Trusting the Enemy

Chapter 19

            "It's been too long." Shylah spoke, breaking the silence that had fallen over Torchwood Three ever since the sun had risen. "We should go back out."

Jack rose to his feet; the circles under his eyes made him look dead. "Ianto, with me. Gwen, Tosh, Shylah, you're a group."

"Jack you need to sleep, you were up all night searching... you only just got back." Gwen gave him a concerned look. "What if we run into something? You are in no condition to fight."

Jack looked like he was going to argue but Ianto put a hand on his shoulder and Shylah watched him drop back into his chair. "Shylah, go with Ianto. Do not lose sight of your partner and check in with the other group every five minutes. I'll stay behind in case Owen shows up."

Shylah holstered a handgun before following Ianto back outside. "We can trace the signal from his communicator, if it doesn't respond then let's hope it at least still carries the tracer."

"And if that doesn't work?" Gwen asked as she followed behind them. "Then what?"

"We do it the old fashioned way and start walking." She replied.

Tosh gave a sigh making them all glance at her as she lowered her cell phone. "He still isn't answering."

"You know Owen, he could be busy at the moment." Ianto's comfort was empty despite the fact he was trying. "You two should go check his flat, we'll trace a signal."

"Who put you in charge?" Shylah asked a bit fiercely before nodding in agreement. "But he's right. Go, remember to report back, I don't want Jack on my ass about losing someone else."

She started typing information into the tracking device on her wrist, courtesy of Jack, and was relieved with a blinking signal showed up. She started following it immediately with Ianto at her side.

"It wasn't your fault Owen went missing, you aren't the one who gave the order to search for Time Lords." Ianto paused to wait for a car before crossing the street. "Everyone is at fault, we could've argued with Jack to keep helping with the search but we didn't."

"Well this search shouldn't take long, I mean the signal is perfectly clear." Shylah commented. "He isn't far away either, perhaps he just stopped to rest on his way back."

"Owen would've checked in." Ianto replied with a slight frown. "He may be a bit of a... risk taker... but he wouldn't just do something like this and make Jack waste his time."

"Your doctor will have more than Jack to deal with if this is him wasting our time." She grumbled before climbing up a fire escape to get to the signal's origin. "I could be sleeping in right now."

"What happened to all that energy you had after coming back to life?" Ianto questioned a bit jokingly. "Don't tell me you want to sleep like the dead."

"No but you and the others were when Jack woke you up. I was using the computers to check street camera's for any signs that the Letifer Anguis survived."

"Did they?"

"No." Shylah walked away from the edge to give Ianto room to join her on the roof before looking around. "I don't see him."

Ianto didn't reply and she glanced over to see him near the corner of the roof examining the small communicator. "There's blood on it."

"How fresh?" She jogged over and crouched down beside him to get a closer look. What she saw wasn't good. "Contact the others, it's past five minutes anyway, they could've found something."