Chapter 9
The passkey in the Master's hand proved that Maggie had been lying about the elevators being out of order as he slid it into place and punched in the level before taking the key out. It took less than a minute for the elevator to take him down to Sublevel D, where he exited and marched to the secured room. Unlocking the door with his passkey, he stepped in and immediately noted that the bioelectric field generator was off.
Sam had continued to wait until he heard that the Doctor, Jack, and Glad were through the field. He wanted to leave and find Maggie but the Doctor had said to wait. Pacing, he heard the sound of the door handle turning. It was too soon for the Doctor to have reached him so he quickly grabbed his cloak and pulled it on, and then moved to the far corner of the room. As he did so the lights of the room flickered slightly and he suddenly had a sense of evil in the room. With a shiver, he watched the Master, aka Harold Saxon, enter the room followed by a thin, well-dressed man wearing "John Lennon" glasses. Immediately afterwards, a woman's voice came on over the intercom and he swallowed tightly hearing of Maggie's fate. He hoped that he'd be able to get to her soon.
The Master sighed as he looked at the generator. "Of course, she did," he muttered under his breath. Pressing several buttons, he immediately reset it to high capacity while Reggie looked around the room with interest.
At the moment that the Master reset the controls to turn on the biofield, Sam's heart fell. He hadn't heard from the Doctor or Jack that they were in and now... if they tried... all would fail. Still he couldn't do anything until he was alone. He pulled even further into the corner, hoping against hope that he'd be able to warn his friends to stay put. He was surprised when another voice entered the room.
The deep sarcastic voice filtered through the speakers. "So, not only did they get to Sublevel D, they were able to change the field. I submit that your security has been more than just breached, Master."
"Enough, HAL!" the Time Lord growled. "Just because the Doctor has found us does not mean he has Rassilon's chance in hell of doing anything about our plans. Sarah Tyler will be found and we will prevent any further interference as well as gain information from both her and Dr. Hawthorne. You know how talented my wife is at more... aggressive interrogations. As for the field, it won't be changed again. I can assure you that." Pulling out a cylindrical device from his jacket pocket, he changed the settings and aimed it at the generator before activating his screwdriver. A low pitched whine filled the room before he shut off the device and tucked it back into his pocket. "I've deadlocked the generator so that it cannot be shut off again." He looked up at the ceiling. "Satisfied?"
The lights dimmed. "All of that is fine and dandy. Still, with these breaches, I'm not sure you're going to be able to fulfill your promises to me. Remember, Beckett is the one that I want to hear screaming for mercy, not some professor from a geology department or your own nemesis."
"And our Master will provide said person to you, Lothos," Reggie responded. "We will retrieve the other woman, finish the Pi Network, destroy the Doctor, and then learn the location of Sam Beckett's project. Once those plans are fulfilled, you'll hear those sweet sounds to your heart's... or microchip's... content."
Shivers went up Sam's spine when he heard Lothos' name and what was in store for him if these people won. He swallowed tightly and scrunched into the smallest form he could to assure that the cloak would cover everything. He knew that if the Doctor's plan was going to work, he would need to reverse the field once more. Anything short of that and their mission would fail. Once again, his fear that this wouldn't happen in time gripped him.
"Very nice summary, Reginald," the Master complimented, gaining a nod of appreciation from his most loyal servant.
"You'd better keep your word, Master. I've funded this whole system for you at the sake of my own time experiments. Who knows? I might have already had Beckett in my clutches if the resources had been used to improve that system."
"And that system will be far superior to any you've ever seen once I'm done with it. I have already given you so much. All I am asking for is a little more time to achieve our goals."
The lights dimmed again. "A little time is all you will have. Once the final satellites are in place, I expect results. Do we understand each other?"
"Completely," the Master replied in a low tone. "You know, Lothos. With how you are complaining, one might think that you don't trust me."
"You know what they say: trust but verify. I've been waiting a long time to have my revenge on Dr. Beckett. I told you before, if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have been in that hell hole when my father died."
