The Middle Men

(Open POV)

Stuart's office…

PhiCorp HQ, Los Angeles.

"I pulled everything I could find on the Shanghai deal. And you're due to chair the PhiCorp executive board at four o'clock." Janet said.

"Thanks, Janet." Stuart said.

"Stuart, is everything all right? You don't seem happy."

"Everything's fine. We're living in miraculous times. I couldn't be happier. You shouldn't call me Stuart in the office."

"Sorry, Mister Owens." Janet said, leaving the office.

"Of course, suicide is impossible now, but people are becoming inventive. They're finding ways to get as close to death as possible. That's the philosophy of the 45 Club. People who believe that jumping from forty five floors up or higher is the only guaranteed way to lose consciousness forever. It's sick, but just the same, the 45 Club is catching on." A psychiatrist said, on TV.

"I've seen the reports from New York, Tomoeda, San Francisco, Mitakihara, London, Academy City, Milan. They all indicate…" The interviewer said, on TV.

Stuart makes a phone call.

"Wai. Who's calling, please?" Zheng asked, his voice over the phone.

"It's Stuart Owens." Stuart said.

"How can I help you, sir?" Zheng asked, his voice over the phone.

Stuart's office / Zheng's office…

"This must be strictly confidential. My eyes only." Stuart said.

Shanghai, China, 11pm.

"Is that acceptable?" Stuart asked.

"Of course." Zheng said.

"In 1999, a large parcel of land near Shanghai centre was purchased by a division of PhiCorp. That's where the records end. I need to know exactly what's happened to the land since then."

"PhiCorp construction?"

"Not on paper. There are subsidiaries, shell companies."

"May I ask what this is about?"

"Do you need to know?" Stuart asked.

"It could be of some help." Zheng said, smiling.

"Of course you are aware of the changes going on in the world."

"Yes. My Uncle was dying. Now he's not."

"I'm trying to understand what happened, whether PhiCorp had anything to do with it. I believe this construction site is key."

"I asked my uncle what happened. He told me to never question a Miracle. You may not like what you find." Zheng said.

"He may be right." Stuart said.

"Call me back in a few hours."

Zheng Yibao walks down an alleyway, and shoots the lock off a metal gate. He goes inside the lot.

Stuart's office…

Los Angeles, 5pm. Stuart makes the second phone call.

"Wai?" Zheng asked, his voice over the phone.

"It's me. You told me to call back." Stuart said.

"Yes."

"What did you find?"

Shanghai rooftop / Stuart's office…

"A dead end." Zheng said.

"What do you mean? What are they building?" Stuart asked.

"There's nothing there. I looked, I found nothing. Nothing at all. Goodbye, Mister Owens."

Zheng joins the Shanghai branch of the 45 Club.

San Pedro Restricted Area…

As module five vents white smoke, Rex records his statement on his camcorder.

"My name is Rex Matheson. I'm with the CIA. I'm on an operation inside the San Pedro Overflow. No, strike that. I'm not with the CIA, or any U.S. government authority. I'm with Torchwood. And we're gonna expose everything that's going on here, everything that I just witnessed." Rex said, pausing to take some painkillers prescribed by the late Doctor Vera Juarez. "They're calling them Category Ones, and from what I've seen, don't ever let them call you that. The minute you hear Category One, you'd better get the hell out of Dodge, because they are going to burn you. That's what this place is for. Incineration. And we all know the drill. They'll start with the Category Ones, the ones who can't protest. Then they'll go on to convicted felons or illegal immigrants, hell, anyone we just don't like, because everybody gets sick, which means one day everybody ends up here. Those ovens are waiting for all of us. But I will tell you one thing. I'm gonna find the bastard that killed Vera. Oh, yeah, and I'm gonna burn his ass."

San Pedro Admin…

Esther is still trying to call Vera.

"End of shift. We're done." Rachel said, looking at Esther.

"Oh. Guess we should go." Esther said.

"Damn straight. They don't pay overtime. And make sure you get paid in cash, not checks."

San Pedro Overflow Camp…

In the queue to leave the camp.

"I've got two thousand dollars with the Savings Expedition. They said, you can't remove it. I said, that's my money. They said, it's a national emergency. I said, well, if it's an emergency then I'm gonna need every cent." Rachel said.

Esther notices Maloney walking alone, "Hey, I forgot my cell. You go on ahead. Don't wait for me."

Apartment…

"Why aren't you letting us come with you?" Mikoto asked.

"It is a bit weird." Uiharu said, sadly.

"Jack and I have to get to the bottom of this." Jared said, grabbing Jack's hand.

