Ianto pushed open the office door to find Jack seated on one of the leather sofas. "Jack, I… I need to take care of some paperwork with Dr. Peters."

The look on Jack's face told Ianto he had heard everything through his earpiece. There was concern in his expression, but also something harder. "Don't be too long. I might get bored without you."

"I'm sure you're capable of entertaining yourself." Ianto cast a look around the office, spotting a computer terminal in one corner. "You could read a magazine, or something."

Jack followed his gaze and gave an almost imperceptible nod, then fixed Ianto with an intense look. "I'll see you soon."

Ianto released a sigh as he let the door swing closed and followed Evelyn Braithwaite to the elevators. He knew Jack was worried about his loyalties dividing if it came down to the success of the operation or the name of his signum, but there was really no cause for his concern. Hadn't he proved himself by now?

Well… No, he really hadn't. He'd betrayed Jack's trust with Lisa, handed him over to the Saviour in the Ferret, and rebelled against him yet again by opening the rift and releasing Abaddon. No wonder Jack had his doubts.

But now Ianto was only a few floors away from someone who held the identity of his signum, and what he'd told Jack before was true: Once he had that name, he didn't care what became of SoulMatch. His signum was the key to everything—ending his loneliness, grounding his life, eliminating this ongoing awkwardness with Jack. As soon as Dr. Peters connected him with his soulmate, Ianto would do whatever was necessary to stop the company's alien machinations.

They reached the familiar laboratory where Ianto had his semiweekly sessions, and Ms. Braithwaite waved him in. "Dr. Peters will see you as soon as he's finished with a new client who just came in. If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my office." She turned her gleaming smile on Ianto. "I know how long you've waited for this, Mr. Jones, and I want to thank you personally for entrusting SoulMatch with your future."

"Of course." He returned a tight smile, then wandered over to his usual cubicle to wait. The room was silent, save for a faint burr of conversation from another cubicle down the row.

Ianto frowned. It shouldn't be this silent, not with his earpiece in. He muted and reactivated the comm unit, but there was only a muffled rustling in his ear. Perhaps it was malfunctioning, as Jack's had earlier. He flicked the side of his jaw with a fingertip, but it had no effect.

After a few minutes, Dr. Peters appeared at the door to the cubicle. "Ah, Mr. Jones! I'm so happy to see you. Sorry to keep you waiting." He checked the diver's watch on his wrist and then offered his hand, which Ianto shook politely. "Follow me to my office, would you?" He led the way to the room where Ianto had first met him. "I have some good news for you."

"So I've heard." Ianto's pulse was racing. "Did you really find my signum?"

"We really did." Dr. Peters smiled and waved Ianto to a chair. "It took us a while to sort it all out, but we have a positive identity. And a location. You'll be happy to know your signum is right here in Cardiff."

"That's fortunate." Ianto swallowed nervously. "Can I know who it is?"

The doctor chuckled and glanced at his watch again. "All in good time. First, there are one or two small details we need to address."

Ianto groaned inwardly. "Dr. Peters, I realize there are going to be things to settle, but I have been waiting years for this. Please don't keep me in suspense any longer. Give me a name, and then I'll sign whatever papers you want or pay the extra fees or whatever it is."

"My, you are keen." Dr. Peters chuckled again. "Very well. Just one thing…" He reached into the breast pocket of his lab coat.

For an instant the rustling in Ianto's ear intensified, and then a piercing squeal stabbed through his skull. Ianto cried out and clawed at his ear until he dislodged the earpiece. He sat stunned for a moment, his ear ringing and eyes watering from the shock.

"I thought so." Dr. Peters sat back in his seat and tutted. "A shame, Mr. Jones. You had so much potential. Ah, well." He dropped two bean-shaped transmitters on his desk. "It was foolish of your teammates to try to infiltrate with false birthmarks. We scan everyone at the door, you know. Your friends sent up instant red flags in the system."

Ianto tried to focus on him through the fog in his head. He couldn't hear on one side, and there was a pulsing pain in his ear. "What have you done with them?"

"Oh, they're alive, for now. Just so you know, we fully intend to use them as leverage." He glanced at his watch, then powered on his computer monitor.

"Where are they? I want to see them."

