Chapter 18

Lima, Peru

June 2009

The sun was just peeking through the trees when the Doctor opened his eyes once again, feeling groggier than he could remember being in a long time. For a moment, he wondered where and why he was before noticing that he was lying on a patch of dry ground surrounded by wet ground. The dry patch was oddly Doctor-shaped, he realized, and the front of his clothes was slightly damp. It took a moment for him to come to the logical conclusion that it had rained while he was asleep.

"If things couldn't get worse," he grumbled, slowly sitting up and groaning slightly in reaction to the pain that his action had brought on. Looking around, the events of the previous day came back to him in brilliant clarity. "Sam!" he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet despite the protests his body made. He again assessed his predicament and surroundings as well as his person.

"Water, check. Food... well, if you can call it food... check. Sonic screwdriver, definitely check." He touched his sides and winced in pain. "Okay, broken ribs still broken." He tenderly examined his shoulder. "As is the collarbone. Brilliant," he stated sarcastically. He was going to need some way to keep his shoulder immobile if he was going to be able to track down the men that had taken his current companion.

Seeing Sam's discarded backpack, he moved over to it and proceeded to create a makeshift sling using the straps. Then, finding a long thin branch to act as a walking cane, he took a slow deep breath before starting on his excursion.

The three hour hike should have taken only two hours but the Time Lord had been hindered by the trail going askew due to the moist ground having picked up the footprints of mountain creatures. Despite the lack of good footprints, the Gallifreyan still had the scent - quite literally - of his friend guiding him further up and towards what appeared to be a natural cave.

"Well, well. What have we here?" he asked himself, hiding behind a boulder so that he could observe the cave opening without being seen. "Not very security minded for being Shining Path." He'd been around members of the Shining Path, the primary guerilla revolutionary organization of Peru, before and he knew that they weren't likely to leave the entrance of their camp unguarded. Neither would he have been able to sneak up as close to their camp as he had, which just confirmed to him that the men who had taken Alistair and Sam were not of that particular militant group. All the better. He really didn't want to have to talk his way out of being killed again. One time was more than enough, even if his talking was more of a small bombardment of Nitro-9 courtesy of Ace, his companion at the time.

"Okay, so they aren't really guerillas, more like mercenaries. Someone obviously hired them," he murmured to himself. "How to get in there without being seen. Think." He regarded the entrance once again, gave a one-shoulder shrug, and slowly made his way up, trying to keep cover as best as he could while maintaining control over his damaged body.

Upon reaching the entrance, he glanced into the cave, once again finding it clear. "Blimey, I wouldn't hire you people to feed a cat," he whispered as he noted there was no one around. Slipping into the enclosure, he carefully made his way further in, all of his senses keeping watch for the violent captors. He once had to tuck himself into a small nook to avoid being seen - one of the men had obviously needed Mother Nature's natural lavatory - but he was able to proceed without further interruption. It was obvious by the cooking smoke and smells that the kidnappers were having their morning meal. The Doctor wasn't sure how long he had, but he'd take whatever time he could work in relative obscurity gratefully. It wasn't long before he found himself gazing into a large cavern, his direct line of sight revealing none other than his oldest living friend.

"Brigadier," he said in a theatrical whisper a couple of times before gaining the attention of the seemingly older man.

The human captive looked over to the sound of his title being voiced. He licked at his lips slightly. He'd seen his friend in six different incarnations and, in all of them, he could tell it was his friend. This time was no exception. "Doctor! You have no idea of how glad I am to see you."

"And I 'm so glad to see you," the Time Lord replied. Glancing back to make sure that no one was approaching the small cavern, he edged his way in, digging into his pocket to find his sonic screwdriver. It wasn't an easy task considering that he had to use his right hand to search his left lower pocket. "Give me a tick and I'll have you out of those manacles." As he looked around, his hearts were stopped by the sight of his Rose in a dire situation. He was concerned by the state of her clothing but even more so by the pooled blood.

"Rose..." he whispered, fear in his voice.

