The car pulled up outside the back entrance of the Hub, nestled underneath the dock and Jack jumped from the car. Hally followed him, slamming the car door behind her. As Jack got to the 'tourist information' door he turned back to her, noticing that she was following.
"Wait here." He ordered, turning back towards the entrance, assuming she'd listen.
"I'm coming with you." Hally immediately countered, moving to sneak past him into the Hub.
He held his arm out over the door, halting her. "Let me try him first. He might listen to me."
Hally scoffed, shaking her head. "He just tried to kill your whole team, I think he might be past listening."
Although she could see from his expression that he understood her concern, he didn't budge. "Give me 20 minutes… ok?"
Her face fell into a dark scowl. "Fine. I'm giving you 15, before I come and get you."
He nodded, shooting her a teasing smile. "Understood Ma'am."
Hally watched, unease bubbling in her stomach as Jack walked into the Hub alone. She crossed her arms over her chest, checking the time on her phone. She turned away from the door, leaning her back against it.
Armitage had followed them, he was hovering just a few metres away. Nearby but not close enough to be considered interested in their unfolding problems. He was, however, staring at her, his expression unreadable but with a hint of disapproval.
"What…?" She cocked an eyebrow at him.
"You're very involved here." He commented, matching her stance with his arms crossed over her chest.
She could hear the undertone of accusation. She was getting used to reading between the lines with him. The meaning behind his words. What he was actually saying was something along the lines of, 'You do remember you're two weeks away from abandoning this lot, perhaps you shouldn't let yourself be so invested.'
She rolled her eyes and clipped back, "Yes."
Her own message was clear through the irritated flash of her eyes. 'Shut up. I know.'
He simply hummed knowingly.
Time was moving far too slowly as Hally checked the time on her phone every other minute. She paced up and down the wooden decking, trying her best to not start imagining the worst. She kept checking the screen, anxiety heating her with every passing minute that Jack didn't text to tell her he was fine. It had only been 11 minutes when she gave up waiting and went to head inside.
Armitage drew her attention back to him when a tired sigh fell from him, she turned to shoot him a look. He was scowling at her. "You don't have to be here." She offered, assuming he was getting fed up with being her only transport option.
"No. I do." He clipped back. "I just hope you know it makes my job much harder when you knowingly walk into danger."
A wry smile curved her mouth. "Your complaint is noted. I'll forward it on to HR." Then she turned away from him and headed inside. She pulled the Laser Screwdriver from its holder on her waist, and she silenced the door alarm, hoping to make some kind of silent entrance. Hally slipped through the main door, eyes darting around the Hub for any sign of danger. She couldn't see Jack, or John for that matter. Everything was quiet. As silently as she could, Hally crept past their desks, moving up the staircase to check Jack's office.
Empty.
She circled around to the other side of the Hub. That was when she saw Jack. Strung up on the far wall between two pillars, by chains connected to his wrists. He was unconscious, or most likely dead judging by the array of bullet holes spattered across his shirt.
Huh, obviously the listening didn't go so well.
But she still couldn't see John.
Her grip tightened on the screwdriver, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.
Something tickled the back of her head and she heard the unmistakable sound of the safety being clicked off.
"Hands in the air gorgeous." John drawled, his voice dripping in patronising victory.
She tensed, grinding her teeth together. But she didn't move. The gun nudged at the back of her head in warning.
"I'd hate to have to splatter your pretty brains all over the wall."
Slowly she raised both of her hands, glaring fruitlessly at the wall in front of her. The Laser Screwdriver sitting uselessly in her hand, pointed to the ceiling.
A low hum rumbled from John's chest. She could hear the smirk in his voice. "Turn around." He ordered, elongating the words for dramatic effect.
Stifling the groan that wanted to crawl up her throat, she cautiously turned to face him. Her eyes landed on the barrel of the pistol aimed between her eyes. Her sharp glare turned on him, murderous intent burning through.
Armitage was going to be so smug.
Although…
As she'd expected, John leant forward to pluck the screwdriver from her hand. She made a split-second decision and the moment his attention shifted to her hand she smacked the gun away from her face. Not wasting the opportunity, she planted a sharp hit to his chest. He grunted in surprise, staggering back a step. She raised the screwdriver, pointing it directly at his chest.
