Kat moved silently towards the end of the street, staying in the shadows of a shuttered building until she reached the corner. Looking around the edge of the building she stopped and stared in disbelief. On the nearly deserted street ahead of her was a familiar black SUV.
Torchwood.
They were always right there with her if not one step ahead, getting in her way. Icy determination settled over her as she continued down the street to peer cautiously into the alleyway.
Damn! There they were. A woman and a young man talking quietly to each other in the darkened alley, highlighted by a strange blue glow being emitted by something on the far side of a large rubbish bin.
With no hesitation she crouched down next to the corner of the building, pulling out her gun at the same time. She drew in a slow, deliberate breath letting it out silently. She needed to see what it was that had fallen through the rift, to know if it was the item she was looking for. The energy signatures were a match and that knowledge alone far outweighed the possible risk of discovery. If this was the item she needed then she was prepared to take the object by force.
Leaning further out into the alley she stretched as far as she could until she caught just a brief glimpse of the object. It was a metallic orb, about the size of a football, and glowing with electric blue energy. It was definitely not the object she was looking for. Frustration churned at her stomach. The race continues.
As she pulled away her boot heel scraped carelessly across the ground and she saw the young man turn his head at the noise. Without waiting she retreated back into the shadows and ran back in the direction she had come.
***
Ianto and Gwen stood waiting for the alien device to cool down enough so they could touch it. "Why do you think it's so hot?" Gwen questioned as she crouched down next to it to get a better look. The orb was beautiful. A smooth silver ball with lines of glowing hieroglyphics and swirling blue waves of energy.
"Might have something to do with the rift energy. If it has been tumbling around the rift for a while it could have soaked up energy and become overheated. If that's the case I would think it's not very stable and we should consider destroying it before something happens."
The scanner in Gwen's hand gave a sharp beep. "Another rift spike. That's the third one within the last five minutes." Her eyes were drawn back to the hypnotic beauty of the orb as she stood up. "This little thing seems to be drawing them in." They stood looking at the object, watching as the bright blue glow faded into just a warm blue light. "A few more minutes and it should be cool enough to handle. I'll go get the gloves then."
A strange scraping noise caught Ianto's attention and he turned his head, noticing a flash of movement at the far end of the alleyway. "Gwen, we have company."
Rushing after the departing shadow he rounded the corner just in time to see it disappear down a side street. He raced to catch the observer but by the time he reached the corner they had completely vanished.
Ianto walked slowly down the street watching both sides of the road, looking for anything that might direct him to where the person had disappeared to. Nothing moved. The only sounds to be heard were the distant voices and laughter coming from outside the pub a block over. He had had this feeling before, of being watched whilst they were out on a mission. But this was the first time he had visual confirmation that someone was actually there, watching, and if he were honest about it he found it slightly unsettling.
***
Kat quickly ducked behind the portable perception screen she had set up next to the steps of a deserted building. She pulled open the messenger bag that was slung across her back and slid out a laptop. Opening it she quickly hooked up her scanner and pulled up a scan detection program. The computer program sifted quickly through the background energy before levelling out.
She didn't have long to wait because soon, too soon, the young man came running around the corner slowing down as he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Kat watched intently as he got closer and unconsciously held her breath as he stopped not three meters from her hiding spot.
The gun dug into her back as if reminding her that it was there but she knew she wouldn't be using it tonight. It wouldn't do to kill a Torchwood agent. If rumours were correct that would be like calling down certain death upon yourself. A threat, she felt, that could be easily dealt with, but for now she wasn't about to take any chances. She was still missing a piece of the puzzle and until she had it she had to leave Torchwood alone. Watch but not kill.
The man stood silently, his sharp gaze seeing everything, listening intently. There was a muted flash on the computer screen that drew her attention. The scan detector was picking up a faint signal but couldn't get a lock on it.
Slowly, carefully Kat pulled out her gun and held it ready. If the scan grew more powerful, or turned in her direction, this Torchwood agent would find her for certain. She watched him, waiting for the first sign that he detected her. He wasn't checking for a readout from anything and there was nothing in his hands. What type of scanner was he using!
