ROSE TYLER SAXON

Chapter Thirty

"Jack, are you alright?" Rose said.

"A little worse for wear but otherwise, I'm fine," Jack said.

The Doctor was happy to see his friend although he was puzzled as to how he found them. Jack had a black eye and he'd been roughed up a bit. When the Doctor asked him what happened, Jack shrugged.

"The Master was giving his soldiers orders because he'd found you and he was going to send them here to take you through a transmat beam. I overheard him and managed to sweet talk my guards into letting me free so I could pee. When they released me, I hit them and knocked them both out. I battled my way to the transmat room. The Master already had the coordinates locked in so I used it. I found myself about a half mile from here and as this was the only house around, I figured I'd take my chances and come here. Glad I did."

"So, the Master is coming?" Rose said.

"Maybe. I managed to elude everyone before coming to the transmat room. They might still be looking for me on the Valiant." Jack said.

"Yes, but if they know we're here, they won't be long in coming. We have to leave now," the Doctor said. "Come in and help us get ready."

Jack nodded.

"Have you heard from Martha or found a way to contact her?" he asked everyone as he followed them inside.

"Not yet, we just got here several hours ago," the Doctor said. "What about Martha's family?"

"Still being tortured and enslaved. I tried to take them with me but they were too well guarded. I figured I could do more good down here so I went ahead and escaped."

The Doctor introduced Jack to Donna and Clarice. Jack nodded hello and followed the Doctor into the bathroom. They went into the hidden room and Jack looked around and let out a low whistle.

"Wow, this is handy," Jack said to Clarice. "Did you have it built for smuggling people or was it here already?"

"It came with the house when I bought it. I think it was used to hide nobles during the French Revolution. Or at least that's what the agents told me."

The Doctor noticed the bag of food was still on the table, untouched. He took it and handed it to Rose. They gathered a few meager supplies, packing light so they could move quickly. When they were finished, they went outside. Clarice walked over to the fence and opened the gate wide so the cows could roam free.

"Good luck," she said to the cows while they ate and lowed softly. "I have a feeling I won't see you again. I don't think I'll ever return to this house."

"Um, isn't that a bit extreme?" Jack said, pointing to the statue. "I made my way here and didn't look back in case someone was following. I didn't see that thing until now."

"It's the Master's way of saying welcome to France," the Doctor said. "He's the ambassador for the world now."

"Some ambassador," Jack said with a snort. "He's not doing a very good job since he's killing everyone in sight."

Suddenly, the Doctor shushed everyone up when he spied a Toclafane on the horizon. Donna hurried and got beside Clarice and whispered to her that she was a medic and she was her patient. The Doctor and Rose stood completely still with Jack as the Toclafane zoomed up. The Doctor watched while Donna showed her ID to the orb and explained she was a doctor and Clarice was her patient. The Doctor glanced at Jack and looked at his chest. He wasn't wearing a filter but the Toclafane seemed to take no notice of him even though he was a wanted fugitive. His eyes narrowed since the Toclafane was interrogating both Donna and Clarice but not him. Like Clarice, red flags had been going off in his mind since Jack showed up. He looked out towards the beach in search of the Master or any soldiers but there was nothing.

The Master isn't stupid, he would have figured out where Jack went if they couldn't find him, he thought. And there was that tin Rose used to let Jack urinate. I suspect that's the usual method so why would the guards suddenly agree to let him go to the loo?

Jack's voice also had an odd inflection to it, like an emotionless man who was trying to show some emotion. He watched while the Toclafane finished the interrogation and flew off. Once the orb was out of sight, everyone relaxed. The Doctor looked at Rose when she tugged on his jacket sleeve and she looked towards the house, silently indicating she wanted him to follow her. The Doctor excused himself and Rose, telling everyone that they needed to do one more check before they left. As they walked away, the Doctor noticed a few of the cows had found the open gate and were now casually strolling through it in search of better grass.

