Life Less Ordinary, Chapter 9
Chapter Title: Interrogation
Author: stormwolf10
Character/Pairing: Ten!Too/Rose, Jack
Rating: PG-13 (or R, if you're really sensitive about language)
Summary: Rose is interrogated, and Jack and the Doctor discover what Jack is being hunted for.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, or any of it's canon characters, but a girl can dream, can't she?
Jack skidded to a halt when they reached the TARDIS, staring up at the tall, blue police box with a perplexed expression. “This is your ship?”
“Yes, it is,” the Doctor replied as he dug into the pocket of his suit jacket to retrieve his key, “Is there a problem with that?”
“Well, yes. First of all, it’s made of wood. Secondly, it’s too small to be a ship.”
The Doctor rolled his eyes. Why couldn’t people just take him at his word when he said it was his ship? “I really don’t have time to explain dimensional transcendentalism, extrapolator shielding and chameleon circuits to you right now, Captain,” he snapped, “It’s bigger on the inside, it’s protected and it isn’t really a police box. Now get inside.”
Suitably cowed, Jack followed the Doctor into the TARDIS and looked around in astonishment as they stepped into a large, circular room with sweeping, coral-like struts and golden walls studded with softly glowing roundels. In the center was a round console that the Doctor was running towards, which seemed to be made of the same coral-like substance at the base. Various odd controls and contraptions littered the top of the console, and jutting up from the center was a large glass column that held a rota which sat motionless because, Jack assumed, the ship was not in flight.
The Doctor was staring at a small monitor screen on the other side of the console, and didn’t look up when he finally said, “Alright, start talking, Jack.”
Jack paused for a moment, taken aback at the familiarity he sensed in the way the Doctor said his name. It was an angry familiarity, but familiarity nonetheless. It was as if this man knew him, but that was impossible. He’d never met this man before in his life. Jack was sure he’d remember this ship. Or, maybe not, after what the Time Agents did to him. “I…actually don’t know,” he began, rubbing the back of his neck, “I know you probably don’t believe this, but I really don’t know what I did.”
There was a pause, and then the Doctor replied wearily, “Let me guess, they altered your memory.”
“How did you-“
“It doesn’t matter right now how I know that,” the Doctor said quickly, cutting him off, “Well, that makes things more difficult. I might have been able to fix whatever it is you messed up, and then maybe they’d set Rose free.”
Jack fidgeted with uncertainty for a moment, and then fished a small disk out of his pocket. “This might have answers. It’s the disk I stole from the memory alteration device right before I escaped. I haven’t had the guts to look at it, really. Something in me says I don’t want to know. Whatever it is, it’s been pushing me to keep on the move. I’ve been hiding in different times and places for a few years now, moving on when I think they’re getting too close.”
“Trust me, you can’t hide from your past forever, Jack,” the Doctor said quietly, and something in his dark eyes told the Captain that the man knew first-hand the simple fact of that statement. When the Doctor held out his hand, Jack hesitated for a moment, and then with a long sigh he slipped the disk into it.
After the Doctor slid the disk into a slot on the console, the monitor screen flashed into life and began playing a hazy video. The first-person vision was disorienting at first, but soon it settled, and the horror began.
Jack tucked the stick of unlimited credits into his coat pocket as he sat at the small table in the hotel room he shared with his partner, John, during this assignment. He never conceived of having so much money before. It had been so easy to say yes to his benefactor after that. It was just too tempting.
He smirked to himself. John would do the same if he was in this position. In fact, John would probably do it for less, the bastard.
With a steely calm, Jack slid the revolver out of its holster and slowly twisted the silencer onto the end of the barrel. He felt the weight of the weapon in his hands, and for a moment he wondered if he could do it. He contemplated how easy it would be to not do the job and get away with the money anyway.
No, there was no way he’d be able to escape his benefactor. Any man who could throw away this much money could afford an assassin with enough skill in time travel to hound him from the beginning of time to the end of it. No. There was no escaping this job now.