Pleasant surprise shifted across his face and his eyes lit up with excitement. The gun in his hand rose to point back at her. "Oh dear, it looks like we're stuck." His voice was low, but completely in control. He didn't view her as a threat.
Hart took two steps forward, closing the distance between them. Her screwdriver jammed into his neck while his gun pressed against her heart. His chest rumbled with a dark groan and he ran his tongue across his bottom lip. "Oh, I do love a stalemate. Don't you? Just feel that erotic energy." He looked down at her, eyes twinkling with scandal.
She rolled her eyes at his obvious attempt to rile her, nudging the screwdriver against his neck. Irritation flashed behind his eyes and his face shifted, it lost the mirth, his dark eyes no longer dripping with insinuation. Instead, he fixed her with a silent plea. "Now, be a good girl and drop it." He spoke, but there was nothing really behind his words. He was simply speaking. Hally's eyes were drawn to his free hand. He'd raised it and was tapping his fingers together quickly. He was signing… in Trillic. Her eyes widened as she caught what he was trying to say.
'Play along.' He signed. 'Ears everywhere.'
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. "What have you done to Jack?" She asked blandly. A waste of a question, they both knew. Since it was glaringly obvious what he'd done to Jack. She raised her other hand, signing basically back.
'What?'
"Jack's having a nap. I'm going to need you to join him." Hart's lip twitched with a smirk, but she wasn't watching his mouth, she was watching his hand. Translating his silent message.
'Need help.' Then he pointed towards his Vortex Manipulator. 'Look.' She followed his instruction, eyes wandering over his bracer. Like Jack's, but slightly smaller, it was only when she looked closer, really looked that she noticed what he was pointing to. It had been fused to his wrist, joined, burned to his skin. Her eyes darted back up to his, confusion written across her face. She spoke the words that could have followed his. "If you think I'm joining him, you've got another thing coming. Or have you forgotten my weapon at your throat?"
But the majority of her mind was focused on signing back. 'Who?'
His fingers tapped and moved to create various shapes. 'Gray. Bomb.'. He sneered. "Darling, this is just foreplay." He signed again. 'Not me. Help. Go along.'
Suspicion flicked across her face. But, if Hart was tricking her, it was very elaborate. It hardly seemed worth it when he could have simply shot her through the heart. Plus, she could see with her own eyes that his Vortex Manipulator was fused to his skin. If she believed him and she was beginning to lean towards believing him, he wasn't the threat. He was simply a messenger, for Gray? Jack's lost brother? Hally didn't know anything about Gray, so it wasn't impossible that he had designed this. But why was John helping her? Perhaps he'd been persuaded by the weapon at his throat. She cocked an eyebrow at him, considering his request. He wanted her to 'follow his lead', but to do what? 'Go along?'
He smiled sympathetically, then he shifted and before she had a chance to realise what he'd done, he shoved her weapon-wielding hand away, turning her and pulling her back against his chest roughly. She automatically started to struggle out of his hands, but he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Ah, ah, ah, time to go to sleep." He brought something up to her face, covering her nose and mouth with a cloth. The chemical, whatever it was, burned the back of her throat as she inhaled. Hally gave another weak struggle but her limbs were already growing heavy, her vision blurring. She hoped she could trust Hart, if not, she was in deep shit…
Something was tapping the side of her face.
She felt heavy.
Everything was so heavy.
And dark.
Well, her eyes were closed. That would explain the darkness.
"Hally?"
There was a voice too, insistent.
Something shook her body.
Urgh.
She was going to have to open her eyes.
But sleep…
"Hally, wake up." The voice was familiar. Female.
Gwen.
Hally's eyes flickered open, the dim light of the Hub immediately had her closing them again.
Too bright.
"Hey… you're ok." Gwen's hands were on her shoulders.
She'd been asleep?
Wait.
Yes.
She'd been asleep.
John.
John had put her to sleep.
Well, she wasn't dead, so that was a plus.
Slowly this time, Hally opened her eyes. Gwen's wide concerned orbs looked back at her.
"Are you alright?"
Hally groaned as she tested her muscles. All in working order.
It took a lot of effort for her to push herself up off the ground, her back protesting at the upright position John had left her in. Sat on the floor, propped against the metal railing.
Arsehole hadn't even put her anywhere comfortable.
She remembered that Gwen had asked her a question and nodded. "I'm fine." She turned around to the spot where Jack had previously been hung up.
