It seems some but not all of us suffered from missing alerts. I hope they are working properly now. But back to the story. How are the team coping?
Getting Even
Chapter Seven
High up on the shop roof, John (Wally) Wallswell opened another can of beer. The early morning was as bright and sunny as its predecessors but this corner was still in shadow and he needed the alcohol to keep him warm. Or that's what he told himself. Besides, he liked it, liked it very much. He sipped some more.
He had not started on the beer until after setting up his nest. It was neat and tidy with everything to hand, just as he'd been taught in the Army. Pushed right into the corner was one of the blankets, held rigid by the (empty) cardboard beer cartons, on which rested the butt of the Defabricator gun. Its muzzle leant against the top of the parapet which was padded for four feet in each direction with the sanitary towels to eliminate noise and friction. He had rubbed polish on the towels so their whiteness would not stand out and be seen from below. Some polish had also gone on his face for the same reason. The Jizm'll had acute eyesight, that's what Karen had said, and he didn't want to give them a target. Wally reached out and minutely adjusted the position of the Newok blaster lying with the loaded Glock on another blanket alongside him. Spare ammunition and grenades were stacked neatly on his other side. Two beer cans stood there also. Empty of their original contents, they now held chemicals laboriously obtained from the batteries and mixed with water ready to recharge the energy weapons.
Looking at it all, he considered himself ready to do his duty. Defend the city against the Jizm'll Horde, that's what Karen had said when she gave them their final orders. Barry and Sandy had been standing with him, weapons at their feet, and Clarrie was just in front. The others were spread around the Hub. The images blurred as older memories were overlaid by more recent ones. He shook his head. What did it matter if the Hub had looked different last night, he still had a job to do. Finishing the can, he placed it in line by the other empties and reached for another.
-ooOoo-
It felt like the calm before the storm except that the storm had already passed. Sitting idly at his desk Owen stared at his screen saver, watching the flying icons appear and disappear. He had things he should be doing but couldn't recall what they were. Toshiko was still sleeping, her best cure, and Ianto was with Jack. Owen didn't know how he could bear to stay with him. Their boss had started to drool constantly. His limbs jerked too, flying up and out violently with no warning. He'd caught Ianto twice before Owen had insisted on using the restraints. As a doctor, Owen could cope with all that – just – it was the incoherent noises that had driven him out. He straightened as he remembered why he had come to the desk; he was looking at the medical records of the people who had also been affected by the Krittenack. Perhaps their doctors had found something that could help Jack.
Pressing 'return' the screen saver disappeared and the medical report reappeared. He'd been half way through it before losing interest. Jack was different from these patients. He had lost his mind - no, had it taken from him - like them but in every other respect he was different. Sooner or later they'd have to try killing him and see what happened. Maybe it would reset the default values in his head like it did his body. If it didn't, Jack would have to spend the rest of eternity as a vegetable.
"Shit!" Owen threw a stress ball into the wall of the office then another and another, each punctuated with, "Shit!"
"What are you doing?" Ianto stood at the medical bay entrance.
"Letting go of my frustrations. It was those things or bullets." He leant back, chair at a dangerous angle, and rubbed his face with both hands. He felt the air stir as Ianto passed him.
"No bullets, please." Ianto placed the retrieved balls on Owen's desk. "Don't want to wake Tosh."
Owen looked up at Ianto. "I'm a lousy bloody doctor."
"You're doing everything you can, I know that."
"But Jack needs someone better than me, a real –" Owen broke off as an idea, a crazy idea, occurred to him.
"What?"
Owen grinned. "He needs a specialist in him. His doctor, that one he ran off with."
"He didn't do Jack any good."
"Maybe not with the undying stuff but this … He could be just what we want." Owen looked across as the door alarms sounded and Gwen climbed the steps. "Hey, Gwen, just had an amazing idea. Why don't we call in this doctor bloke of Jack's?"
Taking off her jacket, Gwen frowned at the pair of them. "Can we do that? Would he be able to help?"
"Didn't either of you read your memos! You do know who The Doctor is, don't you?" Ianto looked from one to the other and threw up his hands. "He's a Time Lord. An alien. Or 'traitorous malcontent' according to the Torchwood Charter. It's because of him the Torchwood Institute was set up. To catch him."
"Sounds like just the man we need," said Owen, still pleased with himself.
"How do we get hold of him?" asked Gwen, joining them.
Ianto was incredulous. "You two are unbelievable."
"Why? It's better than sitting on our arses doing nothing." Owen was facing his desk again, reaching for the keyboard. "What's his name again?"
"The Doctor."
"Doctor who?" Hands poised over the keyboard, Owen looked up.
"Just The Doctor. And you won't find him in there." He had seen Owen had opened the Torchwood directory. "Or in the aliens database. The man, and I use the term loosely, flies round the universe in a 1960s police telephone box and –"
"Telephone box? Bound to have a 'phone then. Don't know why you're making such a fuss." Owen keyed in the name and pressed 'return'.
"I give up. If you think you can just ring up one of the most powerful beings in the universe, someone who could be anywhere in time and space, you're madder than Jack!" Ianto gulped when he realised what he had said. He hadn't allowed himself to admit that Jack had lost his mind and now he had said it out loud. Turning swiftly, he headed back into the medical bay.
"Ianto …" Gwen held out a hand to stop him but didn't pursue him when he brushed past. "I'm going to get a drink, want one?" she asked Owen.
"Yeah, ta." He didn't take his eyes from the screen.
