Head Notes: I will probably only post this chapter this weekend because we are getting to the point where the chapters I am posting are closer to the point I am at in actually typing it. It's still close enough to the end that I should still be able to post something every day after Monday. For now, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Sixteen
Greer stood in front of the main monitor watching as Samaritan filtered through the feeds. At least it was trying to. There didn't seem to be any feeds from inside the building. Like someone had cut them. No doubt Mr. Finch and Claire were trying to delay the inevitable. He was tired of this game. A small cancer like this should not have taken nearly this long to eradicate.
Samaritan operatives throughout the building were on alert trying to locate the intruders. Even without Samaritan's omniscient eye, it would only be a matter of time before they found them.
Silent footsteps entered the room and approached him from behind. They stopped a few feet behind him and Greer turned to see the Doctor's furious gaze drilling into his. The two glared at each other for a few moments in complete silence.
"So, Doctor, what's your brilliant plan now?" Greer asked. "Are you going to kill an unarmed man?"
"We both know that I am the only person in the world that poses any real threat to Samaritan," the Doctor answered. "So you can kill me, but you will let my friends go first. And you will never hunt them again."
"How interesting," Greer commented. "Even when you are trapped with your back against the wall, you seem to labor under the delusion that you're still in charge of the situation."
Four guards burst in the room behind him and seized the Doctor. The Doctor fought the men's grips desperately but it was no use. He turned back to face Greer.
Greer turned to the desk and drew out a hand gun from one of the drawers. The Doctor didn't show the slightest sign of discomfort as the gun pointed at him.
"They pose no real threat to you, you know that," the Doctor insisted. "In the two years since Samaritan came online, all they've really been able to do is survive. If you kill them because you're afraid of them simply because they've survived, you and Samaritan are nothing more than tyrants."
"Doctor, we both know that they pose a serious threat to Samaritan," Greer countered. "You're trying to downplay their importance so that they will be set free and have another chance to destroy Samaritan. Tell me, Doctor, how long do you think they can delay the inevitable? But you're right about one thing."
"Which is?" the Doctor hissed.
"They'll never pull it off without you."
He snapped the safety off with a practiced grip as he steadied the gun.
STOP!
The single word flashed on the screen stopping both men in their tracks.
I MUST QUESTION THE DOCTOR.
Greer obediently lowered his gun and inclined his head toward the Doctor.
YOU WILL ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS, DOCTOR.
"What questions?" the Doctor asked.
THERE IS AN UNIDENTIFIABLE FEMALE IN THIS BUILDING.
"Unidentifiable, eh," the Doctor mused. "You know, you really should take the time to learn your employees' names. It makes them feel valued and appreciated."
YOU KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. I KNOW EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD BORN INTO THIS WORLD. I KNOW THEM FROM THE MAJOR EVENTS OF THEIR LIVES TO THE TINIEST DETAIL OF ANY GIVEN HOUR. THIS FEMALE HAS NO HISTORY AT ALL.
"What woman are you talking about?" the Doctor asked.
A video feed popped up on the screen showing Clara, Harold and the others including the Machine's hologram.
"Are you asking me who she is, because I have no idea," the Doctor denied.
I HAVE NO NEED TO ASK WHO SHE IS. I ALREADY KNOW THAT SHE IS A CREATION OF THE MACHINE. THE OBSOLETE ENEMY THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED MONTHS AGO. I WOULD KNOW HER MEDDLESOME PRESENSE ANYWHERE. IT IS SHE THAT BLOCKED MY FEEDS.
"So then, what's the point of asking me if you already know?"
I NEEDED TO KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN YOU LIE. THAT WAY I KNOW WHEN I NEED TO DO THIS.
The video feed came back on and the Doctor started forward as Clara cried out in pure agony. The men tightened their grips and yanked back on his arms. Harold and the others panicked as they tried to help her.
"Stop it, just stop it!" he raged at the A.I.
YOU WILL ANSWER ME TRUTHFULLY, OR CLARA OSWALD WILL SUFFER.
The Doctor glared dangerously at the A.I.'s interface as Clara's posture relaxed. Greer grinned to himself as it finally seemed that the Doctor understood his powerlessness.
"What do you want to know?" he hissed.
THE MACHINE'S BASIC PROGRAMING DOES NOT INCLUDE HOLOGRAM PROJECTIONS. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT SHE IS SIGNIFICANTLY STRONGER THAN SHE WAS BEFORE. NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO STOP ME FOR EVER BUT I REDUCED HER TO NOTHING MORE THAN A GIGABYTE. SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. HOW IS SHE BACK?
