. She hated this entrance to the hospital, and was annoyed that her usual entrance was locked for some reason.
"Stop it!" she said out loud. "Don't get paranoid, there is not a slavering six tentacled alien round every corner."
She walked towards the door to the hospital, trying to juggle coffee, muffin, and her bag so she could open the door.
She heard footsteps behind. Finally, someone who could hold the door for her.
She wasn't expecting the chloroform-filled cloth, and her vision faded.
Jack Harkness was buried under paperwork, files, reports, requisition forms, most of them related to the debacle that was the last misadventure with the Doctor.
He was relieved when the phone rang: anything to take him away from the tedium of bureaucracy.
"Jack Harkness," he said.
"Jack, it's Francine. Is Martha there with you?"
"No, I haven't seen her since Monday, she due in this afternoon. Is there a problem?"
"Probably not, it's just, well, she was meant to meet me for lunch, and she didn't show."
"I'm sure she'd just got caught up at the hospital. Do you want me to tell her off when she gets in?"
Francine laughed. "You do that, Jack, I'm sorry for wasting your time."
"It's no problem, Francine, anytime," he said, and put down the phone, heaved a huge sigh, and returned to his paperwork.
Martha woke up suddenly, the horrible, distinct taste of chloroform in her mouth. She tried to move, but pain ran through her arms and legs.
"Please don't move, Doctor Jones, those restraints are designed to pull tighter when you move. So, I wouldn't try and struggle, unless you want to lose a limb."
The owner of the voice stepped away and left the room, leaving Martha in silence.
She tried to look round, but the pain came again. What she could see, didn't offer much hope.
The walls were white, as was the ceiling, and the floor no doubt. The only light was bare and way too strong. She screwed up her eyes to lessen the glare, and as she did, the light went out, leaving an impression of the light on her retinas. When she unscrewed them, the room was pitch black, not even the smallest chink of light, complete darkness.
Where the hell was she, and who were her abductors?
It was way past midnight when Jack and the rest of the team trudged back into the Hub. Jack could still smell the sewers of Cardiff on him, not to mention the slime that was smeared all over him.
The thing, whatever it was, had been big and nasty, and very slimy. Most of it was now floating away to the sea, in pieces. The rest was all over him and the others.
"Urggh, I am never going to get this stuff out," Gwen said as she pulled another piece of the thing from her hair.
They'd been chasing the thing since mid-day, and for a big thing, it could hide really well.
"I'm going home, and I'm never getting out of the shower," said Ianto, a look of disgust on his face, as he sniffed his ruined jacket.
"Everybody go," Jack said. "We can do the rest in the morning, be here at eleven, sharp."
Jack waved them off and climbed down into his room and spent the next hour cleaning slime, guts and the sewer off himself.
He padded barefoot up to his office and sat down looked at the pile of unopened files. On top sat a hand written envelope, a wedding invitation.
Martha, he suddenly thought, she must have come in and found the place empty, and with no note explaining where they had gone.
He considered calling her to apologise, but it was way past a civilised time to call anyone. It was then that he noticed his answering machine flash, there were at least a dozen missed calls, all from the same number…Francine.
Francine answered the door and found Jack standing on her doorstep.
Jack noticed her eyes were red from crying. "Francine, what is it?" he said, hurriedly closing the door.
"It's Martha, Jack. She didn't show for work this morning, she's not at home, nor at Tom's. They did a search of the area around the hospital. They found her bag and her phone, and a piece of cloth with chloroform on. Jack, she's been kidnapped."
Chapter Two
Ianto swept the scanner over the area near the door. He shook his head, and switched off the scanner.
"No alien involvement, whoever took her, they're human," he said as he packed the scanner away.
Gwen let out a long breath. "She's been missing for nearly twenty-four hours, the longer she's gone, the less chance we'll find her. We'd better tell Jack."
Jack scowled when he heard the news, no alien involvement. That didn't make it any better; humans were just as bad, if not worse. He'd just left the police, who were clueless, and he was becoming angrier, and more frustrated. It was getting more and more likely that he would have to make that call, the one he really didn't want to make.
He was about twenty-five yards from the SUV, when the world turned fire orange.
He came back to life with the sounds of sirens and panicked cries in his ears.
He sat up, and as he tried to get up, his phone rang. Still slightly dazed from dying, he put the phone to his ear, and the voice on the other end, soon sharpened his senses.
"That was a warning, Captain Harkness," was all the voice said, before ringing off.
A policeman ran up to him. "Are you alright, sir, was that your car?"
Jack didn't reply, his mind whirling with many thoughts.
The policeman assumed he was in shock. "Don't worry, the paramedics will be here soon. Just stay there, okay," he said, and moved off to help someone else.
******************
Ianto and Gwen looked up as Jack blew into the Hub, like a hurricane, his face set in an angry mask.
"Ianto, tap into all the satellites. I don't give a damn who complains. Whoever these guys are, they must be talking to someone!" he snapped,disappearing into his office.
He didn't take threats well, and he didn't take to his friends being kidnapped either, and he knew the person he was about to call, definitely didn't.
The Doctor was still picking indigo coloured seaweed out of his hair. He'd been forcibly ejected from the beach, by irate life guards.
Was it his fault that a Valturian dignitary was allergic to seawater; he hadn't deliberately taken the last seat in the sheltered part of the seating.
"Guess I was just the nearest person," he said to himself, as he entered the TARDIS.
He stopped when she rumbled at him, and then he realised he was dripping purple seawater on her ramp.
"Sorry," he said, and walked out of the console room, and straight into the bathroom.
It had been several months since he'd left Earth, and more than that since the volcano. He worried that he couldn't remember what had happened in that chamber. It worried him even more, that when he tried to recall it, it seemed just out of reach. He didn't like the idea, that someone other than himself could block his memory, he didn't like at all.
He was busy washing the sea salt out of his ears, when he thought he heard Martha's mobile ring. He dismissed it as a trick of the water, and carried on.
The next time, he was certain he heard a phone ring, so he switched off the shower, grabbed a towel, and stepped out of the bathroom.
By the time he'd reached the console room, the phone had stopped, and showed no inclination to ring again. He frowned, shrugged his shoulders, and went back to the bathroom, finished his shower, dressed and returned to the
console.
He was in the process of getting dirty again, tinkering with the TARDIS servo-links, when the phone rang again.
Without thinking he shot up, banging his head.
"Oww, double oww! " he exclaimed, as he hit his head on the console, and banged his knee as he crawled out.
He limped over to phone, nursing a sore head and knee, and picked it up.
"Hello," he said.
Jack had almost lost his patience; he'd rung that number what seemed for the millionth time.
"Come on, pick up, pick up," he muttered, expecting to get voice mail again.
So he was surprised to hear the estuary English tones of the Doctor answer.
"Hello," the Doctor said brightly.
"Hello, Doctor," he replied, his voice serious.
"Jack, what is it?" the Doctor voice asked.
"I think you'd better come here," Jack said, and explained.
The TARDIS materialised inside the Hub a few hours later.
Ianto and Gwen had just arrived back from another fruitless search for Martha. They stepped round the materialising wooden box, and carried on, not really wanting to face what would probably be a very angry Time Lord.
Jack came out of his office and stood on the walkway, waiting.
The TARDIS had only just solidified when the door opened, and one very annoyed Time Lord stepped out.
The Doctor looked up at Jack, his face like thunder. "Show me where," he growled.
Jack leant against the SUV as the Doctor studied the last place Martha had been.
"They used chloroform, yes?" the Doctor said, sniffing the air.
"Yes," Jack answered.
"So, they wanted to subdue, not harm, but just enough to put her out for a little while. Which means, they must have had transport nearby. Did you check the CCTV?"
"Yes, but most of it was blank, wiped, we think," Jack said.
"Ah, but you were looking for the event, did you look at just before, and just after?" the Doctor said, looking at the ground.
"Like I said, most of it was blank. We tried, but there was nothing."
The Doctor looked up at Jack, raised an eyebrow. "But, you didn't have me."
Jack watched as the Doctor loaded the disc into a slot he was sure hadn't been there before. There was a small whine as the disc loaded, and then the blue screen of a blank disc appeared.
"Told you, blank," Jack said.
"Really, or is because someone wants you to think its blank," the Doctor said, and twisted what looked like a paperweight.
Jack blinked as what looked like an image flashed on the screen.
At first, the picture was grainy and broken, but it steadily coalesced into a view of the car park.
"There!" the Doctor said suddenly, and the picture froze."Go back a bit, get rid of those, and, voila!"
The picture showed a black van ascending the ramp, just as Martha Jones walked towards the door.
The next shot showed the van leaving, and Martha's abandoned bag, coffee and muffin.
Jack straightened. "If only we could get the plate," he said, frustration in his voice.
The Doctor turned to him, a wolfish grin on his face. He rotated the paperweight and the picture rotated, and as clear as day, you could see the plate.
"Ianto!" Jack yelled through the open door of the TARDIS. "Find where this vehicle came from," and shouted out the number.
The Doctor ejected the disc and handed it to Jack.
"We'll find her, Doctor," Jack said.
"Yes, we will," the Doctor said, and looked down, so Jack couldn't see the fire burning in his eyes.
Martha had no idea of the time, lying in the pitch black. She kept hearing footsteps and mumbled voices, but no-one entered the room.
She was trying her best not to panic, but she could feel it gnawing at her. All she could do was hope that someone knew she was missing.
Chapter Three
Jack watched as the Doctor wandered from the kitchen, tea in hand, and sat next to Ianto. It was taking longer than expected to trace the plate. The Doctor had offered to speed up the system, but Ianto politely refused, he really didn't need an overload, not now.
Jack jogged down the stairs, and took the Doctor by his free arm. "C'mon Doc, why don't you tell me about where you've been for the last couple of months."
The Doctor hesitated, not wanting to move away.
"Doctor, we can't, you can't do anything until we trace that plate. So c'mon, we've got some catching up to do."
The Doctor took one more look at the mass of numbers scrolling down the screen, sighed and allowed Jack to pull him away.
"So, what you been doing, you never call," Jack said.
The Doctor didn't answer, but stared resolutely down at his tea.
Jack sighed. "Doctor, brooding isn't going to find her."
The Doctor took a deep breath, and let it out, and looked up at Jack.
Jack sat back a little, he didn't like the look on the Doctor's face or the look in his eyes.
"You should have called me earlier Jack."
"I tried, but you weren't picking up."
The Doctor frowned, and at least had the decency to blush. "Ah, yes, sorry about that. Bit of a beach trip, sand in the works, well, mauve sand actually."
Jack knew better than to ask, just shook his head. "So, do you have any idea who could have snatched her?"
The Doctor frowned again, brows furrowed in concentration.
"Well, it's not alien, which leaves any number of earth bound people, companies, terrorists that you and I have pissed off at some time. Especially me, I tend to do that, too often really,"he sighed. "You can rule out the crazies and the amateurs, this needed money and organisation."
"So, rich, and quite possibly powerful, which makes them more dangerous," Jack said.
"Yeah, "the Doctor said.
They both looked up at the sound of a knock on the door.
Ianto followed a second later, "Found it, it belongs to a hire company, based at Heathrow Airport."
"Does it say who hired it?" Jack asked.
"Couldn't get that information, client confidentiality and all. I tried hacking into their system, but there was nothing, so they must have just used paper forms."
"Well," said the Doctor. "Looks like we're going to London."
Martha jumped as the light came back on, and she screwed her eyes up in pain at the brightness.
The door opened, and someone walked in, she tried to move to see who it was, but the restraints bit into her wrists and ankles. She tried to look, when someone placed a blindfold over her, but it was too late.
"Who are you, what do you want?" she said.
"Who I am is not important. What I want is none of your concern. Now Doctor Jones, I'm going to untie your feet."
"Why?" she asked.
"Full of questions, aren't you?" the voice said. "With any luck Doctor Jones, you won't be with me for long. But for now, we're going to take a little walk."
The Doctor had wanted to go by TARDIS, but Jack had said, that a wooden blue box appearing in the middle of an international airport, might just get a little unwanted attention.
So now, they were driving down the motorway, towards London, with Jack trying to calm down an annoyed Doctor.
"This is so slow," the Doctor grumbled. "If we'd taken my car, we could have been in and out of their office in minutes."
"Yeah, we could, but then you might have ended up with airport police up your ass," Jack said, as he manoeuvred the SUV around a lorry.
The Doctor snorted. "Like that would ever stop me."
"Quit complaining, this time we have to subtle. You can't go all oncoming storm on them."
"Not yet, anyway," the Doctor muttered under his breath.
Out loud he said. "Fine, I'll be sweetness and light, but I don't think the people following us will be."
"What!?" Jack said, and looked in his rear view mirror.
The Doctor was right, why hadn't he noticed the black 4x4 close behind them, its occupant's silhouettes behind tinted glass.
"Dammit!" he said. "There's a turn- off a mile ahead, let's see if they follow."
The 4x4 did follow them, and was sticking close to them.
"Alright," said Jack. "Hold on to something, this could get interesting."
He stomped on the accelerator, and shot away from the 4x4. Jack swerved round a car, and risked running an amber light, shooting across the roundabout, tyres protesting at the sudden action.
The 4x4 followed suit, narrowly missing a van, which voiced its protest with its horn.
"Still following," the Doctor said, as he twisted back to face the road.
"Right," Jack said, and spying a bridle path ahead, wrenched the steering wheel, and slewed the SUV off the road.
Wheels spinning, churning mud, the SUV roared up the track. Jack looked in the mirror, couldn't see the 4x4. He'd bought them a few seconds, which he intended to make use of. He threw the SUV round a corner, fish-tailing to get round safely, and manoeuvred the vehicle between the trees, and stopped.
"Do your thing Doc," he said.
The 4x4 sped along the path, turned the corner, expecting to see the SUV ahead. What the occupants didn't expect was to see a man standing in the middle of the path, legs apart, feet planted, arms outstretched.
As the driver stomped on the brakes, they definitely didn't expect a SUV to roar out of the trees and ram the side of their vehicle.
The 4x4 was pushed off the path, and collided with the trees on the opposite side. Smoke and steam poured out of the bonnet, as the SUV shot away.
The driver looked over at his passenger, but his eyes were open and glazed with death. The driver pushed on his door, found it moved, and fell out of it.
He righted himself, and started to run.
He heard the sounds of feet behind him. and suddenly found himself yanked off his feet, and spun round at the same time.
He found himself staring into a pair of very angry eyes.
The owner of those eyes snarled at him. "Where is she? Where is Martha Jones?"
The driver managed to find his voice. "I don't know."
The figure's face hardened and he thought he saw fire in the back of those eyes.
"Liar!" the figure hissed, and suddenly clamped his hands round the driver's head.
The driver let out a cry of pain, and not from his injuries, his mind was burning.
"Where is she?" the figure repeated.
"I don't know!" the driver yelled.
The figure snarled, and more pain poured into the driver's mind. The driver faintly heard someone shout, and suddenly the pain was gone from his head.
**************
Jack shook himself free of the impact, and as he reversed, he saw the Doctor take off.
"No, no," he said, someone must be out and rabbiting. He stopped the SUV and was out after the Doctor, who was faster and more agile through the trees than him.
He pulled up, chest heaving, looking round him. Where the hell had they gone?
He looked to his right, when he heard a cry, not of alarm, but of agony.
"No, what are you doing?" he said, and ran in the direction of the cry.
He burst out of a clump of trees, and skidded to a halt.
The Doctor had his hands clamped round another man's head, who was on his knees.
"Liar!" he heard the Doctor snarl, and the man screamed.
With increasing horror, Jack knew what the Doctor was doing. "Doctor, what are you doing!" he yelled.
When his shout had no effect, he ran over, and grabbed the Doctor's shoulders, pulling him away.
The driver fell to the ground, ignored by the Doctor, who turned on Jack.
Jack stepped back, as he found himself looking into the eyes of the Oncoming Storm. He could see the fire swirling at the back of the Doctor's eyes, the distant look that made him look so alien.
"Doctor, what are you doing?" he asked once more.
"Liar," the Doctor said. "He's lying, he knows. I need to find her, she's Martha."
"But doing that won't help," Jack said. "Let me talk to him."
The Doctor looked at the man, then back at Jack. "Perhaps, but I need to know if he does know."
The Doctor's voice was no longer harsh, and Jack could see his eyes were no longer like a fiery sea, they were his normal brown.
He turned back to the man, who when he saw the Doctor approaching, stiffened slightly, and seemed to clench his jaw, and seconds later collapsed on the floor.
"No!" both Jack and the Doctor said together, and rushed over to the now convulsing man.
The smell of bitter almonds assaulted their nostril.
"Cyanide!" the Doctor said sharply, and knelt down by the now dead man. "He must have known, or why the cyanide."
"Maybe he did, but anyone willing to do that, would never have talked, not even with your persuasion." Jack said, as he searched the body for ID.
"Nothing, he's a pro, no ID."
"Then we carry on to Heathrow," the Doctor said, and began walking away.
Jack shook his head, took out his phone, called 999, and walked after the Doctor.
*****************
Martha was glad to get the feeling back in her feet, not that it mattered, she couldn't run.
"This way, Doctor Jones," the voice said, and a door opened, and the smell of antiseptic hit her nose.
She was stopped, and another voice spoke.
"Welcome Miss Jones, we need a little something from you."
She flinched when she heard the voice, and she screamed, as she was dragged to and onto an operating table.
"Please Miss Jones, screaming will not help," the voice said.
