Sorry for the delay, but i've been battling with dreaded writers block! No worries however, here it is 25. Enjoy.
"What story?" Rachel said, there was a scramble of voices and yells.
"Hey, hey," Rachel shushed them. "One at a time,"
"The Red Coat." Said one of the girls. There was a murmur of agreement.
"err.." Rachel hesitated. Looking over at John for a mere second.
"please?" The kids begged. "It used to be your favourite,"
"Fine," Rachel sighed.
"I was 15 years old, just finished on a job, big job. I had the prize, a gorgoran diamond. Worth millions. I was on my own, the boys were my distraction as I left, the clock watchers didn't know what had hit them. On the way into the job, I had noticed two new clock watchers, handsome, as they all seem to be, I think it's a job requirement," Rachel looked over at Jack and John.
"They were arguing, one wanted to go in and see the diamond, the other was telling him off for not sticking to his post. I skipped around them.
On the way out, with my handy diamond I heard a gun cock. I turned to see the clock watcher from before, the one who wanted to go inside."
John frowned for a moment. It was him. He looked down at him self, Red coat. this was the story of the very first time he had met Rachel.
"I took a step back, I was going across the fields.
"I'm going to have to ask you to give back the diamond," He said.
"No," I told him simply.
"Excuse me, ma'am, it's not yours," He laughed. This made me think, anyone else would have shot me,
"Do you not know who I am?" I asked him.
"A criminal," He answered.
"Oh, I'm not just a criminal, darling," I laughed. "I'm your worst nightmare,"
He simply laughed. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Don't believe me, then." I said. "Goodbye," I told him.
"Hey!" He said.
"Try and stop me, see who your dealing with," I called back to him.
He fired his gun, I simply dodged the bullet, very pleased with myself I flashed him a grin.
"Who are you," He asked.
"Fawks, look it up, be afraid," I told him.
"You?" He asked. Shadowing me now so I led him to the marshes.
"Yes me,"
"But your just a kid, what are you doing roaming the streets,"
"Why do you care,"
"I know what its like to be lost,"
This made me stop, I turned to look at him.
"I'm not lost," I told him. I was in the middle of the marshes, on the dry land with the tide coming in fast. He would be stranded waist deep in mud.
"But you might be," I laughed as I took off.
"Hey!" He yelled after me. You all know the marshes, how fast the tide comes in. how dark it gets, the stars were twinkling as I headed home. Then I felt guilty. That stupid little human conscience whispering to me,
"He was nice, he didn't kill you, you've left him to die at the hands of mud-manders." it kept whispering at me.
So against my better judgement I went back. I could hear the gun shots firing. I climbed into the trees.
"Stop shooting and stay still, very still," I called to him.
"Easy for you to say," He growled at me.
"If you're just going to be rude, I won't help you." I told him. Pulling back my bow, I let an arrow fly wide, spreading light through the marsh, the Manders scattered. I threw him a rope, tied it round my waist and using the tree as leverage I jumped down, and he was pulled up. With a thud, and then lets of cussing, I figured he was out of the mud.
"What was that for?" He asked, clutching his head.
"Grateful, aren't you?" I said,
"You left me to die,"
"Then I saved your life. All's well that ends well."
"Wait!" He shouted after me. "Thank you,"
"You owe me one. And don't mess with me again, you only get one chance." And then I left him be. I saw him around, and of course he was still after me, but, he always gave a warning after that." Rachel finished.
"Now, sleep,"
"You promised a song!" One of the younger girls said. Rachel sighed, and looked out of the window. She focussed on something outside.
"Hang on… Wait a minute…! I'm remembering something." Rachel pinched the bridge of her nose trying to remember.
"Will," She hissed. She reached her hand out and he took it, the whole room changed. It delved into Rachel's memories, of the grenade coming through the rift, her memory focused on the man's face. Zooming in and like a computer highlighting sections. It then changed to in the market street. Faces zooming past, it stopped on one face, zooming in and highlighting again. The two faces came up a match. The memory zoomed out from the street, taking a birds eye view over the town. A green line went from the man, showing all possible root he could have taken. There were 3 main roots. One heading to the marsh, one to the main city and one to the desert.
"Pen and paper," Will said. Taking it, he drew a rough sketch and plotted the routes, then handing it to Flash, who disappeared with a gush of air. The room remained in Rachel's memory which followed one of the routes onto the main city. It looked through all the buildings, then the memory started to flicker, like a failing screen.
"Fawks, you gotta stop," Flo said. As Will took his hand from her.
"Urgh," Rachel groaned, her head in her hands.
"Fawks?" Little Oscar asked,
"Don't worry, I'm fine, kid, I promised a song right?" Rachel said, putting a smile on her face, she walked to the back of the store, putting her futuristic iPod into a stand.
"Clock strikes, upon the hour
And the sun begins to fade" Rachel sang.
"Still enough time to figure out
How to chase my blues away,
I've done alright up till now
It's the light of day that shows me how.
And when the night falls
The loneliness calls." Rachel grinned. Grabbing Will's hands.
"Oh, I wanna dance with somebody,
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody,
Somebody that loves me!"
"Oh I wanna dance with somebody," She sang, picking up little oscar.
"I wanna feel the heat with somebody,
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody,
With somebody that loves me,"
"Did you know she could sing?" Owen asked the team.
Ianto was the only one who nodded.
