Several empty wooden crates had caught fire; flames leapt up from the dry boards. The splintered remains of another crate lay scattered about. The bomb must have been hidden in there. The Doctor squinted through the smoke, heading for the toppled crates where he had last seen Rose.
She was sprawled on her side, her face smudged and her hair covered in fine ash. Next to her lay a man. His feet were tied with plastic cord, but his arms had been freed. Simultaneously the Doctor pressed his hands over Rose's and the man's wrists, frowning deeply. After a moment he bent to lift Rose. He would have preferred not to move her until he could determine whether she had any serious injuries, but the fire was spreading rapidly so he had little choice.
He carried her outside and settled her on the ground then ducked back inside to retrieve the man, who he dragged out by the shoulders. He lay the fellow next to Rose. She was opening her eyes, looking about blearily as she tried to push herself to a sitting position.
"Just stay still, Rose," the Doctor said brusquely. In the distance he could hear sirens; help was on the way.
Since Rose was conscious, he turned his attention to the other victim. The man had a deep gash on his arm that was bleeding profusely. Quickly the Time Lord removed the man's belt and secured it around his bicep, watching to see that the blood flow was ceasing.
When the Doctor turned back to Rose, he saw that she was sitting up and moving her legs around in preparation for standing. She was patting absently at abrasions on her cheek, which had apparently been scraped against the ground or a crate as she was pushed down by the blast.
"I told you to stay still!" he snapped, reaching for her shoulder to prevent her from further movements.
"Have to find her," she muttered, rubbing a hand across the soot that clung about her eyes. "Have to get to her before they—"
The Doctor wrapped his hands around her arms gently but firmly. "You're staying right here until the ambulance arrives."
"No, I'm all right," she protested weakly. Her voice was husky from the smoke.
"Damn it, Rose. You're lucky—an' I mean really lucky—you weren't killed in the blast. Why the hell did you go in there? I told you to stop." Anger darkened his expression, and his tone was harsh.
"I saw—" Her eyes flicked to the man. "I thought I saw her in there. I had to get her." She tried to push his hands away, but her grasp was fumbling at best. Her own hands were shaking.
"Rose!" He nearly yelled her name. "Stop it!" He steadied his voice somewhat, then added, "You need to stay right here and remain quiet."
"But I know where she is," she said. She glanced at the injured man again. "He told me. It's not far from here."
"Rose, you're hurt—"
"Doctor, she's my mum. I have to go to her." She managed to find his hand, and now her fingers curled around his loosely.
He felt somewhat comforted by the rapid improvement in her motor function. He pulled the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and switched it on.
"Stay still," he instructed curtly, "at least for the next few seconds."
He ran the small instrument over her then turned it off. "Look at me," he said, holding up a finger. He moved it along in front of her face, observing her eyes as they followed the motion.
The sirens had grown much louder, and the flashing lights from the emergency vehicles were visible now as they neared the warehouse. The Doctor stood and offered his hand to Rose.
"Come on," he said rather gruffly. "Let's go get her."
As the fire engines pulled up to the warehouse, the Doctor and Rose ducked around the side. She glanced back once and asked, "Will he be all right?"
"He's in good hands now," the Doctor replied.
"Did I cause the explosion?" she asked.
"Yes. They'd rigged it to go off a few seconds after the door opened." Seeing her stricken expression, he added, "But if it hadn't been you, it would've been someone else. That worker was lucky it was you. At least he got out."
"Was it because he saw them? Is that why they wanted to kill him?"
"I dunno, Rose. Tell me what he told you."
They had rounded the side of the warehouse and were now hurrying through a drive. Rose seemed to know where she was going, but the Doctor kept his arm around her for support. She was limping, though not badly, and he was sure that she was still shaken, both emotionally and physically, from the explosion.
Her voice was still gravelly as she said, "He told me a big man had come in with a blonde woman. He was just finishing an inventory, an' they seemed surprised to find him there. The Mogronon seemed to be lookin' for something, but the man told him that no one had been in the warehouse for days. Mum said she must've been mistaken. She'd given it, whatever 'it' is, to her boyfriend, an' he'd left it at the warehouse where he works. The man remembered she asked him where the mannequins were stored, an' he said he thought in this block over here." Rose pointed ahead to a cluster of warehouses about half a kilometer away. "Building C, he said."
"She's leading him on a wild goose chase," the Doctor said. "Must be stalling for time."
"I didn't believe him at first," Rose continued, seeming oblivious to the Doctor's comment. "Why would he be able to remember, anyway? No one else could. But then I saw this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "It's mine."
The Doctor stopped and stared down at the device in her hand. "Yeah, it is." He took it from her and studied it for a few seconds. "You must've dropped it at the marketplace, near where you saw the Mogronon. They traced it back here, back to Jackie."
Rose nodded somberly. "I led them straight to her."
"You didn't know," he began.
"Doesn't matter. It's still my fault."
Holding out the phone to her, he replied, "Let's just find her."
Rose reached for the phone. "Why'd he leave the bomb?"
"Covering his tracks, probably. That worker remembered what he'd seen an' heard. That means the Mogronon didn't use the memory deletion on him. Remember I told you that humans aren't quite as receptive as other species? It takes a pretty big effort for the Mogronons to arrange their facial features in just the right was to cause the memory wipe. The one who's got your mum is getting tired. His lot isn't very pleasant when they get tired—pretty grumpy, actually."
"Grumpy enough to leave a bomb," Rose said gravely.
She tucked the phone back into her pocket. The Doctor watched the movement then suddenly reached out to grab her wrist. He pulled her hand toward him, turning it up to expose the palm.
"This burn," he said, touching the dark spot. "It's perfectly round. I don't think you got it from making tea."
Obviously confused with his new train of thought, Rose shrugged. "Maybe not."
"Think, Rose! Where did you get it?"
She shook her head, trying to physically jostle herself back to full alertness. "I dunno."
"Come on, Rose. Just think about it!"
She lifted her hand to stare at the mark. "It was…" Suddenly she had a flash of the heat she'd felt when the tiny, quick Nermistican vendor gave her the disk that he'd indicated was her change. "At the marketplace, after I bought the Divurcistine. The change disk was hot."
"Hot? That's not right… Do you still have it?"
Rose opened her mouth then shut it. "I'm not sure," she answered slowly. She began patting at her pockets. She reached into one and pulled out a small, round, flat piece of metal. It was still warm to the touch and was growing hotter as she held it in her hand. "This is?"
He snatched it from her, studying it closely. "Yep, this is it. This is what the Mogronons want."
"They want my change? God, how much is it?"
He rolled the disk between his thumb and forefinger thoughtfully. "It's not your change, Rose. It's an encoded chip. The material's very irritating to human skin—that's why it seemed to burn you."
"It's a computer chip?"
"Somethin' like that. It's how the Mogronons can send those signals out to control others' memories. They have a little implant at the base of the neck." He touched the area between his collar and hair. "It allow their nervous systems to function at the level necessary for them to influence the memories of others. This, though," he was now holding the sonic screwdriver over the chip, "is a new material—one I haven't seen before. I'm guessing that the Nermisticans developed it for the Mogronons then weren't happy with the payment offered. They knew the Mogronons would take it anyway, so the vendor passed it on to you to keep them busy until our little chemist friends could get away. They don't like to be short-changed; they'd rather give something away than sell it for less than they feels it's worth."
"An' the Mogronon found my phone an' figured out that I came from here."
"Yep. But the good news is that as soon as we give this to them, they'll be on their way."
"An' they won't harm my mum?"
The Doctor's expression, temporarily bright with his new understanding of the situation, darkened. "We should get to her as soon as possible." He took Rose's hand. "Come on."
Building C appeared deserted, as did its nearby counterparts on a Saturday afternoon. A quick scan with the sonic screwdriver indicated four humanoid forms inside. The Doctor informed Rose that all three Mogronons were likely with Jackie now. The Time Lord and Rose moved quietly as they approached the warehouse. This building did not have any windows, but they found a side door that the Doctor quickly unlocked with the screwdriver.
Rose reached for the handle, but he shook his head sternly and moved her hand away. Carefully he took the handle, pulling the door open just a centimeter or two. He was listening intently and sniffing at the air, sending Rose "be quiet" looks more than once.
Finally he eased open the door and slipped inside, whispering, "No sign of explosives here."
Rose followed him closely, willing her eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the large building. She walked softly, ears straining to try to detect her mother's voice. She nearly jumped, however, when she heard a piercing scream.
"Mum!" she cried.
The Doctor clapped his hand over her mouth, regretting the action when she winced in pain. His fingers had pressed against the deep abrasion on her cheek.
"Quiet!" he admonished, removing his hand.
The Time Lord's eyes had adapted to the lack of light quickly, and he was able to negotiate a path through pallets of crates and containers. Keeping his hand around Rose's, he led her along. Soon they could hear a strident voice. The words were unclear, but the tone told them that someone—someone female—was pleading for her life.
"It's her!" Rose hissed.
She tried to push past the Doctor to hurry ahead, but he held her back. "Let me go first," he said firmly. "You stay here."
