So I'm back with another one! I don't know if I'll be able to keep such a constant upload schedule after the new year but I'm going to try! This is honestly one of my favorite fics that I've written! If you have a moment let me know what you think of Chris as a character? Is he a good husband? Is he a good character? is he too accepting of the whole alien thing too quickly? Overall just what you think of this chapter and I'm looking forward to seeing you in the next one!

I won't lie, once I've done a couple drafts of this fic I will be bookbinding this hehe, I need this one on the shelf ;)

T H E Y  K E E P  K I L L I N G  S U Z I E

 

 

THREE WEEKS LATER

 

‘I guess me telling you to breathe through it won’t do any use?’  Private Ross Jenkins asked from the driver’s seat, and even though I couldn’t see straight, I could tell he was taking the corners easy.

            ‘No but the offer’s appreciated.’ I told him, using every ounce of control not to throw up in the backseat of his car.

            Well it wasn’t his car, it was a UNIT vehicle but all the same, I had enough grief from them on a daily basis and didn’t need the added aggravation.

            ‘You said this was a CP flare up, ma’am?’ Ross asked. ‘Do you want to stop at the pharmacy on the way into town?’

            ‘No it’s fine I’ve got meds in my bag.’ I said a little breathless, smiling softly to him through the rearview mirror. ‘It’s because of my back, it’s just out of alignment probably which causes the whole sickness thing.’

            ‘I can call Captain Harkness for you, say that you’re unwell.’

            Captain Harkness, I thought smirking, I don’t think I’d ever heard anyone actually call him that.

            ‘You’re sweet but honestly it’s fine.’ I said. ‘It’s just a flare up and if it gets bag – bad I mean I’ll go lie down in a dark room somewhere.’

            I shuffled again in the back seat, trying to find a comfy position but nothing was working, everything felt as tight as a violin string and any hope of relief felt like some far-fetched dream. That and half the words were coming out wrong, bless Ross’ wee heart though, he didn’t even mention it.

            ‘Also what did I tell you about calling me ma’am?’ I asked, desperate to change the conversation.

            ‘You’re my superior officer and you expected the title from the Colonel earlier.’

            ‘Yeah because he’s a dick.’

            We both laughed at that.

            ‘I appreciate what you’re doing Ross, I know that you’re risking a lot for this.’ I told him.

            ‘It’s an honour ma’am – Erin, besides these journey’s save me from the Colonel’s suicide drills, he thought the timing was quite convenient.’ Ross told me.

            ‘Well I’m glad to help.’ I said as turned onto a small street.

            Usually I’d enjoy the sunlight streaming through the windows, since I was based in the UK which always appeared to be under a constant cover of rain. However today, the light sent a spiking pain through my eyes, right to the back of my skull. Oh how I wished to go lie in a dark room. I slipped on my sunglasses as we came to a stop in the cul-de-sac, blue and white police tape flapping in the wind. 

            I could see the team up ahead, all looking like something from an action movie as they headed straight for the so called ‘murder house’, the black SUV sitting stoically on the pavement. To say I was a little excited for this was an understatement – yes people were dead and that was terrible – but I’d never been allowed into an actual crime scene caused by humans before. It was always aliens this and Weevils that, never hey some crazy psycho stabbed these people, fancy lending a hand?

            ‘Here you are, do you want me to wait until you’re finished?’ Ross asked, turning around in  his seat.  

            He wore a red beret, his Private rank stitched on the shoulders of his black uniform. If he was dating anyone they should thank their lucky stars since the man had cheekbones sharp enough to cut paper. What was the most important thing that I noticed though, was the kind smile he wore.

            ‘No thanks Ross, I’ll just ride in the SUV back to the Hub but thanks for the offer, I’ll let you get back to base.’ I told him.

            ‘Do you need a hand getting out?’ He asked.

            ‘No thanks.’ I smiled, double checking I had everything in my bag and nothing had fallen onto the floor.

            My phone had fallen onto the floor of the SUV once and let me tell you, I’d never forget to double check my bag again, considering without it we couldn’t call for help as the jeep filled up with water (long story).  

            By the time I’d reached for the handle however, Ross was already on the other side, opening the door for me.

            ‘I’ll see you later tonight ma’am.’ He joked as I slid out, closing the door and heading back to the driver’s seat, where he promptly pulled away from the curb.

            I made sure to take my time walking towards the team, masking the obvious limp as much as I could from the crowds of press and civilians all pressed up against the rails the police had set up. A few of them were snapping pictures of me as I walked towards the house but I knew I’d spend the better part of my day deleting them, since murders weren’t exactly our division. That and I didn’t need any videos of me walking anywhere, I probably looked like a little penguin – not that I was being negative towards myself – well I was – but that’s not the point here!

            ‘What would you rather me naked?’ I heard Jack ask.

            ‘Stop it.’ I grinned, slinging my handbag over my shoulder and joining the team. ‘Detective Swanson I apologise for my colleague he’s a little excited, my names Erin we spoke on the phone this morning?’

            The Detective shook my hand, a curious smile on her lips.

            ‘Nice to finally put a name to a face.’ She said.

            Detective Swanson had dark skin the glowed in the morning sunlight, her braided hair falling just past her shoulders. Despite her smile she didn’t look overly impressed to see us, if anything she looked a tad annoyed we’d even bothered to show up.

            ‘So who’s the victim?’ Gwen asked calmly, clearly in her element.

            ‘That’s victims, plural.’ Detective Swanson told her. ‘Yesterday a man was murdered at ninety-six Oakham Street, Alex Arwyn, twenty-eight, single, estate agent – here we go, that’s from the scene of the crime.’

            She handed over a brown folder and inside were brutal pictures of poor Alex Arwyn, blood splattered all over his white shirt. It looked like he’d been shot or stabbed right in the heart, his eyes wide open in fear. Jesus, he must have been in agony. Blood smeared the walls behind him but I couldn’t quite make much else out.

            ‘Today in here we get two more, Mark and Sarah Brisco, both thirty-three, married. He’s a surveyor and she works in education

            ‘What about the smears of blood, is that writing?’ Jack asked.

            ‘Work in progress,’ The detective huffed. ‘Come inside and see the finished thing.’

