Chapter 26
Ianto had eventually fallen into a restless sleep and Jack had covered him with a blanket before heading back up into his office. He could listen to Ianto's breathing from there and get to him quickly if he was needed. Although part of him desperately wanted to stay there holding onto Ianto, there was a case to get to the bottom of, one that had serious repercussions for Ianto's health and well being. For Ianto's sake if nothing else he needed to get back to work.
Jack sat down at his desk and started going through the documents that Ianto and Tosh had prepared earlier, the accumulated results of their separate researches earlier that day. Now that he was thinking more logically, he realised that there may well have been something there that they would have missed that he would recognise from his long years working for Torchwood.
Owen was surprised to see Jack poring over the various print outs that lay scattered on the desk.
"Ianto?" His voice was accusatory – he really hoped that Jack had made amends.
"Asleep," Jack spoke softly and gestured at the open hatchway.
"How is he?" Owen sat down on the chair opposite Jack.
"Physically, he's running a temperature, and his breathing is sounding rough. He's snoring – but don't tell him I told you that."
"Fuck you two with your bloody secrets – I am going to tell him at the first opportunity. Other than his health, how is he?"
"Hurt because of my stupidity and afraid that he's dying. So all in all, not doing too well." Jack's voice was tinged with regret, he could have kept that information from Owen, but he felt the need to confess his part in how bad Ianto was feeling.
"But you managed to talk things through with him?" Owen looked Jack in the eye, tapping into this opportunity to get honest admissions out of his boss.
"Yes – I don't deserve his forgiveness and I'm not sure I have it yet, but I think he knows I'm here for him." Jack sounded remorseful, which gave Owen hope.
"Just make sure you don't pull any more fucking stunts like that."
"Owen- that's not going to happen again, and if it does I give you permission to shoot me where it hurts most."
"I'll hold you to that. Mind you I might have to push Tosh out of the way to get to you first – she called me and made me promise to hang around to make sure Ianto was OK."
"Is that why you're still here? I thought you'd have gone by now."
"I read through some files that Tosh pulled up and then checked the results of Ianto's blood tests – I wanted to compare the sample I took this morning with the blood we brought back from the farmhouse with us."
"And?"
"Viral load is increasing, but so far cytokine levels aren't rising as rapidly as they would if he was having an extreme immune reaction. Still higher than I'd like to see though."
"What about the symptoms he's getting?"
"To be expected with that level of infection from a 'flu type virus. I can give him something to help – something to reduce the fever and take the edge of the headache. As long as you're not intending to go slamming his head into any more walls that is. Then again maybe body armour and a crash helmet might be advisable."
"Told you – not going to happen." Jack shook his head. "What are his chances, Owen? Honestly?"
"The ACE inhibitors and ARB drugs might be helping to prevent an extreme immune response – it's still too soon to say for certain. Tosh left me a message from the Health Protection Agency at Porton Down suggesting OX40-IG – an experimental drug still in clinical trials – might be worth trying that as well. The longer we can delay that the better, reduces the risk of multiple organ failure. But I'm worried about the viral load in his bloodstream - it suggests that his immune system isn't producing effective antibodies against this bloody virus. If he can't fight it off – I just don't know what his chances are, Jack – this is a totally new variant of the virus."
"Is it possible that the Pharm – or some branch of Torchwood One, actually developed a cure for this?" Jack knew he was clutching at straws, but he couldn't accept that Ianto wouldn't recover.
"Not a cure as such, but perhaps they may managed to isolate antibodies from the weevils they infected."
"Which would be in their labs? So we need to find where these damn labs are."
"Yeah – apart from anything else we need to shut them down. Looks like we need to find out about this Biomedical Division that Hartman set up, especially if it was news to you – I'd imagine that the Pharm was just part of it."
"Yes – I had no idea. After the Battle of Canary Wharf, Torchwood One was shut down by royal decree, it was then I was given overall command of the Torchwood Institute as a whole."
"That's when you and Suzie went in to secure any alien tech before it got into the wrong hands, right?"
"Yes – UNIT provided manpower and transport for us, I was in overall charge of the operation. I took Suzie in to check for alien weaponry, ensure it was disabled and taken back to Cardiff if she thought we could make use of it. I also got her to wipe their computer system, after transferring anything useful to memory chips."
"Ah – Suzie, yes, I think I was screwing her then. She never let on much about what she saw there, but I do recall her wanting my assistance in helping her put it out of her mind."
"I imagine you took that responsibility with all due professionalism." Jack gave Owen a look that made it clear that he would disapprove if it hadn't been something he'd done himself in the past.
"Yeah well, we all know how Suzie ended up. Maybe we should get Tosh to go through the files she downloaded, search for evidence of other premises used in London."
"Good idea - if she's talking to me tomorrow."
"OK – what else have we got to go on – what was it Ianto said about the labs under the Thames?"
"Oh yes – those. The front for those was a company called H.C. Clements. Y'know what though? It wasn't until the Racnoss disaster that I knew that the labs under the Thames Barrier were up and running again. That worries me, Owen, if those facilities managed to fall into the wrong hands, what could have happened to the other labs – the ones I don't even know about?"
"Torchwood London was totally shut down wasn't it?"
"Funding stopped when the Queen ordered its closure. However, looking at these files it looks as if Yvonne had already siphoned off plenty of cash to set up The Pharm."
"But we dealt with them – you wiped their systems and euthanized the aliens being used. Who is behind it now?"
"Copley – keep it in the family? The other question is 'why?' – Why has he resurrected the business? Tosh tried to find out how he got released from custody. The only possible criteria for overriding my request would be that he is either Torchwood or in the Australian government."
"There aren't any Aussies at Torchwood 2 are there?"
"No, just a grumpy Scot. But, that's something else that I've been thinking about – in the early days Queen Victoria wanted Torchwood to have a presence throughout the British Empire as it was then, in case of alien invasion in any corner of her realm."
"Fuck – so there could actually be something out in Australia – the Queen is still constitutional monarch there, which really pisses off a lot of Aussies, so it could get funding like we do."
"Not as far fetched as you may think. Uluru has been used as a refuelling stop for many an alien ship."
"Ayers Rock? – now you're taking the piss! Aren't you?"
Jack just raised his eyebrows in that infuriating way that suggested he knew much more than he'd ever tell.
"Torchwood Down Under? Oh for fuck's sake that's all we need – a branch of the company with a grudge against the Brits."
"Phillip Copley is Australian – Tosh found out that he'd only been in the country for a few months."
"Since our encounters with his brother?"
"Yep."
"So it looks like I should go to London tomorrow."
"You want me to go with you?"
"No, Owen – I need you to stay here –close by for Ianto, please."
"Tosh?"
"No – I want her to keep working on Copley's whereabouts – there has to be a link between him and Torchwood."
"You aren't going in on your own are you?"
"I'm calling Gwen back in – she can come with me."
"About time she did some bloody work."
"It's getting late - I'd best call Gwen and tell her to get packing."
"Tell you what, I'll go check up Ianto – give him some meds, check how he's doing, if that's OK?" Jack nodded his head, grateful that Owen would be looking in on Ianto before leaving. "You go ahead and break the news to Gwen that her honeymoon is finally over and she has to come back and do some real work that doesn't involve gossiping in a hotel bar."
"As soon as you've seen Ianto, you should go home Owen."
"You be OK?"
"Yeah – I'll keep watch over Ianto. I've still got a lot of making up to do."