Wake Up Call

An insistent buzzing sound filled the dark room as the PDA on the nightstand went off, the noise making it vibrate against the wood. A hand struggled out from under the covers, detangling itself from where it had been wrapped around another limb. Questing fingers stretched out from the bed and pressed a button under the display, silencing the noise. The hand flopped down as if its owner had used up all the energy in that one bit of effort.

Silence reigned for the space of five minutes before the device went off again. This time, the hand was closer, and able to stop it sooner. But it was enough to rouse the individual. A head pushed itself out from under the duvet, dark hair mussed as the hand brought the device close enough to view.

Eyes blinking blearily, Ianto slitted his eyes against the bright display. He peered at it for a long moment as his brain attempted to process what he was seeing. Pressing a button, the PDA went dark again and he flopped his head back down against the pillow. His eyes drifted closed for a moment, but he knew if he waited any longer that the alarm would go off again. He sighed as he glanced at the clock. Not even five and the day was already starting with trouble. He shifted, sliding out from under Jack's weight. Jack rolled over onto his back, snoring lightly. He listened to the sound with a slight smile on his face.

Sitting up, Ianto stifled a groan as tired muscles protested the early hour. He moved his head about in a circle on his neck, trying to loosen up stiff muscles. They had barely gotten four hours sleep after a night of chasing what seemed to be a horde of Weevils. He wanted Jack to sleep in until he found out exactly what it was that was setting off the rift monitor. Standing, he stretched, picked up the PDA and padded out of the bedroom.

Making his way to the living room, he sat down at his desk and turned on his computer display. The familiar screensaver swirled slowly, and he logged into the Torchwood system using his secure access code. He pulled up the rift logs and started a search to see what was going on. Putting his PDA down on the desk, he got up to start the coffee. He had a feeling he wasn't going back to bed this morning.

Moving back to his desk, he sat down again. Scanning the reports, he saw that there had been a spike down at the railway station. He sighed heavily. Just what they needed, civilians getting involved, he thought sourly. He tiredly rubbed his eyes and forced himself to focus on the information. In another window, he monitored the South Wales Police logs to see whether they had responded yet. A uniformed team was on its way to the station.

He wasn't surprised to feel hands on his shoulders. They began to massage the muscles there and Ianto tilted his head back against Jack's chest. "Morning."

"Is that what they're calling it?" Jack murmured. "I thought when it was still dark, that was considered nighttime." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Ianto's head. "What do we have?"

"Spike occurred about eighteen minutes ago," Ianto said. "From the information, it looks like whatever it is appeared at the railway station." His hands moved over the keyboard as he attempted to pull up CCTV footage. It looked like some sort of damage had occurred and had taken down the internal video system. He sighed. Jack squeezed his shoulders before letting go and moving off to the kitchen. Ianto hunted around the surrounding networks and could only find exterior footage of the building. The few people who had been at the station were outside, huddled together. Ianto was attempting to get a better image in the dim light when a cup appeared next to his elbow.

"Thanks," he said. He picked up the mug and drank, allowing the caffeine to infuse his body. "Really do need to work up the intravenous version of this one of these days." Jack chuckled as he leaned on the back of Ianto's chair.

"Oh, and take out all of the sensuous pleasure from drinking it? Shame on you, Ianto! Please remember I'm a hedonist at heart and enjoy my pleasures," Jack reminded him as he took a sip from his own mug. Ianto laughed softly at the reprimand.

"Well, we can't stop that then, can we?" He commented drily. Jack just grinned at him for a moment before looking over his shoulder. "Anything?"

"Internal CCTV was taken down by whatever it was," Ianto told him. "Looks like some people got out, though." The cameras started reflecting flashing lights and he knew that the local police had arrived. "Think we have time for a quick shower?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "As long as they're not stupid enough to go inside, we should have a few minutes to get washed and dressed before dashing out to save the world again." He smiled down at Ianto who looked up at him with a grin. "Can't have Torchwood looking unkempt."

"Oh, the horrors of that thought!" Ianto exclaimed. He stood up and drained his mug, then headed off to the bathroom. Jack stood and watched him, his eyes trailing appreciatively over Ianto's lean muscles as he moved. Ianto paused at the doorway to the bedroom and looked over his shoulder.

"Come on, work to do," he said with a grin before turning and going through the door. Jack quickly drank down the rest of his coffee before following the younger man into the bathroom.

