Jack gazed down the boardroom table over the remains of the team's lunch trying to get a better read on Miranda. She'd been oddly distracted over the past few days, ever since the incident in the autopsy bay, and it had nothing to do with the case they were all working so hard on. He was deeply concerned since Ianto was equally in the dark. It was unlike Miranda to not confide in the Welshman. The fact that his current lover and ex-wife had become friends hadn't surprised him. The fact that the friendship had become so close so quickly had as had how often the two seemed to confide in each other.
The two were currently engaged in another one of their usual banters… the fact that Miranda didn't use chopsticks and the fact that the woman didn't even own a pair. It was a regular exchange that today felt forced and strained. Miranda was at the point where she was asserting that the forks were easier when he cleared his throat. "Okay you two, enough. Will? Why don't you fill us in on what you found."
Miranda reached out and pressed a button on the laptop in front of her, then resumed her Spock-like posture, her fingers steepled in front of her face. "This is the compound I had a friend help me isolate from the bloodstreams of the four victims. I won't bore you with the pharmacology or toxicology but anyone who takes it is going to end up high as a kite and possibly dead as a doornail. Ianto was able to find the compound in the archive's database. We've encountered the compound before but in a different form. Jack? You want to explain the cultural significance to the Kahillese?"
He nodded and spoke. "There's a telepathic species of humanoids on Kahill V that have very elaborate funerary rituals. One of the rituals takes place on the last day of the twenty day mourning period. Family members gather together and they all take this drug, a less potent form of what we found here. They all simultaneously focus on the deceased, reliving their memories of the person aided by the drug. Their telepathic nature allows them to all share in the memories each of them has."
Miranda continued. "Like I said, Torchwood has encountered the drug before. Kahill V has 'kits' sold across their planet. One of them dropped through the rift back in the 80's."
"So another kit's come through?" Gwen asked.
Miranda shook her head. "No, the concentration in the victims is too high."
"If I remember it right, the drug is derived from a plant that grows on their planet. Looks like ginger, I think," Jack interjected.
"I remembered you mentioned something like that back in '88. From the number of victims, I think that an actual plant has come through. Someone is cultivating the plant and manufacturing the drug. It seems to have a similar effect on us that it does on the Kahillese, with regard to memory enhancement. The fatal reaction could either be from the drug itself or just the human body reacting to an alien substance injected into it. I doubt that every user is having a fatal reaction with first time use. Word spreads on the street pretty fast about bad product."
"The number of victims hasn't slowed," Gwen noted. "It's probably an individual reaction to it. If it were the concentration, the number of victims would go down. A dead drug addict can't buy more drugs and dealers won't want to sell more if they don't have to. But why take a drug so you can relive memories?"
Miranda shifted in her seat, nervously. "There is an intense euphoria accompanied by the memory recall. My guess is that's what the users are after. I'm also guessing that the drug is fairly cheap to produce. I was exposed to an extremely small amount and was still affected."
Ianto nodded and turned to Jack. "Mandy let me know about her suspicions with regards to there being alien plant life involved. I took the liberty of doing some digging, sir. Over the past few months, large deliveries have been made to a warehouse just outside the city from a major hydroponics and horticulture company."
"That's where we should start. I want detailed surveillance before we do anything. Gwen, why don't you head out there now. Take your own car, the SUV is too conspicuous. Ianto? Will? Draw straws or something for the next shift. I'll take the overnight. I'll fix up a rota for the next few days." He pushed himself back from the table, indicating the meeting was over. "Will? Hang back a minute will you?"
Miranda sank back into her chair. Gwen and Ianto both giving her nervous sidelong glances as they left the room.
After Gwen and Ianto were clear from earshot, Jack walked down to the foot of the table, leaning against it and crossing his hands over his chest. "What's going on with you, Will?" he asked. She opened her mouth to speak but Jack cut her off. "And don't say 'nothing' because you and I know both know that's a lie."
She was silent for a few minutes. Jack wondered if she was trying to construct a believable lie. Another few minutes passed before she finally spoke.
"His name is Adaf Terfel," she said, not meeting his gaze.
"You've been challenged?!" Jack said loudly.
She shook her head. "No, my Watcher told me Terfel is in London."
Jack furrowed his brow with concern. He only knew what Miranda had told him about the Watchers that they observed and didn't interfere. If this Watcher was warning her, the threat must be serious. He barked, "Desk duty! Until further notice!"
"Terfel isn't even in Wales!" she said her voice rising.
"Not good enough!" he shouted, ignored her protests. "Gwen, Ianto and I will handle the stake out rota."
"You know I don't go looking for fights," she said over him, "but I will fight him if he challenges me!"
"You're confined to the Hub! That's an order!" he yelled.
Both immortals were quickly losing their tempers. Jack was reminded vividly of the last year of their marriage. He was certain Gwen and Ianto could hear them shouting in the main Hub.
"You can't do that, Jack!" Miranda shouted angrily, rising to her feet.
"Watch me!" he roared with equal anger.
She slammed her fist down on the table. "You have no right! I should flay Terfel alive for what he did to me…" she broke off suddenly, realising she'd said too much.
Jack remembered that Friday morning. He'd left Ianto asleep in their bed. After a quick shower, he'd gone up to his office to tackle some paperwork when he'd heard a commotion by the autopsy bay. He'd drawn his Webley from its holster and gone to investigate. He'd reholstered his gun when he realised it was Miranda. He'd found the immortal woman standing bent over her desk, with a pile of paper and scattered office supplies at her feet. The shaking shoulders and her overreaction when he'd touched her all finally made sense. Realising what Terfel must have done, Jack felt bile rising in his throat and the anger twisting his gut found a new target.
His expression must have changed because Miranda's voice lowered and she said, "Whatever you're imaging, Jack, what Terfel did is far, far worse." He watched her jaw clench. She rolled her shoulders and calmed her voice further. "You gave me your word that you wouldn't interfere. Your word, Jack."
And there it was, the promise he'd so reluctantly made. Then he had a stroke of brilliance. "Gwen, Ianto and I will handle the stake-out rota." He held up his hand to silence her as she opened her mouth to protest. "I can't run the risk of you running into this guy or someone else while you're watching the warehouse."