Jack was gone.
Gwen was here.
And John was…
Hally turned back to Gwen, her mouth readying her question, but instead, her eyes slid past Gwen.
John was behind her.
"You took your time." He clipped. Hally realised he was speaking at Gwen.
The Welshwoman whirled around, her gun cocking as she trained it on John. "On your knees!"
John tutted, raising his hands above his head in an unconvinced surrender. "Honestly, it's just sex, sex, sex with you people."
"Now!" Gwen barked, motioning to the floor with her gun.
Hally checked the time on her phone.
Oh, she'd been out for over half an hour.
A lot could have happened since then.
Time to play catch up.
"Gwen, what happened?" Gwen's gun never wavered from John, who was slowly getting to his knees.
"He destroyed the city. And he took Jack." Hatred burned behind Gwen's eyes, her mouth curling into a snarl. She stepped away from Hally, pressing her gun into the side of John's head. "I'm going to need a really good reason not to shoot you within the next twenty seconds."
Hally ran a hand through her hair, her brain still half asleep. She was struggling to deal with the amount of time she'd missed, it seemed rather a lot had happened.
"I know where Jack is." John offered, his tone sincere.
Gwen scoffed, not believing him for a second. They all knew from the last time he'd popped by how convincing his lies could be. "You're lying."
John shook his head, keeping his hands in the air he stared back at Gwen. "He's buried alive, somewhere beneath this city. I came back to help you." He nodded his head towards Hally, who was standing slightly behind Gwen. "I could have killed her, but I didn't."
A flicker of a frown appeared on Gwen's face and she turned back to check the truth with her.
Hally nodded at her, before her eyes focused on the kneeling Time Agent. "I mean… I could have killed you too…" She cocked an eyebrow at him.
He flashed her a winning smile. "Looks like I owe you one." He gave her a quick wink.
Gwen shook her head, exhaling heavily. "You bombed this city."
"Listen to me. You have to believe me. It's Gray, Jack's brother, that's been doing all this." John pleaded with Gwen.
"Don't talk rubbish."
"He placed a bomb on me, molecularly bonded the detonator to my skin, I had to do what he wanted. Look." John pulled back his sleeve to show Gwen his bracer. "He forced me to bury Jack and then he freed me. He told me I could go anywhere I wanted. I could've run, but I chose to come back here."
"Why should I trust you?" Gwen demanded, her gun never lowering.
Hally hummed, which brought Gwen's attention back to her. "I think he's telling the truth." She narrowed her eyes at John, taking a step forward towards him. "He could have killed me… maybe we hear him out."
A look of gratitude flashed over John's face. "They were separated as children. Gray was abducted. When I found him, he was chained to the ruins of a city on the Bedlam Outlands, surrounded by corpses. He was the only one left. The creatures had long since gone. Don't know how long he'd been there. He thought I was the rescuing hero. So, it took me too long to realise he'd learned terrible things watching those creatures. He let me trust him…" He trailed off with a pained groan, cradling his wrist. "The molecules are unbonding. Just like he promised." He pulled his bracer off his wrist, along with the bomb, leaving a ring of raw broken skin around his arm. "Oh, God. See? Free man, apparently. I didn't have to come back here. I could've run."
Hally and Gwen shared a look between them, Hally's head lowered in a nod. Gwen lowered her gun. "You find Jack, I'll let you live. But you'd better be quick."
John pushed himself to his feet, placing a finger to his ear. "Fine. Toshiko."
Hally moved to her desk, picking up her own comm, placing it in her ear as John gave Toshiko instructions. "I need you to run a trace for an etheric particle signal NME transmitting at two hundred betacycles."
Owen's voice crackled over the comms. "Gwen, where are you? What's he doing? Where's Jack?"
"Trace that signal. We'll find him." John ordered impatiently.
Gwen still had her gun in her hand, her eyes never leaving John. "It's okay, Tosh. I've got him covered. Just do as he says."
There was a pause as Toshiko actioned the scan, before an exhale. "No signals even vaguely resembling that."
A deep frown of concern fell onto John's face, a flicker of panic. "No, there must be. That transmitter was guaranteed for five millennia through three ecological permalayers. It has to still be transmitting. If not, we'll never find him… He'll be buried forever."
