Head Notes: here we go: Chapter ten. Enjoy!

Chapter Ten

John strapped two guns to his body and stored an extra cache of ammunition in his coat. Once he was sufficiently prepared, he followed the Doctor into the TARDIS. His eyes widened at the expansive size of the interior. It was the most impressive thing he had ever seen.

"Yes, yes, it's bigger on the inside," the Doctor said smugly. "Now that that's out of the way, let's get busy."

He threw a lever and the machine came alive. He heard the same wheezing and groaning he had heard when it had first appeared in the subway. It settled a moment later as the TARDIS landed with a thud.

John followed the Doctor out of the TARDIS. They were in a poor neighborhood. One where any remaining security cameras were likely not functioning. John hung back a little.

Noticing this, the Doctor asked, "Didn't you want to come?"

"The whole point of being a back-up is not being seen," John explained. "You go on ahead. I'll watch from a distance."

The Doctor scoffed and moved ahead. John followed him a few paces behind. Just close enough that he could see everywhere the Doctor went but far back enough that anyone observing wouldn't notice.

The Doctor turned down an alleyway and John hung back, peering around the corner just enough to see what was going on. Someone stepped out of the shadows to greet the Doctor. Someone he realized he knew.

John stared as Claire Mahoney brushed her hair out of her eyes and frantically gazed around the alley. After staring at her for a moment, John tapped his ear piece.

"Harold, I just found out who's meeting the Doctor," he announced. "It's Claire Mahoney."

XxXxXxX

The Doctor stepped in the alley toward their agreed meeting place. He didn't see anyone yet, but he was sure whoever it was would be here soon.

"I'm right here, Doctor," a voice said.

He turned toward it to see a young woman step out of the shadows and take a tentative step forward, her eyes looking out for anything she might have missed. She was around Clara's age and was burdened by what looked like a heavy backpack.

"You said you could help me find Clara," he said, skipping introductions.

"Yes, I can," she confirmed. "But keep in mind I have to be subtle about how I do it or it won't work."

"I hate computers," the Doctor seethed to himself. "First, how did you find Clara?"

"I was with her," she admitted. "I talked to her. Trying to get her to tell me about you."

"What did you do to her?" he glowered. "Did you hurt her?"

"No, I just talked to her," she insisted. "But….I watched it happen."

"I need to know," he insisted. "What did they do to her?"

"They tortured her," she answered. She hesitated as his features hardened into a rage.

"Go on," he ordered.

"They injected her. Made her hallucinate. Manipulated her brain in hopes that she would tell them about you," she explained.

"And you sat there watching as they did it," he hissed, his voice forcibly calm.

To her credit, the young woman made no attempt to justify herself. She dropped her gaze to avoid his eyes, fiddling with the strap of her backpack. She didn't speak, sensing that any kind of apology would be inadequate.

"What else did they do to her?" he asked.

The young woman hesitated, avoiding his gaze as she tried to sort through her thoughts.

"Electrodes," she whispered. "Greer and the others implanted electrodes along her spine. Normally electrodes don't do much more than record or stimulate the brain or nervous system. But Samaritan found a way to manipulate them…"

"In order to produce pain," the Doctor concluded. "So now Samaritan can torture or kill without relying on humans to do it."

"After that Greer gave up asking her for information," She said. "He made a video threat to lure you out of hiding."

"I saw it," he said shortly. "So they tortured and threatened her and you did nothing?"

"…I didn't know…well, I thought," she stammered, avoiding his gaze.

"I see," the Doctor seethed, drawing her gaze. "You wanted to live in denial. You stood there and watched as they manipulated her, tortured her and did nothing about it because you refused to believe that you were allied with the wrong people until it was spelled out in front of you. Only when it became obvious that your beloved Samaritan was the cause of all the pain she was suffering did you lift a finger to help her. Maybe you thought Samaritan was accomplishing great things, that maybe the good it was doing outweighed the bad. Or maybe you even went so far as to believe that the goals it was trying to meet were far more important than the people it killed along the way. Well, I'm sorry! Weighing lives against an accomplishment doesn't make Samaritan a god. It makes it a monster."

She hadn't moved or made a sound during his entire rant, except for fiddling with the straps on her backpack. She made no attempt to excuse or explain herself; she just stood there, her eyes flickering from his eyes, to his chest, to the ground.

"I'm sorry," her voice was barely audible.

"Yes, you are sorry," he said snarkily. "The question is: what are you sorry for? Are you sorry she suffered because you didn't do anything? Or are you sorry that you got called out on?"

"What do you want me to say?" she asked, looking up at him. "I can't fix what I've already done, and I'm not going to pretend to. But the longer we stand here talking about what I did wrong, the longer Clara's life is in danger."

"Very well," he seethed. "I will hold off on the rest until Clara is safe. I have a plan to rescue her," he told her. "But I need inside information. I need you to go back, pretend everything is normal and find information for me," he ordered. "I need to know exactly how many cameras are in Samaritan's current location and where they are located."

"I'm not sure if I can do that," she doubted. "If Samaritan-"

"I'm not asking you!" he clarified. "This is an order. Until Clara is safe, you will do exactly what I tell you. Do you understand?"

She hesitated. The Doctor could see the doubt and fear flitting across her face. After a moment, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath as determination solidified her features.

"Yes," she answered.

"Good," the Doctor said. "As soon as you have that information, call me immediately."

"I will," she said.

"Good," he said. "I will work on my part of the plan while you do that."

"What is your plan?" she wondered.

"No idea," he admitted. "But I will have a plan by tomorrow. Now, go."

He watched as the young woman left and turned out of the alley.

"Hold on, Clara," he pleaded to himself. "One more day and I can save you. Just hold on one more day."

XxXxXxX

John watched as the Doctor began conversing with Claire. He didn't know what to believe. She seemed genuinely frightened but how convincing had she been with Harold before pulling a gun on him? Harold didn't like to talk about it, but John could tell that he had honestly hoped that Claire had been genuine in her defection. He continued to watch as Finch's voice finally sounded in his ear.

"What is she doing?" Harold asked.

"So far, just talking to him," he reported.

"Don't let your guard down," Finch insisted. "There may be snipers."

"I was an international spy, Finch," he reminded him. "I know how to look out for snipers. And so far, I haven't seen any. No hidden guys on the rooftop, no gun barrels hiding in ledges or windows. The only thing I can't account for are possible bugs."

"Perhaps I can help on that end," Finch suggested, the sound of keys tapping sounding over the phone. "What are they doing now?"

"I think they're just talking," he answered. "He looks furious. She looks….ashamed."

"You can't always judge by someone's expression," Harold noted.

John continued to watch as the Doctor and Claire continued their conversation. Suddenly, Claire turned and began walking to the end of the alley.

Instinctively, he turned his face away and waited while she walked past. He turned back to face the Doctor and moved toward him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"No. My friend has been kidnapped by an insane, paranoid computer. Why would I be okay?" The Doctor answered bluntly.

"What did you two talk about?" John asked.

"Well in a few more hours we will have information on Samaritan's stronghold," the Doctor boasted. "And why do you look like that?"

"Like what?" John wondered.

"You look like you know something that I don't," the Doctor pointed out. "If you do I would prefer it if you just told me instead of waiting for the right moment."

John hesitated for a moment.

"That young woman you were meeting," John began. "We know her. She's Claire Mahoney."

XxXxXxXxX

End Notes: so what did you think? Please give me feedback.