Head Notes: So this chapter consists mostly of planning and interaction. Not a lot happens in terms of action, but hopefully it is still enjoyable. Enjoy!
Chapter Twelve
The Doctor tinkered in the TARDIS, trying to build something to slow down the flow of information the TARDIS would share with the Machine. This end was critical. No matter how well Harold and the others built the filter, it wouldn't be enough to control the information on its own. A filter built with merely human technology could never account for alien technology.
"Don't take it personally, old girl," he mumbled to the TARDIS around him.
He had worked all night as had the others. The humans had dozed off but that was typical of their species. The human body could only resist sleep for half the time he could. The only one still awake was Back-up.
He checked the local time on the TARDIS screen. 7:03. According to the season of the year in this part of the world, the sun would be coming up soon. Not that the light would ever reach this far down.
It was interesting. This would be exactly one of those moments when Clara would burst into the TARDIS with her bright smile, her eyes filled with excitement. He'd give some reason as to why he was too busy at the moment, which she would completely disregard. And off they'd go on their next adventure their cares forgotten and left behind.
But she wasn't bursting through those doors. For all he knew, she never would again. The thought of her memory motivated him to work quicker and harder. Clara Oswald's life depended on him and he would not rest until she was safely back on board the TARDIS.
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Harold jerked awake, instantly regretting his sudden movement as the strained muscles in his back painfully restricted his movement. How could he have acted so foolishly? A young woman was depending on them and he had carelessly dozed off. He looked beside him to see that Ms. Groves had done the same. He thought about it for a moment, but decided that Ms. Groves needed the rest.
"How long have I been asleep?" he demanded.
"Relax, Harold," John advised. "You only slept for three hours."
"Three hours?" Finch repeated. "Oh dear."
He shook the remaining sleep out of his eyes and resumed his task. He tapped on the keyboard, putting line after line of code into the machine building a filter to protect it from overload. He didn't know the exact specifications it would need because he didn't know the power the TARDIS contained. But he suspected that was why the Doctor was working on his end.
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The Doctor worked for another two hours tinkering with his project. It was almost completed.
He looked up from his work as the TARDIS phone rang. Putting his work to the side, he went and answered it.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Doctor, it's me," Claire replied. "I have the information you need. I counted all the cameras and downloaded a plan of the building."
"Good, where are you?" The Doctor asked.
"Time's Square," she replied.
"Time's Square?" the Doctor repeated. "There's bound to be camera's all over the place."
"It's also the only place I could hack into the building without Samaritan being able to trace it back to me," Claire explained. "Too many signals all at the same time. Can't track who's calling who, or who's hacking what."
"Good thinking," the Doctor commented. "Where exactly are you? I'm coming to get you."
She gave the exact address.
"Good. I'll be right there," he said.
"But Doctor, Samaritan will see you," she warned.
"Let me worry about that," he said. Without another word he hung up.
"Team Machine," he called out of the TARDIS. "Claire just called. She has the information we need. I'm bringing her here."
That inspired a reaction from everyone. Harold and Root stared at him in disbelief while Back-up glanced at his friends before looking at him.
"Doctor," Harold began in disbelief. "Why can't you take our word for it? That young woman cannot be trusted, especially not here. This is our sanctuary. This is the only place in the city that we can meet without drawing attention to ourselves. To bring her here, is no less than suicidal. It would be akin to bringing in the Trojan horse."
"First of all, it was never the wooden horse, that's where everyone's wrong," the Doctor pointed out. "It was a statue of the king. A false wooden monument to the Trojan king. It was meant to stoke his ego and that's what they brought in. That's what the Greeks-"
"Regardless of the Trojan wars, Doctor," Harold interrupted. "The basic principle is the same. To bring her here would ensure our destruction from the inside."
"Second of all," the Doctor continued. "I wouldn't bring anyone here if I didn't trust them. If you can't trust her at least trust me. I need you to trust me, all of you."
He gazed into their eyes one by one until he saw each of them consent to at least trust him.
"Good, back in a minute," he announced, rushing into the TARDIS. Without another moment's hesitation, he threw the lever and the TARDIS powered up.
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Claire sat at the corner of Time's Square securing the plans to Samaritan's building. Over the rush of traffic unique to Time's Square, she heard a strange noise, but didn't give it any thought. It was New York, after all. Strange things happened every day. It was humdrum by now. But then she heard it again, louder and more intrusive. She tracked the sound with her eyes, trying to find the source of it.
"What the-" she wondered.
There, five feet to her left, a blue box faded from view only return with a bolder, more solid color. She hesitated, not knowing whether she should run or stay.
Suddenly the front opened to reveal a familiar face: the Doctor.
"You," he pointed directly at her. "Into the TARDIS now."
Wasting no time, she gathered up her things and followed the Doctor inside the small wooden box. Although, small was a seemed to be an illusion as soon as she entered the deceptively wooden box. The inside was infinitely bigger than the small wooden box she had just entered. The spherical room was lit up with orange and blue light with a tall column in the middle surrounded by a console. But beyond that the entire room seemed to be alive with energy. For the first time in the longest time she felt at home.
"This is beautiful," she whispered in awe. "What is this?"
