Jack looked at the crumpled figure before him, not really taking in any features of the unconscious man.

"Did you have to do that?"

The Torchwood cadet shrugged and said, "You were being attacked. I only knocked him out."

Jack let out a long-suffering sigh, before stooping down and taking in the dumbfounded look the cadet gave him, "Come on. Help me bring him to base."

The cadet made no move to help, only spurred into action at the reminder of Jack's high rank and just how much pain not listening could cause him down the road.

...

The walk to base felt unbearably long. Jack was sure that the unconscious man had neutralized any possible enemies, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. Not being safe had caused Jack a litany of problems in the past and he definitely wasn't in the mood for any more issues. Today had been a relatively bad day— Jack had been woken up at the crack of dawn due to this imminent threat, his date from last night still in his bed. Needless to say, his date was not very happy and left with a frown on her face, which was not how Jack had hoped the morning would go.

Something was nagging at the back of his mind— had been for a while now. It felt like he had forgotten something important, a mind leech erasing a near and dear part of himself. Like he'd forgotten a favorite word, always on the tip of his tongue. He wanted to say it so bad, and yet he remained tongue-tied.

But, he wasn't dead yet and he had a job to do. He could worry about the lapses in his memory later.

Jack took a closer look at the man that confronted him in the hall. He wouldn't stand out in a crowd, but there was something interesting about him. Jack found himself transfixed to the ring on the man's finger— it called to Jack in a way, telling him to take it off, that something was to be found out.

Jack extended his hand, slowly reaching over to the sleeping man's hand and stopped. Almost as if on cue, the man stirred, a brief look of recognition flashed on his face before a confused look settled over his features. Jack jumped slightly before regaining his composure, the true look of a commander

"Where… am I?"

Either he was a great actor or truly had no idea where he was. Jack preferred to give him the benefit of the doubt in this instance. He would rather have an ignorant captive rather than an all-knowing one.

"You, my friend, are in one of the many bases for the association to which I belong."

The other man cocked his head, "And what organization is that?"

Jack paused and considered the other's words.

"You know I can't answer that."

The brit let out a shy laugh and a sheepish smile, "It was worth a shot. What can you tell me?"

"I can tell you that I have the authority to question you if you are willing. It really shouldn't take too long."

The sharp laugh from the other man surprised the American, "What makes you think that I am willing to relinquish information about myself? After all, you did knock me out and drag me over here against my will."

The Torchwood captain bit back a sigh, "I assure you that knocking you out was not my intention. The cadet assigned to me got a little anxious. I brought you here because I figured that we were on the same side. We were taking out the same enemy, after all."

The room was totally silent for a second, allowing Jack to actually take in his surroundings for a change. It was a compound with thick cement walls— a heavy metal door nestled in the wall opposite Jack and the man he was questioning and a medium-sized window adjacent to the steel table they were seated at. He was afraid the other man was still upset due to his ill-treatment until he heard him speak.

"Enemy of my enemy…"

It was all Jack could do to nod in agreement before launching into another line of questioning.

"May I ask your name? My name is Captain Jack Harkness."

There was a brief moment of consideration before the other responded.

"Thomas Green."

"Thomas Green…" Jack let his name sink into his mind, "So, Mr. Green, what brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"Serving the queen, of course."

"Really?"

Thomas scoffed, "Of course not. I work for a private company that has interests in technology and knowledge. I was here on a mission to remove the threat presented and to gather information."

Jack folded his hands in his lap, slightly annoyed. He figured the response was warranted, but that didn't stop him from being moderately aggravated, "So along the lines of private military?"

"You could say that."

A sly smile presented itself on Thomas's cheeks. Man, this guy was going to be hard to pin down.

"Are you ever going to give me a straight answer?"

Thomas shrugged, "You talk, I talk. You should know how this goes by now, Captain."

"We both know that I'm not going to talk."

"Then you should know that I won't either."

Jack didn't hold back his sigh this time, "That's what I was afraid of."

Another silence permeates the air.

