Owen Harper pointed his car's alarm remote in the vague direction of where he thought he might have parked the night before- he was greeted by the sound of silence.
"Oh, bloody wonderful!" He grumbled to himself, banged the remote into the palm of his hand and tried again- still nothing. Of all the mornings he really didn't need the battery to go on strike, this was it. Granted he knew it needed replacing, but somehow (as usual) the normal things of life managed to get smothered by Torchwood.
Wandering up the road, he finally found his car, sighed loudly and then glanced around, although it was barely light, there was bound to be some insomniac jogger pounding the streets.
Pushing his hand into his coat, he held the remote against his armpit and pressed. A mournful beep was followed by the clicking of his car as it unlocked.
Getting inside, he threw his bag onto the floor, dropped his mobile onto the seat, then slammed the door shut. Leaning back against the headrest he closed his eyes, all he had to do now, was get today over and done with, then he could look forward to three whole days of doing nothing at all.
His mobile began to ring insistently and Owen groaned loudly. Great! They couldn't even wait for him to get into the Hub now!
"Yeah," he yelled down the phone, not even attempting to sound co-operative.
Jack sat in his office, leaning back in his chair feet up on the desk, holding the phone well away from his ear.
"Morning Owen," then quietly waited for the string of expletives to stop. "I wanted to catch you before you left home."
Wincing, he sighed and waited once again for the volume level to drop. "Yeah, I know. Anyway, thing is, we've had a call from a couple of streets away from you, so... Yeah I know, no I haven't forgotten." Chance would be a fine thing he thought, leaning over and putting the phone onto his desk, every time he's seen his medic for the last week the first words out of his mouth had been don't forget. He'd have to have the attention span of a goldfish not to have remembered.
When the voice on the phone finally stopped, Jack picked up the receiver again and listened cautiously in case he was just pausing for breath.
"Okay I'll send the address, police should already be there. Some woman out on an early morning jog, reckoned she got pounced on by something that she described as looking like a cross between a kangaroo and a shark."
"Sounds new," Owen murmured, although at that time in a morning...
"I take it you checked she was wearing her contact lenses? You know what happened last time?"
Jack nodded, a short sighted early morning jogger, had reported what had turned out to be a cat, with its head stuck inside a cornflakes packet. "This one seems genuine enough."
Turning on the ignition, Owen nodded, "Yeah, okay. I'll go and take a look. "
Cancelling the call, the phone was still in his hand when it sounded the alert for a text message, he opened it and checked the address, it was vaguely familiar. Returning the phone to the passenger seat, he put the car in gear and drove off.
The road was easy enough to find, but the numbers didn't seem to run to any kind of pattern, surprisingly, there was a woman standing by the curb.
Owen pulled over and opened his car window. "S'cuse me luv, I'm looking for number 129."
The woman nodded, "Up there," she said, pointing, then turning away.
"Cheers," he mumbled, then drove off.
Rounding a bend, he was greeted by the sight of police incident tape strung across the road and a young policeman standing nervously beside it, trying to look like he knew what he was doing. Beyond the tape, an assortment of police vehicles and men milled around aimlessly, all trying to look like the were actually doing something useful.
"Yippee, Plods are bloody us," Owen grumbled to himself under his breath, then poked his head out of the window as his car rolled to a stop. "I'm expected, name's Harper, Torchwood."
The policeman eyed him suspiciously. "You got any ID there, sir?" He enquired, walking slowly towards the car.
Owen closed his eyes, wonderful, just what he needed! "Yeah, I have mate." Of all the Plods in Cardiff he had to come across one at this time in the morning who didn't know who he worked for.
The policeman walked slowly towards Owen's car, eyeing the man up, he'd heard things about Torchwood, but this was the first time he'd come into contact with anyone from it.
Just as he reached the car, a voice from behind him yelled. "You Harper? Torchwood?"
"Yeah, that's right," Owen yelled back.
The policeman turned, annoyed that he hadn't had the chance to check Owen's ID. "Just checking sir," he said, nodding towards Owen.
"Just let him through," the other man replied wearily, the sooner this man get where he wanted to go, the happier both of them would be. Walking back towards the tape, he slowly lifted it so Owen could drive underneath.
"Thanks." Owen nodded, then drove towards the collection of emergency vehicles clustered together on one side of the road.
Parking well away from them, he walked back towards the house, glancing into the back of one of the ambulance as he passed. "They need you for anything?" He enquired.
The ambulance man shook his head, "Nope. Not a cat or a box of cornflakes in sight," he said, laughing.
Owen grinned back, so that's where he recognised his face from. "Gawd protect us from women who won't wear their bloody glasses," he said, then jogged towards the house that seemed to be the centre of all the attention.
The room was dimly lit, he found himself wondering why so many people were in the room and no one had bothered to put the light on. He nodded to what he presumed was a plain clothed detective, the man returned his nod then walked past him out of the room.
Thanks a lot, Owen thought, then suddenly realised that the other people in the room were also heading silently for the doorway. Puzzled he moved towards the settee where a woman was sitting. Presumably this was the eye witness Jack had mentioned.