"Which involves investigating some PhiCorp employees." Jack said, smirking.

"So you're going out there, together." Shirai said, looking between Jack and Jared.

"It won't take long. I promise." Jared said, smiling.

"You always promise things." Saten said.

"I do. But most of the time I live up to them."

"Yeah…" Mikoto said, letting out a sigh. "Don't make us wait too long, Jared."

San Pedro Admin…

Another woman is at Esther's desk.

"You're kidding me. They didn't tell you?" Esther asked.

"Tell me what?" A woman asked.

"They asked me to stay on. Double shift. They said to go check in with the categorisation centre, help with processing."

"They say one thing and then they say another."

The woman leaves and Esther watches Ralph and Maloney through the glass office walls. Then she gathers some papers, knocks and enters.

Maloney's office…

"What is it?" Maloney asked.

"I just, er, I just received these forms, and I'm new, I don't know what to do, but I think they're for you." Esther said, holding the stack of papers.

"What forms?"

"I don't know. Some sort of wage form in cash. Not sure."

"Just leave 'em on the desk. Badminton."

"I'm sorry?"

"Badminton. I was sweating profusely. Do you play?"

"No sir. Right. Okay. So, well, I was sent to be your liaison, and if there's anything else I can do for you, just ask. Anything at all."

"I'm fine." Maloney said.

"Tea? Coffee? Or…" Esther said.

"No, thanks. I'm fine. Back to work with you. Come on, hop, skip, jump."

"Yes, sir." Esther said, leaving the office.

"Oh, my God. I did not agree to this." Ralph said, looking at Maloney.

"Everything's gonna be fine." Maloney said.

"But we murdered her."

"No, no. The modules were designed to kill, therefore death within this compound is legal."

"How does that work?"

"Because I say so."

San Pedro Admin…

Esther is trying to eavesdrop when a man comes up to her.

"Did you see this day staff? They're illegal immigrants, all of them. They can't even spell. Look at this. This is wrong." Tony said, annoyed.

Maloney's office…

"We're gonna get arrested for this." Ralph said.

"No. No, we won't. No, no, no, no. Because this is what you're gonna do." Maloney said.

San Pedro Admin…

"This is wrong. This is wrong. It might make sense in Mexico, but not here. This is wrong." Tony said.

Maloney's office…

"You're gonna take her car and drive it into San Pedro. You know that shopping mall, the Constitution Mall? Drop it off there. It's a huge car park, thousands of cars. And we've got trucks that go past there every half hour, so just authorise yourself a drive back. She goes missing, it's got nothing to do with us." Maloney said.

"Is that gonna work?" Ralph asked.

"Ralph, they're never gonna find her. She's dust."

"Oh, Jesus."

"And we put this place on red alert, complete lockdown. Because lockdown means that every member of the staff is logged and noted. It'll give us a perfect alibi. She disappeared halfway across town while we were on duty all night." Maloney said, making a call. "Security? Yeah, give me the chief. We're going to condition one."

San Pedro Overflow Camp…

Rex is still filming, "They're moving men and equipment to the gates. Something's going on."

San Pedro Admin…

"Let's go, everybody. Lockdown." A soldier said.

"That's right. We're officially in lockdown, folks. Nobody leaves until further notice. Yes sir. This is a drill. We're testing our readiness in case of emergency." Maloney said.

San Pedro Overflow Camp…

"This site is now in lockdown. I repeat, this site is in immediate lockdown." Someone on the speaker said.

"It's a lockdown. Yeah. Look at that. They're closing the gates on the slaughterhouse. There's no way they're stopping me. I will get this evidence out." Rex said, recording the lockdown.

San Pedro Admin…

Esther tries to ring Vera again.

"I said it's lockdown, miss. What is it?" Maloney asked.

"Esther. Esther Drummond. Sorry, I just needed to call home." Esther said, holding her phone.

"Well, read the rule book. All exterior calls have to be authorised by me."

"What about visitors, sir? Shouldn't we escort them out? Isn't that observer still here? The one from Washington, Doctor Juarez."

"No, she left. She's gone. As a matter of fact, she said I was running an excellent command. Very good indeed. That's her exact words. Very good indeed."

Cowbridge Overflow Camp tent…

"Doctor Patel? Are you Doctor Alicia Patel?" Gwen asked.

"I'm sorry, can it wait?" Patel asked.

"No, listen, you've got to change this paperwork. There's been a mistake. It's about my father. Geraint Wyn Cooper, he's been placed in Category One, but he's not that bad, I swear. I've seen him, he's just unconscious."

"Well, it's debatable. There's a fine line between Category One and Two."

