The blood lingered in the atmosphere, tangible to the creature as it hung back to the sanctuary of the shadows, caressing the drying pools on its lips with its tongue.

It needed more, always needed more. It was the way to survive, the only lesson it had been taught since the stars burned in the skies.

It would have to wait until the darkness swept through the streets of this world until it could feed once more. Hide from the light, strive in the dark.

But it had seen him, had seen the male with another exit from the building near the body. The body had been a mistake, fooling the eyes of the creature when it had attacked. But now it could see clearly one of the male figures was the man from the previous night, the night where it had become a lonely figure in the universe. With the partner exterminated, it now had to fend for itself on an unknown planet. It could adapt to a degree, but it still lingered to the shadows, waiting to strike on this male.

For this male would lead it to Captain Jack Harkness. And to its destiny.

*****

The screech of rubber broke Rhys out of his trance as the Torchwood SUV pulled into the alley behind the cafe. Rhys shook his head at the sight; the cafe was not five minutes away from the Bay, Gwen had insisted not to go too far just in case the boys came up with a solution. Was Captain Harkness so full of himself that he would pollute the air of Cardiff just to look flash to turn up at a crime scene? Rhys already subconsciously knew the answer to that and chuckled to himself silently. It was only when said Captain emerged from the SUV with a stretcher, followed closely by Ianto carrying a medical kit way too big for Gwen's small frame to hold, that Rhys finally understood the reason behind Jack's entrance. Cocky bastard.

'Took your time, didn't you?' Gwen had just come from the cafe, reassuring the uncaring customers and staff that everything was alright, leaving Rhys to comfort the poor young woman who was now just staring straight ahead of her. She hoped Ianto had the foresight to have picked up a dose of Retcon before he left the Hub, not before she had patted down the suit jacket in the vain hope there was some lingering about in the inside pocket. No chance; all she had found was a handkerchief, a few quid and a tube of gel she couldn't bring herself to read the label of.

'Sorry, Mr Cooper.' Jack smiled at the irritated look Gwen gave him, which only grew when he caught sight of Rhys looking uncomfortable. 'You sort of caught us at a bad time.' His eyes betrayed him as he couldn't help but take a quick glance at Ianto, who by that time had bowed his head and was trying to keep the flush of embarrassment from forming across Gwen's face.

Perhaps it was for the best, as it meant he missed the extreme shift in Gwen's demeanour. If it had been anyone else in this predicament or just anyone in general, Gwen would have given a light hearted laugh at Jack's statement and shake her head at Jack's antics. But this time, Jack's antics involved her, well her body and she wasn't the one piloting it. She knew it was wrong to keep thinking about it; she was a happily married woman to a man who kept her grounded in a world of outer space visitors and invaders. But it was still there, the desire for Captain Jack Harkness that would remain with her until her dying day. And now to think that her lips had intertwined with his in a moment of pure passion and need, it was just the cherry on the cake as she tried to bury the green eyed monster which was threatening to rear its head. For now, she needed to focus on the body in the alley that Ianto was now staring at.

'I was going to buy that suit,' was the only reply Ianto could make as he looked at the young man. The resemblance was almost uncanny; the hair colour and cut was exactly the same, the now dull blue eyes shone from the clean shaven face. The only thing that stood out was the nose, which was too big and badly misshapen, although that could have been caused by his attacker. He knew he should feel guilty and sad that an innocent man had been killed away from the comfort of his loved ones, but his mind could not help but conjure the thought of being glad Jack had never met this man and brought him home to play 'Spot the Difference,' which would no doubt be turned into a naked version like many games Jack liked to play.

'Wow,' Jack muttered as he stood behind Ianto, looking down at the body. 'Gwen, you weren't lying. What are the chances of two young sexy Welshman pulling off the suit look?' Jack could almost hear the eye rolls emitting from his three friends as he pulled on a pair of rubber gloves. He reached across to touch the corpse, hoping to find the possible wound which could give some inclination as to the cause of death. Pulling the head back, he visibly stood back as a large wound in the victim's neck was exposed. On any other day, Jack could have easily put this type of wound down to a rogue Weevil attack, but the pattern the wound was creating stuck within Jack's mind. He knew he had seen it before, so until he could figure out where he had seen it, there was no way he was just going to hand this body over to the authorities.

'Are we taking him back with us?' Gwen asked as she watched her two colleagues setting up the stretcher and gently lowering the body down onto it.

'Well we can't just leave him here, can we? Besides, maybe Martha can give us some kind of clue as to how and possibly why he died.' Placing a long white sheet over the corpse, Rhys stepped in to help carry it to the SUV whilst Ianto handed over the dose of Retcon he subconsciously knew Gwen would have been asking for. He smiled at her before turning on Gwen's heels and made his way to the SUV. After Gwen had helped the young woman to the back room of the cafe and told her the white pill would calm her nerves, she waited until the drug took effect before quietly slipping out the back to join her colleagues.

*****

Jack Harkness. The Immortal. The object of destiny had been within striking distance of the creature. This stupid world was controlled by the light, shunning the darkness wherever it found it. The darkness of night would be distilled by man's attempt to concur their fear. Towers of light would shine from the streets and their dwellings would flood with the abrasive and demanding presence of illumination. The darkness was the only way and soon the entire Universe would know of the darkness.

But it knew that without the device, it would stand no chance in stripping away the blessing of eternal life the Captain carried on his shoulders. It had watched as Jack Harkness had wasted the blessing; staying tied to the meagre planet to save the lives of humans. It could do so much more with the immortality open to it.

It needed the device the suited man had taken from it. It needed it back.

It needed to get into Torchwood.