Sorry once again for the long gap between chapters. I know I said the confrontation with the Master would be this chapter but...well the muse disagreed. It /starts/ in this chapter though! :) Should have lots of fun action-y stuff next time!


Jack joined them in the kitchen as Rose put food on the table. The trio talked as they ate, going over the intricacies of the plan and throwing out what-if scenarios so they would be prepared in case things went pear-shaped.

By the time they were leaving the flat to actually put the plan in action, Rose felt extremely prepared. She was still terrified, to be sure, but the plan was sound and she knew John and Jack would be in contact with her at all times. Jack had produced a set of earbuds that would be undetectable in a standard tech scan should the Master chose to utilize one. The tech meant her boys would be able to hear everything she said and a direct wire and a button cam ensured that every move that Saxon made, every word that he uttered, would be recorded as evidence.

The whole plan hinged on Saxon's arrogance and the fact that he expected Rose to be nothing more than a scared, simpering victim to lull him into complacency. The more he underestimated Rose, the more likely he was to incriminate himself while talking to her.

"Everyone ready?" Jack asked.

"Think so," John answered, fiddling with the fit of his earbud. "Rose?"

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself and stop her hands from shaking. "Ready as I'm gonna be."

John took a long look at her and then tossed the car keys to Jack. "Go get the car started, Captain. We'll be down in a minute."

"Lock the door behind you," Jack said in response, throwing a different set of keys to the Doctor who deftly plucked them out of the air and pocketed them.

As soon as Jack disappeared, John took a step closer to Rose. "Are you sure you're okay with all of this?"

"It's our best chance of taking Saxon down," she replied.

"That's not an answer."

"Yeah, it is," she said with a wan smile. "I'm scared, yeah, but I'm going to do this anyways because I need to and you need me to."

John couldn't suppress the gentle, slightly goofy smile that appeared on his face, didn't want to. He cupped her cheek in one of his hands. "You're incredibly brave, Rose. Thank you."

Rose ducked her head, unable to meet his eyes when they were burning with sincerity and belief that she did not think she deserved. Her? Brave?

"'M not brave," she murmured. "I'm terrified."

"Doesn't mean you're not brave," John countered gently. He tipped her face up so she was looking at him again, leaving his fingers in place under her chin. "Bravery is standing up and doing the right thing even through it's not the easy thing or what most people would choose to do. It's doing what needs to be done even when you're scared to death."

Rose cracked a weak smile, trying to break the serious mood they'd fallen into. "Blimey, you could have a second job as a motivational speaker."

"You're probably the only one to think that," he admitted with a smile of his own.

There was a beat of silence that stretched between them, at once fleeting and infinite as they stared at each other.

Rose trapped John's hand against her cheek and leaned into his touch. "Think I'm ready now."

He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. "Let's go take down these bastards, then."

Rose's expression hardened at his words and she gave a decisive nod as their hands dropped from her face.

They left the flat together, locking it behind them. Their hands found each other in the life, fingers entwining and the contact grounding them both. When they reached the door of the building, John gave her hand a squeeze before dropping it and pushing the door open for her to go through. From that moment on they would have to be in character for the plan, have to assume that they were being watched.

There was no further conversation as they got into the car or as they drove to a shopping center not too far from Jack's place that the Captain had insisted was perfect for their needs.

Rose let her fear rise to the surface. She needed the Master to think she was just a scared little girl and authenticity was key. Tapping into her very real fear and letting it show when all she wanted to do was tamp it down was uncomfortable but it was necessary. She was going to wear that genuine fear like a mask and hope that the knowledge that she was purposely allowing it to show and grow would help her feel braver and more in control.

She rather thought it was working as they exited the car. Her hands were shaking again and she knew she probably looked properly terrified but she felt calmer.

Rose listened with half an ear as John and Jack gave her a pretend lecture about how they were only here so she could get necessities, not so she could shop or browse for hours. To an outside eye it would look like her two protectors didn't much care about Rose or her state of mind, which is just what they wanted.

