FIC: Tin Men - Chapter 3
Jul. 6th, 2009 03:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nentariTitle: Tin Men - Chapter 3
Author: Me
Beta-Reader:alouzon
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4579
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and all its characters belong to the BBC. I own nothing - not even the Fourteenth Doctor.
Summary: Someone is kidnapping the Doctor's former companions. Who is behind all this... and why?
Chapter 3
It took a few seconds for Strachan's words to sink in, but once they did, they hit Jamie with the strength of a cannonball.
His wife. Victoria got married.
"I'm sorry, Jamie," the Doctor repeated. "You weren't meant to find out like this." Jamie glared at her. She had known it all along and yet had said nothing. He felt sick to his stomach, the shock and the betrayal warring with each other. Before he could force himself to speak, she had left him and raced to Strachan, hand outstretched.
"My dear Mr. Strachan, how nice to see you again," she said with excessive cheerfulness, shaking his hand energically.
The Lieutenant's shocked expression changed to one of puzzlement. "Erm, thank you..." He paused, freeing his hand from the Doctor's grip. "Who are you?"
"This, Lieutenant," the Brigadier said with a weary expression, "is the Doctor. Bizarre as it may seem."
"I know it may sound impossible," the Doctor added quickly, before the man could express his shock and disbelief as the others had earlier, "but please take my word for it."
"Well, Victoria did tell me something had happened and you had changed," Strachan said, looking at the Doctor with a doubtful expression, "but she didnae tell me about this."
"Yes, well, it's a long story-"
"Which we dinnae have time for," Jamie rudely cut her off, refusing to be kept out of the conversation any longer.
"Oh yes. Mr. Strachan, this is Jamie McCrimmon," the Doctor introduced her companion with a smile. "I'm sure you've heard of him. Jamie, this is Lieutenant Craig Strachan."
Strachan raised an eyebrow, as he looked Jamie up and down warily. "Yeah," he said, "yeah, I remember you and Victoria talking about him." He held out his hand grudgingly and Jamie, equally grudgingly, shook it firmly. Strachan's grip was painfully strong, and Jamie made sure he returned it in full. He wasn't going to appear the weaker of the two.
The Brigadier gave a small cough, mindful of the posturing that had started between the two Scots. "Well, if introductions are over, Strachan, then I think I should give you a small briefing of what's been happening."
Jamie and Strachan were still staring at each other with equal suspicion, bristling like a pair of strange dogs just before a fight. Suddenly, the Doctor gave an impatient snort and pulled Jamie away gently. "Jamie," she said, a tone of sternness in her voice, "we haven't finished our discussion. If you'll excuse me, Brigadier." She pulled Jamie back to the corner of the office where they had been talking when Strachan made his entrance. This time, however, all eyes were on the newcomer and nobody paid any attention to them.
"What was that about?" the Doctor hissed, but Jamie ignored her question.
"Why did you not tell me sooner?" he growled.
"I tried to give you hints about this to prepare you, most recently back when we found Hye hiding in the chest, if you remember? But I didn't tell you outright because I felt Victoria would have wanted to let you know herself."
Jamie's gaze moved back to Strachan, involuntarily raking over his overly-familiar features. The Lieutenant was clearly doing his best to restrain himself from having another outburst, as the Brigadier put a comforting hand on his shoulder and said something Jamie couldn't hear. He turned his attention back to the Doctor. "Who is he?"
"Second Lieutenant Craig Strachan, RAF."
"He looks just like-"
"I know, I know," the Doctor interrupted him. "It surprised me the first time I met him. And no, I don't know the reason why. I suspect the Master of the Land of Fiction was somehow aware of things that had happened in this world and pulled a practical joke at our expense." She paused. "He's a good man, Jamie. In fact, he's a lot like you in many ways."
Jamie scowled truculently, clearly offended, and the Doctor's eyes narrowed. "I really don't understand why you're reacting like this," she told him in a strict tone that would have made Zoe proud.
"How did you think I'd react?" he snarled quietly.
"Oh, I don't know." The Doctor's voice, in spite of being a whisper low enough only for the two of them to hear, still sounded icy and sarcastic; it seemed to fill his ears, blocking out everything around them. "I'd thought that you'd be glad to know that our friend had found the stability she had been longing for and was happy."
Her gaze now bored through him, carrying the same disappointed outrage as years before, when the old Doctor had gently reproved him for acting like a spoiled bairn after they had left Victoria behind with the Harrises. "I was fond of her too, you know, Jamie," were the Doctor's words at the time. Her voice was obviously much different now, but it also had the same tone - and once again succeeded in making Jamie feel ashamed of his behaviour.
"Och, I'm sorry," he eventually sighed, lowering his eyes.
The Doctor squeezed his arm. "I understand, Jamie, but now is not the time for such childish behaviour," she murmured, her voice once again soft and warm. "We should focus on rescuing Victoria and Polly. You can talk to her about this afterwards."
"Aye, you're right," he agreed, reluctantly.
"Come along." She gave him her most charming, coaxing smile, and took him by the hand to join the others. Hye stared at the two of them, confusion in her eyes; Jamie saw the Doctor mouth the word "Later," and the lass immediately relaxed.
"...my wife too, mate," Ben was telling Strachan. "I know just what you're feeling. But we've got to keep our wits about, or we ain't going nowhere."
"Well said, Ben," the Doctor told him. All eyes focused on her once again. "And hopefully once I examine the head, we will have a clue where to start our search." She turned to Dr. Shaw. "I hope you will honour me with your assistance once again, Liz dear. I know it's been a while."
"Of course, Doctor," the redhead replied instantly.
A uniformed woman entered the office. "The TARDIS is here, sir," she told the Brigadier. "It was taken to the Doctor's laboratory."