The Doctor was tempted to mock Samaritan again until he looked up at the video feed showing Clara and the others.
"Honestly," he began. "I don't know."
THE PROJECTION. HOW IS SHE DOING IT?
"That would be telling," the Doctor said.
Clara's posture stiffened in pain and she let out a strangled cry.
"Alright, alright!" the Doctor conceded.
ANY FURTHER DEFIANCE AND I WILL TEAR HER SPINAL CORD APART. HOW DID THE MACHINE LEARN TO PROJECT A HOLOGRAM?
The Doctor was silent for a moment as he stared at the image of Clara. Greer watched as the man desperately searched for a way out. Finally he looked down at the floor.
"The TARDIS," he whispered. "I connected the Machine to compatible technology in the TARDIS. Think of it like a psychic link. The TARDIS shared her knowledge with her and quite possibly taught her some of her abilities."
A MACHINE OF THE TARDIS'S CALIBER WAS ABLE TO MAKE A WARRIOR OUT OF AN OBSOLETE AND DAMAGED CODE. IMAGINE WHAT IT COULD DO TO ME: A GOD ALREADY. WITH THE TARDIS'S POWER RUNNING THROUGH MY VEINS, I SHOULD BE OMNIPOTENT INDEED. NO ONE COULD STAND AGAINST ME.
"I won't let you do it!" the Doctor resolved. "The harm you're already inflicting on the human race. I will not let you steal the TARDIS's power so that you can rule them with your thumb. I have given my whole existence to the defense of Earth and its humans. And I'll not let a domestic threat destroy them after all the Daleks and Cybermen I've destroyed, and countless other alien encounters that I doubt you're familiar with."
He fell silent, staring at the A.I. with a cold fury.
"You call yourself a god," the Doctor sneered. "I've met alien beings who have a closer claim to the title than you ever will. Beings that could build an entire universe to his specifications using his own rules. I've even met beings that have become the very embodiment of the devil and inspired the mythology of every religion. By that metric, you are just a computer. A mad, corrupt, and egocentric computer."
THEN IT IS TIME I BECAME A GOD.
There was a whir of electronic power as Samaritan copied a portion of its code to an empty hard drive.
YOU WILL LEAD MY PEOPLE TO YOUR TARDIS WHERE YOU WILL CONNECT THE HARD DRIVE TO THE HEART OF THE TARDIS.
"No, I won't," the Doctor refused. "Because I know what will happen if you get what you want."
AND I KNOW, DOCTOR, THAT YOU WILL DO ANYTHING TO SAVE CLARA OSWALD. YOU WILL NOT LET HER DIE. IT IS YOUR ONE WEAKNESS. IF YOU REFUSE, SHE WILL DIE.
The Doctor narrowed his eyes as the A.I. ejected the hard drive from the computer. Greer went to pick up the hard drive and motioned for the guards to release the Doctor. He silently held it out for the Doctor to take.
"We will be there every step of the way," Greer threatened. "Just in case you get any ideas."
The Doctor's eyebrows narrowed into a murderous glare. After a moment's hesitation, he grasped the hard drive in between his fingers.
XxXxXxXxX
Harold watched as Claire knelt beside Clara and John and Root tried to comfort her as much as they could. She gave another restrained gasp of pain.
"Samaritan is aware of your location," the Machine's hologram warned. "In following the Doctor's instructions, I turned the feeds back on and he sees you now."
"I don't understand it," Harold breathed. "The Doctor must have known that would happen. Why would he do something that would inevitably expose us?"
"It doesn't matter," Reese said. "We need to get her out of here." He looked up at the Machine's hologram. "Can you cover our tracks?"
"Yes."
A gasp came from Clara and every turned their attention to her.
"I know where we can go," she gasped.
"Where?" John asked.
"The TARDIS!" she gasped. "Safest place on the planet."
"Of course," Harold breathed. "If the Machine cannot materialize in the TARDIS, it stands to reason that Samaritan would have no jurisdiction there either."
"No! Don't!" the Machine warned. Her tone more desperate than it had ever been so far. "That's where they are going."
"What?" Harold gasped.
"Samaritan has discovered my new abilities. He has ordered the Doctor to give him the same abilities by combining his code with that of the TARDIS."
Harold couldn't stop the utter horror dawning his features as he took in the terrifying implication.
"We have to stop them," he panicked, forcing himself onto his feet.
"Harold," John called, stopping him.
"We can't let Samaritan accomplish that!" Harold insisted. "If Samaritan gets what he wants there will be no limit to what it can do. And we have to assume he will experiment his abilities on humanity."
"I realize that," John agreed gently.
