In The Hub, Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones and Owen Harper are standing in the central room, with Toshiko Sato sitting on the computer. Gwen is furiously pacing the floor.
"I can't believe Jack has just gone and left us like that!" She was saying.
"Relax, Gwen, he probably has a good reason" Ianto tried comforting his colleague.
"Well,he's taken the hand with him" Owen said, walking over to the table which now only held one jar, pointing at it.
"Maybe he's found it's owner or something" Ianto stated.
"I hope he's gone to get rid of it," Owen replied, "I don't even know why he kept it around in the first place. That thing gave me the creeps"
"It doesn't make sense! Why wouldn't he tell us he was going somewhere?!" Gwen babbled, "I'm going to call him"
She got out her phone and flipped it open, but just as she was about to punch in the numbers, Tosh broke her silence.
"Ohmygod" Tosh said.
"What is it, Tosh?" Gwen asked, walking up to the computer, shoving her phone in her pocket.
"I was just reading the emails, and we've got one from the Prime Minister himself" Tosh replied as she opened the email.
"You mean Harold Saxon himself?" Owen asked, leaning against the table.
"Yes" Tosh replied.
"Dear Torchwood," Gwen began reading as she leaned into the screen, "I have a very important mission for you. There has been a detection of massive energy outputs far from what is found here on Earth in the Himalayas. I'm asking for your help to go and do what you do best and investigate"
"The Himalayas? Why would the Prime Minister send us to Tibet?" Ianto asked, "I mean, we hardly cover all of London, let alone another continent"
"There's more," Gwen said, raising a finger and continued reading, "This is an investigation that will also require technology skills, and as there have been reports of deaths, medical skills so I ask that your whole team go. Don't worry about money, the Government will pay for all travel costs. Your Prime Minister, Harold Saxon"
"That's nice of him" Tosh said.
"Must be pretty serious if he wants all of us to go" Owen stated.
"All of us except Jack" Ianto reminded them.
"Yeah, well, that's too bad, isn't it?" Gwen said coldly, "He shouldn't have run off on us, should he? Go home, pack your things, get a good rest and we'll meet at the airport first thing tomorrow morning"
The next day, the Torchwood team, minus one, all met at Gate 3 of the airport, wearing winter gear and carrying bags.
"Have you all got everything?" Gwen asked them.
The rest of them nodded as they heard the announcement that their plane was about to leave. The team boarded the plane, it took them about six hours to arrive. As they exited the airport out into the freezing, snowy Himalayas, they stopped.
"Well, we certainly brought the right clothing" Owen remarked, his breath floating through the chilly air.
"Did Mr. Saxon say whereabouts the energy was coming from, Tosh?" Gwen asked.
Tosh grabbed out her phone from her pocket and opened up the email via the Torchwood app that each operative had on their phones.
"No, no specific town or anything" Tosh replied.
"Let's just walk to the nearest one then and find out" Gwen said as the team began walking away from the airport.
The team trodded into a small town, not that far away from the airport. They noticed a tavern and walked in, taking a seat up at the bar. Owen ordered a beer as Tosh got out her scanning device, Ianto scanned the bar and Gwen began talking to the lady next to her, who had blonde hair tied in two pigtails.
"Nice little tavern you've got here" She said.
"We make do with what we have" The lady said, "It's very rare we get tourists here, though"
"How do you know we're tourists?" Ianto asked, overhearing the conversation.
"The accents, doll," The lady answered, "Name's Belinda, what brings you here?"
"Business," Gwen said, "Have you noticed anything strange around here recently?"
"You mean apart from those two men over there?" Belinda said, pointing to two overweight guys sitting in the corner, who were obviously hammered, "Theycome in and perform a beer ritual every freakin' day"
"That's..strange" Ianto commented.
"Ain't it though?" Belinda added.
"I mean, like any unusual activity, loud humming, strange patterns in the sky, stuff like that?" Gwen stated.
"Nope, nothing of that kind here that I saw" Belinda replied.
