"You know what this place needs?" Jack said loudly to the Hub at large.
"Other than a good clean?" Louise looked over at Jack from her computer station. He looked at her skeptically.
"No."
"Better equipment?" she joked, Jack looked at her unimpressed. "New team leader?" she pushed. He looked at her totally shocked. "What? You worried we'll find someone more charismatic, brave, handsome and downright magnificent than you?"
"No because I am the most magnificent!"
"And you not up yourself at all." Gwen called up from the entrance of the Hub.
"No, not at all." Jack said smiling. Louise walked away from him shaking her head muttering under her breath.
"Unbelievable."
"Your right he is!" Ianto came out of the boardroom to her right making her jump. Ianto smiled at her, "that makes a change!"
"You caught me off guard, I didn't think you where in yet." He looked at his watch,
"Its 7am I've been in since 5am."
"What, that's crazy, what needs doing at 5am?"
"Jack." He said simply. She thought that was the answer to her question but Ianto moved past her towards Jack who had just come up the stairs behind her.
"Thanks Ianto." He said taking a pile of files off of him. "Anyway as I was saying what this place needs is."
"Nothing Jack its fine as it is."
"No I reckon we need a bit of a change." He continued.
"Wasn't I change enough for you?"Louise smiled.
"Yes and you've fitted in so well I reckon we need some new blood. So I want you all to take a look at these files." He paused at the look on Gwen and Ianto's faces.
"ok, are you sure you want a new team member?" Louise asked.
"Yes I do it's time we expanded." They all walked through to the boardroom and sat down.
"Right so, who are we looking at? What type of person?" Gwen asked.
"Somebody brilliant, just like you three!"
"Preferably human?" Ianto asked.
"Yes, No offence." Jack looked at Louise. She held up her hands.
"Non taken."
"Let's have a look at those files then." Gwen indicated the files Jack was holding.
"Yes here you go," he threw them onto the table each of them took one; Jack took the seat next to Gwen, opposite Louise.
"Sophia Charles." Ianto read off of the front of the file he held, opening it.
"Miles Dalton." Gwen read, flicking through the files.
"Samantha James." Louise read off the front and then flipped it open.
"John Palmer and Steven Clifford." Jack concluded,
"Two IT technicians, two medics and one chemical engineer. Each has a wide skill base, they are all genuinely talented and all have excelled through their education. Their ability to learn is phenomenal and their general knowledge practically unbeatable, except maybe by Ianto's. They are all perfectly suitable, those files contain full back ground checks and histories, and they are all single and..."
"All extremely pretty." Ianto observed. Jack looked at him exasperated.
"Well I don't want to lower the decor."
"well I rule out john palmer, he's blonde and I'd hate it to look like we were listening to John Hart also we already have a Jack, having a John as well and I bet he's called Jack by preference, it says here he's English and that is a very English thing to do!"
"Very true," Jack smiled, "alright number one IT technician is out." He said throwing the file over his shoulder.
"Wasn't Sophia Charles on the news recently?" Ianto asked Louise.
"I don't know." She made a mental not to start reading the news paper.
"Something about a major machinery malfunction at the nuclear power station." Ianto looked at Gwen hoping she could confirm this.
"It definitely rings a bell." She said. Jack plucked her file out of Gwen's hands and threw it over his shoulder.
"So that leaves Miss James - medical examiner, Mr Dalton – IT genius and Mr. Clifford – Surgeon."
"No way are we have a surgeon on this team, we have to live with you and that is hard enough!" Gwen said with a smile.
"I second that it would be unbearable!" Louise said looking at Jack, who pretended to look offended.
"So James or Dalton?" Ianto asked.
"I think we need to set up a little encounter! Don't you?" asked Jack sounding a little too excited. "Louise and Ianto you take the SUV and go check out Mr. Dalton, Gwen we will give Miss James a visit. Ianto was already out the door grabbing the SUV keys off of Jack before Louise could, she picked up the file off the table and quickly followed him down the stairs and through into one of the many tunnels towards where the SUV was currently parked.
"So, Mr. Miles Dalton, lives in Penarth, works as an IT technician at the CBI building just a little away from the Plass," she noted.
"Your geography of the area is getting better!" Ianto said without smiling.
"He's got black hair, average height about 5'8, Jack not being his usual precise self there, looks rather nice from the photo supplied. Excelled at school, at university he got the best grades in his year, best in the country, seems his talents are being wasted in that office." They stepped out into the car park and Ianto unlocked the car. They climbed in. She looked over at Ianto and realised something was wrong.
