Chapter 12: Rescue

Jack Harkness had always been good at maths. Linear, trans-temporal, quadratic equations. Curves and lines and angles. But his forte had always been in the simplest of mathematics – the comparison of value. When it came to someone he loved, their life (or lives as the case might be) had a greater value than his own. They had taught him that – the Doctor and Rose. Selflessness in the face of battle. Selflessness for a friend. Selflessness when it came to saving others.

In the equation of Doctor and Rose versus Jack, he knew whose lives he valued more. He'd died once before. He wasn't afraid to do it again. But, if he was going to save them, he had to move and quickly.

It'd taken some convincing – rather forceful convincing, he thought without remorse as he flexed his hand, trying to get the kinks out of his joints. It'd been forever since he'd had to use that particular nerve pinch, especially through a heavy sweater. She'd just wake up with a headache, but it was better that than injury or even death – to make Evelyn stay behind, hidden in the cellar. She'd be safe as long as she didn't make a sound. Torchwood wasn't after her; they were after the Doctor.

He had to be quiet, careful, as he crossed the kitchen. The floor boards might creak, signalling his presence with all the subtlety of a shout. When he reached the entrance to the corridor, he paused.

Sounds filtered down the hallway, but he could only catch snippets of the words.

…under arrest for high treason...

…Doctor, you belong to us…

..myself!...

…Your friends will suffer. Starting with...

He knew that particular sound. Knew what could make it. It was the sound of a struggle. It only took a moment to peer around the corner. Only a second to see that a man had Rose in a headlock. He slowly reached for his blaster. He could try stunning the Torchwood agent and give Rose the chance to get away. However, he had to move slowly. Very, very slowly. A sudden movement might catch their attention.

Though the Doctor didn't raise his voice, he could hear every word. "Oh, I'm going to be calm about this, Director Yvonne Hartmann. Very, very calm. And you know why? Because if you do not have your man release Rose this instant, you will not like the consequences."

Yvonne laughed, apparently delighted. "You're exactly like the stories have claimed, Doctor. You'd do anything to keep your charges safe. Anything at all. And that is why you will not resist. Now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to your new home."

If he couldn't get them away from Yvonne's people now, he could wait until the TARDIS could be opened. He knew the Hub – provided, of course, that they went there and not back to London – inside and out. It'd just be a matter of taking a short trip in the TARDIS, breaking them out, and then leaving Earth behind.

It could work.

"No."

No?

"No?" Yvonne repeated.

"No." He could imagine the Doctor's expression, though it was hidden by layers of plaster and ratty wallpaper. If it had been the Doctor's previous incarnation, Yvonne should've been running for the hills by now. He suspected that, if anything, this particular version had less mercy than the last. Especially when it came to those who threatened the woman he loved.

"What do you mean 'no'? There's nothing you can do, Doctor, beyond prattle and make vague threats," the Director scoffed.

Now he could practically see a slow smile spread across the Time Lord's face in his mind. "And that bothers you, doesn't it? Thinking that I might know something you don't – which I do, by the way. Lots of things, really. Like dimensional and relative chronometry, transdimensional physics, how to beat a Galadorn at chess, forty-two, string theory, the exact airspeed of an unladen swallow to the sixth decimal place – both European and African - and how to make the best chocolate cake this side of the Milky Way. When I say 'no', I mean no."

He started to slide the blaster from its holster. He'd need just a few more seconds to change its setting to stun. Once that was done, he could rescue Rose.

"Enough," Yvonne snapped. "You do not want to hassle me. You wouldn't like the results. Sean, bring the girl. Doctor, you will come with me now. And that wasn't a request."

"Let her go," the Doctor snarled. "I'll go with you only if you release her."

The Director laughed. "Oh, you actually think you have a choice? You're coming with us whether you like it or not."

He heard Rose gag as the agent tightened his hold, apparently under Yvonne's direction. Anger boiled within him at the sound. He threw caution to the wind as he changed the setting on his blaster and stepped out of cover. He had to move down the hallway to get a clear shot but, once he had it, he'd use it.

The choking sounds died away as Rose began to weakly cough. "You see, Doctor? You don't have a choice at all."

He could imagine the Doctor's face, the anguish that would be written in his eyes, the anger that echoed his own. No. He heard them start to move, heard Rose's muffled protests as she tried to free herself from the goon's grip. Damnit!