As Rose brushed by John to head into the first shop she lifted his mobile from is jacket pocket without a hitch. She was already out of sight in the women's clothing section of whatever department store she'd wandered into when his voice came through the earpiece.

"That was some very nice pickpocketing. You'll have to teach me how you did that so smoothly," John said softly.

Rose suppressed a smile and resisted answering, knowing she needed to get down to business. "Dialing the phone now," she said, barely moving her lips.

"Good luck, Rose," Jack chimed in.

She took a deep breath and focused on bringing all of her fear and worry to the forefront of her mind instead of the anger that she'd been cultivating towards the person she was calling. She punched in the familiar string of digits and waited as it rang three times before the call was answered.

"Who's this?" The voice on the other end of the line was deep and suspicious and Rose had to choke back bile at hearing it again. She'd thought she was ready but this might prove to be more difficult than she anticipated.

"Jimmy, it's me. It's Rose."

"Well, fuck. Where the hell have you been? You fucking ran out on me and you know no one leaves me," Jimmy said, voice threatening. "Calling to come running back, aren't ya, babe? If you're real good I might let you."

Rose shuddered as he talked, from both revulsion and at the first-hand knowledge of just what Jimmy considered "good behavior." She'd tried to leave once before and had had to abide by it when she'd realized there was no where she could go at that time but back to Jimmy.

"You've got this Rose. Just stick to the plan and you can be done with him forever." Jack's voice pulled her out of her memories and reminded her that she was out this time and she wasn't going back. Jimmy couldn't touch her anymore.

"'S not why I'm calling, Jimmy." She knew the slight tremble in her voice wasn't an act but hopefully John and Jack would think it was. John thought she was brave and she wanted to keep it that way even though she felt anything but.

"Then why the fuck did you ring me?"

"I need to talk to Saxon." Rose's voice was small in comparison to Jimmy's angry roar.

Her ex laughed. "Now why would someone as important as him want to talk to a nothing like you, huh?"

She took a deep breath and tried to sound as steady as possible. "Because I have information he'll want. Tell him to ring me at this number if he wants to know about the Doctor."

"Lookit you tryin' to sound all mysterious and important," he sneered. "It ain't working. Can't convince nobody when you're voice is shaking."

"I'm serious, Jimmy," she protested.

He just laughed. "Why don't you just come on back to the flat and we can talk about how much good behavior I expect from you for being gone for so long."

"I'm not coming back and unless you want to risk Saxon being upset with you, you tell him to call me."

Rose hung up as Jimmy spewed out a new round of insults and sputtered out his disbelief at her talking back to him. She'd talked back to him many times before but she usually paid for it instead of just getting to ring off.

"That was excellent, Rose," John soothed gently over the comms. "You did wonderfully. Now just keep wandering so it looks like you're avoiding us and wait for Saxon to call."

"Got it," Rose confirmed. She was a bit shaky after the call with Jimmy but she felt better now that it was over with. The Master would be more easily fooled by her act since he had almost nothing to compare her behavior to. He didn't know her tells so she didn't have to worry about suppressing them as much. He was going to expect her to be cowering and scared and that's exactly what she was going to give him.

As Rose moved into the next section of the department store, John caught Jack's eye and motioned him over. He slipped his earbud out and waited for Jack to do the same before speaking.

"That sorry excuse for a man never gets anywhere near Rose ever again," he snarled once he was sure Rose couldn't hear them. Listening to Jimmy just expect Rose to come crawling back and hearing the very real tremors in Rose's voice break through her controlled façade of fear had set his blood to boiling.

"Agreed," Jack said grimly. His jaw was clenched and John knew that he was feeling the same desire to punch the wanker's face in as he was.

They both put their earbuds back in just in time to hear Rose brush off a sales person asking if she needed assistance. They moved away from each other and started their wait.

It was Saxon's move now.

Fifteen minutes passed before the phone in Rose's hand rang. She whispered that it was time and then answered the call.

"H-hello?"

"Ah, my little elusive flower at last. How are you, Rose?"

"Saxon?"

