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More Torchwood drama ahead!
"Agent Smith, I'd like you to meet Warren; your new underling." Jake said, smacking the young man on the shoulder.
The Doctor looked up at the men before him. One had been a good friend of his since he had first arrived here, the other, well, he looked brooding and rather cheeky.
"My what?" he responded, taking off his specs with flash of his wrist.
Jake cleared his throat. "Underling, associate, subordinate agent." He repeated himself, 'Warren' seeming to wince at his every word.
"Nope. No, he's not because I don't want one. Return to sender." The Doctor said, focusing his attention back to his computer console.
"He's yours to command. He works underneath you… until further promotion." Jake persisted.
The Doctor groaned, leaning back in his chair. "Jake, I'm not being paid to babysit."
"Neither am I…" muttered the sullen agent, crossing his arms.
Jake gave him a look, but continued with his persuasion. "Pete assigned him to you… Carla wouldn't take him. Said she worked alone. So, I took him to you. You're an easy man to work with, right?"
"I'm a horrible man to work with according to Thaxton… probably to Rose too if it weren't for my good looks." He quipped, drumming his fingers on the armrests of his chair.
Jake rolled his eyes. "He's a great guy, really… just isn't too comfortable being chained to a desk. He served four years in the field, came highly recommended-"
"For what? Came highly recommended for what? Time-travel? I promise you I'm the only one on this base who came recommended for that! This kid? Probably a gun-slinger who doesn't know how to settle down and crunch numbers." The Doctor interjected.
Jake sighed. "Listen… it's in your contract and part of your conditions… he's here to do whatever you ask him to do."
"I resent my contract. I've already had to do plenty of things I don't agree with. And I don't agree with this either." The Doctor pressed.
Jake threw his hands up. Warren stepped forward. "I don't agree with being treated like an amateur. I was waiting on this spot. Had three months left of my field work; and then you waltz in. Didn't have to train, didn't have to do your time like the rest of us. I don't want this job either; in fact, I'd rather have yours. But we'll see how that plays out for me." He explained.
The Doctor looked rather smug. "You'd put someone as brash as him in charge of Time? See this is what I don't get about the human-"
Jake cleared his throat loudly. He wasn't about to let the Doctor get away from himself and allude to the Time Lords. That was classified information, and he was in charge of defending it. Not to mention, God knows how Warren would react if he found out he'd lost his job to an alien from a parallel universe.
"John. I'd rather not have a word with you… just put him to work. I don't want to see a complaint on anybody's desk from either of you tomorrow, you got it?" Jake finished, pointing between the two of them and then hurriedly leaving the room with a sigh.
The Doctor reclined back in his chair, raising a brow at Warren who looked the direct opposite of pleased.
"So, you're my assistant now? We agree on that?" The Doctor asked, putting his hands behind his head.
Warren closed his eyes, regaining his composure. "Yes, sir."
The Doctor concealed a grin, spinning from his chair.
He grabbed his overcoat, and stuffed his wallet into the pockets. "You see that big pile of papers and folders and what-not?" he asked, nodding to his desk.
Warren looked glum. "Yes…"
The Doctor skipped to the door. "Yeah… do something about that." He said, ducking out the door.
Warren clinched his fists. "Where are you going?" he called to him.
"Lunch!" The Doctor said, waving his car keys. "Perks of being 'chained to a desk'!"
"An assistant?" Rose said, her eyes laughing.
"Yup" he said, popping the 'p'. "Never had one of those before… companions sure. But I never looked at that way."
"Which one is he?" Rose asked, tugging on his arm as they strolled.
"Some bloke named Warren… cheeky fellow, that one!" he answered.
Rose gasped. "They gave you Warren! That's… well that's awkward."
The Doctor raised a brow. "Wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that I stole his promotion?"
Rose rolled her eyes. "It has everything to do with that. I would've taken him on… but he's an ex-engineer, and I'm in the ethics department."
"They can't just keep inventing new irrelevant departments until everyone is the Head of something?"
