Fic: "The Heart of Everything" (Jack/Ianto) - 05/17
Title: The Heart of Everything
Author: Jedi Princess Clarrisani
Chapter: 05 of 17
Rating: PG-13 (M15+)
Pairing(s): Tosh/Owen, John/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys, Jack/Ianto, referenced John/Jack
Series: Breathe Trilogy (Part Two)
Summary: It's been a year since Ianto left, and the team haven't been the same.
Disclaimer: Still don't own. I'm not allowed to play in that sandbox.
Warnings: Some Season Two spoilers, including Owen and Ianto's story from "Fragments", and some minor references to “Something Borrowed”. Also, some references to the Doctor Who Season Three episodes "Smith and Jones" and "Last of the Time Lords".
A/N: Sequel to " Leave You". Written for TWWC (Torchwood Australia Writing Challenge) #10. This story is AU as it is set after season two, but everyone is alive and healthy - in other words, I've tweaked the events of Season Two to my liking. For one, the Grey storyline has been completely dumped, and some events never occurred...
----------
FROM PART FOUR
--------
PART FIVE
Tosh frowned at the persistent knocking on the front door, setting her laptop aside and straightening her shirt when she stood up she made her way toward it. Herself and Owen weren't officially living together as yet, often switching between whose place it was that they stayed in. It usually depended on who had the most food and who lived closer, but while she had had time off she'd been at Owen's to make it easier for him since he was still working.
The neighbours all knew her now, so she no longer felt awkward answering the door to a place that wasn't hers. Already she'd had one or two neighbours call by over the last week or so, most to see if they were having the heating issue too (they were), but hearing the knock now she knew it wasn't a neighbour.
Opening the door, she wasn't the least bit surprised to see Gwen.
"We need to talk," Gwen said, stepping into the flat before Tosh could even say anything.
"Shouldn't you be at work," Tosh replied, closing and locking the door behind her.
"I just came from there," Gwen said, spinning to look at her. "I discovered someone had been on my computer."
"Well that's entirely impossible, because Owen hasn't been in and Jack doesn't usually touch our things without good reason."
"Yeah, I know that." Gwen looked pointedly at Tosh's laptop. "Which is why I guessed remote access."
Tosh had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes. "I'm the system administrator," she reminded her. "I logged on the check that all the systems were functioning properly while I've been away, and discovered you'd left the firewalls down again."
Gwen shook her head. "No, I definitely turned them on."
"Well you mustn't have," Tosh picked up her laptop, turning it so Gwen could see. "I've spent the last hour trying to find out exactly what UNIT stole from us."
Gwen was silent for a moment before looking at her. "Perhaps UNIT turned the firewall off themselves."
"Impossible." Tosh hit a couple of keys, looking at the readouts. "Like I said: impossible. From what I can see, no aggressive attack was made on our system. They simply slipped in without any resistance, meaning that the firewalls were off and had been switched off from the inside. I'm guessing you left them off so that the search program could continue to run, or you were distracted in the process of turning them on."
"Well..." A sheepish looked flickered across Gwen's face, followed quickly by a frown. "Do you know how Rhys ended up with a key to the Hub?"
"Owen gave it to him," Tosh answered, scrutinising a readout and sitting at the table, setting the laptop in front of her. "Why would UNIT want our personnel files?"
"But why would he do that? Why would Owen give him a key?"
"Because Rhys was worried about you." Tosh began a back hack on UNIT, nodding to herself. "Well, they didn't seem to get them. Good."
"I still don't understand, Tosh." Gwen shook her head, pacing and rubbing the back of her neck. "It's dangerous. If Rhys came in during an attack..."
"The Hub is the safest place in Cardiff," Tosh reminded her. "In all of Wales too, probably."
"But still, Jack won't be happy about it."
"Jack gave Owen permission to do it when he asked." Tosh leaned back in her seat, eyes flying over the data scrolling up her screen. "Well, it would appear they did manage to get their hands on a detailed list of all the weapons we've collected, and are currently putting together a request to the Prime Minister to have them taken off our hands."
Gwen frowned, moving to stand behind her and look at the screen. "Why would they want to do that?"
"For their own testing and use, probably." Tosh looked up at her. "I wouldn't worry too much about Rhys. From what I can see he's a good man, and I doubt he'll do anything really stupid."
