To Catch a Thief
The next story in my Eleven & Amy series. Looking back I should probably have waited to write Eleven fic till he was on screen and I could get a handle on his character but hey hindesight is a wonderful thing.
To Catch a Thief
Amy wandered into the control room and leaned against the banister, casually tapping it from time to time. Looking over at the Doctor she saw him stand up a grin on his face, “So where to this time?” she asked
“Earth,” the Doctor replied, “2010, London, Bloomsbury.” He glanced over at Amy and cast an eye over her jeans and t-shirt, “You might want to visit the wardrobe room.”
“Why?” Amy replied, “Are we going somewhere fancy?”
The Doctor’s face broke into a massive grin and he nodded, “How do you feel about a party?”
Amy ran over and gave the Doctor a quick peck on the cheek before heading out of the room.
“I’ll take that as a yes then,” he called after her.
An hour or so later, the pair were walking down the street towards the British Museum. Amy was dressed in a stylish blue dress she had found towards the back of the wardrobe, and the Doctor had forgone his usually tweed in favour of a black tux, “Never had much luck with this tux,” the Doctor said, “I think it might be cursed.”
Amy rolled her eyes, “So what is this party anyway?”
The Doctor shrugged, “Just picked it up when I was scanning the airwaves. The museum is unveiling some new exhibit.”
“So how will we get in?”
The Doctor grinned, “Watch and learn.”
“We’re not going in through the toilet windows again are we?” Amy asked a note of exasperation evident in her voice.
“We only had to do that once,” the Doctor shot back,
“Come on Amy, you said” Amy said with a giggle, “Nestorius has a lovely art gallery.”
“How was I to know they were going through the door less revolution?” The Doctor replied smiling.
Amy shook her head, “Can we please use the door this time?”
The Doctor laughed, “Okay. No windows. I promise.”
When they got to the door, a thickset man held out a hand. Producing two pieces of paper, the Doctor handed them to him. The man looked them over then nodded and gestured for them to go inside.
“You had tickets,” Amy said in shock, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You never asked,” he said with a shrug.
She punched him on the arm, “Where did you get them?”
“Oww,” he said rubbing the sore spot “Fine. I got them the last time we we’re in London. Remember you went shopping. Well I popped by an information centre to see what was going to be happening and got tickets.”
Amy smiled, “Come on,” she said taking a champagne flute from a passing waiter, “Let’s mingle. And remember,” she added as he reached for his own flute, “You’re driving.”
They wandered around the various rooms of the museums ground floor, peering at all the different exhibits and chatting with the other party goers. “You know,” the Doctor said, “I’ve visited this museum three maybe four times and I still haven’t seen everything.”
“It’s big then?” Amy asked.
The Doctor nodded, “Seems everytime I come for a visit there’s more to see.” Suddenly he bumped into a plinth and looked up.
“Doctor, you should really look where you're going” Amy said, looking at the statue and then bent down slightly to look at the sign. She looked up at him quizzically.
The Doctor shook his head, “Just something -someone- from my past. Nothing important.”
Before Amy could ask anything more, a voice came over the loud speaker. “The unveiling will commence in ten minutes. Will all guests please make their way to the foyer.”
“Come on,” the Doctor said taking Amy’s hand, “Let’s go.”
When they reached the foyer they made their way to the front of the crowd. A small stage had been set up and on it was a box covered by a dark red cloth. After some dramatic music, a man with a thin goatee dressed in a double breasted navy coloured suit stepped up to the microphone.
“Thank you all for coming,” he said, “My name is Professor Hudson and I am the curator of the museum. It is my honour to show you tonight our newest exhibit. The Bavarian Diamond.” He placed his hand on the curtain, “Before I show it to you there is a little presentation. If you would just turn to the screen.”
The crowd turned to the screen, and watched as the film told them how the diamond had been found in the woods of Bavaria almost one hundred and fifty years before. It had become a crown jewel of Bavaria until it had become part of Germany in 1918. The diamond then passed to various museums before finally ending up at its present location
“Now,” said the Professor, “Allow me to introduce you to the Bavarian Diamond.” With a flourish he pulled back the cloth. The case was empty.
The next few minutes, were very hectic as the police arrived and interviewed everyone from the guests to the catering staff. Eventually the Doctor and Amy fought their way to the stage, where Professor Hudson was talking to a uniformed Inspector.
“Excuse me,” the Doctor said fishing the psychic paper from his pocket.
“Yes,” said the Inspector gruffly, “What do you want?”
The Doctor flipped open the wallet, “John Smith,” he pointed at Amy, “Amy Pond. We’re on detached assignment from the Serious Crimes Unit.”
The Inspector took the ID and scrutinised it, “Why wasn’t I told about this?”
The Doctor shrugged, “Well you know what it’s like Inspector?” he paused
“Nickson.”
“Nickson. The paperwork probably got recycled by accident. Who knows? Anyway now we’re here we’ll just have a nosey around.” Before either the Inspector or Professor Hudson could say anything, the Doctor and Amy dissapered back into the crowd.
“I can’t believe we got away with that,” Amy said.