Sam didn't expect to hear this. He tried to figure it out and suddenly it dawned on him. Somehow Lothos was Ellington C. Wrightsworth, the third as he recalled. He hadn't died at sea as was assumed. He'd somehow become this... this... evil thing. In his surprise he could help a small sound from exiting his lungs. Damn! he thought to himself. He held his breath, sure that he'd be found out now. Fear washed over him as he realized that if Lothos did capture him, hell would be too gentle of a word for what he'd experience.
The Master turned his head rapidly at the sound. "What was that?" he demanded as he walked further into the generator room, scanning it with his eyes. "There's someone here. I can feel it."
Lothos scanned the room in the direction that the sound had come from. Suddenly, the being laughed humorlessly. "Oh, great telepath you are. You're reading a mouse." The tiny creature had stopped and was waiting to move again once danger passed. Instead, Lothos aimed his laser at the innocent animal and vaporized it. "There. Gone. Unless you think rodents can topple your empire."
"It's not the mouse," the Time Lord told him tightly. "There is someone in here."
"Sure there is. Me, you and your lacky," Lothos answered simply.
The Master glared at the ceiling. "He's my assistant."
"You could have fooled me," came the derogatory response.
"I'd rather be the Master's lackey than once again be a cog in your mind-numbing employ," Reggie stated haughtily. "I believe Mistress Peri expects us, sir."
The Master exhaled with frustration at having been bested by Lothos. While he appreciated Reggie's show of solidarity towards him, it wasn't enough to calm him or to cancel out the feeling that there indeed was someone in the generator room. Stepping out of the generator room, he waited for Reggie to follow and closed the door. Pulling out his sonic screwdriver again, he locked the door behind him, determination clear on his features as he marched away.
DWQLTWDWQLTW
The Doctor ended the phone conversation with Sam, concern clear on his face. Looking at Jack and Glad sitting at the same cafe table as him, he exhaled slowly. "The Master's taken Margaret," he told them bluntly.
"What? I hope he doesn't decide to do something stupid like try to rescue her without us. All of us are expendable until we prevent the Master's takeover of the world."
"He understands that," the Time Lord responded, standing from the table.
Glad blinked at the news. "We've got to save her. He'll torture her or, like the Doctor says, go into her mind."
"We'll take care of Margaret, Glad, as soon as we can. Don't worry about the Master going into her mind, though. I've taken care of that, remember? And unless he can figure out how to reverse my suggestion, which he can't, she won't reveal anything to him. Meanwhile, we have to stay the course. The field is down." He turned and walked towards the door.
Jack agreed. "We won't leave her, Glad. First thing's first, though." He gestured for her to follow the Doctor, bringing up the rear himself. As they moved towards the building, the sound of cars' brakes squealing coupled with the loud blare of a horn and some screams filled the air. Jack looked back and saw one vehicle careening out of control and other cars doing what they could to get out of the way as people scrambled for safety. He noticed a woman who had frozen in place, the car barreling down on her and ran, pushing her out of the way at the last moment. Instead the vehicle struck the ex-Time Agent sending him into the air. He landed a good twenty feet away, crumpled in a heap. Meanwhile the car which hit him came to an abrupt stop into the corner of the building across the street from the Prometheus Institute. The front end of the car was crushed.
Glad screamed in fright at all that had happened in a matter of seconds, herself frozen in fear of what she'd seen. The Gallifreyan also was naturally stunned, though his reaction resulted in silence before jumping into immediate action. "Glad, check on Jack." Without bothering to inform her of his intentions, he ran to the wrecked automobile. Looking into the driver's side, he noticed that the driver, a middle-aged man, was wounded but alive and showed signs of confusion and what could be shock or any number of medical reasons. He told the driver to stay calm as he examined him further. Seeing the top of a sealed package holding a hypodermic in the person's breast pocket, he realized the driver was likely diabetic and was suffering from the results of massively low blood sugar which would certainly explain the erratic driving. He pulled the package from the pocket and noted that the medicine it held was indeed insulin. Ripping open the package, he injected the driver with the insulin. By the time he was finished, a crowd had gathered. "Someone needs to call an ambulance. This man is diabetic. He has injuries and a concussion."
