Made a slight continuity correction in Chapter 18 (Alex was hanging in chains, then on a table, then back in chains in less than two paragraphs) but it doesn't effect the general story.

Chapter 20

Alex Smith, as he preferred to be called at that moment - he certainly hadn't been feeling much like the Doctor as of late - was grateful for the second dose that Jack had given him. While he didn't like that he had an addictive narcotic running through his veins, he had to admit that the second dose had stopped the frightening hallucinations. The bad part was that the Hype had made him feel giddy again, though not to the extreme that he'd felt prior to Jack's rescue. It still was enough to scare him even as he chuckled at the various thoughts that went through his head: Daleks in pink tutus, Cybermen in a chorus line, Krotons painted in tie-dye patterns, all of them dancing to "Electric Avenue".

Jack was grateful that the second dose had obvious stopped the frightening hallucinations as well, though it was clear to him that his new friend was experiencing another high from the Hype. The fact that Alex wasn't maniacally high despite the amount given him greatly concerned him, however. He couldn't help but once again wonder just how much of the drug the Keeper had given him. He hated to think that the Time Lord might have given Alex so much that the damage to the Nere'i's mind was permanent.

Even as the thought passed through his mind, he pulled the vehicle over, his eyes catching sight of one of the broadcast screens which hung above the roadways. Usually, the broadcast screens relayed the events happening in the Zone, which Jack couldn't help but compare to the gladiator games of Ancient Rome on Earth: entertainment for the masses to keep them appeased. Occasionally, the screens would show important information, such as the Most Venerable Majesty's latest decree. What caught Jack's attention was, for all intents and purposes, a wanted poster for him and Alex, with pictures of both him and Alex as well as a posted reward, the amount of which was sure to encourage their capture.

"Damn," he grumbled. "That happened a lot faster than I thought it would." He had no doubt that his access to the Keeper's travel passes had been cancelled, basically making it now impossible for him to gain a seat on the transport. Even the slave compartment would be inaccessible without those credentials.

"Shit," he murmured to emphasize his concerns. He glanced at Alex, who was watching the broadcast screen Jack himself had seen, confused interest in his features.

"That's us," the hybrid said, pointing at the screen. "We're on the telly." He smile at Jack, clearly amused by the turn of events.

"That's a bad thing, Alex," Jack told him firmly. "We've been put on a no travel list. We can't get out of the city and, if we try, we'll be immediately captured. You'll likely go back to the Keeper if he's still alive, which I have a feeling he is, and I'll be executed after a severe interrogation. Right now, literally every camera in the city is searching for us. The only area of the city that doesn't have cameras is Old Citadel."

"Old Citadel?"

"What on Earth they used to call the Red Light District. Mostly sex slaves and drinking establishments. And some really basic housing. A lot of shady stuff happens down there but, as long as the higher ups aren't affected, no one does anything about it. Mostly because Time Lords don't like to be seen having a fondness for prostitutes. I'm pretty sure that's where you encountered your friend Ranetl."

Alex shook his head. "Not my friend. He betrayed me and Rega. He's a tattle-tale."

Jack nodded in sympathy. "Yeah, I can see how you wouldn't have any fondness for someone who ratted you out for money."

"For money? Not coersion?" the hybrid exclaimed. "He's worse than a tattle-tale! He's a traitor! I definitely don't like him!"

The Human gave him a smile. While he knew that his friend's childlike response was a result of the Hype in his system, he couldn't help but find his words a little endearing. "Well, we'll try to avoid meeting him again. But we are getting off the issue. The point I was making is that, because the city is covered with cameras and the Time Lords will be using them to find us, plus the reward for our capture, we're not going to be able to leave the city the way I was planning."

"Which was?"

"A little subterfuge. I was relying on my reputation to get a ticket for myself and for you as my... capture" Seeing the concerned expression on Alex's face, he clarified. "I've returned runaway slaves between cities before. But with us both officially being runaway slaves, that plan just went out the proverbial window. So, we can either go underground in the Old Citadel and wait it out, which could take weeks or even months, or we'll have to find a way to sneak aboard that transport."