Almost on cue, she looked up at him, he hesitated, staring, her eyes were a stunningly vivid blue colour. He couldn't look away from them, mesmerised, he began to feel light headed, the room began to spin and knew he was losing his balance, he put out his hand, trying to grab hold of something to stop himself from falling, then everything went black.
When Owen regained consciousness he was lying huddled up on the floor. His head thumped with what he would have blamed on the mother of all hangovers, if it hadn't been for the fact that he knew damned well he hadn't been drinking!
"What happened?" he asked, trying to sit up. The room was now so bright he had to put his hand up in front of his eyes to shield them from the sun that was streaming in through the windows.
Struggling to his feet, he finally succeeded in looking around the room- it was empty. The woman was gone, along with all the furniture.
"Wonderful!" He grumbled, heading for the door. Grabbing the handle he pulled, when it didn't show any signs of opening , he jiggled it, then gave the door a swift kick. No matter what he tried the door remained stubbornly close.
Glaring, he leaned back against it and began searching his pockets for his phone. the battery warning flashed ominously. Dialling the Hub, he waited for someone to answer. "Come on... Ianto! Great, where's Jack? Yeah right, I'm supposed to believe you?" Shaking his head in disbelief, so Ianto Jones expected him to believe that he didn't know where Jack was? Pull the other one!
"There isn't time for this, my battery's going, tell Jack to get to that address he sent me to this morning, I'm locked in." He could hear the other man trying to hide the amusement in his voice. "yeah, I know hysterically funny... not!" Closing his eyes, he let out a loud sigh. "Look, do me a favour will you, just get somebody down here and me out. okay?"
Ianto Jones put the receiver down and smiled across at Jack, he couldn't help it, the thought of Owen having to ring up to get rescued from a locked room was hysterically funny.
"Who was it?" Jack asked, giving the pile of paperwork strewn across his desk an annoyed look. If there was any chance of avoiding doing anything about it for a while he would welcome it with open arms.
"Owen," Ianto replied, trying hard not to look smug. "He's locked in some room somewhere, wants rescuing apparently."
Jack looked up, surprised. "What? You mean he's not back yet?" He been so distracted by all the paperwork, he hadn't noticed that his medic hadn't come in.
Ianto shook his head. "Nope. You got the address where he went? I could go and..."
Jack sprang to his feet, suddenly eager to do something about Owen's predicament (and conveniently escape a rather large chunk of admin. at the same time).
"No problem, I'll go, any chance you could..." Jack waved his hand vaguely towards his desk. "Only, y'know. I really have to go and sort this out." Giving the other man a winning smile, he raised his eyebrows hopefully.
Ianto blinked slowly, not in the least bit surprised that he was going to end up sorting out the backlog, it was always the same, give Jack an excuse to get out and leave him to sort it and he took it every single time. Not that he minded, he found sorting out the chaos on Jack's desk strangely therapeutic.
"Don't mind me sir, I'll just soldier on regardless," he called after his rapidly retreating boss.
Owen sat on the floor, leaning against the door, waiting for the cavalry to arrive. His mobile played it's usual text alert tune and he looked idly down at the screen, expecting some kind of confirmation from Ianto that help was on its way. He only glanced at the message the first time, then stared and re-read it. What the!
This room will self destruct in three hours or less. It is advisable that you vacate the premises as soon as possible. The time frame is only an estimate please pay attention to all announcements. Thank you. Have a nice day.
"What?" Owen stared at his phone, it promptly beeped it's low battery warning. "Oh shit!" Getting up hurriedly from the floor he attacked the window, banging and yelling, but the road was deserted, no help would come from there.
A calm clear voice suddenly announced, "Good morning Mr. Harper you have 120 Earth minutes to vacate the premises."
Owen spun to face the voice, but the room was empty, "Oy! You said three hours, that's only... oh bloody hell!"
No sooner had he started to argue about the time than his phone turned its self off. Owen closed his eyes, just when he thought things couldn't get any worse!
"Okay, fine. Well for your information," he yelled up at the ceiling, "I am not going to be blown up by a bloody alien having a bad hair day. Alright?"
Grabbing hold of his bag, he began to rummage around for something (anything) he could use to try and get the door open. Syringes wouldn't be much use, the needles weren't strong enough for what he had in mind. There were enough tranquillisers to knock out an elephant, but they wouldn't be much use unless...
Shoving them into his pocket, he dropped his bag back onto the floor, if it did get too close to the deadline, he could at least make sure he wasn't conscious for the end.
Checking his inside jacket pocket, he sighed with relief when his fingers closed around what he had been hoping was there... a lock pick.
He hadn't come across a lock yet he couldn't open when he wanted to (thanks to having to get his stuff back ,when he kept getting thrown out of flats for not paying rent when he was a student).
Several minutes of swearing later, he came to the conclusion that this lock was unpick-able.
Thinking he heard something moving on the other side of the door, he hit out repeatedly with the palm of his hand. "Oy! Anybody there? Hello?" Leaning against the door, ear pressing hard against the wood, he listened for several seconds, then decided he must have been hearing things and moved away from the door.
