Daughter of Torchwood

Rhys

Warning – Talk of animal abuse and meat

The drive through the bright, afternoon streets of Cardiff was far more relaxed than the usual midnight scrambles. The sun reflected off the glass of the Millennium Centre as Jack navigated the SUV through the 2:00pm traffic.

"So, Sarah tells me you've got a new team member," Jack said, glancing in the rearview mirror at his daughter. Starla was squeezed into the back seat between Gwen and Ianto, while Owen was in the front, nursing a large coffee.

"Yes, Rani Chandra. She's had a hell of a first two weeks with us."

"Yeah?" Gwen shifted, looking interested, "What has the Bannerman Road gang been up to?"

"Well, her first day consisted of a clown named Odd Bob kidnapping children; turns out he was the Pied Piper back in the 13th century. Then an astrologer tried to control the population via people's star signs."

The team sat in silence for a moment, processing the absurdity. Ianto was the first to speak, his voice dry, "It's a wonder you ever find the time to get any schoolwork done."

Starla grinned, then leaned forward with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Oh, how was your date with Dad?" she asked, looking at Ianto, "Do I get to start calling you my stepdad now?"

"No," Ianto blushes, catching Jack smirking to himself in the driver's seat.

"But it was such a good date!" Jack protested, grinning at the road ahead, "The wine was excellent, the company was better, I thought we were making real progress."

Starla laughed, the sound bright in the afternoon air, "So, where are we actually going?"

"There's been a lorry crash," Owen informed her, finally putting his coffee down, "The contents are reading as 'suspicious' on the long-range scanners. It doesn't match any known livestock or cargo."

As the SUV pulled up, the afternoon sun illuminated the wreckage with unforgiving clarity. The police had blocked off the area, their blue lights pale against the daylight. A large articulated lorry was on its side, the metal groaning. Nearby, a smaller car had been smashed and flipped completely over.

The Torchwood team stepped out, Jack and Gwen first, followed by Ianto, Starla, and Owen. They moved with a practised efficiency that made the surrounding police officers move out of their way.

Jack stepped into the back of the tilted lorry first, flicking on his torch. The others followed, stepping over shattered crates. Starla immediately recoiled, hit by a foul, iron-heavy smell.

Jack pushed a heavy layer of plastic sheeting aside and stopped. On the floor lay a large, quivering clump of deep red, bloody meat.

"Ugh." Jack pressed his boot into the mass. It was dense, dripping with thick, dark fluid, but otherwise perfectly still.

"Oh, it stinks," Starla said, covering her nose, "Like a butcher's shop left out in the sun."

"No bones, just dense flesh," Jack observed, leaning in.

"It's not like any flesh I've ever seen," Owen muttered, standing near the entryway, "Too much haemoglobin, even for a mammal this size."

"What do you think it is?" Gwen asked.

Jack knelt for a better look. "Well, as there haven't been any giant cow sightings this morning, I suggest we take a sample back to the Hub." He stood up, and Owen immediately reached into his kit for a scalpel.

Starla stayed in the truck with Owen, holding the torch steady for him as he worked. The red blood pooled around the slab as Owen cut it away, staining the floor of the trailer.