"I don't think you're in any position to be making demands, Mr. Jones." He pointed toward a security camera in the corner. "If you make trouble, it might not go so well for your friends. They're just in the lab next door, if it makes you feel any better." He typed briefly on the keyboard, then turned back to Ianto. "We've no interest in killing any of you, actually. All we want is to get on with our work. If you play nice, all four of you can walk out of here, alive and well."

Four. Ianto blinked and stared down at the desk. There were only two earpieces. He had to assume Jack's cover had been blown as well, since he'd entered with Ianto, but that meant there was still a chance that one of the team was still at liberty. But which one?

Ianto sat back in his chair. Whoever hadn't been caught could have heard the commotion on the transmitters. He had to play for time. "Define 'play nice.'"

Dr. Peters shrugged. "As I said, we simply want to do our work. Make people happy. Help them find love. Why do you want to stand in the way of that?"

Ianto shifted his foot until it covered the earpiece that had fallen out of his ear. "Because it sounds awfully altruistic. Call me suspicious, but I think there's more going on here than you're advertising." He turned his head to glance at the open door, which bore the number 714 on a plastic tag above Dr. Peters' name.

The doctor misconstrued his glance. "Don't embarrass yourself by attempting to escape, Mr. Jones," he sighed. "Security is on high alert and is guarding every exit. Your friends have been captured. There's no one coming to rescue you."

"Oh, I wasn't thinking of escape," Ianto assured him. Beneath the desk, he began tapping his foot on the earpiece. Seven taps. "I was just listening to the sound of your musical fountain." One tap. "It is just a fountain, isn't it?" Three taps.

Dr. Peters gave him a wary look. "What else would it be?"

Ianto repeated the tapping sequence. "Oh, I don't know. I had this wild notion it could be a cooling system for some kind of massive computer."

The doctor's smile froze for an instant, and it was as good as a confession. "Oh, I think you've let your fancies run away with you, Mr. Jones."

"Have I? Ah, well." Ianto tapped his foot again. "Are you going to tell me what you're really doing here?"

Dr. Peters chuckled. "If you don't already know, I don't see any reason to enlighten you."

"It might make me more cooperative. You say you want me to play nice, but I can't very well agree to something without knowing the details. If you're really doing no harm, I won't have any reason to interfere."

Dr. Peters appeared to consider this. "We really aren't hurting anyone," he said at last. "We're doing something beneficial, actually. Think of it as long-term health care for the human race. Sort of an insurance company."

"Health care?" Ianto frowned. Seven taps. "That sounds suspicious. I've dealt with the NHS, and nobody gets involved in health care administration out of the goodness of their heart." Before Dr. Peters could answer that, an ear-splitting bell sounded. Ianto flinched and covered his ears, one of which was still pulsing with pain from the earlier squeal. "Sounds like a fire alarm," Ianto called over the din. "Shouldn't we evacuate?"

"We'll do no such thing," Dr. Peters said. He withdrew a pistol from a desk drawer and leveled it at Ianto. "Stay just where you are, Mr. Jones."

"I'm pretty sure that's not a licensed medical tool," Ianto called back.

Dr. Peters shrugged. "Believe me, I'm better with a syringe. But this will do the job in a pinch." An agonizing few minutes later, the bell died, and Ianto released his ears with a sigh of relief. "There. It seems security has dealt with whatever set that off."

"Not really," came a new voice. Ianto whirled to see Owen framed in the doorway, his own semiautomatic aimed at Dr. Peters. "But it did effectively clear the civilians and regular employees out of your building."

Dr. Peters' mouth opened and closed soundlessly. "Mr. Harper?" he sputtered at last.

"It's Doctor Harper, thank you. And while I am skilled with a syringe, I'm also very well trained with this—" He waggled the pistol suggestively. "—so if you don't want your brains splattered all over that nice office wallpaper, I suggest you put down your gun."

Dr. Peters complied, and Ianto immediately bolted to his feet and collected the firearm, along with the earpieces. "Tosh and Gwen," he said. "They were captured…"

"They're fine. I got them free first, thanks to your message." Owen scowled at Ianto. "Though it took me a while to figure out it wasn't Morse code."

"I figured you wouldn't know Morse code. I just assumed you'd realize it was the room number where they were being held."

"I did, eventually. Tosh is tearing apart the lab now. Looks like they were building more of those drones. Gwen went after Jack."

"I hope he's still connected." Ianto fitted his earpiece back in. "Jack? Can you hear me?"

