This is my response to a challenge.
The challenge must have:
- Owens's underpants
- A rubber ducky
- Jack being rudely awoken
- Around Valentines Day
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The Stalker
The early spring sun was setting on Cardiff City. The nights where beginning to draw out. An icy chill washed over the bay, causing the pedestrians to wrap their coats tightly around them. Life at the hub was calm at the moment, nothing to big had happen. It had been a very plain day…for once. Jack was walking down the spiral staircase, a file in his hands. He flicked over the page, only looking up briefly at a loud noise. Noticing it was only Owen moaning at his computer as usual, he carried on examining the files.
"It's valentines day soon," Gwen said grinning broadly as she came to perch on Owens's desk.
"Oh joy, the season for more debt, massive cards and far too much chocolate and those annoying little teddy bears that cost a small fortune."
Jack placed the file on Owens's desk, folding his arms.
"Hope you've got me something nice," Jack spoke to Owen, his teeth sparking as he grinned. Owen ignored him.
"Rhys' taking me out for dinner," Gwen spoke.
"Owens's taking me out," Jack replied still grinning. Owen gave Jack a quick glare and added a quick kick to his shins to make sure Jack had got the message.
Ianto headed over with a fresh tray of coffee.
"Thanks," each on said in turn taking the coffee.
"Or maybe Ianto can take me," Jack contemplated with a smile.
Ianto looked at Jack with a puzzled look.
"Out for dinner," Jack continued.
"Harassment sir," Ianto smiled.
"What you going to do, go to the authorities? I work for a secret organisation that investigates aliens, and my boss harasses me," Jack grinned. "All that will get you is a quick sure way into a white bouncy room. Ianto chuckled.
Gwen shook her head at the banter.
"The last thing I want to think about now is valentines day," Owen said, typing at his keyboard.
"Someone's in a bad mood," Gwen spoke.
"Oh it's only because a woman thinks she's actually in a relationship with Owen and he can't seem to shake her," Tosh' said heading over to join the group.
Owen looked at Tosh', giving her a 'I hate you' type of look.
"Awww," Gwen cooed, "Owens's got a little girlfriend."
"I have not," Owen barked back scowling.
"Owen has a stalker," Jack added, laughing.
"She call's him her little ducky," Tosh' added, rubbing salt in the wound.
The group laughed as Owen turned an interesting shade of red. He stood up and stormed off.
"Ah come on Owen, we're sorry. We're sorry wickle ducky," Jack grinned.
The gang laughed again, and then received the finger from Owen over his shoulder.
It was the early hours of the morning. Owen was sat in his apartment, draining the last of his larger from the bottle. The phone rang again for about the thousandth time that night. He let it ring. He'd been forced to give her his number, when she said she'd see him some other night as she had been on a hen night at the time. He was really regretting this now. First rule of one night stands, don't give your number out. The phone stopped ringing and he walked to the socket, pulling it out. He yawned, stretching his arms out. He headed towards his bed.
Owen opened his eyes, cursing and moving backwards from the face.
"Good morning my little ducky,"
"How the hell did you get it?" panting heavily in shock.
"Aww did I scare you," she said. She went to stroke his hair. Owen backed off, falling out of the bed. He stumbled to his feet.
"I was thinking we could get some breakfast and discuss our plans for valentines. Maybe we could go away for a weekend or something"
"Get out," he said demanded, his body full of rage.
"What?"
"Get-Out," he spoke again, walking round to her. She stood.
"I thought you loved me," she looked at him with puppy dog eyes.
"I never did, you just think I did, I don't do love, your like every other girl. I use you, I loose you, now get out."
Tears filled the woman's eyes and she ran out the apartment.
"I really need to get better security," Owen spoke sitting back down on the bed.
Owen walked into work.
"Sorry I'm late," he spoke to Jack. He realised he'd over slept after staying up to late. His alarm hadn't gone off either. He wondered if Jean had turned it off.
"Don't do it again," Jack spoke, not looking up from his desk.
"You know I will."
Owen sat at his desk.
He turned his PC on and check his mail.
To: Owen
From: Ianto
Got a match on the Giant spider case, a Derrick Parsons. See the attachment
Owen opened the file and saved it. Then went on to the next email.
To: Owen
From: Jack.
Good morning ducky!
He clicked reply and sent a rather 'pleasant email back'
To: Owen
From: Jean
There was only an attachment on this one. He opened it and got a picture of a heart that was broken. And a photo of Owen pinned to a dart board with darts through it.
'How the hell did he get my email.' He thought.
Owen jumped as Jack spoke.
"Someone likes you," he said looking over Owens's shoulder. Owen hadn't even seen him walk over.
"Yeah well, stalkers gone crazy. She'll get over it in a few days." He deleted the attachment and turned the computer off.
