Chapter 34
The Hub – January 30th, 2008
Of the trio, only Ianto had slept during the night simply because of human limitation. Jack and Harry had been up all-night fielding calls from every intelligence agency on the planet. Temporal anomalies had opened all over the world, dropping everything from ancient people to advanced aliens. All the anomalies traced back to Rift, and Jack had to answer some tough questions.
Harry had only taken time to shower and change into her regular grab and was exhausted. Even if she didn't need to sleep as much, saying up for over 24 hours was not enjoyable. Jack was in the same boat. Ianto had only been able to sleep for a couple of hours before joining them on the phone.
The following day Owen and Tosh had arrived on time but were quiet as they went over the reports that had come in last night. No one was impressed with Gwen when she showed up almost 20 minutes late. They figured with what had happened yesterday, Gwen would get the idea they would be all hands on deck, and she would have to come in on her day off.
"And I heard but did not understand, and I said 'Master, what is the end of all these things?' And he said, 'Go, Daniel, for the things are closed up and sealed until the end of time. Daniel 12 verse 10." Ianto quoted. He had monitored the internet, and in the last 12 hours, this quote and a couple of other religious passages had been repeated repeatedly. Everyone, even non-religious people, seemed to think this was the end of days.
"Sounds a bit close for comfort," Gwen said from her desk.
"This machine's on the blink. Keeps losing power." Owen said as he observed the scanner that would locate the Doctor. "Sorry, don't let me stop your prophecies of doom. Or have you finished?" Owen asked Ianto.
"No. Plenty more where that came from," Ianto said as he pulled up the following quote, this one was the most prevalent. "Abaddon, the Great Devourer, who'll lead the world into shadow."
"Yeah, thanks, Ianto. I can do without the superstition." Jack snapped; he was tired and didn't want to listen to religious quotes. "You people love any story that denies the randomness of existence."
"Thanks. That makes me feel a lot better." Ianto quipped.
"As ridiculous as I find most religion, Ianto does have a point. Almost every religion has something that parallels Abaddon, even my own." Harry said. "It could be they are warning us."
"Or it could be them stealing stories from one another, like Christmas." Jack retorted. "Okay, we have been fielding calls all night, the government, UNIT, the CIA, just to name a few. Half the Western world and a good proportion of the Eastern are all asking the same question. Is this anything to do with us?"
"And is it?" Gwen asked stupidly.
"To the conference room," Jack ordered.
They stood around the conference room as Tosh started the briefing.
"I've run a profile on every reported temporal anomaly and tracked any physical or temporal pattern," Tosh said as she brought up a map of the world.
On the map, their location was highlighted in red, and from there, lines started to branch off as it tracked the temporal phenomenon worldwide.
"Shit," Gwen swore when she saw the scope.
"The cracks in time traceback here to the Rift. This city, this Hub, is the centre." Jack stated. "What you're seeing around the world are ripples and aftershocks. The Rift is splintering because of you." Jack directed to Owen.
"What?" Owen asked defensively.
"You opened the Rift without knowing what you were doing. You've caused the temporal cracks to widen. Time is seeping through." Jack said, being blunter than he probably should have, but he was exhausted and didn't know how to fix this.
"If it weren't for me, you three would still be in the 1940s," Owen defended.
"Then so be it. There are protocols for a reason, Owen. Once it was determined that we couldn't be brought back safely, we should have been left there." Jack said. He knew that it would have been a death sentence for Tosh, but three lives were not worth the price they were paying now.
"So if it were reversed, you would have what, just left us to rot," Owen snarled.
"If I couldn't have been done safely, then yes." Jack said truthfully, "Three people are not worth putting the lives of everyone on the planet in danger, no matter if they have a personal connection to me."
"You cold bastard," Owen swore, moving to get into Jack's face.
Harry stepped between the two men.
"Enough, we don't have time for this," Harry said, then turned to look at Jack. "Jack, I know that you are tired and frustrated, but you can't take it out on Owen."
Owen got a smug look on his face, but it was quickly wiped off as Harry turned towards Owen.