Almost there, just a bit closer, and…yes. There it was. Prime shot. He wouldn't admit it to any other than himself, but he looked forward to a bit of revenge. This is for Rose, he thought as he aimed. And froze as the barrel of a gun was pressed against his head.

"Well, what do we have here?" an amused voice asked even as he heard the ominous click of the safety's release.

He squared his shoulders and led the way out of the hostel, making the appearance that his actions were entirely his idea rather than forced. Though his expression was calm, his inner thoughts were churning as he tried to determine a means of getting out of this particular predicament. He could escape – despite the guns, despite the number of personnel, there was hope. A little Venusian Aikido here, dodging there, and a good dosage of luck would be all he'd need.

However, he was effectively shackled. Rose was in danger and he wouldn't leave her. Couldn't leave her.

They could capture him. They could lock him up and throw away the key, but they never realised the truth.

Where there was life, there was hope.

Most of his foes knew the best way to hold onto him was to threaten those he cared about. What they normally didn't realise until it was too late was that the absolute worst thing to do was just that. Especially now. He used to be so full of mercy, giving out second chances with the ease of handing out a jelly baby. Not anymore.

Not now. And not with Yvonne Hartmann.

Besides, he had an ace up his sleeve. Well, not literally – or figuratively either. He resolutely ignored the pang of nostalgia and grief for a certain nitro-nine, baseball bat-toting former companion. He had Jack. There was no better backup.

"Stop struggling, girl! You can't escape," Yvonne snapped as Rose tried to kick herself free, almost striking the Director with her movements.

"Oh, getting a little touchy aren't we, Director Hartmann?" he taunted. "Feeling control slipping away? Problematic, isn't it?" He was about to continue when a shout from behind them caused him to pause.

"Director! We found him!" someone called. "We didn't even have to look."

Oh no. No, no, no. His hearts sank as he slowly turned around, already anticipating what he'd see. Sure enough, it was. Jack looked furious as he was forced down the stairs and onto the garden path.

"Oh, lovely! Jack Harkness, too. Were you counting on his help, Doctor?" Yvonne asked, smiling brightly at him. She must've seen something in his expression as she added, "Sorry to disappoint."

She might know of him through research, but there was one thing that research couldn't do. It couldn't give anyone insight into his mind. It was too complex, he was too complex, to be categorised by human psychology. Yvonne Hartmann expected him to act like a human. Expected him to rail against the injustice, fight against her with his words, or even just express crushing defeat. She wanted him to fail, wanted to see him realise that there was no way out.

Yvonne Hartmann didn't know him at all.

He grinned at the Director of the Torchwood Institute and said nothing, letting his expression say it all. Perhaps one plan was defeated before it had even begun, but there were others. There were always others. Life equals hope equals escape.

The moment she started getting edgy was the moment he congratulated himself on his plan or, rather, lack of one. She knew his hope hadn't been crushed, that he was still plotting and planning, seeing the possibilities. And it scared her, made her nervous, made her wonder and, ideally, she would start to make mistakes because of it.

"Move," Yvonne snapped, her edginess transferring to her voice.

He toyed with the idea of refusing to walk toward Torchwood's vehicles. Or, even, turning and walking in a different direction. However, he did neither. The threat of injury to either Rose or Jack was enough to restrain him – for now. His mind worked furiously to try and solve this particular problem, but nothing was coming to him. He'd solved Furnellian's equations, saved planets, defeated megalomaniacs, and faced Jackie Tyler. Escaping with limbs and companions in one piece should be simple in comparison.

It wasn't.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rose still struggling against her captor. Thankfully, the agent had chosen to release his choke hold on her and was, instead, tightly gripping her arms. "What're you going to do with us?" Rose asked.

"To start with?" Yvonne's tone was thoughtful. "Well, you and Mister Harkness can consider yourselves hostages to the Doctor's good behaviour. One false move on his part and you will suffer. As long as he cooperates, you'll be treated well."

"You mean we're gonna be prisoners," Rose replied, her voice bitter. "For what? 'Cause you want to study the Doctor?"

The Director laughed. "Oh, only in part. We are rather curious about his physiology. No, what we want is his mind."

