Torchwood London; London, England

Thursday, September 23, 2021

Rex Matheson sat behind his desk trying to focus on the situation. The phantom chest pain returned during the attempt on Stroud's life. He took pain medication. And told himself when the meeting was over, he would discuss it with Bree again.

Jack stood, staring out the window. From his tense body language, and few words, he was angry. Not that Rex blamed Jack after everything that happened in Cardiff yesterday. Attacking the hub was bad enough. An armed assault on a daycare was unforgivable.

A knock came at the door. Langford opened and held it for Prime Minister Hazel Bransom. Rex stood as she entered and crossed the room. He hadn't envisioned circumstances that resulted in an official visit. Although Torchwood specialized in the unexpected and unfortunate.

"Ma'am."

They sat.

"The British military did not attack Torchwood."

Rex picked up a folder and opened it revealing photographs. "We have evidence from three separate attacks." He picked up the top two. "These two men were killed after breaching the security here. While they attempted to murder a terrorist from the Dublin club attack, malicious software was uploaded to our system. It would have allowed outside access to our computer system."

"Who are they?"

"Royal Army black ops. Both are part of a military effort to acquire alien technology," Rex said. "We have been researching the unit after threats to a vet in Cardiff. Gael Towler." Pause. "The three murdered Cardiff constables were connected to the Army or Towler."

"No attack was authorized."

Rex flipped the pictures over. "These men were captured during the attack on Torchwood Three. Both from the same unit. They breached the facility armed with alien technology and attempted to access the computer." He set the pictures in front of Bransom. Then fanned the next three. "CCTV footage near Davies Daycare." Pause. "Daycare," Rex emphasized. "Rhiannon Jones owns and operates the facility. She offers lower-income families access to safe childcare." Pause. "She has exactly three high-risk children. Anwen and Trefor Williams and Michael Jones. Torchwood children. Because of it, she has decent security."

Bransom pulled the pictures closer. "That was on the news last night."

"One of the teachers, Katrine Hier, was so traumatized by a gunman using her for a body shield, she has no memory of the experience." Rex gave it a moment. "A Torchwood agent was seriously injured protecting civilians from the military."

She shakes her head slightly. "Why would the military target children?"

"Leverage," Jack said, still facing away. "Three of their parents were in the hub during the attack."

"Say that's true, Captain Harkness. Why would the military attack Torchwood?"

"Evidence showing storehouses of alien technology." Jack turned. "The island bombing in Southeast Asia was connected to a joint military effort. Britain, Ireland and the US. At least."

"I find this hard to believe."

Jack removed his pocket watch. "Check the site."

Rex opened a laptop on his desk. After it booted, he clicked an icon on the desktop. "It's up." He turned it around to face the Prime Minister. "We found technology warehouses. If we raided them, it would be viewed as an act of war."

"Where is this?"

"London." Rex waited. "We also exposed one in the Republic of Ireland, an American facility in Germany and one in the US."

Bransom looked up from the screen. "Exposed?"

"We used drones and robotics to video document the facilities and posted it on the Internet," Rex explained. "That footage is live."

"Did you publicly accuse Britain of conspiring…"

"No," Jack stated. "We posted them as anonymous whistle-blowers reporting an unknown company. Each report asks why Torchwood hasn't confiscated the tech yet."

Bransom hesitated. "You are sure this is an Army facility?"

"Yes," Jack confirmed.

Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales

Jack Harkness stepped into Ianto's office. The boys played with blocks in the playpen. Ianto sat on the floor nearby with a tablet and looked up when Jack entered. After what happened at the daycare, Ianto didn't want the kids out of his sight. He insisted Nova Scotia evaluate Rhiannon's daycare for security upgrades.

Jack motioned. "How are they?" He asked quietly as Ianto neared him.

"Michael knows something happened but not what." Ianto reached for Jack's hand. "Trefor views it strangely. The general should talk to him."

Jack twined their fingers together. "Bree suggested a carer for Michael and Trefor. When the portal device problem is resolved, Anwen can go back to school. The military can't attack the academy. It's full of government employees' kids."

Ianto leaned against Jack.

Jack wrapped an arm around Ianto. "Do you want to handle applications and interviews? Gwen will need to agree."

"Yeah. Atmore people first."

Jack set his forehead on Ianto's. "Rex is holding the press conference in a few minutes."

Ianto stepped back, nodding slightly. "If they come back, we're better prepared." He squeezed Jack's hand.

