***
Chapter 21Demons didn't love humans, but Jack was fond of Estelle. Had been since she was a young girl and he met her during the War. So full of spunk and spirit. Still, she also believed that the fairies were nice, and Jack wasn't surprised when he found her dead in back garden, drowned on dry land. He knelt down next to her with a small sigh. "I tried to tell you, Estelle," he said. "They aren't nice, and they're not magical. They're, well, they're like little kids that hate to not get their way. They're brats and it's best to just stay clear of them every chance you get. I'm sorry this happened to you, I wish it could have been different."
He pushed up and turned to look at the garden. "I know you can hear me," Jack continued. "Take the girl and go. I won't stop you."
A small face appeared in the bushes. "One of your people tries."
"She's acting outside of my orders," Jack said. "I've warned her what will happen should she mess you with. The girl wants to go with you. I'm not stopping her. I'm not stopping you."
"Demon, you lie."
"Not about this. What else do you want?"
"Stop your people hurting us."
Jack sighed and activated his earpiece. "Yan, is Gwen still at her flat trying to piece things together?"
"No, Sir, but I am," Ianto replied. "Rhys is happy for the help."
"Damn it. Gwen's messing with the fairies again," Jack said. "I'll be at Jasmine's house if you need me. Don't have too much fun with Rhys tonight, Ianto. Slowly."
"Of course, Sir," Ianto said.
"I'll call when it's done," Jack said. He looked back towards the garden. "I'm going to stop Gwen. This is the last favor I'll grant you. The next time you come to my town, you face me at full power. I don't care where else you find your playmates, but you stay out of this city."
"Demon."
"Don't ever forget it. This is our place," Jack said. He turned his back without another word and went back to the car. He looked at it with a sigh. There was no chance of leaving it and teleporting out and back again. Gwen would ask too many question.
*~*
When Jack arrived at Jasmine's house, he could tell that there were several problems. The main one being how many cars were parked on the street. It seemed that Jasmine's mum and whoever the guy was were having a party when things went sideways. Jack pulled his gun for show and headed around to the back of the house. He peeked around the corner and saw a group of hysterical adults clustered around a man and a woman. With a wave of his hand, he froze them all and stepped into the yard. There was only one way into the forest behind the house. With a small sigh, Jack headed that way, towards the sound of Gwen's voice. "What are you doing here, Gwen?" he demanded when he was close enough. "I told you to leave them alone."
"They're taking the girl, Jack."
"So let them," Jack said. "She'll be happier with them than she ever will be here with adults that don't give a damn about her."
"You can't just let them take a human being," Gwen protested. She tightened her hold on Jasmine. "This girl needs help, Jack."
"And you think you're the one to help her?" Jack asked. He tucked his gun away and crossed his arms over his chest. "Where were you two years ago when Jasmine's father died? Where were you when the child molester tried to pick her up at school? Where were you every time Jasmine's mother chose her boyfriend over her daughter, leaving the girl alone, crying in the darkness. Where were you when she was bullied at school? You can't just appear when someone has suffered through years of abuse and neglect and decide that now is the time to help them. Jasmine knows what she wants, Gwen Cooper. She wants to go with her friends, and there's no one left to object to that. The adults are dead. Let her go."
"No."
Jack caught Gwen's eyes and held them. "Let her go, Gwen," he said softly. "Now."
Jasmine wiggled out of the suddenly loose grip and ran into the woods. Jack looked into Gwen's eyes. "I won't protect you from whatever the fairies want to do to you for your interference with them, Gwen," he said. "You brought this on yourself when you wouldn't listen to me at the outset. Bring the car back when you can drive. I need to walk."
*~*
Jack was in his office when Ianto appeared out of nowhere. "I found us a feast, Jack," Ianto said softly.
"Oh yeah? Let's make sure we're alone and you can tell me all about it," Jack said. He pulled his lover in for a kiss. "Hmmm, tasty."
"He's not tainted either," Ianto said with a smirk.
"Good. That means we still have time," Jack said.
***
Chapter 22Jack's eyes fluttered open when he heard the alarm to the door. "Yan."
"It's Gwen," Ianto said, not moving from his spot using Jack as a pillow. "She's bloodied, Jack. Badly. Owen is behind her."
"I tried to warn her not to mess with the fairies," Jack said, shifting a little. "We're going to have to decontaminate the Hub, Ianto. Her bleeding in here could burn us badly if we miss a spot."
"When are we going to kill her, Jack?" Ianto asked. "Even untrained as she is, she is still polluting our home against us. We have a new plaything and he is a rich feast for us both."
"We need Gwen alive for the final betrayal against Tosh," Jack said. "I've picked up an alien trace in town, Ianto. One that seems to be focused directly on us. I think that it's time for us to get our blood ready for Tosh, to give her that edge when she falls down the Rift. We can't do everything for her, she'll have to fight her way back, but I think she has it in her to be a good demon."
Ianto finally looked up at Jack. "And then we kill Gwen and bring in Rhys to work with us until Tosh is back," he said. "What about Owen?"
"We need to decide what we want to do with him, Ianto. There's still a lot that he could do for us, but at the same time, I think he might be getting suspicious of us," Jack said. "Oops, hush, they're coming towards the office."
The pair fell silent as footsteps echoed above them. They could hear filing cabinets being opened and Jack frowned. He tapped Ianto's shoulder and moved when his lover was off him. "Looking for something, kids?" he asked, appearing in his office.
"Jack, where did you come from?" Gwen gasped, spinning around with a folder in her hands.
"Why are you in my office going through my filing cabinets?" Jack asked again, crossing his arms over his chest. "I've told you both that my office is off-limits to agents, no matter what. There are things in here that are dangerous and I don't want anyone getting hurt."
"You know more about that demon than you're telling us," Owen finally said, looking at Gwen. "She had the idea to come in during the night and look to see what we could find, but it's all in code."
"Yes it is, to keep people that don't need to know safe from what's written down," Jack said. He took the folder from Gwen and set it down on her desk. "I don't know anything about a demon in Cardiff, but I told you that I had some people working on the question and we would have answers as soon as was possible. I'm not sure where this idea that I'm hiding something has come from, Gwen, but you should understand by now that I've been doing this a long time. There's a lot that I'm hiding because it doesn't have any impact on anything you lot are doing with Torchwood. Now, I'm not happy about finding the two of you where you shouldn't be. I think that you both need to be disciplined."
"Jack, you abandoned me to the fairies," Gwen said. "I could've died and you didn't do anything."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Gwen," Jack said calmly. "Did you go back against my orders to try and save the girl the fairies had chosen for their own?"
"You know that I did because you were there," Gwen yelled. "You were there and you left me behind. They tried to kill me, Jack. I don't know why they didn't, but they were mad."
Jack sighed. "Gwen, I've been here all night working," he said. "You can check the cameras if you'd like. I hadn't realized it was so late, actually. I don't know what you're talking about, but if you did go back and try to mess with the fairies, you are lucky to be alive. My friend Estelle wasn't so lucky. The police called to let me know she was murdered last night."
Ianto appeared, as he always did, silently and out of nowhere. "You couldn't have saved her, Sir," he said, handing Jack a cup of coffee. "The fairies would have killed you as well, and then Torchwood would be without her hero. I'm sure you did the best you could."
"Thanks, Ianto," Jack said softly. "You two get out of here. I'll see you when your shifts start and let you know what punishment is going to be handed down for coming into my office and looking in my files."
"Jack," Gwen started.
"Save it," Jack said. "There is no excuse for your behavior, Gwen. Leave."
Owen lingered behind for just a moment. "She was cut up pretty bad, Jack," he said. "I don't know what got her, but it wasn't human."
"Is she fit to work?"
"She's got stitches in a few places, probably should be on light duty for a week while those heal up," Owen said. "Jack, there's something weird about her blood."
"What do you mean weird, Owen?"
"I mean that it melted the metal it touched," Owen said. "I don't think Gwen is totally human."
"Then what is she?"
"I don't know, but I'd keep an eye on her," Owen said. "Sorry for getting into your files. I just don't want anyone else dying like those girls did, back in the day."
Jack nodded. "I'm still going to have to punish you, Owen," he said.
"Yeah, I know, but you'll be fair about it because you always are," Owen said. "Night."
Ianto made his way out onto the walkway in front of Jack's office and looked down at the Hub. "It has melted the metal, Jack," he said. "What are we going to do now?"
"The final betrayal is coming, Yan," Jack said with a small smile. "I can sense it."
***
Chapter 23Jack worked to clean up the spilled blood, thick gloves on for protection, while Ianto repaired the metal where it had melted from contact with Gwen's blood. "Our Hub, Jack, I know we joke about that, but it would seem that the corruption from the Rift and our constant presence here has infused the area far more than we realized it would," Ianto said. "There, that's one stair mended. The angel taint in Gwen's blood must have reacted chemically to the demonic forces that have infused the metal over the years. This is getting dangerous, Jack. What if Owen is able to work it out?"
"I don't know, Ianto," Jack said with a sigh. "I wasn't expecting this level of damage to the Hub just from her bleeding in here. You're right that we need to step up the pace a little on things. When we're done cleaning up, go and start to get our blood ready for Tosh. The alien is lurking close, Ianto, and it wants us. It wants something from Torchwood, and I don't know which one of us it's going to focus on."
"Who is the weakest link?"
"Tosh."
"Then that's likely where the focus will go," Ianto said. "It's logical, Jack. You said yourself that the final betrayal is coming. What's to stop this alien taking advantage of the same upset that we are?"
"You have a good point, Ianto. You get the blood ready and I'll keep an eye on everything in the Hub. We just have to be certain that Owen doesn't work out what happened with the metal," Jack said. "I'm not sure why he focused on Gwen not being human, but maybe he's starting to see her for what she really is."
Ianto looked up with a small smirk. "An annoying bitch that pokes her nose in when she thinks someone is looking?"
"That too."
*~*
He was watching when Tosh came back to the Hub and noticed the new necklace immediately. It wasn't hard for Jack to work out what the necklace was, what it did, and how upset by it all Tosh was. He could see the moment that she overheard Owen and Gwen for the first time. Their thoughts were obvious on their faces, they were thinking about the other, probably planning out their next meeting. It seemed that Gwen not being human wasn't enough to keep Owen away from her completely. Jack sighed; after losing the love of his life, the man became a shell that would sleep with anything that moved. He debated, briefly, bringing Owen in to play with Rhys a little, but wasn't sure how Ianto would react to sharing their newest toy.
"She's reading minds, isn't she?" Ianto asked softly from behind Jack.
"Yep, that necklace is helping her out," Jack replied just as softly. "I wonder what she's going to hear from us, Ianto?"
"We'll have to be careful to monitor our thoughts then, won't we?"
"Oops, there she goes," Jack said. "I guess she had enough of hearing Owen and Gwen drool over each other. I don't know what she sees in Owen, truthfully. The man either needs something to settle him down, or he needs to be neutered."
Ianto grinned. "It would be such a waste though, Sir," he said. "All the lovely tension in the air, I feel full."
"I know what you mean, Ianto," Jack said. "Go follow along behind Tosh and let's see if we can work out who or what gave her that piece of alien tech for a present. I think it's supposed to be a courting present, but I don't want to risk anyone turning her head now. Not when our plans are starting to play out so wonderfully."
"I'll do my best, Sir," Ianto said with a small smile.
Jack knew that Ianto slipping back into character meant that one of the team was close by. He looked around and found Owen waiting on the stairs. "Owen?"
"I was wondering if you would mind me using the Hub computer to do some research, Jack," Owen said. "I want to work out what Gwen is. There can't be too many things that have blood that can melt metal."
"You think she's an alien?"
"It makes the most sense. Her blood is red, but that just means it has a similar chemical make-up to ours," Owen said. "I'd like to know what I'm working with, Jack."
"Yeah, you can look," Jack said. "I don't think you'll find anything though. There's lots of aliens out there, but I've never run across one that has blood that can melt metal."
Owen sighed. "Can you think of another reason her blood would have reacted with the metal like that then?"