"It's called the TARDIS," the Doctor answered. "It can go anywhere in time and space."
"I can see why Clara travels with you," she remarked. She hesitated a little. "Could I come with you?"
"Sorry," the Doctor reacted, stopping his actions to glance at her.
"When Clara is safe and everything's over," she clarified. "There's nothing for me here. So could I come with you?"
The Doctor watched her for a moment as if he hadn't considered that she would ask him for that.
Finally, he smiled. "I'll think about it," he answered. "But no immediate promises."
With that, he threw a lever and the room came to life. The lights in the room flashed simultaneously and the ceiling began to move.
"I understand that you lot don't have an exactly trusting history," the Doctor spoke, getting her attention. "But I've already told them, and I'm prepared to tell you: get over it."
The room became still but Claire was still confused by the Doctor's last comment.
"Get over what?" she asked.
The Doctor slid one of the screens over to her. She took it and one glance at it erased all hope from her mind.
"No," she gasped in denial. There in the background was Harold Finch working tirelessly at his latest plan to overthrow Samaritan. "No Doctor, you don't understand. I can't face that man. He hates me."
"I know," the Doctor confirmed simply.
Claire turned to the Doctor in shock.
"Then why did you bring me here?" she demanded.
"I don't have time to wait for everyone to be comfortable with each other," the Doctor said impatiently. "We've got one shot of saving Clara. So I need all the information in one room. And that includes you."
He moved towards the door and gestured for her to follow him.
How could she go out there and face Harold. Just walk right in to his area like it had never happened. She didn't have the right to go out there and look him in the eyes. It would be an insult to Harold and to herself.
"Come on, Claire we're waiting for you," the Doctor called.
The weight of the backpack didn't seem to be there anymore. At this moment, nothing existed other than herself and the shame welling up in her bones. But the Doctor needed her. Clara needed her. The Doctor was right. She didn't have time to be ashamed about anything she had done before.
Taking a deep breath, she took the first faltering step to the door. There were a few moments when she was tempted to stay in the TARDIS. Run out of the doors leading out of the console room. But she reminded herself that this wasn't about her and Harold. It was about saving Clara.
Finally, she stepped outside the TARDIS into the cool room currently being used for Harold's base of operations. It's an abandoned subway station, she realized. She admired his resourcefulness. Using the subway power system to power his base without having to leave a trace. She refused to meet anyone's gaze, letting her eyes rest on the subway car, or the computer desk, or the floor, or anywhere she wouldn't have to face the people she had wronged and betrayed.
She looked at the Doctor, possibly the only person who could stand to look at her right now.
"I have it here Doctor," she said, indicating her backpack.
"Good," he said. "Let's open it and have a look."
She set her backpack on the floor and retrieved her laptop and notebook, setting them on the desk. She opened her notebook and pulled up the building plans for Samaritan's building. She could feel Harold's eyes drilling into the back of her head. She didn't need to see him to know that he was absolutely furious. She refused to look back at him, knowing that if she were to see the look on his face she wouldn't be able to do what still had to be done.
She displayed the screen for the Doctor to see.
"So there's obviously cameras throughout the building, but there are tiny pockets where Samaritan is blind and your TARDIS can probably fit in those places," she shared.
"That was the plan," he commented. "What about the server room?"
"The server room?" Claire repeated.
"Samaritan didn't notice us until we came out of that room, and that's when we got separated," the Doctor explained.
"If only I had thought to look for footage from that night," she whispered to herself. "If I could find where Clara was captured that would narrow down the search for a safe entrance."
To her surprise, the computer to her right beeped, drawing her attention. It began producing lines of code, going too quickly for her to keep up.
"Looks like I'm not the only one who trusts you," the Doctor commented.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It's nothing," Harold suddenly spoke from behind her.
The sudden outburst drew her attention and she looked back at him before she could stop herself. The furious glint in his eye chilled her blood, but she didn't blame him for being angry. She glanced back at Harold's computer to see that a video had popped up. Video footage from inside Samaritan's current location.
"How did you do that?" she wondered, impressed.
Harold didn't answer. She focused her attention on the footage.
There at around 2 AM, a sliding door opened to reveal the Doctor and Clara. The pair glanced down the hall before turning left only to come running back about two minutes later.
"That room," she pointed. "Is the only room on that floor with a sliding door. If you landed in that room, Doctor, but Samaritan didn't see you until after you came out, then there may not be any cameras in that room."
"But the door closed on Clara," he objected. "How did that happen?"
"All the locks on that floor are controlled electronically," she surmised. "And that room is the only room I know of guarded by a sliding door."
"Ah, so Samaritan can control security in that room single-handedly," the Doctor commented. "What else can you tell me?"
"Clara's room is far away from that room and has dozens of cameras in the way," she began. "But if you can land your TARDIS in the server room, one of us could control the cameras remotely while also keeping an eye out for any guards or obstacles."
"Good thinking," the Doctor praised. "Claire, I need your help in the TARDIS. Everyone else keep working."
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End Notes: Since the Doctor is big on nicknames, I decided to have him address the team as a whole as "Team Machine" since that's what we call them anyways. Please tell me what you think. I am interested to know your opinions. What did you enjoy? What parts weren't so great?