"She's been brutalized by those animals."

The Doctor froze at his words. "Brutalized..." he repeated, his voice tinged with worry. Behind his eyes, his mind instantly ran through the best scenario in leaving the area as quickly and stealthily as possible. A moment later, he put the screwdriver in Alistair's left hand. "Can you get those? Aim and click." Without waiting for a reply, he hurried over to the other side of the cave, his eyes running over the nearly naked form before him. "Oh, Rose..." he started, his free hand grazing her cheek, feeling the roughness of whiskers he at first could not see. It was an instant reminder that the person in front of him was Sam, not his dearest friend in the universe, allowing him to look beyond the aura around the leaper. For only a moment, he was thankful that Rose had not been there. But that meant that Sam had endured the brutality and, somehow, that made what happened all that more horrible.

Eyes opened suddenly at the touch upon his cheek and fear caused Sam to pull back. "No. No. Please don't hurt me again." As he pulled away, the paleness in his face was more pronounced and dried blood on his arms and torso became visible. "Please..." was the final plea.

Seeing the blood on his arms and torso completed the heartbreak the Gallifreyan felt at that moment, forcing him to rub his face to gain a semblance of composure. This is no time to go into a mental meltdown. Sam needs my help... He glanced over towards the Brigadier. And Alistair is almost free of his bonds. Taking a deep breath, he spoke gently. "Sam, it's me. It's the Doctor. Remember me?"

"Who's Sam? You're a doctor? What kind of doctor?"

"Actually, I'm a doctor of everything but right now I'm a physician..." the Doctor told him slowly. He frowned for a moment, remembering how Sam had first replied to his name. "... and a psychiatrist. If you aren't Sam, then who are you? What's your name?"

"Jack," he answered, fear still in his eyes as he talked with the man so unlike the others who held him here against his will.

"Jack," the Time Lord repeated, a smile starting on his face. "Nice name, Jack. I know someone named Jack. Lovely fellow. Bit... odd. But still..."

"Doctor," the Brigadier's voice interrupted, causing the Gallifreyan to turn his head.

Seeing that the ex-military man had successfully freed himself and was now offering him the sonic, he accepted the small device. "Keep an eye out for those men," he instructed before returning his focus on Sam. "Jack, I'm going to use this to get those nasty chains off of you," he told him, showing him the sonic.

"You won't hurt me?" a small voice exited from the leaper's lips.

"I won't hurt you," he assured. "I promise. Already a bit hurt myself. Can't do you much harm if I'm hurt myself, can I? Besides, why would I want to?" Lifting the sonic, he pressed the button, causing the high pitched sound and blue light that indicated the device was at work. Less than a minute later, the chains dropped from Sam's wrists. "There we go. Free." Pausing with thought, he shrugged off his long coat, which was halfway on him due to his left arm in the makeshift sling. "Here. Put this around you. Cover yourself up."

Sam nodded, taking the coat gratefully and pulling it around him. Looking over to the other man who was vigilantly looking to assure the Doctor would be forewarned if the men came back, he said quietly, "He was kind to me."

The Doctor glanced back at the man in question, a smile gracing his lips. "That's the Brigadier for you. My very best friend. Well... second only to one other." He paused. "Let me take a good look at you, see if you are fit for travel."

Neither he nor Sam noticed Sir Alistair walking out of the cavern, using the walls as support whenever needed. At his age, he'd found it necessary to use a cane every once in a while. In his current condition - hungry and thirsty - he knew he needed as much support as possible. His condition, however, wasn't going to prevent him from insuring their quick escape. He knew there was a radio in the caves; he'd heard the chatter plenty of times between those ruffians and their boss. If he could get to the radio and call in for aerial evacuation, it would be a great help for he knew that with the blood loss, Rose would find it difficult, if not deadly, to travel far.

Upon finding the radio, he was surprised to see that one of the guerillas' pistols had been laid on the table beside it. He shook his head. "They'd never make it in UNIT," he commented as he tucked the pistol into his jacket pocket. He found a seat and adjusted the settings on the communications equipment. Depressing the send button, he declared, "Greyhound One to Trap One. Greyhound One to Trap One. Come in. Over."

