Chapter 75
They saved the world.
Sort of.
It was more a joint effort.
Section D and the Ministry of Defence had been running the numbers, with the data they now had on what would have been the outcome had they not had any information, not been forewarned.
Kingsley had sent him a letter of congratulations for his efforts.
However, the destruction had been massive.
Somehow UNIT had swept in to sweep a lot of it under whatever massive carpet they had for these situations.
Although no one was going to forget what they'd tried to do. Martha Jones, Anna Zhou and another man whom he'd not learnt the name of had been in the Osterhagen sites and been ready, been ordered by their UNIT commanders to push the button.
To destroy the world.
Harriet Jones was going to be honoured, albeit mostly secretly for her work with Torchwood Three and Sarah Jane Smith amongst others for leading the Doctor to Earth. Harry had only learnt later about this and how she died. She died bravely according to Gwen and Jack.
There was disappointingly not a lot of Dalek tech left from the invasion. Whatever Donna and the Doctors had done it had destroyed most of the active Dalek technology on or near Earth. What was left he'd staked a claim on with Porton Down sweeping up the rest.
More importantly they were grabbing it before UNIT could get their grubby protuberances on it.
UNIT still had a long way to go to being trusted, by those who knew exactly how close they came to destroying the world.
No doubt UNIT would soon announce a new Chief Scientific Officer who would oversee any future endeavours which didn't involve blowing up the world.
Or, hopefully not giving the reins to the Doctor. Harry trusted the Time Lord with his life, but not that of the world.
Thankfully there was no World President for UNIT to hand over the reigns to, that was firmly in the spectrum of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
-/
There in lay the question that continued to concern him.
If Donna and that extra 'meta-crisis' Doctor hadn't turned up it seemed that the Doctor would have just stood there and watched the universe end.
Harry didn't know how to reconcile that, what he'd seen.
If.
That was the word.
It hadn't happened. So he shouldn't worry about it.
But he'd seen what had happened in the "if world", that alternate universe; that one ruined by the Master and the Doctor.
The Doctor, back when he'd visited him at the Burrow had related to him that Tegan had once said that if was the most powerful word in the English language.
It was powerful the word IF. The possibility of what might've happened. Based of previous events, prior knowledge and future knowledge they prepared and succeeded for the most part.
Harry was still curious, now with his taste of that alternate world, wondering, albeit darkly what would have happened if the TARDIS had not arrived to save the Doctor. Would, could their plan have succeeded to blow up the Daleks' 'Crucible'?
And what would the Doctor have done? Just stood and watched as the universe was destroyed.
Harry dragged a hand through his now shorter and recently cut hair, he needed to stop thinking about things like this.
"You'll never make it as a politician doing things like that," said Judith, who'd managed to approach him without him seeing her despite having his back to the river and an almost 180 degree view of everything around him.
"Doing what?" Harry asked.
"Vexing," she said simply, joining him, leaning against the stone.
Simultaneously they both turned around and looked across the river.
"Something in there," Harry said looking over at the Palace of Westminster.
It was the only thing of note near the restaurant that had recognised the very late Andrew Fuller that Ioan and Akilina had helpfully narrowed down.
Plus, there was just something about the Palace of Westminster. The alternate Harry, his memories, there were blank spots, things missing that even voyaging through all the awful, nightmare inducing things, there was nothing about this...here.
Yet, he felt like there was something, something that he was missing.
"This seat of power...hiding something," he murmured to himself.
"Plenty of things Harry. More than we'll ever know I think," Judith continued in a low tone. "But you think something linking Andrew Fuller to Cohort Dow is there?"
"Lurking," Harry murmured. "Something about that alternate universe. My alternate darkened self," Harry continued. "There's blank spots. Spots obfuscated or missing..." He trailed off. "Probably didn't come through at all."
"Not perfect," Judith continued for him. "Probably for the best Harry. Only so many nightmares to be had."
"And no doubt so many more to be discovered," Harry said in a mock bright tone.
"Shall we go and discover what nightmares are lurking then Harry?" Judith asked.
"I think we should," Harry said with a smile.
"Too bad Ioan couldn't come along, he's been keen for answers." Judith said as they began their walk towards the Palace.
"You didn't need to be here either." Harry countered. "It's good he takes breaks. I wonder if I should..." He mused.
