Sixty Days

The Interfector, unlike Sonya, did not hide the smirk that worked its way on his face. He looked rather impressed at Sonya's response and power she had over the cops. Well, he made a good call by letting her deal with this. The apes looked rightfully frightened of her. That would get them to listen without question, surly.

As his eyes skimmed another profile, Sonya had strode over to him and snatched the files from his hands. He looked up to protest but she was already grabbing his wrist and dragging him after her. It only took him a second before he was willingly following after Sonya, the smirk still on his face though it grew a bit wider.

"I am not going to lie, that was pretty great. You never told me you had that sort of power over people." The Time Lord sped up and nudged Sonya with his shoulder. He cleared his throat and said, "Alright, so it sounds like we are doing our own investigation. I could grab a car, point out the one you want. It is not a hard thing, hot wiring a car. Oh, unless you do not want to steal... Well, it is not stealing if we return it."

Sonya cast a sideways glance over at him, a smile playing around her lips as she held up a set of keys. "Who said anything about stealing and hot-wiring? We're borrowing one." Tossing them up in the air, she caught the jingling keys again and shoved them into her pocket once more as they stepped out into the main lobby of the department. "And honestly, if you use a little bit of temper and a 'I'm better at this than you are' attitude, you can get anyone to listen to you like that." She added wryly before pushing the doors open and walking over to the patrol car they were in earlier.

Slipping into the driver's seat, she pushed the key into the ignition and turned it over, listening to the engine with an insane smile on her face. "Oh, it has been a while since I drove one of these. The last time was... Oh was years ago when I first knew the Doctor. Had to nick a car so we could get about fifty miles in a few minutes. Should have never trusted me behind a wheel." Shaking her head in amusement at the memory, she reached over and flung the passenger door open, waiting until he got in and shut the door before throwing the car into gear and speeding off down the road.

"Oh, right, we have a whole group of people and their belongings to our disposal, how silly of me." The Interfector grinned at Sonya and eyed her up and down, "If I would have known my temper could have been useful to me like that it would have had a better time on Mars. He shook his head as he chuckled and crawled inside the car, smacking his head in the process. He grumbled in irritation as he rubbed the soar spot on his head.

So in short, you are going to kill me? And here I thought we were solving a murder.. not committing one. Well, hear my confession, Christian God. Take my other lives, Sayo. Clear away my consciousness so I may ascend to Celstia, Klaw." The Interfector was shouting at the ceiling of the car dramatically as he listed off some of the religious aspects he was aware of from different planets. He then gripped the seat of his chair, eyes wide as the car sped along. His head slowly turned to Sonya and he began to laugh.

Sonya let out a delighted whoop of enthusiasm as she sped around a corner, the car lifting up on two wheels before falling back down to the pavement. "Oh she handles like a dream!" She laughed brightly, spinning the wheel and taking them around another corner and heading straight for the country roads leading out of the houses and into the fields.

Once they passed the last house, she slowed the car down to a more respectable pace. "Keep an eye out. Whatever this thing is obviously likes the dark." She said in a calmer tone, already keeping a lookout on the road on her side of the vehicle as she cruised along slowly. "Tunnels, pipes, caves... Anything it can hide in until night anyway." Reaching over, she flicked the lights off on the cruiser along with the radio as it suddenly squawked to life, a voice demanding that Sonya and 'James' return the police cruiser they had taken, and casting a silence over the car once more. "They'll be mad for a while, but let them stew, should have checked the country side as well, the idiots." She mumbled to herself before slowly turning off of the main road and onto a back one going under a stand of trees.

The Interfector had braced himself, his hearts beating wildly as Sonya drove like a maniac. This piece of sheet metal was no TARDIS, he hated thinking of how primitive and low tech it was, preventing any escapes from trouble they could find themselves in. It was a mighty relief when Sonya slowed her pace outside of the city. He cast a wary glance at her before shifting and peering into the dark, eyes straining to pick up any signs of life.

Suddenly, a light flashed dimly, coming from the inside of his sleeve. With a smug grin, the Interfector pulled it up and peered at the screen. "Well would you look at that. My old girl is helping us out even now. She could not find what sort of freak we are looking for, at least not yet, but by using the DNA she can help scan the area. And we have results." He shot his hand across Sonya, pointing to their left as he spoke, "It appears to be 1.52 miles that way."

