Soli Deo gloria

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Doctor Who.

Chapter 5! I figure, though I don't know for certain, that in order to access Torchwood, you'd need some of password, much like UNIT.

That evening Donna took a deep breath and finished packing up her stuff. Her purse filled, she looked back at her desk in case she forgot something. The desk was littered with several different phones that she had gathered from people's desks. The receptionist had come back that afternoon, for which she was relieved. She wasn't that good with talking business-like to people on the phone, especially a dozen people at the same time.

Picking up her jacket, she looked over her shoulder when she heard, "Coming to the pub, Donna?"

She saw Jack coming over to get his jacket. She shrugged and putting on her jacket, "I suppose I could."

"Come on, it'll be fun," Jack said with a devilish smile. "Your mum will let you, won't she?"

"I'll just give her a call," Donna said, going to the lift as she pulled out her mobile. She pressed a button and Jack hurried in after her. Donna sighed as the doors closed and she began dialing, asking, "Did Saxon question you?"

"Third one in his office," Jack said as they started descending. "Why is he so angry, again? The story was bound to get out anyway."

"I dunno. Why don't you ask him?" Donna asked as she put her phone to her ear.

"Maybe I will," Jack said with a laugh.

"He might tell you," Donna said before she said in a clearer voice, "hello, Mum? Yeah, I'm out of work. No, I didn't get fired again. No, I'm off. Nine-to-five job, Mum! Anyway, I'm not going to be home for a bit. I'm heading to the pub with some co-workers. Yeah. Colleagues. Not technically my friends, Mum, but yeah. I know, I know, yes, I'll be home by seven. Say hello to Gramps for me. Love ya, bye." She pressed the off button just as the lift opened and she sighed.

"Overprotective mother?" Jack asked as they walked to the doors.

"A little bit, yeah," Donna said, and they headed out into the bitter cold February air.

"Cold," Jack said as they crossed the street to the pub. The windows of the pub were lit with bright yellow lights, making it look awfully cheery and cozy and merry against the quickly-getting-dark evening.

"Yeah, noticed that bit," Donna said, making Jack laugh as they came upon the entrance.

He opened the door and said, "Ladies first."

"Such a gentleman," Donna said teasingly as she went inside. The two of them put their jackets on the coat rack and went up to the bar.

"Where are the others?" asked Donna as she looked over the restaurant. Jack took his seat on one of the barstools and shrugged, saying, "Probably still there. Did ya see any of them?"

"No, but I think Rose and the Doctor are out looking for the victim's friends or something," Donna said. She shrugged and said, "Not much gets run past me."

"Well, until they show up, we can get started," Jack said, grinning. He turned to the barkeeper and ordered two shots.

Ten minutes and two shots apiece for Jack and Donna later, Rose and the Doctor came peeking through the door of the pub. Jack hailed them over. Rose called over, "We'll be there in a minute," as the two of them hung up their jackets.

"Hurry up!" Jack said cheerfully. Rose smiled and the Doctor and her took seats next to Jack.

"Hello Donna, Jack. You two been here a while?" the Doctor asked cheerfully.

"Not too long. Just a bit," Donna said. "Nice to be able to come to the pub for once."

"Enjoying yourself?" Rose asked as the Doctor raised his hand and tried to get noticed by the busy barmen.

"Yeah. It's nice," Donna said.

"Yep. Night's just getting started," Jack said with a laugh as the Doctor waved his hand around, saying, "'Xcuse me, hello! Barman!"

One of the barkeepers noticed the Doctor, and walking over to him, said, "What can I get ya?"

"Two pints, but first," the Doctor said. He said in a quieter voice, "My companion and I are looking for two men, Larry and George Carluson. Apparently, we've had reports of those two men, who don't live next to Craig because their address is a fake, being here at this bar the night that Harvey Decker was killed a few neighborhoods back. Two men, in black clothing."

"Two men . . . in black clothing," the barkeeper said slowly. He looked thoughtful and said, "Well, I had a shift that night, and I think I remember them."

"Can you remember what they looked like?" Rose asked quickly.

"No, all I saw was that they were wearing black jackets, black shirts, black pants. Baggy things. I couldn't even see their faces. Their scarfs and hats were covering their faces," the barkeeper said. "There was a man with them, though. Paid for three pints."

"What was his name?" prompted the Doctor.

"Name was Harvey Decker."