She felt a small pain, and the darkness returned. Jack watched as the Doctor wandered from the kitchen, tea in hand, and sat next to Ianto. It was taking longer than expected to trace the plate. The Doctor had offered to speed up the system, but Ianto politely refused, he really didn't need an overload, not now.
Jack jogged down the stairs, and took the Doctor by his free arm. "C'mon Doc, why don't you tell me about where you've been for the last couple of months."
The Doctor hesitated, not wanting to move away.
"Doctor, we can't, you can't do anything until we trace that plate. So c'mon, we've got some catching up to do."
The Doctor took one more look at the mass of numbers scrolling down the screen, sighed and allowed Jack to pull him away.
"So, what you been doing, you never call," Jack said.
The Doctor didn't answer, but stared resolutely down at his tea.
Jack sighed. "Doctor, brooding isn't going to find her."
The Doctor took a deep breath, and let it out, and looked up at Jack.
Jack sat back a little, he didn't like the look on the Doctor's face or the look in his eyes.
"You should have called me earlier Jack."
"I tried, but you weren't picking up."
The Doctor frowned, and at least had the decency to blush. "Ah, yes, sorry about that. Bit of a beach trip, sand in the works, well, mauve sand actually."
Jack knew better than to ask, just shook his head. "So, do you have any idea who could have snatched her?"
The Doctor frowned again, brows furrowed in concentration.
"Well, it's not alien, which leaves any number of earth bound people, companies, terrorists that you and I have pissed off at some time. Especially me, I tend to do that, too often really,"he sighed. "You can rule out the crazies and the amateurs, this needed money and organisation."
"So, rich, and quite possibly powerful, which makes them more dangerous," Jack said.
"Yeah, "the Doctor said.
They both looked up at the sound of a knock on the door.
Ianto followed a second later, "Found it, it belongs to a hire company, based at Heathrow Airport."
"Does it say who hired it?" Jack asked.
"Couldn't get that information, client confidentiality and all. I tried hacking into their system, but there was nothing, so they must have just used paper forms."
"Well," said the Doctor. "Looks like we're going to London."
Martha jumped as the light came back on, and she screwed her eyes up in pain at the brightness.
The door opened, and someone walked in, she tried to move to see who it was, but the restraints bit into her wrists and ankles. She tried to look, when someone placed a blindfold over her, but it was too late.
"Who are you, what do you want?" she said.
"Who I am is not important. What I want is none of your concern. Now Doctor Jones, I'm going to untie your feet."
"Why?" she asked.
"Full of questions, aren't you?" the voice said. "With any luck Doctor Jones, you won't be with me for long. But for now, we're going to take a little walk."
The Doctor had wanted to go by TARDIS, but Jack had said, that a wooden blue box appearing in the middle of an international airport, might just get a little unwanted attention.
So now, they were driving down the motorway, towards London, with Jack trying to calm down an annoyed Doctor.
"This is so slow," the Doctor grumbled. "If we'd taken my car, we could have been in and out of their office in minutes."
"Yeah, we could, but then you might have ended up with airport police up your ass," Jack said, as he manoeuvred the SUV around a lorry.
The Doctor snorted. "Like that would ever stop me."
"Quit complaining, this time we have to subtle. You can't go all oncoming storm on them."
"Not yet, anyway," the Doctor muttered under his breath.
Out loud he said. "Fine, I'll be sweetness and light, but I don't think the people following us will be."
"What!?" Jack said, and looked in his rear view mirror.
The Doctor was right, why hadn't he noticed the black 4x4 close behind them, its occupant's silhouettes behind tinted glass.
"Dammit!" he said. "There's a turn- off a mile ahead, let's see if they follow."
The 4x4 did follow them, and was sticking close to them.
"Alright," said Jack. "Hold on to something, this could get interesting."
He stomped on the accelerator, and shot away from the 4x4. Jack swerved round a car, and risked running an amber light, shooting across the roundabout, tyres protesting at the sudden action.
The 4x4 followed suit, narrowly missing a van, which voiced its protest with its horn.
"Still following," the Doctor said, as he twisted back to face the road.
"Right," Jack said, and spying a bridle path ahead, wrenched the steering wheel, and slewed the SUV off the road.
Wheels spinning, churning mud, the SUV roared up the track. Jack looked in the mirror, couldn't see the 4x4. He'd bought them a few seconds, which he intended to make use of. He threw the SUV round a corner, fish-tailing to get round safely, and manoeuvred the vehicle between the trees, and stopped.
"Do your thing Doc," he said.
The 4x4 sped along the path, turned the corner, expecting to see the SUV ahead. What the occupants didn't expect was to see a man standing in the middle of the path, legs apart, feet planted, arms outstretched.
As the driver stomped on the brakes, they definitely didn't expect a SUV to roar out of the trees and ram the side of their vehicle.
The 4x4 was pushed off the path, and collided with the trees on the opposite side. Smoke and steam poured out of the bonnet, as the SUV shot away.
The driver looked over at his passenger, but his eyes were open and glazed with death. The driver pushed on his door, found it moved, and fell out of it.
He righted himself, and started to run.
He heard the sounds of feet behind him. and suddenly found himself yanked off his feet, and spun round at the same time.
He found himself staring into a pair of very angry eyes.
The owner of those eyes snarled at him. "Where is she? Where is Martha Jones?"
The driver managed to find his voice. "I don't know."
The figure's face hardened and he thought he saw fire in the back of those eyes.
"Liar!" the figure hissed, and suddenly clamped his hands round the driver's head.
The driver let out a cry of pain, and not from his injuries, his mind was burning.
"Where is she?" the figure repeated.
"I don't know!" the driver yelled.
The figure snarled, and more pain poured into the driver's mind. The driver faintly heard someone shout, and suddenly the pain was gone from his head.
**************
Jack shook himself free of the impact, and as he reversed, he saw the Doctor take off.
"No, no," he said, someone must be out and rabbiting. He stopped the SUV and was out after the Doctor, who was faster and more agile through the trees than him.
He pulled up, chest heaving, looking round him. Where the hell had they gone?
He looked to his right, when he heard a cry, not of alarm, but of agony.
"No, what are you doing?" he said, and ran in the direction of the cry.
He burst out of a clump of trees, and skidded to a halt.
The Doctor had his hands clamped round another man's head, who was on his knees.
"Liar!" he heard the Doctor snarl, and the man screamed.
With increasing horror, Jack knew what the Doctor was doing. "Doctor, what are you doing!" he yelled.
When his shout had no effect, he ran over, and grabbed the Doctor's shoulders, pulling him away.
The driver fell to the ground, ignored by the Doctor, who turned on Jack.
Jack stepped back, as he found himself looking into the eyes of the Oncoming Storm. He could see the fire swirling at the back of the Doctor's eyes, the distant look that made him look so alien.
"Doctor, what are you doing?" he asked once more.
"Liar," the Doctor said. "He's lying, he knows. I need to find her, she's Martha."
"But doing that won't help," Jack said. "Let me talk to him."
The Doctor looked at the man, then back at Jack. "Perhaps, but I need to know if he does know."
The Doctor's voice was no longer harsh, and Jack could see his eyes were no longer like a fiery sea, they were his normal brown.
He turned back to the man, who when he saw the Doctor approaching, stiffened slightly, and seemed to clench his jaw, and seconds later collapsed on the floor.
"No!" both Jack and the Doctor said together, and rushed over to the now convulsing man.
The smell of bitter almonds assaulted their nostril.
"Cyanide!" the Doctor said sharply, and knelt down by the now dead man. "He must have known, or why the cyanide."
"Maybe he did, but anyone willing to do that, would never have talked, not even with your persuasion." Jack said, as he searched the body for ID.
"Nothing, he's a pro, no ID."
"Then we carry on to Heathrow," the Doctor said, and began walking away.
Jack shook his head, took out his phone, called 999, and walked after the Doctor.
*****************
Martha was glad to get the feeling back in her feet, not that it mattered, she couldn't run.
"This way, Doctor Jones," the voice said, and a door opened, and the smell of antiseptic hit her nose.
She was stopped, and another voice spoke.
"Welcome Miss Jones, we need a little something from you."
She flinched when she heard the voice, and she screamed, as she was dragged to and onto an operating table.
"Please Miss Jones, screaming will not help," the voice said.
She felt a small pain, and the darkness returned.
Chapter Four
The Doctor was already in the car, the engine running, by the time Jack got back. He said nothing as Jack climbed in, and was silent as they pulled out of the bridle path, onto the road.
He didn't even comment when three police cars sped by. In fact, he said nothing for the rest of the journey, eyes resolutely fixed on the road, in full brooding mode.
*****************
Jack wheeled the SUV into the car park, ignoring the stare of the security guard at the damage to the rear of the vehicle.
As he parked, the Doctor seemed to snap out of his mood. "Are we there already," he said brightly.
"Doc, are you sure you're okay, you're acting all freaky?"
"Hmm, what, I'm fine," the Doctor replied.
Jack sighed. There was no time to fish for what was really bugging the Doctor. "The hire company is over by Terminal Five. Let's get gone."
The hire company was in fact on the other side of Terminal Five. The hustle and bustle seemed to distract the Doctor, much to Jack's relief.
As they approached the hire firm, Jack stopped the Doctor. "Let me do the distracting and you try and slip by."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Or, we could do it like this," he said, and pushed open the door.
The person behind the counter looked up as the door opened, and she found she was faced with not one, but two, quite attractive men.
The first man, in a long brown coat, which she noted, did wonders for his slender frame, grinned at her, which only added to his charm, she thought.
"Can I help you?" she said, eyeing the other man, who was stockier and seemed to be wearing military clothes.
"I hope so," brown coat said, flashing an ID at her. "John Smith, Customs and Excise, I and my college would like to know who hired this vehicle from you."
"Let me see," she said, giving him a smile, and taking the piece of paper.
She moved over to a filing cabinet, and came back a few minutes later. "Yes, it was hired by a company called Niro-Flex. They paid cash, and returned it yesterday morning. Does that help?"
"It certainly does," Mr Smith said. "Thank you….Lisa. I couldn't possibly ask you for a copy of that?"
Lisa smiled. "Certainly," she said, and returned a minute later, and wrote something on the paper. "This is my number, and you can wear that coat," she said huskily, leaning over the counter, showing more than her ID.
"Thank you very much, Lisa," the other man said. "We won't keep you any longer," he said, and pulled Mr. Smith away.
*******************
"I think she fancied you," Jack said, as they walked towards the barrier of the hire company car park.
The Doctor said nothing, but when they reached the barrier, he said, "You're not the only snake-charmer in the souk, you know," and offered Jack one of his light bulb grins, before ducking under the barrier.
Jack grinned back, hoping that this lighter mood would stay, for a little while anyway.
"What I need now is a computer with internet access," the Doctor said.
A little while later, they were seated at a terminal in an internet café.
"I don't know about you, but I could do with a coffee, you?" Jack asked.
"Sure," the Doctor said absently, his eyes glued to the screen.
Jack sauntered towards the counter, and joined the queue.
The Doctor was growing impatient, even with broadband, it was slow, so he placed the sonic against the screen. The screen flickered for a second, and then data began flow of its own accord.
The Doctor read at the same speed as it flowed by, following the trail of Niro-Flex, past dummy companies, and off-shore accounts. He ignored them all, and glanced up at the counter, where Jack was still queuing.
He looked back at the screen and froze; he stopped the text, and stared at what was in front of him. He stood up, looked at the screen, then at the screwdriver, tapped at the keyboard for a second, and then walked out of the café.
Jack paid for the coffee's, and turned from the counter, to find the Doctor was gone. He didn't panic at first, he wouldn't have gone far, probably outside.
He wandered over to the terminal, put the coffee down. It wasn't until he read the screen, that he panicked.
He looked round the café, hoping to see a familiar figure, but no. He left the café, but in a very busy terminal of an international airport, what chance did he have of finding one person.
"Dammit!" he said. His only glimmer of hope was that he knew where the Doctor was going. It was just a case of whether he would smuggle himself on a commercial flight, or go freight.
He returned to the now vacant computer, and brought up the flights, commercial and non-commercial to the States, ones with connecting flights to Arizona, base of the Doctor's intended target.
Jack decided on non-commercial, as even with his lung by-pass capability, even the Doctor couldn't survive eight hours in a luggage hold.
He hated doing what he had to do now, but he did it anyway.
The Doctor settled himself in his seat, as the plane taxied onto the runway.
He was sure Torchwood wouldn't notice the little amount of cash that was removed from its sizable budget. He'd paid cash for his ticket, and the psychic paper took care of his passport.
He'd seen the activity round the freight side of the terminal, knew that it must be Jack. That was his only regret, leaving him like that.
This time, there would be no turning back, no backing away. If they wanted a Time Lord, then they were going to get one.
Jack let out a frustrated breath; all of the freight flights were clean. He'd been outsmarted, and the Doctor was probably half-way to the States by now.
He was waiting for the private jet to taxi to a stop. He called base and had told them to fly to Heathrow just as a precaution, and he'd been right too.
This way, they had a chance of catching up with, if not stopping, the Doctor.
The jet finally stopped, and Ianto opened the hatch. "Our flight path to the Dulles airport has been cleared."
"Good," Jack said as he entered the cabin. "Try and contact Sheriff Black Tail, tell him he has trouble heading his way."
Gwen was sitting nearest the door, and looked up from her laptop when Jack entered. "Do you think that's where Martha is?"
"I don't know, but that's where he's heading."
"I can't believe that place is still open," she said.
"Pharmaceuticals are big business, they have powerful friends in the Senate, and the military," Jack said.
"I don't think he's going to care about that," Gwen said.
"No, he isn't, but we need to find him, before he does something he'll regret," Jack said.
Martha came too again, and found herself not back in her white on white cell, but on a soft bed. However, she was still tied, so it was comfortable cell, but still a cell.
Chapter Five
The Doctor walked out of the airport, and the heat of the South African night washed over him.
He hated the deception, but he didn't need someone's conscience getting in his way, especially with what he was going to have to do, and the fact that this could become a one way trip.
Niro-Flex had been a work of fiction, a cover made to throw off the curious. But get past the cover, you could see what was under the bed and under the bed, there were monsters.
"You need a taxi, sir?" a voice said besides him.
"Hmm, what, yes. Santer-Bio, please."
"It's past midnight sir, are you sure?"
"I'm sure," replied the Doctor.
"No luggage?"
"No, just me," the Doctor said, and folded himself into the taxi.
The driver, whose name was Samuel, chatted affably as he drove through the busy night traffic.
"Are you here on business or pleasure?" Samuel asked.
"Both," was all the man said.
"Ahh, you go on safari after business, yes?"
"More like big game hunting," the man answered.
Samuel blinked, looking at the man in his rear view mirror. He didn't look like a big game hunter, but who was he to judge. "You hunt lion, buffalo?"
The man looked at Samuel; his eyes were cold, and they made his blood chill.
"No, snake," was all the man said, and refused to talk anymore after that.
Samuel pulled up as near to Santer-Bio as he could. The man paid him and got out of the taxi.
He leant back inside and said, "If anyone asks, I was never here," and walked away.
Samuel watched as the man disappeared into the darkness. If this man was a hunter, Samuel didn't think it was of animals, he'd seen death in those eyes.
"I'm sorry, Jack, but wherever you got your information, it was wrong. The plant was shut down a few months after you left, it's been demolished."
A muscle twitched in Jack's cheek. "Thanks, Sheriff, I'm sorry to have troubled you."
"No problem, but if he does show, I'll call you."
Jack threw his phone down in anger. "That devious, sneaky, skinny alien bastard!" he spat.
Gwen and Ianto jumped at Jack's outburst.
"Jack, what is it?" Gwen asked.
"He's done it again, the stupid..." Jack slumped back in his seat.
"Jack, what is it? Gwen persisted. "Is it the Doctor?"
"Bingo! He's given us the slip. He wasn't going to Arizona, he never was."
"But the data," Ianto said.
"Complete fiction. Start again, get under his cover, find him."
The Doctor walked along the fence, looking for the weakest spot. He wasn't even sure that Martha was here, but Santer-Bio had been first on the list, and even if she wasn't, who knew what horrors he would find.
The guard patrolling the fence thought he heard something behind him, but dismissed it as just another rat, or night creature. If he'd turned round, he would have seen a shadow flit past him and into the dark.
The Doctor squeezed himself through the narrow gap in the door, not wanting to attract too much attention, not yet.
He smiled to himself as he walked along the corridor. He hadn't been challenged once. Such arrogance would lead to a very big fall for someone, he thought.
He was about to leave this particular level when something caught his eye.
He stopped, opened a door, and stepped in.
What he found made him sick to his stomach.
The Doctor walked down the rows of animal cages and pens, but what they contained were not animals he knew.
There were things that might have been cats and dogs, and other animals at some time, but not anymore.
Now, they were twisted versions of someone's imagination, and the further he went, the angrier he got. He stopped, realising he was becoming distracted from his original goal, and turned back.
The head of research walked into his office, his head buried in the latest research. He toyed with the idea of turning on the main light, but decided to go with the small desk lamp.
That was his mistake as a hand snaked round his mouth and a voice hissed in his ear.
"Listen carefully, the lives of you and your staff depends on the answer you give me. Tell me, where is Martha Jones?"
The Doctor slipped back through the fence. He could hear the alarms in the distance, and the shouts of the fleeing staff.
He turned, and looked back at the now burning building, the glow of the fire brightening the night sky.
