Chapter Twenty Six:
Day Five, Part Four

We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them

Albert Einstein


Johnson watched Harkness and his team working; they had to be the most hodgepodge group she'd ever seen, but they moved together more smoothly than any platoon she'd ever worked with. It didn't make any sense.

"Does Mr Smith have any idea where the alien ship is?" Sara asked Sarah Jane, through the webcam.

"We think they're using the moon as a cover," the older woman answered.

"It certainly wouldn't be the first time some alien has done that," Harry Sullivan added in a dry tone over her shoulder. "Nothing we have either down here or in orbit can touch it."

Behind him, Abby was pacing back and forth in front of the monitor. "There has to be some way to get to them." She stopped and stared into the screen. "You, Annoying Guy!" she snapped at Dekker. "There has to be something you're not telling us."

"You have my research," he began. They'd pillaged his research, made a mess of everything...

"That isn't good enough," Jack told him. "You've been studying these things for forty years. What haven't you put in your notes?"

"Nothing, I—" he stopped speaking when he found the wrong end of a pistol bare centimetres from his temple. It was Johnson. He gave a pleading look towards Harkness, but it didn't appear as if the Captain or his team were going to defend him. "There isn't anything I haven't told you!"

"That isn't helping," Sara snapped, mostly in Johnson's direction, but her frustration was at more than the woman's less than subtle tactics. She looked at Jack. "What about cycling the wavelength back at them—?"

"Like feedback!" Abby latched onto the idea. "We could use their own signal to hit them back!"

Mickey was already typing, setting up the software...

"It won't work," Dekker told them. "Don't you think people all over the world aren't thinking the exact same thing? Do you really think you're that clever?" his tone was snide. "There is nothing you can do that hasn't been done already."

Johnson took a step closer pressing the cool muzzle of her gun up to his temple. "Is there anything you haven't told us, anything missing or omitted from your research?" she demanded. "Anything that you might think would be important enough to mention if your life happened to depend upon it." The threat was obvious.

"No!" he yelped.

Jack stepped in. "Sara's right, this isn't helping," he told Johnson. "We still have…"

"Three hours," Ianto supplied the answer for him before he could ask the question.

Jack caught his gaze. Held it for just a half a heartbeat. Smiled. "Right," he said to Johnson, to the rest of them. "We still have three hours to figure this out..."

"Jack," Bobby slid over to replace Abby on the monitor. "I've been reviewing at the tapes from warehouse, from when they killed Clem MacDonald."

Abby looked at him.

"I've been trying to figure out why they killed him," he told her gently. In the moment it had just been another puzzle piece to fit into place, something to do, even it wasn't strictly useful—but when dealing with the unknown it was almost impossible to know what would be useful and what wouldn't, so it was better to treat everything as important...thank you Gregory House… he mused. "Or at least to figure out how they killed him," he added to the look Jack was giving him.

"It was that sound," said Gwen. "They used that sound, or...or something..."

The Captain shot over a questioning look.

"We heard a sound," Sara explained. "When they 'disconnected' from Clem, there was a sound."

"I've got the recording here," Mickey brought up the audio.

The dissonance made Wendy recoil; Gwen gave her arm a squeeze.

"Are you all right?" Lois asked quietly; Martha gave over a concerned look as well.

"I'll be fine."

"What is that?" Tim wanted to know. It was horrible even to mere human ears; he was grateful when Mickey cut the volume.

Jack cast his gaze towards the 'expert.' "Well, Mr Dekker? What was that sound?"

"I don't know. It's new."

"Exactly," Bobby told them. "It's new. And apparently it's deadly, maybe not just to us."

"Wait… you mean… loop that frequency back them some how…?" Abby pieced together what he was suggesting. It was brilliant!

"We could use their own weapon against them," Tim nodded. "Jack, that just might work," he looked over at his boss. "If they're susceptible to the same signal they used to kill Clem…"

The Captain nodded. "It just might work," he agreed, a hopeful smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"We just have to copy it somehow…" Mickey began thoughtfully. "And… and transmit it," he gave a speculative look in Jack's direction. "How're we gonna do that, though?"

