PREDATOR AND PREY
Chapter Thirty On the way to Canary Wharf, the Doctor and Jack tried to strategize and come up with a quick plan to save themselves and everyone else. "We need to find out why John is doing this," the Doctor said. "Perhaps we can talk some sense into him." "And if we can't?" Jack said. The Doctor's face darkened. "Then he may have to be dealt with, one way or another," he said. When they got to the front door, they noticed the receptionist was gone and now John was leaning casually up against the front of her desk, smirking when he saw them. "Permission to wipe the haughty little smirk off his face?" Jack muttered to the Doctor. "Not yet. Save that for later," the Doctor said before both of them went inside. "Ah, good. You came in here without guns blazing. That was good of you," John said. "Where's Rose? Where's River, Amy and Rory?" Jack snarled at him. "Safe, safe, safe and safe…that's all you need to know for now," John said. "Why are you doing this?" the Doctor said. "What do you have to gain from working with the Valeyard?" "A second chance," John said. "What does that mean?" Jack said. "First, we go upstairs. Then we talk. Follow me," John said. Jack was about to pounce on him and beat him to a pulp when two armed guards stepped out from behind the wall that was behind the desk and pointed their AK-47s at them. John looked over his shoulder at the Doctor and Jack. "You didn't think I was daft enough to come down here without armed guards, did ya?" he said gleefully. "Come." The Doctor and Jack glowered at the clone while he led them past the guards. The guards fell in behind them and kept their guns aimed at the prisoners while they walked to the lift. "I want to see the others. I wanna make sure they're alright," the Doctor said to John while they walked. "You'll see them soon enough. For now, you keep quiet and do what we want," John said airily. "Cooperate and you'll see your little girlfriend soon." They got into the lift and John turned to face the Doctor and Jack. "Why are you doing this?" Jack said as the lift went up. "The Doctor gave you a chance at a new life." "Yes. I chose to be merciful to you when I could have let you die on the Crucible," the Doctor growled. The clone chuckled but said nothing to them. The lift stopped and the guards urged them out. John instructed the guards to lead them to the interrogation room while he went to get something. The Doctor and Jack allowed themselves to be led by the guards to a small bare room that had only a long wooden table and several high back chairs in it. The guards made them sit down on one side of the table and then guarded the door while they waited. They kept on waiting but nothing happened. "Maybe he intends to bore us to death," Jack said after fifteen minutes of inactivity. The Doctor looked around but couldn't see any CCTV cameras. He had no doubts they were being monitored though. Jack gave him an odd look when he began making faces to no one in particular. "What are you doing?" Jack said after the Doctor pulled a fish face. "Amusing our captors," the Doctor said before sucking in his cheeks and crossing his eyes. "What else are we going to do to pass the time?" Jack watched him stick his tongue out and waggle it around before he turned casually in his seat to the two guards. "So…you two ever had a threesome?" he said to them while the Doctor mooed up at the wall. The guards didn't respond to him and Jack shrugged. He turned back around and watched while the Doctor stuck his fingers in his mouth and pulled it wide open. "Come on! The Doctor is bored, surely you can see that!" Jack yelled to the walls. They stopped goofing around when John entered the room. The Doctor rose when he jerked Rose inside the room. She had a black eye and her hands were bound behind her back. "Sit down!" John growled at the Doctor as he forced Rose over to a seat across from him. The Doctor and Jack glowered at John while he put his hands on Rose's shoulders and roughly forced her down into the chair. He instructed the guards to go outside and guard the door and listen for help if he needed it. Once the guards left the room and shut the door, John smirked at the Doctor and Jack. "I decided to come in because I could see you two were bored and making fools of yourselves," he said to them. "Oh you did see that," the Doctor said. "Good, I was afraid I was making fish faces for no one. Always nice to have an audience, you know." "Yes, very droll. Now…let's get down to business. This is now the time to ask me questions so fire away." "Why are you doing this?" the Doctor said. "What do you mean by second chances?" "Ah. Well, second chances means that once I found out that my little girlfriend here had multiple lives, I made a deal with the Valeyard to have her kidnapped so I could take them. Despite what I said earlier, I really don't want to live just one life and why should I? A genius such as myself shouldn't be cheated out of one life when an ape