Riley expected the worse. Taken away to a holding chamber, tied up (again), interrogated, and who knows what else. The planet was looking for aliens and here she was, found with an alien, stepping out of a very alien box after escaping from where they were holding a fake alien.
So Riley wasn't quite sure why they were being lead to a town car instead. The three climbed in the back, with the Doctor in the middle and were soon driving away. No handcuffs, no weapons trained at them. It all seemed . . .
"This is a bit posh. If I knew it was going to be like this, being arrested, I would have done it years ago," Rose said in a surprise, relieved by how things were going.
"I'm with you," Riley chuckled. "I cannot wait to see what our cells look like." She winked at Rose.
"We're not being arrested, we're being escorted," the Doctor clarified before giving both girls a boyish grin.
"Escorted where?"
"Where'd you think? Downing Street." He let out a big laugh, causing both girls to grin at each other.
"You're kidding," Rose smiled, hardly believing it.
"I'm not."
"10 Downing Street?" Riley asked, "Where the Prime Minister lives?"
"That's the one."
Rose let out a laugh, looking out the window before turning back to the two, filled with excitement. "I'm going to 10 Downing Street!" she paused, turning a bit more serious. "How come?"
"I hate to say it, but Mickey was right. Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, er, noticed."
"So they know who you are?" Riley asked, looking between the Doctor and the entourage that were following them. The sirens were still turned on and Riley wondered just how many surrounded them. "They know you're an alien?"
"Well . . . yes. Like it said on the news. They're gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest expert of the lot?" he smiled proudly at the girls.
Rose paused. "Patrick Moore?"
The Doctor looked deeply offended. "Apart from him."
"Oh, don't you just love it," Rose laughed, also putting a smile on Riley's face.
"I'm telling you. Lloyd George, he used to drink me under the table. Who's the Prime Minister now?" he asked the girls.
"How should I know? I missed a year."
Riley thought for a bit. "It's Harold Wilson, right? Though, I don't keep up with politics that much."
Rose and the Doctor laughed, causing Riley to give a half smile. She was actually serious, wasn't it some bloke named Harold? Though, knowing her knowledge about politics, she could be wrong, and often was. Maybe she got the name mixed up with a football player.
The sirens grew louder as they traveled to 10 Downing Street. The roads were barricaded off but let the convoy through with a mere flash of a badge. As the car stopped in front of 10 Downing, Riley could hear a bombardment of cameras and reporters speaking rapidly. The three got out of the car, the Doctor waving in excitement, and the reporters starting asking questions, mainly who they were to begin with. Riley gave a small wave but was still a bit nervous and excited. Mainly nervous though, the military and police presence on the street was in full force and Riley still wasn't sure if the trio was walking into danger.
They were escorted into 10 Downing, with the door closed immediately behind them, cutting off the street noise. The place was packed to the brim. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, rushing around the rooms, typing frantically on keyboards, or yelling into phones. Riley noticed the phones and computers looked sleeker and more compact. Most likely top of the line technology that was yet to be offered to civilians. More military personnel, similar to the ones at the hospital, were stationed throughout the building, a constant reminder of the severity of the situation.
The trio was ushered into a room full with high ranked military personnel, politicians, and other people who looked important. Riley felt out of place amongst everyone in suit and ties but at least the Doctor and Rose were similarly dressed down. If this was where all of the experts in alien knowledge were brought, there sure were a lot of them. At least more than Riley would have imagined. And these seemed like sane people, not dissolutional fanatics that wore tin foil on their heads. Everyone in the room was talking, or arguing in some cases, making the whole situation more tense.
"Ladies and gentlemen, can we convene?" a man spoke over the noise as he entered the room. "Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right, and can I remind you ID cards are to be worn at all times."
People began to shuffle out of the room as the conversations ceased. The man came up to the Doctor, handing him a card attached to a chain. "Here's your ID card. I'm sorry, your companions don't have clearance."
"I don't go anywhere without them," the Doctor answered as he took the card, placing it over his head. Riley was immensely surprised. A full blown world-wide emergency and the Doctor thought of them?
"You're a code nine, not them. I'm sorry, Doctor." The man got a little starstruck, releasing who exactly he was speaking to. "It is the Doctor, isn't it? They'll have to stay outside."
But the Doctor persisted. "They're staying with me." He started to usher both of them out but was interrupted by the man.
"Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there. I can't let them in and that's a fact."
"It's alright, you go," Rose said to the Doctor.
