Hughes Flats; Cardiff, Wales
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
With Jack home for the first night in weeks, Ianto Jones curled up with his head on Jack's shoulder, hoping he would move back in. Whatever the situation was, they'd deal with it. Ianto knew the odds weren't good. But they'd made it two years.
"What time is it?" Jack asked quietly, lightly running his fingertips over Ianto's hand and up his arm.
"Early."
"Bad dream?"
"No." It was the first restful night Ianto had had in weeks. "I'm happy you're home." He wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.
Jack kissed the top of Ianto's head. "I need to figure out what's wrong."
Ianto propped himself up and met Jack's eyes. "Torchwood angered more than one military, Jack. It's safer with you here."
Jack's burner mobile rang. He grabbed it off the bedside table and activated an encryption program before answering it on speaker. "Hey."
"Morning." Rex sounded tired. "We had a security breach. Stroud was targeted."
Jack sat up in bed and swung his legs over the edge.
"Rescue?" Ianto climbed out of bed. They needed to get to the hub and check security.
"No." Rex hadn't expected to hear Ianto. "Attempted murder." Voices revealed a conversation in the background. "Two men wore stealth technology. Alien tech or derived from it."
"What stopped them?"
"House guests. Lacene stayed with Bree," Rex said. "And Bobby. The kid has serious anger issues."
That reminded Ianto of Luc's temper. "He's a Sarkisian."
"Dublin sent sentinels and woke Nova Scotia. Luc is designing security upgrades," Rex said. "Are you at the hub?"
"No." Jack accepted clothes from Ianto.
"Langford is concerned the primary goal in attacking Stroud was testing our security."
Jack nodded. "Derrin, Lanford's father, was an impressive military man."
"We need to consider the possibility of an outright attack against Torchwood." Rex found the idea insane.
"It wouldn't be the first time," Jack ceded.
Torchwood Nigeria; Sokoto State, Nigeria
Azrael needed information. Sensors detected Rift energy outside of range of Cardiff. The only idea he had was the original purpose of the facility on that island. They wanted to redirect the Rift to bypass Torchwood in Cardiff. That would have destroyed the atmosphere. But a lesser, wide-spread effect might have been possible. It could explain the global incidents.
What concerned him more than whether or not it was possible was how the joint military effort gained the knowledge and technology necessary. Alien assistance could explain it. But the humans that previous breached the universe potentially made more sense. Or it could be ancients.
Azrael entered one of the secured gardens. Jama and Mata were not as powerful as Keara, and their information varied. But they had no ulterior motives. The other versions of Keara were a problem. Whereas the complications with the twins were their issues and personality quirks.
The girls ran around playing tag while the new babysitter read a magazine. If he hadn't vetted the caregiver himself, he would have been concerned. They looked like harmless children. Anyone who made that mistake could, and probably would, get seriously hurt. He had already discussed the need for robotic nannies as part of their security system.
"I have questions."
They stopped, turned and looked at him as if they'd planned it. "We serve The Prophet," the girls said in unison.
Azrael wasn't sure if they were teasing, trying to insult him, or both. "Did the island explosion affect the Rift?"
"Which one?" They asked.
Azrael knew better than to ask the obvious. "Cardiff."
They looked and each other and bobbed their heads in opposite directions. "Yes."
"Is it under control?"
"No." The twins turned and tilted their heads to the left like a dog listening to something in the distance.
"The gods are angry," Jama concluded.
Mata continued, "People will suffer."
They giggled.
Azrael walked remembering the Fellowship's impressive collection of psychics. They had issues but provided solid information. The Refuge turned the compound into a mental health facility. While he did not mind, it disrupted the Fellowship's original purpose. He needed to recruit again.
Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales
Jack Harkness sat with Gwen in the conference room for a conference call. Four found a temporary workaround for the ear coms. The increasing problems suggested another government problem. Facing an official threat reminded him of the 456 and losing Ianto. The earlier pain mingled with the present uncertainty. It reminded him of the consequences of impulsive behavior and forgetting others' mortality.
"Nova Scotia." Eryn sounded exhausted.
Liam said, "Dublin."
"London," Rex continued.
The line clicked. "Sorry, I am late," Idrissa added.
"We need to be very careful," Gwen emphasized. "Before Miracle Day, Torchwood Three was attacked by a British black ops group. World governments were in negotiation with a very powerful alien or aliens threatening the world and demanding children. Millions of children. Rather than allow Torchwood to deal with it, an attempt was made to kill us." She gave it a moment. "It is a real possibility one or more of the world governments will attack."
"Last night was a test." Rex explained, "Global sent a computer tech this morning. A worm was uploaded during the attack." Pause. "It was designed to collect information and disrupt the facility. Eirmann traced the intended upload site."
"There was a breach attempt at the Arctic Observatory," Eryn said. "Ettie's concern is how whoever even knew she was there. The facility is underground on an empty island. The only idea we have right now is a project involving Jerard Sarkisian. He might have provided the Canadian government the information."
"Do we know where he is?" Rex asked.
"Locked down at the Observatory. Ettie sent someone to get Jerard after a previous security breach was traced to him."
"Is Monty safe?" Idrissa asked.
"Yeah. Ettie sent someone for him."
"Do we have a field agent in Canada?" Rex had requested personnel information repeatedly.
Eryn didn't sound certain. "He's on loan from Nigeria."
"Kol," Idrissa added. "He worked for the Fellowship."
The Arctic Observatory; Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut, Canada
Villetta Thirion led her cousin Monty through the entrance hallway to the facility. The portal devices were thankfully working in Canada. Either there was nothing to disrupt them or the theories on the disruption were wrong. With everything going on, she thought it was better to bring Monty in. She needed another scientist and didn't want to worry about his safety.
"How's Jerard?"
Being unusually helpful, Ettie thought. She suspected their cousin had plans. "His usual, charming psychotic self."
"Is it possible what happened to Luc happened to Jerard?"
Ettie wondered about that. Scan readings showed no indication of it. "I doubt it. Luc is having anger and control issues. Unlike Jerard, when Luc's lucid, he's not a sociopath." Luc asked her repeatedly to talk to Eryn about taking time for herself. He was genuinely worried about her. If Ettie was honest with herself, Jerard had never been capable of that.
"Speaking of psychos, have you contacted our grandfather?" Monty wondered.
"I sent Kol." She had no interest in talking to that wife-killing bastard. "Sarkisian denied everything."
"What did you do?"
"Stole his entire library and scanned everything in his house."
Monty laughed. "Your view of family…"
"I wore a dress last Christmas for my sane grandparents." Ettie led into the facility.
Monty suddenly exhaled loudly as if he'd been holding his breath. "This is incredible."
"Wait until you see my ship schematics."
After a few minutes of walking around, staring at the main room, Monty walked back over. "Why don't I have a lab?"
"You're an atmospheric scientist. You would have to live on the space station."
Monty stared at her.
"No gaming conventions." Ettie smiled.
"Space station?" Monty looked annoyed. "I spent days in a Nigerian compound with crazy people. And I could have been on a space station."
Kol stepped out of one of the hallways. "The Keara on the station sent new scan readings. She found something."
"Good or bad?"
"A build-up of Atmore energy. She thinks someone might be trying to summon something. The same way as the station." Kol shrugged. "I didn't understand her explanation."
Ettie groaned. "Someone is stupid."