An hour to midnight

[Golden Spider]

Clara nodded at Kate's response. "we want to know a bit more about what we are getting into. and how you will make the effort worth our while" Clara was trying to act like how she would expect a typical person that Gennaro actually would bring would act, like she had no morals or scruples and would be willing to get them whatever information they wanted to as long as she got paid, in one way or another.

[Lady Jenn]

He looked around cautiously. "There's a military project, one we have a name for but we know nothing else: Project Daedalus. They are getting dangerously close to discovering certain...information we would rather they didn't. In return? Well...our masters are especially...generous to those who assist them with gathering intelligence."

"And how, pray tell, are we supposed to do that?" Kate asked, raising an eyebrow. "The military aren't going to be stupid enough to just let us walk in the front door without a shedload of questions being asked."

"Oh, you only need to be the backup," the man said. "Genaro will be doing most of the work, why do you think we were making you ill Doctor? You humans are fools."

[Golden Spider]

She shot a quick look at Kate when he mentioned Project Daedalus, none of them had told her the official name of their Organization, was it this Project Daedalus? Even if it wasn't any information that they wanted to suppress was information they had to know.  Clara tensed when the man revealed that they were giving the Doctor cancer, and called them all fools, wondering it it was about to turn south, but since they hadn't she spoke up again "How exactly is him having cancer going to get us in a military building?"

[Lady Jenn]

Kate sized the man up, considering her next move carefully. If she'd been by herself she might've done something crazier, but she didn't want to risk Clara's life unnecessarily. "Just...I just need to have a word with the others," she said, pulling Genaro and Clara away from the man.

Once she was fairly sure they were out of earshot she turned to Clara. "Shit, I don't think the plan is to use his cancer to get them in, they're going to take over his body. And considering how weak his body is I dread to think what they're planning to do with it."

[Golden Spider]

Clara bit her lower lip, of course, it was obvious now that Kate had said it. And no matter what Genaro had done, he didn't deserve that. "So what then, convince him to send us instead, or just say we'll do it and walk away, I think it may be useful to learn this information too. if not us they will find someone else, and whatever information they are worried about will be gone." she whispered to the two of them. "I still don't understand how Genaro will help, even if they take over his body, do you have some sort of top secret clearance doc?"

[Lady Jenn]

Genaro thought for a moment. "I don't know anything...or at least not that I can imagine would be useful to them. But..." He frowned. "I have a younger brother. Sammy, he works in the military, he always said he was working on something secret, I assume he just wanted me to stop being nosey."

Kate chewed on her lip. "I think we need to call Natalya. I'm beginning to worry that they might be planning a...one-way trip for the Doctor. Which begs the question of what it is that Daedalus is hiding that a group of interdimensional beings are probably intending to blow it up."

[Golden Spider]

Clara nodded "We need to get that information before they are able to destroy it. but whet do we do about our friend here." She ssaid jerking her head back towards the man standing just out of earshot. "I doubt he is just going ti let us walk away":

[Lady Jenn]

Genaro sighed. "I'll keep him distracted, you two contact your friends. I suggest you do it as quickly as possible though."

Once the Doctor had walked back to the other man Kate phoned Natalya, glad the Russian woman answered quickly. "Nat, I'm not sure I have time to explain. I need to know what Project Daedalus is, we have good reason to believe it may be in serious danger."

There was silence from the other end for a few moments. "Daedalus is how the US government accesses the multiverse," Nat replied. "It was how you were supposed to journey here before...whatever it is went wrong. Kate...if they were to detonate a bomb there the shockwave could spread."

Kate felt her body shaking. "My home...it's linked to that portal."

[Golden Spider]

Clara rested a hand on Kate's arm to provide a slight bit of comfort in this brief moment. They would not let that happen, no matter what. "The Doctor's... contact, said they were close to discovering something important, we need to know what they are currently looking into, and we need a game plan. The contact also said that the doctor was key to their plans on infiltrating as well, Kate thinks they will possess him, and the doctor himself thinks that it may be related to his brother Sammy." She said talking into the phone to give Nat any other information that she could think of while Kate paused.

[Lady Jenn]

"You're going to have to bring him in," Natalya said. "I know it's dangerous, but...There's only one Sammy I know of with any link to Daedalus, and I can entirely believe the Midnight Order would want off the board. Fizz and I are going to come to you, I'll text you a safe house we have there."

"Well...that sounds easy," Kate said as Nat hung up. "Something tells me he's not going to just let us walk him somewhere." She turned to Clara. "Look, if you'd rather be somewhere safe first I don't mind. I don't...I don't want you risking yourself to help me."

