First part of this story

Gwen, Tosh and Owen looked up as the SUV pulled in, Jack and John climbing out. Jack ran his gaze over them, glancing quickly at John then up at the factory that they were parking in the shadow of. Jack joined them, straightening his coat and frowning.

"Where's Rhys?"

"Sent him home," Gwen replied. "He wanted to come with us but I talked him out of it. I told him to go drinking with Daf since he hasn't in a while and his mates were calling the other day wondering if I was keeping him cooped up now that he's married."

"If you weren't working for Torchwood, he probably would be," Owen said with a smirk, earning himself a punch to the arm.

"How's Ianto?" Tosh asked.

"He's fine," Jack said, glancing quickly at John noting that the other man was preoccupied by a reading on his wrist device. Jack looked back at Tosh and smiled. "We practically had to lock him in the bedroom to keep him from coming with us."

"Would have tied him down only he'd have enjoyed it too much," John said, closing his device and looking up toward the factory. "The transmission sub station is causing too much interference to give me an accurate reading. Probably why he picked the place."

"The signal definitely originated from here," Tosh said, looking at her PDA.

"The news report from this morning said that a Real Estate Agent brought a buyer here to inspect the property and they were attacked by a robot," Gwen said, handing Jack her own PDA so that he could read the transcript of the report. "The Agent escaped with several stab wounds but walked away; the buyer wasn't so lucky. They pulled him out of the bay 10 minutes ago."

"How he die?" Jack asked.

"They're taking the body back to the coroners for a proper autopsy," Owen said. "Apparently all his internal organs were missing. Seems at first glance they were removed with surgical procession."

"Well, Bellic was a doctor as well as a scientist," Jack said. "Does all his surgery on himself. He'll probably sell the organs on the black market to help build up his funds."

"I'll put a trace on it when we get back to the Hub," Tosh said. "I might be able to find his bank accounts and freeze them."

"That'd hurt him," John said with a smile, then turned to Gwen. "Oh, and you might want to give the coroner a call about the body. Bellic tends to put bombs into the bodies of people he fillets."

Gwen looked up sharply. "He what?"

In the distance they heard an explosion, causing them all to turn sharply in the direction of the bay. Above the rooftops of the neighbouring factories they could see a black cloud beginning to drift into the air, easily distinguished from the white, fluffy clouds that were spread evenly across the sky.

"Never mind," John said. He sighed, shrugging it off and reaching for his gun. "Anyway, shall we?"

At first glance, the factory appeared to be empty. There were a few puddles resting stagnant in random places, caused from where the rain had leaked in through holes in the roof. There was a musty smell to the air, underlined by a smell of rust, mould and mildew. The interior was a vast, open area, with only a few supports for the roof breaking up the openness.

"Why anyone would want to buy this dump is beyond me," Owen muttered as he scanned the area, lowering his gun. "Clear!"

"There's nothing here," Gwen agreed, lowering her own gun and reaching for her Bluetooth. "Jack? Bellic isn't here.”

"Yeah, we've got nothing either. Wait where you are and we'll join you. Contact Tosh in the meantime. She might have something."

"Copy that." Gwen looked back at Owen. "He wants us to wait here. They've got nothing either."

"Figures," Owen growled, leaning against a strut.

Gwen reached for her earpiece again. "Tosh? Have you got anything?"

"I've managed to isolate the interference from the sub station, but I'm still not picking anything up from the factory. Whatever was transmitting before is either offline or in a different part of the building outside my limited range."

Owen frowned, tapping his own earpiece. "Limited range? What do you mean?"

"In order to isolate the sub station interference I had to narrow the scope of the scanner, so now its range only includes the factory floor and the main office where Jack and John are. There is another building just behind where you are which is probably the workers room or planning office, but the scanners won't extend that far at their current setting and I can't move the SUV any further toward them as there is no access."

"Brilliant." Owen sighed heavily.

"Thank you, Tosh," Gwen said, looking toward Owen wearily. "I'll let Jack know."

"I'm sorry I can't be more help."

"You can't help it," Gwen said. "Bellic probably chose this location for those exact reasons. There's nothing anyone can do. Even John's scanners wouldn't work, remember?"

"I suppose." They heard her sigh. "Be careful."

"Always am, Sweetheart." Owen replied, glancing up as Jack and John appeared in through the near doorway. "Just keep an eye out for Bellic and his robots. That's the only way out of here."

"I will."

"Tosh can't help us," Gwen said, looking up at Jack. "There's a third building but it's outside of her range."

"I've still got nothing," John said, glancing at his wrist strap with a frown. "I'd love to take out that sub station, I tell you."

"We've been over this," Jack said, shooting him a glare. "You're not sending Cardiff into a blackout just so you can hunt one man, no matter how dangerous he is."

"Oh come on." John scowled. "You can't tell me you haven't done it before."

"The Mayor gets pissed when we do," Owen said, noting Gwen's sharp look and ignoring it. "What's the plan, Jack? We heading for that third building or what?"

"We're going." Jack reached for his own ear piece. "Tosh, do you have anything on the layout of that last building?"

"I looked up the blueprints for the warehouse, and unless the building has been altered since its original design there are two entrances. The front door is just to the East of where you are, with an emergency exit on the North wall. There's no power to the facility so there should be no alarms on either door."

"Thanks." Jack turned to Gwen and Owen. "You two take the emergency door. John and I'll go in the front."

"Which one's he more likely to have covered?" Gwen asked.

"Both, now move."

***

A naive person would think, given the fact that they hadn't yet run into any trouble, that their approach had thus far gone undetected, but Jack wasn't naive. He knew Bellic. No doubt from the moment the others had left the Hub Bellic had been monitoring them, watching their approach with dry amusement and waiting to spring his trap.

"So..." John said as they moved toward the main door of the third building, watching as Gwen and Owen disappeared around the corner toward the other entrance. "Robots, explosions, gas or some other little surprise. What are you putting your money on?"

Jack set his jaw, casting John a measured look and receiving one in return. They'd both come to know Bellic well enough to know to expect something, and that they should be ready for anything. Jack let out a long breath, silently cursing Bellic and wishing this would all be over soon, and that maybe, just maybe, Bellic wasn't ready for them at all.

Jack knew better than to expect that.

"Jack, we're in position."

Jack nodded toward John as they took up position on either side of the doorway, weapons ready. Jack raised a hand to his ear, hitting the button. "Gwen, Owen, on three. One. Two. Three!"

John planted a firm kick on the door sending it backward off its hinges, the wood cracking further as it hit the tiled floor. Jack swept into the building, gun raised as he scanned the area, noting that it was one large room. There were dark shadows on the carpeted area where desks had once stood, and just to his right there were kitchen facilities.

He spotted Gwen and Owen out the corner of his eye, noting that just behind where they stood there were smaller doors distinctly labelled as 'Mens', 'Ladies', and 'Cleaners'. There was a fine layer of dust to the air and no sign of any robot, but Jack's attention was immediately drawn to the counter against the far wall, directly across from his team.

Bellic didn't move, instead keeping his eye on his watch. "Took you longer than I expected. But then, you are working with far more primitive technology to what you're used too."

John stepped forward, glaring at the other. "I'm getting sick of your games, Fred."

"Pity." Bellic's single gaze came up to rest on him. "I haven't finished playing them."

Jack raised a hand toward Owen and Gwen, signalling for them to stay where they were. He clenched his jaw, bringing himself around so that he had a better shot at Bellic's weak throat. "These people have done nothing to you, Bellic. Why are you killing them?"

"Because it's fun, why else?" Bellic's gaze moved to him, then glanced quickly at Owen and Gwen. "So these are your team then. Owen Harper and Gwen Cooper I presume. And that would be Toshiko Sato out in the SUV, am I correct? So nice to meet you."

"Yeah, well we escaped your little attack," Owen hissed. "We're not that easy to kill."

"I never ordered my robots to kill you," Bellic said, smiling faintly. "I ordered them to scare you. To chase you back to Cardiff so that you were all in one place. The only person I ordered them to kill was Ianto Jones." He glanced back at Jack. "Your taste in lovers is improving, by the way. Good looks and smart. He was a fine one."

Gwen shook her head. "Why? Why him?"

"I'm not an idiot." He shot John a look. "I've heard about the Plasmavore. Carshy are not easy to kill, and Jones killed two. I know you trained him, Captain Hart, and from my own observations I saw he was a threat. Besides," he levelled his gaze on Jack. "You can't die, but your friends can."

Jack growled. "If you hurt anyone else I'll–"

"What, Captain?" Bellic leaned toward him. "I've outsmarted you once, Jack, I can do it again. Everybody knew you were the brains. That's what made you so dangerous as a Time Agent. That's why I was so pleased when I heard it was you that was hunting me. I was worthy of the best, and I almost killed you. Who else can say that, eh?"

"We're not here to play your games," John said, finger tightening on the trigger. "This ends, Fred, and believe me I'm going to make sure you die slowly."

Bellic chuckled. "You had your chance. You could have killed me on that space station, but your weakness, your love, for Captain Harkness was your downfall. No, you won't kill me."

John's eyes narrowed. "You're certainly sure of that."

"I've already killed Ianto Jones." Bellic's smirk widened as he pointed toward John. "You're next."