A gust of wind blew some bits of paper across the road, briefly drawing the man's attention. Her gun never wavering, Kat glanced away from him and silently pressed a few keys on the laptop . She needed some readings to devise a defence for this new type of scanner. It must be some alien design she wasn't familiar with, but that wouldn't be a problem for long.
***
Ianto looked around, his gaze probing into the shadowy corners. It all seemed quiet but he still had the strange feeling that someone was there watching. He stood still, listening for any sound but only heard the normal sounds of a city at night.
Gwen came running around the corner and stopped when she saw him. "Anything?"
Ianto shook his head. "Lets get back to the hub." He tried to shake the feeling that they were still being watched, but it continued to follow him until they turned the corner.
His eyes automatically kept skipping around the area looking for any innocent reason as to why someone was peeking around corners and then running, but saw nothing. A security camera mounted to the corner of a building drew his attention and he made a mental note of the address. If he could hack into the surveillance video he may be able to pull an image of the shadow he had been chasing.
"Ianto." Gwen was already climbing into the SUV.
Time to return to the task at hand. Gwen had to be taken home and the mysterious blue orb had to be taken back to the hub and locked away.
***
Kat forced herself to wait in her hiding spot a full five minutes before moving, making sure the two Torchwood agents had truly left. She was eager to continue her work but there was no reason to take any more chances tonight.
Quickly packing up her equipment she went back to where they had found the alien device and took some residual imaging scans and a trace particles reading. The artefact may not be the one she was looking for but the current information may be useful sometime in the future and it was better to be prepared.
There was a muffled step behind her and she reacted instinctively, quickly spinning down into a crouch. Sliding the scanner into a pocket and pulling out her gun in one smooth motion. A young couple wandered into view but they were only interested in each other and didn't seem to notice the gun trained on them at the moment. Kat quickly lowered the weapon and moved it out of sight. She was getting jumpy. That was a bad sign. She needed to find the focusing key and get out of this city.
The couple passed out of sight before Kat stood again and headed out of the alley in the opposite direction, back towards where she had parked her car. Glancing at her watch she saw that it was early yet. Not even ten. There was an open supermarket just up the street and she decided to stop in. Cardiff would never measure up to her New York standards but it had the basic necessities.
The store had very few people in it at that time of night and Kat found what she wanted quickly. She set down the apple and bottle of water at the only open register.
"Well Hi. I almost didn't recognize you with your hair cut."
The young, gum chewing girl must have been talking to someone else but when Kat looked around she was the only one in sight. "I'm sorry you must have me confused with someone else." She quickly paid and grabbed up her purchases before the girl could question her further. That was the second time in as many days that someone seemed to recognize her. It could be dangerous. She had better try to find out who this person was to prevent possible damage to her mission. People remember seeing a familiar face. But then again it could also possibly be used to her advantage, a red herring if someone was looking for her. She needed to find out for certain.
***
Ianto wound his way through the maze of corridors on the sub levels below the archives, his footsteps echoing hollowly on the cold cement floor as he neared his destination. The solitary door was set at the far end of the corridor furthest away from the hub. The security pad to the right of the door showed that the security was still active and running smoothly. Punching in a security code he unlocked the door and pulled it open. The rusty hinges giving way reluctantly to reveal a small room, empty but for a table and chair set against one wall. Ianto shivered in the cold dead air as he set the alien object on the table and quickly turned to leave. He wasn't usually claustrophobic but the thick heavy walls and secluded location were not comfortable to him this evening. Making sure the door latched completely he typed in the security code to lock it once more. That room could contain anything from an explosion to a rift spike and he wanted to make sure if either occurred it would stay contained.
Making his way back through the corridors he paused at the bottom of the stairs leading back up to his archives before entering the storage room to his left. A soft light flickered on revealing a warm and inviting room with a large bed set against the far wall.