"That being said, Owen, I don't agree or defend your actions. You assaulted Ianto, broke into the Secure Archives, messed with the Rift Manipulator, used an unknown artifact that you stole from the man you believed kidnapped us, then used incomplete equations that had been sabotaged, most likely by that same man." Harry listed. "I think that you are compromised and should be taken off duty, but we are too short for that. So we will deal with that later; right now, we have to pull together and deal with the fallout. Agreed?"
Owen looked like he wanted to fight but stepped away instead. He couldn't argue with what she had said because all of it was true. It didn't mean that he wouldn't have done it again.
"Agreed. So what are we going to do about this?" Owen asked. There was anger simmering in his voice.
"Bring those who've fallen through time back here into the vaults," Jack said.
"And do what with them?" Owen asked with fake curiosity.
"We'll deal with phase one first, then I'll tell you about phase two." Jack retorted.
"You can't control time; you can't send them back. What are you going to do?!" Owen argued back, becoming heated again.
"We'll think of something." Jack snapped back.
There was a pause as the team realized that Jack didn't have a plan. Jack was trying, but they were dealing with something they didn't have the proper tools to repair. Jack has no idea how to fix it without making it worse. In this time, Jack didn't have the right tools and was forced to use junk that had fallen through the Rift.
"Hey, this is not the end of the world. I'm certain of that." Jack reassured them.
Jack knew it wasn't because he wouldn't exist if it were. Jack looked around at the faces of his team, and it was apparent that Gwen, Tosh, and Owen didn't believe him. His soulmates looked uneasy but didn't have the same look of despair that seemed to overcome the team's other half.
A computer started beeping, and Ianto being the closest, moved towards the computer.
"Priority one attendance requested at the hospital. The mortality rate's gone through the roof. They're sealing off the area and designating a hot zone." Ianto reported.
"I'll go," Owen said as he put in his earpiece and started to walk out of the room.
"Harry, you go with him," Jack ordered.
"No thanks, I'm fine on my own." Owen countered as he grabbed his jacket.
"No one travels alone; that goes for everyone." Jack snapped back.
"And you'll be even better with me along. Shut up and come on." Harry said as she followed on Owens heels. He didn't look happy about it.
The pair made their way out of the Hub. Ianto and Tosh left the conference room towards the bullpen to continue working while Gwen hung back with Jack.
"Did you have to pick on him in public like that?" Gwen asked, angry. As much as she loved Jack, she agreed with Owen right now.
"All of our actions have consequences," Jack said flatly. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Gwen.
"And all your staff have feelings, Jack, even Owen." Gwen spat angrily
"You would know." Jack sniped back, taking a cheap shot at Gwen's cheating, stunning her into silence.
Jack moved to walk out of the room but stopped when Gwen's phone rang.
"Hello?" Gwen answered the phone.
South Wales Police Lockup – January 30th, 2008
"I didn't know who else to call." Constable Andy Davidson explained. "Double murder. He stabbed two blokes in Penarth. Brutal, it was. No mercy. What are we supposed to do? He doesn't speak a word of English. And he's dressed as a bloody Roman soldier."
Jack and Gwen looked at the monitor showing the footage of the man they had in the cell. He was a Roman soldier and was yelling in Latin.
"He's not dressed as a Roman soldier, he is a Roman soldier, and he is shouting in Latin," Jack explained bluntly. There was no keeping it a secret with all the temporal events, and honestly, Jack wasn't in the mood for cloak and dagger.
"The only word that I could pick out was Gelligaer," Andy said, confused at Jack's response.
"Gelligaer?" Gwen asked, and Andy nodded in confirmation. "There's a Roman fort out in Gelligaer. Built around 75 AD."
"So he was on his way there, time splintered, and he ends up here." Jack worked out.
"Excuse me? Hi." Andy asked to get their attention, very confused at the conversation happening between the two Torchwood employees. "Any time you feel like talking sense…."
"That soldier came through a crack in time," Jack stated.
"He's not serious, is he?" Andy addressed Gwen.
"Deadly," Gwen answered, somewhat annoyed that Jack was being so blunt.
"This sort of thing doesn't happen. Not in Cardiff." Andy contended as they made their way to the cell housing the Roman.
"Just because you can't understand it doesn't mean it isn't true," Jack said.
"I know it sounds mad, Andy, but…." Gwen reasoned.