Gwen looked at her sharply. "Are you implying he'll do something stupid?"
"Don't we all?"
Gwen considered this and had to concede the point to her. She sighed, glancing at her watch and scowling. "You know, I haven't heard from either Owen or Jack since last night?"
"Owen's gone to check out a sighting of those large dogs you're running a search on. To see if he can confirm if they are the right ones." Tosh looked up at her. "I'm sure Jack's making his own enquiries regarding the Plasmavore."
"You haven't been into the Hub for over two weeks and you still know what's going on."
Tosh smiled. "It's my job."
Gwen sighed, moving toward the door. "I'm going to go look for Jack. I'm sure between us we'll be able to find out more than he can on his own."
"Just remember Jack's been doing this a lot longer than us," Tosh reminded her. "Before he left Ianto showed me a record that indicated that Jack has been working on and off with Torchwood for over a century. I think he can handle it."
"I'm sure he can." Gwen unlocked the door, pausing to look back at her. "Still, four eyes are better than two. Good to see you, by the way."
"You too."
As Gwen disappeared out the door, Tosh rolled her eyes. Sometimes Gwen seemed to forget that Tosh had been doing this a lot longer than her too. Shrugging it off, Tosh went back to work.
***
"Nice doggy," Owen slowly backed away, fully aware that the other one could be close by. "Who's a good boy then? Good dog."
The Carshy growled, lips pulling back in a snarl to reveal a line of sharp, shining teeth, still stained with the blood from its last meal. Owen's eyes darted down toward his gun, then back up as the Carshy took a step toward him, its fur bristling as it lay its ears back.
Owen let out a quick breath, wishing he'd packed his spare gun. He glance backward toward his car, eyes widening as he finally spotted the second Carshy. He was, in all manners of speaking, trapped. If anything, these creatures were far from stupid. They knew how to hunt and capture.
Hearing another snarl, Owen gasped as he realised that the first Carshy was almost right against him, Owen feeling its hot breath against his skin. He was partly glad that it was daylight, as it meant that he could see what he was up against, and damned if he ever wanted to be caught with these two during a dark night.
Owen took a long step back and to the side, trying to put himself in a position so he could see both creatures, but they were too clever for that. The one by the car came forward, keeping itself between him and his means of escape, while the first shifted around to keep Owen between them.
"Why couldn't you be stupid," Owen muttered, only to let out a small cry as he was hit hard by a swipe that sent him spinning to the ground, pain blazing through him. He scrambled back to his feet, only to have them knocked out from under him. He scowled, glaring at the creatures. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"
The first beast moved in on him, snapping at the air. Owen closed his eyes, knowing it was hopeless. He jumped at the sound of the gunshot, eyes flying open at the yelp of the creature. They spun around, snarling at the figure standing near Owen's car.
The empty rifle cartridge dropped smoking to the ground, the other reloading the barrel with a click and raising it, firing off another shot at the feet of the creatures. They backed up, snarling and snapping before turning, taking off at a fast clip toward Cardiff.
"They won't continue the attack without orders. You okay?"
Owen could only stare at the other, who rested the rifle against Owen's Honda and approached. He held out a hand, Owen accepting it and allowing himself to be pulled up, using the momentum to catch the other in a tight hug. Right now he couldn't care less that the other hated hugs, especially from him.
"I am so glad to see you." Owen stepped back, slapping him on the shoulder. "Christ, Ianto, you've had us worried."
"I am able to take care of myself," Ianto reminded him, beginning to move back in the direction of the car. "I'm also not the one who works directly over a Rift."
"Where’ve you been?" Owen asked, then stopped dead as he spotted what Ianto was driving. "And where the bloody hell did you get a Bentley?"
"It's John's," Ianto replied, casting his gaze over toward the car. "Nice ride, actually. It gets rather interesting taking corners when you have the traction control off while doing 100 miles an hour."
Owen just stared at him.
Ianto smirked, picking up the rifle again. "It turns out he's been to the planet before and stored some money away. It collected interest over time and he's sitting on a rather healthy sum. More than enough to buy and maintain a Bentley with enough change that he could buy himself a Veyron if he wanted too."
"Don't see the point. Couldn't drive it on these streets anyway. Too many turns and curves." Owen glanced around. "So, they gone?"
