Different but Sane (29/?) Torchwood
Chapter Twenty Eight
James
The traffic had eased once I left the hospital. Dr Worthington was in the passenger seat staring out into the rain. Even though the session had been over, the investigation part had just begun. Dr Worthington had no other appointments that day so he had decided to tag along. He was a very clever person and had told me that he suffered from Bipolar himself. He understood what I was going through and was going to help me through it.
“James, I’m sorry maybe I should answer your question.” Dr Worthington said interrupting the silence that we had created.
“It would be nice; you were incredibly cruel back there.” I replied while turning the corner.
“James, you are in danger,” Dr Worthington replied which made me pull over to the side of the road. I sat there for a moment before turning to him.
“What do you mean I’m in danger?” I asked, a little shaken. Dr Worthington put a hand on my shoulder, calming me down a bit.
“In the 1930s three patients disappeared without a trace, just like what is happening now in the 21st century. The man responsible had a fourth target in his sights but he managed to slip from the man’s grasp.”
“Who was he?” I asked, “The target I mean?”
“An officer in the army, fought in World War 2 I believe. His name was Captain Lachlan Andrews.” Dr Worthington answered with a smile, “Died in combat in 1943.”
“But what’s this got to do with me?” I asked, trying to get to the point.
“Ah well you see all the patients that have disappeared have telepathy like you.” Dr Worthington replied.
“Hang on did you say Lachlan Andrews?” I asked looking straight at Dr Worthington.
“Yes I did why?” He replied getting a little interested at what I had asked.
I didn’t answer but just thought it over in my mind. There were secrets in my family that were dug up after my mother died in a car accident, nearly two years ago. She had kept her family quite a secret from my father, saying that she was an orphan. The lie was exposed when I met my grandparents and her brother at the funeral. My Grandfather had told me things I had never believed.
“Lachlan Andrews is my mother’s grandfather.” I replied, “My mother kept her family secret from my father for many years. According to my grandfather, Lachlan suffered from schizophrenia.”
“Well it seems it runs in the family,” Dr Worthington replied, “Telepathy I mean.”
“My grandfather and mother never had it.”
“Well actually telepathy skips generations, it’s not totally genetic.” Dr Worthington explained removing his hand, “I should explain that the real target was your great-grandfather.”
“What?” I asked very surprised.
“The patients that disappeared in the 1930s were diversions so he could find his real target. At the time Lachlan was placed in the hospital by Torchwood to find people who were wrongly diagnosed with mental illness,” Dr Worthington replied, “The man responsible pretended to be a journalist working undercover at the hospital, a year before the journalist in question was murdered.”
“And the man took on his identity.” I finished.
“Yes very good, though the picture never changed.” Dr Worthington replied rather mysteriously.
“We’re dealing with a shape shifter who has telepathy.” I said quite excitedly before reversing the car up. “Um how do you know all this?”
Dr Worthington held a folder up, “Lachlan left it in a drawer of an old desk with instructions.” He explained, “You seriously got shape shifter from what I said?”
“Yes I work for Torchwood remember?” I replied with a smile, “Anyway why was Lachlan the real target?”
“Because he was very intelligent, he knew things about Torchwood you wouldn’t believe. Even where they stored the body of the shape shifter’s mate.” Dr Worthington replied, “And it’s not where you think it is.”
“So he’s targeting me because I’m intelligent?” I asked, “But I don’t know where the body is as I don’t know much about Torchwood.”
“Does anyone nowadays?” Dr Worthington asked.
“Well Ianto Jones does but it’s only because he used to work for Torchwood One, he gave me the history to study but it was more like a cut down version.” I replied, “But the only other person is Captain Jack Harkness.....oh shit.”
“What is it?”
“When I first met Thomas Mitchell, he tried to attack Martha. He told me to watch out for the man who escapes death,” I replied, “How would he know that unless he....”
“Saw him in the past,” Dr Worthington finished, “Jack helped Lachlan with the investigation at the start but was shipped off somewhere for the League of Nations.”
“So Thomas Mitchell is our shape shifter.” I realised, “And that’s why he panicked at the cafe when he saw Jack.”
“Yes, very good,” Dr Worthington praised, “Wow you really are very intelligent.”
“Still doesn’t explain why Thomas didn’t realise my telepathy wasn’t fully developed.” I replied pulling the car back out onto the road.
“Well I may have been lying there,” Dr Worthington replied with a smile, “I just wanted to get you interested. You see from the start he knew you weren’t fully developed.”
“Ah that’s why he wanted to get me alone at the cafe so he could try and shift the mass.” I said very excitable, “But Jack got in the way but then he found out I was yelling for help in Jack’s mind.”
“And realised that you were more intelligent than he thought,” He interrupted with a smile.
“I mentioned the asylum to him,” I said looking at him when we stopped at the lights. “When I met him down at the pier last night.”
“Which means nothing, except the asylum is the real world,” Dr Worthington explained, “We have the world of dreams and there’s the asylum.”
I nodded, “So what about the writing on the wall?”
“Nothing to do with case whatsoever just an exercise I gave them.” Dr Worthington replied. “Lachlan did the same thing in the 1930s; he put it in the report.”
“So why did I tell the man in my dream that I wanted to help them find the asylum?”
“Oh that was the telepathy seeping out of you,” Dr Worthington replied encouragingly, “Last night’s dream was for him to finally break through the mass and it seems he was successful but not quite.”
“What didn’t he count on?” I asked.
“You hearing the thoughts of others, you see he was meant to close it again but couldn’t.”
“Because it was already seeping through.” I finished. “Hang on does that mean that Thomas was the one in my dream?”
Dr Worthington looked at me and shook his head.
“No, Thomas is only the messenger...”
“...and Jack is the real target.” I finished.