Following the conversation with Desiree, Simone found Jack just as her friend had predicted. Out cold, lying on the cement floor and tied up with a gag across his mouth. John sauntered into the room and grinned broadly.
"Christmas has come early this year". He hopped down and started to untie Jack, his friend had not woken from his unconscious state yet. John pulled the gag from Jack's mouth and the older man coughed. "Hmm, and to think I was going to violate you in so many ways".
"Not now, John", Simone put her hands on her hips and then crouched, as Jack finally became aware of where he was. "Jack... I've got a lot of explaining to do",
"No! Don't untie him!" Came a rough voice and Simone jumped to full height, turning suddenly to see a blonde man, with broad features and strong arms hovering in the doorway looking frightened. "He tried to steal our food!"
Jack sat up as John helped untie the ropes from his wrists and ankles. "Rift retardation", Jack said with a frown. "Seen it too many times for my liking", he threw the ropes to the ground and got to his feet. "You know him, Simone?"
Simone sighed deeply as John gave her a look to say it was all right to continue. She eyed Jack carefully, as the man huddled close to Simone and she put an arm around him as he sobbed. "He's my brother".
"Your brother?" Jack was surprised. Things were slowly beginning to make sense now. He held up the hard drive he had found earlier. "Recognise this, by any chance? You've been down here all this time... setting up Torchwood, behind my back?" He threw a glare to John. "and you KNEW about this?"
"Told you he'd be jealous". John merely said with a smug grin as Simone patted Steve's back and told him quietly to sit down in the corner.
"I'm not jealous. Just a little pissed off – how long have you been setting up for?" Jack rotated the Hard Drive in his hand and then placed it in his pocket. He felt as if his throat had been cut and she was holding the bloodied blade. The frustration was rising, as far as Jack was concerned he was Torchwood. He knew everything that went on in every organisation inside and out. To not know that Simone was setting this up simply made him feel betrayed. He wanted to know how long she had been setting up for – and the fact that John had no idea about it made him wonder if Simone could be trusted at all. Her brother sat in the corner, rocking back and forth as he was picking up on the energy in the room. With Simone standing there now, with her arms folded and staring at Jack with her lips pursed he simply slowly shook his head. It was the deepest level of betrayal, the new incarnation of Alice Guppy had bruised him. It was as if Jack himself was no longer the backbone of Torchwood and he wondered how many more organisations there were without his knowledge.
"Three months". Simone explained, as Jack turned away. "Gwen's been helping me. With the Rift activity... and you were gone – something had to be done". She watched as Jack put a hand on the wall and merely hung his head. "The base was here. It was just a matter of setting it up. You're right, I should have told John at least but he was keeping his own secrets from me". Simone adjusted her weight between her feet and glanced at Steve in the corner who was whimpering. For a man who had just turned thirty, he had the mentality of a four year old because of what happened to him in the Rift. Simone was disappointed with the way Jack was acting, she had heard he had a huge ego and always thought of himself as the backbone of Torchwood. She watched him with a sigh and glanced to John who said nothing. "Here", Simone passed her phone to Jack. "Contact Gwen yourself. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you, but we have more important matters at hand now. Desiree said the Doctor is missing. The Master has control of the Australian Networks... phone, internet, televisions, security cameras – everything. He's holding the country and the world hostage unless he finds the Doctor for whatever reason".
John felt as if he had been caught in the middle of the mental war. Jack's back was still turned but he had turned around to take the phone from Simone, looking even more furious. John slowly shook his head with Jack's reaction. "You've always been an egotistical maniac, obsessed with yourself. Not to say that I haven't been obsessed with myself either – but Simone was right, Jack. You were gone. You know what? Yes, I am hurt that Simone didn't tell me about the base. She got hers because I wasn't completely honest about myself either. You should have seen her when the 456 came, Jack. Simone was harbouring children in her apartment keeping them away from the military. You can act like a spoilt brat all you want Jack but in honesty – Simone will make a fine Director. You can either deal with it or run away again". He clicked his jaw, knowing Jack wouldn't like the brutal display of honesty being thrown in his face.
