Despite the fact Jack had told everyone to come in late, everyone had come in early. After only a few hours of sleep, the entire team was back in the Hub, combing CCTV footage from the area surrounding the Capitol Shopping Centre. Jack admired their dedication. Even Hart himself, who looked to be nursing a bit of a hangover, was at his workstation. He'd said he'd seen the kids run off down Station Terrace and then Newport Road. Fish had found them on a few cameras showing them heading east. His eyes burned a bit from fatigue. He lifted his head as Gwen shouted across the Hub.
"Jack? I just got a report from the local police. A student down at the university says he was jumped and mugged by four men dressed in black on his way to class this morning. They took his rucksack. His wallet, mobile and laptop were inside."
"Not just a normal mugging?" Jack asked, walking across the Hub.
"No, the student kept telling the constables one of the men had horns," Gwen supplied.
"That's them," Jack said. He turned to his technician, "Fish?"
Fish was already a few steps ahead of Jack. While Gwen was telling Jack about the new lead, she'd already sent information to his workstation. It didn't take Fish more than a few seconds to find it, he had been combing through the cameras around the university already.
"I've got it here, Jack," Fish said as he brought up the correct camera.
Jack and Gwen both stood behind him as he played the footage. The unsuspecting student was walking down the street when the four men descended upon him, blitzing him and tearing his rucksack off of him. They all took off in separate directions.
"How much did they get, Gwen?" Jack asked.
"The kid had a smartphone - the service's already been turned off - a laptop and about twenty quid," Gwen replied.
Ianto walked out of Jack's office, his mobile in his hand. He looked up at Jack with concern and said, "Sir? The Tesco Express on City road just reported a robbery. Three armed men in black. They took whatever food and drink they could carry."
Hart raised an eyebrow and said, "They're escalating fast."
"Okay, Gwen? Will? You two head out there and see if there's anything useful for us. Fish keep looking," Jack said.
"Right, Jack," Fish said.
He turned back to his workstation as the two women departed. He continued to work, losing himself in the endless array of video - mostly of people walking about. It was nearly lunch and Gwen and Miranda hadn't returned from the crime scene. Fish's eyes were starting to burn from staring at his computer screen for so long. He stretched his arms up over his head, a few loud cracks and pops coming from his back. Christ, I'm getting old…
He stood up and walked towards the Hub kitchen to get himself a cup of coffee. Without paying attention, he took the pot off the warmer and began to pour as he yawned deeply with his eyes shut. The pot was empty. He let out a small groan. He craned his neck looking around for Ianto and found him coming out of Jack's office. He felt a bit of deja vu.
"Hey, Ianto? Do you mind putting on a pot?" Fish asked, holding the empty pot aloft.
"Sure, Fish," Ianto said, straightening his tie. He checked his watch. "Weren't you to meeting Henry for lunch?"
"FUCK!" Fish said as he looked at his own watch. He'd meant to cancel but he'd forgotten. He picked up his mobile and sent a frantic text.
"I'm sure he won't mind," Ianto said as he fixed a fresh pot of coffee.
"He never does," Fish said with a sad smile. His mobile beeped with Henry's response. Fish let out a small laugh. "Looks like I'm out of the dog house, mate. Henry forgot too. He's still at his studio."
Ianto laughed. "Is he still going to London?"
Fish nodded and grimaced. "I bloody hate it when he goes there."
"Could be worse, mate," Ianto said, seriously. "It could be Paris."
"Point," Fish conceded. He was always nervous when Henry travelled to a major city but Paris seemed to be the immortal capital of the world. He waved at the coffee pot, and since he wasn't having lunch with his boyfriend, he decided to return to his work. "Let me know when that's done?"
"I'll bring it over to you," Ianto said, smiling brightly.
"Thanks, Ianto," Fish said as he walked away.
The moment Fish turned and was a safe distance away, Ianto's smile immediately vanished. He sighed deeply. He put his hands flat on the kitchen worktop and leaned over heavily. He didn't know how much longer he could keep doing this.
A few weeks after he and Jack had returned from their honeymoon, an artefact had dropped out of the rift. It had sucked Ianto and the rest of the team into a pocket universe, changing their lives temporarily. Only Ianto retained any memory of the experience. It was a trauma he was still dealing with. This alien artefact had yanked on a thread in his life and unravelled its tapestry, leaving a tangled mess in its wake. Ianto had done a lot of things in that pocket universe that he hadn't been proud of and now that he was back he was still doing things that made him ashamed.