            With that she led us into the house, nodding to her colleague to let us under the police tape. Tosh, Gwen and Jack stayed at the front while I lingered at the back with Owen, doing my best to take it easy. I wore Nike trainers to work today instead of the usual work shoes and had K-taped my feet to high heaven. Along with the doctor’s appointment a few weeks ago I’d also went to see Scott, who ran a pain an injury clinic that I’d been going to for years, he was cleared by UNIT of course but was also privy to the injuries I got from work. He’d suggested taping up my feet since apparently I had fallen arches and incredibly weak ankles, which made sense since I’d been falling a lot more over the last few weeks.

            So with my feet taped, a handful of pills overseen by Chris this morning and a full skincare routine I was ready to face the murder house – despite my body telling me that it wasn’t going to body today.

            ‘Morning Swann,’ Owen grumbled. ‘Can’t believe we’re socialising at this time, it’s not decent.’

            I laughed.

            ‘A murder aint decent either.’

            ‘By the way,’ He whispered. ‘That night with all that palava going on with Mary, you said something about Tosh and-’

            ‘Come on Owen, use your brain and figure it out.’ I smirked.

            As we headed up the stairs of the house and I practically hauled myself up by my arms we made it to the bedroom, that would send any true crime geeks heart into a frenzy. The couple Mark and Sarah were splayed out on the bed, the once white sheets covered in their own blood, soaking the bed.

            ‘Oh my God.’ Gwen gawked and at first I thought it was at the state of the bodies but then I saw what was written on the wall, in blood.

           

TORCHWOOD

 

Looks like someone wants your attention.’ The detective said.

‘They’ve got it.’ I told her, staring at the name on the wall, our name.

            Who the fuck had we pissed off?

 

***

 

I was thankful for the SUV outside as Tosh and I worked away at the computers, bringing up the police database and combing our way through it for any new discoveries. I just didn’t understand why someone would murder a seemingly innocent couple and then bring us into it?

            I’d video called Ianto earlier to see if he recognised them since he never forgot a face but he didn’t, he was positive he’d never given them Retcon or that we’d had any operations to do with them. I double checked the records but everything in our system came up blank when I put in the couples name.

            It made no sense, they had nothing to do with us so why was our name written in their blood?

            ‘Tosh what do we have?’ Jack’s voice rang through the comms.

            ‘There’s no record of Mr and Mrs Brisco on our database, nor yesterday’s victim and no link between him and the Brisco’s – no connection between any of them.’ Tosh said, clearly as confused as I was.

            ‘Jack they’ve got the results on the killers hair.’ I said, a notification popping up on my screen.

            From the SUV I could see the team emerge from the house but when Owen took the case file, a look of dread dropped on his face. Then as the results of the hair came up on my screen I soon saw why.

            ‘Oh fuck.’ I gasped.

            ‘What is it?’ Tosh asked.

            ‘Whoever the killer is had Retcon in his blood.’

 

***

 

The ride back to the Hub was anything but quiet, everyone ringing off different theories as to how this could of happened. What I was more concerned about however was if someone thought this was to do with Wyatt or Chris. I knew that their DNA would show in our system, since I’d inputted it myself but I’d been so on edge lately about the whole thing that I thought the worst. I knew the universe didn’t revolve around me but I couldn’t help but worry. These murders couldn’t be connected to me, they couldn’t be.

            As we got to the Hub I took the visitors entrance by the water tower, then made the short journey to my desk where I promptly sat down, already groaning in relief as the pressure left my calves.

            Fucking hell they were tight today, I thought.

            I made sure to put on my blue light glasses since a headache was not another bodily issue I wanted to add to the list, as I done a full background work-up of our murder victims. I needed to know everything about them, where they grew up, where they went to school – anything to help me link them to us. If there was any link at all.  

            As the rest of the team headed upstairs to chat science and make up a game plan, I stayed at my desk, slowly going through the work-up as well as the victims social media presence, seeing if they went to the same bars or frequented at the same restaurants.

            One of the things about Retcon was that it was exclusive to Torchwood, no one else had access to it. Although Chris did send it to a friend for a breakdown so maybe someone had stolen the recipe then? Then again this was alien tech, they wouldn’t have the access to the chemicals that we did. Anyway, wasn’t it was a friend of a friend who worked at UNIT, they knew to steer well clear of us if they knew what was good for them.

            ‘Here you are.’ Ianto said, carefully placing my mug on the desk coaster. ‘This should help with the sick feeling.’

            ‘Oh you’re amazing.’ I said, sipping it slowly, it was rather nice actually – it was like chocolate and mint. ‘What is it?’

            ‘Old family recipe.’ He smirked. ‘I’m heading upstairs, do you want me to pass on a message?’   

            ‘Nah I’m working through all of the victims lives just now, I’ll be here for a while.’ I smiled. ‘Oh and how many people is it that we’ve given Retcon to?’

            ‘Two thousand and eighteen.’ Ianto said.

            ‘Great that’s a short list.’ I muttered. ‘Thanks Ianto.’

            ‘No problem.’ He said before jogging up the stairs, the click of the meeting door room opening and closing behind him.

            The sounds of the Hub were something that brought me a lot of comfort, when it was raining you could hear it on the ceiling, even though it was miles high. The soft bleeping of computers and whir of the medical equipment always told me that I was here, as well as the smell of coffee from Ianto’s station upstairs. I always loved to watch the reflection from the small river running through the bottom of the Hub, there was something so soothing about water. However as my gaze dropped, it landed on Suzie’s old desk. I shivered from the memory of what happened that night, a stinging sensation ringing through my stomach. The scar was almost healed now and perhaps, one day it would be a good story to tell my kid. Would they think I was a badass for having a scar? Cause I always thought they looked cool. 

            I shook my head, throwing myself back into my work. I had to narrow that list down to meet the detectives profile that she’d given us, there had to be a way of finding the killer. We were Torchwood for Christ’s sake, murders were meant to be pieces of cake for us.

 

***

 

Since this list was going to take a while to get through I decided to go to the nearby corner shop to grab a few things; crisps, a litre of apple juice and some chocolate. Those three staple foods got me through writing my dissertation at uni and I was gonna need them for the pile of paperwork I was gonna have to sift through. Everyone thought that making profiles was easy, that it didn’t take much work but when you were looking for a non-existent link between them, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack – without a magnet.