"Time to go," he said, and set off at a jog back to the city.
Jack was still in a foul mood, when Ianto approached and cleared his throat to get Jack's attention.
"Jack, I've done it," he said, and handed Jack a sheet of paper. "It's a list of Gen-Meds subsidiary companies, mostly research, some industrial."
"Jack, you'd better come and see this!" Gwen called from the other end of the jet cabin.
******************
Jack watched as the camera panned across the burning building and the crowd of shocked workers.
"The police are describing the attack on Santer-Bio, as a deliberate act of terrorism. They are said to be looking for an unidentified male, who was seen running from the building, minutes before the first explosion. The man is described as being around six foot, and wearing a tan overcoat. They are advising members of the public, that if they see the suspect, not to approach, as they consider him to be highly dangerous.. Our reporter is now talking to the head of research, who was assaulted by the suspect... One moment, we are now getting reports of similar attack on a company in Malawi…a pharmaceutical research company called Renew..."
"Santer-Bio is on the list, so is Renew," Ianto said.
"He's working his way through the list, isn't he, and he won't stop until he finds Martha," Gwen said.
"Where are you going to next?" Jack said.
"Well, if I were him, and assuming he's working to some sort of plan, I'd go here, Corlanius Research. It's nearest, and has only been open three months," Ianto said.
Jack sat up. "Can we get access?"
"Don't know, but Torchwood has a listening post about thirty miles from it."
"Call them, tell them to meet us at the airport." Jack said, and disappeared into the pilot's cabin.
***********************
Martha was starting to doze off when the door opened. She was expecting some hired muscle to appear and drag her away. Instead a trolley was wheeled in, by what looked like a butler, closely followed by a woman.
The woman tutted when she saw Martha's restraints. "Really, this it too much, untie her," the woman said to the butler.
"Yes, ma'am," the butler said, and took out a blade, and approached Martha, who flinched.
"Please don't worry, you'll feel much better afterwards," the woman said.
Martha allowed the butler to cut her free, and she gratefully rubbed the circulation back into her hands and feet.
"I do so hate those things, they seem so…uncivilised. I thought you might be hungry, so I've brought you some breakfast," the woman said and gestured towards the butler, who wheeled the trolley forward.
She discovered she was famished when the lids were taken off and a full English breakfast sat on the plates.
"They really haven't been taking care of you, have they? Don't worry, we'll soon have you fit and healthy. There's plenty of hot water, and you'll find a sizeable wardrobe in your size and style in the cupboards."
Martha stopped eating. "What is this place?"
"This place, my dear, is your new home."
"My what!?" Martha said.
"Your new home, it will feel strange at first, but you'll come to love it."
"No, I'm going to get out, he'll come for me."
The woman laughed. "
Chapter Six
The Doctor's patience was wearing thin: this was the third place he'd visited, and still no Martha.
He walked away from the wrecked building, but this time, he wasn't alone. He was half-pulling, half-dragging the head of research. There had been something in the man's eyes that screamed he was lying.
So, he'd taken him with him, as he needed some time to wheedle the truth out of him.
The Doctor didn't doubt that man was tagged in some way, but he didn't care.
*******************
Jack was out of the jet as soon as it stopped. He saw the two black SUVs waiting on the airstrip for them. They'd landed on a military base, sometimes it helped to have friends in high places.
He knew that time was running out, he had to stop the Doctor rampaging across Africa, or anywhere else in the world. How he'd managed to get from South Africa, bulldoze his way through Malawi, and now create havoc in the republic of Congo, in such a short amount of time, he'd probably never know, but he was the Doctor.
"Sir, we've found him, he's half destroyed a research facility ten miles from here. He's taken a hostage, but we have to move, their own security is closing in, and they will shoot first."
"Come on, you two!" Jack yelled, and as soon as Ianto and Gwen were in the SUV, it sped off.
"Please, just let me go, I can call them off," the man pleaded as the Doctor dragged him through the rainforest.
"Liar!" the Doctor spat. "The second I let you go, I'll be dead, or, will I? I don't think your employers would be too pleased."
He looked up as a helicopter buzzed over. He doubled his pace, not caring if then man kept up or fell.
"This is all wrong, they said you hated violence," the man said as they stopped again, allowing the helicopter to move on.
"Did they? Did they also tell you my names? The Oncoming Storm, the Destroyer of Worlds. Does that sound like someone who hates violence?"
The Doctor had pulled the man right up to his face, so that all the man could see was the fire swirling in darkened orbs. It was like looking into hell.
"I've killed millions, do you think one more will matter," he hissed, and with a growl of annoyance set off again, looking for the best place to be rid of his unwilling companion.
Jack was itching to get out of the SUV; he'd seen the helicopter above.
As they got out of the vehicles, they could hear a mixture of human shouts, and dogs barking.
"Ianto, Gwen, go with those two, try and draw that lot away. Myself and the others will try and get ahead of them, try and cut off the Doctor's escape route, go!"
******************
Jack and the two Torchwood agents pushed their way through the rainforest. They'd had to change direction several times, to avoid the so called security staff.
One of the agents was about to move into a clearing when Jack stopped him, dragging him back sharply. "Look," he said.
The Doctor was dragging a frightened looking man through the clearing.
"Will you hurry up, I don't want to miss my connecting flight, and we have a lot to discuss."
Jack didn't like the tone in the Doctor's voice. It was bordering, for the want of a better word, on insane. This was all too soon, too soon after Cold Runs Deep, too soon after Donna, Rose, Bad Wolf Bay, the second time, Davros, and then White Coat.
Jack had been preparing himself for the Doctor to implode, but instead he had seemed to be coming round, happy even. But just as things were getting better the abduction of Martha had happened, and it had rocked, no, sunk the boat.
A shot suddenly rang out, and Jack was shaken from his thoughts.
He looked over to where the Doctor and his hostage had been. There was no sign of the Doctor, but the other man had fallen to his knees, a dark stain spreading across his chest.
Then a cry rang out from inside the forest, and a man stumbled into the clearing, a look of terror on his face, and then something came out of the trees behind him.
Jack tried to stop the two men with him from running in fear; the thing, whatever it was, would make quick work of them.
"No, don't!" he cried, but they were gone, and the thing moved. He tried to close his ears to the terrible sounds, and he looked away. He could only hope that the others had seen what had happened, and had the sense to stay put.
Something rustled in the undergrowth behind him. He went to turn, but a voice said, "Don't move, it's a movement based predator."
Jack froze as the thing padded back down the clearing, sniffing the air as it went. There was a sudden noise from the other side of the clearing, and Jack swore he could see a flash of brown overcoat.
The thing swung its head at the noise and moved when the undergrowth rustled again, disappearing into the forest.
*******************
Once the forest had fallen silent again, Jack turned to face the owner of the voice. He found an older woman, her dark tied neatly back, and dressed in jungle gear.
"You don't look lie one of Gen-Med's half-wits," she said.
"I'm not, what the hell was that thing?"
"That was one of Gen-Meds projects, this forest will be crawling with them, now some crazy idiot had destroyed it. I'm Sarah Michaels, by the way, former head of research at this place."
"Jack Harkness," Jack said.
"Pleased to meet you, Jack Harkness. Now, tell me, are you responsible for the maniac that's just let loose a creature that shouldn't ever see the light of day?"
Martha walked down the stairs; the woman had at least been right about the selection of clothes in the wardrobe. That worried her, since it meant they knew way too much about her. She felt a twinge of pain on the nape of her neck.
She raised a hand to it and felt at least five stitches. What the hell had that bastard done to her.
The stairs led into a hallway, which was decorated in the same understated but stylish fashion as her room, and the stairs.
She heard voices coming from a room to her left, and she cautiously opened the door and found herself facing a dining table with a least a dozen people seated around it.
The woman from earlier stood up and walked over to Martha, and put a friendly hand on her arm, and guided her to the table.
"Everybody, I'd like you to meet Doctor Martha Jones."
There was murmurs of 'about time too' and 'it won't be long now'.
"Doctor Jones, I'd like you to meet the other members of what is known as Project Resurrection."
Chapter Seven
The Doctor had heard the click of the rifle, and dived for the undergrowth as the shot rang out.
As he picked himself up off the ground, he smelt something unnatural, and then heard a cry and the sound of something eating.
He crawled through the undergrowth, parted a section, and saw his would -informant lying on the ground. He looked up and saw two more people run from the tree line, and the thing moved.
Ignoring the sounds, he reached out and dragged the dying man back into the undergrowth.
The man opened his eyes. "Please help me, I'll tell you anything."
The Doctor looked at the man. "Now you want to talk, well, sorry, I don't feel like listening." He placed his hand on the man's head, closed his eyes, and forced his way into the man's dying mind.
There! A last memory, he saw a flash of a large house…not in Africa….where? Snow….mountains…it couldn't be? And as the man last synapses fired and faded, three words flashed in his mind….Martha Jones….Resurrection.
The sound of the thing moving in the undergrowth broke the Doctor's concentration. He opened his eyes and let go of the dead man's head.
Time to move, he thought, that place was a long way from Africa. What he really needed was his TARDIS, so, it looked like he would have to play nice, just for a little while.
Jack motioned for the woman to move, and they cautiously stepped into the clearing.
Any attempt at stealth was shattered by the Doctor suddenly bursting out of the undergrowth.
"Why all the sneaking around, that thing's long gone, chasing Gen-Med snacks!" he said loudly, grinning an almost manic grin.
The next thing he knew, a woman had stepped up to him and given him a hefty slap across the face. Before he had time to react, he found himself face down on the ground, his hands being tied behind him.
Jack hauled the Doctor up and spun him round, and stared hard into his eyes, as if searching for something. Whatever it was, he didn't find it, and started to untie the Doctor.
"What are you doing!? He's just destroyed a multi-million dollar complex!" Sarah exclaimed.
"He had his reasons," Jack replied.
"Yes, he's crazy!" Sarah said.
"What me, crazy, that's insane," the Doctor said.
"Never mind that, what the hell are you playing at!? Jack yelled.
The Doctor blinked at Jack's anger. "I was looking for Martha."
Jack snorted. "Yeah, but you could have done it without the demolition job, and you didn't have to leave me behind."
"So, what if I did, they're a cancer, and you cut out a cancer."
"Bullshit, it's about revenge, you just want to take Gen-Med apart bit by bit!" Jack retorted.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," Sarah said suddenly. "In case you hadn't noticed, genetically engineered killing machines on the loose, and the rest of your men are out there, ergo, snack time."
"She's right, you know, don't want them becoming hor'derves, but if I'm right, and I usually am, they won't live long out here. Am I right?" the Doctor asked, looking straight at Sarah.
Sarah nodded. "Yes, they were designed to only live for forty-eight at the most, or so I'm told."
"Right then, let's go find the others," he said, and suddenly took off.
"Doctor, wait!" Jack shouted, startled by the Doctor's sudden move. He didn't want him out of his sight.
He was still unsure of the Doctor's state of mind. What he really needed was to get the Doctor back to the Hub, and in a more controlled environment.
*****************
Ianto held up his hand to stop the others, and they all froze. They all held their breaths as the foliage rustled violently in front of them.
They all jumped when it parted suddenly, and four weapons were pointed in the same direction.
"Whoa, easy with the pea-shooters, Messrs Quartermain!" the Doctor said, as he stepped out of the undergrowth, hands raised.
"Stay right where you are!" Gwen shouted.
They jumped again, when Jack and a woman appeared just behind the Doctor.
"It's okay!" Jack said quickly, seeing the weapons trained on the Doctor.
"I really think we should be moving," the Doctor said, and as if to back up his words, something large pushed a tree aside, somewhat too close for comfort.
"Okay, everybody, back to the road," Jack said, and any argument was put on hold as they hurried away from the sounds of trees breaking.
**********
As the stepped onto the road, Ianto pulled Jack to one side. "Do you trust him?"
Jack glanced over at the Doctor, who was engaged in animated conversation with Sarah. "Sadly no, I think he needs something, a TARDIS shaped something. Ianto, when we get back to the Hub, I want you to activate that programme Tosh devised."
"He won't like it," Ianto said.
"I don't care if he doesn't like it. Let me deal with it." Jack said.
He turned back towards the Doctor and Sarah, who were now laughing. "Okay, will you two escort the lady to the nearest town," he said to the two remaining Torchwood agents.
Sarah gave Jack a filthy look. "Oh, no, I'm going where he's going. If he's going to destroy Gen-Med, I'm in," she snapped.
Jack sighed. "Fine, shall we go," he said.
The flight back to Cardiff was different, and strained.
The Doctor hadn't spoken since he'd set foot on the jet, seemingly dis-interested in his surroundings.
Jack watched him, and wondered what his move would be when they got back to the Hub. He didn't trust his affable greeting in the forest, nor did he believe his diffidence now.
He didn't like it, the not knowing: did you hold the leash of a gentle breeze, or a raging tempest?
As they entered the Hub, he distracted the Doctor with the list and what they'd found out, whilst Ianto slipped away unnoticed.
Jack knew the Doctor would never forgive for what he was about to do but he didn't want him disappearing again, not without him.
"I think we should all get some rest," he said. "Sarah, you can have my bunk, it's not fancy, but it's clean."
**************
The hub fell into silence, only the sounds of computers working.
A figure silently slipped past the sleeping Ianto and Gwen, down the stairs, towards the storage areas.
The Doctor stepped into the room containing the TARDIS.
"Hello, old girl," he said, and stepped towards her…… sparks flew, and the Doctor was thrown back, hitting the wall with a spine jolting crack, and at the same time, an alarm wailed into life, waking everyone on the upper level.
"I knew it!" Jack said.
Martha walked along the corridor with one of the people that had been sitting at the table.
"Is it true that no-one leaves here?" she asked.
The man laughed. "Why would anyone want to leave, this is a scientist's paradise. Besides, it would be a stupid idea to try and leave."
"Why?" she asked.
The man stopped at a large door, and opened it. "Because, you would freeze to death."
Martha stared in shock, and the sudden realisation that she might never see anyone again made her feel sick.
In the distance, past the expansive gardens, and beyond what looked like a green valley, she could see nothing but snow-capped mountains.
Chapter Eight
The Doctor's head felt like a swarm of bees were trapped inside it. He opened his eyes, and he swore he could see sparks dancing across them.
As his vision cleared, he realised he was in one of Torchwood's cells. Perhaps, he thought, he had gone a little over board, but to do that to his TARDIS, well…………
"Let me out of here, Harkness!" he yelled and hammered on the cell front.
Jack appeared a few minutes later, and stood, arms folded, looking in at the angry Time Lord.
"What did you do to my TARDIS!?" the Doctor shouted.
"Put a burglar alarm around it, or a booby trap, whichever you think it is. I knew you wanted something," Jack said.
The Doctor let out a heavy sigh. "What I want is Martha back, safe and sound, but you booby trapped my TARDIS!"
"Doc, you were like a brainy version of Rambo, half of the African continent have you at the top of their most wanted list."
Jack was pleased to see that the Doctor looked chastened, and then he noticed the dried blood on his head.
"Sorry about that, I think Ianto may have set it too high, are you okay?"
The Doctor put a hand on the back of his head. "I'm fine, just way too sore, that thing has settings?"
"Apparently, depending on whom you're protecting it against, again, sorry."
The Doctor walked over to the cell door. "Jack, I know where Martha is, well, sort of."
Jack straightened. "How, we tried everything, and drew a blank."
"Ahh, you weren't looking in the right places. My information was, shall we say, volunteered."
Jack saw the look pass over the Doctor's face, but decided not to pursue the question that was forming in his mind. "If I let you out, you won't run on me again?" Jack said.
"Hardly, I don't want to feel that again. Besides, I think it gave me the equivalent of a what are you doing slap to the head. I did go off the deep end."
Jack looked at the Doctor, as if gauging his reaction, and then opened the cell door. "Right then, if you'll kindly turn the alarm off, we'll go find Martha. Oh, and Jack, tell the others to bring warm clothes, and climbing gear."
"Not more bloody snow!" Ianto said as he pulled the hood of his jacket closer to his face.
"Oh, I don't know, I think it's refreshing," Sarah said, stamping her feet on the compacted snow.
Jack walked over to where the Doctor was standing, looking up at the mountains. "So, she's up there, but this is the Himalayas, no-one lives up there, besides a few monks."
"Actually, some very nice monks, lovely people. Their monastery is about there," he pointed to a small speck on one of the mountains. "We have to get there, and before nightfall. It isn't safe to be out after dark."
"Yeah, these mountains can be treacherous," Jack said.
"I wasn't talking about the mountains," the Doctor said, and walked off towards the group.
"Come on, we have to reach that black dot, before nightfall," he said, hefting his backpack, and moving off at a brisk walk.
The others did the same, and followed the Doctor. Jack stayed at the rear, wondering what he meant by not just the mountains being treacherous.
Martha couldn't take it all in. It was just a prison, albeit a beautiful prison.
"Anyway, we must be getting on. There is much to do, and the final stage is upon us," the man said.
Martha tore her gaze away from the beautiful, but deadly view, and looked at the man. He had a look in his eyes, that look you saw in those videos of suicide bombers, and it wasn't good.
"Final stage?" she asked, her curiosity, and her suspicions, raised.
"That's not for you to know, not just yet, the final piece of the puzzle has yet to be put in place," the man said, and guided her away from the door.
They continued along the corridor, and stopped at a lift door.
Martha remained silent on the journey down. Whatever this place was, it had obviously kept itself under the radar of UNIT and Torchwood.
