Archangel - Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Jack Harkness barely managed not to slam the phone down onto its cradle.
Just who did Harold Saxon think he was?
Of course, the man thought he was a government official, and in Jack’s experience every one of Saxon’s ilk had an entitlement complex several miles wide. Saxon seemed worse, in his opinion, and Jack sincerely hoped that the Defence Minister wouldn’t be elected Prime Minister. It wouldn’t take much for Jack to wish for a final death if Saxon did get elected into office.
He rubbed his temples, hoping to fight off the headache that dealing with Saxon always brought on. Jack wanted the man to go away, and it didn’t look like he’d be doing that anytime in near future. He knew Ianto felt the same way, and neither of them was above bitching about Saxon over something the Minister had tried to pull. The last issue they’d had was Saxon trying to get Torchwood reports into Cabinet meetings, and it had taken Jack threatening to go to the Queen to get Saxon to back down.
Ever since then, Saxon had gone out of his way to make Jack’s life miserable. Well, that was most likely an exaggeration, but still…the Defence Minister hadn’t made it easy, calling and making the strangest demands and insisting on Jack’s attention. It was as if the man had it out for Jack, but if Saxon thought that would make Jack knuckle under and do things his way, then he was sorely mistaken.
Torchwood was above the government, and Jack was taking an obscene amount of pleasure in showing Saxon just what that meant.
He got up out of his chair, stretching until he felt his back crack. Sighing, Jack made his way to the etched window looking out over the main Hub, a slight smile on his face as he watched Toshiko Sato chatting away, her mobile open and sitting on her desk as she worked on whatever project she had going. Jack knew immediately who she was talking to; his technical expert and Tim, the Tomorrow People’s biotronic supercomputer, had struck up a friendship and Toshiko would call Tim at least twice a week, and together the pair would get completely lost in technobabble that even had Jack scratching his head.
He couldn’t see Owen, but he knew the doctor was down in the Autopsy Bay, working on clearing a backload of work from the last abortive invasion they’d had. Jack really should have expected the comments Owen had made on the Sorson body shape, but then it wasn’t often that they ran into an alien race that resembled an ambulatory penis and Jack had indulged him.
Ianto and Gwen had the day off, and were taking Rhys to London to meet Richard Castle. When Jack had found out that Alexis’ father was a famous author, he’d been concerned. He’d spoken with John, who’d allayed his fears over Castle deciding to write a novel based on the Tomorrow People…or, god forbid, Torchwood if he ever found out about it. The support of parents was important to a young Tomorrow Person, and Richard Castle was completely behind his daughter. Jack had seen it first-hand when he’d met the American, and knew that he would rather die than to put Alexis in any unnecessary danger.
Jack sighed, wondering when Ianto and Gwen would be back. Ianto had said not to expect him for dinner, which was why Jack was still in the Hub and not thinking about heading toward their flat for the night. In a bit though he’d shoo both Toshiko and Owen out, even though that would leave him alone until Ianto returned.
If he’d been told even a year ago that he would find happiness with an evolved human who had impressive mental powers Jack would have laughed. Especially after the rocky start he and Ianto had had over the whole Lisa incident. Jack hadn’t even known that Ianto was a Tomorrow Person at the time, and had nearly destroyed his mind with his demand to kill the young man’s converted girlfriend. Tomorrow People were genetically skewed against taking lives, and it had damaged Ianto almost beyond repair.
But they’d come together once again after the events with General Carson, and had been a couple ever since.
It had been Ianto who had made him miss the Doctor when the Time Lord had appeared in the Plass to re-energize his TARDIS, although Jack never blamed his lover for it. They’d been on a date to Ianto’s favourite Thai restaurant at the time - in actual Thailand - so they hadn’t been in Cardiff. However, Jack had managed to get as many answers as he could from various healers and scientists from the Galactic Trig, and knew pretty much everything about his ‘condition’, if not what exactly had caused it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see the Doctor again, but Jack was fairly content with his life now, and he wasn’t dependent on the Time Lord anymore.
Jack was now focused on Torchwood…and Ianto, for as long as his lover was alive. There would be plenty of time later on to reconnect with the Doctor. After all, he had eternity to catch up.
He was about to turn away when Toshiko caught his attention.
His technician stopped what she was doing on her terminals, and had turned to the open mobile on the desk next to her keyboard. She picked it up, and even though Jack couldn’t hear her he could read her lips, and she was calling Tim’s name, the expression on her face one of worry.
Jack was out of his office and down to Toshiko’s station before he even knew he’d reacted.
“I was speaking with Tim,” Toshiko said, even before Jack could ask, “and suddenly there was just dead air. The connection is fine, but for some reason Tim is…gone.”
Jack frowned. “Tim wouldn’t just drop the call like that.”