            However, when I came back to the Hub I realised that didn’t need a magnet because Gwen had the Resurrection Gauntlet clasping Mark Brisco’s head.

            ‘That woman…’ The corpse trailed off. ‘She was always talking to him.’

            ‘What was her name?’ Jack asked.

            ‘Where’s my wife.’ Marc cried.

            ‘Her name!’ Jack asked desperately.

            ‘Suzie.’

            No way.

            ‘What the fuck?’ I asked, bracing my arms on the rails of the med bay.

            ‘One minute five seconds.’ Ianto said breathlessly, his eyes as wide as mine as the corpse flatlined for a second time on the table.

            ‘Jack did I hear that right?’ Tosh asked.

            ‘Could be anyone.’ Owen said but his voice was as grave as anything. ‘There must be lots of women called Suzie.’

            ‘Not connected to this case.’ I said, my voice a ghost of itself. ‘There’s no link between the three victims and it’s her name, it’s her name Owen.’

            Holy shit, how could Suze be connected to this? I knew the past came back to haunt everyone but I didn’t think it meant literally!

            ‘We’ve been talking to the wrong corpse.’ Jack announced.

            ‘Why the fuck did we think that thing was a good idea?’ I asked, trotting down the stairs as Gwen nursed her hand. ‘We all decided after Suzie we weren’t going to touch that thing again.’

            ‘It was my idea.’ Gwen said, her voice shallow. ‘And it’s a good thing we did it because now…well we have a connection.’

            ‘What connection?’ I asked. ‘Suzie, yeah she’s dead and there’s no way in hell we’re bringing her back.’

            ‘Pilgrim.’ Owen said to me. ‘That’s what Marc said, that they were part of a group called Pilgrim.’

            ‘…Right well at least that’s something.’ I said, grabbing the railing. ‘I’ll get on it.’

            I didn’t bother looking at anyone else, rushing back to my desk as quickly as I could and logging back into my computer. In my head all I could see on that table was Suzie’s dead body and it frightened me.

At least I had a name to go off of now and in fairness to Gwen, she’s probably just saved me five hours of sifting through pointless data.

            Although, as I hit the internet and started saving everything I could on Pilgrim which from a first glance looked to be some sort of religious group, the stinging feeling in stomach returned. Ghost pain? Wasn’t that what it was called? The scar itself was fine but the brain was firing off the nerves because…well because it was a tad dramatic I presumed. It burned my skin as the sound of the bullet thundered through my ears. The water in the river was cold that night as I fell into it, but my blood was boiling warm, at least it felt that way. She didn’t even hesitate before shooting me, she didn’t even seem to think before she pulled the trigger. There was no way she was coming back, I don’t care if we had the fucking Glove – it wasn’t happening.

            I hit print as soon as I found the records logged into the police database, since according to the report all of Pilgrim and it’s paperwork had been stashed at the bottom of the wardrobe. From the photocopies on the database, it looked like everything had been written down by Sarah Brisco but the unfortunate thing was, she hadn’t taken a register. We couldn’t even check the names against it, damn it.

            My printer seemed to be going into overdrive as I printed copies for each of the team to look over, the mechanic whirring of my two year old printer trying its best to keep up. As soon as I got everything together, I quickly stapled it and was about to head up to the meeting room that the team had assembled in but unbeknownst to me, Jack had stopped at the side of my desk.

            ‘I can take those.’ He said, holding out his hand.

            ‘It’s fine I can manage the stairs, it’s not coffee’s I’m holding.’ I said sheepishly, remembering the last time I’d attempted the stairs and mug carrying at the same time.

            ‘I’m giving you the night off.’ Jack told me, his hand still outstretched.

            ‘What?’ I asked. ‘You’re kidding, I don’t need to go home.’

            ‘You’re on compassionate leave as and when I see fit.’ Jack said. ‘You’re grieving.’

            ‘What?’ I repeated. ‘No one died.’

            ‘You’re too close to this case, Suzie shot you.’

            ‘She also shot you too.’ I countered, standing up from my desk with the push of a hand. ‘I am fine Jack.’

            ‘Private Ross is waiting outside for you,’ Jack said. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’

            ‘Are you firing me?’

            ‘No I just want you to get your head around this before you jump into a case, your grieving.’

            ‘I’m not grieving.’

            ‘You’re still wearing your engagement ring.’ Jack said softly, his eyes flickering down to it for a moment. ‘I’ll let Private Ross know you’re on your way.’

            With that he took the papers from my hand, giving me a firm nod before he turned his back.

            ‘Why are you doing this?’ I asked before he could leave. ‘Jack…You can’t just shut me out from my job.’

            He paused for a moment before he turned.

            ‘I let you down Erin, I should of seen what the CIA were doing long before it got to this point, we have a history and for once I thought you’d be safe with me, I was wrong.’ Jack said. ‘I should of known Chris was a Trojan horse.’

            ‘Don’t call him that.’ I said.

            ‘I went by the manor the other day.’ Jack admitted. ‘The place looked empty.’

            ‘What about Chris?’ I asked.

            ‘Tired looking, irritable, he didn’t recognise me or Owen.’

            ‘Well he’s safe, that’s what matters.’ I said, my eyes turning back to the photo on my desk.

            You know, if I hadn’t of lied to Jack and if Chris didn’t remember me, I would of thrown this at his face. Hypothetically he’d forced me to do something that would alter my life forever and I was allowed to be angry but since he hadn’t, since I had lied I decided not to chuck the photo at him.

            ‘Go home, if there’s any updates I’ll get Ianto to let you know.’ Jack said, pressing a hand on my shoulder. ‘I know you hate me right now Erin but this is the best thing to keep him safe.’

            ‘You would know.’ I retorted and Jack froze. ‘Don’t think I haven’t seen those photos in your desk, wedding photos…I didn’t even get that far.’

            I chuckled bitterly then stood, grabbing for my jacket and bag, quickly throwing in all my things.

            ‘What’s gonna happen if Rhys ever asks Gwen to marry her I wonder.’ I smirked, giving him one last distasteful glance as I left.