Jack could, he knew the answer, but he certainly wasn't going to tell Owen about it. "No idea, but I'm doing some digging on my own," he said. "It's not often an alien manages to get in here to work, but it does happen every so often. Knock yourself out, Owen. Maybe you'll see something that I missed because you're better at science than I am."
"Thanks. I really just want to keep busy," Owen said. "She wants something from me, Jack, and for a while I was happy to give her what she wanted."
"But not now?"
"I met her boyfriend when I took her home last night. He's a nice bloke, simple and the type of man we need more of in this world," Owen said. "He has no clue what she's doing to him. I'm not going to hurt him, not after meeting him like I did."
"Good for you, Owen. Just stick to that feeling and she'll move on to someone else," Jack said. "If that happens, Rhys will need friends he can talk to."
"Yeah, he will," Owen said. "Thanks for letting me use the computers, Jack. I'll let you know if I find anything."
***
Chapter 24"Tosh is sleeping with the alien," Ianto said, shutting the door to Jack's office behind him. "I can't tell for certain if there's true emotion there, or if this is a reaction to hearing Gwen and Owen thinking at each other, but this alien is using Tosh to get something."
"Did Tosh realize you were there?" Jack asked.
"Not that I could tell, no. I don't think the necklace works on us." Ianto shifted up to sit on the desk, careful not to knock over any paperwork Jack had set out. "What's all this?"
Jack sighed. "All this just came up the Rift. Seems that the Kings are happy we were able to hatch out and return a dragon to them," he said. "They want to know everything we did, down to the last detail, so they can make an attempt to replicate our success down below. I don't give a damn how happy they are, this is punishment."
"Don't humans seem to think that paperwork is an invention of Hell?" Ianto asked with a smirk.
"I'm starting to understand why," Jack replied. He glanced up when a figure moved out in the Hub. "Was that Owen?"
"Why is he here so late?"
"Don't know." Jack raised his voice. "Owen!"
Owen came into the office and sat down in one of the chairs, not even blinking at where Ianto was sitting. "I don't want Gwen to know what I'm researching on the computers, Jack," he said. "She keeps hanging over my shoulder when I'm trying to work and I don't want her to see what I'm finding. I thought you'd be okay with me staying late and working on this in my own time, so I didn't ask."
"That's fine, Owen. I was just curious why you were still here when everyone else went home an hour ago," Jack said. "What have you found so far?"
"Nothing helpful, and nothing I can really work with," Owen said with a sigh. "I'm starting to think that it was a chemical reaction between the metal and something within Gwen's blood rather than the blood itself that melted the metal, but I can't work out what could possibly cause that."
"What have you managed to rule out?" Ianto asked.
"She's not an alien. The only one of those we have on record of looking human is the Doctor and there's no record of tests on his blood, so that's pointless for me to even think that she could be one like him," Owen replied. "If she's some sort of a shape-shifter then she hides it well. I've even asked Rhys if he's noticed anything unusual in her behavior lately, wondering if maybe Gwen was losing her calm and whatever cover she's using has cracked. He said that she's not home as much and has come home with unusual injuries, but hasn't noticed anything in particular beyond that."
"Both of those could well be because of Torchwood," Jack said. "We keep odd and unusual hours, and she did get cut up by the fairies pretty good."
"I don't know what you think about bringing Rhys in to work with Torchwood, Jack, but I think he'd be a better fit that Gwen is, honestly," Owen said. "The man has a sharp mind and knows how to use it. I'm not sure how he would feel about aliens and all the rest of it, but we could start sounding him out. I'd trust him in the field."
Ianto and Jack looked at each other. "You've been spending time with him, Owen?" Jack finally asked.
"Yeah, we've been meeting up with drinks since I helped finish cleaning up the flat after the fairies attacked," Owen said. "Like I said, he's a good bloke."
"I'll take it under advisement," Jack said. "Might be too complicated to have both Rhys and Gwen on the team though. We'd have to figure out if they would be able to set their personal feelings aside and be professional in the field."
"Given how Gwen treats him, she probably would be able to," Owen said. "I've never seen anything like it, Jack, but I really feel bad for the guy. Almost makes me wish that Gwen would just vanish, you know?"
"What about Tosh?" Ianto asked. "How do you think she would get on with Rhys?"
"She'd like him, I'm almost positive of that one," Owen replied. "She's not acting right, Jack. Do you think she's okay?"
"I think that she's been pining over someone that was blind to how much pain he was causing her and she's finally given up and moved on," Jack said. "It's possible she's going to be leaving us pretty soon, Owen. I don't know if she is or not, but it's possible it could happen."
"What? Why?"
"A heart can only take so much," Ianto said softly. "Tosh has been nursing hers for a long time. Even moving on, seeing the source of her pain every day, that's going to hurt her badly."
Owen sighed. "I knew it, but I ignored it," he said. "Think I have a chance to make things right?"
"Maybe some day," Jack said. "There's an alien involved in all of this and Ianto and I are going to work this one. We're the only ones that can, so I need you to help sit on Gwen and keep her out of it, Owen. Having her close to Tosh right now will just cause more harm than good."
"Yeah, okay, I can do that," Owen said. "You'll let me know if there's anything else I can do?"
"Sure," Jack said. His eyes flicked to Ianto's and saw his thoughts mirrored there. "You'll be the first to know if we need help."
***
Chapter 25"Tosh's favorite chocolate, Sir," Ianto said, appearing next to Jack once they were back from eliminating the threat from the alien. Owen was patching Gwen up, a few of her sutures ruptured while she was out in the field.
"Thanks, Ianto," Jack said, taking the box. "I'll be up top with Tosh. Keep an eye on things down here, will you?"
"Of course, Sir," Ianto said, his eyes flashing with mischief.
Jack nodded, trying not to smirk, and made his way to the lift to head up into the Plass. He found Tosh sitting off to one side with her arms around her legs, chin resting on her knees, just staring off into the distance. He sat down next to her and opened the chocolate box. "Hey, brought you something."
"Thanks, Jack," Toss said, picking up one of the chocolate creams. "This necklace, I thought it would be good, you know. Be able to hear what people are thinking, maybe help them out before they really know they need help, but it's overwhelming. It's like walking through a physical field of information, having to push past barriers that aren't even there. I really think it would be enough to drive me mad."
"Alien tech isn't meant for humans, Tosh. I've told you lot that over and over again, and there's a reason for that," Jack said. He reached to grab a chocolate and grinned when his hand was slapped. "All right, all for you then. Tosh, you wanted to believe there was good in Mary, and that's not a bad thing. You've got a huge heart and you want to help others."
Tosh sighed and picked up another piece of chocolate. "You knew I was able to hear thoughts. Read minds. Whatever it was I was doing."
"I suspected, yeah. You were hearing thoughts, Tosh. It's impossible for anyone, well almost anyone, to truly read minds," Jack said. "There are some truly telepathic races out there, the Doctor included, who can read minds, but they're watched closely and governed ever more harshly because they could do terrible harm looking so deeply into another person."
"You and Ianto. You're both silent, Jack," Tosh said. "Complete blanks, the both of you. What does that mean?"
"It just means that you didn't come near us when we were thinking anything specific so the necklace could pick up on it," Jack said. "I know that cleaning for Ianto is almost meditative, so he doesn't really think much beyond the next thing to clean up or organize. I'm still not sure how Torchwood survived before him."
Tosh managed a weak smile and grabbed another bit of chocolate. "These taste different tonight, Jack," she said. "Are they from the usual shop?"
"Ianto gave them to me to bring up to you, so I'm not sure," Jack said. "Different how?"
"Richer, almost fuller," Tosh said slowly, as if she was trying to think of a good way to explain what she was experiencing. "Addicting, well, more than usual."
Jack chuckled. "Maybe the sweet-maker has a new ingredient that's added to the flavor of the chocolates," he said. It was the first instance, he knew of, of anyone being able to detect demon blood in the food they were given. That talent just reinforced his belief that Tosh would become an outstanding demon, should she survive to return to Earth.
"If he does, he'll make a killing," Tosh said. "What happens now, Jack?"
"Now you have to make the decision to destroy the necklace, Tosh," Jack replied. "It's linked to you, so you're the only one that can destroy it, Tosh."
She took the pendant and held it in her hand, absently eating the last chocolate in the box. "I don't know if I can," she finally said.
"Do you want me to put it away safe for you?"
"No. Someone else might get it and use it for their own benefit," Tosh said. "Gwen pokes around the Hub too much to risk it." She took a deep breath and dropped the necklace on the ground before standing up to crush it under her shoe. "Make sure the pieces are destroyed too, Jack. No one should have this sort of power."
"I will," Jack said. "Do you need me to come and sit with you tonight, Tosh?"
"No. I think I'm going to walk for a bit before I go home," Tosh said. "Thanks though."
"Call me if you need me for anything."
Jack stayed where he was, even when familiar arms wrapped around him. "She eat them?"
"She detected the additive," Jack replied softly. "I think we should keep an eye on her tonight, Yan."
"Tosh truly is remarkable, isn't she?" Ianto asked with a smirk.
"She'll be our equal should she fight back."
"What about Owen?"
"I think we'll let him be for now. Gwen is our next target," Jack said. "We need to eliminate her. Maybe it's time to let Suzie wake up?"
Ianto chuckled and pulled Jack to his feet. "I love the way you think, Jack," he said. "I'll start the process when we get back to the Hub."
***
Chapter 26"Where's Ianto?" Owen asked, looking around the Hub. "There's no coffee."
"He's busy and you can manage without coffee, Owen," Jack said, walking past. "That's not Ianto's only job around here, you know. Come on, we've got a call to meet up with the local police force. Something about finding our name written in blood."
Ianto appeared out of the shadows. "Your coffee, Sir," he said with a small smile. "The other project is coming along nicely. Do you want me to come with you?"
"Yeah, time to get you out and about more, Ianto," Jack said.
"Why does Jack get coffee? What about the rest of us?"
"Jack knows to be patient," Ianto said, not turning around. "The rest of you are demanding when you need something. Try asking."
Jack snorted into his coffee and almost started coughing. His lover was in a feisty mood that morning, and that meant there was a new emotion in the air that he hadn't been able to pick up on yet. "Ianto, hold up a minute," he said. "The rest of you get in the car. What's going on, Yan?"
Ianto turned his back so no one would be able to see what he was saying. "Gwen, our little sex goddess hasn't in almost a week," he said. "Rhys has been going out every night with Owen and not coming back until late and hasn't been paying her any attention. Owen, on the other hand, reeks of sex. I think that maybe the two men in Gwen's life have hooked up leaving her to the side and she isn't the least bit happy about that."
"Hmmm, sexual tension," Jack said. "One of my favorites to feed on. You should have told me about it sooner, Yan."
"I thought you were picking up on it yourself, Captain," Ianto said, falling into step next to Jack. "Now, what's this about someone finding our name written in blood?"
Jack slid into the driver's seat and handed his coffee mug to Ianto. "The local detective just told me that the word Torchwood was written in blood on the wall at the latest in a series of brutal homicides," he said. "I don't know any more than that."
"You don't think it's our demon, do you?" Owen asked, leaning forward. "Would it be back so quickly?"
"We still have a couple of weeks until we have to worry about the dragon being turned loose again," Jack replied. "I don't know if the demon is around again or not, but I don't think it would leave a message to us like this. Not unless someone in Torchwood had done something to call attention to us."
Ianto tried not to laugh as both Tosh and Owen looked over at Gwen. "The demon wouldn't be killing in houses," he said. "It doesn't like walls, so it won't go into any sort of a building. That's not to say that it can't kill you from outside, but it wouldn't cross the threshold to murder you."
"Should any of us be worried at how much you know about demons, Ianto?" Jack asked.
"I believe in doing thorough research, Sir," Ianto replied, raising an eyebrow at his lover. "Very, very thorough indeed."
"That's good, Yan," Jack said with a grin. "No, the real question we have to answer here is how some random killer knows about Torchwood. Owen, you handle the bodies. Find out what's in their system. See if there's any sign of drugs or other substances that shouldn't be there. Tosh, you work on their electronics. See if you can find any clues for us there. Ianto, you talk to the neighbors. See if they've seen anything."
