Part 3 is up. Enjoy :-)

Tobey stopped halfway before reaching his home. He turned around. His adrenaline levels were still high. He had just seen an alien. And was now just walking away? No way. He walked back towards the aquarium. He entered the building. The girl looked up but after raising one eyebrow confused by his sudden return thought it would be best to just ignore him and returned to her sudoku book. Tobey smiled and continued walking. He remembered perfectly well which path to take and quickly found the room sealed of for renovation.

He turned on the switch on the wall and the lights revealed an empty fish tank. His heart started beating faster. Where did it go? He looked around hectically. The alien was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, I haven't been expecting you," he heard a voice behind his back. He turned around swiftly.

There was a man standing in the corner of the room. He was wearing a black heavy coat and his hands were hidden in thin gloves. He had wellingtons on his feet and his hair looked a bit too greasy. Despite this unusual getup, his face looked very innocent. Large grey eyes and high cheekbones. His lips weren't smiling, but were slightly open in surprise.

"And you are?" Tobey asked trying to calm down his beating heart. He was trying his best not to panic. Somebody was here and that could mean he had seen the alien. And what trouble that would be. Of course he too had seen the alien and he wasn't in the least involved in the past incidents connected to it but he knew about Torchwood. Wasn't that enough?

"I am Murro Lebiexantrov," the man introduced himself. "We met before, Mister Magpie," he said seeing the confusion. on Tobey's face.

"You- You're the alien?" he asked with utter surprise. "But you were...?"

"I can change forms," Murro said, his voice unchangingly calm and relaxing. "And what brings you back here?"

"Never mind that, why are you out?" Tobey asked.

"I thought I'd take a stroll, that's all," Murro said remaining confident as always. He had frowned for a tiny moment aware that something was going wrong. But it wasn't long enough for Tobey to notice. "And you?"

"Me?" Tobey suddenly felt relaxed and trusting. He leaned against the glass aquarium and slid down. "You know what? Some time ago, I wouldn't have even dream that something like this would happen. Aliens and you and Torchwood. It all started with them, you see. With Torchwood. This girl, Toshiko Sato, pure computer genius she was. It was over two years ago, when I started working for the police. They hired me to update their system and the firewalls. And it turned out that these Torchwood people were hacking the database for months or even years by that time. I tried fighting with them but Miss Sato was on a completely different level than me. And I dare say I'm not a bad programmer myself. I think I might've fallen for her then. For her and for the life she was leading. With each new piece of information on Torchwood I found my infatuation with Miss Sato grow, I wanted to lead the same exciting life as she did. I don't even know when this obsession turned from Miss Sato to the whole of Torchwood. I guess sitting behind a desk is just not enough for me."

Tobey had no idea what made him tell this story to a person, let alone an alien, he had met only once before. But he did. He didn't leave out any details which surprised him even more. He blinked twice when he reached the end. But he didn't feel guilty or uneasy about speaking with the alien about it.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Oh, I was brought here, somehow, probably by that rift in time and space Mrs Cooper told me about," Murro repaid Tobey with the story of how he had gotten to Earth and what he had to do to survive. Tobey wasn't even moved by what he said about killing those innocent people. At least not in the way he should have been. A normal person would be horrified, would reject the idea of aliens but Tobey felt a little bit of pity for the alien. His mind didn't register the gravity of the situation or maybe it was the way Murro spoke about it that prevented him from calling the alien a murderer.

After some time, Tobey didn't even know how long, they were interrupted. The man who Tobey saw at the entrance to the room shocked him even more than seeing an alien.

"Oh... My... God..." he whispered. "You are... Jack Harkness!" he said barely uttering the words.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack corrected him. "And you are?"

Tobey rose to his feet.

"I'm Tobey, Tobey Magpie," he introduced himself more than eagerly.

"It seems you already know my name Tobey Now tell me what are you doing?" Jack asked.

"Oh, you have no idea!" he said, his voice very excited. He didn't even notice the question posed. He went on with telling the Torchwood tale from his point of view. "I've been watching you guys ever since I started working for the police and you are amazing! I can even go as far as to say that there is no system you can't break. I work in IT, you see, and I've tried so many things to block you out but it proved impossible!" Tobey didn't notice his excitement made his entire speech mixed-up and consfusing.