"With me in my condition?" Alex protested. "I don't think that's a good idea. I'm a little... happy loopy. I might draw a little too much attention to myself. Me and that... pink Dalek." He giggled at the sight that was only in his mind.

Hallucinating again, Jack thought. Well, at least they aren't frightening him.

"Well, I don't know what a Dalek is but it's obviously got you amused."

"A Dalek is a nasty tentacly octopus creature inside a little killy death tank," Alex explained. "They are not nice at all. But a pink Dalek? Now that's funny."

"Okay. Whatever you say," Jack commented with a shake of his head. "But you and your pink Dalek are just going to have to trust me on this. We can't wait several months for the coast to be clear and we can't wait until you're clean of Hype. Your people are waiting for the cure in my satchel. We're just going to have to risk it." He sighed as he thought of their options. "Maybe the docks..." After a moment, he nodded to himself, a plan now clear in his mind. Pulling back onto the road, he made sure that the windows of the vehicle were opaque enough to hide them from the outside while still allowing him to see out.

He avoided the main roads as he drove to the transportation station. He drove to the loading docks and parked across from them before regarding their entrance, which had two armed guards - civilian Gallifreyans as was the norm - on duty. He noted the cameras at the entrance as well and sighed in frustration.

"This isn't going to be easy," he commented. He looked at Alex apologetically. "I'm going to have to hurt you for this to work."

Alex swallowed tightly. "H... hurt me? You... you're going to hurt me?" The thought of pink Daleks suddenly wasn't in his mind as he was reminded of the torture he'd endured only a few hours before.

"I don't want to, Alex. I have to. Those guards have to believe that you're a slave. We're taking a big risk here. I'm guessing that they haven't yet seen the wanted notice for us, given where they are posted. But if they have seen it, they might shoot us before we even get across the street. I'm also hoping that they can be bribed to let us in through the back door. I'm pretty sure one of them can be. I've encountered him before and I'm certain that he's taken a bribe or two. The other one... I don't know. I hope so."

"And what are you going to bribe him with? A bread roll?"

"Actually, I was thinking I'd bribe him with a vial of Hype," he stated as he turned to pull their backpacks and his satchel up to the front of the vehicle.

He put one backpack and the satchel on Alex's lap, instructing him to hold them while he looked into the second backpack which held the Hype and Rassilon'it-nolehem. Yes, there was enough Hype that he could give one away as a bribe. He took one out and slipped it into a pocket in his tunic. Closing the backpack, he swapped it for the other, pulling out a canteen of water. He poured a small amount on his head and parted his hair in the middle with his fingers, giving himself a fringe on his forehead. The effect was enough that he didn't quite look like himself.

Alex chuckled at the sight. "You look ridiculous! You think that will fool the cameras? I mean, it's definitely an impressive transformation, but I'm not sure that it'll be enough to fool the Time Lords."

"It'll fool them long enough for us to get on that transport," Jack told him. He glanced at Alex for a moment before returning the canteen to the backpack, deciding that Alex's hairstyle already fit the role he was going to play.

Then, with apologetic eyes, he reached down to his right boot and pulled out a knife.

"What are you doing?!"

"I told you I'm going to have to hurt you," Jack answered softly. "Just a cut on your cheek, something to convince them that you're dangerous and have to be transported in a separate compartment, away from the other passengers. And I'm going to need you to do some acting, if you can."

"Act dangerous?"

"Yeah." Jack paused, looking into Alex's eyes. "I want to see the person I saw when I first met you."

"You thought I was dangerous?"

The Human nodded. "I saw that you could be if provoked. That you would've been if you had been given the chance."

Alex shook his head at Jack's words. "I can't even focus my mind. How the hell do you expect me to act dangerous?"

Without warning, Jack sliced Alex from his cheekbone to his chin, causing the half-Gallifreyan to scream out in pain. It wasn't a deep cut, just enough to draw a little blood, but it was enough to cause Alex to struggle to free his hands from their bindings as he turned to retaliate against Jack, his eyes blazing in fury. The backpack and satchel that were on his lap hindered his motions enough to keep him from fulfilling the intent.

