Notes: I only ever remember Rose having an action scene when she grabbed a chain and swung across to kick a mannequin off the Doctor. I though it was about time she kicked some ass, after all she is a Torchwood agent. John (the Doctor) starts to feel inadequate and impotent.
Chapter 3
Rose and Jack were Christmas shopping in the West End of London, looking for presents for John. EJ was now 5 months old and was in the pushchair, looking puzzled and bemused at all the sights and noises around him.
They were in a small gift shop in a quiet side street just off Oxford Street, the kind of shop that gives you the feeling of an Aladdin's Cave when you walk in.
Rose had spotted the perfect present when she walked through the door. It was an old tin money box in the shape of an old blue police box. She took it off the shelf and inspected it. She could fill it with his favourite banana fudge toffees.
"Look what you're getting Daddy for Christmas," she said, showing it to EJ. He reached up and grabbed it and proceeded to put it to his mouth and lick it.
Rose looked at Jack and laughed. "Just what his Daddy would do."
Jack flashed his perfect smile. "Superior Gallifreyan taste buds," he laughed. He was looking for a gift for the two of them, and he liked the look of an oriental incense burner in the shape of a dragon.
Having paid for the gift, Rose put it in her shopping bag under the pushchair and they left the shop.
"Mrs Smith, you will come with me," a foreign voice said in her ear as a hand gripped her right elbow. Through her thick winter coat, she could feel the muzzle of a gun poking into her ribs.
"Wha?" she said as she turned to look at the man who was assailing her.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Jack asked, moving to protect Rose.
PFUTT.
Rose knew the sound of a silenced gun and she was suddenly filled with dread.
Jack's expression went from puzzled, to astonished and then realisation as he clutched his chest. Rose screamed and EJ started to cry, as Jack wordlessly fell backwards onto the pavement.
The assailant was returning the gun to its original target when Rose's Torchwood training kicked in. She was no longer the meek shop girl from the Powell estate, who looked like a 'yummy mummy', what with her pretty face, blond hair and gorgeous figure.
She was a kick ass momma, a Special Operations Agent who had been trained by the best. Time slowed and she was surprised that she could watch what she was doing as though she were an observer.
Her left hand grabbed the wrist that was holding the gun and stopped it from pointing at her. As fast as a cobra's strike, the fingers of her right hand shot forwards and jabbed into the man's eyes.
'If they can't see you, they can't hit you', she heard Captain McNab telling her. Andy McNab was ex-SAS and knew how to fight dirty and fight to survive.
She tensed her hand and the edge of it caught her assailant full on the Adam's apple. She heard him gasp for breath.
'If they can't breath, they can't put up a prolonged fight.'
Even with her short, designer leather skirt restricting her movements, her final move was the finisher. Her knee high leather boot connected with his groin and lifted him off the floor. She heard him make a gasping sort of squeak.
Amazingly, as her body was doing all this, she thought about how she liked to wear short skirts but her life in the TARDIS rarely allowed for it. They needed to be ready to run at a moments notice, and a short skirt could hinder that.
She had worn her denim mini when they had a stop over in Cardiff and she had arranged to meet Mickey. She hadn't thought she would need to run in Cardiff. And then there was her denim mini dungaree dress she had worn to the 1979 Ian Dury concert, no running needed there (if she had actually managed to get there).
As he hit the floor, her knee made contact with the back of his straight elbow. The man screamed as his elbow exceeded its supposed range of movement. He released his grip on the weapon and Rose took it and fired at a black Range Rover with tinted windows that was waiting on the opposite side of the road.
Her heightened senses had spotted the door open and a black suited man start to climb out carrying a firearm.
PFUTT, PFUTT, PFUTT.
The man fell back into the car and someone pulled him in as more black suited men appeared from the far side of the vehicle.
Now Rose had been trained by one of the best, but she wasn't an SAS soldier. She was distracted by thoughts of keeping her son safe and by concern for her best friend who had been shot in the chest.
She picked her targets and fired carefully, just as McNab had taught her. But with three gunmen, the last one targeted had a distinct advantage over the other two.
