Chapter Twenty-Two

Having compiled what information we could, the team were meeting in the conference room to discuss what we could do to stop this murderer.

"B67, aka Retcon, aka the magic ingredient of the amnesia pill." Owen said, pointing to the screen where he put the chemical breakdown of the pill.

"And this belongs to us. Whoever this killer is, it's somebody we gave the amnesia pill to." Gwen said, with a frown.

"Is he remembering that he's a serial killer? Or is he becoming a serial killer because of the Retcon?" Owen said, far too excitedly for my liking.

"Wait a minute. I've taken Retcon." Gwen realised.

"Then better stay away from sharp objects." Jack responded before turning to Ianto who he had sent to look at the Retcon supply and log. "Ianto, how many people have we given amnesia pills to?"

"Two thousand and eight." Ianto responded.

"And that's not counting the ones given by Torchwood one or two." I added with a frown. Torchwood had drugged far too many people with amnesia pills for my liking. The number that Torchwood three gave out had been decreasing in the last year according to Jack, but they still had drugged at least twelve people since I had joined Torchwood.

"Hey, what if they all become psychotic?" Owen asked excitedly, leaning forward on his chair.

"Do you have to sound so happy?" Tosh asked with a frown.

"I'm just saying. Mean Streets." Owen shrugged, not caring for the disapproving looks he was getting.

"Tosh, work with Ianto to narrow the list down to fit Swanson's profile. Start checking them out, fast as you can. You two," Jack looked too me and Gwen, "there's got to be a link between the victims. Find the link, find the killer. Owen, I want to know what type of knife killed them. Get to it."

"Jack, I'm recreating the crime scene, trying to figure out how the killer got the drop on the victims without anyone fighting back." I said before anyone could leave the room.

"Alright, Gwen that leaves just you trying to figure out the link between the victims." Jack nodded his acknowledgement of my plan. If we could figure out how the killer was doing the murder, they could probably figure out more about him and narrow the search criteria and suspect pool down.

"Jack, if there is a link, why don't we just ask the victims ourselves?" Gwen questioned before anyone could leave the room.

"Not the right time for a séance, thank you very much." Jack brushed her off, not caring to think about the implications of her statement. Owen, Ianto and Tosh left seeing one of Gwen's moral crusade arguments coming up. At Jack's nod, I left the room as well to start working on the scene recreation using the computer simulation I had stolen from the FBI.

Nearly two hours after Gwen started her argument, Jack finally ordered everyone to his office although he didn't look happy about it as he got the glove from the secure archives. I similarly showed my disapproval of using the glove by leaning back against the wall of Jack's office as far from the glove as I could get without abandoning the room.

"It fell through the Rift about forty years ago. Lay at the bottom of the Bay till we dredged it up. I always figured this wasn't just lost. Whoever made it wanted rid of it." Jack explained for mine and Gwen's benefit since we had joined the team after the glove was banned from use.

"You know, we never gave it a cool name." Owen pointed out, his arms crossed as he stared at the artefact that had corrupted and lead to the death of one of his friends.

"I thought we called it the Resurrection gauntlet." Tosh disagreed with Owen.

"Cool name." Owen sneered.

"What about the Risen Mitten?" Ianto asked suddenly. At the weird looks he got from the rest of the team, he shrugged. "I think it's catchy."

"You know, that would have sounded far weirder if you hadn't been the one to say it. The Welsh accent just makes even lame things sound cool." I informed Ianto before returning to my desk to work while Owen, Tosh and Ianto prepared the bodies.

I only ventured to the autopsy room when they were completely set up and ready to go. Alex was lying on the table covered by a white sheet. Ianto and Owen were stationed at the life support equipment, Tosh sat at her desk monitoring and recording everything, while Gwen loitered next to the man ready to ask questions. Jack was the one who was gingerly putting the glove on. Not wanting to be closer to the device then I had to be, I was stood on the balcony overlooking everything.

"Jack, you okay?" Gwen questioned, seeing how Jack had hesitantly put the glove on.

"Don't forget, the maximum resurrection time is two minutes. That's only because Suzie had practice. The most we're likely to get is thirty seconds, okay? Tosh, you ready?" Jack told the team, not answering Gwen while I observed through concerned eyes.

"Ready. And recording. This man was victim number one. Name, Alex Arwyn." Tosh's voice came over the coms.

"Come on, Alex. Come back." Jack said, closing his eyes and focusing as he tried to use the glove.

"How does it work?" Gwen questioned.

"You just sort of feel, like reaching into the dark, finding the dead. I can't, I don't. Ah. Damn! Ow." Jack jerked the glove away and shook it from his hand like he had received an electric shock.

"Nothing." Owen reported.

"Sorry. Never was very good with this thing." Jack held the glove out to the medic. "Owen."

"I tried last time. We all had a go. It only responded to Suzie." Owen said, stepping away from the glove.

"Well, I never had a go." Gwen said, looking around and biting her lip innocently. Jack stared at her for a moment before handing over the glove.

"Brr, it's cold." Gwen complained as she put the glove on and moved behind Alex. Jack took his place next to the dead man.

"It warms up. The glove relies on some sort of empathy. Maybe compassion and… Just be yourself." Jack explained, trailing off near the end as he ran out of ways of explaining how the glove worked.

Gwen placed her hand behind Alex's head and almost immediately gasped. Ianto started his stopwatch as Alex came to life. Unnoticed to the rest of the team, I stumbled back against the wall using it as support.