"The victim?" Rose said. "What, the victim bought the men drinks?"

"Yep, I guess so," the barkeeper said. "Anything else?"

"Nah, we're all right," the Doctor said. The barkeeper nodded and went on to his work and the Doctor leaned back on his barstool, his three companions looking at him, curious.

"So Harvey's two friends were dressed in black and he bought them drinks and a few hours later, he's dead?" Jack asked, looking to each of them.

"What does that mean, though?" the Doctor asked, looking thoughtful. He shrugged and said, "I dunno."

"Didn't you say his two friends had a fake address?" Donna asked, making them all look to her. She shrugged and said, "Makes them suspicious, doesn't it?"

"What do you mean, Donna?" Jack asked.

"What if his friends weren't friends, but murderers? I mean, come on. He's pretty much friendless except for those two," Donna pointed out. "They dress in black, they have a fake address. Why was he in London when there was a bar in Leadworth? They were probably rendezvousing to kill him." Donna shrugged and said, "I dunno, a theory, I suppose."

Jack, Rose, and the Doctor looked at Donna incredulously for a moment, making her look cross as she said, "Oi, what?"

"Donna, that's—that's brilliant," the Doctor said.

"It is?" Donna said before she shrugged. "All right, then."

"So why would they want to kill Harvey Decker?" Jack asked no one in particular.

"That's the question here, Jack," the Doctor said as the barkeeper came up with two pints. "We just need an answer to it."

Martha sighed as the lift opened up. It was the next morning, and in her hand was the clipboard with the new report on it. She'd spent the majority of the afternoon and evening last night examining the body before it was off. She'd spent the late night examining her results and fell asleep at her desk before she could see if she could randomly guess the password to the Torchwood website, whatever it was.

She hadn't found anything except for a spot that looked like it had gotten blasted. It barely stood out, though it'd have to do. She hurried over to Saxon's office and knocked on his door.

"Sir?" she asked as she opened the door a bit.

"Ahhh, Dr. Jones," Saxon said, smiling. "Got a new report?"

"Yeah," Martha said, quickly entering and putting it on his desk. "Spent hours on it."

"Good," Saxon said as he stood up. Taking a briefcase, he said, "I've got places to go, a wife to meet. Have fun at work today, Dr. Jones."

Martha watched him leave before she sighed and said, "Sure. Should be fun."

Once she was outside of his office, she looked around and spotted Mickey yawning at his desk, a laptop in front of him. He nodded to the Doctor, Rose, and Jack before he turned back to his laptop.

"Mickey," she said as she hurried over.

"Oh, hey, Martha," Mickey said, looking over to her. "What is it?"

"I need you to help me break into a website," Martha said quickly.

"What kind of a website?" asked Mickey, sitting up.

"A thing called Torchwood. It was the only thing that came up when I looked up 'alien exploding skin'. I'm trying to find how Harvey Decker really died," Martha said.

Mickey looked interested as Martha took a seat in a swivel chair and said quickly, "Hey, that's what came up when I looked stuff up. Torchwood. What does that even mean?"

"I don't know. Think it could explain exploding skin at all?" asked Martha.

"Yeah. Bet it could," Mickey said, and he quickly started writing on his laptop, and Martha moved her swivel chair over so that she was sitting next to him. He grinned at her and said, "Let's see what we can do."

The two went to password solving, and they were about to get onto something when they heard the Doctor saying, "What? What happened now?"

Rose looked about as she quickly stood up from her desk. "Got a call from downstairs. Apparently, two men in black attacked Mrs. Decker's house. Rummaged through the shed and house." She shrugged and said, "They were looking for something. Get your gun." She reached into a drawer and pulled out her gun, which she stuck in her belt for the time being.

"Yeah, Donna called it," the Doctor said as he hurried to put on his trench coat. He tilted his head and said, "I'll let you cover me on the gun department."

"What did I call?" Donna asked. She was drinking something and groaning, having complained of a bit of a hangover earlier.

"The men in black. They're searching for something," the Doctor said.

"Let's find out what it is. Donna, call Black and Ryans and Gregson," Jack said, pointing to Donna and retrieving his own gun. "Get them to Mrs. Decker's house with us, do the usual."

"On it," Donna said, yawning.

"See you two," Jack said, nodding to Martha and Mickey before he hurried after the Doctor and Rose into the lift.