"Nope, sorry." John shrugged. "Not going to happen."

He pulled the trigger, everyone jumping at the sound of the loud crash as the window behind Bellic smashed in. Before the glass even hit the ground a robot had planted itself between Bellic and John, the bullet ricocheting off the robot’s outer casing and smashing into the inactive 'Exit' sign above Gwen and Owen's heads.

When Jack swung back around to look at Bellic he found the other man perched in the broken window, his blue LED eye bright as it blazed toward Jack. Bellic smiled. "I suggest you run." Then he was gone.

"If the robot poisons us, I've got the antidote in the car," Owen said, weapon trained on the robot as he reached for his ear. "Tosh, Bellic's heading your way. Watch yourself."

Jack frowned as he observed the robot, the machine straightening and seeming to lock itself into position. Jack's eyes narrowed at the back of his mind he heard Tosh's affirmative in his ear, Jack focussed on the robot’s eyes as they began to pulse.

"Jack?" John watched him, frowning. "We going after him or what?"

"You seeing this?" Jack asked, nodding toward the robot.

John looked toward it, his eyes widening. "He didn't."

"He did." Jack took a step back. "Gwen, Owen, get back to the SUV. Go!"

Owen lowered his weapon. "What?"

"That things a bomb!"

They didn't need to be told twice.

Tosh let out a sharp cry as the SUV lurched violently, ducking her head to shield her eyes against the bright light pouring in the forward window. She spotted a shadow slip by out the corner of her vision, but when she looked up again it was gone.

Carefully Tosh straightened, looking forward sharply and gasping as she spotted the burning wreckage of what had been the warehouse, half the building blown backward by the explosion. Tosh instantly reached for her ear, tapping the earpiece.

"Jack? Owen? Gwen? Can you hear me?"

Hearing no reply, Tosh reached for the computer and keyed open a tracker, only to jump as the door opened.

"Relax," Owen said, sliding into the rear passenger seat and tapping a couple of buttons. "It's just us."

"Oh thank god." She spun in her seat, looking back at him. "Are you all alright?"

"We're fine, Tosh," Gwen said, looking in the car at Owen's screen. "Anything at all?"

"Nothing." Owen sighed, leaning back in the seat and gazing out the door toward where Jack and John were standing back listening. "He's gone. There's a small amount of data where he past the SUV, but that's it."

"What kind of information?" Tosh asked.

"Eh..." Owen hit a few keys and frowned. "Just a basic scan. What he's made of, a surface scan his equipment and all that."

Tosh called the data up onto her screen, analysing it for a few seconds before turning back out to look at the others. "Jack, I think I might be able to use this."

Jack stepped closer to the SUV, leaning in the doorway and gazing at Owen's screen. "You think you can track him?"

"This information should certainly be enough to narrow down the scan," Tosh said, meeting his eye. "Back at the Hub I have a new program that I can use to help isolate him using the information of his physical markers, but it should also allow me to identify what components he's made up on."

"Which would definitely tell us what sort of weapons he's packing," John said, nodding and looking at Jack. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Jack nodded his agreement. "Tosh, have you forwarded the information back to the Hub?"

"Already done," she said, tapping the last key. "The program should already be scanning the data into it. By the time we get back to the Hub it should be ready for me to analyse."

"Right." Jack straightened. "Tosh, Gwen, Owen, I want you three back at the Hub. Tosh, get that scan done and send any details you come up with straight to our PDAs. Owen, as Tosh comes up with a detailed outline of what Bellic's carrying I want you to find any sort of weapon or device that could be used to slow him down, and that includes for his robots."

Owen nodded. "Right."

"Gwen," Jack looked at the last woman. "I want you to get in contact with your friends at the Police Department. Send them a headshot of Bellic and let them know that we want this guy for questioning over all the recent explosions, but tell them they're not to approach him, just to let us know where he is if they see him."

Gwen smiled tightly. "Got it."

Jack looked back in the car. "Tosh, do you think there is enough there already to scan for him in the immediate area?"

"Eh..." Tosh glanced at the computer. "I guess so."

"Okay. John and I will take the SUV and see if we can pick up any trace of him. Now, you three get back to the Hub. Go."

The sun had already set when John finally slumped back against the SUV passenger seat, sighing heavily and closing his eyes. "I don't want to be the first to admit it, Jack, but he's gone."

"He can't be," Jack said, hitting the right indicator and taking them back onto the main road leading back into the city, a stubborn set to his jaw as he glared out at the empty road in front. "We didn't give him that much time to have a head start."

"I realise that, but we've been driving around for the last five hours. You've already had to fill this thing up once, and if we keep going it’s going to need it again." John stretched, his neck cracking unpleasantly with the movement and causing him to wince. "I don't like staying cooped up for this long and you, of all people, know that."

"The scan should have been enough to pick up some sort of general reading of his location, or at least some trace elements from his mechanics when he past through the city." Jack growled with frustration, fingers clenching the wheel tighter. "He can't have just disappeared on us again."

"Well it certainly seems like he has." John reached out and rested his hand on Jack's knee, feeling the tension in the limb. "Look, let’s head back to the Hub and see how Toshiko is making. And I don't know about you, but I want to head back to Jones' place and shag him senseless."

Jack shot him an unamused look.

"What? Not like you haven't been thinking about it all day." John shrugged when Jack's gaze didn't waver. "Look, he at least needs to know what's going on. It took a lot to convince him to stay there this morning, and if we don't get back and fill him in on what's happening he's going to be out here looking for us, or worse, looking for Bellic himself. He probably saw all those explosions on the news as it is."

Jack sighed, some of the tension draining from his features as he looked back out at the road. "You're right. We can't just keep searching like this. We need to regroup."

"Yeah." John shifted, stretching his legs out in front of him and crossing his arms over his chest, gazing at the emptiness in front of them as the streetlights seem to brighten as the last remaining daylight faded from the sky. "I'm getting too old for this."

Jack snorted. "You wait til you get to my age."

"I'll pass on that thanks." He remained silent for a moment, gazing tiredly out the passenger window only to frown at a flickering of light, straightening sharply.

"What is it?" Jack asked. "See something?"

"Not sure." John looked at him and nodded toward the left hand side. "There's not another road over that way, is there?"

"No," Jack frowned. "Couple of houses behind the trees, but that's it. Why?"

"I thought I saw something shiny move." John straightened, looking forward out the window as he saw something out of the corner of his gaze. His eyes widened. "Jack!"

Jack swung to face forward, swearing as he slammed on the brake. The SUV lurched forward as it hit the robot, another slamming into the side of the vehicle and sending the SUV into a hard roll. The last thing John saw was the seatbelt less Jack disappearing out the driver’s side window before the darkness claimed him.

***

Rhys growled as he spotted the flashing police car lights behind him, pulling the lorry over to the side of the road. He sighed as he waited for the officer to approach, frowning as he spotted a familiar face in his side mirror. Rolling down his window he glared at the other.

"What the hell are you playing at? You're a beat cop, not a traffic cop."

"Traffic's a bit short staffed at the moment, so they're pulling in the rest of us." Andy Davidson smiled tightly, gazing toward the passenger seat. "It's just you then?"

"Gwen's at work."

"At this hour?"

"At all hours. Special Ops." Rhys rolled his eyes. "On call all the time, I tell you."

"Bit like that for us at the moment," Andy admitted, gesturing for Rhys to climb down out of the cab. "Anyway, Gwen called. Got a search on for a suspect they want to question. Got to search everything, particularly lorries."

"Fair enough, I suppose." Rhys gestured for him to go ahead. "Be my guest."

Andy gave him a sidelong look as he moved toward the back of the lorry, Rhys smirking and crossing his arms as he watch Andy pull open the rear doors. He chuckled as Andy's eyes went impossibly wide, the other man's mouth dropping open as he stared at the contents of the truck.

"What's the matter, Davidson? Never seen a dildo before? Never seen a bad porn film?" Rhys chuckled. "And here I thought you'd seen plenty of blow-up dolls. Probably with Gwen's face on them, mind, which I don't approve of since she's my wife and all–"

"Your lorry is full of sex toys!" Andy said, pointing inside.

"You noticed. That's some fine police work, that." Rhys moved to the back of the truck and pushed the doors closed again, snapping the catch shut. "Didn't think we only hauled meat and boxes of cereal did you?"

"But..." Andy stared at him. "Sex toys?"

"Harwood's Haulage. We haul anything." Rhys patted the truck. "Shipping from the port to the main warehouse of one of the leading adult stores. Mind you, I've made a point not to tell Gwen's boss I do this, so don't you even think about letting him know, got that?"

The heat was slowing beginning to fade from Andy's face as they moved back toward the cabin, Andy frowning. "Any particular reason you don't want him to know?"

"Believe me, mate, sometimes the less you know the better." Rhys leaned back against the cabin door, watching him. "So how's it going being a traffic cop, then? Enjoying the step up?"

"Wouldn't really call it a step up," Andy admitted, glancing at the quiet road around them. "They've stuck me on this piece of road because hardly any traffic comes down here after peak hour."

"But that's good, ain't it?" Rhys frowned. "Means you can just sit back and eat the packet of chips you keep in the glove box."

"How did you... doesn't matter. Gwen told you." Andy shook his head, sighing. "Quiet piece of road, sure. Means there's no one around if something goes wrong."