"No, but you saw him. You labelled him. And there's definitely been a mistake."

"I'm just following the guidelines given by the government."

"Can you take another look?" Gwen asked.

"If I did that for you, I'd have to do it for everyone. We're under enough pressure as it is." Patel said, looking at Gwen.

"I understand, but. Sorry, listen. You, you have to change this, okay? They move the Category Ones at six am. They'll take him to the module."

"Sorry, not my department."

"Really? Is that so? Well, do you even know what your department is, Doctor Patel? Do you even know what really happens here? Do you know what happens in the module?"

"Like I said, I'm rather busy."

"They burn people. They burn living people. The Category Ones, they're still alive but they're being burnt. This place has been built around institutional murder."

"I'm not the one who makes the rules."

"You knew about this." Gwen said, looking at Patel.

"Category Ones are dead. That's the law. Under the emergency rulings for the sake of public health, dead bodies can be incinerated en masse." Patel said.

"Well, I'm glad you've got the law on your side. But are you actually there in the module? Are you actually throwing the switch? Well, are you? No. No, you're here. You're nice and safe, hidden behind your paperwork. You haven't got the nerve to actually watch them burn, because then you'd have to face the truth, wouldn't you? That this isn't a hospital. This is a concentration camp."

"If you'll excuse me."

"They built a concentration camp here in Britain today and you, you, you are one of the staff."

"The entire healthcare system is about to collapse. What else am I supposed to do?"

"You say no. You say no, that's what you do. For the love of God, you say no." Gwen said.

"I can't." Patel said.

"Don't you dare. Don't you dare. Don't you dare look at me and tell me you're obeying orders. Don't you bloody dare. Oh, and one more thing. Don't call yourself a doctor. Not anymore. Shame on you."

Cowbridge Overflow Camp…

"Rhys." Gwen said, running up to Rhys.

"Oh, my God, I was driving them to the module. I was driving living people into the ovens!" Rhys said, terrified.

"You weren't to know, all right? You were just doing your job."

"Yeah? Well, I'm not doing it anymore. I quit the bastard thing."

"Well, not just yet. I need you to do one more transfer for me. My dad. We're taking him out."

"We can't. The compound's closed down. No more movement orders till six a.m." Rhys said.

"I know, Rhys. That's when they're gonna take my father to his death, all right? I need you to steal some keys. I need you to get a hold of a lorry. I don't, I don't know. I just need you to do something." Gwen said.

"Of course I will."

"The nurses, they change over at five a.m. That's our only chance. I'll get my dad, you get a truck, okay?"

"Okay."

"We can do this. We can beat the system. We can beat them all. We can do what the Railgun did with Level 6 Shift. All right? Go." Gwen said, running away from Rhys.

(Jared's POV)

Los Angeles Bar…

Janet gets a text from an unknown number - what are you drinking? She replies, do I know you?

"No, Janet, you don't know me, but we know you." Jack said, while I am drinking a pina colada.

"Yeah? The two of you work at PhiCorp?" Janet asked.

"You didn't answer his question. What are you drinking?" I asked, still sipping on the pina colada. "So, good. Well, whatcha drinking?"

"Appletini."

"Your name is Janet Rae Tanner. You're twenty seven years old, five nine, a hundred and nineteen pounds. The youngest daughter of Gerald and Elaine Tanner of Nantucket, Massachusetts. You moved to California to attend college where you earned a bachelor's degree in art history. You currently reside in a Westwood apartment. You go to the gym three times a week and you drive your hybrid downtown every day to an administrative assistant position at PhiCorp Industries." Jack said.

"And you're some creepy stalker dude last seen on America's Most Wanted." Janet said, nodding to me. "He should stay away from you. He looks innocent enough to not be around you."

"I may be wanted, but it's not what you think." Jack said.

"Listen, I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but I'm meeting someone."

"You're meeting someone, yeah. But that is after he has dinner with his wife." I said, sipping on the pina colada.

"We came across some emails from you to your boss Stuart Owens. Can't wait to see you. Nice. Then Happy Valentine's Day. Sweet. Then a little less subtle. You can so do me tonight. Ouch." Jack said, smiling.

"What do you two want?" Janet asked.

"We want your help, Janet. Right now we've got some friends risking their lives because we think PhiCorp is doing some very bad things and we need to find out who's behind it."

"Please, you can't tell anybody about us."

"We won't. I promise. We only want some information from your boss." I said, placing the pina colada on the table.

"I wouldn't do anything to hurt him." Janet said, looking between Jack and I.

