Saint David's Mall; Cardiff, Wales
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Robert Crosland wandered the mall near the store where Ken worked. Interacting with his father had always been a complicated experience. The new version made it stranger. John was an obsessive, morally-challenged hedonist. He could see the same traits in this John, but something had changed. Robert's mother explained early on that his father needed a purpose, and when John found it, he'd settle down. That never sounded realistic. Robert couldn't help wondering what had that profound of an effect. Ken meant something to his father, but wasn't responsible for the change.
"Merry Christmas." The woman smiled at him. Under different circumstances, she would have appealed to him.
"Merry Christmas."
What stayed with him as the woman walked away was the man standing a few feet behind her. He looked familiar. From his posture and wariness, doubted he was a holiday shopper. The encounter made Robert wary. Paranoia flared. He and Oldaria might not be the only ones from their universe. If it was someone tracking him, John or Jack, they could be at the mall for the same reason Robert was. They knew about Ken.
Unsure what to do, Robert headed for the Disney store. Acting was one of his father's talents. Anyone seeing him could tell he was worried. Which could escalate whatever the situation was. His father had enemies throughout the universe. Any universe. There were to many possibilities to reasonably guess.
It looked normal enough. Several mothers, and two possible fathers, were circulating the store with twice as many kids. Ken glanced at him. John opted not to introduce them, but Ken had seen him. Robert realized as he stood looking at a ridiculous display that he had no idea what he'd say. He checked his mobile, the primitive device at least had a clock. John was expected in ten minutes.
Ken stepped away from a group near a display. "Who are you?" He asked quietly.
"Robert. I'm a friend of John's."
"You're scaring the customers."
Robert had no idea what to say. "I think there's a problem."
"Try to look like you're shopping." Ken's exasperation would have been amusing under other circumstances.
With no idea what to say, Robert didn't want to contact John. His father needed to know he was walking into something. He sent John a quick text message. Calling would require a conversation he shouldn't have in an open area. The response was comforting at least. John was in the car park.
A moment later, he realized his mistake. The man he'd seen earlier entered the store, and was eying Ken. Whoever the man was, he'd waited until John arrived to approach. Then the man withdrew a weapon. It didn't explain what the man's intentions, but it said they were bad.
Robert avoided using technology openly. He carried what fit in his pockets which wasn't much. The stun device he'd modified from one of his father's was half the size of his palm and would temporarily fuse to his skin. It might not work, if the man wasn't humanoid.
As casually as he could, Robert moved. It occurred to him made an inaccurate assumption. The man wasn't there to grab Ken. Waiting for John to arrive suggested something other than an abduction. Robert struck the man with a stun blast as he took aim at Ken. The man hit the floor with a thud.
"Would everyone please return to the mall," Ken said uneasily to the customers. "We need to clear the store for security."
The second man was less obvious. Robert barely knocked Ken out of the way of an energy blast. It took a hole in the store's back wall. The customers ran. Robert dragged Ken behind the counter. The stun weapon he was carrying was nothing compared to what the second man was carrying.
Robert removed the translator from his ear. "Who are you?" He demanded in one of the various questionable languages he knew.
"This doesn't concern you," the second man replied in the same language. The words didn't say as much as his accent. That area was known for organized crime.
"I disagree."
Another blast took out an edge of the desk. From the smell, the weapon was modified incorrectly. An adapter had been used for the atmosphere, but it was the wrong type. Robert listened to the man's movements, raised his hand above the counter and fired blindly. He needed to hit the man's general area. When the stun energy hit the static charge around the weapon, it exploded.
Robert returned the translator to his ear. "Stay here."
Ken nodded.
John entered the store as Robert moved around the counter to check the dead. As he expected, the shooter wasn't humanoid. He couldn't immediately identify the alien species, but the toxic goo suggested an alien from a very different type of planet.
"Ken?" John checked the unconscious man for a pulse.
"Here." Ken sounded scared.
"Stay there." John reached for his mobile with his offhand. "Robert, who was the target?"
The Arctic Observatory; Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut, Canada
Villetta Thirion laughed happily viewing her computer screen. She found it. The ship landed in an unused field north of Cardiff. It was her first spaceship. The Kearas promised, and they'd kept their promises so far, but the idea of an actual ship was hard to believe. The readings were insane. It would take years to review and reverse engineer it. But she could and would.
"Sending coordinates now." Ettie couldn't wait. The kid-in-a-candy-store feeling was ridiculous, but justified.
"Incident at Saint David's mall," Felda reported from the Falklands. "Energy weapons were used in a Disney store. No injuries or explanation."
"Revenge of the Sith. That's what they get for ruining Star Wars."
Felda groaned.
"So I'm a sci fi nerd." Ettie laughed. "When do I get my spaceship?"
Other Keara appeared from nowhere. "Patience, young Padwan."
"Seriously?" Felda was exasperated.
"We're trying to save the world," Other Keara said quietly. "If we can't find happiness, what are we trying to save?"
"My happiness," Felda said, "Would be a new super computer. One of Angelo Calassanto's legacy companies has a new model."
Hughes Flats; Cardiff, Wales
John Hart insisted on taking Ken home. They'd taken off their shoes and laid on top of the comforter on John's bed. He held a tablet and review the latest Torchwood details with one hand and had the other one on Ken's arm. Ken curled up against him with his head on John's shoulder.
"Who were the men?" Ken hugged him.
"I don't know." The question was where they came from. They had to have a concealed ship. Without the satellite network Torchwood would have at some point in the future, they had no way of tracking most of the planet. They were at the mercy of outside networks that required permission to use.
"The man who helped me?"
"Robert." One more thing John didn't know how to explain. "He's my son."
Ken looked up at him. "You said you didn't have children."
Technically, he didn't. Robert was his son from a different universe. A concept he was struggling with. "I found out about him recently."
"His mother?"
"She died." At least that was what Robert told him.
"The woman whose ring you wore?"
"No." That tore at him. One of the many things he lost because of future Torchwood's time manipulation.
A flashing icon appeared on the screen. John tapped it. The notification came from the Arctic Observatory. Alien ship had been captured and relocated. He checked for more information. The summary told him something he already knew. The Keara he'd been involved with in the future was still alive. She'd taken the ship and written the report. He suspected the small bits of information she was passing him was her way of saying she was still alive.
Ken shifted against him. "I can't go back to work."
John kissed the top of Ken's head. "You wanted to help with the baby."
"I liked that job."
John didn't know what to say. Torchwood took over lives. It consumed everyone it touched. He shouldn't have gotten Ken involved. Now that he was involved, there wasn't much of a way out. He could relocate near another Torchwood office and hope for a normal life. John hadn't thought about long term consequences when he met Ken that night in the club. What they had wasn't love. Although it was the healthiest relationship John had ever had.