"What do you want me to do, Jack?" Gwen asked.
The word die was on the tip of Jack's tongue, but he managed to hold it back. "Work with the police. You know them. They might tell you something that they won't tell the rest of us."
"And what are you going to be doing?" Gwen demanded.
"Anything else that comes up and needs to be handled," Jack said. He pulled to a stop behind a police van. "All right, people, let's get to work."
*~*
Ianto met up with Jack by the car while the others were still inside working. "So, here's a tidbit for you, Jack," he said softly. "The detective that called us in? Her husband had an affair with Gwen for two and a half months before he was killed in the line of duty. Our detective in there knows about the affair and hates Gwen."
"That would explain all the lovely tension running through the house then," Jack grinned. "Such a shame Gwen was sleeping her way through the police department, isn't it? She should have realized that it would come back to bite her in the end. Fortunately, I was able to charm Kathy to get the basic information and a promise to work with us on the case."
"So what do we do now?" Ianto asked.
"I have a feeling that this homicide is linked back to Torchwood on a level that no one knows about," Jack said. "I think, once we have more information from Owen and Tosh, that you and I are going to have to find the murderer ourselves and ask him some questions. Then there's our other little side project. When do we let the basic information leak over to Gwen?"
"You mean Owen taking up with her less than a day after Suzie died?" Ianto asked with a smirk. "I think we should let the girls talk. The one that replaced and the one that was replaced. I'm sure they'll have a lot of fun comparing notes before they both die."
***
Chapter 27When everyone was back in the Hub, Ianto vanished down into the vaults while Jack talked with Tosh about a cell phone found in the bedroom. He could feel Gwen glaring at him from her workstation, and it was hard to focus only because he wanted to start laughing. It would be too hard to explain though, so he did his best to keep a straight face until he was back in his office.
"Something amusing you, Sir?" Ianto asked, coming into the office.
"Gwen. She's pissed and directing it right at me," Jack replied. "Tosh found us a name though, and guess who the name is linked to."
"Who?"
"Suzie."
"Now how did that happen?" Ianto asked, sitting down on the corner of Jack's desk.
"I'm thinking we're going to have to ask her," Jack said. "Come on in, Owen."
Owen shut the door behind him and shook his head when he saw how Jack and Ianto were sitting. "Shoulda known," he said. "Jack, I found something in some hair at the crime scene that I think you're going to want to know about. This is our killer's hair, far as I can tell anyway."
"Retcon," Jack said, passing the paper to Ianto. "So the question becomes, how did our killer get one of our drugs in his system."
"It wasn't just once, Jack. There's enough there that the hair is almost saturated in it," Owen said. "Whoever this is, and whatever it is he does, someone in Torchwood has had a lot of contact with him, and didn't want anyone know about it."
"I can tell you that his name is Max," Jack said. "He's connected to Suzie, somehow. You were close to her, Owen. Does the name ring a bell?"
Owen shook his head. "Nope, not a clue," he said. "Not a surprise though. Suzie was always careful to keep everyone from work out of her personal life."
"We need to figure out how we're going to find him," Jack said. "Ianto, how close are we to being able to question Suzie?"
"Wait, what?" Owen asked. "Suzie's dead."
"She was only mostly dead," Ianto said, face completely straight. "We put her on ice until we needed her again. I've been slowly waking her up. I think she'll be ready for questioning after lunch, Sir."
Jack grinned. "Good. I think that we need to find this Max person before he kills again."
*~*
"How could Suzie be mostly dead?" Tosh asked, while Jack was down questioning Suzie. "How could they freeze her and bring her back to life like this?"
"I have no idea, Tosh, but it scares me," Owen admitted. "I mean, think about it. If they can do this, what else are they able to do? What if they know more about the demon and dragon than they're letting on?"
She looked over at him. "There's no way that Jack and Ianto would do anything to put anyone on the team in danger, Owen," Tosh said. "They go out of their way to keep us all safe."
"I'm afraid that Suzie is quite insane after her ordeal," Ianto said from behind the pair. "I don't know how much good questioning her is going to be. Tosh, have you had any luck tracking down Max?"
"No, nothing," Tosh said, turning back to her computer. "Without a last name or description, there are limits to what I'm able to do, even with all the information I normally work with."
"I've got him," Jack said, appearing from down below. "Ianto, we're going to go bring him in. Owen, you and Tosh head over to the police station and see if they've got anything on Max."
"What about me?" Gwen asked.
"You stay here and keep an eye on Suzie," Jack said. "We'll be back as soon as we can."
Ianto waited until they were alone in the car before saying anything. "Owen and Tosh were talking, Jack. They think we're hiding something from them."
"Oh yeah, like what?" Jack asked with a smirk.
"Demons and dragons and killers," Ianto replied. "I'm not sure what we're going to do with them."
"Tosh is a day away from being ready to go down the Rift, Ianto," Jack said. "I think that we do that, keep working on Owen, and kill Gwen."
"If only she'll die. I do like how easily you were able to get her alone at the Hub with Suzie. Do you think the pair will talk?"
"I think that Suzie is going to want to know what happened after she died, how she was replaced, and what's been happening," Jack said. "I also think that she's going to trick Gwen into taking her out of the Hub before too much longer."
Ianto smirked. "Do you think it possible that Suzie will manage to kill Gwen?"
"If they touch, the life force bleed will start up," Jack said. "Then all we have to do is wait, Ianto."
"Suzie drains Gwen and then we eat Suzie," Ianto said. "Not just a soul this time around, Jack. We rend her apart and devour her in pieces."
Jack glanced over at his lover. "I love it when you talk dirty, Ianto."
***
Chapter 28It wasn't hard for Jack and Ianto to get Max into the car with them, and they took him out into the wilds to talk with him. The poor man had so many holes in his mind from however it was that he'd been given Retcon that killing him was almost a mercy. They used the creek nearby to clean up and left the pieces of the man to be found by scavengers, heading back into town to see how their other plan was coming together.
"You still have blood on you," Ianto commented, looking over at Jack.
"Blasted stuff gets everywhere," Jack sighed. "Clean it up for me, please? I don't want blood in places it'll be hard to explain to the team."
Ianto leaned over and licked behind Jack's right ear a few times. Jack shivered at the contact. "I wish we'd had time to spend in that blood pool," he said. "I know it doesn't make good lube, but it's been a while since you've let me do that to you. Would have been fun."
"We'll have to talk about that for our next large feeding then," Ianto said with a small smirk. "Do you think Suzie and Gwen will be at the Hub when we return?"
"I would doubt it," Jack said. "Suzie is going to want to get out of there as fast as she can. I don't know what excuse she'll use, what story she'll make up, but Gwen will believe her, because Gwen is going to be pissed at so many things."
"Hmmm, that's true. She'll be pissed that Owen took up with her so quickly, that her boyfriend has left her for a man, that we're starting to ignore her unless we need her to do something, and that Tosh is treated better than her," Ianto said. "Gwen came into Torchwood expecting to waltz right into your bed and a second-in-command spot. Pity she didn't take the time to figure out what she'd be up against, isn't it?"
Jack shivered. "Ugh, just the thought of touching her makes me feel sick," he said. "It's laughable how predictable she is, Ianto. The woman doesn't know how to keep her legs together, and sells herself for what she wants. It's a wonder she didn't end up in London on the streets."
"I wonder if we could do that to her before we kill her, Sir," Ianto said. "Wipe her mind and dump her in the middle of the city to feed the one hunger she can still feel. How many men would it take before she feels truly full?"
"I'd be tempted if not for the risk that she could spawn, and then we'd have a kid around with the same taint in their blood," Jack said. "Just because we don't see them, doesn't mean there aren't men around with the same taint in their blood, and should they find each other, we'd have a real problem."
"Very true," Ianto said with a small sigh. "Oh well, I guess we can show her our true forms at the end, and that will be enough to feed on."
"The fear of an angel-born," Jack said, licking his lips. "That's taste with a hint of danger to it." He glanced over. "Look, Gwen's car is gone, Ianto."
Ianto grinned. "Some people are too predictable," he said. "So now I wonder how it is we'll be able to track them down?"
"Knowing Tosh, she has trackers in all the cars," Jack said with a small sigh. "The woman is too smart sometimes. Come on, let's go see what the rest of our team has to say about things."
"Does it worry you we've grown so fond of Tosh and Owen, Jack?"
"A little, but ask yourself this, Ianto. Should it come down to it, would you be able to eat them?"
"Of course."
"So would I, so I don't think we have to worry too much," Jack said. "Tosh, what's going on?"
Tosh looked up from her computer. "Gwen and Suzie are gone, Jack. We don't know where they are, but I'm trying to get the tracker I put in Gwen's car active. There's no tape showing them leaving, but I don't know why."
"Have you checked the video systems?" Jack asked, moving to stand behind Tosh.
"Owen's looking at them now," Tosh replied. "I wanted to find Gwen before I did anything else. Were you guys able to find Max?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah, we found him. The poor guy was a mess and mad. I ended up having to shoot him," he said. "I'm not positive, but I think that he dated Suzie for a while, but I'm not sure why she'd be giving him drugs to make him forget things."
"You didn't ask her about it?"
"I did, but she wouldn't say anything," Jack sighed. "Is that them there, Tosh?"
"Yeah, that's it," Tosh said. She pulled up the map and zoomed in. "Why would they be going towards the water?"
"I don't know, but let's go ask them," Jack said.
*~*
When the team arrived on the dock, they found Gwen sitting next to Suzie's body. Jack and Ianto exchanged a quick look and stayed back while Tosh and Owen ran forward to take care of Gwen.
"We tempered that soul for months," Ianto whispered to Jack. "An ultimate meal, and now it's gone. How the hell did Gwen survive the energy drain over to Suzie?"
Jack frowned. "I don't know, Yan," he replied in a whisper. "I'm starting to wonder if Gwen hasn't tapped into her power and we just don't know it. There's no way she should be surviving things like this. I don't understand it at all."
Ianto looked over towards the trio on the dock. "We have to do something, Sir," he said. "I don't know what, but we have to do something."
"We will, Ianto," Jack said. He put his hand on his lover's shoulder and squeezed. He didn't know what they would be able to do if Gwen had come into her powers as an angel, but he would figure out something. The woman had become too annoying to let live.
***
Chapter 29"Are they all gone, Ianto?" Jack asked later that night.
"We're alone," Ianto replied. "What is it going to take to kill that woman, Jack? How many more plans are we going to let backfire on us while Gwen sits there getting stronger and stronger?"
"I don't know, Yan," Jack said with a small sigh. "I don't. I'm as confused as you are, and I don't know what else we can do. Tosh is ready, we just have to make sure she trips in the right spot in the morning, and that will give us an excuse to bring Rhys in to work with us."
Ianto managed a small smile. "I'll be curious to see how Gwen takes that one," he said. "She's been lying to him for so long, it'll be interesting to see what she tells him once he realizes it."
"Part of me thinks he already has," Jack said. "Think about it. Rhys has taken up with Owen, which has to be frustrating Gwen to no end. She had a steady source for sex as often as she wanted with two men on the string, and now they're together and locking her out. I wonder what would happen if we lured Gwen into the shadows and set her up for a murder victim."
"Too predictable and, with the way our luck has been lately, the killer would trip over his own feet and stab himself through the bloody heart," Ianto said.
"Yeah, you got a point," Jack sighed. "All right, what about this? I go and get Gwen and ask her out for a late dinner. It's very likely that Rhys will be out with Owen, so I shouldn't have too many problems getting her to agree. On the way to dinner, I take her through the park where she meets the dragon that she's scared of."
"And where are we going to get a dragon this time of night?" Ianto asked. "It's not like we can just run to the shops and buy one. That egg took two years to hatch out."
Jack turned and wrapped his lover in his arms. "You've always been an accomplished shape-shifter, Ianto Jones," he whispered. "Feel like lurking in a park to chase Gwen into traffic?"
"I don't know how, but I have a feeling that she would survive that," Ianto said.
