Torchwood: Divergence
Book Two: Adferiad
Chapter 53
Gwen had taken a full week off to have time before and after her father's funeral, so she could come to terms with the loss and help her mother pick her life back up again. Torchwood had sent flowers, the colours and choice of blooms telling her their resident Changeling had ordered them. And she'd asked the team to come to the graveside service at the Oystermouth Cemetery in Swansea, though only Jack and Ianto had stayed for the small gathering after at the Coopers' home. Neither had been exactly comfortable, but they'd remained as moral support for Gwen and her husband, even assisting with storing all the food people brought for Mary, and keeping Ebrill entertained. And the nineteen-month-old had been the one to win a smile from the grieving family, taking her first unassisted run of more than a few steps, to get from Ianto's watchful presence across the back garden to her mother. The former PC had been thrilled, having desperately needed that tiny moment of happiness to ease the depression of the day.
When Gwen had come back to work, it was with the clear understanding that she wasn't there for any set number of hours and was always able to head home at any time if she just didn't feel up to the strain. So far, she'd been doing fairly well, glad that the team wasn't openly pampering her or constantly asking if she was okay. Jack had been very attentive during her time at the Hub her first day back. Not hovering, not asking how she was or if she needed anything, but palpably present and always there to offer a supportive shoulder or quick embrace. The few alerts she went on, he made sure he stayed close to her, back up and protection all in one. Cooper had really enjoyed the day of attention, somewhat surprised that the American was spending so much time sticking close to her and nearly ignoring his obviously very busy partner. It had stirred up old feelings she'd tried hard to put down after London, but she'd enjoyed it all the same.
Her second day, however, she'd been Hub bound the whole time and was completely frustrated. For years now the system had been periodically registering an alien energy spike far afield from any known Rift activity. It was strong enough to warrant attention, but too random to get a clear fix on its position and had been occasionally on the move for the past few weeks. So, she was running back through police reports, news articles, and old Rift logs pertaining to the general area it had been emanating from recently, hoping to find a clue as to what it was if not exactly where. Unfortunately, that tack didn't seem to be working so far.
But then she saw something in a police report that jogged an old memory… mention of people going missing from several small towns and a "Cult" passing through the region being blamed for the disappearances. Owen had checked out a Cult a few years back, their activities drawing suspicion because it seemed there might be some alien presence among them. They'd turned out to all be human, albeit a very strange lot, and had moved from the area they'd first risen in when the locals had made it clear they were no longer welcome. Some additional digging showed that they'd headed in the same direction that the odd signal was coming from. Ploughing through the reports for locations, the one-time constable flagged them on a map, linked it to the system's satnav and waited less than patiently for the next flare from the alien energy source.
When it came, the map briefly flared with a blinking red dot and Cooper immediately flagged it with a blue cross.
"Jack," she called, drawing the man's attention from where he'd been going over a costing sheet with Martha before the doctor took it to the next UNIT meeting. "I think I've tracked down that intermittent energy spike out past Swansea in the Gower. It manifested just now near Oxwich, and it may involve the Cult Owen looked into a while ago. There are a lot of reports of people going missing when they moved through, and their route looks to be the same as the progression of that power signature."
"Religious fanatics and alien technology are not a good combination," Harkness frowned, looking over the data she'd collected. "Get the location narrowed down as much as you can. Look for a village with a tiny population or even an abandoned building of some sort. Someplace they'd go to ground. Ianto and I will go check it out in the morning as soon as the rest of you get in. See if we can talk them into handing whatever it is over without a huge incident."
Gwen started to protest the delay, but then she looked at the time in the lower corner of her computer screen and realised it was nearly 8:00 pm.
"Time flies when you're trying not to take a hammer to the computer," she commented with raised brows. "I'll do a search for likely hideouts, then head home if that's all right."
"Actually, you can head out now if you want," the Captain peering over her shoulder offered. "The rest of the team's packing up, and I can run the search as easily as you can. Call it a day… we'll pick this back up in the morning."
"You're sure?" the green-eyed brunette prodded, not liking to leave things unfinished.
"What's Rhys cooking tonight?" her boss queried with a quirked brow.