After getting some bottled water, Gwen handed them round with the doughnuts she had bought in Tesco. Ianto was holding Jack's hand and barely acknowledged her, Owen was frantically pursuing his search. She took her own drink and doughnut to her desk and brought up the personnel file of John Graham Wallswell. She sat drinking and eating as she read all she could about the man.
-ooOoo-
"I don't know why they thought he was suspicious but at least we know he's not a figment of your imagination, Constable." DCI Hewitt glanced up at Andy Davidson. "Any clue where he is now?"
"I've got the tapes of the outside CCTV cameras, sir. If someone can check them –"
"Excellent idea. Get on with that, find out where he goes when he leaves the supermarket."
Andy's heart sank. Much as he wanted to be back on the enquiry, he did not want to sit looking through hours of CCTV tapes. Nevertheless, he said, "Yes, sir."
"Not that it's going to bring us any nearer finding his daughter's killer. We're sure he was out the country at the time?" The question was addressed to Inspector Pugh, the other person in the office.
"On the ferry from Calais. Border Agency confirms the lorry came across and they're double checking their CCTV as we speak. All the cameras around the ports, no one can miss being seen."
"Makes our job a bit easier, I suppose. Pity there was none in that underpass." DCI Hewitt shuffled the papers on his desk. "Better talk to the parents again about an appeal. And –" He looked at Andy. "You waiting for something?"
"No, sir. Sorry, sir."
Making a hasty exit, Andy commandeered a desk in the large incident room. With a cup of sludgy coffee and a Penguin, he made himself as comfortable as he could and loaded the first – of many – discs into the DVD slot.
-ooOoo-
The water was hot and she stood under it a long time, washing away the horror of the last few hours along with the grime. She had been carried by the team and it was time she started pulling her weight. With a sigh, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. As she dried herself and dressed, Toshiko went over all she knew about what had happened since their night out. It had been a good evening, mainly because Jack was on such good form. She couldn't believe he would never again be animated and lively, telling his outrageous stories and checking out all the men and women in the bar. With a shudder, she realised she could have ended up like that too. Only the faint sound of gunfire and unnatural light had warned her. She was still ashamed of hiding like a child but it had saved her sanity.
She wondered how Owen and Gwen were getting on. He had given up on his attempts to find this Doctor and was now closeted with Gwen in the boardroom. They were going through all they could find on John Graham Wallswell and the Torchwood team at the time he was an operative looking for a clue about why he had suddenly come back to the base. More importantly, it might give them a lead on where he was right now and what he intended to do with the stolen weapons. Toshiko could not do anything to help them so she resolved to find the Krittenack. The scan for ploinine energy had to be speeded up.
Back in the work area, she hesitated then went into the medical bay. The sight of Jack distressed her, like it distressed the rest of them, but she felt obliged to check on him and Ianto. "Any change?" she asked, standing at the head of the steps.
"He's a bit quieter. That's a nasty bruise." The side of her jaw was noticeably swollen and a deep purple.
She went down the steps. Jack lay on the examination table, wrists and ankles in loose restraints and a broad belt fastened more tightly round his waist. These stopped him lashing out and prevented him falling. His head was held at an unusual angle with his chin tilted up and jerked spasmodically, making the rolling eyes and open mouth with seemingly oversized tongue even more disturbing. As she neared the table, he made animal-like grunts and groans.
"Shhh, Jack, it's only Tosh come to see you." Ianto stroked Jack's hair and the grunts reduced in volume.
"I'm going to find him, Jack." She forced herself to look directly into his eyes. "I'm going to find the Krittenack. He'll pay for what he did to you."
"He's mine. I have plans for him."
Toshiko looked at Ianto in surprise. Gone was his usual impassive expression. He looked as fierce as his words and tone suggested. She didn't fancy the Krittenack's chances when Ianto got hold of him. Unable to think of anything to say, she nodded instead.
The Rift alarm sounded and she seized the chance to escape. After checking the readouts, she raised the boardroom. "Gwen, there's a Rift opening at Grangetown. Small one but I think someone should check it out."
"Owen and I'll go. We'll be up in a minute."
Gathering the information together, Toshiko transferred details of location etc onto a PDA and had it ready when her colleagues appeared. They went off shortly after, both keen to get out the Hub for a while on business they understood and knew how to deal with.
Keeping an eye on them in case they needed backup, Toshiko turned her attention to the ploinine scan. It wasn't strong enough to cover the whole city in one sweep which meant it could easily miss a moving object. She had no doubt the Krittenack was on the move; he had to know the team would be looking for him. Perhaps he might also try to hide. Where? She became absorbed in the task, blocking out everything else.
In the medical bay, Ianto sat holding Jack's hand. A little over twelve hours ago, these fingers had been exploring Ianto's body and giving immense pleasure. Now they alternated between being rigid and limp, totally useless to their owner. Leaning forward, Ianto rested his forehead against the hand and closed his eyes.
"You'll get better, Jack. Somehow we'll find a way. I promise, Jack, I promise. I won't give up on you." A tear escaped one eye. "We're all working on it. Gwen, Owen and Tosh, they're working so hard. I'm the only one shirking, staying in here with you when I should be doing my job. But you always have that effect on me, don't you? Distracting me when I should be busy. Doesn't matter where I am, does it, you always find me. And with only one thing on your mind too." Another tear escaped. "Sexual harassment of the first order, that's what it is. I know I always complain but … I miss it. When you're better, I promise you can have me wherever you like, whenever you like. There, if you're listening to this, that should bring you back."
He waited but there was no response. He hadn't expected one but that didn't stop him being disappointed. With a sigh, he released Jack's hand and wiped the drool from his chin.
In the next chapter, Wally takes action ...