The immediate dread that rushed through Hally's body at John's words was interrupted by a high-pitched siren filling the Hub interior. Gwen covered her ears with her hands. "What the hell is that?" She moved to the monitor, searching for the source of the noise. "Oh, there's Weevils loose in the lower corridors…" Hally moved to her side to see. There were indeed Weevils loose in the Hub, perhaps half a dozen. The vault doors all sat wide open. "Oh my God, what's going on? How did they get out?"
"It's Gray. He must be here in the city. He said he was gonna take Jack's life, destroy it from the inside out. A Weevil wake-up call could be just the beginning." John looked between the two, his face grave.
The seriousness of the situation she'd woken up to settled on Hally.
Jack was gone and the city, which was already cut off from the outside world due to the explosions, was now about to be overrun with Weevils. They'd lost power at the hospitals, the police force had been scattered, all major roads out of the city had been blocked and the nuclear power station was about to go into meltdown.
They needed help.
She could hear Ianto in her ear. "Owen, Gwen, can you hear me? The streets are flooded with Weevils. They came out of nowhere. There's no chance we'll get to the nuclear power station in time."
"Manual life support. Get them round the hospital…" Owen was speaking to someone else, before his attention fell back to them. "Ianto, leave it to me. I can get there."
"How?"
"King of the Weevils, remember?"
Gwen kept trying to run the scan for Jack, as Hally took a few steps away from the desk. There was a niggling feeling of dread that was slowly but surely settling in Hally's chest. The walls were closing in. Gray had completely stranded them. Crippled the city and it appeared like it was only the beginning.
They needed help. Now.
It might have been Jack's family, and perhaps somehow their boss would pull back some kind of victory but at this moment, it was feeling more and more unlikely. Plus, if they did wait for Jack, how much of the city would be left?
She took her phone from her pocket and dialled the number.
Backup was coming.
She could hear Gwen behind her desk. "I am telling you I have run every scan possible. There is no signal traceable."
John slammed his hand down on the desk. "Then try again. It's got to be there…" However, Gwen wasn't listening to him. "Oi, I'm talking to you." Gwen's attention was now firmly set on the group of snarling Weevils that had made their way up to their level.
A growl just behind her had Hally whirling around, they'd been surrounded. She tried to take a tentative step backwards, inching towards the other two.
"You know you've got a real pest problem around here." John grumbled, eyes darting in all directions at the approaching Weevils. Their teeth bared as they stalked closer to them, boxing them in.
Multiple consecutive gunshots blasted and one by one the circle of Weevils fell to the floor. From behind them ran Ianto, gun still in his hand. Gwen let out a laugh of relief. "God, I'm so pleased to see you." But Ianto didn't stop, he marched straight past Gwen to raise the gun once more at John's head.
"Hey, hey. Don't start. I'll make things right, Eye Candy."
Gwen pushed the barrel of the gun down, shooting Ianto a nod.
Toshiko followed him in, motioning to the currently unconscious Weevils. "Then start by getting those Weevils down the Vaults before they recover. It takes more than a bullet to stop them."
Ianto, John and Gwen took the Weevils, dragging them down into the Vaults to lock them safely away. In the meantime, Toshiko took over directing Owen as he headed towards the Nuclear Power Plant, walking him through the process. While Tosh was busy Hally grabbed her phone, sending across the locations they required immediate assistance.
- TURNMILL Nuclear Plant - ETA 6 minutes
- St Helen's Hospital - ETA 2 minutes
- Cardiff City Police Station - ETA 3 minutes
She'd also sent out a request for all units to report any sign of Captain Jack Harkness.
"Okay, I don't want you to panic, but the reactor's already hit the critical point." Toshiko was working quickly at her laptop. Hally couldn't hear the other end of the conversation, they'd switched to a private channel. "Of course, I can. I'm brilliant."
"I'm going to try and divert power from an auxiliary source back to Turnmill. If that works, I can talk you through restoring the coolant system. Righ-." Tosh's sentence was cut short but the sound of a gun firing.
Hally's first reaction was to freeze, her whole body going completely still as her mind ran across her body.
No pain.
She hadn't been hit.
She took in a breath, turning towards Toshiko. The man they'd seen on John's holographic message stood, his back towards Hally, she could just about see Tosh over his shoulder. Her hand pressed to her stomach. Tosh staggered backwards, blood was beginning to bloom over her abdomen. Hally bolted towards her, placing herself in between the human and Jack's brother, who still had the gun raised towards Toshiko. She raised her own weapon, the Laser Screwdriver, aiming it at his chest in warning.