PFUTT.
Rose felt a sharp pain below her left collarbone just before everything went black.
John was in the Special Operations standby room, tucking into a toasted banana sandwich that he had made in the kitchen area with his temporary partner Gwen O'Toole. They had about another month together before Rose came back to work.
He liked Gwen, whose nickname was 'numbers', because she had a quick mind for calculus. They would throw maths and logic problems at each other to pass the time.
John would keep his questions within a human brain's capabilities, whereas Gwen would try her hardest to stump him. She hadn't succeeded yet.
"Why aren't you a professor of mathematics at one of the premier universities?" John asked her as he took another bite of his hot sandwich.
"Probably for the same reason you aren't a professor of physics, or engineering, or electronics, or... Shall I go on?" she replied with a smile.
"My head is wired for maths, but my body is wired for adventure. I want to be out there in the thick of it, and if I can use maths while I'm out there then that's great." She bit into her sandwich and waved her hand in front of her mouth, blowing out air. The sandwich was hot, but delicious.
"Hah! Kindred spirits. I knew there was a reason I liked you," he said grinning. He was about to take another bite, when he had a sudden chill that made him shudder.
"Are you alright John?" Gwen had noticed the sudden change in his face and body.
He didn't answer her. Instead he put down his sandwich and took out his mobile phone and speed dialled Rose. He waited while the phone rang and rang before going to voicemail.
"Rose? What's happening? Call me back as soon as you can please. I love you."
He ended the call and speed dialled Jack. He knew they had gone to the West End to do some Christmas shopping. Jack's phone also rang and rang but then he heard a voice.
"Hello, who is this?" the female voice that wasn't Jack's asked.
John started to feel sick as his stomach contracted with dread. He knew something bad had happened, he had felt it. He had a mild empathic link with Rose and felt her fear and anxiety. He had a telepathic link with EJ and had heard him cry out when he heard his mother scream and seen her fighting with someone.
"I'm a Torchwood agent, John Smith. You have the phone of another agent. I need you to tell me what has happened," John said. He gestured to Gwen and pointed to the phone and then to the door of the Operations room.
Gwen understood immediately. She nodded and ran through to the Operations room to start getting a triangulation on the phones. John stood and picked up his kitbag, ready to start moving to the express elevator.
Jake and Julia had picked up on the tension and grabbed their gear as well. Working in small units meant that they quickly picked up on each others body language and could often mobilize without a word being uttered.
John found out that the woman on the phone was Eunice, the owner of the shop that Rose and Jack had been shopping in. She described as best she could the events that had occurred in front of her shop. She was terribly upset and obviously in shock.
"We need paramedics on the scene ASAP," John said as the fast response car sped down the road. The woman had told him that the man had been shot in the chest.
"The woman agent put up a fantastic fight until she was shot in the shoulder and bundled into a car along with the baby. It was a black Range Rover with tinted windows. I didn't get the number because I haven't got my glasses on," she said.
"That's okay Eunice, you're doing just great," John reassured her. He wished someone could reassure him. He had just learned that his wife had been shot and then kidnapped along with his son, and he was having to keep calm to keep his star witness calm.
"Gwen, get dispatch to track Rose's phone and get the traffic cameras to track a black Range Rover with tinted windows leaving the area at speed."
He went back to the phone. "Right Eunice, I need you to be brave and check on the man who was shot. His name is Jack, and I need you to tell me if he has a pulse and if he's conscious."
"I've done basic first aid for my business, hang on and I'll see what I can do." The phone went quiet for a while and then she came back.
"He has a strong pulse and seems to be asleep. I checked the chest wound and was surprised that there was no blood. When I examined him, he had some kind of dart sticking out of his chest," she reported.
"A tranquilizer! Oh thank the Vortex," he said with relief. At least he knew Rose wasn't seriously injured.
"Eunice, can you stay with Jack until our paramedics get there and the Police will want a statement from you. We're going after the female agent and the baby."
"Of course John. Good luck."
John hung up the phone and studied the satellite tracking system in the car which showed Rose's phone signal moving along the streets on the map. It was currently on the A4, moving west.
