Chapter 52
Jack and Captain Price pored over the 3-D map that Tosh had produced of the cave system; she had sent him an updated version taking into account readings that the team had made from inside the caves. Jack transferred the map onto Price's PDA and she then sent copies to the two men she'd placed in charge of the teams that were to go with Owen and Gwen. Jack would take the main entrance with Price herself and the larger contingent of UNIT soldiers. Owen was to take a small group to the place that Jack had used when he'd gone in to rescue Ianto, whilst Gwen was to re-trace her steps back to the narrow entrance she'd wriggled through. Gwen took Price to one side and explained that the group of men she took shouldn't be too bulky as the access was tight. Price had smiled kindly at her and suggested that she select half a dozen that looked to have the right build.
They had set off in UNIT trucks, the most sensible arrangement, albeit it one that made the Torchwood members more than a little uncomfortable. Jack found himself squashed up next to Captain Price at the front of one of the trucks. He could barely bring himself to talk, there was a lump in his throat that the words couldn't squeeze past and he gazed out of the window, trying to avoid getting into a conversation. However, Price seemed to have no respect for that as she turned to him and spoke quietly in his ear.
"Captain Harkness, I thought you'd like to know that I have given instructions that one particular medical officer is to supervise the assessment of your colleague. Her name is Dr Martha Jones, I believe you know of her -"
"Dr Jones? Oh yes, yes I do know Martha." Jack sighed. There was some hope after all. Martha would not let any harm come to Ianto. A wave of relief flooded through his body and he owed his gratitude to this UNIT officer. "Thank you, Captain Price. I appreciate that."
"It's Marian, but not in front of the men, OK?"
"Yes, ma'am. Please call me Jack." He knew from that moment that he could trust this woman.
"Back to business then, we'll need to round up the people operating this set up first, make sure they don't cause trouble. What are we expecting? Trained militia or armed amateurs?"
"These are men who used to work for the Torchwood Institute. They used the destruction of Torchwood London as a cover to fake their own deaths and to steal weaponry, technology, biological agents – you name it – and then set up their own organisation. From the lists we drew up, there are some that were trained field agents, although the majority were technicians and scientists."
"So, essentially we're dealing with rogue elements of an organisation that was beyond the law to begin with?"
"You could put it that way."
"And they have a range of weapons in their possession, some of which incorporate alien technology?"
"Yes." Jack couldn't help but admire the way the woman had succinctly put into two sentences the root of the problem they had to tackle.
"Then Captain Harkness, I believe that I have no choice but to instruct my men to shoot to kill if they are placed in situations that may be perceived as potentially dangerous. Is that going to be a problem for you? "
"Not at all. You have my complete support, with two exceptions."
"Really? There are two whose lives you'd spare, that does surprise me."
"Only so that I can question them … in person. Gates and Barton. I couldn't give a damn about the rest of them." Jack did not want either man to get away without facing him on his territory and answering for what they had put Ianto through. He didn't want to think what he would do to them if he couldn't get a reprieve for Ianto.
"If they can be taken without compromising the safety of my men, they're yours."
"Thank you."
Eventually the cohort of soldiers accompanying Jack and Captain Price rounded up a group of eight technical staff who had been working in the cavern that Ianto and Jack had been taken to. They had been in the process of packing away their equipment and miscellaneous items of Cyber technology as Price and her men moved in, patently caught in the act of secreting away alien weaponry. Jack caught the eye of the blonde haired woman that Ianto had recognised and could see her total lack of remorse. These people deserved the fate that they had condemned Ianto to. If UNIT dumped her in a cell and threw away the key, he would applaud them for doing so.
Whilst Jack was helping Price search the other interconnected caverns, Gwen was crouching down next to the cage in a cavern being searched by UNIT soldiers. She couldn't help cooing at the occupant of the pen and wondering how on earth they were going to deal with it. Hopefully she could persuade Jack to take care of it, although she didn't think that it would get on too well with their pteranodon. She wondered, wistfully, what Ianto would make of it; she smiled as she imagined him rolling his eyes as he worked out the logistics of feeding yet another exotic pet.
Meanwhile, Owen was cursing out loud that he really hated caves. He didn't want to waste any more time than he had to as he followed the group of soldiers as they headed towards the Portakabin, now clearly marked on their maps. Although he hated caves, what he loathed even more were doctors who betrayed the Hippocratic Oath and abused their knowledge to cause harm. He hoped that he could get hold of Barton before Jack did. But then again, maybe he didn't.
The well co-ordinated teams of armed men, with powerful torches and heat seeking equipment, wasted no time in flushing out the remaining personnel that had tried to retreat into the caverns. There had only been a single incident of one idiot trying to take them on with a flame thrower of some sort, that had to be stopped by lethal force. The others could tell that there was no escape and some of them were in fact grateful to surrender to UNIT, they had grown tired of working underground with no daylight and insufficient heating. It was only the hardcore element, fanatically deluded in the prospect of a born again Torchwood in the image of its Victorian origins that refused to give in easily.
Several hours later the three trucks met up back in the original car park, where the other vehicles were awaiting them. The prisoners were all transferred to two trucks which set off straightaway for the UNIT detention centre. One jeep returned to the main entrance to provide tactical support for the group of soldiers left behind to seal the caves; they would wait there on guard until the heavy trucks arrived to ship out the bulk of the crates discovered inside.
Captain Price took Jack aside to quietly discuss the immediate action to be taken against Gates and Barton. Although she had agreed to hand them over to Jack, it was all too obvious that what he had in mind was subjecting the two men to a particularly painful interrogation. The undisguised hatred she had seen depicted on the faces of all three members of Torchwood as they watched these prisoners being cuffed, informed Price that they had their own reasons to despise them. But, she could not, in good conscience, turn over prisoners to be tortured.
However, Jack realised that the bloodlust he felt would not leave either man able to walk if he was to get his hands on them, so he reluctantly agreed with Price's proposal that they be immediately transferred to a UNIT holding centre. He would visit them the following day and interview them with Price in attendance. That way UNIT would find out what had been going on and Jack wouldn't end up killing them before they had paid for their crimes. He would also have to meet with Colonel Mace to discuss the future disposal of the weapons they had recovered.
Jack thanked Marian Price once more for her assistance and complimented her on how efficiently she had mobilised her troops. He then stood to attention and saluted her as she got into her jeep, bidding him farewell. The sun was setting and there was already the scent of frost in the air. As Jack walked back over to where Owen and Gwen leaned against the side of the SUV he could see from Gwen's drained expression and Owen's demeanour that both had had enough and were ready to return to Cardiff.
"Owen, take Gwen back to Cardiff and drop her off at her flat. I'll take the SUV and see you both back at the Hub tomorrow morning."
"What about Ianto?" asked Gwen. She hadn't dared ask earlier when Jack had looked as if he would throttle anyone who even mentioned Ianto's name to him. But now he seemed as if he had come to terms with it and was more willing to discuss what had happened.
"Captain Price assured me that Martha would be looking after him when he reached the medical facility. We have to trust that Martha will do what she can to keep him safe. I'm going to check in with her shortly."
"Let me know how he's doing. As his doctor, you know, I need to be kept informed … that's all."
"Yeah, Owen," smiled Jack, seeing right through Owen's gruff manner. "I'll let you know how he is as soon as I find out."
Watching Owen drive off, far too fast on a country lane it seemed, Jack took a deep breath and clutching his phone he dialled Martha's number on speed dial. It rang and rang. There was no answer. The lack of response made his heart sink.