Tosh's hands landed on Hally's arm, using her to keep herself upright. She whimpered in pain. Gray moved, pulling the cables from Toshiko's desktop computer, ending whatever program she'd been running to help Owen. Then he turned to them both, cocking his head to one side. His face was blank, nothing lay behind his eyes. "I've heard people say death is such a waste. I imagine it more as a relief."
Toshiko collapsed behind her and Hally fell to her knees trying to keep her upright, but the hand wielding the screwdriver didn't lower, she kept it trained on Gray. He watched her like one might watch a pet, vaguely interested in viewing the new trick it had learnt. "Will you shoot?" He mused out loud. "I don't think you will."
Her muscles shook with the adrenaline that was rushing through her veins. She needed to help Tosh. But she couldn't with Gray still standing there. Which meant she was going to have to shoot him.
His attention drifted past Hally to Toshiko behind her. "What's it like? How does it feel? Are you afraid? Are you sad? You can tell me. The battle's done."
Hally braced herself to shoot him, silently apologising to Jack when a loud banging echoed throughout the Hub. It was rhythmic, consecutive. Someone was knocking, somewhere?
Anger flashed across Gray's face. "What's that?" His eyes burned towards Hally.
"Perhaps you could fuck off and find out." She glared back at him, her breath coming out in short pants.
She didn't want to shoot him.
She really didn't want to have to shoot him, but if he didn't move away, she was going to have to.
"Maybe it's our secret weapon…" She murmured, a small smirk curving the side of her mouth. Hoping she'd come off as confidently mysterious.
Gray took the bait and turned on his heel, stalking away to investigate the source of the noise. She turned to Toshiko, her hands pressed against the bullet wound. Hally helped her carefully down the steps into the medical bay as Toshiko diverted the call to Owen onto her mobile, placing him on speakerphone.
As Tosh continued to direct him, Hally filled a syringe full of painkiller and injected it into Toshiko's abdomen, shooting her a look of apology when the human hissed in pain.
"Tosh? Come on, girl…" Owen's voice spoke through the phone, anxiety lacing his words as the power station ticked closer and closer to a meltdown.
Letting Tosh work on her remote device, Hally took out her own phone. She struggled to unlock the screen, her hands now covered in Toshiko's blood.
"Here we go! Right, you've done it, Tosh. We've got power. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Tosh groaned.
Owen didn't sound convinced. "Right, what's going on there?"
"Just a machine malfunction." She lied.
Hally shot her a stern look, but she understood the need for efficiency.
"You hurt?"
"Who, me? No, I'm fine. It's just my arm."
"Well, come on, let's do this."
She brought her phone to her ear, Mace picked up again immediately. Hally took two steps away from Tosh, to keep Owen from hearing.
"Four units are on their way to the designated areas. Expect backup in 2 minutes."
"I need a medic and an extraction. Gunshot wound. Torchwood Hub. Now."
"I'll send someone your way."
Hally hung up and placed herself next to the human once more. She needed to try and slow the bleeding. "Tosh, power down the Hub security."
Tosh looked up at her, confused, but she did it nonetheless. Lowering the Hub security to allow UNIT in.
"Tosh, what's going on?" She could hear the concern in Owen's voice.
"All right. Okay. Oh God, Owen." Toshiko had projected the power station reactor status up onto the tiled wall of the med bay. "There's no way to stop the meltdown. It's too far gone." Tosh let in a shaky breath, her face had drained of all colour and Hally could see a sheen of sweat shimmering across her forehead. Hally kept up the pressure over the wound.
"Okay, okay, that is not good, is it. Come on, Tosh, there's got to be something. There's always something. Come on." Agitation crept into Owen's tone.
"The only option now is to vent the flow channels internally."
A notification popped up on Hally's phone screen, which she'd placed on the floor next to Tosh.
M - 'Unit will arrive at Turnhill, 45 seconds. Remove your personnel.'
"Vent them where?" Owen asked.
Hally's head snapped up at the sound of footsteps entering the Hub.
"The area you're in is a containment building."