The Doctor shook his head before spotting a security guard standing nervously by the door. Waving, he strolled over, “Hello,” he said, “Mind if was ask you a few questions?”
The guard looked around, “I guess not,” he said quietly, “Who are you?”
“Detectives Smith and Pond,” the Doctor said pulling out his wallet again, “We’re aiding the Inspector’s investigation.”
The guard looked at the paper, before nodding and returning it, “What do you want to know?”
“You were the guard assigned to the diamond right?” Amy asked getting into the role.
He nodded, “Came on about halfway through the party, maybe eight o’clock and was on duty till the unveiling.”
“And did you notice anything unusual?”
He shook his head, “No. Some people came up asking if they could get a peek at the diamond but I told them they had to wait.”
The Doctor raised an eyebrow, “What did they say to that?”
The guard shrugged, “Most of them laughed and walked away. One person got quite insistent though. Made a bit of a fuss. They went away when I threatened to remove them from the building.”
“What did they look like?”
“Tall, your height maybe an inch shorter, sunglasses. Oh and she had long dark hair. Carried a square sort of handbag.
“It was a woman?” the Doctor asked surprised
The guard nodded, “Yes. Late twenties early thirties.”
The Doctor nodded, “Thank you. Don’t leave; we may want to speak to you again.”
The guard nodded before returning to his corner, “So what do you want to do now Doctor?” Amy asked
“I want to look at that display case,” the Doctor said, striding over, “See if I can get anything from it.” Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, he looked around, “Keep an eye out will you?”
He ran the screwdriver over the case a few times, humming quietly to himself, before Amy whispered, “Incoming.”
Straightening up, the Doctor saw the Inspector walk over, “Ah Inspector. How may we help you?”
“What were you doing?”
The Doctor slipped the screwdriver back into his pocket, “Just looking at the display case Inspector. Seeing what I could find.”
“And did you find anything?”
The Doctor shook his head, “No. But the minute I do I’ll let you know.”
“Make sure you do,” the Inspector said gruffly before storming off.
Amy rounded on the Doctor, “You found something didn’t you?”
“Of course,” the Doctor replied, “But I wasn’t going to tell him was I?”
“So what we got?”
The Doctor pulled out the screwdriver and peered at it. “Trace amounts of teleportation energy. Defiantly not native to this planet.”
“So it’s aliens?”
The Doctor shook his head, “I don’t think so. Judging by what the guard said I actually have a fair idea who it was. Why she did it is another matter”
“What do we do know then?” Amy asked
“We go hunting,” the Doctor replied, “Keep an eye out for an elegantly dressed woman with black hair and a square shaped hand bag.”
The two friends separated and strolled across the room. Eventually the Doctor spotted the woman in question heading for the door. Dashing across the foyer dodging people left and right, he grabbed her arm, “Christina,” he whispered.
She looked round at him, “Do I know you?”
He nodded, “You, Me and a bunch of other people got sucked through a wormhole on a number 200 bus and ended up on a planet called San Helios. We saved the world from the Swarm.”
“Doctor,” she breathed.
“Hello,”
“You look….different.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, “Umm yeah. There was an accident. I had to regenerate.”
“Regenerate?”
“I’ll explain it to you sometime. What I want to know is why you’re making off with the Bavarian Diamond?”
She breathed out slowly, “Can we go somewhere more private. It’s complicated.”
He nodded, “Fine. Let me get Amy and we can go.”
Ten minutes later the trio were sat around a table, in a small café a few streets away from the museum, the box containing the diamond between them, “So come on Christina,” the Doctor said, “Explain. Money or boredom?”
“Neither actually,” Christina said, “Purely unselfish reasons.”
“Oh,” the Doctor replied, “And what would they be?”
Christina sighed, “About a week ago I was in prison,” she stopped as the Doctor cocked any eyebrow, “Yes prison. I got caught okay. Anyway I was in prison and I got a visitor. A Captain Price from that UNIT organisation that helped us during San Helios.”
“And what did UNIT want with you?” the Doctor asked, a curious edge to his voice
Christina said nothing, instead reaching into her bag and pulling out the diamond. She passed it to the Doctor.
He turned it over in his hand, “That’s not an Earth diamond,” he said at last.
Christina nodded, “That’s why UNIT are interested. Turns out it’s a power source of some kind. Unfortunately when they attempted to claim it the museum got tetchy. Said they had no right to it and that the tests they had done on it proved it was an Earth diamond.
“Well of course they would,” the Doctor said, “Unless you were using really high tech equipment you would assume it’s a normal diamond. It has all the qualities of one.” He handed it back to Christina, “So UNIT came to you.”
She nodded, “They knew of my “skills” and offered to quash my conviction if I got it back for them. Of course it was by that time the Unveiling was already scheduled so I couldn’t just nip in and steal it as I would do usually. Security was so tight, even I couldn’t get through.”
“So what did you do?”
“UNIT gave me this,” Christina said pulling a square box from her handbag. “All I had to do was get close to the case press the button and ‘poof’ straight into the containment unit.”
“Which is why you kicked up a fuss at the display case?”
She nodded, “Quite right.”