The pocket universe was where Ianto had learned about the existence of Fish's son, David. A child Fish didn't know existed. The very first thing Ianto had done once everything had gone back to normal was to look up David, praying that he was some construct of the artefact. It didn't take much research to find that Olivia Porter, Fish's ex-fiancée, had given birth to a son nearly ten years ago… no father was listed on the birth certificate. His name was David Joseph Porter. Ianto's heart had sank. David was real.
Before everything had gone back to normal, Fish had begged Ianto not to let him forget David but Ianto had yet to say a single word to his friend. He struggled, every day, to look at Fish, to smile and act normal but it was tearing him up. Inside, the rats had returned to his stomach. He felt the betrayal in his bones. He understood, finally and completely, the burden Miranda had taken on when she'd decided to keep his immortality from him. Keeping this secret from Fish was tearing Ianto apart but he had absolutely no idea how to tell him. He kept telling himself, over and over again, that it had been Fish's wish to not forget his son. He told himself, over and over again, that if he were in Fish's place, he would want to be told as well. But, still, he kept silent.
Under the shame of keeping the secret from Fish, there was a small vein of jealousy that made the guilt so much worse. As an immortal of the Game, Ianto was incapable of fathering children but he had, once, wanted some of his own. He wondered if that was something that becoming immortal had taken away from him or if he'd always been sterile. He suspected it was the latter. It was a loss he hadn't quite mourned properly.
The beep of the coffee pot brought him out of his shallow pool of self pity. He fixed the coffee to Fish's taste with plenty of cream and a dash of sugar. He put the mug onto his tray and walked up behind the Australian.
"Here you go, Fish," Ianto said, setting down the mug.
"Thanks, Ianto," Fish said without looking up. Just as he lifted the mug to his lips, Miranda emerged from the hallway that led to the Hub garage. "Where's Gwen?"
"Having a bit of a chat with Andy. She'll be round soon," Miranda said. She smiled at Fish's mug. "Oh, Ifan, is that a fresh pot?"
"Yes, I'll get you some," he said with a strained smile. It was a point of pride for him that the only coffee Miranda enjoyed was his. He went about ordering the team lunch. Gwen hadn't arrived in time to eat and after everyone was fed, she still hadn't returned. The rest of them continued about their jobs. Miranda went to tend to their prisoner's wound. Ianto, Fish and Hart were both combing CCTV footage. After finishing a poorly timed phone call with some politician, Jack came up behind Fish and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Have we got anything yet, Fish?"
"Nothing yet, Jack. I'm nearly up to real time," Fish said, pointing at the time index.
Jack peered down at the screen and Hart tapped him on the shoulder. The two former Time Agents started to speak in low whispers. It was in a language Fish couldn't understand or identify. They'd done that quite a bit since Hart's arrival. Fish assumed they were speaking whatever language they used in the fifty first century. Henry and Miranda often did the same thing though the language they used was from the past, not the future. Fish found the whole thing a bit rude. It was rude enough to chatter on amongst themselves in a language no one else understood but the whispering made it even more so. The two former Time Agents moved to Hart's own workstation, watching the CCTV footage.
"Jack, look, this was twenty minutes ago!" Hart said loudly over his shoulder pointing at the screen. He tilted his head and squinted at the display. "Albany Road? They could still be around here."
Ianto came up behind Jack with the other man's greatcoat in his hands.
"I just got off the phone with Gwen, sir. There's been a robbery reported with shots fired at a pawn shop on Albany road. Four armed and masked men in black. Possible fatalities. She's on her way to the scene now."
Hart and Jack shared a look of alarm.
"The Linearists never killed, Jack. They carefully planned their vandalism acts to avoid harming anyone," Hart said with a shake of his head.
"Grab Will, meet me at the SUV," Jack ordered.
Hart nodded and jogged towards the autopsy bay. Jack allowed Ianto to help him into his coat. Just as Ianto was smoothing the fabric over Jack's shoulders, Jack said, at first to himself, "What's going on here? This makes no sense… Fish? Stay here with Ianto and coordinate for us."
He craned his neck towards Hart and Miranda as they shot up the autopsy bay stairs. "Let's go you two!"
The three of them walked quickly down the hallway towards the Hub garage and Jack drove through the streets of Cardiff at his usual insane pace. Jack parked outside of the police perimeter. They got out of the SUV and approached the tape line. Jack was scanning the area looking for Gwen. She was talking to several witnesses. He caught her eye and nodded for her to continue with what she was doing.
"Since when does Torchwood investigate armed robbery, Harkness?" Kathy Swanson asked as she turned towards them. She crossed her arms over her puffed out chest.
