Chapter Text
Elise hit the floor, flat on her back on the crash mat, Owen standing over her with a self satisfied smile on his face. Saturday morning at the gym meant sparring and Eli was sure Owen had been training without her. He offered his hand to help her up but instead she hooked her leg around the back of his knee and pulled him down, shifting so she could pin his arms behind his back.
“Did Gwen teach you that one?” He asked, looking over his shoulder at her.
“Nope. Ianto did actually.”
“Of course he did.”
She laughed and let him go, standing up. “Come on, I need a few new tricks now I can’t just jump through space anymore.”
“You never needed to teleport to protect yourself.” He pushed himself up and rolled his shoulders.
“That’s debatable. Ready to go again?”
He was about to answer when he heard his phone ring from the pocket of his discarded hoodie. He grabbed it and sighed when he saw who was calling.
“What do you want?”
“Good morning to you too. I’m not interrupting am I?” Asked Jack.
“It’s Saturday. So, yes, you’re interrupting but what are you interrupting for?”
“I need your specific skills. We’ve got a… guest.”
“A guest?”
“Lilith called me saying she’d heard from some friends about workers being trafficked through the city so she went to check it out. She rescued one of them and brought them here.”
“I’m guessing there’s a reason you didn’t take them to the hospital.”
“They aren’t human. Ianto’s called Gwen to see what she can get from her old friends. This could be big.”
“And bad. We’re on our way.”
Lilith sat next to the young woman, wrapped in a blanket, still shaking.
“You’ll be ok. I know you’ve heard awful things about Torchwood but they’re here to help you.” The succubus said softly, trying desperately to calm the poor girl.
“Not… Send me back?”
“No. They’re not going to send you back. I promise. You just need to be as honest as you can with them.”
“Am scared.”
“I know, but I’ll be right here to hold your hand.”
“Who we waiting for?”
“Jack’s calling their doctor to help you.”
“No more drugs!”
“He’s not going to give you anything you don’t want to take. He just wants to help.”
“Heard that before.” The girl wrapped her four arms around herself, clutching the blanket.
“Yes, but Dr Harper isn’t a liar.” Lilith handed her a cup of water. “It’s just water Xanna, I promise.”
She tentatively took the cup, looking down at the water before taking a mouthful. “They… They take this off?” She pointed to a silver ring around her neck.
“I’m sure they’ll find a way to take it off.”
“Make… Hurt.”
“I know sweetheart, I know. It’s over now.” She heard multiple voices from the other side of the door. “I’ll be right back. Will you be ok on your own for just a few minutes?”
Xanna nodded, tucking herself up in the blanket completely.
Stepping into the main area of the hub Lilith recognised the voices. “Ah, Dr Harper. It’s nice to see you again. If only we could meet when not under such awful circumstances.”
“Jack was telling me what happened.”
“Yes, I wish I could have saved others but if I was discovered I was sure they would have been killed. Her pimp thinks she’s dead so I could smuggle her away.”
“We’ll rescue the rest. Will Xanna be safe staying with you until we can find a way of sending her home?” Asked Jack.
“Of course. I’ll make sure no harm comes to her.”
“Tosh will need to take a look at that collar so she can safely unlock it. Is there any chance it could go off before then?”
“They’d have no reason to activate it so it should be safe to wait.”
“Right, can you introduce Owen to her?”
“I will. She’s terrified but I think she trusts me enough to put her at ease a little. Jack, I don’t know how big this is, but from what I saw the operation has a long reach. Her brother is still trapped with them.”
“We’ll find them.”
Ianto was looking through the Torchwood records to find any information they might have to alien trafficking routes they’d uncovered in the past. The last they shut down was in the eighties and it was very small so he doubted that would be linked to the current issue. He jumped, startled, as Gwen walked in.
“I got here as soon as I could.” She said, looking tired.
“I’m sure Jack wouldn’t have minded you making calls from home.”
“I didn’t want Rhys overhearing what I was asking about. He’s nervous about my work as it is and something so… Well…”
“Human?”
