2) Stranger Days

When I got out of my car I saw Jack appear out of thin air as he got off the invincible lift. He looked completely fine. He didn't spot me right away so I hung back and took a deep breath. I don't think I'll ever get used to having a friend who can never die. There wasn't a scratch on him, not a burn, not a bruise, and his hair still looked great. He squinted and glanced around, looking for me I suppose. However, dying must have some impact on him because there was something slightly off about him today. He didn't hold his head quite so high, he was fidgeting with the cuffs of his greatcoat and I swear I could see him biting the inside of his cheek.

I put on a smile and began walking towards him. Before I got too close I called out a greeting so he could compose himself. I figure a man like Jack doesn't want even his friends to catch him showing obvious signs of anxiety over anything. He looks up and smiles but doesn't quite manage it.

"So what disaster do you have for me today? Terrorist Aliens? Weevils? Recover the lost piece of alien technology?" I asked skipping to his side and playfully punching his arm. "Come on Harkness. Whatever sort of training you need to throw at me I am ready and eager."

"It is wonderful to see you so chipper so soon. I'm surprised," he said cocking his head to the side as if he wanted to observe me from a new angle.

"Well you know what they say. The healthiest way to deal with disaster is to ignore it," I said smirking at him but laughing in the face of personal turmoil didn't seem to be his tune, and I didn't blame him for changing the subject.

"Well I thought I'd start you off on something simple today."

"Weevil?"

"Velociraptor."

"Really? How did a velociraptor end up in Cardiff? Did it get off on the wrong bus stop?"

"Fell through the rift we expect," he said not seeming to have detected my joke at all. Maybe he wasn't as accustom to events like those of the previous night as I thought. "I'll have to request you turn off your cell phone. It could interfere with the equipment in the SUV."

He rocked forward on his heels, watching me but avoiding direct eye contact, and I noticed he was biting the inside of his cheek again. I awkwardly pulled out my cell phone and turned it off which seemed to set him at ease… somewhat.

"Lead the way," I said. He nodded and started walking away from the Hub and I fell into step beside him. As we walked the sleeve of his greatcoat brush my arm, I tried veering aside so the physical contact would break, but then Jack decided to wrap his arm around my shoulders. I glanced at his face, mouth open ready to make some witty remark about sharing personal space but once again he wasn't looking at my face. He was staring off to the side as if all of a sudden the Bay had become the most fascinating thing in all of Creation. I opted out of remarking figuring it was nothing.

The great, sleek, black SUV appeared from around the corner. It had been parked haphazardly on the curb as if someone had been in a hurry but I guess that could have very well been the case.

"So, none of the other are coming to help with this misplaced dino?"

"No they are working on picking up the Raxacoricofallapatorians' mess back at the police department and at city hall," he said removing his arm hastily as if I'd confessed to having a skin disease and then he walked around the hood of the car to get into the driver's seat. I winced at the crass way he talked about what happened. He lad across the front and pushed open the car door for me. "Come on then Annie, we don't have all day."

"Ew, no one calls me Annie. Or Anne for that matter. Just Anwen," I babbled climbing into the passenger seat. I hardly had the door closed before he was speeding away.

"We don't have time to dilly-dally that raptor could hurt someone," he said anxiously. When I finished pulling my seat belt across my chest and plugged in he glanced at me and then at my hand, which was gripping the armrest for dear life as he broke the speed limit by a margin he could go to jail for. He looked to the road and back before apparently deciding my discomfort over his driving warranted needing my hand to be held. When he placed his large hand over my small more slender fingers I felt rage stinging my insides and I sharply pulled back my hand.

"What are you doing?"

"I just thought-"

"Pay attention to the goddamn road."

"Sorry," he said rolling his eyes and dragging out the sorry like he was a teenager.

"Did someone call in a sighting?"

"We could determine there was activity in the area and… um… Dylan and Marnie did some technical thingy to um find out about what came through."

"How?"

"I thought you didn't like techno-babble. Didn't take your sciences in school and all that nonsense."

"Were they able to tap into local cameras?" I offered.

"Sure that's what happened," he said glancing into the rear view mirrors. Finally Jack pulled over outside an old multi-level parking garage. He reached into the back seat and surprised me with a massive rifle. "This is loaded with tranquilizer darts. Shoot yourself in the foot and you will die. Shoot a pedestrian and we can cover it up. But do us all a favor just shoot the raptor."

"Ok, and what will you do?"

He pulled out the spyglass and smiled arrogantly, "I'll observe from a far."

"And if things go all Jurrasic Park in there?"

"We'll deal with that when the time comes," he said before giving me directions as to how to operate the rifle and sending me in alone.