The Red Dragon Centre; Cardiff, Wales
Friday, February 22, 2020
Rhys Williams stopped to pick up pizza on the way to Torchwood. With Anwen on lockdown, and Trefor throwing a continual tantrum if anyone tried separating them, they were basically living at the hub. The same food was getting to him.
His mobile rang. "Walking into the pizza place now."
"Thanks. Its crazy here." A beat. "I needed to hear your voice."
Rhys smiled, stepping into line. "You will see me soon enough."
"Ianto needs a break." A beat. "He punched John."
Rhys could sympathize. "Is Jack better?"
Gwen groaned. "He stopped flirting with the furniture."
"What did he do this time?" Rhys chuckled.
"Used his belt buckle to jury-rig a lock-pick for a biometric scanner. Ianto has both Jack and John in work clothes without shoes. No buckles or metal buttons or shoe laces."
Rhys laughed.
"Jack is preoccupied with locks. Both him and John can escape anything. Restraints, manual locks, electronic locks. We have removed door knobs and deactivated panel controls." Gwen sighed. "Bree thinks they are trapped in the same type of memories. Training or a situation where they had to escape a similar building."
Rhys stepped forward in line. As he was about to respond, he heard a scream. "Can you pull up CCTV of the Centre?"
A crashing sound followed. Then a stampede.
"Calmly move toward the car park exit," Rhys said loudly as the noise rose beyond the doorway to the Centre. "Police have been notified."
"What's happening, Rhy?"
"I don't know." The floor shook.
Rhys described it as he moved toward the Centre door and removed his Torchwood credentials. He rarely used them. "Torchwood. Please exit through the car park."
"Get out of there."
Gwen Cooper access the intercom. "We have an emergency situation in progress at the Red Dragon Centre. Bree, you need to hold the fort. Stun anyone you have to. Ianto, get the van and meet us there. Trefor, if we use the back door, we can get there faster than the van."
"Where is the Webly," Gwen asked as she rode the lift up with Trefor.
"Secured. Only someone who knows Jack would notice I carry a different gun. They wouldn't believe the act anyway."
They ran around the Millennium Center, across Bute Place and toward the Creme de la Mer enterance to the Red Dragon Centre. People were running from the building as they approached. A few people recognized the distinctive clothing the general wore and associated it with Torchwood. Comments were hurdled at them.
A woman in her forties stopped to catch her breath. "Ever seen the old movie Carrie about Stephen King book." She waved at the door absently, bent over from exertion.
The general took off without her.
"Did you get a good look?" There hadn't been much time for CCTV and the footage was bad.
"Twenties, male, looks stoned."
Gwen ran to catch up. The ground shook as she entered the building. Panicked people had trampled others and left them. Bystanders were treated the injured and trying to move them out of the building. Cardiff had seen a few disasters over the years. One would think people would learn.
Following the noise, she saw the offender. Debris was swirling around him, reminding her of Anwen. Gwen tapped her ear com. "CN and Rift connection. Did you bring a destabilizer?" They had learned that from John during one of his lucid moments while Anwen was throwing a tantrum. It worked like a stun gun but was specific to chronons and something else.
"Yep."
"He may be damaging the foundation," the general added. "Drive onto the walkway from Bute Place. We need to get him down before he collapses the building."
Gwen met Ianto at the door. He handed over the weapon. "Do you need help?"
"Do you have a maintenance bot?"
"Yep."
"Get it prepped. After its launch, go back for another one."
Ianto nodded.
The general had retreated to Creme de la Mer by the time she returned. "Let me." He held out his hands. "Anything happens to you, mom, there will be a line forming to kick my arse. Help Ianto with the bots."
General Trefor Williams accepted the weapon and headed back. He had a portal device, it he had to, but that close to a CN victim would land him lala land with his father and Hart. At least from what they could guess. They needed Jack and John clear-headed to better understand the situation.
The man stopped, transfixed by his reflection. Or at least appeared to be. Trefor approached from an angle, hoping to avoid being visible in the window, in case the man could make any semblance of rational decisions. Part way there, he started punching the glass. He had to get there before the man could hurt himself.
As he neared, the man spun and glared at him. Pieces of glass broke free and were swirling around him. Trefor dodged glass hurdling at him and fired. The man seemed to catch the energy blast in mid air. He fired again. The man went down with a thud followed by everything floating.
Trefor secured his hands and feet and carried him toward the nearest exit to the Millennium center and the lift. Temporary cryo-stasis might be the only option. Constables were hesitantly entering as he neared the exit.
"Torchwood, get out of the way."
"He caused the damage?" an older constable asked.
"If he wakes up, without being properly secured, he could bring this building down and the tunnel next to it. Get out of my way."
They constables moved. "Wanker," one of them muttered.
Trefor laughed.