“The network we have between us and the Lab is dedicated and totally secure,” Toshiko explained. “There is literally no way a call could drop unless Tim hung up on me.”
“Tim?” Jack scoffed. “He’s the politest being we know. He’d never hang up on you unless he couldn’t help it.”
“Exactly.” Toshiko worried her lip with her teeth.
Jack lifted his arm, and flipped back the cover of his Vortex Manipulator. Not that it worked as that any longer since John had repaired it. The elder Tomorrow Person had originally meant to convert the wrist strap into a matter transporter, but it had turned out to be simpler to just repair the original teleportation circuits and the communicator. Jack could no longer travel in time, but he didn’t mind. He had a life there in Cardiff, and he didn’t mean to leave it.
He thumbed on the communicator. It was a direct link to the biotronic supercomputer, and he pinged Tim, needing to find out what had occurred.
Tim didn’t answer.
“Damnit,” Jack swore. He closed his Manipulator and then pulled out his own mobile, meaning to call Ianto in London.
It rang before he could even call up his contacts.
The name Gwen showed up on the caller I.D.
Jack didn’t know why her calling suddenly made his heart slam hard, but it did.
“What’s wrong?” he answered, not bothering with pleasantries.
“Ianto and Alexis have both collapsed,” Gwen reported. She sounded out of breath. “We were walking down the street, and then suddenly they both went down. We don’t know what’s wrong.”
“We’ve lost contact with Tim, too,” Jack said, knowing instantly that both had to be connected.
He wanted nothing more than to get to London immediately, but Jack had to keep his personal feelings at bay.
But it was Ianto…
“Shit, Jack. I was hoping he could teleport them out or something. We’ve already brought a lot of attention, and someone’s called 999…”
It was Jack’s turn to curse. The last thing they needed was a well-meaning doctor doing some sort of brain scan; it would be nothing at all to see the differences between a Tomorrow Person brain and a normal human’s. It was too late though, there were too many witnesses, and Jack sincerely doubted that they’d be able to stop Ianto and Alexis from being taken into the nearest hospital.
“Let us know what hospital they take them to,” Jack ordered. “Owen and I will get there immediately.”
“Will do,” Gwen replied. She disconnected.
“Owen!” Jack shouted.
“No need to scream, Harkness,” the medic grumbled. Owen was up on the Autopsy Bay landing, looking irritated.
“Get your gear together,” Jack said, ignoring the man’s comment. “Ianto and Alexis have collapsed in London, and we can’t get in touch with Tim to teleport them out. Gwen called and they’re going to be transported by ambulance.”
The irritation left Owen’s face immediately, and he went into doctor mode. “Give me five minutes,” he said, heading back down into his domain, grumbling something about ‘the hacks in A&E’ as he left.
“Toshiko,” Jack regarded his technician, “I want you to hack Tim.”
The Japanese woman’s mouth fell open. “Hack Tim? Jack, are you serious? Tim’s the most advanced artificial intelligence on the planet! I can’t just push a few buttons and get in, like I can with eBay!”
“I’d have thought you’d appreciate the challenge.”
“Challenge? No, Jack. Hacking Tim isn’t a challenge; it’s nearly impossible. Besides, he’s a friend -“
“Tosh,” Jack murmured, putting his hands on her shoulders, “something’s happened to Ianto and Alexis, and if they were affected then the other Tomorrow People most likely would have been, too.” That was a supposition on his part, but it made sense. “We also have to believe that, whatever happened to them, also happened to Tim. We need to know if he’s all right.”
She sighed, then nodded. “I’ll do my best. Tim once told me about a backdoor, but he never elaborated on it. I’ll see if I can somehow find it, but if it was easy to locate…”
“Anyone would have been able to get in years ago,” Jack finished. “Your best is always good enough, Toshiko. Do what you can. We need to know if Tim is offline, or if it’s something else.”
Toshiko relaxed back into her seat. Pushing her glasses back up onto her nose, she began working, her face sliding into its familiar look of concentration.
Jack had complete faith in her abilities, but even he realised he’d set Toshiko at a near-impossible task. Tim was, indeed, the most advanced biological computing system on Earth, and most likely on several other planets as well. The only person who truly knew Tim inside and out was the person who had constructed him.
And John was somewhere they couldn’t contact him. He might very well be incapacitated as well.
Just the same as Ianto.
He wanted to leave now, to go to his lover and bring him back to the Hub. Jack didn’t dare; there were too many witnesses apparently, and with emergency services contacted there would be no sneaking Ianto and Alexis away. Not even Castle would be able to waive them off, despite being Alexis’ father.
No, the best plan was to get to them while they were in A&E, and hope for the best.
Jack hated waiting, especially when it was Ianto in trouble.