"Chicken and dumplings with roasted sprouts," Gwen answered with a slight frown that attached a silent 'why' to the end of the sentence.
"Then I'm sure," Harkness half-smiled. "Scoot."
Cooper returned the smile, removed her headset, gathered her purse and sundries then went to put her coat on. She waved as she followed Martha, Turlough, and Lois out the rotating door, leaving their leader alone at the workstations. And as soon as they were gone, he activated his blue tooth.
"Hey, Tiger Pants," Jack called over the comms. "You 'bout done condensing the back corner of the D-12 Archives?"
[On my way up now,] Ianto's voice replied. [Everyone else gone?]
"Just left," the American immortal confirmed, starting the search running on Gwen's system to find a likely bolt hole for the group who'd apparently been transporting some sort of alien artefact across the country for several years. "Got a lead on that far flung energy spike. I'm trying to pinpoint someplace in the area that a religious Cult might set up shop, then we'll try to track it down tomorrow."
[Same Cult as before?] Ianto asked curiously, the sound of a closing pressure door indicating he was now in the Vaults and probably jogging if the cadence of his steps meant anything. [Need some help narrowing the search?]
"Yes, and yes," Harkness snorted, glaring at the computer when it brought up nearly two hundred results for his first query. "And lots of coffee."
"Then I'll take care of that point first," his partner stated as he emerged into the Hub from the rarely used upper passageway just off the kitchenette. "What are you doing a search of?"
The older man explained as the Changeling got a fresh pot of coffee going, then came to join him at the workstation. He made a few quick changes in the criteria of the enquiry, and a list of five items popped up.
"Judging by the choices and number of people we're likely dealing with," the twenty-six-year-old murmured thoughtfully, clicking the mouse to open an entry before turning to fetch hot beverages for the two of them. "I'd say that is the best bet. It's south-southwest of Swansea, not far from Oxwich. An abandoned 'manor' house falling to ruin in the woods not far from the coast. Served as an Inn for a while about fifty years ago, but fell into disrepair when the owner's family died out. It's been empty since 1997, too far in the middle of nowhere to interest anyone at the moment, and some of the land's still tied up in litigation over attempts at illegal mining of some sort in the mid-1960s as well as a slew of other problems."
"This is why you manage the Archives," Jack pointed out with a smile and a shake of his head. "I may have eventually stumbled across the same place, but I would've ploughed through a couple hundred dead ends first and been wanting to do group hugs with the Weevils before I managed it."
"Information Retrieval," Ianto reminded, quoting the name of one of the handful of divisions he'd been part of at Torchwood-London. "So, I take it we're going visiting tomorrow to see if they have something alien at the centre of their 'beliefs'. What's the plan?"
"I'll let you ask them politely to hand the artefact over," the American shrugged. "No visible weapons, nice and peaceful. If that works, great. If not, I'll be there with my friendly Webley to dissuade them from getting too cranky when we confiscate whatever it is they've been toting around all this time."
"Which means I leave my coat and gun in the SUV," his partner nodded, handing the older man a cup of fresh coffee. "Chilly, but more freedom of movement if I need to do anything drastic."
"I'll keep you warm," Jack chuckled, sipping the hot drink. "And I'd suggest your light brown field jacket since it's already slightly damaged. Who knows what we may have to wade through to find the place if it's been abandoned for more than a decade."
The young Welshman nodded again, carefully drinking his own coffee as he saved the planned location for the next day, then closed down any extraneous programmes and keyed the workstation for sleep mode. They stood in silence for a time, simply enjoying their beverages and the rare quiet.
"So…" Harkness drawled at last, meeting the Changeling's gaze. "Up for a few hands of poker?"
"Yep," Ianto half-smiled, starting to stroll toward the office. "I might even forfeit a couple rounds so you won't feel put upon."
The Captain laughed delightedly and followed the younger immortal over to the office, making a brief side-trip to power down most of the lights. There was no telling what the morning would bring, but he was pretty clear about the plan for tonight, and he intended to enjoy every minute of it.
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AN: Is anyone else not liking the sound of that Cult?
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM