Chapter Text
Owen looked up, hearing music from somewhere. “Tosh, is that your phone?”
“Not mine. I don’t recognise the ring tone either.”
“Gwen?”
Gwen shook her head. “Not me. Did Ianto leave a radio on?”
He stood and began following the sound. It got louder the closer he got to the coffee machine and it became clear it was a phone by the hum of the vibration. Next to the freshly washed mugs sat a phone in a pastel pink case, a small plastic alien charm hanging from the top corner. He picked it up and flipped it over as the call dropped. “I think it’s Melodys.”
“Why’d she leave it down here?”
“No idea, but she has four missed calls.” He held it up to show the large missed calls notification on the lock screen.
Ianto walked up from the cells and sighed as soon as he saw what Owen was holding. “I’ll take it up to her. I wish she’d just tell them she doesn’t want to go.”
“Who, what and where?” He asked, handing over the phone.
“She’s meant to be going to dinner with her mum and sisters.”
“Oh, family shit.”
“The most uncomfortable kind.” The phone began blasting out some kind of guitar heavy song that he didn’t recognise again. As if she had been drawn by the heavy metal siren song Melody appeared, carrying the rest of the teams dinner. Gwen shot up to help as she didn’t want her workmate to push herself too hard. It was just in Gwens nature to coddle her so Mel didn’t argue. Ianto held up her phone. “Your mum’s been calling.”
Mels face went bright red. “Oh, sorry… I must have left it after I washed up and… um…”
“It’s ok. Why don’t you just tell your mum you’re stuck working overtime. She can shout at me for it if she wants.”
“N-no. I mean thank you, but I really should answer her.” She took her mobile and ‘accidentally’ hit the reject call button. “Oops. Looks like I’ll have to wait.”
“Please don’t let me find that in the fishers tank.”
“I would never.”
“Oh, right, it’s been waterproofed. Don’t give it to Janet either.”
“I’m not that desperate.”
“Yet.” He smiled sympathetically. “When are you meant to be meeting them?”
She rubbed the pendant hanging around her neck between her thumb and index finger. “Not for another two hours. Mum’s just making sure I’m still coming. Maybe I should just switch it off.”
“Go and answer her.”
“But-”
“As your manager I’m telling you to go and answer that call.”
“I… Um.. Ok.” She walked back up towards the office, calling her mum back.
Owen looked between her and Ianto. “I can’t believe she just did what you said.”
“I’m not above pulling rank.” Ianto shrugged.
“And I can’t believe we have someone you actually outrank.”
He rolled his eyes so hard he thought they might fall out of his head. “So you’re not joining us for dinner then.”
“Oi. You leave my food out of this.”
“Hi mum.” Melody said, trying to sound chipper.
“Why didn’t you answer my other calls?”
“I’m still at work.”
“Oh, sorry, I thought you’d be out by now. Anyway, are you still coming to dinner?”
“Yep. Are the twins?”
“Yes, your sisters are still coming, but Delilah said she can’t bring Hayden.”
“It’s ok if she doesn’t want him to meet me. She’s his mum. It’s her call.”
“She’s just being protective.”
She rubbed the bridge of her nose, hoping that the stress headache she had would lessen soon. “Like I said, it’s her call… Mum, why are we even doing this? They hate me, I’ve made my peace with that.”
“They don’t hate you. You all just need to talk things over. You’re adults now, and you should all be able to act like it.”
“I have been. I even sent Persephone money for a hotel a few months back, remember? I even asked her if she wanted to have a coffee some time but she blew me off. I know you want us to get along but… I just don’t think it’s going to happen.”
“Just try, for me. Just this once?”
She sighed. “Ok. Just this once.”
“I’ll see you in a bit.”
“See you soon.” The call ended and she rested her forehead on the desk in front of her. It was going to be a long night.
Tosh shrugged. “I think it’s nice that her mum’s trying to get them to talk.” She sipped her drink and looked to Gwen for some kind of backup, as the only other person in the room with a softer worldview.
“Sometimes people just don’t get along. It’s sad but that just might be the case.” Gwen wiped her hands with a napkin.
Ianto sighed. “It’s not about not getting along. From what I heard they actively hate her. I mean, what kind of person locks their little sister out of the house in her pyjamas on a cold night.”
“I suppose they were just stupid kids but… That is a bit much. Anyway, we should wait to find out how tonight goes. In the meantime how’s the Osiris project going?”