Jack smiled. He had always enjoyed a bit of flattery. Even though he knew that Tobey was talking about his colleague it still felt really good.

But he had to cut it short sooner or later.

"Tobey," he said. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Right, but don't worry, I know all about it," Tobey continued his flow of words of which little were useful information for Jack. "I know about all this and," he lowered his voice, "Torchwood. It's such a pleasure to meet you, Mr Harkness."

"Captain," Jack corrected him once more. "Or just call me Jack. Just don't call me Mister; it makes me feel old. But now explain to me why are you here."

"Oh, right. I'm well aware of the true nature of Murro, over there," Tobey said, still unable to grasp everything that was happening to him that day. Meeting Andy was enough just get pulled into this amazing world he had always seen from behind his computer screen and had never the courage to pursue. Another thing he was amazed by was his own behaviour. He had never before acted on impulse like this. Not to mention talking so openly with people he didn't know and with those he admired. "But I can assure you, he's completely mild-mannered."

Jack looked at him not entirely convinced by his last statement.

"Right, and are you aware that his true nature is that he releases chemicals that are suppose to make you feel safe and trusting around him?" Jack asked. The surprised look on Tobey's face was enough of an answer. "Correct me if I'm wrong Mister Murro. It's a defence mechanism. The body produces chemicals and your voice does the hypnotising. Am I right?"

The alien didn't answer. It just stood in his corner trying his best not to display its anger in front of the humans. Everything had been going so well until this man came.

"And I suspect that the fact that you are standing in front of the tank and not in it doesn't mean you were trying to escape, right?" Jack said, his voice full of irony.

"I have figured that there was nobody who could help me here," Murro confessed. "I am just trying to go back to my own planet!" he defended himself.

"I know, and I hope that I will be able to help you. But right now I have to get you out of here. It's too dangerous for you to be here."

"So you can't help me?" Murro asked, his voice unusually cold. The alien obviously did not believe Jack.

"Not now, no," Jack was sincere in his answer. "But we will find a way. And we can help you then."

"And who is this we that you speak of?" Murro asked still suspicious. Jack didn't sound like a civil servant in one bit.

Jack smiled. It had been a while since he had said that word like this to someone who was still unaware of what exactly it meant.

"Torchwood."

It took a few more minutes to convince Murro to come with Jack but finally the vision of a more comfortable safe house was enough. Tobey on the other hand was a bigger problem. At first Jack wanted to just ask him a few things about the case and get him to leave but the programmer clung to him and just wouldn't leave them alone.

"Do you know where the back exit is?" Jack asked.

Tobey wasn't sure but said it was quite possible that it would be at the end of the corridor.

"Great, now go home, Tobey,"Jack said. "You shouldn't get involved."

Tobey didn't listen. "I can help you! I studied computer science, I know almost everything there is to know about computers! I worked with them all my life!"

Jack ignored him and rushed down the corridor with the alien. Just the thing he needed: another person obsessed with joining Torchwood.

Tobey kept following them.

"I know about Miss Sato," he said with great respect towards her hidden in his voice. "I know I can't match her but I am good with computers and I could really help!"

Jack said nothing.

"You could give me trial time! Two weeks, that's all I want!" Tobey continued more desperate than ever. "I helped your friend earlier, I helped Ianto Jones, I can be helpful!"

Jack clenched his fists and closed his eyes for a short while. He didn't let Tobey see it though. As if pointing Ianto towards Torchwood was really "helpful".

"Fine, come by the bay later," Jack said surprised by his own consent. "But unless you have a car I can use you can go for now, we'll meet up later."

Tobey couldn't utter a word. He was shocked. "Yes, right, thank you," he said and stayed behind looking at Jack, unable to compress his excitement and happiness. "Sorry I don't have a car!" he said and turned around ready to leave Jack.

"One more thing," the Captain stopped him. "You're attitude won't do. I don't want you to just match Toshiko's skills. If you can't surpass her then you're useless."

Jack continued walking staying just an inch behind the alien to make sure that it did nothing.

"Where are we going now?" Murro asked once Tobey was out of reach.

"To the Hub," Jack said. "Then we'll help you adapt and search for a way to get you back to your planet."

"Right," Murro wasn't really convinced.

"But if you kill anyone...," Jack threatened him quietly.

