Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales
Investigating The Light and the Way was problematic. Ianto Jones wasn't sure where to start. Officially, it was a church. The congregation and motivations changed over the years. What had once been a conservative Christian church looked more like a extremist group or a cult. The remaining members were mostly older. Few new members joined. Complaints had been filed against the church by almost everyone. According to one news article from 2018, a well-known white nationalist said the group's leader Matthew Erwood was out of his mind.
Dmitri suspected there was a lot more to the items they confiscated than the congregation practicing alchemy. From the age of the quilts and other donations, many of which were hand-stitched, the current group probably didn't make them. He also thought the items were not malicious. He was certain that the framed, hand-stitched wall-hangings were wards similar to the one Marvyn Tew had in the house, except the energy was positive. Which suggested the items were not related to the devices found at the society or in Laren McDougall's basement.
"What's the story behind Teri Pierce?" John asked from his desk. He was reviewing some type of blueprints.
Ianto explained about the Weevil attack and her immunity to Retcon.
"There was something off about her behavior."
Ianto looked up. "What do you mean?"
"Dmitri said that items might make you uneasy. Pierce offered a cult. Dmitri found boxes of questionable donations, but he views all artifacts as dangerous." John took a moment. "If she knew they were harmless, she wouldn't have suggested them."
"You think she redirected to the church's donations to distract us from something else?"
John nodded. "She called Jack. It's unlikely she's behind the devices. Her crimes are mundane."
"Black market antiques." That immediately came to mind. With so many donations, particularly from estates, it might be easy to hide the occasional theft. Ianto replayed the meeting in his head. She introduced herself, said something nice about him and offered little about herself.
"Or she's using the society as a front. Antiquities, drugs, guns." John shrugged.
The best way to consider the possibility was CCTV footage. With no digital records, he had no way to easily access her schedule or donations. Then something occurred to him. "I was asking about frames. She didn't want to show me binders of framed donations."
Dmitri Petrescu carefully unpacked the beautiful handicrafts. They reminded him of his youth. Quilts, tiny christening gowns and various items that might be packed in a hope chest. One box had hand-made wedding dresses. The odd energy seemed to emanate from crystals and wire-like thread. Each piece was calming.
From the energy, he suspected they were created by a small group of older women. While they were odd coming from a church, the mindset wasn't. He wondered if maybe they followed old world beliefs and attended a new world church. It wouldn't have been the first time a coven hid in plain sight. Although he'd never heard of one that warded baby clothes.
Hours later, he came to unexpected conclusions and headed upstairs to Jack's office. It felt weird concluding the people responsible for creating artifacts weren't dangerous.
The door slid open and Dmitri stepped into the office as Jack replaced the receiver on the desk phone. It still felt weird seeing him behind the desk. The Jack he knew and had been friends with wasn't the type of man who could handle an office job. He was a con artist with tactical skills. A lot had changed since then.
"You found something?"
"Yes." He explained what he knew. "As the artifacts could potentially be re-purposed, we will have to keep them." Dmitri hesitated. "When I spoke to Ianto and Ms. Pierce I mentioned an uneasy feeling. She immediately thought of the boxes. From Ianto's reaction to the church, I would guess they're not nice people. But there is nothing about these donations that should make a person uncomfortable. I would find anyone unnerved by them to be suspect."
Jack Harkness found John checking the latest maintenance bots from Four. He and Anwen were the only ones that used the converted maintenance room. Anwen commented days ago he was bored and needed something to do before he got into trouble. From what Jack had seen, John was definitely restless. Which was never good.
"I didn't do it." John was reviewing a system analysis.
Jack smiled. "What didn't you do?"
"Whatever." John looked up. "I'm clean, sober and bored."
"Want an assignment?"
John eyed him. "Does it involve ghosts?"
Jack laughed. "No. Teri Pierce."
"She's a problem. I checked her Torchwood file after Ianto mentioned there was one. Weevils are sensitive to certain types of alien technology, time, and various changes. Torchwood has treated them like feral dogs. You put them in cages. Past Torchwood hunted them for sport." John took a moment. "Weevils are empathic and communal. They are either genetically modified or traumatized as a community."
"What did your Anwen do with them?"
"Had a mandate to subdue and relocate. She converted the island that had been used for Rift survivors to a Weevil habitat. Most viewed it as forced relocation and imprisonment." John shook his head. "Weevils bury their dead when given the opportunity."
Jack nodded. "And Teri?"
"She set that Weevil off. Her name needs to be run through Global."
John's comments were unexpected. Future Torchwood changed him. Jack had trouble looking beyond their past to see it. On the few occasions he spoke about his experiences in the former time line, he talked about the dark side of 2049 and the years leading up to it. The general viewed his older sister as a saint. John related to her demons. Tending Weevils sounded like Gwen's influence. Jack couldn't help but wonder about the woman responsible for challenging time itself. John's devotion was only one aspect of her legacy.