Minutes earlier…
With another dose of coffee in her hands, Gwen strolled towards the computer desks. "Well, that was a waste of ti-" She glanced up and came to an abrupt stop. The mug slipped from her hands and a resounding crash filled the room.
Gwen blinked. Did he just…? He can't have? But that's impossible. Well, maybe not impossible, just a little unlikely.
Sat at his desk, barefoot, Ianto looked at the fragments and then at Gwen.
"I'm not clearing that up." he told her, smiling.
Speechless, she pointed at his foot, staggering towards him. "How did… huh… when did…" she started, then cleared her throat, looking back to the office. "How long was I in there for?"
"Not that long." He gave a nervous chuckle. "Are you alright?"
"Do that again." Gwen muttered, kneeling down at his feet. Ianto shrugged at her, confused by her statement.
"Do what?" He looked at his foot and then the new hopeful expression on her face. Ianto finally caught up but returned to his work, unwilling to meet her gaze again. "You need more sleep."
"Your big toe twitched, it moved." she told him, unable to hold back her happiness.
"You're seeing things."
"Ianto, I swear." she said, holding her hands to her chest. "I wouldn't do this to mess with you."
"I know." he said gently cupping her cheek.
Sighing, Gwen got to her feet, not wanting to push the matter any further. Maybe she was tired, but she knew what she saw.
Nevertheless, Ianto was always the more realistic person on the team and as much as he would love to have believed her, his mind told him that Gwen imagined it. His muscles felt stiff and uncomfortable as he ran his hand on the sole of his foot. The strength was missing and for now he would be confined to the chair for a bit longer.
But however dire his own situation, he knew that he had to focus. Being distracted by something that could take a few more weeks was not worth it. So, when the computer beeped at him, he called the one person who could make a difference.
Now….
"What do you mean?" Jack asked, wondering if he had misheard him.
"I've found the ship's location." Ianto repeated.
"How?" He was desperately trying to keep his voice calm. Ellie was still standing in the room and as much as he preferred her to DI Grumpy, the less she knew the better.
Ianto fell silent. "Don't be mad… but I used the rift."
"You did what?!" Jack yelled down the phone. His loud voice rang through the room causing Ellie to scrutinise him. The Captain causally glanced around and gave Ellie his best innocent smile. Needing privacy, Jack marched into the empty living room.
"Ianto, I know you want to help, but using the energy from the rift is dangerous." Jack reasoned, trying to keep his inside voice.
"I know, but I didn't have choice. Jack, there's a disused warehouse about forty minutes away from the hub. It's where the alien went before it attacked Hallway." Ianto informed him, staring at the screen. "Gwen's getting ready…"
"I thought I said…"
"Jack, we can't wait." Ianto said, his voice firm. "I checked the tracker on the car, I know you are at Helen's Jones house. What's happening?"
"She's dead."
Jack ran his fingers through his hair, hoping to come up with any solution that would keep his friends out of trouble, but Rose's words raced through his mind. They chose to join Torchwood, they know the risks. He could sense they were getting closer and closer to the end of the case, but if something was protecting the ship, then Gwen couldn't go alone, but Ianto couldn't go either. Rose could leave Broadchurch for a couple of days but since she had developed a connection with the police that could be exploited, Jack needed her more than ever.
What other choice did he have? So, reluctantly, he gave in.
"Put her on the phone." Ianto handed over the phone and he was instantly greeted by the strong voice of Gwen Cooper.
"I need you to be careful. I know you can look after yourself but please.."
"I know what I'm doing." she countered.
"Call in with Ianto every half an hour and if he doesn't get a response, I'm coming after you. Got it?"
"Yes, boss."
He cut off the call and turned to see a suspicious Ellie standing in the door way.
"Your mother again?" she joked, but her tone was laced with a seriousness that Jack didn't want to deal with.
The Tyler women had a nosy streak in them.
Rose always blamed Jackie's influence but since meeting John, she seemed to have gotten worse. She needed to know everything, even something that was a rumour. However this little quirk did come in handy for the job. She always managed to ask the right questions.
Alec followed the curious blonde as she roamed room to room looking for Helen's bag, for reasons he didn't fully understand. Finally they came to the master bedroom and Rose wasted no time diving into the wardrobe looking for clues.
Alec waited by the door, intrigued by the theory that was running through her head. However when Rose bent over to reach something in bottom draw, he had to bite back a groan. Why the hell did she wear those jeans to a murder scene?
"Okay, Rose, I give up. What are you looking for?" he asked, keeping his expression innocent.
"I told you, her bag." she said as if it was obvious. She was sure that she just told him that. What could have distracted him? Rose tried recalling the day before and what bag Helen had with her, or if she had one at all. Knowing that she was beginning to second guess herself, she stood up straight and met the undivided attention of DI Hardy.
"If we find her bag, her keys should be inside. Then we know if the killer used hers or had a set of her own." Alec arched an eyebrow at her. "Trying to narrow down the possibilities." she defended.
Though, she was half lying this time, Rose was looking for Helen's bag and keys but also her purse. If someone was going to have a form of ID on them, it would be their driving license which would have her address on. If the aliens had looked through her belongings, they would know where the teleport her back. It sounded like a half-cocked idea but it was all she had at the moment.
Rose knelt to look under the bed and from underneath came her muffled voice. "Did you find any personal items?"
"No, same as the last time, no signs of any clothing or anything."
Rose pulled herself up, her search turning up nothing. She pulled back her hair from her eyes and sighed. Alec watched the distressed Torchwood agent tired of not getting anywhere. "We'll find them."
