Chapter thirty-two
The research that I was pulling up was very worrying. I should have done this when Saxon first started running for Prime Minister instead of leaving it until after he had been elected. Now, it might just be too late.
About twenty minutes after Saxon's speech in front of his headquarters, I received a phone call from Jack.
"Jack? I didn't think you'd be back so soon." I greeted him in surprise.
"Raven, I'm with the Doctor; something's come up. You know that weird feeling you had about Saxon? Turns out you were right. He's a Time Lord called the Master." Jack informed me.
"Time Lord? Like the Doctor? He's not a good guy, is he?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"No," Jack agreed. "I need everything Tosh can find on him. We need to know what he's been doing."
"You near a laptop?" I asked. "I can send you what I've already compiled."
"Martha, what's your ip-code?" Jack asked one of the people he was with.
"Who are you talking to? We can't let anyone know we're here!" the Doctor's voice sounded through the speakers clearly. Jack must have put me on speaker.
"This is an encrypted signal. It can't be tracked." I informed the Doctor. "It's good to hear your voice Doctor."
"Raven Smith? Is that you?" The Doctor asked shocked.
"Yeah," I confirmed.
"How do you know Jack?" the Doctor asked confused.
"I work for him." I answered simple.
"I've got the code, what you want me to do with it?" a women's voice asked.
"Pass it here." Jack ordered. "Raven, I'm sending you the code. Link with the laptop and show us what you've got."
"Right," I didn't take long to access the computer that the Doctor and Jack were using. "So, there are lots of campaign support videos from such names as Shaoron Osbourne and McFly. But his campaign doesn't have any substance, it's simple a smoke screen. The only thing said is about his charisma and head strong nature and his appealing physical characteristics." The disgust was clear in my tone when I mentioned this last bit. "He's listed as the former Minister of Defence, and was accredited with shooting down the Racnoss on Christmas Eve. It was this that first brought him to prominence."
"Nice work, by the way." Jack interrupted, complimenting the Doctor.
"Oh, thanks."
"Outside of a few months work as the minister of defence, specifically his work on the Arch angel network; his role in designing the valiant and several projects that he has funded, including the lazarus project, I've got nothing concrete on him. Nothing going back more than eighteen months, anyway. As far as I can tell, he just popped up out of the blue. All his other records are fake." I finished. "The thing is, this forgery is obvious. He's not done anything to hide the fact that he didn't go to Cambridge, that his supposed mother and farther doesn't exist, that he never wrote a book or went into business. And yet, nobody noticed. There is not a single red flag against his name."
"That impossible." The Doctor frowned. "The Master has always been sort of hypnotic, but this is on a massive scale."
"I was going to vote for him." Martha commented.
"Really?" the Doctor asked surprised.
"Well, it was before I even met you. And I liked him."
"Me, too." Jack agreed.
"Not me. I never understood why everyone was so captivated by him." I butted in. While I was listening to their conversation I started looking into Martha Jones and her family. If Martha had been travelling with the Doctor, and met the Master, and the man was an enemy of the Doctor then there was a chance that he may target Martha's family in order to get to them. And since he now led the British Government, and had managed to somehow hoodwink everyone, it wouldn't take him much effort to do so.
"So, whatever it was didn't effect Raven." The Doctor said thoughtfully. "Why did you like him? What was his policy? What did he stand for?"
"I don't know. He always sounded good." Martha's voiced sounded distant, like she had been hypnotised and there was the sound of tapping. A four-beat rhythm. "Like you could trust him. Just nice. He spoke about… I can't really remember, but it was good. Just the sound of his voice."
"What's that?" The Doctor asked sharply.
"What?" Martha asked, startled.
"That. That tapping, that rhythm. What are you doing?"
"Doctor," I interrupted. "Saxon's flagged Martha's family, he's got them watched. And he's going live," I paused for a moment and started typing. "I'll send you the feed."
The Master was in the cabinet rooms, alone. He was broadcasting across all channels which meant everyone would be able to see this. "Britain, Britain, Britain. What extraordinary times we've had. Just a few years ago, this world was so small. And then they came out of the unknown, falling from the skies. You've seen it happen." As the Master was talking the news clips which had shown the instances of the alien invasions where played. "Big Ben destroyed. A spaceship over London. All those ghosts and mental men. The Christmas star that came to kill. Time and time again, and the government told you nothing. Well, not me. Not Harold Saxon. Because my purpose, here today, is to tell you this. Citizens of Great Britain, I have been contacted. A message for humanity, from beyond the stars."
A new clip was played, this time of a sphere in front of a black back ground. When the sphere spoke, lights dotted across the sphere lit up. "People of the Earth, we come in peace. We bring great gift. We bring technology and wisdom and protection. And all we ask in return is your friendship."
