1. Everything Changes

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The Boss clears his throat and in his plummy voice starts to deliver the final speech he uses on everyone before he kills them.

"My friend, it is only now that I am realising we should have had longer together-"
"Yeah, and you should have a longer dick," I snort, because that's all I can do with my hands tied behind my back, my mouth spreading wide in a grin.
The Boss stamps his foot like the greedy child he is.
"Do not interrupt me!"

"Hey man," I retort, still grinning like a madwoman, "you're about to push me out of a moving helicopter millions of miles in the air and leave me to die somewhere, I have the right to do whatever I want right now!"
"Do you ever shut up, woman?" one of the guards says in a temper, and that's what I know I'll hold onto before I venture into the nothingness at the end of this drop - pissing these guys off.
"Why should I? I'm about to die, it's rather fitting I do it whilst talking. Reminds me of how I lived."

"Right!" the Boss explodes, and from behind me I feel hands creeping up my ass to place on my shoulders. I gasp then grumble - bastard. Still robbing me of my last victory.
"So," the Boss says firmly, his hands tense and ready to spring, "I think that just this once, we can skip the spiel. It's not like you'll remember it anyway, huh, Garbage Water?"

Even through the pain, I can't help but roll my eyes.
"Wow, really? Garbage Water? You want me to go out knowing that Garbage Water was the best insult you could come up with?"
The Boss mutters something, and I strain my ears to hear, but instantly afterwards all I can hear is the wind and the sound of my own screams - because he pushes me before I get to hear it.

My body plummets down and down, my mouth screaming with all the breath I can take in. My legs flail wildly, my hands try to untie themselves, but it's useless. All I can do is clutch my watch tight to my back and wait for impact.
I'm about to die.
God damn that drug ring - if I wasn't faulty from all my other jobs against my will there, although I would've lost the rest of my dignity I wouldn't've lost my bloody life!

Gravity pulls me closer to the ground, and as I see the quarry I'm about to crash into I close my eyes tight, hoping desperately that the death is at least quick.
My breath gets tighter, the wind is blowing up against my ears...

Then... it stands still.

I can hear a vrring sound.

"It's alright - you can open your eyes now. You're safe."

I breathe in sharply, alarmed and confused. What's happened? Who is that? Why am I not moving?
I open one eye, then open the other and stare. Somehow I'm suspended in mid-air, in this blue and white container.
Unable to wriggle out of the rope tying my hands together I slowly and cautiously move my leg to push against the vibrating prism, and retract to feel nothing but what feels like electricity.

I look around me, still as alarmed and confused as I was before I opened my eyes.
"Hey! Down here!"
I snap my head around me. An American accent? Who is that? Where is it coming from? Are they the cause of me getting trapped in this big blue thing hovering in the sky?
Taking a deep breath and trying to follow where the big sky beam was coming from, I find myself looking down into the quarry at a tall man in a long, billowing coat. He's holding out a wrist and from his wrist somehow shines out the beam thingy.

My face is frozen. What do I do?
The man seems to smile, all of his teeth showing and resembling a somewhat charming crocodile.
"You okay up there? I'm about to get you down."
Unable to do anything else out of fear, I nod. The man presses something on his wrist and slowly, the beam starts to lower with me still inside it. As I'm being pulled down I stare at the white lines running through the sheer blue sheen. This is definitely not something I've ever seen. To be fair I haven't seen much in the past couple years, but this is surely something no man has made.

I finally get onto the ground, feet gently lowered onto the gravel and my arms still tied behind my back. The odd man simply shuts the device on his wrist and smiles charmingly at me.
Brain rebooting after the shock, I suddenly regain my fire, and blink violently. I tilt my head toward him like an angry bird.
"What the fuck was that?! Where the Hell did you come from, and what on this stupid godforsaken Earth was that... that thing that caught me in the sky?!" I demand angrily, almost throwing my watch from waving it about in my grip so much before placing it back in my waistband.

The man stands and watches me, arms now crossed. His expression is sombre, and his blue eyes seem to radiate ice cold fire. I don't know how that works - by all accounts that should be impossible.

He hasn't spoken.

"So?!" I persist; "Tell me something!"
He keeps his frowning mouth closed, and begins to walk toward me. I immediately walk backwards, but when I hit something behind me I look back and gasp as he stands there silently. I look quickly from his spot then to his spot now: how did he do that?

I instantly get hit with deep down knowledge that something about this man is dangerous, and I walk backwards again, trying to untie the rope without being able to look.
He begins to stroll nonchalantly toward me, his hands splayed out as if presenting something.
"Hey. It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna help you get out of here."
Still walking and keeping him in my eyesight always, I reply hesitantly, "What makes you think I need your help?"
He offers a small smile, lips peeled apart just enough for me to know he's laughing at me. "Tied hands, dirty clothes, hair and skin, still panting... oh boy, do you need help."

I've had enough of these games! I just want to escape! But the tall brunette won't let me out of this circle he's planted me in.
I finally untie the tricky knot in the rope and twist my wrists in circles to bring back the feeling in them. I regard the stranger carefully.

"Who the fuck are you?" I ask, not knowing what else to say and angered by his audacity.

He chuckles again, and it fills my ears from all the way over here.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Captain Jack Harkness."

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