Oops, took my time to update this (apologies!)
The sites been rather dead this week, don'tchu think?
Ramblings aside, next chapter
xx
4
The conversation between Jenny and Vince had long since died, the young boy sat happily at a small table reading through the books Jenny had scanned and checked out for him, Jenny herself sat at one of the computers flicking through records of overdue or lost books and Vince simply sat on the counter swinging his legs until his mobile phone vibrated against his leg. Quickly he fumbled about for it and jumped off the counter as a knock echoed against the wood of the main door, he clicked a button on his phone while Jenny hurried to the door.
"Hello?" Vince asked slightly uncertain of the ID of the caller, he watched the door as Jenny slid across a bolt and unlocked it with a silver key "Doctor? Where are you?" Two women dressed in suits and gas masks entered the building along with one man who closed the door behind them "I'm at the Library." Vince continued over the phone "Well what do you think I'm doin'? I don't read and there's black snow outside! I needed shelter…This lad was in the park, no mask so I just panicked and grabbed him and ran." The man at the door introduced himself to Jenny as he slid off his mask "You want me to what?" There was a pause as the three strangers and Jenny watched Vince and listened to his conversation "On the box, right got it. When do you want me to come?" Another pause "Okay sure, just don't go gettin' into trouble yeah?" He laughed then quickly followed with "Alright then, yeah don't worry I won't forget! I'm on my way…I'll contact them." Then he clicked off the phone and slipped it back into his pocket "Sorry." He apologised with a slight smile then took a step toward the three suited people and offered his hand "Vince Noir."
"Hello Mr Noir, we're from Torchwood London. Here to collect the boy." One of the women shook his hand and retrieved a spare gas mask from the man behind her "One child mask and do we have an identity for the boy?"
"He's called Oliver." Vince offered taking the mask from the woman.
"No last name?" He shrugged back at her as he retrieved his own mask and passed the child one to Oliver.
"Didn't ask, look I really need to go help my friends out so…"
"Friends? Where are they?"
"At the Zoo…You're Torchwood, yeah?" The woman nodded seeming slightly bored, she sighed loudly before speaking again.
"Yes sir, from Torchwood One in London."
"Right yeah, we have a problem. We know what's causing the snow. Well more like who. God I sound just like him!"
"Who?"
"No one, now are you bothered bout this snow or what?"
There was a low hum of machinery in the metal room under the Zooniverse, lights flashed on the strange devises as the Doctor strolled round them pulling his glasses out from his coat and slipping them on, he examined each piece thoroughly until finally deciding it was not of this century and was most probably stolen or found.
"Oh if Torchwood got their hands on this lot!" He mumbled while handling a strange metal box with flashing lights and buttons on the front, he hesitated then suddenly to Howard's disgust licked the side of the object "Mmm…" he hummed "Definitely alien. Blah, not too easy on the tongue either!" He stuck his tongue out and even wiped it on the sleeve of his blazer "Wouldn't recommend licking that."
"I wouldn't recommend liking most things in here, Doctor." Howard muttered while watching a strange green liquid bubble over a Bunsen burner, the mixture slowly turned from green to blue then to grey and finally clouded into a thick black substance.
"Ooh, that was pretty." The Time Traveller grinned while pressing his face closer to the beaker of liquid then dipping his finger in he tested it on his tongue and pulled a face immediately "Yuck! That must be what's in the snow."
"So that's poisonous?"
"Well…I suppose so yeah."
"So are you gonna die now?"
"We'll see." The Doctor strolled on to another table where a large piece of machinery sat buzzing; the monitor nestled into it displayed numbers and letters all jumbled up in a random order, there wasn't a keyboard near the screen in fact there wasn't a single one in the room.
"What's all this for?" As the Doctor took a breath to answer his companion's question someone did it for him.
"It is for controlling and manipulating the atmosphere now if you'd be so kind as to move your arses away from that table I would be extremely grateful and not have to shoot your brains out." The Doctor and Howard slowly turned to face a man with a thick moustache holding a pistol out at them.
"Ah, hello there." The Time Traveller grinned madly sticking his hands into his pockets "What's the gun for? Can't talk with that can you?"
"No but I can stop you from talking with it."
"Who are you then? I'm the Doctor, this is Howard."
"Yes I know who Moon is."
"Oh you know each other? How lovely! A little reunion, cute."
"Silence!" The man ordered pointing the gun straight at the Doctor who's smile dropped into a frown and a look of protest.
