Chapter 5: The Secret Is Out
There was an awkward silence in the hotel room, the agents from Torchwood 3 staring wide-eyed at Mark and Eliza. Mark rubbed his neck and offered an awkward smile, while Eliza sighed, rubbing her neck.
"Sorry did you say 'Torchwood 4!'." Owen frowned, straightening up and crossing his arms. Mark smiled chuckling "Yep. The one and only" He shrugged, sitting on the bed and tugging Eliza down as well "You would want to sit down though. It's a long story"
Owen pursed his lips but rested his back on the door, looking confused and curious at the two.
Eliza and Mark shared a look, and with a sigh, Mark started talking. "Torchwood 4 never disappeared. We simply went underground. It was around Hartman's reign, and we didn't approve to her methods. Torchwood 4 isn't like your Hub. We are specialized in gathering and archiving information and artifacts. "
Jack frowned looking at Eliza "Wait, wait. If Torchwood 4 is about information, and you're the Head Archivist, does that make you-" Eliza nodded "I… was the leader of Torchwood 4" Her voice became smaller, her eyes sad as she looked down, the guilt weighting her down.
Mark pursed his lips but continued "Anyway, we have information that the world isn't ready yet to find out. Aliens, the future, the past, all of that stuffed in our Nest. And yes, that's how we call it" He grinned though Eliza rolled her eyes "That's how you call it" making Mark pout "Fine, that's how I call it. But it's a great name" He grinned making Eliza chuckled. His grin only brightened. Making Eliza smile, mission accomplished.
"Then what happened?" Jack asked, making Elizabeth's smile fade once again. Eliza shrugged, pursing her lips "We were attacked. Mark and I were on a mission in Japan to retrieve an artifact. When we came back, the Nest was locked down, and after we managed to get inside …" She swallowed "All we find were bodies, corpses of our friends which died."
Mark was the only one to see her eyes turning glassy, so he continued "But there was no wound. No mark, or substance inside them. And there was nothing in the air. Since the Nest was locked down, it was impossible for the air to change in that time".
Eliza took a deep breath and continued "After we…cleaned… we searched for help. UNIT doesn't even know we existed, and Torchwood London had fallen. Torchwood 2 was too little to give us any help, so we came here. In Cardiff. We knew there was a Torchwood guarding the Rift. So, we did our research."
"We couldn't have just come waltz in your base, saying we are the survivors of an institute that wasn't supposed to exist. That's why we tried to help you first" Mark explained. "A weevil caught here, an alien there, some artifact delivered somewhere around the lines" he grinned and looked at Eliza "We did a pretty good job being sneaky "Too well, it seems" She shrugged.
Jack's eyes widened "So I was right. You were the one who killed Aaron Copley!" Eliza nodded "Yep. It was either that, or Owen would be killed" She shrugged "Aaron Copley was already too gone for saving" Mark scrunched his nose slightly "He was always a tad…insane"
Ianto and Jack shared a look, and turned to look at Elizabeth "Alright" Jack murmured with a small frown "Can you take us there?"
-#-
The road to the Nest was a long one. Eliza was the one driving, Mark pouting to her left. They soon arrived at a hill, looking untouched. Elizabeth sat in the car for a long time, taking deep breaths to stop her hands shaking. She looked down, gripping the wheel tightly.
Mark laid a hand on hers gently, squeezing it "It's alright" he murmured offering a small smile "If you want, I can go alone"
Eliza shook her head, finally managing to control her breathing "No, I'm fine. It's my job"
Mark nodded and squeezed her hand once again "And I'm here with you. Partners in crime, remember?" She let out a small laugh "Like you'll ever let me forget".
They both got out of the car, nodding at each other. They looked at the Torchwood 3 agents, now with Toshiko Sato, and walked to them.
"It's only a bloody hill. A huge, empty hill" Owen grumbled, making Mark smirk. "Well, of course that's how it looks. We wouldn't want people to stumble here by accident" He shrugged.
Elizabeth took her phone, typing some coordinates. She walked to the hill, and taking only one step on the hill, she apparently disappeared.
Gwen took a step back along with Owen, while Jack and Tosh gazed amazed. Mark grinned like a child on Christmas and tugged the closer one to him, Tosh, towards it. Owen's hand almost grabbed Tosh's, reaching to tug her back. "Well come on then!" Mark called, laughing.
The two soon disappeared, Jack with Ianto's hand in his following. Gwen and Owen shrugged and followed.
The Nest was clearly bigger than the Hub. At least the main room. And it looked completely different. There was a huge screen occupying a whole wall in a corner, yet no computers. There were drawers over drawers filled with papers, and in another corner there could be seen a double door from where glass boxes were aligned in the room, in alphabetical order. When Eliza touched the huge screen, she took a step back as it sprung to life. She smiled softly, watching fondly as everything came back to life. The monitor now displayed a set of words. 'Welcome back, mistress'.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this, is the Nest" Mark said, extending his hands wide with a childish glee. "And she is what we call the Interface. She is a living computer. She knows all, sees all, and hears all. Much like Santa" he mused, walking to the computer "Missed me?" He grinned, but pouted when the computer wrote a simple 'No'.
Elizabeth chuckled and patted Mark's arm, rolling her eyes "Come" She urged the Torchwood members, who still looked amazed around. Ianto and Tosh were the first one to move, following Eliza, followed by the rest. Owen let out a low whistle upon seeing the never-ending looking hall, filled with glass boxes with alien artifacts. "Blimey" he whispered.
Tosh looked like a child on Christmas. Elizabeth chuckled and gave her a bracelet, clipping one to her wrist as well. It was black with some small blue lights here and there. Tosh slipped it on her arm, looking at Elizabeth curiously. "This is how we communicate with the Interface" She explained. "That's why there aren't any computers. That's so last year" Mark added, grinning as he gave a bracelet to all the others, putting his as well.
"Anything you need, any information, you only ask. The Interface will either show it on the closest monitor, or in your mind" Eliza continued, motioning for the others to follow her "Well, this is our Vaults, as you can see" She shrugged.
Mark bounced slightly on his feet then grabbed Eliza, tugging her "Come on I can't wait" he moaned, making Eliza roll her eyes.
They soon arrived in a two-story round room, a stair allowing them to travel up. It was filled with books, covering the walls and some on the floor, as big as the main room "This is our library" She added "And where every bit of information is kept"
But Mark tugged her forward. They arrived in a room with three metal tables in the room, and four medical beds after a white curtain. There were some drawers in a corner, filled with different medical instruments, some alien some human. Mark grinned "Ah, now we're talking. Home sweet home. This is my base"
It was Owen's turn to look amazed. He walked slowly around the room, his fingers itching to touch some things. "I know" Mark nodded, without needing to know what he was talking about. "You said you're an alien expert" Owen protested looking at him as Mark shrugged "I am. But before I was a doctor."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and nodded towards the others to come to the main room, leaving the two doctors alone. "So, what do you think?" She asked Jack, who gave her his dazzling grin "This is brilliant. Really brilliant. How come we never heard of it?" Eliza shrugged "It wasn't needed. We are a small institution, few knows about her. Only the Queen and some carefully chosen ones."
Jack nodded slowly as they sat on the black sofas. "Will you help us then?" Elizabeth murmured, her hands curled together. Jack looked at the others and nodded smiling "Sure. With a condition. We have access to your information"
Elizabeth nodded "Fair enough. But no alien tech leaves this place without my knowledge. The Interface can look over them" The two leaders nodded in unison, shaking their hands.
"This place is bloody amazing!" Owen called, walking back with Mark, whose grin never left his face. "I know!"