Adamsdown; Cardiff, Wales
Gwen Cooper parked in front of the impressive looking block of flats. Effort had been made to remodel Adamsdown in recent years. It reminded her she hadn't been home for more than a few minutes in days.
"The lawn will be impressive in the spring," Bree commented as they climbed out of the van.
Gwen walked toward the sidewalk. "You should see what Ianto has in mind for our building. He has the entire lawn planned in detail."
"I forgot you mentioned you live downstairs from him and Jack."
"We have extra flats."
Bree hesitated, following Gwen toward the door. "Jodi and I need space."
"I can understand that. She will need to meet us."
"How did you introduce Rhys to Jack?"
"One of Rhys' drivers at Harwood Haulage, where he worked before Anwen was born, got him involved in a case."
"How did that work?" Bree asked as they reached the door.
"Rhys yelled at him. Jack called him a caveman." Gwen searched the resident list. Borthwick was listed. She pressed the button.
"Yes," a woman said. She sounded tired.
"Leonora Borthwick, my name is Gwen Cooper of Torchwood. We need to speak with you."
"Torchwood?"
"Yes, ma'am, its about your son Payton."
The door buzzed. Gwen opened it.
Mrs. Borthwick lived on the six floor. It was one of the nicer places she'd visited working for Torchwood. It was clean, bright and even had live plants in the hallway. They took the elevator upstairs. The first floor had been shades of blue with coordinated artwork. The sixth floor was done in pinkish red.
The door opened before they reached it. "You found Payton?"
"Yes, ma'am, may we come in."
The woman was in her late forties with graying hair. She stepped back, holding the door open. The flat was tidy with family photographs everywhere. From a records check, Leonora Borthwick had two children. Her older son died while serving in the Middle East. Her husband died of a heart attack two years later.
"This is Dr. Bree Nelson. She's Torchwood's community liaison."
"Is Payton alive?"
"Yes, ma'am." Gwen motioned toward a small table. They sat. "Payton is at Torchwood undergoing medical treatment." They had thankfully been able to sedate him rather than place him in cryo-stasis.
"Payton survived an ordeal." Bree spoke kindly. "He will need physical and psychological treatment. It would help to have a background."
She nodded.
"According to police records, you filed a missing persons report six weeks ago."
"I had been trying to reach him for two weeks. His landlord called me to say he hadn't paid his rent." She shook her head. "That's not like Payton. He had trouble paying his bills a couple times. Job and school issues. He called, told me what the problem was, and I made sure they were paid." Tears welled in her eyes. "I should have known something was wrong when he didn't visit me in the hospital. He's not that kind of person."
Gwen wondered about the police report. The hospitalization wasn't mentioned. "Do you know of any reason Payton would have been abducted?"
"No. I don't have a lot of money."
"Was there anyone or anything different going on in his life?" Bree asked.
"He signed up for a genetic research program. They were interested in studying the genetic origins of people born in Cardiff." Leonora Borthwick obviously thought that was ridiculous. "They offered him a lot of money for filling out questionnaires and blood work." She shook her head. "He would have been able to pay his rent."
"I need to ask an odd question." Gwen paused. "Did your son believe in psychic abilities?"
She hesitated. "Why?"
"Payton was unwillingly involved in psychic research." It was the best explanation Gwen had. Explaining drugs created by contaminating mushrooms with alien dragons eggs, and the Rift, was more than Mrs. Borthwick could handle.
"That's what the geneticist wanted." She sighed. "Payton could always find weird things. We would be walking in the park and he'd find unidentifiable coins. Or strange things. With all the alien stuff in the news since then, I suspect he could find things that weren't from Earth."
Flotsam and jetsom, as Jack would call it, falling through the Rift. Payton could sense Rift energy.
"Do you have any information on the research program? We need to find it."
"Yes." She stood and walked over to a small desk. She returned with a folder. "Payton gave this to me."
Gwen tapped her ear com and gave Ianto the details. If he couldn't access the information, he would contact Nova Scotia for assistance. Kailen had already proven he could hack by remotely accessing Torchwood Three.
"We have a big problem," Bree said as they left the building. "If the Rift abilities are genetic and associated with people born in Cardiff, than the researchers not only have victims walking in the door, but each person they find has any number of family members that could be targeted." A beat. "We need all of their research. What they're looking for, and how they keep records, will tell us how they're selecting their victims."
"There can't be that many." Gwen wondered if that was wishful thinking.
"If CN affects abilities, maybe it triggers latent abilities. We need everything we can get. Now."
Gwen tapped her ear com as she climbed into the van. "Ianto, check missing persons statistics for Cardiff. We need the names of everyone who went missing in the last," Gwen wondered how far back they should go, "Three months to start. We're specifically looking for people born in Cardiff and/or cases where there is more than one missing person in the same family."
"I need a break."
"I know. Coordinate with Kailen."