"Sweet Janet Rae, we wish he felt the same about you. I'm sending you some more emails from Stuart Owens to the head of PhiCorp Human Resources requesting your transfer to Cincinnati. Whoo hoo! He's such a romantic." Jack said, typing into his phone.

"Bastard." Janet said, annoyed.

"I like the bit where he calls you limited. Limited. So what do you say, Janet? The three of us could sit here drinking Appletinis and complaining about men all night. Or we can go get that PhiCorp boss of yours. What do you say, Janet Rae?" Jack asked.

Los Angeles Restaurant…

Jack walks in with me and the hat check boy takes his coat.

"Love the vintage coat." Hat check boy said.

"Thanks. Maybe the four of us should have a drink sometime." Jack said, happily.

"The four of us?"

"You, me, Jared and the coat." Jack said, slapping the boy's rear and moves into the restaurant proper.

"There he is, Jack." I said, as Stuart is perusing the menu with his wife. "Let's go."

"Well, I suppose I should have the salad." Stuart said.

"Salad? Boring! I'd rather go for the steak. Maybe a large bourbon and maybe a packet of Marlboro. Why not?"

"He's right. We're gonna live forever, right? Courtesy of PhiCorp." Jack said, smirking.

"Excuse me, I think the two of you are at the wrong table." Stuart said, looking between Jack and I.

"You're Stuart Owens, aren't you? You're the Chief Operating Officer for PhiCorp Industries."

"You and your friend obviously know who I am or you both wouldn't be here. The question is, who are you two?"

"Well, we're friends of Janet's. She's your secretary, right?" I asked.

"We met at a bar, the one you were planning on going to after dinner. Does your wife know?" Jack asked.

Stuart's wife leaves the table.

"Elizabeth." Stuart said, looking at Elizabeth.

"Don't go or we'll hurt her. Our associates are holding Janet hostage. You need proof?" Jack asked, and I hand Stuart my iPhone 4S.

Restroom / Restaurant…

"Hello? Who's there?" Stuart asked.

"Help. Help me." Janet said, sadly.

"Janet, where are you?"

"I don't know. I'm in a cellar. They've got me tied up. They're hurting me, Stuart. Make them stop."

Stuart returns the phone to me, "What exactly do you want?"

"We'll let you know when it's safe to release her. I promise she'll be fine." I said, placing my phone near my ear.

"Go get him. You and Captain Jack Harkness get him, Jared. Thank you for the drinks." Janet said, happily.

Lost Angeles Restaurant…

"We want the truth." I said, ending the call and placing my phone back inside my pocket.

"About what?" Stuart asked.

"The Miracle. How was it done? Why was it done? How can it be undone?" Jack asked.

"Why would I have the answer?"

"When the day came, PhiCorp was ready. We found warehouses stocked with painkillers waiting for the Miracle to come along."

"That's your smoking gun?"

"You're a man in charge. You knew it was coming."

"Mister…" Stuart said, looking at Jack.

"Harkness. Captain Jack Harkness. And this is my friend, Jared Shay." Jack said, squeezing my hand.

"Are you with the military?"

"He's not with the American military. We represent the people who are trying to stop PhiCorp." I said, sipping on the pina colada.

"So that security breach on the thirty third floor…" Stuart said.

"That was us."

"It's not me you both are after. In fact, I've been trying to find out the truth just as much as the two of you. I'm not a bad man, Mister Harkness, Mystery Shay." Stuart said, looking between Jack and I.

"Call me Captain." Jack said.

"I'm not a bad man, Captain, Mister Shay. I'm not a good one, either. I'm a middleman in every sense of the word. And faced with the thought of being who I am for God knows how long, I'm just as keen as you two to find out exactly what's going on. Especially with the stock market threatening to collapse, a man like me needs insurance. You two don't believe me. You think I'm the epitome of evil, the devil in a three piece suit." Stuart said.

"In our experience, that's how it works." Jack said, grabbing my hand.

"Your experience must be rather simple. You have a rather archaic view of good versus evil, don't you?"

"If you could say so. Well, can you tell us who is behind this? Who's behind Miracle Day and PhiCorp?" I asked, as Jack squeezed my hand.

"I've been trying to find out. I've sent agents all over the world following the paper trail, the backroom deals, the holding companies within holding companies. That's when I came face to face with the true face of evil." Stuart said.

"Which is the system itself."

"Precisely. If the schemes and conspiracies are being plotted, then they must be seen only as patterns, waves, shifts that are either too small or too vast to be perceived. Someone is playing the system right across planet Earth with infinite grace, beyond any one person's sight. No, I'm sorry, Captain, Mister Shay, but PhiCorp isn't controlling this. Profiting, yes, but this is part of a much larger design way beyond any of us."

