TURN ME ON, DEAD MAN

Chapter Eighteen

John sighed angrily while everyone sat in the bedroom of Jane's house. It had been several hours since Paul and Amy vanished and he was nearing the end of his patience.

"How much longer are we gonna sit here?" he finally said. "Paul and Amy might be dead by now!"

"Do you have any ideas, John?" Jane said. "Because I have no idea how to find them."

"At least if we're out something we're not sitting here on the bed while someone's torturing them."

"Are you so sure they've been caught?" George said.

"Mate, Paul would have rang us by now to let us know he and Amy were safe. He would have pulled over somewhere and phoned us. They've been taken," John said.

They looked over when they heard a knock on the door. Jane opened it and saw her mother.

"Janie, there's two men downstairs," her mother said. "They said they want to speak to you, all of you."

Everyone looked at each other and followed Jane's mother out of the room. They got downstairs and saw an Asian man standing next to a mousy looking man wearing glasses. The mousy man had a dull look in his eyes as he watched the Asian man come forward to the little group.

"Yes?" Jane said as the rest of the group clustered around her. "Are you here about Paul and Amy?"

"I am," the Asian man said.

"Have you found them?" John asked.

He narrowed his eyes when the man snickered. Everyone gasped when he suddenly reached behind him and pulled a revolver out of his trouser waistband.

"Now, all of you will be quiet and listen to what I have to say," he said, pointing the gun at them.

The door opened and to Paul and Amy's relief, Angela came inside. Angela smiled warmly while she shut the door.

"I've come to check up on you and deliver a message from the masters," she said.

"And the message is..."Paul said as she bent down next to him.

"They've decided to be generous and allow you to help me while I work," she said, lifting the left side of his shirt. "Ribs hurt, love?"

"Um...no, they're fine," Paul said. "What sort of help?"

"Oh, sweeping and mopping my infirmary, assisting me when patients come in, filing, that sort of thing. Your hair is growing back just fine, dear."

"Really?" Paul said as Amy leaned in.

"Yeah, you can't see the bald spot anymore," Amy said, studying it. "And it's fuller in the back now."

"Oh, well, thank you for that," Paul said to Angela. "Now about this working for you, what's the catch?"

"Catch?" Angela asked.

"Yes, what do we have to do in return?"

"Just help me," Angela said. "They're giving you a bit of freedom, dear."

"Testing us, you mean, see if we'll try to escape."

"If you like," Angela said with a shrug, "that's up to you. I'd advise against it but this is your choice. You don't have to come and help me, you can just sit here in your cell but I assure you that I won't hurt either one of you and you'll have an easy time of it. What do you want to do then?"

Paul looked at Amy.

"You wanna take her up on her offer?" he said to her.

"Better than sittin' and rottin' away in here. Give us somethin' to do," she said.

"Okay, we accept," Paul said.

"Wonderful. Now come with me and please don't cause trouble. I like you and I don't want either of you to suffer."

Paul and Amy shared a look before they got up and followed Angela out of the room.

The Asian man sneered as he kept his gun pointed at his captives. Behind him, William stood calmly, taking it all in with unconcern. Jane got her mother and father to get behind the men and she stood by John's side, glaring at the man.

"Where's Paul and Amy?" she asked the man.

"They're dead," he said smugly.

"Mate, for your sake, that better be a lie," John snarled at him.

"They tried to escape so they were put to death," the man said nonchalantly. "But don't worry, you have a new bandmate. Meet William Campbell, Paul's replacement."

Everyone looked at him.

"You're barmy, he looks nothing like Paul," George said.

"Not yet. He will after we finish with his plastic surgery and put makeup and prosthetics on him."

"And that's okay with you then?" Ringo asked William.

"I do whatever my masters command me to do," William said dully.

"See. He's ready and willing to work with you and believe me, you will work with him...or else," the man said, pointing to the gun.

John snorted.

"Take your best shot, mate. After what you did to Paul and Amy, I'll risk a hole in the head just so I can see you suffer."

"Been warned about you. You're the troublemaker of the group. Well, we have ways of reigning in troublemakers and..."

"Excuse me."

The man looked at the Doctor as he came forward. He narrowed his eyes at him while he took in his outfit.

"What are you s'posed to be, a university professor?" he said with a smirk.

"My name is the Doctor and you are..."

The man regarded him silently for a moment.

"Mister Yakamoto," he said.

"Good. We know your name. Now...where are Paul and Amy?"

"I told you, they're dead."

The Doctor leaned forward and Mister Yakamoto stiffened.

"I don't believe you," he said with deadly calm. "I believe both of them are too valuable to you and your friends for you to just kill them. Now...where are they?"

"You'll never find them so you and your friends might as well accept William here and follow our orders, or else."

"Or else, what?" the Doctor said.

"Or else, I beat the everlovin' crap outta each and every one of ya."