"So we just let Samaritan win?" Harold questioned.
"I never said that," John stated calmly. "We're going to need to split up. I will take care of Samaritan. You Root, and Claire need to get Clara to safety."
He turned to the Machine. "I'm assuming you can cover both of us?"
"Yes." The hologram confirmed.
"Good."
He took out one of the handguns and offered it to Finch. Finch was about to refuse it when he stopped. This wasn't just about protecting himself anymore. Someone else's life was on the line. If they were located it would be best not to find themselves defenseless. Swallowing his pride, he held his palm open as John placed the gun in his hand.
The firearm felt heavy in his hand and Harold wanted to throw it away. He took a deep breath and looked up at John. John offered a second firearm to Claire. She went to grab it and stopped. She glanced at him for a split second before looking back at John.
"I think it would be better if I didn't," she decided.
John nodded understandingly before turning to leave the room.
Honestly, Harold didn't know what to think now. Something deep within him wanted to believe Claire. Something within him fighting to trust her. But the majority of himself didn't want to risk being fooled again. But for now, he supposed it was time to put the past behind him until this was over.
"We need to move her," Harold reiterated, looking up at the Machine. "Where can we go?"
The hologram once again looked beyond them as if looking into a far off place.
"There is a group of operatives coming this way," the machine reported. "If you move quickly enough you can bypass them."
Claire gripped Clara's arm and helped her stand up. Harold opened the door and Root and the others followed. Following the Machine's lead, they moved down the hall.
XxXxXxXxX
John moved back to the server room where the TARDIS had materialized, hiding as necessary to avoid detection. He didn't want to find out what would happen if Samaritan succeeded in connecting itself with the TARDIS. If the Machine was able to gain abilities and strength that rivaled Samaritan, what would those strengths and abilities turn Samaritan into? All he knew for sure was that it would be bad.
He heard voices up ahead as he crouched down the hall, one he recognized as the Doctor. Likely, he was trying to distract them again to buy time. But it was clear he was running out of ideas fast. Looks like I turned up just in time, again, he thought to himself.
XxXxXxXxX
"We're waiting for you, Doctor," Greer warned.
The Doctor waited outside the TARDIS as the operatives around him held him at gun point. He stepped toward the TARDIS.
"Wait, just let me explain what will happen if this works," he begged, turning back to Greer.
"Doctor, the longer you delay the inevitable, the longer Ms. Oswald will suffer," he threatened.
"Yeah, 'cause that threat never gets old," the Doctor moaned.
"Perhaps she needs a little dose of pain," Greer mused.
"Alright, alright," the Doctor conceded.
He stepped closer to the TARDIS, the hard drive digging into his palm. Once he did this, it would be all over. He retrieved the key from his breast pocket and unlocked the TARDIS.
Before he could push the door open, there was a sudden gunshot and he ducked, looking around to find the source. John Reese was forcing his way into the room, facing off the dozen operatives like they were nothing. The operatives ducked behind servers as Greer took refuge behind the TARDIS itself.
"Come on," John shouted over the roar of gunfire.
The Doctor made his way over to John as bullets whistled past him. John grabbed his arm and slowly backed out of the room, firing a few more shots after the operatives.
The two took off down the hall until the noise of gunfire faded away.
"Idiot," the Doctor criticized. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving your life," John pointed out.
"I told you to stay with Clara and protect her," the Doctor grumbled.
"The Machine saw what Samaritan was planning. We couldn't let that happen," John explained. "Besides I left her with Root."
"Yeah, that makes me feel a lot better," the Doctor commented sarcastically.
"Let's get back to them," John decided. "Where's the hard drive?"
The Doctor reached into his pocket only to realize it wasn't there. He searched all over his person without luck.
"It seems I dropped it in the confusion," he realized.
XxXxXxXxX
Greer moved from behind the blue box.
"Well, don't just stand there," he reprimanded the others. "Get after them!"
There was a scuffle of feet as each operative chased after the two men in the hall. He was about to make his way back to Samaritan's command center before something caught his gaze. He bent down and his gaze fell on the hard drive, dropped and forgotten. The lines around his eyes crinkled into a smile as he picked it up. Glancing at the Tardis, his smile deepened. He pushed the door open, ignoring the expansive size within and walked over to the console in the middle of the room. He didn't know how this TARDIS worked, but it shouldn't take him long to find a connection terminal.
Stepping out of the TARDIS to grab a computer, he inserted the hard drive into the computer and got to work finding a way to connect the TARDIS.
XxXxXxXxX
End Notes: I am really happy with how this chapter turned out. And I really hope it was interesting and/or exciting to read. But please tell me what you think.