            Did I feel bad for guilt tripping him? Yes but he was fully under the impression that I’d left my husband, that he’d made the love of my life forget me. He didn’t even seem to feel guilty so I was all for making him feel like shit. He didn’t know what it was like or perhaps, maybe he did.

            As I got over to the water tower and saw the black car waiting for me, I hopped in before Ross had the chance to get out.

            ‘Gotta be faster than that Jenkins.’ I smirked as he scoffed.

            ‘I didn’t even see you coming.’ He said. ‘My girlfriends gonna kill me.’

            So he did have a special someone, lucky girl.

            ‘Why?’ I laughed.

            ‘Because I didn’t hold the door for Torchwood.’

            ‘Oh so she’s in the know?’

            ‘Yeah she works at Torchwood two up in Glasgow.’

            ‘No way, I thought it was just some random dude called Archie.’ I said as Ross pulled away from the curb and we hit the streets of Cardiff. ‘So how did you two meet?’

            ‘Well I met her when I was doing basic training, she was passing by for a consult on some random operation UNIT had going on and I bought her a coffee – she’ll say she bought it but it was me.’

            I smiled brightly.

            ‘Oh that’s so cute.’ I told him. ‘How does she feel, you working down here while she’s up there?’

            ‘It’s not so bad, she sometimes comes down to visit me at the base and when I’m on leave I go up there.’

            ‘There’s this bar up there called The Alchemist, it makes a great date night, tell her to book a table the next time you’re meeting up.’ I told him.

            Ross looked back in the rearview mirror.

            ‘I might actually, that sounds kinda cool.’

            By the sounds of it, Ross was the same age as me, still young – well I didn’t feel young – I felt like my hips and spine were at least forty years older than my body.

            ‘When I told her I was driving you around for the foreseeable future, she couldn’t believe there was another Scottish person down here.’ Ross smirked. ‘Said she’d never spoken to anyone from Torchwood Three.’

            ‘We don’t really communicate that often but what’s her name, I could give her a call, should have her number somewhere in the system.’

            ‘Her names Mia, Mia Penddraig – her dad’s Welsh.’ Ross said. ‘Guessing you two haven’t met?’

            ‘Nope never but I’ll give her a call, say that her boyfriend is quite the gentleman.’ I smirked, leaning back in my seat. ‘So are you enjoying UNIT?’

            ‘Yeah the trainings brilliant and you get to see so much, Amelia’s not a fan of them mind you.’

            ‘I can sympathise.’ I grumbled.

            ‘Oi, we’re good at what we do.’

            ‘Oh yes you’re really good at being subtle and blundering in with guns and shooting everything in sight.’

            ‘We don’t blunder in!’

            ‘Oh so what is it Mia dislikes about UNIT so much then?’

            ‘That…I’m not answering that.’

            I burst into a fit of laughter, shaking my head.

            ‘I rest my case Private.’

            Ross shook his head, focusing on the road and as we pulled up to the Halliwell manor, Chris was already outside, the clouds darkening overhead but it didn’t seem to bother him. The light from his car beaming onto his motorcycle that he’d taken out of the garage, soft notes of music playing from the radio. He was only in a light shirt considering the cold air but at the sight of the car he stood up, wiping his hands with an oil covered tea-towel. They better not be the good tea-towels or I was going to kill him.

            The Private jumped out of the car, opening the door for me and standing to attention, minus the salute of course.

            ‘Hey baby.’ Chris said, tugging me in for a hug and kissing my cheek. ‘Ross.’

            ‘Sir.’ Ross nodded. ‘Ma’am, have a safe night.’

            ‘Ross are you sure you don’t want to come in for a drink or something?’ I asked. ‘You’ve probably not stopped all day.’

            ‘I wish I could ma’am but I’ve got to be back for evening drills.’

            I pursed my lips.

            ‘You know I could pull the Torchwood card and get you the night off?’

            ‘That’s very kind ma’am.’ He said. ‘But I best be getting back, have a safe evening.’       

            Then as quick as he’d arrived, Ross was off in the car again, the headlights disappearing down the drive.

            ‘I thought you’d be working late tonight.’ Chris said, sauntering back to working on his bike.

            ‘Jack sent me home, said I was grieving and needed more time.’ I said.

            ‘Grieving?’ Chris asked. ‘Oh yeah – me.’

            ‘Yeah you.’ I smiled, running my hand through his hair. ‘Now I’m going for a bath, you gonna stay out here?’

            ‘I’ve gotta fix the chain on this thing so I’ll be a while.’ He told me, grabbing a spanner.

            ‘Okay, I’ll see you inside.’

            Shame, I wouldn’t mind a ride on his motorcycle tonight.

 

***

 

Freshly out the shower with my skincare applied, my hair damp and my glasses on, I sat with my monthly budget binders, planning out how much money I needed to get towards my goals. It was no lie that Torchwood paid well but that didn’t mean I was in a position never to look at my bank account again.  

            Having budget binders was a method Mike had taught me growing up, except I made it prettier.

            I had just over a grand saved in the holiday folder and a further eight hundred put away for birthday’s. Which was another dilemma. Chris’ birthday was soon and I had no idea what to get him, since Melinda was planning a road trip or sky diving I was left to get something sentimental. Which was a fucking nightmare cause I had no clue what to get him. He wouldn’t appreciate a mix-tape and I couldn’t exactly book us a holiday away since that would be chancing God too much for my liking. Chris was a hard guy to buy for, last year I’d gotten him a blue stethoscope with his initials engraved on the front so I was out of ideas on the medical front. There had been some name badge pins that I’d seen that were fun though! But that was a little thing, I needed to get him something special that screamed ‘I love you so I got you this!’

            What that was though I had no fucking clue.

            I fiddled with the engagement ring around my finger, knowing in the back of my mind I was still getting married. I just wouldn’t have everyone there that I wanted to; Owen even though he hated weddings said he’d go and I’d always wanted to see Jack at a wedding. Gwen would have been good too, after our movie night at her place the other weekend, she was a right laugh. We’d gotten so drunk and talked about Owen’s…riding experience. Apparently he was actually quite good. Not that I’d ever shag him but still, it was fun to know.

            ‘Are you planning to make a run for it?’ Chris asked from the door, looking surprisingly clean from fixing his motorbike.