Martha and Mickey watched them before they both turned back to the Torchwood thing, both determined to find out what it was.

"Rory! Rory!" Amy said quickly in her phone. She was acting nervous as she paced her room, Mels's excited commentary in the background. "Rory, pick up your phone, I don't care how many classes you have!"

She exhaled when she heard a "Hello? Amy?" at the other end.

"Oh, Rory! You've got to get here, now!" she said excitedly.

Rory, loaded down with homework as he headed to his car, shivering because of the cold, leaned against his shoulder and said, "What is it? What happened?"

Mels said in the background, "Oi, it's got a little cute face!"

Amy gulped and said, "The eggs, they're—they're hatching!"

"They are?" Rory said, stopping short.

"Yes!" Amy said, hopping up and down. "And you've got to come quick!"

"Oh, it's all dark!" Mels said. "Amy, come and watch this!"

"Okay, okay, I'm hurrying!" Rory said. He quickly dumped his stuff in his car and hurried inside.

Amy ended the call and looked back to the eggs. Their basket was on a towel she had laid out, hoping her carpet would be okay; Mels watched with a delighted face.

"They're fantastic, Amy!" Mels said.

"Oh, I hope Mum doesn't come up here," Amy said nervously, eying the little things nervously. They were little green scaly things, almost like huge lizards. They had a tail in the back of them and great, brown eyes and a big, honking snout. One had smoke floating out of its mouth. Amy wrinkled her nose and said, "What are they?"

"Something alien or something, now come here!" Mels said. Amy tentatively stepped forward and Mels said, "I think I'll name that one Oscar."

"Wait, no, we're not naming them," Amy said. She added, "We don't even know what they are!"

"Come on, Amy," Mels said with a mischievous smile. Amy rolled her eyes and kept herself alert and they waited for Rory to show up. He eventually did, throwing open the front door. Mrs. Pond looked up from her TV and said, "Oh, hello, Rory."

"Hello there, Mrs. Pond," Rory said, panting. He pointed up the stairs lamely and said, "Amy called," and he raced up the stairs, nearly tripping over his feet. Mrs. Pond watched him before she shrugged and turned back to her TV.

He nearly tripped again right before Amy's door before throwing open the door. Inside, he saw Amy sitting cross-legged on her bed and Mels on the floor, watching in awe.

"Oh. My. Go-" Rory said.

He got cut off by Amy, who said, "Yeah, we know."

"What are they?" Rory asked incredulously.

"Don't know," Mels said cheerfully. "OH, look, they have spikes down their backs!"

"Spikes down their backs," Rory said under his breath. He looked to Amy and said, "Are they some kind of dragon or lizard or—or what?"

"I have no clue," Amy said. She waved a hand and said, "Well, we can't keep them here."

"I can't keep pets," Mels said, sounding annoyed.

"Dad might but not Mum, ohhhh, not Mum," Rory said, shaking his head. He sighed and said, "We have to get rid of them."

"How? Kick them out into the streets?" Mels asked quickly, her eyes looking dangerous.

"Not in the cold. No way," Amy said, looking to Rory.

"We're going to have to take them to the police, then," Rory said, scratching the back of his head. "There's no other choice. Besides, someone might be looking for them."

"Sure, someone's looking for alien dragons," Amy said, but she nodded.

A few minutes later, they were able to sneak out of the house, Amy saying that the three of them were going out. Mrs. Pond nodded, but expected them home for dinner. Amy nodded with a smile and hurried on her jacket as Mels rushed to Rory's car.

"Shouldn't take that long to get there," Mels said as Rory took to the driver's seat.

"We can't go to Leadworth's police station," Rory said quietly.

Amy finished buckling herself and then gave Rory a look as she said, "And why not?"

"They had a fire on the next building over. I highly doubt they'll take three baby mutants when they're dealing with arson," Rory said. Amy looked at him, annoyed, and he added, "Took me ten minutes just to get past the people watching. There were lots and lots of cars. All right?"

"Fine," Amy said.

"Don't call Oscar and Eddy mutants," Mels said from the backseat as Rory started the car.

"Oh, so there's an Eddy now. Who's the other one?" Amy asked.

"Rory," Mels said, making Rory roll his eyes and Amy grin.

"Oi," Rory said as they headed out of the neighborhood. He looked ahead and said, "Hope it doesn't snow."