Massaging lightly at the tense muscles in his neck Ianto pulled off his coat and tie, hanging them in the wardrobe set in the corner of the room before kicking off his shoes. He dug his toes into the thick rug covering the cold floor as he quickly shed the rest of his clothes. Throwing them over a chair he climbed into the large bed wearing just his boxers. He turned off the light and gave a satisfied sigh as he slid between the silky sheets and warm duvet letting his body relax completely. The events of the day, weevils, retcon, and rift spikes, continued to spin out of control through his thoughts but he forcibly drove them out, one by one. Letting his mind start to relax as completely as his body.
Burrowing deeper under the covers he heard the door open and close and knew Jack had entered the room. The soft rustling sounds let Ianto know that Jack had taken off his shoes, shirt, and trousers before lifting the covers and sliding into bed with him.
"You're not getting any tonight, Jack. I'm much too tired."
There was a smile in Jacks voice and Ianto felt his arms slide around his waist. "Is that a challenge?" Before he could reply Jack continued, "But who said I wanted anything? I'm expecting a call in half an hour so I thought maybe we could just cuddle for a few minutes until I have to get back to work."
Ianto rolled over and buried his face into the curve of Jacks shoulder wrapping an arm around his waist. He felt Jacks lips on his forehead and let the exhaustion creep over him as he relaxed deeper into Jacks warmth, starting to drift off sleepily. "We were watched tonight."
Jack stiffen slightly at this comment. "Did you get a look at the guy?"
"It was just a shadow that disappeared down a side street. I'll check the CCTV footage in the morning to see if we can get an ID."
His sleepy murmur drifted away leaving Jack with a number of questions, but as he felt Ianto's slow even breathing he knew they would have to wait until morning. His young lover needed to sleep and Jack needed to talk to some thick headed bureaucrats. The secrecy was tearing him up inside and his friends deserved to know the truth.
***
"I don't give a damn what you think! These are my people and I think they need to know." Jack's angry voice echoed around the deserted hub. "You can threaten all you want but they know what they're doing and would be more of an asset to everyone if they were let in on your little problem."
Jack paced angrily back and forth behind his desk listening as the person on the line tried to force him into seeing things their way. It wasn't working.
"If my people are kept out of the loop then you may as well leave the whole of Torchwood Three out of your loop. I don't keep secrets from my team if it will put them in any kind of danger. So why don't I just put that in a nice little report and you can shove it up your…" A hand came out of nowhere and covered his mouth as the other hand grabbed the phone away and hung it up.
Jack spun around, his emotions still fired up, to find Ianto standing behind him wearing nothing but black, drawstring pyjama bottoms riding low on his hips. His calm expression and bare chest caused much of Jack's anger drain away. "Where did you come from?"
"I came to find out if you were coming down to bed or if you were just going to relax up here in your bunker, but it appears that I got here just in time to save you from making a big mistake."
"They wanted me to send you and Gwen out on a recon mission without letting you know why or even what you were watching. I couldn't let that happen." Jack felt his anger start to rise again only to morph into a completely different emotion as Ianto pressed a hand against his cheek.
"Of course you couldn't and when Gwen arrives in the morning we will all discuss it together, but for now let's let it go and find something more… relaxing… to concentrate on." He quirked an eyebrow at Jack drawing his hand away and taking a step back.
Jack's eyes narrowed and he gave Ianto a heated look as he took a step forward, all thoughts of secrecy and bureaucrats evaporating into nothingness. "Relaxing? I've got just the thing."
***
Kat took a sip from her water bottle whilst staring intently at the three dimensional holographic map of the earth that was suspended in front of her. With an angry flick of her finger she started the globe rotating slowly. The Cardiff area rift was marked by a bright yellow slash as was an area near New York City, with a number of bright red and darker red points scattered around the globe marking other areas with minor rift activity. She scowled at the number of small rift spikes that were registering on the map. The energy signatures did not match the ones she was looking for, but still, how was she supposed to follow up on even half of them?