"Should keep your radio on your belt," Rhys suggested. "Don't have as far to go to put in a call for back up, then."

"Usually do keep it on my belt, but I kept sitting on the bloody thing." Andy gave him the once over. "Don't see you with a radio. With the way you keep getting into trouble these days I'd thought you'd have one."

Rhys flipped his phone out of his pocket and showed Andy, before dropping it back. "Got all of Gwen's workmates on speed dial, just in case."

"But aren't they the reason you're always in trouble?"

Rhys conceded the point. "I suppose it keeps things interesting. Besides, if I got killed Gwen would probably find some way of bringing me back long enough to kill me herself."

Andy frowned. "Bring you back?"

Rhys' brows rose slightly. "It's Gwen."

"Oh, aye. If someone could do that, she'd bloody well give it a shot, I'll admit." Andy glanced around. "I'd still rather it that I wasn't working this alone."

It was Rhys' turn to frown. "Aren't you supposed to have a partner?"

Andy nodded. "He took a piece of shrapnel to the back this morning when the coroner van blew up and they're keeping him overnight. Gwen didn't say anything about that to you, did she?"

"Only to keep a wide berth to coroner vans." Rhys glanced around them again, before returning his gaze to Andy. "Look, when do you get off?"

Andy glanced at his watch. "In about three hours. I clock off at midnight."

"Staying here?"

"As far as I know."

"Right." Rhys glanced up toward a nearby light pole, noting the black orb projecting out of its side. "Look, I've give Gwen a call. She and her mates will keep an eye on you and come to your rescue if something does happen.  Or at least call for backup."

Andy blinked. "You'd do that?"

"I might not like it, but Gwen still talks fondly of you." Rhys shrugged. "And who am I to put you in danger because of a rivalry I clearly won."

Andy's eyes flashed. "I never did work out what exactly Gwen sees in you."

"Yeah, whatever, mate. I love her, and I married her, and I intend on keeping it that way."

Andy watched as Rhys pulled open the door of the lorry. "And how do you know she's not sleeping with that boss of hers. Most of the girls at the PD have a thing for him."

"Nah, she's over that." Rhys pulled himself up into the lorry. "Besides, if she did it would probably only be if we were invited into a foursome."

Andy looked up sharply. "A what?"

Rhys smiled and shrugged, sliding the keys back into the ignition. "Like I said: the less you know."

"Right." Andy frowned and scrutinised the other man. "I reckon you've been spending too much time with Gwen's lot."

Rhys laughed. "Probably."

Andy shook his head and smiled, giving him a quick wave and turning to leave, only to stop dead as he spotted silver. "What the hell is that?"

Rhys looked up, spotting the robot and swearing. "Don't move."

Andy reached for his gun, bringing it up to point at the robot. Rhys reached into the glove compartment of the truck, drawing out the Torchwood issue semi-automatic handgun and flipping the safety off. He saw Andy glance back at him as he slid out of the truck, Andy doing a double take as he spotted the weapon.

"What?"

"Just shut up and listen," Rhys said, keeping a steady hand as he trained the gun on the robot. "Come back toward the truck. Forget the car, just get back here."

"What is it?" Andy asked, inching backward. "It's one of Torchwood's things, isn't it?"

"It doesn't matter. It's dangerous. That's all you need to know." Rhys gritted his teeth. "Get back here, Davidson!"

Andy didn't need to be told twice, taking a step toward the cab. It was at that moment the robot moved, sweeping forward and brushing Andy aside and slamming him into the side of the lorry. Rhys swore, emptying his gun, eyes widening as the bullets ricocheted off the outer casing.

As he pulled himself up into the truck, he targeted the eye and fired again, laughing as the LED light of the eye shattered and the robot faltered. He grinned, only to swear again as he realised that the gun was empty. He threw himself back into the truck, only to have cold steel wrap around his leg and draw him back.

The gun fell from his fingers as Rhys flayed for a hold on the truck, only to have his fingers slip on the cold metal. Rhys found himself falling to the ground, the bitumen rushing up toward him as he threw his arms out to catch himself, only for the robot to control his fall so that any chance of preventing himself from hitting his head was lost.

Before the darkness and pain took over, Rhys' last thought was about just how much Gwen was not going to like this when she found out.

Jack woke with a harsh gasp, eyes flying open as the pain of returned life tore through him. He dropped back, catching his breath as he waited for his memory to catch up with the rest of him, the image of the robot on the road and the sound of shredding metal and shattering glass returned to him.

Jack sat up quickly, wincing and reaching for his shoulder to draw out a stubborn shard of glass and tossing it aside. He pushed himself up, dusting his coat and frowning as more glass sprinkled to the ground. He spun, noting the strewn wreckage and wincing when he finally spotted what was left of the SUV.

Ianto's going to be pissed. No way can that be repaired.

Jack moved toward the SUV, glancing around and making sure that the robots were gone, before focussing his attention on the wreckage. "John?"

He widened his step, hearing no reply. He circled the wreckage until he reached the passenger door, the SUV having righted itself at the end of it' roll, the reinforced roof crushed in half way. Jack gripped the doorframe, gazing in and spotting the unmoving figure. "John!"

John was a mess, Jack swallowing hard as he took in the amount of blood on his former partner slumped in his seat. Jack reached in through the shattered window searching for John's pulse; Jack's own heart began to race as he couldn't locate it. Jack leaned in through the door, ignoring the remaining glass of the door cutting into his hands as he tried to listen for John's breathing.

"Oh god."

Jack threw himself back, catching hold of the door and using all his strength to wrench it backward. It gave slightly, Jack repeating his movements twice more before the metal finally gave and the door came open, Jack reaching inside and quickly moving to free John.

As he drew John out, Jack found himself moaning under his breath at the sight of the damage. Jack reached for his comm as he stretched John out on the ground, making sure the limbs were straight as he checked once more for pulse and breath and finding none.

"Owen!"

***

Owen looked up sharply at the voice in his ear, registering the pain in it at once and instantly knowing something was very wrong. He dropped the gun down onto the boardroom table and reached for his earpiece. "Jack, what's happened?"

"The robots... they came out of nowhere and attacked us..." he heard Jack struggling on the other end. "John's dead."

Owen felt the blood drain from his face as he swallowed hard. "No heart or no breathing?"

He saw Gwen and Tosh look up sharply with wide eyes.

"Both."

"How long?"

"I don't know."

Owen let out a long breath. "Jack, I need to you to begin CPR. I'll bring my kit and track the SUV to your location."

"The SUV's a wreck, I'm not sure if the tracker still works."

"Your comm signal then." Owen caught the GPS Tosh slid toward him, a signal already reading from it. "I'm on my way now. Just keep up the CPR til I get there."

He ended the call, pushing himself to his feet and glancing at the others. "Robots attacked them, wrote the SUV off. John's not responding. No heartbeat; no breathing."

Tosh looked at Gwen. "Bellic did say John was next."

"I'm sure its just coincidence," Gwen said, looking at Owen. "You better get going. We'll keep things covered until you get back."

Owen was already out the door before she finished speaking, and had already rounded the bend meaning he didn't hear Gwen's phone ring.

Jack's own heart was still thudding in his ears as he continued to work on John, Jack ignoring the pain in his hands. He could feel the angry tears burning in his eyes, not yet ready to lose yet another of his lovers. He and John had always had something of a hot and cold relationship. It had been all sparks and fire, and they'd ended up both being burned, only for that flame to kick up again because they just had that connection.

Bellic knew exactly how to hurt him, that was sure. First Ianto, who Jack had finally begun to admit he'd fallen hard in love with, and now John, who Jack had always loved in his own way. Jack hated to think just who would be next, but he had a feeling it would be Gwen and he wasn't about to let that happen.

Jack didn't know how long he was there, didn't know how long John had been unresponsive, but he knew that he wasn't going to quit until someone told him to. John could have died on impact, or he could have bled out. If the former was true, and Jack had been out of it for a long time, even if he did revive John the man could be brain damaged. If it were the latter, then all this was pointless.

Jack started as he felt a movement, instantly reaching for John's throat and laughing as he felt the faint beat. He looked down, the smile fading as it dawned on him that John still wasn't breathing. Jack instantly went back to giving him mouth-to-mouth, glancing up as he heard tyres squeal on the bitumen.

He looked up as Owen threw himself out of the car, the other man swearing as he assessed the situation, reaching in and grabbing his kit from the car and jogging over. "Jack?"

"I've got a heartbeat but he's still not breathing," Jack said, sitting back as Owen dropped to his knees and assessed the situation. "I got killed too. I don't know how long I was out of it."

"Right. Let's just get him breathing before we do anything else, all right?" Owen checked the pulse, glancing at Jack quickly and trying to force two quick breaths into John's airway, watching his chest and frowning. "Did you check his airway?"

"First thing I did," Jack shook his head. "There's was a little blood, that's all."

"Well there's something still blocking it. Not all the air is going through." Owen shifted, catching hold of John's shoulders. "Help me roll him."

"Careful," Jack said, catching hold of John before he rolled too far. "He's a mess. I don't know how badly he's hurt."