Jack clasped the thin iPhone tightly, tempted to snap it in half. He looked at Simone as she explained what was happening on the surface the thought of the Doctor missing hindered Jack a little. He had to put aside his feeling of betrayal and work on the matter at hand. When all this was over, he'd run again. He was firm on that idea. Torchwood seemed to be doing just fine without him. "I'm not in the mood to debate with Gwen right now", he started, as he threw a dark glare to John who caught it with a smirk. "You were here when the 456 attacked?" He couldn't understand John with the way he was speaking so openly about Simone. It was clear the untameable Time Agent had been tamed, and Jack found this amusing. Ianto had been close to taming him, but Jack didn't want to let that happen. He wasn't a one person man. He'd always amuse himself with other people who were attracted to him, Ianto being one of them. As much as he thought others saw the pair as a couple – they weren't. You Two; Ianto had said others were calling them. Jack didn't understand how 'being a couple' worked. Alice was one thing, Ianto was another. "Why didn't you call me?"
"Well, I tried", began John with a slight laugh. "Apparently you were in a bag of bits so you couldn't take my call". John was heavy with amusement in the way Jack was taking this. "Are you going to call Gwen and bitch to her how much you hate the world or are you going to snap back to your senses and help sort out this mess? Cause... I don't know how long I can go without porn. Honestly. It's driving me mad".
Simone raised her hand and threw John a look that informed him to be quiet. "You're not helping... sweetheart", the last line rolled off her tongue as if she were mocking him in front of Jack, but, she needed to pull her team together. "Desiree will be returning shortly with supplies and updates. Jack, since you know the Doctor so well I need you on the surface to find him before members of the public do. No doubt they're rioting by now. John, that computer right there", Simone pointed her index finger in its direction. "Clearly there's some more power in there if the Master managed to broadcast through it. Fix it. We'll have sex later. And Steve..." She looked to her brother. "...it's bed time for you".
Jack's jaw dropped at Simone's sudden take on the leadership role. She clearly had it down pact. "All right, kids. I'll find the Doctor. Just remember to use protection".
"Against what?" John said with a brow rise.
"You". Jack felt his previous distrust in Simone leave him almost completely. There were still bits and pieces he didn't understand, but he assumed they would be ironed out like a starch stained collar. "Save a roast beef sandwich for me", he winked, and raised his wrist where he started to fiddle with the controls on his strap. "Four and Nine..." Jack mumbled. The number Nine was dragged out as he spoke because he vanished in a bright light.
John rushed to that computer and started to attach rogue wires to it. Simone was working on keeping Steve calm, although it would be a hard task.
"The darkness is coming... the darkness is coming", he rocked back and forth in Simone's arms.
She looked up at John who was busying himself as Simone helped Steve out of the room to an area more suitable. She would lock him in there for the remainder of the situation.
"Am I going to bed now?" Steve asked, as Simone nodded.
"Yes, sweetheart, you need your rest. The Darkness won't come, I can promise you that". He was quite tall and very muscular for his age; Simone was having trouble keeping upright as he leant against her. She wandered down the hallway and into a room set up for Steve. She let go of him and he entered the room, waving, as Simone closed the door and she locked it from the outside pocketing the key. She knew he would be safer in there and less of a burden; he had everything he needed in there.
As Simone walked back to her office, she thought about the recent events of the day. It was bordering on late afternoon now. So much had happened over the last few hours since she woke up that morning. She found out that she was a reincarnated version of Jack's lover from Torchwood Three in the 1800's. She learnt about John's history and his bi-sexual nature. The Doctor appeared out of nowhere, mind clearly unstable due to his partially regenerated state. The Master had now taken control of the nation by means of technology, threatening to destroy the world if he doesn't get his hands on the Doctor for whatever reason. She sighed as she ran her fingers through her blonde hair and entered her office, seeing John sitting on the desk waiting for her.
"Is now later enough?" He asked, cocking a brow and folding his arms as his legs dangled above the floor. "The computer does have enough power to get started. The problem is, the hard drive is fried. We'll have to use the one that Jack so conveniently found".
"That's not a good idea". Simone said with a shake of her head. "There's sensitive documents on that hard drive. If Jack found it... he'd be devastated".