"There it is," Jack said calmly. "That's the expression I was looking for."

"You did that deliberately!"

"Hell, yeah, I did. It worked, didn't it?" Jack cleaned his blade on the Doctor's tunic and then sheathed his knife back into his boot. "You just hang onto that anger running through your head until we get passed that guard post and we just might survive long enough to get onto that transport to Arcadia."

He didn't wait for a reply but immediately got out of the vehicle. Carrying the backpack with the food and water, he walked around to the other side and opened the door. The Doctor glared at him as Jack grabbed his satchel and put it over his head so that it hung across his chest. He then shouldered the backpack in his hand before taking the second backpack. Holding the pack in his right hand, he took hold of his friend's bound hands and pulled him out of the vehicle. The Doctor yanked his hands away from him, to which Jack slapped his face.

"I'm sorry, Alex, but unfortunately I have to be rough with you to make it believable to those guards," he whispered tightly. He took hold of the Doctor's bound hands again and yanked on them, forcing him to move in front of him. He grabbed him by his neck and pushed him along. Based on how tense the Doctor was, Jack knew his friend still held the very likely genuine angry expression on his face. It was easy for the former rebel to put on his own dangerous look.

Crossing the road, he approached the gate, gaining the attention of the guard on duty. He was grateful that there was only one at the gate - the other having left to do a security check of the docks - and that the one who remained was the one who tended to take bribes.

"Hanchei, good to see you," Jack greeted. "I need to transport this rojre slave back to his master."

The Doctor, finally truly understanding his role despite his Hype-clouded mind, used the opening to reinforce the deception by yanking his neck from Jack's hold. A moment later, he found himself crying out in pain as he was forced to his knees by Jack's kick to the back of his right knee.

Hanchei looked on the newcomer to his gate with a slight frown. "Jakobb, is that you? What's with the hairstyle?"

"Trying a different look. Are you going to let me through with this... thing?" He lightly kicked the Doctor's leg to emphasize his word, gaining a glower in response.

"You know the regulations, Jakobb," the guard protested. "All slaves being transported need to be secured in the slave cargo compartment."

"All well-behaved slaves," Jack corrected. "Do you really think this feral one is well-behaved?"

Taking the verbal cue, the Doctor gave a mischievous grin and struck Hanchei's shin with his bound hands, causing the guard holler and move his hands to protect the injury.

"I won't go back!" the half-Gallifreyan bellowed in effect. "I won't!"

Jack back-handed him, though his hand barely touched the Doctor's face as the latter dropped dramatically to the ground. "You'll go back and you'll beg your master to forgive you for running away!" he shouted. Looking to Hanchei, he sighed. "You see what I've had to put up with?"

The guard erected himself, giving the shin a final rub as he did so. "I see what you mean. I doubt he'd be a good influence around the other slaves. Still, regulations are regulations. If only you had something that would make it worth my while."

"You mean, something like this?" Jack pulled the small vial of Hype from his tunic.

"What's that?"

The smile on Jack's face showed that he knew he had the guard's attention. "Hype. The pure kind. Very expensive too. There's enough here for three or four little trips, if you use it sparingly. They're running a little low in Arcadia so I thought I might take a few vials and sell them. Make a little extra spending money on the side. Of course, I don't need all the vials. Do you think a vial of this is worth your while."

Hanchei gave a furtive look around, making sure his fellow guard was nowhere to be seen. "Make it three vials and I'll even erase the video log. No one will even know you came in this way." He leaned forward and added, in a low tone. "Three vials is worth a lot more than what they're asking for your capture."

Jack huffed self-deprecatingly. "We didn't fool for a minute, did we."

"Not even for a second." The guard looked down at the Doctor. "You can get up now, Nere'i. Though I have to admit your performance was very good, especially with you being Hyped up."

Alex struggled to his feet with Jack's help. Now that he didn't have to put on a performance, his eyes lost some of its bite and the shakes came back. "How did you know?"