"Jack." Owen looked up at him. "He's dead. I think that pretty much sums up how bad it is. Now stop protecting your other boyfriend and let me do my job, okay?"

Jack backed off, watching as Owen made a fast assessment of John. After a couple of seconds Owen tilted John's head, muttering to himself as pressing on John's back. Jack blinked as more blood trickled out of John's throat, Owen waiting until it eased before flipping open his kit and finding the mask to avoid having to make contact with John's mouth.

Jack watched as Owen returned to forcing the air into John's lungs, checking his pulse once to make sure it was still beating. He saw a line begin to work its way onto Owen's forehead and knew it wasn't a good sign. Then Jack's eyes widened as John suddenly lurched, Owen sitting back quickly and rolling the man back onto his side as more blood erupted from his mouth.

"He's got to have punctured a lung or something," Owen muttered, shaking his head as he waited for John to settle, the injured man now breathing on his own in shallow, ragged breaths. "There's too much blood to be otherwise."

"Think that's what killed him?" Jack asked.

Owen nodded. "That or he died on impact. Honestly, I'd rather die from a severe impact than choking on my own blood. Anyway, let’s get him back to the Hub."

Jack frowned. "Don't you mean hospital?"

"Jack," Owen shot him a look, "if he's from the 51st Century, then chances are he's got the same whacked out blood work as you. The last thing we need is U.N.I.T. getting their hands on him. Besides, no matter how long you were dead, John wasn't breathing for over three minutes either way and stands a high risk of brain damage. Now if you remember right three weeks ago we had that item fall through the Rift that you said repairs recent brain trauma, but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet."

Jack pointed downward. "You want to try it on John?"

"What's he got to lose?" Owen shrugged, reaching into his kit and beginning to work on patching up John's other injuries enough for transport. "If it works, brilliant. If it doesn't, he'll probably start trying to top himself anyway or begging you to do it."

Jack conceded the point. "All right. We'll take him back to the Hub." Jack reached for his earpiece as he left Owen to his work. "Toshiko – we need someone out here clearing up the mess. I'd ask Ianto but..."

"I'll get right on it."

Jack looked back at Owen. "Need help?"

"I'll need you to back to car up in a sec. We're going to have to lift him in." Owen glanced down at John as he continued to splint the injured man's shattered left arm. "I hope you stay unconscious, mate, because this is going to hurt."

***

Tosh looked up at the sound of footsteps in the corridor, spotting Jack moving toward the boardroom. Feeling a slight sense of relief knowing that he was back, she returned her attention to her work. "I sent the usual people to clean up the scene. They said it should take them less then an hour. They're taking what's left of the SUV to the warehouse. We can handle it from there."

Jack nodded, dropping heavily into the seat at the end of the boardroom table and rubbing his eyes, gazing at but only half seeing the information playing across the screen on the back wall.

Tosh watched him out the corner of her eye, noting the weariness etched into his features, the blood still clinging to his clothing. "How's John?"

Jack shook his head, sighing heavily. "Owen's got him down in infirmary trying to reverse any brain damage. Even if he does pull through it's going to take him a while to get back on his feet." Jack looked up, meeting her eye with an openness she hadn't seen from him before, and the fear in them scared her. "I've never seen him like that before, Tosh. I've seen him banged up but not..."

"I'm sure we'll make Bellic pay for it," she assured him. "It's the least we can do."

He nodded, staring at a spot on the table for a long while. Eventually a frown crossed his face and he looked up, glancing around. "Where's Gwen?"

"I sent her to find some weapons I remember us putting in the Vault three years ago."

"Weapons that will help us?"

"It's possible. I'll need to run some tests first." Tosh frowned. "Honestly, I used it more as an excuse to get her out of here. Her pacing was beginning to drive me mad."

Jack frowned. "Pacing?"

"Not long after Owen left she got a call from Andy," Tosh glanced at him. "Apparently Bellic's robots attack him while he was searching Rhys' lorry. Andy was knocked unconscious, and when he came around Rhys was gone. It would seem the robots took him."

Jack's shoulders slumped as he sighed heavily. "Bellic knows Gwen's second in command, and would know by now that Rhys is her weakness. I should have seen this coming!"

"Jack, none of us can predict Bellic." Tosh looked back at her computer. "Anyway, it would appear Rhys managed to get some rounds off, and given Andy's report about fragments he found that it would appear Rhys successfully took out at least one of the robots eyes."

Jack nodded. "So your theory that the eyes are the weak point if shot at from close range is correct."

"Apparently so." Tosh looked at him. "It hurt them, but obviously it didn't shut it down. I've been running a diagnostic on the data readings I obtained at the factory. Knowing what I know now, I should know by around midday how to at least slow them down."

Jack nodded toward the screen. "Is that what you're doing at the moment?"

"No, actually." Tosh looked up. "I've used the readings and information we received at the factory, and combined it with all the sightings we've seen of the robots and Bellic. By putting them all together I think I may have narrowed down his location."

Jack straightened. "You 'think'?"

"I can't be sure." Tosh looked back at him. "The CCTV footage in the area is limited and there aren't many residents around the area because of the safety issues. A group of teenagers did make a police report about a strange man though. The police brushed it off because the group describe the man as 'The Terminator'."

"That'd be Bellic." Jack rested his gaze on her. "Where is it?"

"It's an old school just on the edge of town," Tosh replied, calling up the location on the map. "It was considered structurally unsound after that Rift generated earthquake a couple of years ago, and the council haven't decided what to do with it yet. The local community wants the school torn down and rebuilt, but there's been some interest shown by developers who want to turn it into a housing estate."

Jack frowned, gesturing to the picture. "Is that a church?"

Tosh nodded. "It was a Catholic school. Why? Is that important?"

"Bellic thinks he's God," Jack said, scowling. He sighed, pushing himself up. "Tosh, I want you to send the exact location to the GPS in Gwen's car."

Tosh blinked. "How come? You're not thinking about going after him, are you?"

"Bellic has Rhys. The sooner we get Rhys out of there, the higher the chance we can rescue him alive and in one piece."

"But we don't know what weapons will work on him yet!"

"Tosh, we don't have time." Jack glanced at his watch. "If we move now Gwen and I can be there in an hour. If we come in from the West he shouldn't be able to detect us, and he won't be expecting us this early anyway. We'll catch him off guard."

"But by kidnapping Rhys he will be expecting you."

"We'll take that chance." Jack moved toward the door and looked back. "We'll go in under comm silence in case he's monitoring us. We should be back by midday."

"But Jack!"

He was already gone.

Most of the car ride toward the abandoned school was in silence, both lost in their own thoughts as they moved easily through the traffic. Jack was driving, Gwen sitting beside him chewing on a nail as she gazed out the side window at the passing scenery, lost in her own thoughts.

Jack glanced at her from time to time, and it wasn't until they had left the city limits and were on a quieter road that he broke his silence. "Are you all right?"

Gwen made a small noise at the back of her throat. "I should be asking you that."

"My husband isn't the one whose been kidnapped."

"No, but your boyfriend was poisoned and almost killed, and your former partner, who you obviously still care about, is lying fighting for his life and possibly brain damaged back at the Hub." Gwen looked toward him for the first time since they’d gotten into the car. "You almost lost them both, Jack."

Jack watched her for a moment, before looking forward again to make a turn. "That's why I intend to get Rhys back, before anything can happen to him. I don't want you going through this."

Gwen stared down at her hands. "Thank you."

Jack nodded, his fingers tightening on the wheel. They continued to travel in silence, the old school coming into view at the end of the street. Gwen glanced at him out the corner of her eye, Jack seeing it but paying it no mind, instead keeping his attention on the road and building ahead.

"Jack." Gwen set her jaw, eyes never leaving his face. "Who do you think is next?"

"That doesn't matter," Jack said quickly.

"But it does." Gwen frowned. "He's targeting people that you care about, Jack. We need to be able to work out whose next so that–"

"Bellic's not even going to have a chance to find whose next," Jack said, cutting her off and shooting her a glare. "We're going to stop him before he gets the opportunity."

Gwen nodded, chewing her lower lip as she pulled up the layout of the old school on her PDA. "There's no CCTV in the area so Bellic probably doesn't know we're coming. There are two main entrances at the front and rear, and the council has erected a fence around the main buildings to keep people out."

"He'll probably have that wired," Jack said, pulling the car over just shy of the block of the school. "Are there any other ways in?"

"Not according to this." Gwen frowned. "The council did put in a gate for easy access, though. It's not big enough for a vehicle, but it is for us."

"We'll go that way then." Jack reached into his coat, pulling out a standard issue Torchwood firearm and snapping on a silencer, Gwen doing the same beside him. "You ready?"

"You know I am," she said, opening her door.

They left the car, moving down the remaining part of the street and keeping their weapons concealed so not to alert any of the neighbours as to what was about to go on. As they walked Jack glanced at her, frowning. Gwen spotted it.

"What?"

"Did I ever thank you for everything you did for me the year Ianto disappeared?"

Gwen shot him a look. "Jack, if you're saying goodbye–"

"No." He shook his head. "I was thinking about it the other day. I don't recall ever thanking you."

"That's because you didn't." She shrugged, looking forward again. "Don't know why you're thanking me anyway. You spent half your time avoiding me, and the rest not talking to me."

"I don't like sharing my feelings," Jack admitted.