"Why? What else are you planning?" John looked her over. "For a woman who wouldn't let me look under the sheet the first time we got naked – you really are a piece of work". He jumped down from the desk. He picked up the computer monitor, one of the old chunky styles and set it on the desk. He then lifted up the CPU and showed Simone the casing as he lifted it off revealing the internal parts. "See what I mean? It's fried. There's no way that computer could have worked with a fried hard drive".
Simone remained quiet when John asked her about the documents on the hard drive. She scooted beside him and looked at the internal bits and pieces of the CPU. "It wasn't fried when he sent the message", she pointed at it. "Look. It's still warm". Her hand hovered over it and she drew away. "I hope Desiree comes back soon. We really need a working computer".
"It's Jack's computer. Who knows what sort of sensitive material he has on it". John smirked suggestively. "Can I play with it? Please?"
"He wouldn't let us use if he did have that sort of material on his hard drive. I'm going to check out the weapons cabinet, we need a serious upgrade". She sighed. "I still haven't received anything from Gwen, yet".
"Weapons?" John suddenly grew more interested in the topic. "If you can locate the last place we had a rift spike, I know a guy. A very good guy, actually. He owes me a favour".
"You're not going through the rift, John. Not when I need you here". Simone watched as his face fell. "Don't look at me like that". She stroked his cheek. "There's decent weapons in the cabinet further down the hallway and to the left. They're roughly fifty years old but... it's a collection that Desiree's Grandfather kept from the rift. Why don't you go and have a look at them for me? I'll try and sort out this computer". Her hand dropped to his broad shoulder. "I've never noticed those weapons before..." She tilted her head and parted his jacket. "Bloody hell, John! You're like freaking Neo with all those guns and knives!"
"There's more in the apartment. I stockpiled during the 456 invasion". He looked her over. "You wouldn't look so bad yourself with one of these", he shrugged off his jacket and unclipped his holster, wrapping it around Simone gently. "Keep it. I've had it... oh, well... it's the first weapon I ever fired". John didn't completely understand why he had just given Simone his loyal pistol, one that had been by his side throughout his escapades in the Time Agency and had gotten him out of many a sticky situation. Seeing Simone draped in his holster and favourite weapon made him step back and nod once. "You bitch. How dare you tame me!" If he wanted to, he could take the gun from her. Shoot her down. But then, Jack wouldn't like that... not one bit. He had an image then of caressing Simone, kissing her deeply as a final goodbye. He'd then take the gun from the holster and shoot her in the heart. She was driving him insane, John didn't understand these strange feelings he was getting. As he looked at her now in all her curvaceous glory he suddenly questioned himself if he really did love her. People of his race were not competent when it came to love – he rarely knew his parents to express themselves the way they do in Hollywood films. They died when he was young so it didn't matter now.
"We don't have time for this... John..." Simone began but as he put the holster around her, she stared at him in complete shock. Her fingers caressed the leather of the holster and then took the pistol from out of it. She stroked the barrel with her index finger and allowed her fingers to clasp the butt, lingering the other index finger above the trigger. She could feel it wasn't loaded and gave John a brow raise as to why he'd carry around an unloaded weapon. She then peeled off some ammunition from the holster and inserted it up the butt of the pistol and clicked it into place, holding it with a broad smile. "No safety, eh?"
John watched as she fondled his pistol. It was as if she were stroking one of those fingers against his manhood, the feeling he was getting was beyond that of lust. Despite all the madness around them on the surface, he wanted to take her right there on the desk. In his madness the gun would be a toy, perhaps allowing himself to thrust it up inside her. Yeah, there was no safety on it. John didn't roll that way. What was the point of owning a weapon if you required a safety switch? He stared at Simone and slowly made his way over to her when a brief voice interrupted them.
"I bring supplies. You guys owe me". Desiree dumped the garbage bags full of food from Simone's cafe and another garbage bag full of stolen clothes on the floor. She lifted a laptop bag from her shoulder and set it on the table. "Jack's laptop and hang on..." she sniffed the air and looked at the pair ready to engage in relations right in front of her. "...Simone! I didn't realise you were so dirty!"
Simone placed the gun back in the holster and looked at Desiree. Her young friend seemed a little dishevelled from the last hour's events, wandering the streets with the Doctor and obviously stealing supplies. She blushed when she looked at John who seemed rather please with himself, for there was indeed a strange scent in the air. "Thanks, Desiree". She gave one bag to John who sorted through the clothing and Simone sorted through the food. "What happened to the Doctor?"
