Envy's Slave Chapter 3

[emraldeyedauter]

Chapter one    Chapter Two


Finally get my rich text and lj cut to work again.  Since Teaspoon is taking it's sweet time to validate this chapter I thought I'd post it here first.

Characters: Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler

Chapter Three Summary: Time to investigate the rumoured slave trade but something else is about to happen. Good/Bad, read on to find out!  Plus the Doctor makes a new friend.


THis chapter is PG
Beta'ed by the lovely doctorsdiva

 

 

Oblivious to the fact they were being observed, the Doctor and Rose  finished their second round of milkshakes and were discussing what they should do next. As  diverting as the milky treats had been there was still the issue of the rumoured slave trade to investigate.

“Where do you think we should start Doctor?” asked Rose. The markets  had been a wonderful interlude but now she was keen on finding adventure.

“Start? What do you mean start?” queried the Doctor in mock offence. “While you've been off shopping for your fancy frippery and your treasured trinkets, I  Rose Tyler, have been investigating and looking for clues. Nothing gets past my radar,”  he boasted.

Rose couldn't resist having a little dig. “So Sherlock, find anything interesting?”

“Hey don't knock Holmes: Mind you, if it hadn't been for me, that Conan Doyle fellow might never have thought up the character at all,” he finished smugly.

Rose groaned audibly: Was there any part of the past that the Doctor  didn't have a hand in? “I'm sure you'll tell me about it sometime Doctor but  in the meantime, did that superior Time Lord brain of yours come up with any brilliant deductions?”

“Of course! It's elementary my dear Ms Tyler and ...”

“Doctor!” exclaimed Rose in exasperation. She was tired of the little game and wanted to get moving.

“Oh all right, spoil my fun,” he grumbled.  Rose laughed; the Doctor was actually pouting although he changed moods again so fast that she thought she should be suffering from emotional whiplash. She listened intently though as the Doctor continued speaking.

“The locals tell me there have been several mysterious disappearances of tourists lately. The resident law enforcers have plenty of information to substantiate  that these kidnappings are unusual; no ransom demands for starters. They believe it‘s linked  to the slave trade but certain factors do not add up. I think ...” He stopped abruptly  seeing Rose grimace in pain.  “Rose, you okay?” he queried, his voice full of concern.

Rose had in fact been feeling a little queasy for the last few minutes  but as the Doctor was talking she felt a strong cramp in her stomach. It wasn't enough to be agonising, but it did hurt. She forced a smile before continuing. “It's okay Doctor, but I think I'll go visit the ladies room.”

“You sure you're okay Rose. We could head back to the TARDIS and I  can make certain everything is fine,” he offered.

Rose got up slowly from the table before answering him. “Nah, it's  not that bad really. It’ll probably just turn out that you were right and I've  overdosed on milkshakes. Just relax; I'll be back in a bit and you can give me the 'I told you so' speech. You get that impressive brain of  yours working and figure out a plan to stop the big baddies.  When I get back we can go be legends and save the  world, yeah?” With no further words, she turned, and walked quickly away from the table so he would not see the second flinch of pain cross her face.  It felt like she was being poked  hard in the stomach with a big stick.

“That's right, leave me with all the hard work; typical woman,” he called after her in a teasing voice. He was a little worried about Rose, but he did as she asked and sat back in his chair, sorting ideas in his head about their first plan of  attack.  He had been immersed in his thoughts for only a few minutes when two screams, one  familiar, one not, sounded from the cafe's amenities behind him. Following closely on the tail of those screams was Rose's voice in his head calling to him in panic.

'DOCTOR, HELP ME!'

His reacted like lightning: Before Rose's voice had even finished  sounding in his head, he had jumped up from his seated position at the table, sending  his chair crashing back behind him. With equal speed he reached the cafe's toilets and  burst into the room with no thoughts of disturbing anyone's privacy; Etiquette had its place but not when Rose was in trouble.

As soon as he entered the facilities he knew she was not there.  He  could sense the residual energy that had been left behind by a transmat beam.  That was good news at least as he could use the sonic screwdriver to trace its destination.  A  small sob from one of the unlocked cubicles caught his attention.  Carefully he opened the door and found a young humanoid woman, at least he thought it was a woman, cowering in the far corner of the stall. She had chocolate brown skin,that appeared to be covered in a light downy fur and her hair was bright purple. Despite the darkness of her skin, he could make out the dramatic swelling on her face where she had obviously been struck. The Doctor  slowly extended his hand and laid it on her arm in a comforting gesture.