"But how can you be part of it and not know what's going on?" Jack asked.

"Let me give you an example. These warehouses full of drugs, no doubt you'd love to uncover an incriminating memo dated the day before Miracle Day signed by me authorising the stockpiling of painkillers. The truth is, a pattern like that began say maybe five years ago with the systematic increase in production in random factories around the world, based on market share projections. What was the warehouse?" Stuart asked.

"Washington D.C., at Third and Boston." I said, sadly.

"I'd imagine transportation of the drugs to the Third and Boston was then carried out over a twelve month period by, say, maybe five different haulage companies outsourced to seven or eight different independent suppliers."

"So that means everyone's to blame." Jack said, frowning.

"Everyone and no one. Whoever is behind this, they don't show themselves. Not to me, not to you both. But to play the system like this, the markets, the politics, industry, they had to be planning this for a very long time. I wish I knew who they were." Stuart said.

"We were told that the miracle involves geography. Does that mean anything?"

"No. But there is one word that my operatives picked up dating back to the mid-nineties and then erased."

"What is it?"

"The Blessing."

"What does it mean?" Jack asked.

"There was a document from Italy from a source inside the Council of Ministers, a contact then deceased. It simply referred to The Blessing. It said, they have found The Blessing." Stuart said.

"Yes, excuse me. Could you direct us to Mister Owen's table?" A policeman asked.

"That's his table there." Maitre said, pointing to Stuart's table.

"It seems my wife called the authorities. Hmm." Stuart said.

Jack and I have gone.

(Open POV)

San Pedro Overflow Camp…

A Humvee enters.

"Go ahead." A young guard said.

A helicopter flies overhead. Esther clicks her pen and watches Maloney in his office. Rex fastens the red clothes peg to his jacket then overturns a few empty barrels.

"What the hell was that?" The young guard asked.

"Check it out." The older guard said.

The soldier finds Rex lying by the barrels.

"Sir? Are you all right? What's a Cat One doing out here?" The young guard asked.

"Sorry." Rex said, knocking the young guard out with one punch.

"Billy, do you read me?" The older guard asked, on the radio.

Rex answers it, "Er, yeah, yeah, it's me."

"What's going on?" The older guard asked, on the radio.

"Well, we got new orders." Rex said.

"New orders?"

"Yeah. They need you at the modules. They need more men at the module. You'd better get down there pronto. I'm already here."

"What about the checkpoint?"

"I don't know, they said to just leave it. They said er, I don't know what they said. I wasn't listening."

"That sounds like you. I'm on my way."

Rex dresses in Billy's uniform and uses his card to open a secure gate.

"Identify yourself. Identify yourself." Someone on the speaker said.

"Er, just need to get out. Going out for a smoke." Rex said.

"Sure, man. Go ahead."

And out into a group of soldiers.

"Thanks." Rex said.

"Who the hell are you?" A soldier asked, looking at Rex.

Maloney's office…

Ralph enters, "Someone's breached the compound. Someone with a camera."

"No, no, no. Nothing's going wrong. Nothing, nothing, nothing." Maloney said.

"He wants to talk to whoever's in charge." Ralph said.

"No, he doesn't. No, no, no. No, he doesn't. No. Okay, who is he?"

San Pedro Admin…

"What's that supposed to mean?" Maloney asked.

"I don't know. He said Torchwood." Ralph said.

"All right, you wait here. I'll deal with it."

"Mister Maloney? I need your signature on this." Esther said, walking up to Maloney.

"Not now." Maloney said.

"I can walk with you."

"I said, not now!" Maloney said, leaving the room.

"So where's he going?" Esther asked.

Ralph goes back into Maloney's office.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tony asked.

"After Mister Maloney." Esther said.

"How blonde are you? It's a lockdown. We haven't got clearance. Got to stay at your desk."

San Pedro Generator room…

Rex is chained to a metal support strut, "I'm telling you right now, you're making a big mistake. You're gonna all be implicated. All of you."

"All right, leave us alone. Go to Jackson on the west gate. He's got new allocations for you." Maloney said.

The soldiers leave.

"So who the hell are you?" Rex asked.

"I'll ask the questions. I need to know who you are." Maloney said.

"I told them already. Rex Matheson. Now who the hell are you?"

"Colin Maloney, thank you, Director of the San Pedro facility."

"Director, hmm. There's gonna be hell to pay, because you're the man in charge."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, just call the police, okay? Go ahead, call them. Arrest me. Because I want to make a statement. I'm gonna expose everything that's going on here. What you guys are doing to the patients and what you did to Vera."