Desiree sat herself down on the floor and shrugged off her red coat because the hub was much warmer than on the surface. "He just ran off when the Master pointed him out", she frowned; a little worried about her new friend. She looked around and could feel another presence amongst them but was not within the room. She knew it was Simone's brother, and to be honest, Desiree hated herself when it came to her strange accuracy for reading psychic energy. "Jack will find him. But we need to find where the Master is hiding out first". Desiree reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a small flask, she took off the silver top and pressed it against her lips when John suddenly took it away from her. "Oh come on, it's after four!"
John then made a bold move and drank the entire flask before Desiree. Simone was stunned, as John wiped his lips and tossed the flask over his shoulder. "Rehab taught me nothing". He simply said with a chuckle. "You call that alcohol?" He shook his head sadly. "Desiree. Your world and your alcohol – the first time I saw Jack again, I had already devoured an entire bottle of vodka; and felt nothing. Really, your attempt to kill yourself with drinks on this planet is surprisingly pathetic. When this is all over I'll take you to a bar. You won't wake up for a week when I'm through with you". He felt Simone punch him in the shoulder and he rubbed his arm, tempted to punch her back but the glare was strong enough. "Fine. You won't wake up after two days. Happy?"
Desiree blinked at John's words. She watched as her flask fell to the floor with a clink and the last spillage of her alcohol seeped into the crevices of the cement floor. Her eyes filled with rage, with all this mess going on around her she needed something to help keep her calm and John had just destroyed that. "I bet you find that funny don't you?"
"I do, yes. You're acting like a child". John found a sandwich amongst the food in the garbage bag and started to eat it. "Can we focus, please?"
"He's right, Desiree. If Jack and the Doctor can help find the Master and stop him we'll be able to set up the hub before they get back in the event the Master unleashes something unspeakable from the Rift". Simone sighed. "I just hope it doesn't come to that".
Jack popped out of his teleport to find himself on the Goodwill Bridge, looking over the Brisbane River as the sun started to set. Up ahead he could see the Doctor sitting on a bench looking rather forlorn. Jack slowly made his way over to his old friend and was quite surprised that the members of the public could not see him despite the Master making it very clear what the Doctor looked like. "Perception filter", Jack said with a short laugh "Another hub entrance". But it seemed to didn't work very well, for the Doctor was sitting there. Jack sat beside him, both in silence for a moment. "It's good to see you again". Jack said, hoping it would lift the mood somewhat.
The Doctor looked over at Jack. For the first time, Jack noticed how tired the Doctor looked. Stubble was spread across his face and cheeks, his eyes were sunken and darker. His hair was unkempt and his suit was dishevelled. For a man who was so brilliant, the Doctor sure didn't feel it. Not with all his past selves fighting for a place in his head. "Jelly baby?" The Doctor suddenly asked, holding up the white packet and Jack took one, worried what the Doctor might do if he said no. "Look at this city. Look at it! It's gorgeous, and to think... the thousands of people who live in this city alone are trying to hunt me down like a criminal". The Doctor chewed on a jelly baby himself and stuffed the bag in his pocket. "That Master sure knows how to instil fear into humans. Come on! Let's go find him".
Jack stared at his friend as he talked. The last statement caught him completely off guard and Jack grabbed his arm before the Doctor could stand up. "We can't. Not yet. Simone's still working on setting up a network; we need to figure out how he gained control in the first place".
"That's easy". The Doctor grinned, brushing Jack's hand off. "He's got his own sonic device. A little more powerful than mine but... anyway. He's gotta be planning something else. Surely he wouldn't have gone to all that trouble just to torture poor little me... no... he's gotta be holding the planet hostage for some reason – an invasion, probably. If he can harness the power of the world's network and satellites, he'll be able to control the rift". The Doctor paused. "And that's not good at all".
Jack nodded. "Where would he be? Where can you sense him?"
The Doctor closed his eyes and thought for a moment, leaning forward. Eventually he sat up again and clapped his hands. "Right underneath us", he took out his sonic device and the familiar buzzing noise emitted, as sparks flew and the pair was encased in a bright light. "Going down!"
Jack hoped the Doctor knew what he was doing.