"So that's your solution then? How would we ever get anything done?" Rose asked incredulous.
"I don't even see the need for 'departments'. You can't specialize in knowing how to deal with extraordinary events. Unless you're me." He remarked.
Rose sighed. "Can we not talk about Torchwood? We have an hour for lunch and then we'll be up to our eyes in it all again." She said, entwining her fingers with his.
"An hour… used to be we could do so much in an hour… go anywhere, and be back within the second. Living in a straight line takes an awful lot of, well, time." The Doctor mused.
"That's why they call in the 'slow path', you oaf." Rose teased. She frowned a little. "But let's not talk about that either…"
Thunk! The dart hits the dart board, barely missing the one next to it.
"Another bulls-eye, sir." Warren calls lazily from his adjoining office.
"Splendid. Keep up the good work." The Doctor drawls, a newspaper draped over his face like a mask. He'd gotten to the society section and given up.
Another late night shift at Torchwood Tower; his office a yellow illuminated dot against the London skyline.
Warren rolls his chair over to the dart board, retrieving his last five darts with a whistle. He'd been less than pleased with his 'promotion' as of two weeks ago, but soon after John had stopped exploiting him to complete overdue paperwork, he'd had few problems with his 'boss'. He appeared to be a very light-hearted guy; dating Rose Tyler, pretty tech-savvy, a tad bit unorganized, and wouldn't shut up if you got him rolling. But for someone he knew virtually nothing about, he wasn't so bad a person.
Warren had yet to see what he was like in action though, and was anxious for the moment. He'd heard rumors he was a flawless shot, and had bought the dart board in some attempt to coax him into showcasing it. But so far, John hadn't been tempted.
Sighing, he reclined in his chair, facing the open doorway between their two offices. John had a newspaper over his face… weird bloke.
"Read anything interesting?" he inquired, juggling the darts in his hands.
"Someone named Kardashian is suing an advertising company… oh, and 'Young Vitex heiress takes relationship to next level.' They misspelled my name! How is it even possible to do that?" he answered, his reply muffled.
"Shame…" Warren said, laughing.
John sat up, shoving the newspaper away. "Credit goes to 'M. Jones' for picture and caption… funny world."
Warren sighed, finding himself in yet another situation where he had no idea what the man was referencing. He said the damnedest things…
The Doctor was just about to offer to try out those darts; he was that bored, but a beeping noise somewhere within his pocket distracted him.
He pulled out his earpiece. "What does it mean when it flashes green?" he said, prepared to pull out his sonic screwdriver.
Warren groaned. "Give me that." He said swiping it off the desk. "It's a message from HQ. Plug it into the conference screen, and be quick about it." He said, tossing it back to his boss.
The Doctor caught it, standing up groggily. "Yes, sir…" he grumbled, fiddling with the transmission.
The screen lit up, and Pete Tyler accompanied by General Thaxton greeted them. "Doctor!" Pete said, once the image materialized.
"Sorry, I don't do house calls." He said, which was met with a frown from Pete.
"Not now, this is important. I have a transport for the two of you outside. Just go up to the roof. There's a situation in St. Petersburg, Russia. You'll be debriefed in the Zeppelin." He spoke.
The Doctor threw on his over coat draped over his chair. "Where's Rose?" He asked, brows furrowing.
"On the roof! Just get up there as quick as you must; we might be dealing with an invasion." Pete answered hurriedly.
The Doctor nodded, turning off the screen with his screwdriver.
"How come I'm not allowed to have one of those?" Warren asked, tossing all five darts at the board, and sprinting out the door.
"I'm not even technically allowed to have one… but I'll see them try to take it from me!" The Doctor answered, following him in stride.
"Russia… had some times there myself." Warren remarked.
"Good or bad?" The Doctor inquired, a hint of teasing in his voice.
"In the life we lead, Smith, what's the difference?"
Warren ladies and gents! What did ya think? I'd love to know!
Hoped this was somewhat of a cliffhanger! Next chapter will take place in St. Petersburg, so hold your breath! Hope you're still enjoying it!