Fitch-Elmore Lake Research; Winthrop Harbor, Illinois
John Hart teleported into the area and had a bad feeling immediately. The wooded area was completely silent. Even in the winter, there were animals. The wind off the lake rattled through the barren trees and gave him the chills. It reminded him of the horror movie comparisons.

Annoyed with himself and the situation, he scanned the area. The plants were hibernating and would take over the area when the weather warmed, suggesting the sabotage happened last autumn. He doubted it was accidental. The readings looked more like Malaysia then the site a few hours southwest.

John tapped his ear com. "Eryn."

"Are you all right?" She sounded worried.

"Yeah." John explained what he found. "Can you run a plant comparison? Malaysia, Jakarta, the Pacific crash site and the creature south of here." He wondered if someone tried to kill it or wanted it out of control.

Eryn replied a few minutes later. "That will take time."

"Is it contaminating the water?"

"The lake might have poisoned it. General Williams found another creature in Port Douglas north of Brisbane on the Coral Sea. It was poisoned by irradiated seaweed."

That unfortunately fit what John knew about the plant used to create the aphrodisiac. "It's probably not accidental."

"Tigran thinks someone targeted his research. His ego aside, it's possible." Pause. "The emailed threat to Carlisle Aeronautical might have been intentionally misleading. We still don't know who sent it."

"What would disrupting his research accomplish? Beyond the chaos."

Eryn sounded uncertain. "He thinks it's to discredit his genius."

Suggesting an underling or a competitor. Unless the person was crazy, or wanted the world to burn, it was extreme. "Was Tigran involved with manipulating Jerard?" A man using his granddaughter against his son was not the worst John had seen.

"Not directly. But the same group." Eryn realized, "Maybe someone else is retaliating like Jerard did."

"Another angry family member?" John hoped not. The last thing the world needed was a Sarkisian family feud.

"Before Bobby and Celeste, Luc would have said no." She gave it a moment. "It could be another part of Beaupre's network. The source of this appears to be the Coral Sea."

"Find out if Tigran has a competitor in that area that someone could benefit from making them kill each other."

"Ettie's trying to get information out of her mother. Mariam is as secretive as Tigran is arrogant."

John suspected if someone did target the family, they knew how difficult getting the older Sarkisians to work together would be. "Have you contacted Monty's father?"

"I tried. Samvel is preparing his yearly lecture on the cultural and scientific value of Star Trek. When I spoke to him, he thought I was one of his students."

John's scanner beeped. He checked it. "There is movement in the water. Is the drone picking anything up?"

While he waited for an answer, he used his wrist-strap to modify his hand-held scanner. Then focused it on the water. As far as he knew, it didn't have anything larger than fish. The temperature and the ice cover made it unlikely anyone or thing living was swimming in it.

"Eryn?"

After a few minutes, she said, "It's a transport robot." Pause. "We can't scan under the ice."

A mental list of possibilities started. "Did the general find anything off the coast of Australia?"

"He's looking now," Luc said over the ear com.

"Can you send one of the bots you designed for Cardiff Bay?" John asked. They were tested off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Eryn returned. "He's prepping it." Pause. "Keara's been notified. In case something needs to be destroyed."

The ear com clicked. The distortion indicated someone farther away than Canada was joining the conversation. "Be careful," Gwen injected. "The US government is currently screaming to whoever will listen that we're violating their sovereignty."

John explained the robot.

Minutes passed before Luc spoke again. "The Coral Sea underwater tech is an environmental monitoring station." Pause. "Initial scans from Lake Michigan show similar technology."

That suggested an attempt to monitor the plants. The facility in Cottage Junction showed the creatures weren't dangerous under controlled circumstances. The people behind it probably didn't anticipate cross contamination or industrial sabotage.

"The creature's contained. How are we doing this?" John didn't want to admit it, but the area was making him increasingly uneasy.

"Unless it's an imminent threat, we have to negotiate with the government." Gwen sounded uncertain. "Jack, you need to come back and deal with it."

Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales
Torchwood picnic, Ianto Jones thought, sitting on a blanket on the garden floor. Michael and Trefor slept curled up with the dog. Anwen read a school book while picking at a piece of pizza. Ken sat between her and the boys more interested in his mobile then the food. He was worried about John. Ianto understood.

His phone rang and everyone looked at their mobiles. "Jack." Ianto set down his pizza and picked up his phone. "Hey." When are you coming home? He wanted to ask.

"We may have it under control." Jack sounded apologetic. "Gwen doesn't want Rex's job. I'm in London. Probably until the current crisis is over."

Ianto closed his eyes. "What about Gwen?"

"Possibly tonight. She's coordinating with law enforcement." Pause. "I need to go."

Cardiff was thankfully quiet. "Call me later."

Amusement crept into Jack's voice. "And ask what you're wearing?"

Ianto couldn't help but smile. "I love you."

"Love you." The call ended.

Anwen waited a moment. "What about mum?"

Ken's mobile rang, interrupting. He looked relieved. "John." He connected while Anwen looked at his phone. She wasn't happy. He connected as he stood. "Are you coming home?"

"Gwen's still in London."

Ken left the garden.

"John should have called me."

The computer clicked. "Incoming call from Four."

What now? "Accept," Ianto said. "I'm with Anwen and the boys."

"Did John mentioned Bobby and Celeste?" The general asked.

"No. Why?"

"Jeannette can't handle them anymore. She's a kid herself," the general explained. "Eryn is willing to care for them, but Nova Scotia is understaffed."

She wasn't much older. "Doesn't Bobby have anger issues?" Ianto vaguely remembered Rex talking about keeping the boy in the infirmary.

"They both do. But together, Bobby's mellow. Celeste gets them into trouble."

"Trefor needs someone his own age," Anwen said.

Ianto agreed with that much. Ideally, his sister's daycare would be an option again. "Ken's apartment has an extra room." But he tended to have stress issues.

"If it doesn't work out, they're going to the Observatory. Monty and Ettie…"

Ianto didn't want to picture either of them caring for kids. "It's Ken's decision."