Sonya nodded and sped back up, not as fast as before, but faster than she was going at the moment. Turning the wheel in the direction he pointed at, she drove onto a dirt road leading them farther into the trees, effectively cutting off any sunlight that might filter through from the sky above. "Well, doesn't surprise me it's in this area. These trees have to be old to cut off whatever light that might filter through." Sonya commented dryly, casting a quick look up through the windshield then focusing on the path once more. "Whatever this thing is, it's violent, we know that. I doubt it will listen to reason either, but in case it does. Have anything you want to ask right away before I jump in and do whatever pops into my mind?"

She cast him a bright smile before turning into the curve and stopping the car. Reaching over, she pulled the keys from the ignition and hesitated a moment, debating on if she should put them in her pocket. After debating with herself, she shoved them back into the slot and left them dangling there. "In case of a quick get away." Sonya said without looking over at Interfect, knowing he was going to ask why she did that. "Spent quite a few years in bad parts of town. If I had a car, I had two sets of keys, one in the ignition at all times, and another remote that unlocked the doors while I was running to them. That way I had only to shut my door, lock it then turn the car on and drive."

"I am not the negotiating type." The Interfector informed Sonya bluntly. He shyly glanced at her then and sighed. "I will let you attempt it, but my main interest is taking it down while we have the chance. I do not desire having to run after it or risk a pesky injury." The Time Lord shifted, tugging at his suit to straighten it out before looking at Sonya with a raised eyebrow.

She answered his unspoken question and nodded slowly in understanding. "Right, then shall we?" The Interfector didn't wait for a respnse as he crawled out of the car, his senses becoming alert immediately. His grey eyes shifted along the shadows as he silently took a few steps around the car, making his way around to Sonya. He reached into his back pocket and fished around for a bit before he pulled out a small rod. It basically looked like a metal nightstick with small tongs at the end of it. Inspecting it closely, he nodded in approval of it's shape before concealing it within his suit jacket.

Sonya slipped out of the car and felt her ears prick up instantly, listening for anything that might not sound right in the area. Looking over at Interfect quickly, she nodded and started walking farther up the path at a slow pace, unwilling to go any faster should something leap out of the trees at them. "Whatever this thing is..." She cut herself off suddenly, her nostrils flaring as a sudden scent washed over her. Dead rot, mud and stagnated water all at once, nearly causing her to gag. "It's here."

A sudden, manic laugh echoed from the woods around them, the direction of where it came from impossible to tell as it moved around quickly. "Time Lords! Your dead, I saw your race rule the sky then burn there within the time I was only a child! I saw your race scream in the sky as fire licked on your buildings, eating your children and homes." The voice sounded as if the throat was coated with slime, the words oozing out and around them, sticking and invading their senses as another waft of foul scent washed over them once more. "It appears not all have perished. Perhaps I should finish the job myself."

The Interfector picked up the creature's scent the same time Sonya did. His face scrunched up in disgust but he didn't flinch or otherwise move. His body remained stock still as his eyes roamed the area. The second the laugh echoed through the area, he tilted his head this way and that, trying to pick up a general location but finding that task unachievable.

The words of the slug man hit him lick a kick to the stomach. The Interfector could feel his shoulders tense, feel a door open up in his mind, it acted as a floodgate that anger was now gushing passed. His body began to move back and forth as he paced. The small bob to his head and shoulders represented a predator stalking his prey. Grey eyes ignited with rage and his voice was harsh and louder than necessary, "How dare you? Come out and say that to my face if you claim to be the one to destroy us. Stop being such a coward and face your opponent!"