"What they did to who?"

"You built ovens! And you're the director, so you know that."

"I'm not in charge of policy. We had instructions that got sent out nationwide, worldwide, and we had orders from above not to say anything. I just did as I was told." Maloney said.

"Okay. All right. Okay, you're the middleman. I get it. But I'm telling you right now you need to listen. Because you're caught in the middle of this thing just like me. There are things happening here that's way out of control. Someone's using this place to bring back murder. There was a Doctor Juarez on this site, right? Yeah? Well, someone burned her alive." Rex said.

"No, no, no, no, no. Couldn't happen."

"And you've got the chance now. Look at me. Look at me. You've got the chance to make yourself a hero, because we could tell the world."

"Yeah, I'd be a hero?" Maloney asked.

"Colin, my man, when this thing blows wide open, people will stand trial for crimes against humanity. But you see, you, you could be standing right by me, right by my side."

"I suppose it's my duty to help. If we could find the one to blame. Must be one of the staff, one of the guards."

"All right, well, look, I've got evidence. It's right there. Go ahead, take a look. They took it off me. I taped it. I taped everything. You can see it all. It's proof that someone's using the modules for murder, not just the Category Ones either." Rex said, looking down at the camcorder.

"I don't know. I shouldn't." Maloney said.

"Do you want proof, hmm? Then look at it. Take a look at it. Play the tape, damn it, and you'll see why you need to let me go."

"I don't know. I shouldn't."

"Yeah, play it."

Maloney's office…

"I'm sorry. Mister Maloney just called about that Torchwood man. Sorry, I'm new to all this. But he wanted me to ask, is his name Rex Matheson?" Esther asked, entering the office.

"Yeah." Ralph said, frowning.

"Okay. I'll call him back. Oh, what extension was he on?"

"I don't know. Generator room."

"That was it. Yeah, thanks." Esther said, leaving the office.

San Pedro Admin…

Esther leaves.

"I told you, you can't go out in a lockdown. I said you're not allowed outside. I'm reporting you!" Tony said, angrily.

San Pedro Generator room…

Maloney has watched Vera's death, and is crying.

"I'm sorry, but I knew you had to see that. You okay?" Rex asked.

"Oh, yeah." Maloney said.

"So now do you see? You see why you need to release me, right? So come on, we should go to the police together right now."

Esther spots Maloney's golf cart.

"I don't know what to. I haven't got anything I can…" Maloney said, noticing Rex's scar. "…you hurt yourself?"

"Oh, yeah. It's a long story. Come on, how about we get out of here, huh?" Rex asked.

"I wonder, what can I use? What can I…"

"They gave you the keys."

"Yeah, but what can I use?" Maloney asked.

"You have the keys." Rex said.

"I just can't focus, can't think. I've never been too practical. I'm more of an ideas man. I'm very good at badminton."

"Yeah, all right. Say, how about you unlock me now?"

Maloney takes a pen from his top pocket, "It'll have to do."

"What are you doing? Hey, Colin, look at me. Colin, what are you doing? Look at me in my eyes. Colin, what are you doing? Don't do that. Look at me. Colin, look at me in my eyes. Look at me. Colin. Colin! Don't do it. Argh!" Rex said, and Maloney slowly pushes the pen into the black man's wound, then pulls it out quickly as the blood begins to flow. "It was you."

"I'm sorry." Maloney said, sadly.

"You killed her."

"I'm very sorry. It's just been such a long day. All I want to do is go home."

"But you can't kill me. Don't do it. I can't die. You can't kill me. Colin, don't you see? I won't die. Argh!" Rex said, while Maloney pushes the pen in again.

Rex passes out.

In a different part of the building, Esther calls out, "Mister Maloney? Mister Maloney?"

Maloney goes to meet Esther, "I'm here. What is it?"

Maloney hides his bloodied hand behind his back.

"Er, there's a phone call for you, sir. Very important. I could take over for you here." Esther said.

"A phone call? Who is it?" Maloney asked.

"Doctor Juarez. She said it's urgent. She said that, er, she needs the population of the camp."

"Doctor Juarez? When did she call?"

"Just now."

"Did you speak to her?" Maloney asked.

"Yes, yes I did." Esther said.

"And this was when? When exactly was just now?"

"Five minutes ago."

"Esther! Esther!" Rex said, angrily.

"Rex?" Esther asked.

"Esther, just run! Maloney! He killed Vera! Esther! This is why Jared kept the Railgun and her friends away from this Overflow Camp! It was because of Maloney being in charge of this one!" Rex said, as Maloney grabs Esther by the hair and starts hitting her. "Leave her alone, damn it!"

