The call to the Brigadier was harder than Jack thought it would be. The older man was worried about his friend but just like Jack understood that getting the Doctor away from the Master's clutches would not be easy. They would have to plan and prepare and even still they could fail. Jack allowed the Brigadier to send in a small team in order to set up surveillance on the two Time Lords. They had to be careful as the Master was smart and he would notice anything consistent or anyone. They had to make sure not to alert him to the fact he was being watched or they feared that he would take the Doctor and flee. If that happened they didn't know if they would get another chance to save the man. There was a small argument between Jack and the Brigadier about where the Doctor would go to recover. In the end, the Brigadier agreed to allow Jack to take the Doctor as he would be locking the Master up in their cells and the further apart they could keep the two the better.
Mickey and Martha's nights were now filled with reviewing the pictures that were sent over from UNIT and communicating with the base in order to figure out the best way to extract the Doctor. Over the next week, they were able to establish the Master's routine just by watching him. He always left the hotel room at the same time in the evening with the Doctor by his side. Together they would go for a meal at one of the many restaurants nearby before returning to the hotel again. From there the Doctor would be alone for about a half an hour before the Master returned with a random gentleman in tow. It took a little more work to figure out that he was picking the men up from a nearby underground bar that catered to humans and aliens alike. The men would stay with the Doctor for two hours while the Master was out. His routine varied from day to day during those hours as he sometimes went back to the bar and other times ran various errands. He always returned right as the two hours were up and disappeared into the room once more with the Doctor until the early morning. Early mornings varied too much so, it was that two-hour window that was their opportunity to save their friend.
"He's having sex with them," Mickey stated as they discussed saving the Doctor.
"I don't think so," Jack laughed him off.
"Just because you could never get in his trousers doesn't mean he isn't sleeping with them," Mickey argued back. Jack looked in the rearview mirror glaring at the young man.
"Enough," Martha interrupted before Jack could make some snide comment. They had been having the same argument for several days now and she was sick of hearing it. Mickey went quiet but she could still hear Jack mumbling under his breath about the Doctor possibly being asexual and Mickey wouldn't know if someone was having sex, even if he was involved. Martha ignored him as she opened up her laptop once more pulling up the data she had on the Doctor. Tonight was the night they would be trying to extract him and they were relying on her to make sure they had him properly sedated for the three-hour ride back to Cardiff. While she knew the sedative would work, she was terrified of overdosing him and had checked her calculations numerous times to be sure she got the dosage right before relaying the information to UNIT.
"There's the Brigadier," Jack stated as he pulled the SUV off to the side of the road and parking. They got out, going to meet the man.
"The Master just entered the bar so we have a half-hour before his return. I have stationed my man inside hoping he is chosen to come back to the hotel but if not we are going to go in and extract him using force. I have a team set up and ready to move in as soon as the Master leaves the Doctor for the night and I am hoping to apprehend him without having to kill him," the Brigadier stated.
"Accidents do happen," Jack answered dryly.
"Yes, they do," the Brigadier agreed. "Regardless once the Doctor is secured, I will follow our agreement to allow you to take the Doctor back to Cardiff as long as you provide me with regular updates about his condition but I hope you weren't planning on moving his TARDIS in the SUV with him as I am positive not all of you will fit."
"Rhys will be here shortly with a truck so that we can take the TARDIS back to the hub. I will need your men's help though to load it onto the truck as she is heavier then she looks," Jack answered.
"Of course. Let's just hope things go smoothly so my men are able to assist," the Brigadier replied. Jack nodded his agreement as the four of them hung back waiting for their parts in helping the Doctor. To no one's surprise, the man the Brigadier placed at the bar wasn't chosen but instead, a tall skinny man joined the Doctor in the hotel room. The Brigadier gave the orders for his men to capture the Master quietly while the small Torchwood team advanced on the hotel. Even if Jack wanted to rush in, they still waited until they received word that the Master had been apprehended and was being placed in the back of a high-secured vehicle in order to be transported back to UNIT. With that knowledge, another team joined the Torchwood team.
"On my go," the leader of the UNIT team commanded. He used his fingers to count from three to one before knocking the door in. Jack would never admit Mickey was right and Mickey wouldn't ask him to as they entered startling the two men in the room. The Time Lord that Jack loved and respected was pushed away onto his bottom as the other man pulled himself out of his mouth quickly and tucked himself back inside his trousers.
"This isn't what it looks like," the man stated zipping himself up.
"We aren't here for you, so if you leave now there won't be any charges," Jack stated snapping out of his shock. The man quickly left as the team surrounded the Doctor. He didn't look afraid as he took in the small group. His brown eyes were glazed over and the bulge in his trousers was still prominent. He smiled dopely at them as he moved up onto his knees again.
"Doctor?" Martha wondered. He let his head roll to the side to look at her.
"Hello," he slurred his smile growing larger. He reached for his trousers fumbling with the button as he spoke again. "You're going to have to wait for your turns." Martha looked at Jack. The horror in his eyes was clear as he turned his own eyes to meet her.
"You know why you are here, just do it so we can't get him back to Cardiff," he ordered. He didn't wait for her to follow his orders as he turned leaving the room. Martha took a step forward pulling the syringe out of her pocket. Taking the Doctor's arm she stopped him from removing his clothing. He watched her, not focusing as she looked at his arm seeing all the red dots lining his once pale skin. He didn't seem to care about the needle even as she carefully inserted it into his arm empting the contents.
"Just sleep now, Doctor," Martha told him softly. She released his arm to cap the syringe and he whimpered at the loss of contact. There was a confusion in his eyes now as he once more reached for his trousers. He didn't like the fact that he was once again stopped. His agitation showed as he reached for one of the UNIT team just to have them step out of his grasp. As the sedative took effect, his movements became sluggish but that didn't stop him from trying until he fell forward with his face on the floor and his bottom in the air. Martha left him for just a moment to get Jack. Jack thankfully, hadn't gone far and was just sitting outside the hotel with his back to the wall. "He's asleep."
"Let's get him back to Cardiff," Jack told her, his tone professional and giving nothing away. Inside he was full of turmoil and wished that he had killed the Master when he had the chance. Despite his cold appearance, he was still gentle as he took the Doctor carefully in his arms. He carried the too light man back to the SUV carefully tucking him into the backseat with Martha to watch over him. Mickey sat in the passenger seat as Jack drove.
"It has to be the drugs," Martha tried to tell Jack but he turned on the radio drowning her out. Taking the hint, Martha leaned back keeping one eye on the sleeping man, she stared out the window as they began the long ride back to Cardiff.