13.
"I've seen pictures of this place," Harriet Jones said when she entered the Hub with Jack. She looked around curiously and Jack watched her taking in the cavernous main room, the boardroom and hothouse one level up and the many corridors branching off, all wrapped up in a patchwork of brick stone, tiles and concrete. Harriet gave a timid smile. "But they seem rather … understated."
Jack smiled proudly. "No picture can do this justice." He noticed Tosh looking at him through the windows of the boardroom and gave her a wave before he focused on Gwen, who hurried down the stairs towards them. Her face was worried and drawn, her dark hair tied back haphazardly. Jack was concerned that he was putting too much pressure on the girls, but there was no other possibility at the moment.
Gwen gave him a quick hug and he made sure to squeeze her to him tightly to reassure her. She smiled at him tiredly. "Thank God, you're back." She glanced at Harriet, her green eyes widening a bit. She was probably just as surprised at her change in appearance as he was. "Miss Jones."
Harriet nodded in greeting, holding out her hand which Gwen shook.
Jack took over the introductions. "This is Gwen Cooper, one of my agents."
Gwen cleared her throat. "Jack, I need to talk to you." Her eyes flitted to Harriet. "In private."
Her tone put him on edge immediately and he looked at Harriet. "I'll be just a minute."
She nodded her understanding and, while Jack led Gwen to his office, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her coat and looked around some more. Jack kept an eye on her through the windows of his office. She seemed a bit forlorn, as if all this was new to her. The end of her political career had certainly broken something in her.
With a sigh, he shrugged out of his coat and dropped it over the back of his chair, brushing his hands through his hair. "What is it?"
Gwen had crossed her arms. "Archie's here and he's been down with Ianto for a few hours now. Tosh is supposed to bring them supper soon."
"Tosh?" Jack asked, frowning.
"Yeah, why?"
"No reason ..." Jack smiled. He cleared his throat. "I'll bring them something. Not necessary for Tosh to walk all the way down." He would have to have a talk with Archie. He thought he knew what he intended to do, but there was no way Jack would let him.
"Okay," Gwen said, but she looked like she wasn't really satisfied with the answer. It was scary how well that woman could read him. Her and Ianto were masters at it. She let out a breath. "We haven't heard from the Sycorax, either."
"The twenty-four hours aren't up, yet. We'll hear from them."
"What exactly is your plan?"
Jack smiled ruefully. "I do what I do best: I'm winging it. Did you get my text about the file on the Sycorax?"
"I tried to find it. Then Tosh tried."
"Tried?"
"There's none. None were opened here in Three and Tosh said that some of One's databases were badly damaged during the attack and a lot of files were lost. The Sycorax file being one of them."
"Damn," Jack said and closed his eyes. "Damn!"
"What are you looking for?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. Something's off, can't put my finger on it. I was hoping for a hint ... doesn't matter. Let's get back to work." He started for the door, but noticed that Gwen seemed intent on saying something else. He stopped in front of her. "What is it?"
She took a breath and opened her mouth ... but then shook her head. "Nothing."
"Gwen." He took her shoulders, making her look at him.
She ducked her head. "Owen was here."
Jack closed his eyes and cursed.
"I'm really worried about him, Jack. He's drinking way too much, he's aggressive, I ..." She bit her lip. "I might have handled the situation wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"I yelled at him, I pushed him, I ..." She wiped her eyes and sobbed.
Jack pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. "Listen. It's not your fault."
She pulled away and wiped her cheeks angrily. "How can it not be my fault?" she asked, incredulous. "I treated him-"
"He's an empath."
Gwen stared at him.
"And his emotions are all over the place. When he's feeling something very strongly, he projects it. It's nothing of the scale Ianto is able to do right now, but it's enough to fuel your emotions because you're very open. Happens to me as well." He shrugged.
Gwen let out a breath and shook her head. "Damn it, Jack ... he doesn't know, does he?"
Jack shook his head.
Gwen laughed bitterly. "Okay," she said. "Right, not the time or the place to go into that right now."
"Yeah," Jack said softly, feeling chastened all the same. Gwen took a deep breath. Jack asked, "Alright?"
She nodded. "Sure."
"Good." He waited for her to look at him. "I need you right now, Gwen, yeah?"
She nodded again and squared her shoulders. "I'm here."
Jack smiled proudly. "I know you are." He sighed and looked at Harriet, who was still standing in the main Hub, waiting. "Let's explain to everyone what happened back then."
xxx
Wells narrowed his eyes at Harriet, crossing his arms. "So, it's safe to say that we've got the one responsible."
Tosh saw Harriet get tense in her chair. She was staring at the table, as she had been ever since she'd finished her report about what had happened a year ago that had led to her giving the order to shoot the Sycorax from the sky. Jack was standing behind Harriet like a guardian angel, with Gwen flanking him. He nodded at Wells.
Wells shrugged and looked at Thompson. "We could give the Sycorax what they want."
Gwen looked scandalized. "No, we could not! If you think that ..."
Jack put a hand on her back and she faltered. Harriet's hands were balled to fists and she looked ready to bolt. Tosh suspected that only Jack's presence was keeping her sitting at all.
Nowak looked just as shocked as Gwen, his hazel eyes widened incredulously. "Ewan, how can you even suggest that?"
Thompson cleared his throat. "I agree. We shouldn't give in to the Sycorax."
Gwen scoffed. "As if that is the only reason not to hand her over."
Jack's voice was calm. "We won't hand her over."
Wells leaned back in his chair, rubbing a hand down his tired face. "Sorry. Of course not."
Jack acknowledged that with a nod. "I brought her to talk to them. Sycorax are intelligent beings. We can take a shot at making them understand. We should try and solve this situation peacefully."
Wells gave a sigh and took off his beret, brushing a hand through his dark curls. "So what if they don't understand? What if solving the situation peacefully isn't possible?"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "What if it is and we didn't try?"