"But she's—"
He shook his head sharply. "She's going to be in even more danger if they feel threatened. I'll just give them the disk and bring her back here. Don't move."
Rose wanted to protest, wanted to be at the Doctor's side when he found her mother, but she tried to focus on the reasonable part of her mind that told her he was right. Nevertheless, it was difficult to remain standing still as he disappeared into the gray haze. She kept listening, Jackie's pleas continuing, and after a minute she could wait no longer. She crept ahead, feeling her way along through the shadowy obstacle course.
After perhaps thirty seconds the light increased, and Rose could see a room ahead with a half-opened door. Light streamed from the doorway, and she could now understand what her mother was saying. She stopped moving for a moment to listen.
"It's got to be around here somewhere!" Jackie's tone bordered on desperate. "He said he took it to work, an' when he got home it was gone. It must've fallen out of his pocket. Check by those pallets again. That's where he said he was workin'."
"Enough!" a deep voice rumbled. "We know it's not here. Our scanners would have picked it up. We've wasted enough time with you."
There was a sharp click, and Jackie gasped. Rose began to move again, but suddenly she heard a familiar Northern accent saying, "Is this what all the fuss is about?"
The Doctor had stepped from the shadows into the doorway. He held up the small disk in his hand.
The door opened fully, and two huge figures filled the open space. One reached for the disk, but the Doctor took a step back, snatching his hand away.
"Not so fast. You let her go first."
"We only want the disk," one of the Mogronons growled. "She's not important."
"I agree. Now just let her step past you and out here—"
"No," said the hulk on the right. "Disk first. We need it before we let her go."
"So you can erase her memory? Nope. That's not gonna happen. She walks away, then I give you the disk, you return to your ship, and we all get home in time for tea."
Jackie whimpered; she sounded as though she were in pain. Rose crept closer.
"Stop that!" the Doctor demanded. "Let her go! She's not going to tell anyone about you, and neither am I."
"You're with the Earth authorities—their law," said the Mogronon on the left.
"No, I'm not. I just want to make a fair trade."
Jackie yelped, and Rose took another few quick steps.
"You're alone?" one of the aliens asked.
Rose froze.
"Yep. Just me. I picked this up when I was buying Divurcistine from the Nermisticans. Expensive stuff—they overcharged me by at least nine thousand ighivs, but what can you do?"
Ignoring his banter, the Mogronon to his left said, "You give us the disk, then we give her to you, and we leave."
"No deal. No memory wipe for either of us."
Jackie cried out again, and the Doctor made a move toward the door, reaching into his pocket for the sonic screwdriver as he did. In a flash one of the Mogronons had grabbed his shoulders and pulled him inside. Rose heard the deep thud as he was slammed against the wall. The sonic screwdriver fell from his hand and began rolling across the floor.
The Mogronon had snatched the disk from the Time Lord's hand and was pressing his meaty palm over his comrade's neck. The Doctor seemed stunned; Rose could not see any movement from him. The screwdriver made a small clinking as it rolled, and one of the brutes looked down at the device. He lifted his foot with a satisfied grin.
Rose was only a few meters from the doorway now. She made a dive for the screwdriver, slapping her hand over it just before the massive foot landed heavily. She ripped her hand back, avoiding the very large shoe by only a few centimeters.
She could see inside the room now. The Doctor was struggling to his feet as one Mogronon held Jackie around the chest, his fingers clenched over her jaw to keep her head in place. The second alien stood in front of her, lowering his head.
"Jackie!" the Doctor cried, "look away! Close your eyes!"
But Jackie's eyes simply widened, and her expression quickly changed from one of abject fear to one of absolute blankness. The Doctor was frantically reaching back outside the door, searching for the screwdriver.
"I've got it!" Rose called, backing away from the Mogronon who was reaching for her neck.
"Setting 367!" the Doctor yelled. "Now!"
She had to look down to make the adjustment, and by the time she put her finger on the switch the Mogronon's hand was around her throat. He was dragging her up, cutting off her airway as he did. She was immediately dizzy, consciousness slipping away quickly under his iron grip.
"Rose! Do it!"
Spurred by the Doctor's voice, she forced her finger to flick at the switch as blackness swirled all about her. She was slipping away, the screwdriver sliding from her slackening grasp… and she had no idea if she'd even switched it on.
Suddenly she collided with something very hard, her head and back slamming against the floor. There was a pulsing, a throbbing in her temples, and she was sure it was due to the asphyxiation. Then the blackness yielded to a bright, bluish light. Rose was certain that she was dead.