Prompt #201 -round 5 unused prompts
Title: Dead men don't walk - Part 2 of 2
Rating: PG-13
Warning/spoilers: swearing/none
Characters: DS Peter Boyd, Dr. Eve Lockhart, DI Spencer Jordan, Owen Harper, Ianto Jones
Summary: Written for the unused prompts challenge. Prompt: 201- Waking the Dead: How to solve a murder when the corpse keeps walking away...
Set during series two but before Reset.
Comments: Sorry think I lost the prompt along with a plot somewhere along the way.
Disclaimer: I have no ownership of these or any other characters connected with Torchwood or Waking the Dead.
“I'm afraid you've caught us at a bad time.” Eve said, apologetically.
Owen smirked, “Tell me about it!” Then quickly turned the conversation towards the reason he was there. “I've come to collect a John Doe from you, brought in this morning, wearing a World War Two overcoat.”
“I'm afraid he's not here.”
Owen stared at her, “This is the cold case unit?”
She nodded quickly, “Oh yes and he was here, but now he's-” she paused, “Gone again.”
Damn! Owen had hoped all he would have to do, was simply move Jack into the SUV and wait for him to revive, but as usual things were never as simple as you hoped they were going to be.
“Again?” He queried, hoping things weren't about to take an even more complicated turn.
“His description was on a database, that's why he was brought here. He's been listed as,” she paused, “Err...missing, several times.”
Owen attempted to feign surprise, then changed his mind and decided perhaps it was easier to go with the flow.
“Yes, we know. That's why I was sent to collect him.”
Eve stared at him, “He's been listed, at least three times, as a murder victim. Each time the body is removed.”
“Quite!” Owen murmured. Having talked himself into a corner, he was now stuck.
“Quite?” Eve parroted back, “He couldn't die three times, now could he?”
“Triplets,” Owen blurted out.
Eve mouthed, “Triplets!” Staring at him in disbelief.
Owen cleared his throat, “Identical triplets- whoever was after them couldn't tell one from the other.”
“There are also reports, thirty years ago- same man.”
“Their father,” Owen replied.
“Several reports,” she added. Then waited, eyebrows raised for his response.
“Terrible tragedy- a feud. Wiped out their father and his two-”
Eve interrupted with, “Four.”
“Three,” Owen corrected himself, “Brothers.”
“Identical quads?” Clearly, not believing a single word he was saying.
Owen gulped, then blurted out the first thing that came into his head, “I'd like to explain, but then I'd have to shoot you.”
Eve leaned towards him, and said, “Not before I belted you over the head, with something heavy first.” Smiling briefly, in an attempt to take the sting out of her words.
Suppressing a smirk, Owen attempted to nudge back towards the business in hand, “So I'm presuming your security, would have seen who took the- erm- body?”
Eve shook her head, “Unfortunately not, we did check,” she paused, “But it seems the system was playing up... all we have is static.”
Owen glanced around the room, then looked puzzled, suddenly realising that there were no security cameras in the lab.
Eve cleared her throat, “Boyd doesn't like to be... overlooked,” she said, “The only security cameras around here, are in reception.”
Owen nodded, relieved that Jack would have a reasonably clear run to get out (presuming that he had headed to the outside).
“And none of his effects were left behind either?” Owen asked, just to be sure that Jack hadn't had to leave anything.
Eve shook her head, was just about to say something else, when Boyd appeared in the doorway, pointed towards Owen, and announced, “Harper is it?”
Owen nodded, but said nothing.
Boyd pressed his lips together, in something that vaguely resembled a smile, said, “Good, think we should have a nice private chat... don't you?” Then gave Owen a look, best described as I've just found something out about you and it had better be wrong. Then turned around and marched off.
This time Owen did follow him.
By the time Owen had reached the corridor, Boyd was pushing open the outer door. “Pub round the corner,” he yelled, over his shoulder, just as the door closed behind him.
+ + +
Owen settled himself and took a sip from his glass. Boyd watched him, briefly patting his coat pocket then changing his mind and reaching for his own drink.
“So,” he said, trying to sound casual, “This Torchwood that you work for-” he paused, putting his glass carefully back onto the beer mat. “What exactly do they want with our missing corpse?”
Owen looked at Boyd, he knew there was little point in attempting to bullshit him, he was no bodies fool and was clearly past being bamboozled, by anything he was likely to try and fob him off with.
“Honestly?”
Boyd sighed, “Yeah well, I would hope so!” He said, a bored expression on his face.
“It's connected with National Security,” Owen murmured, taking another drink.
“Really?” His voice drawled back, “I'm stunned!”
Oh great! Just when you really needed Jack, he was out playing elusive corpse somewhere.
“I can't give you too much information, naturally.”
“Oh, perish the thought!” The other man grumbled back, “One question, are we likely to see either you or the body again?” Boyd pushed his chair back and then stood up. “Because if not, I think I'd rather just cut the crap and call it a day.”
“Great idea,”Owen countered, standing up and offering to shake hands.
Boyd nodded, shook his hand and then walked away.
Owen sighed with relief all he had to do now was find Jack. The disrupted footage suggested that he had made it to the outside and Jack being Jack, was probably already sitting in the SUV waiting for him.
+ + +
Boyd arrived back at the unit in a worse mood than usual. He hated it when people started pulling national security as an excuse, he hated it even more when he didn't know who the hell it was who was doing it! Torchwood? What the hell was Torchwood?
Spencer glanced up from his computer, watching as his boss stamped towards the office door. Smiling quietly to himself, he waited, Boyd was going to love this!
Boyd let the door slam behind him as usual, idly glancing around to see who was in the office. Spencer was sitting watching him and looking extremely pleased with himself.
“Okay, Spence, surprised me,” he said, moving towards his desk.
Spencer smirked and began typing, then nodded towards the computer screen. “Familiar?” he enquired.
Boyd leaned closer to get a better look, then reached into his pocket and produced his reading glasses, plonking them on, he stared at the screen.
“So... what exactly am I suppose to be seeing here?” He demanded, impatiently.
“How about, a walking corpse?”
Frowning at the images, he straightened up, “Eve!” He bellowed, squinting towards the lab. “Eve.”
Eve sighed, here we go again! Taking off her lab coat and flinging it over the back of a chair, she headed quickly towards the main office.
“You yelled?” She enquired, approaching the two men.
Boyd grinned back, peering at her over the top of his glasses. “Spencer has been earning his wages.” Then moved back, so she could get a view of the computer screen.
She stared, watching as the figure, dressed in a trench coat, slipped furtively into the back of the SUV.
“That's him!” She said, amazed, then straightening up, added, “Triplets my arse!”
Boyd gave her a smug look, “Well, now that little problems solved, perhaps we can get on with some real work?” Glancing around, he asked, “Grace anywhere?” No one answered him.
Striding towards his office, he yelled, “Grace, where the hell are you?”
Going into his office, he stared at his now empty desk. “Where the hell is....” Then turned quickly, “Spence?”
He was too late, the other office was now empty and silent.
Hurtling out again, he continued to yell for Grace and the Spencer by turns, his voice fading as he moved away into the extended office space.
+ + +
Owen Harper climbed back into the SUV. The blacked out windows, meant that once inside, not even the security cameras, could pierce their defences.
Settling himself into the driving seat, he then leaned back and glanced into the rear view mirror.
“You ready to go home?” He enquired, cheerfully.
The seat creaked, as someone shifted position and pulled on the seatbelt.
“Home James, and don't spare the horses,” Jack said, his voice sounding amused.
Owen smirked, and began to manoeuvre the SUV out of the parking bay.
The End