Jack tucked the revolver into the waistband at the back of his trousers as he stood, hearing John stepping out of the bathroom, his blond hair stuck to his head from a recent shower, and a white towel wrapped around his trim waist. “Oi, mate. Did you get any information on this bloke while you were out?” John asked, flopping onto his back on one of the tiny twin beds.
“Yeah, I think I learned everything I needed to know,” Jack murmured quietly and slid the revolver out of his waistband, slowly pulling the hammer back.
“Well, don’t keep it to yourself. What have ya got?”
Lifting the revolver, Jack swallowed, whispered, “Sorry,” and pulled the trigger.
The Doctor glared daggers at Jack as the man sat heavily onto the battered jump seat. “Murder,” he said coldly, “You’ve put Rose in danger because you murdered a man in cold blood. And, as usual, money is involved.”
“I didn’t know!” Jack shouted desperately, yanking his hands through his black hair, “They wiped my memory. I had no idea what they were hunting me down for. And I told you, they won’t execute Rose as long as they can use her for collateral or information.”
“And how do you think they’ll get that information, Jack?”
Jack blinked a few times, and then lifted a hand to rub the bridge of his nose. “Shit…”
“Exactly,” the Doctor said, leaning in towards Jack with a feral look in his eyes, “And just think…if they have the technology to wipe your memories, what sort of nasty bit of technology will they use to get her to tell them what they want to hear? Hm?? All because you let your bloody greed get the better of you.”
Jack lowered his head and couldn’t respond, which was just as well, because the Doctor had turned away from him and returned to his search of the Time Agent ship. God, what have I done? he thought to himself as he stared at his hands. He’d killed his only friend and betrayed the Agency. What sort of man had he become? Sure, he could con rich fools out of their money with the best of them, but murder?
================================
“This would be simpler if you’d only tell us where Captain Harkness is,” the woman - Major Loretti - said in a disturbingly cold and calm tone as she paced back and forth in front of the chair Rose had been tied to. The Major didn’t look at her, choosing instead to look straight ahead.
Rose flexed her fingers, then clenched them and jerked her arms against the restraints around her wrists, gasping loudly as she was rewarded with a powerful jolt of electricity that shot up her arms from the metal rings. Once the convulsions died down, she swallowed hard and croaked, “I told you. I don’t know. He was just a bloke who wanted to buy me a drink.”
“Then why did your companion join the suspect in escaping? Surely if the two of you had no idea who he was, you could have let him run off on his own.”
“I don’t know.”
The Major paused in her pacing and idly pressed a button on the wall. The restraints around Rose’s neck and wrists charged up again, and she gritted her teeth as the shock went through her. She refused to scream for this woman.
“’I don’t know’ is not an answer you will give to any of my questions. Do I make myself clear?” Major Loretti said as she finally turned to look at Rose, sharp black eyes boring into hers.
Rose glared back at her. “And if I really don’t know?” she asked.
“Then we will have no use for you, and you will be disposed of,” the Major replied, “Now…where is your accomplice hiding?”
“Accomplice?” Rose asked, blinking up at her, “Accomplice in what? I assume I have the right to know what the crime is.”
Major Loretti nodded. “Jack Harkness, and now yourself and your companion, are being arrested for the murder of Captain John Hart.”
“Murder?! But Jack wouldn’t-“ Rose bit her lip and quickly fell silent, but it was too late.
The Major allowed herself the barest hint of a self-satisfied grin. “I see. So you do know him. Well enough, at least, to think you know what he is and is not capable of. Then surely you know where he might be right now.”
“N-no, AUGH!” Rose arched, unable to hold back the scream as another bolt of electricity shot through her. She had been caught off-guard by the notion that Jack would murder anyone. Damn it, Rose, this is not your Jack, she scolded herself as she sagged against her restraints, panting heavily. Maybe this Jack could murder. And now he was with the Doctor.
Two Agents interrupted her thoughts by grabbing her arms, lifting her as the restraints released her.
“Pity,” Major Loretti said coldly as she turned to leave the room, “Then we have no more need for you. Take her to the holding cell. We’ll leave for HQ in an hour and execute her there.”
