The Orphan and Her Family

Chapter Fifty-Six

The Doctor wanders away, and Sophie, Jack, and Martha follow after him, but providing him a bit of privacy.

He stops in front of a television shop. The screens all flash to a news alert, and pictures of Martha, Jack, Sophie, and the Doctor, flash across the screen. A range of emotions flash across the Time Lord's face, and Sophie physically restrains herself from approaching him.

He suddenly pulls his sonic screwdriver from the inside pocket of his coat, and points it up a CCTV camera. "He can see us," he explains, as the camera explodes in a flash of sparks. "He's got control of everything."

"What do we do? " Martha asks, distress across her face.

"We've got nowhere to go," Jack sighs.

Sophie drops her backpack on the floor, and pulls a set of keys out of the front pocket of her bag. She dangles them, "It's not the best, but it is a safe place to hide."

The Time Lord grabs her hand, "Then, we run."

They take off down the sidewalk, Sophie leading the way. They race along for about a half an hour, until the woman skids to a halt in front of a quaint looking house. "This is nice," Jack says, admiring the exterior.

She rolls her eyes, "It's a safehouse. The Brigadier gave me the keys a few years back. Only he and I know about this place." She makes her way up, and unlocks the doors, waving the others in.

The Doctor steps in and smiles, "Nice, quaint, but nice."

"There's a perception filter around the exterior, as well as perimeter detectors. A security system that can easily be activated, and only the Brig and I know the passcode. The walls and floor and ceiling are reinforced steel, and there's a weapons vault in the cellar."

Jack lets out a low whistle, "Sounds like you've got all your bases covered."

She turns and smiles at the Captain, "The Brigadier doesn't like to leave things to chance."

"Okay, right," the Doctor starts, moving to the sofa. He sets the laptop on the coffee table, and looks up at the others. "Right, Jack you're with me, help me get this thing set up to the government wavelengths. Martha, see what sort of tech you can find around this place, screens, monitors, phones, whatever. Sophie, you're on provisions."

She rolls her eyes, but turns back to the door anyway, "What is it with you and sending me out into danger, huh?"

He just waves her out of the door.

Sophie steps out, back onto the streets of London. She sticks to the shadows of the streets, ducking into alleys when it feels necessary. It doesn't take her long to get to the chippy, just down the street. She keeps her head down as she orders, and her head on a swivel, hoping no one recognizes her. She practically holds her breath, until receiving her food.

Sophie follows the same path back to the house, and slips in the front door. She drops the food on the coffee table, and takes a deep breath. "How was it?" Jack asks, looking her up and down.

"No one saw me, I'm pretty sure anyway. What did I miss?" She types something onto a keypad, and joins the boys on the couch, "And where's Martha?"

"I've got this tuned to government wavelengths so we can follow what Saxon's doing."

Martha walks in at that moment, wiping her hands on her trousers, "Anything new about my family?"

"It still says the Jones family taken in for questioning," the Doctor replies, and grabs one of the chip packets, "Tell you what, though. No mention of Leo."

"He's not as daft as he looks." She drops into the chair beside the sofa, and drops her head into her hand, "I'm talking about my brother on the run. How did this happen?"