"I've called Triple Zero and they have an ambulance on the way," a woman in the crowd called out.
"I'm a nurse. I can help," another woman stated as she moved closer to the car.
"Good woman. I leave him in your capable hands. I need to check on my friend."
"Are you a doctor?" the nurse asked.
"Yes, I am," he confirmed. "But I haven't done it professionally in a very, very long time. Excuse me."
"Oh," the woman responded, watching him move quickly to the man who'd been hit by the car. She shook her head, understanding that it was unlikely that the retired doctor's friend was alive. Then she turned her attention to the driver.
The Time Lord hurried to Jack's side, kneeling beside Glad who had Jack's head in her lap. "How is he?" he murmured as he got to his knees as well.
Before Glad could respond, a voice spoke up. "He died saving my life."
The Doctor recognized the woman as the one Jack had shoved out of the way. She was obviously in shock but others around her were taking care of her medical needs. "I'm sure he's just unconscious," he replied, knowing that the woman's assessment was correct but not wanting to frighten her the moment Jack came back to the here and now.
"I hope you're right, mate," a man in the crowd said with a tone that conveyed he didn't believe that prognosis.
As if to negate the man's disbelief, Jack gasped in a breath of air as his eyes flew open, deep emotion flowing from them. He jolted physically at the same time, reflecting just how painful coming back from the dead was for him.
Glad startled at Jack's sudden reaction but quickly reverted to doing her best to calm him. "I'm here, Jack. Don't be afraid," she soothed. The man's eyes searched out hers and appeared to find comfort in them.
"I'm not afraid... at least not anymore," he told her, his bravado spilling back into him.
"You okay?" the Time Lord questioned, his own concern for him revealed in his eyes. For just a moment he had the strangest feeling of what life would be like without his friend. While the idea that a fixed point in time and space wouldn't be tugging in his mind anymore - an annoyance he had learned to live with - the idea of losing Jack, impossibleness and all, hurt him deeper than he could possibly imagine.
Jack started to get up to the amazement of the crowd. "Yeah. Just a little bruised. It'll go away in a minute." He looked down at his coat. "Damnit. Nobody move. I've lost a button."
The Doctor grinned at his comment. "I'll find you another. Might even steal it off of your own coat."
The group around them applauded the hero and a thirty something man brought up a button. "Is this it?"
Jack looked at it with a broad smile. "Yeah. Thanks." He extended his hand to the man. "Captain Jack Harkness."
"Jack, we don't have time to flirt," the Gallifreyan told him.
"Right," Jack answered, taking the button. "Maybe next time." He gave the man a wink and then followed the Doctor and Glad, who were already moving towards the building. They were about to cross the property threshold when Glad ordered them to stop.
Jack groaned. "What? I told you, everything's all right."
"No... it isn't," Glad contradicted. "The biofield is up."
"No, it's not. You heard what Sam said. He turned it off."
"The Master turned it back on."
"And, pray tell, how would you know that?"
"She's clairvoyant, remember?" the Doctor pointed out, concentrating on the emptiness before him as if he could find the field with his bare eyes.
"I remember. I just don't..." At that moment, both Jack's and the Doctor's phones beeped at the same time. Jack was quickest at opening his phone. He looked at the text message. "It's Sam."
The Doctor turned back to Jack from his attempt to locate the invisible barrier. "Let me guess. The field's up?" He checked his phone and saw the same message.
Jack nodded. "Yeah."
Glad grinned smugly. "Told you so."
"Don't be a smartass, Galadriel," Jack answered.
"Jack! Watch your language," the Doctor scolded.
"Forget it, Doctor. I've already been corrupted," Glad responded.
"Back to the coffee shop, then?" Jack questioned. "Sam said not to text back so we'll have to wait for him to contact us again."
The Gallifreyan shook his head. "I enjoy playing with yo-yos, not beinga yo-yo. We wait here." He paused. "Well, over there. At the bus stop. Don't want to call attention to ourselves loitering outside the Prometheus Institute."