There was a rustle of sound, and then Jack's voice crackled through, faintly. "Yeah, barely. I think the alarm overwhelmed the sound sensors."

"Are you all right? Do you need us to come get you?"

"I'm fine. Gwen found me. We had to take out half of the security force, but we're at liberty for the moment." There was a pause. "Your buddy Todd's okay. I told him to run for his life, and he did."

Ianto smiled at Jack's unexpected kindness. "I guess he had a lot to live for. Where are you now?"

"Heading back to the atrium. You all okay? Gwen filled me in."

"We're holding Dr. Peters. Owen says Tosh is clearing the lab. Where should we meet you?"

There was a pause before Jack answered. "Don't," he said in a low voice. "The boss just showed up, and she's got the rest of her goons with her. It's about to get real loud in here."

"We'll come help—"

"No, they've got control of the elevators and stairs. Stay where you are in case this goes south. If you don't hear from me in ten minutes, find another way out of the building." There was a faint click as Jack muted his earpiece.

Ianto and Owen exchanged glances. "Figures they'd have a backup plan," Owen muttered. "Nothing is ever simple, is it?" He kept the pistol aimed at Peters while he fished his mobile out with the other and thumbed a contact. "Tosh? You almost done?"

"Just packing up now," came her voice, tinny through the small speaker. "You're still next door?"

"Yeah. Hurry. Jack and Gwen may be in trouble." To confirm his statement, a roar of gunfire sounded through the open door.

Dr. Peters was staring at Owen, a furrow in his brow. "I don't understand," he blurted when Owen had disconnected the call. "We flagged the fake birthmarks. But I just saw you as a new client. How did you get through security without tripping any flags?"

"Mine's not a fake. Not everyone who's born with a spot on their skin buys into your bullshit."

"But your signum…"

"Is dead." Owen leveled the pistol at Peters' face. "So you see, taking SoulMatch down is just fine with me. I don't have anything to lose."

Something flickered in Dr. Peters' eyes. "Unlike Mr. Jones here," he said slowly. His eyes flashed to the computer screen and back.

Ianto stiffened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Only that I have something you want, and—"

"Shut up," Owen growled. He stepped aside as Toshiko entered the room, breathless and hauling a huge nylon equipment bag.

"Good to see you, Tosh." Ianto handed her one of the earpieces. "What's in the bag?"

"Either a bunch of homemade flash-bangs, or one really messy bomb, depending on how many we set off at once. I took all the detonators from the drones and rigged them to containers of explosive gas and assorted incendiaries."

"Why is there explosive gas in a medical lab?"

"A drone assembly plant, you mean. They had an oxy-acetylene welding torch and a staff room full of beverage bottles. I improvised." She shrugged. "It's not perfect, but it should be enough to blow our way out of here if we need to." She listened to the report of gunshots from the atrium. "From the sound of things, I'd say that's very likely."

Owen jerked his head toward the door. "Jack and Gwen are having a showdown in the lobby. Let's go."

Ianto hesitated. He wanted to help Jack, and yet… "Jack told us to stay here."

"Jack didn't know Tosh had a bag full of bombs. We can help them."

For an instant Ianto flashed back to the last time he had argued with Owen over the enforcement of Jack's orders, when he had gotten severely bruised ribs in the exchange. This time, Owen was the one holding the pistol. "I don't think we should go down until he calls for us."

"I agree," Dr. Peters interjected. "Let's talk about your signum instead, Mr. Jones."

Ianto froze. "What?"

Owen raised his free hand to reinforce the grip on his pistol. "Ianto, don't listen to him. We're going downstairs to get Jack and Gwen, and we're taking the good doctor with us."

"And if you do, Mr. Jones will never know who his soulmate is." Dr. Peters arched his eyebrows. "You wouldn't condemn your friend to that fate, would you, Dr. Harper?"

"You assume an awful lot," Owen returned. "On your feet."

Ianto glanced between the two doctors. He desperately wanted the name of his signum, but Jack and Gwen were in danger…

Another volley of gunfire sounded through the door. Someone cried out in agony. Was that Jack's voice?

"Let's go," Ianto said. He drew his own sidearm and used it to motion Dr. Peters toward the door. "Move."

Dr. Peters glanced at his diving watch and smiled. "Very well. Let's go."