This was wrong, so very wrong and it hurt. God, it hadn't felt like this the last time the glove had been used near me. Back then, it had just been this vague sense of unease that I had put down to the fact I was spying, but this, this shear sense of wrong was overpowering. Almost painful in its intensity. And then, behind that there was the panic, shock and pain radiating from Alex as his soul was wrenched back into his body.

"Somebody help me. Oh, my God. Help me, help me, help me." Alex shouted, looking around himself in panic.

"Alex, I need you to listen to me." Jack said kindly but with a bit of authority in his voice in an attempt to get the man to calm down and focus on his surroundings.

"Somebody help me. Help me!" Alex continued shouting, not really paying attention to Jack.

"That's what we're doing." Jack said, a bit more strongly this time and Alex stopped shouting and focused on him. "Alex, you were attacked. Do you know who it was? Who attacked you?" Jack questioned.

"Who are you?" Alex asked in turn, confused.

"How long?" Jack asked Ianto concerned.

"Where am I?" Alex continued questioning, panic rising again.

"Fifteen seconds." Ianto reported.

"Who are you?" Alex spotted Gwen behind him.

"I'm just, I'm trying to help, sweetheart. I'm just trying to help." Gwen answered, trying to be comforting but there was a strain in her voice that hadn't been there before.

"I want my mum. Please, let me see my mum…" Alex begged before his heart stopped and the pain that had been slamming into me in waves left with him. I took a deep, steadying breath and straightened out so as to not alert Jack to something being wrong when he looked up.

"He's gone." Owen reported.

"No, let me keep trying." Gwen shook her head in denial.

"Gwen, he's dead." Owen said, moving forward slightly.

"But I can bring him back." Gwen said through clenched teeth, refusing to admit it.

"The glove only works once." Jack said calmly, soothingly, trying to get through to Gwen.

"But I can do it. Just let me try." Gwen was crying now, refusing to look up at Jack or Owen who were watching her in concern.

"Gwen!" Jack snapped, grasping Gwen's shoulders and making her look at him. "Look at me. He's gone."

Gwen stared at Jack for a moment, before nodding her head and removing the glove.

"Amazing. She's a natural. Twenty four seconds." Ianto reported.

"Give Ianto a stopwatch and he's happy." Owen said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"It's the button on the top." Ianto replied sardonically. My lips twitched slightly in amusement. Ever since the cannibals Ianto had been coming out of his shell, replying to Owen's cynical and sarcastic comments in his own, sardonic and serious way.

"What do you think, Gwen? Do you want to stop?" Jack questioned, hoping that Gwen would see reason and stop this madness. Gwen straightened and put the glove back on with a glare. Jack sighed and went to help Owen set up the next body.

"Recording. Victim number two, Mark Brisco." Tosh reported once everyone had set up. Having prepared for the pain and overwhelming emotions this time, I was leaning against the wall and observing the whole event through hooded eyes. If I had left the room, it would alert Jack to something being wrong, and right now Jack had more things to be worried about then me losing control of my empathy.

"Oh God, I can feel him. It's like, it's like a rope from my heart to the glove. Oh, it's so warm." I stiffened the moment Gwen finished talking and Mark woke up.

"Hey, there. Just look at me. Look me in the eye. That's it." Jack said gently, encouragingly. He didn't want to have a repeat of what happened with Alex.

"Where am I?" Mark asked quietly, like a lost child.

"You've been hurt. We don't have long. We need to know who attacked you." Jack said urgently.

"Is my wife all right?" Mark questioned worriedly.

"We're looking after her. Now, Mark, who was it?" Jack answered, aware that they were running out of time.

"It was that man. He belonged to Pilgrim. He went to Pilgrim." Mark answered and I frowned. It would explain how the man was able to get into their houses. If they shared a link between this Pilgrim then they would know, and most likely, trust each other.

"What's Pilgrim?" Jack questioned.

"Oh my God, he had a knife." Mark muttered in shock as he realised that he had been attack.

"No, Mark, he's gone." Jack reassured the man quickly. "We don't have long. Quickly, what was his name?"

"Thirty five seconds." Ianto warned.

"Max. Never knew his surname." Mark answered.

"Trying Pilgrim and Max. Get a description." Tosh said over the coms.

"You've got to give us something more so we can catch him."

"He's going." Owen reported, looking at his machines and seeing the heart beat slowing.

"There was, there was someone who knew him better. That woman. She was always talking to him." Mark answered, his voice becoming breathy as he started slipping away.

"What was her name?" Jack asked urgently.

"Where's my wife?" Mark asked instead of answering.

"Her name!" Jack demanded.

"Suzie." Mark breathed, seconds before his life ended.

"One minute five seconds." Ianto reported.

"Jack? Did I hear that right?" Tosh asked, worried.

"Could be anyone. Must be lots of women called Suzie." Owen said weakly. Hoping Jack would agree with him but knowing that was unlikely considering what they were dealing with.

"Not connected to this case. We've been talking to the wrong corpse." Jack said darkly. "Tosh, I want to know about Pilgrim. Owen, continue trying to find out what the knife we are looking for is. Raven, have you finished the analysis?" Jack looked up.

"No, I'm close. But not quite." I answered.

"Okay, you continue with that. Gwen, I want you to eat and drink something while we wait." Jack gave his orders before disappearing to his office with the glove. He wanted to keep it away from Gwen as much as possible to stop her obsessing over it and becoming like Suzie.