"Thank you, Sergeant Bell," he replied, as the Doctor clapped her hands together with ill-concealed enthusiasm.
"Oh, good. Then we can begin." She turned to Benton, who was keeping himself busy in the corner with a filing cabinet. "You know, my dear Mr. Benton," she said, grinning widely, "it may have been only a few weeks since you've last saw me, but it has been centuries for me."
"Yeah, I figured as much," he said, clearly curious as to where she was going with this.
"And after all this time, there's something I've been missing terribly." She was now batting her eyelashes, and Jamie looked at her in confusion. What was she talking about?
Benton, however, gave her a knowing smile, as if he had been waiting for such a request all along. "One cup of coffee, coming right up."
"Oh, yes, Benton's coffee!" Dr. Shaw enthused with a huge smile. "I've been unable to find anything like it ever since I went back to Cambridge."
Hye, on the other hand, was struck with a shocked, disgusted expression, and she involuntarily gagged. "Eww! Coffee?!"
The Doctor put an arm around her shoulder. "Of course. I had forgotten than your only contact with coffee must have been that horrible mud-like concoction they served at the MASH mess tent." She looked at Benton again. "A cup for Liz then, please; and another for Miss Moon here, so that she can learn what good coffee actually tastes like." She looked at the lassie again. "You will try it out for me, Hye dear? Even if it turns out not to be exactly your thing, at least you'll have the chance to have an educated opinion about it."
"I guess," Hye said, not sounding very optimistic. Jamie grinned in spite of himself. He had eventually developed a taste for it, but he still remembered his first introduction to coffee on the Moonbase, and how he had been so surprised by the bitter taste, that he thought it must still be poisoned. However, Polly had been so anxious for him to like it that he drank it without complaint or comment; it had taken a lot of willpower to finish the cup and not hurt her feelings.
"You may come to the laboratory with us if you want," the Doctor continued. "Liz and I can discuss your unique situation while we work."
The lassie's face brightened up again at the sound of this. "Oh yes, please!"
The Doctor turned to Jamie. "Would you stay with Ben while we work on this, Jamie?" she asked in a low voice, glancing at their friend. "I'm sure given the circumstances, he'll be happy to have an old friend with him."
"Oh, aye, of course I will, Doctor," Jamie said, feeling ashamed for forgetting Ben. Polly's disappearance upset him as much as Victoria's; he could only imagine how Ben was taking it. Besides, he was well aware that once the Doctor started to conduct scientific examinations on the Cyberman's head, he'd be bored stiff after only a few minutes and probably spend the whole time curled up in a corner, sleeping.
"Thank you, dear," she replied with a smile, squeezing his shoulder. She grabbed Hye by the elbow and steered Dr. Shaw towards the door with the force of her gaze.
"What do you mean by 'unique situation', Doctor?" Dr. Shaw asked, as the three of them abandoned the office, Hye once again carrying the hideous head.
Jamie looked at the other people still in the office. Benton had already left to make the coffee for the Doctor, while the Brigadier and Harry Sullivan were showing some files to Dodo and Strachan. As for Ben, he had cornered the woman who had delivered the message about the TARDIS' arrival, and Jamie moved across the room to his friend's side.
"Hey, Sarge," Ben asked, "how are my kids?"
"They're fine, sir," she said with a smile. "A little confused, but that's understandable."
"Yeah, I think I better have a word with them."
"Of course, sir, they're this way. It took some doing, but I managed to find them some crayons and a couple of colouring books." Ben thanked her for her thoughtfulness, and the two of them followed her out of the office.
"You have bairns?" Jamie asked in surprise, momentarily forgetting that about ten years had passed for his friends.
"Oh yeah," Ben said with a proud smile. "Two boys and a girl. Alan, Jamie and Theresa. And there's another one on the way."
The young piper blushed with embarrassment and pleasure. "You named one of your sons 'Jamie'?"
"Well, we couldn't have called him 'Doctor' now, could we?" Ben teased, a wicked grin on his face. "Come along, then, mate. They'll love meeting their Uncle Jamie at last."
***
"I'm sure it can be arranged," said Liz (for this is how she asked to be addressed), once the Doctor and Hye told her about the reason why the girl was there. "We might need the Brigadier to pull some strings, of course, since you don't have the appropriate documentation, but I'm certain after that is arranged, I can convince my colleagues from the medical department to let you attend the necessary admission exams and interviews." She gave a smile. "They owe me a few favours."
"And won't I need to learn some things that happened these past 24 years, so that people will not get suspicious?" Hye asked. Ever since their visit to 1988 Seoul, she had been wondering just how much had changed since her own time that others would take for granted, and she was terrified of the prospect of being discovered because of it.
"Oh, no need to worry, dear," the Doctor said, switching off her sonic screwdriver for a brief moment to give her a reassuring smile. "South Korea hasn't changed much, particularly the areas near the 38th Parallel, so I doubt anyone would suspect you're not from this era. I'll give you a small crash course so that you can have a general idea of what's been going on, though."
"I'll do it, Doctor," Liz offered. "You sometimes have a tendency to get sidetracked."
The Doctor paused what she was doing, and gave her a strange look. "What do you mean, my dear?"
The redhead grinned. "I still remember when you tried to explain why the people from Luxis Alpha purposely spoke with a lisp."
"Well, I remember that you fell asleep while I was talking," the Doctor retorted, with an offended expression.
"Exactly," Liz said with a laugh. "Halfway through your explanation, I got treated to the history of golf. Honestly," she leaned over to the Doctor in what was supposed to be a conspirator's whisper loud enough for Hye to hear, "I have never met anybody as enthralled with the sound of his own voice as you were at times." Liz winked at Hye mischievously and went back to her work.
The Doctor seemed a bit embarrassed by her friend's gentle teasing. "Ahem. Yes, well... You probably shouldn't exaggerate so much, Liz. We have impressionable minds listening," she added, with a nod towards Hye.
