Asda Cardiff Bay Superstore; Cardiff, Wales
John Hart wondered about his life at times. After doing a store run for Ken, he received another grocery list. Eye candy expected him to run errands. Dmitri was at Laren McDougall's packing clothes and essentials for her and the boy already. He'd prefer to be tracking Gordon-Glen. He'd dealt with that corporation while he worked with future Torchwood. Their biomech program was one of the worst.
His mobile rang while he was trying to figure out where to find oatmeal. "Hart."
"Morning." Sal sounded like she hadn't slept.
"Everything okay?"
Sal scoffed. "I have something for you. One of the kids was taken to a hospital in Liverpool, and is currently in social services with a fake name. From what I can find, the police raided the foster home where the girl was assigned. The foster mum has a very fucked up background. She shouldn't have been allowed to keep her kids nevertheless any others. All three kids disappeared. A Good Samaritan transported the kids to another jurisdiction. Leave him be, he shouldn't be arrested for saving kids."
"Thank you."
"That's not what had me up all night. I got a lead on that damn drug. If I give you the address, you'll keep me out of it."
"Yeah."
Sal read it to him. "Rumor has it, they're preparing terrorist shit. I don't want to hear misunderstood white nationalist crap and how their mums didn't love them enough."
John could read between the lines. He told her he didn't arrest people. "Understood. Get some sleep."
"Fuck you." She ended the call.
John smiled. Under other circumstances, he'd consider that a challenge.
Torchwood Three
Ianto Jones received the information from John and contacted Nessa. Verity Holdsworth was afraid of him, and they needed her to confirm the children were safe in Liverpool. He wasn't sure what to think about the Sisters, but Torchwood didn't have the people or resources for dealing with social services. The conflict over Laren and Maddox was complicated enough. Backed by DCI Sawyer's accusations, Maddox's social worker was making demands.
The reported drug facility was another problem. John's contact was questionable. He didn't question her motivation but had no idea how reliable her information was. The location didn't make sense. A quick check of energy usage showed the facility did not exceed normal levels for the area and business type. Neither the business' website showed solar panels nor did the usual supplier have them on the customer list. A police database search found nothing. A basic Internet search made him consider organized crime.
Ianto tapped his ear com. "The location isn't solid." He summarized.
"Check ownership and association. Run names for pimps and human traffickers that target women."
After another half-an-hour, he had nothing. There was a minor connection to a powerful London politician. "Nothing."
"That location was chosen for a reason," John said. "Either it's a drug producer or a raid that would embarrass Torchwood."
"Be careful."
"Worried, eye candy?"
Ianto rolled his eyes. "I don't want to tell Anwen you died from stupidity."
Noble Industries
Trees effectively created a wall between the facility and its nearest neighbor. John Hart flipped open his wrist-strap and scanned the building. The new modifications were not as impressive as he wanted, but the additional structural information was better. It had no alien technology and minimal current technology. It looked like the building's entire energy usage was lights. There weren't enough cars to justify the amount of lit rooms.
Using binoculars, he checked the windows, and there was no obvious movement. Switching to infrared showed that the building did not have active heat. It had to be a trap.
A sound behind caught his attention. The person moved quietly but wasn't trying to hide his or herself. John waited.
"I wasn't sure how to approach you." The language he spoke was from an area far from Earth.
"Who are you?" John responded in the same language.
"I don't know how to explain." The young man stopped a few feet away. "If you run a DNA scan, I'm your son." He hesitated. "Except I watched my father die."
"How did you get here?" John wondered if someone could be looking for him.
"A friend secured me in a hibernation chamber and hid me from the Time Agency. I woke under a strange island. The pod had been there a long time."
"Why were you hiding?" That could be more complications.
"I knew Time Agents killed my father and why."
"Either the future was changed or you're in the wrong universe."
"Wrong universe. My ship is trapped. One of the strange other dimensions that exist more in math than reality."
John would need to check his story. The first part was easy. He remote accessed the hub, programmed a paternity test and scanned the young man. The result was quick and as expected. Lying about something obvious was a bad idea. "You need to keep your head down. Stay away from the girl."
"From the holiday market?"
"Yeah."
"The nearly identical wrist-strap was confusing. The whole attitude made me think of you. She's not my sister. Or…" The young man shook his head.
"No."
"Good to know. I caught a glimpse of her mother. She's terrifying."
John laughed. "Don't mess with her either."
"I like my women younger and sane."
John laughed more.
"I go by Robert. You're John here?"
"Yeah."
Robert motioned at the building. "You do realize that's a trap?"
"I was trying to work out what kind when you interrupted."
"Government sting," Robert declared. "The cars are from police impound."
That would be incredibly stupid. John tapped his ear com. "Access CCTV near the facility. Run the plates against police impound."
Ianto responded several minutes later. "Match. DCI Sawyer is that kind of stupid."
"Better call it in." John didn't want to use names. While he had confirmed the Robert's DNA, it would be a long time, if ever, before trust was a possibility. John needed to find out more about the Time Agency conflict. He knew what he'd become before he met Anwen. Different circumstances could have been worse.
"Is someone with you?" Ianto asked.
"Yeah." John tapped his ear com off and closed his wrist-strap.