Unfortunately they didn't have time to do more than a brisk wash, though Ianto did fend Jack's advances off more than once with a reminder that there was something dangerous at the station. He all but kicked Jack out of the bedroom, threatening to cut him off unless he behaved and got dressed. Jack sulked a bit, but behaved enough for them both to get dressed.

Soon they were headed out the door, down the stairs from Ianto's flat and out the door to the waiting SUV. Despite taking their time, they had only used ten minutes to get showered and changed, and were soon heading off in the direction of the railway station.

When they got there, they saw a crowd of early morning commuters were standing around, waiting to get into the station. The police had cordoned off the area, and more than just the one police car was lined up against the sidewalk. Jack frowned as he watched two PCs stretching tape between two light poles which lined the entranceway to the station.

"That doesn't bode well," he commented as he pulled up onto the sidewalk on the wheelchair ramp, which was the only space available to park. Several constables glared at the shiny black SUV with the blue running lights pulsing along its exterior as the two men got out and slammed the doors shut. Jack hit the kill switch and walked around the vehicle, joining Ianto as he headed towards the entrance.

The PC standing near the taped off area sighed as she watched the two men approach. One was impeccably dressed in a dark grey suit with a blue shirt and dark tie. The other wore period military gear, a grin on his face as they walked up to her.

"Who's in charge this morning?" He asked the woman. He gave her his best flirtatious grin and she melted under his gaze. Ianto rolled his eyes and looked away. It was like this every time.

"DI Swanson is inside," she stammered, giving him a starry-eyed look. He nodded amiably.

"Ah, Ms Swanson! My favorite," he said as he held up the tape and gestured for Ianto to pass.

"I don't think you're exactly her favorite," Ianto said in a dry tone as he slipped beneath the raised caution tape and held it up for Jack to duck underneath. "Especially after the last time."

"Oh come on, surely she's forgotten about that little thing," Jack said in a dismissive tone as he picked up his pace and led the way across the open area leading to the station. Ianto looked up at the clock on top of the station and saw that it was just before six. His eyes passed over to the Welsh name, automatically translating the Caerdydd Canalog sign into English, which read Cardiff General. Glancing around, Ianto could see that the crowds were gathering as more commuters arrived.

"It's going to get nasty out here soon," he commented as they reached the doors to the station and another PC passed them through. Jack looked over his shoulder and then grinned at Ianto.

"Not our problem," he said blithely and walked through the doors into what at first appeared to be an empty station concourse. The footsteps of the two men echoed. Ianto looked up towards the ceiling, noting that the art deco lights were still lit, though light was now starting to come through the skylights mounted into the immense ceiling. Looking around, he saw that the police were standing at the end under the large clock mounted on the far wall. Jack started heading in that direction, with Ianto trailing behind him.

"What, you can't walk here from your office?" DI Swanson asked in a grumpy tone as the two men approached. She had watched with annoyance when Jack had pulled up on the walkway. Trust Torchwood to not obey the rules, as usual. Jack aimed a large smile in her direction.

"DI Swanson! My day is now complete now that I've seen your beautiful face," he exclaimed as he got closer to the group. Kathy Swanson snorted in disgust as she gave the two men a scathing onceover. "Good morning."

"Nothing good about it from my perspective," she grumbled. "Any day I can go without having you mess up one of my investigations is a good day. Since you're here, it's not a good day."

"Ms. Swanson, I'm hurt," Jack said with a smile. "If you really feel that way, we can go and leave you to it." He could see from her face that she really didn't want that. He pivoted on one heel as if to leave, Ianto silent behind him.

"You're already here so my day is already ruined. Might as well get to it," she mumbled. Jack grinned at her.

"And what exactly is it?" He asked in a deceptively mild tone. She looked towards one of her men with a nod, giving permission for him to explain what they had on their hands there.

"Initial report was that some kind of monster appeared in the central booking room," Swanson said with a glance towards a notepad. "Killed the ticket taker, but he was the only one before the others got out the door and away from it. I was just thinking of calling you when you arrived. How do you do that, by the way?"

"It's a gift," Jack said with a grin. Ianto remained silent behind him. "Any kind of visual on this so called monster?"

"No, we haven't tried to go inside yet, and the windows are frosted, so we can't see inside. CCTV is also down," Kathy Swanson said.

"Yeah, we noticed," Jack said. He put his hands on his hips, pushing his coat back behind him as he surveyed the concourse. "All right, let's get to work." He spied a kiosk that was closed and looked at it longingly. "Damn shame they don't have any coffee ready."