"I'm not sure," the older man leant forward. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Ianto. His Welshman. Always by his side. "We'll figure something out," he promised softly. Ianto must be worried sick about Remy, Gavin's kids… Cade's. Their own children, if they failed, if the 456 returned some day.

"We're going to have to tap directly into whatever it is they're using to broadcast their signal," said Sara. "If we miss the mark by even a little bit…"

"We know what wavelength they're using," Gwen said.

"It's not that simple," Jack told her.

"You know what you have to do, Captain," Dekker told him coolly. "The answer is so obvious," he glanced towards the door the American, Gibbs, had taken the boy out of earlier. "It's right outside that door," he added, brows raised.

"Captain?" Johnson queried. "What is he talking about?"

"Shut up," Jack growled, but Dekker was still speaking:

"The 456 use the children," he told Johnson, "to establish resonance."

"Oh my God," Gwen looked at them, her hand going involuntarily to her own stomach, the baby growing inside her.

Johnson looked at Jack. "Is that true, is that how it works?"

"Oh yes," said Dekker. "So that means all we need is a child..."

"No…" Alice was on her feet. "No… don't you dare. Don't you even think it!"

"Jack," Gwen prompted when all he did was stand there.

"There are other options," he said then. There had to be other options. "Bobby…" Jack said into the webcam, "I need you and Abby to start…"

"There aren't any other options," Dekker cut him off again. He looked at Johnson, "You need a child."

"Why?" Lois asked. "Why a child?"

"Centre of the resonance," the man explained. "Remember when you were a little girl and you used a magnifying glass to burn ants?"

She gave over a look of disgust.

"Well, maybe not you, Miss Habiba," Dekker smiled at her, that sleazy grin that made her skin crawl. "But the principle is the same," he looked to Harkness. To Johnson. "The sunlight is that signal, the ants are the 456 and the child is the magnifying glass… and oh that child is going to fry," he added with a soft chuckle.

"No way," Sara was the first to speak into the stunned silence that followed.

"There's no other choice," Dekker told her. "You have to use the boy," he nodded again towards the door Steven had gone out earlier with Gibbs, "if you want to save the rest of them. You do want to save the rest of them, don't you?" he goaded in Jack's direction. "Time is running out."

"No," Alice repeated softly. "No…you can't. You have to tell them no!"

"Captain?" Johnson asked him in an earnest tone. "Is there another option?"

"No!" Alice stepped closer. "No, there has to be another way! You have to tell them no. Please!"

"Jack," Sara was on her feet as well, standing next to Alice, looking like she was ready to back her up if he actually…

"I—I don't know," he answered the question honestly, looking desperately towards Tim... Mickey... Martha... they didn't look like they had any answers either.

"Dad!" his daughter grabbed him by the arm, forcing him to look at her. He turned, but didn't meet her gaze. Couldn't meet it.

There was another moment of stunned silence as the others digested what she'd just called him.

"Captain, one child or millions," Johnson reminded him. "If there's no other way…"

"Dad, no," Alice begged him. "Dad, you can't! It'll kill him!"

"Jack," said Martha in a soft tone. "It will. It will kill him. And he's…he's your grandson," it was almost a question.

"I know it'll kill him," he answered her, Alice—all of them. His tone was cold, hollow. He couldn't look at any of them but he knew they were all staring at him, waiting for him to make a decision. He knew Ianto… God, what was his Welshman thinking of him now? What were any of them thinking? What would the Doctor think…what would he do? he wondered.

"There's no other way, and you know it, Captain," said Dekker, levelling a meaningful glance in Johnson's direction. "One kid or millions of 'em."

"No, please—you can't!" Alice cried.

"Jack!" Abby protested through the monitor, "Jack, you can't—you won't!"

"Jack," Gwen said his name, but he didn't look at her either, he just staring straight ahead. One child or millions of children...