The Interfector narrowed his eyes, the disgusting scent seemed familiar somehow... he could barely think past his rage but poking around the recesses of his memory he pulled out a faint scene. "Oh, oh it is you, is it? Magnificent seeing you here!" His voice was bitter as he spat his words out, "Another survivor from a burning home and dying people. It is a shame I did not destroy you all. An even bigger shame I never got a DNA sample before, no wonder my TARDIS did not recognize you. All those years ago, that centaur coming to me and requesting my assistance. Of course I agreed, anything to test out my war silo. And let me tell you, I was surprised to see how flammable your planet was. The way it lit up like a bonfire, exploded like a fire work. I was impressed, truly." The Time Lord was shaking now, adrenaline pumping through him as he recalled the crime he committed. Honestly, he was just trying to get the alien as angry as it had made the Interfector.

The Dathvaen let out a low chuckle before the figure of a small child stepped out of the trees just ahead of them. Dirty, covered in leave and mud, his clothes torn and hair a wild mess on his head, the smile chilled Sonya to the bone. She knew these creatures. She met one... Once a long time ago, it had been sympathetic to it's host and was abandoned by it's fellow species. Cast into space before she could do anything to stop them. "Oh, yes our home planet. Do you honestly think I care? I survived, enough of us did anyway, we've rebuilt and are scattered across the stars." He spoke, the voice not sounding right to come out of a child's mouth. Ancient and evil, it's words slipped between his cracked and bleeding lips without a care.

"How did you even get inside of him? You have to be touched!" Sonya suddenly jumped in, her eyebrows bunching together in confusion as she studied the figure of the boy, her eyes immediately spotting the wound on his arm. An open, festering bite that was swollen from mistreatment. "How did you do it?"

"Oh you are thick, your kind always was, Focused on split timelines, and worrying about bumping into yourself in the future or past, never caring about the smaller species like us." He hissed, baring a mouthful of sharp teeth at her in distaste. "We evolved. I was only a microscopic speck of dust when that dog found me in a puddle. Lapped me up and gave me the strength to continue the pattern. Passed through to the boy with a small bite, much like the vampires and werewolves the humans here tell stories about in fact." He added, a touch of pride in his voice as his grimace changed to a chilling grin. "The last two Time Lords, I haven't seen any of your species until you two found me... Tell me, are you going to repopulate?" His eyes glinted with amusement, obviously loving the awkward situation he just pressed on them with his simple question.

Sonya's face flamed up in embarrassment. "That is none of your concern!" She spluttered indignantly, her hands clenching into fists at her sides as she glared at the hateful smile the boy cast in her direction. "Oh, so shameful of me." He chuckled, beginning to pace back and forth in front of them. "I should just learn when to keep my questions to myself, shouldn't I?"

The Interfector sneered, still pacing as he glared at the Dathvaen. The creature was obviously prideful, and seemingly cocky and arrogant. How irritating. So the freaks evolved, that explained a lot. The Time Lord was starting to regret not looking into the age old species a little more. But why would he have? The decision to destroy the planet was as rash as his actions. And much to his annoyance, the creature didn't seem to care at all for his home. Talk about a lack of patriotism...

His face just went stone cold, taking on a look of neutrality to prevent his stunned shock from showing at the question of reproduction. He couldn't say anything or even blink. He just stood there and deafly heard Sonya's answer before he reached into his coat and pulled out the rod. The Interfector began storming over to the Dathvaen with an angered expression. "That is it, I am going to annihilate the little pest."

Sonya reached out and grabbed Interfect's hand tightly, pulling him back just as the Dathvaen spat out a stream of green liquid, landing right where he was standing before she yanked him a few steps towards her. "They have acid saliva, did you forget that?" She hissed in his ear, her eyes narrowing as frustration swept through her. "Or did you just not care what species it was when you destroyed their planet?" She added in another hiss, casting a scowl at him before stepping carefully around the puddle of acid and slowly approaching the boy. "Your host is dying, you know this. That wound you created on it's arm cannot heal with the compromising structures in it's body." She said carefully, waving a hand at the infected bite on his arm. "Blood poisoning in fact, see the veins? They're black with bad blood, once it reaches the heart, the host will go into seizures and finally end up dying."

The Dathvaen cast a critical look over at Sonya as she spoke, listening to her for a moment before nodding his head. "Yes, you are quite right. In fact, the body won't last through the night. I can already feel the heart beating at an impressive rate. I do need another host, one that won't be infected by bites... Or cuts..." His eyes drifted from her face over to Interfect as another chilling, sharp toothed grin spread across his face. "Take for instance, a Time Lord host."

