Author's Note: My apologies for the delay in updating this story. RL has bitten me hard on the behind of late. There is one more chapter to come and I have started writing it. I make no promises about when I will post it save that I WILL post it. I am also promising that I will not start posting any story I have not finished writing. Also note that earlier chapters have been edited and updated with many thanks to my reviewers: bbmcowgirl and IndeMaat. Reviews and encouragement are much appreciated.

They moved methodically through the tunnels under Cardiff. Jack was half a pace in the lead with Crys keeping step beside him. Owen and Gwen were the other party. They were circling round from opposite sides, Tosh had got the trackers going again and they were now trying to herd the Kalarian back to the Hub. Hammy and Tosh had nearly finished repairing the containment unit and Ianto was keeping an eye on them and the weight off his ankle.

The only problem with this plan, Crys mused as she followed Jack, was that they were using themselves as bait; which was definitely not her preferred method of operation.

There was a scuffling up ahead. Jack broke into a wide-eyed grin. Crys looked sidelong at him, she didn't really understand this guy; he was nuts, she was sure of that, but it was a fun sort of nuts. She wondered once again exactly what she had gotten herself into. Jack had given her a brief run down on this alien. It was all but immune to bullets and could shoot electricity from it hands. It was also an alien, that was the bit she was having trouble getting her head around; however, all the other explanations she had thought of made even less sense.

The Kalarian appeared, it gave a scream that sounded something like a dying animal. It made Crys's jaw ache. The Kalarian was at the end of a sub-corridor, maybe 5 meters away. Crys stared at it, taking in the solid green slightly catlike eyes, the greyish skin and the slit mouth. Her world view shifted, now she believed. It was nothing on Earth. She was still absorbing this was Jack grabbed her hand and turned to run. Now it was just a matter of hoping it took the bait.

Crys ran down the corridor as fast as she was able. She realised that Jack still had her hand, she yanked it back. He spared her a smile, or was it a smirk. They continued to run. She could hear the eerie noise that passed for the alien's breathing as it followed them. Suddenly the noise quietened; Jack stopped, turning back. Crys continued a few metres further along the corridor before stopping herself. It seemed that the Kalarian had given up chasing them. Time to convince it that they were worth bothering with after all.

Crys heard the crack of a gun firing as she drew her gun, she sighted on the alien; it was time to how the bullets Jack had given her worked against it. The bullets had been cast with copper threads running through them. Apparently, they would cause the Kalarian's nervous / charge build up system to short.
She fired and was pleased to see the alien stagger as her shot impacted with its mid-section. It staggered again as Jack's next bullet hit it. As she pulled the trigger a second time Crys idly wondered if he had waited for her to take a shot before firing a second time himself. Half dozen copper threaded bullets were enough to temporarily down a Kalarian, three or four were enough to seriously upset one.

It howled once more. This time it tried a blast of electricity, Jack stumbled back a couple of steps to lean against the tunnel wall, he seemed a little dazed but otherwise unharmed. He flasher her another grin, shoved himself away from the wall and started to run again. Crys joined him. The Kalarian was chasing them once again, this was a good thing, unless it actually caught one of them; in which case it was a rather bad thing.

It wasn't that far to the Hub, at least when they had walked out it hadn't seemed that far, the run back was taking a long time. Crys hoped they hadn't got lost. She was gasping for breath, she wasn't exactly unfit but; preferring short hard action; she didn't have the greatest endurance. Jack caught her up as they rounded the last corner to the Hub. Their eyes met, if Crys had had the breath she would have growled at him. She settled instead for a glare.

She glimpsed Ianto in the entrance to the Hub, he waved at them and gave a thumbs-up. Crys pushed herself to keep running, she could almost believe that she could feel the Kalarian's breath on her neck. She made it into the Hub; which seemed terribly bright after the tunnels. Her vision was starting to darken around the edges and her lungs hurt. She could see Jack gesturing at her, but it wasn't until he threw himself at her knocking them both to the floor, that she registered that he was indicating she should get down.

Crys heard a high pitched whine that sounded as if it were a cheap sci-fi special effect. When Jack let her look up she saw the paralysed Kalarian trapped by the containment beam.

She shoved Jack off her, none too gently. She was far too over heated and out of breath to be comfortable with someone pinning her to the floor. Jack got to his feet and offered her a hand up. She debated with herself for a long moment before taking his hand and allowing him to help her to her feet. To her annoyance she noticed that he wasn't breathing hard; at least, nowhere near as hard as she was. Once on her feet she found that he was invading her personal space, or maybe the other way around. It was then that Owen and Gwen arrived back, she felt their eyes on her as she yanked her hand away from Jack and took a couple of steps away from him. She saw, or thought she saw, a flicker of something that might have been resentment go through Gwen's gaze. Then again, it was hardly relevant since Gwen didn't like her anyway.

Hammy came over, he had been keeping his head down behind one of the desks but now he was bouncing with excitement.

"It worked! I did it!" Crys broke into a smile, there was something so honest and child-like about his expression that she couldn't help it. The grin and a ripple of relief went around the members of Torchwood. Jack stalked around the containment unit, staring at the captured alien.

"So, who wants to deal with this one?"