"All right, Mulder and Scully, say I do believe you, which I don't, 'cause it's bollocks, but say I do, how exactly are we meant to handle a prisoner from 2000 years ago?" Andy asked, skeptical. "Has he got the same rights as anyone else? How's this gonna work with the CPS?"
"We'll take him off your hands," Jack said as he pulled out a case with a syringe containing a sedative.
They opened the cell door wide enough that Jack could slip in. The other two slammed the door shut and locked it. From inside, they could hear a commotion of yelling and fighting.
"Everyone's saying it, you know. At work, on the streets. Do you think this is the end of the world?" Andy asked.
"Oh, Andy, don't be silly. Do you think the world's going to end on your shift?" Gwen blew off with a fake smile.
"I've seen you use that smile on a lot of people," Andy said, calling her out.
"What smile?" Gwen asked, not believing that Andy could see through it; no one saw through it. She had perfected the smile years ago.
"The smile you use to reassure people when deep down, you know everything's going to shit," Andy explained, causing Gwen's face to fall flat.
They waited in silence until Jack gave them the all-clear, then opened the cell to Jack standing over the Roman's unconscious body. Andy left them when he got another call on the radio. Gwen stepped into the room handed Jack the field kit. Jack opened it and began to scan the fallen soldier, checking if he came with any nasty surprises.
"If Owen managed to open the rift to get you and the others back, can't we do the same for these people?" Gwen asked as she watched Jack work. "We've still got the Rift Manipulator."
Jack scoffed at the idea.
"There is a world of difference. We're talking about taking control of time, not bringing three people back from the past. Besides, look at the damage that was caused from the last time it was opened. We mess with it any farther, we'll put the whole planet in danger." Jack explained.
Gwen shook her head and turned, walking towards the guard station. Gwen suddenly heard someone call her name. She turned to look inside an empty cell only to find that it was not empty. Bilis sat calmly in the cell, staring at her.
"Sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry." Gwen heard him say, but his lips didn't move.
"Gwen," Jack called as he looked up to see Gwen staring blankly into an open cell. "Gwen! Come on!" Jack yelled to get her attention.
It took a moment, but Gwen's concentration was broken. Gwen looked at Jack before looking back into the cell, but Bilis was gone. Gwen walked into the cell and looked around, but it was empty. Gwen was alarmed and disturbed and nearly jumped out of her skin when Jack came up behind her.
"What going on?" Jack asked, looking over her shoulder into the empty cell.
"Bilis, he was just sitting there," Gwen said, pointing to the bed in the cell.
Jack's face darkened as he made his way into the cells, scanning the cell with his vortex manipulator.
"Nothing is showing up on the scan. Did he say or do anything?" Jack asked.
"He just sat there and said that he was sorry. I turned to look at you, and when I turned back, he was gone." Gwen explained, rattled.
"Let get this guy back to the Hub. Then we will track down Bilis. I think that it's time that we had a chat with him." Jack said.
Hospital – January 30th, 2008
When Owen and Harry arrived, a hospital director met outside, who led them to a tent. They had to change into full hazmat gear before they were let into the hospital.
"This was the first one to die." The lead doctor said as he led them to the bed, handing the chart to Owen.
The dead were still on the ward because the hospital didn't have a contained morgue and they were concerned with possible contamination. It would be several hours before the hospital would be completely sealed, and they could move the bodies down.
"No ID on her; she just appeared in the middle of A&E. Nobody saw her come through the doors. She didn't register at the desk." The Doctor explained.
"So what happened?" Harry asked as Owen continued to flip through the chart.
"She started coughing up blood, and we moved her into isolation immediately. An hour or so later, they started presenting similar symptoms." The Doctor said.
"Which were?" Harry asked as Owen moved to examine the body.
"Bite-like bumps on the skin, chills, fever, headaches, along with black patches on the skin." The Doctor said, pointing them out on the body.
"Indicating bleeding into the skin and possibly other organs," Owen stated as he looked over the body.
"From the staff, it started spreading to other patients who'd been in reception when she came in." The Doctor continued to explain.
Harry made her way over to the bag that held the women's personal effects.
"These aren't contemporary clothes," Harry said, looking at the rough spun tunic.