The Interfector basically growled as Sonya pulled him back, staring at the acid hatefully. He stayed quiet as he listened to Sonya explain the dying host, watched the Dathvaen listen and knew what it was thinking before it even spoke. Yeah, of course it would think that way. "Sonya, get out of the way." He snapped as he pointed the rod at the creature. Well, he couldn't guarantee not being smacked by Sonya for this, he was technically going to kill the host in order to kill the Dathvaen. But he pushed the button anyway and the tongs shot out, fanning into a net and it trapped the alien inside.

"Do not tire yourself with burning through, it will not work. Just relax and it will be all over soon." The thread came to life and sent electricity through the boy and his parasitic inhabitant. His grip on the rod tightened, his brow furrowed as he watched the sparks fly off. Rassilon, I should not have done this..

Was that guilt? No, the Interfector doubted it. Why would he feel guilt when the Dathvaen had been threatening him and Sonya, and before hand prodding into business that would never be his own. He convinced himself he had done a service to Sonya, himself, the people of London and also the host boy. If he was dead he would not be able to feel pain.

Sonya let out a small cry as the net closed in around the boy, starting to shock it with massive jolts of electricity. Unable to stand the sight of a young boy thrashing on the ground in pain, she turned away and stared stone-faced at the cruiser behind them, waiting until it fell silent once more. Without a word to Interfect, she moved around to the trunk of the car and pulled a body bag out, tossing it over to him and getting into the drivers seat. "Seal it in there. You did the job, you can finish it. We'll go back, tell them where it's at, then I'm going on my own." She snapped, her eyes already flashing with a golden energy that always appeared when she was angry over something.

Reaching over, she turned the car on, the headlights shining on the body as it lay still on the ground in front of them. How could he just callously kill it! She could have convinced the Dathvaen to just leave the planet, but the second it threatened them with taking over their bodies, he jumped into action and killed it! Slamming her fists onto the wheel, she closed her eyes and slowly breathed in and out, trying to see reason through the haze of red anger clouding her mind.

The Interfector didn't look at Sonya as he proceeded sending jolts into the boy, or was it couldn't? Even if he tried he didn't think he could look at her and take in the horror he knew would be on her face. It was over within a few, struggling moments and the net retracted, pulling back into the rod automatically with a click. The Time Lord stuck it back into his jacket and let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding.

He caught the bag thrown at him, finally looking after Sonya since her back was turned anyway. He pursed his lips and moved over to the dead creature, body wrinkling in disgust as the scent washed over him. It was absolutely repulsive. The Time Lord began to pick the body up and placed it as gently as he could in the bag before zipping it up. "Sorry, kid." The Interfector muttered under his breath before his eyes went wide.

He jumped up and sprung back, aware once again and quickly taking off his suit which was dampened up touching the Dathvaen infected boy. He threw it aside and stood still, paying close attention to his body for any changes. The Dathvaen has mentioned being microscopic... and though the Time Lord didn't have any opened wounds he was paranoid about other ways it could possibly enter his body. After a a couple of minutes of not moving and finally convincing himself it was safe, he walked to the body bag, as well as his jacket, and picked it up and carried it to the car.

The Interfector put both materials in the trunk, not trusting it anywhere closer to himself or Sonya. Sonya... he was going to have to apologize to the Time Lady. Perhaps his decision had been a poor one. But he didn't want to risk the alien transferring bodies. No, he did do the right thing, he had to believe that.

The Time Lord crawled into the passenger seat and slowly glanced at Sonya, not fully turning to her. At least he finally felt his anger retreat from the present situation. "I... could not risk physical compromisation." He stated slowly, nervously biting the inside of his cheek as he thought. He had been threatened and had acted before anything could happen, that is always how he operated. Wasn't that self defence, then?

Sonya didn't look over at him as she threw the car into gear before he shut the door. Spinning the car around sharply, she sped down the dirt road, jolting them around in their seats as she gripped the wheel tight enough for her knuckles to turn white. "All I had to do was convince it to leave earth, that's all I had to do and you go and kill it! You say you've changed, Interfector, but from what I've seen today, you haven't changed at all. You still desire to kill anything that is different! Your no better than the Daleks!" She shouted suddenly, letting out all of her pent-up rage at once in a long stream of words. Half of what she said she didn't even honestly think.

