Head Notes: So back again. I should warn you, I have returned to school. I will try to keep posting at least one chapter a day, but they will probably mostly be in the afternoon or evening.

Chapter eleven

"I don't get it," the Doctor ranted. "Who is Claire Mahoney?"

John and the Doctor had returned to the subway. The Doctor paced around the subway as the others explained their history with this Claire.

"She is a gifted young woman that has chosen to align herself with Samaritan," Harold practically spat.

"Yeah, I assumed that bit," the Doctor remarked. "So..?"

"So we can't trust her," Root stated.

"What and I suppose you've never made a mistake," the Doctor pointed out. "Never found yourself allied with the wrong people."

"You don't understand," Harold said.

"Then explain to me," the Doctor ordered. "Why isn't it possible for her to do the same thing every single one of you here has done at least once?"

Silence hung in the room. The Doctor looked from Harold to Root to John trying to read their faces. Root and John looked to Harold and Harold exchanged glances with his friends.

"Well?" the Doctor pressed.

"This is not the first time she has pretended to change sides," Harold spoke evenly, but his eyes glistened with a calm fury. "She put on quite a convincing act that almost ended with my capture. The only reason I stand before you today is that Ms. Groves showed up just in time to stop Samaritans operatives from taking me away. From that experience I learned that that young woman cannot be trusted."

"This is a very sore point for you, isn't it?" the Doctor realized.

"All I know is that we cannot trust anyone allied with Samaritan. Not for one moment," Harold spat.

"Yes," the Doctor spoke almost apologetically. "Well, I'm going to have to ask you, all of you, to get over it. Get over it fast because I'm going to need both of you to save Clara."

"Doctor, did you not listen to what I just said," Harold questioned flabbergasted.

"We need to break into Samaritan's stronghold in order to save Clara," the Doctor said ignoring Harold's question. "You said we couldn't because the cameras would alert them instantly. But what if we knew where those cameras were because someone on the inside told us?"

"You think we can trust her to do that?" Harold contended incredulously. "All it would take is one 'forgotten' camera and we would be captured. For all we know that's what their plan is."

"They've already made a video threat," the Doctor pointed out. "Why would they make a video if they were already planning a deception?"

"This young woman was willing to get shot on a rooftop in order to convince me to believe her," Harold countered. "You can't take everything at face value."

The Doctor turned away, pressing a hand to his face. Turning back to face them his eyes were dark but firm.

"Regardless of what you say, she is the only hope I have of saving Clara," he spoke quietly but clearly. "So however narrow that hope is, I will hang onto it with every fiber of my being until it is wrenched from my cold, dead hands. So get over it."

With a sudden change of mood, he lunged forward moving toward the subway car.

"In the meantime, what are we going to do?" He asked, running to the computer connected to the Machine. "What plan can we come up with to stop Samaritan for good?"

"Well, I don't think we can do much without the Machine being fully functional," Root said.

"Okay," the Doctor conceded. "So what does it need to be fully functional? What is it missing?"

"We need to be sure that once we release it that it can continue functioning on its own," Harold stated. "That it can repair any damage to itself, adapt itself to necessary strategies, but always maintain a moral duty to humanity. To care about the people it protects."

"Okay, might take a while," the Doctor realized. "Probably too long. Is there anything else we can try?"

The computer beeped, drawing the Doctor's attention.

MAY I SUGGEST SOMETHING DOCTOR?

"Please, I am open to ideas," the Doctor said.

WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO CONNECT MY CIRCUITS WITH THAT OF THE TARDIS?

"What like a data transference?" the Doctor clarified. "You want to psychic link with the TARDIS?"

The courser blinked at him.

"She's thousands of years older than you," the Doctor pointed out. "A data transference on that scale between two very different Machines…that could kill you."

TIME IS SHORT. MY FATHER DOES NOT HAVE TIME TO FINISH ME THE WAY HE WAS PLANNING. A DATA TRANSFERENCE BETWEEN MYSELF AND THE TARDIS WOULD COMPLETE MY DESIGN AND ENSURE THAT I CAN DO THOSE THING MY FATHER REQUESTED.

"Or it could end up killing you," the Doctor warned. "Linking you into the TARDIS would be like him," he pointed at Harold. "Yes exactly, it would be like him trying to psychic link with me. You and he can be as brilliant as you like. The information would be too much for either of you."