"Yeap. Probably won't stop until they hit Cardiff now." Ianto looked after the Carshy. "Have you located her yet?"
"Not when I left. Tosh was still looking into it." Owen moved to retrieve his own gun, inspecting it for damage before flipping the safety back on. "So... how'd you find me? You follow me or something?"
Ianto raised a brow. "The Hub firewalls were down so I was able to hack in easily without triggering the alerts. I thought Gwen would know better by now."
"Yeah. Tell me about it." Owen tossed the gun onto his passenger seat, leaning against the car. "So... want to visit Tosh?"
Ianto smiled faintly. "It would be nice to see her again."
"Great. Let's go." Owen moved to get into his car, stopping and turning, calling Ianto's attention back to him from where the other man was on his way to his own car. "You might not want to mention the firewall thing."
"I haven't been gone that long," Ianto opened his door, meeting Owen's eye. "I won't say a word."
***
"Okay, so let me get this straight," Jack said, looking at where John was sipping his coffee on the other side of the cafe table. "Six months ago you picked up traces of the Plasmavore and came to Earth to hunt it, and while you were hunting it you ran into Ianto and since then the two of you have been working together?"
"That's it," John said, watching him. "You’re finding it that hard to believe?"
"Ianto left Torchwood to get away from this life," Jack said, remembering Ianto's words that night outside Caldicot. "There was too much death. He wanted to get away from it."
"He wanted to get away from you." John set his mug down, meeting Jack's eye. "He told me everything, Jack. It took some prying, but I got it out of him. And honestly, I don't blame him. You do have a tendency to kill those around you, whether you mean to or not."
"Didn't kill you," Jack pointed out.
"You damn well tried." John leaned back in his seat. "What about your partner before me?"
"That was complicated."
"You shot him," John said, shrugging. "Not that complicated."
"He was trying to kill me," Jack reminded him.
"You slept with his girlfriend," John said. "Oh, and his sister. And his mother. And brother." John frowned. "If I recall you also slept with his grandmother. Now, I'm not one to judge, but that's taking it a bit too far-"
"John." Jack shot him a firm glare, ignoring the smirk on the other’s lips. "I'm not proud of my past, I admit it, but I've changed since then."
"Not really." John gestured around them. "How many people have you sacrificed, Jack? How many people have died while you were trying to 'protect' them? How many families have been destroyed because you had no other choice?"
"That's not fair."
"Life isn't fair." John leaned forward. "Case and point, me and you. We worked so well together. We had something. But you don't do relationships, do you. You can't handle commitment. And by the sounds of it, you still can't. You haven't changed as much as you think you have."
Jack glared at him, raking his mind for a reply. Evidently Ianto had told John about the 'date' thing, or rather, the lack of dates. Setting his jaw, Jack picked up his own coffee and took a long drink, wishing it was laced with brandy or something stronger. It certainly didn't help that Jack had a nagging feeling that John and Ianto were a little more acquainted than just talking.
"Jack!"
Jack sighed heavily, closing his eyes and setting himself before looking up and meeting the furious gaze of Gwen as she strolled toward him. "Shouldn't you be at the Hub going over the search data?"
"Turns out Tosh is doing that at home," Gwen said, stopping to glare down at him. "Shouldn't you be out looking for the Plasmavore?"
"John was just telling me everything he knows about her," Jack said, leaning back and taking in her annoyed posture. "Until we can actually identify her, we won't be able to hunt her down."
"You were probably interrogating him about Ianto," Gwen retorted.
"Well, I am working with him, so he had to come up," John said, grinning and winking at Jack when the other man picked up on the play on words and shot him a glare.
Gwen also picked the reference, giving John a hard look before pulling up a third seat and sitting down. "What do we know?"
"Only that it's going to be hard to find her because she will be wearing the face of someone who got on the train," Jack said.
"Okay, so that rules out using the facial recognition system," Gwen said, thinking. "Is she able to copy a humans mind?"
"No," John said, watching her curiously. "Why?"
"Well, she can't exactly step into their lives if she can't." Gwen seemed to notice they still hadn't caught on. "We can run a search on missing persons, or see if there are any reports of people acting strangely. You know, check peoples work email and such."
"Not bad," John said, gesturing toward her. "I see why you hired her."
Jack nodded, picking up his mug and downing the last of his coffee and standing, John hurrying to follow suit. "Okay, let’s go back to the Hub and start running those checks."