So, there would be no help coming from UNIT or Jack then. She could only hope that a certain Time Lord would appear.
The lift seemed to drop forever, and she was glad when it gave that reassuring bump, when it hit bottom. The door opened to reveal a clinically white corridor.
"This way," the man said, and ushered her into a room to their left.
Someone was sitting at a desk, their back turned to the door.
When the door closed, the person swung round and Martha froze.
"Hello, Doctor Jones, I hope you had a pleasant trip."
The party of five had been climbing for an hour, when the weather took a bad turn, and snow began to fall, whipped up by a strong wind.
The little group came to a halt, and Jack moved up to the Doctor.
"We can't go on in this, I can see a small cave about half a mile above, we'll have to shelter there."
The Doctor looked at Jack, his face creased with tension. "No Jack, we have to go on, it isn't safe," and went to move on.
Jack grabbed hold of his shoulder."Doc, if we keep going, one, if not all of us is going to fall. We can reach the monastery in the morning."
"No, you don't understand, it really isn't safe out here," the Doctor said, looking round nervously.
Jack frowned; was there a hint of fear in the Doctor's voice. "Doc, what's got you so spooked?"
As if to answer his question, a sound that made Jack's hair stand up on the back of his neck filtered through the wind and snow.
"What the hell?" he said as the sound came again, this time closer.
The Doctor pulled at Jack's sleeve, his voice now urgent, and panic tinged. "Never mind what the hell, everybody run!"
Chapter Nine
The Doctor looked back again, and this time he could make out a shape in the snow, a shape he really didn't want to see. He looked ahead once more, and could see the cave up ahead.
"Move!" he yelled above the wind, although he knew the cave wouldn't be much of a refuge. It was better than being out in the open.
All five skidded to a halt as they entered the cave.
The Doctor turned to Jack. "Get them as far back as you can, and stay quiet!" and before Jack could object, ran back into the dark and the storm.
The Doctor ran back into the storm, letting it cover his tracks. He stopped when he heard the sound of feet on snow.
He turned and almost fell over when a large shape loomed over him.
"You know, you don't get any prettier," he said, as a huge hairy hand reached out for him.
The Doctor closed his eyes and turned his head, although it was most likely going to be detached from his body at any moment.
Another sound suddenly drifted on the wind, and the Doctor heard the figure move away. He opened his eyes and turned his head back. He tensed again when a group of smaller figures appeared out of the night.
One figure detached itself from the group, and held a lamp up to the Doctor's face. "You don't look like you could go one round with a chicken. You're a lot skinnier in this body."
The Doctor peered at the face of the speaker, which was half-hidden by a hood and the snow. "Pak-Dai, is that you?" he said, smiling, even though you couldn't see past your nose.
"No, it's the Dalai-Lama, you crazy Time Lord," the figure said. "Now, how about we go find your friends."
******************
Jack herded the rest of the group to the back of the cave, which admittedly, wasn't far enough. There had been silence, except for the wind, and Jack ventured back towards the cave entrance.
He froze when he heard shuffling feet and heavy breathing. Something had entered the cave.
The Doctor hadn't realised how far he'd actually run. He could still hear, if not see, things in the snow, now that the wind had dropped.
"They've gotten bold, last time I was here, you rarely saw one, outside the barrier," he said, as the little group followed an almost invisible trail.
"Yes, something has driven them from their homes, and they are angry," Pak-Dai said.
The two monks in front suddenly stopped, and gestured for the Doctor and Pak-Dai to come forward.
Then they heard the roar of an angry something.
"Stay here!" the Doctor said, and ran in the direction of the cave.
Jack backed away from the thing; he didn't want to think about what the thing was, but there it was, huge, hairy, and really wanting to break him in half.
He drew his gun, not really wanting to shoot it, but he had no choice. He raised the weapon, aimed, and…..
"Oi, no pets allowed in the rooms!" a voice rang out, startling Jack and the thing.
Jack could hear the sonic screwdriver before he could see the blue light, and then the Doctor appeared, walking boldly towards the thing.
"Back off, Jack, slowly," the Doctor said, and stepped right up to the thing, the sonic still buzzing.
"I know you're angry, and I don't blame you," he said calmly. "But you can't go hurting just anyone. I promise, I will get your home back, you know my word is good."
The thing let out a keening whine, followed by a flurry of what sounded like chirrups.
The Doctor nodded, and the thing lumbered past him, back into the snow.
Jack relaxed when the thing had gone, and let out a long breath.
"He's sorry for frightening you, and no hard feelings, he hopes," the Doctor said. "Go get the others, time to move on."
Jack closed his mouth and absently called for the others. "Was that a...?"
"Yes, it was, and your bullet would have only annoyed him. Nice chap, father of four, two wives, apparently," the Doctor said casually.
Jack shook his head. Why wouldn't such things exist, and why wouldn't the Doctor know about and understand them.
******************
The journey to the monastery was short, and the fire and warm food was most welcome.
The Doctor had disappeared the minute they stepped inside the monastery doors, going who knew where, to see whoever.
Sarah Michaels sat next to Jack and held her hands out to the fire, enjoying the warmth.
"So, what was that thing back there?" she asked.
Jack shook his head. "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."
"Oh I don't know, after being inside a blue wooden box, that's way bigger on the inside, and owned by what is know doubt an alien, I'd believe you if you said it was a Yeti."
Sarah saw Jack's look. "It was, that's incredible. I would really like to study them."
"No-one's studying them," a voice said, and the Doctor stepped out of the shadows. "They are an intelligent, peaceful race, not lab rats."
"They didn't sound friendly to me," Gwen said.
"Well, they're a little ticked off, since Gen-Med pilfered their land. Just because you call them Abominable Snowmen, doesn't mean they want to live in it. We leave in the morning, everybody, get some rest."
*******************
Martha sat down heavily in the chair. If she hadn't have been so shocked, she would have been as mad as hell.
The monster, she refused to call him a person, smiled at her, from across the desk.
"Really, Doctor Jones, such a sour look does nothing for such a pretty girl."
Martha finally found her voice. "I don't want any of you compliments, and I am not a girl!"
"Quite, quite, forgive my manners. I do hope your accommodation is to your liking?"
Martha snorted. "Please, now matter how you dress it, it's a prison, and what is Project Resurrection?"
"Full of questions, that's good. I hope that's passed onto… but that's for another time. You, Doctor Jones, are the bait for my wayward property."
"You really think he's going to fall for one of your traps again," Martha said coolly.
"Oh, he will, he won't be able to help himself. In fact, he's almost here, and then Project Resurrection can begin. Also, I must say, your donations to the project are in excellent condition."
"My donation….?" Martha said, and then saw he was looking at her stomach. With rising horror, Martha knew what he meant. "You can't, not that."
"Oh, but I can, and I have. I'd have thought the name would be a very big clue. Oh, and if you try and escape, I implanted a small device at the base of your cerebral cortex at the same time, which will render you temporarily paralysed, so be advised."
Martha couldn't breathe, and she felt like she was going to physically sick. It was too horrific to think about.
"Frankenstein!" she spat, as she was dragged away.
Chapter Ten
Pak-Dai looked at all of the climbing equipment and frowned. "Doctor, you won't need all this stuff."
"Oh, why?" the Doctor asked, slightly confused.
"Have you forgotten, the tunnels?"
The Doctor stared at Pak-Dai, and then suddenly shouted, "Of course, the tunnels!"
Tunnels, what tunnels?" Jack asked as he approached.
"Should have thought, mind you, I was running for my lives at the time."
"I'll ask again, what tunnels?" Jack said, now joined by the others.
The Doctor and Pak-Dai looked at each other.
"If I tell you, it doesn't go beyond these walls," the Doctor said.
He looked at all of them, one by one, but especially at Sarah, who shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.
"Never!" the Torchwood trio chorused, and their gaze turned to Sarah.
"I'm going to regret this, but my lips as they say, are sealed," Sarah said.
The Doctor smiled. "Okay, the tunnels were built by our hairy friend's ancestors, long before humans set foot on these mountain, they lead to their ancestral lands. By telling you this, and because of what you are going to see, I'm making you guardians of this secret, it's not to be taken lightly. Whatever we find in there, if it belongs there, it stays there, if it doesn't, it has to be removed and destroyed. Any deviation and you answer to me."
All four of them, including Jack, sensed the threat behind the words. It was unspoken, but still it chilled them, even in the cold air.
"Good," the Doctor said brightly. "Shall we go?"
As the gates opened, an elderly man, a very elderly man, appeared from nowhere.
Jack watched as the Doctor bowed deeply and the elderly man handed him a bag, and said something in a whisper.
The Doctor bowed again, and the man disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared.
The Doctor stood for a moment, looking thoughtful, then seemed to shake himself and stepped through the gates.
"Come on!" he shouted, and the others, including Pak-Dai, hurried to catch up.
The path had narrowed, and now, as Ianto looked to his right, the sheer drop made him feel dizzy.
"It's best not to look," the Doctor said behind him, his voice calm, but assertive.
"You can say that, you can regenerate," Ianto said, trying not to notice the sheer drop.
"Oh, I can die, I just don't want to die needlessly. So, don't look down, and stay away from the edge," the Doctor replied.
The group stopped when they came to what looked like a dead end.
The Doctor stepped to the front of the group. "Do you want the honour?" he asked Pak-Dai.
Pak-Dai hesitated. "It might not open for me."
"It might, you can never tell, they're a funny lot, never can tell who they trust, just try."
Pak-Dai nervously reached out a hand, and placed it on what looked like a square indentation in the rock.
There was an audible click, and the rock face started to slide away, the grinding echoing along the pass.
"See, I knew they liked you, be my guest," the Doctor said.
"No, Time Lord, the honour should be yours, you are after all their ancient guardian."
The Doctor smiled, and walked into the dark of the tunnel, followed by the others.
As the last one passed over the threshold, the door began sliding back into place, leaving them in total darkness.
******************
Jack blinked as he swore the tunnel was getting brighter, in fact, it was, was that…
"Luminous lichens, grow in the dark, glow in the dark," Sarah said. "But I've never seen them at this altitude, surely just one sample won't hurt."
She reached out to touch the lichen, and jumped when the Doctor loomed out of the shadows.
"I said, what belongs here, stays here, and that mean in the tunnels as well. If you can't obey the rules, then you'll never leave, understood."
Sarah blinked as she looked into eyes that were almost black, and she swore she could see her death swirling in them. She nodded silently, taking her hand away from the lichen.
"Good, now I suggest we move along, time has a way of slipping by in these tunnels," the Doctor said, now ignoring Sarah, and walking forward.
They walked for what seemed miles, and hours, the tunnel twisting and turning, the light from the lichen giving it an unearthly touch.
Every so often, the Doctor would stop and open the bag the old man had given him and place what looked like grains of sand on the ground.
When Gwen asked him what it was, he said nothing and just carried on walking.
The tunnel suddenly started sloping upwards, and it ended in another solid wall of rock.
This time the Doctor placed his hand against the indentation. "Like I said, what you find and see here, if it belongs here, it stays here," the Doctor said.
The rock slid to one side, and the party stepped out.
Jack's jaw joined the others, in almost touching the floor. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Sarah stepped forward, her face a mixture of awe and incredulity. "It can't be!" she said.
"Oh, but it is," the Doctor said. " C'mon, it'll be dark soon, and things live in the dark."
With that he led the still shocked party down a small path and into something that belonged in myths and legends.
Martha had spat obscenities that would have made her ex-army grandad blush. She even used a few alien ones she'd learnt whilst travelling with the Doctor.
She was expecting to be dragged back to her room, but instead found herself dragged to a small ward, forcibly stripped and dressed in rough cotton pyjamas.
She kicked at the door until her foot hurt, but no-one came back.
"You must be the latest addition," a woman's voice said behind her.
Martha turned, and found herself looking at half-a-dozen women, all different ages, all similarly dressed to her.
"I'm Martha, Martha Jones."
"I'm Jacqueline, we don't use surnames. This is Marisa, Julie, Sandra, Michelle, and the one hanging back is Beth. You're one of us now, one of his donors, as he calls us."
"You know what he's doing, don't you?" Martha said.
"Oh yes, he was quite specific. We volunteered after hearing what he had to say. We, including you Martha, are going to be the matriarchs of the new rulers of Earth."
Chapter Eleven
Jack had just managed to get his jaw off the floor, after seeing something that shouldn't exist, when he was confronted by another possible jaw-dropping moment.
"Are you sure this was the plant Doctor? You have to be careful, some aren't benign," Pak-Dai was saying to the bottom half of the Doctor, the other half was inside what looked a giant Venus Fly Trap.
A muffled sound came from inside the plant, and the Doctor appeared covered in sticky goo and holding a box. "Blimey, thought it would have digested it by now!" he said, grinning happily.
He opened the box and took out what looked like bracelets. He tossed one to each of the group before patting the stem of the plant.
"What is it?" Gwen asked, eyeing the trinket suspiciously, noting the strange whirls and lines engraved in it.
"Gallifreyan tracking device, stylish and practical. Once on, they don't come off, until I remove them. If things go bad, I can trace you with these," the Doctor said.
Jack shook his head, wondering, did he really want to know why and how there was a box of Time Lord technology, in a plant, the size of a small car, in a place that shouldn't even exist.
"And before you ask, don't ask. Long story, no time to tell it. Right, it's getting dark, we can't travel any further," the Doctor said.
The next hour was taken up with making camp and preparing supper.
The Doctor hoped no-one saw him slip away. He climbed the ridge, and looked down at the buildings that shouldn't be there. He could see vehicles moving in the twilight, even a helicopter hovering over the complex.
"Don't worry, Martha, I'm coming," he said, and went to step down the slope.
"Where are you going?" Jack said, as he stepped out of the shadows. "You weren't thinking of ditching us again, were you?" he asked as he stepped in front of the Doctor.
The Doctor looked away and shuffled his feet in what Jack could only describe as a guilty manner.
"You were, dammit, you stupid alien!" Jack yelled and backed away, drawing a breath to compose himself. "You can't do this alone. Those people think nothing of trampling over a place like this, what makes you think they'd think twice about murdering Martha."
He moved closer to the Doctor. "Please, let us help you," he said, placing a hand on the Doctor's shoulder.
The Doctor's head dropped. "I'm sorry, it's just...Rassilon, why do these ones get to me, I've faced worse."
Jack sighed. He didn't know what to say. How could he make sense of what had happened in Arizona, that cursed warehouse in Europe, the Imani, and all the other things that had happened.
"I guess, they just push your buttons, but you can't just charge in, not with these guys, please."
The Doctor sighed. "You're right, I suppose, but the people in that helicopter heading our way, might just like charging in."
Jack turned, and they both involuntarily ducked as a helicopter swooped over their head, searchlight strobing across them.
Gwen looked up. She thought she heard the sounds of helicopter blades. She shook her head. You must be hearing things, she thought.
Then she heard the sounds of running feet, and the Doctor and Jack burst out of the darkness, and seconds later a helicopter appeared, swooping low over the camp, and the sound of something more deadly filled the air, bringing Ianto and the rest out of their tents.
*****************
Earth and dust flew as tracer bullets bit into the ground, a line of fire trailing across the camp.
"Scatter!" the Doctor yelled as a line of bullets ripped through one of the tents. "I'll find you!" he yelled, pushing Sarah out of the way. "Go!"
The pilot of the helicopter spoke into his comm. "They've separated sir, orders?"
"Concentrate on the target, let the snipers do their job."
"Yes, sir," the pilot said, and turned the helicopter back for another run.
In the distance, a figure in black selected his target and fired.
The Doctor pulled up sharply when he heard a single shot, and then a cry of pain... a womans's voice, it sounded like…Gwen!
"No, no, no," he said, and started running back towards the camp. As he approached, he could see Gwen on the ground, holding her leg. He skidded to a halt beside her. "Gwen!" he said breathlessly, clamping a hand on the wound.
"No, don't, Doctor, they could have killed me. Get out of here!" Gwen said.
"It doesn't matter, don't move," he said, as he ripped her trousers. "Sorry, I'll buy you some new ones," he apologised.
Gwen smiled, but her smile faltered as she saw behind him. "I'm sorry," she said as she saw a group of men approach, shoving a bruised Ianto in front of them.
"How many?" the Doctor whispered.
"Too many, and they have Ianto," Gwen said quietly.
The Doctor nodded. "It's me they want," he said, quickly tying the makeshift bandage. He smiled sadly at Gwen and stood up.
Ianto knelt besides Gwen and watched as the Doctor was shackled and dragged into the helicopter, followed by the group of men, bar one.
"He's going to kill us, isn't he?" Gwen said.
Ianto nodded slowly and grasped Gwen's hand.
The man stepped forward and aimed his weapon at Ianto, but as he squeezed the trigger, a Jack sized shape barrelled into him. Ianto flinched at the sound of the shot going wide, and the crunching sound of a neck being broken.
Jack had stopped running when he heard the single shot, which meant one thing to him…sniper. Anger flooded his blood, and he began running back, towards the shot. He almost ran over Sarah, as she was heading in the same direction.
"They're killing them!" she said.
"I know!" Jack said tightly, as they ran.
They both slowed and stopped as they approached the camp, and peered out of the shadows.
Jack swore under his breath as he saw Gwen on the floor and Ianto kneeling next to her, and a man aiming a weapon at him. He knew what was going to happen, and he moved.
Martha didn't want to believe what she was hearing. These women actually wanted to take part in his sick experiment.
