The More Things Change
Part One
by
BlackFury
The man seated behind the large oak desk in the office overlooking the south side of London would have been very familiar to Darick. The man was tall and lean with a shock of white hair and a craggy face with merry looking bright blue eyes but his demeanor and attitude were anything but merry. He was angry, so angry that it didn't show unless you did look into his eyes. He plans had gone awry and he was most definitely not pleased. He pushed a button. "Miss Grant, tell James and Micheal to get in here, now." His voice was controlled, low and angry.
A frightened voice replied, "At once Mr. Johnson." Robert Johnson, owner and founder of Genetics Limited got up from his chair and was looking out of his 15th story window out over London when the door opened and the two men he had asked for entered quietly, heads down, not daring to make eye contact. Robert heard the door close and he waited, letting the silence of his disapproval be felt by the two men. Finally, he turned to look at them. He had agents in every corner of the globe and three alone in Torchwood which was how he had found out about Darick and his unique origins. He had wanted that medical file.
"Well, what went wrong?" He asked James. James finally looked up and frowned, "His nurse was still there when we tried and she saw us." Robert exploded, "Did you have to kill the young woman? You fools, I told you no one was to get hurt. NO ONE!" The two men cowered before him. Micheal looked up in surprise, "But, she could have identified us to Pete Tyler. James' cover would have been blown. We had to do something." Robert turned on him, "You fool. Now, they will take even more strigent precautions with those files and I'll never get my hands on them. You two have ruined everything!" He then reached into a drawer, drew a revolver and proceeded to shoot both men once in the chest. They were dead before they hit the floor.
He then pushed the intercom again, "Miss Grant, Clean up crew 12 in my office asap." "Yes, Sir, Mr Johnson," came the reply and five minutes later, the crew arrived and soon, it was as if nothing had happened. He pulled a file out of a cabinet near his desk and began going through it and he smiled. He pulled out three folders and went through them carefully. He then picked up his phone and made a few calls then, hung up and sat back with a smile. Hopefully, his plans had not been totally messed up by those two bunglers.
Back at Torchwood, Dr Barrowman was interviewing applicants for the position Martha had once held. This wasn't easy for him but, it had to be done. He stopped reading and leaned back in his chair, running his hands through his chestnut curls and sighing. After a few minutes, he got himself a cup of coffee and went back to reading. Donna came in after another ten minutes and smiled sadly. "You all right, love?" She laid her hands on his shoulders. He reached up and took her hands in his. "I'll be all right. I was just thinking that I shouldn't be doing this, not this soon." Donna smiled as she rested her chin on his head, "I know. It still doesn't make sense but, we do what we have to." David sighed, "True. I'm taking these home with me. I'll review them again later tonight. You ready to go?" She nodded, her heart breaking seeing just how hard her husband was taking all of this. Martha had been a close friend to them both and losing her this way was hard.
Darick's medical files had been moved to the Torchwood vault and a false set had been placed in David's safe in his office. Col. Micheals had men watching the Doctor's office round the clock to see who might go after them again. David and Donna locked up, nodded to the security guards and headed home. Darick was back at the mansion with Rose who was bathing Annabelle. The little girl with the fuzz of yellow hair was laughing and kicking the bubbles in the bath water as Darick watched indulgently. There were few of these times for him and Rose with what all was going on with his medical files and Martha's death.
He sat back, thinking about what had happened and how responsible he felt no matter what Rose or Pete told him. Rose knew from her husband's silence that he was going over things in his mind. Once Annabelle had been put in her crib for the night, Rose and Darick curled up together on the chaise in the library with the log fire roaring. "Darick?" Rose asked. He smiled sadly and kissed the top of her head. "I am responsible for her death, Rose. If I hadn't come here, she'd still be alive, you know that." Rose looked at him, "No we don't, love. We don't know that you being here marked her for death, we do not know that."
Darick was quiet. In his heart he knew Rose was right. They had no way of knowing if his coming had lead directly to Martha's death or whether she would have been killed for another reason. He sighed, "I know, Rose but..." Rose stopped him, "No buts, Mister, ok? We find out who did this and why." Darick smiled, "Ok, Rose, we do this, together, right?" Rose nodded, that familiar determination back in her eyes. The Rose of old was coming back to the surface and it was good to see. Darick smiled and headed down to the dining room while Rose finished with Annabelle.
He was worried, however. Somehow he knew this was because of him, his unique make-up and DNA. He got himself a mug of coffee and went to sit in the library looking out the large picture window over the grounds. He went back in his mind and always came to the same conclusion. Someone wanted his DNA. He didn't know why they did but, he knew that was the only possible explanation to this whole scenario. He nodded to himself and then looked up as Pete came in. Darick was surprised, he thought Pete was still at Torchwood.
Pete smiled, "Figured you were in here. Still thinking it's your fault?" Darick nodded. "Someone wants my DNA, Pete and this just shows me they will do whatever they can to get it. Physically, I'm human, with only one heart and no regenerative capabliities but, I probably do have Gallifreyan DNA still within me.." He then leaned forward in the chair. "The other thing that bothers me far worse is that someone outside of Torchwood even knew about this. Pete, you have a serious security breach. One of your employees leaked information, sensitive information to someone outside of Torchwood."
Pete nodded, "I had thought of that too and I have Col. Micheals going over the entire security set up. He has my approval to make any changes he deems necessary to protect our employees and what we do." Darick nodded and sat back. "I like the Colonel, he's a good man."
Pete nodded, "He has an excellent service record. He once served in the King's own guard unit. He comes highly recommended." Then, Pete's private line rang and he picked it up, listened and hung up. He then looked at Darick. "There was another try on the file cabinet but this time, the Colonel's men got him. They're holding him now. You want to come along?"
Darick nodded, "I'll go tell Rose then I'll meet you at the car." Pete nodded as Darick sprinted upstairs. Rose insisted on coming along. Jackie said she'd watch the baby and soon, the three of them were on their way to Torchwood.
End Part One