gets to live on and on. See…these lives that Rose has rightfully belong to me. I'm the true Time Lord, not her. So when I learned about the Valeyard, I decided to make a deal with him. I would help him take over this daft universe if he would help me get more lives. Once he agreed to help me, I began to help him." "And you think he's gonna keep his end of the bargain?" the Doctor said. "Your human side must be addling your brain, John. You know as well as I do that he can't be trusted. You're a fool." "Well…perhaps but you see, I'm not quite as nice as you imagine," John said. "You see, you were spot on about me being dangerous. But you didn't realize just how dangerous I was. You see, I realized some time ago that I'm actually the Valeyard of your universe and I figured that two Valeyards were better than one." "But I thought you loved me, John," Rose said. "Well…I did but then I realized that you didn't love me because you love him," he said, pointing to the Doctor. "And no matter what I did and how hard I tried, you weren't gonna stop loving him so I decided that perhaps it was in my best interest to get rid of you and find someone else that wouldn't be unfaithful to me." "I was being faithful to you," Rose protested. John let out a barking laugh and leaned down to her. "You mean this daft little deal you made with your lover where he'd wait in the wings until I snuffed it? You honestly think with him waiting for you that you'd want me? Especially since you didn't want me in the first place. I'm not an idiot, Rose, despite being half ape. I can see the writing on the wall. Not to mention…I can see down your shirt and…lookie what we have here…" He reached in and pulled out the leaf pendant. "The Doctor gave you this, I take it?" he said. "Yes, he did," Rose said. "Do you know what this leaf symbolizes?" John said, holding it up to her face. "Yes, the Doctor told me what the leaf means." The Doctor bristled when John leaned into Rose's face with a menacing look. "And what does it mean, Rose?" he said in a low tone of voice. Rose looked at him without any fear. "It's something lovers gave to each other because the leaf was hard to get for most people," she said calmly. "You knew this and yet, you're still wearing it, even though supposedly you're my girlfriend," John growled. "You do realize that I know what this means and it would have been a tad awkward dating a woman who was wearing some other bloke's love trinket? Especially when said bloke was your lover in the first place? Do you think me stupid, Rose?" he said, his voice rising in pitch until he was yelling her name. Before Rose could answer him, John reared back and backhanded her as hard as he could. "SIT THE FUCK DOWN NOW!" he screamed at the Doctor and Jack when they leapt up. "SIT DOWN OR I'LL TELL THE GUARDS TO SHOOT HER UNTIL SHE FINALLY DIES!" "If you kill her, you won't be able to take her lives and then when were you be?" Jack taunted. "If she dies, Jack," John said in a snotty voice. "I'll take the Doctor's remaining lives and siphon off your immortality on top of it. NOW SIT DOWN!" John smiled when the Doctor and Jack sank into their seats and glared at him. "There," he said happily. "See, we can get along if we really want to. So…any other questions then?" "What are you going to do with us?" Jack said. "Well, I might put the three of you in suspended animation. Keep you immobile until I siphon off your lives and immortality. As for the others…um…probably kill them since there really isn't a use for them. Hmmm…will killing River before she dies cause a paradox? Hmmm. Well, guess we'll find out if it does, huh? Sorry if she's another girlfriend of yours," he said to the Doctor. "But hey, I might leave the three of you alive after taking what I need and you can spend the rest of your lives working in the gold mines on Galtuna Minor. Then you can see Rose eeeeevery single daaaay! So…any other questions?" "No, I think you answered all of them," the Doctor said. "Goody. Well, I'm gonna go have some tea and dream about having multiple lives and immortality and you three can chill out in some room until the guards come to put you on ice." He was about to call for the guards when the Doctor held up his hand. "Yeeees?" John said. "I think you're making a mistake here, John," the Doctor said. "I doubt the Valeyard will allow you to live, especially if you have multiple lives and immortality. It isn't too late to turn back. Help us. Do the right thing." "Um…nah, too boring. I like being bad. Besides, you labeled me a genocidal maniac, remember? Might as well live up to the title. So…if you don't have any more cliché turn back to the good side speeches, I'll call for the guards." Jack stared at the Doctor but the Doctor remained silent. John shrugged and called for the guards to come and get them. He waited till the guards took the three of them away before breathing a sigh of relief and leaving the room.
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