"Oh, you know me, Detective Inspector. I like to keep up with the local knowledge," Jack said, flashing her his thousand watt smile.
"It's Detective Chief Inspector thank you very much. And there's nothing here for you, Captain," Swanson said.
"Well, we'll be the judge of that," Jack said. He yanked the police tape upwards, without invitation, so that Hart and Miranda could duck underneath it. He ignored the scathing look Swanson gave them. Jack and Hart moved off towards the shop and Miranda to the coroner's van.
Swanson objected hotly, "If you lot contaminate my crime scene-"
"Relax, Detective Chief Inspector," Jack interrupted, holding up his hand. "We got this."
Jack shut the shop door and turned to Hart who was leaning over the counter looking around. He pointed up at the camera. "I'll see what I can do with that footage, Jack."
Jack moved off, looking over the rest of the shop. The door opened and Miranda stepped in.
"The clerk died from three gun shot wounds. Two center of mass and one between the eyes, execution style," she said. She walked over to Hart, stepping around the blood on the floor.
"That makes even less sense, Jack," Hart said. He waved around at the bloody room. "Most of those fucking kids couldn't even shoot a gun much less aim one."
"Looking into someone's eyes when you pull the trigger takes a certain sort, Jack," Miranda pointed out.
Jack nodded. "What about the other customer? The one who was already in here?"
"He's on his way to University Hospital. He was shot in the same way. I'm amazed he's even alive. I don't expect him to make it to the A&E. He'll likely die en route, if he hasn't expired already."
"I have the video, you two," Hart called out from behind the counter. He was tapping on his wrist strap and whispering under his breath, "Antiquated rubbish… might as well be made of stone…"
Miranda and Jack moved to stand behind him as Hart played the footage. The three of them watched as the men arrived simultaneously. One queued while the other three moved off to stand in different parts of the small shop. As soon as the clerk went to examine the laptop and mobile, all four of them drew their weapons. The clerk and customer were forced to kneel with their ankles crossed. They were shot at point blank range without hesitation. Once the two men were down, the black clad time travelers emptied the cash register and fled. Miranda raised her eyebrow at the way the men had conducted the robbery and execution. It was almost military in its precision.
"Download that, John and wipe it. I don't want Cardiff's finest finding it," Jack said. He tapped his own wrist strap. "Send a copy of it on to Fish. I want him on it soon as possible."
"This is all wrong, Jack," Hart said as he tapped at his wrist strap. "Why rob this place for the money?"
Jack shook his head. "They know they're stranded. They need to resupply."
Hart shook his head. "They're moving with trained precision. They're a cohesive unit. Forget that this doesn't fit the Linearist M.O. Why kill the clerk and the customer? It doesn't make any sense. They're drawing attention to themselves. They didn't kill anyone at the Tesco."
Miranda leaned forward to tap at the screen. Hart got a good solid whiff of her perfume and backed away from the alluring scent of jasmine and woodsmoke. She said, "These aren't university kids. These people are well trained; military or militia. And they meant to land in this time, here."
"What makes you say that, Will?" Jack asked.
"Can you back that up, Captain?" she asked Hart. She repeated, "Captain?"
"What? Oh sorry," he said, distracted.
She tapped the screen once he'd backed it up to the moment the black masked man opened the register. "They entered the shop after the other customer had finished his transaction. They didn't see the clerk open the register or even use it. They didn't steal money from the Tesco Express, they just grabbed some food and ran. How would they know what the register was for? How would they understand the concept of paper money?"
"If they're Linearists, they're educated. They'll have a basic grasp of economic history but she's got a point about the register, Jack. History's taught in broad strokes. You don't get the fine detail," Hart said. He tapped the screen. "He didn't know how to work it, but he knew to hit buttons on it and he knew that was where the money would be stored. They must've done some research for that."
"The kid back at the Hub is a Linearist," Jack said. "He's admitted to it. He fits the profile."
"A patsy?" Miranda said. "Someone to hide their true objectives?"
"This isn't good. If they're here under the cover of a Linearist threat, it could mean anything. They might not be here by accident. Their real mission is going to be nearly impossible to figure out," Jack said. He scrubbed at his face. "We need to step this up. There's nothing more for us here. Do we need those bodies for the bullets?"
"Not necessary, Jack. The ballistics is going to show that they're unusual bullets, nothing more," she said. "The locals will assume they're just custom work."
"It's actually better for us," Hart pointed out. "They'll be chasing their tails looking for who made them. It'll keep them occupied."
"Let's get back to the Hub, I want to talk to our friend again," Jack said.