To everyone's surprise, getting an appointment had been surprisingly simple, so they were on their way to the toy factory the following day. Toshiko sat beside Ianto in his Audi, clutching her bag against her chest. She looked a bit uncomfortable.
"Sorry Owen didn't want to come," Ianto said, breaking the silence that had descended on them since leaving the parking garage beneath the Millennium Centre.
"It's fine," she simply replied.
"How's it going between you two?" he asked hesitantly. Ianto knew about Tosh's feelings for their medic, but the bloody idiot kept ignoring her.
"I don't know," Tosh said, her voice sad. "I tried to invite him to the pub for a game of pool, but he misunderstood and thinks I want to organise a tournament."
"Tournament?"
"Yeah, like our team evening at the bowling alley tomorrow night, that Gwen has been planning for ages," Tosh said with a laugh.
"Right," Ianto sighed. He hadn't bowled in years; he preferred his evenings quieter.
He looked over at her, relieved to see she was relaxing. He'd begun to worry that she was uncomfortable with just the two of them.
"A rare occasion, isn't it?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" She looked at him, unsure of where this was going.
"The two of us, on a mission," Ianto said.
"Oh! That's right," she laughed. "You came a long way since our trip to the countryside."
Ianto smiled uncomfortably. It felt like a lifetime ago.
"I like your look," he commented shyly, admiring her dark jumpsuit and long beige coat.
"Thanks."
They returned to silence on their drive to the city's outskirts. The toy factory was several miles north, away from the typical industrial areas.
"So, how we are going to play this? What's the cover story?" Ianto asked after a while. They had yet to talk about it, but it went without saying that they couldn't introduce themselves as Torchwood agents.
"I don't know," Tosh said reluctantly.
"Lovers?"
"Uhm..."
"Not your type, huh?" Ianto asked with feigned indignation. She could see the twinkle in his eyes.
Tosh laughed.
"Oh Ianto, you are. I just... I'm not sure if it's the right approach. How about best friends?"
Ianto thought about it.
"I like that."
"I mean, that's what we are. Right?" She gave him a warm smile.
Ianto returned the smile when he looked at her.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"And we are looking for a present for..."
"...my niece?" Ianto suggested uncertainly.
"Yes, why not? And I'm your best friend and here to help pick the perfect present," Tosh said, pleased with their plan. Then, a thought occurred to her. "Do you have a niece, Ianto? Not just one we made up?"
Ianto stayed silent for a moment. He never spoke about his family at Torchwood. Two very different worlds he had no intention to introduce to each other.
"Mica. She's four," he finally revealed.
"Aww," Tosh exclaimed, charmed, as she imagined Ianto with a little girl sitting on his knees. "That's perfect. That's going to be our cover story. Tell me a bit about her!"
Ianto smiled tightly. Just great. He should've kept his mouth shut.
The Baughan Toy Factory turned out to be in the middle of nowhere. After leaving the city, they drove through the dense forest before arriving at a large open field occupied by several industrial buildings. The factory was much larger than Ianto had expected.
At the entrance, they were greeted by an elderly man who introduced himself as Neil Chapman, the company's receptionist. He led them into the modernly decorated lobby and handed them a form to fill out.
"Welcome to the Baughan Toy Factory – The Place Where Your Dreams Come True. Are you here for the standard dolls, or do you seek something truly unique?" he asked while Ianto wrote down his name and address.
"Something unique, I suppose," Ianto said cautiously.
"We have a new line of dolls out for a couple of weeks. Version 2.0 is still in the experimental stage, but highly sought after."
"What's the difference?"
"Sorry, can't tell. I'm sure Lady Baughan will tell you more if you're interested. I only know that the standard version is significantly cheaper. And, of course, far less exclusive."
Ianto and Tosh looked at each other.
"I think we'll go with the 2.0 version," Tosh finally said, giving the man a friendly smile.
Fifteen minutes later, the two agents sat waiting in Lady Baughan's office.
A glass desk was prominently placed in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, as were several glass display cases showing the various stages of production of Everdream dolls.
"I can't believe we get to meet the owner in person," Tosh said quietly to Ianto.
Before he could respond, the large double doors to the next room opened, and a woman in her 60s walked in. She was dressed in an expensive business suit and had a long, straight nose and short-cropped black hair.