"Oh, I don't mind," she said, amused and ready to participate in Liz's game of Doctor-baiting. Having spent the previous months in the company of Hawkeye Pierce and his friends, Hye was used to seeing this sort of exchange between friends; besides, she had the feeling this sort of conversation would help her learn a bit more about this extraordinary woman who travelled everywhere in a time machine.
"See? And you know very well that I'm not exaggerating."
"Please, tell me more about the Doctor?" Hye continued with a twinkle in her eye, and the Doctor let out a put-upon sigh of defeat.
"Well, back when I worked for UNIT, the Doctor was the snappiest dresser I had ever encountered. Capes, velvet coats, frilly shirts... It was like working with a fashion model at times."
"Really?" Hye asked in disbelief, glancing at the Doctor's miniskirt and striped socks.
"Oh yes. And you can't imagine the fuss when his favourite shirt got irremediably stained. You see, we were holding an experiment and the chemicals we were working with..."
A metallic click interrupted her. The two of them turned their attention back to the Doctor, who had succeeded in unlocking the Cyberman's head. "Finally," the Time Lord said. "And just in time, I think," she added, giving the two women a baleful glare. She started to separate the two halves of the head, and Hye cringed. The Doctor must have sensed her unease, and she glanced at her before finishing her task. "Perhaps it would be better if you joined the others, dear."
Hye wasn't so sure she wanted to see how much was still organic inside a Cyberman's head, but she stood her ground. This is good training for my studies, she told herself, while at the same time she also wondered how much in her studies would include dissecting Cybermen. "I'm OK," she said.
"Are you sure?" The Doctor insisted.
She nodded.
"Very well. Here we go." With considerable ease, the Doctor finally pulled half of the head apart, revealing only carefully interwoven tubes of metal and plastic inside. "As I suspected," she said with a satisfied smile. "This Cyberman is a fake."
"How can you tell?" Liz asked as she studied the insides of the head.
"Nothing human inside," Hye commented, somewhat relieved.
"Exactly," the Doctor said, approvingly. "I'm glad you understood my explanation about real Cybermen, Hye. This," she continued, pointing at a flat rectangle of black and white plastic, "is where a real humanoid brain should have been intersected with the circuitry."
Liz looked at it carefully and frowned. "It looks like a miniature tape recorder," she noted disbelievingly.
"I'm sure it is just that," the Doctor agreed, cutting a small strip of wire that attached the object to the rest of the tubes. "The brain - or whatever it is that's controlling these fake Cybermen - must be located somewhere in the body; this head only stores the voice box."
She showed the object to her two friends, and Hye could see behind a clear plastic window which had been hidden from view, what looked like a miniature version of the film reels that were played on movie night at the 4077th. The Doctor pressed a button on the object's side, and the tiny tape that resembled the film strip began to unwind from one reel towards the other. Once this was done, the Doctor pressed on another button, and a cold, metallic voice stated to speak from inside.
"Victoria Waterfield. You are required," it said. "You will come with me. Do not resist. You will come with me. Victoria Waterfield..."
"That's what a Cyberman sounds like?" Liz asked, as the voice kept repeating the same instructions.
"They no longer have vocal chords," the Doctor said by way of explanation, as she continued to fiddle with the tape recorder.
"Just brains," Hye added with a shudder. The concept of Cybermen was more unpleasant each time she thought about it.
The voice suddenly broke off, obviously at the end of the recording. The Doctor moved to press a button and stop the tape, when it began to talk again, still in the same metallic voice. "Greetings, Doctor - since I am sure you will be the first one to open my little greeting card. I am also sure, clever as you are, that you have managed to recognize my voice..."
"Not yet," the Doctor said, turning off the tape player, "but give me five minutes and I will."
"But how can you?" Hye asked, doubtful. "If it's not a real Cyberman..."
"It's not hard for a normal human to synthesize their voice like that," Liz said. "However, it's absolutely impossible to identify whoever's responsible when they do it like this."
"Oh, Liz..." the Doctor smiled. "You keep forgetting - I have my own methods." She nodded towards the TARDIS, at the corner of the room, and stood up, tape recorder in hand. "Follow me," she said, as she advanced towards the blue police box.
***
"Daddy, when's Mummy coming back?"
They were sitting in the mess room - Ben on one side of the table, with the youngest, Alan, on his lap, and Dodo, who had eventually joined them, on his right. Across from them, Jamie was firmly sandwiched between the other two children, who were indeed glad to finally meet their "Uncle Jamie". They all had mugs of tea in front of them, but Ben didn't seem to have touched his. He was now looking at his daughter with a sad expression.
"I don't know, love. Soon, I hope."
Jamie covertly observed the three children. They seemed to be merely bewildered rather than full of anxiety, which he was sure meant they still hadn't been told their mother had been kidnapped. Jamie hoped the Doctor would be able to find an answer from that head soon, and that they'd be able to get Polly back before the children realized something was not right with her absence.
"I still can't believe it," Dodo said, after taking another sip of her tea and flinching at its horrible aftertaste (NAAFI tea was just as awful as he remembered, which made Jamie wish the Doctor had asked Benton to make coffee for everyone who had been in the Brigadier's office at the time). She looked at Ben, and added, "I mean, I remember you and Polly telling me about..." She hesitated, looking at the children. Jamie realized what she must have been wondering if they knew about the adventures their parents had before they were born - and if they did, whether they believed them. "...you know, the change, when you came back - but even then I found it hard to believe it."
"Aye, it's true, all right," Jamie said. "I saw it with my own eyes this time."
"It's just so... so incredible," Dodo insisted.
"Says the great explorer," Ben said somewhat teasingly.
