The minute Ianto and Miranda appeared in the main Hub from the garage's hallway, Jack jogged over to them. "How is he?"
"He's not good, Jack. Call everyone into the boardroom I'll update you all there," Miranda said.
"We were waiting on you two," Jack said. He turned to his husband and in a delicate tone said, "Go on, Yan. Give us a minute."
Ianto frowned at Miranda and left them alone. Jack waited for him to disappear towards the boardroom, leaving him and his second in command a measure of privacy.
"When this is over, you're suspended. One week," Jack said, holding up one finger.
"What?!" Miranda roared. "You can't be serious!"
"Do I look like I'm kidding around here?" he snapped. "Fish told me everything. I saw the prisoner. You crossed a line, Will."
"I got the job done, Jack! Have you ever seen someone die from cholera?"
"That wasn't your reason, Will," he snapped. "What you did back there? That was personal. I've seen your work before."
"My motivations-" she began but Jack shouted over her.
"This is not a discussion! Now you've earned yourself another week on suspension and another week of desk duty. Keep it up and I'll have you mucking out the Weevil cells for a month!" Jack yelled, pushing his face into hers. Pointing across the Hub, he snarled, "Shut up and get yourself in that boardroom! Now!"
Miranda swallowed her pride and her anger and submitted to Jack's authority. She cast her eyes down and nodded. She didn't want to admit it just yet but he was right. The two immortals crossed the main Hub and entered the boardroom and took their usual seats. Colonel Ashline was in Gwen's vacant chair at Jack's left.
"Colonel, it is good to see you again. I wish the circumstances were better," Miranda said, still trying to shake off Jack's lashing.
"As do I, how is your man?" he asked.
Miranda coloured slightly though she knew the Colonel didn't intend for the reference. "Thank you for your concern, Colonel. Captain Hart's condition is still unstable and currently his prognosis is guarded. He's in the pulmonary intensive care ward. They had to remove one of his lung lobes. He is unable to breathe on his own and is on a ventilator. He's lost a great deal of blood. The next twenty four hours will be critical for him."
She decided not to mention the concerns of the doctors had about Hart's extended lack of oxygen post operatively. Hart may not wake up at all and if he did, there may be brain damage. Miranda needed to speak with Jack later about whether or not the former Time Agent had some sort of advanced directive.
"What is the situation with our prisoner, Colonel?" Miranda asked, coldly, as she took her seat.
"He has been cooperating thoroughly, Doctor Ryan. Captain Harkness has informed me that their overall agenda was to destabilise Torchwood and UNIT. That is consistent with what our prisoner has told us," the Colonel said.
"Have you performed postmortems on the other terrorists?" Miranda asked.
"They're in progress now," Martha Jones replied, not willing to look in Miranda's direction.
"Fish? You want to tell us what you learned from the device?" Jack asked.
Fish rose and started to speak, "It was on a plastic pipe that the plant uses for sampling. They'd hooked the device around the sampling port. If we had attempted to cut the device off the pipe, it would have triggered it. Martha said the cylinder Evie cut out was full of cholera bacteria. It was designed to slowly inject small amounts into the water supply over a period of hours. Martha has all the specific microbial information."
"The bacteria is a genetically modified form of cholera. From what our microbiologists are saying, this form divides lightning fast and less of it is required to cause disease," Martha said. "If they'd succeeded, it would have been devastating for the city. Tens of thousands could have died. It would have inoculated the bacteria into our ecosystem, creating a new, permanent health hazard."
"The young man you have in your cells was brought along as a distraction, Torchwood theorised, Captain," the Colonel said. "He has no relevant information. Since his intention was to commit a crime in another time and he has committed no crimes here, our specialists are working on possibly integrating him into the population. We're using the protocols that Torchwood provided for us in the seventies. He's currently in UNIT hospital under quarantine."
"Where are we on preventative measures, Fish?" Jack asked.
"I've modified the rift predictor program to red flag any of the spikes that match the original signature. We won't mistake it for an ordinary rift spike again," Fish said. "I've also flagged the signature. It'll alert all of us, any time, day or night."
Colonel Ashline couldn't ignore the segue. "I must say, Captain Harkness, that UNIT is gravely concerned. It is one thing to deal with planetary terrorism but now we must face threats from the future?"
"There are always threats, Colonel," Jack said, flatly. "This threat is contained now."
"This threat is contained. A threat that came through the rift - Torchwood's jurisdiction."
Miranda knew the man was only doing his job but she couldn't help but feel annoyed and angry. Every member of the Torchwood team probably felt attacked. They were all shifting in their seats or gripping the arms of their chairs, holding back angry retorts. Miranda was thankful Gwen wasn't here.
"The rift is active. We can't close it," Jack said, matter-of-factly. "Things fall through. This time it was a terrorist cell."
"And what assurances do we have that this is the last terrorist cell that will arrive?" the Colonel asked, hotly.
"None," Jack said, truthfully. "And there's nothing anyone - not UNIT or Torchwood - can ever do to stop that."
"That isn't a satisfactory answer, Captain Harkness," he replied.
"No, but it's the grown-up one," Jack shot back.
It was now the Colonel's turn to bristle.