“It's okay now. You're safe.  Whatever frightened you has gone,” he insisted in a soothing tone.

The girl's sobbing lessened and she looked up at him, distrust still showing in her remarkable emerald green eyes. However, she took his hand and rose up from the floor.  She searched his face again and the distrust faded, replaced by a look of recognition which then gave way to more tears as she spoke to him brokenly.

“Oh no, they took her.  Your lady friend, the one you were with, in the cafe courtyard.”

Suddenly all gentleness left the Doctor's body and he grabbed the girl by both arms. “How do you know that? Who took her? What happened? You need to tell  me everything. I have to get her back!” he demanded harshly. The girl gave a yelp of fright which instantly made him aware that he was hurting her. Cursing himself  for his insensitivity he took his hands away from her and backed off, out of her personal space.

“I'm sorry,” he said, his voice wavering with unspoken emotion. “Please understand that I really need to find my friend.  Look, let's go into the cafe. I'll buy you a drink and you can tell me what happened okay?” he coaxed softly.

The girl observed him for several seconds more before nodding her head in agreement. The Doctor offered her his hand which she took and they left the amenities building and headed for the interior of the cafe.

Once inside the Doctor ordered two coffees; or at least what passed for that beverage on this planet. Returning to the table he slid one of the cups towards the girl, who was seated opposite to him. She took it with trembling hands, obviously still very skittish after her recent encounter. Not wanting to frighten her any more, the Doctor spoke softly too her, his Northern accent accentuating the warmth in his voice.

“Here I am, a complete stranger, buying you a drink and I don't even know your name. No manners me sometimes.  I'm the Doctor by the way.” He held out his hand in a friendly gesture, hoping to calm her down. “If I'm not mistaken, you‘re from Lythiria, yeah?”

The young woman let go of some of her fear and giggled nervously. Extending her hand she took his in a firm handshake. “I'm Darcia; Darcia Entillan, and  yes I'm Lythirian. I'm a freelance journalist; Well sort of...” She trailed off  looking a bit embarrassed before continuing. “I'm a trainee and it's my first day. Didn't cope very well did I?" Suddenly she brightened and like any inquisitive person, journalist or not, jumped on the obvious question. “Hang on, you said  your name is the Doctor … Really? Not Ian, or Billy or John Smith? Just ‘the Doctor‘... but Doctor who? ”

The Doctor groaned inwardly.  Time marched on; he could feel each millisecond as it passed by and he was desperate to find Rose. However, beggars could not be  choosers and this woman had information.

“Yes Darcia, that's my name. Just ‘the Doctor‘ okay!” His final word came out as a statement of fact rather than a question, leaving Darcia in no doubt that she should not push any further on the subject.

“Yeah course. Sorry it's in my nature and my job to be curious. I've been watching you and your friend for most of the morning so it‘s natural to want to know a bit about you.”

“You've been watching us? Why?” asked the Doctor with a hint of aggression.

“Well from all the reports I've seen, your lady friend...”

“Rose,” broke in the Doctor harshly. “Her name is Rose.”

“Right, sorry, your friend Rose,” she paused as she took a sip of  her drink before continuing, “fits the type of being that the kidnappers fancy most.”

The Doctor seized her hand forcefully causing Darcia to almost spill her coffee. “What do you know about the kidnappings? Where is Rose? Tell me!” he pleaded in utter desperation. The next thing he knew was a sharp pain searing across his face as Darcia slapped him with her free hand. He fell back into his chair in complete shock. Okay he probably deserved that but what was it with women and slapping and was it a universal thing?

Darcia glared at him, her eyes blazing. “You finished with the grabbing Doctor? Your Rose is not the only victim. I was assaulted too you know, so sit down, shut  up and let a girl talk!” she finished intensely. Seeing the stunned look on his face,  she let her anger fade and grinned at him. “Now, that's better.”

Quickly Darcia continued, “So like I said, I'm a journalist, even if I am still pretty much a raw recruit but I've read the files and documents on these disappearances and it appears to me that our perpetrators seem to like very beautiful, unusual beings; ones uncommon to this region of space. This Rose of yours, she's completely human yeah?”she questioned.

“Yes. Hang on how did you know?” replied the Doctor who was trying to follow where this was all  going.

