Chapter Nine- The Captain Moves On
The body was crammed into the morgue drawn and from its condition it was clear the Livevile ate the human skin and so the team's conclusions were right. With the sample maggot Isabel compiled a form of pesticide. "So what's in this concoction exactly?" asked Jack as he leaned across the table pulling a cheesy grin at Isabel. Isabel read off a list of 20% Oxygen, 30% Argon, 15% Nitrogen, 25% Acetone and 10% Hydrogen, systematically from the projection in response to Jack's question. She smiled up cheerfully at his graze rubbing her hands gleefully. "Right so let's set it off team!" Commanded Jack and in response Isabel plunged at the button on the consol and a loud whirring sound echoed across the forest followed by an exploding sound as the gas released "Good work team!" commented Jack as he began to pack up, Isabel followed swiftly and Issy did the same. Katya, Clara and Alice watched this magical world they had fallen in to being packed away with forlorn faces. The rest of the team seemed to carry on as they had done before, just the five of them. Alice noticed the leadership from Jack, the exclusion of Issy and the shared companionship between Maria and Gwen working hard at her Captain's side. Issy was constantly glancing down, Jack was swiftly packing up, his coat floating as he ran from station to station and although he had Gwen close beside him, he looked like a separate half with his other half missing. Gwen ordered things neatly and kept a calm attitude as the rush continued arMund her. Isabel turned off the computers and projectors whilst Maria packed away medical instruments and locked the morgue compartment.
It did not take long for all to be packed away and miraculously it all fit in the Land Rover. Jack was admiring how quickly they had loaded the SUV and then turned around to bundle in Fifi in her cage, but could not find her. However from the shrill of giggles he discovered Fifi enclosed, around her were Katya, Clara and Alice and she lapped up all the cuddles and attention she could get. "Come on time to go Fifi!" Jack announced disappointingly but Fifi responded and followed his lead as he strolled towards the Land Rover. Fifi jumped up gingerly on the back seats and Issy closed her into her cage where she settled happily despite being jumpy with excitement. The team gathered together and stood facing the three girls. They made rushed farewells and Jack turned on his heel to make his way to the driver's seat and the other team members followed his actions except Gwen. Mrs Cooper remained in a strong stance "Jack we can't just leave the girls here; can't they come with us or something after all they have been through." She demanded with Welsh vowels rolling off the end of her tongue. Jack took her firmly in the crook of her arm and pulled her over to the side. He whispered harshly in her ear "And what do we do with them?" As he questioned her decision Gwen stood but her remark and eventually she got Jack to agree.
With that they all crammed into the SUV and it rocked with their weight. Jack once again took his place at the wheel and Gwen beside him. Tightly packed together in the next row were Dr. Maria, Isabel, Alice and Clara and more spaced out at the back were Katya and Dr. Issy with Fifi in between them. The loaded Land Rover took off and left the pine needles on the forest floor rustling. In the SUV there was a sticky silence, secret thoughts hung unspoken in the air and the team members stared out the windows passively as to not catch each other's glances. A small whisper started up at the back of the vehicle as Issy attended to a whimpering Fifi. Katya tried to talk to this secluded girl but it was quite difficult as the girl lowered her blue eyes whenever she was spoken to as if she did not want to exist. But Katya being very confident and friendly and an approachable girl with a beautifully round face and shining eyes, kept up the conversation. They made conversation about their lives and where they came from and what they liked but Issy avoided much talk about her job at Torchwood.
Jack tried to concentrate on the road but his mind kept reverting to how selfish he had been and obnoxious, his lack of care ate his soul. But instead he did not show these feelings and breathed deeply keeping a stern face. Countryside passed on either side of the car and the team still gazed dreamily out of the window. Soon the blur of hedges became tall buildings and houses, other cars passed and there were people strolling along the pavements. As the SUV approached the water of Cardiff Bay the Black Topper could be seen towering above the rest of Cardiff Bay. Katya, Clara and Alice stared gaping at the skyscrapers of Cardiff Bay being from the countryside they had never visited Cardiff before. Meanwhile Jack smiled gleefully as he looked up at the Black Topper as it came into view and felt a sense of pride looking at it. It was his creation, his Torchwood, his life and his family and most importantly it was the place he called home.
The SUV pulled into Torchwood's underground car park and Jack punched some numbers in a security code unit and a threatening corrugated iron barrier rose up to let them through. The vehicle moved smoothly down the winding ramp, down and down each level Jack controlled the car's movement so skilfully and they arrived at the very last level with another iron gate, this time Jack spoke into a voice recognition unit and a camera took a picture of his eye and finally he stretched out a hand to a screen to check his fingerprints. The computer confirmed him as Captain Jack Harkness and the gate slid open. As the Land Rover slowly rolled through the maze of company cars Gwen and the others squinted from the change of light. They passed a sporty motorbike first; it was all black and built for speed with little flames on the panels. Next was another motorbike but this was a more civilised bike, a blue Vesper with a nice polished leather seat, this motorbike belonged to Isabel whereas the speedy bike was Issy's. The UK flag patterned mini parked neatly belonged to Gwen, it had a surprisingly good engine so she could get out of danger if ever needed but what disgusted the three girls was the bright pink convertible. As they pulled into the space next to the pink car, the three girls turned to look at it and then looked at Dr. Maria assuming it was her car. However they noticed Jack did not have a ride of his own.