"You are turning cynical," Jack said. "What do we have to lose at this point, Ianto? I mean that seriously. She's managed to avoid every single trap we've set up for her. Hell, I'm ready to just pull my gun and shoot her dead on principle."
"It would certainly be simpler than luring her into a park and chasing her out into traffic, Jack," Ianto said.
"Which one do you want to try first?" Jack asked. He leaned in and kissed Ianto softly.
"Why don't we spend the night plotting? Go out, find someone to eat, and see what it is that Owen and Rhys get up to when they're out," Ianto replied. "It's just a shame Gwen has the angel taint in her blood. Otherwise we could be influencing her dreams to make her do something to herself and we wouldn't have to be worried about it."
Jack snorted. "If she didn't have that damn taint in her blood we wouldn't be in this situation to begin with," he said. "Do you want to find someone we can take up into the hills and rend apart like we'd planned to do with Suzie?"
"You just want sex in blood."
"Do you blame me?"
"Not really, no," Ianto said with a small sigh. "All right, let's go see who we can find for dinner tonight."
*~*
The team was gathered together behind Tosh's computer when Jack and Ianto arrived the next morning. "Good morning," Jack said with a wide smile on his face. "What has you lot looking like the second coming has come?"
"The police are investigating reports of a body torn apart just outside of town," Tosh said. "They're saying it was wolves, but I've hacked their system and got the pictures they've taken so far and these aren't wolf wounds."
"What is it then?" Jack asked, joining the group at the computer.
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it, but whatever it was played in the blood, Jack," Tosh said. "There's wide swaths through there, almost like someone was bathing in the blood."
"I don't suppose the victim was a virgin, was she?" Ianto asked from behind everyone, making everyone but Jack jump. "That's vampiric that is, bathing in the blood of virgins to maintain youth in a dying body."
Jack sighed. "Trust me, vampires wouldn't waste the blood like that," he said. "Even if it was to stay young, it's more likely they would have taken the victim somewhere there was a basin to hold the blood while they bathed. Could be a serial killer and this is only the first body found."
"Or it could be a demon feeding his dragon," Owen pointed out. "We're getting close to that time of month again and we still don't know what we're going to do when those things show up again."
"We've done worse by ear before," Jack pointed out. "Tosh, is this the only victim so far, or the only one found, do you know?"
"The only one the police know about," Tosh said. "I'll keep searching, see if there's anything else I can turn up, but I'm not sure how fast I'll be."
"All right then, Owen; you and Gwen head on down to the police station and see what they're willing to share with us," Jack said. "I don't want to think that this is something out of the Rift, but it's possible it is, and that means we'll have to deal with it."
Gwen looked over. "Don't you want me to stay here and help Tosh?"
"You were one of the police, Gwen," Jack said. "You're the one they're most likely to share information with. Go."
Ianto turned back towards the coffee machine so no one would see the smirk he couldn't wipe off his face. Both he and Jack knew the police wouldn't share anything with Gwen because too many of them knew about her extra-curricular activities in the ranks, but it got her out of the Hub for a bit, and that was the main thing. "What do you want me to do, Sir?"
"You've got that project we've been talking about to finish," Jack said, referring to the trap to tip Tosh into the Rift that afternoon. "Finish that up and then we'll go out to the crime scene and see what's left."
"Why not go now?" Tosh asked.
"Because they've got it sealed up tight and I'm not going to fight my way through for what is very likely a creative serial killer," Jack replied. "Get moving people. Aliens don't wait for anyone."
***
Chapter 30Tosh was still at her computer when Owen and Gwen got back from the police department. "Were you guys able to find anything out that could help us?" she asked, glancing back.
"Not much, they didn't want to talk with us," Owen sighed, sitting down next to Tosh. "I was able to find out that there's one other body that was torn apart like this up in the hills."
"Another one?" Tosh asked, frowning.
"Yeah, and get this, it was Max," Owen said. "The man that Jack and Ianto were questioning for our last case. Didn't Jack say he had to shoot Max or something like that?"
"He did. Jack said that Max was insane and that was why Jack shot him," Tosh said. "Why?"
Owen rolled a little closer and lowered his voice. "What if Jack didn't shoot him, Tosh," he whispered. "What if he tore Max apart and left him up in the hills for some reason."
"Okay, first of all, how would Jack be able to cause this much damage to a body," Tosh said, pulling up pictures from the crime scene that morning. "He's not a monster, Owen. Jack's a mystery, but he doesn't have it in him to do this."
"That we know about," Owen said. "Tosh, remember back when I was sucked back in time and saw the young girl raped and murdered? Remember I saw what I thought was a demon there eating someone. What if that was Jack. What then?"
Tosh sighed, but thought through everything for a few minutes. Both Jack and Ianto were a mystery, one the team wasn't able to solve no matter how they worked on it. The pair always seemed to be together, no matter what was happening around them. They probably slept in the Hub, or they got there far earlier than the rest of the team did every morning. Ianto and Jack could both move silently and always seemed to know things that no one else did. Neither of them seemed panicked about the idea of a dragon coming around again. They managed to freeze Suzie in such a way that they were able to wake her up again to question her. And they both seemed very frustrated about something that was happening in the Hub, something that no one else seemed to know about.
"Okay, I'll agree there's something not normal or quite right about them, Owen, but do you honestly think that Jack and Ianto would be hiding something like this from the team?" Tosh finally asked. "Don't you think that we would have worked out something before this?"
"I think that we've wanted to believe in Jack, that he knows what he's doing, so we haven't been asking the right questions," Owen said with a sigh. "I'm not sure what to think, Tosh, but I think that we need to go and ask them some questions about the bodies and the dragon and see what they tell us. Or don't tell us, for that matter."
"What if you're right and they decide they want to kill us, Owen?" Tosh asked. "Did you think about that?"
"Yeah, I did, actually," Owen said. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, Tosh, and I think that it's time we finally get some answers to questions that have been brushed to the side too many times."
Tosh sighed. "All right, I'll go with you, but I'm not sure this is what we really should be doing right now," she said. "They're down in the archives looking for something to help us fight off the dragon if it does come back again."
"I still want to know how the dragon showed up here in the first place," Owen said, standing up. "I know everyone thinks it was the Rift, but I've never seen the Rift dump anything in the lower sections of the archives. Hell, I've never seen any doors or ways in in the lower sections of the archives."
"Hey, where are you two going?" Gwen asked.
"Down to the archives to talk with Ianto and Jack about something," Tosh replied.
"Something private," Owen added when Gwen fell into step slightly behind them.
"If it's related to any of the cases we have it's not private, is it?" Gwen asked.
"It's not related to any of the cases, Gwen," Owen said, turning around and walking backwards. "It's something from before you came here so it's none of your business."
Before Gwen could answer, she tripped over something and fell, bumping into and pushing Tosh forward. Tosh lost her balance and hit the railing hard, flipped over it, and fell into the Rift before Owen could reach her.
*~*
Down in the archives, Ianto paused. He'd just felt a spike of emotion slam into him and he moaned slightly. "Jack."
"Pure anger," Jack moaned, stretching a little to enjoy the sensation of the emotion running over him. "That's tasty, Ianto."
"I think someone found our little trap," Ianto said, pushing up against Jack. "We should go and see if at least one of our plans worked out for us."
"In a minute," Jack said, hands on Ianto's hips. "Let's just enjoy the high from the emotions while we can. I think anger, fear, and lust are my three favorites to feed on."
Ianto wrapped his arms around Jack and pulled him in tighter. "Those are powerful emotions," he agreed, nipping at Jack's neck. "Add in jealousy and we have a feast."
"All of which we've been glutting ourselves on the past year," Jack said, moaning softly. "It's a shame we had to do this to Tosh, but she'll be back, and she'll be more powerful than she's ever imagined."
"But not more powerful than us," Ianto said. He shuddered and slumped down against Jack. "Not with how this has come about."
Jack managed a grin. "Nope, but she'll still be one of the more powerful demons on the planet," he said. "I guess we have to head up there and see what happened, don't we? I think I hear shouting."
Ianto grinned and pulled back, adjusting his suit a little. "That's Owen," he said. "I wonder what he's so upset about now."
"Let's go find out." Jack kissed his lover quickly and the pair headed up the stairs towards the main part of the Hub. "Do you see them?"
"Up on the walkway there," Ianto said, pointing. "Owen and Gwen are up there."
"Oh, Ianto," Jack whispered, "you don't think that our dirty little angel pushed Tosh into the Rift, do you?"
Ianto grinned. "I think that's exactly what happened," he replied in an equal whisper. "And I think it happened right in front of Owen. Do you sense guilt?"
"Yep, and it's getting stronger. Definitely male," Jack said, heading towards the pair arguing up on the walkway. "Maybe things are finally going our way, Ianto."
"I don't think I would go that far, Sir," Ianto said.
***
Chapter 31"Enough!" Jack yelled, cutting into the argument between Gwen and Owen. "What the hell are you two screaming about up here?"
Owen turned around. "Gwen pushed Tosh into the Rift, Jack," he said, pointing back.
"I tripped," Gwen exclaimed. "I didn't mean to."
"Yeah, well, there's a lot that you don't mean to, Gwen," Owen snapped. "Seems to me that's all you have to say 'bout anything. You let a sex demon lose in town and you didn't mean to. We go to get information to try and keep someone from getting killed and the police won't talk to us because you were sleeping with all of them, and you tell me it wasn't your fault. I'm sick and tired of hearing it."
"Hey, Owen, that's enough," Jack said. "Go outside and take a minute. Cool down, call your lover, do something to get your head back in the game because we're going to have to try and figure out where Tosh ended up."
With a final glare back at Gwen, Owen stomped off down the stairs and out of the Hub. Jack turned back to look at Gwen. "What happened?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest.
"I don't know, Jack. I don't, honest," Gwen said. "One second I'm walking along talking with Tosh and Owen about a case and the next I'm flat on the walkway and Tosh is gone. I don't know what happened."
"What were the three of you doing up here in the first place?" Jack asked. "You know this walkway is off limits to everyone but Ianto and me. This is exactly why we don't want the team up here. It's too dangerous because the Rift runs right next to it."
"If it's that dangerous, then why the hell are the two of you up here?" Gwen demanded.
"To take readings on the Rift," Jack said. "Something we both have been trained to do. Go back to your desk, Gwen. Now."
Ianto came up behind Jack and watched the woman hurry back down the stairs. "Shame she didn't follow Tosh over the edge," he whispered. "That would have solved two of our problems in one five second period."
Jack nodded with a sigh. "Take down your tripwires, Ianto," he said. "I don't want Owen or Gwen to figure out that there's a reason Gwen happened to trip right here. Owen believes that Gwen's lying about pushing Tosh off the railing. I think we should encourage that one, don't you?"
Ianto, who had his back to the Hub, smirked. "I think that's a good idea, Sir," he said. "I'll see about securing this part of the Hub a little better so we don't have another accident up here."
"Thanks, Ianto," Jack said. "I'm going to go see if I can get any sort of readings from the Rift. Maybe Tosh didn't go far and we'll be able to get her back."
"We can hope, Sir."
Jack squeezed Ianto's shoulder and headed down into the main part of the Hub. So Tosh, the one they wanted to trip into the Rift, managed to avoid the tripwires Ianto had put into place so carefully. Gwen, the team klutz, found the wires and pushed Tosh into the Rift. It wasn't exactly the method they'd been hoping for when they put the plan into action, but Jack had to admit that one more small rift between Owen and Gwen would be a good thing. The next trick would be bringing Rhys onto the team with them.
"Is it true the police won't talk to you?" he asked, heading towards Tosh's computer station.
"They said the case wasn't any of our business," Gwen replied. "Jack, you know I didn't mean to push Tosh. I tripped over nothing and fell. I don't know what happened."
"Why did Owen say the police won't give us anything because of you, Gwen?" Jack asked, ignoring the second part of her sentence. "You're here to be our police liaison, and you're no use to the team if you can't even manage that part of your job."
"I'll get the information for us," Gwen said. "It'll just take a little longer than it would if they gave it to us."
