Chapter Text
Gwen held her phone between her shoulder and her ear as she pulled her coat on, listening to it try and connect. “Hi Tosh, bit of a issue with shopping. Rhys just fell off a ladder painting the ceiling and I think he might have broken his arm so I’m rushing him to the hospital. Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I hope he’s ok. Update me when you find out.”
“Will do.”
Tosh hung up and turned to Melody who was sat next to her on the bench. “Rhys fell off a ladder so Gwen can’t join us.”
“I hope it isn’t too bad.”
“She’s driving him to the hospital to find out. She’ll text me when she knows more. Looks like it’s just us for today then.” She smiled softly.
“I’m glad you wanted to come with me at all. I am no good at buying clothes. I can never decide if something’ll look good.”
“I never get to go shopping with anyone. Owen just complains the whole time so I send him off to poke around gamestation.”
“Ahh yes, the boyfriend daycare.”
She chuckled. “So, where first?”
“Well, I need something for an … um… Date.”
“Date? I thought you’d sworn off dating.”
“I had.” She shrugged. “But I figure if I can find someone who’s asexual then me keeping my spinal issue a secret won’t be so bad. I can live without, you know, but I don’t think I can live alone forever.”
“That’s understandable.”
“It's a new year so I might as well try and branch out a bit.”
Rhys winced as the A&E doctor examined his arm.
“Well, lucky for you nothing’s broken.” She began, turning her screen to show him the xray of his arm. “But there’s a very deep bruise, possibly down to the bone, so you’re going to be looking black and blue for a bit. The best you can do for now is to put some ice on it, take a couple of over the counter painkillers, I suggest ibuprofen, and rest it. If the swelling gets worse or you loose sensation in your fingers then come back, but for now try not to climb any more ladders.”
He chuckled. “I think I’ll hire a decorator. Thanks.”
“Of course.”
He headed out to see Gwen in the waiting room. She stood and rushed over.
“Just a bone bruise.” He said, feeling a little embarrassed about the whole thing.
“Oh thank goodness. You had me worried.”
“Sorry love. Looks like you can go shopping now though.”
“They’re probably done by now, but I’ll give Tosh a call to tell her you’re in one piece.” She took her phone from her bag as they walked back to the car. It rang and rang. No answer. Maybe Toshikos phone was in her bag and she couldn’t hear it. She called Melody, but got the same. That was very strange. Mel always had her phone with her.
“Everything ok?” Asked Rhys, slipping into the passenger seat.
She frowned deeply. “They’re not answering. One sec.” She scrolled to Owens contact.
“If this is about work tell Harkness he can sod off.” Owen answered, the sound of some kind of FPS being played in the background.
“It’s not. Have you heard from Tosh or Mel? They’re not answering their phones.”
“Aren’t you with them?”
“No. We had a bit of an emergency so I couldn’t go.”
The game went quiet as he paused it so he could hold his phone. “I’ll give her a call and get back to you. She usually would have been back by now anyway.”
“Thanks.” She slumped into the drivers seat, her gut instinct telling her something was very wrong.
Jack lounged on Iantos bed, one arm wrapped around his lovers shoulders, considering trying to get up for lunch. They didn’t often get the chance to spend time away from the hub so they were making the most of it. They’d been awake for some time but leaving the bed hadn’t been on the cards. A cool breeze made the curtains dance in the bright daylight. Ianto broke the comfortable silence, rolling to rest his head on Jacks chest, listening to his heart beat.
“We should go out for dinner tonight.”
“That would mean getting dressed.”
“Only for a few hours.”
He chuckled warmly and ran his fingers through the back of Iantos hair. “I could be convinced, but that’s for later.” He grazed his hand across the mans back, noting that he was actually relaxed for once. That was rare in itself. Ianto closed his eyes, lost in the soft sound of Jacks breathing and the strong beat of his heart. It was a soothing sound and one of the few things that could send him into a deep sleep in only minutes. The sharp sound of his ringtone pulled him from his relaxed haze.
“If I don’t answer it do you think they’ll go away?” He asked, his voice deep and smooth.
Jack smiled. “I’ll still be here when you’ve answered it.”
“I should hope so.” He reached over to the bedside table and hit the answer button, setting it to loudspeaker. “Hello?”
Gwens worried voice rose from the device. “Sorry to bother you, but have you heard anything from Tosh or Mel in the last few hours?”
“No. Why?”
“I can’t get in touch with them.”
“Maybe they’re just not by their phones.”