"Who is he then, Howard?" The Doctor turned his head slightly to glance at his companion as he took a step toward the man and his gun.
"Dixon Bainbridge."
The cell was the same as Howard remembered it from the time he and Vince had freed the Mutants, the walls were coated in thick grime and moss and the bars were rusted and old, the door creaked as it swung open and shut and the floor was hard and cold.
Dixon Bainbridge took a step back from the locked cell and slipped a large rusty key into his pocket while twirling the pistol around one of his fingers not caring where it pointed, he grinned at his prisoners as they wriggled their wrists trying to squeeze out of the clinking handcuffs. He laughed to himself silently as the Doctor watched him with a deep frown on his face; the Time Lord leant against the bars pushing his face and forehead against them as Howard slumped against the wall in the shadows sighing loudly.
"What were you doing in my laboratory?"
"I think the question is what were you doing in your laboratory?"
"And where is Noir? Surely, Moon, you and you're pretty little friend are still a duo?" Bainbridge stared at Howard tilting his head slightly to the right, Howard glared back coldly full of silent rage for the real life 'man of action' "Well?" He stopped twirling the gun and readied it letting a soft yet threatening click echo off the walls.
"I don't know where he is." Howard replied truthfully staying at the back of the cell.
"So…Bainbridge, now you know that we don't know where Vince is…You can tell me what you were planning."
"What idiot spills his plan to a man who believes himself to be a hero?" Bainbridge snickered and quickly left the room not giving them a second glance, the Doctor spun round pressing his back into the bars and stared up at the ceiling filling his cheeks with air.
"Well." He blew the air out in a loud drawn out sigh "This is…Homely."
"What did Vince say? Where is he?"
"At the Library." The Doctor whispered strolling toward Howard "He found a young boy with no mask in a park and rescued him. He's safe and he's on his way, I gave him strict instructions. You heard them."
"Yeah but since when does Vince ever listen to anything anyone says?"
"Good point."
The streets were hard to walk through never mind run, the two women from Torchwood had ordered backup and had stayed behind at the Library until it had come, neither had seen Vince nor Jenny slip out of the back door of the building both with masks on and determination to make it to the Zoo before they did.
As they ran they kicked up the black thick flakes, the sky had turned a threatening shade of blood red but still managed to look beautiful as a hard white moon began to shine down onto the town. The pair felt their lungs burn as they pressed on, breathing through the masks was not easy and was made harder from running as fast as their legs would carry them. As they rounded a corner the Zoo came into view, it was deadly silent and dark giving it an eerie appearance.
"Who phoned you? Who was he? And what did he want?" Jenny demanded as they hurried past the limp chain and padlock hanging feebly from one of the gates, Vince grabbed her and pulled her to the side behind one of the abandoned enclosures, both remained quiet and neither dared to breathe.
They watched as a man clumsily pulled the chain back across the gates, he slammed them shut causing them to rattle then secured the padlock with a satisfying click then disappeared in a hurry.
"The Doctor." Vince whispered at Jenny's confused expression "The man who phoned me he's the Doctor. He and Howard are in here somewhere and I bet they're trapped. We need to find the secret laboratory…Again. Come on." He pulled her out from the shadows without another word, she gave one last look toward the locked doors, their only exit was now sealed off.
The snow flakes crunched below their boots as they calmly and quietly made their way through the Zoo to the familiar souvenir stand in the shape of a camel, with a hidden grin Vince hurried to the green door, pushed it open and hurried in signalling to Jenny to remain silent no matter what.
Two bodies followed the winding corridors towards the last door at the very end, Vince pressed an ear next to the door after removing his mask, he listened carefully but heard nothing but soft in-human hums. Slowly he let the door slip open, the first thing he saw was a pile of wooden crates and boxes; quickly he slipped past the door with Jenny following.
"Aha." Vince grinned again as he picked up a solid metal pen and slipped it elegantly into his pocket.
"Well, now what?" Jenny hissed seeming annoyed as she fumbled nervously with the gas mask in her hands.
"Look; see that door over there. I reckon the Doctor and Howard are behind there, in a cell all locked up."
"How do you even know that?"
"Well the Doctor's been here, left his Sonic Screwdriver on the boxes. We just wait and stay silent." Jenny huffed heavily showing she did not think much of Vince's plan but the young traveller shrugged it off and shifted his vision between the two doors just waiting.