Hally got to her feet, eyes darting around to spot the intruders. She let out a sharp breath of relief when she spotted the uniform and official lanyards. She beckoned them over and they immediately set about helping Toshiko but she wouldn't give up helping Owen. "You need to set up a time delay programme. Channel the fuel into that bunker and instigate permanent lockdown. Seal the building, and the meltdown will be contained within. And obviously, remember to get out…"
Hally picked Tosh's phone up off her. "Owen just get out of there. Help is coming."
Owen hummed. "There isn't time."
"I can divert the flow… might buy us some time." Tosh tried, the medics by her side had wrapped a device around her abdomen to stabilise the wound but Hally was still very aware of how much blood she'd lost.
"Oh, who the hell are you guys?" Owen asked, some kind of commotion happening on his end of the line. Hally took in a deep breath. UNIT had arrived at the power station. They'd get Owen out.
"Tosh!" Gwen ran down the steps into the medical bay, closely followed by Jack and Ianto, John trailing a few steps behind. Gwen looked up at the two medics who were working to move Toshiko onto a stretcher, her face falling into one of affronted confusion, she looked back at Jack. "What's going on?"
Jack was immediately on the defensive, standing in the way of the stretcher leaving the Hub. "Hey, where do you think you're going with her?"
One of the medics, a blonde female, flashed her badge at Jack. "UNIT Medical Officer, Sir. We need to get Toshiko to the hospital. She's stable but she's lost a lot of blood."
Jack's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, Hally grabbed his arm, pulling him out of their way. "Jack, let them do their job." The confidence on his face faltered at the state of Toshiko and he allowed her to manoeuvre him. "Oh… right. Yes. Of course…" Then his brain seemed to switch back on and he turned to the other two. "Ianto, Gwen… go with them."
They both nodded and followed the medics out swiftly, never leaving Tosh's side. Owen was still talking on Tosh's phone. "What's going on?"
Hally brought it closer to her ear. "Tosh is headed to the hospital. Text Gwen she'll give you the location."
"What just happened?"
Hally could hear soldiers in the background, removing Owen from the premises. She took in a deep breath, her hearts were still thumping in her chest. "You didn't die. Again. Well done. Now take a deep breath and go see Tosh."
"I've got no breath…"
"It's a figure of speech." She hung up the phone, turning to attempt to wipe the blood from her hands.
"You called UNIT?" Jack was watching her, bewildered. Confusion and hurt littered his face.
She looked back at him, finally, properly taking him in. "Yeah. Well, thought you might be gone and we felt a little out of our depth. Figured we could use some help."
He stared back. "And they came… just like that?"
Hally shifted. "Yeah, they owed me a favour. Sontarans." She lied straight to his face, her expression never cracking.
He nodded slowly. Then he blinked. Gradually the situation they'd just been in seemed to dawn on him. She'd probably just saved the lives of two of his team members. He swallowed, offering her a nod of appreciation. "Nice job."
"What happened to Gray?" Her own concerned face moved from Jack to John.
Jack exhaled, his expression darkening. "It's sorted. We'll place him in storage. He won't wake up."
She looked to John, who gave her a nod of agreement.
Her hearts stammered in her chest.
They were ok.
They were going to be ok.
She took in a deep breath, feeling it shake as the muscles of her body attempted to relax after being in a constant state of panic since Tosh had been shot. Gentle hands came to the outside of her arms, squeezing gently. Wordlessly, Jack pulled her into a hug and the pair simply held one another as her hearts eventually slowed to their normal rhythm. "We're ok." Jack's voice was low, muffled against the top of her head.
"I didn't think she was going to make it Jack… I thought…"
He pressed his mouth to the top of her head. "I know."
After the tremors stopped, Jack let her go, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Go wash the blood off. It'll make you feel better."
Hally let out a soft exhale of a laugh. "Always covered in blood these days, what have you done to me."
A chuckle vibrated in his chest as she turned to go find a change of clothes.
Again.
After her shower, Hally had called Gwen at the hospital. They'd taken Toshiko in for surgery, which was likely to take some time but it looked like she was going to be alright. Owen was with them too.
Jack had moved his brother's body into a cryobox in the medical bay, preparing to send it down into the vaults. "My whole life I was looking for him. Now I have to lose him all over again." Jack wasn't really talking to the two of them, Hally and John, who were watching him patiently on the upper level.