-/
Following what they considered the 'Easter weirdness' which included reports of a rogue flying bus from several witches and wizards that had led Harry and Ioan searching through records to discover if someone had nicked an old Knight Bus and started taking it on joy rides Ioan had asked for a break. Harry'd gladly given it. They'd all been through a lot in recent times. One didn't just get up and brush aside...everything. Even he couldn't, not with everything. He'd offered the same to Judith, but she'd declined.
Ioan and his wife wanted to go see her parents and get away for a little while. It was something Judith had commented (though only to Harry) that was not something she was burdened with. Nor something she wished to be. She had 'associates' that she visited on occasion. But Harry was well aware that LPI was a high stress and taxing job. Something he'd thought to consider in the days after the Dalek invasion in speaking to Pearce about everything. Pearce had implied that they, Pearce, himself and Mansfield though probably not the Home Secretary would be hauled in front of a UNIT meeting for their sabotage of the Osterhagen Project. 'One does not simply sabotage something of the UN's and get away with it Potter' Pearce had said.
Harry welcomed it. No one should have the power to destroy a planet. Certainly not UNIT and definitely not three random people that UNIT decides to pluck into notoriety in a crisis, he'd suggested, that they should find out who. But they didn't really matter. It was who handed them the keys and ordered them to blow up the planet that mattered.
-/
They were able to walk easily into Westminster. Their LPI security passes gave them full access to pretty much every secure site in the United Kingdom. Especially with their ongoing relationship with the defence forces and security services, it meant they had some of the highest clearances in the country.
"So, now what?" Judith asked as Harry removed his energy scanner from his bag.
"Unless you've got a suggestion as to where we might start looking?" Harry asked turning it on. "Secret rooms, hidden passages...that sort of thing."
"You're the one who knew all the secret passages at Hogwarts Harry," Judith challenged. "Perfect for your solo wand waving," she challenged.
Harry merely gave her a look. "I had a map."
"No maps here. Too many secrets," she said carefully as someone passed them in the corridor, Harry took the moment to extract his energy scanner from his pocket.
Looking up from it after the man who'd passed them was out of ear shot Harry raised an eyebrow at Judith. "Did you remove one of his assistants in another life?"
Judith smiled secretively at him. "That would be telling."
Harry tapped the controls on his energy scanner. "There's a lot of energy backwash in here," he said and handed the scanner to Judith.
"That's alright. I'll be your table while you wave your wand around," she said as Harry walked down and around the corridor casting spells as he did.
"Anything?" Judith asked as she slowly followed noting the effects on the scanner.
"Something..." Harry trailed off as he dug around in his bag and pulled out a bag of something that might have looked like sand, were it not blue.
"That's going to annoy the cleaners," Judith noted as he poured a small mound of it in the corner of the corridor near a door frame.
The mound slowly collapsed and turned grey.
"Sandcastles?" She inquired raised en eyebrow.
"Something Ioan and I were messing around with after that Dalek timeship incident. We ended up with a lot of temporally active..." Harry trailed off trying to think of the word. "Stuff."
"Detection sand," Judith said cottoning on. "Why?"
Harry shrugged. "Why not? Magic's a bit hit and miss with the temporal stuff. I don't think anyone's needed to think about it like this in a long time."
"You should get onto Hermione," Judith mused.
Harry nodded. "She's probably done being annoyed with me for telling her about the invasion," he paused then added. "by now," he paused again and brushed the remaining sand into the carpet with his shoe. "Down I think," he looked at Judith expectantly. "I assume you know how to get into the bowels of this great establishment?"
Judith nodded. "The scenic route or the direct route?"
"Scenic I think," Harry said after a moment. "We can have a bit of a nosy while we're here."
-/
Much wandering and several flights of steps later they were in another corridor. This one was much darker, with several more cobwebs and a deep sense of foreboding.
"This is familiar," Harry said casting his torch around.
"We're in a dark cobweb filled corridor, the energy scanner has noticed dangerous things" Judith paused dramatically. "Of course it feels familiar. It's what you live for," she quipped. She had a torch strapped to her gun as they were looking around.
Harry was shaking his head. "No. It's something more. It's like..." He shook his head. "Like a ghost of a shadow of an idea of a memory," he said letting his fingers trail along one side of the corridor catching on the dust and pointing his torch down to the floor. "The floor's remarkably clean."
