Mercia Tew's House; Cardiff, Wales
John Hart unpacked Ianto's car, using the mini bots to carry as much as possible. From Jack's equipment wish list, it sounded like a DNA scrambler or some other type of forensic countermeasure was used incorrectly. Whatever the situation, it was messy.
"Has the device been located and disabled?" John asked as Jack stepped into the kitchen from the back porch. Anwen's most recent safety reminder about working with Jack hadn't been necessary. John had seen some of the blast site scans from the island in Southeast Asia. Surviving a fall from a building roof was nothing compared to that.
"As much as possible. The bomb squad cleared the basement."
"But?"
"It was probably alchemy."
John stopped and looked at Jack. "Which means what? Another lamp and creepy doll?"
Dmitri stepped into the splintered doorway. "We need to evacuate the house until I clear it."
Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
Aman Oliveira received an odd text message from Kailen and headed for his computer lab. Kailen's latest project from General Williams was no worse than anything else he'd researched for Torchwood. Aman wondered if it was wedding related. He didn't understand why Kailen didn't let Eryn plan it. She could get it worked out in a few hours. Weeks or months of stress didn't strike Aman as healthy.
Loud, angry music filled filled the room as he stepped through the door. Kailen still heard him and motioned him over. The screen thankfully didn't show anything resembling a wedding, Aman thought, moving a chair to Kailen's side. "Turn it down."
Kailen turned it off. "Cardiff police have more than one IT department. I gave myself access as IT. They're to dumb to notice." He motioned at a screen. "One of the searches I set up is for anyone looking for Torchwood. There are multiple people tracking anything involved with Torchwood or Harkness, including malware."
"What did you do about the malware?"
"I sent a memo from a team account to IT." Kailen shook his head. "Someone sent an email from a police account about Jack investigating a homicide to a freebie email account and than scrubbed it from the system. I got the notification, but no details."
Mercia Tew's House; Cardiff, Wales
Dmitri Petrescu walked through the house as he had many places before. Devices could be mundane or obvious. It depended on the person who made them and why. If gears and Victorian lamps were the practitioner's choice, they should be easy to find. The modern house made him think of change. Hiding from Torchwood, or be having been taught by Torchwood to hide, would make a difference.
If he hadn't known there was something to find, he would have stopped looking. Nothing suggested the woman practiced anything dark. Then he saw the antique armoire in the main bedroom. While checking it for traps, he realized it was warded. He'd been right about Mercia Tew.
When he opened the ornate doors, he found shelves of artifacts. Most were for protection. A hidden panel revealed what he'd been looking for. The designs were different. She'd even warded them differently. The device downstairs was made by someone else. He replaced the hidden panel. The entire armoire would have to be transported. As he closed one of the small doors, one of Mercia's protection devices indicated.
After a moment's hesitation, Dmitri selected options he recognized for protection and defense. The weapon felt calm. It would identify a person with hostile intentions and react. The stronger the intent, the stronger the injury. Which made him wonder if a defense device triggered the weapon downstairs. Combining devices, intentional or not, could have unexpected consequences.
Jack Harkness sat in the driver seat of the van checking messages and found a detailed text from the general expressing concern about Gwen. He knew Gwen and Rhys were having problems. Which made him wonder what he missed. "Has Anwen said anything about problems at home?"
"What?" John looked up from his mobile.
"The general is concerned there is a problem with Rhys. Has Anwen said anything."
"Not about Rhys." John had a subtle uneasiness to him.
"Anwen said something."
John hesitated. "She went looking for an explanation for Trefor. She found the file on the drugging." He paused. "Anwen mentioned it before threatening to kill Talbot."
"You should have said something."
John looked at him. "We've made progress."
"You're afraid."