"I haven't been truly, properly angry in a long time, so I have something to thank you for after all." She added in a scathing tone, finally looking over at the Time Lord next to her with eyes shining with a golden light that took over the blue that was normally there. "So tell me, do you honestly think you had the right to kill something that had hardly any defense? It spat acid, yes, it could take our bodies as hosts, yes. But only if we touched it while the damn thing was alive! You honestly think I would have let it touch me? You think you would have held still long enough for it to touch you? It was in a child's body for Rassilon's sake! How fast did you think it was?"

"Did you really think that creature would have left earth? Why would it if it had free pickings of hosts? And I am nothing like a Dalek! I did not- had it have been-... Daleks were created by Davros to kill and destroy and have no emotions beside anger." The Interfector stopped there and stared straight ahead. He slipped into thought as Sonya continued her angry attack on him but he honestly didn't hear anything else.

Well, if he pulled up a comparison chart he wondered how much of a difference there was between himself and that genocidal race. The Daleks had killed thousands and so had the Interfector. They were created by a lord and, in a way, so was he. No, he was not genetically created and what not though the Academy had transformed him into the being they needed him to be for Rassilon's benefit. Maybe he could even say Rassilon was much like Davros... Daleks held nothing but anger for all creation and the majority of the Time Lord's life had been spent in hatred and rage and massacre. No, Sonya couldn't be right. He wasn't just some ruthless killer...

And another thought made it's way into the Interfector's head. He wasn't like a Dalek because he had something he knew they didn't. Other emotions. He wasn't exactly aware of them until recently but that didn't mean they never existed before, right? The one emotion he possessed that was guaranteed not to be found in a Dalek was...

The Interfector dropped his head in his hands and sighed heavily, feeling exhausted so suddenly. It was obvious in the slouch to his shoulders. He didn't move or speak but was suddenly aware Sonya had asked him a question. A question he did not hear. So he slowly tilted his head which remained in his hands so he could look at her, blinking in confusion.

"Never mind... Just never mind, Interfector." Sonya let out a long sigh, her body practically deflating as the rest of her anger left her as suddenly as it had appeared, her eyes blinking rapidly to force back the tears that threatened to spill over. "Pain, torment and death are not the top of my list when it comes to encountering different things. I hate the thought of it, no matter how cruel a race is. There is always another way around it, I've faced Daleks, I've faced Cybermen along with everything else this universe has to offer... The only species I've killed was human." She finally added in a soft whisper, her foot suddenly stomping down on the break and letting her hands drop from the wheel. "I protected my friends, they were about to be shot and killed in front of me, so I did the only thing I could think of doing. I stopped their hearts with an energy wave, like the type I use to heal with."

Closing her eyes tightly, a memory flashed in front of her, seeing the guard's face as her hand slapped into his chest and the resulting painful spasm before he slid to the floor in front of her. "I swore I'd never do it again. Never again, no matter how desperate a situation it was, I would never kill another living creature. My anger at you... It stems from the anger I have at myself for doing such a thing."

The Interfector sat up and braced himself on the dash so he wouldn't crack his head when she braked. He had finally turned his head fully to her and tilted his head. Hesitantly he reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, a comforting gesture he didn't usually do. Actually, he barely tried to comfort people. "It is OK. And I am sorry."

He sighed heavily and decided changing the topic, distracting her from the thoughts causing such a pained expression on her face, would be the best course of action. "Does Torchwood need to know about this or...? If there is more than perhaps they should know what it looks like and how to look for it. Then we can report to the police station and... go on from there."

Sonya nodded, wiping at her face quickly before pulling her sleeve up and tapping on her communicator for a moment. "Call Jack Harkness." She stated clearly, waiting for a moment until his face appeared on the screen. "Jack, I have the host body of a dead Dathvaen. The body needs to be taken to the police station, but I need clean up in this area. Check for anything else, any more, anyone that might have been infected." She said quickly before hanging up, not letting the man get a word in. "Right, that's taken care of, he'll find my coordinates from the call." She said softly, suddenly back in control as she started the car once more and continued driving towards town once more.