**********
Jack and Owen transported to just outside the entrance to the A&E where Ianto and Alexis were being brought, trying to be careful and not draw attention to their sudden appearance. Gwen had called him when the ambulance had arrived, giving Jack the location and telling him that Castle would be riding with the paramedics, while she and Rhys would be arriving by taxi.
They were there when the ambulance carrying Ianto and Alexis arrived. Owen handed off his two equipment cases to Jack and bustled forward the moment the doors at the rear of the vehicle opened, and it was only his white doctor’s coat that allowed him entrance. Jack hovered outside, and it was a few moments later that Owen emerged. “Ianto’s coming to,” he reported as the gurney with Alexis was brought out first, her father following closely behind. Castle glanced at Jack, then his eyes flickered toward Owen, but he said nothing as he went with the paramedic pushing the gurney into the sliding doors leading into the A&E.
Owen helped with the second one holding a barely conscious Ianto, and Jack dogged his medic’s steps as they took his lover inside. The fact that Ianto was coming to lifted the terror he’d been feeling ever since Gwen had phoned. The very idea that something had struck both Tomorrow People down without some sort of clue - and had most likely taken Tim out as well - was frightening. Jack didn’t even guess at what it might have been, not until he could talk to Ianto and get some answers. Until then, if he let his imagination take over then he’d only succeed in scaring himself nearly to death.
“Excuse me,” the nurse at the front station called out as Jack passed. “You can’t go in there unless you’re family.”
Owen left his place at Ianto’s gurney, giving the woman his best doctor’s glare. “He is family, darlin’. He’s Mr. Jones’ next of kin. Now, why don’t you go and do some filing and leave the ones who know what they’re doing to get on with it.”
He grabbed Jack’s elbow and steered him into the main A&E ward, ignoring the woman’s insulted huff. It was like most others; curtains separated areas where beds could be parked, and Jack could see the paramedic pulling Alexis’ gurney up into one of the exam areas, next to a bed waiting for them. Ianto was put in the next cubicle, and the second paramedic helped his partner transfer first Alexis, and then Ianto, into the hospital beds.
A doctor was approaching, and Owen left Jack to go and head the woman off at the pass. “I’m Miss Castle and Mr. Jones’ personal physician,” he said before the doctor could open her mouth. “I’ll be looking after them.”
The woman frowned. “Are you even credentialed to work in this hospital?” she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
Owen smiled, and it looked almost shark-like. “I can work anywhere I like,” he answered. “Now, I need to see to my patients.” Without another word, Owen headed into Ianto’s exam area, tugging the curtain closed.
“Can you move the curtains a bit so I can see both Tea-Boy and Alexis?” he requested curtly, reaching for his equipment.
Jack didn’t take offense as his tone, simply handing over the two cases and doing as Owen ordered. Once Alexis’ cubicle was open to Ianto’s, he gave Castle a slight nod. “This is our medic, Doctor Owen Harper. What he doesn’t know about Tomorrow People medical-wise probably isn’t worth knowing.”
Castle scowled, but returned the nod. “Just how many people do you have working with you, Harkness?”
“Just five, plus Rhys,” Jack answered. “You just haven’t met Toshiko yet.”
He ducked around Owen and went to Ianto’s side. His lover was blinking his eyes rapidly as if to clear them, his brow furrowed in obvious pain. “Here.” Owen handed Jack a couple of white pills. “Painkillers. Tea-Boy is gonna need them. I’m gonna examine Alexis first, since she hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”
There was a rolling cart parked against the wall, and Owen put one of his cases down on the top. He flipped it open, revealing what looked like a laptop with leads attached to it.
“What the hell is that?” Castle demanded.
“Alien tech,” the medic answered, “adapted by John and Tosh into a very advanced and miniaturised EEG calibrated for Tomorrow People brains.” He pulled the leads out, untangling them. “Both Tea-Boy and Alexis lost consciousness, so it could have been a mentally based attack.”
“It was,” Ianto mumbled, his voice gravelly.
“Shut up and take your meds,” Owen snarked. “Harkness, keep him on his back until I’ve examined him…and I don’t mean the way you’re thinking. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
Jack was actually too worried about Ianto and Alexis to come up with any sort of comeback for that, but from the expression on Owen’s face it seemed that the medic wasn’t expecting anything.
“Jack?” He heard Gwen calling out.
He pressed a kiss against Ianto’s forehead, and then stepped out from behind the curtain. Gwen and Rhys were making their way down the ward, and Gwen caught sight of him first, taking Rhys by the arm and leading him toward the immortal. “How are they?” she asked, sounding somewhere breathless.
“Owen’s examining them now,” Jack answered. He glanced around, seeing several nurses and the doctor that had accosted them on the way in not watching in that way that said they were, in fact, watching. “Can you two keep an eye out? Make sure no one disturbs us.”
“You got it, mate,” Rhys said.
Jack touched them both on the shoulder then headed back into the exam area.
Chapter Three