Esther gouges Maloney's eyes. He tries to strangle her but she gets free and crushes his windpipe, double handed from behind.

"Esther!" Rex said, and Maloney is still with Esther going to her friend. "What happened?"

"I killed, I killed him." Esther said, sadly.

"No."

"Oh, my God, I killed him, Rex."

"No, you didn't, okay? Nobody dies, remember? He's just a Category One now. Look, stay with me. Come on, look at me. Look at me. I need you to go in his pocket and get the keys."

"No…"

"Esther, we've got to get out of here. Come on, stay focused. Get the keys. Go get the key."

Esther gets the key from Maloney's pocket, but he grabs her ankle and pulls her down then starts strangles her.

Ralph shoots Maloney, "This has got to stop."

"Thank you." Esther said, looking at Ralph.

Cowbridge Overflow Camp…

Rhys finds a truck with the ignition keys in it.

"Yes." Rhys said, when a knocks on the window. "Bloody hell."

"What do you think you're doing?" Pidgeon asked.

"My job, isn't it? Don't scare a man like that." Rhys said, lowering the truck's window.

"Patient transfer at this time of night?"

"I just do what I'm told."

"And exactly what were you told?"

"Patient transfer, five a.m." Rhys said.

"Who told you this?" Pidgeon asked.

"My supervisor, who else?"

"What's his name?"

"Ah, well, he's got more authority than you, mate. He's a captain. Captain Jack Harkness. He ordered me."

"That's a bit odd. I don't see a Harkness on our roster. I'd better make some calls." Pidgeon said, walking away from the truck.

"Oh, God."

Cowbridge Cat One Tent…

It is past five.

"Typical. Not long now, Dad. I promise. Oh, hell to pay, Rhys Williams, if you don't show. Hell to pay." Gwen said, annoyed.

Cowbridge Overflow Camp…

"Oh, mama." Rhys said, and Mister Pidgeon finishes his phone call. "Can I go now?"

"I don't understand. They've stopped movement orders until six a.m, but you've been given special instructions apparently. Why's that then?" Pidgeon asked.

"Yeah, well, this Captain Harkness must have taken a shine to me. He had that look about him, if you know what I mean. Not that there's anything wrong with that of course. Oh, look at the time. I'm late enough as it is."

"I need to make another call."

Rhys drives off anyway.

Cowbridge Cat One Tent…

"Did you hear? Boatload of Category Twos arrived in Cardiff last night. One of those cruise ships full of British citizens from abroad." A man said.

"All sick as dogs?" Another man asked.

"Hell of a state. Expelled form Europe like boat people."

"Last thing we need is more patients. Come on, we've got to get these Cat Ones ready for transport."

"All right, Dad, I'm getting you out of here now." Gwen said, wheeling Geraint's trolley through the tent.

Gwen comes across a stuck door and cannot fully open it. A cleaner comes to help.

"Bless you." Gwen said, looking at the cleaner.

Cowbridge Overflow Camp…

Rhys arrives with the truck.

"Where the hell were you?" Gwen asked.

"I was on time, only this officious bastard held me up." Rhys said, annoyed.

"Why didn't you just run him over or something?"

"I'm not the running over type. You know that. Anyway, I drove off when the silly bugger was on the phone. He's probably followed me."

"One, two, three." Gwen said, while she and Rhys open the tailgate of the truck. "Okay, let's get him. Gently now."

"Okay, I got you."

"Ready, one, two, three. Okay." Gwen said, as she and Rhys get Geraint into the back of the truck as a patrol comes around the corner. "Get going then. Take dad home. There's something I've got to do here first before I go to the States."

"You're going back to America?" Rhys asked.

"We've got to find out what's behind all of this, and put a stop to it once and for all. But before I do, I haven't finished with this place yet."

"That's him. That's him. That's him."

"Hey, hey, hey. Where's my goodbye kiss, you big fool?" Gwen asked, kissing Rhys. "Get going."

"Now you hold it right there!" Pidgeon said, as Rhys drives off. "Get me the south gate."

Cowbridge Overflow Camp south gate…

"Hold it right there." A soldier said.

"Here we go." Rhys said.

"Hey, you! Hey!" A soldier yelled and Rhys crashes through the gates to a hail of gunfire. "Fire!"

Cowbridge Overflow Camp…

Gwen discards her nurses uniform and finds a mirror. She puts in the Eye-5 contact lenses.

"I just hope someone's listening." Gwen said, sadly.

