Section 4: Enter Sandman

Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

Luc Sarkisian wondered at his life. An attack by a man from the future lead to him being rescued by a different man from farther in the future. That lead to him living in Wales and working with Captain Harkness. He'd seen things he still couldn't believe. Then he'd met Eryn. She didn't blink when he told her about his father's father or blame him when she found out about his other grandfather. She knew about Torchwood: a blessing and a curse.

"Luc, I am dressed warm enough. I checked the weather before we left." Eryn was exasperated. "I learn to dress myself a long time ago."

"Canada is cold." He sounded lame.

"So was Wales." Eryn laughed. "And South Africa in the winter time."

"I'm trying."

"To hard." She playfully punched him in the shoulder.

The Great Wall was a Chinese restaurant that had great food and was unlikely to have teenagers unless they were with family. He didn't mind running into math and science nerds from high school, but more often than not he encountered the brainless. Gwen had expected him to like his peers. He didn't. In general, they were asses. He didn't want her subjected to that.

"Table for two. Thank you."

The woman smiled, showing them to a table.

Luc helped Eryn with her coat before they sat at a nice booth. "Do you recommend anything?"

"Anything but fish. Beef, pork, chicken. No fish."

She laughed. "That bad?"

"Yeah."

They opted for a dinner-for-two special. Luc ordered. He was getting the impression that having him order meant something to her, but he had no idea what. She made him lunch and served group meals. She did her brother and Aman's laundry and tried to do his. Chores weren't an issue. A weird combination of domestic and liberated. He was missing something.

A waiter brought them drinks. Luc thanked her in Korean. When he'd first started eating there, he realized she didn't speak much English and tried for Chinese. One of the others pointed out she spoke Korean. The next time he came in, he knew how to say thank you in Korean.

Eryn laughed. "You speak Chinese?"

"I know how to say thank you in Chinese and Korean. That was Korean."

"You come here a lot?"

"Yeah. My mother brought me here the first time when I was eleven or twelve. She always used chopsticks. Me and dad never could figure out how to hold them."

Eryn reached for his hand. "You're a lot like your dad?"

"Yeah. Same looks. Same science. Same languages."

"Having good memories must be nice. I have some with my mother, but not my father."

"Its hard to remember them knowing what my mother and possibly my father have done."

"I've mentioned my father." Eryn squeezed his hand. "My mother knew. Me and Kailen knew as kids. She'd tell me we had to go to the hardware store." She shook her head. "I was nine or ten. She had a list. A list. Rope, duct tape, garbages. She bought a shovel. And a few other things." A beat. "I knew what my father was by then. There we were in the store and she was checking brands."

"My mom liked dinosaur displays at museums."

Eryn laughed. "My mother liked picnics, cooking, shopping and music."

"Our common ground is insanely disturbed families?"

"Yeah." She smiled.

The food arrived and they ate. She was telling him a ridiculous story about a neighbor when Luc's mobile rang.

"Sarkisian."

"You've got company," Aman said. "Kailen's facial rec software is connected to the RCMP now. The guy from the mall is back. He did something to your car."

"Is he alone?"

"Looks like it."

"Does it look like he rigged my car?"

Eryn was staring at him at that point.

"Yeah."

"We need to take the guy. Can you and Kailen grab him while I coordinate a bomb squad? We need to evacuate everything around the car."

"Already called." Aman paused. "The mercs at De Waal attempted to herd us into an ambush. It wouldn't take much to figure out how we got Beaupre."

"The bomb threat will result in everything around us being evacuated. A couple blocks out. All bystanders will be forced behind barricades for their safety."

"While you're watching, the actual team moves in and grabs you."

"Did you talk to Yeadon at RCMP?"

"Yeah. I told him it was a probable abduction attempt."

"Unless its to get us all out of Torchwood."

"Thought of that to. I'm using a portal device. Since they're already linked, I will bring two more. Kailen's locking down and activating the sentinels."

Commercial Distract

Aman Oliveira portaled in to provide Luc and Eryn with a device and then went for his target. The man opted to retreat to a commercial district without active security cameras. It could also be a trap, he reminded himself, as he checked the scan equipment. No alien tech in the area. Only one vehicle showed a heat signature.

When Aman found the man, someone had already put a bullet in him. He put his back to a wall and checked the area.

"When Puzzo approached me in Brazil." A quiet man stepped from the shadows into the dim light of a fading security bulb, "I thought he was crazy." The other man wore gloves much like his and carried a similar weapon pointed at the ground. "Torchwood killed Aman Oliveira. He was not from the future."

Aman had no idea what to expect.

"My name is Idrissa. I mean you no harm. That man, and the two with him, were here to kill you." His name and accent said Africa. Aman guessed Nigerian.

"I have been unable to figure out why these men want you dead. There is some connection to your father." He sounded sad. "I knew Aman had secrets. I never could have imagined he was from the future."

"You're from Torchwood Nigeria."

"The Fellowship of Inner Peace. What the Aman I knew created in the former Torchwood compound."

"Why are you here?"

"Puzzo told me about you in an attempt to prevent me from seeking revenge against Torchwood. My Aman planned for everything except that."

Aman stared at him. "The future version of me that attacked Nova Scotia. You were his lover?"

"Yes. He tried to explain to me the last time I saw him that he made a mistake." Idrissa shook his head slightly. "I did not understand."

"What was your Aman attempting to accomplish?"

"That day in De Waal haunted him. He was in his forties when I met him. When he died, he had lived with Kailen's death for thirty years. Faced with his own death, and the pending destruction of the planet, he made a deal with the devil. His life for Kailen's. He would do anything. And he did." A beat. "I did not know the pain ran that deep."

"What do you want from me?"

"Nothing." A beat. "I came here to check's Puzzo's claim. He told the truth."

"I don't want to cause you pain," Aman said. "There are things I would like to know."

"I will send you what I know about your father, South Africa and Brazil. It is not much."

"Who's Puzzo?"

Idrissa laughed. "I do not know. My Aman did not have an answer for that."

Torchwood Nova Scotia

Aman returned, wondering about what he'd learn about himself. He'd already guessed that Kailen's death sent his future self down a path of death and destruction. The idea that he did it to save Kailen made him wonder. If his future self was part of Torchwood, he should have known about Luc. He couldn't imagine risking Eryn's happiness in an attempt to save Kailen. There had to be more to it. Perhaps the future version of himself was from a completely different time line altogether. A bizarre thought.

"Was there an attack?" Aman entered Kailen's computer lab.

"No." Kailen stood. "RCMP found six bodies. African mercenaries. The CCTV cameras were disabled. Someone left a pile of alien tech devices near the front entrance." He touched Aman's face. "What happened?"

Aman told Kailen about Idrissa without mentioning what related to Kailen.

"He sounds like Ianto."