The Doctor ran his screwdriver over the box, “UNIT have been busy,” he said, “Last time I saw one of their teleport units it was much larger. You had to wear it like a backpack.”
Suddenly Amy prodded his arm, “Doctor.”
He looked up, “What?”
She nodded toward the counter. The man behind it was looking at them suspiciously and his hand seemed to be putting down the phone. The TV in the corner was reporting the theft of the diamond.
“Ah,” the Doctor said pushing the teleporter back towards Christina, “Time for us to go I think.”
All three leapt to their feet, “Back door,” suggested Amy. Just then they heard the sound of sirens in the distance.
“I don’t think that would be wise,” said the Doctor, “Sorry Amy.”
“Sorry, why sorry?”
A few minutes later Amy squeezed through the bathroom window and joined the Doctor and Christina in the alley.
“I thought I said no windows?” she muttered.
“Needs must,” the Doctor replied, he peered round the corner, “Come on. Looks like the coast is clear.”
They walked down the street a little way, before ducking into another alley. “What were you supposed to do with the diamond once you had it?” the Doctor asked Christina
“UNIT have commandeered an empty shop a few streets away,” Christina replied, “I was supposed to take it there.”
“Right,” the Doctor said, “We’d better get a move on.” Just as he said this, Christina’s bag started to shake. “What now,” the Doctor said/
“I forgot to tell you,” Christina said, “The main reason UNIT wanted this back. It was damaged in the original crash but it still absorbs energy. Just extremely slowly.”
“So it’s been absorbing energy for a hundred and fifty years?” the Doctor said.
Christina nodded, “And because of the damage the amount it could take was much smaller. It’s about to overload.”
“And if that happens?”
“It’ll explode.”
“And if that happens.”
Christina sucked in her breath, “About half a square mile of London will be turned to atoms.”
The Doctor scratched his nose/ “No time to lose then,” he said before breaking into a run.
About half way there, they heard voices and sirens behind them, “Oy you,” a voice called, “Stop.”
Spinning around, the Doctor saw several policeman running towards them, “We don’t have time for this,” he said.
“Go,” Amy said, “I’ll distract them.”
“See you at UNIT okay?” the Doctor said.
“I’ll be there,” Amy replied, before stopping in the middle of the street. Suddenly she dropped to the floor and screamed. Several people stopped to offer help and in the chaos the Doctor and Christina slipped away.
“So,” Christina said, as they ran, “You found someone then?”
The Doctor nodded, “Took me awhile though.”
“What’s she like?”
“Amy?” the Doctor said, “She’s brilliant. Asks all the right questions, makes me laugh. I like having her around.”
Christina nodded and said nothing more.
Soon enough they reached the building, UNIT were using as a base. Just at the Doctor hammed on the door, Amy joined them. “Did anyone follow you?” the Doctor asked.
She shook her head, “I slipped away just as people began phoning for ambulances.”
The door opened to reveal a uniformed UNIT solider, “Is Captain Price here?” Christina asked, “I have the package.”
The solider nodded and led them inside. Soon Captain Price joined them, “Lady De Souza,” she said curtly, “Do you have the diamond?”
Christina nodded. Reaching into her handbag she passed the quivering diamond to the Captain. “I’d get that into a containment unit if I was you,” the Doctor said casually.
“And who are you?” Captain Price asked sternly.
“Oh come on Captain,” the Doctor said, “Don’t you remember. ATMOS and Sontarans. I got called in by Martha Jones.”
“Doctor,” Price said with a salute, “You’ve regenerated again.”
The Doctor returned the salute, “That I have. Now that containment unit.”
“Of course Doctor,” Price said handing the diamond to a technician. “Containment quickly.”
“Yes sir,” the technician said moving away.
Price led them out of the back of the shop to a square of land, where one of the mobile labs had been set up. From outside they watched as a technician stepped inside, placed the diamond in the centre and then ran out again. It pulsed for a few seconds before exploding with a shining white light.
“Thank you Doctor, Lady Christina,” Price said, before nodding at Amy, “We’ll clear everything up with the police and the museum. I don’t suppose there’s any point in asking you to file a report on this Doctor?”
He shook hid head, “Not really.”
She laughed, “Can I at least offer you something to eat. You must be famished.”
The Doctor smiled, “A sandwich would be lovely.”
When they had finished their food, the Doctor looked at Christina, “So how do you fancy coming with us? We’ve plenty of room. There’s plenty of see. More than enough for three people to share.”
Christina smiled and stood up, “Thank you Doctor, but no. I’ve got my own life here and I think UNIT may need my help again. But I’ll hold you to that offer.”
The Doctor got up and hugged her, “Stay safe Christina. And legal.”
She laughed, “Well I can’t promise anything but I’ll try.” She kissed him on the cheek, “Goodbye Doctor.” Then with a smile she walked out of the room.
“So,” Amy said, “Where to now Doctor?”
The Doctor slung an arm across her shoulder and yawned, “I don’t know about you. But I could use a quick nap.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “Amy?”
“Yes Doctor?”
“Can you remember where we parked the TARDIS?”