Then he felt a hand on top of his; the touch was so unexpected…. He twined his fingers into his partner's and forced himself to meet his daughter's gaze. "The choice is between one child or millions, Alice, you have to understand…"

Tears trickled down her cheeks. He felt his own tears threatening to break free. Felt his partner's hand tighten around his. No matter what he would be there. He would still be there, even if…

"Dad, please," she begged. "Please, no. You have to find another way. Please!"

He looked at Johnson…at Dekker.

Someone said his name; he didn't know who. Ianto didn't move away from him, didn't speak. He held his hand.

"Dad…?"

Jack shook his head. "No," he said quietly, swallowing back the lump in his throat, scarcely meeting his daughter's gaze. He looked past her, at the rest of his team. "There has been enough death already," he told them. He felt Ianto's grip tighten on his. "Too much death," he said, standing up straighter, looking his daughter in the eye. "We'll find another way." His tone brooked no room for argument.

She shuddered and was too overwhelmed by relief to resist when he pulled her to him with his free arm—he wasn't letting go of his husband's hand. He didn't look at anyone else again, either, he just held his daughter tight in one arm and let her cry into his chest, something she hadn't done since her mother's funeral. That had been the last time he'd thought there might be a little bit of hope for them; he'd been wrong. He wasn't getting his hopes up this time, though. He just wanted to give her whatever comfort he could without expecting that anything would ever change between them.

"Captain," Johnson's voice cut through his thoughts. "If it comes to it, if you don't have another choice…"

"There's always another choice," said the Welshman standing next to him.

"There are still more of us than there are of you," the other reminded them. She found Captain Harkness' cold hard gaze locked onto hers. She didn't back down. "You can't die, but your people can, Captain. If you force me to choose between the lives of millions of children and just one… I'm sorry…" she said when Alice looked up at her. "I am truly sorry. But if it comes to it and there's no other choice, I will act in the best interest of the state. The planet."

"An injury to one is an injury to all," Jack told her in a quiet tone. "And this is one fight you don't want to pick with me, Ms Johnson, because it's one fight you will lose."

Sara slid in next to him. "It's a fight with all of us," she said. She wasn't the only one, they had all moved in towards their Captain.

"You're unarmed…" Johnson began, unable to believe anyone would seriously consider…

Wendy rose from her seat and moved to stand in front of Jack, between him and the rest of her teammates and Johnson and Dekker. Something in way she moved made those two uncomfortable… something in the way she held their gazes for just a moment before speaking in a silk and velvet tone sent a cold chill through even Johnson's core.

"If you're threatening us, than I suggest you consider something first," Wendy spoke softly and without malice, but her tone caused the hairs on the backs of the necks of every human in the room to stand on end. "When the bodies of the men you sent to New Jersey are returned to you, you will find that only fourof them were killed by bullets. What killed the rest is something you don't want to fight."

Johnson took an involuntary step away from the sound of her voice, the implication of her words. She hadn't felt the kind of cold primal fear that rippled through her when she looked into Wendy Shutten's eyes since she was a very little girl, convinced that there were monsters creeping through the darkness just outside her bedroom window. "I'm not threatening you, Miss Shutten," she gulped in a deep breath of air. "I—Captain…" she tried appealing to him as a soldier. An officer. "You of all people have got to realize that sometimes sacrifices must be made in order to win a fight. Sometimes lives are lost."

"Yes. Sometimes they are," he agreed. "But not today. We'll find another way to win this." He looked at Alice. "I promise you. We'll find another way," he swore, much to Johnson's dismay, Dekker's displeasure.

"Thank you, Dad," she whispered back, oblivious in the moment to anything or anyone else in the room.

He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, selfishly enjoying the fact that she let him, loving the way she pulled in just a little closer, just for one moment more, letting him hold her. Protect her.