"Ben, we've discussed this before," Dodo said, as she repeated the sip-and-flinch action. "Sir Charles travels all over the world on business, and I'm his personal assistant. Just because I travel with him, I wouldn't call that exploring."
Ben's eldest son fidgeted at Jamie's elbow; his namesake had clearly had enough of the colouring books. "Dad, I'm bored." He looked like a miniature version of Ben, only with Polly's large brown eyes. "When can we go home?"
"And can we take Uncle Jamie with us?" Theresa added hopefully. Like her younger brother, the lass was olive-skinned and had dark hair and eyes - the very opposite of their adoptive parents. And at that moment, those eyes were staring adoringly at her "uncle", who wondered what sort of stories Ben and Polly must have told their children to have caused such hero-worship.
"It might take a while," Ben said. "Someone..." He hesitated. "Someone broke into our house, see?"
"Who?" Theresa asked.
Ben hesitated again. "Er..."
"Burglars," Dodo said quickly.
"Oh, aye, it was burglars," Jamie agreed readily, trying to help (and wondering if a burglar was similar to a brigand or highwayman). He had no idea how this could be any better for small children than the alternative, but since Dodo had started it he felt it would be better to play along.
All three children widened their eyes with interest. "Really?" Alan asked, squirming with excitement.
"Did they catch them?" little Jamie added breathlessly.
"Yeah," Ben said quickly. "Yeah, they did, mate. Only..." he thought about it for a second, as all three children let out a sigh of relief and returned to the excitement of what they were being told had happened, "only they broke our front door, see, and we can't go home until it's fixed."
Jamie was surprised to see the children look so delighted with this piece of news. A wee bairn from his own time would have been frightened (even the bravest boys), and rightly so - but these three seemed to think that, as long as nobody got hurt, it was actually an exciting event.
"Wait until I tell everyone at school!" Theresa whispered to Alan across the table.
Hye abruptly entered the room, looking around as if in a hurry. Spotting Jamie, she rushed towards the group. "The Doctor wants to talk to you!" she said.
"Eh? Why?" Jamie asked, setting down his mug and standing to leave.
"Did she find something?" Ben added.
"Yes, but before the Brigadier calls everyone for a briefing, she wants to talk to Jamie." As Ben seemed ready to take Alan off his lap and get up, she added, "Just Jamie. Everyone else can come along after they talk."
"But what's the problem?" Dodo asked, looking as though she intended to follow Jamie as well.
Hye shrugged, "I don't know. She just asked me to fetch Jamie. Come along!" and she grabbed the Highlander by the wrist and rushed out of the room.
***
"Ben, you didn't have to come," the Doctor said, the moment she noticed Ben had stepped inside the TARDIS, having followed Jamie and Hye. "You should be with your children right now."
It took a second for Ben to reply; he looked all around him, taking a deep breath. It had been nine years since he had last been inside the TARDIS, but it felt as if he had never left. The walls, the console, that ever-present hum - it was all so familiar.
Eventually, he shook his head and said, "Dodo took them back to Bell's office. If it's about who took Polly, I want to know."
The Doctor sighed. "All right, but it would have been easier to explain it afterwards."
"Well, I would like an explanation now," Dr. Shaw said. "I'm still unsure of what's happened, even after we have examined the tape, and I'm sure Hye would like an explanation, too." She looked at the Chinese bird, who nodded in agreement.
"Yes, well, it will become clearer in a moment." She picked up a dark object that was lying over the chest behind her.
"A tape recorder?" Ben asked incredulously.
"It was inside the Cyberman's head," Dr. Shaw said.
"The Brigadier was right," the Doctor said gravely. "This was indeed addressed to me." She then picked up a plug and linked the tape player to the console. "The person responsible for this used electric distortion in order to mimic a Cyberman's voice, but luckily I have the technology needed to clean the sound."
She pressed a button on the tape player, and the metallic tones of a Cyberman's voice were then heard. "Greetings, Doctor..." She twisted a dial on the console, and the voice suddenly became human.
"...since I am sure you will be the first one to open my little greeting card. I am also certain, clever as you are, that you have managed to recognize my voice. No doubt, you have a little trick up your sleeve for any sort of contingency."
Ben did not know who the voice belonged to. It was a bloke, definitely, with a calm, collected and somewhat amused tone, and a stuck-up, posh accent. "As you are aware by now, I have Mrs. Strachan and Mrs. Jackson with me. Don't worry, they won't be harmed. They shall be kept safe and comfortable until you come for them - as I know you will. You know where to find me, I expect, so come quickly. You don't want to keep your dear friends waiting, do you?"
And with this, the tape was over. Ben looked at the others. Hye and Dr. Shaw still looked as confused as he was feeling, while the Doctor looked gravely serious and Jamie was staring fixedly at the tape player in utter shock.
"That voice..." Jamie said in a near whisper, his face pale. "It cannae be him... Can it?"
"It seems like it," the Doctor said.
"But he's dead."
***
The door to the cell opened. Victoria tensed, waiting for the appearance of yet another of those horrible Cybermen - but, to her surprise, two men entered. The younger one was completely dressed in black leather and wore a fierce expression, while the older man was elegantly dressed.
"Mrs. Jackson," the older man said, "Mrs. Strachan. I am pleased to meet you at last."
"I can't say the feeling is mutual," Polly spat, communicating exactly what Victoria felt at the moment. She still remembered how malevolent and deceitful Klieg and Kaftan had been, particularly the woman, who had been absolutely horrid towards her. Nobody who would ally themselves with Cybermen could be trustworthy, no matter how pleasant and polite a front they presented.
"Yes, I must apologize for the way you have been brought here," the man said, "but I'm afraid I needed to do something a bit... spectacular, shall we say, to attract the attention of a mutual friend."
"Who are you?" Victoria interjected with the most indignant tone she could muster. "Why did you bring us here?"
