Chapter Three

With a tired sigh, I grabbed my note book and started going through the thick booklet I had been given. Some of the rules and regulations were quite obvious (not being allowed out in the field without a gun and not being allowed to take alien technology off the base) but other rules were directly relating to certain aliens, such as the weevils, that the team regularly came across. Since the rule book had been written by Jack (as mentioned on the front) it had some of the general Torchwood rules that dated back to the 1800s, but he had edited it so his team knew that they only killed aliens as a last resort and so that they weren't as morally ambiguous as London.

I was about ten pages in when I heard the alarm sounding, signalling that Gwen had probably entered the base. Standing, I left Jack's office to stand at the top of the stairs and overlook the base. Gwen was stood in the entrance, staring at the hand floating in a bubbling liquid. After a moment she turned her gaze to the rest of the base, following Jack as he walked along the upper catwalk (offering me a wink when he noticed that I had left his office). Suzie picked up the welder she had been using earlier and started using it on some of the metal on her desk. Slowly, Gwen entered the main work area, walking behind Tosh who was working on four computer screens at once, while Owen was sat at his desk doing a crossword and ignoring the stack of paperwork.

Suddenly Tosh started giggling which made Owen laugh loudly instead of the quiet chuckles he had been doing before.

"I can't do this. I'm sorry. I'm rubbish. I give up." Owen turned around in his chair and held up his hands in surrender.

"He set me off." Tosh accused, taking off her glasses.

"Well, that lasted nought point two seconds." Suzie said jokingly as she joined the team.

"Hmm. She's actually carrying pizza." Owen noted.

"Come on. She was gonna say here's your pizza, and I was going to say, how much? And she says, oh, whatever, twenty quid, and I say, ooo, I don't have any money. I was working on a punchline. I hadn't got there. But it would've been good." Jack said, joining the team from the catwalk.

"There's your pizza. I think I'd better go." Gwen muttered, putting the pizza down on the table which was behind the work stations. From the empty pizza boxes and other items on the table it was mostly used as a storage space when they were very busy. There was another sofa behind the table but it didn't look as comfy as the one in Jack's office.

"I think we've gone past that stage." Jack said seriously. Shaking my head, I joined the team. Tosh smiled at me as I pulled a spare chair up next to her.

"You must've been freezing out there. How long were you walking around? Three hours?" Suzie asked, with a cynical smile.

"You could see me?" Gwen asked shocked. I was starting to wonder if the women walked around in a permanent state of shock. Surely as a cope she was aware of CCTV?

"And before we go any further, who the hell orders pizza under the name of Torchwood?" Jack demanded, looking between the three members of the team.

"Er yeah, that'd be me. I'm sorry. I'm a twat." Owen said, not remotely repentant.

"I'm feeling that secrecy act, Owen." I smirked over at the doctor who mock glared back.

"That man at the hospital, that porter, what happened to him? That was real, wasn't it? He was attacked." Gwen spoke up, looking at Jack and ignoring the rest of them.

"He's dead." Jack answered bluntly.

"But there's no one gone missing." Gwen denied.

"We took the body, retrospectively changed the work rota, planted a false witness who saw him leaving the hospital, giving him an alibi for the next forty eight hours, so when his body's pulled out of the docks next Tuesday night, he's only been missing for three days." Tosh said, turning her attention completely to the conversation as opposed to what was on her screens.

"He was murdered." Gwen stated.

"Yes." Tosh answered unfazed.

"And you covered it up." Gwen accused.

"That's my job." Tosh shrugged, she had long since gotten used to that part of her job.

"And that other man, John Tucker? Last night in the alleyway, I saw you." Gwen said, turning back to Jack.

"And what did you see?" Jack challenged.

"You revived him." Gwen said, turning her head away from Jack, unable to look him in the eye despite trying to be demanding and official.

"No. What did you see?" Jack pushed.

"You resuscitated him." Gwen said, avoiding the word life.

"No, what did you see?" Jack asked for a third and final time.

"You brought him back to life." Gwen finally snapped.

"Yeah." Jack agreed, pleased that she had finally come to that conclusion.

"Who are you?" Gwen asked suspiciously.

"Torchwood." Jack answered simple.

"What's Torchwood?" Gwen questioned.

"This is Torchwood. All around you." Jack motioned the wide, open space around them.

"And what happens to me? I'm police. Constable Gwen Cooper. You can't do anything." Gwen said hesitantly, realising that this may have been a really bad idea, walking into a top-secret organisation who could bring people back to life and who had the power to pull the police back and clear a crime scene.

"Right then, PC Cooper. Do you want to come see?" Jack asked, straightening from where he was leaning against the wall and uncrossing his arms.