"And she can dance," John said. He was watching Rachel singing and dancing with the kids.
It was later, when all the kids were asleep, and most of the adults, bar John, Jack, Owen, Rachel and her Boys.
"Flash should be back by now," Rachel said through gritted teeth.
"He'll be fine, stop worrying," Will said putting a soothing arm on her arm.
"We managed fine without you before," Jake muttered under his breath.
"What was that Jacob?" Rachel growled.
"I'm just saying we managed to cope when you upped and left,"
"I didn't choose to leave," Rachel growled.
"I'd have been better off here anyway," She mumbled. "Earth isn't as easy as remember it being," Rachel rolled her eyes. "Jacob, I didn't mean to leave you guys, I got caught up in something bigger, I am sorry,"
"No probs, Fawks," Jake shook his head. He bumped her fist.
"Hey, hey, Flash!" Will said, nodding to the door.
Flash was stood at the door, with the man who they had followed through the rift in his arms.
Will opened the door for him.
"Look here, what I got!" He grinned, holding up the man by his colar.
"Brilliant Flash," Rachel grinned.
"Tie him up," Bob said.
The man was tied to a chair. "Take him through there, I don't want the kids waking up," The guys took the chair and the man through the backdoor.
Rachel headed towards it then realised Jack and John were following her, she turned to face them.
"Hey, stay here yeah?"
"We can help, we were in the time agency," Jack said.
"We don't need the time agency, no offence, but they never get anything done, won't be long,"
And they weren't everyone except the man came out of the backroom.
"Everything ok?"
"No, wake everyone up, start packing. We have to leave, he had a tracker, they're coming," Rachel growled.
"UP!" Paul bellowed.
"Arker lou moona key laoul," Rachel shouted in alien dialect. There was a scramble as everyone got up and grabbed for their stuff.
"What the bloody hell is happening?" Owen asked.
"We're leaving! Now! Go, through," Rachel said, nodding to where the younger kids with bags full of stuff were walking down the passage.
"Take whatever you can and leave, fast as you can," Flo was saying to the kids.
"I'm sorry Flo," Rachel apoligised, pulling a bag over her shoulder.
"No problem, lovey, we needed a new location anyway," The woman smiled.
They rushed down the dark passage, half way through Ianto realised.
"Wait, where's Rachel?"
"Who?" One of the little kids.
"Fawks is staying behind, buying us time." Will said in front.
"They'll kill her!" Jack said.
"Fawks is immortal, she can't be killed," Scoffed one of the little kids.
"She'll be fine," Jake said to the Torchwood Team.
It was an agonising wait at the base.
Two hours after they had left Flo's place, there was a knock on the gates.
"Bonjour," Rachel shouted. "Open the bloody gates, there's a hole in my stomach and two good doctors in there, let me in."
Flash and Paul opened the gates. Rachel did indeed have a hole in her stomach.
"These guys mean business," She hissed. "Now get the bullet out of stomach,"
Owen reached her first, "Two doctors? Who's the other," He asked. Leading Rachel to a flat tree stump that normally acted as a table.
"Owen, Jake. Jake, Owen." She hissed. "Does it really matter, bullet in stomach," She growled.
"Right,"
Both Jake and Owen set up what they could for removing the bullet.
"There's nothing for pain relief, we're going to have to…" Owen began to explain to Rachel. But was interrupted as she yelled out.
"Fuck! Jesus Christ!" She snarled. Owen turned behind him to see jake with some tongs and between them a copper bullet.
"Good job," Owen nodded.
Everyone looked at the wound as Rachel groaned, it healed over, leaving a purple bruise.
"What happened to on the count of 3?" Rachel groaned.
"Are you ok?" Little Oscar asked, too small to look over the stump, Ianto picked him up.
"Just dandy," Rachel groaned. "Tec, get me the black board please," She said to Will. With a helping hand from Jake and Owen, Rachel sat up. Will wheeled over an old fashion board and passed her a piece of chalk.
Instantly Rachel started scrawling numbers and words onto it, long complex equations and alien words.
"What language is that?" Tosh asked Jack.
"It's not a language," He shook his head.
"Its code. And only they know what it means," John said. Nodding to Will, Flash, Jake, Paul and Bob.
"How is she doing that?" Gwen asked, nodding to Rachel who was in turbo mode, writing out equations and solutions in seconds.
"Her head works differently than most," Ianto said. "She sees things differently, works them out in strange ways, I've seen her do it at home,"
Rachel cussed under her breath, in a box she had wrote a long complex number.
23114159.
She walked backwards from the board, took a deep breath and sat back down on the stump.
"Scaram lara toot," She hissed.
Will looked at her. "Why?"
"Do you still have it?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah," Jake answered.
"But why do you need it?" Flash continued.
"Just get it. And oh! Look!" Rachel said, she held up the grenade.
"Brilliant!" Jack exclaimed.
"Bob, lock it up," Rachel said, throwing it to the alien.
Jake handed Rachel a tattered faded book. She took it from him and flicked through the pages. Seeming satisfied she nodded, put the book under her arm and went to the middle of the clearing where her sword provided power. Pushing her sword into the unit again but this time pushing so hard it sunk to the ground. A light flared up to the sky. A huge signal floated above the trees.
"What are you doing?" John asked.
"Calling the troops," Rachel said solemnly.
"What for?"
"The War,"
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