Much to the gratitude of the entire team, the rift had been mostly quiet during the two days they had staked out the warehouse. There'd been nothing more serious than some Weevils and a few broken bits of space junk. The surveillance had proven informative. During her first watch at the warehouse, Gwen had photographed a man in a suit arriving at noon and leaving about an hour later. Tosh's old facial recognition programs had honed in on him the fastest. His name was Graham Alan, an estate agent in financial ruin.

Jack had followed Alan around himself yesterday, telling his teammates that Alan was using each of his property listings to meet with local drug dealers and distribute the alien substance. Ianto had tried to do some more digging. How fast he managed to make underworld connections and capitalise on the alien substance was suspicious at best. He wondered how laudable the man's past was but he hadn't been able to uncover anything more dubious than some traffic tickets.

During the day there were five men at the warehouse. Two of them seemed to be workers while the other three were armed guards. At night, the warehouse was left completely unattended. It had taken a few hours for him to do backgrounds on the armed guards and the two workers. The guards were common criminals with the typical arrest records. The two workers had surprised him, horticulture students recently graduated from university in North Wales.

The case was reminding Ianto vividly of the space whale. At least they're hacking up plants… he thought idly as he shouldered his and Jack's dry cleaning.

He was out running some necessary errands both personal and work related. His next stop would be the butcher for Myfanwy's mutton. There were normally a dozen more things he'd be getting done but the case had occupied much of his time. Myfanwy was running low on food and both him and Jack were out of clean shirts. The butcher and dry cleaning run had been unavoidable. He reached the SUV quickly, he hadn't parked far. He took a nervous glance at his watch before fishing in his pockets for his keys.

"Ianto Jones?"

Ianto turned to see a young man about his own age standing on the sidewalk. He was shorter than Ianto with sandy colored hair and freckles. His accent was Welsh. Ianto didn't recognise him.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" he asked the stranger.

The other man shook his head. "No, I believe we have a mutual friend. Dr. Miranda Ryan?"

"You know Mandy?" Ianto asked, extending his hand with a smile but was still suspicious of this stranger. "Ianto Jones."

"Kiernan Davies," said the other man, a strange grin spreading across his face as he shook Ianto's hand. "How do you get away with calling her Mandy?"

"Just barely," Ianto said with a laugh as he opened the SUV door, hanging the dry cleaning on the handle. "It's very nice to meet you and I'm sorry but I'm in a bit of a rush…"

"It's important, Mr. Jones. Miranda, she's in danger," Kiernan said hurriedly.

Ianto glanced around quickly, the sidewalk was empty of pedestrians. "Who are you?"

"I'm Miranda's Watcher."

"Her what?" Ianto asked, confused.

A nervous look came over the other man's face. "I thought you knew… I should go-"

Ianto grabbed him by the collar before he could leave and pushed him against the SUV. "Who are you? What do you know about…" he trailed off not sure how to ask the question without revealing Miranda's secret and decided the best way was to say nothing "… her?"

Despite being pressed against the SUV, relief came over the other man's face as he caught the hidden meaning behind the pause. He repeated, "I'm her Watcher."

Suddenly, he remembered the night Miranda had told him about Isabetta. The Watchers… the others… they think I'm someone else… she'd said. Ianto hadn't known what she'd meant then. He still didn't now. May as well ask then.

"And what exactly does that mean?" Ianto asked, stepping closer, attempting to use his greater height to intimidate the smaller man. It worked.

"The Immortals… They're important. The Game, it's important too. We watch. We record," Kiernan stammered turning his wrist to show Ianto the curved 'v' shaped tattoo.

He could be lying, could be making the whole thing up. Ianto had no way of knowing. He made a leap of faith. He let go of Kiernan's shirt and stepped back. "You said she was in danger."

"She won't talk to me. Watchers aren't supposed to interfere."

"Why are you then? Interferring?"

"Because Adaf Terfel needs to die. I just need you to give her this." Kiernan reached into his jeans and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Who is he and why does he need to die?" he asked, not taking the paper from Kiernan.

Kiernan's face darkened, his expression that of revulsion. "The Watchers… we see everything. Terfel is a murderer and a rapist. He's murdered two women since he got back to the UK from the Russian Federation."

Given the fact that he was Torchwood, Ianto almost felt silly for saying it but… "The police… you should-"

"And what prison would hold an immortal? A feigned suicide is all it would take." Kiernan shook his head. "Immortals… they police themselves. Miranda and Terfel? They have… bad blood from way back."

