They were still debating the merits of using alien technology several hours later when the door of the boardroom opened again and Ianto came in with a box. Jack raised his eyebrow as Ianto placed the box on the table.

"I took the liberty of ordering lunch," he said, lifting sandwiches out of the box and placing them on the table. He had gotten a large selection, so the group could choose something that appealed to each of them. Moving about the room as Jack argued against using alien tech, pointing out several cases where it had backfired against UNIT and Major Seales pointing out the times where it had worked out well, Ianto set up a second table with some folding chairs off to the side near the coffee area and placed more food on that for the soldiers to sit at. The poor men had been standing there since they arrived, and he was damned if he was going to eat in front of them while they stood there. Nodding to them, he went to the kitchenette and made a fresh pot of coffee.

"Excellent idea, Ianto." Jack stood up and stretched. He hated sitting for any length of time and he hated meetings. The two together were giving him a headache. Though he had to admit that this meeting hadn't been as bad as he had feared it would be. Grabbing his mug, he left Gwen to argue his point for him while he made his way over to the kitchen area. "Anything?" He murmured softly, not wanting anyone to hear.

"Sorted," Ianto said with a small nod. He'd tell him about their latest guest when they were alone. He pulled out more supplies, adding some bottles of water to the tray in addition to the selection of tea and coffee. Jack nodded as he refilled his cup.

"Please, have something to eat," he said as he made his way back to the table. "General, I'm sure you wouldn't mind your men taking a break." He smiled at the men. He had to admit that the two in the back made a nice pair. He had spent portions of the meeting letting his thoughts wander into a private fantasy or two. It had been with great difficulty that he had dragged his attention back to the topic on hand when one of the men at the table had asked him a question.

"No, of course not," the general said jovially, giving permission to his men. They gratefully took their seats at the other table. The food smelled enticing. Nodding their thanks to Ianto as he brought a second tray of drinks to them, they grabbed a sandwich and started to eat. Ianto had also purchased crisps as well, and the group grew quiet while they dug into their food. Once he saw that everyone was settled, Ianto made his own selection and sat down. Savoring the first sip of a freshly brewed cup of coffee, he let a sigh escape.

"Run into any problems, Mr. Jones?" Major Seales asked. He knew something had passed between the two Torchwood men, both before and after Ianto returned from his mission, but he couldn't get a read what had been communicated. Perhaps they used code.

"No. Just a standard alert in the event that anything penetrates the rift," Ianto said politely, concentrating on his food. "Usually this sort of thing is nothing, just a bit of flotsam that breaches the alarms. The usual stuff."

"How does this system work?" Seales asked, curious. Ianto launched into a vague explanation of the eddies and currents of the rift with enough jargon in it to sound extremely complicated, but not revealing much at all in what he said. Jack looked on in amusement. Gwen had to keep on looking down, because if she caught his gaze she would start laughing. At one point she did excuse herself from the room, saying she needed to check on a program she was running on one of the Hub computers. Jack suspected that it was a ruse to go off and have a giggle.

By the time the meeting finished late in the afternoon, the general was convinced that Torchwood didn't need his help. As they left the boardroom and made their way through the hallways, he swapped war stories with the captain with an easy camaraderie.