In the corridor outside, a tall slender woman stood silently staring. Her head tipped slowly to one side as Owen hammered noisily on the door with his fist, then she slowly licked her lips and nodded.
Owen stood in the centre of the empty room, arms folded tightly across his chest, head thrust forward as he tried to make sense of what had happened so far. When the voice started up again, he jumped nervously.
" You have 62 Earth minutes left." It announced flatly.
"I know time flies when you're having fun but that's bloody ridiculous!" Owen grumbled to himself. Where the hell was help?
Glancing towards the window, he noticed someone standing outside, rushing forwards he stopped suddenly, it was that woman again. Seeing her in daylight left him in no doubt that whatever she was, it wasn't human. Her skin was deathly pale and seemed to fade even more as the sunlight illuminated her face. She turned towards him, a fixed expression that seemed friendly enough but somehow didn't seem to make contact, then she raised her arm and pointed straight at him, her long slender finger seemed almost as if it was melting in the light. He knew those eyes (he was hardly likely to forget them) they were the last thing he remembered before he passed out!
She looked away from him, then seemed to nod to someone he couldn't see, he pressed against the window pane trying to get a view of whoever it was that was out there but he couldn't.
Backing away, he looked towards her again, but she had vanished.
. . . .
Jack Harkness steered the SUV towards the curb then turned off the engine, got out and looked down the road. A woman was standing on the pavement watching him, nodding she then pointed towards one of the houses. Her dress moved slightly, as if a gentle breeze had caught it, ruffling its surface. Her face seemed to be fading in the sunlight, Jack rubbed his eyes- just an illusion.
Close the door, he turned back , meaning to go and talk to her, but she had vanished. Shrugging he headed for the house she had pointed to, presuming that she had already gone inside.
Owen began to pace up and down, frustrated by the silence and nothing happening. Glancing out of the window he spotted Jack coming towards the house. "Finally!" Then suddenly he found himself wondering what would happen if they both got trapped. rushing back to the window he thumped loudly on the glass, trying to get his attention, but Jack didn't react. Eyes narrowing he backed away. He must have heard him, but his reactions (or lack of them) suggested that he couldn't hear. He stood silently watching as Jack went to the front door and into the house, if this was a double trap there was nothing he could do.
Moving back to the door he began banging repeatedly on it. "Jack? You there? Jack?"
Pushing the front door, Jack walked warily into the house, then stopped and listened, Silence. Then he heard Owen yelling from somewhere down the hallway.
"Yeah, Owen. Hang on." Sprinting towards the noise, he grabbed the handle of the door and pushed, not really surprised when nothing happened, he glanced around the frame checking for a key.
"Owen? You in there?"
"Yeah, go to the top of the bloody class," Owen's voice grumbled back at him.
"You have 32 Earth minutes before detonation." The voice suddenly announced.
"What the hell was that?" Jack demanded, trying to work out where the voice had come from (it seemed to surround him).
"Did I mention some barking mad lunatic is trying to blow me up?" Owen enquired from the other side of the door.
"I think maybe you should have mentioned that earlier," Jack said, amused at the growing frustration he could hear in his medic's voice.
Opening his wrist strap he began scanning the doorway, the readings weren't good. "Well, I'm not surprised the door won't open. It's got some kind of time lock on it."
"So, you're saying that you can't get me out?" Owen's voice suddenly fell silent, his hand automatically checking his pocket for the painkillers. "Okay. Get clear. I've got enough stuff here to make sure I won't feel a thing. Do me a favour Jack, remember that annoying sod we met at the hospital the other week?"
Jack nodded. "Never likely to forget him," he said, shaking his head slowly, regular jobs-worth, if ever there was one!
"Insist he does the autopsy, on all the parts." A lopsided smile suddenly formed on his face, that would keep him out of everybody's way for quite a while!
"You have twenty Earth seconds to detonation," the voice intoned suddenly.
"Jack, get the hell out of here," Owen yelled urgently.
"I can release it," he yelled back, "There's a fluctuation, it should..."
"Go, for fucks sake. Go!" Owen yelled, leaning against the door, at the same time reaching into his pocket.
The door suddenly swung open, Owen dived through, hands over his ears in an attempt to protect his head and muffle the sound of the explosion.
Silence.
He stared at a pair of shoes that were inches away from his face. "Jack?" He asked tentatively, then rolled over and gazed up at the tiled wall of the Hub.
Jack watched Owen as he slowly got to his feet, one minute his medic had been sleeping peacefully on the settee the next minute he was diving across the floor.
"That must have been one hell of a dream!" Amused, he turned back towards his office. "Remind me to get you to tell me about it one of these days. Y'know, when there isn't any work you should be doing."
Owen stood watching the others as they moved back to their workstations, he'd had nightmares before, but nothing as vivid as that! Sighing with relief he walked towards the autopsy stairs, work to do.
Something rattled in his pocket and put his hand in to check what it was.
What the...
Painkillers!.
The End
.