Ianto had been looking at his PDA, trying to see if he could get any stored video from the cameras, but wasn't having any luck. "You've had your coffee his morning," he replied absently while he worked. Jack sighed dramatically and Ianto looked up from what he was doing. "What, it wasn't enough?"

"Not with only three and a half hours sleep it isn't," Jack complained. "I don't suppose…"

"No," Ianto said, looking back down again. Jack pouted and the officers watched the interaction of the two Torchwood members with varying degrees of disbelief on their faces at the two men's conversation. "Make your own if you want it that badly."

"Wow, last time I take you out with me this early in the morning," Jack grumbled. Without looking up, Ianto reached into the laptop bag slung over his shoulder and pulled a thermos out of the pocket. Jack brightened up as Ianto tossed it in his direction. "Ah, should have known better!" He deftly caught the thermos and unscrewed the top, the smell of freshly brewed coffee permeating the air. Jack poured some into the top of the thermos and drank. Closing his eyes, he savored the flavor. He didn't notice the looks of longing that the police were giving the thermos.

"Right, this is what we have," Ianto said. "I can get the cameras up and running, but will need to use my laptop. At least that will allow us to see what's going on in there." He pulled a sleek laptop out of the case on his shoulder and placed it on the top of one of the trash bins nearby. Booting it up, he waited for it to get to the logon screen. Typing in a pass code, he watched Jack with a hint of amusement while the other man downed yet another cup of coffee. DI Swanson watched impassively.

With a tone, the laptop completed its boot up process and Ianto logged into the Torchwood system. From there, he was able to tie into the station, bypassing the security systems to get to the CCTV cameras. One of the PCs looking over his shoulder watched in open mouth amazement as he tied into the camera controls and rebooted them from the laptop. Instantly, they saw lights appear on the cameras in the concourse and the cameras went through their normal calibration moves upon booting up. Ianto ignored the cameras in the room while he navigated to the ones in the central booking room.

The room was dark, the only light coming from the dim skylights above. Something shifted, blocking the view of the camera. Ianto chose another camera angle and everyone crowded around his laptop to see what it was. The light from this camera angle was better, and the group stared at the screen for a long moment.

"Shit," Kathy Swanson said as she looked at the image on the display. It was a dragon of some sort. They could see a forked tongue questing out of one of the massive jaws as a head moved about. Large unfurled wings had been blocking the first camera that Ianto had brought up. Jack moved closer and looked over Ianto's shoulder.

"Dragon?" He asked. Ianto shook his head.

"No, too many heads." Ianto opened up several other windows and brought up the other three cameras positioned about the room. One was useless, as it was aimed at the top of the desk where the ticket taker received the money, so it tracked only the transactions. The other camera was blocked by the thing's wings. The first camera showed the sinuous weaving of one of the beast's heads as it moved about. The last camera showed a different angle and Ianto peered closely at the screen.

"I'm counting several heads," he said, his voice echoing as he spoke. "At least five, though the way they're weaving about, I can't be sure I got them all." He reached out with a finger and touched one of the heads as the jaws opened up, exposing large stained teeth. "Nasty bit of work there." Jack nodded and took another sip of his coffee.

"What the hell is it?" One of the PCs asked. Kathy Swanson gave him an annoyed look for interrupting. Ianto considered his question.

"Can't be certain, but it certainly looks like a classic hydra," he said. Jack nodded in agreement. Kathy blinked.

"A what?" She asked. She knew she had to have misheard what he said.

"A hydra," Ianto repeated as he pulled back from the screen and looked at her. "In classical mythology it is a beast with seven to nine heads that was slain by Heracles."

"So what's it doing in our railway station?" She asked. She wasn't questioning his knowledge, only why this thing had come to roost on their doorstep during her shift. She silently cursed the fact that her job couldn't be a normal one, but one fraught with the unexpected.

"Good question," Jack said. He looked at the screen again. "Ianto, tilt that camera down and to the left," he requested. Ianto glanced over to the one he indicated and nodded. Using the arrows on his keypad, he selected that camera window and moved the camera. Off to one side was clearly the body of the station employee, stretched out across the floor. The two men examined the floor grimly before Jack pointed off in the direction of the far wall. "What's that?" Ianto moved the camera over and one of the heads turned and snapped at the camera. He paused, not wanting it to damage it so that they lost their only good view of the room. Something glistened in the corner.

"Please don't tell me that is what I think it is," Jack said in a low voice. Ianto moved closer, his head besides Jack's as the two men peered intently at the screen.