“Kind of. It bothers him.”
“Jack’s been speaking with a few of his contacts but we have nothing yet. Maybe the police will have something.”
“I hope so.”
The hidden door opened. “Oh, and try not to raise your voice. Our guest is understandably jumpy.”
Gwen nodded and walked through. Tosh was at her desk when Gwen reached the main area of the hub, her hair pulled back into a ponytail and dressed a lot more casually than she usually would be.
“Oh, hello.” Tosh smiled softly. “I thought you’d be working from home today.”
“No. I didn’t want Rhys hearing anything...You look comfy.”
“I was half way through my yoga routine when I was called. I didn’t have time to get changed.” She looked over her glasses. “I sincerely hope I don’t have to end up watching any of this.”
Gwen dropped her bag on her desk before peeking round at Toshikos screen. “Any of what?”
“I’ve got a programme collecting any possible video evidence of our trafficked aliens and that means… well…”
“That’s a lot of porn.”
“The content filter hates me right now. I hope your research isn’t so traumatising.”
“Me too.”
Owen had been trying to be as careful and none threatening to his patient as possible but she was understandably frightened. She’d taken off the blanket and allowed him to clean the wounds on her wrists and ankles but so far a blood test was out of the question.
“Do you think… You can really save clutchmate Aniyo?” Asked Xanna as she watched him dress her wrist.
“It that your brother?”
“Yes. Bro-therr.”
“We’re going to try. Can you remember any names for the people who were moving you around?”
“They called the one who travelled with …. Ant-on-ee. They have key to this.” She pointed to the silver ring around her neck. “They have hair like pencil lines.”
“Grey?”
“Yes. Eyes dark… Is tall as six steps… Smells of burning leaves.”
“Six foot tall, brown eyed smoker. You’re doing really well.”
“Oh… Has snake on hand, red, dark pencil line, gold.”
“A tattoo of a snake. Sounds like a coral snake. Which side?”
She pointed to the back of her right hand, the one that connected at the upper joint. “Is help?”
“Yea, you’re helping a lot. Do you want me to look at that eye? I understand if you don’t want me so close.”
She reached up, pressing her fingers against the swollen and bruised skin around her mostly closed eye. She clenched her jaw, a tear running down the other side of her face, flashes of a fist slamming into her head running through her mind. Pain pulsed under her skin. “Why?”
“Huh?”
“Did what they told… Why kill ?”
Owen let out a long sigh and pulled over a chair, sitting and leaning on his knees. “Xanna, there are people out there, they barely class as human and they see everyone else as things. As objects. They use them until they don’t see them as useful anymore and then they throw them away. No matter what you do they’ll find an excuse to throw you away. None of that is your fault. Not one bit.”
“You… You tell truth. Can tell… Can look at eye?” She lifted his hand to her face. “Hurts.”
Owen nodded and gave a soft smile. “I’ll try my best to stop the pain and I’ll make sure the one who caused it suffers.”
“Not hurt yourself because of Xanna.”
“I won’t be the one who’s getting hurt, and don’t even get me started on what Elise is going to plan when she finds out.”
“El-ees?”
“My girlfriend. She’s a bit protective… Like an angry badger.”
“Clutch mother.”
“Urm…”
“Protect. Fight for clutch.”
“I guess you could say that. But that sounds more like Gwen. She’s the mama bear around here.”
“Clutch watcher. One in all family. Protect nest and young, Xanna watcher Tenrik big as twelve steps. Two horn, sharp, strong. Tenrik tell Xanna not leave home. Tenrik right.”
“We’ll try and get you home to Tenrik.”
“I can not go back… Not after this.”
“Hey, hey, look at me.” Owen looked her in the eye. “No matter what they did… No matter what they made you do… It doesn’t make you any less. What happened was violence. It’s the same as if they’d tortured you any other way. That doesn’t change you, it just makes them monsters. Tenrik, your brother, they won’t see you any differently. Trust me.”
“How do you know?!” She sobbed, clutching her hands together as if holding on to what was left of her sanity.