"You cryo-freeze him and then what? Wake him up in a hundred years and he's miraculously better? Because that's not gonna happen. Maybe killing him would be the release he needs." John reasoned, his voice low. He took no pleasure in his suggestion.
Jack shook his head. "No. That's not who we are."
John bowed his head in understanding, then he cleared his throat. "You didn't struggle when I buried you. Like you were allowing it."
"It was my penance."
"It's not your fault."
Jack looked back down at his brother, he leant down, pressing his mouth to his forehead, before sending the cryobox down. When he straightened, he shook the feeling away, turning to John. "Need help with those Rift predictions?"
John chuckled, offering Jack a wry smile. "A lot of this planet I haven't seen. You like it so much, thought I might take a look. Maybe see you around." He shot Jack a wink before turning away. He went to walk past Hally, but her hand on his chest stopped him. His eyes glittered with intrigue. She didn't speak, her fingers tapping on her hand relaying her message.
'I'll be needing that favour'.
She reached across him to take his hand, flipping up the leather of the bracer to reveal the controls underneath. She clicked in her mobile number, sending herself a message from his Vortex Manipulator.
He arched an eyebrow towards her suggestively.
Her mouth curved into an innocent smile.
Later that evening, Gwen and Ianto had joined them back at the Hub, having left Toshiko with Owen at the hospital.
She was out of surgery.
She was going to be alright.
Ianto was trailing through paperwork while Hally reinstalled their security systems and Gwen worked on helping the police put the city back together. She could feel Jack close by. His energy had shifted. She could feel him watching her with an ounce of suspicion. Perhaps it was because she'd invited UNIT in to 'save the day', but it also possibly had something to do with her stalky friend.
"We were lucky today, Jack…" Gwen turned to look back at him, the remnant of fear at what could have been behind her eyes. Jack's attention didn't move from Hally, a dark look on his face. His conflict was palpable. He knew she'd done the right thing. But he was uneasy.
"So who's your handsome friend?" Ianto attempted to lighten the mood.
There was a pause where no one replied, Hally turned her head, eyes widening when she realised he was talking to her. "Huh?"
She heard Jack shift behind them, grumbling. "Armitage."
Hally barked a laugh, her face falling into one of amused confusion. "What? He's… he's not…" She shuddered, pulling a face. "Why would you call him that?"
Ianto cocked an eyebrow, looking to Gwen to check they were both hearing her correctly. Gwen laughed, shaking her head. "Because he's gorgeous, tall, dark hair, that jawline, those piercing eyes…"
Jack groaned and Hally turned around to look at him, catching his unhappy grimace. He clocked her with a stare. "Want to explain what you're doing still hanging around with him?"
"I told you before, friends in low places." She offered a cheeky smile but of course, he wasn't settling for her diversion bullshit. He narrowed his eyes in warning and Hally exhaled softly. She was so close, there was no way she was letting Harkness fuck everything up now. "The Master might have died but apparently Armitage's job didn't die with him." She shrugged. "It took a few months but I eventually realised he was still tailing me. He's just doing what he always did, keeping an eye on me 24/7."
"Did you forget the time he nearly throttled you to death?"
Hally laughed, rolling her eyes. "Multiple times… but no, anyway it's not like he did that of his own accord." She crossed her arms over her chest, fixing him with a stubborn look. "What exactly would you have me do? Getting rid of him isn't exactly easy. So, I decided to make both our lives simpler and just accept that I'm constantly being stalked by a deadly assassin."
Gwen hummed and cocked an eyebrow. "What about when John knocked you unconscious? Wouldn't that be a good moment to swoop in?"
Hally shrugged. "Nah, I think he's more like one of those documentary people, he doesn't really get involved unless I'm basically dead." Her face crumpled with irritation. "I think he enjoys 'teaching me a lesson'."
Ianto hummed. "Sounds fun."
"It's not, but making his life as difficult as possible keeps me going." Mischief twinkled in her eyes.
Jack tutted, clicking his tongue against his teeth. But she could see the ghost of a smile torturing the corner of his mouth. She'd convinced him enough. "Well tell him that if I see him again, we're having words."
Hally laughed, judging by the look on Jack's face, that conversation would involve fists rather than words. "I'll pass along the threat."
Gwen sighed and the four of them fell into momentary silence. "Anyone want a drink?"
"God, yes."