ABDUCTION

Chapter Three

Rose was led to a metal door in the middle of the ship. As she stood outside it, she figured it was the door to the torture chamber. But when the door slid open silently, she was shocked to see a replica of her bedroom back at the Powell Estate. She stepped inside the room and looked around before looking back at the man.

"How did you do this?" Rose said. "This is my bedroom at home."

"I know. I have watched you for some time now, Rose," he said. "I have studied the Doctor and his allies for years."

"So what happens now?" Rose said warily, figuring the bedroom was probably still a torture chamber of some kind.

"Now, you will assist me," the man said.

"How?"

The man walked over to the chest of drawers while Rose watched. She glanced at the open door.

"If you're thinking of escaping, there's a force field over the doorway now," the man said without looking back at her.

Rose sat down on her bed, watching while the man opened the top drawer and pulled out a cube and a piece of paper. The cube was clear with another smaller whitish cube inside it. The man closed the drawer and walked back to her.

"You are going to record a little message for the Doctor and you're going to read what's written here," the man said, handing her the slip of paper. "And you will not deviate from what I've written…or else."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Damn it, Rose, where are you?" the Doctor growled.

He'd been waiting nearly three hours for her and Jackie to return and he was getting angry and frustrated. So far, he resisted ringing her again, trying not to bother her in case she was spending some alone time with her mother but he figured she would have returned the call by now. He was about to do that when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Elated, the Doctor rushed to the door but when he opened it, a flying cube nearly smacked him in the face. He stared at it in shock for a moment since he hadn't seen a message cube in years. Then it flew inside and the Doctor closed the door while the cube arced around and flew back to him. He grabbed it and the cube inside lit up.

"Doctor."

He was shocked when he heard Rose's voice coming from it. He cursed, knowing his worst fears were being confirmed. Rose had been taken by someone.

"This is Rose," Rose continued as if the Doctor didn't know her voice. "I have been abducted along with my mother. We are being held prisoner and you must surrender or…"

Rose faltered for a moment.

"Or I and my mother will be tortured," she said in a wavering voice that made the Doctor's hearts ached.

He heard her clear her throat and he knew she was getting her emotions back under control.

"We have been abducted because you are being punished for interference in the affairs of the universe. Surrender to us or I and my mother will suffer."

The Doctor suspected she was reading something or was being told what to say. He waited for Rose to tell him where to surrender but there was only silence. He thought that was the end of the message when he heard Rose say, "Where does he need to surrender? You don't say anything about that." The Doctor heard someone saying something softly. He strained his ears to listen and thought he heard, "Read what I wrote," but the person was trying not to talk very loudly. There was more silence and the Doctor waited for Rose to give him further instructions. But to his shock, the cube's light went out, signaling the end of the message.

"Where do I go to surrender?" he yelled at the cube.

He looked at it for a moment before throwing it at the wall in a rage. Someone was taunting him, manipulating him while Rose and Jackie suffered and he realized that he would probably have to wait for another cube with further instructions on it while in the meantime, whoever was holding Rose and Jackie hostage would probably torture them. He headed towards the phone and stopped short. He wondered if Rose's abductors knew about the phone call he made earlier. He hoped not since he was hoping they wouldn't search her or wouldn't know what the mobile was. He decided to hold off on contacting her for awhile in the hopes she would contact him and tell him her whereabouts. He was glad Jackie wasn't around to see him throw things but at the moment, he didn't care. He was furious and he wanted nothing more than to get his hands around the neck of Rose and Jackie's abductors and squeeze the life out of them. The Doctor walked over and retrieved the cube. He had an idea. He needed some help and he knew just where to get it.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

(Torchwood Hub…)

"So…" Jack said as he leaned on Ianto's reception desk, "what are we going to do tonight?"

"I'm going to go home and watch the footie," Ianto said as he sat behind the desk.

"Ooo, anybody watching it with you?" Jack purred as he stroked his cheek.

"No."

"And…" Jack said.

"And I'm tired, Jack, and I'm not in the mood for sex," Ianto said.

"Okay, well…how about a cuddle then in front of the TV?"

Ianto considered that. He had a feeling Jack would try to do more, especially if he was in a horny mood but he also knew if he said no, Jack would pester him until he gave him.

"Alright, fine," he said. "But cuddling is all we'll do."

"You got it," Jack said cheerfully.

He jerked his head towards the front door when they heard someone pounding on it.

"The hell?" Jack said, knowing the rest of the team was inside the Hub. "I'll answer it," he said to Ianto as he stood up.

He walked over and gasped when he opened the door and a cube smacked his forehead.

"What the fuck is this?" he said as the cube rebounded and then hovered in front of him.

"Offhand, I'd say it was an aggressive flying cube, sir," Ianto said dryly as he sat behind the desk.

"Yeah, good job with the observation, Eagle Eyes," Jack said sarcastically while Ianto grinned.

Jack waited but the cube hovered in the air in front of him.

"What are you waiting for?" Ianto said after a minute of nonactivity from his lover.

"For the alien attack that I'm sure will come from this flying cube," Jack said, keeping his eyes on it.

"Why don't you grab the cube and prevent that?" Ianto said.

Jack shrugged, figuring if the thing was going to kill him, he'd be able to come back from it. He grabbed it in his hands and the inner cube began to glow. Figuring it was a bomb, Jack flinched when he saw the glow and let go. The thing hovered in front of him.

"Jack, this is the Doctor," the Doctor's voice said as the cube hovered in front of him.

"Doctor who?" Ianto said.

"Old friend," Jack said, glancing at him. "Doesn't sound like him though."

"I regenerated since I last saw you," the voice said. "I need your help. Rose and Jackie are in trouble. They've been abducted by someone who apparently wants me to surrender but won't tell me who he is or where he wants me to go. I need help, old friend. If you're interested, please meet me by Nelson's Column at midnight tonight. I will take my TARDIS there and wait fifteen minutes for you to show up. If you don't, I'll understand."

"Are you kidding? Rose is in danger and you think I won't care," Jack said to the box.

"Just look for the TARDIS," the Doctor said and Jack realized the message was recorded. "I'll be standing with it. Hopefully, I'll see you tonight. Goodbye."

The light in the inner cube faded and Jack looked at Ianto.

"I gotta do this, Yan. The Doctor's an old friend and he needs me. And Rose is in trouble, her and her mother, and they need me too. I guess I'll have to cancel the cuddle."

"Do you need me to come with you?" Ianto said.

Jack thought that over.

"The Doctor didn't say I couldn't bring help. And maybe he needs more people beside him and me. If you want to come, I'll vouch for you. If he doesn't need you, you can come back here."

Ianto nodded.

"We better tell the others then," he said to Jack.

"Yes. And right now, if I'm supposed to be in London by midnight, we need to move now."

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