"Oh yes. Forgive my manners." He gave them a small bow. "My name is Tobias Vaughn."
Author: Me
Beta-Reader:
alouzonFandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4579
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and all its characters belong to the BBC. I own nothing - not even the Fourteenth Doctor.
Summary: Someone is kidnapping the Doctor's former companions. Who is behind all this... and why?
It took a few seconds for Strachan's words to sink in, but once they did, they hit Jamie with the strength of a cannonball.
His wife. Victoria got married.
"I'm sorry, Jamie," the Doctor repeated. "You weren't meant to find out like this." Jamie glared at her. She had known it all along and yet had said nothing. He felt sick to his stomach, the shock and the betrayal warring with each other. Before he could force himself to speak, she had left him and raced to Strachan, hand outstretched.
"My dear Mr. Strachan, how nice to see you again," she said with excessive cheerfulness, shaking his hand energically.
The Lieutenant's shocked expression changed to one of puzzlement. "Erm, thank you..." He paused, freeing his hand from the Doctor's grip. "Who are you?"
"This, Lieutenant," the Brigadier said with a weary expression, "is the Doctor. Bizarre as it may seem."
"I know it may sound impossible," the Doctor added quickly, before the man could express his shock and disbelief as the others had earlier, "but please take my word for it."
"Well, Victoria did tell me something had happened and you had changed," Strachan said, looking at the Doctor with a doubtful expression, "but she didnae tell me about this."
"Yes, well, it's a long story-"
"Which we dinnae have time for," Jamie rudely cut her off, refusing to be kept out of the conversation any longer.
"Oh yes. Mr. Strachan, this is Jamie McCrimmon," the Doctor introduced her companion with a smile. "I'm sure you've heard of him. Jamie, this is Lieutenant Craig Strachan."
Strachan raised an eyebrow, as he looked Jamie up and down warily. "Yeah," he said, "yeah, I remember you and Victoria talking about him." He held out his hand grudgingly and Jamie, equally grudgingly, shook it firmly. Strachan's grip was painfully strong, and Jamie made sure he returned it in full. He wasn't going to appear the weaker of the two.
The Brigadier gave a small cough, mindful of the posturing that had started between the two Scots. "Well, if introductions are over, Strachan, then I think I should give you a small briefing of what's been happening."
Jamie and Strachan were still staring at each other with equal suspicion, bristling like a pair of strange dogs just before a fight. Suddenly, the Doctor gave an impatient snort and pulled Jamie away gently. "Jamie," she said, a tone of sternness in her voice, "we haven't finished our discussion. If you'll excuse me, Brigadier." She pulled Jamie back to the corner of the office where they had been talking when Strachan made his entrance. This time, however, all eyes were on the newcomer and nobody paid any attention to them.
"What was that about?" the Doctor hissed, but Jamie ignored her question.
"Why did you not tell me sooner?" he growled.
"I tried to give you hints about this to prepare you, most recently back when we found Hye hiding in the chest, if you remember? But I didn't tell you outright because I felt Victoria would have wanted to let you know herself."
Jamie's gaze moved back to Strachan, involuntarily raking over his overly-familiar features. The Lieutenant was clearly doing his best to restrain himself from having another outburst, as the Brigadier put a comforting hand on his shoulder and said something Jamie couldn't hear. He turned his attention back to the Doctor. "Who is he?"
"Second Lieutenant Craig Strachan, RAF."
"He looks just like-"
"I know, I know," the Doctor interrupted him. "It surprised me the first time I met him. And no, I don't know the reason why. I suspect the Master of the Land of Fiction was somehow aware of things that had happened in this world and pulled a practical joke at our expense." She paused. "He's a good man, Jamie. In fact, he's a lot like you in many ways."
Jamie scowled truculently, clearly offended, and the Doctor's eyes narrowed. "I really don't understand why you're reacting like this," she told him in a strict tone that would have made Zoe proud.
"How did you think I'd react?" he snarled quietly.
"Oh, I don't know." The Doctor's voice, in spite of being a whisper low enough only for the two of them to hear, still sounded icy and sarcastic; it seemed to fill his ears, blocking out everything around them. "I'd thought that you'd be glad to know that our friend had found the stability she had been longing for and was happy."
Her gaze now bored through him, carrying the same disappointed outrage as years before, when the old Doctor had gently reproved him for acting like a spoiled bairn after they had left Victoria behind with the Harrises. "I was fond of her too, you know, Jamie," were the Doctor's words at the time. Her voice was obviously much different now, but it also had the same tone - and once again succeeded in making Jamie feel ashamed of his behaviour.
"Och, I'm sorry," he eventually sighed, lowering his eyes.
The Doctor squeezed his arm. "I understand, Jamie, but now is not the time for such childish behaviour," she murmured, her voice once again soft and warm. "We should focus on rescuing Victoria and Polly. You can talk to her about this afterwards."
"Aye, you're right," he agreed, reluctantly.
"Come along." She gave him her most charming, coaxing smile, and took him by the hand to join the others. Hye stared at the two of them, confusion in her eyes; Jamie saw the Doctor mouth the word "Later," and the lass immediately relaxed.
"...my wife too, mate," Ben was telling Strachan. "I know just what you're feeling. But we've got to keep our wits about, or we ain't going nowhere."
"Well said, Ben," the Doctor told him. All eyes focused on her once again. "And hopefully once I examine the head, we will have a clue where to start our search." She turned to Dr. Shaw. "I hope you will honour me with your assistance once again, Liz dear. I know it's been a while."
"Of course, Doctor," the redhead replied instantly.
A uniformed woman entered the office. "The TARDIS is here, sir," she told the Brigadier. "It was taken to the Doctor's laboratory."
"Thank you, Sergeant Bell," he replied, as the Doctor clapped her hands together with ill-concealed enthusiasm.