"See what?" Gwen asked confused about the sudden change in direction.

"You saw the murder. Come and see the murderer." Jack started walking to the basement.

"Go with him." Suzie nodded her head after Jack when Gwen didn't move.

"What is Torchwood? Who are you? What is this place?" Gwen questioned, moving to catch up with Jack. Just as she finished asking her questions, Myfanwy screeched loudly and flew overhead.

"What was that?" Gwen asked, staring up in fear.

"Pterodactyl." Tosh answered, turning back to her computers.

"Are you coming?" Jack called back over his shoulder.

"What you working on?" I asked Tosh once they were out of sight.

"Rift predictor program." Tosh responded.

"How does it work?" I asked curiously, guessing at the function by its name and deciding to avoid stupid questions since that wouldn't endear the rest of the team to me.

"I wouldn't bother, it's very complicated." Owen said from his desk, going back to his crossword.

"And I'm a fast learner." I responded, looking at Tosh expectantly.

"Well I'm taking all the readings we have from rift activity, entering what the activity was, where and all other corresponding data points. It's taking me a while because there's a lot of information to input. Then…." Tosh explained, pulling a note pad towards her so that she could jot down the main equations.

Tosh was about halfway through her explanation of some of the calculations she had already imputed so that she would be alerted when the rift activated, when Jack returned with Gwen. They had spent quite a bit more time down in the cellars then I had done and Gwen returned looking paler than she had been before. Which was to be expected really since this was her first true alien encounter.

"Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper." He introduced, as through the team didn't already know who she was. They had all read the file I had brought up earlier that day: the rest of the team knew Jack well enough that they had anticipated him having a motive for allowing Gwen to know so much about them.

"Doctor Owen Harper, thank you." Owen corrected again.

"Toshiko Sato, computer genius. Suzie Costello, she's second in command. Ianto Jones. Ianto cleans up after us and gets us everywhere on time." Jack motioned to the smartly dressed welsh man who had snuck into the room again.

"I try my best." Ianto responded.

"And he looks good in a suit." Jack flirted.

"Careful. That's harassment, sir." Ianto responded in a way that seemed rehearsed, like his response to Jack's comments were automatic now.

"And this is Raven our new recruit." Jack motioned to me.

"Hold on, you were at the car park yesterday." Gwen said, realising she knew my face.

"Like he said, new recruit. I've been an employee for all of thirty minutes but I haven't signed any of the paper work." I told her smiling before turning to Jack. "Doesn't that mean, I'm not technically an employee yet?"

"We'll have the paper work sorted out tomorrow." Jack waved her off, amused by the light teasing. Normally his team didn't tease or joke with him (unless he started it) due to the secrets he kept from them. It seemed Raven was set on braking that trend.

"Why are you telling me their names? I'm not supposed to know, am I? This is classified, isn't it?" Gwen turned back to Jack.

"Way beyond classified." Jack confirmed.

"Then you shouldn't be telling me. What are you gonna do to me?" Gwen asked, trying to put on a brave face.

"What do you imagine?" Jack questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I've seen too much. Your names and everything, and the Weevil. And you can dump a man in the water and lie about his death." Gwen turned to look at Tosh as she was speaking about the porter in an almost accusatory tone.

"Okay." Jack said suddenly, grabbing his coat from the stand it was hanging on and bringing Gwen's attention back to him. "Tosh, finish that calibration tomorrow morning. Owen, first thing, get a hold of Chandler and Bell, cos I think they're lying. Ianto, if he needs back up, then you'd better be on standby. Suzie, I know it's a pain in the ass, but I need the costing on the glove research. Raven, head home I want you in eight o'clock tomorrow. And as for you, you're coming with me. This way." Jack motioned for Gwen to follow him.

"I'm getting tired of following you." Gwen complained.

"No, you're not, and you never will. Stand on here. Come on, next to me." Jack said, standing on the concrete slab.

"You coming?" Tosh asked, standing and pulling her coat of the back of her chair.

"No, I'll catch up. I left my things in Jack's office." I waved them off and headed up to his office.

However, instead of packing away I simple retook my seat; turning my laptop on, I sent my resignation letter to the café; luckily, I got paid for the hours I work and I didn't need to give them a termination notice. I also checked my emails to see how much more work I had left to do before I was ready to sit the exams. There was only one piece of course work left for one of my topics, but beyond that I was prepared for my exams and could take them in two months. I turned my attention to the rule book.

I was so engrossed in my work that several hours passed me by without me even noticing. So, when Jack entered his office, I looked up quickly in shock.

"What are you still doing here? I thought I asked you to go home?" Jack questioned, going to sit behind his desk since I had taken up the sofa with my feet.