“Let me tell you a story… When I was still an intern. I was working in A and E. This girl was brought in. Looked rough. Like she’d been beaten up. Track marks up and down her arms, desperation in her eyes. Her name was Tara. She was just sixteen and after we got her boyfriend to stay in the waiting room she broke down and told us what had happened to her. He wasn’t her boyfriend. He was her dealer, her pimp, the one who’d beaten the hell out of her. She’d been through so much.”
“Did she… Did her family take her back?”
“The boyfriend got dragged off. Lucky for him really, I know a lot of us wanted to drag him down to the morgue and lock him in one of the draws for a few days. She let me call her mum. Tara didn’t trust the police so she said only one of the doctors could talk to her parents. They turned up and I went through her injuries with her mum. Her dad broke down and said it was his fault for not protecting her. They didn’t see the things that had happened to her, they just saw their child who’d been hurt. Tara was still Tara.”
She sniffled and rubbed her unbruised eye. “What happen to her?”
“She had to stay in hospital for a long time. Then I think she was passed to a counselling service. The boyfriend was sent to prison and she got her life back.”
“Her parents still love her?”
“Just like they always had.”
Xanna leaned forward and clutched onto him, wailing into his shirt, while he tried his best to calm her. Lilith gave him a gentle look and moved the girl to her own arms.
“Go on, you look like you could use a few minutes.” She said quietly, gesturing towards the door.
Owen took the offer, a lump in his throat that just wouldn’t go down. He pulled off his gloves and headed over to where Tosh was working.
“Oh, is everything ok? I heard her crying.” Tosh asked, taking off her glasses. He didn’t reply though it looked like he was trying. “Owen?”
He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder, blocking out the world for a few moments. Comforted by feeling Tosh hug him back.
“M’ok.” He mumbled, muffled by her shoulder.
“Are you sure?”
He lifted his head and took a deep breath. “Yea… I just needed a sec. I’ll call you when she’s ready to let you look at the shock collar.”
“Alright… If it helps I found something interesting in the metadata for the videos I collected.”
“Like what?”
She turned and brought up a spreadsheet where she’d compiled all the metadata in order of date of creation. “If they’re professionals then they’re not very good at covering their tracks. They seem to have a route they follow in a circuit so we could set up a trap for them.”
“Nice work, we could save them pretty quickly. Fancy a more difficult search?”
“I can try. What do you need?”
“The one who’s been travelling with Xanna. She says he’s called Anthony. Six foot tall, brown eyes, grey hair, tattoo of a coral snake on his right hand.”
“I’ll see what I can find and send it to Gwen. Hopefully she’ll have a list of possible suspects when she’s done calling around.”
Jack ran his fingers through his hair as he leaned against the wall just outside of the tourist information centre. He needed some air. This case was going to be tough on his team and he needed to hold things together for them, that and fix things at the same time. A group of humans alone couldn’t pull this off so he needed to find out who was pulling the strings and bringing in their victims. So far his usual contacts had no idea. Unless they heard something and got back to him he’d have to work from the ground up. The last thing he wanted was for these scumbags to go into hiding or, worse, kill everyone they’d taken captive. He needed to get close, find out where the money was coming from.
“Here you are. I’ve been looking for you.” Elise said, peeking out of the door. She stepped into the open air. “Owen’s taken Xanna and Lilith home. Tosh said the collars anti tampering mechanism was kind of pathetic so that’s gone thankfully.”
“Good. Thanks.”
“Plus Gwen and Tosh said they might have a suspect. It’s just a matter of finding which one of us could hold our temper long enough to talk to them. On the other hand we also have a place where one of the videos was filmed we can take a look at. Perfect for those who can’t hold their temper.”
“I’m surprised Ianto didn’t come to tell me.”
“He said the collar looked familiar so he’s gone to cross reference it down in the archives. I’m guessing your contacts were a bust?”
“Pretty much.”
“It’s not like we’ve got nothing. What’s bothering you?”