"Oh, good. Then we can begin." She turned to Benton, who was keeping himself busy in the corner with a filing cabinet. "You know, my dear Mr. Benton," she said, grinning widely, "it may have been only a few weeks since you've last saw me, but it has been centuries for me."
"Yeah, I figured as much," he said, clearly curious as to where she was going with this.
"And after all this time, there's something I've been missing terribly." She was now batting her eyelashes, and Jamie looked at her in confusion. What was she talking about?
Benton, however, gave her a knowing smile, as if he had been waiting for such a request all along. "One cup of coffee, coming right up."
"Oh, yes, Benton's coffee!" Dr. Shaw enthused with a huge smile. "I've been unable to find anything like it ever since I went back to Cambridge."
Hye, on the other hand, was struck with a shocked, disgusted expression, and she involuntarily gagged. "Eww! Coffee?!"
The Doctor put an arm around her shoulder. "Of course. I had forgotten than your only contact with coffee must have been that horrible mud-like concoction they served at the MASH mess tent." She looked at Benton again. "A cup for Liz then, please; and another for Miss Moon here, so that she can learn what good coffee actually tastes like." She looked at the lassie again. "You will try it out for me, Hye dear? Even if it turns out not to be exactly your thing, at least you'll have the chance to have an educated opinion about it."
"I guess," Hye said, not sounding very optimistic. Jamie grinned in spite of himself. He had eventually developed a taste for it, but he still remembered his first introduction to coffee on the Moonbase, and how he had been so surprised by the bitter taste, that he thought it must still be poisoned. However, Polly had been so anxious for him to like it that he drank it without complaint or comment; it had taken a lot of willpower to finish the cup and not hurt her feelings.
"You may come to the laboratory with us if you want," the Doctor continued. "Liz and I can discuss your unique situation while we work."
The lassie's face brightened up again at the sound of this. "Oh yes, please!"
The Doctor turned to Jamie. "Would you stay with Ben while we work on this, Jamie?" she asked in a low voice, glancing at their friend. "I'm sure given the circumstances, he'll be happy to have an old friend with him."
"Oh, aye, of course I will, Doctor," Jamie said, feeling ashamed for forgetting Ben. Polly's disappearance upset him as much as Victoria's; he could only imagine how Ben was taking it. Besides, he was well aware that once the Doctor started to conduct scientific examinations on the Cyberman's head, he'd be bored stiff after only a few minutes and probably spend the whole time curled up in a corner, sleeping.
"Thank you, dear," she replied with a smile, squeezing his shoulder. She grabbed Hye by the elbow and steered Dr. Shaw towards the door with the force of her gaze.
"What do you mean by 'unique situation', Doctor?" Dr. Shaw asked, as the three of them abandoned the office, Hye once again carrying the hideous head.
Jamie looked at the other people still in the office. Benton had already left to make the coffee for the Doctor, while the Brigadier and Harry Sullivan were showing some files to Dodo and Strachan. As for Ben, he had cornered the woman who had delivered the message about the TARDIS' arrival, and Jamie moved across the room to his friend's side.
"Hey, Sarge," Ben asked, "how are my kids?"
"They're fine, sir," she said with a smile. "A little confused, but that's understandable."
"Yeah, I think I better have a word with them."
"Of course, sir, they're this way. It took some doing, but I managed to find them some crayons and a couple of colouring books." Ben thanked her for her thoughtfulness, and the two of them followed her out of the office.
"You have bairns?" Jamie asked in surprise, momentarily forgetting that about ten years had passed for his friends.
"Oh yeah," Ben said with a proud smile. "Two boys and a girl. Alan, Jamie and Theresa. And there's another one on the way."
The young piper blushed with embarrassment and pleasure. "You named one of your sons 'Jamie'?"
"Well, we couldn't have called him 'Doctor' now, could we?" Ben teased, a wicked grin on his face. "Come along, then, mate. They'll love meeting their Uncle Jamie at last."
"I'm sure it can be arranged," said Liz (for this is how she asked to be addressed), once the Doctor and Hye told her about the reason why the girl was there. "We might need the Brigadier to pull some strings, of course, since you don't have the appropriate documentation, but I'm certain after that is arranged, I can convince my colleagues from the medical department to let you attend the necessary admission exams and interviews." She gave a smile. "They owe me a few favours."
"And won't I need to learn some things that happened these past 24 years, so that people will not get suspicious?" Hye asked. Ever since their visit to 1988 Seoul, she had been wondering just how much had changed since her own time that others would take for granted, and she was terrified of the prospect of being discovered because of it.
"Oh, no need to worry, dear," the Doctor said, switching off her sonic screwdriver for a brief moment to give her a reassuring smile. "South Korea hasn't changed much, particularly the areas near the 38th Parallel, so I doubt anyone would suspect you're not from this era. I'll give you a small crash course so that you can have a general idea of what's been going on, though."
"I'll do it, Doctor," Liz offered. "You sometimes have a tendency to get sidetracked."
The Doctor paused what she was doing, and gave her a strange look. "What do you mean, my dear?"
The redhead grinned. "I still remember when you tried to explain why the people from Luxis Alpha purposely spoke with a lisp."
"Well, I remember that you fell asleep while I was talking," the Doctor retorted, with an offended expression.
"Exactly," Liz said with a laugh. "Halfway through your explanation, I got treated to the history of golf. Honestly," she leaned over to the Doctor in what was supposed to be a conspirator's whisper loud enough for Hye to hear, "I have never met anybody as enthralled with the sound of his own voice as you were at times." Liz winked at Hye mischievously and went back to her work.
The Doctor seemed a bit embarrassed by her friend's gentle teasing. "Ahem. Yes, well... You probably shouldn't exaggerate so much, Liz. We have impressionable minds listening," she added, with a nod towards Hye.
