Christmas Market; Cardiff, Wales
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Anwen Williams wandered through the booths. The crowd made her a bit anxious. Knowing her Rift ability worked again helped. She didn't have to worry about psychos and lamps anymore. Or every day arses either. She hated being an easy target. The fact that Trefor had to take out Tew still bothered her. He brother needed her to protect him. Interacting with the general proved that.
Focus, she grumbled. She had presents to buy. Her mum gave her money to buy something for Trefor and dad. Ianto was planning a Christmas party gave her money for presents in general. John gave her money to buy Ken something as he no idea what to get.
A display of baby clothes caught her attention. From what she overheard Ken say, Dmitri determined Dawn's baby was a boy and expected in January. No one said it, but she knew her dad had had an affair, and from the odd behavior around Dawn the new baby was her half-brother. Trefor had been so cute when he was born. Mum bought practical stuff. Her and dad picked out everything else. Anwen smiled at a small, blue bunting with teddy bears pattern and a newborn tag. The price was a bit high, but she'd found the perfect present for Trefor on sale.
That left most of her list. Gifts for her mum and dad would require a trip to a hardware store. A gag gift would work for Jack. Ianto would appreciate humorous. Luc needed a book store gift certificate. A music download card worked for Eryn. She had no ideas for Ken and Dmitri. The general would have to settle for a card.
A display of household decorations distracted her. A set of mugs displayed with a his and her sign made her laugh. "I make coffee" and "I drink coffee." They would work for Ianto.
"Parents?" The woman asked bagging her purchase.
"Uncle. One makes a lot of coffee for his co-workers. It's a running joke."
"Family business?" She handed the bag across the table.
"Yeah." Torchwood Three was a big, happy, dysfunctional family. "Thank you."
Anwen was trying to decide what booth to check next when her mobile rang. Her dad was looking for her. "Hello."
"Where are you?"
"At the Christmas Market." She could just picture the annoyance on his face.
"We're near the Catholic bookstore booth."
Before she could respond, she felt something like a portal device. Then she sensed him. The combination of Rift energy and chronons was impossible to miss. Her first thought was time agent. Except her uncle and John said no more would come to Earth.
"Anwen?"
"Dad," she said carefully, "Get mum and Trefor out of here. I don't know how to explain. I'm going to call Uncle Jack."
"What?"
"Dad, go now!" She hoped he'd listen but doubted he would.
Anwen looked around the area hoping to see the man. Uncle Jack couldn't sense energy like she could and needed a description. Surprisingly, the man walked up to her. He looked vaguely familiar. She dialed Uncle Jack and keep her hand over the speaker.
"I was wondering if you could help me find someone," the man said quietly. If he didn't have energy, she wouldn't have thought twice bout him.
"What, no puppy?"
"You're wearing his wrist-strap," the man stated.
"No clue what that is. My dad's waiting for me."
"I just need to know where he is."
"You've got the wrong kid. Now get away or I'm going to scream." Or throw your arse in the Rift.
"Why did he give you his wrist-strap?"
Anwen gave up on the kid routine and looked the man straight in the eyes. "You will get the fuck away from me, or you will find out why my parents aren't concerned that I'm walking around by myself."
"Is John Hart alive?"
Anwen continued to stare at him. After a couple minutes, the man walked away. With unsteady hands, she lifted the phone to her ear. "Uncle Jack."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Did you hear that."
"Describe him."
Anwen did. "There are security cameras all over the place." She looked around for a landmark. "There is a booth with really old theater posters in the direction he walked."
"Head for the car park. No short cuts."
"Going now. Please call…" She didn't want to say John. The man could be listening.
Jack Harkness called Gwen first. He gave her a quick summary of what had happened. The wrist-strap reference and Anwen's fear said a lot. When they were safe, he would ask more questions.
"What are we dealing with?" Gwen asked.
"I don't know."
"Find out." Gwen was angry. He couldn't blame her. She would bring her family to the hub until they could figure out what happened.
Jack called Ken next, hoping he wasn't at work. Him and Dawn were at the building. Jack didn't know what to say other than there was a problem and they needed to stay inside until it could be determined what.
Calling John would be worse. As he listened to it ring, he wondered how the man found Anwen instead. Their wrist-straps were nearly identical. "Hart."
Jack explained what he knew.
"No idea." John sounded concerned. "I added shielding and a few modifications to my wrist-strap after the explosion."
"You need to modify Anwen when she gets here."
"Yeah. You and the general need to modify yours also."
Jack then sent messages. He wrote a quick email to a the general asking for ideas. Whatever problems he had with the future version of his son, he knew the general wouldn't endanger Anwen. He'd call later. As a safety precaution, he sent Ianto and Dmitri text messages telling them there was a possible safety threat. From what Ianto said earlier, he was getting more Christmas decorations. Dmitri was probably at a library. If they saw anything, they'd call in. Otherwise they'd return to the hub.