Chapter Thirteen

The Doctor sat in his wheelchair humming The Fox song to himself while he picked a bit of lint off his trousers. He was waiting for the Master to return. He knew he was pushing it by doing this and possibly inviting more torture and pain but he just couldn't resist making his enemy look like an arse one more time.

Besides, he knew that even if the Master were smart enough to google the answer, the song wouldn't show up since this was 2007. Smugly, he sat back in his chair and waited for the Master to come back.

Five minutes later, the Master returned dragging his wife with him, a little roughly the Doctor observed to himself. Perhaps, Lucy wasn't quite as complicit in all this as he thought. That could work to his advantage. For the moment though, he remained silent while the Master and Lucy stopped in front of him.

"Okay, tell her what you said," the Master said to the Doctor as he jabbed a finger at his wife's chest.

The Doctor smirked and sang the first part of the song. He ended with "What does the fox say?" and fell silent, observing them quietly while the Master turned to his wife and shot her a pointed look.

"What?" Lucy said, shrugging.

"What does the fox say?" the Master said, jabbing his finger at the Doctor.

"How should I know? Why do you care anyway? He's a doddering old man now," Lucy said.

"Because he still has his mind intact and he's no fool," the Master said to her. "He may be old and infirm now but that doesn't mean he isn't planning something and one thing he likes to do is taunt me by giving me bits of his plan in the form of riddles and clues and that's why I dragged you in here. You're a human so what does the fox say?"

"I don't know. I never spent that much time around one," Lucy said while the Doctor fought to keep from laughing. "They look like dogs, maybe they bark?"

The Master turned to the Doctor.

"Is that it?"

The Doctor grinned and shook his head. The Master looked at Lucy.

"I don't know, Harry. Go and look it up on the internet if you're so curious," Lucy said.

For a moment, the Doctor thought the Master was going to backhand her for daring to suggest he do something himself. He could see the look in his eyes as he glowered at her, that dangerous look that suggested he was about to administer pain. Then he sighed and walked past her, muttering "Keep an eye on him for the moment" as he headed for the door. Lucy watched him go and turned back to the Doctor once he was gone.

"Well, what is the answer?" she said to him.

"What makes you think I'll tell you?" the Doctor said.

"Because if you don't, Harry will torture you."

"He'll torture me anyway."

"So you're gonna antagonize him and make it worse? What if he loses control and kills you?"

The Doctor laughed.

"Lady, you really don't know much about him and me, do ya?" he said.

"I know…a bit," Lucy said hesitantly.

The Doctor smirked and leaned forward in his chair.

"He won't kill me," he said to her. "Believe me, he's had hundreds of chances over the centuries and he's never succeeded. It's because he's correct, this is a game we play. Not just me but him as well. I seriously doubt that he'll kill me even if I do make him angry. As for torture, seeing him in a kerfuffle is worth a bit of pain."

They turned their attention to the door when the Master came back in the door.

"Alright, I have it. They make a sort of shrieking, barking noise," he said to the Doctor.

"Nope," the Doctor said, shaking his head.

"Yes, they do. I found examples of fox calls on You Tube."

"I don't care what you found, that's not the answer."

The Master sighed.

"So it is a riddle, eh?"

"If you like and the answer is located in the year 2013."

"The TARDIS doesn't go to the year 2013."

"I know," the Doctor says gleefully.

The Master turned to Lucy.

"This is why I hate the man," he said to Lucy.

"Kill him then," Lucy challenged.

The Doctor raised his eyebrow when the Master fell silent. He could see the conflict on the Master's face as he tried to decide whether or not to do that. Finally, he started to walk away.

"What are you doing, kill him," Lucy said, pointing to the Doctor.

"I will…eventually," the Master said. "I just want to get the truth from him about this fox riddle before I do."

Lucy's mouth dropped open as the Master walked out of the room. She turned to the Doctor. The Doctor flashed her a smug grin.

"See. Told ya," he said to her.