"Well, this is sorted," Jack said with a look of satisfaction. He thought Kathy Swanson looked impressed, and he tried his best not to preen. That would be a bit much, but they had done well this morning.

Ianto disappeared and after a bit of time returned with Rhys in tow along with some large straps that he intended to use as restraints.

"Woah!" Rhys said as he got his first glimpse at his cargo. "You weren't kidding!"

"Course not," Ianto said with a smile. "Help me with this," he said and the two men started threading the nylon straps around the hydra, looking to secure it without harming it. They also carefully packed up the eggs into a large leather satchel, stacking them gently and covering them with a blanket from the SUV for warmth.

"You're not keeping this beast, are you?" Rhys asked Ianto, who shrugged.

"For now, until we can figure out where to send her," he said. The two men tied the straps to the lorry and Rhys used the power of the engine to pull the hydra out of the station. By that time, his friend had shown up and together the three men worked to lift the limp body onto the bed of the lorry for transport. The building hid them from view, so they were able to work without onlookers seeing what they were doing. Rhys had to use three tarps to cover the creature. He let his friend go, figuring he could raise the bed to drop the hydra onto the barge in the Bay. His friend left with a shake of his head, disbelief on his face. Ianto and Jack shared a glance and Jack went out to chat with the man, thanking him and offering to buy him a drink that evening for his trouble. He'd lure him to a pub near the Hub, telling him he'd tell him the whole story later. The man nodded eagerly and they set up a time to meet later that evening.

"You don't mind, do you?" Ianto asked with a nod towards what Jack was doing with Rhys' friend. Rhys shook his head.

"No, it's for the best," Rhys said. "Not that anyone would believe Billy anyhow. But still, why confuse him more than he is already?" The two men grinned at one another and Ianto climbed into the passenger side of the lorry.

"Jack, I'm headed back with Rhys. You all set here?" Ianto said. Jack nodded and gave them a wave, watching as the two men pulled out of the car park and back towards the Hub. As they turned the corner, he looked back at Kathy Swanson. Her men were already putting the sliding doors of the back wall in place. He considered whether he should retcon any of them and decided it wasn't worth the effort.

"Thank you, Captain," DI Swanson said as she supervised the clean up. "That went better than I expected."

"All in a morning's work," Jack said with a smile. "I trust you lot to forget what you saw here," he said. She just looked at him for a long moment before smiling back at him.

"Who the hell would believe us?" She asked in a low voice and he laughed out loud. "The problem is, what do we tell the office and how do we explain everything to the family?" She asked and he turned to look at the sheet covered railway worker.

"Let us handle this," he suggested. "We're used to this kind of clean up." She nodded gratefully. She was hoping he would suggest something like that. Jack picked up the discarded syringe that had fallen out while they were moving their new charge. He had given the spare to Ianto in case she woke during transport. Though it looked like they had her strapped down fairly securely, so hopefully they wouldn't need to use it. He sighed. He didn't know what they were going to do with a litter of little hydras. Would they be a litter, he wondered, or a herd? Neither term seemed right. He shook his head. Somehow, he figured they'd pass the cute and cuddly stage really quickly.

"Problem?" Kathy asked him and he shook his head again.

"No more than usual," he replied. The station was back open for business and the two had to work their way through the crowds to get to the entrance. "All in all, a good day, and that's before breakfast." Outside in the concourse he bent to retrieve both Ianto's laptop and the thermos. He looked down into the interior and sighed. "Could use another cup of coffee, though." His gaze moved to the kiosk, which was still closed.

"Tell you what," Kathy told him as she tried to restrain a smile at the expression on his face. "How about I buy you a cup of coffee around the corner?" She tilted her head towards the door and he saw a sign for one of the local coffee shops in and around Cardiff. He thought about the need to help Ianto load the hydra into the Hub's basement, but thought longingly of having another cup, and perhaps something to eat.

"Why not?" He asked. After all, he was the boss. He grinned to himself. "Ladies first," he said with a gallant gesture towards the door. Kathy smiled at him before leading the way outside and across the street to the little coffee shop there.

"What about your pet?" She asked as she led the way across the street. Jack shrugged.

"Ianto can handle her. She likes him better anyhow. I can tell," he said with a grin as he held open the door for her to step inside. "And besides, if he knew I was in here, he'd probably cut me off from any more coffee for at least a month for being a traitor." The two laughed as they sat down at a table.