"It's pretty obvious if you know what you're looking for," he replied as he untied his hands. He handed the ropes to Jack.

"Are you going to turn us in?" Jack asked.

The guard gave a knowing grin and stepped into the small security room to his right. In full view of Jack's gaze, he began altering the video log so that it appeared as if there had been electrical interference since just after Jack pulled up in the stolen vehicle. "Electrical interferences happen all the time to these cameras. Funny how it seems to happen when runaway slaves pass this way." Seeing the surprise on their faces, he chuckled. "Welcome to the Passage, Jakobb. Bet you never imagined actually traversing it instead of shutting it down."

"The Passage?" Alex queried.

"You're from Earth, right?" Jack asked. "Ever heard of the Underground Railroad? Same idea. I knew there was some kind of network but I couldn't figure out who was involved and where the runaway slaves were being sent." He looked at Hanchei. "How can you be sure I can be trusted not to blow your operation completely? I haven't exactly been a friend to runaways."

"You've lost the look," the guard told him bluntly.

"The look?"

"When I saw the wanted notice, I at first was suspicious that the Keeper was having you go undercover to find the Passage. But when you came to me and tried that act, I looked into your eyes and I saw that the look was gone. That killer look. Something changed you." He finished his work on the log. "You'll have two minutes to get out of range of the cameras in this area before they come back online. Go to loading area seven and tell the foreman there that you have a shipment for Ushazte Tazraluia."

Alex chuckled. "Universal Exports. Someone's a James Bond fan."

Jack and Hanchei gave him a slight glance before the guard continued.

"Don't blow it for any of us because, if you do, I will turn you in for the sake of the Passage. Oh, you can keep the Hype. Your friend here obviously needs it more than I do. I hope you can get him clean."

"Thanks," Jack replied, putting the vial in the appropriate backpack along with the rope. "I owe you one, Hanchei."

"Just get to safety. That's thanks enough. Now, go."

Companions of the Doctor would have found it to be a strange sight when Jack grasped Alex's hands and took the lead as they ran in the direction Hanchei had instructed. Alex followed behind obediently, much as his companions had done with his lead when he was still a Time Lord. Only when they had made it to the outskirts of loading area seven and were out of sight of any security cameras did Jack finally let go of the hybrid's hand. Both men panted from the exertion, though Alex was clearly more affected than Jack.

"I don't... feel good... Jack," he whispered tightly, leaning against a nearby wall. "My chest hurts... I'm having trouble... breathing... I feel really... warm. My head hurts. I can't... think straight. Why isn't my... respiratory bypass... working? This backpack... feels like I'm carrying a... load of bricks."

Jack looked at him with concern. "You're shifting into a low and very quickly. The Keeper really messed up your metabolism, didn't he," he murmured in empathy. Taking his shoulders, he gently encouraged him to sit down. "If I leave you for a few minutes, are you going to be okay?"

Alex shook his head. "I don't know. I just... I don't know. I usually can... run and run and run. But that... tiny sprint was... exhausting to me." Raising his knees, he used them to support his arms as he clasped his head. "What the hell is wrong with me?!"

Jack gently placed his hand on Alex's shoulder. "You've been through something that no one should ever go through. And it's going to take time for you to get better. But I'll help you through it, okay?"

Alex didn't reply as he forced himself to calm his breathing. When he did finally speak, there was a hint of desperation in his voice. "Give me some more."

Jack shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. You've already had two large doses less than two hours ago."

The Nere'i raised his eyes to meet Jack's. "I need it. Give it to me."

"No."

"Give it to me!"

Jack covered his mouth to silence him, fearful that his shout might have been heard. He had to push Alex against the wall to stop him from fighting him. Only when he was sure that they hadn't been caught did he let up his firm hold on the man.

"There's is no way that I'm giving you another dose, not for at least a few more hours. Is that understood? And if I have to hogtie you to get your cooperation, then that's what I'll do. I'll steal a dolly and strap you to it and wheel you around like luggage if I have to but we're getting out of here and you aren't getting any Hype unless I say so. Do I make myself clear?"