"Tell me about it."

"I was trying to move on, Gwen," Jack said, frowning at a spot at the end of the street. "Trying to figure out exactly what I did wrong that made him leave so I could put it behind me."

Gwen looked up at him. "Did you work it out?"

"Yeah." He shook his head. "He actually had to tell me. I never stopped to think that the way I act, the way I was treating him..."

"But that's all sorted now, right?" Gwen offered him a smile. "I mean, you love each other..."

Jack scoffed.

"What?" Gwen's eyes widened. "He still hasn't said it?"

"He still cringes every time I say it." Jack scowled. "I still don't think he believes me."

"Give him time, Jack." She reached out, catching his hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You've got to remember that he's been through a lot. After what happened to Lisa..."

"I guess." Jack sighed. "I just wish he'd talk to me about it. That's the one topic he always avoids."

"Maybe he's trying to suppress the memories," Gwen said. "I saw that a lot when I was with the PD – witnesses and loved ones trying to forget the bad things. It's an ordinary human reaction after a traumatic experience." Gwen smiled tightly. "It's only been a couple of years."

"Yeah, well, bottling it up isn't doing him any favours." Jack slid his hands into his pockets, scowling. "He's hiding something."

"So are you." Gwen held his gaze when he looked at her sharply. "You're as bad as each other, Jack. You're both private men that don't talk about their feelings with anyone. You just keep bottling it up inside until it will eventually break you." She squeezed his hand again. "I'm sure he'll tell you in time."

Jack nodded, stroking his thumb across the back of her hand in thanks before dropping it as he stopped in front of the gate. He gave it a quick once over, glancing down at his wrist strap and scanning. "You were right, no CCTV at all. It doesn't seem like he has any security measures at all, although..." he glanced at her. "The fence is electrified, so I'd avoid touching it."

"He's done what to the fence." Gwen stared wide-eyed at the networked links of the Council issue barrier. "Children could touch that."

"The current level seems to be more deterrent level than killed level," Jack assured her. "It's still strong enough to give you an unpleasant surprise."

"Well, that explains how he's been keeping everyone out." Gwen pulled out her PDA, looking at the information scrolling across it. "The gates harmless though, right?"

"Just need a set of bolt cutters."

Gwen smiled at him and reached into her jacket, removing the small device and holding it up for him to see. "Owen gave it to me on the way out the door. Said we might need it."

Jack nodded, taking it off her and pressing the tip against the oversized lock. He adjusted the settings, hitting the switch. There was a soft crack, the bolt splitting in half and dropping almost soundlessly onto the grass below. Jack reached forward, pressing a hand to the gate gingerly just to be sure, and finding it un-electrified he swung it open and gestured for Gwen to enter.

Gwen drew her weapon and slipped in first, Jack following and closing the gate behind them. They moved cautiously forward, Gwen glancing at the readout on her PDA and pointing toward the old chapel nestled in beside the rundown schoolhouse. Jack nodded, taking point as they continued to move forward, using shrubbery and play equipment as cover until they reached the main church building.

Gwen pulled out her PDA, showing Jack the layout of the building and tapping a rear doorway that had no doubt been the entrance for the cleaners and priest. Jack nodded, the two moving toward it, forever scanning the area around them and becoming more confused as they found no security measures at all.

Reaching the door, Jack reached forward and gingerly tested the handle. He frowned and shot Gwen a look when it turned, Jack swinging the door open. Gwen returned his look, shifting to the other side of the door and bringing her weapon to bear.

They eased inside, moving slowly and keeping their guns ahead, Gwen spotting the workstation first and pointing it out to Jack. He nodded, checking his wrist device once more and frowning as again he found no sign of any sort of security measure. He approached the workstation, inspecting it for a moment as Gwen checked the rest of the building.

Jack looked up sharply as he realised that the workstation was fake, just a collection of dials and blinking lights. He spun toward Gwen, only to find her staring wide-eyed as a robot carefully extracted itself from a box at the back of the room. Jack brought his weapon up, only to step quickly to the side as the bench containing the fake workstation lurched upward to reveal another metallic beast.

"You know, in the early 21st Century it was very hard to track people." They spun, guns coming up as they spotted Bellic entering via the doorway that they had just come. He waved the guns down. "You know they don't work, so don't bother." He looked at Jack, raising a brow. "Given how long you've been hunting me, Captain Harkness, I'm surprised you never worked it out. I use components from the time that I am in to build my weapons and machines, meaning any sort of scan on that little wrist manipulator of yours is pointless. You, on the other hand..." he brought up a PDA of his own. "All I need to do is configure it to alert me of the presence of alien tech, and hello Torchwood."

"You've known we've been here all the time?" Gwen asked, not lowering her weapon.

"The minute you used those fancy bolt cutters and he started scanning everything with his 51st Century piece of tech, yes." Bellic gestured around them, Jack and Gwen glancing to the side to find themselves surrounded by robots, all means of escape effectively blocked. "Now, unless you want to die Mrs Williams, I think you should both lower your weapons. It's over."

The Hub entrance rolled almost effortlessly to the side, the flashing yellow light dancing over the interior of the Hub as the alarm trilled his arrival. He stepped inside, eyebrow quirking at the silence. Behind him the entrance closed again as he stepped through the gate, turning and making his way down toward the boardroom.

He could hear Janet and the other occupants of the cells calling for their dinner, Myfanwy squawking her own protest – it would seem no one had fed the pets. He sighed, tossing a quick glare toward the rubbish set around the Hub and making a mental note to give his colleagues a piece of his mind when this was over.

He moved almost silently through the corridors, hearing the tapping of fingers flying on a keyboard before he saw them, Tosh scrutinising her screen while Owen had a series of weapons spread out in front of him, making adjustments. He paused in the doorway, glancing up at the screen and taking in the information.

"You found Bellic then."

Owen and Tosh both jumped, Tosh making a little squeaking noise as Owen swore, both spinning toward him.

"You're supposed to be at home," Owen said, straightening. "And remind us to put a bell on you."

"Are you feeling better, Ianto?" Tosh asked, smiling at him.

He returned the smile, stepping further into the room and casting his gaze around, taking everything in. "So... what have I missed?"

Tosh and Owen exchanged a look, Ianto spotting it and frowning.

"Tell me."

"There was an incident," Tosh said carefully.

Ianto narrowed his eyes. "What kind of incident?"

Owen set his jaw. "Let me show you."

***

Ianto stared wide-eyed down at the bed, taking in the many wires and feeds, most of his attention on the device attached to John's head. He reached out, drawing back the light blanket and spotting more injuries, before he turned toward Owen and waited for an explanation.

"The robots attacked them," Owen explained. "Killed them both. Jack managed to revive him, but John choked to death on his own blood. He was without oxygen for a while."

"Brain damage," Ianto observed.

"Because it's only recent I think I can reverse it." Owen moved forward, checking the readout on the piece of alien tech. "That's if I'm working this thing correctly and reading it right."

"Other injuries?" Ianto asked.

"SUV was hit from the left, in the middle of the front passenger door," Owen said. "Crushed him. His left arm and leg are a mess. He's got broken ribs, a fractured right ankle, fractured skull, and don't get me started on the internals."

"You said he choked on his own blood." Ianto frowned. "Punctured lung."

"Right." Owen let out a soft sigh, leaning forward to check the readings on the various monitors. "I couldn't risk him going to a hospital. Mostly because of his 51st Century blood work, but look at him, Ianto. If we'd taken him to a hospital..."

"They would have done what they could, put him on life support and left him," Ianto said.

"In my opinion, it would have been better to not revive him," Owen said. "Nothing against the guy, it's just that..." he shook his head, looking down at John. "If this doesn't work, he's going to be brain damaged for life, and from what I've seen he's completely independent and hates having to rely on people."

"You have no idea." Ianto finally tore his eyes away from John, the fixed impassive look firmly in place. "Any sort of treatment is better than nothing, and you've been wanting to try that device out."

"Let's hope it works."

Ianto nodded, a slight frown crossing his face. "Where are Jack and Gwen?"

"Yeah. Them." Owen scowled, turning and heading back in the direction of the boardroom, Ianto following. "Around the time I got a call from Jack to tell me about the accident, Gwen got a call from Andy to say he and Rhys had been attacked and Rhys had been taken."

"Bellic has been watching us for a while," Ianto observed. "Thought so."

"Yeah, well, anyway," Owen crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the spot in from of him as they walked. "By that time Tosh had been able to work out exactly where Bellic is hiding, so...."

Ianto stopped dead. "Don't tell me they went after him."

"Fine then." Owen shrugged. "I won't."

Ianto stared after him, watching as Owen disappeared around the corner before quickly gliding after him, catching up with the elder man just inside the boardroom door. "Do they know yet what exactly they're dealing with?"

"What they're dealing with, yeah," Owen said, dropping into his seat and stretching out his legs, a resigned look on his face. "How to deal with it, no."

"If they'd only bothered to wait three more hours then they would have been fine," Tosh said, looking up from her work. "Jack insisted on leaving right at that moment. He wanted to rescue Rhys and get out of there."

Ianto looked at her, slipping into his own seat. "How long ago was that?"

"Just over five hours ago."

Ianto glanced at his watch. "And where exactly is the location?"