Johnson regarded him a moment. Regarded Dekker. Alice Carter. She avoided looking at Wendy Shutten. There was nothing in her file… nothing to suggest… she cleared her throat and turned her attention back to Harkness. "I hope you do find another way, Captain, I really do," she told him earnestly. "If there's anything you need…"

"Yeah," his tone was bitter cold. "Get him out of my sight," he said in Dekker's direction. "Before I shoot him myself." There was absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind that he might if the man provoked him any further.

Johnson nodded. "Captain…"

"I know," he cut her off. "You're just doing your job." This time there was no sympathy in his voice, no understanding for the position Frobisher had put her in. He returned his gaze back towards his daughter. "You should go check on Steven," he told her softly. "Wendy… go with her. Keep an eye on both of them for me."

Wordlessly, she nodded, casting a long last baleful glare in Dekker's direction, in Johnson's. When she turned to Alice Carter, she softened her expression, backing herself down from the razor's edge she'd been walking, the moment between human and monster… it didn't seem to matter. Alice wasn't the least bit afraid of her.

"Come on," Wendy draped her arm around her shoulders. "I promise, it'll be all right."

"I know," she forced a smile. It was only partially forced. For all his faults, her father had never gone back on his word, never broken a promise to her. She looked back over her shoulder towards him, but his team was already crowding around him…

"Jack," Gwen laid a hand on his shoulder. "Why didn't you tell us?" her asked. "Why did you let us think…?"

"I didn't think you'd understand," he told her, told the lot of them. "Come on. We have work to do, people," he swiped his hand across his cheeks and looked to the beautiful Welshman standing next to him. "Ianto…"

"Two and a half hours, Sir," he answered the question in a brisk tone, but the look in those blue grey eyes told Jack everything he wanted to know. The pride brimming over in him… the love in his heart… his loyalty. He would always be there. No matter what, he would always be there. He gave the older man's hand another squeeze before letting go so they could get to down to work.

There was only brief pause before the others kicked into gear and started coming up with ideas…

……………………………………………………….

Gibbs looked up when the two women came out the door; it was obvious he'd missed something. Alice Carter had been crying. Wendy Shutten…he didn't want to guess what she'd been doing, not with the cold hard look she gave the soldiers who were kicking around a ball with Steven. She relaxed after only a moment, whispering something to Alice before jogging over, asking in a pleasant tone if they had room for a girl to play.

One of the men looked up at her with an appreciative smile; she was an attractive woman, after all… somehow, Gibbs got the impression she was using that to her advantage.

Alice joined him, leaning against the building.

"You ok?" he asked her.

She started to nod but had to choke down on a sob.

"Hey…" instinctively he reached out for her, resting a hand across her shoulders, bringing her in closer.

"I'm all right," she lied, accepting the stranger's comfort anyway. She looked over at her son. He was safe. At least for the moment, he was safe…

……………………………………………………

Jack accepted the cup of coffee gratefully from his partner's hand. They had been working nonstop for… he looked at the clock… two hours. For two hours they had tossed ideas around, suggestions, anything that didn't involve the loss of one more life. And for two hours not one person had asked him about Alice. Her mother. None of them had slept in days… eaten in God knew how long… none of them had even spared a moment to try contacting family members to make sure they were all right.

"You're running out of time Captain, and out of options," Johnson told him, needlessly; she'd rejoined the group after securing Dekker. "You're going to have to—"

"No," he told her. "Not yet. Bobby—" he looked at the webcam.

"Jack, you might want to have a look at this," Gwen called over. She and Lois had been monitoring the news for the last hour or so.

He didn't move, but Ianto walked over to see what they'd found. "What is it?" he asked.

"Digital 141," Gwen answered. "It's a pirate station."

"They're running a story about the kids," Lois explained. "They're telling parents to get their children home from school now, before it's too late. They seem to know something's going on."

"It's already too late," Johnson told them; her tone wasn't as cold as before, as hard. She looked up at Jack. "If they're scheduled to deliver the children at noon, the army has already mobilized. You have got to act soon or it will be too late."

"What's going to happen if they don't meet their quota?" Gwen wanted to know.