Rose turned to face him. "Yeah." But then she wrinkled her nose confused by the statement. "Wait… them?"
"Yeah, them." Alec clarified as if it was obvious. He'd assumed that Torchwood already knew, but for once the police had the upper hand.
Rose stepped closer to officer. "You think there is more than one killer?" she asked.
Alec nodded grimly. "Yeah, Brian and his team confirmed this morning that there were two different sets of teeth marks on the bodies."
"And you didn't think to mention it?" Rose cried, angrily.
"You were busy looking for handbags." he remarked.
Feeling her anger bubble again, the Bad Wolf was near to breaking out of her cage. "How does Ellie put up with you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "Why are you withholding information? I thought we were meant to be working together?"
Alec crossed him arms, amused by her statement. "Like Torchwood isn't keeping any secrets?"
"Why are you being like this?" Rose huffed.
"Being like what?"
Rose opened her mouth but then swiftly closed it. Shakily, she stepped back, glancing at the floor. "I… erm… doesn't matter." Rose muttered, doing her best to avoid eye contact. "I need to talk to Jack."
She headed for the door, but Alec reached his hand to stop her, not wanting them to fall out again. "Rose, don't." His hand slipped into hers, gently pulling her back. Her breath hitched at the touch, his cool skin against hers.
A jolt of energy passed through them both, halting their movements. Both swapped bewildered looks, but kept their position. It had been a while since either one of them had felt this sort of connection. Rose shuddered, as Alec's thumb gently stroked the back of her hand. Her heart rate speed up and she tugged her hand back before something else happened.
"Sorry." Alec murmured, mistaking her response and slid his hands back into his pockets.
"Sorry for what?" A bemused voice came behind them. Ellie and Jack walked towards them. "Has he pissed you off again, Rose?" he asked half-heartedly, searching her face.
"No." she said, sheepishly shaking her head. Quite the opposite, she thought..
The sudden change of tension in the air alarmed Jack and Ellie, making them wonder what had been exchanged in their brief absence. Nevertheless, Jack had some important information to share with his colleague and he was sure whatever had happened Rose would tell him if it was important.
"Well, then," Ellie said, breaking the awkward silence, quickly glancing at Alec to check he was alright and seeing his usual grim expression, she carried on. "We need to get statements from the hospital and collect CCTV footage from the area. Need to see if anyone saw her leaving the house and what her actions were."
Alec nodded, removing the need to speak as he feared his voice would crack.
"Actually, I saw Helen yesterday." Rose admitted. "I bumped into her, she said she was on her way to work."
Rose explained to the astounded police the events that had occurred with Gary and Helen outside the pub. Alec didn't bother to ask how Rose knew about the Three Sailors pub. Jack must have told her after his meeting with him on the cliffs.
"You need to give a statement." Ellie said. "It will help piece together what happened."
"Speaking of filling in the gaps, why didn't you mention that you and DI Hardy believe to that we might be dealing with more than one killer." Rose asked.
"What?" Jack said, looking at Ellie's guilty face.
Ellie looked to Alec and noted the hurt expression on his face as Rose went back to formal names. Before she could defend him, he cleared his throat. "Our team has found two different sets of teeth marks on the bodies which suggests whatever this is, there are two culprits involved."
But instead of having the Torchwood agent scream at him as well for withholding information that is vital to the case like Rose nearly did, Jack simply said, "Huh, figures."
Jack turned his foot to leave the room, but then turned back, wanting to poke the bear some more. "Do you make it a habit not to trust anyone, DI Hardy?"
"Jack." Rose warned.
"You haven't given us a reason to trust you? We know nothing about you, not really." Alec retorted.
Both Ellie and Rose stepped in front of their colleagues, knowing that a dead woman's house was not the appropriate place for them to start screaming at each other. "Okay, now is not the time to do this, sir." Ellie protested.
Jack looked at Rose and then gave a quick wink, telling her that now was the time to leave. "Ellie, maybe we should talk later when the boys calm down." she suggested.
"Oh, I agree." Ellie said, taking charge.
The dynamic duo began to walk away, when Alec couldn't help but get the last word in. "What does limited powers mean?" he asked, knowing he had them caught.
Thankfully, Jack's quick wit wasn't too far behind. "I was referring to your police force." he muttered before giving them a big grin.
The blonde didn't have the energy to quarrel so she settled for shoving Jack out of away from the officers. They marched to the car and once inside, Rose's eyes darkened.
"You know, for once you could try to make our lives a little bit easier."
Jack ignored her comment. "Ianto, found the ship. Gwen going to find it." he said, turning on the engine.
"Oh. And in the meantime?"
"We find them!"
From the window, Alec watched the Torchwood car pull away. Over the years, he had dealt with some of the most irritating people but Captain Jack Harkness was the worst of the lot. Listening to sarcastic remarks was one thing but lying was another.
He gazed down at his hand, remembering he feel of Rose's soft skin and how much he wished he could repeat that moment. Lost in the sensation for second, Alec smiled to himself, until Ellie's footsteps brought him crashing back to reality. A reality where him and Rose seemed to be on different sides. If her and Jack were so close, did it mean she was lying to him too?
"Sir, are you alright?" There was genuine concern in her voice, she had never seen him like this. It couldn't just be because of the case, could it?
Alec spun around, hands on his hips. If Rose was hiding something, then it was his job to find out what or another family might be without closure like Sandbrooke. His stomach turned at the thought. He had to focus on the job and whatever feelings were burning for Rose had to be forgotten.
"I want to know their every move. Use the surveillance to find out what they're hiding." Alec said. "For better or for worse, the truth will come out."