"Her teeth aren't exactly the modern style, either. Shit." Owen pointed out. The teeth that weren't missing were black with decay.
"As soon as we realized the rate of infection, we closed down the whole hospital." The Doctor said.
Owen was beginning to get visibly worked up as he made his way over to another bed.
"How many others are infected?" Owen asked.
"30, many 40." The Doctor reported.
"All quarantined off?" Owen asked.
"As far as we know, yes." The Doctor answered.
"Have their clothes, and their sheets destroyed immediately," Owen ordered.
The Doctor walked off to pass on Owen's instructions. Harry made her way over to Owen as he flitted between patient beds.
"What is it?" Harry asked, looking at Owen's panicked face as he started to hyperventilate.
"That woman isn't from this century. More like the 14th. It's the fucking Black Death, Harry." Owen stammered out between panicked breathes as he tried to calm himself. "She's infected Cardiff A&E with the plague, and it's my fault."
Harry didn't say anything because there wasn't anything to say. They were just lucky that she appeared in a hospital and not in a train station where it would have spread like wildfire.
"The team are instigating procedures." The Doctor said as he came back to the pair.
"The infected will need 30 milligrammes of streptomycin and chloramphenicol plus two of tetracycline," Owen stated as they made their way back towards the door.
"That's plague medicine. Standard issue for bubonic." The Doctor said, confused and scared.
"Well done, House. That's what you're up against." Owen stated in blunt sarcasm.
"So, what are you gonna do now?" The Doctor asked wide-eyed and scared.
"Well, you're a hospital. You've got procedures, haven't you?" Owen asked.
"Yes, but everyone said Torchwood would sort it out. What if we get more carriers appearing out of the blue?" The Doctor stammered.
"We are working to stop that," Harry said.
"We waited for you!" The Doctor yelled in frustrated anger. "You've got to stop this! You've got to do something!"
"No, you've got to do something," Owen said aggressively to the young Doctor; they didn't have time to hold his hand. "People are dropping through time, and they are gonna bring every disease in history through your doors. So you'd better be ready. You scared enough yet? 'Cause fuck knows I am!"
Harry didn't even try and stop Owen's angry tirade because he was right.
"Come on," Owen ordered Harry as we walked towards the door.
"Make sure they get the medicine. Call us if things get worse." Harry said as they left.
They made their way out of the hospital, going through full decontamination before being allowed to exit.
The Hub – January 30th, 2008
After the rest of the team had left, Ianto and Tosh continued to be inundated with calls. It seems that proximity to the Rift increased the number of temporal events. Ianto has run out quickly to pick up a Weevil that had wandered out of the sewers not far from the Hub. It was their five weevil call since the others had left.
Tosh was typing away at her computer when she heard something. She turned and was shocked to see her dead mother standing in the middle of the bullpen, blood still on her head from the accident that killed her.
"Kaa-san?" Tosh asked in disbelief.
"It's coming… out of the darkness." Her mother said in Japanese.
"What is coming?" Tosh asked in the same language.
"If there is no other way… you'll have to do it." Her mother said.
"Do what?" Tosh asked. "Kaa-san?"
Tosh stood there stunned as her mother disappeared from one blink to the next.
Ianto came back into the Hub handling the Weevil with experienced ease.
"Tosh, are you okay?" Ianto asked Tosh, who was just standing there looking at nothing.
"Tosh!?" Ianto bellowed, finally breaking Tosh's stupor.
"Oh, yes, Ianto?" Tosh asked, flustered.
"Can you get the door for the vault?" Ianto asked, his hands full.
"Yes, of course," Tosh answered, rushing ahead to open the doors to the vault.
The two quickly got the Weevil into the cell.
"Are you sure that you are okay?" Ianto asked once they got back to the bullpen.
"Yes, why?" Tosh asked, going back to her computer.
"You were just standing there looking at nothing," Ianto said, looking at her with concern.
"I was just thinking." Tosh brushed off.
"If you're sure." Ianto let it drop but was still concerned.
They returned to their work, but it wasn't long before Jack and Gwen returned, wheeling in a Roman soldier strapped into a wheelchair. They wheeled him down to the vault soon after Harry and Owen showed up walking in a weevil they had caught on the way back.
"I can take him." Ianto offered.