(Jared's POV)

Apartment…

I looked around to see that Mikoto, Shirai, Saten, and Uiharu were back at the beach. Which makes sense considering that we're close to it anyway. I knew they would be safe and sound as Mikoto and Shirai can protect Saten and Uiharu due to their esper abilities. Jack and I have the computers searching for The Blessing when the Eye-5 software boots.

"Hello. Anybody home?" The computer asked.

Jack types and talks, "You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Jack, Jared, is that you?"

"In the flesh. Yes. With Jared. You okay?" Jack asked.

Cowbridge Overflow Camp / Apartment…

"Yes. I know, Jack, Jared. I'll be there soon. I'm coming back to the fight." Gwen said.

"To the fight." The computer said.

"We need you." Jack said.

"We seriously do." I said, running up to the monitor and typing onto the keyboard. "The Railgun is good. But she's not you, Gwen."

"But first, there's something I've got to show the two of you." Gwen said.

"Record it for me, Jack, Jared." The computer said.

Gwen finds ammo boxes of plastic explosive.

"Oh, lovely." Gwen said, while she steals a motorbike. "Jack, Jared, you watching?"

"We're here." Jack said, typing into the keyboard.

"Well, I've opened up the radio link. Make your message, Gwen." I said, typing into the keyboard while messing with the Torchwood software.

"This is the truth for the whole world to see. We let our governments build concentration camps. They built ovens for people in our names. Now I don't care if the whole of society bends over and takes this like a dog, I'm saying no." Gwen said, detonating a series of explosions.

The Cowbridge modules explode.

"Ha, ha! That's our girl." Jack said, giving me a high five. "This is why we love her, Jared!"

(Open POV)

Car…

Outside the San Pedro Overflow Camp. Esther and Rex hear sirens.

"Well, all the guards are gone. The regular army is coming in. They'll shut it down." Rex said.

"But it was sanctioned by the government. And they've got my name. They've got my name. I was on staff as Esther Drummond." Esther said, sadly.

"Esther, listen, stop it, okay? Just stop it. You saved me."

"I spent all that time wanting a job like yours. Look at me now."

"Okay. It's okay, you, you're allowed to feel like this. Come here. But listen to me. This is not over, not for Torchwood and not for Judgement. And I need you in this fight."

"Okay."

"So get it together and do it fast." Rex said, hugging Esther.

"Done. I'm fine. I'm, I'm ready." Esther said.

"Yeah. Me too."

Apartment…

"Flesh can burn. That's the stark truth facing the world today. We've known since Miracle Day that flesh can still burn. But today there's outrage…" Someone on the TV said.

"We did it. We're whistle-blowers. Every major news organisation. The world knows the truth now. Let the outrage begin." Jack said.

"You really think it's that easy, huh?" Uiharu asked, changing the channel. "It's not, Jack."

"The death of Vera Juarez demands a full investigation, but there will be no apology for the Category One process. Now, we exist in a permanent state of emergency. The White House stands by our disaster response as appropriate and as sanctioned by Congress. This is exactly what we would do in times of a famine or a plague or pestilence." The press secretary said, on TV.

"You see that? They should be shutting down those camps right now. They're just talking about it." Rex said.

"At least we've made it public." Esther said.

"I don't know if making it public's enough, Esther." Shirai said.

"It isn't, Kuroko." Mikoto said, an electrical shock coming out of her head.

"Why isn't it as simple as Febrie? Or the Child Errors. That would be easier than this." Saten said.

"Well, Torchwood wasn't designed to fight politicians. It was designed to fight aliens." Jared said, sadly.

"Jared's right. As always. If we really want to stop this happening, we need to look at the bigger picture, find out what The Blessing is." Jack said.

Los Angeles International Airport…

"Hello, I'm not available, but please leave your name and number and I'll call you back as soon as I can. Thank you." Rhys said, his voice coming out of Gwen's phone.

"Rhys, it's me again. I've landed. I'm back in LA. Where are you, you bloody fool? Why aren't you picking up the phone? Call me back." Gwen said.

"Gwen Cooper to the white courtesy phone. Gwen Cooper, you have a call. Gwen Cooper to the white courtesy phone. Gwen Cooper, you have a call." Someone on the speaker said.

"This is Gwen Cooper. Hello, this is Gwen Cooper. You said I had a message." Gwen said, picking up the white courtesy phone.

"Lenses." A man said, through the phone's speaker.

"What? What did you just say?" Gwen asked.

"Lenses."

Gwen goes to the restroom and puts in the Eye-5s. She gets a text message on them. We have your mother. We have your husband. We have your child.

"Who. Who are. Who are you? What do you want? What do you want!" Gwen said, angrily.

Bring us Jack.