"That's an odd observation Harry." Judith admired. "Though notable."
"Well trafficked or a good cleaner?" Harry mused as they continued along the corridor.
"Perhaps both," Judith mused quietly. "Clandestine conversations never take place this far down. Too far to get back up again," she continued in a quiet tone.
As they approached a junction his energy scanner bleeped a again.
"Temporal activity?" Judith asked.
Harry nodded. "Notable, though not particularly high."
"I hope we don't encounter anything that registers as that high," she said alluding to the Dalek timeship.
"So do I," Harry murmured and didn't jump when a voice spoke up in the shadows though a thought to kill it did briefly flash through his mind.
"I can assure you Mr Potter you will not encounter anything as high as your encounter with the Daleks at the Bluestone Facility," said a voice that was decidedly rounded and plucky.
Harry immediately took a dislike to the voice and the man that it was attached to. He snatched a brief glance to Judith to see if she recognised it but she indicated no.
"I have thus far escaped the attentions of your associate and those she worked for Mr Potter," said the voice.
Harry reached into his pocket grabbing a tube, pushing the top gently and threw it into the darkness. It pulsed for a moment and illuminated the room with a wide reaching orange glow. It was basically a supercharged glow stick that he and Ioan had been messing around with trying to make a portable Lumos in a container that they could chuck around. It still had some kinks, mostly its tendency to explode when jolted.
Fortunately it didn't when it landed on the ground, but in most of their tests it behaved with gelignite-like instability after that.
Now illuminated he could see the man. He was rounded, well fed, plump enough to indicate he most likely didn't spend his days running away or after anything and an expression that suggested he'd wanted to lurk in the shadows for a while longer.
"Really Mr Potter, there was no need for that. I would have revealed myself in due course," he tutted.
"And then what?" Judith asked.
"I thought we could have a nice sit down and a chat, maybe some tea," he said casually. "Perhaps even a biscuit."
Harry considered it, and then considered blowing a chunk off the man's foot, just to get the conversation started. "Any impedance to us 'chatting' here?"
The man sniffed. "There are far more civilised offices upstairs Mr Potter where we can converse."
"The organisation you're a part of hardly does civilised," Harry commented noting the expression on the man's face. "Not a part of," Harry added.
"Head of I think," Judith commented in a low tone.
The man clapped. "Top marks."
"Why shouldn't I just crush your feet and extract the information using techniques Cohort Dow, I am sure has used in the past," Harry asked.
The man fixed him with a careful gaze. "Because I am completely willing to give you the information you have come seeking Mr Potter, willingly, and you might just agree with me when I am finished."
Harry considered what the man was saying. Something about this place made him uneasy, though he couldn't put his finger on it.
"This location has the remnant of a TARDIS," the smug man gestured around him, though notably didn't point towards any specific thing. Harry was also annoyed the man had sensed his unease.
"A TARDIS? Whose?" Harry asked; Judith beside him had tensed.
The man seemed to enjoy being asked the question, although since he'd initiated the subject Harry thought it natural that the smug man was titillated by his own self pleasure.
"It was recovered by a predecessor of mine. The muggles, your friends at UNIT weren't to be troubled with it," he paused to brush a bit of imaginary dust off his shoulder. "The natures of temporal travel and extra dimensional engineering is something that our country thought best be left to a wizarding organisation to deal with. We have the most experience with such temporal matters."
"Wizarding society or Cohort Dow?" Harry asked.
Irritatingly the man clapped again. "A phrase that has come to mean far less as you have inveigled yourself into the Ministry Mr Potter."
"How'd you come across something like a TARDIS, or rather your predecessor?" Harry asked carefully. He knew that UNIT had bits of the Doctor's TARDIS, pieces left from when the Doctor had been upgrading it during his work with them in the 1970s. From what he understood what had survived after the 1970s had been moved to C19's Glasshouse facility or locked down away from prying eyes and thieving people elsewhere.
"Amsterdam. An old pumping station I believe," the smug irritating man looked to Harry seemingly searching for some form of recognition of this information.
Harry matched the man's gaze with a hard stare. Amsterdam didn't ring a bell with him but there was no way in Hades that he was going to let on with smug man that this was the case.
"Why have you got it below London?" Judith asked. "Below the Palace of Westminster?"
