*Two Months Later*
*The Hub*
Toshiko pulls up some information on the screen in the conference room about the most recent device that came through the rift. Jack sighs, and leans back in the chair at the end of the table, as the tech starts to describe the device. He closes his eyes and leans back in chair. The conversation around the table tempers, and he opens his eyes, seeing a request for a video call flashing across the screen. He sits forward, and nods at the screen, "I think we gotta answer it," he sighs.
Cautiously, Tosh looks down at her PDA and presses the answer button. A Slitheen stares at the screen, and Gwen, Owen, and Tosh jump back. The alien blinks, "Hello, Torchwood."
Jack leans back in his seat once again, "What do you want?"
The Slitheen laughs, "Oh, nothing from you, Captain Harkness. I thought you might want to see my newest acquisition. It will fetch a large price on the alien markets."
The camera pans from the alien, and shows Sophie sitting in a wooden chair. Her legs are zip tied to the chair legs, her arms tied to the back legs of the chair. A large piece of gaffer tape is over her mouth, but her eyes are pleading for help. Jack's eyes widened, and then they narrow into slits as the camera pans back to the Raxacoricofallipatorian. The Captain slams his hands down angrily on the conference table, and the rest of the team jumps. He stands up, "You let her go right f*cking now!" he snarls.
The Slitheen starts to laugh, and Jack's eyes get a murderous tint to them. "Good luck, Captain. She's mine now." The screen goes black, before the alien device once again appears on it. Team Torchwood turns to their leader, to find Jack clenching the table so hard that the wood is starting to bend. He's standing, glaring at the screen like he's hoping it will combust.
"Jack?" Gwen asks quietly. Jack turns, and she takes a step back, his murderous gaze now directed at her.
When he sees her reaction, he closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths, trying to curb his anger. "Toshiko, see if you can trace that call. Ianto, I want you to use what we saw and try to compile a list of all the likely places that b*st*rd could be holding Sophie. Owen, get as much vinegar as you can find. Gwen, check with your police contacts, see if anyone saw Sophie get picked up off the streets. She wouldn't have gone willingly."
The team nods, and turns to do their assigned task. Normally, there would be banter as they set about their task, Owen would question orders, they would joke about trading tasks, but this time, no one says anything, and Jack is immediately thankful. He walks into his office, and grabs the keys to the van out of his desk drawer. Pulling on his greatcoat, he steps out toward the cars.
Climbing into the van, he considers the past few months. After the Master died, Sophie vanished. He hasn't seen her since then, not for lack of searching. He had Gwen put out an APB, had Tosh set up a computer algorithm, and had been spending his nights driving around looking for her. To say he was worried would be an understatement.
He shakes himself from his stupor, and puts the car in gear, peeling out of the garage. He doesn't really have a set goal in mind, just wanting to clear his head before he hurts anyone.
*Sophie*
The Slitheen hangs up the call, and rounds to look at Sophie. She pulls against zip ties, her wrists not budging. The alien laughs at her, turning around. "You're never getting out of here." She continues to pull against the bindings on her wrists wanting nothing more than to be out of the room. Her glare intensifies, and the Slitheen advances on her. "You want me to let you go so badly. Humans, so funny, so small."
He grabs the collar of her shirt, and lifts her up, chair and all. He pulls the chair closer to his face, and licks the side of her face. The Slitheen throws the chair back down, and it snaps apart. He bats her aside, and then bares down on her. One of its claws tears apart her jeans, revealing her pants underneath.
Sophie tries to pull away from the Raxicoricofallipatrian, but he places a hand around her throat, holding her body in place. The broken pieces of the chair stab into her back and side. The Slitheen smiles predatorily at her.
Jack's PDA beeps, and it doesn't take him long to get back to the Hub. Bursting into the doors he looks around the group, "What have we found out?" he shouts.
Tosh jumps, spinning around to face him. "I was able to trace the call within twelve miles."
Ianto walks out from the adjacent room, "I made a list of all of the abandoned buildings within those twelve miles."
Jack feels the tension that was building in his shoulders dissipate. He sighs, "Right. Good work."
Owen walks out of the corridor, a large crate in his arms. "Got the vinegar, whatever it's for."
"Raxacoricofallapatorians are calcium-based lifeforms."
Owen drops the crate on the morgue slab, and wipes his hands on his jeans, "Good for them."
"The thing that abducted Sophie is a Raxacoricofallapatorian. Acetic acid is our only weapon against them. And acetic acid is found in...?"
"Vinegar," Ianto provides.
"Exactly." Jack wanders over and grabs the file out of the Welshman's hands. He flips through the list of properties he's listed, "Wow, okay. We're going to split into three groups. Tosh, Owen, take the first twelve properties on this list. Gwen, Ianto, take the second twelve. I'll take the other twelve. If you find evidence, let us know. Don't try to go in on your own."
They nod, and gather their coats, heading for the exit of the Hub.