[Golden Spider]

Clara shook her head "no absolutely not, I'm already in this and I'm with you to the end. I'm not just risking myself to help you, but your world, your people, and my world, everything. I won't lie all this gets more frightening by the hour, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't come with, especially if you got hurt because of it." She said Squeezing the Redhead's hand. before looking back to Genaro and the Stranger "no he won't, even sending Doc over alone to distract him was a risk, what if they are taking him over as we speak?"

[Lady Jenn]

Kate stole a look at the other two. "Well, I'm probably going to regret saying this, but...I think if it was that easy they'd have possessed me in the hospital before you had a chance to save me." She checked her back pocket for the gun she was glad she had brought with her. "Well, better get this over with."

She led Clara back over to the two men, gripping the woman's hand more tightly than she'd intended. The stranger narrowed his eyes at them. "I assume you came to a decision considering the length of time that took?"

"We have," Kate replied. "I don't think you'll like it though." She pointed the gun at him. "You can come with us quietly or we can do this the hard way."

What happened next was so rapid Kate had no time to react before it happened. The stranger pulled his own gun out and gunshot rung out...but Genaro had got between them, collapsing to the ground with a bullet wound to his chest. The stranger was so stunned that Kate managed to use her gun to knock him out, before kneeling next to Genaro.

"Clara, call Nat," she said, handing over her phone. "See if she knows someone we can take them to." She turned to the Doctor, although she could tell with even a cursory glance he didn't have long. "Why the fuck did you do that?"

Genaro laughed weakly. "I was dying anyway friend, this way...I can at least make my death do some good for the world."

[Golden Spider]

It had all happened so quickly Genaro was on the floor before Clara had even processed that Kate pulled her gun at the stranger in the first place. She blinked a couple times when Kate pressed her phone into her hand “r-right.” She said before dialing Nat “Things went tits up. Doc got shot, where do we take him. And I think we have a prisoner as well.” She listened to Nats response, relaying the information to Kate. She then kneeled besides the stranger, trusting that Kate knew what to do to keep Genaro alive until they can move him to the safe spot, and started going through the strangers pockets. “Probably too much to hope that you have some handcuffs on ya you piece of shit.” She mumbled to herself

[Lady Jenn]

Kate looked up from where she was trying, feebly, to stem the flow of blood. She let out a bitter laugh as she looked at the prone stranger. "He actually does," she said, pointing out a pair just visible poking from beneath his shirt. "I don't know why any part of this surprises me." She looked up as she heart a car stop nearby, Marcus stepping out. "Well, you get to be our hero twice in a day," she said. "We're going to need your help though."

The older man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Let's move our unconscious friend first," he said, turning to Clara. "I don't suppose you can help me move him?"

[Golden Spider]

Clara nodded and first snapped the handcuffs around the of the stranger, behind his back and as tight as possible, before helping Marcus carry the Stranger over to his car, before rushing back over to Kate. "Shit that looks bad, will we be able to make it to the safe house?" Clara asked Marcus, knowing that she at least didn't know where this safe house was or how far away. "Is there any way we can help at all Kate? or is it just move him as well and try to get there as soon as possible?"

[Lady Jenn]

Marcus and Kate shared a look, the old man shaking his head. "We can try, but...at this point I suspect we can only make him comfortable and delay the inevitable."

Kate looked down at the doctor, who had now lost consciousness. "We have to do something Marcus, this man just took a bullet for me, I won't have him bleeding out alone in the middle of a park." She sighed. "Sorry, I know this is asking a bit much of you."

"Not at all," Marcus said. "Believe me, Nat has asked more of me, and she still thinks I'm naive enough to believe she's an international businesswoman." He chuckled as he helped Kate pick up the prone form. "Don't worry, I'm not asking questions you can't answer. Nat has helped me enough down the years to earn my trust."

They managed to get him into the car, but then Kate threw up, causing a concerned look from their driver. "I'm fine Marcus, just...dead and dying people aren't something I'm used to."

[Golden Spider]

Clara rubbed Kate's back as the other woman thew up, trying to provide some small comfort to her in that moment. Clara idly thought how since meeting Kate that she had seen more dead or grievously injured people then she had seen for years beforehand, starting with Kate herself, and now Genaro. where before the worst she typically saw in a year was someone getting a paper cut in her library during community arts and crafts night. "we should go, someone likely heard the gunshot and called the police," she said to the two of them "come on, hun." she then said softly to Kate, not even thinking of her choice of words

[Lady Jenn]

Kate allowed herself to be helped into the car, too in shock to offer any resistance even if she'd wished to. Marcus pulled out of the park, travelling as fast as he could without breaking any laws. "The good news is the safe house is ten minutes away tops...well, as long as the traffic behaves itself."