"Absolutely not. Not that we have been doing that with what just happened with that accident," Jack stated.
"As much as I agree that you saving that woman's life was a good thing, you seemed quite intent on remaining and soaking up the limelight and flirting with the locals," the Doctor teased.
"Hey, I stopped when you pointed out that we had a deadline, didn't I?"
"Can you two discuss this at the bus stop?" Glad pointed out. "Right now, two alpha males bickering in the street aren't giving me a lot of confidence in this mission."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Blimey. You've gotten a lot bolder since I picked you up." A moment later, he frowned. "You think I'm an alpha male, trying to show myself as superior to other males? Well, I am but that's beside the point."
Jack laughed. "And you talk about my ego? I guarantee I have nothing on yours."
"You're sardonic when you've been bested," the Time Lord taunted as he started for the bus stop.
"That's because I'm an alpha male!" Jack stated firmly as he followed.
Glad just shook her head. "Men."
DWQLTWDWQLTW
Margaret had been roughly taken down to the dungeons and had been thrown into a grungy small room with cement walls on three sides and a plexiglass wall that faced into the corridor. The wall itself had a plexiglass door with four rows of small round airholes, two in the center of the door and two towards the bottom. She could see the woman she knew as the Master's wife outside the cell speaking with the other man as if asking for something. She couldn't hear anything distinctive - just a muttering of voices - but saw the Master stride into the room outside the glass, obviously upset. He began to talk to his wife adamantly and she saw the man in the Lennon glasses trying to calm him. The Master, though, kept glaring at the ceiling, obviously upset. When she finally understood anything being said, it didn't bode well in her view.
"There is someone in that room and I'm going to prove it!" Suddenly, he came to her cell and used something that looked like the Doctor's sonic screwdriver to open the door. "You're coming with me. I'm going to prove to this monstrosity of silicon chips that I'm right." He looked up at the ceiling again, hissing, "I'm not going to take your snide and sarcastic remarks either, HAL." Grabbing Maggie's arm, he pulled her roughly to the elevator, his assistant and Mrs. Saxon following. Soon they stood outside a door on the level she knew the generator room was on. "Reggie, check to make sure the door's still locked." When the man confirmed it was, the Time Lord pulled out his screwdriver again, unlocking the door and throwing Maggie into the room so that she landed on her knees. "Hold her," he ordered Reggie, a dangerous look on his face as he relocked the door. He took a slow look around the room as he moved to stand in front of Maggie. "I know you are near, Ms. Tyler," he said in a raised voice. "And I know you can hear me. You heard the ultimatum. I want you to understand clearly just how serious I am. Show yourself now or your friend suffers."
Sam had heard voices as he finished texting Jack and the Doctor to let them know the biofield was up again, hoping against hope he wasn't too late. He also hoped they would heed his request not to respond as he'd heard the sound of people returning and he didn't want the sound of a text coming in to tip off whoever it was. He pulled the cloak over himself again just in time and his heart fell as he saw Maggie being used as a bait to pull him from his hiding place. He normally didn't experience the fear he'd felt ever since he'd learned what was in store for him from the overheard conversation. It wasn't just the certainty of his own fate that caused that fear, but rather knowing what the world would be like if they failed. Now, seeing Maggie he felt traitorous for not allowing himself to surrender. The logic was simple. He had to keep hidden or else the Doctor wouldn't have a chance to save the world from this monster.
Not getting any response, the Master adjusted his screwdriver, which he had upgraded to do much more than simple sonic activity. "Extend her arm," he ordered. Then, with Maggie's arm exposed, he pressed the tip of the screwdriver against her skin and turned it on.
Maggie screamed as the pain entered her arm, the feeling burning her. Still she knew she had to give her partner strength. She hadn't known Sam long but knew he cared deeply and would be willing to put himself on the line if he thought that was the right thing to do. She looked up at the Master, hatred and tears in her eyes, "I told you. I don't know a Ms. Tyler but if I did I'd tell her that no one is worth giving the world to you. You are evil. Pure evil."