"This is Trap One. We read you, Greyhound One," a male voice came over the radio. "It's great to hear your voice, Sir Alistair. We've been worried about you. Where are you? Over."

The Brigadier did his best to describe his current location based on what he had seen the day the guerillas dragged him into the mountainous area, hoping that it would be enough information for the UNIT center of operations in Peru to locate them. "From what I've seen we're somewhere in the District of Carhuapampa, northeast of Pimachi. I'll see if I can give you some kind of signal to help you locate us. Over."

"Us, Sir?" the sergeant on the other end questioned. "Over."

"Yes, Sergeant. There are three of us. We need medical as well. Over."

"What type of injuries, Sir? Over."

He knew for certain the injuries the young woman had sustained. She had said the Doctor had fallen and his own eyes told him from the way his friend moved and held himself that there were serious injuries to the alien as well. "From what I could see, it's best if you come prepared for all possibilities. Over."

"Right. Are you still in danger? What is your status? Over."

The Brigadier rolled his eyes in frustration. "Just send an Eagle with medical and armed support. I'm signing off now. Don't know how long I have. Over."

"We're deploying as we speak, Sir. We will be in the area within an hour but without a signal it will be difficult. Over."

"Leave me to figure that out, Sergeant. Just get in the general vicinity. Over and out." Discontinuing the communication and making sure that the radio frequency returned to its original settings, he sighed audibly. "I'm getting far too old for this."

As he walked away from the radio, it squawked again. "Theta Sigma, this is Delta Rho. Come in."

From outside the cavern at a distance, there was grumbling. "What does he want now?" Stephano groused loudly. When he walked into the room, he didn't noticed the form of the Brigadier pressed into a large fold of the rock wall, no small feat for a man of his height and age. "Delta Rho... this is Theta Sigma."

"Have you killed that girl yet?"

"No. Why should we? She's still the best entertainment we have in this hideout."

"You're not supposed to be having fun. You're supposed to be guarding the Brigadier."

"But you said..."

"And I've changed my mind. Kill her."

"But..."

"Kill her. Or do I have to do the same with you, Stephano? You serve my interests, not your animal habits." There was a definite fury behind the words.

Stephano didn't say anything for a moment, his anger boiling rapidly through his cheeks and eyes. When he could keep his voice relatively calm he spoke. "We'll have nothing to torture your precious Brigadier with, then. Nothing for the old man to watch and suffer. Is that want you want?"

"He's going to be dead soon anyway. Killing her in front of him is just as rewarding for me as torturing the Brigadier with watching her get hurt. Kill her." The radio suddenly went dead with a loud click speaking to the fact the power had been shut off on the other end.

"Adios to you too, SeƱor," Stephano said sarcastically. He bit at his lips. How dare the man take away their one recreation! Then a smile started to curl. "He didn't say how we had to kill her." He called out for his two comrades. Within moments the two other men had entered, one of them still eating a piece of fried meat.

"What did El Amo Grande have to say?"

"We have to kill the girl."

"He has no right..." started Tomas angrily.

"But he didn't say how. I'm thinking we make it slow and tortuous. Take our time. Enjoy feeling the life seep out of her. Hear her cries for mercy..." As Stephano talked, it was clear the idea was exciting him. "We'll take turns together."

Listening in on the conversation from his hiding place, Alistair could feel his blood boil with rage. His hand instinctively moved to the pistol in his pocket.

"Si," Paulo agreed. He pulled out a knife. "She shall bleed slowly."

"You so enjoy your work," responded Tomas appreciatively.

"I do." Paulo turned to Stephano. "We start now?"

The Brigadier could no longer stand listening to the plans of the animals. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the pistol and stepped out of his hiding place, aiming the weapon at them. "I don't think so."

The three men turned suddenly hearing the voice. "How did you get loose, old man!" Tomas cried out.