"Okay Jake, that dot on the screen is the most important thing in this or any other universe. Go get 'em." He hit the 'nav' function and the unit calculated an intercept course. Jake hit the sirens and the blue flashing radiator lights.
All Special Operations field agents had taken the SAS Advanced Vehicle Handling course which turned driving into an art form. 'Turn left' the unit said, and proceeded to give rapid instructions, taking into account the speed that Jake was driving at.
The signal left the A4 in Chiswick and started moving along suburban streets. Jake was making good progress when the signal from Rose's phone stopped moving. The tension in the car went up a notch.
"Okay, stay sharp people," Julia said as they got closer and closer to the signal, which turned out to be in Sutton Lane North.
John took his tablet PC out of his bag and switched it on. It also showed the signal on a map but it was at a much higher resolution. Jake quietly parked the car outside a block of three storey regency flats, and the four occupants darted out of the vehicle and took up covering positions.
John crept forwards, using a low wall and privet hedge for cover, until he was on top of the signal. It was then that his heart sank and he fell into despair. There on the other side of the low wall was Rose's leather phone case; he had bought it for her in April as a birthday present.
He stood up, walked over and picked up the phone. He took a deep breath and steeled himself. He was a Torchwood agent, but more than that he was the Doctor, and the Doctor saves people, and most precious things in his oh-so long life had been taken from him.
There was a darkness in those brown eyes, a darkness that would make a Dalek tremble, and they didn't even feel fear. There was a storm coming and he didn't know if he could control it, not without Rose, and that scared him.
"JULIA!" He turned and walked back to the car. "Call up the traffic cameras and let's find those bastards."
The three agents were stunned. They rarely heard him swear, and more disturbing was the sound of his voice, it reverberated in their heads.
Jake continued driving in the general direction that the kidnappers had been going, but at Chiswick High Road, they could have gone left, right or straight on.
"Which way now?" Jake asked no one in particular.
John closed his eyes and calmed his mind, reaching out to his son. He could feel him, all emotions and confusion. He knew it wasn't his normal routine, and why was mummy asleep during the day?
John tried to see through his eyes, but he was only five months old and hadn't learnt to control his eyes that well. Besides, he was in a car seat and couldn't see out of the windows.
"I don't know," He said defeated. "We'll have to wait for the traffic cameras to spot them." He hated being so helpless, having to wait for information, it went against every instinct in his body.
Five agonising minutes later, Dispatch called on the car transceiver.
"Target acquired, heading east. Sending the coordinates to your nav unit," Chrissie Anderson told them.
'Turn right onto the A315 and continue straight on', the nav unit directed.
Jake floored the pedal and the wheels screeched as he threw the car around the corner. They were back on the scent, and he wasn't going to let his friends down.
Torchwood had got one of their high performance airships above the Range Rover now and there would be no evading capture for the would be kidnappers. The video feed from the airship was streamed directly to the pursuit car as the nav unit synchronised data with the sensors above them.
John had got his 'fire' back now and he reached into his bag and pulled out a tablet computer and what looked like a model jet aircraft. Once the tablet was on, he wound down the window and threw the drone out.
"Time to try out the 'hawk'," he said. It was the larger and faster version of the 'spy-fly', a surveillance tool he had designed for field agents that could check out a location before anyone entered.
This one could travel up to 200 miles an hour and easily keep up with a speeding car. The hawk flew itself once it had acquired a target, and the operator just had to fine tune the movements to look in windows etc.
The optical camera was useless against the tinted windows, so John switched to thermal imaging. Even with the windows closed, the ultra sensitive detectors could see the heat signatures of the occupants.
John's heart sank again. There was only one heat signature in the car, the driver. In the time that the car had been off camera, they had switched vehicles.
"Isn't that just wizard! They've flimflammed us," he said. "Intercept the target immediately, we have to find out how and when they switched vehicles."
Chrissie on Despatch put out the call and a number of Torchwood 4X4's boxed in the Range Rover and brought it to a halt. John ran to the Range Rover and wrenched open the driver's door.
The young woman in the drivers seat squealed as the door flew open.