The man irritatingly again clapped. "Very good question." He smiled, it was a condescending smile. Harry wanted to Crucio the man for it. "Heart of the Empire Judith. We need to be careful with our things. Can't have them in a country house or old castle. Those things can be blown up or infiltrated."
Harry inclined an eyebrow at him.
"And?" Judith prompted.
"The TARDIS was still somewhat active when my predecessor discovered it," he paused, leaving the statement hanging.
Harry thought for a moment. with several ideas swarming in his head, things learnt while in the Doctor's TARDIS and tales and stories from him over the years. "The clock tower. You're using it as a temporal control element. Regulating the flow of temporal energy," Harry said his mind racing through possibilities. "Time turners."
The man smiled broadly and clapped again softly. "All that travel does broaden the mind I see Mr Potter. Well done."
"It's damaged then. If you require a temporal control element to regulate the chronon flow?" Judith asked in a calm knowledgable tone.
The man seemed unprepared for the question, briefly looking to Judith in the barest acknowledgement of the information. "Somewhat."
"But we have ensured that over the past few decades it is regulated and controlled," he continued his information dump.
"I bet the Slitheen spacecraft gave you a shock," Harry wondered.
"The space craft collision with the tower compromised the temporal viability of this structure," the smug man admitted. "However we made certain alterations to Big Ben during the repair process to ensure a lengthy viability of our ability to harvest chronons for wizarding kind," he explained.
"Why tell us all this?" Harry finally asked. While it was nice to know that there was some sort of damaged TARDIS here which obviously didn't work, because Cohort Dow was the sort of organisation that would use it...probably.
"To engender some trust Mr Potter. Your weapons are hardly intimidating to me," he said nodding to Judith.
Harry considered this for several moments and looked to Judith who shrugged.
"Very well, where shall we meet?" Harry asked.
-/
Going back up the stairs was far less intriguing that voyaging down into the depths of the Palace.
"Do you wish you'd accepted his stick?" Judith asked of the smug man's offer of what purported to be a portkey to his 'study'.
"Wizards never just accept another's stick Judith," Harry said with a grin. "You've got to negotiate anything like that," he paused in the stairwell. The door wasn't too far away. "And our negotiation may still involve dumping his body somewhere."
Judith patted him on the back. "Good to know you've not lost your fight with all these stairs Harry."
He'd not lost his fight and said so as they reached the door. "But I have gained a better perspective on things," he said as he withdrew his wand to unlock the door and then thought better of it and used his sonic screwdriver on it due to the fire and whatever other health and safety alarms attached to it.
"Because of the Doctor?" Judith said as she followed him out.
"And the Master, and the Dalek invasion and everything in between that," he motioned for her to lead the way. "If the Doctor hadn't been rescued-"
Judith cut him off. "By himself and Donna Noble."
Harry nodded. "Our plan would have been the only thing standing between us and oblivion."
The Doctor just standing there shouting at Davros, it didn't so much haunt him as made him wonder and think of the possibilities. Dangerous though it was to muse and to be caught up in these things, they had to, in case of the future.
During his musing Judith had led them to a nondescript door. In fact Harry reflected a lot of these doors were nondescript. They were all very of their space.
"Here we are," Judith gestured dramatically.
There wasn't even a number on the wall or the door. Harry didn't bother to ask her how she knew this was the right one. Maybe she'd counted the doors.
"You count the windows and the corridors," she said with a smirk and opened the door.
It led to another short corridor.
The smug man's office appeared to be set in next to a toilet block.
Harry opened the door without knocking and found the smug man sitting in a small study. One side of the room was all books and there was a small window out to what was probably the real world. Though it could have easily been a magical window giving the allusion of vision into the real world.
"Do come in Mr Potter. Tea?" Said the smug man.
"Hardly auspicious, the office next to the loo," Judith said taking a seat next to Harry.
"Oh, some of the most delicious things are said in the privacy of a privy I'm sure you'd understand," the smug man said.
Harry accepted the tea though only after casting copious spells over his and Judith's cups and the tea pot.
He still wasn't sure about accepting tea from the smug man.
"If I wanted to extract information from you Mr Potter I would not do so by the process of tea. Certainly not this blend of tea, it is rather expensively sourced," he sniffed.