Kate leant against Clara, using one hand to stem the flow of blood as best she could. "He did terrible things but...he doesn't deserve this. He should have family with him."

Marcus nodded grimly. "I'm...a little familiar with him, if only because I've visited his shop a few times. I know he has a daughter but she must live elsewhere because he always seems sad when the topic is brought up."

[Golden Spider]

Clara frowned in confusion "His shop? We just met him in a office above a library, what is his shop?" Clara did what she could to help Kate, both with her shock and reaction to Genaro's current state, and with Genaro himself. Marcus was clearly used to things somewhat like this happening like he had said. as there was a fully stocked first aid kit in the back that Clara opened up to find some gauze that she then also used to help stop the bleeding.

[Lady Jenn]

"Sorry, I consider it a shop," Marcus laughed. "Probably because I mostly use it to buy all the weird old books no-one wants to loan from him."

Kate couldn't help a slight laugh. "Honestly, he seems like the kind of librarian who'd have a stock room full of books maybe three people on planet Earth have any interest in reading." As they pulled up to a house in a quiet part of town Kate was caught off-guard by a beautiful older woman stepping out of the house, dressed in a long grey dress, with pink hair tied back. "Marcus, are you sure this is the right place?"

"Don't tell me Nat forgot to mention Lena to you?" Marcus asked, raising an eyebrow, before stopping the car and getting out. "Le, please tell me Nat rang ahead to let you know?"

Lena narrowed her eyes at him. "Marcus Turner, I've told you before there's exactly one person I allow to call me that, and she's not you." She turned to look in the back seat and her face immediately softened. "You must be Kate and Clara, come in, take the Doctor to the first door on the right, there's a bed set up in there."

Kate snapped out of her trance. "Um...so...Nat forgot to tell us her ex-girlfriend was super glamorous," she whispered, stifling a giggle. "Can you help me with the Doctor?"

[Golden Spider]

Clara pouted slightly "Again I take offense at the Librarian slander," she said as they continued driving. When they arrived Clara was also a bit starstruck at the beauty of Nat's ex "Right?" She replied to Kate, "Nat's must be crazy to let that go" She said also with a small giggle, before helping Kate with the Doctor. After they had managed to carry him upstairs and laid him down on the bed they returned downstairs. "So what now, The doctor likely won't make it very long, we have to make his sacrifice worth it."

[Lady Jenn]

Marcus entered the room. "I've put our other 'friend' in the office, I think he should be out of it for a bit longer at least."

Lena knelt next to the Doctor and shook her head. "He's not going to last much longer. He's lost so much blood I'm amazed he's lasted this long." She sighed as she stood up. "Do you girls want something to drink?" She walked to the door. "Oh, and since fuck knows what Marcus has been telling you, if you have any questions about me and Nat you may as well get them out of the way."

Kate couldn't help a slight laugh. "I didn't think we were being that obvious, I'm sorry."

[Golden Spider]

Clara blushed slightly when Lena said that. "No, sorry, whatever happened is your business, so there's nothing we can do for him then?" Clara said with a swallow, suddenly filled with compassion for the man. Despite what he had done, he had thrown himself in front of a bullet intended for Kate, and that went a long way as an act of redemption in her eyes, not entirely, but still a long way.

[Lady Jenn]

Lena walked back in with a glass of water each for them. "I did some...admittedly fairly low level medical training years ago. The amount of blood he's lost and where the bullet hole is...I'm not sure even a fully equipped operating theatre could do much for him. You at least made sure he's comfortable though."

Kate drank the water gratefully. her shaking finally diminishing. "You'd think after all I've been through people being shot wouldn't bother me so much."

Lena offered a sympathetic smile. "Take it from me, the day you stop feeling anything around injured people is the moment you need to start worrying about your own mental health."

[Golden Spider]

Clara took her Kate's hand again as she Kate said those words. though she was only half paying attention, taking and giving solace in turn, and it was at that small interchange and Lena's fairly certain words that there was nothing that could be done for him that finally broke Clara out of the shock that she had been in as well since that moment.

Clara quickly excused herself needing to just get out of the building that suddenly seemed crammed to the brim with the four of them, and made her way to the darkened stairwell. sitting down on the stairs as she felt her eyes brim with tears. It was irrational, she told herself, that she was feeling this way, for a stranger, for a traitor against humanity itself, but it was still a life, and it could have been her life, or Kate's.