"Welcome, Mrs Sato and Mr Jones. What a pleasure to meet you," she said as she extended her hand in greeting.
"Thank you," Tosh said, "we didn't expect to meet the owner of the factory, after all, we just wanted to buy a doll. It's a great honour."
"Ah, nonsense. I speak with all of our customers who are interested in the new Everdream 2.0 doll. It's part of our customer service," she explained, motioning them to sit down again.
"Thank you," Ianto said. "We have no idea what this 2.0 thing means. Could you please tell us more about it?"
"Of course, it's my pleasure to tell you all about our product," Lady Baughan said with an unpleasant put-on friendliness.
She may be a successful businesswoman, but the tone of her voice made Ianto's skin crawl.
"My name is Lady Viola Baughan, and I am the owner of this company. I'd like to congratulate you on your decision to purchase from us, and I assure you that you will not be disappointed," she began her introduction.
Ianto wasn't so sure.
"My father, the late David Baughan, is the founder of this fine company," Lady Baughan continued. "We've been making and selling beautiful wooden toys for over a century. Unfortunately, such toys have fallen out of favour in recent years. When he left the factory to me, I was looking for new ideas, and thus the Everdream Doll was born.
Individually customised and manufactured dolls make the ideal gift. To be honest, the real trick is to have a massive catalogue of infinite possible combinations from which people can choose. It's nearly impossible for two people to meet with an identical doll," she winked. "But that only applies to the standard doll. The Everdream Doll 2.0 is something entirely different."
"You're making it sound quite exclusive and mysterious," Tosh said excitedly.
"Because that's what it is. If you're looking for a unique gift, this is it. It is not something you can choose from a catalogue, but rather something that is tailored to your specific needs. Who will receive the doll? Your wife?" Lady Baughan asked Ianto, looking at Toshiko.
"What? Oh, no. We're not married. Ms Sato is a good friend. The doll is for my niece, Mica," Ianto explained.
"Ah, okay. You must be a great uncle to choose such a lovely gift for your niece."
"I try," Ianto said with a shy laugh. "I just hope it's not too expensive. I know the dolls aren't cheap, but this sounds like it might be out of my price range."
"Well, the standard doll costs around £150, and we intend to sell the deluxe version for at least £500, but because we are still in the testing phase, we can make you a good deal. We also have a payment plan available. Our motto is that individuality should be affordable to everyone. But perhaps we can discuss this later; first, we need to conduct some tests to see if you are compatible with our dolls."
"Compatible?" Ianto inquired.
Lady Baughan laughed heartily. "We measure the future owner's brain waves to create a one-of-a-kind design. Unfortunately, many people lack compassion and empathy, and we must decline our services in such cases. Our dolls are created as a labour of love."
"As I said, it's supposed to be a gift," Ianto pointed out.
"Of course, it is," Lady Baughan said courteously. "However, as the buyer, you are also the owner, and that will not change. You can buy this precious present for yourself or choose a guardian for the doll. The doll symbolises the spiritual bond between loved ones."
"Please forgive me, but this sounds like a lot of nonsense," Ianto responded.
Ianto and Tosh exchanged sceptical looks, but Tosh then said encouragingly. "Come on, Ianto. Give it a shot; I'm sure that you'll do fine."
He took a deep breath and wondered what he'd gotten himself into. Finally, he nodded and rose from his chair.
"Okay, let's do it."
Measuring brain waves turned out to be a fairly unspectacular procedure that took only five minutes. When Ianto returned to Lady Baughan's office, she smiled contentedly as she examined the results.
"Mr Jones, the results are fantastic. I've never seen such a perfect match with our dolls before. I wish everyone had your level of empathy."
"If you say so," he replied curtly. He always felt uncomfortable being complimented by strangers. And there was something else bothering him. "About the payment..."
Taking £500 from the institute's coffers without first consulting Jack seemed frivolous.
"Don't worry about it; let's settle for £150 like the standard doll," Lady Baughan offered. "I'm absolutely delighted about your high score."
"Very kind of you," Ianto said. He wasn't sure what to make of the entire situation.
"Thank you very much," Tosh added. "Will the doll be sent to us, or..."
"Oh, no. It's currently in production. We have a nice cafe downstairs. Have a cup of tea and some cake. The doll will be ready in an hour."
