Chapter Twelve
Jack didn't need to ask what was wrong. He could see it on Ianto and Martha's faces.
He knew it had something to do with the Doctor, he could feel it, and it didn't feel good.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't stop him," Ianto said, the apology thick in his voice.
"They wouldn't listen to us," Martha said.
Jack held up a hand, to silence them.
"One at a time!" he snapped. "I guess that means the Doctor, so he's up and he escaped," he said to Ianto.
He turned to Martha. "And who do you mean by them?"
Martha hesitated. "UNIT, the police, MI5, possibly the NSA. They're chasing him Jack, he's on the run, and they have no idea."
Jack's face hardened, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes...it was anger.
"I told them all to back off," he growled, and took out his phone.
"I don't care if he's busy. I want to talk to him....now!" Jack roared down the phone.
Jack was pacing up and down, occasionally glaring at the reporter who was making a sensational report about a man being chased through the abandoned part of the docks, and that the police considered then man to be a danger to the public.
Jack snorted, knowing this was a cover story put out by either UNIT, or one of the security agencies, that were now in hot pursuit.
"About time... what the hell are you doing chasing one of my cases across the city!"
Jack's face coloured as he listened to the reply.
"I don't give a rat's ass about Earth Security.....don't tell me to back off.....to hell with you!"
He turned back to Ianto and Martha. "Get the car!"
White Coat leaned forward in his seat, as he listened to the new report.
This made his task more difficult, but one had to be ready for the goal posts to be moved. At least he now knew where his property was, which would make it a little easier to contain it.
"Make sure you maintain the shielding, I don't want it or anyone to know we're coming," he said to the pilot.
"Yes sir, shields remaining up, one hundred percent, landing in five minutes."
White Coat nodded and turned to the man sitting behind him.
"Are your men in position?"
The man nodded. "Yes sir, once we're on the ground, we can pinpoint his location."
"Good, but remember, I want it unharmed."
"Yes sir."
"Coming up on the landing area sir," the pilot said.
"Excellent, take us in," White Coat said.
The Doctor kept running, even though his chest felt like it was on fire, and his hearts hammered against his chest.
He could hear the sounds of men in pursuit, the shouts of anger.
He'd tried his best to avoid them, he really had.
But they had found him, and the thing inside him had attacked.
He couldn't stop it, trapped as he was in the small part of his mind he'd managed to isolate. The screams of the men as they had succumbed had burnt into his soul.
This thing was killing......no, it wasn't killing.....it was changing them....why?
He slowed to a steady jog, needing to catch his breath. Hopefully he'd put enough space between himself and his current pursuers.
He had to find a hiding place, just so he could re-group and think of a way out of this.
What looked a large silo loomed in the dim light of the abandoned building he was currently inside. He stopped and looked up at the rusting hulk, and the unsteady looking ladder that clung to its side.
It wasn't the safest of hiding places, but it would do.
Quickly, but carefully he climbed the rusting ladder, and climbed down the equally rusting ladder on the other side.
Just as he stepped off the last rung, searing pain ran through him, and he collapsed to the floor of the silo, and knew nothing.
Jack thanked every god there was, that Martha hadn't removed the chip. The signal was weak, but it was there and it would get them to the Doctor before anyone else.
His head was spinning from what Martha and Ianto had told him, their theories on White Coat, which made awful sense to him.
But who the hell had the technology to tamper with the Doctor's DNA, and override his vastly superior immune system.
Whoever it was, he would deal with them. But first, he had to find the Doctor, and that, even with the chip to track him by, could be nigh on impossible.
He knew he had a fight on his hands, not just with UNIT or any of the others who wanted a piece of the Doctor.
He would have to fight White Coat, and worst of all, he may have to fight the Doctor.
The Doctor came too with a pain filled gasp.
He hadn't known that the ladder inside had been broken, and when the thing inside had struck again, he'd fallen.
He could feel something wet against his face, and after a few seconds realised it was blood...his blood.
He tried to move, but intense pain stifled his attempt, it felt like he had broken something, but he couldn't tell what. The thing inside was impairing his ability to assess damage, so he had no idea what, if anything was broken.
He could feel the thing stirring inside him.
He really should have jumped.
Jack looked up as he led Martha and Ianto across the rubble strewn landscape. He could have sworn he heard engines, but he couldn't see a helicopter.
They'd managed to avoid most of the many agents that were roaming the area, all searching for the Doctor.
They'd heard the angry shouts coming from the large derelict building that dominated this part of the docks.
They approached the building cautiously, spreading out when Jack gave them hand signals.
The inside was in no better condition than the outside, full of rubbish and disused machinery.
If the Doctor was in here, there were a hundred different places he could hide, Jack thought. He looked at the tracer, but it was about as much good as shouting hello, there was too much residual energy coming from somewhere.
"Really not in the mood for hide and go seek," he muttered.
He froze when he heard the sound of metal moving...could it be?
Slowly, and with every sense on full alert, he moved further into the building.
The Doctor tried again to reach for the broken ladder. His first attempt had missed by several feet, and he had landed awkwardly.
It didn't help that everything was blurred, and his stomach was threatening to leave via his throat.
He stood again, and a wave of dizziness caused him to stumble and bang against the side of the silo.
The sound echoed and threatened to deafen him.
He cursed silently, that could have been heard by anyone in the vicinity of the building.
"Nausea, dizziness and....and." He stopped talking, frowned, not sure what to say next.
"And....confusion, slow speech...equals....yes, fractured skull...not good...not good," he said.
He jumped again, and this time managed to grab hold of the last rung of the ladder.
He pulled himself up, hissing with the pain as he looked up.
Have to find.....find someone......Jack.