Riley nodded, not wanting to cause any trouble. She felt like she attracted enough attention today and didn't want to get anymore. "We'll be fine here, don't let us hold you up."
"Excuse me." A woman walked up to the group, interrupting them. Though she hardly seemed nervous or timid, instead inserting herself into the conversation. "Are you the Doctor?"
The man, ID card guy as Riley called him, seemed severely agitated, physical looking annoyed. "Not now, we're busy. Can't you go home?"
"Not terribly busy," Riley spoke up to the man, not liking his tone. "We're still not exactly sure why we're here."
"You're not supposed to be here," he pointed to Riley, causing her to swat his hand away. "You just came along with the Doctor."
"I just need a word in private," the lady insisted, not backing down.
But the man wasn't having any of it. "You haven't got clearance, now leave it!" He turned from her, focusing on Riley and Rose. Riley looked around, just then noticing that the Doctor had left. How could she have missed him? "I'm going to have to leave both of you with security."
He started to escort them to some military personnel when the lady spoke up again. "It's alright, I'll look after them. Let me be of some use," she smiled at the man and girls. The man didn't look like he much cared and the lady motioned for Rose and Riley to follow her. "Walk with me." She kept on smiling, a bit too hard in Riley's opinion, very forced. "Keep walking," she encouraged them, exiting the room and looking straight ahead. "That's right." Rose glanced back to the man, wondering if she should really be following this stranger. "Don't look around," the lady smiled, causing Rose and Riley to jump. They kept on walking when the lady took out a badge, holding it up to show to the girls. "Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North."
She lead them to the front of the house, not so close to the military personnel and other politicians. Riley kept on wanting to look back but now the women, Harriet, seemed nervous. Maybe nervous wasn't the right word, almost frightened?
"This friend of yours, he's an expert, is that right?" Harriet asked the girls. Riley noticed her strong persona quickly deteriorating but she was trying to keep it together. "He-he knows about aliens?"
Rose, on the other hand, seemed skeptical, not fully trusting the lady. "Why do you want to know?"
Harriet opened her mouth to answer, trying to find the words but it seems she finally cracked, her lips trembling as she held back a sob. Riley immediately placed a hand on her shoulder. "Harriet, what's wrong?" she softly asked. But Harriet started crying, covering her face trying to hold back the tears. Riley looked to Rose for help, who looked just as dumbfounded as her but also tried to console the women.
"Harriet, what happened? Did you," Riley looked around, making sure no one was in earshot. "Did you see any aliens, something strange?"
She didn't answer but instead lead them down another hall, looking back behind them every so often to make sure she wasn't followed. A sense of dread started rising up in the pit of Riley's stomach. If the aliens were inside 10 Downing Street, that was not good.
They stopped inside a board room, filled with exquisite mahogany furniture and heirlooms. Riley was surprised how fancy the room was decorated, wondering just how extravagant other rooms in the house were. Harriet stopped in front of a wardrobe, taking a deep break before opening the door and reaching inside. Then, she pulled out . . . a suit? Well, not a suit and tie type of suit but something looking like a Halloween costume. If you desired to dress as a large, middle-aged, white man. Not very original. Especially since it had an odd zipper along the forehead. Was this some sort of new show Riley wasn't aware of?
As Harriet placed the suit over the chair, the smell hit Riley. It smelled like . . . well, death, or at least something that was decomposing. Riley hesitantly reached out and touched the face, only to find that it felt like actual skin, almost as if someone pulled off an outer layer of a human. She looked over the suit. The hair, fingernails, everything about it seemed real. But it couldn't be, right?
"They turned the body into a suit. A disguise for the thing inside!" Harriet explained, fear starting to set in again. As she held back a sob, Rose took ahold of her shoulders.
"It's alright, we believe you." Rose, like Riley, looked extremely worried. Whoever, or whatever alien, did this was not only invading the earth but had already started killing people. And they're inside 10 Downing Street.
"You've seen something like this before?" Riley asked Rose, hoping she had some idea who exactly they were dealing with.
"No, not exactly. But it's definitely alien." As she started to look around the room, Riley gently placed a hand on Harriet's back, trying to calm her down. "They must have some serious technology behind this. If we could find it, we could use it."
"They would need some sort of device, be able to modify their body to fit into this . . ." Riley gestured to the suit, not wanting to say the word skin. At one point this was a person and now they were like a rag.
This day just keeps getting worse.
"Exactly, they may have something stashed away," Rose explain, looking through drawers and behind curtains. "If we can find it, we can show it to the Doctor then he can—oh!"
