"Quick! Everyone get into the Rover" shouted the Doctor.
"What are Cybermen doing here?" asked Jack.
"Dunno. Don't really care at the moment. Come on!" answered the Doctor.
They bundled into the Rover and sped off in the opposite direction to the Cybermen. The Doctor's control of the vehicle was more than a little haphazard and came close to colliding with several other Rovers. Up ahead was very bad news. A second group of Cybermen had set up a road block. There was now nowhere else to go.
"I guess that's the end of our escape then huh?!" said Jack.
"Yes. I guess it is" replied the Doctor sorrowfully.
About half an hour later, the Doctor; Martha; Jack and Nicola found themselves in a concrete prison cell. All of them, apart from Jack, had been branded as "mingers". He was being held on a charge of assisting an escape, which meant that, although he wasn't going to face being turned into a Cyberman, he was going to be spend several years in jail.
"Can't you use your sonic screwdriver to get us out of here?" asked a terrified Martha.
"Afraid not. The door's deadlock sealed" replied the troubled Doctor.
"I'm sorry I got you into this" sobbed Nicola. "It's all my fault"
"No it's not" replied Martha "We couldn't just let you get killed"
Jack sat silently in the corner, knowing full well that, whilst his friends were going to be taken to be converted, he would be moved to a smaller cell. He tried hard to come up with a plan to escape and rescue them when the time came. He knew that whilst the Cybermen were large and very strong, he was much faster than them. Getting through a tall thick perimeter gate was going to be a far greater challenge though. What he really needed was his gun, but the Cybermen had been careful to relieve him of it.
It was now nightfall. On the edge of the colony were a small band of people. None of them shared the qualities of the other Human occupants – they were a mixture of people young and old, slender and obese.
"I saw 'em. The Police were out snatching today" said a short, middle aged tubby man. "They weren't the usual sort either. There was a dark skinned girl and a guy wearing a long brown coat"
"Well, we better go get them then" signalled a young redhead woman. "If there are off-worlders here, we better go and introduce ourselves"
The party of three men and two women got into a large vehicle and drove cautiously through the colony towards the government complex. Although there was a much diminished Police presence at night, there was a large network of robot cameras trained to spot anything or anyone suspicious, and they had almost certainly been caught on camera within the government complex the last time they organised a break out. However, they were confident that the operation could be carried out with the minimum of fuss. The group relied on the fact that although the people deemed up to standard had a good life, there were many that were at least partly disillusioned with the unnatural selection that was taking place.
When they finally arrived at the government complex, the other woman, who would not look too out of place in the colony, got out of the vehicle and walked up to the Police guard on the gate. It was one of the men the group knew well and acted as an informant.
"They're in the high security wing" he said softly. "Here, you'll need these passes. Good luck"
He handed the striking woman two passes and opened the gate, allowing the vehicle to enter the complex.
As far as they were concerned, all was going to plan. However, they were unaware that Charles Valli was watching their movements via the network of security cameras dotted around the complex. There was a knock on the door.
"Enter" shouted Charles.
The guard who had admitted the group into the complex entered the room looking very nervous.
"You have done well" Charles told him "If they are caught, you will get your pardon"
"Thank you sir" replied the guard, still nervous.
The guard regretted what he had just done. He had been caught out the time before when he handed a security pass in sight of a hidden camera set up after Charles became convinced that the break-outs were at least partly assisted by someone inside the complex. He would have warned them if he was not being watched so intently, but now all he could hope for was that he would not see them again.
Jack was still pondering an escape plan. The Doctor was, rather predictably, attempting to "resonate concrete" – a plan with a one-hundred percent failure rate noted Martha. Jack was convinced the only reason he attempted it was to hide the fact that he had no real plan. Martha was growing ever more impatient by the minute. Consoling Nicola had not taken all of her frustration away. She walked over to the door and started banging on it.
"Let us out!" she shouted desperately, making as much noise as possible.
It appeared as though Martha's desperate plan had worked. As she was banging on the door, the alarm started whaling.
"Ah! I did it!" she shouted excitedly. "Get ready everyone."
Unfortunately for the group of five trying to break-in to the prison, the security card they had been given had set off a deafening alarm. All, apart from the red-haired woman, were panic stricken. Despite their pleas, she authoritatively told them to get out the explosives.
"If we're going to get caught, then we will get caught trying – not running away!" she said.
Not convinced of this move, but seeing that their capture was inevitable anyway, the rest of the group helped out and blew out the door. They took their phasor weapons out of their belts and walked cautiously into the high security wing of the prison.
"Duck" shouted the tubby man as one of the human Policeman fired at them. Luckily, the group's leader was more accurate and shot the Policeman in the forehead.
"I've found the cell said the other woman"
They ran towards the cell weapons facing forward and laid some explosives on the heavy door.
"Stand back!" shouted the red-haired woman.
Inside the cell, the Doctor acknowledged the command and pushed everyone towards the back of the cell. With an almighty bang, the door collapsed and the Doctor; Martha; Jack; and Nicola rushed out of the cell.
"Thank you" said Martha.
"There's no time for introductions" Jack interjected "We've got to get out of here!"
A red-haired woman beckoned them to follow her and the group made their way out of the prison wing.
The area outside was swarming with policemen; their guns all trained at the group of people trying to escape.
"Drop your weapons and put your hands up!" shouted Charles wickedly.
The Doctor noticed a power cable near the door. He pointed his sonic screwdriver at it and shouted "Duck!" The sonic screwdriver managed to penetrate the sleeving and caused an electrical short. The scene fell dark. The Policemen opened fire. With the cover of darkness, the group made their way into the large vehicle and drove at the Policemen. Moments later, they were at the perimeter and almost safe.
The power had come back on though, and it was up to them to get the heavy gate open. Jack smashed into the gatehouse and flicked the gate controls whilst the five members of the mysterious group fired at the pursuing Policemen. As the gate began to open, they bundled back in to their transport and sped away. They had escaped.
End of Chapter Two