Hughes Flats; Cardiff, Wales

The latest crisis had lasted too long. Jack Harkness stepped into their bedroom as Ianto grabbed more clothes and personal items. His insistence on handling the chores said a lot about his stress levels. He needed downtime. No matter how much he claimed to enjoy sitting with the kids, watching all six of them for a couple hours had been too much.

"After the general deals with the island, we'll take some time," Jack said as Ianto returned from the bathroom.

"Easier said than done."

Jack crossed the room. "We will find the time."

Ianto set a bottle of shampoo on the bedside table with a thud. "I have to much to do."

"It's the stress." Jack took Ianto's hand. "You had a nightmare last night."

"Living at the hub, it's too much."

Jack hugged him. "We will take time for ourself." Ianto pressed his face to his shoulder. Jack kissed the top of his head. "Soon."

"I need to pack."

Jack lightly rubbed his back. "No rush."

"We need to get back." Ianto looked up.

"We have time." Jack kissed him.


The Arctic Observatory; Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut, Canada

Spaceship, Villetta Thirion thought, trying to remind herself of why she agreed to work with the psychotic psychic. There would never be a similar opportunity. She still questioned whether the insanity was worth it. The time traveling Keara appeared to view everything as a strategy game. Watching someone approach life like a chess game might be amusing, if she wasn't playing with people's lives.

"I need to tell Luc what we know."

"No."

Patience, Ettie told herself. "People are going to die."

"No. They learned from the first island."

"Torchwood needs to know what they're up against."

Keara sighed. "No. If you tell Luc, he will react predictably. If we knew about the biomechs, for example, they would have prepared a different strategy. Liam wouldn't have suggested what he did. More people would have died."

"The other island is a lot worse. They need to know."

"No. If we tell them, General Williams with approach the situation predictably. Right now, he's working on an assault plan that will work. There is no way for anyone to predict Xiu's suggestions."

"What happens when that alien ship arrives?"

"It won't. Xiu's plan will have consequences neither the corporate people nor the aliens could prepare for."

"This is crazy."

Keara looked exasperated. "They have a psychic. He calculates and innately understands odds. With the right information, he can prepare for anything. Liam's exploding maintenance bots was beyond anything the psychic could predict. He didn't know Liam and the general were lovers. Observation outside the facility showed that the general and Nessa had an unconventional relationship."

"Where did Xiu come from?"

"China in 1989. She was moments before dying. If any records exist of the protesters at Tienanmen Square, Xiu died with her parents. No one reported her missing. There is no evidence she disappeared."

Ettie stared at her. "Why didn't you prevent the nightmare if you knew it was going to happen?"

"I can see, I can't change."

"You rescued Xiu."

Keara sighed. "I manipulate time through small changes. Atmore abducted Xiu before she died. I couldn't prevent the tanks or the protest or the deaths."

"Can you take out the psychic?"

"That would be predictable."

Ettie stared at the crazy woman. "You can cross universes, travel through time, and…" She held her out. "You're a fucking demigod."

Keara ran a hand over her face. "I have learned to manipulate the fabric of reality. Time, universes, everything has rules. They can be manipulated but they can't be broken."

The true horror of Keara's perception malfunctions finally dawned on Ettie. Keara learned the rules by manipulating circumstances. That meant she had to relive the same situations over and over again until she got them right. That was why she saw everything like a game. She had to distance herself from everything to function.


Hughes Flats; Cardiff, Wales

Jack Harkness rested with an arm around Ianto while he slept. Stolen moments in the middle of crises were not enough. Jack knew if he suggested Ianto take the time alone he would view that as being sent away. That would make it worse.

Reluctantly, Jack reached for his mobile. He'd put off a call.

"Harpham."

"How are you?"

Lacene laughed, sounding as homicidal as ever. "I was cleared for full duty. According to the psychiatrist I was psychotic to begin with."

Jack smiled. "Do you have time for a situation review?"

"Possibly. How bad?"

"The stalker situation has a new twist." Jack explained John's theory about Ryan, Sal, Oldaria, Deidre and possibly Dr. Palfreyman.

Lacene groaned. "I hope that's the plot to a bad movie."

"No. It makes a disturbed kind of sense."

"Sal, pending it's the Sal I'm thinking of, is former military. She had a rapist in her unit. The brass opted not to believe the victims. The rapist died under unusual battlefield circumstances. There was no proof. I only know because one of her former unit members was part of a case years ago." Lacene paused a moment. "Killing pimps is her current reputation and it fits. Not torching Beddoe. She might have carved him up like Sunday dinner, but she wouldn't have torched him. Or condoned it."

Jack agreed. "Ryan wouldn't have either. There is a possibility the person who killed Beddoe thought Andy wasn't home."

"Connie Ryan is connected to an unknown vigilante and Sal. Who or what Oldaria is would fit that also. Deidre, pending she did kill Beddoe, would be a very unstable psycho. Palfreyman is a different type of unstable psycho."

"Can you send me Sal's actual name and a list of people she served with?"

"I'll send what I have. If that's the Deidre connection, you have a serious problem. Sal worked black ops."

"Does Ryan have a service record?" Jack wondered.

"No."

"Be careful with this, Lacene."

"I always am."

Ianto shifted against him as the call ended. "Can we stay longer?"

"Yeah. I need to call John." Jack needed to call Gwen, but mentioning her or calling from bed was a bad idea.


Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

Aman Oliveira waited until he could talk to Luc alone. The Caribbean situation bothered him for various reasons. The treatment of the kids at the facility alone was puzzling. The biomech facility really made him wonder what they didn't know.

"I reviewed the second Caribbean island notes. It's my understanding it was fully operational and had already produced a significant amount of second gen biomechs. More than were killed at the first island."

"Yeah." Luc turned away from one of the monitors in his lab.

"The important question I have is not how they have a functioning soldier lab, it's why. The technology far exceeds current tech. They used cloning, artificial gestation, and rapid aging to create an army for what? Why expend the time, effort and resources to produce the army unless they need it for something."

Luc nodded. "I thought of that. There is evidence of biomechs in the UK that are unaware they're biomechs. The Pierro group and the genetic mod that attacked Ianto in the coffee shop were different than biomechs."

"The antibody treatments would potentially be enough to fund an army. Or heal it. Unlike Cardiff, the children were given the best under the circumstances. Almost as if it was a necessary evil." Aman took a moment. "The Fellowship of Inner Peace lied to and manipulated psychics. But once they arrived, they had a solid standard of living. The Keara in Dublin still refers to him as The Prophet. Anyone the Fellowship recruited was given a home whether they could contribute or not."

"Another version of you?" Luc asked reluctantly.

"No," Aman said. "Worse."

"Another Keara?"

"Would it be the strangest thing at this point?"

Luc shook his head.