"You did, but…" I hesitated, not sure how to say it.

"But what?" Jack prompted.

"Well, I'm homeless. I've been sleeping in abandoned buildings for nearly two years." I told him bluntly.

"You don't look homeless." Jack noted, taking in the clean cloths and the fact that I had smelt clean when he had been near me earlier.

Jack had lived a long life, and met a lot of people, he had been homeless himself for a little while, and he had never been as put together as his new recruit was.

"I've been working at a local café. Most of the money goes to savings, but I spend some money on laundry and food. I also have a gym membership, which means I can have a shower every day and it only costs me eighteen quid a month." I explained.

"Right." Jack sighed. "You can stay here for now. I'll give you this month's pay early and you should use it to find a place."

"Thank you." I smiled at him gratefully, trying not to think about how much the pay was if Jack thought I could afford the deposit and first months' worth of rent with it.

"How come you were working at a café? You're smart enough to have a better job than that." Jack probed gentle, not wanting to upset Raven since he knew all about touchy pasts.

"I didn't have a guardian I could stay with when I graduated high school top of my year. Since I couldn't get into college without a guardian, I've been doing online college causes. No one will hire me full time without the A-Levels and an actual address. I'm two months away from graduating college." I explained, slightly proud of my educational achievements.

"What A-Levels you doing? And how old are you?" Jack asked, realising he should have probably got this information before hiring her.

"Physics, Computing, Chemistry, English – creative, literature and language - psychology, sociology and ancient history. I've already got the certifications that prove I'm fluent in several different languages. And I'm seventeen, nearly eighteen." I informed him proudly.

"The youngest employee of Torchwood." Jack noted leaning back in his chair. "I didn't ask before, but what's your full name?"

"Raven Smith. You'll find my information in the social services system." I told him, guessing why he would want that information.

"I need to get the information for your personnel file. I will be the only one with access to everything. But you will need to see Owen for a full medical, especially if you have been homeless for as long as you say." Jack noted.

"I'll see him in the morning." I promised. I didn't particularly like seeing a doctor, but I figured as a member of Torchwood it would be in my best interests to get on with the doctor of the team and for him to know my medical history for when the inevitable happens and I'm injured on the job.

"It's nearly midnight. You should be getting some sleep." Jack suggested getting up and disappearing into a hatch in the floor of his office.

By the time I had everything packed away into my bag Jack had returned with a blanket and pillows in his arms. I accepted them from him with a grateful smile.

"Where are the rest of your things?" Jack asked, noting the single bag that I had been carrying around with me all day.

"The gym membership comes with an onsite locker. The only other things I own are a couple of sets of cloths and my swimming and work out gear so I keep it all there. I'll swing by the gym tomorrow and collect everything. I also need to return the book I've borrowed from the library." I realised, remembering what I had been going to do before being interrupted by the Weevil attack.

"I'm contemplating taking you shopping. A girl's got to have more than a couple of sets of cloths." Jack shook his head dismayed.

"Hay, I have a laptop too." I told him motioning to the bag.

"Not much of a consolation." Jack smiled back. "Now get some sleep." Jack ordered, going behind his desk and starting up his computer.

With another person in the room I didn't really fall asleep – living on the streets for as long as I had been meant I never slept deeply especially if there was anyone close by. I dosed lightly, listening to the tapping of Jack's fingers against his keyboard. After a couple of hours Jack turned on some music from the 1940s, it was very soothing. However, Jack never turned into sleep himself.

****August 11th 2007****

At about five, I finally gave up the pretence of sleep and sat up. The blanket Jack had given me was wrapped around my legs, and my hair was a mess since I had taken it down before going to bed.

"Good morning." Jack greeted cheerfully, as though he had gotten a full eight hours sleep.

"Good morning." I returned, reaching for my bag and grabbing the hair brush I kept in there.

"Aw, keep it down. Your hair looks lovely." Jack pouted realising what I was doing.

"I don't particularly like having my hair down. Especially if I need to do anything." I told him. I only kept it long because when it was short it became puffy and tangled and it was actually harder to maintain then when it was long and weighed down. Of course, living on the streets with long hair wasn't great which was why I always had it up. Keeping my hair in a tight plait – normally a fish plait - meant it picked up less dirt, kept it out of the way and otherwise ensured it didn't become a hassle.

"It's only five, you've got three hours before you start your first day of work." Jack said, checking his watch.

"I need to get a few things done; I'll be back in about two hours." I promised, as I finished plaiting my hair.

"How did you plait your hair so quickly?" Jack questioned blinking in shock having not actually seen her plaiting it and he was normally very observant.

"Practice." I smiled mysteriously.