PERHAPS YOU AND MY FATHER COULD BUILD A FILTER. THAT WAY I ONLY TAKE IN THE INFORMATION NECESSARY TO ACCOMPLISH MY MISSION.

"That's still risky," the Doctor pondered.

EVERYTHING IS RISKY, DOCTOR. BUT IF WE DO NOT STOP SAMARITAN, IT WILL RULE HUMANITY WITH AN IRON GRIP. I AM WILLING TO ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES IF THERE IS THE SLIGHTEST CHANCE IT CAN STOP SAMARITAN.

The Doctor stared at the screen for a moment. The Machine made a great point. If they succeeded in doing this, the Machine would have an advantage over Samaritan. It would become something of a hybrid between human and alien technology. A more intelligent A.I. than would be possible otherwise. Definitely more powerful. If they succeeded, the Machine would have abilities far beyond what humans could duplicate. It was a big 'if,' but if the Machine was willing to accept the consequences, perhaps they could too.

"Alright, we'll do it," the Doctor agreed. "While your creator is doing that, I'll be working in the TARDIS. She'll have to control how much data she is going to share with you."

THANK YOU.

"Don't thank me yet," he advised. "Glasses, get started on that, Root you help him do that."

"What about me?" John wondered.

"Ah, yes, you go ahead and scout the perimeter," he suggested almost condescendingly.

XxXxXxX

Clara stood up once again to pace around the small room. Surprisingly, the electrodes in her back didn't obstruct her motor skills at all. There was still the dull ache in her back, but it didn't worsen at all unless Samaritan chose to do it. She didn't know how long it had been since she'd entrusted Claire with the Doctor's number. She desperately hoped her trust hadn't been misplaced. If the Doctor was captured because she had given them his number she would never forgive herself.

The lock on her door beeped and she turned to face the door. It was Claire. She still had her backpack slung over her shoulders and her eyes glistened with sorrow. She took out a laptop and tapped on the keyboard before glancing back at Clara.

"I installed a video loop," she explained. "They gave me permission to talk to you again but I didn't want to be overheard."

"A video loop?" Clara repeated.

"A trick I learned from a friend," she said with the tiniest hint of shame. "Speaking of which, I've met up with your friend."

"What did he say?" Clara asked.

"He's really blunt," Claire explained in short. "He didn't waste any time calling me out on everything."

"Hey," Clara whispered sympathetically. "Underneath it all, he really isn't like that. Just, when he's nervous or concerned about me, he doesn't mess around."

"You're lucky to have someone like that," she replied.

"I thought you had your friend," Clara pointed out.

"Oh, well, I say friend because that's how I see him," Claire explained. "But I don't think he will ever see me like that. Not after what I did."

"Why, what happened?" Clara wondered.

"I betrayed him," Claire answered. "It's funny, he was the first person I could talk to after my parents died. The first person who truly understood how it felt to lose someone. And it wasn't the usual 'I know how you feel,' junk that everybody says. I only talked to him a few times, but I could see it in his eyes, he honestly understood how I felt. But then I turned and betrayed him. I tried to trick him and helped Samaritan nearly capture him. I'll never forget the look in his eye when I brought in Samaritan's guard. Now that I look back on it, I'm glad I failed to bring him in."

Clara watched as Claire related her story, the shame in her face overwhelming. She offered Claire a sympathetic smile.

"If he's still alive, maybe there's a chance for you to make it right," she offered.

"I don't think so," Claire said, returning her smile. "He trusted me and I broke that trust."

"I once betrayed the Doctor," Clara shared. "Broke his heart. He found a way to forgive me even before I'd forgiven myself. As long as both of you are alive, there is always an opportunity for a second chance."

Claire shared another look with Clara before checking her watch.

"I have to go," she stated. "I have a job to do."

She tapped on the keyboard again and then placed it in her backpack. She stood up and moved toward the door with purpose, taking time to note the camera in this room. She took out her notebook and made another tally to mark another camera. So far she had made a note of twenty-three cameras in the stairwells and elevators alone. She still had to count and make a note of the ones in the halls. The Doctor had better have some miracle planned. Because that was the only way anyone would be able to break into this place without getting caught.

XxXxXxXxX

End Notes: So what do you think? Please, I am open to comments and feedback. That's how I'm going to be able to grow as a writer. Any comments would be helpful.