full chapter title: DON'T CRY IT- IT'S THE SHOT HEARD 'ROUND THE WORLD
-from Shot Heard 'Round the World by Boys Like Girls

SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING. Second semester is killing me. But here're two chapters. I'm about halfway done with this arc.

"Contacts?" Jack asked from his mobile.

"Yes," Liz checked. "Shouldn't you know that?"

"Retcon?"

"Doubt I need it. You'll come in before I even get to use it."

"Books. Gear. Software. Scanner…." Jack trailed on and on.

"Yes dad," the girl joked. The chauffer in the front seat eyed Liz through the rearview mirror. "I have everything, including the number two pencils."

"And tell Andy to get the car back here as soon as possible. If not, we'll know. There's a tracker on it."

"Yes," Liz rolled her eyes. "Bye." With that she flipped her phone shut and stuck it in her book bag. "Jack says you'd better return the car," she told her chauffer.

"Nice set of wheels this," PC Andy commented, gesturing with one hand at the steering wheel.

"But you're giving it back."

"Yeah yeah," the police constable dismissed. "Just tell me one more time how I of all people get dragged into this mess?"

"Unsightly for a female chauffer so Johnson's out of the question. Rhys has to take care of his son and Mickey's off freelancing with Martha. No idea where he is."

"Which leaves me," Andy deduced.

"Sounds right. Besides, you can't tell me you don't like the feeling of being part of all the action."

"Driving a car. Very actionable."

"You're the liaison between Torchwood and the regular police force. Get used to it."

There was a small silence between the two before Andy inquired, "Can't Gwen and them hear us right now?"

"No," Liz replied, fingering her messenger-style book bag. "The contacts read lips and the speaker's not on. Why?"

"Because I was going to ask how your boss was."

"Honestly, or how he pretends to be?"

"Both."

"He looks like he's over it. He's convinced that he's over it, but-"

"You know a hell of a lot better, dontcha?"

The teenager nodded. "Especially after he found out we'd frozen Ianto's body."

"Well looks like this is your stop." The police constable pushed the gear into neutral. Outside the Mercedes window, Liz could see the red and black plaid skirts of other school girls as well as the plaid ties of the boys. Private school rich jerks.

"God have mercy," Liz muttered as her hand flew to the collar of her shirt. She turned the miniscule speaker on and said, "I'm going in. You owe me Jack."

With that, she stepped out and rolled her eyes, full knowing that Jack would see it through the cameras. Quickly, the sixteen year old did a mental check of weapons. Her switchblade that she always carried around was safely tucked in a sewn-in flap in her sleeve. The gun was a bit trickier. She couldn't leave it in a book bag, as it would be discovered. She didn't have a large jacket to hide a holster. She couldn't really stuff it anywhere around his waist. At last, she settled on a small pistol strapped to her thigh. The skirt she had to wear was long enough anyway. The scanner was in her bag as was her phone, supplied with all of the Torchwood software.

Contacts were in her eyes. These had been new and improved. Speaking directly to the wearer was possible, and not just for emergencies. "I want a picture of the vicinity," Jack ordered from the Hub. "Look around."

"I know," Liz muttered quietly into the speaker as she slowly surveyed her surroundings. Immediately, she was greeted by a professionally dressed woman. She had dirty blonde hair that fell five inches beneath her shoulders. The suit she wore accented her skinny form while eyeliner brought out her eyes. Despite the flattering attire, her face was strict.

"You must be the new student," she said, sticking out her hand. "Lauren Chen I presume?"

"Yes ma'am," Liz replied, playing the politeness card and shaking the woman's hand.

"I'm Mrs. Coulter, assistant headmaster. "If you'll follow me." The headmaster would like to formally meet you before you begin classes. We'll supply you with your schedule and a map of the school grounds."

"Thank you," replied the undercover student.

"So Lauren, where are you from?" They were walking across the school commons and to the headmaster's office. It was a separate building from all of the other classical styled buildings.

"New York," she immediately answered, pulling out her memorized cover. "But I grew up in Texas. Mom and dad were busy."

"I'm sure," Mrs. Coulter agreed. "Who are they again?"

"David and Lily Chen, ma'am."

"Ah, the doctors. I read your background information. Your parents were smart to send you here. Education is a high value in your family isn't it?"

Liz nodded in return, all the while thinking about how the kids here could care less about academics. Little letters appeared on her contacts. Get images of HQ.

By "HQ" Jack probably meant the main office. Liz looked down at her hand and displayed a quick thumbs up before returning her sight to the office.

"Miss Chen," the headmaster greeted monotonously. "Pleasure." Liz merely smiled, unsure of what to respond.

Mind, Lois typed. It was another order from Jack.

Carefully, but cautiously, Liz probed Mrs. Coulter and the headmaster's minds. Nothing suspicious. She'd have to report that to Jack once she wasn't under heavy surveillance.

A sheet of paper was being forced into the girl's hands. It was her schedule. There were eight hours in a school day at Cardiff Prep. Four courses were mandatory: English, mathematics, science and history. The math course for her grade level, 10, was algebra 2. The science course was biology and the history course was world history. All boring courses really when you've worked with Torchwood. There was also a mandatory foreign language, excluding Welsh. Because one of the flagged suspicious people was in Chinese, Jack had told Lois to place her there. It was also a plus since Liz already had some background there. That left three courses to fill in. Art Portfolio was one of them, along with medical science, something Liz found amusing. The last course was a physical education course.

The headmaster, who had introduced himself and Emil Stanford, had been talking, explaining the motto and morals of the school. Frankly, Liz didn't care. She was too absorbed in getting the mission over with as soon as possible.

Before she knew it, she had been dismissed and quickly ran off to her first class, Biology. The bell had already rung, but the teacher knew of the new student that was attending. As she swiftly walked to the classes building, Liz spoke quietly into the speaker on her collar. "Nothing suspicious from Coulter or Stanford," she reported.

"Probe as many people as you can," Jack told her.

"What if they notice? A lot of people have a heightened telepathic field around them. I can quote many from the past."

"Then be careful. We'll send Gwen over as a school evaluator later during your lunch hour to check things over. Make sure you're safe."

"I'm perfectly able to take care of myself." Finally, she reached her classroom door. "Going in," she breathed and opened the door.