Murro glanced at him. The seriousness in his captor's voice was really frightening. Now Murro felt he really did want to return to his planet as soon as possible.

o*o*o

Jack led Murro to the Hub. John was one step away from organising a party there. The music was turned up very loudly and there were a few bottles of wine already lying on the tables. He installed some of the computers from the basement but Jack couldn't be certain if the circuits weren't burnt from the spilt alcohol.

"I see you brought a guest!" John greeted him, shouting through the music. "I thought you were only staying for a short while. Just to check up on Gwen and everyone."

Jack had already turned the volume down.

"Well that's not gonna work is it?" Jack said. "I am stuck here, aren't I? My vortex manipulator isn't working."

"The thing is, Jack, there's been a little problem."

Jack raised his eyebrow.

"We're a bit too late and I'm afraid things might have gotten a bit more complicated," John said. "I messed a few things earlier and now I think we got here a week later than I thought we would."

"Well then, John, I think you are saying this a little to late. Things are already pretty complicated," Jack said. "This is Murro," he introduced the alien. "Take him downstairs. It's just temporary, don't worry," he added to the alien.

John wasn't exactly happy to be the one to do the dirty work but he obediently put Murro in the holding cell. He then came back to the main room and found that the music had been turned off. Jack was setting up the computers. The Captain turned around.

"Can you explain one thing to me, John," he said obviously angry. "What exactly did you mean when you said that you messed things up earlier? Do you know that I'm here?"

John looked at him not knowing what he meant.

"Well, obviously you are here, I don't see why you wouldn't be here since I brought you here myself," he said.

"I don't mean that," Jack said. "I saw Gwen today. And apparently she saw me robbing a bank earlier today."

"Well, aren't you quick, Jack," John said and whistled.

Jack smiled the way he used to when he was just about to announce something important to an unbeliever. "Except she said I was younger. Do you know anything about that?"

John turned his attention to Jack completely. He wasn't smiling and joking around anymore. If there was one thing they had learnt in the Time Agency is to not mess with time. Never do anything that could change the course of history and never meet yourself or mess with your own timeline or of the timeline of somebody you know.

"If I had known I would have never..." he started but Jack cut in.

"Well it seems that it's the me from the Time Agency and I don't have any memories of robbing a bank in Cardiff," he said.

"What do you mean?" John asked.

"Do you know why I left the Time Agency, John?" Jack continued.

John smiled awkwardly. "No... But what does that have to do with any of this?" he asked.

"I left because the Time Agency erased my memory, two years of my life gone in a blink of an eye. And seeing how I'm here I think that they might have had something to do with Ianto's memory being erased."

"Wait, Eye Candy's alive?" John interrupted but his acting ability wasn't good enough to cover up his abashment. That or he just didn't try hard enough. He was thankful that Jack was now sitting in front of a computer and searching the internet for news. But he was a little bit disappointed that Jack didn't see through his "act". Of course he knew Ianto Jones was still alive...

"Yes, although I don't know how or why or even if it is Ianto at all," Jack said. "For all I know it might as well be someone or something trying to infiltrate Torchwood. But something tells me that it is him. He looks like his own shadow and seems to have forgotten most of what happened in Torchwood although he says that he can remember the things that he had learnt."

"Right, I thought you said that Eye Candy was dead," John said He glanced around nervously wondering just how suspicious he looked. He hoped he had managed to hide some of that nervousness that was trying to creep into his voice.

"I don't know how it happened but he seems to be alive," Jack glanced over his shoulder at John. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you, John?" he asked.

John swallowed. He felt his face becoming hot. "No, of course not," he said but he already knew that he was done for it. Jack had already seen through his attempts.

"The biggest problem right now is the me from the past," Jack continued. "If the Time Agency is here then that can only mean that somebody is going to get hurt. Look!" he pointed at the screen.

It was an article about the bank robbery. It stated that only one thing was robbed and the owner refused to comment any further on the contents. The culprits were a pair of odd looking people. A girl with a robot arm and a man with no special features and an american accent.

"Hey, I'm not plain!" Jack said outraged at the description.

John laughed. "Well you certainly lose to a bionic arm, Jack," he said.

"Well at least I was paired up with Aoife and not somebody else," Jack commented. He resisted the urge to glance at John.

"Yeah, she could always cool you down... somehow..." John said. "And she hated you!" he laughed.

