The Mind Palace

Chapter Nine

I took a step away from her. "How did you...?"

Sherlock patted his coat pocket, which usually held his gun. It was empty now. "Should have seen that one coming."

Irene stared at the two of us, gun pointed at Sherlock. "So? Anyone up for a bit more excitement? Perhaps Sherlock could prove to be useful to his new lover." She cocked the gun and turned to aim it at me. "Speaking of lovers, I never thought I'd have any competition against Sherlock here. He isn't exactly a chick magnet. Then again..." She put her hand on her naked hip. "You aren't quite a chick, are you?"

Sherlock raised his arms. "Look, I just want to get out of here alive, and John is coming with me. We haven't done you any harm so if you would-"

"What you have and haven't done is beside the point. Fact is, now I've got the gun, and you're empty handed."

I raised my arms above my head, as Sherlock had. "Irene, please."

She was pointing the gun at me, now. "Oh, no. This is your boyfriend's chance to prove himself. No crime scene, nothing to read on the offender's clothing, and a time limit? Let's find out just how genius he really is, shall we?" She kept the gun aimed at me, but spoke to Sherlock. "Do it, Sherlock. Find a way out of this sticky situation."

I watched my friend silently as he fought to find a solution to the issue we were faced with. I knew that within his head, hidden underneath all of those tangled-but-pretty curls, his brain was hard at work, wheels turning in his head and searching for an answer.

After a few moments, Irene smirked at him. "Any ideas yet, pretty boy?"

"Several, actually," Sherlock retorted as he returned his arms to his sides. "Number one: make a swift move and retrieve my gun. However, you would probably shoot me, especially now that I've given up the element of surprise. Number two: sacrifice my blogger and make a run for it."

"Please don't pick number two," I muttered.

Sherlock paid me no notice. "Or, number three: wait for... this."

Just as soon as he had spoken, Captain Jack had hit Irene hard over the head, sending her straight into the floor. The gun fell out of her hand, and Sherlock quickly picked it up and returned it safely to his coat pocket.

He smiled toothily at me, obviously proud of his work. "Hello John, Sherlock."

I furrowed my brow. "How...?"

The grinning man held up his wrist to show us the shining vortex manipulator. "Perception-filter mode. The TARDIS isn't the only thing around here with a chameleon circuit."

Sherlock coughed, his back straight and posture proper. "What on earth is a chameleon circuit?"

Jack raised his arms around him, as if to show off the room. "We aren't on earth, if you haven't already noticed." He flashed a brilliant smile. "What is and isn't on there is none of my business."

"Wait, sorry," I spoke up, "are you an alien as well?"

He shrugged. "Yes and no. Human, but not earth-human. To you, I'm the alien, but in my eyes? You guys seem pretty alien yourselves."

Sherlock cocked his head. "If you aren't from earth, then what planet are you from? The same one as the Doctor?"

Jack waved his hand through the air, as though to push the thought away. "Definitely not. That planet is... a little different. Weird past. No, I'm from the Boeshane Peninsula. Beautiful place. Long beaches, glimmering seas, sparkling cities, the likes of that. Nothing like Gallifrey."

I tried to imagine the place, which seemed too good to be true. I gave up on the image rather quickly, as another question had popped into my mind. "What's Gallifrey like, then?"

Jack looked sad for a brief moment, but recovered quickly. "I've only visited once, a long time ago. Actually," he pursed his lips, "I suppose it does glimmer and sparkle like my home planet. In a way."

"How so?" Sherlock inquired.

The captain turned his eyes, now a bit cold, as his smile had disappeared. "It burns."

Sherlock cleared his throat after a very tense few seconds. He looked down at Irene, who was still out cold. "So, what do we do with her?"

Jack shrugged, recovered from the awkward conversation. "I suppose we leave her here. That was one of my better hits, I think, and she should be slowed for a while. Long enough for those bloody Shakri to get rid of her, I think."

I stared at the woman, who seemed much less threatening now that she was unarmed and vulnerable. "So she really is that bad?"

The alien raised his eyebrows, looking disappointed. "I've been following her with the perception filter ever since we were all separated. Turns out she's a tricky one, setting up traps for the rest of us- I dismantled most of them, I think- and pointing the Shakri towards the Doctor and you two, just so they would spare her life for a few minutes longer." He smiled sadly. "She had so much potential, too... Intelligent, beautiful, strong..." He lifted his eyes from Irene, and turned them to me, eyeing me from head to toe. "There are always other options, though."

Sherlock protectively took hold of my hand. His voice was low and slightly icy, just chilled enough that Jack would take the hint. "Oh, yes. I would imagine that your home planet has many of girls just like Irene. I would suggest checking on those long, sandy beaches you mentioned. Certainly must be a hotspot for people like you." He spat out the last three words before taking a deep breath and lightening his voice. "Now, shall we move on? We have yet to find the Doctor."

Sherlock and I were already walking before Jack could respond, but he spoke anyways, stepping just behind us. I could hear the smile in his voice. "Yes, I think we should find the Doctor. Oh, and Sherlock?"

My colleague turned his head around briefly, but didn't stop moving. "Yes?"

"Congratulations on..." Jack grinned at our hands, joined in front of him, "...that."