Tosh brought it up on the screen.

"It's outside of Jack and John's primary search area," Ianto observed. "It's around an hour to get there, another hour to get back and they would have at least called on the way back if they were under comm silence going in..."

"Three hours, four hours tops," Owen agreed. "They've been gone for around five and a half, and we haven't heard a word."

Ianto's frown continued to deepen. "So we can only assume they've been captured."

"That's my bet," Owen said, looking up at the screen. "Bellic's probably got sensors all over the place."

"Or at least some sort of scanners," Tosh said. "You must admit the technology we use isn't your average 21st Century kit."

"Going in without waiting for the right weapons was a bad idea," Ianto said. "He must have been acing on impulse after what happened to John, and Gwen was in no position to argue with him."

"And wouldn't have listened anyway," Owen said. "He was almost as bad as he gets when something has happened to you. He starts doing a Gwen and acts purely on emotion."

"Jack's not like that."

"Mate, he's scary." Owen's frown deepened as he watched Ianto. "Trust me; if something’s happened to you, no one gets between Jack and his target."

"He's not the only one that does that," Tosh said softly, watching Ianto cautiously. "I know someone else who gets very protective if their lover is in trouble."

Ianto shot her a look, straightening. "Do you have the weapons now?"

She nodded, her eyes lighting up as she drew a small sphere toward her. "Electro magnetic pulse. It's so obvious I don't know why I didn't figure it out earlier. All I had to do is tune them to the same frequency as the robots, and it should knock them offline."

"Or their shields at least," Ianto said.

"If that's the case, we've got these." Owen reached out to pat an oversized rifle. "Armour penetrating bullets, strengthened to anything beyond what's available on the market. We figure that if we take out the robots, we can get in, grab the others, and get out of there."

"There's no point in doing that unless we take out Bellic as well," Ianto said, looking from one to the other. "If we disable his robots and leave him alive, he'll develop some way around the EMP when he builds the next models."

"What are you saying?" Tosh asked. "We make a move on Bellic now?"

"If we don't, then Gwen and Rhys are as good as dead."

"I'm with Ianto on this one, Sweetheart," Owen said, looking across at Tosh. "We know where he is, we've got the weapons, so we might as well do it."

Tosh leaned toward him. "But he knows we're coming."

"Yeah. Knows we're coming." Owen pointed to the side. "He thinks Ianto is dead."

Tosh looked reluctant. "I suppose..."

"I say we go over what we have and come up with some sort of plan," Owen said, receiving a nod from Ianto. "Then we move in and save their arses."

"What, just us?" Tosh said.

Ianto sighed, looking at her. "Just us."

***

Rhys looked up sharply at the sound of footsteps, moving away from the door slightly just in case the robots came in first. The door opened, Rhys glaring at the metal monstrosity as it stalked into the room, glowing blue eyes casting long shadows over the walls of the windowless room.

Rhys straightened as Bellic entered. "What do you want now?"

"Thought you'd like some company," Bellic said, glancing behind him. "Two guests just arrived, so I thought I'd show them the accommodation. I do hope you don't mind sharing."

Rhys' eyes widened as he saw Gwen and Jack, Rhys levelling his glare on the other man who was glaring daggers at Bellic. Gwen hurried across the room into Rhys' arms, hugging him tight, an embrace he was happy to return though his eyes never left the Torchwood leader.

Bellic smiled. "I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on, so I'll leave you to it." He turned, moving back to the door as the robot left, Bellic pausing once to look back at Jack. "Oh, and Captain." He waited until Jack met his eye. "I'm sorry about what happened to Captain Hart. Such a pity. He was such a worthy rival."

Rhys waited until the door closed and the footfalls had faded before turning on Jack.  "What the hell do you think you're playing at?"

"Rhys," Gwen warned.

"Getting yourselves captured?" Rhys set his jaw. "What did you do? Rush in with no plan? You walked straight into a trap. Even I knew that!"

"We couldn't just leave you," Gwen said. "We thought we'd have the element of surprise–"

"Bullocks to that, Gwen." Rhys moved his glare to her. "When I want to be rescued, I want to be rescued properly. Now you're both in here, Ianto and John are down by the sounds of it, and Tosh and Owen are only two people. What can two people do against them?" He gestured toward the door.

"You'd be surprised," Jack said softly.

"What surprises me, mate, is how stupid you are." Rhys pointed at Gwen. "You're as bad as she is!"

Gwen's eyes flashed. "Just what do you mean by that?"

"Sometimes you don't think," Rhys told her. "You let your emotions make your decisions and what happens? You cock things up, that's what."

"If we'd just left you here, you'd have become one of Bellic's experiments," Jack said, shooting him a glare. "We couldn't let that happen."

"Yeah, well now we're all his experiments." Rhys looked from one to the other. "Unless, of course, you have some sort of plan for getting out of here."

Jack and Gwen exchanged weary looks, and at once Rhys knew they didn't. He sighed, rubbing his eyes and leaning against the wall.

"Great. Just great."

"There's Gwen's car," Owen said, pointing up the road as Tosh brought them around the last corner. "Means they came in this way."

"By this there's a pedestrian gate further up the road," Ianto said, looking at his PDA and studying the plan. "I'm guessing that is the way they entered the property." He looked up. "We should find another way in."

"Definitely," Owen said.

"If my theory is correct, Bellic would have traced them using a scan for alien technology. The lock breaker that you gave Gwen, Owen, would be easily traced." Tosh turned the corner at the end of the street, following the road around the back of the school. "We'll have to find a way in using conventional means."

"I brought a bolt cutter," Ianto said, a smirk on his face as he looked at the back of Owen's head. "Make Owen work for it."

Owen frowned, looking back at him. "What do you mean 'make Owen work for it'? Why can't you do it?"

Ianto raised a brow. "I believe your instructions were 'rest', 'don't exert yourself', and ‘no hard labour'."

"Yeah, and you're really listening to me."

"This is just everyday work," Ianto reminded him. "Although I will admit it's been a while since I've had to save Jack's behind."

"Less than a month," Tosh said with a smile.

"We need to fix some sort of device onto that guy that gives him an electric shock every time he puts himself at risk," Owen grumbled, settling back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. "And the same goes for Gwen when she's about to get herself kidnapped again."

"What about Rhys?" Ianto asked.

"Rhys can handle himself better than the pair of them." Owen straightened. "Jack is starting to pick up Gwen's bad habit of acting on emotion, and Gwen is picking up Jack's recklessness. If I didn't know better, I would have thought they were together."

"It does seem that way," Tosh agreed.

"I don't know." Ianto settled back, flicking his gaze from one to the other. "Owen doesn’t seem any smarter to me."

Owen flicked his arm back and smacked Ianto in the leg as Tosh laughed. "You watch yourself," Owen said, shooting Ianto a half-hearted glare. "I could say a lot about you, you know."

"I sure you could, and probably do." Ianto smiled faintly at him. "Jack and Gwen spend a lot of time together out in the field. Besides, we all pick up on each others bad habits."

"Like?"

"Well, I do believe half the rubbish I saw lying around the Hub earlier was Tosh's, and she normally picks up after herself." Ianto thought for a long while. "You tend to speak your mind a lot more and stand up to Jack. Gwen's started talking a lot of techno babble..."

"We do all spend a lot of time together down in the Hub," Tosh admitted. "One big family. We just all rub off on each other."

"Yeah, I guess." Owen looked back again. "Seriously though, you're not worried about Gwen and Jack?"

"Jack's only attracted to Gwen," Ianto said, gazing out the window and frowning. "I think he loves her just... more as a friend. Like he does you too."

"But what about Gwen?" Tosh glanced at Owen quickly. "She hasn't backed off, you know. When you're not around..."

"I know." Ianto frowned faintly. "It takes two. Gwen's only one."

"Just hurry up and tell him you love him, mate." Owen glanced back out the window, his voice softening. "I don't know who you're kidding, because it's obvious that you do."

Ianto's eyes tightened as he looked out the window. "We're supposed to be looking for an entry into the school."

"I can see a hole in the fence up ahead," Tosh said. "It may be where the teenagers broke in."

"That'll do," Ianto said. "Saves us having to do anything."

Tosh pulled them over, Owen sitting in the front of the care glaring back at Ianto through narrowed eyes. Ianto noticed him, fidgeting slightly in his seat but doing his best not too. As Tosh reached for her seatbelt, Ianto shot Owen a look.

"What?"

"You can't keep running from it, Ianto," Owen said softly. "You can't keep avoiding it. You're going to have to address it sooner or later."

Ianto narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do," Owen said softly, reaching for the door handle. "And it's about time you did something about it."

***

"What I want to know is where you got that gun," Gwen hissed, staring at her husband as Jack continued to inspect the room for a way out. "Tell me, Rhys. You know I said no when you asked."

"If you must know, Owen gave it to me," Rhys said, watching Jack. "Tosh figured that I'd be a target because of our relationship, so she and Owen got me a gun and Owen taught me how to use it."

Gwen's eyes widened. "What do you mean 'a target'?"

"Exactly what he said," Jack said, tugging at the barricade over the window and frowning. "It's already happened more than once."

Gwen spun to glare at him. "You knew about this?"