"I'll take that as a compliment," the Gallifreyan told her. "But I know you're lying. Your partner is in here with us." He turned to the seemingly empty room. "How many more times shall I hurt her?" he called out. He pressed the screwdriver just below her collarbone and activated it again, causing the woman to cry out in agony a second time.
Still in the corner, Sam saw and heard everything. He closed his eyes and prayed internally. Please God, help her. Forgive me but I can't give in. As he was thinking these words, the Master pressed the screwdriver to her again. He couldn't help himself as tears pooled in his eyes, knowing that his capitulation would save her for now at the same time as damning the world and her as well. He stayed hidden.
The Master was about to inflict another burning sensation upon the Professor when he felt Peri's hand on his. "Harry..." she started. She leaned forward to whisper into his ear. "You're making yourself appear foolish."
"You doubt me?!"
"No!" she put in quickly. "Never."
The light increased as Lothos observed the pain the woman was experiencing. "Master, there is no one here but, by all means, continue. I'm enjoying your display. How far do you plan to go?"
"I'm not mad!" the Master shouted towards the ceiling. He looked around at the faces regarding him. Peri and Reggie looked at him with genuine concern, though their faith in him still shone in their eyes. "Take her away!" he ordered with a wave of his hand. "We'll continue this elsewhere."
Sam watched as Maggie was pulled roughly up and out of the room. He closed his eyes again. "Thank you," he whispered silently, only his lips moving. He knew that Maggie wasn't out of danger but he felt God had answered his prayer removing Maggie from this particular situation. He vowed he'd find her and get her to safety.
The Master gave a brief glance back into the room before closing and locking the door. He followed Reggie and Peri briskly, furious that he hadn't been able to persuade the person in the generator room - and he still was certain that someone was in there or at the very least within listening distance in the airshafts - to show.
Lothos had watched the Master losing it. He felt certain that this might be the time to unhitch himself from the plans that had been made, at least a bit. He decided that it would be a good idea to redirect himself to his new outpost in the Republic of Myao, a small country in Indonesia. Part of him wanted to see what happened with the woman the Master had tortured but he decided to test the channel connecting Melbourne with the land he had purchased from the military junta. "If you learn anything, call me. I tire of these antics," he told his partner.
"You never did have much patience, did you?" the Master grumbled as he started to follow Peri and their prisoner, who stumbled as she was forced her along, returning her to her cell and leaving the door open to allow them access to her.
Maggie looked into the corridor nervously. "What are you going to do to me?"
"You've got a mind block in your head," the Gallifreyan told her bluntly. "The Doctor put it there which means you know something he doesn't want me to know." He blinked for a moment. "And from the way you were blatantly lying in my office and in the generator room, you know full well what it is that he doesn't want me to know. So, that leaves me with two options. I can either let my wife convince you to divulge this information or I can get it forcibly from your mind. Either way, it's going to be very hard on you. Unless of course you just tell me without coercion." He wiggled his screwdriver in his hand as a reminder of what he had done to her before.
Having heard what the world would be like if the Doctor lost this battle, Maggie closed her eyes, knowing that this could be the last decision she ever made. If the world was going to fall, she wasn't going to be the one who allowed that willingly. With some of the fire she had shown when she thought that this monster was just the arrogant Harold Saxon, CEO of the Prometheus Institute, she stood up straight. "Do your worst. I won't cooperate with evil incarnate."
The Master's lips curled into a cruel grin. "Ah, a Doctor's companion. I wouldn't have expected any other answer. But evil incarnate? Are those the words he used? Evil incarnate? Sounds like the title of a really bad B-movie." The grin faded immediately. "And you really don't know just how bad our worst can be. Allow my beautiful wife to demonstrate. Reggie, please secure Dr. Hawthorne appropriately. Oh, and a snack would be lovely. Can't watch entertainment without one, you know," he finished, a taunting smile towards the stubborn professor.
"May I use my latest toy on her?" Peri questioned at Reggie obeyed his Master's orders.
"Definitely. She has defied us, after all. I think a correction is in line, don't you?"
"Yes. I do." She called to the man who was finishing putting the woman in restraints. "Reggie, my belt sander. Bring the drill as well." The assistant gave a nod and went to retrieve the requested items.