"What about the news? Have they reported anything like that?" Ianto asked.
Belinda took oe last sip of her wine glass, and got up to leave.
"Hah, I don't watch that bullshit, sweetie" She said, patting Ianto on the face before she walked out of the tavern.
Gwen turned to Tosh, who was sitting next to her, totally immersed in the scanner.
"Any signals, Tosh?" Gwen asked.
"No, nothing," Tosh replied, "I'm getting absolutely no readings at all. What about you, any luck with that woman?"
"Not really, she hadn't noticed anything strange" Gwen replied.
"And she doesn't watch the news" Ianto felt he needed to add.
"Well, we need to find someone who does," Tosh said, shoving the scanner in her bag, "Maybe the news has reported something"
"Well, I can tell you, you ain't going to find them here" Owen said as he scoffed the last of his beer down, and got up.
They all walked out back into the cold, folding their arms over their chests. They walked down the street for about ten metres before getting stopped by an elderly woman, who noticed they were freezing.
"Oh,dearies, come on in out of the cold!" She offered as she motioned for them to enter her house.
The team entered the woman's house and took a seat as she made some hot chocolate for each of them.
"You'll catch the death of cold if you keep walking in that chilly weather" She told them as she sat down on a rocking chair.
"Thanks for allowing us in, Miss.." Ianto said as he took a sip of his hot chocolate.
"I'm Mabel," The woman said, "And you must be tourists, eh? Where from?"
"Cardiff," Tosh replied, "In the UK"
"Ooh, all that way? What brings you so far out?" Mabel questioned.
"It's a business trip, actually," Gwen answered, "We were wondering if you'd noticed any strange occurences? Patterns in the sky, noises in the street, weird tremors, anything out of the ordinary?"
"Can't say I have, dearie," Mabel replied, "It's been as quiet and peaceful as ever here. Why do you ask?"
"Oh! We-" Gwen began but got cut off by Mabel's television.
"And now back to your local news" The TV said.
All the people in the room automatically glanced at the television. There was a thin blonde girl telling the weather.
"Chilly days expected once again here in the Himalayas, with a top of 5 expected for tomorrow and overnight low of -7" She was saying.
"How do you people sleep?"Owen remarked, shivering as he took a sip of his hot chocolate.
"With as much extra layersas we can, sweetie" Mabel answered him as they returned their view to the television.
There was now a man and a woman sitting at a desk, reciting the day's news. The usual stories you'd hear anywhere, thieves robbed a shop, someone murdered somebody, cutesy animal story, interview with a celebrity from an upcoming movie, competition, more thieves, sports. And then the news program ended.
"Well, that proves it then"Owen said, pointing at the TV.
"Proves what?" Mabel asked.
"There's nothing strange happening here at all, anywhere in the Himalayas" Owen answered her, frustrated.
"Isn't that what I just told you?" Mabel said.
Gwen looked up from the TV, just sitting there for a moment. Thinking. Jack would have knew if there was something up or not as soon as they arrived. But no, he had to run off. She only hoped whatever he was doing was so important that he couldn't have stayed and been with them right now.
"We should be going, Mabel" She said as she and the others got up and started heading out the door.
"Thanks for the hot chocolate" Tosh said.
Mabel nodded as she watched the team leave her house. They walked back to the airport and boarded the next plane for Cardiff. On the plane, they were heavy in discussion.
"So, we treaded all through that stinkin' cold for nothing" Owen said, huffing.
"That's right," Gwen said, irately, "We were sent on a wild goose chase"
"Are you sure it was actually Harold Saxon who sent the email, Tosh?" Owen asked.
"Maybe it was a hoax" Ianto added.
"No, it was definitely real," Tosh answered the two of them, "It had the Government's signature logo imprinted in it and all"
"But why would have the Prime Minister sent us somewhere and paid for our travel for no reason?" Gwen asked herself.
"Bloody hell if I know," Owen answered her question, "One thing I do know, though; I'm not voting Saxon next year"