The man whined. "Oh come now, if you've been spending time with the Doctor I'm sure you know my name." His voice hardened. "Use it."

"Master," she said the smallest voice she could manage. The man was just as disturbing as she remembered him.

"Good, excellent," he said cheerfully. "Now, I heard that you have information for me regarding a certain pesky physician."

"Yes," Rose answered quietly, letting her voice shake. So far Saxon was acting as arrogant as they had hoped. All she had to do was keep up her act and hopefully he would slip up.

"So, how is it that you're seeking me out? And from the Doctor's phone, no less! Last I hear you were under his protection."

She could hear the suspicion coloring his words and did her best to sound as scared and unsure as possible. "I heard him talking to his friend and he said that you and he were enemies and that you were tryin' to kill me and that they didn't know how to stop you."

The Master's gleeful laughter cut her off. "Oh Rose, They'll never be able to stop me. They don't even know what I'm doing."

Rose wanted to press him about what his plans were but knew it would be too obvious and would just serve to tip him off that she had an agenda. She was going to have to stroke his ego some more if she wanted to know more.

"That's what it sounded like to me," Rose said, "so I thought I should talk to the man with the power."

"You found him," he answered, oozing conceit. "What do you want?"

"To not die," Rose said on a shaky exhale.

"Isn't that what everyone wants," the Master rejoined.

"Yeah, I guess, but not everyone has a kill order out on them."

"True," he conceded with what sounded like a smile. "So what do you have fore me that could convince me to let you live and protect you from the bad people trying to kill you?"

Rose wanted to curse. He wasn't going to admit to putting the hit out on her quite that easily apparently. "Information about the Doctor and details about what he knows about you and your business." She paused, letting him consider what she might know. "Also his mobile, if you're interested in having it."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line as the Master weighed her offer. Rose worried that she had sounded too confident in making the offer and had somehow given the game away too soon.

"We have a deal, Miss Tyler, but I expect the information you have to be good, otherwise I consider it all null and void." He continued talking over her stuttered and shaky thanks. "Meet me in the warehouse two blocks from where you are now. I'll send the address to the Doctor's mobile. It should go without saying but don't let the two idiots you arrived with follow you."

"Y-yes sir." Rose answered, relieved that he was treating her like an idiot. Maybe he was buying the act after all.

"Good girl," Saxon sneered. "And, Rose, if you're playing me somehow I will know it and you will regret the fact that whoever is trying to kill you has failed thus far."

Before Rose could reply, the line went dead.

"Damn," she whispered under her breath. So much for the Master not suspecting anything, she thought.

She looked down when the mobile vibrated in her hand, indicating a new text. Trying not to move her lips, Rose read off the address that Saxon had sent her so John and Jack knew where to go.

"You doing okay still, Rosie?" Jack asked

"As good as can be expected given what's goin' on," she answered, ducking behind a rack of cookware so that no one could see her talking.

"You did great," John praised. "Almost got him to slip and admit that he was the one who ordered the hit."

"You think he suspects something?" Rose asked, worry leaking into her tone.

"Nah, that was just a scare tactic, it was," John reassured her. "He just wanted to make sure you thought twice about double crossing him in case you were thinking about calling the police or something. He still thinks you're harmless and easily manipulated."

"How do you know?"

"He wouldn't have warned you off if he thought you were an actual threat. He thinks he has you right where he wants you and so his guard will be down when you meet."

"You sure?" Rose asked uncertainly.

"Pretty sure, yeah."

"'Kay, you two just get to the meeting spot and get in place. I'll start walking that direction in a mo."

John and Jack exchanged a look as Rose's voice took on a note of steely determination as she tried to hide her fear from them.

"It really is going to be alright," Jack said as he started jogging towards the building the Master had selected and quickly scanning for guards and cameras. "John and I have your back."

Rose made a soft sound indicating that she'd heard him but said nothing.

John was no longer in Jack's line of sight but he would have bet good money that the older man looked worried as hell upon hearing Rose's non-answer. It was too late to reassure her though. Everything was in motion and there was no stopping it now. The Master was on his way and it was up to Rose to get the confession that they needed to put him away.

