IN THE SERVICE OF SEKHMET

Chapter Three

The Doctor opened his eyes when the light faded and he and his companions were back in his hotel room.

"Well, bang goes my plan to lay low for awhile," the Doctor said.

"This…is where you were hiding?" Amy said to the Doctor, looking around the tiny hotel room. "This is rubbish. Why couldn't you get something better than this?"

"Because the idea of hiding out is to not draw attention to oneself and that's hard to do when I'm living in a big posh mansion with a huge neon sign on the roof that says Doctor lives here," he said to Amy.

"Yeah, but you coulda picked something a bit cleaner," Amy said, running her finger along the top of the bedside table and making a face at the dust she found there.

"Well, I s'pose it doesn't matter now since I've been recruited by a lion headed cat lady for a mission," the Doctor said.

"Does that happen often?" Rory said. "People kidnapping you and sending you on quests?"

"Not that often but when it does happen, it's highly annoying," the Doctor said. "First it was the Time Lords then the White Guardian now it's Simba…or rather Nala since she's a girl," he added. "But if she's telling the truth and the universe is in danger, I need to stop this…sorcerer."

"You mean Bob Johnson from Croydon, the sorcerer with the scary, intimidating name?" Amy said.

"Yes. And someone named Bob Johnson should be selling appliances or possibly lumber, not recruiting evil gods to do his dirty work," the Doctor said. "But it doesn't matter what his name is, we still have to stop him. Follow me, I'll check out of the room and I'll show you where the TARDIS is hidden."

He checked out of the hotel and led them across the car park to a small forest. The TARDIS was hidden in the trees.

"So…you find Bob Johnson and turn him over your knee and spank him and tell him not to be naughty any more," River said to the Doctor as he unlocked the TARDIS door.

The Doctor paused in the middle of unlocking his time ship and gave her an odd look.

"Um…I can't help but think you just projected your fantasy into the middle of that scenario," he said to her.

"Um…possibly," River said innocently.

Amy and Rory shared a look while the Doctor opened the door and stepped inside.

"Ah, home sweet home," Amy said, taking a deep breath as they stepped inside.

"You have a home, it's in Leadworth," the Doctor reminded her.

"Don't care. That home is my second home, this is my first and it always will be in my mind," Amy said.

For a moment, the Doctor got a flashback of Rose saying something similar and he had to quickly hide his emotions and push the memory to the back of his mind. He hurried up the steps to his console and input the date and location Sekhmet gave him. Rory came up the steps.

"Um…if this man is as powerful as Sekhmet claims, shouldn't we find others who can help us?" Rory said. "Surely you have other friends who can help us."

The Doctor thought about that while the TARDIS flew into the vortex.

"There are some possibilities but I don't know if they're busy or not," the Doctor said as he pushed a button on the console.

"And those possibilities are…" River said as she and Amy came up the steps. "Because I agree with Rory. This man may have a common name but he might be more than a match for us, especially if he summons gods. We may need help."

"Well, I have a friend who heads up an organization called Torchwood in Cardiff and I have another friend who looks after the Earth with her teenage son and friends in Ealing.

"Ealing's not far," Amy said. "What about that friend? Can we talk to him?"

"Her. Her name is Sarah Jane Smith," the Doctor said.

"Is she a capable fighter?" River asked.

"Yes. And her son and friends are capable as well. I'm not sure if she'll help us though."

"Doesn't hurt to ask," Rory said with a shrug. "Has it been awhile since she saw you?"

"No. In fact, I saw her recently and another old friend called Jo. It was while you and Amy were on holiday. We stopped some members of the Shansheeth and a member of UNIT from getting my TARDIS. So she knows what I look like now."

"Well, let's go and see her. I'd love to meet her," Amy said.

"Yeah. It'd be nice to meet other people who've traveled with you," Rory said.

The Doctor thought it over and then changed course and headed for Ealing.

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