"You like to see me suffer," Alex muttered accusingly.

Jack shook his head. "No, I don't. But I can't stand to see a brilliant man like you being reduced to an incurable junkie. Now, are you going to be okay for a few minutes alone or do I have to tie you?"

Tears had formed in Alex's eyes as Jack spoke. His face proclaimed to just how scared he really was. Nonetheless, he took a slow deep breath. "I'll... I'll be okay alone... for a few minutes. I promise I'll stay right here and won't do anything."

Jack studied him for a moment before nodding. "I'll be right back," he finally said. Standing, he regarded Alex one more time to satisfy himself that the man would do as he said before carefully drawing away to look for the foreman Hanchei had told him about.

It was easy to find the foreman. The average height man with blond hair was the only one giving orders in the loading area as the workers ensured various sizes creates were being put in the general cargo compartment of the transport. A glance around the loading area showed that there were gaps in the security, making it possible for him to get closer to the foreman without being seen on camera. He waited until the foreman was alone before speaking up.

"I heard you were the guy to talk to about getting a shipment to Arcadia."

The foreman turned smoothly at his voice and moved towards him, as if he had planned to go in his direction even before Jack had spoken. He didn't speak until he was out of camera range. "Depends. What are you shipping?"

"Two items for Ushazte Tazraluia."

"Where's the other one?"

"Around the corner."

"Show me," the foreman ordered.

Jack obliged, guiding him back to Alex who, Jack was glad to see, had obeyed his instructions.

The foreman studied Alex for a moment, noting erratic breathing, perspiration on the forehead, and eyes of a frightened cherote ready to bolt.

"Hanchei communicated that you'd be looking for me. He also told me that your friend is Hyped. Are you sure he can handle transport?" Seeing the confused look on Jack's face, he clarified. "Can he handle cramped enclosed spaces?"

Jack's eyes widened with realization. "You are literally going to ship us."

"To Ushazte Tazraluia," the foreman confirmed. "Can he handle it?"

"I have a way of keeping him calm during shipment."

The foreman took a slow breath. "Okay. But you'll have to ditch the luggage."

"Can't do that," Jack told him firmly. "Important medicine and supplies."

"So you say. But how can I be sure if that?"

"You want to search them before shipping, that's fine. But it's all coming with us."

The foreman gestured for Jack to hand over the bags for inspection, which Jack did warily. He started with the backpack Jack was carrying , noting the many vials of Hype and Rassilon'it-nolehem as well as the medium and rope.

"Where'd you get all of these vials?"

"Honestly, I intimidated a pharmacist for his whole stock and then charged the Keeper for the lot."

The foreman laughed. "You've got balls, I'll tell you that." Satisfied with the first backpack, he opened the satchel. "And what are these?"

"Medicine for sick people in the Crown Prince's camp. It's very important that I get it to them. If I don't get it to them soon, a lot of Humans and Nere'ii are going to die."

It was the Doctor who replied to the incredulous expression on the foreman's features. "The Keeper created a disease that specially targets Humans and Nere'ii. He infected a few - I don't know how many - and put them in the Zone so that Rega might find them and take them back to the refugee camp. The disease spread to the Human and Nere'ii population there. I was sent to find a cure but was captured the moment I found it by the Keeper. He got me addicted to Hype but Jack... well, Jakobb to you... rescued me after stealing the cure from the HST. That's a truncated version of the events but we don't need to go into details with you. All we need is transport to Arcadia with our medicine and supplies." He looked into the foreman's eyes. "Please."

The foreman stared at the Doctor for a moment, a little stunned that an addict clearly in the beginnings of withdrawals spoke with such clarity. Pulling his eyes from the Nere'i, he met Jack's eyes. "Your friend is a remarkable man."

"Yes, he is," the Human agreed.

The foreman nodded with determination. "Then collect your friend and your belongings and come with me. I've got a crate with your name on it."

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Rassilon'it-nolehem: Rassilon's sleep (goodbye) - a fast-acting non-reactive sedative