"Time is our enemy in this job, and you know that," Jack said. "Owen, are you calm enough to be in here?"
"I want to find Tosh," Owen said, ignoring Gwen. "Is it possible to find her?"
Jack finished entering letters into the computer and pushed the enter key. "I don't know, Owen," he said. "The Rift is so unpredictable that there's no way for me to know where it would have taken Tosh. She could be anywhere from two weeks ago over in America to the other side of the universe."
"What do we do then?" Owen asked.
"Hope that she landed somewhere we'll be able to find her," Jack replied with a sigh. "Were you able to get anything from the police, Owen? I know you have a couple of friends there that'll tell you things off the record."
"Only thing I got is that there's no shoeprints in or around the blood," Owen said. "Whoever did this either went in barefoot, or they managed to swipe their feet in such a way that there's no evidence which way they went in and came out of the pool."
"That tells me that we're looking at some sort of smart and methodical killer," Jack said. "Someone that knows what he's doing and how to keep anyone from figuring out who he is. We might have to hope that he's caught in the act, as much as I hate to say that."
Owen sighed. "How can we be sure that it was a human in the first place?" he asked. "We're getting close to the time that the demon and dragon are going to be back, Jack. What if this is the first part of the demon making an appearance?"
"If that's the case, then I wonder why we didn't see something similar last time," Jack said. "Blood baths like this aren't exactly easy to hide and I'm sure the news would have picked up on something, even if the police wanted to keep it hidden away."
"So we're going with human for now?" Owen asked.
"Unless you can find me something convincing that says that this was a demon or an alien, yeah," Jack said. "I'll go out and take a look at the crime scene once I get this program locked on trying to find Tosh, but I don't think we're going to be able to find anything out there."
"I say forget the bodies and focus on finding Tosh," Owen said.
"Owen, you have to remember that might not be possible right away," Jack said. "I'm going to put every trick I know into play and it still might not be enough."
"She can't be gone, Jack," Owen said. "She just can't be."
Jack reached over and squeezed Owen's shoulder. "I know, Owen," he said softly. "I love her too, and I don't want her gone, but you know the Rift. You know how it works."
Owen took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I know," he said. "Okay if I go get something to eat? I need to think, Jack."
"Yeah, go on," Jack said. "Take your phone. I'll call if anything comes up here."
***
Chapter 32Owen headed up out of the Hub and started walking towards his favorite sandwich shop. He wasn't sure if he would be able to eat or not, not after watching Tosh go over the railing like she had, but he couldn't be in the Hub with Gwen. If he had to, he would probably punch her, or something even worse, and then there would be way to figure out what was happening in the Hub. Jack would likely kill him on the spot for attempting to murder a member of their team.
There were just too many questions swirling around in his head. Everything he and Tosh talked about before they went looking for Jack and Ianto were in a layer with Jack as Owen saw him every day. Part of him didn't want to think that the man he worked with was a demon. A monster that was capable of killing without thought for anyone around him. Maybe it wasn't Jack that was the demon. Maybe it was Ianto and he had Jack in some sort of thrall. There wasn't any information around on either of them, and if Tosh wasn't able to find something, then it didn't exist.
"Hey, Owen."
He glanced up and saw Rhys walking towards him. "Hey Rhys," he said. "Didn't know you'd be around today."
"Got off work early today, so I thought I'd grab a bite and see if you would be able to join me," Rhys said. "What's wrong?"
Owen sat down on one of the benches and buried his face in his hands. "Tosh is gone," he said, voice muffled. "I tried to get to her, but I couldn't make it. We don't know where she is, or even if we'll be able to get her back."
"How'd it happen?" Rhys asked.
"Gwen," Owen replied with a snort. He looked over at the other man. "She was walking along behind us, nattering on about how things that are team business meant she should be included, and she tripped."
"She tripped," Rhys said. "Yeah, actually, that sounds about right. She's always been clumsy."
"She hit Tosh in the back and knocked Tosh over the railing for the walkway we were on," Owen said. "We aren't supposed to be up on that walkway, it goes right over the Rift, but it's also the fastest way down to the archives. Tosh and I wanted to ask Jack some questions and that's where he was working."
Rhys reached over and rubbed Owen's back. "So Tosh has gone into the Rift then," he said. "There's no way to find her?"
"Not quickly. She's got some tracking programs for the Rift, but Jack's the only other one that knows how to run them," Owen said with a sigh. "It could be months before we even have a hint to where she's gone."
"And, in the interval, you've lost your best friend," Rhys said. "What about Gwen?"
"I could have killed her, Rhys," Owen said. "I know you loved her, but I could have killed her right there for what she did. Not a word of apology, just excuses."
"So what are you going to do now?"
"Jack's got me working on another case, but I want to try and find Tosh," Owen said. "I'm not sure what else I can do though."
"Can you trust Jack to find her while you work on the other case?" Rhys asked.
"I don't know. Jack's a mystery that none of us have ever been able to solve," Owen said. "Gwen's obvious that she wants Jack for herself, even if he never even glances in her direction, but Tosh and I cared more about figuring out who Jack really is. We didn't like the answers we were getting either."
Rhys nodded. "Can you tell me about it?" he asked.
"I don't know how much of it will make sense to you, only because you don't know the details of the cases we've been working for the last year," Owen replied. "I guess the root of it all is that there's a piece of tech that came through the Rift that enabled some sort of time travel. It zapped me back in time and I saw this young girl raped and murdered. That was horrible enough, but I also saw a demon feeding on someone before I was brought back here."
"A demon?" Rhys asked.
"Like something out of a nightmare," Owen replied. "I asked Jack about it, and Ianto turned up this old book down in the Archives that talked about a demon and his dragon that he turns loose to feed on unfaithful lovers."
"You're kidding."
"I wish I was. We actually had a dragon, probably this dragon from legend, turn up in the Hub," Owen said. "It went right for Gwen and ignored both Tosh and me."
Rhys shook his head and started laughing. "I wish I'd known about her faithfulness issues before I moved in with her," he said. "I know I should blame you for sleeping with her too, Owen, but I just can't. I don't know why, but I can't. Sometimes I lay awake at night and ask myself a lot of questions, and I don't seem to have a lot of answers."
"I've never met a woman that wants sex so much," Owen said. "We went to the police station today to try and catch a lead for a couple of murders just out of town, and no one would talk to us because Gwen was with me."
"Any idea how many of them were exes?"
"Nope, but it pissed Jack off because he wanted to know more about these deaths," Owen said. "Getting back to the dragon and demon though, Tosh and I were staring to wonder if maybe Jack and Ianto are demons. I just can't help but wonder if that's the reason she's gone, and I'm next."
"Let's look at this as logically as we can, talking about demons and a Rift in space and time," Rhys said. "You've worked with them how long now?"
"Bout five years, I think, maybe closer onto six by now," Owen said. "Time flies when you don't get a lot of sleep and live on terror most days."
"Through all that time, have you ever had a reason to think that Jack and Ianto aren't human?"
"There's times I've wondered about Ianto," Owen admitted. "Not that he's a demon or evil, just if he's human because the man never makes any noise when he walks and he can appear and vanish without warning."
"You said he came in as a butler," Rhys said. "Seems to me I read somewhere those were marks of a good butler. Ask yourself this honestly, Owen. Do you think that Jack and Ianto could kill a person?"
Owen nodded. "Yeah, but that's because I've seen them do it," he said. "During a case though, never in cold blood. Neither of them really seem the type, but if they are demons or evil, wouldn't they work to hide that nature from the people around them?"
"That makes sense," Rhys agreed. "Any chance of me meeting them, do you think?"
"Dunno. I'd have to ask," Owen said.
"See if they'll come join us for dinner or something," Rhys said. "Then I'll let you know what I think about them."
"Thanks, Rhys," Owen said with a smile. "I think I can eat now."
"Come on then, let's find something for lunch," Rhys said.
Standing invisible behind the bench, Ianto grinned. Looked like it would be easier to get Rhys to join them in the Hub than they thought it was. It was a shame that Owen worked out as much as he had though.
***
Chapter 33"So what did you hear?" Jack asked once he and Ianto were alone in the Hub for the night.
"Quite a lot, actually. Turns out that Owen's been telling Rhys about Torchwood, the Rift, and what we do down here. Or rather, what he thinks it is we do," Ianto replied. "Rhys wants Owen to ask us to supper so he can see if we're demonic or not."
Jack started laughing. "I wonder how Rhys is planning to figure that one out," he said. "You don't think he's going to do something rude, do you, Ianto?"
"You mean like throw holy water on us again?" Ianto said with a smirk. "That priest was such an idiot. I still wonder how he got so many people to believe in him."
"He was stringy, too. Not enough good food in his life, I guess," Jack said. "So, we should be ready for an invite to supper here soon. I wonder if we should let Gwen overhear the invitation?"
Ianto started laughing. "Now that could truly be fun," he said. "Especially if Gwen has gone out of her way to hide everything about Torchwood from Rhys all this time. It's bad enough that he won't touch her anymore, in her mind, but I wonder if she really knows that two of her exes have hooked up?"
"That could be fun," Jack said. "I think it would be more fun, though, if we were to bring Rhys down on a tour of the Hub and make sure that he runs into Gwen when it happens. Do you really think that he'll be willing to join us down here?"
"It's hard to say, Sir, but it does seem that he has a good sense of right and wrong that we could appeal to," Ianto said. "What are you going to tell Owen about the scans you're running on the Rift when he asks you tomorrow?"
"The same thing I told him before. The Rift is mostly unknown, even after all this time, so I'm going to do my best to find Tosh and bring her home again, but it could well be impossible," Jack said. "I do have a fake trace running on her computer, so it does look as if I'm searching for her."
"Any word from down below?"
"Nothing so far, but that doesn't mean anything. You know the kings don't take much notice of those that fall down into Hell," Jack said. "I don't think we'll hear anything until it's clear that Tosh is going to emerge as a stronger demon that belongs back up here on the surface."
"What if one of the kings decides he wants to keep her for his consort?" Ianto asked. "We've seen that happen a few times, when the turned human is powerful enough."
Jack nodded. "It would still be a better life for Tosh than anything she could have had up here," he said. "I might be wrong, Ianto, but my guess is that they'll let her come back up to prove herself against humans before anyone thinks about taking her as a consort. It's one thing for her to prove herself strong enough to fight down there. It's another to prove that she could come back up here and take out her blood family."
"Do you think she could?"
"I would have said that you wouldn't have been able to, but you did," Jack said. "I had to fight two princes that wanted you, Ianto."
"I'm glad you won," Ianto said with a grin. "How many years ago was that now? I honestly can't remember ever being human."
"Thousands of years ago now," Jack said. "I'm always amazed at how powerful you've become, Ianto. It's one reason I'm such a firm believer that humans converted over to demon are so much more powerful, so much darker, than those born of pure demonic parents. There's something about living up here on the surface that corrupts some people beautifully."
"You'll never be able to convince the kings of that one," Ianto said. "They're happy enough to have the humans that fall into Hell, but they're always happier when a new princeling is born."
Jack snorted. "I've met some princelings that wouldn't know true evil if it bit them in the ass," he said. "They never last long down below."
"What do you think about attempting to tip Gwen over into the Rift, Jack?" Ianto asked. "She's proven that she's clumsy time and again, and she obviously never looks where she puts her feet."
"I think it'd spit her back out on us. There's a barrier that guards against those with angelic blood in them so they don't end up down below," Jack said with a sigh. "The kings put it in place so Hell itself could never come under attack from the angels or angel-born. Trying to tip Gwen over and down wouldn't work."
"What are we going to do then, Jack? We have to get her out of the Hub," Ianto said. "She's tainting our home too badly to be allowed to remain much longer."
"I know, Ianto, I know," Jack said. "I feel like there's something big coming at us. Something that's even darker and more evil than we are. Something that will kill without thought, and might just be strong enough to kill Gwen for good."
Ianto sighed. "Given our luck, whatever the hell it is will look right past her," he said. "We need some sort of a back-up plan."
