After she had fled from the Hub, Mel knew that Jack and Ianto would follow her to make sure that she was all right and ask what she had meant by 'They're coming!' she continued to walk, pulled a mobile phone from her jeans pocket and put it up to her ear after ringing someone from her contact list. She was crossing a road as the other person answered. "Hi Mel! What's up?" answered a male Scottish voice that was deep and had a sexy tone to it. A romance novel author would have described it as being like honey over shrapnel, Mel thought with a grin.
"Hiya Ben! You know me so well! They're on the move, Aurora thinks that they'll be here soon. Me, you and Jen need to have a quick chat about it. I have a bad feeling about this Ben, so you best hurry. Meet you by our usual coffee spot in..." She looked down at her watch. It would take her about ten minutes to get to the small cafe if she kept up her pace. Thinking this she continued, "About fifteen minutes. Bring all your gadgets, and tell Jen to get her medical kit together and bring it with her. it's just a precaution, but I think we'll be needing them in the not-to-distant-future. See you in a while?"
Hearing the worry and urgency in Mel's voice, Ben responded. "Sure. We'll be there. Get our usual, and try to get a table by the window or one outside would be nice in this weather. I'll give you a buzz, just before we get there so you'll know to look out for us. What was that honey?" Mel could hear him having a conversation with Jenny, although all she could hear where mutterings. He was soon back speaking to her, "Hi Mel, you still there?"
She smirked, "Yes Ben, I'm still here. What does Jenny want to go with her cappuccino? And while I think about it, do you want anything with your cuppa or not?" She was now in sight of the cafe, so would soon be there.
There was a few seconds of stunned silence on the other end of the phone, before Ben spoke. "Ok, now that is just getting down right creepy! Jen asked if you could get her a chocolate chip muffin –not a double choc chip – to go with her cappuccino. Oh, and she wants some cocoa powder sprinkled on top, if that is at all possible. And if you could get me a croissant with some strawberry jam to go with, that would be great. Ok just left the flat, we'll see you in a few! Bye!" And with that he put the phone down – or so to speak, as they had both been using mobiles.
She entered the cafe, that was rather empty, except for a few old ladies that would probably be visiting the nearest bingo hall in a while, or would be off to see some relative or another. She walked over to the brunette teen (A uni student, no doubt!) behind the counter and ordered. "Good morning. Um, could I have a cappuccino, black coffee, and a tea please?"
"Sure. What type of tea would you like? And do you want any cocoa on top of the cappuccino?" asked the girl, as she wrote down the order on her notepad.
"Please to the cocoa, and I suppose I'll go for a good old Earl Grey, if you've got that. If not, a green tea would be lovely!" Mel answered while scanning the cafe for a good table to sit at.
"Yep, we do have Earl Grey. That's my favourite type of tea too, but I like some of the Twinning's collection better than Earl Grey, but you've got to love the classics! Do you want anything to go with these, and are you taking out or staying in?" Mel thought the girl was rather nice, but it was a shame about the tongue stud. She had never understood the human fascination with piercing some of the more painful and intimate areas of the body – one of which being the tongue. It seemed very illogical to her!
"Oh, yes. Could I have a chocolate chip muffin, a croissant with strawberry jam, and... What have you got here? Oh I know, a chocolate filled doughnut! And I'm staying in. Oh, and before my friend comes up and asks; is there any chance that the muffin and croissant could be warmed up a little?" She was about to tell her not the bother when the delightful girl turned around and said it would be fine, told her that they would be brought over to her table and would she pay now. "Sure, oh and keep the change! A tip for being a life saver!"
The girl beamed at her and hurried away to do the order. She decided against sitting outside, because Ben's jammy croissant would surely attract unwanted flies and other insects. So se found a nice little table near the door, so that the slight breeze could be felt, which happen to be facing the window. Ben, Jenny and their drinks and snacks all arrived at the same time, just as Mel was talking to one of the old dears about the necklace that she was wearing.
As soon as Ben sat down, and had taken a sip of his coffee, he pounced. "Ok Mel, spill! What's spooked you? Normally, we wouldn't have seen you for a few days because of spending it with Ianto. Has Torchwood upset you again, or has Ianto upset you? Or do you actually need to talk to us about the Shadow Hunters?" He had been watching as Jenny broke the muffin into bite-size pieces, all the while sipping her cappuccino causing her to get a froth moustache.
Now he stopped speaking she nodded her head, popped a muffin piece in her mouth, before speaking. She had a quiet voice, with an Irish lilt to it. She asked, "Ok, so tell us? What's happening? But before you do, tell us where Sable is?" Mel smiled; she knew that Jenny would have noticed Sable's absence as she was fascinated with him, but that comment had brought Ben's head up as he sort of took Sable being around for granted.
"Sable stayed in the Hub. He knew I needed some time to myself, without he under my feet. Plus he got himself hurt yesterday, so he's a little sore! Nothing to worry about, a few painkillers sorted me out." She bit into her doughnut, which was bliss and washed it down with some tea. She sighed, and proceeded "And the Shadow Hunters are very close. I had one of my episodes this morning and hurt Ianto. He really scared me because she pushed him out of my mind, and it knocked him out for a few minutes. I'm afraid to say that I'll have to introduce you to Torchwood so that we can defeat them!"
Ben nearly spat out his coffee. He swallowed the mouthful quickly and said in a menacing tone, "OH NO! We are NOT working with Torchwood. I am not putting Jenny through that! I'm sorry Mel, but they'll never get the chance to experiment on Jen the way they did with you! I'd rather blow the lot of them up." Jen and Mel grasped one of his hands to calm him. They shared a look, and Mel nodded her head to Jen signalling that she should speak.
"Now Ben Honey, you know they'll never get a chance to get me. I have you and Mel. Plus Mel, would kind of go Phoenix on their arses if they even thought about it. Anyway, Torchwood have been tracking me for years! I hacked into their system once, and I know that they are nothing like the Torchwood in London. For a start, there are only five of them. And secondly, I kind of met the leader. Nice chap, he was; told me that I would never have to fear them and if I needed any help then I shouldn't hesitate to contact him." She had said it all in a soothing voice.
"Actually Jenny, there are only three members now. Two died during the explosions a few months ago. Toshiko, the computer whizz, who you both would have liked, was shot as she tried to save the city for being wiped off the face of the earth. And Owen, the sarcastic doctor, who you would have loved to hate, was trapped in the meltdown at the nuclear station; also saving the city! They do have a fourth member, but she's on loan from UNIT." She took a moment to send them mentally a picture of Owen and Tosh, as well as giving them information about the others. Mainly Ianto; in a matter of a minute, they knew everything about him and why he was so special to her.
She had just finished, as Ben put his arm around her shoulders. They had finished their drinks and snacks whilst Mel had given them the mental information pack. They sat there for a little while, before Ben asked "Mel, who are they?" She could hear the frown in his voice. Jenny turned to look at who Ben was talking about.
Mel looked up. She smiled as she saw the two men approaching. She turned to Ben and Jenny and said, "Speak – or should I say think – of the devil. Ben, Jen. That is Ianto Jones and Captain Jack Harkness!" Her two friends smiled as she waved at the pair, as they approached the cafe wearing identical looks of relief.