Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
Thursday, December 9, 2020
Kailen Sylla sat back and stared at his screen. His first thought was another Atmore. He sent a second drone to repeat scans with the method Luc used to determine Atmore was from a different universe in mind. The old science or military base appeared to be built with local materials. He searched for a Google map of the area. It wasn't labeled, but the facility was shown. An energy reading comparison flagged files at Three.
"What did you find?" Aman walked up behind him.
Kailen motioned at his screen. "I don't know. Jack did multiple analysis of that warehouse on Cardiff Docks. The one where the guy died from fulgurite. The energy is similar."
Aman slid a hand over his shoulder. "Luc and Eryn are back."
"Why would someone risk that?" Kailen set a hand over Aman's.
"Power and money."
"Computer activate intercom." Kailen waited until it clicked. "Luc we have a Cardiff Docks situation in Alaska."
"Fulgurite?" Eryn asked.
"Universe breach, Er. Looks intentional."
"We need to contact Captain Harkness. Luc needs to review data. Kailen package what we have and write a summary. Aman, what do we know of the area?"
"Northern Alaska. It could be a national park."
"Atmore analysis?"
Kailen laughed, pausing with his hands above his keyboard. "Local."
"Bubble?" Luc asked.
"No distortion," Kailen said.
"Land a drone. No up-link," Luc insisted. "The Americans will notice."
Torchwood Four; Dublin, Ireland
High school was rough before Malcolm moved in the middle of his senior year to another country. After everything Eddie did or caused, redoing one year of high school shouldn't be difficult. At least with the previous school, he knew most of the arses. Teleporting out of a janitor's closet was a wake-up call. He wouldn't be going back to math club.
"Are you okay?" Molly sat next to him on the floor in the above ground garden.
"Yeah."
She reached for his hand. "What did the guys do?"
"Usual shit about being gay." Malcolm sighed, clicking the tablet off. "Kevan Rossiter, the leader of the math club, is a sociopath."
"A group of guys who couldn't get a girlfriend if their life depended on it?" Molly twined their fingers together.
"They buy them." Malcolm shook his head. "One of the scholarship girls was talking about the nerds flaunting money. I could believe they were being arses about her scholarship. Family money can equal bad behavior no matter where we are. But they've reached new lows."
"You could mention me."
"No." He didn't want to take the chance they'd go after her. "They're messed up, Molly."
"What did you do?"
"I left an anonymous message with school security that Kevan was dealing study drugs and listed the entire math club as customers. They'll be peeing in cups the rest of year."
"That might include you."
Malcolm shrugged. "Small price to pay."
"Do you want to get out of here for awhile? There's a shoe sale at the mall." Molly hesitated. "After what happened the first time at Blandchardstown, I don't want to go alone."
Malcolm couldn't blame her. That situation gave him nightmares. "I have some information for General Williams first. I might have found cases similar to something Three is dealing with in Cardiff."
"Where?"
"France. I heard the general and Liam discussing a corporation that Three is having trouble tracking. I was thinking the deaths were distinctive."
Molly leaned her head on his shoulder. "When did this become normal?"
Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales
Jack Harkness called a meeting in the conference room. They had what was looking more and more like one complex problem instead of multiple problems. The question was how the pieces fit together. He hoped if they sat down and discussed it, the situation would make more sense.
Ianto set mugs of coffee on the table. "Mrs. Fithan called. There is a problem at the shelter." He sat next to Jack. "Dmitri tried calling Telyn on a burner phone he bought her. When she didn't answer, he went to the shelter concerned that her injuries were worse than he thought. She's not there."
Gwen looked up from a laptop. "Why isn't Telyn in Birmingham?"
"She refused to go."
"Where is Dmitri?" Jack asked.
"He went to find her." Ianto sipped his coffee. "He previously asked for one of the GPS tags. I thought it was a bit extreme." He shrugged.
Jack grabbed his mobile.
"I talked to John," Ianto said. "Dmitri called him."
Jack sent a text message anyway. Dmitri hadn't been thinking clearly since Telyn was hurt.
"Are we trusting them not to blow up Cardiff?" Gwen lifted her mug.
"Yeah." Jack nodded. Dmitri would keep John under control. "We have bigger problems."