She now hoped that he wouldn't come. This would kill him.
The Doctor didn't try to resist as they shackled him. What was the point? They were going to kill the others, whether he resisted or not.
He felt nauseous, because somehow he knew who he would find in that complex and it scared him. He didn't even feel the helicopter take off. He'd withdrawn into himself.
He knew what was waiting for him, and this time he wouldn't fight the fire that would be lit. This time, he would let the fire burn, burn it all.
Chapter Twelve
The Doctor felt the helicopter land and his stomach once again tightened, a wave of nervous sickness rippled through him. As he was pulled out of the helicopter, he saw the flash of a familiar colour and his hearts began to race.
"Welcome back, as I said before, you are my property, and I never let go of my property." The figure walked round the Doctor, almost like running his eye over a prized pet. "You've lost weight since our last meeting, we shall have to remedy that."
The Doctor looked at the figure. "If you're thinking of putting a leash on me, it won't work again."
The figure smiled. "Oh, no, that, as they say, is a dead end. I believe I have a better way of coaxing the more interesting side of your personality out."
The Doctor said nothing, but looked past the figure, towards the complex.
"You're wondering where Miss Jones is? She's safe and out of your reach, and don't think your friends can help you, they should all be dead by now. Take him to the medical unit, have him prepared for surgery, time is of the essence."
*******************
Jack slung the sniper's rifle over his shoulder and walked back towards the trio.
Sarah was trying to treat Gwen's leg with what was left of the first aid kit.
"How is she?" he asked.
"I'm not a doctor, but from what I can see, it was shoot to stop, not to kill."
"Can you move, we're an easy target out here," Jack said.
Gwen nodded. "I'm sorry, Jack, but the Doctor."
Jack's face hardened. "It's not your fault, they just used you as bait. He would have given himself up, no matter what."
"But he knows what they'll do to him," Ianto said.
Jack said nothing. He had the awful feeling that the fire that had started so long ago now, was going to turn into a firestorm, and he wasn't sure if he could douse the flames. "I'm going to get to him, before that happens," Jack said, and looked round. "Where's Pak-Dai?"
Pak-Dai had followed the path of the helicopter, and was now watching from the bushes as the Doctor was dragged out of the helicopter and faced a man in a white coat. He didn't know who the man was, but he could feel the coldness radiating from him even at a distance.
He watched as the man walked round the Doctor, in a similar way his father had when purchasing livestock. This man saw the Time Lord as nothing but a chattel, a possession, a thing to be owned.
That made his mind up. He'd been struggling with a decision he had to make, whether to make a deal with another devil, to defeat a devil.
"I am sorry, Doctor, I will come back," he said, and disappeared into another tunnel.
Jack and Ianto took turns in supporting Gwen as they climbed the steep incline. The sun was just rising above the mountains, and they stopped when they saw the full size of the complex.
Sarah shook her head. "I knew they had a top secret research base, but here, and the size of it, unbelievable. God knows what they're doing down there, and do I really want to know."
"Well, you may have to!" Gwen snapped, the pain from her leg, making her cranky.
"Gwen!" Jack said sharply. "You can hardly walk, and I need everyone alert and fit. So, we are going to hide away till nightfall, and you Gwen are going to stay hidden, along with Sarah here."
Both women went to protest, but were silenced by an angry gesture from Jack.
"Listen, this is going to be like going into a nest of vipers, and if I'm right, and god forbid I'm not, there's going to one very pissed off viper. The less people it can bite, the better it is, so we wait until night," Jack said, his tone making it final. "We need to find shelter, I thought I saw an abandoned hut or something back there," he said, and began walking away.
The others followed, all three knowing that Jack was contemplating having to do something that he really didn't want to.
Martha walked back to the glass when signs of activity returned to the corridor outside the ward.
She watched as the door opened, and at first she could only see armed men, and then she saw the one thing she didn't want to see. It was him, shackled and being pushed along the corridor.
But what frightened her wasn't the lack of spirit in his step, and it wasn't the pain on his face from the tightness of his shackles. It wasn't even the whispering of the other women as he passed by the window of the ward.
What frightened her was what she saw in his eyes: not defeat, never that, nor anger, for he never showed that.
What she saw in his eyes as he walked past the window and looked at her, that was what frightened her. It was a look she'd seen in his eyes when he'd punished the Family of Blood.
It was cold, colder than death, and she knew that death was coming.
*******************
The Doctor woke with a start and found himself not shackled anymore. Instead he found himself tied to an examination table, solid metal restraints on his wrists and ankles.
He turned his head as the door opened, and that figure walked in again.
"Good, you're awake, then we can begin. I've decided, that after the last attempts to control you failed, I would try a different method. Before I joined my current employers, I worked for various employers, and found some of their methods most educational. My favourite is the one I'm about to try."
The figure gestured to two men, who had appeared behind him and wheeled a machine towards him.
The Doctor's eyes widened as he recognised the machine. "No, you can't, not if you know what that thing does!" he said.
"Oh, but I do know what it does. It's surprising what you can find in the ruins of a top secret organisation."
The Doctor tried to move as one of them placed a restraint on his head and began taping his eyelids back, and the other began attaching wires to his chest and head and other parts of his body.
The room began to darken, and a screen appeared in front of the Doctor.
He didn't start panicking, not until images from his own mind began to flash across the screen.
"Monitor him closely, let me know when's he's at breaking point."
The figure opened the door to the room, and screams of anguish followed as he walked down the corridor. He closed the door behind him, and the corridor fell silent, cutting off the screams coming from inside the room.
The figure smiled. Soon everything would fall into place, just as it should be.
Chapter Thirteen
Martha looked up when the door to the ward opened, and two guards stepped in.
"Miss Jones, he would like a word with you," one said.
Martha stepped forward and strolled out of the room with more confidence than she felt. If you were going to become a mother to the next rulers of Earth, then she should act like one.
She was expecting to be led to his office, but instead they carried on down the corridor, through several pass-locked doors.
She was led into a room and he was there, standing, hands clasped behind his back, looking through what looked like mirrored glass.
"Ah, Miss Jones, a question?" he said as she was pushed to face the glass, and what she saw nearly made her sick. "Tell me, why does he still fight the inevitable?"
Martha looked away, tried to swallow her nausea. She forced herself to look back, see what she didn't want to see.
The Doctor was strapped to an upright examination table, arms out in a crucifix position, head held in place by a cruel looking, blood stained restraint.
Martha could see his eyelids were taped open, and he was breathing in shallow rapid breaths. Sweat mixed with blood stained his forehead and face, and was running down his chest.
She could see something flashing across his body, and the Doctor suddenly arched in some kind of agony. She was glad she couldn't hear the screams that must be filling the room.
"I've trawled the depths of his memory, but still he resists. The machine tells me he's still holding memories back. What are they, Miss Jones?"
Martha was about to reply when the Doctor arched against his restraints. This time there was a flurry of activity from the two lab-coated assistants, who were monitoring the Doctor. They talked animatedly, ignoring the stricken Doctor.
"Will you excuse me, Miss Jones? Please, stay and observe my machine at work."
Martha watched as White Coat left the room, tried to turn away, not wanting to see what was going to happen next, but the two guards stepped forward, preventing her from turning round.
******************
White Coat looked at the monitor, and then at the Doctor. "Very good, up the intensity by twenty-five percent," White Coat said.
Martha wanted to run as the Doctor's agonised cries came through the speaker. She could only watch as he strained against the restraints, blood running from underneath them.
"Stop it, just stop it!" she cried, even though she knew they wouldn't hear her.
"Again," White Coat said, looking on with casual interest.
The Doctor arched again, skin pulling from already injured wrists and ankles.
White Coat looked at the monitor, shook his head. "Increase by fifty percent," and the Doctor arched again. "Again, increase the fear ratio, increase the pain ratio by twenty-five percent, more horror."
This time, when the Doctor screamed, it sounded like the wail of a broken thing, one that just wanted to die.
When he stopped, Martha could see that the Doctor was crying, and her medical training kicked in. She could see that he was near physical and no doubt psychological breaking, if not broken.
So, this was his game. If he couldn't control by technology, he would resort to good, old-fashioned torture and brainwashing.
"Bastard!" she spat, wishing the glass wasn't between them. All she wanted was to get her hands round White Coat's throat.
"Enough!" White Coat said, and walked over to the now silent weeping Doctor. He ran a gentle hand over the Doctor's head. "Ssh now, your dreams must be terrible. Do you want them to go away?" He leant forward, as the Doctor's voice was almost inaudible.
"Yes."
"I can do that for you, stop the nightmares. I can help you destroy the ones causing your nightmares. Do you want that?" White Coat said gently.
"Yes," the Doctor whispered.
"Yes," White Coat said, and gently removed the tape holding his eyelids open, taking a dampened cloth and wiping away stale sweat and dried blood. "Do you want me to take away the pain?"
"Please…" the Doctor was almost begging. "Make it stop."
"Yes," White Coat said, and removed the head restraint, now filthy with blood. He gestured to the two assistants, who placed two IVs into the Doctor's arms.
"Sleep now, you will feel better, and then we can take the nightmares away. Make sure the IV's are replaced as soon as they are empty, I haven't quite finished the medication. Keep him under guard, and have Miss Jones retuned to her room. Take the others, prepare them for the procedure."
White Coat turned and faced the glass. "Well, Miss Jones, it seems I found the key."
Martha looked at the glass, her gaze murderous. She allowed herself to be pulled away from the glass, and locked in her room.
She sat on the bed, her nausea returning with a vengeance. She'd seen torture, lots of it, in the Year That Never Was, but at least the Master had the excuse of insanity, this bastard had no excuse.
"I'm so sorry, Doctor, I should have been more careful," she said, and dissolved into tears.
The day seemed to drag, and Jack couldn't settle. He paced the small area of the ruined building, his thoughts dark. The longer he had to wait, the more time the Doctor and Martha were in the hands of that bastard.
It wasn't very often he regretted not killing someone, but he now wished he'd snapped White Coat's neck back at Cold Runs Deep. Next time, he wouldn't hesitate.
He looked round when Sarah came and stood next to him, looking out of the ruined window.
"This is going to end badly, isn't it?" she said.
"For someone, it is," he said quietly.
"This Doctor, he's more than just an alien, isn't he, he's your friend."
"Yes, and sometimes he's more human than humanity."
"I can see that. You know, now I come to think about it, I heard rumours about an ultra secret base being run by someone high up in the company, but I never thought it would be here, and on such as scale."
"This is the largest I've come across, the other seemed small scale, compared to this. Tell me something Sarah, you were pretty high up yourself."
"I was once, why do you ask?"
"Did you ever here of someone called White Coat, running the Arizona complex?"
Sarah was silent, "White Coat, White Coat. Wait a minute, that can't be, it's impossible! What did he look like?"
Jack described him briefly. "Do you know him?"
Sarah had gone pale. She took a folded piece of paper from her pocket. It was an old sepia photograph. "Is this him?"
"Yes," Jack said.
"Jack, the only person ever known as White Coat founded the company, opened the first pharmacy."
"And?" Jack prompted.
"Jack, this photo was in taken 1867, at the opening. Jack, he's been dead for a hundred and twenty years!"
Chapter Fourteen
Jack looked at the photo in disbelief. "It can't be, he must be a grandchild or a great-grandchild."
"No, he had no family, not even distant relatives. When he died, a pre-selected board of directors took over, and they've been running it ever since."
"He can't be that old, he only looks about fifty," Gwen said, looking at the photo.
"Do you think he's an alien?" Ianto said.
"I don't know, he scanned as human," Jack said. He snatched the photo back. "Damn waiting for dark, he's not going to see another birthday. Gwen, can you move?"
"I'm a little stiff, but yes," she replied.
"Fine, then we move, we get in, find the Doctor and Martha, but leave that bastard to me."
Martha washed her face, cleaning away the tears that had fallen. If by some miracle they escaped, she didn't think she could put the Doctor back together, and that broke her heart.
It made her stomach turn just thinking about what she'd seen in that room. It would haunt her forever. She didn't want to know what that sick bastard was doing with the shattered Doctor, what twisted ideas he was filling his mind with.
But in a way, she was glad he wouldn't be able to comprehend what White Coat, and Gen-Med's real plans were. She didn't know why she hadn't been taken with the other women, to have the 'procedure', like he couldn't call a spade a spade.
There was another thing that frightened her. Without the influence of the Doctor, and only those women to influence them, what would they become if they survived?
She looked up at the ceiling. "I know you're watching, you sick bastard. If you think I'm going to be a willing part of your pseudo-Nazi plan, think again."
White Coat turned to the Doctor. "See, she doesn't care about you, she's only concerned about herself. She's just like the others, only causes you pain."
The Doctor stared at the image of Martha. "I thought she was my friend, he was right after all, I should only have them as pets. They need a new master."
White Coat smiled. "Yes, they do. Would you like to start with Miss Jones?"
"I'd like that," the Doctor said, returning the smile with a wicked one of his own.
"Good, then I'll leave you to it, but don't hurt her too much, she's still useful to me."
The Doctor nodded and followed the guard out of the room.
White Coat turned to the remaining guard. "Watch him carefully. I want Miss Jones to remain alive, understood?"
"Yes, sir!" the guard said.
"Good. I don't want to be disturbed. I have work to do."
****************
White Coat locked the office door and sagged into a chair. He looked at his reflection in the computer screen. He could see lines appearing, wrinkles deepening. He would have to finish this, and finish it soon.
Jack motioned for the others to move, and they hurried across the open space.
Jack knew he was taking a huge risk, but he couldn't wait. He couldn't risk White Coat turning the Doctor, or worse, the Doctor tearing the place apart in a murderous rage.
"Wait!" he hissed as they approached a cluster of buildings. He heard the chink of feet on rubble. He gestured for Ianto to move to his right, and for Gwen to move to her left.
He wasn't expecting to hear three muffled gasps of surprise. He whipped round and found himself facing half a dozen rifles, held by what looked like members of the Mongol horde. He tensed, ready to take them on, when a familiar figure pushed his way to the front.
"No, no, he's on our side!" Pak-Dai said urgently, and stood between Jack and the rifles.
He rattled off words in a dialect that Jack couldn't understand, but was relieved to see the rifles pointed away from him. "I wondered where you got to," he smiled.
"Sorry, but I had an inkling we'd need some help," Pak-Dai said.
Jack looked beyond the group and saw an embarrassed Ianto and Gwen and a rather nervous Sarah being escorted by another dozen or so men.
One of the men walked over to Jack and bowed. "I am Gai-San, and I offer myself and my men in service to rid this sacred place of the demons that defile it."
Pak-Dai gestured for Jack to reply.
Jack wasn't quite sure what to say, so he took a leaf out of the Arthurian tales. "Gai-San, I would be honoured to have you in my service," and bowed back.
Gai- san bowed again. "We will fight to the death to rescue the Dai-Shan."
Jack looked at Pak-Dai, a questioning frown on his face.
"He means the Doctor. Dai-Shan means Protector."
"Let us hope you do not have to, the Dai-Shan would not wish it," Jack said.
"We have made camp just above the ridge. We have a healer who can treat your warrior's wound. I would be honoured to share my tent with the Dai-Shan's Hai-Tak."
Jack looked at Pak-Dai again.
"Champion, and it would be wise to accept his invitation."
Jack digested the warning tone in Pak-Dai's voice. "I would be honoured, and would wish to talk strategy with you," he said.
Gai-San smiled and bowed, then rattled off more of his own language. "It is agreed, we rest, we talk strategy, and we attack at nightfall."
Jack looked back at the complex in the distance. "Hold on, you two," he said, and followed the group, towards the rise.
Martha looked up when the door to her room unlocked and opened to reveal…… "Doctor!" she cried, seeing the bruised but familiar face. Then she hesitated, caught out by her joy at seeing him. "Doctor?" she said.
"Martha Jones," the Doctor said, and the smile he gave her shattered her hope.
Chapter Fifteen
Martha backed away from the Doctor. "Doctor?" she said, her voice wavering with nerves.
The Doctor moved closer. "Martha Jones, are you afraid of me?" he said, and took another step closer.
Martha moved backwards and felt the bed bump against the back of her legs. She lost her balance and fell onto the bed.
Before she could move, the Doctor was on her, pinning her to the bed with his weight. She could feel his hot breath on her neck, as he lowered his mouth to her ear, pressing his body against her.
"Tell me, Martha Jones," he breathed, and his voice lowered to a husky whisper. "How good an actress are you?"
Martha's eyes widened. "Doc…"she began, but the Doctor clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Don't talk, just listen. I'm going to get you out of here, but the only way out is to……"
Martha nodded slightly, and with a muffled "I'm sorry," she kneed the Doctor in the groin, pushed him away, and rolled off the bed.
*******************
The guard who'd been watching, getting slightly bored with the lack of action, straightened. Now this was getting interesting. This one was a fighter.
He watched as the Doctor advanced on Martha, and this time he reached out and grabbed her by the throat.
The guard started when he saw her go limp in his grip. "No, no!" he said and dashed out of the room, and as he approached the other guard, he yelled, "Get him out of there, he's killing her!"
They flung the door open, and one of the guards grabbed hold of the Doctor, pulling him away and breaking his grip on Martha, who fell back on the bed.
"Is she dead?" he asked the other guard whilst fighting to keep a hold on the struggling, cursing Doctor.
"Yes," the guard said. "He'll skin us alive."
"Not if he thinks she got away, she's a clever one. We can throw her out the west gate, let the rats eat her. We can erase the tape, raise the alarm in a little while."