"I had to sign the forms to say he could have it," Jack said, not looking at her. "Ianto filed the paperwork months ago."

"And nobody decided to tell me," Gwen said, eyes narrowing.

"Well we all knew how you'd react," Rhys said, no doubt sensing the dangerous edge slowly working its way into his wife. "It's not like I go out looking for trouble, Gwen. It's just for when something like this happens."

Gwen glared at him. "I don't want you carrying a weapon, Rhys."

"Well I don't want you carrying one either." Rhys returned the glare. "It's not like you tell me everything, Gwen. You didn't ask me if you could join Torchwood, or to carry a gun, or any of that. When you got involved with Torchwood you got us both involved, whether you like it or not."

"But I don't keep secrets from you, Rhys–"

"Oh, sure you don't." Rhys rolled his eyes. "You've always kept things from me, Gwen. And I usually find out about them too. And I know I've been retconned because it's still in my blood, and just who has access to that?"

Jack paused in his search and looked back, a curious frown on his face as he watched them. Gwen saw him, and pointed an accusing finger Jack's way.

"He told me to do it," she said. "He told me there are some things you don't need to know."

"Gwen, I told you to retcon Rhys so he wouldn't remember Torchwood after the space whale thing, but you didn't," Jack met her glare. "I've never retconned him, and I'm sure the rest of the team haven't."
"
Which leaves you," Rhys said, watching Gwen but shooting a quick glare at Jack. "Though it wouldn't surprise me if you did tell her and are now lying about it."

Jack shrugged, resuming his search.

"Rhys," Gwen said softly, eyes wide in her innocent look. "There are things I've done that you don't need to know about."

"Like what, eh?" Rhys didn't bend under her look, used to it after their long years. "Did you shag one of them? Did you shag him?" He pointed at Jack.

Jack snorted. "Was already in love with and chasing Ianto when I met her."

"You're an insatiable bastard of a flirt, Jack," Rhys said, shooting daggers his way. "Wouldn't stop you."

"I haven't slept with Jack," Gwen said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, but you're like to, wouldn't you," Rhys accused. "Can see it in your eyes every time you look at him."

"I really think we should be focusing on getting out of here," Jack reminded them, moving to the next window. "Save the domestic for later."

Gwen moved forward, resting her hand on Rhys' chest. "Rhys, there are things I cannot tell you, you must understand that. Besides, a lot of couples have secrets. I'm sure Jack and Ianto don't tell each other everything."

"Keep my personal life out of it, thanks," Jack said.

"Mate, your personal life is what got us into this mess in the first place," Rhys reminded him.

"Ah, no. Professional life." Jack frowned. "My job before this one."

"Something you haven't told anyone about, which makes it a personal life despite what you reckon."

Gwen tightened her hold on Rhys' shirt. "Rhys, please–"

They all looked up as the door opened, Rhys and Gwen moving back as Jack turned away from the window, all watching as Bellic entered the room, a robot slinking just behind him in the shadows. "I do hope you're all making yourselves comfortable."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "If you're here to gloat, Fred, I really don't want to hear it."

Bellic ignored him, reaching out to lay a gloved hand gently on the head of his robot. "I just thought I'd let you know that your communications devices have been blocked, but you already know that. Also, your team appear to still be running a search using the CCTV cameras. I would have thought they would know by now it is just a false path I am laying down for them to follow to their deaths."

"Stop bragging," Jack leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. "We've been in worse, and we've survived worse, so don’t get your hopes up."

"I don't need to. I already know I've won." Bellic moved toward him, stopping a foot away. "It's over, Captain Harkness. You and your little friends here are perfect specimens for me, your two other members are going to walk into a booby trap and end up white and red smudges on a wall, and Captain Hart and your precious Jones have already left us. I doubt it has ever been any worse."

Jack set his jaw, fighting to keep his breathing even and not betray his anger. "Why are you here, Bellic? It can't just be for me and John."

"Oh, taking care of you two has been my plan for a long time, believe me." Bellic shrugged as best he could. "But you're right; it's not just about you." He gestured toward the boarded up windows. "Out there, right now, are the ancestors of that bastard that I used to work for."

Jack blinked. "They're from Cardiff?"

"Scotland." Bellic smiled faintly. "They won a competition. A week in Cardiff, all expenses paid, including a game at the stadium and a show at the Millennium Centre."

"That's too much of a coincidence," Gwen said.

"Very observant, Mrs Williams.' Bellic looked at her. "I set up the competition and rigged it for them to win." He returned his gaze to Jack. "I've been here for quite a while. Waiting. Figured I'd take care of you and them at the exact same time."

"You mean you're going to kill them?" Rhys said, eyes widening. "You can't do that."

"What's to stop me?" Bellic gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "No one in the family was of any real significance except for the grandfather of my former boss and the subsequent generations. None of them have any relation to me or anyone of any importance. Killing them will do nothing." Bellic scowled. "Except, perhaps, prevent me from ending up like this."

Jack growled. "The laws of time forbid it."

"No one oversees those laws anymore, Captain Harkness." Bellic snorted. "Time Lords? Just the one left and he’s a little preoccupied with his new companion. Time Agency? Gone. Shadow Proclamation? A joke. They're the ones that let me out."

"Figures," Jack muttered.

"So Captain," Bellic smiled. "I'm going to hunt the family down and kill them slowly. And there's absolutely nothing you or your precious Torchwood can do about it."

"This is just an ordinary PDA using standard issue military equipment, so it shouldn't read as alien technology," Tosh said, pressing a few buttons as they crouched behind a retaining wall. "By using this I should be able to isolate any heat signatures within the building."

"Can you get a technical reading?" Owen asked, looking over her shoulder at the screen. "Pinpoint Bellic's key work areas?"

"That sort of equipment would generate a good deal of heat, so it will show up." Tosh frowned, tapping the screen. "Here we are. Four humanoid heat signatures in the main building and a larger area here near what was the office." She showed them the screen so they could take in the locations on the map.

"That must be his workshop," Ianto said, frowning. "We need to take that out at the same time as we rescue the others so he doesn't have time to build up a counter strike."

"Tosh and I can handle that," Owen said, looking at Tosh and seeing her nod. "You go and rescue Jack and the others."

Ianto shot him a look. "You're sure?"

"It kinda is your job," Tosh admitted.

"You're always saving his arse," Owen agreed.

"Well maybe if he didn't keep getting himself into these sorts of situations, I wouldn't need to," Ianto said.

"Here." Tosh handed him four small chrome balls from her bag. ”Just in case there are any robots."

"Which there probably will be," Owen said softly.

"There will be more where you're going," Ianto reminded them, slipping the spheres into his pockets.

"We'll be fine," Tosh reassured him, squeezing his arm.

"Meet back at the car in an hour," Owen said, picking up his gun and checking the magazine. "We go in under comm silence."

"We'll have to anyway." Tosh pressed another button on her PDA. "There's some sort of electrical interference that's messing with all communication devices within 50 feet of the buildings. Once we go inside we can't contact one another even if we wanted too."

"Explains why we didn't hear from the others," Ianto said.

"Yeap." Owen stood, stretching. "Ready?"

"One of the heat signatures is moving," Tosh said, looking up sharply. "It's going in the direction of the chapel."

"Probably Bellic," Ianto said.

"We'll avoid the chapel then." Owen offered Tosh a hand, helping her up as they took in the buildings just over a small rise. He glanced to the side toward his colleagues. "Shall we?"

***

"That man is a right arsehole," Rhys muttered as Bellic footsteps faded into the distance. "He can't just go around killing people because of something their great great great great great grandkid does!"

"You'd be surprised how often that happens," Jack said, turning back to his inspection of the boarded up windows.

"What did he mean by all that other stuff, though?" Rhys asked. "Is there some sort of police to stop it?"

"Kinda." Jack frowned. "The Time Lords were the elite of a planet called Gallifrey, but they were more about keeping their own people in order and observing. Their planet was destroyed in a war and now there is only one left. The Time Agency was kind of a secret service who went after criminals who broke any sort of laws against time. Time Agents could travel in time and follow them, but were shut down for so many reasons, and I’m sure I don’t know them all.

"The Shadow Proclamation kinda took over from the both of them. They're just a bunch of idiots who make the laws and don't care about who they hurt to make sure they get the bad guy."

Rhys snorted. "Sounds like you lot."

Jack shot Rhys a glare. "Hey!"

Rhys smiled and winked at him, then realised that Gwen hadn't joined in on their conversation. "Gwen? Love, you alright?"

Gwen continued to stare at the door. "He didn't lock it."

Rhys blinked. "What?"

"He didn't lock the door." Gwen moved over to it slowly, staring at the handle. "Last time it clicked when he locked it, but it didn't. The door isn't locked."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Rhys was by her side in an instant, reaching for the handle. "Let's get out of here."

"Rhys, wait!" Jack crossed the room in two strides, grabbing Rhys wrist to prevent him from turning the knob. "We don't know what's out there. It could be a trap."

"Oh, right, so now you worry about walking into a trap. Bit late of that, mate." Rhys looked at his wife. "Gwen?"

"He's right, Jack. We have to try." Gwen touched Jack's arm near where he held Rhys'. "This might be our only chance."