"Come on, there's been a sitting of a pack of blue dogs. It's either a group of youths with ASBO's and blue paint, or…"
Owen smiled, picking up his jacket. He was happy to get his mind of Jean.
Owen walked into the hub the following morning. The team where watching a TV. The news was on.
"In the early ours of this morning, someone managed to climbed the water feature in Cardiff Bay, near the Rohl Dahl Plata and attached a pain of underpants. Police are investigating the incident and are looking for witnesses. If you have any information please ring the number on the bottom of the screen."
Owens's mouth hit the floor as images of a pair of union Jack underpants where seen flying from the top of the water fountain. He recognised them instantly as his own. This was far to much of a coincidence for them not to be.
Ianto laughed.
"What the? Ianto was that you?"
"Nothing to do with me," Ianto said holding up his hands.
"Gwen, Tosh?"
"Not us, we where with you," Gwen replied.
"Jack?"
"Sorry, not me either."
Owen stormed over to his computer, bringing up footages of outside the hub. He whizzed through the footages until he noticed Jean. He stopped the footage letting it play in real time. The woman was carrying to climbing equipment. She swung something up to the top and then began to scale the water feature. It had been a cold night and so the water wasn't on.
Chuckles came from over his shoulder.
"This is not funny," Owen said.
"Come on, you can't say it isn't a little bit," Jack said, trying to stifle his laughs.
"A woman steals my underwear, climbs a water fountain and puts them on top for the whole of Cardiff to see and you think it's funny. She' mad!"
"Deserves you right the way you treat woman," Gwen replied grinning with her arms folded.
"It'll all be forgotten in a few days. She just needed to get a bit of revenge."
Owen sighed and nodded.
Owen
walked in, turning a light on and threw his keys to the table. He
kicked off his shoes into the corner, leaning down to pick up the
post. As he stood he stopped suddenly as he was met with the most
peculiar site. He stepped back looking at the object in front of him.
A rubber ducky suspended by a piece of rope, wrapped rounds its neck
like a noose. Owens's eyes went wide. He turned quickly as if
expecting someone to be there. he grabbed his gun from his pocket. He
wasn't actually supposed to have it when off duty but he felt he
needed it at the moment.
Once he had done a quick sweep of the
house he decided this was not the best place to sleep tonight. He
quickly acquired his shoes and keys and headed back out of the
apartment, back to the hub.
His dreams where blank. Empty dreams, with no colour. Not even the darkness of nothing, just emptiness. He never dreamed. Jack rolled over on his side, a blanket stretched over him.
"Jack," the words whispered. Jack didn't wake.
"Jack," the words where spoken slightly louder.
"JACK WAKE UP!" Owen shouted into Jack's ear. Jack bolted up, he pulled a gun from under his pillow, pointed directly in Owens's face. Owens's arms intensively went up in surrender position.
"Woo Jack don't get trigger happy."
Jack realised who it was an immediately lowered his gun.
"What?" he asked in a rather angered tone, rather annoyed about being rudely awoken.
"She going to kill me," he said.
"What?!" Jack said, rubbing his bed hair with a hand, then stretched.
"Jean, that woman, she's trying to kill me."
"Owen, I think you're over exadurating."
"No look," he said getting his phone out then bringing up a picture of the rubber ducky.
"So what?" Jack said, standing up grabbing a shirt. He pulled it on.
"I'm the duck, she calls me ducky. She's going to kill me," Owen said.
Jack sighed, placing his hands on his side.
The sirens went off; the two looked around at the flashing red lights.
"I really should change those to mauve," Jack mumbled to himself, he headed out of his room to the main area of the hub.
Jack headed to the nearest computer. He moved the chair out of the way and began typing away at the computer, bringing up some CTV footage.
Owen instantly recognised Jean. He face looked angry, like a mad man. She was stood in the entrance of the hub.
"She's going to kill me," Owen spoke, slightly panicked.
Jack laughed.
"I warned you when you started this job not to bring your domestics to work," Jack walked away to the lift.
Owen stayed was.
The doors to the lift opened and Jack stepped out. His hands where in his pocket and he walked calmly into the reception area. Jean was standing looking around.
"May I help you?" Jack asked politely to the lady.
"My boyfriend came in here; I don't know where he's gone."
"No ones come in here, maybe he went somewhere else." Jack gave one of his famous smiles.
"Oh, ok," she turned to leave.
"Hey would you like to go with a drink," Jack asked, putting on the charm.
"Oh well I should find him."
"He'll be fine, men always find their way home," Jack grinned from ear to ear.
"We'll…" she smiled at Jack.
As Jack grabbed his coat and Jean went out the door, Jack looked up at the camera and spoke.
"You owe me one."
The door closed behind him.
Oh and don't worry, the team never let him forget about it!
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Written 30th January 2007 © SJH