"Oh, is that a sacrilege or something?" Kathy asked with a smile.

"More like treason," Jack replied. "He doesn't have a high opinion of most coffee shops." Kathy shook her head as they picked up their menus and looked through them.

"You're a funny one, Jack Harkness," she said as the waitress came over to take their orders. They both ordered breakfast as well as a pot of coffee for the table. "But I honestly don't know how you do it," she said with a shake of her head.

"Do what?" He asked. He saw her eyes go towards to the railway station and he laughed. "Deal with that? Because we have to," he commented as the coffee pot was deposited in front of them. "Ah! Liquid consciousness!" He poured himself a cup and brought it up to his nose, sniffing at it appreciatively. She laughed as he drank. "You know, Ianto was talking about creating this as an intravenous drug and I do think he had a point."

Their conversation moved on to her work at the station. She smiled over their breakfast. She knew that Jack had a very reckless reputation and had a bad habit of stepping on toes, but in the end he got the job done, and she appreciated that. It was while they were talking that his mobile range and she hid her smile at the abashed look on his face as he recognized the number on his display.

"Ianto, how did it go?" He asked. He turned away slightly and covered the phone so that the sounds of the restaurant wouldn't filter through. "Good. Excellent! No, just got tied up here at the station. I should be back soon," he promised. He listened for another moment. "Sounds good. See you in a bit." He closed his mobile and looked down at the remains of his breakfast. "He is going to kill me."

"It's okay, your secret is safe with me," Kathy promised with a smile.

"I wish," Jack said. "Ianto has a sixth sense about these things," he said. "Ah well, guess it's time to go pay the piper. As long as he doesn't leave me on decaf too long, I'll survive." He tossed some money down on the table as they got up and made their way to the door.

"Sounds frightening," Kathy replied. Jack laughed ruefully.

"It can be," Jack said as they reached the SUV. He laughed at the ticket on the front. "Oh, to add insult to injury, I save the world and get fined for my trouble!" He shook his head.

Kathy Swanson reached across the bonnet and snagged the ticket. "I'll handle this, but next time, find a better place to park," she told him. Jack laughed.

"I'll remember that the next time a nine headed beast is breathing down your neck," he said with a grin. He mimed not parking and driving off. "Oops, no place to park. Guess I'll leave it for Cardiff's finest."

"Don't you dare!" Kathy said with a laugh and a shake of her finger. "Don't forget, I have blackmail info on you." Jack stared at her.

"Wow, trapped!" Jack said and raised his hands up in surrender. "Please Detective, anything but that!" The two laughed as he opened the door to get in.

"Seriously, Jack. Thank you," she said. The two shook hands and Jack smiled at her.

"Anytime, Detective Inspector. All you have to do is ring," he told her.

"Or not, since you show up even when I don't," she informed him. He grinned at her.

"Just part of the job, ma'am," he said with a salute. She waved him off with a laugh and he got into the SUV. With a last nod, he shifted and turned the vehicle towards the Hub. As he drove, he sniffed, wondering if Ianto would notice the smell of the coffee house on his clothing. He sighed as he realized that nothing much got past Ianto, and even if that didn't trigger it, he was probably caught on the CCTV. Jack grinned. Definitely nothing got past Ianto. He shrugged as he turned the corner, circling around the Plass to the underground car park. He thought about what he was say as an excuse and finally came up with the idea of saying he had to make an effort to further relations with the police. He wondered whether that would fly as an excuse, and figured it probably wouldn't.

Turning off the engine, he got out and hauled Ianto's laptop in with him. The Hub was quiet. Ianto must still be downstairs, and Gwen still hadn't arrived yet. Jack dropped the laptop case off at Ianto's console and headed over to his office. On his way, he stopped by the coffee machine, but Ianto hadn't made any. Jack's eyes moved over the sign Ianto had tacked to the front of the machine some time ago which said 'Don't even think of touching this, upon pain of decaf!' and he grinned. He knew better. He turned and headed over to his desk. Perhaps if he got the paperwork out of the way, Ianto would forgive his little indiscretion at the coffee shop. Jack stopped at the door to his office and wondered if it would work. He shrugged. Probably, not, but it was worth a try!