“Nothing. I was just taking a break. You seem calmer than usual.”
“Oh no, I’m burning with rage. I’m just getting better at dealing with it. No powers might mean no chance of opening the rift but it also means I don’t have to panic right off the bat. I can process things better.”
“You know, I was sure you’d be asking to unlock it all again as soon as you got your memories back.”
“I know everyone’s better off this way. Of course I miss them but it’s a good thing. Plus Owen isn’t as worried about me going dark phoenix all the time anymore. It’s a comic book reference.”
“I don’t live under a rock.”
“I mean technically…”
He chuckled. “I’ve read comics.”
“Just making sure. This had to happen on date night, didn’t it.”
“That’s how these things go. What exactly am I keeping you from? Dinner? Movie? Dancing?”
“We weren’t going out. Teach me to make plans.”
“If you weren’t going out then what-”
“If I told you then you’d never be able to look at us the same way again.”
“Oh come on, give me a clue. I’m curious now.”
She looked him in the eye and smirked. “Ok… Hmm… Well, Tosh is really good at tying knots… And buckles for that matter. That’s all I’m telling you.”
“Wait…” The cogs turned in Jacks head before it clicked. “Good for her! Not the one I expected, got to be honest.”
“It’s always the calm, quiet and smart ones. Now, as your image of Tosh is changed forever we should get back inside, and if you tell her I said anything I swear-”
He mimed zipping his lips before sweeping back inside.
“Anthony Harold Deringer the third.” Gwen began, bringing what was clearly a mugshot up on the boardroom screen. “Forty two, divorced twice, two kids who live with their mothers. He’s old money and has been arrested twice for ABH and four times for GBH. Typically he has a very good lawyer so he’s escaped conviction every time. Slimy bastard. Anyway, he does have a tattoo of a snake on his right hand.”
“Great, but isn’t he travelling? How are we going to track him down?” Asked Jack, crossing his arms.
Tosh interjected. “We don’t necessarily have to. He owns the warehouses that were used to film inside. The filming dates follow a pattern and the next one is tomorrow so he’s going to be nearby.”
“And so should his prisoners.”
“I’ve found a map of the back roads around the building and a floor plan for the warehouse.”
“Any idea if they’ve arrived yet?”
“Rhys has a few friends who work around there and apparently a truck turned up last night.” Gwen said. “The driver didn’t look like he wanted anyone sticking around.”
“So we can get this over with before tomorrow.”
“Before we go rushing in sir.” Ianto interrupted. “I found a match for the shock collar. It’s Werix in design which means the ones who gave this group the collars have probably armed them too.”
“Damn.” The Werix were a race that profited from wars on other planets, supplying weapons and technology to the highest bidder. They weren’t advanced per se but they were good at mass production. They could arm an entire army in only days and had dabbled in slave trading to increase their productivity in the past. “We’ll have to take a more stealthy approach until we know how well armed they are. Tosh, do you think you can unlock those collars en mass?”
Tosh nodded. “I should be able to intercept the control signal if I can get close enough.”
“Gwen, make sure you have your friends on speed dial just in case this little gang shows what cowards they really are and make a run for it. We’re going to try not to kill them but if any of you feel the need to defend yourselves with your fists I will not get in your way.”
The warehouse was quiet but not dark. Two men were standing guard at each door and were clearly carrying Werix weapons. To anyone uninformed they looked just like silver staffs but when aimed they could fire a fine plasma beam that could easily burn holes through even thick armour. Tosh crouched behind a parked van, out of sight, and set off a sonic wave emitter that would break down the notoriously weak mechanism inside the staffs. The small light on the side of each staff near the grip switched off as they broke. She nodded to her teammates to go ahead. Owen and Gwen approached the main door while Ianto and Elise headed around the back. Jack, not one for a subtle entrance had headed up to the rooftop. The plan was to knock the guards out so Tosh could set up just outside the building and safely and unlock the collars. The van that Tosh had been hiding behind had been driven there earlier that day and would act as a temporary holding cell for the knocked out guards. It was normal looking from the outside but there was no way to get out from the inside without a key. The guards themselves went down without much of a fuss. As that was the easy part, it was to be expected but still there was always a chance something could go wrong. With all four guards safely bound up in the back of the van they got ready to sneak inside.