Tosh swallowed what she’d been chewing. “Well, I’ve already taken out all of their smaller outposts systems so they’re making a concerted effort to tighten their security. Nothing I haven’t seen before so it won’t be an issue for now. There have been messages that are a little concerning. Apparently they’re finalising a deal tonight for six crates of sonic blasters. Apparently they’ve been collecting them since the seventies, but some of my research suggests that most of them are replicas, and not good ones. The buyer is bringing something in exchange but they’ve been very careful with mentioning any details. I think Osiris has started sending messengers to smooth out the details. Whatever it is can be traded in a single transaction so it can’t be too big.”
“So we’re confiscating both?”
“Exactly.” Said Jack. “And if possible I think it’s time we caught one of them and asked them a few questions. Whoever’s going to be running the show tonight should know more than enough.”
“What do you have planned?”
“That depends on what they have to say. They’re getting more and more brave and it’s about time their organisation disbanded. Tosh, have you gained control of their accounts?”
Tosh nodded. “They can be emptied and closed whenever you wish.”
“And their communications?”
“Everything can be shut down at the click of a button.”
“We need a few more pieces and we can take them down for good.”
Melody had gone home, got changed into something smart but not too flashy and got a taxi to the restaurant. She wanted to just get it over and done with so she could go home and the best way to do that was to look put together and stay quiet. The restaurant was part of a fancy hotel that she guessed Delilah had booked for her mum to stay at. She had always liked to throw money around when she had it, especially if it would make her look better to her friends.
Melody stepped into the relatively quiet restaurant and glanced around for her family. She took a deep breath and made her way to the other side of the room to the table where her mum, Persephone and Delilah had made themselves comfortable. They looked like a normal, happy, family chatting away until they saw her. The chatter stopped and the glaring began.
Mels mum turned and smiled. “Oh look at you. You look so much better than the last time I saw you.” She pulled her youngest daughter into a hug.
“Thanks. You look well.”
“Would you like a drink or anything?”
“Water’s fine. Thanks.” Mel sat in an empty chair and slid her bag to the floor.
“It’s been so long since you’ve all been in the same room.”
Delilah mumbled something too quietly for anyone to hear but it was easy to guess what she was saying.
Persephone sipped her wine. “So, like I was saying, Loyd’s a doctor so he’s not home as much as we’d like but we’re working it out. He said he’s going to use some holiday time soon so we can go somewhere nice together then.”
The chatter blurred together and Melody stayed silent, even when the waiter turned up. It didn’t bother her particularly. She’d snack on bread and eat properly when she got home. If she was honest she didn’t need Delilah bitching about how much she’d spent on the meal, or get her mum to pay for it and blame her later. She barely even looked up when Delilah walked past her to go to the bathroom.
“Um… Aren’t you hungry?” Persephone asked uncomfortably. At least she was making an effort.
Her mum gasped. “Mel, you didn’t order anything.”
“It’s ok. I’m not that hungry.” Melody put on her customer service smile.
“You’re not doing one of those crazy diets are you?”
“What? No. No diets. Just not feeling well. I’ll be fine.”
“Are you taking care of yourself? Maybe you should come home.”
“I’m fine mum. Better than fine, really.”
Persephone decided to change the subject before her mum started fussing. “Thanks again for helping me out a while back. I can try and pay you back soon.”
“You don’t have to pay me back.”
“Are you sure? That’s a lot of money and you’re… Where are you working now?”
“It’s just a little office job. And like I said, it’s fine. I didn’t need the bonus anyway.”
“I wouldn’t mind a job that pays that well.” She laughed softly. It was strange, she’d always been just as cold as Delilah but she seemed to legitimately be trying to be nice. “Listen… I know you think me and Del’ hate you but we don’t. Well, I don’t. Being away from everyone for a while got me thinking and … I guess you being a little different isn’t the biggest deal.”
Melody gave a polite smile. “Thanks. That means a lot.”
Their mum beamed, so glad to see her girls talking after so long, though the mood dropped back down as soon as Delilah returned.
Jack didn’t like the fact that the buyer hadn’t brought a vehicle. That meant they were going to leave an address to pick up payment, which would be ridiculous for Osiris to agree to, or it was already inside. With how many people were checked into the hotel there could be a long list of casualties if whatever it was got out. Then again, maybe that was the point. A show of force. He hoped he was wrong.
“Anything from your position Owen?” He asked.
Owen was sat on one of the sofas at the end of the hallway on the fifth floor, waiting for anyone to enter or leave the room they’d tracked back to Osiris. “Not yet. It’s pretty dead up here.”
“Gwen?”
In the lobby Gwen was stood by the lifts, keeping an eye on everyone that entered or left. “Not a thing. Did they cancel?”