Author: stormwolf10
Character/Pairing: Ten!Too/Rose, Jack
Rating: PG-13 (or R, if you're really sensitive about language)
Summary: Rose is interrogated, and Jack and the Doctor discover what Jack is being hunted for.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, or any of it's canon characters, but a girl can dream, can't she?
Jack skidded to a halt when they reached the TARDIS, staring up at the tall, blue police box with a perplexed expression. “This is your ship?”
“Yes, it is,” the Doctor replied as he dug into the pocket of his suit jacket to retrieve his key, “Is there a problem with that?”
“Well, yes. First of all, it’s made of wood. Secondly, it’s too small to be a ship.”
The Doctor rolled his eyes. Why couldn’t people just take him at his word when he said it was his ship? “I really don’t have time to explain dimensional transcendentalism, extrapolator shielding and chameleon circuits to you right now, Captain,” he snapped, “It’s bigger on the inside, it’s protected and it isn’t really a police box. Now get inside.”
Suitably cowed, Jack followed the Doctor into the TARDIS and looked around in astonishment as they stepped into a large, circular room with sweeping, coral-like struts and golden walls studded with softly glowing roundels. In the center was a round console that the Doctor was running towards, which seemed to be made of the same coral-like substance at the base. Various odd controls and contraptions littered the top of the console, and jutting up from the center was a large glass column that held a rota which sat motionless because, Jack assumed, the ship was not in flight.
The Doctor was staring at a small monitor screen on the other side of the console, and didn’t look up when he finally said, “Alright, start talking, Jack.”
Jack paused for a moment, taken aback at the familiarity he sensed in the way the Doctor said his name. It was an angry familiarity, but familiarity nonetheless. It was as if this man knew him, but that was impossible. He’d never met this man before in his life. Jack was sure he’d remember this ship. Or, maybe not, after what the Time Agents did to him. “I…actually don’t know,” he began, rubbing the back of his neck, “I know you probably don’t believe this, but I really don’t know what I did.”
There was a pause, and then the Doctor replied wearily, “Let me guess, they altered your memory.”
“How did you-“
“It doesn’t matter right now how I know that,” the Doctor said quickly, cutting him off, “Well, that makes things more difficult. I might have been able to fix whatever it is you messed up, and then maybe they’d set Rose free.”
Jack fidgeted with uncertainty for a moment, and then fished a small disk out of his pocket. “This might have answers. It’s the disk I stole from the memory alteration device right before I escaped. I haven’t had the guts to look at it, really. Something in me says I don’t want to know. Whatever it is, it’s been pushing me to keep on the move. I’ve been hiding in different times and places for a few years now, moving on when I think they’re getting too close.”
“Trust me, you can’t hide from your past forever, Jack,” the Doctor said quietly, and something in his dark eyes told the Captain that the man knew first-hand the simple fact of that statement. When the Doctor held out his hand, Jack hesitated for a moment, and then with a long sigh he slipped the disk into it.
After the Doctor slid the disk into a slot on the console, the monitor screen flashed into life and began playing a hazy video. The first-person vision was disorienting at first, but soon it settled, and the horror began.
Jack tucked the stick of unlimited credits into his coat pocket as he sat at the small table in the hotel room he shared with his partner, John, during this assignment. He never conceived of having so much money before. It had been so easy to say yes to his benefactor after that. It was just too tempting.
He smirked to himself. John would do the same if he was in this position. In fact, John would probably do it for less, the bastard.
With a steely calm, Jack slid the revolver out of its holster and slowly twisted the silencer onto the end of the barrel. He felt the weight of the weapon in his hands, and for a moment he wondered if he could do it. He contemplated how easy it would be to not do the job and get away with the money anyway.
No, there was no way he’d be able to escape his benefactor. Any man who could throw away this much money could afford an assassin with enough skill in time travel to hound him from the beginning of time to the end of it. No. There was no escaping this job now.
