Trusting the Enemy

Chapter 18

            Owen came to a stop as he found blood droplets on the ground, a frown crossed his face and he led Tosh and Gwen along the trail until it disappeared a few yards away. "Gwen stay here and look for the rest of the trail."

"Where do you think you're going?" Gwen looked at him as he started going down another alley.

"To find Ianto, his signal is this way." Owen glanced back at the trail. "See if you can find out who is injured... get a sample."

He started running lightly again with Tosh at his heels before Gwen could say anything else. After turning a few more corners he found Ianto climbing down a fire escape, a frustrated look on his face.

"You lost her?" Owen shouted, knowing that had to be true.

Ianto scowled. "I almost had her!"

"Define almost, you should've just stayed behind and made coffee! You can't even catch a wounded person!" Owen growled before shoving past the other man and looking up the ladder. "Which way did she go?"

"I don't know, by the time I got to the roof she was gone." Ianto's reply came through clenched teeth. "For the record though she was healed."

"Tosh, go find Jack, he should be nearby." Owen ordered. "Ianto, did Murdar hurt you?"

"No." Ianto's gaze became confused.

"Who's blood was on the ground then?"

"The other woman's." Ianto replied. "The second Time Lady."

"Great... Bloody great... now there are two of them." Owen started climbing the ladder, his wounds screaming for him to take a rest. "Come on then, let's catch them before they double team us."

It was well into the night by the time Owen collapsed tiredly onto the ground, Ianto had gone back to base with Tosh and Gwen on Jack's orders and so far only Jack was helping him continue the search. He heaved another breath and glanced down at the matted scab across his body from Serpens' spines. He should have left the search ages ago... the wound was seeping blood again. He picked up his communicator and grunted a bit as he shifted into a better position.

"Owen, report." Jack's voice spoke from the device.

"We need to give it a rest." Owen replied as he examined the rest of his untreated wounds. "It isn't like we are under a direct threat."

"Yet." Jack growled. "Are we going to wait until two Time Lords show up to kill us?"

"I'll be dead by then." Owen muttered as he took a closer look at a gash over his shoulder.

"This is serious."

"I am being serious!" He protested. "Besides, what are you going to do? If that unknown Time Lady has a working TARDIS then they can go back so none of us are born. Nothing we can do about it if they're already gone."

"Keep looking." Jack broke the conversation and Owen threw the device to the side before standing up.

He gritted his teeth and limped toward the edge of the tall building to look for one of the many fire escapes he'd climbed up. Jack could stay out until his legs fell off but Owen was going home. As he dropped to the ground he staggered and leaned against the wall, he glanced around before heading in the general direction of his flat. A few blocks later and a faint clinking stirred in the silent night air, looking up he saw the dark outline of someone up near the edge of the roof, their arm hanging over the edge while a pair of cuffs shackled them to a railing. As the figure glanced down at them he saw a panicked jerk as they tried to escape... only one person would do that.

"Not another climb..." Owen considered leaving Murdar up there, it wasn't like she could escape, but with a heavy sigh he shoved his pain and drowsiness away and began climbing up the fire escape... He was beginning to hate the bloody things.

Once he was up there he could see Murdar's arm was angled wrong, the joint clearly out of socket and useless at the moment. Other than that though it was as Ianto had told them, she was completely healed. Her wary gaze watched him as he crouched down and took out a spare key for the cuffs.

"Hold still." He hissed as she shied away.

Murdar went still; too tired to argue apparently, which he didn't blame her for. The cuffs fell off and Owen started to walk away, he wasn't going to deal with her, let Jack waste his time finding the Time Lady. Footsteps fell into step behind him and he glanced back to see Murdar following him.

"You aren't taking me in as a prisoner?" Her voice was cautious and he could tell she was prepared to run at any sign of a trap.

Owen shrugged. "I don't need to take you prisoner if you follow me the whole way back."

"Ismia went this way... I had almost caught up when the handcuffs got stuck." She was staring around at the shadows. "She was the only one who could've told me about home."

"Is that the other Time Lady?" He asked, trying to hide his fatigue by leaning on the railing and observing the city around them.

"She's an old friend."

"From your home. If you aren't human..." He trailed off as a shadow moved on the next building over.

Murdar had noticed as well and he felt her brush against his side as she ran over. "Ismia? Ismia, is that you?"

The shadow took a jump and rolled onto their roof before spinning on their feet. "Murdar."

"What are you doing here?" Owen continued to stare suspiciously at the other woman while Murdar started a conversation. "Did The Doctor and The Master send you? Is the war over?"

War? What war was she going on about? Owen gazed up at the stars as if he'd be able to see it, frowning he glanced back at 'Ismia'. Ismia gracefully moved towards them, her dull ginger hair was like a dull fire in the dim moonlight. "The war is over but your friends didn't send me... Rassilon did. The Time Lords have gone."

The blood had drained from her face. "He wants to see me? W-why?"

"I have been searching for you for a long time..." Owen sworn he saw the faint gleam of a blade but a second later it was gone and Ismia was only a few feet from Murdar. "I have been sent to kill you."

Blood sprayed the ground and a nearly translucent dagger now coated in blood was pulled out of Murdar's chest. Owen saw Murdar give her 'friend' a betrayed look as she sank onto the ground. He took out his gun and aimed it at the Time Lady; obviously she wasn't as friendly as others of her kind.

Ismia smirked and wiped off the blade. "You always were an outcast... Rassilon was right to name you The Outcast. You will never fit in, not that it will matter now, you'll be dead within a few minutes."

Owen fired the gun as Ismia went to drive the blade back into Murdar's body, the other Time Lady gave a shout of pain before staggering back as blood gushed from her chest. There was one last flash of light before warmth ran down his throat, the pain came afterwards as he pulled out the dagger and dropped to the ground. He could feel himself choking on his own blood, as he lay there helpless to save himself. The warm feeling spread out under his throat and head as his body began to grow cold... he reached for his communicator only to remember throwing it aside. There would be no one to save him... not that they could. The crystal like smooth blade had gone through his neck and severed the major arteries, he would be dead within moments. Looking at where Ismia bled out he was satisfied to see that the Time Lord had been killed as well... Knowing them though she'd unfortunately come back.

Darkness fell over his vision and he closed his eyes, he couldn't fight it off.