It is quite here. He can see the lights, the life, the people of the city, but remain above them. Standing here on this rooftop overlooking Cardiff helped remind him why he fights. They look so small, so fragile and they need his protection. The problem is if he can't protect his own team, how can he protect all of them? "The Rift is getting more active every day, we can barely keep up. Not a day goes by that Owen isn't patching up someone in the infirmary. How long can we walk this tightrope before it breaks? If any of them were to die, how could I live with it? I can't keep losing people I care about like that," Jack sighed sadly. He had been here on this rooftop for over 2 hours brooding and talking out loud to himself in despair. He never noticed the small form sitting back in the shadows listening to his every word.
She had always been good at blending into shadows, being statue still and quiet. She should be good at it. It was what she was made to do – to disappear, to listen, to track, to spy. She listened as the beautiful man with the ancient eyes spoke his worries to no one, or so he thought. He was a puzzle, she could see the life energy, the golden glow trying to burst out of him; pushing at his skin. How did he become this way. He was so very sad and he loves these people he speaks of so very much.
She knew it was foolish and dangerous considering what she was, but she had to help him. Professor Soong had always said compassion was her fatal flaw and maybe he was right. He always told her "A tracker has to be cold and professional to blend in with all environments. To not get lost and start believing she is part of the world she is hiding in." There was just something about this man who demands her aid. She knew she couldn't walk away. He was fighting for this planet and she worried for him and his friends. She could feel danger and darkness coming in like the tide. She wasn't sure it could be stopped, but this man was determined to try and she felt compelled to help him. She was sure this was a very bad idea, but she couldn't think past that sad determination in his eyes. It was definitely some form of cosmic insanity. She really did know better than this. The only thing that was going to come out of getting involved here was them finding out what she was. That would be bad; it usually ended with her running for her life. She wasn't evil, she tried to help people. It is not her fault that she is easily confused with her kin – who just happen to be assassins who would rather slaughter a whole town than let one potential witness get away. You can't pick your family. Every species she had ever come across had that saying in their native language. You can't get more universal truth than that.
The man, Captain Jack Harkness she had learned since she had been tracking him for the past week, started down from the roof. She waits until he is halfway down before she moves to follow. He is beautiful in the light. His smile, confidence, even his outdated apparel is dazzling. This is the mask he wears for the world. It is a mask that hides an infinite amount of pain. She can see it shimmering just under the calm surface he presents. How very sad. No matter where the tracker wanders or what species she meets there are always those who wear these masks. Some remove their masks in time with another's help, if they are brave and loved. Others make their masks a permanent part of them because the mask has always been there and they are safe behind it. The tracker often wonders which she will be. Will she wear her mask forever, or will someone find her who doesn't care that she is runaway property, a constructed being, a creature created to spy, to kill; but given so many more gifts that she couldn't be content with that shallow, restricted life? She shakes herself at her silly musings. She must live in reality. She has no personal rights, she is a fugitive – quite literally lost and stolen property at the same time – which makes no sense, but there you go. She thought she had made her peace with her lot in the universe a long time ago, but these humans seem to stir up all sorts of emotions in her. Must be spillover, she has to tighten up her shields. Of all the gifts she possessed, the only one which caused her pain was being empathic. She didn't just know what others were feeling, if she didn't keep tight shields in place she actually felt their emotions. She could block them from her conscious mind, but they still got through to some extent. She had horrible nightmares; there was a price for everything according to the Professor. He should know about prices and paying them. Unfortunately the tracker thinks, she is paying right along with him. She sets off after Captain Harkness with a determined look on her face.