“No.” Tosh chimed in from the SUV. “There’s a car that’s circled the building three times. I think they’re making sure it isn’t a sting operation.... They’re pulling up to the front now but I can’t be certain they’re the buyer.”
“I see them.” She watched three men enter, dressed in very expensive suits, and head straight to the lifts. One, a blond man wearing too much cologne, looked her up and down before the lift arrived. She pretended she hadn’t seen him and waited until the lift was up at least one floor before speaking again. “Owen, if these are the buyers they’re heading your way. Expensive suits, no class and you’ll smell them coming.”
Owen opened the paper that had been sat next to him. “Ready when they are.” After a while the lift opened and the tree men approached the hotel room door, knocking in an unusual pattern. Faster than a password. The door opened and the three walked inside. “Those are the buyers. They just entered the room.”
“Bar the door, I’m on my way.” Jack made his way around to the back of the building. “Ianto, on my mark, start the evacuation.”
Owen placed a metal device around the door handle and activated it. It held the handle and extended into the door frame so the door couldn’t be opened without breaking it down. Ianto stood next to one of the fire alarms on the second floor, out of sight of any of the security cameras, ready to set everything in motion.
Melody brushed the crumbs from her lap as her mother and sisters let the waiter take their plates. He wasn’t hiding his thoughts and she was sure she heard him thinking it was awful that the rest of the table were eating and making the teenage girl starve. She’d correct him but it was pointless.
“Are you going to join us for dessert?” Her mum asked.
She could feel Delilah glaring at her as if to say ‘don't you dare’. “No thanks. I shouldn’t have too much sugar.”
“Del sweetheart, you need to stop glaring at your sister. I’m trying to be understanding but you’ve been doing it all night and it’s getting old.”
Delilah looked up in surprise. “I’m not.”
“You are. We spoke about this.”
“I’m not doing anything. You always take her side in everything. I’m the one paying for all this.”
“Delilah Olivia Archer, you cannot buy my silence, especially when you’re the one being unreasonable.”
“Mum, it’s fine. Maybe this was a bad idea. I should just go.” Melody said, grabbing her bag.
“Melody, sit down. We are going to talk about this.”
Delilah crossed her arms. “How am I being unreasonable? All these years and you’re still defending her attention seeking crap.”
“One, language, and two, what on earth are you talking about?!”
“She’s done it since we were little. First it was her imaginary friends, then it was all the talk of monsters, waking the whole house up every night screaming, the voices in her head, having to be a special snowflake all the time, always acting as if she’s so frail and scared just because there are other people around, her so called mugging when she finally moved away. And you enable her. All the therapists and hospital trips because she was playing it up. And when she’s not blubbing about this or that she’s acting like that kid from the Omen.”
“I can’t believe you. How dare you act like this! Me and your father brought you up better than this. I sincerely hope Hayden never gets sick because I’m terrified how he’d cope with you being so cold to your own family.”
“She’s not sick!”
“Her medical records would disagree. Now stop it!”
“No, someone’s got to say it! If there was really something wrong she’d fight back, but she’s so spineless she’ll never stand up for herself. I swear she’s barely even a person. She’s a monster.”
Their mum sighed deeply, realising there was no going back from this, and finished what was left of her wine. This was the first time she’d heard the sheer level of vitriol Delilah held but Melody had heard it all before. It stung, but it was an old pain, a pain she’d been able to tune out. She wanted to shout and scream but this wasn’t the time or place and Del knew it. There was an achingly long silence that was suddenly interrupted by the sound of screams from the kitchen. Mel could hear that telltale rabbit screech coming from that direction as a waiter burst through the doors from the kitchen. They were hit by some kind of light beam and hit the floor, stone dead. Chaos erupted as the diners made a run for the exit, trampling each other in a panic.
Her mum pulled her arm as her sisters joined the scrum. “Come on. Don’t just stand there.”
“Mum, you need to go. Take those two and get to your car. Take them back to Delilahs, it should be far enough away.”
“I’m not going to leave you here.”
“I can help here. I just need you to be safe.”
“Mel-”
“Please. I’ll be ok. I promise. I’ll call you when it’s over.”
She gave her daughter a tight squeeze as tears ran freely down her face, then ran after the twins. Melody turned back to the door to the kitchen as it was pushed open. Ianto had shown her diagrams of one of these during orientation. They were one of Torchwoods most feared creatures.
The dalek turned its eyestalk towards her, the lights on top of it flashing as it screeched out. “Exterminate!”