"Please tell me you won't attack without reason, Interfect." Sonya suddenly said as they passed the first houses indicating they were over the city line. "At least while I'm around. I don't want to have to see that part of you again. Never. I care about you, more than I should, probably, but I do and I can't do anything about it. I refuse to see you sink back into the person you once were."

((On iPod))

"I do not see why you do. Actually, it would make more sense if you hated me. That is not to say I am not glad you care... I just- I do not want to promise lies, I only know who I do not wish to be but that does not mean I am not that person. But what i can swear to you is I will not take a life in front of you, not if there is another course of action that can be done." The Interfector looked at Sonya seriously as he responded to her, feeling a bit baffled and unsure with himself.

Feeling anxious, he started to fidget. He thought over his answer and thought maybe he should have just agreed and said he wouldn't kill in front if her. It would have been easy. But he had been honest and hopefully Sonya wouldn't be mad at him...

Sonya nodded her head and pulled into the police station, a group of officers all standing outside and scowling at the car as they came to a stop. "Might as well face the crowd." She said, casting a wry smile over at Interfector, letting him know she was over her anger and slipped out of the front seat with the keys. "Here you are, thanks for the loan." She chirped cheerfully, tossing the keys over to the officer she lifted them from and made her way to the trunk, opening it and heaving the bag out over her shoulder. "This is your culprit. We arrived shortly after he was attacked, still bleeding when we got there..." She said in a more somber tone, her eyes shining with tears again as she handed the bag over to several officers. "A kid, mental.. He admitted to the crimes. Something about a worm in his head too. I couldn't make out half of what he said." Looking down at the ground, she leaned against the car and let a small tremor shake her body. "I'm sorry we had to bring him in like this... We just... There was nothing we could do."

Suddenly Piyatt stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder gently. "You did what you could, I'm sure. Go in side, get a cup of coffee and you can brief us when you've calmed down some." He said gently, his earlier harsh manner suddenly vanishing in the wake of Sonya's apparent distress at the situation. Turning around, he waved at the other officers to move inside. Looking over at Interfector he nodded then walked inside himself.

The Interfector moved about anxiously, staring at Sonya with surprise that she would lie. But really, was it a surprise? If she told the truth he would be dealing with an annoying human arrest and that would just be... something else. He sighed and walked over to Sonya when the officers dispersed and left the two alone. "Are you... still upset about all of this? I am sorry. Maybe you want to come along with me in the TARDIS? Unless you do not want to.. Sorry." He rubbed the back of his head and bit the inside of his cheek.

Suddenly, the Interfector just drew her into a hug and crushed her against him. He wouldn't let go even if she struggled.

Sonya blinked in surprise. She had meant to fool the officers with her little act, but apparently it was good enough to fool Interfect took. Biting back a grin, she wrapped her arms around him and welcomed the hug anyway. She wasn't going to pass up one from him. After a few moments of standing like that, she pulled her face from his chest and looked up at him with a wry expression. "I didn't expect you to fall for that too. I didn't want them to just start pelting me with questions and giving me grief about the car." She murmured, one of her eyebrows arched up in amusement at his reaction. "But it's good to know you care too." She added, suddenly feeling shy as she looked back down. "Uhm... We should probably get going inside... Or we could just leave in the TARDIS. Get out of here, they have everything, Jack will let me know if there are anymore out there... We could... I don't know, go do something else."

The Interfector blinked in embarrassed surprise at Sonya's words. He looked at her for a long moment, eyes wide and jaw dropped for the nth time. The hug was loosened though he didn't let his arms drop from around her. "Oh.. you.. yes, well you are a very good actor if I must admit it. If you do not think these people need any more assistance than I would prefer it if we left. If you do not mind."

The Time Lord finally dropped one arm and took a step back while lifting up his other to run a hand through his hair. Suddenly, a grin picked its way on his face. He didn't wait for an answer, just snatched her arm and started running in the direction of his TARDIS. "Right! If there is a specific place you want to go, just let me know. I usually just drift about and let space and the old girl decide my destination."