To Part Six
Author: Jedi Princess Clarrisani
Chapter: 05 of 17
Rating: PG-13 (M15+)
Pairing(s): Tosh/Owen, John/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys, Jack/Ianto, referenced John/Jack
Series: Breathe Trilogy (Part Two)
Summary: It's been a year since Ianto left, and the team haven't been the same.
Disclaimer: Still don't own. I'm not allowed to play in that sandbox.
Warnings: Some Season Two spoilers, including Owen and Ianto's story from "Fragments", and some minor references to “Something Borrowed”. Also, some references to the Doctor Who Season Three episodes "Smith and Jones" and "Last of the Time Lords".
A/N: Sequel to " Leave You". Written for TWWC (Torchwood Australia Writing Challenge) #10. This story is AU as it is set after season two, but everyone is alive and healthy - in other words, I've tweaked the events of Season Two to my liking. For one, the Grey storyline has been completely dumped, and some events never occurred...
----------
FROM PART FOUR
--------
PART FIVE
Tosh frowned at the persistent knocking on the front door, setting her laptop aside and straightening her shirt when she stood up she made her way toward it. Herself and Owen weren't officially living together as yet, often switching between whose place it was that they stayed in. It usually depended on who had the most food and who lived closer, but while she had had time off she'd been at Owen's to make it easier for him since he was still working.
The neighbours all knew her now, so she no longer felt awkward answering the door to a place that wasn't hers. Already she'd had one or two neighbours call by over the last week or so, most to see if they were having the heating issue too (they were), but hearing the knock now she knew it wasn't a neighbour.
Opening the door, she wasn't the least bit surprised to see Gwen.
"We need to talk," Gwen said, stepping into the flat before Tosh could even say anything.
"Shouldn't you be at work," Tosh replied, closing and locking the door behind her.
"I just came from there," Gwen said, spinning to look at her. "I discovered someone had been on my computer."
"Well that's entirely impossible, because Owen hasn't been in and Jack doesn't usually touch our things without good reason."
"Yeah, I know that." Gwen looked pointedly at Tosh's laptop. "Which is why I guessed remote access."
Tosh had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes. "I'm the system administrator," she reminded her. "I logged on the check that all the systems were functioning properly while I've been away, and discovered you'd left the firewalls down again."
Gwen shook her head. "No, I definitely turned them on."
"Well you mustn't have," Tosh picked up her laptop, turning it so Gwen could see. "I've spent the last hour trying to find out exactly what UNIT stole from us."
Gwen was silent for a moment before looking at her. "Perhaps UNIT turned the firewall off themselves."
"Impossible." Tosh hit a couple of keys, looking at the readouts. "Like I said: impossible. From what I can see, no aggressive attack was made on our system. They simply slipped in without any resistance, meaning that the firewalls were off and had been switched off from the inside. I'm guessing you left them off so that the search program could continue to run, or you were distracted in the process of turning them on."
"Well..." A sheepish looked flickered across Gwen's face, followed quickly by a frown. "Do you know how Rhys ended up with a key to the Hub?"
"Owen gave it to him," Tosh answered, scrutinising a readout and sitting at the table, setting the laptop in front of her. "Why would UNIT want our personnel files?"
"But why would he do that? Why would Owen give him a key?"
"Because Rhys was worried about you." Tosh began a back hack on UNIT, nodding to herself. "Well, they didn't seem to get them. Good."
"I still don't understand, Tosh." Gwen shook her head, pacing and rubbing the back of her neck. "It's dangerous. If Rhys came in during an attack..."
"The Hub is the safest place in Cardiff," Tosh reminded her. "In all of Wales too, probably."
"But still, Jack won't be happy about it."
"Jack gave Owen permission to do it when he asked." Tosh leaned back in her seat, eyes flying over the data scrolling up her screen. "Well, it would appear they did manage to get their hands on a detailed list of all the weapons we've collected, and are currently putting together a request to the Prime Minister to have them taken off our hands."
Gwen frowned, moving to stand behind her and look at the screen. "Why would they want to do that?"
"For their own testing and use, probably." Tosh looked up at her. "I wouldn't worry too much about Rhys. From what I can see he's a good man, and I doubt he'll do anything really stupid."
Gwen looked at her sharply. "Are you implying he'll do something stupid?"
