Author's Notes
Thanks for the kind reviews! You warm my heart and keep me writing.
Chapter 19
Earth, 2012, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
When the Doctor exited the TARDIS, he took a moment to behold its impressive camouflage. It did, indeed, look like a bombed-out hashish shop, replete with several broken hookahs in the storefront window.
He was on what was once probably the high street, which now consisted of a road made nearly impassable by its many craters. Most of the buildings on both sides were levelled. The few left standing had sustained considerable damage, yet he saw signs of recent habitation. Clothes hung on lines strung from a few windows on the upper level of the building directly across from him. A battered bicycle was chained to construction fencing around a ruinous hole where a building once stood.
The Doctor heard mortar fire in the distance and approaching motors. He ducked behind the TARDIS and watched several Jeeps and utility vehicles pass. From the clothing, facial hair and AK-47s, the Doctor surmised these were Taliban forces.
When all was clear, he stepped into the street and scanned the area with his sonic, confirming the building directly ahead of him was his destination. Somewhere in there was a pre-teenage boy who was destined to meet his fate at the hands of one Danny Pink.
The Doctor entered the unlit building slowly, aware that anyone inside had a distinct advantage over him as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He was also still quite weak from the chorenn poisoning and radiation exposure, so his odds of walking away from any kind of physical conflict were not good. The air inside smelled like cinderblock dust and rotting food. It was very hot – 35º C, according to readings he'd reviewed in the TARDIS. He heard something dripping and more gunfire off in the distance, perhaps a bit closer than before.
He didn't sense anyone in the entryway to the building, so he moved forward cautiously.
The foyer opened to a larger area which might have been a hotel lobby before the war. The glass was missing from several windows. Broken brickwork, shattered plaster and remnants of furniture were strewed across the carpeted floor.
The Doctor risked running the sonic to confirm he was at the correct coordinates, then he sat on what was left of a hard-backed chair and waited. Time passed. He became aware that the nanocam was giving him an unpleasant headache to go with his lingering nausea. He breathed in the smells of the place and closed his eyes to better listen for visitors. He hoped the boy would surface soon or Peter might get too bored watching from the TARDIS and decide to ignore instructions and go out to look around.
Finally, he heard approaching footsteps from further back in the building. He considered moving out of plain view, but his visitor entered the lobby sooner than expected. He was pretty sure this was the boy he was looking for.
He appeared to be about Peter's age, with longish dark hair. He wore a bright blue cricket jersey with red on the sleeves and carried a bulging canvas satchel over one shoulder. Still not aware that he was under surveillance, the boy set down the bag and stooped to dig something out from under an overturned table. He unearthed a squashed bag of crisps and a chipped coffee mug and added them to the satchel.
"Ah, cricket!" The Doctor mused aloud, as a way of making the boy aware of his presence. He nodded at the boy's jersey. "I used to play. Do you play?"
The boy froze but didn't flee.
"It's okay. I am a friend. Hi there." When the boy stayed rooted to the spot and didn't respond, the Doctor stood and approached slowly.
"Who's your favorite player?"
The boy cleared his throat, never taking his eyes off the Doctor.
"Noor Ali is the best batman ever."
"Is he? I've never heard of him, but it's been a while since I've seen a match."
The boy studied the Doctor solemnly.
"You're not Pashtun, but you speak Pashto. And your chin is bare, so not Taliban. What are you doing here?"
The Doctor offered a hand. "I am the Doctor. I'm not armed. I'm not here to hurt you. Do you live near here? There's a war on you know, it's not safe. What are you doing out here on your own?"
The boy lowered his eyes, his expression downcast.
"Our home is gone. My father and brother are gone. It's just my mother, sister and me. We find food and sleep where we can. I'm the man of the family now, so I need to provide for them." He gestured to his satchel. "Any food I find I keep for us. Other things I sell."
"What's your name?"
"Ali Hassim."
"That's a nice name. May I call you Hassim?"
"That's what my friends call me."
"Well, I hope to be a friend, Hassim."
"You say you're a doctor. Do you have food? Can you help my mother? A Taliban patrol detained her. They cut her face and hurt her eye. Its healed, but she can't see out of it anymore."
The Doctor picked up the sound of approaching vehicles. It sounded like a large military convoy.
Hassim grabbed the Doctor by the sleeve. "We must hide. Quickly!"
He pelted through a door that led further into the building and the Doctor followed. He heard the convoy stop near the front of the building. Is that the Taliban coming through again or is that Danny's unit? The Doctor wondered.
They ended up crouched down behind a displaced and heavily damaged refrigerator in the remnants of a kitchen. The Doctor heard distant voices of several men conversing in Farsi. When they heard the men enter the lobby, Hassim squeezed the Doctor's forearm and whispered, "My bag. I left it behind."
"Maybe they won't notice it. Just be patient. Maybe they will leave soon."
They waited another five minutes while the men searched the building. Then the kitchen door opened and a Talibanic man appeared, carrying a rifle. The Doctor could feel Hassim trembling next to him and clasped his shoulder gently.
The man made a cursory check of the room but never went behind the refrigerator. Finally, another man called out from the hallway and the man with the gun responded, leaving the kitchen.
They waited another ten minutes just to be sure he wasn't coming back, but the building was once again quiet.
"I think they're gone," Hassim said. They came out from behind the fridge.
Judging from the time, the Doctor estimated that fighting would break out in the streets in the next few minutes. Every instinct in his body told him to get Hassim back to the TARDIS and save his life, but unfortunately, that was not possible. Well, it was possible, but saving the boy would further distort the true timeline, and they'd have even bigger problems.
But he was just a boy. And what about his mother and sister?
"Where are your mother and sister?" The Doctor asked.
"They're in a room on the third floor. I will take you there, but first I need to get the bag. You stay here. I will be right back."
"I'm coming with you. There might still be insurgents."
Hassim looked frustrated. "No. Just stay here until I get back."
The Doctor gave him a severe look but stayed put. The boy slipped out the door and headed back the way they had come.
The Doctor waited; stomach clenched. Within moments of Hassim's exit gunfire erupted in the street. A lot of it. Another sliver of his soul died.
Suddenly he realized that if he didn't move, he would be shot or captured when Danny's unit made a sweep of the building after the firing ceased. He turned left instead of right when leaving the kitchen and soon found a fire exit at the very back of the building. He considered going to find Hassim's family but was fairly sure that Danny's unit would find them, give them food and medical attention and relocate them to a safer area.
He cautiously exited and found that the fighting so far was concentrated at the front of the building. He planned his route and then moved down the street, away from the skirmish. When he'd managed three blocks, pausing to rest when needed, he crossed the street and made his way slowly back to the TARDIS. By the time he got there the gunfire had ceased. From the military vehicles, the Doctor surmised that Danny's unit came upon the Taliban insurgents who were likely in the process of leaving after searching the building.
Somewhere in all that action, Hassim had lost his life.
The front of the hotel looked worse for wear; its façade now riddled with hundreds of bullet holes. The door was crashed in. There was blood on the sidewalk and in the street. Two uniformed soldiers stood near a Jeep smoking, while another stood guard in front of the building.
Confirming that no one was looking in his direction, the Doctor stole to the TARDIS and disappeared inside.
But then he stepped back outside and scrutinized the man standing guard in front of the hotel.
It was Alistair Beckman, AKA Jameson Starck.