"They live underground! This rift must be controlled or manipulated or concentrated, however they like it, by machinery in that water tower structure!" she breathed excitedly, "That is bloody brilliant" she laughs using a phrase she had heard from the locals. She had noticed the team seemed to have control of the camera systems which covered the city not long after she arrived. Her personal electromagnetic field was strong enough that it disrupted any attempts to record her activities. She ignored the cameras and went about her business. As she scouted the area around the water tower, she noted the perception filter over the lift. This looks like a good entrance for later and was duly noted. She entered some of the shops to browse and look for other entrances. When she entered the tourist information shop, she knew she had found the other entrance. She sensed increased electrical emanations inside the structure. She looked up at the person behind the counter to exchange a few pleasant words before she left, and then was struck speechless. The man was young, handsome, with dark hair and a nice smile. When he said hello, he had a Welsh accent. The tracker decided the Welsh accent was defiantly her favorite of any she had heard on this planet so far. It was when she looked into his eyes, that the speechless thing happened. He broke right through all her shields. Such sadness and resignation, anger and longing, then came the fear and the images that came with it. She will never forget the things she saw behind his eyes. It only lasted a few seconds, but she saw everything. "I have to find out who hurt him, who put that pain there. Vishnu is not my patroness, but she did teach me to kill. If those people have not been properly punished, that situation will be remedied." She growled under her breath. When she found her voice, she asked him questions about the Quay and the Millennium center and Cardiff. He answered pleasantly enough. After she left, he thought she was an interesting girl, such blue eyes, but kind of odd. A few minutes later he was searching around the office wondering where the smell of jasmine was coming from.
She decided to watch discreetly for the rest of the day and go into their base at night. She planned to get facial IDs on the other people she needed to look out for. She already knew their names from eavesdropping on Jack and she had seen some of their faces from a distance. She needed better up close pictures for definite ID and also information and addresses. There was apparently no rift activity to bring them out today, so they didn't emerge until late in the evening. One by one they left the area all through the tourist storefront. At midnight, only Jack and Ianto were left in the Hub as Toshiko Sato called it. She got close enough to Toshiko and the doctor, Owen Harper, as they were leaving to eavesdrop. They spoke about the hub and Toshiko's workstation in enough detail, that the tracker feels pretty sure she can pick it out when she enters. The perception filter lift is her planned manner of entry. She studies the lift for a moment tilting her head to the left in concentration. She uses no fancy tech, just places her left hand palm down on the lift. Her eyes flash gold as she manipulates her personal electromagnetic field. This triggers the lift to move. She allows it to open about 12 inches. She whispers a prayer to E'Mosh and slips inside. She lands on the floor as quiet as a cat. She hears heavy breathing and moans from somewhere above her. She is quiet, listening, locating. She localizes the sounds to what appears to be an office on the upper level.
Smiling she moves away from the sound and towards the desks in the center of the ground floor. She locates the computer belonging to Toshiko Sato and sits in front of it. Her fingers move lightly over the keyboard accessing Torchwoods encrypted databases. She quickly finds the personnel files and memorizes what she sees instantly. Toshiko's file flicks across the screen, then Owen's, Gwen's, Jacks, and finally Ianto's. The tracker smiles when she scans Ianto's file. She logs out and shuts down the computer. Another quick prayer to E'Mosh is offered as she looks around thoughtfully then returns to the lift, is up, out and away.
A couple of minutes later Ianto and Jack come out of Jack's office. "Did you feel that" asked Jack? "Exactly which that are you referring to?" smirked Ianto. "It just feels like someone's been in here," Jack was checking the computers and files for tampering. Ianto came down and pulled up the CCTV for Jack. "Nothing to see but us and I cut those cameras off before we got started. " Ianto showed Jack the footage. "Don't you smell it, very faint," Jack insisted, "but defiantly there." "Yeah now that you mention it, floral and sweet. I smelled it earlier in the tourist office to," Ianto confirmed. "Jasmine, that is night blooming jasmine. It is very subtle, but there," Jack mused. Ianto was incredulous, "No one could get in and out of here without us knowing. The cog door has alarms, they can't see the invisible lift, there is no way in! They would have been caught on CCTV." Jack smiled, "Obviously they were very good, smelled good anyway. Nothing taken, or even moved, no computer files accessed. I wonder what they were looking for. Get Tosh to go over all the computers thoroughly for signs of tampering. I want to know who or what was in here tonight and why.