"What about him?" The guard gestured towards the still struggling Doctor.
"I'll deal with him," and he lessened his grip on the Doctor, just enough to take out his side-arm. He suddenly let go and brought the weapon down on the back of the Doctor's head.
He dragged the unconscious Doctor nearer to the bed, picked up the heaviest object in the room, smeared it with the Doctor's blood, and laid it next to him. "Now we'll dump her, give it twenty minutes, and raise the alarm."
Several minutes later, they appeared out of a door. The one carrying Martha dumped her unceremoniously.
"Okay, twenty minutes," he said, and they both went back inside.
They never saw the body suddenly jerk and take a gasping breath.
Martha had been alarmed when the Doctor had whispered his plan into her ear. She didn't know if she could trust him completely, but she had no choice.
When the Doctor had advanced on her and put his hand round her throat, she panicked until she realised he was putting no pressure on it.
She looked into the Doctor's eyes, and saw regret and something else. What was it? When she saw what it was, she almost faltered, but it was too late. She felt her heart slow, and the Doctor's face began to fade into darkness.
*******************
She woke with a jerk and drew in a welcome breath as her heart returned to its normal rate.
"Doctor, no!" she said automatically, before realising she was outside and in a……….rubbish dump!
"Urrgh!" she cried and scrambled out of the stinking mass, rats scattering as she did. "What do I do now?" she asked into thin air.
She jumped when something beeped in her pocket. She reached in and pulled out... the Doctor's sonic. Her heart skipped a beat. The Doctor would never give his sonic away, not unless? "Oh, Doctor," she said, and then her attention was caught by the screwdriver.
The beeping was steady, like it was tracking a signal. Out of curiosity, she moved slightly and the beeping faded. She moved back, and it returned.
"You want me to go somewhere. I hope it's the TARDIS. Okay, but I'll be back with the cavalry, if I don't freeze to death."
She set off, following the signal from the sonic, and found herself heading towards a cluster of ruined buildings, and beyond that, a large rise in the ground.
The Doctor opened his eyes slowly and wished he hadn't, for several reasons.
One, the pain in his groin was competing with the pain in his head for attention , and two, a face he didn't want to see came into view, that smile on his face.
"She got you good, clever girl, that Martha Jones. No matter, she'll be back soon enough. You must be more careful, you're too valuable to be damaged."
The Doctor reined in his desire to wrap his hands round White Coat's throat. Steady, he thought, play the game, play the part.
"She won't do that again," he growled, and sat up.
White Coat put a hand on his chest to stop him, and the Doctor shot him a warning glare.
"Hmm, still touchy," he said, and moved away. "Perhaps a little more therapy, some memories can be hard to erase."
The Doctor checked himself. He really didn't want to tangle with that machine again. He'd barely survived it, and he didn't think he could survive another session.
He wanted to be lucid when he tore this place apart, but he needed to find out what they were doing here, and finally, he wanted to be sane when he punished White Coat. He let himself smile internally at the thought. He had something special planned for him.
"No!" he said quickly. "I'm sorry, it just, she tricked me, a stupid ape, and a female at that!"
"Don't worry about Miss Jones," White Coat said. He was silent for a few seconds. "Perhaps you need something to distract you. I think it's time for me to put your knowledge to work.. I have several projects that need your input, come with me."
Jack stepped out of the tent, taking in a big lungful of cold air. He felt a little dizzy. Whatever was in that smoke that filled the tent, it made his head swim.
He decided to go for a short walk so he could think everything through, clear his mind. He'd only gone a few yards when two of the warriors came running up to him, talking in their fast language. "Pak-Dai!" Jack shouted.
Pak-Dai stepped out of the tent and walked over to Jack,. He listened to the men, and a smile crossed his face. "I think they've just described your Martha Jones, she's heading our way."
Jack blinked. "What are we waiting for, let's go!"
Martha wished she'd been able to put on some warmer clothes, or a least a jacket and a pair of shoes. Bare feet and pyjamas were not conducive to cold weather.
She looked at the sonic again, and noticed that the beeping had almost become a solid tone. Wherever the Doctor wanted her to go, it must be very close.
She stopped suddenly when she heard the sound of running feet. She looked round for somewhere to hide, but there was nothing. The cluster of buildings were too far away, and the bushes too scant to hide her.
She knew those footsteps could only be her captors, that the Doctor's plan hadn't worked. She turned off the sonic, closed her eyes, and waited for the inevitable.
Chapter Sixteen
The Doctor followed White Coat along the corridor. It was lined with lab after lab, all with experiments the Doctor was dying to get a closer look at.
White Coat stopped when he realised the Doctor was lagging. "You can look at those later," he said. "Now, come along."
The Doctor bridled at the way he spoke to him, like he was some disobedient child. But instead of voicing his opinion, he mildly hurried to catch him up. As he did, he noticed a set of doors. He watched as someone approached, passed a card through a swiper, and waited for the doors to open. "What's in there?" he asked, as the doors began to open.
"That's not for you, no yet," White Coat said, which automatically set the Doctor's 'I've definitely got to get in there' alarm ringing. "Here," White Coat said, and opened a door, causing several people to look up. "These so called geniuses have so far failed to solve this particular problem, perhaps you can solve it for them. Now I'm sure I can trust you not to wander off, after all, you really don't want any more therapy."
The Doctor looked at White Coat, heard the threat in his voice, still treating me like an unruly pet then, he thought. He ignored it, and pretended to focus on the experiment. "Genetic manipulation at a molecular level," he said, putting on his glasses. "Ah, there's your first problem," he said, pretending not to notice White Coat slip out of the room. He didn't notice someone move up to stand next to him, until they spoke.
"I never thought you'd willingly work for that bastard," a woman's voice said.
The Doctor turned, and got a huge surprise as he recognised the face. It was Susan Jefferies, a survivor from the frozen Xanz city!
Martha tensed, waiting for a blow or rough hands to grip her. What she didn't expect was the cry of "Martha Jones!" in a very familiar American accent. She opened her eyes, and saw a familiar figure racing down the rise. "Jack!" she cried, relief washing over her as she was engulfed in a Jack sized hug.
"Martha!" he said, his delight at seeing her alive making his hug tighter than normal.
Jack looked over Martha's shoulder, expecting to see the slender frame of the Doctor, but there was only empty space. He let go of Martha, the smile disappearing from his face. "Where's the Doctor, he did rescue you, didn't he?"
Martha looked sadly at Jack. "Yes, he did, but his not with me..." she trailed off.
Jack then noticed the sonic in her hand, and knew that the Doctor had never intended to leave.
"Jack, I think he's going to do something, something terrible," Martha said quietly.
"Not if I can help it," he said.
The sound of gunfire suddenly filled the air, and triumphant whoops followed seconds later. A group of the warriors appeared over the rise, pulling two uniformed men with them. They rattled of a string of words to Pak-Dai, who nodded.
"They found them in the ruins, they killed four, caught these two, but one got away. They want to know, should they hunt him down?"
Jack shook his head. "No, they'll only get themselves killed." He looked round when Martha let out a gasp of horror.
"I know those two, they were the ones who..."
She stopped talking and walked over to the pair, and the resulting slap echoed around the group. She then punched the other one before Jack pulled her away.
"That's for man-handling me, and that's for the Doctor!" she spat.
"Martha!?" Jack said.
"Those two, they were my jailers, and they watched while..." she bit off the rest of her words.
"Martha, they watched what?" Jack pressed.
She looked up at Jack, her eyes angry, but glistening with tears. "They stood and watched while he tortured the Doctor, and they laughed."
"Susan, what are you doing here!?"
"I'm not here by choice, unlike you," she said coldly.
"I'm not working for him," the Doctor said.
Susan snorted. "You must be, or you'd have one of these," she said, lifting her pony-tail, revealing a small metal disc, which seemed fused to her skin.
"What's that?" the Doctor said, now wishing he had his sonic.
"It's our leash, so we don't stray. I'm guessing at some kind of neural inhibitor, from what I've see, one zap and you're paralysed, or dead. You don't have one," she said accusingly.
"No, but it doesn't mean I haven't got a leash," the Doctor replied.
"Then why are you here?" Susan said.
"I was here to rescue a friend, well, I was. Have all the people here been scientist-napped?"
"Most of them, you'd think someone would have noticed. The only ones that aren't, work in the Alpha section." When the Doctor looked puzzled, she said. "The door, which need a pass card."
The Doctor nodded. "Yes, I saw those, what's behind them?"
"I don't know, but all the experiments here are genetics based, so I'm assuming it's the same, but big scale. I've only been here a few weeks, but it seems your arrival has upped the timetable, like you're the final piece of a puzzle."
"Not if I can help it," he muttered. Out loud he said, "I thought I only had to rescue one, but now it seems I've got to rescue, how many?"
"In this section, about fifty, but I don't know how many altogether, about two hundred, at a guess."
The Doctor blinked, that many, and a wave of guilt washed over him. He thought he'd only have to rescue Martha, then take this place apart, and take his revenge on White Coat, but now……Rassilon, why did revenge have to be so complicated.
******************
Jack sat, stony-faced, as he listened to Martha describe the Doctor's torture.
Any thoughts he'd had about bringing White Coat to official justice had evaporated with his anger. If there was a hell, he was going to drag him to the Devil personally. He looked over at the others. Ianto had the same expression on his face as himself, Gwen looked uncomfortable, and Sarah looked disgusted. Pak-Dai, who was translating for the others, looked unhappy.
There were angry mutters rippling round the warriors, and Jack didn't need a translator to tell him what they were saying.
Martha shivered as she stood on the ridge, watching the sun dip beneath the mountains. She could see the lights going on, in the complex below, and she wondered what the Doctor was doing.
She'd seen what was in his eyes, and what she'd seen had frightened her. Although his words had sounded sensible and sane, she'd looked into his eyes and seen insanity.
*******************
The Doctor busied himself examining the work Susan was doing. He'd stopped talking freely when a guard had stepped into the room. As the guard walked past, a random thought flitted through his head of how easy it would be to snap the guard's neck.
He blinked in surprise.
No, not yet, he thought, keep control, but he could feel it at the edges of his mind…….. The Fire was coming.
Chapter Seventeen
Ianto left the tent, leaving Gwen and Sarah with Pak-Dai. He looked round hoping to see Jack, who'd left abruptly, his face set in an angry mask.
He couldn't see Jack, but he did see Martha, standing on the top of the rise. He went to move up the slope, when he heard a noise to his left.
"Jack?" he said, and when no-one answered, he moved towards the shadows. "Jack?" he said again as he cautiously entered the shadows. He heard the sound again, this time to his right. "Ja…?" he began, but felt a hand close over his mouth, and the taste of something...chlorform.
The Doctor looked up as a bell sounded, and two more guards entered the lab.
"End of shift," Susan said as the guards started herding the scientists out.
"I'll get you all out, I promise," the Doctor said.
Susan gave him a smile that said 'don't make promises you might be able to keep'.
"I really don't need baby-sitting," the Doctor said, and he noticed the acidic tone entering his voice, the hint of annoyance.
He'd better do what he had to do, and quick. Once it was loose, he couldn't, wouldn't, stop it, and he would be lost to it and there would be no innocents.
As he was escorted along the corridor, he felt a twinge at the back of his head. No, please, not now, but the twinge became a searing pain, and he let out a single cry of pain and collapsed.
The two guards looked at each other, shrugged, picked the Doctor up, and dragged him to his room, dumping him on the bed.
"Shall we tell the boss?" one said.
"Nah, he'll be okay, besides, we're off duty," the other said.
As they left, the Doctor's eyelids fluttered, and opened to reveal not deep brown eyes, but a mixture of oily black and fiery orange.
Jack walked back towards the tents and saw Martha, a lonely silhouette against the night sky.
He knew he should go and say something, but what could you say? Sorry, but your friend's about to go postal, and there's nothing I can do.
He took a deep breath and went to walk towards Martha, when the night sky turned to day.
******************
Confusion reigned as uniformed men appeared out of the darkness.
Jack was still trying to clear his head when he heard what sounded like Martha scream. "Martha!" he yelled, and went to get up, but was floored by a foot to his solar plexus.
"That's two," he heard as he fought for breath. "Find the others."
Jack was dragged up just in time to see Martha, Gwen and Susan being dragged to the centre of the camp. Where was Ianto? Had he escaped?
"What about the rest?"
"Orders are, take them, erase the rest."
The four of them were bundled into a waiting armoured vehicle, and Jack tried to block out the sounds of slaughter. His only hope was that Ianto had got away.
Ianto woke with a start, expecting to be chained to a wall. Instead, he was lying on a way too comfortable bed, dressed in clothes that were definitely not his.
He sat up and looked around him. There were two doors. One he discovered was a bathroom, and the other was locked.
Not again, he thought, like a canary in a gilded cage, but not this time, he hoped, with the same cat prowling below.
He sat back down on the bed; all he could do was wait.
Jack and the others were pulled roughly from the vehicle and shoved towards a set of doors.
The doors opened and White Coat appeared, with more armed men. He walked directly up to Martha. "I told my property you'd be back,take her back to her room," he said, and turned to Jack as Martha was dragged away. "Captain Jack Harkness, I believe last time we met, you tried to snap my neck. Please, let me return the favour." He took out a pistol and calmly shot Jack in the heart.
"No!!" Gwen and Sarah cried.
"Don't worry, ladies, he'll be back so I can do it again," he said. He walked over to Gwen and grabbed hold of her face with one hand, ignoring her glares, as he turned her head, examining her like a prize animal.
"Yes, very nice, Captain Harkness has taste. Take her to the theatre, she'll make a fine addition." He then turned to Sarah. "My former head of the Congo section. Have her processed and put to work."
He gestured to the body of Jack. "Have him chained in the lower dungeon, and get the machine ready."
Gwen fought her captors, even though she knew it was pointless.
The guards pulled her towards a set of swing doors. As they opened, she could smell antiseptic, and she could see an operating table.
Two oversized figures in theatre scrubs grabbed her and carried her towards the table and held her down until she felt nothing.
Martha kicked at the door, angry that all the Doctor's pain and effort had been for nothing. Now, she didn't even know if the Doctor was capable of helping them, or if he even wanted too.
Sarah found herself in a lab with several other people and a pain in her head.
A woman came over and smiled slightly at her. "My name is Susan Jefferies, welcome to the rest of your life."
Life rushed back into Jack, and he did find himself chained to a wall, and not a pleasant wall either. There was an overpowering smell of something, he didn't know what, but it didn't smell human.
He shifted slightly, causing his chains to rattle lightly… and something moved in the darkness of the cell.
Ianto was now thoroughly frustrated, and a little worried. There must be another set of rooms on the other side of the locked door.
He'd been hearing noises for the last ten minutes, and they weren't encouraging noises. He'd been hearing cursing and things being thrown. Whoever was in there must be locked in as well.
He walked towards the door and knocked lightly on it. "Hello, are you okay in there?"
The noises stopped, and he heard footsteps coming towards the door. Ianto put his ear to the door. "Hello," he said, and when the reply came, his blood ran cold.
"Hello, pretty boy."
Chapter Eighteen
Ianto backed away from the door. "No, no, not him," he breathed, knowing precisely who was behind the door.
"Don't think locking the door is going to stop me," the voice said, as the handle rattled.
Ianto jumped as the door shuddered, almost coming off its hinges. He knew it wouldn't be much good, but he took the only chair, went into the bathroom, and wedge it against the handle.
He jumped again when he heard the other door splinter.
"Here's Daddy!" the voice said, in an all too realistic Shining moment. "Really, pretty boy, hide and seek only works, if there's more than two rooms to hide in."
Ianto stayed quiet and watched as the handle on the door turned.
"Come on, there's no need to be shy," the voice said, and the chair skittered across the floor as the door violently left its hinges.
"Like I said, there's no need to be shy," the Doctor said, and with alien speed, went for Ianto and crashed straight into a bathroom mirror. The Doctor went down in a shower of glass and didn't move.
Ianto dropped the broken mirror and quickly searched the Doctor, finding what looked like a swipe card. He stepped over the Doctor and hurried out of the bathroom.
He stepped over the remains of the shattered dividing door and prayed to every god, that it wasn't locked, it wasn't. He stepped out into what looked like a corridor in a house, albeit a mansion.
He moved quickly down the corridor, hoping to find a way out. He stopped when he heard the sound of someone kicking a door, and a muffled woman's voice. He frowned: that sounded like…Martha!
The noise was coming from a door just ahead, and to his right. He fingered the card, and crossing everything, he ran the card through the reader.
There was a satisfying beep and the door clicked open. He slowly opened the door and stepped in and found himself facing a kicking, biting Martha.
"Stop, stop, Martha, it's me, Ianto!" he yelled as she came in for another round.
****************
Martha had backed away, when she had heard the door unlock. Whoever it was was going to get it. As soon as the person stepped in, she was on them, biting and kicking what she could reach.
A familiar Welsh accent stopped her in her tracks, and she saw the person for the first time. "Ianto, oh, my god!" she cried, and went to hug him.
"Sorry, no time, we have to go," he said.
Martha nodded. "Ianto, I think the Doctor's on this level somewhere."
Ianto swallowed. "He is, and he isn't, no time to explain, we have to find the others."
"They'll be on the lower level, this place is for special guests and willing workers, but Ianto, the Doctor."
Ianto said nothing, but pulled her out of the room and along the corridor, and eventually down a flight of stairs.