Rose shouted as she opened a wardrobe, finding a man who immediately fell to the floor. The man didn't move as Harriet and Riley rushed over to check on him.
"Oh my God! Is that the . . .?" Rose trailed off as Riley gently rolled him over to his front. She first checked his eyes, not seeing the pupils constrict, then placed her fingers against his neck, trying to find some sort of pulse but it was silent. The skin was cold and felt very similar to the suit.
Okay, so that was the second dead person she touched in less than 2 minutes.
"He's dead," Riley breathed, looking up at Harriet and Rose.
"Harriet, for God's sake!" a man yelled from the door entrance, walking over to the girls with a fierce look. Riley immediately stood up, looking at the man with wide eyes. Being found with a dead body is another event she did not plan for today. "You cannot just wander." Then he stopped dead, looking at the man on the floor. "Oh, my God. That's the Prime Minister!"
"Oh!" Another voice sounded from the doorway, her body covered in the shadow. "Has someone been naughty?" She sounded sinister, almost gleeful as she slowly entered the room and shut the door behind her. Something seemed off about the lady, like she was hiding something. No sane person would walk into a room with the, recently discovered, dead Prime Minister and have that short of reaction.
"That's not possible," the man breathed, looking shocked as he glanced between the Prime Minister and women. "He left this afternoon – the Prime Minister left Downing Street. He was driven away!"
Harriet gently placed a hand on Rose, holding her back some and Riley had the urge to do the same to the man. He stood too close to the lady, too trusting.
"And who told you that? Hmm?" the women asked, walking towards them. She seemed pleased, like a cat who just caught a mouse. She stopped in front of the man, dropped the purse to the floor. "Me," she smiled cheerfully, looking delighted at the revelation.
Then, the women slowly ran her hand across her forehead, unzipping some sort of seam. She then proceeded to pull off her skin, literally, pulling it down over her head and showing a green alien thing emerging. It was an alien, a real life (definitely not pig) alien! A blue glow shone across the room as she shredded her skin, electricity shooting out between the human skin and the rest of her body. The green figure was large, much larger than the previously shorter women, with big black eyes and great arms and claws the size of a small child.
As she stepped out of the skin, standing to her full height, the four could only stare. Riley thought she was in shock, not quite believing what was in front of her eyes. But there it was.
Then she noticed the alien pulling back one of her arms.
Without thinking Riley reached out and jerked the man back, the alien's arm barely missing and instead hitting air. They both stumbled back onto Rose and Harriet, tripping over the Prime Minister as the alien let out a roar in frustration. She went to strike again when lighting seemed to encase her entire body, causing her to stop mid motion and yell in pain.
Riley and Rose wasted no time. They grabbed the man's and Harriet's hands, rushing past the alien and out of the room. They ran down the hallways, trying to find a place to hide or at least a group of people. Where were the military boys when you needed them?
They were far from the room when Harriet stopped them. "No, wait!" she halted. "They're still in there. The emergency protocols, we need them!"
Riley and Rose glanced at each other, looks of disbelief on both of their faces as Harriet started to rush back to the room.
"I'm getting out of here," the man yelled, heading in the opposite direction.
Both girls ignored the man and rushed to follow Harriet, only to hear an odd growl. As Riley turned the corner, she found that the alien had indeed gotten out of the force field thing and started rushing after them!
Harriet yelled as the girls started sprinting through the corridors. Riley and Rose trying to close doors to slow the alien down but she merely charged through them, sending splinters flying through the air. They still hadn't found any police or military officers, much to Riley's annoyance. Where the hell was everyone?
Rose rushed ahead, going to open a door only to find it locked. As she banged against it, trying to get it to open Riley heard a 'ding' and turned around. Low and behold the Doctor was there, in the lift, smiling as the alien put up her arms and screeched at him. Riley pulled on Harriet and Rose, leading them into an adjacent, and open, doorway as the alien was distracted.
They rushed through another door, only to find it was a room instead of a hallway. Rose tried another door, finding that one locked as well.
"Can you find a door that isn't locked?" Riley yelled, closing the door behind them. They were stuck in the room, there was no other way out.
"Hide!"
Rose rushed around, hiding behind a chest. Harriet and Riley both went by the window, behind a folding screen and curtains. They all tried to calm their breathes, Riley placed a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. She hadn't run this fast in quite a long time.