"Thanks," Harry said, handing the Weevil off to Ianto, who took it down to the vaults.
"Coming, though," Ianto warned Jack and Gwen when he arrived.
Ianto quickly got the Weevil into a cell with the threat of weevil-spray.
"Thirteen more reports of Weevils on the loose. We're not gonna keep up at this rate." Ianto reported.
"Everything is on the increase," Jack stated.
"Can we stop them from making that noise?" Gwen asked as the weevils made a growling keening noise.
"If you've got any ideas how," Ianto responded, annoyed by Gwen's stupid question.
"Maybe they're time-sensitive. This disturbance may be too much for them." Jack theorized as he watched the Weevil.
"We've now full in all vaults across all nine levels," Ianto reported, which was concerning because there were 20 cells on each level, meaning all 180 cells were full. "Do you want me to activate vaults below? It's just we've never used them since I've been here."
"Do it." Jack nodded in agreement. Since he started with Torchwood in the 60s, they had never had to open the lower vaults. It wouldn't be long before they were at total capacity. The fact that they had to open them now means the situation was spinning out of control.
The three of them made their way back to the bullpen.
"How was the hospital, Owen?" Jack asked.
"Laugh a bloody minute." Owen shot back sarcastically, "They've got an outbreak of the Black Death."
"What? Oh my god!" Gwen exclaimed.
"Do they have it under control?" Jack asked.
"Yes, for now. The hospital staff think they got the hospital quarantined in time. They are now following procedure and will contact us if anything new develops." Harry said.
"The only consolation is it is treatable these days. But, you know, what happens when the next carrier comes through, Jack?" Owen asked before continuing on his rant. "Someone carrying smallpox or Ebola or something from the future we don't even know about yet; what do we do then?"
"Well, it's not doing us any good standing around speculating," Jack responded, not answering the question because there wasn't an answer.
"We need to be prepared. We're helpless; all we're doing here is putting sticking plasters on a gaping wound!" Owen ranted.
"What do you suggest?" Jack asked.
"I suggest that you lead us and tell us what the instructions are." Owen criticized.
"Owen," Harry said warningly. They didn't need Owen picking another fight.
"You're all thinking it, too. You're the big man here. You keep all the secrets. Well, now's the time to tell us a few and tell us how the hell we're going to get out of this!" Owen yelled.
"You want to know a secret?" Jack asked rhetorically. "There is no solution. I can't fix this because this was never meant to happen. The first thing you learnt when you joined Torchwood was don't mess with the Rift. But you disobeyed those orders, and now everything that's happening is down to you."
"I only disobeyed instructions to get you back!" Owen yelled, defending himself.
"And now people are dying," Jack retorted.
"What, so I shouldn't have bothered." Owen yelled back, "Who the fuck are you anyway? Jack Harkness? You don't even exist. We've looked. So if you're not even a real person, then why the hell should I follow your orders?"
"Get out." Jack snapped.
"What?" Owen asked with confusion.
"Get out. I'm relieving you of your duty." Jack said coolly.
"No! You can't do that." Tosh protested.
"Bollocks you are!" Owen pushed back.
Jack got into his face. "You're done here. You're fired."
Owen stood there, taken aback.
"That's enough!" Harry snapped, breaking the tension. "Owen, take an hour and cool off. Jack, Ianto with me."
Harry grabbed Jack's arm, pulling Jack into his office, Ianto following behind. Harry closed the door and drew the blinds.
Owen stood there stunned as the implications of what Jack said sunk in.
"So now we know how it is," Owen said to himself. "So that leaves me 24 hours to savour the good time."
"What are you talking about, Owen?" Gwen asked.
"Think about it, Gwen. Nobody leaves this place intact. Sometime in the next 24 hours, I get retconned. All my memories: erased. I don't know where or when, but he'll get me." Owen said.
"Just wait. Harry said to take on the hour. He might change his mind." Tosh tried to reassure.
"Don't matter how fucking pussy whipped he is. He won't change his mind." Owen whispered.
Owen took off his gun and set it down on a desk. "Well, I guess this is goodbye. Good luck with the end of the world. I would say thanks for the memories. I might as well spend my last hours in a bar."
And with that, Owen walked out of the Hub.