"He's paranoid," Judith said sniffing the tea suspiciously.
"With good reason," Harry muttered.
"Delores' actions during your schooling perhaps?" The smug man asked curiously.
Harry looked the smug man in the face and again forced himself not to stun the smug man and cut off his feet and then interrogate him.
"Umbridge," Harry almost hissed the name. She was someone he did not even think worthy to consider thinking about. The scars on his hand had long since been healed by the Doctor and covered with new scars from his own life. The memories were not so easily covered away.
"We campaigned against her installation at Hogwarts. Politics overruled us," the smug man said as he bit into a biscuit.
"How much are you involved in the time turner use at Hogwarts?" Harry asked. Andrew Fuller's name had been on the list McGonagall had given him sometime ago. Aside from the ones who were dead his was the most notable. It had been one part of the Cohort Dow puzzle that he wanted to pick at. Harry was pleased the question gave smug man pause.
"What an interesting leading line of questioning Mr Potter," he said placing the remains of his biscuit on the side of his saucer.
"Given what's hiding in the cellar I hardly think so," Harry countered.
"The program was in place before Cohort Dow became a fixture of the Ministry Mr Potter, we simply redirected its ambitions," he explained with a small gesture of his finger as he put down his tea.
"What do you know of Torchwood?" It took Harry a moment to realise the smug git wasn't speaking to him.
Judith raised an eyebrow. "Founded in 1879 following an extra-terrestrial encounter at Torchwood House and named for it," she paused. "Founded to protect the British Empire from threats otherworldly," Judith paused. "And where possible exploit the threats' abilities and technology for the benefit of the Empire."
The smug man clapped theatrically. "Very good. Thank you," he paused. "Cohort Dow, our own adjunct to Torchwood was formed very soon after."
Harry must have looked surprised. "You are surprised we would acknowledge the existence of the other worldly?" He paused. "Given Ms Weasley's reaction to you and the general wizarding scepticism of your League's specialties?"
Harry didn't say anything.
The smug man leaned back. "I cannot speak precisely for my predecessors," he paused. "But the revelation of the otherworldly was something a scant few even considered. But it was considered."
"A threat," Judith surmised.
The smug man smiled grimly this time. "Very much so Judith," he said and continued. "My predecessors considered Torchwood's actions...valuable. But ill-conceived. During the 1970s UNIT, I'm sure you know of their work Mr Potter," he said looking to Harry with an oily smile. "Was seen as a useful buffer and controlling influence on Torchwood by those wizards within Cohort Dow."
"More useful to the wizarding agenda?" Harry pondered. "So that's why Torchwood wasn't so active then..." He pondered trailing off.
Smug man nodded. "While an adjunct Cohort Dow represents the wizarding world."
"And?" Judith pushed sensing something else in his inflection.
His expression hardened. "And the protection of it from otherworldly incursions."
There was a moment silence as Harry pondered that sentence. He hadn't really considered Cohort Dow as anything more than a 'wizarding Torchwood' without really thinking about what that meant, or rather what it really meant.
"After your success in establishing your 'Esoteric division' within UNIT it was considered a path to pursue. Although UNIT's extra-British ties complicated matters," he continued.
Harry frowned a worried expression. "Did they know who I was?" Harry paused then added. "When I went to Hogwarts."
The man smiled. "We are getting ahead of our story Mr Potter, but time travel does do that. Or let us do that perhaps?" He chuckled. "No. You and your UNIT allies covered your path very well Mr Potter. Only after the formation of your League were we given pause to considered you and your associates' actions."
"I see," Harry said. He exhaled. "What of the experiments on wizards? Shakespeare's Globe and the other things your organisation's been involved in?" Harry continued, he wanted answers to long standing questions. "Your results at Hogwarts to name just one nightmare."
Smug man seemed genuinely uncomfortable at this line of questioning. Harry enjoyed making him uncomfortable and wondered if he should continue to list the things he knew and suspected Cohort Dow to be involved in.
"Following your departure from the Esoteric division and the apparent death of Voldemort we had time to take stock," he paused again. "Many within the Ministry, including some wizards and witches who supported Cohort Dow's researches considered that the otherworldly threat had passed, more or less and our support to be scaled back."
"Even after Mondas' return buggering up the astrology classes for 1986? That didn't raise an eyebrow?" Harry asked curiously and cursed himself internally for revealing the planet's name.