            ‘Nah just figuring out money goals and what to put away.’ I laughed, piling all the money back into the folders. ‘Is there anything you’re wanting for your birthday by the way?’

            ‘Nope don’t think so, I don’t need anything.’ Chris shrugged.

            Wow that was helpful thanks, I thought.

            ‘You visiting your family for it?’

            ‘Yeah I was thinking you and me could…’ He started but stopped himself, the smile falling from his face. ‘You can’t go, can you?’

            ‘No but you can.’ I encouraged him. ‘Your mum’s probably planned this big party for you in that house of hers, you should go.’

            ‘I don’t want to leave you here all by yourself.’ He said.

            ‘Oh I’m not alone, I have Ross driving me to and from work and I’ve got the team, I can even sleep over with Tosh for a couple nights.’ I told him. ‘Come on, I know you miss the states.’

            ‘It is warmer.’ He joked. ‘Even in the winter.’

            ‘See you are looking a little pale for my liking.’ I joked back. ‘How about you go to your mum’s for your birthday and then we’ll do a birthday thing here when you get back, I can invite all your friends from work.’

            ‘What like a party?’

            ‘Yeah like a party, we never throw them here and the house is big enough.’ I told him. ‘It’ll be fun.’

            ‘Well whatever you wanna do I’ll leave you to sort it.’ He said, kneeling on the bed to grab his glasses from his side, slipping them on his face and in doing so, I cupped his cheek. ‘What?’

            ‘You’re so fucking hot with those on.’ I told him.

            ‘Oh shut up.’ He laughed, kissing my fingers and heading off into the bathroom, closing the door behind him and starting the shower.

            What Jack doesn’t know can’t hurt him.

 

***

 

RING.

            RING.

            RING.

            I groaned, rolling over in bed, answering as quickly as I could knowing the only person this could be was Ianto. Even though he was a lovely person to wake up to, I wanted to sleep for at least three solid hours before being rudely awakened.

            ‘Hello?’ I grumbled.

            ‘Erin hi, I’m calling because there’s been some developments.’ Ianto said, clearly wide awake. ‘We figured out that Suzie did have a connection to the murders so we used the Glove to bring her back.’

            ‘Okay?’ I asked. ‘That was a terrible idea, anyway what’s happened?’

            ‘She’s uh, she’s still here.’

            ‘What?’

            ‘She’s not dead, in fact according to Owen’s equipment she’s very much alive.’

            ‘What?’ I exclaimed, blinking myself away and practically throwing my jeans on. ‘But that’s impossible she’s dead.’

            ‘Not anymore.’

            Chris muttered something under his breath as pulled the duvet over his shoulder, his sleepy eyes fluttering open.

            ‘What’s going on?’

            I pressed my hand over the microphone, in case Jack was nearby on the other end.

            ‘You know the woman that shot me Suzie Costello?’ I asked. ‘Well apparently she’s connected to the string of murders we’ve been working on and now she’s back from the fucking dead.’

            ‘It’s the middle of the night.’ Chris said. ‘But more importantly why are you getting dressed?’

            ‘I’ve gotta go to work.’ I said.

            ‘Ross is on his way, he’ll be there in ten minutes.’ Ianto continued. ‘I’ve also told Jack you’re taking the lead on this interrogation.’

            ‘Really?’ I asked, balancing the phone between my shoulder and ear. ‘How did you convince him to do that?’

            ‘Long story but I’ll see you when you get in, although bit of a warning, she does have a hole going from the bottom of her chin and the back of her skull is well…missing.’

            ‘Do you think she’ll remember why she shot me or do you think that part of her brain is still on the ground?’ I asked rhetorically, grabbing for my jacket and bag that was already prepped to go for the morning. ‘Right Ianto I’ll see you soon.’

            I chucked my phone in my handbag, darting about the nearly pitch black room when –

            BAM.

            My foot caught on the leg of the small chair, sending my knee spearing into the carpet.

            ‘Ow!’

            ‘…You alright?’

            ‘Yup.’ I popped back up, bright as a button. ‘Yup, yup I’m good.’

            I grabbed for my scrunchie, tying my hair back and then raced to find my shoes.

            ‘Why are you going in?’ Chris asked sitting up in bed. ‘The woman shot you, aren’t you too close to the investigation?’

            ‘Yeah but I’ve been given the lead on interrogating the woman so that kinda cancels it out.’ I said, knowing it didn’t really make sense I tried to figure out which shoe went on what foot.

            It was dark alright and sure turning the light on would help but I’d just gotten rid of the headache and I was not keen to start another one.

            ‘If you were on the operating table I couldn’t operate on you.’

            ‘Yeah but that’s the difference, she’s already dead well was so I can’t exactly kill her again, according to Ianto half her skulls missing – I think this might be a long one so just go back to sleep.’

            ‘If you get shot again I’m gonna kill you myself.’ Chris muttered, turning back over in bed.

            ‘Love you too!’

 

***

 

Ross was wide awake when he picked me up and promised to come back no matter what time of day it was, even though I told him he didn’t need to come and get me. I told him profusely as we whipped through Cardiff that I could of just gotten a taxi but Ross said he didn’t mind, it got him away from UNIT for a while.

            I told him that he should work for Torchwood after he finished his training but he politely declined, saying that all the glitz and the glam of the job put him off. What glitz and glam he was talking about however I had no idea, since I only now realised I wasn’t wearing a bra, technically yesterday’s underwear and I’d forgotten to put deodorant on. I’d also got dressed in the dark but thankfully most of my work clothes were black so it wasn’t too much of a disaster if I mucked it up.

            Then just like that, Ross dropped me off and I slowly trapesed down into the bowels of the Torchwood Hub, the air just that little bit colder as it nipped at my skin. The main area was quiet, the only sound to be heard was Owen thwacking his equipment from the medical bay and the small brewing of Ianto’s coffee machine from upstairs.

I headed down a level to the interrogation cells where I met Jack, who looked for once, happy to see me.

            ‘Miss Swann.’ He smirked. ‘So I’m sure Ianto told you but we have a dead woman on our hands.’

            We stood just a little bit up from interrogation room one, a two way mirror letting me see in.