Jack looked from one to the other, frowning as he saw the look in their eyes and sighed. He let go of Rhys' arm, Gwen dropping his as Jack took a step back, gesturing for Rhys to go ahead. After a quick look at his wife, Rhys turned the handle and pushed the door wide open.

All three of them leapt back as the robot pounced.

***

"If these readings are correct, it should be just around the next corner," Tosh whispered as she followed Owen down the corridor, his weapon drawn as he checked around each doorway and corridor as they came to it. "The heat signature is getting warmer, too. Whatever's in there is running on maximum power."

"Yeah, I think I can hear it." Owen checked the corridor at the end of the hall, noting it was clear and giving Tosh a nod. "Left or right?"

"Left." She pocketed the PDA, drawing out her own weapon. "Should be the first door we come too."

Owen nodded, beginning to move forward again. The low hum grew louder as they slinked along the passageway, Owen pausing next to the door. Tosh quickly shifted to the other side, gun at the ready. Owen gave a silent count of three on one hand before pushing the door open, he and Tosh covering the opening as they scanned the room.

The heat washed over them, Tosh's eyes widening as she took in the computer consoles and equipment connected up to a set of generators in the back corner. She moved toward the main bank of screens even as Owen gave the room one last sweep, only joining her when he was sure the area was clear.

"This is amazing," Tosh said, fingers flying across the keyboard. "He has access to every system in the world. He can control the CCTV outages remotely from here, has full scanning equipment to look for alien technology, can remotely monitor the Rift, and can control and program every single robot." She hit more keys, shaking her head. "He's got a better system than we do."

"Doesn't surprise me." Owen frowned as he spotted a collection of medical equipment in the corner, moving over to inspect it. "The Torchwood systems are getting a bit old."

"Ianto and I update them all the time," Tosh said, pressing more keys. "If I could get this all back to the Hub..."

"Tosh, Sweetheart, it was a system designed by a criminal mastermind who probably knows every single back door into it," Owen reminded her. "It's bad enough he can track us without having complete access to our databases. Assuming, of course, he doesn't have access already."

"Not that I can see." She frowned, opening a new window. "You have to remember Torchwood originally stole the system we use now."

"Yeah, and if I recall for the first four months they had to keep upgrading the firewall because the old owners kept hacking in." Owen picked up a piece of equipment, frowning as he tried to decipher its purpose. "You'd be better off finding the blueprints and designing the system yourself. You could if you wanted too."

"Like I have the time." Tosh frowned, leaning forward as she spotted something, her eyes widening. "Owen..."

"Yeah?" Owen picked up another piece of medical equipment. "This is a flesh binding tool. It's got to be."

"Owen..." Tosh swallowed hard. "According to this, there are five robots in here."

"What?" Owen dropped the tool, crossing over to her side quickly and looking at the readout. "This has got to be wrong. There's nothing in here but us."

"Just because you can't see it doesn’t mean it isn't there."

They spun at the sound of the accented voice, spotting Bellic standing in the doorway. Tosh and Owen brought their weapons up in an instant, pointing them toward the other man that didn't even seem to notice them.

"The heat from the generators interferes with heat sensors," he said, watching them calmly. "And I design my robots to blend into their surroundings. In fact, there's one at your feet."

Tosh and Owen looked down sharply, Owen grabbing Tosh's arm and pulling her away from the computer consol as the box beneath the table began to unfold, metallic limbs extending from the box shaped robot as its LED lights glowed toward them. Tosh grabbed his shirt as other pieces of what they'd thought to be computer equipment began to metamorphous, it slowly dawning on them that they were surrounded and outgunned.

Owen set his jaw as he shifted his gun from one robot to the next. "Shit."

"Rhys!"

Even as Gwen screamed his name, Jack had grabbed Rhys by the back of the jacket and pulled him back out of the path of the robot as it crashed into the wall across from them. Gwen dove across to Rhys as they shifted into a corner of the room, another robot having appeared in the doorway to prevent their escape.

"I told you it was a trap," Jack said.

"Do you think?" Rhys said sarcastically.

"Don't start, Rhys," Gwen hissed, looking toward her boss. "Jack, what do we do? He took our weapons."

"Do you think I don't remember that?" Jack looked around for a weapon, finding nothing has the robot moved toward them again. "Just get behind me!"

"Are you crazy!?" Gwen said.

"You get killed, Jack, and we're next," Rhys reminded him. "You'll be waking up next to our bodies."

"I won't let that happen," Jack said, grabbing them as they dived for the next corner, the robot once more slamming into a wall. "It's playing with us."

"That bastard’s probably watching somewhere," Rhys said.

"Probably."

The robot moved forward again slowly, its LED glaring toward them in the half-light. It moved almost soundlessly, with only the slick sound of lubricated metal joints breaking the silence. Jack kicked out as it came within range, aiming the heel of his shoe at what appeared to be a small switch just to the left of its right forward shoulder joint and missing.

The second robot inched into the room, the room now bathed in a eerie blue glow as a third robot appeared, blocking them into the corner with no room for escape. Jack placed himself in front of the others, Rhys grabbing Gwen by the arm and holding her back in against his side, half behind him as he glared down the metal manmade creatures.

There was a clicking as the first robot began to metamorphous, its joints shifting as it began to rise to its full height, towering over the group as a blade slide out of a slot on the robots forward limb. Jack swallowed hard as it came forward, blade cutting through the air toward him.

There was a bright, blinding blue electric flash, the three covering their eyes to protect them from the light. They heard a clatter of metal hitting the floor, and as they lowered their eyes they found the robots scattered around, LED lights dead or fading in their eyes.

Gwen gasped as one lunged up again to continue the attack, a gunshot blast catching it in the back of its head and shattering the metal, spraying them in fragments. They looked up toward the doorway, finally spotting Ianto as he glared across at them, lowering the rifle slowly.

"Oh thank god," Gwen breathed.

"You're certainly a sight for sore eyes," Rhys agreed, relaxing.

Ianto didn't noticed them, continuing to glare at Jack who straightened, brushing the metal fragments from his shirt as faint traces of anger crossed his face.

"You were supposed to stay at home," Jack hissed.

"You were supposed to call me," Ianto shot back. "That was our agreement, Jack."

"I was busy," Jack said, stepping away from the wall.

"It's been over 24 hours," Ianto said, watching him. "You and John were supposed to call me every few hours to keep me updated."

"Like I said, I was busy." Jack moved to stop directly in front of him. "All you're going to do, Ianto, is tear the stiches on your shoulder open. Not to mention the effects of the poison take at least a week to work out of your system. You're as white as a sheet."

"Don't change the subject," Ianto hissed. "You don't call me, so I go to the Hub and what do I find? John in a coma, the SUV a write off, Rhys kidnapped, and you and Gwen walking willingly into an obvious trap."

"If we'd waited any longer Rhys would have been killed," Jack countered.

"If you'd waited longer Tosh would have been able to give you the weapons you needed to disable the robots," Ianto replied, reaching into his pocket and tossing a sphere at Jack who caught it. "EMP set to the frequency of the robots." He lofted his gun. "And bullets the right strength to penetrate the metal once the shielding has been knocked out." He narrowed his eyes. "Not to mention Tosh worked out that Bellic was tracking alien technology. I could have told you that."

"Oh really." Jack crossed his arms over his chest, meeting Ianto's glare with his own. "How?"

"Simple, really. Bellic located John's mansion so easily because John had worked 51st Century components into his security system. We have the same technology on the SUV. Also, from what we've observed and the information we have, Bellic doesn't use it himself making it easier for him to locate it. It was simply a matter of putting the pieces together."

Jack scowled. "You have way too much time on your hands."

"Blame Bellic." Ianto glanced quickly at Gwen over Jack's shoulder and back again. "That still doesn't explain why you were so willing to allow yourselves to be captured."

"We thought we had the element of surprise," Gwen said softly.

"He kidnapped me," Rhys pointed out. "He set things up so you'd come after me, Gwen."

"Exactly." Ianto looked at Gwen. "You were controlled by your grief in losing Rhys and wanting him back," he looked at Jack, "and you by your rage because of what happened to me and John."

Jack set his jaw. ""Nobody harms you and gets away with it."

"Putting yourself in danger doesn't make me feel better, Jack." Ianto's glare hardened. "Have you ever stopped to think how much I hate seeing you in danger? What I'd do to make sure you're safe?"

"I can't die," Jack reminded him.

"Which means they can torture you for eternity, which is worse." Ianto shook his head. "I refuse to let that happen."

Jack's expression softened. "Ianto..."

"Stop sacrificing yourself all the time. One day you might not come back. Then what happens to us? Explain that to me, Jack."

Jack reached up to cup Ianto's face, only Ianto flinched away from his touch. Jack sighed, dropping his hand. "I'm sorry."

A silence descended upon the room, Rhys frowning as Gwen's eyes darted from one to the other, obviously sensing this was another old fight. Ianto continued to glare as Jack explored his expression with his eyes, looking for some way to calm Ianto down.

The sound of distant gunshot caught their attention, Jack looking sharply at Ianto. "Tosh and Owen?"

"Went after Bellic's workstation," Ianto said.

"Talk about walking into a trap," Gwen said, rushing past them. "Bellic's still out there!"

• Main Torchwood slash page
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• Amazon.com - Torchwood: Children of Earth
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