The smug man laughed. "No. That was a blip, best left to the muggles, and most definitely not something we wizards would concern ourselves with," he paused. "The incident that was something of a boon for our organisation was the Argyre Clan."
"Xznaal," said Judith, surprising Harry who'd heard very few people speak the Ice Warrior's name.
The smug man clapped gently again. "The first, that we know of and hopefully only crowned alien King of England," continued smug man.
"Proved to everyone aliens really do exist and that we as wizards shouldn't call anyone who thinks they exist deviant madmen?" Harry asked and followed it with a short sarcastic laugh.
"Hardly Mr Potter. Anyone thinking to suggest that would be considered mentally disturbed and up to the most deviant of behaviours," smug man said in a tone that Harry couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or serious.
"How could I be so silly?" Harry said taking a long gulp of his now somewhat tepid tea.
"It instead allowed us to highlight that further more extreme measures should be pursued. That it would be up to wizards and of course suitably educated muggles to defeat the threat and sustain themselves were another otherworldly incursion to occur," he paused again watching them. Or maybe him, Harry couldn't tell. His face was very punchable. Harry knew that.
"Extreme measures," Harry repeated, thinking on that phrase. "That's your justification for the experiments?"
"All wilfully entered into. Their families generously compensated," Smug man said easily, so easily Harry suspected it was at the least an untruth at the most a lie.
"I'm sure they were," Judith muttered.
"And the point of it?" Harry asked.
"As your Captain friend is so fond of saying. You have got to be ready. For when the revolution comes we need to be ready with the weapons. Not waiting mindlessly with our backs against the wall," Smug man said.
"I believe he says 'everything changes'," Harry commented idly.
"Your recent interactions would suggest you might agree with our actions of the past Mr Potter. More control in our hands," he continued. "It is your successes that have highlighted a need of a..." He trailed off. "'Change of direction'," he seemingly quoted.
"Oh?" Judith asked.
"Your League is to be applauded." He didn't clap. Not even mockingly.
"What of Andrew Fuller?" Harry asked deciding not to enquire what smug man meant by that.
"Cohort Dow's 'man in the Ministry'," Smug man said. "Unfortunately he also abused a substance forwarded to us from our 'sister' organisation."
"Which is complete bullshit," Judith commented.
"Oh, of course. Convenient though it is to think of these things," he said casually.
"So?" Harry prodded.
"The League of Paranormal Investigations has succeeded," Smug man said simply.
"In clearing up your messes," Harry countered.
"Every experiment requires a little...rubbish collection," Smug man continued in a simple tone. "Cohort Dow's," he paused and wrinkled his nose. "'Mission Statement' to use that rather common parlance was to secure the future protection and defence of the wizarding world against anything otherworldly that might threaten it. That is the rather condensed view of our work I might add." He fixed a look on Harry. "Tell me honestly Mr Potter. Do you believe Cohort Dow did not need to exist? That the muggles and other extra-terrestrial assistance provided in defence have secured seamless protection to us?"
"You have hardly done a job of it," Harry countered not wishing to answer him.
"You have," he countered. "And your League."
Harry was going to respond, but wasn't sure for a moment what to say. The praise from smug man threw him for a moment.
"Our purview has been specific," Judith commented interjecting lightly between the brief hanging silence.
"And very specifically matched," Smug man complimented again looking to Harry with a 'well' sort of expression.
Harry fought the urge to blast off his feet again. "What of your experiments?" Harry asked again, sure that there were other Cohort Dow things lurking even if they'd not seen anything major for months. It really had seemed like a surge then nothing.
"Concluded," Smug man said simply, it seemed he'd switched to a default tone. "Except for those processes such as the time craft below the clock tower. That remains an ongoing concern, for the Ministry also."
"I see," Harry leaned back into his seat and wondered if casually killing smug man would serve any purpose.
But instead of being prompted smug man spoke again. "Torchwood has largely served its purposes. Ms Hartman overreached and your Captain continues to monitor Cardiff's eccentricities."
Harry raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Smug man liked the sound of his own voice. "And now?"
"Changing times, changing government, changing capabilities of those who serve and service those," he continued.
"So what, we continue to do what we do and you just drift off into the murky grey?" Harry asked.
