"Hey, look at that!" Toshiko exclaimed suddenly, causing Gwen to almost spill the burning hot coffee all over the floor. Carefully, she regained her balance, placing the cups on the table next to the keyboard. Tucking her hair behind her ears, Gwen asked, "What is it now?"
Since Jack and Owen had left, nothing interesting had happened. All they and been doing was playing poker, eating all the food Ianto kept in one of the rooms to cook for them- nothing really worth wasting time on. The cards were strewn about on the table, the game forgotten- they didn't really keep score anyway, forgetting who was winning. Whatever, Gwen thought, picking up her coffee, taking a sip. As soon as she let the coffee wash through her mouth, she burned her tongue, her throat singing as she swallowed. The coffee itself didn't even taste good- not enough sugar.
"Look at this," she said, tracing her finger along he screen- S.H.I.E.L.D. security cameras, "Gwen thought. Nodding, she sighed, "what are we looking at now?"
"These two here: the redhead and the man," tosh said, tapping the screen on two people, "look at what they're doing…." Squinting at the image, Gwen could barely make out a third person…
"Are they carrying someone?" she asked. tosh nodded, pressing a few keys on the board, zooming in as far as she could. the picture was slightly blurry, but even pixelated, she could make out a pair of legs, arms and a head….
"That definitely looks like a man," Tosh said in agreement, "but who exactly….?" The third man's face was obscured from view, the back of his head facing them. Glancing over it a second time, Gwen saw the brown hair, the white shirt….
"Is that…. a lab coat he's wearing?" she asked. Tosh shrugged.
"I can't really be sure," Tosh said, "I mean, it could be a plain tee shirt for all we know."
"But… it looks…." Gwen trailed off, shaken gear head as she racked her brain for the right word.
"Familiar?" Tosh finished for her. Gwen snapped her fingers, her ahdn slapping her thigh as she let it fall to her side.
"Yes! It looks familiar!" she exclaimed, "kind of like Owen!" Toshiko raised an eyebrow in question- There was no way Owen and went with Jack to S.H.I.E.L.D.
"But he said he had a date," Toshiko said.
"Well, he's with a woman, isn't he?" Gwen scoffed.
"Yes, but that can't be his date," Toshiko said with a shrug.
"He said he was dating a red hair woman, right?"
"Well, yes, but lots of people have red hair, Gwen. It could be anyone!"
"Well, can we get a read on her?" Gwen asked, "a file or something?"
"Give me a name and I can run it throughout eh records," Toshiko nodded.
"Owen said the woman's name was Natalie? No, that doesn't sound right…."
"Nadia?" Toshiko suggested. Gwen shook her head. It was definitely something that ended with an 'A' -but what? It can't be that, can it? she thought, then said, "Um, try… try Natasha?"
"Alright then…." Toshiko's nails clicked against the plastic as she began typing, a stream of weird numbers and symbols swimming onscreen. Toshiko clicked on seething and an image popped up of a woman with short red hair that was slightly curled at the ends. Her blue/brown eyes were staring bored back at them, her full plump lips pursed in annoyance. From what the picture allowed, she was wearing some sort of back leather, the collar reaching halfway up her neck.
"Natasha Romanoff," Toshiko read aloud, then pulled up the video to compare side by side.
"Red hair," Gwen pointed out obviously, "and the same black clothes."
"Shit!" Toshiko muttered under her breath. Gwen sent a look her way, asking, "What? What's shit?"
"That's her alright," Toshiko grumbled, "and she's part of the Avengers. So is the man who's helping her." She pointed to the man with brown hair not eh video screen, "Clint BArton, codename, Hawkeye."
"And Owen didn't tell us?" Gwen exclaimed.
"Well, he obviously didn't know if he got kidnapped!" Toshiko snapped back, then, "sorry, didn't mean to get worked up or anything." Gwen nodded.
"It's alright, Tosh," she said, "but how are we going to get there? Jack to the pterodactyl."
"Get where, may I ask?"
Snapping their heads up, they saw Ianto stride in, wearing the same black suit as the day before- in fact, he probably always wore the same black suit unless he went out on missions with them.
"Ianto!" Toshiko greeted him with surprise, "Jack said he gave you the day off!" Ianto shrugged.
"It got boring," Ianto said, a smile playing at the corners of his lips, "besides, no one I kno outside of Torchwood is as interesting as you guys."
"Thanks for the ridiculously cheesy sentiment, Ianto," Tosh said waving him over, "but we have a problem on our hands!" Bounding up the stairs, he joined them at the computer.
"What is it, Jack needs coordinates?" he asked. Gwen shook her head, pointing to the screen.
"No," Gwen instructed, "look there." Ianto peered over Toshiko's shoulder, following her finger. His eyes widened as realization set in.
"Is that Owen…?" he asks din astonishment. Both women nodded.
"Yeah- we need to get him out of there," Tosh said, "I mean, I know Jack is there too, but I can't get a clear signal on his phone." Nodding, Ianto said, "That would make sense, yes. But how did Owen get there?"
Toshiko pulled up Natasha Romanoff's profile, letting Ianto read through the information.
"Her?" he said, "they went on a date?"
"Yes, but she kidnapped him, Ianto," Gwen explained.
"What would they want with him?" Ianto said, "he can't rally give them anything, can he?"
"He could be forced to give them information about us, about Torchwood," Tosh said, the scenario already clear in her head: Owen, tied to a chair, a fluorescent lamp stinging in his eyes as Natasha held a knife to his neck, demanding answers….. Toshiko shook her head. She knew it probably wasn't happening, but she couldn't help herself.
"Well, even if he isn't," Gwen assured Toshiko pointedly, "we still have to go get him before he gets hurt or Jack finds out." Ianto nodded in agreement.
"Alright then," he said, reaching into his pockets, "let me just get the keys to the SUV and we can be on our way!"