"If you think this is going to convince me to talk, torture or not, I'll never break!" Maggie said with false bravado.
The Master laughed at her words. "Please, Dr. Hawthorne. Against a belt sander? I think you'll break." He looked around the corridor and found a chair. Sitting in it, he waited for the show to start as he drummed his fingers on his knee in a familiar four-beat rythmn.
The moment turned to a minute and one minute to five as the pair taunted her and took their turns abusing her in an attempt to get her to talk before "toys" arrived. After a good fifteen minutes, Reggie finally returned with only the drill. "The belt sander isn't where it's supposed to be."
"What?" Peri exclaimed, slight panic and anger in her voice. "But Harry gave that to me as a birthday present. I know I put it away; I never leave it out."
"I know, Mistress Peri," Reggie agreed. "It appears that a workman may have borrowed it. There were large dusty footprints leading up to the cabinet."
The growl of fury from her lips was almost animalistic. "When I find whoever took my belt sander, I'm going to use it on him until there's nothing left!"
"So I surmised. I took a couple of extra minutes to put in an order for supplemental belts," Reggie informed. "In the meantime, will the drill be sufficient or would you prefer I obtain another tool as well?"
"Oh, this is taking too long," the Master grumbled. "Sorry, Peri, dear, but we really need to cut to the chase."
"But… you said I could torture her! It's not my fault some imbecile doesn't know how to keep his grubby little hands to himself!" Seeing the glare that said her husband wouldn't allow any argument, she huffed. "I really was looking forward to using my belt sander," she murmured under her breath.
"You really must forgive my wife. She doesn't take disappointment well," the Master told Margaret.
The woman blinked, looking over to the fuming female, figuring she was psychotic. "I can see that."
"But, regardless of that, we are still quite determined to get the truth from you." He stood up from his seat and walked into the cell. Bending down, he stage whispered into her ear so that Peri and Reggie could hear, his hot breath tingling on the Professor's neck. "Have you really looked at this room? Concrete bench. No windows to speak of except the door. Hard, bare walls. The perfect place to hypnotize someone. Ah, but you've already been hypnotized, haven't you? What the Doctor probably didn't tell you is that I'm much more talented than him with that particular art. And once I have you, I'll be able to do all sorts of horrible little things to that puny ape mind of yours." He looked into her eyes, instantly gaining her attention. "I am the Master and you will obey me."
Instead of obeying him, she dropped unconscious, not knowing that those words - which the Doctor knew his nemesis would use - were the cue for that particular post-hypnotic response.
"Oh, very good!" the Master exclaimed, a grin on his face. "Brilliant, in fact. You have really gotten much better, Doctor."
Peri looked at him. "What happened? I gave up using my drill for this? I thought you were cutting to the chase. You're not cutting anything!"
"I did cut to the chase and this is what the chase scene looks like," came the response.
"I don't understand. We didn't learn anything."
"Oh, yes, we did. The Doctor has really gotten much better at hypnotizing people."
"And you think that's good?"
"Not good. Just impressive. Very impressive. And we also learned that he really knows me well."
"Impressive or not, we still know nothing of his plans. What do you suggest we do now?"
"Nothing," he replied.
"Nothing?"
"Unless you know a way of waking her up from her sleep and removing the post-hypnotic reaction she's going to have every time I try to hypnotize her. The Doctor obviously knew that I would try to hypnotize her if she were caught and gave her this particular reaction to my words. In addition, I doubt that the drill would have worked on her either as I'm sure the Doctor has made it so that she goes unconscious before any serious damage could be done to her physically. She's going to stay unconscious until she's revived by someone she trusts, which certainly isn't either of us." He shook his head. "We could go on guessing how to bypass the reaction until we're blue in the face or we can lock her in here and wait until her rescuer comes to retrieve her, which he will. I know the Doctor very well too. Thus, I already know some of what the Doctor is planning." He turned to his lover. "The fact that he's using this human means he's figured out what the meteor is. He's coming and he wants the Eye."