"Yup," was all Ianto said in response and Jack sighed.

"What?" Kathy asked them. "What is it?" Because they were so close to the screen, they blocked everyone else's view.

"Eggs," Ianto said. "It's a female, and that room is its nest." Jack pulled back and sighed heavily.

"Just once. Once is all I ask. That I wake up in the early morning and someone's there to greet me with a massage, a cup of coffee, a lovely prepared breakfast and a leisurely morning shag. Is that too much to ask?" He muttered. "But no, I have to deal with this," he turned away and started to pace as he thought. Ianto chuckled wearily and scratched his head.

"If you wait long enough, we could make you an omelet," he said with a gesture towards the screen. Jack paused and stared at him for a long moment, then smiled.

"Somehow, I don't think Momma is going to like that," he said. The two men stared at one another for a long moment before they started moving. Ianto pushed away from the trash bin and turned, heading out the door while Jack pulled his Webley out of its holster. He checked his ammunition while the group of police personnel watched in silence.

A few moments later Ianto returned with one of the Torchwood cases from the boot of the SUV. He placed it on the floor and opened it up, rooting through the box until he came up with a smaller box. Opening that, he pulled out a large syringe. Jack looked over and nodded in approval as Ianto filled the syringe with a liquid. Kathy Swanson watched with a look of amazement on her face as she watched Ianto work.

"What's that?" She asked. Jack looked over at her and smiled.

"A sedative," he said. "Hopefully it will work. Ianto, increase the dosage. We don't know how much it's going to take to subdue it." Ianto nodded and extracted some more liquid into the tube of the syringe.

"You're going to drug it?" Kathy asked. Jack nodded. "Ever think of using a tranquilizer gun?"

"This is more fun," Jack said with a grin. "And besides, we don't have time to get one here. Now, we'll try this. If this doesn't work, we shoot it. As many times as we have to. But it's not its fault it got caught up and sent here. No need to harm it more than necessary." Ianto stood up and handed him the capped syringe. Jack slid it into a pocket, needle side up.

"Been a long time since we used this, isn't it?" He asked with a grin. Ianto matched his smile as he nodded.

"Yeah, haven't had the need to since Myfanwy," he said. He removed his suit jacket and folded it over a railing. "Might want to remove the coat, since it's only going to get in the way," he commented. Jack sighed and nodded before removing his greatcoat and slinging it over the railing next to Ianto's jacket. "You know, if I ruin this suit, I'm going to expense it," Ianto commented. Jack grinned at him.

"What are you going to do?" Kathy asked them. It was obvious that the two men were preparing to go inside and deal with the creature. She was grateful that she didn't have to be the one to deal with it, but as neither seemed to be suiting up in protective gear and in fact were removing clothing, she thought them a bit reckless. "You're not going in there like that, are you?" Jack looked at her and grinned.

""Well, I could go in naked, but it might be a little chilly in there. But sure, why not?" He asked. She shook her head as her gaze went from one man to another. Ianto was rolling up his sleeves. He had added a second syringe which he tucked into his back pocket. He returned her gaze calmly as he finished turning up his sleeves before pulling the modified handgun out of the back of his trousers. He checked the gun before looking up and nodding at Jack. "Ready?" Jack asked him. He nodded.

Together, the two men moved across the concourse to the doorway the led to the booking room. They stood on either side of the doorway. Jack holstered his gun and pulled the syringe out. Uncapping the needle he checked that it was going to work. Liquid pooled out of the end and slid down the needle. He nodded to Ianto, who cocked the gun.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Jack grinned. Ianto quirked an eyebrow and smiled in response. They listened intently to the hydra moving about the room on the other side of the doorway. "All right, the door opens outwards," Jack said. "We probably have a few seconds once we open it to get into position. I'll go right, you go left. Hopefully the combined movement will be enough to distract it. With luck, I can get it right away in one of its limbs and sedate it."

"Without luck, I start taking heads out," Ianto commented with a nod. Jack lost his smile and nodded. "I'm going to go after the eggs. If it's intelligent enough, we might have a standoff if I can get between it and the eggs. That may give you enough time to get it with the syringe." Jack nodded. They stared at each other for a long moment without saying anything else.

"Let's do it," Jack said. Ianto nodded and reached for the doorknob. Turning it as quietly as possible, he tugged the door open and Jack slipped inside and to the right. Ianto slid in behind him and went to the left, pulling the door shut behind them.

TBC...