The smug man smiled. "No," He paused. "We no longer have any active projects. Much like our sibling organisation our...usefulness has been surpassed by current events and changes," he said almost sounding like he was quoting someone.
-/
Harry found himself wandering, he and Judith having parted ways at Westminster. He'd wanted to have a wander, to think and to muse on whether or not he should have blasted smug man's knee caps to smithereens. Or more to the point, not to think about those sorts of things. He'd meet up with Judith later in the evening. For now he wanted a chance to empty his mind and not to think on that, or the blank spots in his 'curiosity knowledge' or any of that. He'd simply chosen a direction and started walking in it.
Which was why it was a supreme surprise that he walked into someone from UNIT, albeit in civvies.
As he was making his apologies he realised he recognised the UNIT person, probably because he knew him was why he knew him to be a man of UNIT rather than some generic military person.
"Ross Jenkins," Harry said in surprise.
"Sir?" Ross snapped to attention
Harry gave him a look as he relaxed. "What brings you to the oft-invaded London?"
"Reading Sir-" he began and quickly corrected "Harry. The UNIT hard copies are stored at UNIT's London HQ. I've been on leave since the," he paused to look around. "Sontaran thing."
"Leave?" Harry asked.
"'Major extra-terrestrial incursion where I was placed under extreme psychological pressure'," Ross quoted.
Harry looked at him and shook his head. "UNIT used to have a problem like that. Except it was losses due to the extreme circumstances that regulars weren't used to." Harry paused. "It was a different era back then."
"When you were back in the blood and thunder days with General Lethbridge-Stewart?" Ross asked with a slight smile.
Harry shrugged. "Feel like having a walk and talk Ross?" He gestured up the river. "I've had a..." he trailed off. "A day of bad discussions."
Ross nodded but didn't pry further.
"I did submit a report to your superior concerning what had happened, praised your conduct highly," Harry said after a while.
"I know sir. General Mace mentioned it," Ross said. "You spend a lot of time with the regulars?"
Harry shrugged. "UNIT has been disappointing and untrustworthy of late," he paused and looked to Ross.
Ross held up his hands. "Talking as associates Harry, maybe friends?" He paused. "Not many people you can honestly talk about this," he admitted before adding. "Not many people who know about your 'esoteric' stuff. Not to mention surviving an encounter with the Doctor."
Harry laughed, really genuinely laughed longer than he should have done. Ross seemed worried he'd said something wrong.
Harry shook his head after a long while as he managed to get his breath back after so much laughter. "I met the Doctor again. The same one we met," Harry paused and looked to Ross. "You know about..."
"That he can change." Ross nodded. "UNIT keeps its files up to date about him."
"He'd probably hate that. Except when he needs UNIT to be there," Harry paused. "Just, everything surviving the Doctor along with the Daleks and the planets." Harry looked to Ross for a moment.
"What?" Ross asked slight concern in his voice.
Harry shook his head. "Just higher up decisions in UNIT, nothing to worry about. Private Jenkins."
Ross grinned at him. "I've gone up. Corporal. Because the attempted invasion status of the Sontaran incursion."
Harry smiled and patted him on the back. "Congratulations," he paused. "Isn't there a rank in between that?"
"UNIT higher up decisions probably," he grinned as he quoted Harry.
They continued to walk somewhat aimlessly though London with Harry finding that he rather enjoyed chatting with the UNIT man.
Admitting to Ross. "I agree Ross it's hard to find people who understand the particular brand of oddness that comes with what happens when you look a little too close at the world."
"I'm still working it out. All this 'esoteric' stuff," Ross looked around him.
"Speaking of can I give you a lift anywhere?" Harry asked offering Jenkins a hand.
"A lift?" Ross asked puzzled. "You mean...?" His eyes wide.
Harry nodded.
Ross thought for a moment and shook his head. "Need to go to the shops. Just as easy to get the train."
Harry smiled and spoke his phone number to Ross. "LPI doesn't have conventional business cards. Not when we do what we do. If you want a chat or something give me a call."
Ross nodded, seemingly committing the phone number to memory. "Will do Harry."
Harry made to bid him farewell.
"Are you going to do it...? Just pop back into the centre of London?" Ross looked at him curiously.
"Apparate." Harry explained. "Is the word," he continued by way of an explanation.
"Oh...?" Ross began.