Bile rose up in Ianto's throat. Terfel is a murderer… and a rapist… The other man's implication was clear. Ianto reached out and snatched the paper from Kiernan's outstretched hand and pocketed it. "What makes you think she'll listen to me?"

Kiernan clearned his throat. "Because you have a sister."

"Following me also?"

A strange look came over Kiernan's face and he said simply, "We're thorough."

Ianto nodded, he could appreciate that. He held at out his hand to his fellow Welshman who took it, shaking it firmly and briefly. "Thanks."

The other man hung his head slightly. "You're welcome. Tell Miranda… tell her I'm sorry," he said regretfully and then turned and walked down the street.

Ianto pocketed the slip of paper and got into the SUV. He finished the rest of his errands in short order and got back to the Hub. It was late evening and Jack had briefed them that morning that they were going into the warehouse tomorrow. Ianto tossed the meat into the chest freezer in the garage and then slung the dry cleaning over his shoulder. He found the main Hub deserted. He wasn't surprised to not find Gwen, Jack had sent her home early to get a good night's rest. But it was odd to not find Jack or Miranda dealing with paperwork. He put away the dry cleaning and then went in search of Miranda and Jack. He needed to tell both of them about what Kiernan had said. Ianto had knocked on Miranda's door twice, straining his ears listening for any sound from inside the flat. He heard a dim thumping noise and then what sounded like a grunt from Jack. It was a sound he was familiar with. He backed away from the door slowly.

Many looked at his and Jack's relationship in public and at work and assumed that Jack was the one who led while Ianto followed when in fact the opposite was true. Ianto thought it was because Jack led so often in other aspects of his life that he let him take the lead in their private relationship. Things between the two men had changed since Jack had returned from his time with the Doctor. Ianto knew that many wouldn't have believed Jack Harkness capable of monogamy but their relationship had been exclusive ever since his return. It wasn't something that was directly discussed but merely understood between them. Both Jack and Miranda were very tactile people, often exchanging small touches, hugs and kisses. It had caused friction between the two women on the team at first, Gwen misinterpreting and trying to be protective of him. Ianto suspected that, she was jealous of Miranda to some extent. While the Welshwoman knew that Miranda and Jack had a past, she didn't know the particulars. He also knew that Gwen was making incorrect assumptions about the other woman's place in their bed.

Bringing a third person into their bed was something both men knew would be permissible if the situation was right and lengthly discussed. Not long after she'd come to work for Torchwood, they'd had a long discussion about Miranda. Jack and Miranda's shared immortality and the length of their relationship were slight sore points for Ianto because he knew they were both things he could never compete with. The two immortals would often laugh at some shared inside joke or reminisce about a time before he had even been born and the young man would feel left out and his jealousy would rise. He knew it was irrationally petty but a part of him couldn't help it. Ianto had felt it was a stone best left unturned. So while both men had agreed that they would enjoy bringing the woman to their bed, together or separately, they had decided against it for now.

Angry, he stormed away from the door, deciding to work off some of his feelings on the shooting range. He would confront Jack later or perhaps wait until after the sting on the warehouse tomorrow. While they had many unspoken agreements in their relationship, they both knew something like this was a subject for discussion. He wasn't really angry at Jack for sleeping with Miranda. While their relationship was understood to be exclusive, Ianto and Jack were both willing to make rare exceptions but they both understood those exceptions needed to be discussed… at length. What he was more angry about was that Jack had not talked with him especially after the two of them had already decided against extending Miranda any invitation to their bed.

He collected a gun and ammunition from the armory, and headed back down the north stairs, and instead of turning right to Miranda's rooms he turned left towards the staircase that led to the range and other exercise areas.

He was so lost in thought that when he reached the shooting range, he opened the door without noticing the orange light over the door was on, indicating that someone was using the range. Ianto slammed his hands over his ears as the sound of deafening music blasted into the hallway. The shooting range was soundproofed but, given the music's volume, he was surprised he hadn't heard it sooner.

Miranda was standing at the firing point, a wide variety of throwing knives in front of her. He felt relief followed by confusion. Okay not sleeping with my boyfriend… Boyfriend?