"None of the images are too accurate, that's a plus," Jack said looking at the picture. "Thankfully the press wasn't allowed too near. And the CCTV is how it is... They've got a testimony sketch," Jack scrolled down to see the whole image.

"You can rest assured, you look nothing like it," John said after seeing it.

Jack's vortex manipulator started beeping. They both jumped. Neither of them had expected that.

"Should I answer it?" Jack asked.

"It must be for the past you. It's the same machine," John noted.

They didn't have to debate any more. The communicator turned on without any of them doing a thing.

"Now that's something new," John said but was immediately shushed by Jack.

"It's Aoife."

The holographic image of the girl wasn't too good but the bionic arm was something no one could mistake.

"I have just been informed there will be a change to your mission," she said. "There is a person living on Varguard Way. He is an alien that has escaped from planet 61. And it seems that he's not the only person living there who is not supposed to be here. There's a human associated with them. She comes by every week on a Friday and visits them. You are to make sure that she is there tomorrow and once she is inside blow the whole complex up. Use the M3."

The connection was lost.

"We're in trouble," Jack said.

John looked at him surprised. "Don't tell me..."

"That's the Torchwood safe house. And she was talking about Gwen."

"Why would anybody want to kill Gwen?" John asked.

"Oh, they don't want to just kill Gwen. They want to kill me as well."

o*o*o

Tobey stepped into the tourist information center for the first time since he had learnt about it months ago. He had never found the courage to go inside. He kept his little fascination to himself and never stepped over the border of reality. It was all like another world to him until today. Now he finally could take that leap into the world of his dreams. He knew everything an outsider could know about Torchwood. Now he had to learn everything there was to know from the inside.

The room was empty. Only one light was glimmering, barely chasing the darkness into the corners of the room. There was a desk in the middle and a few cork boards with maps and tourist offers, all outdated by a few months. There were also a few fliers and some stationery lying on the table.

The door on the side of the room was slightly open. He went through and down an elevator until he reached a huge cement cog wheel that blocked the road.

He looked through one of the round glass windows in the cog wheel and saw Jack and another man discussing something. They were looking at the computer screen. They both looked in his direction at the same moment. Jack pressed a few keys on something he had on his wrist and the cog wheel rolled over revealing a pathway into the giant operation base.

"This is Tobey Magpie," Jack said. "He will be working for us temporarily. Tobey, Captain John Hart; John, Tobey Magpie," he introduced the two.

"Hi," Tobey said.

"And why did you recruit him?" John asked.

"It's only temporary and with just two people we won't be able to do much, will we?" Jack explained.

"Yes, but why him? I thought Eyecandy was alive," he said.

"And I thought you were jealous of him," Jack retaliated.

"Well... but at least I know him, and this guy just came out of nowhere!"

"Toshiko said he wasn't bad," Jack said returning to the computer. "I was thinking of him a while back but with everything getting complicated with the Four-Five-Six we were a little busy.

"Toshiko told you? When did that happen? I thought she died!"

"Well she said there was a new person in the police who kept updating the firewall trying to fight with her. I remembered it later."

"Do you think he will do the job?" John asked. They were talking as if Tobey wasn't there.

"He will certainly have a lot to learn but he must be up for it."

They looked at him. Tobey was looking straight at them with a dose of fear and fascination. He had never anticipated this turn of events. That and Torchwood being just two people.

"You can start by installing all the equipment properly," Jack said. "It's all behind that door," he pointed at the entrance to the lower levels where the prison cells were. "We have only two workspaces running right now excluding the rift monitor. There are a few computers you should get installed and connected to the server. I'll send you the file with all the details from Tosh's computer."

Tobey wasn't stupid so figuring out that they just wanted him gone for a while didn't take him long. But he was too excited to complain. And he wanted to prove himself.

Jack and John waited patiently for him to disappear behind the door.

"So you're saying they want to kill you?" John said with a note of disbelief. "I thought you couldn't die."

"I can't now, but back in the Time Agency there was no problem with that," Jack explained. "It seems that somebody doesn't like me very much. He wants to kill me and probably Gwen tpp, but doesn't bother with anyone else. What does that tell you?" he couldn't help his habit from when he was with Torchwood.