Elise held her hand over the lock, the digital lock-pick hidden inside the metal casing of her palm. The door clicked open and they slipped through into the back office. The floor plan said the office led into a hallway that split off to two filming areas, one holding area, two other offices for video editing and what was essentially a small flat for Anthony to stay in while he was there. The building company hadn’t asked too many questions when they were given double their usual rate. Voices could be heard from the hallway.
“Listen! The moment that bitch bit me she was dead. I don’t care if that fucks up your scene. She couldn’t perform anyway with her face like that.” One male growled.
The other male grumbled. “Which one am I meant to use now? I can’t use the male.”
“How can you tell the difference? Neither have tits!”
“Do you want this movie finished tomorrow or not?”
“Yes!”
“Then find me a woman to replace the one you put down.”
The slam of a door announced the end of that conversation and another said the hallway was clear.
“Sounds like one went into the flat and the other went into the editing studio. Which twat are we knocking out first?” Elise whispered.
“Editing studio first. Smaller room.”
Ianto carefully opened the door, trying to stay as silent as possible. The door of the editing studio drifted open with only a light push, the slamming having broken the lock. A blond haired man was sat in an office chair staring at multiple computer screens with editing software open. Ianto caught a sideward glance at the footage on a smaller screen and decided that knocking him out with drugs would just be too painless, so he opted for his taser instead. He would have just punched the waste of oxygen in the back of the head but there was a small chance he wouldn’t be knocked out in one blow. They didn’t want him calling for reinforcements. The man hit the floor with a thud and Elise went about binding his hands behind his back and taping his mouth shut just in case. As they were about to turn back and tackle the flat next door the door swung open and two guards with earth made guns entered.
The man on the right, a skinny thing with wirey hair, glared at them. “And I thought we wouldn’t be getting any intruders. Looks like I owe you a twenty.”
“Hands up, both of you.” The second man, gruff and broad shouldered, growled.
Ianto and Elise complied to keep things quiet.
“What should we do with ‘em?” The skinny one asked with a sick little smile. “Could put ‘em with the aliens.”
“We should ask the boss if he wants any abductees.”
“Yea, I could see that working. They look in pretty good shape. Could be fun.”
“Yea. Bitch, take your coat off. I wanna see what we’re working with.”
Elise rolled her eyes and unzipped her coat, letting it drop to the floor.
“Not bad.” Skinny approached, pressing the barrel of his gun against her shirt. “Then again, maybe I could be convinced to let you go.”
She smirked. “Yea, not going to happen, I’m kind of picky with who I shag. Gloves off time?”
“Gloves off.” Ianto replied, hitting the floor as Elise grabbed the gun at her chest with her left hand and crushed it. Skinny froze in shock. Ianto bolted forward and tackled the larger guy into the wall, disarming and knocking the wind from him.
“Wh-what the fuck?” Skinny squeaked.
Elise waved her metal fingers at him. “You’ve been torturing aliens and you find this hard to believe? By the way, to actually fire a gun you have to take the safety off. Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
He did as he was told, still in shock as he stared at the twisted mess that had once been a gun. Ianto hit the bigger guy in the ribs with the taser and let him slam into the floor.
“Picky? You sleep with Owen.” The Welshman teased as he bound the man who’d face planted onto the carpet.
She patted the tape over Skinnys mouth and turned. “Cheeky sod. You sleep with Jack and I don’t judge you.”
“You do a bit.”
“Little bit. Come on. The big boss will have heard all this.”
Gwen and Owen slipped in behind two guards who were taking a break, cards spread across the table they were sat at. A quick jab to the neck and both were out cold.
“So what happened earlier? I heard Xanna crying.” Asked Gwen as she bound one guards hands.
“I told her about a patient I had once. What did you think happened?”