"There's a bank of lifts to the left, it goes down to the lower levels," Martha said. "Ianto, you should know, he shot Jack," she said as the lift doors shut.
Ianto's jaw tightened, and taking a guess, he pushed the button marked 'L'.
Gwen opened her eyes and found herself looking into another woman's eyes.
"Hello, you must be the replacement for Martha. In fact, it's just you and me, the others didn't survive the procedure. If we don't survive, then all this will be for nothing, I'm Jacqueline, and you are?"
Susan couldn't believe what she was looking at, yet she knew straightaway that whatever it was, it was doomed to fail. This was science beyond even cutting edge genetics, it was never going to work, not in a billion years, and anything that resulted from it, would be nothing short of a monstrosity.
Jack froze as the something moved in the darkness. He heard the rattle of chains and was glad that whatever it was was chained.
He held his breath as the something came closer, the sound of claws on stone.
As his eyes adjusted to the little light that poured under the cell door, he saw the something rear up in his face and reach for him.
*******************
White Coat had locked himself in his office. He looked down at the withered body at his feet. This was the third time he'd had to feed in less than forty-eight hours: time was running out. He was now on the wrong end of a blistering dressing down from one of the board of directors.
"You have had long enough to produce results, and the board is growing weary of your failures. The Chairman has said you have twenty-four hours to produce results, after that we will be arriving to take the package off your hands."
"But.." White Coat began.
"No more buts, no more excuses. Twenty-four hours, failure will result in our agreement being terminated."
The screen went blank and White Coat knew that termination meant death, and he wasn't ready to die yet.
Then it struck him: why did he need the board at all. He could just take the package and run. He had the money, and could easily control the package.
"Yes, that's what I'll do. This project will never succeed, yes, take the prize and run."
Ianto and Martha cautiously walked down the corridor but it wasn't needed, since there was no-one about.
"I know this place," Martha said. "It's where they kept me and the other women. White Coat's little harem."
Ianto looked at Martha but decided not to ask. Leave it for later, he thought.
They approached the ward at the end, and as they peered into the window they saw a fight in progress.
Gwen hadn't meant to be rude, but she had told the woman what she thought about being part of any procedure.
"You take that back, it's a privilege to be part of this, we're going to be so important, and so loved."
Gwen snorted. "Whatever it is, it's going to be sick and twisted, just like him."
At that, the woman let out a snarl of anger and leapt at Gwen.
Ianto tried swiping the card again, but it didn't seem to work.
"C'mon, c'mon!" he said, and tried once more.
The door sprang open, and both of them rushed into the room. Ianto hauled the woman away from Gwen and threw her across to Martha, who grabbed hold of her hair and pulled her head back viciously.
"Get away from her, bitch!" she said, and man-handled her onto a bed and managed to get one restraint on her, just enough to hold her, as she tied the rest.
"You don't know what you're doing!" Jacqueline spat.
"Shut it!" Martha said, and grabbed a roll of surgical tape.
"Come on, Martha, we won't go un-noticed for long!" Ianto said, and ushered Gwen out of the room, followed by Martha, who gave Jacqueline a cold smile.
"You'll never get what you want, it's over," she said.
Jack closed his eyes, hoping it would be quick. But instead of feeling his limbs being ripped off, he felt something ruffling his hair, a warm furry…hand?
He opened his eyes and found a furry face staring back at him, and then he saw something he recognised.
"Oh, it's you," he said.
The furry something chittered at him, and held up its hands, to reveal chains.
"Me too, buddy," he said, and held up his arms.
The something let out a mournful howl, and Jack shifted to avoid being deafened.
As he did, he heard something metallic fall out of his pocket. He felt round in the darkness, and after a few seconds his fingers brushed against a familiar object and his smile could have lit up the cell.
Instead, a blue light, and whirring filled the air.
The furry something held out its hands and as the chains fell away, it let out a burble.
"I'm assuming that's a thank you," Jack said. "Now, let's find a way out of here."
The furry something let out a short growl and thumped towards the door, grabbed hold of the bars, and pulled.
The door came away with a screeching squeal which brought the guards running, who found themselves on the receiving end of a very angry something.
Jack stepped over the bodies of the guard, and waited while the something squeezed through the ruined door frame.
"I was aiming for subtlety, but what the hell," Jack said and went to move, but found himself hoisted in the air.
"Hey!" he yelled, but had to cover his head as the something punched its way out of a door and stomped off into the night.
Jack was glad when the something finally put him down, but when he tried to move back towards the complex, the something growled and pushed him up a ridge and chittered at him.
"I take it that's a no," he said and then stopped. He recognised this ridge, and he let the something push him up it.
When he got to the top, he stopped, not believing what he saw, because what he saw couldn't be possible.
White Coat looked at the hole that had been punched in the door and studied the footprints in the dirt.
A guard came up to him and whispered in his ear.
"What, impossible, find them. Don't worry about Harkness, that thing will kill him. Find the others, and if you have to, shoot to kill."
The Doctor's eyes snapped open and he struggled to a sitting position, and his hand crunched against broken glass. He picked up a large shard and scrutinised his eyes. They were brown, but he could see flecks of black and fiery orange swirling at the back of them.
"Just a few hours more," he said to his reflection. "Let me do what I have to, then you can burn it, burn it all."
Chapter Nineteen
Jack stared in disbelief at the sight below. The ruined camp was heaving with activity. There must have been five hundred tribesmen, but it wasn't the tribesmen that astonished him. It was the sight of the huge hairy figures, which were walking freely amongst them.
The one that had carried Jack let out a rumble, and all of the camp stopped and looked their way.
"I don't believe it!" a voice shouted. "You must be the luckiest person alive!"
Jack smiled when he saw the figure that belonged to the voice. "Pak-Dai!" he yelled and set off down the slope, followed by his hirsuite companion. "I thought you were dead!" he said as he slapped Pak-Dai on the shoulder.
"I would have been, we all would have, but it seems Buddha has other ideas. We were being slaughtered, when a very heavy, hairy calvary came riding in. Then, the rest of the army showed up."
"I can see that. What are they doing here?" Jack said.
"I don't know about our friends, but the others, they're here to rescue the Doctor."
The Doctor walked casually down the corridor. He wasn't surprised when no-one challenged him: hands off the boss's pet. He could still feel the fire at the edges of his mind, but somehow this felt different. This time, he was in control.
As he approached the door that housed what Susan had called the Alpha Section, he saw a scientist approaching, swipe card in hand.
The scientist stopped when he saw the Doctor. "Can I help you?" he said, a little un-nerved by the way the Doctor was looking at him, a bit like a lion sizing up its next meal.
"Is that a pass card you've got there?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes, but only assigned staff are allowed one."
The Doctor moved closer and put a friendly arm around the man's shoulder. "Would you mind if I borrowed it for a while?" he asked good-naturedly.
"Sorry, but authorised personnel only," the scientist said.
"Oh, go on, I only want a peek," the Doctor said, and tightened his grip on the man's shoulder.
"I can't," the man said, feeling the increased pressure on his shoulder. "You're not authorised."
"Really?" the Doctor said, and with a flash of cold anger, he squeezed harder and he could feel bones crunch slightly.
The man let out a squeak of pain. "I really can't, he'll kill me!"
The Doctor leant into the man's face and said calmly, "And I won't."
The man looked into the Doctor's eyes and saw nothing but the alien that the Doctor was staring back at him. Those eyes were filled with fire and death, and for once, he feared White Coat less than he did the thing in front of him. He silently held out the card, and waited for death to take him.
"Ta very much," the Doctor said and let go of him, watching as he ran. He walked over to the doors and ran the card through the reader and waited for the doors to open.
Ianto suddenly stopped and held up his hand for the other two to stop. "It looks like there's a way out on the other side, there's a door with a big hole in it, but it's swarming with guards."
Gwen let out a frustrated breath. "What we really need is a distraction," and as the words left her lips, a chilling howl filled the air.
The Doctor looked back as the doors started to close. Was that a howl he heard? The door shut with a clang, so if it was a howl, it was lost behind the metal doors.
The Alpha Section didn't seem any different to the other part of the complex, corridors lined with laboratories.
He ignored them, looking for the something different. He turned a corner and there it was, the something different, another set of doors.
He walked up to the doors and tried them. They weren't locked.
"Well, well, someone thinks no one's going to take a sneaky peek," the Doctor said. "Oh, look, someone is."
He noticed the smell first. He took a deep breath and analysed the smell……formaldehyde.
At first, it seemed this section was no different, so he followed the smell, which led him to a single lab.
This time, he did take an interest. A big display screen was showing an experiment in progress.
"Hmm, I wonder," he said, and touched the screen.
The image changed and showed some kind of splicing technique, and not going too well either. He flicked through the data, and then he stopped, his hand hovering over the screen.
His eyes narrowed. He recognised the DNA helix on the screen as it revolved. He watched as another helix appeared, and when the two helixes began to split in half, and two of the halves began to merge, only to collapse and splinter. He backed away from the screen.
He knew what was trying to be done, and it made him dizzy with shock and disbelief. As he backed away, he noticed another door, and that smell again, causing a wave of dread to pass over him.
He walked towards the door and tentatively pushed it open. The smell was overpowering, and his stomach threatened rebellion.
Swallowing his rising nausea, he stepped inside, and minutes later, he came crashing out.
At first he hadn't seen anything untoward, just empty mortuary tables and bottles of formaldehyde. So, he followed the smell and came across a set of plastic dividing curtains, pulled them back, and nearly lost the contents of his stomach.
On the slab in front of him was what was left of a woman, almost fully dissected.
But it wasn't that had made him his sick.
In a jar floated something that might have been a foetus, if it hadn't been twisted and deformed so as not to be recognisable.
Ignoring his stomach, he moved closer, and as he did, he felt something touch his …telepathic senses!
He staggered back…so much pain….so much distress! Rassilon, that thing was inside his head!
He tried to block it, but for something that should be dead, it did a good job of forcing its way into his mind.
That thing, it was................
"No, no, no, not possible, please, for the love of Rassilon, no!" he cried, and through sheer will he broke the link and staggered away, crashing out of the room.
He fell to his hands and knees and was physically sick and didn't stop until his stomach muscles hurt.
He crawled on hands and knees, not stopping until he was out of the laboratory. He found a corner and curled up in it, hands over his face, trying to hide from the horror.
"No, no, no!" he said again, and dissolved into uncontrolled weeping.
He eventually uncurled himself and stood up, the tears already drying.
Tears had no place in the firestorm that was coming, and this place was going to burn!
Chapter Twenty
White Coat came out of his office to find his Chief of Security running towards him. "What is going on here!?" he roared.
"We're under attack, sir," he said.
"How can we be under attack?"
"Sir, it's them, the creatures, they've broken into the main hangar. But it's not just them, there are others."
"Harkness," White Coat growled. "Take as many men as you can spare, don't let them get into the complex. Give me four of your men. I need to find my property."
***************
Jack signalled for another group of tribesmen to move, as another wave of gunfire echoed round the hangar.
He had to admit, Gai-San's tactics were sound, and it did help if you had nine-foot tanks on your side.
Their charge hadn't been pretty but it was effective, and at least a dozen guards lay broken on the floor.
But it hadn't been without cost, as two large figures lay amongst the dead.
The tribesmen poured through the gap, picking off the last remaining guards.
Jack heard a commotion on the other side of the hangar, and three struggling forms were pushed towards Jack.
"Jack!" Gwen called as she was pushed forward.
"Damn, it's good to see you all," Jack said as he embraced them in turn. "Where's Susan?"
"She must still be inside somewhere, this place is huge," Ianto said.
"What about the Doctor, have you seen him?"
"No," Ianto said quickly, earning him a look from Martha, which went un-noticed by Jack.
Jack handed them comm. units, and weapons retrieved from the dead guards.
"We'll be on the same frequency, we're moving into the main complex, so be on your toes. Martha, do you have any idea where they might be keeping the Doctor?"
"I think so, but he wasn't under guard, he could be anywhere."
Jack frowned. "Then we find him when we find him," he said.
He stopped talking for a moment, listening to the chatter that was going on behind the blast doors.
"We need this door open now, they're ramping up their defences."
******************
Jack really didn't want to know where the tribesmen had got so much plastique, but at least he knew it was going to be used for a good thing.
He and Gwen placed the last of the detonators into the putty and ran for cover.
"Fire in the hold!" Jack yelled and flipped the switch.
The resulting blast shook the floor of the hangar, and the blast door ripped open.
Susan heard a distant rumble and nearly dismissed it as nothing, until she saw the guards leave in a hurry.
Taking a chance, she got off her bunk, and stood in the middle of the dormitory. "Listen, everybody, you heard that noise, something's going on, it's our chance to escape. The guards are gone, I say we make a run for it."
"I'm game," one woman said. The speaker was the woman who had introduced herself, Susan Jefferies.
Another murmur went round the group.
"Well, I'm going with them," one person said, and at least a dozen agreed. Only those who didn't have inhibitors said nothing.
"Fine," Sarah said. "If the rest of you want to stay, stay. We're going."
The corridor they walked along was deserted: not one guard was left. They had just gone through the door at the end when the sound of the door locking filled the air. Nobody else was going to get out.
"Come on," Sarah said, and with Susan leading the way, the little group made its way further away from the dormitory.
The Doctor mixed the liquids, in one of the larger phials. He swirled the liquid, and watch as fumes swirled above the liquid.
"That should do it," he smiled coldly.
He lifted the phial and walked back towards that door.
He got within five paces of it when he felt the thing once again probe his defences. For the love of….it was getting stronger, and he nearly dropped the phial when it pushed a little harder.
Fighting down his nausea, he forced himself to take the last few steps and pushed through the door. He'd only gone a few steps when the thing hit him hard, and he staggered at the sheer force of it.
A sharp pain shot through him and his hands twitched involuntarily, the phial slipping from his hand and smashing on the floor, spilling its contents.
"No!" he cried. "Get out of my head, you shouldn't exist…I can't!" He staggered back out of the door and straight into the feeling of a rifle barrel in his back.
"The boss wants you, and you shouldn't be in here," the guard said, pressing his weapon harder into the Doctor's back. He was expecting the Doctor to hold his hands up in surrender. What he got was the Doctor whirling round, grabbing the rifle, and hitting him with it.
The Doctor shook his head and tut-tutted at the unconscious guard.
"You really should check first to see if someone's actually afraid of dying," he said, throwing the weapon away and taking his comm unit. He placed it in his ear and listened to the chatter. "Interesting, someone else is rocking the boat."
Then, he heard that voice and he forgot about rescuing anyone or escaping; he knew what he wanted to do.
He looked back at that door, could still feel the thing inside. He shuddered, his skin crawling…..that thing was an abomination, and it unsettled him, right to his core, even more so than Jack Harkness.
But for now, it had to wait. It wasn't going anywhere.
Now, all he wanted was to find him, find him before anyone else. The only vengeance satisfied here would be his.
Jack let the body of the guard fall to the floor, and was already looking for another threat.
They had been making steady progress, but were now facing more resistance and were taking more casualties, human and non-human.
He stopped to listen to the comm. chatter, and then heard White Coat's voice and then another voice.
*******************
White Coat was yelling orders down the phone.
"Have those crated up and taken to the south hangar, and be careful with them, very careful."
He spoke into his comm. "Has anyone found my property yet?"
He waited for a reply, and when it came, it wasn't one of his guards.
"Haven't you learnt yet, I'm nobody's property," the voice of the Doctor said.
"Ah, very clever, you're an accomplished actor, but you still belong to me."
The voice at the other end of the line laughed, but it was a laugh that held no amusement. "Think that while you can, because I found your little….experiment, and I'm coming for you."
Jack listened to the conversation. The voice sounded like the Doctor, but it sounded cold and dispassionate. He couldn't stay quiet any longer, and broke into the conversation.
"Doctor, it's me, Jack, don't do anything stupid, tell me where you are. I'll find you. We can take this bastard down together."
There was an unsettling silence before the Doctor spoke again. "Sorry, Jack, not this time. You get one warning, stay away from him, he's mine. Try to stop me, and you'll regret it."
The Oncoming Storm had arrived.
The Oncoming Storm had arrived.
The Oncoming Storm had arrived.
Jack didn't reply. He'd never been directly threatened by the Doctor, but in that moment, he felt like his life was in danger and the Doctor sounded far too much like the alien he was.
"Sorry, Doctor, I can't let you," he eventually said.
"Captain Harkness, stay away, no more warnings," the Doctor said, and there was the hiss of static.
Jack's head dropped, and as he stood amongst the fighting and the gunfire, his world shrank to a small bubble as he realised what had just happened.
Chapter Twenty-One
White Coat listened to the conversation between the Doctor and Jack. Interesting, perhaps he could use this animosity to his advantage.
The fact his property had got into the Alpha section proved that the machine hadn't worked. It was time for cruder methods.
He switched off his comm and spoke to one of the guards, handing him a metallic card. "Go to the vault, bring back the collar, hurry," he said, and watched as the guard ran off.
He turned to the other guards. "You, go to level thirteen, release the pack, and let them hunt these intruders down. You two, wait with me, I believe my property will come to me."
He turned his comm back on. "Are you still there, Captain Harkness. I just wanted you to know, when my property comes to me, you will never see me or it again, understood."
Jack snapped out of his little bubble when he heard that voice again, the same arrogant tone.
He boiled with anger. "Listen, you twisted son of a bitch, you lay one more finger on him, and I swear I'll hunt you down, and make you suffer in ways you can't imagine."