Ianto knew that startling her could prove deadly. He looked around and found the iPod speakers plugged in on the far side of the room. His hands still firmly clamped over his ears, he walked over to them and turned the volume down slowly. It had the desired effect. Wondering what had happened to her music, she turned slowly, thankfully without a knife in her hand, and saw Ianto kneeling beside the speakers. Her eyes widened in surprise. This was the first time he had managed to sneak up on her in any way. The immortal woman always seemed to know when he was near. She reached for the small remote by her side and turned the music off.

"Ifan, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

His ears slightly ringing, Ianto stood up and said, "You couldn't have heard World War III over that."

"Did you want to use the range?" she said simply, walking around the firing point counter to collect the knives from the wooden target.

"Erm, I was going to. Where's Jack?" he tried to ask innocently.

"The door to the en suite fell off its hinge earlier. He's fixing it for me," she said waving in the direction of the hallway.

Just a little off the mark there… He cleared his throat. "Lady Gaga? Seriously, Mandy?" It was another joke between the two friends. Like the fact that Miranda preferred soft drinks and didn't use chopsticks, it was something that Ianto found incongruous to what one would expect. While Jack was often stuck in the 1940's, Miranda's tastes in music were far more modern. She often lamented that, aside from a few notable exceptions, music didn't get really interesting until the 60's.

Usually Miranda would have sent a light hearted verbal jab in his direction. He'd noticed that she'd seemed distracted over the past few days. Jack had mentioned something about an incident in the autopsy bay but hadn't elaborated, merely asking Ianto if Miranda was talking to him about anything bothering her lately. He'd chided his lover for the nosiness but told him that she hadn't.

He had hoped the teasing would help him downshift internally from his jealousy and suspicion and shift back to the original reason he'd come looking for her. Now, with the absence of their normal banter and witty retorts, Ianto wondered if it was a good time to bring up what had happened with Kiernan. The sooner she knows the better… "I met Kiernan Davies."

Miranda didn't turn around, still pulling the blades from the wooden target. "And he told you to warn me about Adaf Terfel."

"Who is Terfel?"

"Nothing," Miranda said, flatly but Ianto heard the deadly edge to her voice.

"Davies said he's murdered two women."

"It's four actually. Prostitutes. The Watchers only know about two."

"How did you know? Kiernan said you weren't speaking to him." he asked.

She had pulled the last knife from the wooden target and had dumped them back onto the counter. "Kiernan is a fool. I was trying to protect him. If the Watchers think he's feeding me information, they'll kill him." She casually tossed the knife at the wooden target. It sunk into the wood with a dull thunk. "I don't need the Watchers for information."

"What are the Watchers? You've mentioned them before," he asked hoping for a more thorough answer.

"A secret society that believes there is some greater purpose to the Game… some inherent truth. They believe the outcome of the Game will change the course of human history," she said.

Ianto didn't miss the skepticism in her voice. Torchwood didn't exactly inspire belief. While he'd been raised in a house of faith, he wasn't quite sure what he believed. And even though Jack said there was nothing beyond this life, Ianto didn't believe that the lack of a hereafter meant that there wasn't some greater design to the universe or some greater meaning to life. While it was violent and cruel, this Game had an air of fate and higher purpose about it that he couldn't deny.

"And you don't?" he asked.

The immortal woman made a noncommittal shrug and a sarcastic snort, then threw another knife at her target. "Immortals are just as fallible as anyone else. I don't believe the Game will produce the next Adolf Hitler or Mahatma Ghandi. Deep down… no deep down I believe that the Game…" she sighed before continuing, "the Game is nothing more than a whim of the Gods. Because what are we all really? In the end? Nothing more than a whim."

It wasn't the first time that he'd heard Miranda speak so cynically. The depth of the cynicism often surprised him as the immortal woman clearly believed in some higher power and Ianto had often found believers to be more optimistic. He'd often heard Jack say things that were similar but Jack had no such belief system and often mocked twenty first century religions as superstitious nonsense that denied the randomness of existence.

Ianto watched as Miranda threw another knife at the target and another dull thunk echoed in the room. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper Kiernan had given him. "He wanted me to give you this… and tell you how sorry he is."

Miranda made the same sarcastic snort as she took the paper, scanning it quickly before crumpling it in her hand and tossing it into the bin. "Terfel's hotel and room number. That boy has seen too many Bond films." She threw a knife at the target with more force. "I don't go looking for trouble."

"What are you going to do?"

She threw another knife at her target, this time left-handed.

"What I always do," she said simply. "I survive."