            ‘Yes and even though she shot me I promise, I won’t punch her in the face.’ I said, my eyes looking down at the pitiful state that was Suzie Costello.

            ‘Ianto said you’d be the best person for the job and I’m inclined to agree with him.’ Jack said. ‘If anyone can get this out of her it’s you.’

            ‘You’re back.’ Gwen said, smiling softly. ‘You sure you’re alright to do this?’

            ‘Yeah.’ I said, taking the small brown folder that she handed me.

            ‘Erin has a way with words Gwen, she’ll get Suzie to talk and get down to the bottom of these murders.’ Jack said and I rolled my eyes.

            ‘I’m a chatterbox, that’s it.’      

            ‘Really?’ Gwen asked. ‘I mean, you always seemed quiet to me.’

            ‘I’m chatty when I want to be and when it comes to getting answers,’ I said, my eyes cast back down at Suzie. ‘I’ll get her to sing them.’

            I turned on my heel heading down yet another floor and pulling on the heavy metal door, making sure to close it behind me. I took my time walking down the stairs, looking Suzie up and down; her head lulled to the side and skin pale grey, she didn’t even flinch when my foot hit the floor or when I scraped the chair back.

            ‘How long’s it been?’ Suzie asked, her voice scratchy and dry.

            ‘Nearly three and a half, four months now I think.’ I told her softly, putting on a kind face.

            If I went in guns blazing with a spoon up my arse Suzie would shut down, I knew it. I also knew her personality type, she was snarky and sarcastic, independent yet tender when she wanted to be. She was also the bitch that shot me.

            Her eyes closed, her head resting against the handles of her wheelchair.

            ‘When can I die?’ She asked. ‘I just want to go, can’t you leave me alone?’

            ‘I hate to say this Suzie but I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.’ I told her, leaning my arms on the cool wooden table.

            Her eyes opened at that and it seemed to take most of her energy but she sat up a little straight.’

            ‘But…Am I going to stay like this? For how long?’

            ‘I don’t know.’ I shook my head. ‘I’ll be honest with you I wasn’t here when they brought you back and I said that they shouldn’t, given how you died.’ I lied.

            ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ She asked.

            ‘You shot yourself, you committed suicide.’ I said.

            ‘Can I see my father?’

            ‘I don’t think that would be wise.’ I said gently, leaning back in my chair. ‘You wiped your records before you ran, we couldn’t trace him; Tosh and I looked I can assure you but you were quite good with computers.’

            ‘So he doesn’t even know that I’m dead?’

            ‘No, he doesn’t.’ I said flicking open the file. ‘But Suzie right now we’re investigating a string of murders and according to this lovely folder that Tosh has drawn up for me, one thing connects them all – Pilgrim. A support group that you visited frequently, you gave an amnesia pill to someone called Max and we need your help to find him.’

            ‘What for?’ She asked. ‘What did he do? He was just an ordinary bloke.’

            My eyes flickered over the file as I read quickly what Owen wrote before looking back up.

            ‘The Retcon is believed to have triggered a psychosis, he’s become a murderer.’

            ‘How many victims?’

            ‘Three.’ I told her as my eyes caught a scrawled note in big letters. ‘But I need to know how much Retcon you gave him.’

            Owen had clearly written it but I knew he wouldn’t come down here, given I was the only one in the room with Suzie I presumed everyone else was a little scared of her. I knew Tosh wouldn’t come near her, she wouldn’t admit it but I knew she was superstitious. She told me that what Suzie had done had meant that the rest of us had to go on in this job, that now had a little less honour. I got what she meant but all the same, Suzie wasn’t dead anymore, did that mean we could try to start over? Maybe she could help? After she had a fair trial first though, she did murder three people.

            ‘Why did they send you?’ Suzie asked. ‘Out of everyone they sent you?’

            ‘I don’t know, I got dragged out of bed for this.’ I told her, ignoring the maddening itch around my scar.

            ‘Is it bad?’ Suzie asked, nodding to my stomach. ‘I’m guessing it hurt.’

            ‘I need to know how much Retcon you gave him Suzie.’ I said, not giving her the satisfaction of an answer.

            She sighed.

            ‘One a week, every week for two years.’ She admitted.

            Okay she really had fucking lost it – no wonder this Max dude had gone berserk

‘Why?’ I asked. ‘Why do that to someone?’

‘I just…I wanted someone to talk to about this place, it was driving me mad and he was just…he listened that’s all, he listened. Every week as soon as I’d finished talking I’d give him the pill.’

‘Did you ever consider you might be overdosing him?’ I asked. ‘This isn’t paracetamol we’re talking about here.’

‘No.’ Suzie snapped. ‘Keep getting it wrong don’t I? Is that why they brought me back? Didn’t the mighty Captain think I wasn’t guilty enough?’

‘I can’t speak for him Suzie you know that.’ I told her.

‘You and him were always so close, the two of you kept all those secrets – I heard you talking, about that precious Doctor of yours, always talking about the good old days like you were above it all.’

‘Jack and I have a shared history, that’s it, to tell you the truth though I’d rather smack him round the head.’ I laughed.

Suzie looked at me curiously.

‘Why?’ She asked but then her eyes caught sight of my hand as I fiddled with it. ‘Oh, oh that’s cold even for him.’

‘It’s complicated.’ I said, making sure to seem as if I was defending Jack. ‘But it’s for the best now back to-’

‘He told me he’d ask you to call it off.’ Suzie said. 

Hook, line and sinker, I thought.

But what made me pause for just a moment, was that Jack had lied to me. He said we could work it out even though he knew he’d have to ask me to call it off, CIA or not. Maybe the CIA was just an excuse.

‘Course he did, you were his second.’ I said, making sure to sniffle just a bit. ‘Max is what I’m concerned about though, did you know his surname?’

‘I don’t know, all I ever talked about was me.’ She scoffed. ‘It’s all my fault, isn’t it? Never stops being my bloody fault.’

‘Even the best people make mistakes Suzie, what separates them from the everyday guy though is the ability to move past them and make a difference.’ I said, giving her an encouraging smile.

One by one I took out the pictures from the folder, laying them out in front of Suzie.

‘Can you tell me if there’s anyone we’re missing from these pictures?’ I asked. ‘I’m worried they might be next.’