Dr. Maria was strutting around the Hub in her skinny jeans with its little flashy chain and a bright pink hoodie meanwhile the three girls sat on the sofa glumly and looked at the team working busily. The girls continued to sit cramped and uncomfortable on the sofa with little padding and springs sticking up all over the place, the back of the sofa was too far away to lean back on and there were no cushions however they remained seating. The sofa obviously held long memories of a member of the team sitting there lonely and mulling over thoughts, someone who wanted a nap or a first kiss and a chat to a friend, however it made the situation more awkward as the girls felt they were intruding someone else's past. But from this position they watched Gwen busy typing a report up on the computer of the day's activities. Dr. Issy and Dr. Maria were discussing things down in the autopsy bay but their voices echoed on the tiled floor. Isabel meanwhile had disappeared and Jack as well but as they emerged together from a room with a heavy wooden door labelled Jack's office PRIVATE, they assumed they had been sharing important matters together.
As the three girls had not yet been approached and they had only been instructed to sit there and wait, they got up and advanced towards the large 360 degree window in front of them. From out of the window they could see a panorama of Cardiff. As they continued to admire the view Jack sauntered up to them and offered them a glass of water each. They answered politely that they would care for a glass very much if it was not too much of a bother and Jack answered "certainly" and just strolled back towards the kitchenette. As Captain Jack Harkness took a long time preparing their drinks the girls returned to the sad looking sofa. They gulped down their water as they were quite thirsty but as they looked up at a distorted view of Jack's sea blue eyes through the bottom of their glasses that was the last thing they saw.
The girls woke up in the middle of a field. The sky above was a bright blue and littered with a few fluffy white clouds. As they clambered up from the ground, they brushed off the shreds of grass from each other's clothes. As Clara stumbled to her feet she grabbed the walk guide from the ground and in a matter of minutes the girls had found their bearings and were on the right path home.
At the Hub Gwen was finishing off a few typed lines of her report and as the document was printing she cleared up a few things around her workplace. Jack strolled in from the elevator shrugging off his greatcoat and pegging it on the coat stand, as he headed towards Gwen he picked up her printed document from the printer and sauntered towards her, "Good work Cooper!" he exclaimed as he scanned her document but Gwen only scrunched up her face at him and watched Issy following behind him. She could not control the anger building up inside her and screamed at jack "Why did you have to do that to them, they were only girls, they could have helped us" But Jack only screamed back in her face "No, and I can't afford to have another person die at my orders!" Tears welled in Gwen's eyes and she flung herself in Jack's arms crying. The Captain cradled her for a bit and then kissed her softly on her forehead and whispered go home to a nice evening with Rhys. Cooper looked up at Jack and saw images of lost team members Ianto, Owen and Tosh swimming in front of her.
Gwen felt the faint vibrate of a text message in the pocket of her jeans as she slide into her mini. The message was from Rhys it read 'I Luv u Carriad '. Gwen smiled, put the phone away and started the car engine.
Jack turned around to dismiss the rest of the team. He looked to find Dr. Maria but she had already gone as her jacket was missing from the coat stand. He noticed Issy leaving in her black leather motorcycle gear and motioned a farewell wave but no words came out of his mouth; it only opened dumbly and closed again. Jack gulped and strolled into the kitchenette casually with his hands in his pockets. He measured out a small tipple of whisky into the bottom of a glass and tilt back his head and gulped down the whisky in one go. Isabel came up behind him and the Captain turned smoothly placing the glass on the side board. "Are you sure you're alright?" she questioned the Captain and the Captain replied "Yeah, I'm just fine!" whilst embracing Isabel in a hug, but Isabel knew he was far less than fine.
As they pulled out of the embrace Jack held Isabel at arm's length away and looked into her face, he asked if she wanted a lift home and she took his offer delightedly. As the two of them descended from the top floor of the Black Topper they did not exchange a word. Meanwhile the Hub was left lonely and still. They travelled in the SUV in silence and the evening showers came down and the wind wipers washed the rain away. They pulled up outside Isabel's house and as Isabel crept out of the car Jack gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and Isabel's face blushed rosé pink. Meanwhile Jack's face stretched into his happiest smile ever and his large rough hand brushed that of Isabel's small delicate one as she floated gracefully out of the large SUV.
Jack sauntered in slowly dragging his feet lamely as he carried his coat hooked over one shoulder he flung it carelessly on the back of a chair he rolled to the side. He collapsed on the sofa and as he stretched himself across it he rolled over to lie on his side. For a while he lay there staring into space, not really seeing, not really thinking just absorbing the deserted Hub. He closed his eyes and listened for something in the silence but there was only his own breathing and the strong, steady beat of his own heart, a broken heart. He let his mind go and dreamed a thousand dreams of lovers and friends he had lost.
All I can say is goodbye my team and thank you for everything, good and bad!