“I dunno. She’s fragile and you can be a bit… Harsh?”
He turned sharply and glared. “Christ Gwen, what kind of twat do you think I am?”
“I never said it was intentional.”
“She’s been through hell. I’m not going to say anything to make that worse.”
“I didn’t mean-” She’d managed to stick her foot squarely in her mouth again.
“Yea, you never do.”
“Owen I-”
“It’s fine, just hurry up. The holding room should be just down here.” He grumbled, waving her over. The door was already open and he could hear someone inside.
“How the fuck did you all get your collars off?! Put them back on before I come in there and do it for you.” The figure, half silhouetted by the single light bulb that hung in the centre of the ceiling hissed, pointing the plasma staff towards the huddled group of captives.
Owen brought up his gun and pressed it into the figures back. “Drop it, put your hands behind your back and if you make a noise I will blow a hole in your spine big enough to fit my fist through.”
The plasma rod clattered to the floor, rolling away. Gwen took a moment to tie the mans hands behind his back and lead him out of the room to take a nap with his friends.
The group of captives looked in bad shape. Owen recognised a few of their races and he frowned deeply, spotting a figure that looked so much like Xanna but their eyes were glazed as if they’d completely broken down.
“Listen, we’re here to get you to safety. Do… Do you understand English?” The doctor asked, hoping they wouldn’t react badly to him. One of the group dared to move forward.
“I do.” A soft, feminine voice drifted from them. “Did you unlock the collars?”
“We did. We’re here to rescue all of you. Is anyone seriously injured?”
“No… At least not physically. Aniyo has not spoken since… Since...”
“That’s Xannas brother, right?”
The horned being lifted his head. “Xanna?” His voice was horse and quiet.
“She’s safe. She’s the one who told us about you.”
He shakily pushed himself up from the floor and crawled closer. “Xanna alive?”
“Yea, as soon as we can get you out of here safely you can go and see her, ok?”
Tears ran down Aniyos face and a weak smile spread across his lips. “Xanna… Xanna safe.”
“She is. She wants to see you again too.” A short scream pulled Owens attention back to the doorway. “Shit! Gwen?!”
Jack sliced through the skylight and hopped down into what was more like loft space than the top of a warehouse. Boxes of weapons were stacked around the area giving Jack the perfect place to take cover. The smell of cigarette smoke wafted through the room, escaping via the hole he’d left in the skylight. A deep coughing echoed around the room from up ahead followed by grumbling in a language he recognised but couldn’t fully understand. Something about “cheap” and “bitter” was all he could translate.
The Werix male flicked away the cigarette with the rest that he looked like he’d been chain smoking. Jack could feel the noxious smoke from the cheap cigarettes burning his nose and throat as he tried to suppress a cough. There was no way he wouldn’t be noticed so maybe another plan was in order.
“Those things’ll kill you, you know.” He said, leaning against one of the large boxes as he fanned the smoke out of his face.
The Werix stood sharply and hissed. “How did you get in here human? Can’t those pathetic bags of flesh do anything right?!”
“You mean the guards. Yea, they’re taking a nap outside. I’m more interested in what a big guy like you is doing up here.”
“Not that it’s any of your business but I’m waiting for my next order.”
“So you’re not the one running this outfit? I assumed a tough slab of muscle like you would be in charge.”
The alien scoffed. “Like I’d get involved with all this trafficking shit. I’m only here to make sure the humans don’t get cold feet.”
“Then why stay?”
“The money of course.”
“How about I make you a deal?”
“What kind of deal?” He narrowed his eyes as he sized the captain up.
“I double what you’re being paid and you help me take this operation down.”
“Do I look like a Judoon to you? I’m not stupid. You’re one of those Torchwood humans. S’the only reason you aren’t running screaming from me. No good comes from dealing with Torchwood.”
“Is it worth even being here then?”
“Where else would I get the chance to get a Torchwood humans head to hang on my wall?”
“I’m flattered but I think I’ll keep my head where it is.”
“Like you have a choice.” The creature charged head first towards Jack.