John looked back at his mobile. "That day with Talbot. She went and puked. I think she puked because she meant it." He exhaled sharply. "Knowing more than one version of the same person is strange. My Anwen, this Anwen, and the one from the time line that may not exist anymore." He paused. "My Anwen could be brutal. Years of Torchwood and hellish situations and her idea of zero tolerance could be sending Miriam. The Miriam you met is obsessive and a bit off. The older version was a lot like the general. No mercy. Knock down the wall and kill everything that moves."
Jack wondered about that assessment of the general. But then he had led a global military force.
"Seeing that cold anger in an eleven year-old is terrifying. What happens when Anwen hits puberty?" John shook his head.
"Anwen worries about that. She needs someone to talk to."
"Ianto. When we were in Dublin, the connection with Anwen had me asking him for advice."
"He didn't mention it." Jack smiled.
"He asked if I wanted to talk."
Jack chuckled. "After the sleep center, Ianto tried to get the general to rest in the infirmary."
"Tell me you have security footage."
Jack wouldn't admit watching it. "Of you losing a fight with a stretcher."
"I bet eye candy enjoyed that."
"Yeah."
Dmitri Petrescu stepped onto the front porch of Mercia Tew's house and looked around. There was definitely a problem. He didn't see it. There were any number of reasons the device warned him. It could be a threat against him, which he doubted. It could be against Jack, John, a police officer or even a friend of Tew's. The question was how to find it and defuse it before someone got hurt.
He went down the steps and the sidewalk leading toward the street. The device started making him uneasy as he headed for the van. The doors opened; Jack and John climbed out. It increased, leading him to suspect one or both of them were targets.
Jack was nearing the curb as a man stepped around a plumber's van across the street. The device wrapped around Dmitri's wrist. The man raised a gun at Jack's back. Unable to do anything by watch, Dmitri's arm jerked up and a pulse shot past Jack hitting the armed man behind him. The man fell as Dmitri fought to keep his balance.
He realized his mistake as he dropped to his knees. Mercia Tew used more than one type of energy to infuse her devices. She'd been an impressive psychic.
Who are you? A voice echoed in his head. What happened to Mercy?
"Stay back," Dmitri managed weakly before the seizure hit.
Everything went black but his thoughts remained. A landscape formed around him. Indistinct at first, the details seemed to slip from shadows. Smoke rose from the charred structure of a burned out house as the sun rose on the horizon.
"No!" He tried to close his eyes but the image remained.
A form of shadows slipped into view, it's eyes a molten red. "I am Icelus, the embodiment of nightmares." He moved closer. "This place, this horror, has power over you."
"I did not harm Mercia Tew."
"I know, Alexei." Icelus eyes shifted as if he had a head to tilt. "Let go of the fear. This place burned long ago. The good, the bad and the secrets buried here are known to no one but you. Release the fear."
"No. What I saw that night made me who I am. It forced me down a path I had to walk."
The smoke shimmered and changed, taking the form of a demon as dark as soot with curved horns extending from his head and feather wings fluttering in the light wind. His red eyes darkened and deepened. "You challenge me?"
"I would challenge the devil himself."
Icelus' laughter shook the memory. "Mercy was right about you. She was eight when I first appeared to her. She called me the devil and threatened to impale me with my own pitchfork."
"What do you want?"
"Answers." He held out his hand. "And a new friend."
"At what price?"
"You have felt evil. You have looked into souls stained beyond redemption." Icelus set his other hand over his heart. "Am I evil?"
Jack Harkness crouched next to Dmitri. The energy pulse killed the man in the street. Jack suspected that was Faraji, Bashiri Oliveira's hitman. That added more questions to the growing puzzle. The most pressing was what Dmitri did.
"Problem." Dmitri whispered hoarsely. His eyes were open, but unfocused and his pulse raced.
"Lay still. Gwen will drive you back to the hub."
"Marvyn Tew created a lamp to trap Anwen's soul. He wanted her power over the Rift."
"What?" Jack asked.
"But she's bonded. John has to find the lamp and destroy it."
"Bonded to John?"
"To herself and John."