"Don't we all?"
Gwen considered this and had to concede the point to her. She sighed, glancing at her watch and scowling. "You know, I haven't heard from either Owen or Jack since last night?"
"Owen's gone to check out a sighting of those large dogs you're running a search on. To see if he can confirm if they are the right ones." Tosh looked up at her. "I'm sure Jack's making his own enquiries regarding the Plasmavore."
"You haven't been into the Hub for over two weeks and you still know what's going on."
Tosh smiled. "It's my job."
Gwen sighed, moving toward the door. "I'm going to go look for Jack. I'm sure between us we'll be able to find out more than he can on his own."
"Just remember Jack's been doing this a lot longer than us," Tosh reminded her. "Before he left Ianto showed me a record that indicated that Jack has been working on and off with Torchwood for over a century. I think he can handle it."
"I'm sure he can." Gwen unlocked the door, pausing to look back at her. "Still, four eyes are better than two. Good to see you, by the way."
"You too."
As Gwen disappeared out the door, Tosh rolled her eyes. Sometimes Gwen seemed to forget that Tosh had been doing this a lot longer than her too. Shrugging it off, Tosh went back to work.
***
"Nice doggy," Owen slowly backed away, fully aware that the other one could be close by. "Who's a good boy then? Good dog."
The Carshy growled, lips pulling back in a snarl to reveal a line of sharp, shining teeth, still stained with the blood from its last meal. Owen's eyes darted down toward his gun, then back up as the Carshy took a step toward him, its fur bristling as it lay its ears back.
Owen let out a quick breath, wishing he'd packed his spare gun. He glance backward toward his car, eyes widening as he finally spotted the second Carshy. He was, in all manners of speaking, trapped. If anything, these creatures were far from stupid. They knew how to hunt and capture.
Hearing another snarl, Owen gasped as he realised that the first Carshy was almost right against him, Owen feeling its hot breath against his skin. He was partly glad that it was daylight, as it meant that he could see what he was up against, and damned if he ever wanted to be caught with these two during a dark night.
Owen took a long step back and to the side, trying to put himself in a position so he could see both creatures, but they were too clever for that. The one by the car came forward, keeping itself between him and his means of escape, while the first shifted around to keep Owen between them.
"Why couldn't you be stupid," Owen muttered, only to let out a small cry as he was hit hard by a swipe that sent him spinning to the ground, pain blazing through him. He scrambled back to his feet, only to have them knocked out from under him. He scowled, glaring at the creatures. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"
The first beast moved in on him, snapping at the air. Owen closed his eyes, knowing it was hopeless. He jumped at the sound of the gunshot, eyes flying open at the yelp of the creature. They spun around, snarling at the figure standing near Owen's car.
The empty rifle cartridge dropped smoking to the ground, the other reloading the barrel with a click and raising it, firing off another shot at the feet of the creatures. They backed up, snarling and snapping before turning, taking off at a fast clip toward Cardiff.
"They won't continue the attack without orders. You okay?"
Owen could only stare at the other, who rested the rifle against Owen's Honda and approached. He held out a hand, Owen accepting it and allowing himself to be pulled up, using the momentum to catch the other in a tight hug. Right now he couldn't care less that the other hated hugs, especially from him.
"I am so glad to see you." Owen stepped back, slapping him on the shoulder. "Christ, Ianto, you've had us worried."
"I am able to take care of myself," Ianto reminded him, beginning to move back in the direction of the car. "I'm also not the one who works directly over a Rift."
"Where’ve you been?" Owen asked, then stopped dead as he spotted what Ianto was driving. "And where the bloody hell did you get a Bentley?"
"It's John's," Ianto replied, casting his gaze over toward the car. "Nice ride, actually. It gets rather interesting taking corners when you have the traction control off while doing 100 miles an hour."
Owen just stared at him.
Ianto smirked, picking up the rifle again. "It turns out he's been to the planet before and stored some money away. It collected interest over time and he's sitting on a rather healthy sum. More than enough to buy and maintain a Bentley with enough change that he could buy himself a Veyron if he wanted too."
"Don't see the point. Couldn't drive it on these streets anyway. Too many turns and curves." Owen glanced around. "So, they gone?"
"Yeap. Probably won't stop until they hit Cardiff now." Ianto looked after the Carshy. "Have you located her yet?"
