13.

Via CCTV, Tosh watched as Owen and Gwen walked together across Roald Dahl Plass. She sighed deeply and turned off the camera. Then her computer.

Ianto looked up at her as he tied up the garbage bag in his hands. "On your way home?"

"Yes," she replied, glancing at the clock. "It's late enough."

Ianto nodded approvingly.

Adams had been found and admitted to a hospital. They'd spent the day trying to connect up the loose ends of the Scotland case. The vortex manipulator had arrived and Tosh had been occupied with it for a while before Ianto had stowed the machine in the archives. Jack had talked for several hours with Archie and then UNIT to inform them about the events. It was now six in the evening and after the efforts of the last few days, they deserved a break. Tosh was looking forward to a bath, a book and a glass of wine in her flat.

"Are you okay?" Ianto asked.

Tosh smiled as she buttoned up her coat. "I'll be fine." He looked worried and she went to hug him tightly. He returned the embrace and Tosh closed her eyes. "I'm much better already, Ianto." She kissed his cheek. "And if not, then I know who I can call."

He nodded with a smile.

"Hey," Jack interrupted them. "May I join in?"

Tosh and Ianto pulled away from each other, turning to him, and Tosh answered, "We're just finishing up."

"Yes, you are. Ianto on the other hand – him, I need for a while."

Ianto seemed surprised. "What for?"

Tosh was expecting a dirty grin and an innuendo but Jack just shoved his hands in his pockets and said, "Administration."

"Sounds irresistible," Ianto replied.

Tosh smiled and left them alone.

Outside, on the walkway along the bay, she breathed in the cool evening air and looked up at the sky where the sun was starting to set and the first stars came out. A couple walked past her, huddled together against the cold and deep in conversation. Tosh watched them and smiled.

xxx

Ianto wrapped his arms around his waist and walked to the edge of the cliff. It was completely dark and on Flat Holm Island there were no light sources. He could see the lights of Penarth and – a little further away – Cardiff. Directly below him on the jetty, the boat's cabin lights gently rocked up and down. It had brought Jack and him here and was waiting to take them back. If he squinted, he could see Bobby in the cabin, waiting patiently. The sea breeze tugged at Ianto's coat and brushed through his hair. He began to shiver but he barely noticed. His thoughts were still on the facility hidden here on Flat Holm. The tears, the screams, the empty eyes of the patients. The warm smiles and the helpless eyes of the staff. The compassionate words from the doctor who'd come here after a double shift in hospital and offered his time for these people. Of course he was paid for it, as well as the staff – for their work and for keeping quiet – but he seemed really concerned about his patients.

Ianto had known that the Rift sometimes swallowed people. So far, however, he'd believed that they never returned. Now he was convinced of the contrary and robbed of any illusions. These people were broken for life and unable to return to their families who would never know what had happened to them, and that made Ianto incredibly sad.

"Have I overwhelmed you?" Jack asked beside him and Ianto startled slightly. He hadn't heard him coming.

A look at Jack's face, lit only by the moon and the stars, showed him how much the situation had taken from him as well. Ianto wondered how long he had guarded this secret.

"You caught me unawares," he admitted then. Jack sat down, his feet hanging over the edge of the cliff, and Ianto joined him. Their thighs touched and Ianto could feel Jack's body heat. "You should have told Owen."

"I have doctors. What I need is a manager." Jack looked at Ianto. "In case I leave."

"That's why you brought me here? That's why the nurses looked at me like that?"

"I told them that I'd bring a second in command." Jack smiled. "You are the first that I've brought for that reason. Don't worry. They like you."

"How many people in Torchwood knew about Flat Holm?"

Jack sighed. "We established it in the 30s when we found the first Rift victims. Eveline Mason set it up. She knew about it, also Constantine, James and Matthew. The first team, so to speak. Archie knows about it. After that ... just the leaders. I lost control for a while, couldn't cope with this. Flat Holm really went down the drain during that time. When I took over the command and came back here for the first time, it was more a prison than a nursing facility. Eveline wouldn't have wanted that." He looked back at Ianto. "So I restored it. It's not ideal, but it's all I can do. When I go ... you have to do all you can do."

"What's that?"

"I can identify negative Rift spikes with my vortex manipulator. In the event that I go, there is a scanner in the Hub. We'll try it out as soon as possible but every Torchwood Three leader since the 30s used it to find Rift victims. It should still work. It's specifically set up to identify the signature of a negative Rift spike and recognize it when it returns as a positive spike. That's how the victims are found. It's got something to do with chronon particles ... the detector notices these spikes, but it's programmed not to give an alarm. The team won't know about it. You have to go there, collect the victim, and bring them here. Bobby's always ready with his boat. One call's all it takes." He shook his head. "That's the hardest part but it rarely happens. Your main task is to come here regularly and look after things. I gave them your phone number in case of emergencies."

"And Bobby?"

"Asks never questions," Jack replied. "Absolutely trustworthy. He gets enough money for it. I have a file with all the information in the base. I'll give it to you and you can go through it."

"Why tell me about it?" Ianto asked suddenly. "Owen and Tosh have been with Torchwood Three longer than me ... Gwen and I are the last persons who should know about this."

Jack was silent for a long time, then he replied, "I trust you."

"You also trust the others."

"I trust you more. You know things that the others don't and you've always respected my secrets and kept quiet about them."

Adams's description of what had happened to Torchwood Four echoed through Ianto's head and he licked his lips nervously. He opened his mouth to ask Jack about it but then he just said, "And I trust you." He looked at Jack. "I know you would never do anything if you had no good reason for it ... even if your decisions are not always easy or seem illogical at first glance." There had to have been a good reason for Jack to work together with the other branches to make Torchwood Four disappear – if that was even true.

Jack frowned but then he smiled. "Right."

He took Ianto's hand and laced their fingers together. His cool lips pressed against Ianto's, but the kiss remained chaste and friendly.

Ianto nodded and looked back out over the sea. "Good."

END
12/11

Sequel (WIP): The Shadow Cult

A woman jumps off the rooftop of a building. A man shoots himself in a shopping mall. A young girl slits her wrists. All those suicides happen within twenty-four hours and lead the police to believe that there's more to it. Torchwood, however, knows that there's more to it: all the victims are connected to past cases.

Meanwhile, Ianto finds a very interesting young man among the patients on Flat Holm, but his search for answers as to where the man came from is more dangerous than he could have expected.