Before Jack had even got his next sentence out, a hot mug of his favourite blend (and no, Ianto was never going to tell anyone what that was) was in front of him.
Owen Harper coughed slightly, and looked meaningfully at Ianto. With a sigh, Ianto glanced across at Gwen Cooper and Toshiko Sato.
And yes, their eyes all said, they wanted refreshments too.
Moments later, everyone was drinking, and Jack’s mood seemed significantly lighter.
‘OK guys, Ianto’s done his bit – all say thank you to Ianto.’
They did. In very dull, deadpan voices, like schoolchildren thanking a policeman who’d given them road safety tips at morning assembly.
But he nodded as if taking applause. ‘I aim to serve.’
Jack waved him to a seat. ‘Now then, I have to go away for a few days. And yes,’ he looked at Gwen, anticipating her next question, ‘I will have my mobile with me at all times. And no, I’m not disappearing to the far ends of the Earth. I just need… some leave.’
Owen shrugged. ‘Cool. Take Ianto with you.’
‘Why?’
‘I want to take the SUV out for a spin, off-road, really ramp up the gears and speed and get it caked in mud.’
‘Why,’ Ianto repeated, ‘would you want to do that?’
‘Because,’ Owen leaned in conspiratorially, ‘it’d piss you off and I couldn’t bear to do that if you were around. Even I’m not that cruel.’
‘OK guys,’ Jack said quickly. ‘Overlooking Owen’s testosterone-inspired madness – remember what happened last time, Owen?’
Ianto looked straight at Jack. Then Owen. ‘Last time? There’s been a “last time”?’
‘Couple of last times,’ Owen replied.
‘I was glad you weren’t around,’ Toshiko added. ‘It was very… muddy.’
‘Muddy?’
Gwen touched Ianto’s arm gently. ‘I think they told you it was alien slime from a meteor crash. But it wasn’t.’
‘No,’ Ianto said darkly. ‘It was just mud.’
‘And you scraped it off beautifully, and gave it to me to test,’ Toshiko added.
‘And she did all those tests, trying to find Cortellian nucleotides.’ Owen grabbed Ianto’s unmoving arm. ‘Sorry mate, but it was dead funny at the time.’
Toshiko fiddled with her glasses, so as not to catch Ianto’s eye. ‘Sorry Ianto. We didn’t know when to stop. But it was very… well, yes, funny.’
Ianto nodded, staring at his team. His friends. And smiled – inwardly.
Revenge would be so sweet…
Jack cleared his throat, bringing them back to the matter at hand. ‘Now, I’ve checked my diary – well, the half-dozen scraps of paper on my desk I pretend represents a diary – and there’s nothing much going on. Tosh, keep going with those upgrades to the Hub defences – we’ve had too many uninvited guests lately. Owen, call me if the Tammarok eggs hatch, I want to be here for that. Ianto, we need more Weevil spray. And Gwen… Gwen, say hi to Rhys and go sort out a venue for that wedding. You have four days. Cos when I’m back, no more wedding talk for, oh, at least a week.’
He grinned at her, and she smiled back, saluting him.
Jack reached behind him to grab his Air Force Blue greatcoat from the back of the chair, winked at Ianto and walked out of the boardroom.
There was a brief pause, and then Gwen broke the ice. ‘Right. OK. Well. Things to do.’
‘Oi.’ Owen pointed at Gwen, but looked at Toshiko and Ianto. ‘Who put her in charge?’
Toshiko frowned. ‘Umm, when Jack’s not here, Gwen always-’
‘Yeah,’ said Owen, ‘but she’s been told to go and arrange a wedding. Can’t do that in the Hub.’ He smiled a rare genuine Owen smile at Gwen. ‘Go on, get off. The three of us will protect the world from the aliens for a few more hours.’
Gwen didn’t hesitate. ‘Thanks, guys. But call me if you need to. Mobile’s always on.’
And she was gone.
Ianto looked at the other two. ‘So. The SUV. Mud. Not Cortellian biomass?’
Toshiko pointed at Owen. ‘It was his idea. All of it. His. Not mine.’
Owen gazed back at Ianto. ‘Me? Come on, mate, what do I know about alien DNA… I mean, I… Nah, that’s never going to work, is it?’
Ianto shook his head slowly. And then grinned. ‘Never mind. Good joke.’ And he got up, straightened his perfectly straight tie again and wandered out of the room, hovering outside the door just long enough to hear Toshiko ask Owen:
‘What did he mean? “Never mind”? Owen?’
‘Dunno, Tosh,’ said Owen quietly, ‘but I’d watch the coffee for a bit.’
Ianto grinned as he walked away. Coffee? Oh he had a better imagination than that… And they knew it. And would be thinking about it all the time. Everything they ate or drank. Every bit of equipment he got for them. Everything. Oh the next few days were going to be fun.
Even without Jack.
FIVE
Jack was looking up Wharf Street. Again. What was this, the fourteenth time, the third this century?
Not much had changed.
At times over the years, the odd house had become squats for students (especially popular during the late 1970s and early 1980s), but they never stayed long. A few bums would sometimes try to find shelter there, but they too would disappear back to the cold streets of Butetown or Grangetown rather than stick in Tretarri.
Towards the end of the 1990s (a period Jack remembered far too clearly), much of Cardiff Bay began to be done up, ready for the Millennium – gentrified was the usual term. The old buildings had been torn down or converted into luxury waterside apartments. Businesses moved in, tourist holiday spots shot up and, directly above the Hub, a massive complex of shops and restaurants was created.
But half a mile away was Tretarri, untouched, like a film set or a living museum for the past.
Although nothing seemed to live there for long.
Jack noticed a piece of yellow paper tied to a lamp-post and went to read it. Encased in rain-protecting plastic, it announced a proposal by Cardiff Council to redevelop Tretarri, make it full of expensive homes with no car parking, like the rest of Cardiff.
Good. It needed someone to finally force the life back into it.
Maybe, after all these years, whatever caused Jack to stay out of the streets, whatever made him feel ill, would go away. Maybe he’d buy a flat there, just to spite whatever it was.
He dug into his pocket and pulled out a Torchwood PDA, calibrated by Toshiko to detect Rift activity.
He’d assumed decades ago that Tretarri had to be a real Rift hotspot but, each time he’d tried to take readings, no luck. This was Toshiko’s work though – she was damned good at this kind of thing.
He raised the PDA and stepped forward, already feeling the nausea rising in his stomach, but determined to get as close as possible to try and achieve some kind of reading.
Of course, he could’ve brought Gwen or Ianto with him. But that would have meant revealing this little chink in his armour – admitting that there was something unsubstantiated, unreal, untouchable that hurt Captain Jack Harkness. Jack was cool about such things normally but, after all these years, he’d come to think of this collection of roads and houses as his thing, his pet project. Something he needed to do by himself.
The PDA blinked at him. Yes, Rift energy was present around Tretarri, but no more so than, say, up by the new shopping complex behind The Hayes, or down by the football ground at Ninian Park. In other words, Tretarri