"If this one misses, I'll shoot her," Jack said. "I'm done with the schemes and plans that don't work. We lost a well-tempered soul to her because we thought the flow would work in reverse. I'm tired of looking the fool for all of this, Ianto. Either this latest whatever is coming kills her, or I will."
"Out of the Hub, please, Sir," Ianto said.
"Of course, Yan," Jack said. "So, tomorrow, we wait for a supper invitation and start sounding Rhys out on possibly joining Torchwood. If nothing else, this should be fun."
"I hope so, Jack," Ianto said. "I'm getting tired of her always winning."
"Her time is almost up, Ianto. One way or another, it's running out."
***
Chapter 34***
Jack was working on Tosh's computer the next morning when Owen joined him. "Have you found anything yet, Jack?" he asked.
"Not yet, Owen, but you know it's possible this could take months," Jack replied. "I've got every single scan I know how to work running right now. If there's any way to track Tosh with this computer, then it should be going. I know how hard it is to wait, but that's all we really can do right now."
"What about checking newspaper archives?" Owen asked. "You know, see if maybe there's a news story about a woman appearing out of nowhere."
"If you want," Jack said. "I'm still waiting for my one contact at the police to get back to me about that death up in the hills and there's nothing else going on right now. We should enjoy the lull while we can."
"Speaking of the lull, Jack, I was wondering if you and Ianto wanted to join me for dinner tonight," Owen said. "I've got a friend I'd like you guys to meet."
"Let me check with Ianto, but sure, I think that's doable," Jack said with a grin. "I'm glad to hear that you're making friends away from work, Owen. I was worried about you for a while when you first came to us."
Owen shrugged. "This friendship just sort of happened," he said. "I'm going to check newspapers until you need me for anything, Jack."
"We'll shout," Jack said. He left Owen at the computers and headed up onto the walkway where Ianto was taking readings on the Rift. "Do we have any plans tonight that we can't move to another night, Ianto?"
"Nothing that comes to mind, Sir," Ianto said.
"Good, then I'll tell Owen that we'll join him and his friend for supper tonight," Jack said.
Ianto looked back with a grin. "A friend, Sir?" he asked.
"That's what he told me," Jack replied with a matching grin. "Should be fun, huh, Ianto?"
"Indeed, Sir," Ianto said, laughter lacing his words. "In fact, I think it will be unforgettable in more ways than one."
*~*
Jack and Ianto were up in the Plas a little before the time Owen asked them to be there, because they wanted to see the pair of men come up. "Do you think they'll be holding hands, Jack?"
"I doubt it, if only because they're probably trying not to show their true relationship in public," Jack said, looking around. "There's a lot of people around here that know Gwen, and word could get back to her about her boyfriend holding hands with another man."
"Do you really think people would care if Gwen was hurt by something like this?" Ianto asked. "I got a whiff of her today and she's lost some of the sexual tension that she's been carrying around with her lately. I'm not sure if she's using toys because no one will touch her, or if she's found someone else to spread her legs for."
Jack grinned. "We'll have to take a look and see what she's up to, Ianto," he said. "Because I doubt there's just one man involved in this. Given how badly she seems to need sex, I would think that she's probably got several men on the chain this time around."
"We should introduce her to a sex demon," Ianto said. "They wouldn't care if she had angel blood, best I remember, and she wouldn't want for sex ever again."
"That's a thought, Ianto. You're right, the incubus can touch anyone, even the angel born," Jack said. "They're also highly fertile and don't take any genetic material from the mother, so Gwen would essentially be a host for a parasite."
Ianto nodded. "I'll make some calls when I get home then," he said. "There's Owen there. Is Rhys with him?"
"Not that I can see, no," Jack said.
"Hey guys," Owen said, joining them. "Sorry, my friend is running a little late, but he'll meet us at the restaurant. It's not far, so I thought walking would be a good idea."
"Works for us," Jack said with a shrug. "You're doing a lot to hide who this friend of yours is, Owen. Is it someone we know?"
"Sort of, yeah," Owen said. "I just really don't want Gwen to know what's going on."
"Do you like having Gwen on the team?" Jack asked, falling into step next to Owen. "Or do you think that we should try and find a way to get rid of her and bring in someone else?"
Owen sighed. "Back when she first came to the team I thought that she'd be a good fit," he said. "She was still innocent enough that I thought maybe she'd be able to bring a different view to the team and what we were doing, but she never did. She only cares about herself and what she can get for herself."
"So that's a get rid of her vote then," Jack said.
"Yeah, I can't stand working with her," Owen said. "Especially after she pushed Tosh into the Rift and then tried to deny that it was her fault. I don't know who we could get that would be better than her, but I'm sure there has to be someone."
"What about her boyfriend?" Ianto asked. "What's his name, Rhys? I met him when I was helping clean up the flat after the whole mess with the fairies and he struck me as being very level-headed and honest while being willing to believe there's things out there people don't know about."
"I dunno if he'd be a good fit with us though," Owen said.
"Why not, Owen?" Jack asked. "You answered quick enough that you didn't have to think about it. What's up?"
"Well, it's just that Rhys has this ideas of good and evil and what it means to be both. He's good, Jack," Owen said. "I don't think he's ever stepped on an ant before and I don't think he would be comfortable working with us in the Hub because of how often we have to cross over into what he would consider evil."
"Would it hurt anything to ask him?" Jack asked.
"Nah, but just don't be surprised if he says no," Owen replied.
"As long as you won't be surprised if he says yet," Jack said with a grin.
***
Chapter 35"They both seem like good guys, Owen," Rhys said that night when they were walking back to Owen's place after dinner. "Yeah, Jack's got a really improper sense of humor, but other than that, they seem like two regular guys."
"So you don't think they're demons?" Owen asked.
"That's the catch though, isn't it? We don't know anyone that is a demon so we don't have anything we can match them up to," Rhys replied with a sigh. "Do I think they're evil? No, I don't, but I do think they could do evil if they had to. It's something in their eyes."
Owen nodded. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Sometimes I think I have that same look in my eyes when there's an alien hurting people," he said. "I'm a doctor and I never wanted to hurt anyone, but I have because sometimes it's the only way we can get the job done."
"You heal more than you hurt, Owen," Rhys said. "Do you mind me agreeing to come to the Hub tomorrow for a look around? I'm not sure what I think of the offer to join the team, but I'll admit that I'm curious what this Hub of your looks like."
"I'm a little surprised you agreed to come have a look, but that's because I didn't think you wanted anything to do with Torchwood," Owen admitted. "After everything I told you about us, anyway."
"It's something you're passionate about," Rhys said. "Gwen too, although I don't know what her reasons were to join the team. I wish she'd been able to talk with me about it. I don't like secrets, Owen. I never have because secrets just lead to people getting hurt."
"She's kept more than a few from you, hasn't she?" Owen asked. He unlocked the door to his flat and let Rhys go in first. "Including what she was doing with me when she was at the Hub. I still can't tell you how sorry I am for that. Not because of her, but because of you."
Rhys caught Owen's arm and pulled him in for a quick kiss. "I've told you that I'm not upset about that," he said softly. "Because I got you out of the deal, and she doesn't have you anymore."
"I think she has someone else though," Owen said. "She was more relaxed today than she has been in months."
"Good for her," Rhys said. "I wanted to tell you that I've made a decision about the whole situation, Owen. I'm going to let her have the flat and move out. I'm done with living with someone that will give her body to anyone that looks at her the right way."
Owen grinned. "There's a couple of places open in the building," he said. "You should move in and be my neighbor."
"I'd like that," Rhys said. "Maybe someday we can talk about moving forward with our relationship. When we've both healed a little more from our pasts."
"Yeah," Owen said softly. "I'd like that."
*~*
"Gil will be here in the morning," Ianto said, joining Jack in the bunker. "He jumped at the chance to come up and corrupt a human, even one with the taint in her blood. I think he's been finding down below hard going."
Jack grinned. "The incubi never do like having to stay down below, Ianto," he said. "Because none of the demons there will sleep with them, so they don't get to feed nearly as much as they need to. I think that Gil will be good for Gwen, and it'll take care of keeping her occupied for a while."
"While we work to corrupt her boyfriend and prepare for whatever this darkness you sense coming our way is?" Ianto asked.
"Exactly right," Jack replied. "Won't Gwen be surprised when she find out the incubation time for the child of the Incubus is only a couple of months."
Ianto started laughing. "I'm sure that Gil will have fun teaching that child to hunt humans once it's old enough," he said. "I suppose if the darkness fails to kill Gwen, Gil can always take her somewhere and keep her for breeding. I know that I'm not going to try and get between them once he has her under his thrall."
"He wouldn't try and hurt us, Ianto, but he would hurt anyone that touches her after him," Jack said. "Sex demons are very, very possessive of their humans. I wonder how many new dead bodies will turn up after tomorrow?"
"I'm guessing at least four, given what we know about Gwen and her seemingly insatiable needs," Ianto said, rolling his eyes. "So we've got Gil coming first thing in the morning, and then Rhys for his tour at noon. I wonder if he'll care about a new man touching Gwen?"
"I would doubt it, but we should be careful that Gil knows Gwen's former boyfriend will be coming through and to behave while he's here," Jack said. "Normally I would tell him to take Gwen out for the hour or so we have Rhys here, but I want her to see him here. I want to feed off that sense of betrayal that she's going to feel when she sees Rhys here, asking questions about Torchwood, and she realizes that he knows everything."
Ianto grinned. "That's going to be tasty, Jack," he said. "She's been hiding so much for so long, it's possible everything will be outed tomorrow when she sees Rhys here."
Jack nodded with a matching grin. "I wonder if she knows that Rhys knows that she sleeps with other men before going home to him," he said. "I know that I would be furious to find out that the one I chose to be intimate with cared so little for my health and heart."
"Oh, Jack, do you think that she does this without protection?" Ianto asked. "Would she really be that careless?"
"I think that she protects herself, but not those she sleeps with," Jack replied. "That angel taint would keep her from being anything more than a host for human diseases, and as long as she took the right medication, she wouldn't end up carrying a child."
"But that would still expose Rhys to whatever she might be carrying."
"I think tomorrow is going to be a great deal of fun, Ianto," Jack said. "Starting with Gil meeting Gwen for the first time and ending with Rhys joining our team."
"Then all we have to do is sit back and watch, Jack," Ianto said. "I think I might have to work very hard to not start laughing tomorrow."
"I know exactly what you mean, Ianto," Jack said with a grin.
***
Chapter 36Gil showed up early, not that Jack and Ianto were surprised by that. "Morning, Gil," Ianto said. "Come have a bite to eat while we wait for the team to get here. How's down below?"
"That human you corrupted and sent to die is causing a stir," Gil said, following Ianto towards Jack's office. "She's managed to defeat every challenger that's been stupid enough to try and kill her."
"Tosh is a strong woman and will be an asset to us all," Jack said, holding out a hand. "Good to see you again, Gil. You picked the right look to come meet Gwen."
The incubus had shaggy brown hair, deep blue eyes, and tan skin. He was in a tight t-shirt and jeans, showing off muscles. "Ianto gave me a few hints," he said with a grin. "I want to be certain this tainted one falls for me. There's no better food for one of my kind than one tainted with angel blood, because ultimately there's guilt along with the sexual energies."
Jack snorted. "You won't get guilt with this one, Gil. She spreads her legs for anything that walks on two of their own," he said. "Doesn't matter if it's male or female, best we can tell anyway. We do need to let you know that her soon to be former fiancée is coming to see us this afternoon, so if you could keep your interest in Gwen hidden for the time he's here, we want her focus to be on him."
"Why?"
"Because she's been hiding her actions and life here in Torchwood from him, and we want to feed off the emotions when she finds out that he really knows everything," Ianto said. "Including her sleeping with anything that walks."
"Sounds interesting," Gil said. "Once he's gone, she's mine, right?"
"Yours for as long as you want her," Jack said. "If nothing else, she should be good for a few children for you. How long has it been since you had a chance to teach the young to hunt?"