Suzie leaned forward, her shaking hands ghosting over the pictures, the cogs in her brain seeming to turn.

‘Hold on…there’s someone missing.’ She said. ‘This girl came every week, student, blonde…she’s not in these photos.’

‘Did you know her name?’ I asked.

‘Lucy, Lucy Mackenzie, said she worked at a club.’

‘Which one?’

‘The Wolf Bar.’ Suzie nodded.

Great, now I had everything I needed, I thought.

I gathered all the pictures back up, slipping them in the folder as Suzie withered away back into her wheelchair, her skin looking just that little bit greyer. Could she die? I wondered. What if she was just like Jack? We didn’t know much about the Glove to be certain of anything, maybe this was permanent. I bloody hoped not or this was going to get awkward.

‘Can I see it?’ She asked.

I smiled.

‘You want to see the scar?’ I asked. ‘You want to see your handy work?’

‘Oh now I’ve given you what you wanted the poison comes out.’ Suzie laughed. ‘That’s why they sent you, you look all cute and cuddly but there’s always an ulterior motive, even with you. You’re a means to an end Erin. How long do you think you’ll still work here for before it drives you mad?’

I shook my head.

‘Get some rest.’ I told her, jogging back up the stairs and locking the door behind me.

Jack met me at the end of the corridor, his hands poised on his hips.

‘So you want to smack me around the head?’

‘I just said that to get her to open up, which she did so you’re welcome.’ I said, slamming the case file against his chest, heading down the corridor.

‘Erin-’

‘Save it Jack, I don’t want to hear it.’

I did feel bad but then again, I didn’t have to. He really did believe he’d broken up my marriage and there was no way I’d just be fine with it, especially when he dragged me out of bed at an ungodly hour to do this interrogation. Suzie’s words stuck with me though, did I have ulterior motives? I didn’t think I did, I mean I always tried to be nice to everyone. That interrogation was a completely different scenario, I needed information and the dead woman was the only one who would give it, so what if I manipulated her by playing nice she’d fucking shot me!

Not that I held a grudge or anything, she was probably going through a lot at the time.

I made my way back to my desk, logging on and setting up my station, since I had a feeling this was going to be a long night. I did want to be in my bed, since my body still hurt and Chris’ back was the most amazing heat pad imaginable. Seriously, it was like having my own portable heat pad – I mean I know heat pads are portable but – you know what I mean.

I sent the Wolf Bar location to the satnav in the jeep, as well as look up the name Lucy Mackenzie on social media.

‘Tosh can you make sure once Suzie is up and about that she heads over to me, I need her to ID Lucy for me cause it’s kinda a common name.’ I said, peeking round my monitor.

‘Sure.’ She smiled but there was an unease to it.

‘Are you okay?’ I asked. ‘Is it Suzie?’

‘I just didn’t think I’d see her again, after what she did to all those people, to you, it’s not right.’ She said.

‘Tell me about it.’ I laughed, tapping away at my keyboard.

Twenty minutes later Jack, Owen and Gwen all headed out to the Wolf Bar, the feed being transmitted back to Tosh’s computer, whilst I worked away at my own, building up as many profiles on the victims as I could and comparing them with the data that Tosh had given me. I would of went and gotten Suzie from the cells but I didn’t want to look at her. Even though Ianto and Tosh were here I still didn’t feel comfortable bringing her into the main base, if I’ve learned anything over the course of my life it was to trust my gut and right now, it was telling me not to trust her.

A sudden wave of  sick purged through my throat and even after I tried to swallow it down, it only made it seem worse. I grabbed for the small bin under my desk, hurling up what felt like my lungs into it.

‘Jesus.’ I muttered, wiping at my lips.

‘Are you alright?’ Tosh asked, standing up from her desk.

‘Yip, yip all good just the flare up.’ I said, grabbing for some of that tea Ianto had made earlier, swirling it about my mouth and spitting it into the bin. ‘How’s it going over there?’

‘They’ve just arrived at the bar.’ Tosh said.

DING.

I smirked.

‘Oh I am good.’ I said, clicking open an email from my favourite Ross. ‘Okay Tosh listen up, Max is a tall large man,, tattoo’s, often wore leather, he has a goatee.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘Because I have a friend called Ross at UNIT and they have access to more camera’s than we do so when I cross checked the pilgrim meeting, UNIT has followed Max all the way back to his flat which means his name is Max Tresillian, he lives at one-hundred and six Endeavour Terrace.’ I swallowed, doing my best not to puke again. ‘Sending you his profile now.’

With a few buttons I sent it Tosh’s way and she sent it to the team, heaven forbid they got the wrong person and ended up tackling some random guy. That wouldn’t of been pretty.

There was part of me that wondered how Suzie was doing, since she was still downstairs in the interrogation room, I wanted to sit with her but at the same time I wanted her dead. Not killing her I mean but she was dead, she should stay like that. Especially after what she did. Suzie seemed to find some sort of peace in death, she had to of, she was the one asking us to let her go.  

            I wanted to ask her what happened when you died.

            Even though this night wasn’t what I was expecting, I carried on, not even bothering to look up when the team came back with the burly man known as Max. Gwen told me that he’d made a b-line for Lucy in the club and that she’d sent over everything to do with her to my email. I nodded, smiled and said I would get it added to the report. I knew that I was meant to play the part of a grieving wife or in this case widow but it was clear, everyone really was walking on egg shells around me. I had no idea why Ianto had convinced Jack to give me that interrogation, Jack used to be pretty good at torture in the future, he was good with getting people to open up (and spread their legs but that was another story for another time).

            ‘I was thinking we should let Suzie out, just for a bit.’ Gwen’s voice broke me from my thoughts.

            Had she left and came back or had she just been standing staring at me ever since they came back?

            ‘Why?’ I asked. ‘She’s safe down there, nothing’s going to hurt her.’

            ‘I just thought she might appreciate a bit of space, it’s cold down there.’ Gwen said.

            ‘She’s came back from the dead Gwen, she’s permanently cold.’ I said, laughing at my own little joke but stopped, knowing it wasn’t fair. ‘She’s fine down there, she’s still a serial killer and I’d rather not underestimate her.’

