Chapter Seven

The Doctor, Rose and Ianto paused at the end of the corridor. In front of them was a steel door with a numerical keypad beside it.

"Jack." The Doctor whispered.

"Jack, here."

"We found a door. You have to key in a number code to get in, but my sonic screwdriver can take care of that. Have you found anything?"

"Not yet, we just turned a corner and we're going down another hallway." Jack replied. "Other than seeing locked doors every few feet, there hasn't been much in the way of excitement. We haven't seen a single person yet."

"I know, we haven't either and that worries me." The Doctor said. "Something is up, Jack, I'm sure of it. A big facility like this would have some sort of security system in place or guards posted even if they are out in the middle of nowhere."

"You think they're all hiding behind the big metal door?" Jack asked.

"Maybe, so we're gonna be extra cautious. We didn't come this far to get nabbed."

"Well, keep me posted. If there's any hint of trouble, we'll come running back to you."

"Gotcha, over and out." The Doctor said softly.

He looked at Rose and Ianto.

"Okay, here we go, just stay close and keep your weapons at the ready and we should be alright."

Rose and Ianto nodded. They followed behind the Doctor as he hurried to the door. He pulled out his screwdriver and aimed it at the keypad and a few seconds later they heard a click and the door unlocked. The Doctor put his hand on the door handle and glanced over at Rose, who was carrying Jack's hunting knife and Ianto, who had his gun. Ianto moved beside the door and held his gun up waiting for the Doctor to open the door. Rose stood in between the two men gripping the handle of the knife.

"Ready?" the Doctor whispered.

They nodded.

The Doctor opened the door a crack trying hard not to make any noise as Rose and Ianto tensed their bodies ready to spring into action if need be. The Doctor looked at Ianto who nodded and after a moment's pause, he opened it quickly and Ianto quickly ran in holding his gun out. The Doctor and Rose looked in and when they saw no one was in sight, they lowered their weapons.

"All clear again." The Doctor whispered.

They heard the sounds of machinery floating up the corridor. Ianto looked back at the Doctor and Rose.

"I'll go first since I have the gun." He said.

They nodded and slipped inside behind Ianto. The Doctor closed the door and locked it with his sonic screwdriver. They looked at each other and the Doctor nodded. Ianto held his gun out in front of him as they slowly walked down the corridor following the sounds. As they walked, the Doctor glanced around them and frowned. He had trouble believing that Torchwood wouldn't leave their hallways undefended like this. That fact gnawed at his mind and he sighed knowing they were probably walking into a trap. It was too late to turn back now though. If they had been spotted, they probably would have sent guards to the ladder to prevent their escape. He considered contacting Jack and telling him his suspicions, but decided to wait until he was sure they were alone.

After a few minutes, they turned a corner and saw an open door at the end of the corridor. They could hear the machine sounds clearly and now they could pick out the scattered voices of men and women as well.

Well, we finally managed to locate some people around here. The Doctor thought.

Pressing up against the wall, they crept down the corridor keeping their eyes peeled for any danger. Reaching the end, they saw the door led out onto a metal catwalk far above the activity below. Quietly, the Doctor and his companions crept out onto the catwalk keeping their eyes on the floor below. Several men and woman went about their business unaware that they were being watched from above. The Doctor looked past them and noticed a partially dismantled spaceship in the corner of the huge, white room. Three men and a woman moved up and down the spaceship's entrance ramp going into and out of it and a couple of people were off to the side taking off parts of it with blowtorches and hammers. The Doctor shook his head wondering if Torchwood had more people dismantling the spaceship's crew in the same manner.

He looked over and noticed Rose and Ianto were giving him questioning looks. He gestured ahead of them with his screwdriver and they continued silently along the catwalk. As they walked, the Doctor looked around them and noticed someone wheeling a cart filled with alien technology out of the room. There were a couple of employees with clipboards in their hands talking and gesturing back to the spaceship.

"Brian, do you have the specs on that Klantarian Death Ray?" Someone shouted below them.

They watched as the man who had shouted the question walked up to a fair-haired gentleman, took some paperwork from his hands, thanked him and walked towards the exit.

Looking around, the Doctor estimated there were about twenty five employees in the room. He wondered how many there were in total.

"Doctor, you there?"

The Doctor winced when he heard Jack's voice. He looked up ahead and saw a shadowy spot. He and the others quickly moved to it and crouched down.

"Jack, I can't talk now." The Doctor whispered. "We're in a huge room full of people."

"We found something too. I think it's an exam room." Jack whispered back. "They have a metal table in here and medical and surgical equipment. Tosh and Owen are looking it over, but we're pretty sure they've used it for dissections because they have doctor's notes in here that talk about opening up aliens and looking at their insides and taking apart their brains and other gross stuff like that."

The Doctor sighed angrily. He looked over at Rose and Ianto and saw from the expressions on their faces that they were hearing the same thing he was.

They heard Owen's voice in the background.

"Oh gross!" Jack said.

"What?" the Doctor whispered.

"They got…pickled alien…intestines in a jar. I'm guessing they belonged to an alien because they're purple. Ugh!"

There was a pause while they heard Jack telling Owen to put the jar back.

"Anyway, that's all we've found so far. We'll let you know if something comes…"

The Doctor frowned when Jack suddenly stopped talking.

"Jack?" the Doctor whispered.

His eyes widened when he heard the sound of running in the room.

"Can't talk now, someone's coming. Gotta go!" Jack whispered quickly.

"Jack!" the Doctor hissed.

There was no answer and the Doctor cast a worried glance at Rose and Ianto.

"D'ya think they're alright?" Rose whispered.

"Dunno, I hope so." The Doctor whispered back. "Anyway, let's get going before anyone finds us."

"I'm afraid it's a bit late for that!"

Rose and Ianto jerked their heads around when a man dressed in black and wearing black makeup on his face and hands emerged from the shadows pointing a submachine gun at their heads. The Doctor put his hands up and slowly got up as Rose and Ianto did the same.

"Hello, Doctor, been expecting you." The guard said. "Now if you follow me, the man in charge wishes to have a word with you and your friends."

The Doctor sighed angrily. He, Rose and Ianto kept their arms up as they moved past the guard. He waited until the Doctor passed and then keeping his gun on their backs led them across the catwalk to a door on the other side.