Jack tucked the revolver into the waistband at the back of his trousers as he stood, hearing John stepping out of the bathroom, his blond hair stuck to his head from a recent shower, and a white towel wrapped around his trim waist. “Oi, mate. Did you get any information on this bloke while you were out?” John asked, flopping onto his back on one of the tiny twin beds.
“Yeah, I think I learned everything I needed to know,” Jack murmured quietly and slid the revolver out of his waistband, slowly pulling the hammer back.
“Well, don’t keep it to yourself. What have ya got?”
Lifting the revolver, Jack swallowed, whispered, “Sorry,” and pulled the trigger.
The Doctor glared daggers at Jack as the man sat heavily onto the battered jump seat. “Murder,” he said coldly, “You’ve put Rose in danger because you murdered a man in cold blood. And, as usual, money is involved.”
“I didn’t know!” Jack shouted desperately, yanking his hands through his black hair, “They wiped my memory. I had no idea what they were hunting me down for. And I told you, they won’t execute Rose as long as they can use her for collateral or information.”
“And how do you think they’ll get that information, Jack?”
Jack blinked a few times, and then lifted a hand to rub the bridge of his nose. “Shit…”
“Exactly,” the Doctor said, leaning in towards Jack with a feral look in his eyes, “And just think…if they have the technology to wipe your memories, what sort of nasty bit of technology will they use to get her to tell them what they want to hear? Hm?? All because you let your bloody greed get the better of you.”
Jack lowered his head and couldn’t respond, which was just as well, because the Doctor had turned away from him and returned to his search of the Time Agent ship. God, what have I done? he thought to himself as he stared at his hands. He’d killed his only friend and betrayed the Agency. What sort of man had he become? Sure, he could con rich fools out of their money with the best of them, but murder?
================================
“This would be simpler if you’d only tell us where Captain Harkness is,” the woman - Major Loretti - said in a disturbingly cold and calm tone as she paced back and forth in front of the chair Rose had been tied to. The Major didn’t look at her, choosing instead to look straight ahead.
Rose flexed her fingers, then clenched them and jerked her arms against the restraints around her wrists, gasping loudly as she was rewarded with a powerful jolt of electricity that shot up her arms from the metal rings. Once the convulsions died down, she swallowed hard and croaked, “I told you. I don’t know. He was just a bloke who wanted to buy me a drink.”
“Then why did your companion join the suspect in escaping? Surely if the two of you had no idea who he was, you could have let him run off on his own.”
“I don’t know.”
The Major paused in her pacing and idly pressed a button on the wall. The restraints around Rose’s neck and wrists charged up again, and she gritted her teeth as the shock went through her. She refused to scream for this woman.
“’I don’t know’ is not an answer you will give to any of my questions. Do I make myself clear?” Major Loretti said as she finally turned to look at Rose, sharp black eyes boring into hers.
Rose glared back at her. “And if I really don’t know?” she asked.
“Then we will have no use for you, and you will be disposed of,” the Major replied, “Now…where is your accomplice hiding?”
“Accomplice?” Rose asked, blinking up at her, “Accomplice in what? I assume I have the right to know what the crime is.”
Major Loretti nodded. “Jack Harkness, and now yourself and your companion, are being arrested for the murder of Captain John Hart.”
“Murder?! But Jack wouldn’t-“ Rose bit her lip and quickly fell silent, but it was too late.
The Major allowed herself the barest hint of a self-satisfied grin. “I see. So you do know him. Well enough, at least, to think you know what he is and is not capable of. Then surely you know where he might be right now.”
“N-no, AUGH!” Rose arched, unable to hold back the scream as another bolt of electricity shot through her. She had been caught off-guard by the notion that Jack would murder anyone. Damn it, Rose, this is not your Jack, she scolded herself as she sagged against her restraints, panting heavily. Maybe this Jack could murder. And now he was with the Doctor.
Two Agents interrupted her thoughts by grabbing her arms, lifting her as the restraints released her.
“Pity,” Major Loretti said coldly as she turned to leave the room, “Then we have no more need for you. Take her to the holding cell. We’ll leave for HQ in an hour and execute her there.”