"Right then sunshine, where are they?!" John demanded in full Donna mode. "I want the make, model and registration number. NOW!"
The woman was trembling and incoherent. He could see she was terrified, and he could also see, now that he'd stopped to look, that she was wearing the uniform of a national car hire firm.
"I... I... I was asked to pick up the car from this address and return it to our office." She started to cry as she reached over to the passenger seat with trembling hands and passed the clipboard to John.
The address on the sheet was miles away; they had passed it when they were chasing the Range Rover. They had driven right past Rose and EJ and not even known it. The feeling of guilt and inadequacy were overwhelming.
"What's your name?" he asked, his voice breaking.
"R, R, Rose sir. Rose Stevens."
'Fate and coincidence could be cruel at times' John thought as he sank to his knees. "Rose? I'm sorry Rose. I'm so sorry."
Gwen put a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon John, we need to check out this address."
John stood up. 'Why hadn't he thought of that?' His human, Donna side was getting in the way; he needed to focus his Gallifreyan brain.
Julia spoke to the terrified woman in the car. "His wife and son have been kidnapped; he's not normally like this. Here, have some water." She handed her a small bottle of water and helped her out of the car.
"That's awful," Rose said looking back at John with concern. "And the kidnappers used me as a decoy?"
"Yes they did, and you may have some vital information that will help to catch them. I'd like you to have a seat in this 4X4 and give a statement to these agents."
"Am I in trouble? Am I under arrest?" she asked with a terrified expression.
"No, I don't think so. We work with the police and exchange information. I don't think they will need to interview you if you give us your statement." Julia squeezed her arm for reassurance and ran back to their car.
The address on the clipboard was a small factory unit in amongst a number of other units that would have been straight on at the junction. The pick-up sheet said the hire car had been on the forecourt.
"Okay, spread out and scan the area," John said. He'd got Donna under control now. He noticed a sign at the entrance to the industrial estate which said, 'Unit 9, 1,306 SQ. FT. TO LET'; it would be empty and a handy place to swap vehicles.
His thermal imager on the scanner showed warm tyre tracks heading under the roller shutter door. He tried the small door to the side which was locked.
"Over here guys, I think I've found it." He put his scanner in his large breast pocket and reached into a small arm pocket to produce a set of lock picks.
It didn't take long for his superior Gallifreyan abilities to unlock the door and for him to be able to push the door open. Everyone had their stun guns at the ready.
There, in the gloom, was the black Range Rover with all doors open. They fanned out and approached from different directions.
"De Graff to Despatch, over," Julia spoke into her headset quietly.
"Go ahead, over," Chrissie said back into her earpiece. John had a super bright torch and was looking at the interior from a distance.
"We have found the target vehicle. Request Scene Of Crime unit and recovery, over."
"And see if there are any CCTV cameras on these units," John called out into his headset. "They might show us what vehicle they switched to."
"Roger that. Despatch out."
Without entering the vehicle and disturbing any evidence, John crouched down and shone the torch under the seats. There was something shiny and metallic, a tranquiliser dart.
"They were definitely here then," he said to himself.
"Same number plate as the hire car," Jake called from the back of the car. "That would confused any sightings on the traffic cameras and make sure that we went after the decoy."
"John! Come and look at this," Gwen called from the other side of the car. They all walked around and saw her lying on her front looking under the back wheel.
"What have you found?" he asked her.
"Don't know, I'll take a photo." She held her scanner behind the wheel and there was a bright flash. She sat up and looked at the display; the rest of the team looked over her shoulder.
The screen showed a round medallion with some apparent religious iconography engraved into it.
"It must have come loose during the effort to transfer an unconscious hostage," Gwen said, and then realised who the hostage was. "Sorry John, that sounded a bit callous."
He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's okay Gwen, we're all in the same boat here, and this might be the lead we need. Feed that back to Torchwood and see what they can find."
He helped Gwen to her feet and took a last look around the small unit.
"We need to get back to Torchwood so that I can talk to Jack and make a special call." He didn't elaborate; he just walked out, leaving the others to follow.