            ‘Alright then,’ Gwen said softly with a kind smile. ‘I’ll go and sit with her then.’

            With a nod she was off down the stairs and I returned to my work, sticking in my earphones and playing some Adele to calm me down, hoping the smooth melodies would calm the constant state of nausea my body was going through. Sickness spells weren’t a new thing, eating didn’t help, only drinking slowly seemed to work. Which is why when Ianto came back I asked him to get me some orange juice if he had the time, since the walk up the stairs would take me twice as long to get.

            With my earphones firmly in, I was ready to keep going but Owen pulled over a chair, plopping down at my desk. Okay is everyone just wanting to keep me from my work tonight?

            ‘You alright?’ He asked, clearly wanting something.

            ‘What is it?’

            ‘I just, I had an idea that’s all.’

            ‘Owen you had an idea?’ I asked sarcastically. ‘Oh Christ now I’m really getting worried.’

            ‘Oh piss off,’ He laughed. ‘I just thought that – well – I know you can’t see Chris anymore but I thought I could keep an eye on him for you.’

            ‘Huh?’ I asked, completely clueless as to what he meant. ‘I keep an eye on him fine enough from my laptop – that sounded really creepy but you know what I mean, I keep an eye on him to make sure he’s alright remotely.’

            ‘I meant more in the physical sense.’ Owen said.

            ‘Do you want to shag my ex-fiancé?’

            ‘No.’ Owen rolled his eyes. ‘I mean I could keep an eye on him, accidently bump into him in a bar, get to chatting and make sure he’s alright, he looked fucking miserable the other day.’

            ‘Bumping into him is what started this whole train wreck.’ I stated. ‘And wouldn’t you being there trigger the Retcon?’ I asked, pushing away from my desk, not really wanting to continue this conversation.

            ‘Not technically, I could just give a different name.’ Owen offered, standing in front of me so I couldn’t walk past him. ‘I just thought I could do it to give you some peace of mind.’

            ‘Or to keep an eye on him to make sure I’m not doing anything I’m not supposed to?’ I countered, completely on the defence.

            Oh there was a special place in hell for me, Owen was trying to do something nice and here I was being an asshole.

            ‘No of course not.’

            ‘You never even asked about meeting him before now.’ I said. ‘No one here did and it’s because we don’t have the time and I get that but why do you wanna get so close to him now?’

            ‘Because believe it or not I…care about you.’ Owen said. ‘Yeah you can be right up your own arse sometimes Swann but you loved the bloke which is more than I can say for any of us here. I just wanna keep an eye on him, make sure he stays out of trouble, be a friend if he needs it.’

            I thought over what he said and yes, it was an incredibly sweet thing for him to do and he’d came up with it on his own but wouldn’t it be too risky? Sure, Chris would have to put on an act and if he invited him out with his own friends they’d all have to keep up the story but at the same time…how could I say no?

            ‘If you have the time…I think that would be quite nice.’ I said fiddling with my fingers.

            Owen smirked.

            ‘Well then I’ll keep my eye on him – in a strictly friendship way.’ He joked before running back to the med bay.

            Okay, maybe Owen wasn’t a total arse.

 

***

           

It was only when I went back down the cells, shortly after Gwen had with some tea and biscuits that I realised—

            ‘Fuck.’

            The room was empty – where the fuck was Suzie?

            I jumped down the stairs, checking in all the dark shadows of the room but there was nowhere for her to hide, had she taken Gwen? Had she hurt her? Had Suzie done this? She was in a wheelchair and could barely lift her head for God’s sake she couldn’t of just walked out without us noticing.

            SHOOMP.

            The entire room plunged into darkness and I froze, hearing a thick clunk from the opposite end of the room. Now that, that would be the sound of the door…locking. I couldn’t see a thing so grabbed for my phone, using it as a torch and heading back up the stairs. I tried the door but it was no use, it wouldn’t budge.

            I pounded on the door, hoping this was some kind of sick joke but when I tried to call Jack, the phone beeped back, saying it had no signal. Okay, what the fuck?

            ‘Hello!’ I yelled, banging on the door with my fists.

            Oh I knew to trust my gut – what the hell was going on around here?

            ‘Hello!’

            ‘Erin!’ Ianto’s voice echoed through the door. ‘Erin are you alright?’

            ‘I’m fine!’ I shouted back. ‘What’s going on?’

            ‘It’s Suzie, listen it’s a long story but the Glove is killing Gwen to bring Suzie back but she’s put the base into lockdown, we’re trapped.’

            ‘Isn’t there a manual override?’ I asked. ‘Like last time, what about the thing Suzie scavenged that can open a lock?’

            ‘It’s down in the archives, we don’t have any power to bring it back up.’ Ianto said. ‘But you’re alright? The air’s still coming through the vents?’

            ‘I…I mean shouldn’t it?’ I asked, turning to the two small vents at the opposite side of the room. ‘The oxygen doesn’t cut off does it?’

            ‘No but this doors air-tight.’ Ianto said. ‘As long as air is coming through you should be fine.’

            I darted over to the vent and sighed feeling the cool air hit my hand.

            ‘Yeah I’m good!’ I yelled, running back to the door. ‘But Ianto are you saying Suzie planned this? How could she plan to kill herself then come back from the dead?’

            ‘We don’t know but listen I’m going to set up a relay on the water tower so we can get a signal, will you be alright here on your own?’

            ‘Yeah I’ll be fine, go.’ I told him.

            ‘If you need us there should be a set of pipes in there, if you hit them hard enough it’ll echo up to us.’ He said, before I heard his delicate footsteps walk away.

            Well this was just fantastic – out of every way I could of spent my evening being stuck in the interrogation room was not one. I couldn’t even call anyone to chat to because Suzie being the mastermind she is sent us into lockdown. This was just brilliant!

            I mean I could try to fling the chair at the two way mirror up there but it was probably reinforced, since I doubted I was the first person to ever do that. I also didn’t think I could throw it up that high I mean, I did have strong arms but with these flare up symptoms I wasn’t going to do a lot of anything. See this is why I should bring my bag with me anywhere I go, would it be a pain? Yes but at least I’d have a book to read in here to pass the time.

            At least Chris was enjoying his sleep, good for him, didn’t resent him at all for it.