Author's note... I think of one later. I do not own Torchwood, and this is the first Torchwood fanfic I am writing/ have written. Ah, tenses are difficult, aren't they? Leave a review, tell me what you think.
Jack got out of the black rental SUV and looked around. The coordinates for the recently rediscovered Torchwood Four led him to a small town, called Jefferson, in Iowa, out of all places.
He had just got off the phone with the rest of the team, who elected to stay in Cardiff. Jack didn't blame them, staying and monitoring the rift was much better than going to the middle of nowhere to investigate the possibility of another Torchwood, although he did try to get Ianto to come, so he could spend some only time with the tea-boy.
Ianto refused, and Jack had the faintest idea why, probably because Ianto didn't want to be involved with another Torchwood that might be like Torchwood One, especially after what happened back in the Battle of Canary Wharf.
Leaving the SUV in the half circle drive of the large one story building, Jack walked up to the doors, wondering what in the hell Torchwood was thinking when they decided to place a base inside a high school. There was a rift nearby, which was why there was a Torchwood base in Iowa in the first place, but it was in the middle of the country and pretty small, spitting out only one of two alien artifacts a year.
Some students went past him as he opened the door and stepped into the building. Music played as teenagers got to their next classes. Apparently, instead of bells, music from the radio signalled the end of class.
He had called ahead, told someone named Missy over the phone that he was coming, as an inspector for Torchwood, and that person simply told him what time would be best for him to be there and the address.
Jack avoided a few bumps from the students as he went over to the office, thankfully labeled and just a couple of feet from the doors that led outside. The office door was open, so Jack went in and stood at the chest high counter.
Two office ladies, relatively young, maybes thirties, were sitting behind the pink plastic counter. They were both on phones, looking very busy. The closest to the counter put the phone to her chest to block out noise and looked up at Jack.
"Sorry, we've very busy. Everyone's trying to reschedule exams. Can you go to the back office, to Missy? She can sort you out." The lady asked kindly.
"Uh... Where is the back office?" Jack asked.
"Oh! Sorry, hang on just a second." The lady turned her head to another room, one with a glass window. Jack could see inside there was a printer and paper, along with a student who was printing things. "Hey, Kayla, could you take this visitor back to Missy?"
"Sure thing, Becky." The student, a girl around sixteen or seventeen, said. In the back of his mind, Jack was wondering what type of school this was, letting students in the back of the main office, playing music instead of a bell and students and staff calling each other by first name. "It's just back here." Kayla said as she lead him through a short corridor and into another section of the office.
There was another desk, although smaller and meant for one person. Kayla left with her papers through a door that led back into a hallway where other students were. Jack looked around before turning to the desk and the person behind it. There were a few staff offices in the back of an open area and several students were either talking or sitting at a long table against the wall, working on computers.
Jack turned back to the desk and saw that there wasn't a staff member behind it, but yet another student, wearing a baggy sweatshirt and typing away on a laptop, her feet resting on the counter next to a computer with a blank screen. Jack cleared his throat and the girl looked up.
"Yeah? My mom went on an errand, if you're looking for her. But I can take a message, if you don't want to wait." She said.
"Is your mother Missy?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, and I'm Rachel. What can I help you with?" Rachel asked. At least she was somewhat helpful, Jack thought.
"I'm Captain Jack Harkness." He said. Before he could say another word, Rachel closed her laptop and set it aside as she stood up.
"Ah, I was wondering when you would show up." She said, a slight smile on her face. "If you would follow me, that would be great."
"Okay..." Jack said. Maybe Rachel was taking him to Missy? He had assumed that Missy worked for Torchwood Four.
"Em, can you tell Mr. Smith I'm going to be late? Thanks." Rachel said to a student with red hair at the counter. "Watch the desk."
Rachel stepped out into the hall, now less students were around because the music had gone off sometime during their short conversation, and Jack followed her. They turned left and walked along a display case with various trophies. At the end of the display case, there was a cafeteria, full of students sitting at lunch tables and talking to each other, but Rachel ignore it and turned right.
Jack continued to follow her, while looking around. At the other side of display case were two rows of lockers, facing each other, and a couple students stood around, glancing Jack's way as they passed.
Class room doors were on either side of the hall after the lockers, some open and some closed. One that was open was a room filled with computers and students, listening to a teacher. Well, most of them were listening to the teacher.
Another hallway joined, making a capital t shape. The hallway he and Rachel were in continued on to a darkened area with another set of doors and a couple of lockers at the end. Jack thought that the set of doors led to the Torchwood part of the school, but he was surprised when Rachel turned the corner.
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Jack asked. The last thing he needed was for some kid to get him lost.
"Yeah, I know where." Rachel said as she walked past another display case. This one had student's art projects in it, and Jack had to admitted some were pretty good. "Hey!" She said suddenly and loudly.
Jack's attention was diverted from the art work and he looked at Rachel, who had stopped walking and was looking down the hall, where a bunch of younger students were playing with something.
"Stop messing around and get to class." Rachel said firmly and the students grumbled something not nice before leaving. "Sorry, stupid freshmen. It's just through here." She said and she opened a door.
Jack stepped through the door and found a bunch of students staring at him. The all had big pieces of paper on easels and were drawing still lifes that had been set up throughout the room. He stared right back, staring to think that this was some sort of joke.
"This way." Rachel said, ignoring the stares of her fellow students and taking him to a darkened office just inside the classroom. It was an empty computer room, with three other doors, two regular doors and one covered spinning door. He recognized it as one often used for darkrooms.
She took him over to it. "Sorry, it's going to be bit of a squeeze with us both..." She said as Jack stared at her. "Well? Get in."
Awkwardly, he stepped in. It was a tight fit, he thought to himself as he tried to not touch Rachel. She was too young for that.
Rachel turned the door a quarter of a circle and they were drenched in darkness. "Not much of a talker, eh?" She asked, chuckling softly.
"Do you really know what you're doing?" Jack asked. Right now, if this wasn't anything to do with Torchwood, he could really get into trouble.
"Yeah, system's just take a second to wake up..." She said, drawing out her last word until a red light turned on over them.
"Identification." A mechanical voice demanded.
"Rachel." She said. "Oh, and guest."
Jack raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything as the light turned back off. His knees buckled slightly as the whole capsule began to lower, like a slow elevator. It reminded him of the invisible lift, back in Cardiff.
Rachel smiled to herself as she spun the inside of the door and a large room appeared, about half the size of the hub, and the capsule continued to lower.
"Welcome to Torchwood Four." She said to Jack.