"London's full of black spots for apparation, but I can give you a lift. Save you being left to the mercies of the underground," Harry offered again.
"Full of Yetis again is it?" Ross asked playfully.
"Before my time Ross," Harry laughed.
-/ - \\-
Later, having given Ross a short lift, saving him a rail journey and having promised Harry a pint for his troubles the next time they met Harry re-joined Judith in London.
Even after having a further wander through the streets of London and having had a good couple of hours of distraction via his chance meeting with Ross Jenkins it had done nothing to dissuade him from wondering if he had made the right decision.
"You think that you should have killed him?" She asked sipping her pint.
Harry let go a breath of air, still wondering even after his afternoon of wandering around London pondering to himself. "It does feel like we are condoning what Cohort Dow did," he said voicing his concern. "By letting him go," he added, that had especially been nagging at him.
"'Outside the government, beyond the police,'" Judith quoted. "Torchwood's mantra. Cohort Dow's too?"
"Very likely. What do you think Judith?" Harry asked.
"Should we have thrown him in a ditch?" She asked.
"I had more extensive plans than dumping him in a ditch," he paused. "But I'm not sure what his death would serve."
"Aside from your own murderous intents?" She queried playfully.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "I hardly have murderous intent."
Judith nodded. "No. I've met people like that," her few words spoke volumes of her past works. "Just what needs to be done."
Harry nodded silently.
"Surplus to requirements," he finally said. "That's what Cohort Dow's become. Perhaps Torchwood too? UNIT became useless and complacent. With a few exceptions," he added almost mentally but said it out loud. "Torchwood filled the gap."
"And now we're in that same gap, with the security services, the defence force and UNIT," Judith mused. "Better that than be unwanted."
Harry nodded. "I rather like being the secretive organisation and trying to seek out Cohort Dow. It's a bit disappointing finding out what it is."
"Wizards not trusting anyone to do the right job yet worried for the war that might not ever have come but preparing for it nonetheless, even if they didn't quite believe in what they were preparing to fight," Judith composed.
"Poetic in its own little way," Harry mused exhaling with a sigh.
"Fear is that in many ways. It's why it's so effective." Judith said knowingly.
Harry nodded. "I guess. One thing I am worried about," He paused to sip his drink.
Judith inclined her head curiously.
Harry paused to sip his own pint. "Smug man wouldn't have told us everything."
"Probably not everything their organisation is involved in no," she said.
"I bet there's still projects out there," Harry continued.
"Plans, missions, operations, experiments," Judith said.
"That we'll end up cleaning up, now that they're washing their hands and pretending it's all over," he said leaning back into his chair.
"Does it fill you angst that now we know and there's no way we can hold anyone accountable or excitement, that there's still things to uncover and secrets to be discovered?" Judith asked watching Harry.
Harry seemed to hold and think for several moments on this. "Both."
-/ –– \-
A/N:
Minor edit done June 2021.
Cohort Dow is one of those things that worked so well when it was a mysterious 'bad' organisation. It also worked really well when it was the 'clandestine organisation' against which Harry and LPI worked against.
It was also tied / linked to its sister organisation Torchwood, not tightly, but it had a connection and with Torchwood in the Doctor Who universe it just seemed to drift away. It's still there...just not so bold.
At one point there would have been a big confrontation with smug man and whoever else was in charge of Cohort Dow. There might have been big spell battles, shouting and explosions.
Things instead have moved on, so instead of a big fight in an airship hanger (which I did have in my notes for how it might've happened) it's three people in a room talking over tea. Because things have matured, Harry has matured and seen a great many more things and the world is a more mature place.
I am quite happy with how the whole discussion turned out, even though it is three people talking over tea.
If Harry had not gained the memories or the Year That Never Was and if he hadn't seen the Doctor essentially stand there shouting at Davros and waiting for the end of everything to happen, then maybe Harry might not have behaved the way he does.
But having seen and experienced all this and he has the memories of when the Doctor failed it means he has new perspectives on things.
The Argyre Clan and Xznaal mentioned by smug man and Judith come back to The Dying Days a novel set in 1997.
The events of Planet of the Dead are briefly mentioned here but I didn't think LPI could contribute anything meaningful to that story without shoe-horning them in. So it's just a brief mention here with Harry and Ioan doing some stuff behind the scenes.
