Chapter 20

Cardiff, Wales

February 2007

It was deep winter and the city had regained its calm, at least somewhat, having gone through the Christmas season proper without another murder. Torchwood had continued their vigilance, protecting the planet from alien technology. Suzie had pointed out, back in December, the irony that the official Christmas tree that held vigil over the Roald Dahl Plass was lit with technology that Torchwood London had marketed to meet their recent resource needs for additional staff.

Since then, Jack had regained his balance somewhat. He was still tight-lipped about what he knew but his unique personality was again coming to the fore. He was even volunteering to take multiple outings. Tonight, he was out with Marcus, tracking down a lead of some eyewitness accounts of 'ghosts,' not that Jack believed they were actually seeing ectoplasmic residue as a result of death. But the eyewitness reports were so wide spread throughout the world that it was obvious that something was going on.

They'd spent the last three hours driving through the streets of Cardiff and not once had they seen anything out of the ordinary.

"I'm telling you, Jack. This is a wild goose chase. You know as well as I do there's no such thing as ghosts," Marcus groused.

"I know there's no such thing as ghosts. You know there's no such thing as ghosts. But over a thousand sightings at exactly the same time just within the city, plus reports of other sightings around the world in mass quantities - again at the same time - tell me that there's something out there. Don't believe all the hoopla we spout to the media about hallucinogens in the water when we're covering up our own activities."

"Yeah... well... there is tha..." He halted his words abruptly. "Stop the car, Jack!" When the head of Torchwood didn't do it immediately, Marcus said again in a harder voice. "Stop the bloody car!"

"Okay, okay!" Jack conceded, doing as was demanded of him. "Don't tell me you saw a ghost."

Marcus didn't answer as he jumped out of the vehicle and ran towards a nondescript van. "Oh shit," he said as he got closer and realized the substance leaking out of the vehicle wasn't strawberry jam.

Jack hurried out of the SUV and followed Marcus to the van, stopping when he saw the blood dripping from the back doors. Taking a breath as he pulled out his revolver, he took hold of the handle and turned it, opening the doors in one swift move.

"Oh, gawd!" he exclaimed at the sight of the body which lay in the back of the van, seemingly presented on a blanket of red paint. Jack hastily looked around the van and saw paper draping from the driver's side bucket seat. "I'll be right back, Marcus."

Marcus simply stared at the body, chanting in an almost trance. "No... no... no..."

Ignoring the strange reaction from his employee, Jack hurried around to the driver's side door. He quickly opened the door and picked up the paper he'd seen, regarding it with a heavy heart. "No," he whispered, seeing the telltale Gallifreyan script on the bottom right hand corner. However, this particular paper was different from the other three that he had found with the previous murders. Whereas the first three had two Gallifreyan symbols on it, this one only had one. In addition, there was now a message written in English beside the symbol: "In vengeance for my beloved queen." He blinked with growing confusion. "A blood feud?" he questioned. This new dynamic made things that much more of a mystery. "Why is he doing this? Who's this 'queen'?"

Suddenly, there was a scream from the back of the van. Rolling the paper and thrusting it in his pocket, Jack ran to Marcus and found him shaking violently. "What is it?"

"I touched him! I only touched Shamus and look what happened! He's in slices... perfect slices! Like a fucking butcher did this! Who the hell else would do something like that?"

Jack looked at the body for a moment, stunned by seeing the literal unraveling of it in an almost spiral cut... like a person would see on one of those expensive hams. This had to have taken a long, long time to accomplish and spoke to a sick perfectionism in the execution. He swallowed down the urge to vomit, despite having seen the results of the other killings that had obviously been done by the same person. His thoughts, however, were drawn from the scene of the horrendous crime when he realized that Marcus had given the body a name.

"You... you knew him?" he questioned with surprise.

Marcus looked at Jack with derision. "Yeah. I knew him. I knew all of them, Jack. Someone's tracking us down."

There were a couple of things a person learned to trust over the years as a Time Agent and later as a Torchwood agent. The first and foremost of these was instincts. And right now, Jack's were screaming at him to press for more information, especially when all his research was pointing to the Doctor being responsible for these atrocities. "This Shamus person isn't Torchwood, Marcus. Who is 'us'?" He took a breath, trying to understand what was presented to him. "What did you do?!"

"The 'cleaner,' Jack? Did you really think that Yvonne would actually destroy it? If you believe that, you're more of a twit than she is."

"Not in the least. Just figured she gave you a nice story to cover up her holding on to it. Obviously... I was wrong." He looked at Marcus with astonishment. "You killed all those women, didn't you?"

"No. I didn't," Marcus taunted.

"But you said..."

"I said I didn't kill them. It was more of a group effort. We hunted them down and then we all had a share of the sport."

Jack regarded him with wide eyes. "You're sick!"