"Such feelings, Captain, for someone who's just threatened to kill you, in so many words. It might be best, if you retreat now Captain, before it's too late."
"Don't give me advice," Jack snarled down the comm., and then he heard a chillingly familiar noise.
"Like I said, go now, before it's too late. Oh, dear, it already is."
The Doctor had ripped the comm from his ear. He didn't want to listen to Jack anymore, he only wanted White Coat.
He walked along the empty corridor, and as he approached another door, he heard banging. He walked up to the door and knocked on the metal.
A muffled voice replied. "Hello, is there someone there? Do you have a pass card? Can you open the door, it seems to be locked, and it's getting rather smokey in here."
"That depends, do you work in the Alpha Section?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes, have you been sent by White Coat?"
"Not exactly, and yes, I do have a pass card, but I'm not unlocking the door. At a guess, you have about twenty minutes to make peace with whatever god or gods you do or don't believe in. If your lucky, the smoke will kill you first, if not, never mind."
"No, please, wait, who are you?!" the voice shouted.
"I am Vengeance, I am Death," the Doctor said, and walked away, ignoring the muffled shouting and the frantic banging of the door.
It had been easy to start a fire: all those chemicals, and just one match.
Susan and Sarah stopped, and the little group stopped too.
"Can you smell smoke?" Susan said, sniffing the air.
Sarah and the others followed suit, and they all nodded.
"We'll have to go back, there's a fire escape back down the corridor. It's only a ladder, but it lead to the main hangar, and the way out," Susan said.
"How do you know that?" Sarah asked.
"I've been here long enough to gain some trust, I've studied the schematics of this place. I know every inch."
Sarah smiled. "Lead on."
Jack thought he'd never hear that sound again. It still haunted his dreams, and he knew what was coming.
"Gwen, Martha, Ianto, fall back!" he yelled. "Pak-Dai, tell them to retreat, they can't fight what's coming."
"Jack, what is it?" Gwen shouted, and then there came that awful noise, and the sound of people dying.
"Don't argue, get everybody out, get back to the camp, you stand a better chance there!"
"What the bloody hell is that?!" Ianto shouted as a heaving mass engulfed one of their hairy allies, who fell in silent agony.
"Bloody hell!" Gwen said and started moving back towards the ruined blast door, dragging Martha with her.
They passed Jack, who was going the other way.
"What are you doing!?" she yelled.
"I'm going to find the Doctor. Go,those things will eat anything that's alive, go!" he yelled, and before they could protest, he was off, heading towards the heaving mass.
******************
"Move!" Ianto yelled and pushed Martha and Gwen in front of him, and watched as they were surrounded by the fleeing tribesmen.
As the mass group flowed out into the night, he darted behind a large rock, and watched, breath held, as the heaving mass of whatever they were flowed across the ground, pursuing the fleeing people.
He waited until both the tribesmen, along with Martha and Gwen, pursued by those things had gone into the night.
He ran back inside the hangar, and through the ruined blast door. He wasn't going to let Jack face an insane Time lord alone, not this time.
The little group of scientists had been diminished to about eight, as several had been unable to keep up the climb, and had fallen to an uncertain fate.
The remaining scientists were now trying to climb as fast as they could, the smell of smoke, had turned into smoke.
"How much further?" Sarah asked, between coughs.
"Not far, about two hundred feet," Susan replied.
The little group kept climbing, unaware of the drama unfolding above and below them.
The Doctor walked away from the door, the smoke didn't bother him, and neither did the sounds coming from behind the door.
He could feel the heat of the fire on his back. "Oh, less than twenty minutes then," he said, and shrugged his shoulders.
A flash of guilt ran through him, as the voices stopped, followed by the silence of death. It was pushed aside, by his thirst for vengeance, not over Martha, not anymore, but for what he'd seen and felt in that room.
Those people had willingly taken part in something that even the Daleks would consider wrong. That was enough in his mind to justify the way they died, and that was what he would tell himself.
He placed the comm back in his ear, hoping to find out where White Coat was, but the chatter was all about the incursion up above.
He went to turn the comm off when he heard a sound that he thought had been left behind, under the now destroyed volcano, and then he heard the sounds of people dying.
That sound still chilled his blood, and a little more guilt ate at the storm inside.
He couldn't just ignore it, could he?
Jack had just passed a door marked emergency shaft A when he heard someone cough. He back-tracked and kicked the door inwards.
He was greeted by various cries of alarm and surprise, and a woman's voice.
"Bloody hell, Captain! Do want us all to fall off this ladder?!"
He looked and saw a face he didn't expect to see: Susan Jefferies. He stepped to one side, allowing Susan, followed by Sarah, and eight other people to cram onto the small landing.
"Sarah, Susan, thank god. Is this all of you?" he asked.
"The others wouldn't come," Sarah said. "I think they're dead, there was smoke."
Jack nodded. "Where have you come from?"
"Alpha section level, it's where the ladder starts. Each level has its own escape route."
Jack stepped onto the ladder. "Get them out of here, this place is burning."
"Where are you going?" Sarah asked.
"To find a friend," Jack said, and started down the ladder.
White Coat examined the collar. It was a crude but effective device, even more so, now that he'd made some adjustments. It would still be painful, but no matter. Control was his concern.
He looked up and about twenty or so guards came running up.
"Is this all that is left?" he said. The good Captain was very efficient at killing.
"Fine, then come with me, I need to find my property before he finds me."
The Doctor decided that White Coat wasn't in this section, so he swiped the card through another door, and started walking down another corridor.
He passed another large door, but this time, something made him stop, a tickling at the back of his mind.
Whatever it was, it didn't feel like the other thing, it felt like…. it couldn't be.
He couldn't open the door fast enough, and when it opened, he saw it. There it was, something he thought destroyed by the volcano… and it was calling to him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Doctor stared at the object in front of him. It couldn't be. He took a step forward,but stopped, wary of the voice in his head telling him to touch the glowing sphere.
The sphere glowed brighter, and it became hypnotic. In fact, he was so entranced by it, he never heard the sound of boot steps.
Ianto watched from his hiding place as the group of scientists walked by. He waited until they were out of sight before approaching the emergency exit door.
He opened it slightly and could hear Jack climbing down. Wait, he thought, wait as long as you can.
Martha looked on in shock, watching the heaving mass flow across the ground like a wave of death.
"Martha, get down," Gwen hissed before turning to Pak-Dai. "Are they ready?"
Pak-Dai nodded and waved a flaming torch in the air.
The silence was broken by the sound of many arrows flying through the air.
Martha watched as the huge net that was attached to the arrows spread itself and dropped onto the heaving mass. The mass of creatures now started to panic, and individual creatures tried to escape the net, only to be skewered by a waiting spear.
Martha turned away, unable to watch the slaughter.
A hand touched her shoulder a few minutes later. "It's done," Pak-Dai said. "We're going to move back to the tunnels."
"Well, I'm not, not without the others, nor will Gwen," she said.
Pak-Dai sighed. "I promised the Doctor that if he got you out, I'd make sure you were safe. So, I'll apologise now."
Martha whipped round and tried to back away as she saw two tribesmen approaching, but was grabbed by another behind her and was virtually carried towards the camp.
A few minutes later, a struggling Gwen was carried past.
"I'm sorry, I really am," he said. "I hope you get out, my friends," he said, and walked back towards the already breaking camp.
White Coat had been surprised when he heard the beep from his mobile. He looked at the screen; someone had entered the chamber. It could only be one thing: his property.
"Oh, well done," he said. He gestured to the guards. "With me, my property has entered the chamber."
Jack stopped a few rungs from the bottom of the ladder. Were those footsteps he heard? He strained to hear. Yes, someone was climbing down.
He quickly jumped the last few feet and slipped through the door and waited.
He could hear the footsteps getting louder, heard whoever it was step off the ladder. He tensed as the door opened, and when the person stepped out, he reached out and pulled the figure violently out of the door.
"Hey, it's me!" a familiar voice said, making Jack let go quickly.
"Ianto, what the hell? I told you to get out."
Ianto rubbed his shoulder. "I wasn't going to let you face him, not alone."
"Ianto, if he's over the edge, you'll be a target."
"I know that, but I can't….."
His words were cut off by a long, drawn out cry that echoed down the corridor.
"That sounds like…" Ianto said.
"The Doctor!" Jack finished his sentence, and the two ran in the direction of the cry.
The Doctor had been so entranced by the light and the voice that he never noticed the figure in the white coat walk up behind him.
He didn't notice until he heard something click shut against his neck. He blinked, tried to look down, but found he couldn't.
"It's very hypnotic, isn't it?" a voice that froze his hearts said, and White Coat stepped up to stand next to him.
"It must be something special to survive that volcano, as are you. We've been studying it ever since, but it's been dormant, until you came along, that it. You seem to have woken it up, how interesting, what a pity I won't be able to study it."
White Coat turned to one of the guards. "Get the portable transmat, and be quick, this place is finished."
He turned back to the Doctor and took out a small device and smiled when he saw the Doctor flinch. "Good, you remember this, then you'll remember the pain," he said, and twisted a small dial.
The Doctor fell to his knees, and a cry of pain escaped his lips.
"Remember, disobedience equals pain," White Coat said, and went to twist the dial again when the room filled with gunfire.
Jack and Ianto had slowed to a walk and were glad of the smoke, when a guard appeared out of a door and ran in the other direction. They heard the murmur of voices, and carefully approached the open door.
Jack risked a look round the open door and saw guards and a glowing sphere. He then saw White Coat, and the last thing he saw was the Doctor on his knees, spine stiffened as if in pain.
He flattened against the wall. "Ianto, watch for that guard," he whispered.
Ianto nodded. "Be careful," he whispered.
Jack smiled and counted to a silent three, whipped round the corner, and opened fire.
White Coat pushed his property to the ground and dove behind the sphere. The fire fight went on for several minutes before there was silence.
"Enough!" Jack shouted. "Let the Doctor go!"
"I don't think so," White Coat said, as he moved from behind the sphere. "I'd take a look behind you, Captain."
Jack chanced a look round, and he dropped his weapon.
Ianto was standing in the doorway, a gun held to his head, an apology on his face.
When Jack saw who held the gun, his face fell. "Sarah?"
"Excellent timing, doctor, please join us. Captain, have you met my Chief Researcher."
Sarah pushed Ianto forward, and once the remaining guards had secured both Ianto and Jack, she joined White Coat.
"Sorry, Captain, you really shouldn't be so trusting," she said, and walked over to the still kneeling Doctor. "You had to use the collar, I see, never mind, it will help with conditioning. I see that's working, it's a shame we can't take it with us, but we do have him."
"Quite, but we don't have the time for socialising," White Coat said, as the guard returned, pushing a large metal box on a trolley.
"Good, set it up," he said, and turned back to the Doctor. "There's only one thing wrong with vengeance, it has a bitter aftertaste."
He turned to Ianto and Jack. "I told you, Captain, my property stays my property, and you will not see him again. But just as insurance against you trying."
White Coat took the hand gun from Sarah, aimed it at Ianto, and fired.
"No!" Jack cried as Ianto went down, dead before he even touched the floor, and as Jack went to move, White Coat fired again and fire passed through Jack's leg.
"A lesson, Captain, in vengeance, always make sure you hold the advantage. Time for us to go, goodbye Captain," he said, and motioned to one of the guards.
A light began to engulf all but Jack, who was cradling Ianto's lifeless body.
The last thing he saw was the Doctor, still on his knees, tears falling in silent sorrow, and then the room was empty.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jack looked down at Ianto, vision blurred by tears and blood loss: tears for the loss of the one who knew he was loved, and tears for the one who would never know.
He blinked at the brightness in the room. So, this is it he thought, the bright light you were supposed to walk into.
He pressed Ianto's face to his as his life ended and he embraced death.
"Really, Captain, please try not to bleed over the shiny white floor," a voice said.
Jack's eyes snapped open, but he shut them again, blinded by the whiteness. He shook his head; he must be hallucinating.
"No, you're not seeing or hearing things, this place really is that white, and I am talking to you."
"Am I dead?" Jack finally said.
"Technically, yes, but in reality no, but if thinking your dead helps, then you're dead," the voice said.
Jack opened his eyes and saw a figure silhouetted against the light…it looked like an…."Is this heaven?"
"Hardly, I suppose you could call this the waiting room. This is the minutes between the end of life, and the beginning of death, specifically Mr Jones over there."
The figure pointed over his shoulder, and lying on a white marble slab was Ianto.
Jack was by his side in seconds, staring down at the clean, neat hole in his forehead.
"Gunshot wounds are so messy, don't you think. But I digress, neither you nor Mr Jones should be here. My employer, shall we call him, isn't happy. Some important plans have had very big spanners put in their workings."
Jack frowned. "We shouldn't be dead?"
"Mr Jones here shouldn't be dead, and you, Captain Jack Harkness, are a very big spanner in a very large machine. Still, no matter, I have a question for you, and before you reply, there will be a price to pay, whatever your answer. Do you understand?"
Jack looked at Ianto, and then at the figure. "I understand."
The figure seemed to pause. "I wonder if you really do?"
Jack was getting irritated. "Just ask me the question."
The figure sighed. "Very well, do you want them back?"
Excuse me?" Jack said.
"Do you want Mr Jones alive, back from the dead, and the Doctor returned to you?"
"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Jack snarled.
"Really, Captain, lies are a completely different department. The offer is genuine, but it will only be offered once. Well, what do you say?"
"Yes, give them back to me."
"Are you sure, once accepted or refused, there's no going back."
"Yes," Jack said.
"Whatever the price?" the figure said.
"I don't care, I'll pay it," Jack said.
The figure looked up, as if listening to someone. "He did agree. Yes, I understand."
The figure looked down at Jack. "Very well, when the price is paid, I'll see you again."
Jack looked at the figure, but it was gone, and the light was getting brighter, but it was getting colder.
Martha sat by the fire, but she didn't feel any of its warmth. But the cold wasn't anything to do with the wind-whipped snowstorm.
She looked up as Gwen approached and sat beside her. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Not really, do you think they'll come back?"
Gwen forced a smile. "Of course they will, those three, they're survivors."
"I hope so," Martha said and stared into the fire, trying not to listen to the wind outside.
Jack opened his eyes, and found himself in a snowstorm. He sat up, and felt someone besides him….Ianto, but he could feel only one person; there was no Doctor.
He searched and found a pulse point, and his heart leapt. He was alive.
But where was the Doctor…that bastard had lied.
"Where is he, you said you were giving him back to me, and now we're going to freaking freeze to death!" he yelled at the sky.
He pulled Ianto closer to him, determined to keep him alive. He didn't see the hairy figure until it was right on him. But when he saw it, he smiled.
Martha and Gwen looked up at the sound of someone running.
Pak-Dai burst into the room. "You are not going to believe this," he yelled. "Come on!" he said, and did a handbrake turn and ran out of the room, closely followed by the two women.
The gates of the monastery were swinging open, and Martha peered through the snow. Out of the whiteness came a figure, a very familiar figure, in a military coat.
"Jack!" Gwen cried and ran forward, but stopped when one of their furry allies carried Ianto through the gates.
"Is he?" she said.
"No, just out of it," Jack replied, watching as Ianto was carried inside.
Martha looked behind Jack, he smile faltering when she saw nothing but snow. "Jack, where's the Doctor?"
Jack said nothing, but kept walking towards the door.
"Jack, where is he?" Martha repeated, running after him. She grabbed hold of his arm. "Jack?"
Jack wrenched his arm from her grip. "Not now, Martha," he said.
But Martha persisted grabbed his arm again. "Jack, where is the Doctor?"
Jack rounded on her, his eyes hard with restrained anger. "White Coat took him, he's gone."
Martha let go of his arm, letting him go after Ianto, leaving her standing in the snow, a shocked Gwen next to her.
"No, please, not again," Gwen whispered.
"We have to find him!" Martha yelled after him as he closed the door.
******************
Jack sat next to Ianto, watching his chest rise and fall, and he wondered if his soul would be dammed for the price he paid.
He was still sitting beside Ianto when he heard shouting outside, and then he heard that sound.
There was no other sound like it, not anywhere in the universe….the TARDIS!
He ran out of the room, and into the courtyard, just as that wonderful blue wooden box opened, and out stepped the other love of his life, pale, vivid marks around his neck, but still here.
*******************
The Doctor sat by the fire, staring into the flames.
"I don't really know what happened. One minute, Ianto was dead, you were shot, and I had that damn thing round my neck. The transmat went off, and the next thing I knew, I was inside the TARDIS, minus the jewellery. I wonder how that happened?" he said, looking at Jack.
Jack looked at the Doctor."I don't know," he lied. "And I guess we never will. I'm just glad to have the both of you back."
They sat in silence after that, watching the fire, bathing in the warmth of friendship.
*****************
It had been a few month since the mountain, and Jack saying goodbye to the Doctor.
He'd taken Ianto away, spent some time together.
Then the 456 came, and life changed for him, forever.
**************
SIX MONTHS LATER
Jack stood on the hilltop, waiting for Gwen and Rhys. He looked up into the sky as if looking for something.
"I take it I've paid the price. My grandson is dead, my daughter hates me, and Ianto is dead, is that the price?"
But there was no bright light, no silhouetted figure telling him yes, and he wondered if he'd paid the price in full.
He looked down at the sound of a car engine in the distance. Gwen and Rhys had arrived.
He sighed; this wasn't going to be easy.
How did you say goodbye?
FINIS
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