Chapter Seventeen
Two Weeks Later…
Jack stepped into the back of a truck with a flashlight, moving further in. As the team followed him, he stopped in front of something covered by a tarp. Pulling it away, they were greeted by a large clump of meat.
"Ugh," Jack grunted as he pressed his foot into the meat. Owen, looking disgusted, commented, "Oh, it stinks!"
"No bones, just dense flesh," the Captain stated quietly.
"It's not like any flesh I've ever seen," the medic said.
"What is it?" Gwen questioned. Just as Jack was about to get a closer look, his phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he sighed before excusing himself. As he stepped out, he answered.
"Hello?"
"Captain Harkness?"
"Yes, what has Trace done this time?" the immortal asked. For the past two weeks, Trace had…gone "wild" for lack of a better term. She was constantly getting in trouble at school and if she was at the Hub, she would continuously annoy the team and mess with stuff. Sometimes potentially dangerous stuff.
"Today your daughter decided to mouth off to her history teacher before trying to start a riot."
"And by riot, you mean…" Jack trailed off, afraid of the answer.
He heard the principal sigh. "I mean she started yelling to the class things such as 'are we going to let someone like this teach us' and was starting to get results. If I hadn't happened by the classroom in time to hear the entire class yell 'no we won't' I don't know what would've happened next."
"Great," he said sarcastically. The man had to admit, Trace had style. She knew just acting up a little wasn't going to get to him, so instead she's going big. And, unfortunately, it was starting to work.
"I'm afraid she must be suspended for the rest of the week," the principal continued, not sounding sorry in the slightest.
"I understand. I'll be there as soon as possible." With that, the Captain hung up.
After taking a few seconds to gather his strength, he stuck his head inside the truck and told Owen to grab a sample. Upon seeing that the medic was already at the task, Jack nods at Ianto.
Once the Welshman joined him outside, they started talking.
"Did you find out where it came from?" Jack asked.
Ianto understood to not mention the phone call and replied, "No, but it is a Harwood's lorry, so-"
"Oh, um, that's Rhys' firm," Gwen interrupted the two. The men turned to look at her, none noticing Rhys watching from a distance.
Before any of the trio could say something more, Owen joined them, saying, "Right, done."
Wanting to get out of there, Jack led the team back to the SUV. After dropping them off at the Hub with orders to Owen to indentify the meat, he continued on to the school.
When he got there, the Captain immediately made his way to the office, where he found his daughter sitting nonchalantly in a chair. The principal came out of his office and greeted him.
"I am so sorry about Trace's behavior lately. Things have been a bit crazy, but that's not an excuse," the immortal started to say, glaring at Trace. He didn't really pay attention to whatever the other man was saying and was soon leading his daughter back to the SUV.
They spent the ride back to the Hub in silence. Once they were inside, Trace went to go to her room, but Jack grabbed her arm. "Oh, no you don't. We're going to talk. In the office, now."
Without giving her a chance to say or do anything, he led her up to his office, closing the door behind them.
Trace settled herself into a chair while her father leaned against the desk with his arms crossed.
"You're going too far. Mouthing off a bit, cutting class, gluing Owen's hand to his chair-"
"That was an acc-" Trace started to say, before Jack cut her off. "Are all a bit childish, but I can deal with that. Trying to start a riot? That…that is going too far."
"Oh, plea-" she tried again, unsuccessfully.
"I get it. I ruined your life; I get it. But now you're living here, with me, and you are just going to have to deal with it. Now you get to spend the next couple of days stuck in here. I don't even want to hear you think about trying to sneak out. And when you do go back to school, you are going to behave."
"Do I get to speak now?" Trace asked, irritated.
"No. You get to go to your room." With that, Jack led her down to the main area and pushed her in the direction of her room while making his way to the autopsy bay.
While Owen gave Jack his report and the rest started looking into who was using the lorry, Trace seethed in her room.
Trying to calm down, she studied what she had done to the place. The furniture had come after only one day (that Ianto must be some kind of magician or something, she thought) and looked great. Ianto had cleaned the room up well; he put in bright lights, and painted the walls sky blue (possibly to lighten the place up).
Her few books, along with her new laptop and I-pod (at Jack's insistence – one time she didn't mind – and kindly upgraded by Tosh), sat on the desk. The walls now held a couple of posters of bands (classics like Motley Crue and Rolling Stones to "younger" bands like the All-American Rejects from, surprise, America, and the Kaiser Chiefs).
That magician, Ianto, found a huge, super-soft, black shag rug for her floor that she absolutely adored along with a black…butterfly chair…if she recalled the correct name. The dresser was stuffed with clothes seeing as once that woman, Gwen, saw how "few" articles she owned decided to have a "girls' day" shopping. (It. Was. Torture.)
Despite herself, Trace felt comfortable and at home in the room. Deciding that she needed some music, the girl made herself stand up and walk over to the desk to turn on the I-pod (with speakers) before plopping back down on the rug.
She hadn't actually meant to try and start a riot; she just got a bit carried away. Serves Jack right. He wanted to get to know her so bad, well now he can. Soon he should get tired of dealing with her antics and allow her to return to London on her own.
After a couple of minutes, Trace decided that she was bored and left the room. Cautiously sticking her head around the corner, she saw everyone but that stupid medic and Ianto. Wondering where they were, the girl soon got her answer.
"Jack!" Everyone heard Owen shout and the team made their way to the autopsy bay while Trace stayed in place.
She watched the team look over for a moment before Owen's annoying voice could be heard again.
"Scan shows it's definitely alien meat." Alien meat? What the hell? the teen thought.
She watched her father sigh before speaking. "Where the hell would they get it from?"
"If it's going into the processing plant, that means it's going into pies, burgers, pasties – everything," the Japanese woman, Tosh, said.
"That means people have been eating it for months!" Gwen exclaimed. Suddenly, Trace didn't feel so well as she watched the medic come up the stairs.
"Well, the DNA traces are stable. There are some signs of animal sedative, but no detectable diseases or residues. My guess is, it's good to eat," she heard him say.
"Would you eat it?" Gwen asked as Ianto came up to the group.
"Pizza's arrived; presumed it would be a late one," the Welshman stated.
Trace heard Owen sigh before asking what he gets.
When she heard Ianto tell him "usual – meat feast," her stomach did a flip while she repressed a snort.