"Lady Baughan was so thrilled with Ianto's empathic evaluation that she couldn't stop raving and even made us a special offer," Tosh laughed as they returned from their trip to the factory.
"How did you even fake that?" mocked Owen. "Most of the time you can easily pass for an emotional ice block."
"Don't project yourself onto others, Owen," Ianto retorted. Just because he handled his emotions well didn't mean he couldn't empathise with others. Quite the opposite, in fact.
"Owen, take the doll and do your thing," Jack intervened. Owen was an excellent physician, but his social skills were woefully lacking.
The medic simply grinned smugly, took the gift box, and went downstairs into the autopsy room to examine the doll.
"I'm dying to hear everything about the toy factory," Gwen exclaimed. She'd been pacing around all day, waiting for them to return. Being relegated to the back seat while others went on a mission had never been her thing.
"I'll make fresh coffee, and then we'll tell you about our adventures," Ianto said complacently. While everyone treated him like the local barista far too often, he secretly enjoyed making them wait in return.
"Team meeting in half an hour. Owen? Try to have results ready by then!"
"Thirty minutes? What do you think I am, a magician?" They could hear him muttering from downstairs.
Gwen was already at the conference table, tapping her pen impatiently on the table, eager to hear what Ianto and Tosh had to say.
When everyone except Owen settled around the table, she took the initiative and began speaking without waiting for Jack.
"What's wrong with the dolls? Are they the reasons for the murders?"
Jack frowned disapprovingly at her but ignored her impatience.
"Tosh? Ianto? Mission report," he said, his voice clipped.
Tosh and Ianto divided the task and took turns telling what they had learned at the toy factory.
"An empathy test to determine the compatibility with their dolls?" Jack wondered.
"I'll look into what kind of dolls the victims had," Gwen murmured, scribbling notes on her PDA.
Suddenly, the door opened, and a very annoyed Owen stomped in. With a sigh, he flopped down in his chair.
"Now that was a hell of a waste of my time!" he cursed.
"Okay," Jack said slowly. "That doesn't sound promising?"
"Not in the slightest. That doll you brought me? Is nothing more than a bloody piece of overpriced plastic."
He then noticed Gwen's disappointed expression.
"Did you really expect me to find something? Evil dolls, seriously?" He laughed cattily.
"I don't know," Gwen hissed back at him. "We've seen stranger things, haven't we?"
"The toy factory doesn't look suspicious to me," Tosh interjected. "They seem to be really trying to keep the business afloat with a new concept. They are trying to provide a personalised service to make the customer happy and make them feel special. That doesn't happen very often these days."
"And they get paid well for it," Ianto added.
"Owen, are you sure you ran every possible test?" Gwen refused to give up. "Maybe Tosh can check with her scanners too."
"I've already done all of that, Gwen," Owen sighed. "The results are not gonna change just because you don't like them."
Gwen huffed and turned to face Jack. He just shook his head and leaned back.
"We tried, Gwen, but it's obviously a dead end."
"I know something is wrong with this case. I'm going to find out what it is," she insisted adamantly.
Jack looked at her and then let his gaze slide over the rest of his team.
"Fine, keep looking. But I need everyone else to search for the missing crate of Lisium."
Gwen gave a sour smile but nodded.
"All right, the meeting is closed. Good work, everyone. At least we know now that it's a dead end."
"Uhm...," Ianto chimed in. "What are we going to do with her?"
"Whom?" Jack asked, confused.
"The doll," Ianto reminded him.
"Oh, I don't know, throw it away?" Jack shrugged. "The doll has served its purpose, I don't care what you do with it."
"It was a bit too expensive to just throw it away," Ianto said disapprovingly.
"I can take her?" Gwen suggested.
"She's mine. Get your own," Ianto said sternly.
Gwen grinned because she thought Ianto was joking, but when she saw his serious expression, she decided not to pursue the request any further.
"You could give it to your niece," suggested Tosh, after the meeting had ended. "Would even fit with our cover story."
Ianto stared at her with scepticism. He hadn't seen his sister and her kids in months. Every time he was at her house, he got bombarded with intrusive questions. Questions he either could not or would not answer. He knew Rhiannon was disappointed about his unwillingness to spend more time with her and her family. A peace offering like this may not be a bad idea after all.
Finally, Ianto shrugged. "Maybe I will."