"Doesn't matter. I will not allow you to hurt that girl anymore," he stated in a dark tone. "I warned you what would happen if you touched her again."

"You can't take all three of us at once," Paulo said with a cruel grin.

"Perhaps not. But I can certainly try," the older man proclaimed.

"Rush him now," Stephano called out, pulling slightly back as his two underlings moved forward, both taking a flank to confuse the man.

The Brigadier, having already anticipated that the men would attack him rather than surrender, had positioned himself to foresee all possible attack vectors. The moment the two rushed him, he moved quickly, pulling the trigger as his arm moved first to the right then to the left, killing both of his assailants quickly.

Stephano watched as the two men's actions had been anticipated and, eyes wide, turned suddenly running to the entrance to the cavern room. His only thought was to get to the small stash of money they'd been given to maintain the camp. At this point, it was likely to be all he'd salvage from this botched operation.

Alistair aimed the gun at the retreating leader. "Stop!" he ordered. When the latter refused, the seasoned veteran acted, firing the pistol one more time moments before a tall lanky man hurried into the room.

DWQLTWDWQLTW

Having heard the report of the first two shots, the Doctor hurried from Sam's side, fear for Alistair pulsing through his veins. He couldn't help but suddenly feel as if time was trying to correct itself and insure that his oldest friend died, this time sooner than before. He needed to find him as quickly as possible and perhaps prevent the tragedy from fulfilling itself, even if it were by tending the Brigadier's wounds. Following his innate sense of direction coupled with the direction of the gunfire, he made it to the makeshift radio center just in time for the man he'd ascertained was the leader of the group to fall literally against him, a large hole spilling blood from the leader's chest. The Time Lord reacted immediately, wrapping his free arm around the dying man.

"You! You're dead!" were the last words Stephano said before succumbing to the gunshot wound.

Stunned, the Doctor allowed the man to slip from his arm onto the floor, gasping slightly at the sight before him, namely Alistair surrounded by all three of the supposed guerillas.

"You killed them!" he exclaimed, his shock plain in his voice.

"Yes." Alistair agreed simply. He knew in this case there was full justification for his actions and he wouldn't back down from what he'd done. He'd warned them - given them an out - but their evil plans were too great to allow to continue.

The Gallifreyan was at a loss for words. He knew that the Brigadier had to have a good reason for killing all three of them. The two closest to his friend spelled the situation out clearly - self-defense - but the one that was at his own feet... shot in the back... He swallowed tightly, his eyes darkening. "Let's go," he said bluntly, turning to return to his patient.

"Doctor, before we do, I believe we can set this radio up as a beacon. For the helicopters that are being sent. I've seen what you can do with that screwdriver of yours. Might you give it a try?"

The Time Lord exhaled slowly, turning back towards the room before making his way over to the radio, giving a mental apology to the dead men as he stepped over their bodies. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the sonic and started to adjust the settings, sitting down as he did so. "Why did you shoot him in the back?" he questioned in a dangerously low tone as he worked.

"He was planning on torturing your companion to death. The poor girl's been through so much with these animals. Men that have no hearts find ways to do harm to others. If it hadn't been your companion, it would have been someone else. Still, I warned him. When he didn't listen, I took action." Seeing the reluctance acceptance in his friend's eyes, the Brigadier changed the subject. "She said you were thrown off a cliff. That you had died."

"Well, more like backed off a cliff," the Gallifreyan put in. "Well... pushed off a cliff. Had a whole plan to it too but that didn't go well. Was too far from the cliff-face." Finding the setting he was looking for, he quickly sonicked the radio, a smile appearing on his face when a distinct repetitive pulse emanated from the device. "There we go. Nice and loud for them to pick up. Brilliant idea, by the way. I mean, using the radio as a beacon and calling for air support."

Seeing the Gallifreyan starting to get up as if nothing was wrong - and making a poor show of it - Alistair put his hand out. "Doctor, we've been friends too long for you to pretend there's nothing wrong."

The Gallifreyan frowned slightly, a slightly sheepish look on his face as his friend gently chastised him. "You mean the sling? It's nothing. No chance of regenerating in front of you again. Figured once is probably enough for you."

"Quite," Alstair answered, know this was pure bravado on the part of his friend. He estimated, based on the evidence of bruising, bleeding, and body stance that there was much more than was being admitted to. Now was not the time to push him, however. "I've asked my people to bring a full range of medical support. They'll be here soon now that they have a signal to follow."

The Doctor was about to respond when a small sound emanated from the entrance to the radio room. Sam, battered and bruised stood in the doorway, looking dazed at the bodies on the floor. "They're the ones that hurt me. All three of them. They..." Falling to the floor, he pulled into ball, holding his knees and rocking. "They hurt me," he cried softly. The voice was different yet again.

The two men standing reacted immediately, going over to the fallen traumatized leaper. The Doctor carefully lowered himself, hiding a grimace of pain at the strain the action was placing on his ribs once again. Raising his hand, he touched Sam's face gently. "Sam, look at me," he instructed.

"Not Sam. Can't be. Don't..." Sam said, shying away from the touch.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Remember me? The Doctor?" He gestured to the older man standing above them. "And Alistair. Remember? He was kind to you. You said so yourself."

"Yes," Sam agreed. His eyes turned to the Doctor, tortured pain spilling from them. "I want to forget. For so long, I've wanted to remember and now I just want to forget. Can you help me, Doctor? Can you help me forget?" His voice was anguished.

The Time Lord looked upon his friend with sympathy. "I'm not sure that I should," he admitted. There were many things that could go wrong with what Sam was requesting of him. The human mind wasn't designed to hold information locked away without access. Eventually, Sam would have to remember what happened and suffer from the trauma he endured. It might not be until the day he died, but he would still remember. On the other hand, he couldn't be absolutely sure that Sam would heal if he didn't do anything. Suddenly, though, the eyes that looked into his seemed more like Rose's than ever before. The words that formed in Sam Beckett's mouth came out with Rose's intonation.

"Please, Doctor. I don't want to live with that horror in my thoughts. Please."

The Gallifreyan swallowed tightly, reaching out his free arm to put the leaper close to him, ignoring the pain his actions were causing. His hand gently went up to Sam's head, almost as if to brush his hair, but remained in place. "Okay, Rose. Okay," he whispered, his voice shaking with emotion before he closed his eyes. A moment later, the leaper slumped against him, unconscious. "Brigadier," the Doctor said, his voice strained from the pressure on his injuries and his emotions. "Assistance, please."

"Of course," Alistair stated as he moved in to assure that the woman was laid gently to the ground. "She said she was Rose when they first brought her in. I take it that's her core personality?"

The Gallifreyan slowly shifted his position, trying to find support against a wall. "It's a bit complicated," he stated tightly, gritting his teeth. A misplaced turn of his body sent a wave of agony through him, causing him to scream. "Grintarii!" he swore. His face took on a distinctive shade of grey.

Alistair, knowing the girl was unconscious and safe for the moment, turned his concern to his friend. "You're hurt badly."

"Nah! Really? I hadn't noticed," came the sarcastic reply.

The Brigadier blinked at the statement, now sure that the Time Lord was ready to admit how grievously injured he really was. "Well then, it can't be too bad or I wouldn't have received that response," the Brit stated knowing that his words would prod the Doctor further into an admission.

The Doctor chuckled weakly at the old human's prodding. "Oh, they're pretty bad even considering what you've seen with me. Only a broken collarbone... and two ribs... and a cracked skull... and a concussion... some internal bleeding... nothing deadly, though. Tends to happen when you fall off a mountain and are too stubborn to just regenerate instead of putting up with your injuries until you can get primitive medical attention or even just a chance to sleep for more than three hours."

"How far did you fall?"

"Thirty-two feet, six and a half inches, give or take a couple of inches," the Time Lord breathed. "If it makes you feel any better there were rocks. Lots of rocks. Some of them really big and sharp."

The retired military officer gazed at his friend a mixture of shock, concern, and exasperation at him making such jokes when he was obviously in pain. Lowering himself to examine his old friend, he ran a hand over his body, noting the grimace and gasp for air when he came in contact with the broken ribs and collarbone. "I'm glad you didn't regenerate," he stated gratefully. He looked around to see if there was anything that could be used to provide bandaging for the Gallifreyan's torso. Seeing a roll of duct tape, he nodded to it. "That would stabilize you until help arrives."

"And ruin my suit?" the Time Lord complained. Seeing the berating look on Alistair's face, he sighed. "Can't argue with makeshift medicine."

"No. Not this time." The Brigadier retrieved the tape and wrapped his friend's torso to provide stability for the ribs. Once he was finished, he ordered, "Try to get a little of that sleep you were after. I'll let you know when the helicopters arrive."

The Doctor shook his head slightly. "I'll be fine," he protested.

"Eventually, I'm sure you will be. You're like a cat only with more lives. Still, sleep will get you there faster..." When the Doctor appeared ready to argue he added, "...and you know I'm right."

The alien rolled his eyes slightly. "Don't be surprised if I resemble a Popsicle," he warned. Closing his eyes, he carefully lowered himself beside Sam and allowed himself to relax, grateful for the support of the duct tape around his ribs.

The Brigadier looked around him, death and injury surrounding him. Finding a tarp in the corner of the room, he laid it over his friend of many years and his newest companion. He then leaned against the wall, sitting and watching the slow rise and fall of the tarp as they breathed in and out. A good twenty minutes went by before he heard the sound of helicopters landing not far from his location, outside of the cave complex. Too tired to get up, he waited until they came into where the beacon would lead them.

He watched as the small squad of UNIT soldiers moved into the area, feeling a sense of pride in the men and sadness that his kidnapping had been the catalyst that had led to both the Doctor and the girl being injured. He refused any consideration of his comfort until they had been placed on the helicopter. Even then, the chopper was in the air before he allowed the medic to pay any attention to him.

Once he'd been bandaged and given medication for the pain, he was able to turn toward his friend, Brigadier John Benton, who had been in charge of the rescue mission. Alistair wasn't at all surprised by the man's questions now that the medical issues had been temporarily addressed. Benton hadn't pushed about the three casualties up to that point, knowing his friend would want to know the living had been taken care of first. "I take it the three men were your kidnappers."

Alistair nodded. "Yes." He paused. "They brought me to the cave and I believe they were waiting for orders to kill me, though from whom I have no idea. When the girl was captured, though, things got worse. They tortured her, John, in the vilest way. I closed my eyes, but I heard her screams. What made it worse was that there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop them. That changed when the Doctor arrived to rescue us."

The younger man didn't say a word for a long moment, seeing the look in his friend's eyes and knowing immediately that Sir Alistair witnessed something no person should. Judging by what little he knew about the situation - and with a full awareness of the retired Brigadier's integrity - he knew what the older man had done... and he knew he very likely would have done the same if their positions had been switched. "There will still be an inquiry but I'm certain the results will be in your favor," he finally said. "So, what happened to the Doctor?"

"Fell off a mountain from what I understand."

"That's a bit unpleasant," came the dry reply.

Alistair grinned slightly at John's words. "Still the master of understatement. It's a testimony to his fortitude that he hung on to get to us. Good thing he did or Rose and I would both have been killed. Of that I've no doubt."

"Well, then, I'll just have to thank him when he wakes up," Benton stated with a smile.

"Both of us," Alistair agreed. He sighed, now that the event had reached closure, the strain of the last few days caught up with him. "You wouldn't consider it rude to ask for a few moments to sleep, would you, John?"

"Help yourself. Just don't fall out of the helicopter. I'd hate to have any more paperwork to fill out," he jokingly replied.

The older Brigadier smiled. "I'm glad you led the mission." He then crossed his arms and closed his eyes, thankful that he'd be seeing his Doris rather than St. Peter at the gates.