ABDUCTION

Chapter Seven

"So where do we start looking?" Jack said to the Doctor.

"And does Rose have enough air in there?" Ianto said.

"Oh God. Good point. Can she breathe in there?" Jack said, pointing to Rose.

"I think so," the Doctor said, gazing at her unconscious body. "It would be too quick and too easy to suffocate her. This is a form of torture, for her and for us. She can breathe."

They walked away from the TARDIS in search of any clue to the mysterious man's whereabouts. Outside of the square, there were wooden houses that didn't have much ornamentation to them. There were, however, a lot of inns.

"I said this city was the slave trading hub for the galaxy," the Doctor said to Jack and Ianto while they walked. "Not many people live here but there are many who come, spend the night and leave after the auctions are finished."

"Doesn't anyone try to stop these auctions?" Ianto asked.

"Unfortunately, for the moment, slavery is legal here," the Doctor said grimly. "The authorities can't do anything."

"That needs to be changed then," Jack said.

"Which apparently is this bloke's gripe with me. I interfere where I shouldn't," the Doctor said to him.

"Which narrows the list of suspects down to about two billion," Jack said.

"Yup, pretty much," the Doctor said.

They noticed that some of the rougher looking types were slowing down to take a look at Rose while they walked by. Jack drew near to the Doctor, protecting Rose while he glared at a few scruffy looking men, one with an eye patch and scars all over his face and another with a stubbly beard and a lustful look in his eye.

"They're sizing Rose up," Ianto said, looking at the men.

"Of course they are, I'm carrying an unconscious young woman in my arms which says to them that she's a slave just ripe for the picking," the Doctor said. "That's why we need to be vigilant."

"Way ahead of ya," Jack said, looking around.

They walked for another five minutes until the Doctor stopped them because the crowd of onlookers staring at Rose was beginning to increase and now there were even shouts from them about how much he wanted to sell her for. And the Doctor finally stopped them when some of them became belligerent at Jack when he tried to shoo them away.

"This isn't gonna work, we need to put Rose somewhere where she won't get snatched," the Doctor said. "Follow me, I have a credit stick. Let's find an inn."

They found one that didn't look rundown and seedy and entered. The man behind the front desk didn't look haggard or menacing. He looked like a friendly grandpa type with thinning white hair and wire rimmed glasses. When he looked at Rose, he was giving her a concerned look rather than sizing her up like a piece of meat.

"Is your friend alright?" he said to the Doctor.

"Not exactly, she's been injured and we need a room for the night, two rooms actually," the Doctor said, glancing at Jack and Ianto.

"I have two rooms but first, a couple of questions," the man said sternly.

Jack and Ianto glanced at the Doctor.

"Yes?" the Doctor said.

"Are you slave traders?" the man said.

"No," the Doctor said.

"Because I don't allow that scum to stay here, which is why I have rooms available," the man said.

The Doctor smiled at that.

"No, we're not criminals or slave traders. This woman was abducted and is imprisoned in a force field. Someone stole her and her mother and tortured her and I'm assuming her mother and we have to find a way to free her but we can't do it out in the open because all the slave traders are showing interest in her," he said.

The man leaned on the wooden counter and asked the Doctor to come forward. The Doctor walked up and the man cleared space on the counter so he could put her down. They watched while the man tried to touch her and he frowned when he couldn't put his hand through the force field.

"And you say a man did this to her?" the elderly man said to the Doctor.

"Yes. He transmatted away but we're sure he's nearby. I'm pretty sure he has the means to free her and he did this to my ship as well so I can't take her away from here. But we need a room so we can figure out how to free her without slavers breathing down our necks. So how much do you charge?"

"Free. I'll make it free for you," the elderly man said. "You have a valid reason for staying here and you seem like nice people. Take all the time you need to free your friend."

"Thank you so much," the Doctor said. "What's your name?"

"James."

"Thank you so much, James. I'm the Doctor."

"Jack," Jack said, nodding.

"I'm Ianto," Ianto said with a smile.

"And this is Rose," the Doctor said, nodding at her.

"Nice to meet all of you. Has Rose been drugged?" James said.

"No, the man who did this to her electrified the inside of the force field and she passed out from the electricity," the Doctor said.

James sighed and shook his head.

"Slavers," he muttered.

He went to the back wall and pulled two keys off a key rack.

"Take room one and two, they're closest to the stairs," he said, pointing to the flight of stairs to the right. "Do you need food?"

"Um…yes, if you don't mind," the Doctor said.

"I'll ask the maid, Veronica, to bring something up for you," the man said.

"Thank you," the Doctor said.

"No thanks necessary, just tend to your friend and get her free."

The Doctor nodded and thanked him again. James watched as he gathered Rose up in his arms and Jack and Ianto followed him with the keys while they headed towards the stairs.