"Not when I left. Tosh was still looking into it." Owen moved to retrieve his own gun, inspecting it for damage before flipping the safety back on. "So... how'd you find me? You follow me or something?"
Ianto raised a brow. "The Hub firewalls were down so I was able to hack in easily without triggering the alerts. I thought Gwen would know better by now."
"Yeah. Tell me about it." Owen tossed the gun onto his passenger seat, leaning against the car. "So... want to visit Tosh?"
Ianto smiled faintly. "It would be nice to see her again."
"Great. Let's go." Owen moved to get into his car, stopping and turning, calling Ianto's attention back to him from where the other man was on his way to his own car. "You might not want to mention the firewall thing."
"I haven't been gone that long," Ianto opened his door, meeting Owen's eye. "I won't say a word."
***
"Okay, so let me get this straight," Jack said, looking at where John was sipping his coffee on the other side of the cafe table. "Six months ago you picked up traces of the Plasmavore and came to Earth to hunt it, and while you were hunting it you ran into Ianto and since then the two of you have been working together?"
"That's it," John said, watching him. "You’re finding it that hard to believe?"
"Ianto left Torchwood to get away from this life," Jack said, remembering Ianto's words that night outside Caldicot. "There was too much death. He wanted to get away from it."
"He wanted to get away from you." John set his mug down, meeting Jack's eye. "He told me everything, Jack. It took some prying, but I got it out of him. And honestly, I don't blame him. You do have a tendency to kill those around you, whether you mean to or not."
"Didn't kill you," Jack pointed out.
"You damn well tried." John leaned back in his seat. "What about your partner before me?"
"That was complicated."
"You shot him," John said, shrugging. "Not that complicated."
"He was trying to kill me," Jack reminded him.
"You slept with his girlfriend," John said. "Oh, and his sister. And his mother. And brother." John frowned. "If I recall you also slept with his grandmother. Now, I'm not one to judge, but that's taking it a bit too far-"
"John." Jack shot him a firm glare, ignoring the smirk on the other’s lips. "I'm not proud of my past, I admit it, but I've changed since then."
"Not really." John gestured around them. "How many people have you sacrificed, Jack? How many people have died while you were trying to 'protect' them? How many families have been destroyed because you had no other choice?"
"That's not fair."
"Life isn't fair." John leaned forward. "Case and point, me and you. We worked so well together. We had something. But you don't do relationships, do you. You can't handle commitment. And by the sounds of it, you still can't. You haven't changed as much as you think you have."
Jack glared at him, raking his mind for a reply. Evidently Ianto had told John about the 'date' thing, or rather, the lack of dates. Setting his jaw, Jack picked up his own coffee and took a long drink, wishing it was laced with brandy or something stronger. It certainly didn't help that Jack had a nagging feeling that John and Ianto were a little more acquainted than just talking.
"Jack!"
Jack sighed heavily, closing his eyes and setting himself before looking up and meeting the furious gaze of Gwen as she strolled toward him. "Shouldn't you be at the Hub going over the search data?"
"Turns out Tosh is doing that at home," Gwen said, stopping to glare down at him. "Shouldn't you be out looking for the Plasmavore?"
"John was just telling me everything he knows about her," Jack said, leaning back and taking in her annoyed posture. "Until we can actually identify her, we won't be able to hunt her down."
"You were probably interrogating him about Ianto," Gwen retorted.
"Well, I am working with him, so he had to come up," John said, grinning and winking at Jack when the other man picked up on the play on words and shot him a glare.
Gwen also picked the reference, giving John a hard look before pulling up a third seat and sitting down. "What do we know?"
"Only that it's going to be hard to find her because she will be wearing the face of someone who got on the train," Jack said.
"Okay, so that rules out using the facial recognition system," Gwen said, thinking. "Is she able to copy a humans mind?"
"No," John said, watching her curiously. "Why?"
"Well, she can't exactly step into their lives if she can't." Gwen seemed to notice they still hadn't caught on. "We can run a search on missing persons, or see if there are any reports of people acting strangely. You know, check peoples work email and such."
"Not bad," John said, gesturing toward her. "I see why you hired her."
Jack nodded, picking up his mug and downing the last of his coffee and standing, John hurrying to follow suit. "Okay, let’s go back to the Hub and start running those checks."
To Part Six