"The human race is out of its childhood, Colonel. We're not teetering around with stone axes and bronze pikes. The Industrial Revolution's come and gone. We've developed the nuclear bomb. We're well into adolescence. It's painful. It's turbulent." Jack stood up, crossing his arms over his chest. "Sometimes you wreck your Dad's car. Sometimes you get drunk and wake up next to the wrong person. You do a lot of stupid things. But you grow out of it… We are doing everything we can to minimize threats that fall through the rift. That is good enough for Her Majesty and that should be good enough for UNIT. Do I need to walk you downstairs to show you how many people have thrown themselves between danger and this planet?"
It was almost as if Torchwood had passed some sort of test. The Colonel's entire demeanour changed. He gave Jack an apologetic smile and shook his head. "No, of course not, Captain Harkness. You and Torchwood are working tirelessly. I will make the appropriate recommendations."
Relief spread through the room. Colonel Ashline may know a piece of the puzzle but the rest of the Torchwood team and Martha understood what had truly been at stake here. They'd neutralized the terrorist threat. Now, they needed to neutralize the larger threat to humanity's future. This was the first step.
"Martha, Colonel, we're grateful for UNIT's assistance. I'm sure there will be lots of information we can share in the coming months," Jack said, flashing a rare diplomatic smile. He turned to the rest of the team. "Fish? We have a three day back log we need to sift through. Time to catch up people."
"Captain? Would you be opposed my having a private word with Doctor Ryan?" the Colonel asked, politely.
"You don't need my permission for that, Colonel," Jack said as the rest of the team filed out of the room.
Once they were alone, the Colonel got up and took the chair to Miranda's right. "Our prisoner is quite cooperative, Doctor Ryan. All we need to do is threaten him with you. Your interrogation methods leave much to be desired. I'm afraid the only word I have is brutal."
"Torchwood is outside the government, Colonel," Miranda said, simply.
"I didn't think you, a physician, would be capable of such… efficiency," the Colonel said just as simply.
Miranda bristled a bit. She disliked that Colonel Ashline had glimpsed a darker part of her, especially since she had almost entwined her life with his daughter's. She also owed explanations to no one. "With all due respect, sir, you don't know me."
"No, I don't. Your method was effective. I'm here to present you with an offer," the Colonel said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Colonel Mace was impressed with your ability to extract information so quickly. He would like for you to join our communications team."
"I am Torchwood and Captain Harkness will not appreciate UNIT's attempt to headhunt within our ranks." She twisted in her chair. "I wasn't aware that UNIT condoned such things."
"We don't. Colonel Mace's suggestion to extend you the offer was not well received. I offered you the position merely as a formality, Doctor Ryan. I told him you would refuse… and Captain Harkness needn't know," the Colonel said with a smile. He paused. "You look well, Miranda."
"As do you, Marcus," she said with a smile.
"Nora asked about you last Sunday. She wanted to know if I'd spoken with you lately."
Miranda shifted uncomfortably in her seat. It had been years since the Colonel's daughter and Miranda had gone their separate ways. She felt a pang lance through her chest at the mention of Nora's name. "I hope she's well."
"She is. She successfully defended her dissertation, a dissertation I didn't understand in the slightest. After her doctorate was conferred, she received quite a few generous offers from some firms and universities across the UK. I wonder who she has to thank for that," he said with a smile.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Marcus," Miranda said flashing the Colonel an innocent smile. Their breakup had been so similar to others in Miranda's life. Nora simply couldn't handle what Miranda was. As always, Miranda had accepted that and quietly stepped out of Nora's life. She continued to watch over her of course, gently easing her life in any way she could.
"She's seeing someone. Lily something or other I can't remember," the Colonel said with a wave of his hand. The gesture was dismissive.
Miranda's smile turned a little sly. She had been the first of Nora's partners to be invited into the Ashline home for Sunday dinner. She suspected this new woman in Nora's life had never received such an invitation. "You don't like her?"
"This woman doesn't have your fortitude. I am an old fashioned man," the Colonel said, with an air of disappointment. He waved around the Hub. "You and I know what sort of world we live in. I worry for my daughter's safety with no man to protect her. I had no such worry when she was with you. I've seen the prisoner with my own eyes. You are quite lethal."
Miranda made an uncomfortable shift in her seat. "I'm the product of a different time." She let out a small smile. "I thought you found me brutal."
"I find you incongruous," he said with a shake of his head.
"There is a fine line between incongruous and balanced, my friend," she said with a smile.
The Colonel laughed. "I need to return to London. Our scientific department will be contacting you."
"The Brigadier's daughter has already been in touch," Miranda said, getting to her feet and extending her hand.
"Kate dislikes standing in her father's shadow. She prefers to be judged on her own merits," he replied with a smile. He shook her hand firmly.
"Of which she has many," she said, returning the smile. "It was good to see you again, Marcus."
"And you," he said. His eyes took on a suggestive quality. "Nora is coming to supper on Sunday-"
Miranda took back her hand and shook her head. "She's moved on. It's for the best."
"But have you?" he asked, looking at her closely.
"Your daughter is a difficult act to follow," she said, sadly.
"But not impossible, it seems," he said with a mysterious smile. Before Miranda could object or say anything, he turned and left the room.