The image returned to the Master who was smiling in a way which was meant to be sincere but came across patronisingly. "Ooo, sweet. And this species has identified itself. They are called the Toclafane."
"What?" I heard the Doctor asked in confused, disbelief.
"And tomorrow morning, they will appear. Not in secret, but to all of you. Diplomatic relations with a new species will begin. Tomorrow, we take our places in the universe. Every man, women and child. Every teacher and chemist and lorry driver and farmer. Oh, I don't know, every medical student?"
"Raven said the Master knew about you." The Doctor suddenly spoke urgently. There was a pause on his end of the line before he was suddenly shouting. "OUT!"
Swallowing thickly, I pulled up the CCTV camara's on Martha's street just in time to see her flat explode and Jack make it out with Martha and the Doctor.
"Raven, I've got to go." Jack spoke to me.
"I know. I'll try and gather as much information as I can. Phone me when your safe."
"I will. Keep your head on a swivel." Jack ordered before he hung up, not letting me complete the saying.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*Prov change*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"Alright?" The Doctor asked.
"Fine." I answered, closing the phone and placing it in my pocket. Martha ignored the Doctor and was dialling someone on her phone – which wasn't secured like mine and so easily traced.
"Martha? What are you doing?"
"He knows about me. What about my family?"
"Don't tell them anything." The Doctor warned.
"I'll do what I like." Martha hissed angrily, pointing her hand at the Doctor to keep him away.
"We should move." I warned, glancing around the street worriedly. The police would be arriving soon, with the fire service, in response to the explosion.
"Mum? Oh my god, you're there." Martha said in relief when her mother picked up the phone. "I'm fine. I'm fine. Mum. Has there been anyone asking about me?"
"Doctor, we need to move. Raven will track and help hide us from CCTV for as long as she can. But Martha's life is in danger the longer we stay here." I shot a glance to Martha who was speaking with her mother, her tone and bodily language changing from impatient and frustrated to worried.
"…never get back with him in a million years." Martha stops pacing, looking to the Doctor in worry. "Dad, what are you doing there? Dad?" her tone was really worried. "Just say yes or no. Is there someone else there?"
I checked that my gun was still holstered and ready. I only had my hand-gun, which had six rounds. So, I had six rounds to use as a deterrent for any approaching men who wanted to get to the Doctor and probably kill Martha. And I had to contend with the fact that the Doctor really didn't like guns. And apparently, Raven was on her own in the base in Cardiff and I really didn't like the idea of her alone with an insane Time Lord wondering around. An insane Time Lord who knew about them since he was Prime Minister.
"Dad? What's going on? Dad?" Martha suddenly shouted into the phone. She ran to a small car parked on the road. "We've got to help them."
"That's exactly what they want. It's a trap!" the Doctor snapped trying to talk sense into Martha but I knew it was pointless. I'd seen women on a mission before and Martha was to emotionally compromised to listen to reason right now.
"I don't care." Martha snapped.
The Doctor and I exchanged a glance before getting into the car. The Doctor took the front seat while I was squished into the back. The things I did for the Doctor. Like driving directly towards a trap without the ability to defend my teammates because guns were banned and I wouldn't actually start shooting unless the Doctor wasn't present or, in the unlikely event that he gave me permission.
Martha didn't live far from her parents; she probably could have run there in less than two minutes. While narrowly avoiding traffic, Martha was trying to get hold of another family member. As it was, they arrived in time to see armed soldiers forcing, who I assumed, was Martha's parents into the back of a caged police van while being watched by the rest of the street.
"Martha, reverse." I said urgently. Those soldiers wouldn't stay in shock for long and there was absolutely no way to free her parents. These were The Masters men, and they looked trigger happy.
"Martha, get out of here! Get out!" Martha's mouther shouted when she identified her daughter behind the steering wheel.
"Target identified." A woman said, prompting the soldiers and police to take up position.
"Martha, reverse." The Doctor said with a forced calm.
"Take aim." The women ordered.
"Get out, now." the Doctor and I stereo'd together.
Martha didn't start reversing and spinning the car around until the bullets were flying. I was forced to duck low as one flew through the back window – shattering it. Although I would come back, I really hated dying.
"Move it. Put your foot down." I ordered. This was why I drove bullet proof cars – I hated being shot at in a moving vehicle.
Once they were away from the street, Martha started ranting. Her pent-up worry and anger being directed at the Doctor who she was holding responsible. "The only place we can go, planet Earth. Great!"
"Careful." The Doctor warned as the car swerved.
"Martha," I intervened. As a new acquaintance, and one who was not involved in anything to do with Martha's adventures or her family, she was less likely to blow up at me and more likely to listen. And they couldn't keep driving in a car, not only registered to Martha, but with bullet wholes riddled through it. They were to identifiable. "Listen to me. Do as I say. We've got to ditch this car. Pull over. Right now."