Jack summarized what they knew about the dream fish situation. Everything appeared to connect to Gordon-Glen, an affiliate of Cattrel Industries. There were six dead, including Sawyer. Evidence suggested a retrovirus that targeted certain unknown genetics and killed anyone that didn't have it. A building that looked like a police sting had units for dispersing something into the air. Luc had a drone sitting on the facility armed with an EMP, and had more on standby, if necessary. Maddox had a symbiont energy creature. It could be similar to what killed the men in Forest Farm. The building and Sawyer's actions toward at least two cases connected the veteran police officer to both Gordon-Glen and a planned mass casualty attack. Malcolm's research potentially identified another location and more deaths.
"Telyn, Dmitri's friend, said Powell Beddoe wanted something from her. He's connected to the building and Gordon-Glen. She assumed it was sex. Is it possible Beddoe knew about her connection to Dmitri?" Gwen met Jack's eyes. "Or staged it."
(warehouse near Williams Haulage)
John Hart remembered the van ride with Miriam Morgans to Swansea and again found himself wondering how he became the voice of reason. When Dmitri called, John hadn't been sure what the problem was. At some point, he'd implanted his friend with a GPS tag. Given the risk to her safety, and that she later disappeared, that might not be as questionable as it sounded. Dmitri's response suggested a past, similar situation ended badly.
"We're near Rhys' business."
Dmitri looked at his hand-held GPS tracking device. "There was a young woman attacked near here. The police couldn't figure out where she came from."
"The vigilante interfered." John suddenly wondered if Telyn's disappearance was related to the woman who beat up and possibly killed male offenders. "Dmitri, the police couldn't figure out where the vigilante came from either."
"Telyn's in that warehouse."
John flipped open his wrist-strap and scanned the area. The alien technology was insane. The injuries the vigilante inflicted indicated that she didn't know what planet she was on. Which he agreed with Jack was strange. She might have been trying to send a message to anyone who would understand it.
"We need to get her out."
John grabbed Dmitri by the shoulder. "That is an alien fortress. From the level of technology, a very advanced one. I think Telyn was rescued."
Dmitri looked at him in disbelief.
John tapped his ear com, his open wrist-strap briefly causing feedback from proximity. "Jack."
"Everything all right?"
"We found Telyn."
"It could be a trap."
"No. It's the vigilante. She converted a warehouse near Rhys' business." John described the location.
Jack asked, "What kind of tech?"
"Crazy. Probably the most advanced I've ever seen."
"Get out of there."
John suspected the alien allowed them to follow the tracker and knew they were outside. With the level of technology she had, it would be impossible not to. She didn't consider them a threat. It also suggested she knew about Torchwood and the Time Agency vortex manipulators. If she had been trying to send a message with the odd injuries, it was probably to them.
Torchwood Three
Jack Harkness waited on the main floor by the big door. While he didn't have access to much of his memories, he could tell when John was hiding something. When the two returned, Jack sent Dmitri to the conference room. Then he waited until they were alone.
The conversation with John as Dmitri drove back from the warehouse said there was a problem. It had something to do with alien technology in the area and the building with the aerosol dispensers. "What aren't you telling me?"
John sighed. "I wasn't the one who found the tech in the basement."
"Who did?"
"Robert." John took a moment. "The man who approached Anwen was looking for me. He's my son."
"Why didn't you mention it?"
"Do you want a list?"
Jack crossed his arms. While the protectiveness might indicate John's moral compass was functioning, Jack suspected there was a lot more to it.
"He's not my son from this universe. He checked for wrist-straps because he's hiding from the Time Agency in his universe. They killed his father in front of him."
"Why?"
"I didn't ask. We both know what I'm capable of."
Jack couldn't picture a situation where the Time Agency would kill one of its own. "Why is he hiding?"
"He said because he's a witness. I suspect he went after the Agency."
"How did he get here?"
"Robert said he doesn't know. Luc needs to check the island in Southeast Asia for ruins. If Robert's telling the truth, there is a very old hibernation chamber there."
Jack rubbed his face. Reviewing new energy readings of the island led to an unexpected memory location for his first dream-sharing with Gwen. The memory had something to do with alien ruins that appeared to have similar scan readings to the island and a chamber underneath.
"Would you have brought the general in under these circumstances?"
No, Jack thought, he wouldn't have.