"What's the matter Ianto?"
"We've never set out to find a new team member before; they've always sort of found us. Either been effected by us or are in so much trouble because of alien activity or technology. These people are going to be plucked out of their lives into this, the crazy world we live in."
"Ianto, it's going to be fine." She placed her hand on his cheek in a comforting manner. He looked at her fully in the eyes. "Well go see this Miles guy and if we don't like him we'll retcon him and go for a drink! No harm done."
"your right, I'm just worrying over nothing, Jack's researched them they will be brilliant everything will be fine." He put the key in the ignition and started the engine; he suddenly looked at her again. "Can we go for a drink after anyway, even if we don't retcon him I mean?" she smiled as he pulled out the car parking space.
"Maybe." Ianto smiled to himself that was a yes he thought.
TWTWTW
"Hello, were here to see Miss S. James." Gwen said to the rather broody receptionist at the hospital,
"5th Floor." The receptionist said in a bored monotone voice.
"Thank you." She turned and walked back to Jack.
"You know if I'd have done it I'd have got a smile outta her."
"I'm sure you would have, Floor 5." They headed over to the lifts; Jack pressed the button to summon the lift. They waited in silence. A small bing told them the lift had arrived at their floor. Stepping in Gwen pressed the button for the 5th floor. The doors closed and the lift started to ascend.
TWTWTW
Ianto held open the office door open for Louise and she slipped past him, thanking him as she went. It was a small room on the 17th floor off of a large open work space that had been divided up into cubicles. It was a small office there were two desks at right angles to one another. A tangle of monitors and base units littered the room. Along with instruction manuals and notebooks amongst discarded coffee cups and muffin wrappers.
"Remind you of anywhere?" Louise said with a smile at Ianto.
"I hope you're not referring to the archives." He smiled cheekily. She laughed.
"No I do value my lives!" just then a scruffy looking man, with his shirt un-tucked and his hair ruffled entered the room.
"Mr. Dalton?" Ianto asked and Louise could tell by the tone in his voice he prayed it wasn't.
"Err no, Miles is out on a Job, err floor 18 I think, something about a computer not turning on."
"They've probably not turned it on at the switch." Ianto muttered dryly and Louise stifled a laugh.
"Thanks." They exited the room. Ianto let out a sign of relief.
"I panicked then!"
"I know." Louise headed back towards the lifts. They got there and the lift doors opened. A young man stepped out of the lift. He had black hair that was short cut; Louise could tell if it got any longer it would be unmanageable it was the sort of hair that went up and out, he looked smart in pinstripe trousers and a smart white shirt with a blue wool jumper pulled over it, a blue skinny tie showed at the neck. He looked at them and then Louise realised what a strange sight had just greeted this young man, herself and Ianto staring at him, her in her full formal Time lord military uniform and Ianto in his perfect three piece suit. She suddenly realised that they had been stood there staring at one another for little over a minute.
"Mr. Dalton." Louise offered him her hand.
"Hello," he said shaking his head a confused look on his face, "sorry have I missed a memo? Am I supposed to be expecting you?"
"No, no you're not. Is there somewhere we can talk though?" Ianto asked.
"Yes we can go to my office." They followed him back along the 'corridor' created by the line of cubicles, back towards the small cupboard of an office.
"Aw Miles, mate there are some people looking for you, some fit lass in a military coat and some guy in a suit."
"Yeh they found me." He didn't look up from his work.
"Mint what did they want? It looked serious mate."
"They want you to leave, private meeting I'm afraid." It was at that point he looked up; he stood up embraced and then left the room without another word. Miles walked across the room and sat down, Ianto and Louise sat in the two chairs opposite him.
"So, Miles we've been watching you very carefully." Louise said cautiously, at this point he looked alarmed.
"I haven't done anything wrong."
"We're not saying you have." Ianto started.
"So why have you been watching me? Are you from the government?"
"We're separate from the government." Ianto answered.
"The police then?"
"We're outside the police the police." Louise smiled.
"And beyond the united nations." Ianto added before Miles could go on any further.
"So who are you then?" they looked at one another then looked back at Miles then in unison they said.
"We're Torchwood."
I know i keep saying it but please review - something nice preferably to make me smile! As the exams are very stressful! Thanks for reading.