The Light and The Way Church; Cardiff, Wales
Thursday, December 24, 2020
The unexpected call came in late. Dr. Floyd called apparently with DC Cowley's blessing. They were trapped inside a quarantine. Once she identified the dreamfish drug, she had all the first responders stay in the building. From the injuries, it appeared the deceased attacked each other. Which wasn't good for those trapped inside inside with the bodies.
Luc and Eryn were already in Cardiff for Christmas. Eryn was with Ianto in the remote office. Luc went with John and Dmitri to the hub, in case his old lab was needed, and would coordinate with Kailen. John and Dmitri went for the van, hazmat equipment and a mini bot.
As an insanely fanatical church with white nationalist ties, their enemy list would be incredible. The current theory was guess the drug exposure happened during a Christmas eve service. Aman and the general were coordinating an Internet search for any references to a pending attack.
They weren't even sure how many were dead. Dr. Floyd reported three known survivors; all were children. Which suggested age was a factor for surviving. Maddox was the only known survivor previously. The general tasked Malcolm with a search for genetic research involving children.
Personal complications added to it. Anwen and Trefor were with Ianto and Eryn. Rhys was keeping an eye on Ken and Dawn. With Dawn's baby due at any time, that arrangement had to be difficult for Gwen. He wasn't sure of her mood.
They rode in silence for a few minutes.
"Did you see the pile of presents the general brought for Anwen and Trefor? One of the boxes is half Trefor's size."
"He's buying presents for himself." Jack laughed.
"Yeah. The general specified that Trefor had to open a specific one last. Otherwise, he'd refuse to open the other presents." Gwen shook her head. "He signed Santa on every one."
"The general's trying."
"I know." Gwen exhaled. "He brought presents for the baby to."
"How you holding up?"
"I don't know. I have no right to judge Rhys. Two years. I barely held it together for three months."
"Ianto suggested clerical work. Dawn could work with him or Dmitri." Jack took a moment. "It's not ideal, but with the mall situation, it would be safer. In a few months, when she's feeling better, the baby can go to daycare at Davies with Trefor. Rhiannon won't ask questions."
Gwen sighed. "You mentioned getting Ken a job at Rhys' business? That would work for Dawn, not Ken. Someone needs to ask if Rhiannon needs help. The daycare would make more sense for Ken."
"Could you handle it?" Jack wasn't sure Rhys could. Returning from Atmore was a difficult transition without facing Dawn every day.
"I'd have no right to complain. I work with you."
Jack knew she had a point, but he couldn't picture it working. "Have you discussed it with Rhys?"
"No. We haven't managed a real conversation about Dawn."
Jack needed to talk to Rhys. Certain things had to be worked out before the baby was born. Most of it involved paperwork. They needed to know whether or not Rhys' name was going on the birth certificate and what the baby's last name would be. Ianto had figured out how to fake a marriage, if Dawn would prefer widow to single mother.
Arriving on-scene was it's own kind of stress. There were ambulances and morgue vehicles on stand-by. A fire department biohazard unit was parked in front of the church. Gwen went to coordinate with the uniforms waiting anxiously to find out the fate of their fellow constables that had been potentially exposed.
Jack did a quick wrist-strap scan before heading for a group of firefighters. He needed whatever details they had.
Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
Kailen Sylla booted his systems. He couldn't help but think it took a particularly sick group of people to attack a church nevertheless on Christmas Eve. He and Aman planned to open presents and watch movies for Christmas and he hoped they still would. Just the idea of kids watching their parents die in church.
"Are you okay?" Aman asked.
"No."
Aman pulled a chair over next to him with a laptop. "You can do this. Deploy the drones. Scan the area. Land one on or near the church."
"Yeah." Kailen took a moment. "The bioweapon at Noble didn't shock me. Killing people in church on Christmas Eve." He shook his head.
Aman set a hand on his shoulder. "You've got this."
"Thanks."
Having Aman close helped. He used Torchwood Three as a relay for quick information access. The drone initial drone information was promising. There was nothing in the immediate area. If the airborne version of the dreamfish drug had been released inside the church, it hadn't escaped. From Noble Industries, they doubted the bioweapon could survive in the air for long.
Kailen sent Luc a quick message through the computer.
The Light and The Way Church; Cardiff, Wales
Jack Harkness entered the church wearing a full breather hazmat suit and manually controlling the mini bot. The first task was determining if there was an airborne contaminate. Unable to access his wrist-strap, he had to use a tablet and a stylus. Comparing internal to external readings showed nothing.
Dr. Floyd approached slowly with her hands in front of her. He couldn't hear her. Reading her lips took a few tries. "One of the children needs to be sedated."
Jack shook his head. He then held up one finger. A quick scan of Dr. Floyd showed age-related health problems but no contamination. He wrote "you're clean" on the tablet.
"Walk through first."
He couldn't blame her for being worried. There was a standing order to burn contaminated bodies.
Twenty minutes later, he found nothing. That solved one safety issue but presented another. They had no idea how the congregation had been contaminated. Luc sent him a message about shutting down the water until they could test it. That wouldn't explain the entire congregation until the affected killed the others.
He found the kitchen. They had a dinner before the service. Leftover punch and Jello tested positive. Either a break-in or an inside job.
After evacuating the emergency responders, DC Cowley and Dr. Floyd, Jack had the unpleasant task of sedating the five surviving children for transport. Maddox wasn't dangerous. They could only hope the church children weren't either. But the one Dr. Floyd mentioned reminded Jack of Drystan from Moss-Probert.
Jack removed his helmet but not the suit. He'd need it to process the bodies.
"You're taking the kids?" Cowley asked.
"Yeah. We'll assess them. Once they're stable, we'll know more."
"And the bodies?"
"They have to be cremated."
Cowley nodded reluctantly. "I need photographs, fingerprints, and DNA, if possible."
"Photographs are already being processed. Except the two that have extensive facial damage. Facial rec is being compared to church records and license plates. Fingerprints aren't possible on a few bodies." Processing twenty bodies in the middle of the night would be an experience. The congregation was thankfully small. "DNA is unlikely."
"Fuck." Cowley took a moment to compose himself.