Rose pulled him into the house and shut the door.

"The Toclafane said nothing to Jack," she said.

"I know, I saw that too," the Doctor replied.

"Why? Harry has an alert on him now. Surely he told his minions to keep an eye out for him."

"Rose, I think Jack has been hypnotized. I think he was sent here to spy on us. He found us too fast for my liking and his voice has this odd robotic tinge to it."

"Oh God," Rose said. "What do we do?"

"I'll deal with him. I've been waiting for soldiers to show up and as you can see, not a one has appeared. The Toclafane might have been told he was part of the Master's retinue and to leave him alone. I 'm sure the Master didn't count on one of his pets interrogating us so soon."

"Can you undo what he did? I mean, after me, he might have done something different to enslave him."

"Yes, but I know most of the Master's methods. He doesn't deviate that much from his usual MO. If not…we do what we threated to do to Clarice and put him in a coma. I don't want to do that though since that means he'd be dead weight for us."

He jerked his head towards the door when he heard Donna calling for help. He glanced at Rose and they hurried outside. The Doctor let out an angry sigh when he saw Jack holding Donna and Clarice at gunpoint.

"I knew you weren't yourself, Harkness," the Doctor said. "Rose sensed it as well."

"Bravo!" Jack said. "Now…surrender yourself, both of you, or Donna and Clarice die! If you don't come quietly, I will shoot to kill."

"Jack, you can't do this," Rose said. "Please, fight Harry's mind control. You're better than this."

"What mind control? I work for the Master willingly."

The Doctor snorted.

"Sure, you do, Harkness," he said.

"My name is Assassin Delta. Now. Will all of you come quietly or do these two die?"

Jack frowned when he sensed something behind him. He turned and saw one of the cows had come up to him and was eating some grass at his feet.

Ma'dori, get back inside the house now, the Doctor thought to Rose before he ran towards his friend.

Rose went back inside as Jack turned and saw the Doctor running towards him. He raised his gun but the Doctor whipped out his sonic and jammed it. The Doctor yelled at Clarice and Donna to run while Jack kept pulling the trigger. He growled, adjusted his grip on the gun and rushed towards the Doctor, intending to use the butt of the gun to bring him down. The two men collided and the Doctor grabbed his wrist and squeezed it, trying to get Jack to drop the gun while he tried to trip him up. Jack tried to throw a punch with his free arm but the Doctor grabbed his arm and tried to get Jack up against the fence.

"I'm gonna kill you, you alien son of a bitch!" Jack snarled at the Doctor while he tried to break free of his grip. "The Master will make you and Rose suffer! The Master is supreme and…"

Jack grunted and his eyes rolled back in his head when Clarice hit him hard on the back of the head with a two by four. The Doctor let go and let Jack fall dazed to the ground.

"No, stop!" the Doctor said when Clarice raised the board above her head so she could strike him again. "He's with us, he's just been brainwashed. I can help him."

Clarice lowered the board and stepped back while the Doctor knelt beside Jack. He put his fingers on Jack's temples and sent him into a deep sleep. He breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. He looked around and noticed Donna was standing just inside the barn door, watching him. He beckoned to her and Donna came out. He called for Rose and she came out of the house. The Doctor knelt down and started to search his clothes and body for bugs or homing devices. The others assisted him but they found nothing.

"The Master's arrogance. He's assuming Jack is completely in his power so there's no need to track him," the Doctor said.

"Can you help him?" Rose said.

"Yes, but it'll take time. Everyone, help get him back inside and out of sight. If anyone else shows up, we can defend ourselves better inside the house."

The four of them grabbed Jack and lifted him up. They carried him to the open door and carried him to Clarice's bedroom. They laid him on the bed and the Doctor told them to wait while he tried to undo what the Master did. The women left him alone and the Doctor sighed while he stared at his unconscious friend for a moment and then he got to work probing his mind, trying to undo the conditioning.

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