"My guess," said Johnson, "they'll start using force, start taking the children from their homes."

"That means a lot of people are going to get hurt," said Ianto.

"A lot of innocent people," Tim amended.

"Rhys and Nerys are still out there with a laptop," Gwen reminded Jack. "If we—"

He waved it off. "People are already starting to panic. We don't need to add to it, we need to stop it."

"Jack," Bobby's voice drew him back to the monitor.

"We've got it," Abby announced. Behind her Sarah Jane and Harry were both smiling, looking just as exhausted as everyone else.

"Will it work?" he asked. He almost didn't have to, not with the way Abbs was looking at him, triumph shining out of those green eyes of hers.

"It'll work," she told him anyway.

"Do it."

"Jack," Bobby's tone was one of warning, "this could take more time than we've got,"

"We'll make it work," insisted Tim; he cast a look towards Mickey.

The Londoner nodded. "Sara, we're going to need you over here," he said. "Martha, start inputting data over there…Lois, you and Gwen need to re-route some of those cables…"

"I can help," Johnson offered. "I don't know computers, but if you tell me what to do…"

Jack gave her a suspicious look, but then nodded. They needed every pair of hands they could get...

……………………………………………………….

Cold fear gripped Alice's heart all over again when her father's partner came outside. Johnson had called her men back to their posts almost an hour previously without a word of explanation as to what was going on and the look on Ianto's face gave her little reassurance.

"Jack wants to see you," he told her simply.

"Steven…?"

He shook his head. "He should stay out here. Wen… we need you too," he called over.

Alice's shook her head. "No…he promised…"

"Alice, it's all right," the young Welshman assured her. "I give you my word. Please. Trust us. Trust your father. It's all right." He glanced towards Gibbs, but either he was a better poker player than previously assumed or Alice had told him who she was to Jack already.

"I'll stay with him," the American offered.

Reluctantly, she agreed, swallowing hard; the lump of fear refused to go away.

……………………………………………………….

"Bobby, Mr Smith and I have used the information from Princeton Plainsboro," Abby explained to Alice, "to create a program that will mimic a child's brain wave patterns."

"You can do that?" Alice looked at the woman on the computer screen…at her father… and back again.

"Well… only with a very special computer," Abby grinned over her shoulder at Mr Smith. If he weren't sentient, it wouldn't have worked, they needed living brain waves to do it, at least in the amount of time they had.

"But we're not one hundred percent certain what will happen to the children," Martha cautioned in Alice's direction, before she could get too hopeful.

"What do you mean?"

"There could be an adverse effect on Steven," said Sara. "On all of them."

"The signal will start here, but it's going to go out through every single child, just like before," Bobby explained.

"And that should be enough to fry this thing's brain to a cinder," Abby added, clearly pleased by the prospect.

"We don't think the children will be permanently damaged," Martha told Alice. "We just wanted to warn you. It may hurt your son, the other children."

"There's no other way," Sarah Jane leant towards the webcam on her end.

Alice swallowed. Nodded. She felt her father's hand on her shoulder and leaned in towards him. "All right. You're running out of time, Dad. So you… you just do whatever it is you have to do before it's too late to save them," she told him through a fresh wash of tears.

"Wendy, this could affect you too," Bobby said softly. "You've heard them from the beginning."

"I'll be all right. Alice…"

She nodded, pulling away from her father to go be with her son.

Ianto laid his hand on his partner's hip; Jack rested his hand on top of his and twined his fingers into his. He looked around at his team finding the same things etched on each of their faces. Loyalty. Trust. Pride. Friendship. Love.

He keyed in the final command, then hit enter and pulling the young Welshman in close, praying they had everything just right. If they didn't, it wouldn't just be Steven who suffered…


A/N:

I apologize for not killing Dekker… I know I promised I would… it just doesn't fit in with the direction I'm trying to take Johnson (not as a future Torchwood employee, just a future human being)… BUT he will get what he deserves in the end.