Marcus shrugged. "Depends on your definition of sick. Why the hell shouldn't we have fun? There's too many frigging people in the world anyway. We just lessened the ecological load a little. The fact we enjoyed doing it... well... I guess some would call that sick."

The head of Torchwood just shook his head in disbelief. He'd been through a whole hell of a lot of shit in his very long life but he'd never - never - encountered anything so depraved as the person he saw in front of him. And to think he actually liked this guy! Even considered him a close friend! "I see why he did it now. You're the very definition of insane! You've pushed him over the edge!"

Now it was Marcus's turn to be surprised and confused. "You know who's doing this? You've seen what's happened to my mates! If you condone that, who's the crazy one?"

"I don't condone it. That doesn't mean I don't understand the motive," Jack contradicted him. "How many of you are in this 'gang' of yours?"

Marcus looked back at Shamus, a shiver going up his spine before answering. "I'm the last one... and he's not going to get me. I know places to hide that no one will find me. Not even you, Jack."

"He'll find you, Marcus!" Jack protested. "If he's gone to this length, he'll find you. No matter where you go, the Doctor will finish what he started. That I can promise you." He paused, extending his hand to him. "Come with me. I can protect you from him."

"The Doctor? How do you know he's doing this? I thought you said that he's not anything like what we've heard." He looked at Shamus and then back at Jack. "If he can do things like this then you've been protecting a madman and he should be hunted down like the sick bastard he is."

"You're one to talk! What you and your gang did to all those women... You fed into his concept of justice and pushed him to hunt you down."

Marcus looked incredulous. "You're still defending him? You must be in league with the Doctor, Jack. Otherwise, you would have gone to the police."

"I'm not defending his actions, I'm rebuking yours! He never would have done anything like this before but it's obvious that you and your gang changed him. I take care of my own, Marcus, which includes the Doctor and you. He may be insane thanks to you but he'll listen to me. I can keep you safe and save him."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll take my chances." The man then turned to walk away, determined to keep himself safe. He'd taken precautions and now it was time to put his "on the run" plan in place.

Jack started after him, knowing that he had to stop him for his own good. "Marcus!" he called to him.

"Bugger off, Jack," Marcus called over his shoulder. "Tell your friend he'll have a hard time getting me."

"I'll help him find you if I have to," came the reply. "Not that I'll need to."

The ex-Torchwood Cardiff operative turned angrily. "Can't let you do that, Jack. Sorry but I just can't." He pulled an alien disrupter out of his pocket. "Too bad it has to end like this, Jack. You were a pretty good guy to work with. A little too trusting but a good guy." With those words said, he discharged the weapon.

"I'm trying to help y..." Jack started before the weapon vaporized his head, his body dropping to the ground like a sack.

"Try to help him hunt me down now." Marcus then faded into the shadows.

DWQLTWDWQLTW

The strains of Vivaldi echoed through the rented house. The Master had completed his shower and was heading down the stairs to the late night dinner which Reggie had prepared for him. "A perfect end to a perfect ending... well, for Mr. Shamus McGrady anyway." He sighed contentedly.

"I take it this time you did enjoy yourself, sir?" Reggie asked. He was one hundred percent sure he wouldn't have a repeat of the two months of dental repair he'd gone through after the last killing.

"Idyllic," the Time Lord assured. "Absolutely and positively idyllic. You outdid yourself, Reginald."

"You liked the sound proofing technology, I take it, sir."

"It was perfect! You know, someone actually walked past the van and they didn't hear a sound? Or at least they thought Shamus and I were a boy and his girlfriend having a bit of fun. And who's going to interrupt that?" He exhaled breathily. "I haven't had such a marvelous time killing someone in... several hundred years."

"I'm very happy for you. I'm sure Dr. Langford will appreciate your freedom from stress. She does seem to gravitate to you when you're with her. I even heard Dr. Wilkins say he wouldn't be surprised if she regained full consciousness soon."

"Right now, I'm just grateful that she's finally breathing on her own. Hated seeing her all bundled up with wires and tubes everywhere." He took a bite of his dinner, relishing the steak that had been prepared for him to perfection - medium rare with a hint of Hollandaise sauce on the side. "Mmm. Gorgeous," he complimented. Looking up into Reggie's eyes, he smiled. "You know, Reginald, you really have been quite a boon for me since you took on the mantle of my assistant. In fact, you're such an asset that I'm going to insist that you be my assistant permanently."

"Permanently, sir?" He considered the offer. His boss was the greatest person to work for when he was in a good mood but he'd seen – and was subjected to – the consequences that could be bestowed on his underlings when not. He coughed. "But I thought Dr. Langford..."

