Apocalypse Rising (Book Three)

Prying

"Gwen, you really shouldn't be - "

"Please," Gwen Cooper, former Cardiff police officer, begged Toshiko Sato, the Torchwood computer genius. "Whatever it is he's doing, it's eating at him. How did he get that necklace?"

Tosh sighed. "We were coming back from a mission in London when he just disappeared. It was a few hours before he returned, but he had that necklace with him."

"All he said was that it was alien," Owen Harper, the medical director, rolled his eyes. "We sort of figured that out on our own."

"Come on!" Gwen coaxed. "But we could help him!"

"What Jack does is Jack's business," Tosh shook her head. "We can't - "

"Tosh," Gwen told her. "I've seen him looking at five different women on the same day. On his phone."

Owen raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really?"

"All a different woman, but he looks at them the same way," Gwen nodded. "If we can get into his computer, we might know what's going on."

Tosh bit her lip. "I'm not sure if - "

"For Jack," Gwen told her.

Tosh sighed, that did it for her. "All right. Let's see here . . . " She got to work on her computer, typing away as fast as she could. "I can't believe I'm about to do this . . . "

"This'll be good," Owen grinned, standing up and walking over.

"What's going to be good?" Ianto Jones asked as he walked down the staircase with a tray of coffee.

"Tosh is hacking Jack's computer," Gwen answered, taking a cup without looking.

Ianto blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Whatever Jack's private project is, it's coming over him," Gwen explained. "If we just know what it is - "

"Whoa," Tosh blinked as a classified case file came up. "Blocked by UNIT, Level 10. That's their highest clearance level!"

"What's Jack doing with a Level 10?" Owen asked, frowning.

"Can you get in?" Gwen asked.

"I can try." Tosh started typing, and then the file name came up. "Classified file on their scientific advisor . . . from the 1970s!"

"What?" Ianto blinked, leaning in to look.

It was of a blonde woman with short hair and green eyes, but the green had specks of gold in them. She was wearing a white blouse and black dress pants and shoes, a mischievous look in her eye. "Do they say what her name is?" Gwen asked.

"No," Tosh shook her head. "But the file name is Apocalypse."

Owen snorted loudly. "They have an agent they classified as the end of the world?"

"But that's one of the women I saw on his phone," Gwen nodded. "It's definitely her."

"Got a fix on another," Tosh said, typing. "She's been seen recently - " Her jaw dropped when an intimidating Israeli woman appeared on the screen, dark eyes piercing. "Oh, my God!" she gasped.

"What?" Owen asked, narrowing his eyes. "What is it?"

"I've seen her before!" Tosh breathed, looking her over. Yes, it was the same woman! "10 Downing Street, when that ship crashed into Big Ben. She came looking to investigate into the space pig! That's the exact same woman!"

"Do you know what her name was?" Gwen asked.

"I never asked her," Tosh shook her head. "But she said she was qualified as some kind of a doctor."