It wasn't long before they heard the alien enter the room. She crept in, quietly laughing as she walked inside. "Oh, such fun. Little human children, where are you?" she taunted. Riley would have retorted, not like being talked to like that, if she wasn't so terrified. "Sweet little humeykins, come to me. Let me kiss you better. Kiss you with my big, green lips," she laughed.
Out of the corner of her eye, Riley saw Rose move from her hiding spot. She hoped the alien didn't spot her, that was a risky move.
And then, she heard more.
"My brothers," the alien happily greeted. Riley could hear more aliens enter the room, seemingly friendly with the lady. Just how many aliens were in this building?
"Happy hunting?"
"It's wonderful," the alien purred, moving around the room. "The more you prolong it, the more they stink."
"Sweat and fear."
"I can smell an old girl. Stale bird and brittle bones," one said, causing Harriet to tense. Riley lightly placed a hand on her arm. If they could smell them, this was not good. Riley could sense them getting close to their hiding places. They all held their breathe.
"A delectable fragrance, smells all crisp, fresh, and new. Her blood will be exquisite."
"And a ripe youngster," the female laughed, "all hormones and adrenalin. Fresh enough to bend before she snaps."
Riley heard Rose scream, causing her and Harriet to jump from their hiding spot. They saw one of the aliens revealing Rose behind the curtain, cornering her in the room as Harriet threw open her arms, standing in front of Riley. "No! Take me first! Take me!"
Riley looked over, seeing a chair and promptly picking it up. "Oi, green blobs! Anyone tell you you're ugly?"
The aliens looked angry and confused, not quite sure who to go after first. They had three choices this time! Should they share between themselves or claim one for each? Nobody liked seconds but there were so many flavors to try!
Then, they lost their chance. The Doctor burst into the room, holding a fire extinguisher and promptly sprayed the closest alien. "Out, with me!" he yelled as he continued to spray. Riley threw the chair towards the aliens for good measure and the girls rushed to the Doctor. Rose pulled a curtain down over one of them, causing it to trip and fall to the floor.
They looked back at the confused aliens as the Doctor did not relent until he looked over at Harriet. "Who the hell are you?"
"Harriet Jones," she answered, holding up the same badge she previously showed Rose and Riley, "MP for Flydale North."
"Nice to meet you Harriet Jones," he smiled, which Harriet promptly agreed.
The Doctor dropped the fire extinguisher to the ground and all four of them rushed out of the room. Riley could hear the aliens squeal in pain and anger but she dared not look back. They were having fun before but now they were angry. Their overall chance of escape was starting to wear thin.
"We need to head to the cabinet room," the Doctor said as they rushed down the hallways.
Harriet agreed. "The Emergency Protocols are in there. They give instructions for aliens."
"Harriet Jones, I like you."
"And I like you too."
"How can we be sure these protocols will work for these aliens?" Riley asked as they turned door another corridor. "Or is it a catch all for all types of aliens?"
"Who knows," the Doctor looked back and smiled at Riley. "Always wondered how humanity would respond to aliens, now I get to see all of their options!"
They were getting closer to the cabinet room and the Doctor turned a corner, seeing a shortcut. He took a device out of his pocket, like an oversized pen, and pointed it at the door handle. It made a unique buzzing sound and gave off a blue glow before the door unlocked and opened. They all rushed through, Rose closing the door behind her as Harriet grabbed the Emergency Protocols. Riley was about to close the only other entrance to the door but found the aliens, running to get in. The Doctor roughly pulled her back and stood in the doorframe. He held up a decanter full of alcohol and placed the oversized pen to the glass.
"One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. Whoof, we all go up. So back off," he warned. The aliens let out a growl but still took a step back.
The Doctor gave a small smile, lowering the decanter and fully standing up to the aliens. "Right then. Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"
"They're aliens," Harriet answered for them.
Still keeping the smile the Doctor glanced back. "Yes, I got that. Thanks."
"These are the Slitheen?" Riley asked, looking at the aliens. She gestured to the three of them. "These green alien blobs?"
This received a snarl from the aliens and one stepped up. "And who are you, if not human?"
Harriet spoke up again. "Who's not human?"
"He's not human," Rose answered for her, causing Harriet to glance over in panic.
"He's not human?"
Riley gave a light laugh. "I know, shocked me too when I found out."
The Doctor glanced back to the girls again. "Can I have a bit of a hush?"
"Sorry," Harriet answered, still shocked by the whole ordeal.
The Doctor turned around, paying attention to the Slitheen again. "So, what's the plan?"
