ROSE TYLER SAXON

Chapter Five

The Doctor gasped and turned to look at the fire spewing from the windows of Martha's flat. All of them had just barely escaped after finding a cartoonlike bomb attached to the back of Martha's TV. The Doctor cursed his enemy for nearly killing him and his friends and destroying Martha's home. He fought the image of strangling the Master out of his mind, he needed to be rational and think.

"Leo!"

The Doctor spun around and his mouth dropped open when he saw Martha speaking to her brother on her mobile.

"Martha, are you insane? He can track us that way!" the Doctor said.

"I need to speak to Leo. I won't be on the phone that long!" Martha said.

"But, we need to go, we have no time to chat on the phone!" the Doctor said.

"I'll do what I like!" Martha snarled at him.

The Doctor backed off, figuring Martha was upset and irrational after losing her house and nearly losing her life. He loved for his companions to be confident and independent but it had its downsides. Like now, when Martha wouldn't listen to him. He glanced at Jack who shrugged and they followed her while she walked off.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The Master led Rose to the meeting room. He had been watching the news channel and saw the report about the explosion. He didn't know if the Doctor was alive but a year ago he managed to gain control of a mobile phone company and rename it Archangel. The mobiles sold there helped hypnotize the public and thanks to the low prices of the phones most people had them now and he guessed Martha might have one too. He sat down and opened up the laptop laying on the table while Rose sat beside him. He searched the Archangel records for mobile phone sales and found Martha's number. He used the number to patch into his phone and he grinned as he listened to Martha warning his brother to run. He glanced at Rose and saw the bored look on her face.

"Why are we listening to this?" Rose said to him.

"Shhh, you'll find out why in a minute," the Master said.

He listened to Martha until she heard him warning Leo not to come home or contact any member of the family. Then he found his cue.

"Ooo, hide and seek but I'll find you, Martha Jones. Been a long time since we saw each other. Say, 100 trillion years?"

"Leave us alone, Saxon!" Martha yelled back at him.

The Master giggled while Rose let out a bored yawn.

"I'm here."

The giggling stopped abruptly and Rose frowned in confusion at the excited look on her husband's face. The Master whipped out his mobile and took the call that way.

"Doctor," he said in a hushed voice.

"Master."

"I like it when you use my name."

There was silence on the other end so the Master kept speaking.

"How are you, my old friend?" he said.

"Where's Rose?" the Doctor said angrily.

"Oh, she's here. Here, darling, make a new friend," the Master said, handing her the mobile.

Rose slowly took it from him. The Master gave her an encouraging nod when she stared at it. Rose put it to her ear.

"Hello?" she said.

"Rose," the Doctor said while the Master listened through the laptop.

"Yeah, who are you?" Rose said while the Master pinpointed the location of the mobile and patched into a nearby CCTV camera to see the Doctor's reaction.

"I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor who?" Rose said. "How do you know my husband?"

"We're…old friends," the Doctor said.

The Master could now see him on the laptop. His back was slightly turned towards the camera. A few feet away, Jack and Martha stood and watched him.

"I don't recall Harry talking about you," Rose said.

The Master now regretted taking Rose before she met the Doctor. He thought it might be more fun to watch a hypnotize Rose recognize her lover and fight to free herself from his control. All he had now was a bored woman speaking to a man she had no interest in. Not as much fun, he had to admit.

"Rose, I need to speak to you alone. I need to talk to you, it's urgent."

"I don't even know you," Rose said. "For all I know, you're some crazed stalker wanting to kidnap me and Harry."

The Master chuckled when he saw the Doctor flinch at that.

"I mean you no harm," the Doctor said gently. "I just want to talk, nothing more."

"'Fraid that's out of the question, mate," the Master said. "My wife is faithful to me."

"Let her go! Whatever you did to her, undo it and return her to the past!" the Doctor snarled at him.

"I've done nothing to her. She fell in love with me," the Master said. "Unfortunately, you weren't around when I was so I got to her first. Sorry, old friend."

"Leave her alone. Let her go!"

"Oh? And what will you do in return for my letting her go?" the Master said.

"I'll surrender and come to you willingly if you let her go."

The Master grinned. Just what he'd wanted to hear. First Martha's parents had been rounded up while he'd been taping his announcement and now this. The Doctor at his mercy, tormented by the sight of Rose loving his rival instead of him.

"All of you surrender. You, the immortal freak and Miss Jones."

"No, let them go," the Doctor said.

"No deal. All of you come to me without a fight and I'll let Rose go."

"Harry, what are you talking about?" Rose said.

The Master ignored her while he watched the CCTV footage. The Doctor had lowered the mobile and was telling Jack and Martha what was going on. Five minutes later, the Doctor was back on the phone.

"We surrender," the Doctor said.

"Wonderful! Just what I like, people obeying me."

"Where do you want us to go?" the Doctor said.

"I meet the president of the United States tonight at Heathrow. He's coming to talk to the Toclafane. Did you see my speech on telly?"

"Yes. What are those things? There's no such thing as the Toclafane."

"Ah, ah, let me finish. Come to the runway and meet me there. I will escort you to the Valiant after speaking with the president, okay?"

"Let Rose go in the meantime."

"What?" the Master made static noises. "Can't hear you, old friend. Damn interference!"

"I said, let her go!"

"Eight o'clock at Heathrow. Be there and no tricks! Goodbye!"

"Wait!"

The Master ended the call and put the mobile back in his pocket.

"Harry, what's going on? Who is this Doctor?" Rose said.

"You'll find out, my dear. Until then, let's get some rest and prepare for tonight's events," he said, stroking her cheek.

Rose nodded. She got up and headed towards the door. The Master took one last look at the Doctor who was talking to his friends near the CCTV camera. He chuckled and closed the lid of the laptop.

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