"Really, how?"

"I'm a black belt in karate, ninth degree," he said smugly.

"Really? I'm a fourteenth obsidian belt in Venusian Aikido," the Doctor said.

"I've never heard of that," Mister Yakamoto said with a frown.

"Oh, it's quite hard to learn but once you do..."

Without warning, the Doctor's fingers on his right hand shot out and hit Yakamoto in the side of the neck. There was a small cricking sound and Yakamoto's eyes rolled up into his head as he passed out and fell to the floor. The Doctor straightened back up.

"See, I'm much faster than any karate expert plus you were running your gob so much you didn't notice I was readying myself for an attack. Now..."

He walked over to William and smiled warmly at him while the Beatles grabbed Yakamoto and dragged him away.

"Mr. Asher, you have some rope so we can tie this git up?" John asked him.

"I might have some in the garage," he replied.

He went off to check while Rory, Jane and her mother came up behind the Doctor who was studying William quietly.

"William, is that your real name?" the Doctor asked him.

"No, I'm Paul McCartney," he said.

"Like hell you are, you stupid git," John snarled as he stomped towards him. "Where's the real Paul and Amy."

The Doctor held up his hand, stopping John.

"He's been brainwashed," he said to them.

"So, he really thinks he's Paul?" Ringo said.

"Or he's been conditioned to give his name as Paul if someone asks," the Doctor said. "His eyes are a bit glazed. They've done something to him."

He studied William for a moment and then suddenly put his fingertips on his temples. Mrs. Asher gasped when William's eyes rolled up in his head and he passed out. Rory ran to the Doctor's side and both of them lowered the man to the floor.

"What did you do?" Mrs. Asher said.

"I've put him to sleep. I'm going to bypass the brainwashing and get the truth outta him."

He put his fingers to William's temples again while Mr. Asher came back in the room carrying a small amount of rope in his hands.

"I managed to find some, enough we can tie his hands and feet together, what is he doing?"

"He's trying to get the truth outta William," Rory said.

"How?" Mr. Asher said with a frown as he came around the Doctor's side and saw his fingers on William's temples.

"You might not believe this but the Doctor is from a bit father than London," John said to him.

Mr. Asher was about to ask him what he meant by that when suddenly William's eyes opened and the lucidity was back in his eyes. He blinked as the Doctor sat back on his haunches.

"Is William your real name?" he said as everyone came up behind him.

"Yes," William said, nodding.

"Where are you from?" the Doctor asked.

"Inverness."

"How long have you been a prisoner?"

"Not sure. There's no windows in that place. It's been awhile though."

"Are Paul and Amy alive?" Jane asked.

"Yes. At least they were a few hours ago when I saw them," William said.

"How did they kidnap you?" the Doctor asked.

"I entered a Paul McCartney lookalike contest and won. They took down my name and address and about three months later, some men came round to my house. When I opened the door, they overpowered me, knocked me out and took me to their hideout. They told me that I might have to replace Paul if they had to kill him at some point. I was horrified. I'm a huge fan of the Beatles but they began to torture me and give me drugs and I think they hypnotized me as well."

Everyone gave him a sympathetic look.

"Look, I'm sorry about Paul and Amy. I wanted to help but they did something to me where I couldn't help myself, let alone them," he said, imploring them to understand. "I don't want to do this. I don't want to replace Paul. Isn't there something you can do to help them?"

"That's what we're trying to do," the Doctor said gently, putting his hand on his shoulder. "But we need your help, can you guide us back to this hideout."

"I think so, if I can't he can," he said, gesturing to Yakamoto.

The Doctor nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, William. You're in good hands now," the Doctor said, getting up and helping him to his feet.

"I'm sorry," William said, his eyes pleading, "I didn't know what I was doing. They have very powerful methods of mind control. I honestly don't want to replace Paul."

John came up and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I believe ya, mate," he said. "Just tell us where Paul and Amy are, yeah? You're safe now."

William nodded.

"They never blindfolded me when they took me out so I think I can show you the way," he said to them.

"Brilliant," the Doctor said. "But I have an idea. I think we'll take my vehicle and I believe I have a way to get Mister Yakamoto to tell us where they're being kept. He should be unconscious long enough for us to go back to my TARDIS. In the meantime, Mr. and Mrs. Asher and Jane, we'll let you know if we find anything."

"No, I'm going as well," Jane said.

"Janie, it's not safe," her mother said.

"I don't care. Paul's in danger and I want to make sure we get him and Amy away from these bastards. Don't worry, mum, the boys'll look after me."

"We'll protect her, I give you my word," the Doctor said to Mrs. Asher.

She nodded.

"Just find them and come back safely," she said.

"We will," the Doctor said. "Now...someone grab our friend there. William, come with us. We've no time to lose!"

Back                         Home                              Doctor Who Main Page                          Next