“That’s what I thought for a bit but… I was worried so I went looking. Tosh’s car’s here still so I kept calling and… I just found both of their phones and bags thrown into a bush.”
Both men sat up, Jack picking up the phone. “Get any CCTV from the area and meet us at the hub.”
Tosh awoke listening to the hum of an engine. She didn’t fully remember what had happened but she felt the strange woozy feeling that followed being drugged. Her wrists were bound together with what were most likely cable ties. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she saw another figure curled up in the corner, their shoulders shaking slightly.
“Melody?” She said, her throat dry.
The figure lifted its head, tears glinting with the tiny amount of light leaking into the vehicle. “Yea… Are you ok?” She sniffed.
“What happened? Did someone hurt you?”
“I woke up here too… I remember being grabbed from behind but then everything went dark… I think there’s another telepath around. They’re blocking me and I don’t know what they’d do if I fought back.” Her voice cracked.
Tosh uncomfortably sat up and moved to sit next to Mel. “We’re going to be ok. We just have to stay calm and try to work out what’s going on. If they were going to kill us they would have already done it so try not to panic, ok?”
“I’m sorry… I just keep thinking of being dragged off to that ship and…” She bit back her sobs, her knees tucked up to her chin, making herself as small as possible.
“Mel… Melody, listen to me. You’re going to be ok. We both are. We’ll get through this.”
“I’m scared.”
“Me too. But that’s never stopped us before. The others’ll realise we’re missing and find us.”
Jack glared at the screen as the CCTV played. Whatever had happened had been obstructed by a large van, he presumed it had been intentional. Tosh wasn’t the strongest combatant but she could handle herself against your every day mugger. Whoever had taken them didn’t want money, otherwise their bags wouldn’t have been left behind. Owen was scrolling through a second copy of the footage and Gwen was looking up the licence plates he gave her.
“This one is owned by the same company as the van. I can’t find any other information about it though.” She said, frowning deeply.
Owen nudged her out of the way and brought up a coding box she’d only seen Tosh use before. “Osiris corp… Never heard of them but let’s see if they go by any other names.” Lines of code scrolled up the screen as Toshikos search programme did its work. Ianto, who’d been making coffee, rushed over and hit the loudspeaker on the hubs phone line.
A digitised voice spoke. “If you wish to see your employees alive you will comply with our demands. You have twelve hours to deliver the contents of your armoury to the address we have sent to your agents mobile devices. There will be no negotiation. If you do not comply within this time limit we will send you proof of how serious we are.” The call dropped and Gwen scrambled to grab Mels mobile phone as it was closest.
The doors of the van were pulled open and Tosh winced at the bright light. Two figures holding guns stood either side, holding the doors.
A woman, tall and serious looking, gestured to them. “You two, get out or you’ll be dragged out.”
“Just do as they say.” Tosh told Mel softly before scooting forwards and stepping out of the van. She was pushed to the side and patted down to make sure they hadn’t missed any concealed weapons. She was clean, obviously. Melody clambered out, her face still red and tearstained and she was next to be patted down. The woman in charge beconned the one who’d ordered them out over. She lifted the back of Melodys shirt.
“The hell is this? What does it do?!” She barked, those holding the door turning and pointing their weapons.
Melody gasped. “Nothing. It doesn’t do anything!”
“Aiden! Is she telling the truth?”
A man walked around from the passenger side of the van. “She is. She’s the telepath but by the feel of it she’s an amature. They’re not a threat.”
“Huh.” She smirked. “I knew these Torchwood weirdos were heartless but experimenting on their own people? Oh well. Take them both inside. They can stay upstairs until their boss decides if he’s going to do what he’s told.”
The two agents were escorted into a small farmhouse and led upstairs. Aiden took a knife from his belt and freed their wrists before turning and closing a thick door at the top of the stairs behind him. The sound of a lock engaging announced that they’d be staying there for the foreseeable future. Tosh pulled Melody into a hug that she hadn’t been able to give before. It was usually Gwen or Jacks thing to hug but she could see her friend needed it. Mel hugged back, trying to calm her breathing.
“Right now all we can do is try and stay calm. At least this isn’t the worst place to be held hostage in.” She said, glancing around the area. It looked like there was a small bathroom and a bedroom. Or what had been a bedroom when it contained a bed. The windows were barred and, by the looks of it, they were in the middle of nowhere so noone would hear them if they screamed, or got shot.
“What do we do now?”
“Right now? We sit down and try and get our thoughts together.”