"If they kill you and Gwen Torchwood will be over," John said. "OK, but how would they kill you?" John asked feeling confused about the situation. "I mean you're just planting a bomb and safely leaving by the front door."

"The safe house has an alien technology detector and locks down whenever something unregistered enters the premises. So I wouldn't have a way to escape."

"What about the vortex manipulator?" John asked.

"The defense system sends out a weak magnetic impulse that shuts down all electrical devices. But the M3 bomb won't be affected because the impulse is too small."

"Right, and that person hates you so much he wants to kill you?"

"He hates me and Gwen and probably Torchwood as well," Jack corrected. "If only I were targeted then it could be anyone. But since its me and Gwen obviously it must be something Torchwood related. It seems he's angry about something. And I bet me and Gwen, we must be at the center of it. If he knows about the Time Agency he can move through time, most likely he's from the future. He wouldn't bother about the rest of Torchwood because they are either dead, unknown to him or after our death won't be involved in Torchwood at all. But M3... it's too big for an assassination. It's big enough to destroy the entire complex!"

"So we're stopping it, right?" John said and a grin appearing on his face. He could feel the excitement in Jack's voice and he himself could never resist a little adrenaline rush.

Jack grinned.

"That's what Torchwood is for."

o*o*o

Ianto waited patiently for Jack to leave the building. He was sitting on a bench right by the entrance just waiting. Before long the rain was pouring down in a torrent and sometimes the wind would blow towards the building and the water would rain on Ianto leaving him soaking wet.

He saw a few people entering and leaving and finally the building was closed for the night. It was early evening when the place became empty and dark. The only lights that were lit were the street lanterns and some faint lights from inside the closed aquarium.

Ianto searched his pockets and found the money he got from Jack. In the end Jack wouldn't take it back. He considered what he should do with it. His first thought, giving it back, was quickly overruled. He walked towards the bay in search for a hotel. He could no longer impose on Gwen and Rhys. But he wouldn't give up joining Torchwood. There was no way he could do that. He thought that maybe if he found something that could get Torchwood's interest he could get Jack's permission to join.

He thought again about searching for a room for the night but he had little time for sleep that night. He needed to get back to Torchwood. He needed to start executing his plan. He found an internet cafe which seemed to be opened late. He didn't immediately start searching the web for a case Jack might be interested in. First he asked the owner, a young man, probably his age, in a colorful buttoned-up shirt and with middle length brown, curly hair, if he could make a call. Thankfully, there was no problem with that.

He dialed Gwen's number almost automatically. He didn't have to wait long for the answer.

"Hello?" he recognized Gwen's voice. From the way she spoke he could easily say that she was preoccupied by something at the moment.

"Hi, this is Ianto," he said and smiled hearing the static resulting from shifting the phone.

"Hi Ianto," Gwen immediately changed her voice. "So... did anything happen?" she asked.

"Well aside from Jack buying himself peace from me nothing," Ianto said.

"I told you it's too dangerous, Ianto, and Jack knows it," Gwen said. "You shouldn't be surprised."

"I'm not," Ianto said, his voice losing that bit of amusement he had earlier. He prolonged the silence on both sides. "I can't give up," he finally said with his voice filled with nothing but pure desperation. "Not now."

There was silence from Gwen's side of the phone. For a second Ianto thought that maybe she wasn't listening to him anymore but a loud sigh made him reject that thought.

"I'll talk to Jack tomorrow," she said. "But I'm never doing it again. No more help from me ever. So don't think me cold hearted. You died once, Ianto, I just don't want to see you that again. Ever."

Ianto smiled. Gwen's tone reminded him of a child who's too stubborn to say that it's not right. He knew that Gwen did have a point but she must've also understood what the truth meant to him. And in his case Torchwood was the truth. After all he had seen how attached she was to Torchwood herself. And he had little doubt that back when he was alive, alive and with memories, he had the same attitude towards it. Somehow, he knew that he was really, really happy then.

"Thanks," he said, relief and joy fighting in his voice.

Gwen hung up and Ianto was finally at peace. He had absolutely no doubt that he deserved to know what exactly happened to him. Now it was just about the means.

He sat down behind one of the computers and immediately knew that this was going to be a very long night.

Hope you enjoyed the story so far - I would've made this part longer but it was just the perfect place to stop.

The ending - I promise it will have a bit more action than this part - coming soon :-)