"You want my mind?" he asked, incredulous. "Because you're overawed by my brilliance? Because you'd like to know the secret of my ability to multi-task? Or would that be because you're terribly envious of my dress sense? Or, oooh, my sense of humour? My ability to prattle? My-"

"No. Because you can teach us, Doctor. You know so much about aliens and alien technology. We want that knowledge and you're going to provide it to us for the glory of the British Empire," Yvonne declared.

He shook his head. "And I've been accused of living in my past. Or my future. Well, really both if you want to be technical about it. You're deluding yourself, Director. There is no British Empire, not anymore."

"There will be thanks to you."

She was insane. A lunatic. A fanatic of the worst sort. However, fanatics had their quirks, their buttons to push. And he loved pressing buttons, especially those associated with people that had megalomaniacal tendencies.

He was startled out of his reverie by the sound of Yvonne's curse. "The nerve of those bloody idiots! Thinking they can just swan in here... Sean, keep an eye on the Doctor and the others. I'll take care of this." The Director walked toward the street, intent on reaching what appeared to be transports.

Military transports. Beautiful, brilliant, drab green military troop transports and a command vehicle. And each one was emblazoned with a very familiar logo.

UNIT – United Nations Intelligence Taskforce.

Oh, yes! He loved it when a plan came together – even when the plan wasn't necessarily his idea in the first place.

The first person to climb out of the command vehicle was as familiar to him as the logos. Though he hadn't seen her in years – hundreds to be precise – she didn't look any different. Maybe she had a few more wrinkles and a few more grey hairs, but Brigadier Winifred Bambera had the exact same presence. The sound of another slamming door indicated that someone else had exited the vehicle, but they were hidden by the bulk of the car and the two women that were in front of it.

Bambera pointedly ignored Yvonne's approach and turned toward the troop transports. "Set up a perimeter! Move, move, move!"

"Just what do you think you're doing?" The Director's voice was loud enough to carry over the sound of the dozens of soldiers jumping out of the transports. "You are interfering in British internal affairs. I demand that you and your troops leave this city immediately. I also demand a full apology for your disruption of official government business."

"I am carrying out my orders. Director Yvonne Hartmann, I presume?" Bambera asked, a knowing smile playing across her lips. For a moment, he was reminded of a predator toying with its prey. "Brigadier Winifred Bambera, UNIT CO."

"Yes, I'm Director Hartmann. However, your orders do not and cannot include the interference in official government activities. I will repeat my earlier demands. Take your troops and leave this city immediately. You are in violation of the United Nations treaty regarding activities performed on sovereign soil," Yvonne replied.

"Oh, but I do have that authority, Director. Your agency is hereby informed that under the authority of the Top Secret United Nations Security Act 1325 slash bravo, the Doctor, his associates – be they companions, relatives of those companions, or friends – and his properties are protected in perpetuity by UNIT and the authority of the United Nations on behalf of the grateful peoples of the world." Bambera took a step toward Yvonne and stared down at her. "It's my understanding that you currently have in your custody the Doctor and his friends. You will release them immediately."

Now that was unexpected. On one hand, he was grateful to Brigadier Bambera for the timely rescue, but on the other he worried at the idea of being 'protected' in perpetuity. However, the idea that his friends and their families would be safe from harm was appealing. He wasn't entirely certain what to think, actually.

"No, I won't. That's impossible," Hartmann denied, shaking her head violently. "How could you've known? Let alone come up with this fictitious act of yours."

The answer to Yvonne's question moved around the vehicle and smiled. Gwen Cooper put her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket and replied, "I'd say that'd be because of me, Director Hartmann."

"It's amazing what a little intelligence, a little research, and a lot of favours from Geneva can pull in a short amount of time," the Brigadier said. "I suggest you let the Doctor and his friends go before, under my authority, you and your personnel are remanded to your government for punishment."

Yvonne took a deep breath – he could see the rise of her shoulders – and folded her arms before her. Though he couldn't see her face, he could imagine what it must look like. Belligerence, defiance, and perhaps a little shock must be in her expression. The question, however, was whether or not she would give in.

If she didn't, there was only one way that this particular standoff could end.

In blood.

To be continued...

I won't be posting the final chapter as usual tomorrow evening. The last chapter will be posted on Monday. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story :)