“Told you, been following you both all morning. Anyway, Rose let slip to more than one vendor that she was from Earth. Isn't that what good journalists do, gather information? Gwilgoloth attracts many species but an honest to God, full  human being, is a rarity indeed.  I'm thinking that perhaps our kidnappers have some form of technology which allows them to scan their target's DNA; separate the   gemstones from the silt, if you want an analogy.  In a business like the slave trade Rose's external appearance would already be a desirable trait but combine that with her being one hundred percent human and that raises the stakes considerably; she would be a very valuable commodity indeed.”

“Makes sense, what your saying but can you please stop talking about  Rose like she's stocks and bonds?” he growled.

Darcia sighed. “Sorry Doctor, I get a little clinical sometimes. First day remember, lots to learn.  She means a lot to you doesn't she?” Darcia finished softly.

“Yeah she does,” he admitted almost in a whisper, then focused again on Darcia. “So, tell me what you know ... please,” he added seeing the frown on her face at his initial brusque tone of voice.

“You remember I said I was watching you both earlier, right? When you went inside your friend … sorry Rose, was approached by two men: Well they looked  male. One tripped over and fell into Rose's lap...” 

“I leave her alone for five minutes and she had men falling over  her....” he remarked sarcastically to himself. “Probably another pretty boy.... Oh ... um... sorry, go on, please,” he finished apologetically, realising he had gone off on a tangent and that Darcia was glaring at him.

She muttered something under her breath about 'Men and their short attention spans' before continuing,  “I saw the second male make a hurried movement of some kind but I couldn't really see what he did from my vantage point. The whole situation did not last long. The one who fell into Rose appeared to apologise and then they both left.  Now here is the interesting part. To anyone else it would look completely  innocent but friends and family of the missing victims, also reported similar encounters with two men. So, when Rose left the table to visit the ladies...”

“You thought you'd have a chat with her,” finished the Doctor, nodding his head in understanding.

“Exactly Doctor,”

Suddenly Darcia's confidence faded and the pain was back in her eyes again.

“I went in to speak with Rose but she was doubled over in agony.” The look of horror on the Doctor's face did not escape her notice. “I tried to help her but she insisted I come to get you. I was just about to leave when a white light suddenly appeared and there before us, emerging from the light  were the two guys Rose had encountered earlier. They were definitely humanoid, though their teeth seemed sharper and they appeared to have some form of webbing between their fingers.”

Darcia started shaking again with pent up emotion. She folded her arms across her chest but continued to look the Doctor straight in the eyes.

“I tried to help her Doctor … please, you have to know that!  Rose couldn't do anything to help herself because she was in so much pain.  One of them  grabbed her and I tried to tackle him but I had nothing except my bare hands.  The other one lashed out at me before I got anywhere near Rose and he punched me once in the stomach, and then twice on my face and then told me if I didn't shut up he'd kill me.”

Now her tears did fall as she related to the Doctor how powerless she had been; how guilty she had felt as the bright beam of  light reappeared, taking with it the two kidnappers and a semi conscious Rose.  “I'm sorry Doctor, so sorry but there was nothing I could do against two of them.”

He put his hand on her shoulder in genuine comfort. “It's okay Darcia.  You did what you had too to survive and at least you tried, so thank you for that.  I'm very grateful you were there though because now I know who to look for.  Do you think you could sketch their faces for me?” he asked inquisitively.

Darcia nodded. “Yeah of course Doctor, but how is that going to do any good.  None of the other friends and family of the kidnapped victims ever saw these men again.  Even the law enforcers could not trace their life signatures.  How are you going to be any different?

“Ah Darcia, it's because I am different: No ordinary mortal being me.  They picked on the wrong person this time when they stole what is mine ....” He paused, realising the implications of what he had just said and then backtracked a little. “I mean when they stole Rose from me,” he finished in a quiet but controlled voice.

“How will you get her back Doctor?” queried Darcia, her voice bristling with excitement. She wanted to help and Hell, there was a really good story here right under her nose,  ripe for the taking. She turned to the Doctor and gasped as she saw the intensity and excitement in his face. There was no mistaking those emotions in his next words.

“Just you watch me Darcia Entillan, freelance journalist from the planet Lythiria. I'm going to find out what's happened to Rose, then I'm going to rescue her, and then …Oh yes, after that I'm going to wipe out every last trace of  this stinking little slave set up and what's more you're going to help me.” 
 

Chapter Four