"Oh, I don't mind," she said, amused and ready to participate in Liz's game of Doctor-baiting. Having spent the previous months in the company of Hawkeye Pierce and his friends, Hye was used to seeing this sort of exchange between friends; besides, she had the feeling this sort of conversation would help her learn a bit more about this extraordinary woman who travelled everywhere in a time machine.
"See? And you know very well that I'm not exaggerating."
"Please, tell me more about the Doctor?" Hye continued with a twinkle in her eye, and the Doctor let out a put-upon sigh of defeat.
"Well, back when I worked for UNIT, the Doctor was the snappiest dresser I had ever encountered. Capes, velvet coats, frilly shirts... It was like working with a fashion model at times."
"Really?" Hye asked in disbelief, glancing at the Doctor's miniskirt and striped socks.
"Oh yes. And you can't imagine the fuss when his favourite shirt got irremediably stained. You see, we were holding an experiment and the chemicals we were working with..."
A metallic click interrupted her. The two of them turned their attention back to the Doctor, who had succeeded in unlocking the Cyberman's head. "Finally," the Time Lord said. "And just in time, I think," she added, giving the two women a baleful glare. She started to separate the two halves of the head, and Hye cringed. The Doctor must have sensed her unease, and she glanced at her before finishing her task. "Perhaps it would be better if you joined the others, dear."
Hye wasn't so sure she wanted to see how much was still organic inside a Cyberman's head, but she stood her ground. This is good training for my studies, she told herself, while at the same time she also wondered how much in her studies would include dissecting Cybermen. "I'm OK," she said.
"Are you sure?" The Doctor insisted.
She nodded.
"Very well. Here we go." With considerable ease, the Doctor finally pulled half of the head apart, revealing only carefully interwoven tubes of metal and plastic inside. "As I suspected," she said with a satisfied smile. "This Cyberman is a fake."
"How can you tell?" Liz asked as she studied the insides of the head.
"Nothing human inside," Hye commented, somewhat relieved.
"Exactly," the Doctor said, approvingly. "I'm glad you understood my explanation about real Cybermen, Hye. This," she continued, pointing at a flat rectangle of black and white plastic, "is where a real humanoid brain should have been intersected with the circuitry."
Liz looked at it carefully and frowned. "It looks like a miniature tape recorder," she noted disbelievingly.
"I'm sure it is just that," the Doctor agreed, cutting a small strip of wire that attached the object to the rest of the tubes. "The brain - or whatever it is that's controlling these fake Cybermen - must be located somewhere in the body; this head only stores the voice box."
She showed the object to her two friends, and Hye could see behind a clear plastic window which had been hidden from view, what looked like a miniature version of the film reels that were played on movie night at the 4077th. The Doctor pressed a button on the object's side, and the tiny tape that resembled the film strip began to unwind from one reel towards the other. Once this was done, the Doctor pressed on another button, and a cold, metallic voice stated to speak from inside.
"Victoria Waterfield. You are required," it said. "You will come with me. Do not resist. You will come with me. Victoria Waterfield..."
"That's what a Cyberman sounds like?" Liz asked, as the voice kept repeating the same instructions.
"They no longer have vocal chords," the Doctor said by way of explanation, as she continued to fiddle with the tape recorder.
"Just brains," Hye added with a shudder. The concept of Cybermen was more unpleasant each time she thought about it.
The voice suddenly broke off, obviously at the end of the recording. The Doctor moved to press a button and stop the tape, when it began to talk again, still in the same metallic voice. "Greetings, Doctor - since I am sure you will be the first one to open my little greeting card. I am also sure, clever as you are, that you have managed to recognize my voice..."
"Not yet," the Doctor said, turning off the tape player, "but give me five minutes and I will."
"But how can you?" Hye asked, doubtful. "If it's not a real Cyberman..."
"It's not hard for a normal human to synthesize their voice like that," Liz said. "However, it's absolutely impossible to identify whoever's responsible when they do it like this."
"Oh, Liz..." the Doctor smiled. "You keep forgetting - I have my own methods." She nodded towards the TARDIS, at the corner of the room, and stood up, tape recorder in hand. "Follow me," she said, as she advanced towards the blue police box.
"Daddy, when's Mummy coming back?"
They were sitting in the mess room - Ben on one side of the table, with the youngest, Alan, on his lap, and Dodo, who had eventually joined them, on his right. Across from them, Jamie was firmly sandwiched between the other two children, who were indeed glad to finally meet their "Uncle Jamie". They all had mugs of tea in front of them, but Ben didn't seem to have touched his. He was now looking at his daughter with a sad expression.
"I don't know, love. Soon, I hope."
Jamie covertly observed the three children. They seemed to be merely bewildered rather than full of anxiety, which he was sure meant they still hadn't been told their mother had been kidnapped. Jamie hoped the Doctor would be able to find an answer from that head soon, and that they'd be able to get Polly back before the children realized something was not right with her absence.
"I still can't believe it," Dodo said, after taking another sip of her tea and flinching at its horrible aftertaste (NAAFI tea was just as awful as he remembered, which made Jamie wish the Doctor had asked Benton to make coffee for everyone who had been in the Brigadier's office at the time). She looked at Ben, and added, "I mean, I remember you and Polly telling me about..." She hesitated, looking at the children. Jamie realized what she must have been wondering if they knew about the adventures their parents had before they were born - and if they did, whether they believed them. "...you know, the change, when you came back - but even then I found it hard to believe it."
"Aye, it's true, all right," Jamie said. "I saw it with my own eyes this time."
"It's just so... so incredible," Dodo insisted.
"Says the great explorer," Ben said somewhat teasingly.
"Ben, we've discussed this before," Dodo said, as she repeated the sip-and-flinch action. "Sir Charles travels all over the world on business, and I'm his personal assistant. Just because I travel with him, I wouldn't call that exploring."
