The good news was the hand was safe, well-preserved in fresh jar. Thank goodness I always keep spares lying around. Bad news was now I had my whole team staring at me like I had intentionally released a dangerous alien threat on the world. Ok, technically I did, but it's not like I had a choice, and besides if memory serves both Gwen and Owen had a little something to do with this mess.
"After all I said, a severed hand is more important to you than Carys' life." It was like having my own personal Jiminy Cricket. I thought about telling my new conscience that the only way I was going to become a "real boy" again was by keeping that jar safe. Then again why should I tell her? I'm the boss, I don't answer to Gwen, she answers to me.
"You want to prove yourself? Find her. Get your old pals in the police to do something useful for once." I'm sure Andy would be only too glad take a break from his busy schedule of writing tickets and munching on donuts to do Gwen a favor. Andy. God I really did hate that name.
"All right, I'll give them a call. Put out an APB - woman possessed by gas knobbing fellas to death." Very professional, Gwen. Very funny. Well actually it was pretty funny. And accurate. Cops tended to ask a lot of questions. Questions we can't answer. That's one of reasons getting outside help is generally a last resort.
"Oi! You'd better get in here!" At least someone has had a breakthrough. Although from the sounds of it, whatever it is, it's not good. Owen led us to medical center. It's funny but it's usually only times like these, when he is wearing his white coat, that I remember he's a real doctor, not just a Torchwood agent with medical skills.
"So I'm trying to interpret the results of the bio-scan. Yeah, but it's just a mess, like there's no definitive readings. Because everything in her body keeps changing, nothing stays constant. So, as soon as you think you've got something clear, the metabolic rate, the blood pressure all goes wild again." That makes sense given what Gwen saw in the cell, and what I saw as Carys was escaping.
"Because she's fighting the alien for control of her own body." I've been possessed once myself. The alien did things with my body even I wasn't comfortable with. It was one of the most awful memories I had. Still I got the bastard in the end and I would do the same to this one.
"Yeah. So anyway, I decided to do a comparative diagnostic. Uh, recreate the circumstances, accelerate the process a little, see what's gonna happen to Carys."
"Yeah, thanks." Looks like a bit of a truce there. I guess getting caught with his pants down has taught Owen a little humility. Wonder how long that will last.
"I infected the rat with a combination of the Vorax and Suranium gas traces we found down at the crash site and at the nightclub."
"Looks fine so far." Man do I have a bad feeling about the punch line of this experiment.
"Once the gases start to flow round the body, the party really starts. The heart rate triples. The brain swells, pressing against the skull. And as that keep going, then the lungs began to shrink, making it impossible to breathe. The pressure increases on all the internal organs until ...Rat jam!" I take it back, even with his lab coat I have trouble picturing Owen tending to living, human patients.
"That's what's gonna happen to Carys?" Makes the high-jacking of my body seem like a misdemeanor. If this is going to be the end result, I might as well have shot her myself when I let her out that door.
""I'm losing", that's what she said to me." And when she finally lost I'd have even more blood on my hands, which by rights should already be the color of rust.
"Right now, it's a struggle between where Carys ends and the alien begins." No time for guilt.
"All right everyone at the risk of sound cliché we need to go back to the drawing board." The team headed out of medical center and gathered round the board where Gwen had posted Carys' background information. A small photo on the lower right hand side caught my eye. It was a picture of baby Carys. God only knew how Gwen had gotten her hands on that shot. The child was smiling with a look of blissful ignorance only the young have.
"We have to think like her." Gwen's words gave me something besides my own guilt to think about. "Put ourselves in her place. It's the only way to find her." But which her, Carys or the sex-starved alien?
"Except we don't know what her controlling impulse is by now - Carys or the alien inside. The last thing I saw was a fight for control." When Carys had begged for my help and I'd chosen the hand over her.
"The overriding factor for the parasite is to have sex. It's a survival instinct - that's bound to be the strongest drive." Makes sense. Even for creatures that don't need it to survive, sex usually runs a close second to breathing. I would know better than most.
"All right, so you're Carys. You're desperate for sex cos that's what the thing inside you needs, but you know it will kill. Where would you go?" Alright let's free associate: Sex, bars, nightclubs, lap dances, Gwen, Ianto-
"I'd come round and shag you." Owen was inches from being throttled. I did tell Gwen it was my job after all. "What?! It's a joke! Can't I have a joke with my team-mates?" Why couldn't Owen have a more productive way of dealing with tension?
"Right now? No." So we are back to my list, missus the two members of my staff that somehow slipped in there at the end.
"So what are we talking about? Brothels? Lap dance clubs? Anywhere there's eager men?" As far as what I've seen of Cardiff, that doesn't narrow it down much.
"I know what I'd do." Tosh's voice seemed distant like she was imagining something fascinating in her mind's eye.
"Care to share with the rest of group?" Tosh blinked as though she was clearing her mind of whatever she'd been thinking and blushed slightly.
"I'd head over to my ex-boyfriend's flat." Whoa. I'd never imagined Toshiko as a "hell hath no fury" type, but that just goes to show what I know.
"Geez Tosh, remind me never to date you." I wonder if Owen noticed how unhappy Tosh looked when he said things like that to her. Probably not as it wouldn't be keeping with the Cardiff's biggest bastard persona he'd adopted upon arrival to discourage any sympathy from the team members who knew about his dead fiancé. Owen obviously preferred being thought an asshole to being pitied.
"Tosh's theory isn't bad but I don't want to put all our eggs in one basket. Tosh and Owen, I want you two investigating the brothels and strip clubs."
"No worries boss, I think I know exactly where to start." I'm not even a little surprised.
"If you find her, you call me, you do not attempt to capture her yourself. Toshiko, you do not let Owen out of your sight for a minute. Are we clear?" Toshiko nodded and Owen gave a grunt of acknowledgment. They ran off toward the exit arguing about whose car they were going to take.
"What about me Jack?" Gwen sounded like she was afraid I was planning to leave her behind. Hardly what I had in mind.
"You are going to help me track down Carys' exes. Girl that cute is bound to have a few."
Gwen raised her eyebrows critically.
"A bit young for you isn't she Jack?" Gwen really had no idea. And was it possible she sounded a little jealous? Maybe just a little wishful thinking on my part.
"I was speaking from a purely professional standpoint. Any of her emails give you a name?" Gwen picked up the file of information that she'd decided against plastering all over the board.
"I remember she mentioned she was seeing someone, an older bloke who was a real bastard to her. I don't think she mentioned any names. Probably scared her dad would read her emails. We're out of luck there, but the night she was at the club, she made three calls to this number here." Gwen handed me the print out. She was right. It was true, Carys could have been calling a friend, but my feeling was good on this. If we found who the number belonged to, we'd find the ex.