Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Liam Doughtery held a portal device in one hand and his mobile in the other. Although damn cold, he needed to walk. The park near the entrance was nice. After the biomech attacked Erin and Luc outside the Chinese restaurant, they had to be careful.
His mobile rang and he jumped. "Hello?"
"Good morning."
Liam felt ridiculous smiling. "Trefor."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. How's Ireland?" Liam hoped he sounded normal.
"Warmer than Canada."
"Yeah." Liam missed Dublin. It was the only home he'd ever known. When the feelings faded, he'd go back, and figure out how to work with Trefor. Nessa would be more complicated. She had what he wanted.
"I need to ask something." From Trefor's tone it wasn't personal. "What do you know about Azrael?"
"The guy that rescued Luc? Uh, not much."
Trefor hesitated. "We've had another report of a similar situation. I need information."
"I'm not a spy."
"I know."
"I need to go."
"Be careful." Trefor paused. "Please call Jeannette; she's worried."
Liam headed back inside. He pictured going back. The reunion would be awkward. They'd stand and stare at each other unsure what to say or do. It might even go back to the way it was for a few days before he had sex with Trefor one-on-one. Except between the way he felt and Trefor sounded, it wouldn't stay platonic. If he was honest with himself, he wanted to go home, curl up with Trefor, and forget why he left. But he couldn't. Which was why he was freezing his arse in Canada in January.
Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales
The office was to quiet, Ianto thought. Michael fussed long enough for a clean diaper and a bottle, and drifted back to sleep. Anwen and Trefor were at school. Short of another crisis, Gwen would take them home instead of bring them in. He thought about wandering upstairs and sitting with Jack or claiming his office. Jack would probably worry.
He peaked at Michael dosing in his sling before returning to the information Liam sent. Tracking the company or companies behind the Caribbean medical facility and biomech lab was complicated. Information from recovered hard drives offered insight into their extreme approaches to maintaining secrecy.
One name caught Ianto's attention. A Crawford Collick worked at the Torchwood Institute in another division. Ianto only remembered Collick because he pursued Lisa. She thought he was sleazy. Most men didn't hit on women in front of their boyfriends.
Ianto wondered if it was the same man. He started by checking the death records from the Cyberman attack. Collick was listed among the deceased. To reassure himself, he checked for Collick's Institute file and couldn't find it. He rarely checked the employee files. Files didn't disappear for good reasons.
That made him think of Ronald Beaupre and Derrian Talbot. He did a quick search. Both were reported dead in the late 1990s. Their profiles existed, but weren't accurate. The general provided better information. From interviewing the Talbots, Jack thought Janne was a Torchwood agent also. But she didn't have a profile.
Ianto tapped his ear com. "Jack, are you at the hub?"
"Yeah."
Ianto explained what he found. "I have no way to confirm it's the same person with the information I'm reviewing. Do we have employment files from the medical facility?"
"Possibly. What are you thinking?"
"One of Beaupre's people. I could have seen Collick dead that day and not remember it." The memories returned with the smell of smoke. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths.
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah. I need to work on something else."
Torchwood Four; Dublin, Ireland
General Trefor Williams motioned Nessa into the hall. She didn't have class and was thankfully watching the girls. They sat in the small meeting room looking angelic and doing school work. They seemed to sprout horns when Nessa wasn't looking.
"They're not scary," Nessa said quietly, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
"I spoke to Liam. He's okay."
"Good. Jeannette is refusing to babysit because she's worried about him and blaming us for him not being here."
"Is she okay?"
Nessa took his hand. "Yeah. She's trying to figure out how to make friends with Xiu."
The general shook his head. "Jeanette could explain Four. Xiu hasn't figure out the facility is sentient and blocking her access to sections. I think Four finds it funny."
Nessa laughed. "When did we start a daycare?"
The general's ear com chimed. He tapped it. "Williams."
"Good morning."
Speaking of children, the general mouthed.
"Say hi to Jack for me." She walked back into the room.
The general walked down the hall. "What happened?"
"Does the name Crawford Collick mean anything?" Jack asked.
"He's not Welsh."
Jack explained the connection between the island and Torchwood and the missing file. "Ianto remembers Collick for bad social behavior, not his job. I doubt it involved the public."