Ben's eldest son fidgeted at Jamie's elbow; his namesake had clearly had enough of the colouring books. "Dad, I'm bored." He looked like a miniature version of Ben, only with Polly's large brown eyes. "When can we go home?"
"And can we take Uncle Jamie with us?" Theresa added hopefully. Like her younger brother, the lass was olive-skinned and had dark hair and eyes - the very opposite of their adoptive parents. And at that moment, those eyes were staring adoringly at her "uncle", who wondered what sort of stories Ben and Polly must have told their children to have caused such hero-worship.
"It might take a while," Ben said. "Someone..." He hesitated. "Someone broke into our house, see?"
"Who?" Theresa asked.
Ben hesitated again. "Er..."
"Burglars," Dodo said quickly.
"Oh, aye, it was burglars," Jamie agreed readily, trying to help (and wondering if a burglar was similar to a brigand or highwayman). He had no idea how this could be any better for small children than the alternative, but since Dodo had started it he felt it would be better to play along.
All three children widened their eyes with interest. "Really?" Alan asked, squirming with excitement.
"Did they catch them?" little Jamie added breathlessly.
"Yeah," Ben said quickly. "Yeah, they did, mate. Only..." he thought about it for a second, as all three children let out a sigh of relief and returned to the excitement of what they were being told had happened, "only they broke our front door, see, and we can't go home until it's fixed."
Jamie was surprised to see the children look so delighted with this piece of news. A wee bairn from his own time would have been frightened (even the bravest boys), and rightly so - but these three seemed to think that, as long as nobody got hurt, it was actually an exciting event.
"Wait until I tell everyone at school!" Theresa whispered to Alan across the table.
Hye abruptly entered the room, looking around as if in a hurry. Spotting Jamie, she rushed towards the group. "The Doctor wants to talk to you!" she said.
"Eh? Why?" Jamie asked, setting down his mug and standing to leave.
"Did she find something?" Ben added.
"Yes, but before the Brigadier calls everyone for a briefing, she wants to talk to Jamie." As Ben seemed ready to take Alan off his lap and get up, she added, "Just Jamie. Everyone else can come along after they talk."
"But what's the problem?" Dodo asked, looking as though she intended to follow Jamie as well.
Hye shrugged, "I don't know. She just asked me to fetch Jamie. Come along!" and she grabbed the Highlander by the wrist and rushed out of the room.
"Ben, you didn't have to come," the Doctor said, the moment she noticed Ben had stepped inside the TARDIS, having followed Jamie and Hye. "You should be with your children right now."
It took a second for Ben to reply; he looked all around him, taking a deep breath. It had been nine years since he had last been inside the TARDIS, but it felt as if he had never left. The walls, the console, that ever-present hum - it was all so familiar.
Eventually, he shook his head and said, "Dodo took them back to Bell's office. If it's about who took Polly, I want to know."
The Doctor sighed. "All right, but it would have been easier to explain it afterwards."
"Well, I would like an explanation now," Dr. Shaw said. "I'm still unsure of what's happened, even after we have examined the tape, and I'm sure Hye would like an explanation, too." She looked at the Chinese bird, who nodded in agreement.
"Yes, well, it will become clearer in a moment." She picked up a dark object that was lying over the chest behind her.
"A tape recorder?" Ben asked incredulously.
"It was inside the Cyberman's head," Dr. Shaw said.
"The Brigadier was right," the Doctor said gravely. "This was indeed addressed to me." She then picked up a plug and linked the tape player to the console. "The person responsible for this used electric distortion in order to mimic a Cyberman's voice, but luckily I have the technology needed to clean the sound."
She pressed a button on the tape player, and the metallic tones of a Cyberman's voice were then heard. "Greetings, Doctor..." She twisted a dial on the console, and the voice suddenly became human.
"...since I am sure you will be the first one to open my little greeting card. I am also certain, clever as you are, that you have managed to recognize my voice. No doubt, you have a little trick up your sleeve for any sort of contingency."
Ben did not know who the voice belonged to. It was a bloke, definitely, with a calm, collected and somewhat amused tone, and a stuck-up, posh accent. "As you are aware by now, I have Mrs. Strachan and Mrs. Jackson with me. Don't worry, they won't be harmed. They shall be kept safe and comfortable until you come for them - as I know you will. You know where to find me, I expect, so come quickly. You don't want to keep your dear friends waiting, do you?"
And with this, the tape was over. Ben looked at the others. Hye and Dr. Shaw still looked as confused as he was feeling, while the Doctor looked gravely serious and Jamie was staring fixedly at the tape player in utter shock.
"That voice..." Jamie said in a near whisper, his face pale. "It cannae be him... Can it?"
"It seems like it," the Doctor said.
"But he's dead."
The door to the cell opened. Victoria tensed, waiting for the appearance of yet another of those horrible Cybermen - but, to her surprise, two men entered. The younger one was completely dressed in black leather and wore a fierce expression, while the older man was elegantly dressed.
"Mrs. Jackson," the older man said, "Mrs. Strachan. I am pleased to meet you at last."
"I can't say the feeling is mutual," Polly spat, communicating exactly what Victoria felt at the moment. She still remembered how malevolent and deceitful Klieg and Kaftan had been, particularly the woman, who had been absolutely horrid towards her. Nobody who would ally themselves with Cybermen could be trustworthy, no matter how pleasant and polite a front they presented.
"Yes, I must apologize for the way you have been brought here," the man said, "but I'm afraid I needed to do something a bit... spectacular, shall we say, to attract the attention of a mutual friend."
"Who are you?" Victoria interjected with the most indignant tone she could muster. "Why did you bring us here?"
"Oh yes. Forgive my manners." He gave them a small bow. "My name is Tobias Vaughn."