"That'd put a damper on things, now wouldn't it?" asked Amy. Rory nodded. The last thing they needed right now was a bunch of snow.

The Doctor and Rose and Jack managed to catch one of the police cars heading out to the Decker house; they all were very cramped in the backseat. The Doctor's trench coat took up a lot of room. Jack took a breath and said, "Your coat takes up more room than a hoop skirt, Doctor."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," the Doctor said as Rose shifted in the middle seat.

They soon came to Mrs. Decker's house, where there were already a few police cars. People with cameras were already over by the shed and the house. The front door to the house was open, and as the Doctor and Rose and Jack rushed out, they spotted two policemen taking to Mrs. Decker, who was being examined for any sort of injury. The press was everywhere. Reporters talked and cameras flashed.

"Mrs. Decker, hello. Us again," the Doctor said as the three of them hurried to the porch.

"Yeah, I'm new. Wasn't here before," Jack said with a smile.

"He's Jack," Rose said in quick summary. She turned to one of the officers and said, "What exactly happened?"

"At approximately ten-thirty-seven this morning, we received a phone call from Mrs. Decker saying that strange men wearing black clothing invaded her house," the police officer said.

The Doctor, hands in his pockets, stooped down to Mrs. Decker's height, which was short since she was sitting on the steps with a blanket on her back, and said quietly, "What did you see, Mrs. Decker?"

"Well," Mrs. Decker said in a trembling voice, "I was just coming home from shopping for groceries, since we—I was running low, and when I came home, I saw that the shed door was open; it was strange to me. I called, but no one answered. I went into the house, and I saw strange men, wearing black, rummaging through my living room. They left when I screamed for help. But, Doctor, before they left, they let out the most ripping scream."

"What did it sound like?" the Doctor asked quietly.

"It—it almost sounded like a dragon, from in the films," Mrs. Decker said, twisting her hankie around. She sniffed and said, "I called the police, and I haven't seen them since."

"Wait, a DRAGON?" asked Jack. He looked incredulous as he turned to the Doctor, who was looking into the house, and said, "A dragon."

"It sounded like a roar," Mrs. Decker said miserably.

"Did they have any weaponry on them?" asked Rose, writing down on her pad.

"I think so, but they didn't use them on the house. I-I don't think. I haven't seen anything broken on the house, except for the living room furniture."

"And the wallpaper," the Doctor said, darting down onto the porch steps, having quickly stepped into the house. "Your wallpaper's ruined."

"I suppose so," said Mrs. Decker.

"What does wallpaper have to do with this, Doctor?" asked Rose, looking bemused as she looked up from her paper. Her pen stopped running over the top of the paper, waiting for information to print.

"Well, wallpaper is thin and flat, right?" the Doctor said, moving his palms against each other.

"Yeah," Jack said. "Wait. . . ." He peeked into the house and ran inside.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"Wallpaper . . . it's like skin," the Doctor said, rubbing two of his fingers together. "It's ruined. It's torn. There's plaster everywhere. Someone blew up the plaster."

"It's like it's been blown up," Jack said, coming out onto the porch, only reaffirming what the Doctor said. He panted and added, "Whoever was in here rummaging through stuff was using the same type of weapon that killed Harvey Decker."

"That leaves the question: what were they looking for? Did they find what they were looking for?" Rose wanted to know.

The Doctor frowned and turning to Mrs. Decker, asked, "Did they immediately leave when they saw you?"

"Oh, yes," Mrs. Decker said.

The Doctor nodded and said, "What that means is that they were looking for something, but they couldn't find it in time because they were discovered. If they had found what they wanted before Mrs. Decker had come back, they would have left earlier, wouldn't they?"

"Yeah, which means . . . whatever was here they didn't get," Rose said. She frowned and she added, "Doctor, they searched the shed, didn't they?"

"Yeah. What about it? Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, YOU'RE RIGHT, YES, ROSE!" the Doctor said, standing up excitedly. He grinned as he said, "I could kiss you, Rose Tyler! That's—OHHH, that's brilliant!"

"What?" Jack asked, looking confused.

"They were looking for his alien stuff," Rose said. She nodded to the Doctor and said, "We took it out."

"Oh. . ." Jack said slowly. He gulped and said, "Do they know that after they couldn't find it that the police took it?"

Rose and the Doctor instantly looked at each other, the Doctor saying, "I'm not sure."

THANK YOU FOR READING and I hope you liked it!