"Century or two," Gil said. "It's getting harder and harder to get a good feed in these days. It's why I've been below for so long, I was starving up here and there's a couple of male demons down below that don't mind being my food every so often. It's not as good as human lust, but it'll keep me alive."
"If we find another woman that we think will be good for you, we'll send her along," Jack said. "You're really doing us a favor ensnaring Gwen. Ianto and I have tried to kill her for the past year and are fed up with failure."
Gil grinned. "I don't think I'll fail you guys," he said. "Just think, in a couple of months, I'll be a father again."
Anything Jack or Ianto would have said in reply was interrupted by the sound of the alarm over the door. "Gwen," Ianto said, wrinkling his nose. "I wonder what she's doing here so early."
"How does she smell?" Jack asked.
"Just showered," Ianto replied. "She didn't meet up with any of her new sex buddies before coming here. Oh, that's another thing, Gil. She's got at least four people she's sleeping with right now. Try not to make a mess when you eliminate them, will you?"
"Depends on how much of a fight they want to put up for her," Gil said. "How about letting me get a look at my prey?"
"We can do that," Ianto said. "Come on with me and we'll go take some readings on the Rift. It'll let you see her and, more importantly, let her see you."
The pair headed out towards one of the raised walkway sections, talking about mundane stuff. Jack stood in the doorway to his office and watched Gwen miss her chair and fall on the floor, her eyes were fixed on Gil. "You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," Gwen replied, pushing up. "Who is that with Ianto?"
"Old friend of ours that's come to visit for a few days," Jack said. "His name is Gil."
"When did you start letting friends down here then?"
Jack shrugged, turning to go back into his office. "Gil's known the truth for years, so there's no reason not to let him down here," he said. "Gwen, we have a potential new team member coming this afternoon, so I need you to clean up your desk before lunch."
"New team member?" Gwen asked. "You didn't tell us anything about a new team member."
"You don't have any say in the matter, so why should I tell you," Jack said. "We need another person while we're looking for Tosh and this guy is both smart and strong, along with a good heart. I think he'll be a good fit with us."
He could almost see the wheels moving in her head. Male meant another chance to seduce someone. If it wasn't for the angel taint in her blood, Jack would wonder if Gwen wasn't part succubus. She certainly spent enough time on her back. Then again, he'd read about humans with an addiction to sex that could be as serious as an addiction to drugs or alcohol, and figured that was probably Gwen's problem, and the reason she needed as many people on a string as she had.
"Do you have anything you need me to do today?" she asked.
"Not right now, the Rift is being quiet," Jack said. "Just get your desk cleaned up before lunch."
Ianto and Gil came back towards the office, and Gil moved over towards Gwen's desk while Ianto followed Jack into the office. "Let the hunt begin," he said softly.
Jack grinned. "I don't think it's going to be much of a hunt, Ianto," he said. "Gwen was practically drooling when Gil was up on the walkway with you. Yep, there they go."
"Probably the easiest corruption Gil's ever had," Ianto said. "I just hope he remembers to let her up for this afternoon. I think that Gwen may finally have met her match, Jack."
"I just hope we can move after this feast," Jack said.
***
Chapter 37Gwen could barely walk when she finally appeared close to noon. Owen had called in for permission to come in late with Rhys, which Jack told him was fine. He wanted to let Gil have as much time alone with Gwen as possible before they started bringing in others. Both Jack and Ianto felt glutted and a little sluggish when the tide of sexual pleasure finally stopped washing over them.
"How many kits do you think Gwen is going to have this first time?" Ianto asked, rolling his head to look at Jack. The pair was down in their bedroom under the Hub enjoying the emotion wash.
"Three, maybe four," Jack replied. "The thing about Incubus babies is that they are born small and quickly. Gil will eventually be able to control how many he has, but during this hunt time he won't have the control he needs. I'm sure that the Kings down below will enjoy having a few new Incubi around."
"They are handy for punishment and corruption," Ianto said. He glanced at the clock and groaned. "Rhys is due in fifteen minutes and I don't want to move."
"I don't either, but we're going to have to," Jack said. "Think how beautiful it's going to be when Gwen sees Rhys walk into the Hub for the first time. Do you think that he and Owen will be holding hands when they come in?"
"I don't think they're that obvious about their relationship," Ianto said. It took three tries, but he finally was able to push up into a sitting position. "As good as it is to be able to feed on these emotions, I do hope that Gil gets a place of his own soon. Too much more of this and I won't want to eat for months."
Jack grinned. "We've been over-feeding since Gwen joined us," he said. "We really should go on a diet, Ianto."
"I don't know if that will be possible," Ianto said. "I'm going to start coffee. Is there anything special you want me to order us in for lunch today?"
"Call for pizza or something. I don't think anyone is going to want to eat, but it'll be good for us to be able to maintain our cover with food," Jack said. "Especially with Owen as suspicious as he is right now."
"Pizza is quickest," Ianto said.
The pair made their way slowly up the ladder and out into the Hub. Jack started snickering quietly when he saw how Gwen was moving as she made an attempt to clean up her work area. Gil was leaning against the wall just outside of Jack's office, watching her. "She's just what you told me," he whispered. "I'm not sure how she's managed to avoid my people, but I'm not letting her go until she dies from exhaustion."
"Ianto was wondering how many kits," Jack whispered in reply.
"I'm not sure. With the angel-tainted it can be hard to get them to take the first few times, but her body will adapt to my seed quickly enough," Gil said. "I'd still have her on her back if you hadn't asked for me to let her up for something special."
Jack grinned. "It's only for an hour or two, and then you can have her," he said. "In fact, you can keep her if you want."
"That's tempting," Gil said with a matching grin. "Tie her to the bed and use her body constantly until I'm sure that she's got at least two kits in her. I'm hoping for four or five, but I'll take a lower number if I have to."
The alarm cut through anything Jack would have been able to say. He looked over towards and the door and caught sight of Owen leading Rhys into the Hub. Jack smirked and looked back towards Gwen, waiting for the second she saw her former fiancée in the Hub.
"Sorry we're late, Jack," Owen said. "We were moving things and lost track of time."
"It's not a problem, Owen. It's been a slow morning," Jack said. "This is Gil, an old friend that knows what we do down here."
"Nice to meet you," Gil said, holding out a hand.
"Are you going to be joining us too?" Owen asked.
"Nah, just passing through to spend a couple of days before I head over to the States for a few months," Gil replied. "I'm determined to visit every state before I die, so I go over and see a couple every year. I'm up to twenty-five this year."
"Sounds interesting," Owen said. "This is Rhys. He's come to finally see the Hub and learn more about what we're doing here."
"I might be joining them," Rhys said, shaking Gil's hand. "Jack's promised to show me what it really means to be with Torchwood."
Gwen's head spun around at the sound of Rhys's name and her mouth fell open when she saw him standing there talking with Jack and the others. "Rhys, what are you doing here?" she demanded, trying to stalk over.
Jack bit his lip to keep from laughing. He knew how constant use from an Incubus felt, what it could do to the body and, while he enjoyed it, not everyone did. Jack glanced over and saw Ianto watching the group from his position by the coffee maker.
"Jack and Ianto invited me down," Rhys said. "Owen's been telling me about Torchwood, its history, and what it does. I'd been wanting to come down, but never had the time before today to be able to make it. I brought this for you, Gwen. It's my key to the flat. I've moved my things out and the flat is all yours."
"What do you mean you've moved out?" Gwen demanded. "We're getting married."
"Not with you sleeping with anything that moves, we're not," Rhys said. "I might be a little old fashioned, Gwen, but I believe that people in love should share their bodies only with the other, not with anyone that walks past."
Ianto took that moment to appear with his coffee tray. "Coffee is ready, gentlemen," he said smoothly. "I've got pizza on order for lunch. Rhys, what do you want to see first?"
"I know it's not possible to see the Rift, but can I see the computer that monitors it?" Rhys asked. "The parts that aren't working to find Tosh, anyway. I don't want to risk anything missing her."
"Sure, this way," Ianto said with a smile. "We're glad that you're thinking about joining the team, Rhys. Jack has been looking for someone with a big heart and compassion for a while now, and I think you're just what the team has been missing."
***
Chapter 38"How long have you known about Torchwood?" Gwen demanded, following Ianto and Rhys over towards Tosh's work station. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Why didn't you?" Rhys asked. "Especially considering the danger you kept bringing into our lives and home by not listening to a work anyone said to you about how dangerous things are here?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Gwen said.
"The fairies, Gwen," Rhys said. "Ianto and Owen both came over to help put the flat back together after the fairies came in to leave you a message. They destroyed my things too, Gwen, and you told me it was robbers in trying to find something worth stealing. Those fairies could have killed me as a message to you to keep your nose out of their business and you didn't even have the heart to tell me, let alone think that I could be hurt because of your selfishness."
"My selfishness!" Gwen shrieked. "Those fairies were trying to kidnap a young girl. She needed my help."
Rhys shook his head. "No, she didn't. She needed her father, the only one that really cared for her, and he was already gone," he said. "The fairies love that child more than anyone here ever could, and that young one, Jasmine I think it was, will be happier with them than she ever could have been here."
"They told you!"
"I know everything, Gwen," Rhys said. "I even know about you and Owen. I know that you've been trying to get Jack to sleep with you, and I'm surprised you never tried to go after Ianto, too. I know that you pushed Tosh into the Rift, and I know that you've got at least a couple of men on call that you're sleeping with."
"I tripped," was the only thing Gwen managed to say.
"From what I understand, you shouldn't have been up there in the first place. That area of the Hub is off-limits to everyone," Rhys said. "Owen and Tosh weren't doing anything work related so you had no business following along behind them like you were. I wonder if you are even capable of taking responsibility for your actions, Gwen. You certainly aren't capable of love or loyalty."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Gwen snapped.
"Sure you don't. I could list out names of men and women that you've slept with since we started dating," Rhys said. "I'd hoped that you might change your ways when I asked you to marry me, but I guess that was a futile hope on my part. You're sick, Gwen, and you need help before you end up dying because you let the wrong person into your body."
"I'm not sick," Gwen yelled. "I'm not."
Jack stepped forward and leaned around Gwen's shoulder. "Then you've got an addiction you're allowing to rule your life, Gwen Cooper, and that isn't healthy either," he said softly. "No one should spend as much time and energy focused on sex and where their next climax is coming from as you do."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Gwen said, moving away from Jack. "I don't spend all my time thinking about sex."
"Ianto, why don't you take Rhys on down to see the Archives?" Jack asked. "Owen, you go along too. Let me talk to Gwen for a minute and I'll get her calmed down."
"Of course, Sir," Ianto said. "Rhys, come on this way. The Archives are quite extensive and I'm still working to put some of them back together after the dragon came through."
Jack grinned and turned to look at Gwen. "You should have realized that Rhys knew everything about you, Gwen Cooper," he said softly. "From the fact that you will spread your legs for anything that looks at you the right way to the fact that you never cared about him. All you wanted was someone to set up house with because that would mean that you had stability while you could still sleep with whoever you wanted. You never stopped to think that maybe he would care that you didn't care."
"I still don't know what you're talking about," Gwen said, taking a step back.
"You spent the whole morning on your back for Gil," Jack said, following Gwen slowly. "How many times did he make you climax with a scream, Gwen? You can barely walk right now, so I know that it was hours and hours of use, and you enjoyed every second of it, didn't you? You went out of your mind on pleasure, allowing yourself to be used however he wanted you to be."
"What are you talking about, Jack?" Gwen asked, voice starting to tremble. "How do you know what happened this morning?"
Jack smiled slowly, allowing a little of his true nature to show through. "Because I've been right where you were," he said softly. "Out of my mind on pleasure and begging for more. I would have done anything to have Gil stay inside my body, but he had other plans for me."
"Good thing I did, too," Gil said. He stepped up and wrapped his arms around Gwen. "I think I can see why you wanted her here for all of this, Jack. Are you guys done?"
"We're done. She's yours for as long as you want," Jack said. "Take her to your home and use her well, Gil."
Gil grinned and picked Gwen up, throwing the woman over his shoulder. "I wish I could take her to the true home," he said. "They'd get a kick out of her there. Should I let you know how things are going?"