"But he's got a Northern accent," Harriet whispered to Rose.
"I know, I was thinking the same thing. How can he be alien but sound like he's from the north?" Riley asked Rose.
Rose shook her head. "Lots of planets have a north."
"I said hush," he glanced back at the girls again. This time, they were all quiet. He brought the decanter up again, placing his sonic device to the side of it. "Come on. You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government. What for, invasion?"
The Slitheen looked annoyed at that question, as if the mere suggestion was ridiculous. "Why would we invade this God-forsaken rock?"
Okay, so invasion was out of the question. But if they didn't want to take over the world, what other reason would there be?
The Doctor was thinking the same thing. "Then something's brought the Slitheen race here. What is it?"
"The Slitheen race?" one asked, clearly still annoyed. This was obviously the wrong thing to say.
"Slitheen is not our species," another alien huffed. "Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen at your service."
Then it clicked for the Doctor. "So you're a family?"
"A family business," the Slitheen answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe.
The Doctor paused, thinking through the information before facing the Slitheen again. "Then you're out to make a profit. How can you do that on a God-forsaken rock?"
They growled again, not wanting to give up their full plan when one of the aliens spoke up. "We're going to succeed despite the meddling of you and your time agent, Doctor!" he hissed, causing the Doctor to look on in confusion.
"Time agent, what time agent?" he asked, looking between the three aliens.
"Don't play stupid," one of the Slitheen scoffed. "I clearly saw the vortex manipulator when she randomly dropped into the hospital." One of the aliens pointed directly at Riley, whose eyes widened in shock and confusion. "I was planning to snatch the device after we saw she was dead but she decided to breathe!"
"Well sorry I'm such an inconvenience to you!" Riley shouted at him, not liking how he was talking about her. Or the fact that he was accusing her of being a time agent, whatever the hell that was.
"Ah, excuse me?" another alien politely asked. "Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?
"Is that what I said?" the Doctor asked.
"Did you forget?" Riley hissed, not believing this man.
But the aliens finally figured it out. "You're making it up!"
"Ah, well," the Doctor looked a bit deflated, looking down at the decanter. He shrugged before handing the decanter back behind him. "Nice try. Harriet, have a drink. I think you're gonna need it."
But the woman just looked at the alcohol, still clutching the emergency protocols. "You pass it to the left first," she whispered.
"Sorry," the Doctor corrected, moving the decanter to the other side of him.
Riley took the alcohol. "Thanks," she whispered, still staring at the scene unfolding. Her idea of interacting with aliens was not like this, not like this in one bit. She promptly took the cap off the decanter and took a swig. She coughed after she swallowed the drink. "I hate scotch," she muttered, wiping her mouth and passing it to Rose. She blindly took the alcohol, keeping her eyes fixed on the aliens.
"Now we can end this hunt," the Slitheen purred, lighting stretching their fingers, "with a slaughter."
Riley waited for the Doctor to do something but he remained stationary, merely crossing his hands in front of his chest.
"Don't you think we should run?" Rose asked, receiving a nod from both Harriet and Riley.
"Fascinating history, Downing Street." Oh, now he was going to give them a history lesson? "Two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. 1730, it was occupied by a Mister Chicken. He was a nice man." The Doctor chuckled, still with his arms crossed and ignoring the growling and purring from the Slitheen. "1796, this was the Cabinet Room. If the Cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain. End of lesson." The Doctor then promptly lifted a panel by the door, pressing a button.
Instantly, a metal wall fell in front of the door, cutting them off from the Slitheen. Every window followed suit, locking down the room from the outside.
"Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in," The Doctor smiled, clearly pleased with himself.
Rose and Riley looked around the room, seeing all of their possible exits sealed off. "And how do we get out?" Rose quietly asked the Doctor.
He stood there, smiling at the girls as he also looked around the room before giving a firm nod. "Ah."
Clearly he hadn't thought about that part yet.
A/N: A huge THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and read this crazy story! I had no idea what people would think but am so excited that people would read this and want to know what happens next :) The updates will keep on coming!
And huge shout out to the first two reviewers! Definitely made my day when I saw these notices.
firestar92603 - Thank you so much! :) and here you go! Fresh off the press!
bored411 - I'm so glad you like it! Ah, the secret mission, that will be a very interesting reveal for both of them. As far as the Doctor's involvement in/reaction to the secret mission, well, it's way too early for those types of spoilers! ;)
Thanks again and hope to see you next time!
