Untold Knowledge (Doctor Who x Genius Fem! Oc) [Book 1]

Chapter 85: Daleks in Manhattan

They all approached and joined the small crowd around Mr. Diagoras; to whom was standing on a box for height and telling of his request. "I need men. Volunteers. I've got a little work for you and you sure look like you could use the money." he spoke with clear ignorance.

"What is the money?" Frank, the man who had informed the travelers, asked.

There was a virtually visible aura of misplaced sense of authority and power. "A dollar a day." came his almost smug answer. Echo felt overwhelming disgust.

"What's the work?" Soloman questioned with great suspicion in his observant gaze.

Diagoras, however, couldn't care less. "A little trip down the sewers. Got a tunnel collapsed, needs clearing and fixing. Any takers?"

Echo rolled her eyes, annoyed with the human already. From how he phrased the offer, she was almost immediately tipped off that something was off. "A dollar a day?" Soloman asked. "That's slave wage. And men don't always come back, do they?"

There was not a single speck of subtly as Diagoras shrugged. "Accidents happen." was his only answer.

Both the Doctor and his love frowned in both intrigue and concern. "What kind of accidents, specifically?" she asked without hesitation.

The callow man, again, brushed off the inquiry. "You don't need the work? That's fine. Anyone else?" he pressed, impatience quickly creeping into his tiny mind.

But Echo wouldn't let up. "No, really. What kind of accidents? Purposeful but hidden away?" she challenged.

Before she could continue after receiving a glare, her Doctor raised his hand. The business man nearly growled, "Enough with the questions!" he ordered.

The Time Lord shook his head. "No, no, I'm volunteering. I'll go."

"Oh! Me, too! Me, too!" Echo jumped in again as her hand flew into the air as well. An action that made Diagoras question her sanity.

Reluctantly, Martha also raised her hand. "I'm going to kill the both of you for this." she said with a playful gleam to her eyes. Wanting to learn more of what was actually happening, both Frank and Soloman raised their hands with equal hesitation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After climbing down the ladder and into the sewers, Diagoras pointed them in the correct direction. "Turn left. Go about half a mile. Follow tunnel two seven three. Fall's right ahead of you. You can't miss it."

Feeling nothing but suspicion, Frank looked only at him. "And when do we get our dollar?"

"When you come back up." came his immediate reply.

The Doctor stared at the business man carefully. "And if we don't come back up?" already knowing the answer.

"Then I got no one to pay." The heartlessness in his words only illuminated his cruelty all the more. Echo did her best to bite her tongue as she glared at the man hatefully. Something that didn't quite sit well with the man, but was too stupid and stuck in his ways to properly care.

Soloman glared at him as well. "Don't worry, we'll be back." He then proceeded on the informed path through the dark tunnels. Before following them, the Doctor stared challengingly into Diagoras's eyes.

As everyone traveled, some with small lanterns for light, Frank began to speak as a form of comfort. "We just gotta stick together. It's easy to get lost. It's like a huge rabbit warren. You could hide an army down here." (quite the coinkydink lol)

Echo held her love's hand and stayed close as Martha looked at Frank. "So what about you, Frank? You're not from around these parts, are you?"

A carefree smile lit up his features. "Oh, you could talk. No, I'm Tennessee born and bred." he answered easily.