"Medical or science research. Do we have anything beyond an unfortunate name?"
"No. When Anwen's home from school, I'll call Gwen about a Global search. Unless you call the Kearas."
The general hesitated. "John would have a better chance with the Soldier version on the space station. They were lovers."
"No. John's not in a good place right now."
"Do I want to know?" The general groaned.
"Ken left."
The stopped and closed his eyes a moment and set a hand over his face. "Is John contained?"
"Yeah."
"Expect to have Anwen run the search."
(warehouse near Williams' Haulage)
Dmitri Petrescu reviewed brain scan readings. During the coma, he'd repeatedly viewed John's results and previous scans for answers he couldn't find. As a doctor being unable to help a friend was difficult. The one silver lining was Dmitri learned about both neurological scans and John's individual readings. Something changed. The information indicating his connection to Anwen lessened. It suggested another influence affecting him. What, where, how and why were always the questions. Unfortunately, without a starting point, it was daunting.
Dmitri tapped the communication panel Oldaria established. The window between rooms allowed them to see each other. "Are you familiar with your own neurological scans?"
"Why?" John laid on his back staring at the ceiling.
"There are indications you're being affected. It's potentially affecting your connection to Anwen."
John looked at the glass. "Who do I thank?"
Dmitri focused on keeping the exasperation from his voice. "John, You're in the cage until I can figure out how to fix this. If you want out, I need your help."
John sat forward and swung his legs over the edge of the cot. His expression was cold and hard. Dmitri wondered if the darker parts of John's personality were targeted. There were a lot of possible causes. The effect could have even been delayed as a result of coping mechanisms. Being a recovering addict, with John's history, required a lot of determination. Recent stress and Ken's leaving could have made it impossible for him to resist. Or it aggravated the outcome.
"Has anything unusual happened?"
John laughed harshly.
Dmitri hesitated not wanting to ask. "Why did Ken leave?"
"Jack. After Dawn died, he wanted paperwork for Michael. Asking Ken to babysit a sick pregnant woman wasn't enough. I should have said no. Instead I let Jack saddle Ken with a baby." John stood. "Jack wouldn't risk Ianto getting overwhelmed. Ianto matters."
Dmitri wondered why John lied as he stepped from the room. Ken enjoyed Dawn's company most of the time. If it was stress, Ken would have come back when he missed Michael. There had to be something else going on. Deflecting onto Jack fit with what Gwen and Ianto expected of John. Except if he blamed Jack for risking Ken instead of Ianto, John would be upset with Ianto. John didn't call Ianto eye candy. Not only was John lying, he wasn't thinking clearly, or he wouldn't have made an obvious mistake.
Jack answered on the second ring. "Harkness."
"Hey. Have you ever known John to be so stressed he couldn't lie."
"No."
From what Dmitri had seen, John could lie as easily as he breathed. "He lied about why Ken left, but it was obvious."
"What did he say?"
Dmitri explained.
"That's an amateur mistake." Jack paused. "Ken's behavior changed after the coma."
"Anwen wears a necklace with two rings on it. Ken overheard Owen ask Gwen about it and reacted strangely."
Jack groaned. "Ken left because of Anwen. When John arrived from future Torchwood, he wore an engagement ring the Anwen in 2049 didn't accept. When he left for Canada to help Luc more than a year ago, he gave it to Anwen to hold. She refused to give it back to him."
"That explains why he blocked the current Anwen not how." Dmitri knew he had to ask about something he told John he didn't want to know. "John did something that you won't forgive him for. I told him it didn't matter. Under other circumstances, I wouldn't ask. But…"
"That shouldn't be related. The other person involved is dead." Jack hesitated. "Do not let John out. If it's related, we have a serious problem."
"Jack, what happened?"
"My brother Gray strapped a bomb to John's wrist as a way to control him. He did unthinkable things that had," Jack hesitated. "Consequences."
Dmitri closed his eyes. "Why did your brother target John?"
"John attempted to rescue Gray. His alien captors left him for dead. He blamed me for being captured. John didn't know that."
"I will ask Robert if he knows what happened to Gray from their universe."