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amythest_n_ice) wrote2008-03-04 12:47 am
New Beginnings (Chapter 11)
Link to Part 10
http://amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com/46156.html
Link to Part 12
*******************************
The four stepped out of the TARDIS on Mirax, Jack leaning into the Doctor as he closed the doors, hooking an arm around his waist. The Doctor grinned at him, his own arm wrapping around Jack for a moment. They separated as one, and the Doctor turned to Rose and Mickey.
“Right, you have your credits, and your watches are set to local time, yes?”
“Yes.” They chorused, Rose rolling her eyes.
“Good, then the bazaar is down there, keep your hands on your wallets, pickpockets are a galactic constant. We’ll see you back here this evening.”
“Right,” Rose said, grabbing Mickey’s hand and hauling him away, the lure of the stalls calling her.
“Poor Mickey, I wonder if he’s got any idea what he’s in for.” Jack snorted.
“I’m sure she’s dragged him around shops before.” The Doctor laughed.
“So, what parts are we looking for?”
“Transfer coils, grid monitor and if we’re really lucky, a vortex loop control. The very best places on Mirax are in the grey zone.”
“Yeah, I remember. That was always where the more unsavory characters hung around too.”
“That would be why you know it then?” The Doctor teased.
“Yup.”
They wandered down to the grey zone, both in their element with all the small shops, all with nooks and crannies filled with a treasure trove of parts.
A couple of hours later, they had found some of what they were looking for, and a couple of other good bits they hadn’t been looking for. They had decided to wander off and find some lunch before looking for the rest of what they wanted, when Jack stood still, his head cocked to the side.
“Jack, what is it?”
“We’re being watched, followed,” Jack said quietly.
“I don’t feel anything like that.”
“I’m not imagining it Doctor, someone is following us. They only just latched on though.”
“Can you tell where they are?” The Doctor asked, deciding to trust Jack’s senses for the moment.
“Not really, just somewhere behind us, back toward the shop we just left.’
Jack turned and looked back the way they had come, sharp eyes flicking over the crowd of grubby spacers and engineers, looking for anyone familiar, or anyone who jumped out as a threat.
“Come on, let’s get out of here, we can go and eat in the tourist zone, hopefully it will be less crowded than this, so it will be easier to spot anyone following us.” The Doctor tugged lightly on his arm, starting him moving again. They didn’t get out of the zone before a man stepped in front of them, aiming a blaster at Jack.
Jack and the Doctor froze, they could see that the blaster was set to stun, but there was no way of knowing what a stun charge at this range would do to the new life Jack was carrying.
“Well, well, Jack Harkness, as I live and breathe. I thought they were dealing with you, but it seems I’ll have to do that myself after all.” The man sneered.
“What are you talking about? Who the hell are you?” Jack demanded.
“Like that’s going to fly here Harkness. You know who I am,” he said.
“No, really, I have no idea. Unless I met you during the time that I’m missing.”
“Missing time, yeah right. You wouldn’t remember your name if the Agency had done what they were supposed to do. They didn’t do the total memory overwrite, therefore they didn’t do what they promised to do. That was the only way you were allowed to walk away alive Harkness that was the deal they made. You had your mind wiped and rewritten, we didn’t kill you.”
A flick of the man’s thumb switched the blaster from stun to kill, and the Doctor acted, there was no way he was going to let this greasy little man kill his mate and child. He had the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket in a flash, pointing it at the blaster which exploded in a shower of sparks. The man screamed in pain, dropping the weapon and clutching his badly burned hand to his chest. Jack was shaking, pale and sweating when the Doctor turned to look at him.
“Jack, are you OK?”
“I want to go back to the TARDIS.” Jack whispered, his hand settling protectively over his stomach.
“All right, are you armed Jack?” The Doctor asked, knowing that no matter how much he might disapprove of weapons, Jack was unlikely to never carry something.
“Yes, I have my mini blaster. Why?”
“Because this guy is coming for a little walk with us, I want to have a little chat with him, and I want to get you safely back to the TARDIS.”
Jack pulled out his blaster, checking that it was set to stun before aiming at the man still kneeling on the deck, cradling his burned hand.
“On your feet, start walking,” the Doctor said, gesturing to indicate the direction he expected the man to walk in.
“Why should I?” The man sneered.
“Because if you don’t, I’ll let Jack shoot you, and I’ll drag you back to my ship by your balls,” the Doctor said, his tone cold, dangerous. The man swallowed hard, hearing that there was no way he was bluffing in the tone, and got to his feet, walking in the direction the Doctor pointed.
They reached the TARDIS, and the Doctor ushered Jack inside, sending him off with the parts they had found, before slamming the man into the wall of the TARDIS, not bothering to restrain his strength, the man grunted with the force of the impact.
“Who are you?” The Doctor growled.
The man stayed silent, watching him warily.
“I’m only going to warn you once, so listen very closely. I am normally a very peaceful person, I would usually look for a non violent solution to any problem, but you threatened something precious to me, and that is just a very stupid thing to do. You will answer my questions, and you will not lie, because believe me, I will know. Failure to comply will result in a very painful afternoon for you, is that clear?”
“
“Who are you?”
“Connor
“Smuggler. Why did you threaten Jack?”
“Because the Time Agency didn’t keep their word.”
“All of it,
“I was employed by the Agency to move items they didn’t want going through official channels. Agents coming back from a mission would rendezvous with me after their time jump, before returning to their headquarters. They would pass their cargo to me, and I would move it to wherever my employers wanted. Harkness was suspicious of something, either the delay in Agents returning after their jumps, or the amount of credits some people were flashing around. By the time he intercepted a rendezvous, he had enough evidence to bring everything down, but he was unlucky, we captured him. I wanted to kill him there and then, they wouldn’t let me.”
“Why?”
“His face was too well known, he was responsible for some pretty high profile cases, and it suited them to have him as a respectable face for the Agency. They were supposed to mind wipe him, rewrite his memory, it was only his face that mattered after all. He was supposed to be a puppet for them to control, but they obviously failed, lost control of him. I wasn’t prepared to let them or their Agency get in the way of my business you know, they’re not the only source of income I have, and not the best either. No wonder they didn’t let me know they’d lost him, they let me believe the process didn’t take properly, that he was brain dead.”
“Well, I’m not going to let you endanger him any further,
***
The Doctor tracked Jack down after he had dumped a now unconscious
“Do you want to know what he said?” The Doctor asked.
“I heard him, I was listening on the monitors until you brought him inside. How much did you take from his memory?”
“I don’t know I left that to the TARDIS. I don’t much care. Are you all right?”
“I will be, I suppose. It hurts a bit, knowing the only reason that they stopped him killing me was to use my face to cover their actions. That they were supposed to be protectors of Time, of the law, and they used that to line their own pockets, and were willing to turn me into a mindless puppet to make sure they could keep doing it.”
“We could try to find, or recreate the evidence you gathered, bring them to justice.”
“No, justice is overrated. I would rather go to headquarters with a lot of explosives, and bring them down that way.”
“And if there are other good Agents there?”
“IF there are other honest Agents there, they’ll find the same clues I must have, sooner or later, they’ll bring the corrupt officers down. I just want to forget the place ever existed. All that matters to me now is you, and the child we’re going to have.”
“Good,” the Doctor said, leaning across to kiss Jack tenderly, cupping his face between his palms.
tbc