Thomas leans in a conspiratorial fashion, mischief exuding from his aura, "I say we play a game— Information Chicken if you will. We both reveal little facts, leading up to more important information. Whoever is asked a question of which they have no desire answering, they have the option of not answering, but in return, they must reveal who they work for. After all, we are friends, are we not?"

Jack considered the offer briefly and found himself agreeing with the terms the British man had set. It was a game that required cooperation; sure, you could just ask something extremely personal at the very beginning, but that wasn't a good way to yield information. Jack desperately wanted a great deal of information about Thomas and it was definitely more savory than any alternative Jack could think up. And so, he nodded his head in reluctant agreement, "Seems fair enough to me, friend."

"Alright," Thomas leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, "Why don't you ask the first question."

"That's awfully kind of you," Jack deadpanned, before taking a second to think up a question. "Where are you from?"

The answer was immediate, "England. And you?"

Jack momentarily considered being a smart ass and replying with 'earth', but he rightly assumed that Thomas would deem that answer insufficient and the game would be cut short.

"A small place near America called Boeshane. When were you born?"

Thomas raised an eyebrow, but continued aways, "June 31st, 1980. Any siblings?"

"You were born in 1980?! But you look so young!"

"I wasn't aware that 'but you look so young' was a quantity applicable to a number of siblings."

"I'm not allowed to express shock?"

"Precisely", There was a slight venom in his tone, "I get the feeling that you're older than you seem, so you have no room to be shocked at my age. Any siblings?"

Jack groaned and sunk into his seat, silently thankful that the mysterious man hadn't reused Jack's question, "Just one. How about yourself?"

"Not by blood, no. Any childhood nicknames?"

"Just one— they called me the face of Boe."

"Clever. Big ladies man?"

"And everyone in between— I don't discriminate. Is Thomas Green an alias?"

"To the government, no. To my friends, yes. How about you, 'Captain Jack Harkness'?"

"Your assumption is correct. Do you want to tell your new friend your real name?"

"Not a chance. What motivates you?"

Jack shrugged in defeat, "It was worth a shot."

That question stuck out to Jack— it was oddly philosophical. He wasn't sure what Thomas hoped to gain from the answer Jack gave, "A better tomorrow. How about you?"

"You'll find that we're in agreement. What is your favorite place on earth?"

Again, Jack felt something odd about the 'on earth' distinction that Thomas made, but he responded nonetheless, "Scotland, though I can't remember the last time I went there. How long have you been working with your organization?"

The questions and answers went rapid fire, barely giving Jack enough time to memorize how 'Thomas' had responded. He was sure that was somewhat purposeful— the more focused Jack is on one answer, the more likely he is to forget the response to another.

"Who do you work for?"

Well, if Jack was startled before, he was absolutely shocked now.

"Straight to the point, eh?"

"I was getting tired of this game."

Jack knew he shouldn't tell Thomas anything, but yet the words fell out of this mouth, "I work for Torchwood."

Thomas appeared relaxed, almost as if that response took a weight off of his shoulders, "Ahhh, Torchwood."

"You know Torchwood?"

Thomas shrugged, "Who would I be if I didn't know Torchwood?"

A thousand questions welled up in Jack's stomach, but his thought process was cut short as Thomas stood up and headed over to the door.

The American found himself standing, reaching his hand out to stop Thomas from leaving, "Where do you think you're going?"

Thomas paused for a split second, hand on the doorknob, "Are you going to stop me, friend?"

"Well, no, but—"

Jack linked eyes with Thomas and for a split second his blue eyes flashed a vibrant green, "That's what I thought."

Thomas took a step closer to Jack, Jack backing up until his backside met with the edge of the table, "This was a nice chat, but I really must be going. If you see me on the street, don't hesitate to say 'hello'. Tell the Doctor 'the boy who lived says hello'."

"You-you know the Doctor?"

"Quite well, actually. Anywho, have a nice day. I'll see you later."

It was all Jack could do to simply watch Thomas leave, door gently shutting behind him. He could only hope Thomas would make good on his promise.

...

A/N: I'm not suuuupper happy with this update, but it needed to be done. I rather enjoy the next chapters, so hang on for me! -Memorykey3