Over the next two days little changed. The Doctor continued to be restrained to the bed as he screamed until he fell asleep. He refused to eat, drink, or even acknowledge them as he demanded to be released. He made sure they knew that he was their prisoner and that he refused to accept the help that they were forcing upon him. He also made sure they knew that once the Master was free he would be coming to save him and he couldn't wait to watch the tiny little apes fall. He was wrong on all accounts except for one. It was the reason the hub was currently on lockdown, not that he knew that. The less he knew about the call that Jack received earlier that morning the better in his opinion.
"Captain Jack Harkness," he answered. It was his usual greeting and not just a way of flirting as the Doctor thought. Granted, he could use it to flirt if he wanted to, just a slight change in his tone and he could have any man, woman, or variation thereupon swooning over him.
"Captain, I am sorry to call you so early but as of 0600 hours the Master has managed to escape from captivity," the Brigadier responded.
"This is a joke, isn't it?" Jack asked positive that he didn't hear the man correctly.
"I'm sorry but it is not a joke. We received information early this morning that a shuttle had landed near the base and others were on the way to rescue him. We put extra guards at the perimeter but they still managed to infiltrate our troops. In fact, one of them was already working for UNIT and while our men were distracted they attacked the other guards allowing the Master to slip free. We tried to stop him but he was able to make it out of UNIT and to his allies," Alistair informed him. Jack swore underneath his breath as he used his computer to place the hub on a red alert. He bypassed the cells making sure they remained brightly lit and that the Doctor was unaware of anything that was going on.
"He had to have planned his escape in case he was captured because he was out in a matter of minutes. We will do everything we can to help you recapture him if he returns to Earth but we will have to find another place to keep him outside of UNIT as we have no way of knowing if he has other allies inside. We do plan to launch a full investigation into our men and anyone who was helping with him will be dealt with," The Brigadier reassured Jack.
"How did these men go undetected?" Jack wondered. There was no accusation in his voice but just a general curiosity. UNIT was a big place but they had annual physicals and anyone not human would be detected almost immediately.
"We aren't sure. The man who escaped with him was well on his way to being promoted. He was well-liked among his peers and showed no signs that he was helping the Master," the Brigadier explained.
"Was he aboard the Valiant?" Jack questioned. While most of the world got to forget what happened during the year that never was, there were a handful of soldiers who were on the Valiant who still remembered.
"No, he was hired after," The Brigadier answered honestly.
"Keep me updated on the progress and I will call you if he shows up here. For now, I have to go update my team on why we are on red alert," Jack told him. He didn't give the Brigadier a chance to say goodbye before he hung up the phone. Leaning back, he ran his hands down his face. The Doctor was convinced that the minute the Master had escaped he would be on his way to Cardiff to free the Doctor. Jack just hoped that he was wrong. Standing up, he made his way out of his office calling out to his team members to join him in the meeting room in five minutes. They came to stopping points in their work as Ianto went to make everyone coffees. Jack went ahead of them into the meeting room to pull up the feed from the cells so he could still keep an eye on the Doctor as they spoke.
The Doctor hadn't moved. He wasn't screaming anymore either as he stared at the camera with all the force of the oncoming storm. Jack had seen that stare many times and knew it could cause even the mightest of the Doctor's foes to crumble. It was hard to be afraid of him when he was completely immobilized by restraints with an IV in his arm and catheter. He left the screen on as his team filed in. Drinks were passed around and they all sat sipping them as Jack told them about the Brigadiers call.
"Are our family's safe?" Martha wondered as he finished.
"I believe they are but just in case I can have the Brigadier send guards to stay with your family. I can also do that for your families Gwen, and Ianto," Jack offered. Gwen nodded her approval while Ianto declined. He only had his sister and she didn't know of the work that he did at Torchwood. He didn't want her to find out by guards showing up at her door to protect her. Jack promised they could still discreetly watch her and Ianto readily agreed to that as long as they didn't enter her home. The main part of the meeting done, they quickly discussed the morning events before returning to work. Jack took one last look at the monitor before making his way back to his office. He had a lot of work to do but first, he needed to call the Brigadier again to make sure every one of their families was safe, including his own.