"Yeah, that'd be good," Jack said. "I'll be curious to see how things turn out for you. I'll tell Rhys that she's run away because she couldn't handle the truth. Maybe he'll believe that she's selling herself on the streets in London for money."
"I'm sure he will," Gil said over Gwen's loud squawk. "I'll be in touch, Jack. Thanks for this."
"You're welcome, old friend," Jack said. "Be careful. She's wiley."
Gil nodded. "I've got some sturdy cuffs at home," he said. "She won't go anywhere until I want her to."
"Jack, what are you doing?" Gwen demanded, struggling to get down. "Help me."
"Nope. I'm giving you to Gil as a present to get you out of my hair, Gwen Cooper," Jack said. "He'll treat you well, as long as you please him and beat him strong children. You are his property now and he'll treat you as he sees fit. Know that you will never know another lover than him."
"She won't want to," Gil said, starting towards the door. "Not once she's had her first batch of kits. No one ever does."
"Almost no one," Jack said with a small, sad smile.
"Yeah, well, you had your Ianto waiting for you," Gil said. "You two are better than we ever could have been. Catch you later, Jack."
Jack watched the Incubus vanish with his prize and grinned. He'd have to think up some lie for Rhys about Gwen's final location. Imprisoned for breeding with an Incubus just wouldn't do.
***
Chapter 39Jack was working on the computer when Ianto and the others came back into the main part of the Hub an hour later. "Hey kids," he said. "The food is in the kitchen."
"Where's Gwen?" Rhys asked, looking around.
"Dunno. She slapped me and ran out of here," Jack replied with a sigh. "I think we should give her a little bit to try and calm down. She's probably off with one of her friends and she'll be back soon enough."
"Are you going to fire her?" Owen asked, sitting down at his desk. "She's a liability to us all, Jack. I know that I don't feel safe trying to work with her out in the field."
"I've been thinking about it," Jack said. "Thanks, Ianto. Rhys, I know that can't have been easy for you, and hearing us keep going won't be fair to you."
"I've made peace with what I can, and will do with the rest of it as I can," Rhys said. "I knew that Gwen slept around when she was at school, but I'd hoped that maybe she would settle down a bit when we got serious. I feel like a fool for thinking that."
Ianto patted his shoulder on his way back to the kitchen to make coffee. "Hope is never foolish, Rhys," he said. "In Gwen's case, I think that Jack is right. She's addicted to sexual pleasure and until she can admit she does have a problem and ask for help, there's nothing any of us can do. No matter how much we might want to."
"I guess I just wish I'd realized there was a problem sooner," Rhys said. "Is this how everyone feels going through something like this?"
"You'd have to talk to others that have been through something similar," Jack said. "Owen, you're a medical man. Are there support groups for spouses of sex addicts?"
"If there's not, there should be," Owen said. "Probably something in London, but we'd have to make some phone calls to find out."
"I don't know if I could tell anyone what happened," Rhys said. "I mean, it makes me sound like I never looked at the woman I was living with."
Jack leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. "The only thing it means, Rhys, is that Gwen has an addiction that she needed to satisfy and one man, no matter how much he loved her, was never going to be enough for her because of how her body is wired. It's just the same as someone drinking too much alcohol or taking more and more drugs to get the same feeling they started out with. Gwen is probably to the point where she needs almost constant sexual stimulation to feel close to normal."
"Which isn't possible for a human to manage," Owen said. "No matter how much we might want it to be true, any male would be at risk of serious harm if he remained erect for that long. It's probably better this way, Rhys, because she'll be able to get what she needs and you can find someone that will make you happy."
"Yeah, you're right," Rhys said, nodding his head. "I don't think I could work here if Gwen was still on the team though, Jack. I know you want me for the team, but that's going to have to be one of my terms for joining you down here."
"Easy enough, especially with how I've been thinking about it," Jack said. "I'll track her down and tell her that we're terminating her work with Torchwood and she needs to start looking for another job."
"Can you do it now?" Rhys asked. "Or, at least in the next day or two. I'll have to give notice at my other job before coming down here and I'd feel better knowing that Gwen isn't going to turn up when I'm here."
"Sure," Jack said. "I'll start working on tracking her down tonight and talk to her tomorrow. Owen and Ianto will take care of your initial training, Rhys. I'm working on a couple of other projects right now, but I think that you'll fit in with the team well."
"Do you think we'll ever find Tosh?" Owen asked. "I really miss her, Jack."
"I do, too, Owen," Jack replied. "I don't know if we'll find her or not, but if we do, I'll do everything in my power to bring her back to us. Tosh is part of our family down here, and you know we don't abandon anyone."
"Ever?" Rhys asked.
"Ever," Ianto said with a smile. "Sometimes it can just take us a bit to figure out how best to get someone back to us again."
*~*
"So you're really going to come and join us?" Owen asked that night during dinner. He and Rhys were at a small restaurant overlooking the water. "I think you're going to be a good fit with the rest of us."
"I hope so," Rhys said. "Owen, do you want me to keep my eyes open around Jack and Ianto while we're all working together?"
Owen nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, please," he said. "I'm still not sure if it's possible Jack and Ianto are demons, but I know there's something not right down there, even if I can't put my finger on it."
"Whatever happened to that other chap, Gil?" Rhys asked. "He never showed back up."
"I guess it's possible he went on ahead with his trip," Owen replied. "It is a little weird that he and Gwen vanished at roughly the same time."
Rhys snorted. "Maybe he's the one that was comforting her after the whole mess with me," he said. "I've got to work through these feelings for Gwen, Owen. I really did love her once."
"Yeah, I know, and take as long as you want," Owen said. "I'll be here whenever you're ready to talk more about where you want to go with me."
"Not everyone would be so patient about it, you know?"
"I guess I'm still working to get past some ghosts of my own," Owen said. "Tosh helped me with some of them, but with her gone now too, I'm figuring things out on my own as best I can."
"I guess we could work on things together," Rhys said.
Owen grinned, "yeah, I'd like that."
***
Chapter 40"Well, we finally managed to get rid of Gwen, even if it is only temporary," Jack said that night, when he and Ianto were alone in the Hub. "We've got Rhys coming to join the team, and he and Owen are slowly moving into a relationship. Tosh is still honing her skills down below, and will be back should she survive. Do you think this is a turning point for us, Ianto?"
"I don't know, Jack, but I'd like to think that it is," Ianto said. "What do you mean that Gwen's not totally gone? I thought that Gil would keep her until she died from constant use and births."
"He will, but I have a feeling that she's going to escape at least once, and Gil might not be able to bring her back," Jack said with a sigh. "That feeling of darkness approaching is still there, Ianto, and I don't know what it means."
Ianto moved over next to his lover and pulled him into a hug. "Could it be that the kings are finally ready to eliminate us?" he asked. "We've been up here a long time, corrupting and killing, and I'd thought they were happy with what we're doing. Could I have been wrong?"
"This isn't evil from the Rift or down below, Ianto," Jack said. "This darkness is like nothing I've ever felt before. It's hungry and I don't know what to feed it to get it to back off again."
"It's going to want souls, isn't it?" Ianto said. "What if we're able to direct it a little? We could send it to a prison, let it feed on those that deserve death but will never have it because of how the government works."
"That's a thought," Jack said. "I wonder if there's a way we could direct it towards a place, or a certain group. What if we went up to the old castle on the peats and set it up so only we can put people in there or let them out again? We could start filling it with people that prey on others, from either inside a prison or off the streets, wherever we can find them. Put them there for a feast for this darkness in hopes that it will leave again."
"You originally planned to feed Gwen to it and hoped that the blood of an angel-born would be enough to slake its hunger," Ianto said. "You know that Gil isn't going to give up his new toy to save humans."
Jack nodded with a sigh. "I just don't want the innocent to die, Ianto," he said. "If they're dead, they go beyond our reach, and we can't tempt them into darkness. I know we don't feed on them, but the smaller temptations are always amusing."
"I especially like the sexual temptations," Ianto said with a smirk. "Watching them pick up people they hardly know to sleep with. That small stain on their souls from loveless encounters. It leaves them open to larger temptations from others."
"There are days I don't wonder if you and I are turning into some sort of sexual demons, Ianto," Jack said. "Not like Gil and his people, but something new. Something that radiates sexual energy to infect those around us."
"An interesting theory, one we should test the next time we go to the clubs," Ianto said with a grin. "I wonder how many people we could convince to take a stranger home for the night."
"I think we should find out, Ianto," Jack said. "But not tonight."
"Agreed. I'm still overly full from that feast this morning. Between the sexual energy from Gil claiming Gwen as his new toy and then the mix of emotions from both Gwen and Rhys when they found out the other knew their darkest secrets, I don't want to eat for a week."
Jack nodded. "I know what you mean. I had no idea that Gil would take Gwen to another part of the Hub for their first session, but I probably should have," he said. "We might have been able to guard against the first few waves of emotion from them. It would only have been when Gwen gave herself over completely that we wouldn't have been able to keep from feeding."
"Do you miss it?" Ianto asked. "I know you and Gil were together for a time."
"No, not really," Jack replied. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's amazing to give yourself over to someone like that. To become nothing but a bundle of nerves and feelings, letting the constant waves of pleasure break over you while you are used over and over again. Even bearing the kits is an amazing sensation, but then I met you on one of the trips Gil and I took to the surface, and I knew that I never wanted another in my life like I did you."
"Was he surprised that you could give him up?"
"I don't think so. I'm a powerful demon in my own right, something that Gil wanted for the kits in those two batches, but I think he also knew that my powers would let me leave him once I met the one I wanted for all time," Jack said. "It's why we've stayed friends like we have. Gil and I have always had respect for each other, a true respect, not one built on fear like most demons feel for each other. I know that I can always ask him for help, and he knows that he can ask me the same."
"How long did you watch me before you came to introduce yourself?"
"I first saw you when you were five, Ianto," Jack said. "I broke things off with Gil and was back to watch over you before you turned six. I just made sure that you didn't see me until you needed a teacher."
Ianto grinned. "I can barely remember that time, but I do remember the first time I saw you," he said. "When my father introduced us and told me that you were to be my new teacher. I was fascinated by you, but a little scared too. It's like I knew what you were, but couldn't stay away."
"More like you didn't want to," Jack said. "I started giving you my blood the second year I was there. Usually in your morning drink, though every so often directly into your mouth after you were asleep."
"I thought I dreamed those nights."
"That's what I wanted you to believe." Jack tipped Ianto's head up and kissed him softly. "I would have protected you more if I didn't need you tempered by your father's anger to help you turn into a demon."
"I would have killed them even without your influence," Ianto said. "All of them, not just my father. I've never regretted that night. I glutted myself on their fear and realized I would never be able to look back."
Jack smiled. "That's what really turned you into a demon, Ianto. There have been those that we attempted to turn to demons that balked at killing," he said. "Even those abused as you were. They just couldn't bring themselves to kill, and were killed instead. You not only killed your father, you smiled when you did it, and then you went looking for the rest of your family. I'll admit I was surprised when you hunted down your sisters at their homes and killed their families too, but when I saw that, I knew I'd made the right choice. That you were destined to be as powerful a demon as me."
"They were all deserving of death, Jack," Ianto said. "Every one of them."
"I know they were, Yan, and they all screamed so pretty for you at the end," Jack said with a smirk. "I wonder how they're all getting on down below."
Ianto laughed. "I'm sure they're all still suffering, just like I wanted them to," he said. "There's not time enough in eternity for their suffering to match my own at their hands."
"That's not going to keep those down below from trying though," Jack said.
"I know, and that makes me happy," Ianto said.
***
- Main Torchwood slash page
- New stories page
- Jack/Ianto stories
- Ianto/Owen stories
- Other pairings stories - ie threesomes
- F/F stories
- Gen stories
- Amazon.com - Torchwood: Children of Earth
- Amazon.co.uk - Torchwood - Children of Earth [DVD] [2009]
- Amazon.ca link - Torchwood - The Complete First Season (7DVD)