"Dr. Langford will be taking on other responsibilities once she is well enough to do so," the Master told him genially. "Besides, my obvious affection for her now makes her ill-suited for the job." He smiled lecherously. "And I'm sure she and I will find the right position for her once her health has returned. Maybe three or four within one night."

"Ah," Reggie stated, fully understanding the innuendo but figuring it wasn't his place to comment. He noted that the Master's wine glass was close to empty. "Let me refill that for you. I know you like your cabernet with your steak."

"Thank you, Reginald," the Gallifreyan beamed at him, allowing the assistant to take the glass from him. He sighed once again, still glowing from the marvelous evening he'd had so far. "I really feel like celebrating, you know? Maybe find some night club to dance the rest of the night away. Then again, I'd probably wind up burning it down for the fun of it."

"A video, then? I took the liberty of renting several of your favorites. Perhaps the 'Best of Telletubbies?'"

"Those little creatures with the tellies in their stomachs?" the Master said with childish excitement. "Ooo! Better yet! 'Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons!' Love that show! You humans have such marvelous disillusions about space travel. And real Martians are nothing like the Mysterons. And mangos and peppermint maraschino cherries with a big Thermos of tea."

Reginald smiled as he retrieved the requested treats. Tonight would be a peaceful one. He might even get in a chapter or two on his most recent literary acquisition.

DWQLTWDWLQTW

Pain was the first sensation Jack felt. The ache in his head - or rather the ache that was his head - was enough for him to repress a cry. Whatever had happened to him, he knew that it wasn't good and that this discomfort was only going to get worse. The next feeling Jack encountered was momentum. Slowly, the fact he was in a dark place gained his attention. The closed in sides of thick plastic like material was the final clue to where he was. "A body bag? Damn it. I hate when that happens!" His jaw felt strange, almost as if it wasn't even there, and, remembering how his life ended this time, he quipped, "Good thing I don't scar."

The closeness of the tube-like structure, as well as the fact that it was designed to be opened from the outside, prevented him from undoing the closure. Instead, he reached into his pocket to retrieve his switchblade which he'd kept with him since the first time he'd woken up in such a predicament. He recalled that death and chuckled remembering the look on the orderly's face when the bag had been opened and Jack had popped up fresh as a daisy. It didn't help that it was during World War I. The poor orderly was absolutely convinced Jack was evidence of a new German weapon of some kind... or a zombie... or both. Of course, it did mean the fellow was sent home on a Section 8 discharge. Jack had even looked up the man a few years later, happy to see him raising his new family.

Now he activated the mechanism and used the blade to cut through the bag. A few minutes later, he was out. Noticing the other bag beside him, he said with anger in his voice, "You bastards. The man has lived how many lives and it took scum like you to push him into insanity. You might not have fully deserved the torture but you certainly deserved the punishment!"

"Hey," a voice said from Jack's right, muffled by a plate of metal. "Did you hear something?"

"Must be the radio or something. Just turn it off."

The owner of the first voice obviously tried that. "It isn't on!"

"Then you're hearing things. Seeing bodies like those two will do that to you. I'm telling you, buddy. There are a lot of right sickos out there. I'm never going to look at ham again, that's for sure."

"It weren't the bodies. I heard something!"

Jack figured he had a few moments before they stopped the vehicle and came to check what the sound was, so he opened the door of the lorry and jumped out into the night.

Cleared of the lorry, he looked at his surroundings. "Marcus," he murmured to himself. At this point, Marcus was his best lead for finding the Doctor. "I just hope I find him before the Doctor does. Otherwise..."

DWQLTWDWQLTW

Tosh blinked at the screen. "Oh, shit," she exclaimed.

"What?" Suzie asked.

"There's been another murder."

"Another one? You mean those torture ones? I thought they stopped."

"Apparently not. This time they found two bodies." She paused. "Maybe we should let Jack know."

Susie immediately lifted her cell phone to call Jack's number, not getting an answer. "I think something's wrong. Let's go find them. Tosh, keep an eye out for anything that can help. CCTV, police radio... anything."

The communications expert took in a breath as she nodded. Since the murders appeared to be starting again, she was going to confront Jack when she saw him. She felt he must have a reason for not saying anything but, there were limits and she wasn't sure one hadn't just been crossed. "I'll wait here and let you know if I hear from them."

Suzie and Owen didn't acknowledge her words and headed out the door. Later that evening, they reconvened.

"Where the hell are they? It's like they disappeared off the bloody planet," Owen exclaimed.

"I don't know," Suzie responded. "We've got to find them though." She went into her authority mode. "Until we do, nobody goes home. We'll sleep in shifts. Someone always manning the Hub and one person out on the street. Got it?"

Tosh and Owen nodded slightly at the order given. A quick vote between them decided who would take the first shift before they separated to their respective tasks: one searching, one monitoring, one sleeping as best they could. They'd do this until they had their answers... one way or the other.