As he slid into position inside the warehouse, John prayed to every deity he could think of that Rose would come out of this unharmed and that taking down his old nemesis wouldn't come at the cost of the one person he'd found that he felt could actually help him become the good man she had named him.

He had promised Rose over and over again that he and Jack would protect her and he planned on keeping that promise. Their plan was solid, he was of it, but so much could still go wrong. The fact that John had no direct control over the situation meant he had to watch and listen and worry from a distance as Rose faced off with the Master, armed only with her wits.

It was much too late to try and convince himself that his protectiveness towards this woman was just his normal, professional instincts. Everything had been insane since Rose had dropped into his life, not the least of which was the sheer force and enormity of the emotions that bubbled to the surface when she was involved. Maybe it was too soon to tell if anything between himself and Rose would work out or even last past the forced closeness this crisis had created but there was no denying that he wanted there to be something. He wanted there to be some sort of future with her and it scared him more than he was quite ready to admit.

It was all too fast but it felt right all the same. They just had to make it through this and then he could see if Rose was right about the third time being the charm.

John shook himself out of his uncharacteristically sentimental train of thought and checked his surroundings one more time to ensure that he would not be visible to anyone the Master sent in to sweep the place before his arrival.

"In position," he whispered.

"Me too," Jack confirmed. "Rose, start heading this way if you haven't already. No one else has entered the building but I have eyes on a team of three that may be heading this direction."

"Is Saxon with them?" John queried once Rose had indicated that she was on her way.

"No, but I would guess he is close and will make an appearance once these guys give him the all clear." He paused. "Keep your head down, Doc. Would hate for them to injure that pretty face of yours if they spot you and get trigger happy."

"Noted," John answered dryly before going silent, anticipating the entry of the Master's goons.

"Saxon's team entering now," Jack reported. "I can also see Rose. ETA three minutes."

Rose listened to Jack's reports as she walked down the street towards the warehouse. She tugged on the hem of her jacket before wrapping her arms around herself as she walked. It wasn't just the cold that was making her shiver but she would definitely blame it on that if anyone asked.

In just a few minutes she would be face to face with what was probably one of the most dangerous men in the world if everything John and Jack had told her was true. Sure, she'd met him before but back then she'd just thought he was another sleazy friend of Jimmy's who just happened to have money. Now she knew better and had to attempt to play him.

She knew John would be in the building with her, prepared to do whatever was necessary in order to keep her safe and that Jack would be monitoring the outside of the building, ready to step in if necessary. They had her back but she knew the truth was that she was ultimately on her own as she faced off against the man who had ordered her murder and was more than likely planning on killing her, deal or no.

She'd never been more scared.

She'd never felt so powerful either.

Her boys trusted her to do this and she'd be damned if she was going to let them down. No one had to know that her fear was as genuine as her rage, that the shaking of the sheep coexisted with and fed the snarl of the wolf. She just had to play the sheep, the sacrificial lamb, for Saxon and hope that he didn't see her sharp teeth before they closed around his throat.

Rose took a deep breath and opened the side door of the warehouse a minute after Jack confirmed that the Master's men had exited. She stepped inside and swept her gaze over the interior, unable to ascertain where the Doctor had concealed himself.

The cavernous room left her feeling exposed and vulnerable, rooting her to the spot as the door swung shut loudly behind her. It was only the warm weight of John's watchful gaze and a whispered "good luck" from both the Doctor and the Captain that gave her the courage to walk further into the room.

She had just reached the middle of the room when she heard a car shriek to a stop outside the warehouse and she tensed up. Jack barely had time to warn them that they had company before the door slammed open and the Master strode in.

He had a smarmy smile on his face and two men at his back. Rose was hard-pressed to decide if she wanted to run for cover or slap the smug look right off of his face more.

She settled on shaking in her shoes more than necessary, playing the scared little girl he expected.

The game was on and Rose was ready to play. Hopefully, she thought, Saxon wouldn't realize until much too late that there was another master playing opposite of him.