Torchwood London; London, England

Politics meant taking responsibility for a nonexistent mistake to prevent a conflict. Rex Matheson stood in front of the reporters, reminding himself why it was necessary. He doubted the reporters would buy it for long. One would sooner or later connect a warehouse to a military.

"Torchwood reviewed the videos. The footage is authentic. We have contacted government officials and are making arrangements for legal seizure." Rex felt ridiculous. "Laws vary and will take time to resolve it."

"How did a company or companies acquire that much alien technology?" The first reporter asked.

"We don't know." The lie made Torchwood look incredibly stupid, Rex thought. "Our immediate concern is confiscating dangerous equipment and materials and establishing necessary quarantine procedures."

The second reporter asked, "What does Torchwood do with recovered technology?"

"It depends. Dangerous technology is destroyed or permanently contained. Remaining tech is evaluated for use and side-effects."

"How is it evaluated?" The second reporter continued.

"On a case-by-case basis."

"How were the robots Torchwood uses determined safe?" The first reported asked.

"They were designed, and built, by Torchwood."

Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

Luc Sarkisian took a deep breath. He needed to stay calm. The US was trying to evacuate their alien technology before Torchwood received approval to remove it. Based on the information, there were other locations. He needed to disrupt their efforts.

Mentally, he ordered the computer to activate the intercom. It clicked. "Kailen, contact Cardiff. We need copies of the software used during the assault yesterday and the program used against Cattrel Industries."

"Luc," Kailen said nervously. "How did…"

Aman interrupted, "What happened?"

Luc explained what he determined about the US.

"Don't use anything that can be traced to Torchwood. Access a server farm remotely. One storing porn bots or other malware."

Luc swore. "I should have thought of that."

"Luc," Eryn said quietly. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes and no." Luc turned off the intercom.

Accessing the Internet without a computer took complete focus. It didn't take much to find a porn bot or trace it back. Unleashing them on a specific target took time. He started with the military facility already in the process of packing up. Like Anwen's dragon program, he infected audio/visual systems.

Knowing the other facilities would prepare for a similar attack, Luc checked Interpol for known hackers. He specifically wanted a European hacker that deserved the US coming after him or her. There were too many options. Luc selected one wanted in fifteen countries for ties to organized crime. Finding him took several minutes. Breaching his security was a lot more complicated than the porn bots. As Luc hoped, the hacker had a collection of custom malware. He hit the US facility in Germany first. Then two others.

Luc sat back, rubbing his face. His head hurt and he tingled.

"Hey." Eryn stood in the room adjacent to his cell watching him.

Luc stood and walked over to her. He set his hand on the clear wall.

She set her hand over his from the other side. Tears welled in her eyes. "Can you control the anger?"

"I don't know."

Tears slid down Eryn's cheeks. "I want to be with you."

Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales

Ianto Jones opened his eyes as the door to the alchemy lab flat slid aside. He laid on his side with his back to the wall. Michael slept in the middle of the bed under the blanket Anwen gave him. Jack entered wearing tactical clothes marred by weapons fire. He still smelled slightly charred.

"Resistance?" A stupid question, Ianto thought. Even with the communication and portal device distortion removed, they knew it wouldn't be easy.

"Yeah." Jack started removing his body armor. "Two bystanders down. Two Refuge people in the infirmary."

Confused, Ianto asked. "Which facility?"

"Germany." Jack dropped his charred jacket on the floor. "Rex took London without a problem. Spaulding, the Irish national cop at Four, managed to negotiate between the Gardai and the military black ops unit there." He groaned removing a chest piece that fused to his skin when he regenerated. "The US is not cooperating."

"Gwen?"

Jack bend over to remove his boots. "Overseeing security upgrades at your sister's daycare." Unable to simply untie them, he removed a combat knife from a thigh sheath and started cutting.

"Good." Ianto set a hand on Michael as he woke.

"One of Azrael's people barely escaped recon on another US facility. Prelim details from Nova Scotia say he destroyed their power plant in retaliation."

"Jack." Michael sounded sleepy.

Jack walked over with one boot half cut off. "Go back to sleep."

Michael held up his arms.

Jack leaned in and kissed Michael on the forehead. "Later. I need to shower."

Ianto touched Jack's face as he backed up. "Are you staying?"

"No." Jack shifted forward again and kissed Ianto lightly on the lips. "I may need to save the US military from Azrael."