XI

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All of the agents that Torchwood had on hand stood in one room, facing a board. On it were projected images of the Borrowers.

It had finally gone public, a leak from an unknown source, and Torchwood had been called in. Penelope was charged with handling the details of the case and explaining it to those who weren't 'in the know'.

"-and as you can see the entity has a slight haze of the black mist surrounding them, which is one of the few markers that can be used to identify them."

Pacing across the board, the agents were transfixed, many of them had never worked with their boss before. Most never thought they would. So despite the circumstances, they're making the most of this meeting.

"Not only that, but once identified as a Borrower the entity will become erratic and try to run at the closest person to try and infect them before they're detained or killed. Do not, for any reason, touch the entity."

Pages were being turned and notes taken, which were the only sounds present in the room whenever Penelope stopped talking. She held a great power in her words and no one could bring themselves to break the silence.

"As we know it started in a different country and they could only go from place to place by blending in and travelling. Now, though, it seems they've found a way to create a hub where they can keep bringing in curious tourists to convert in carriers. We believe that the hub is in the ruins where we.. lost Felicity."

The board went black and the front lights flickered on again, meaning that everyone could see the solemn look on Penelope's face.

"We've already lost some good people to this, not to mention countless innocent civilians. I'm not losing anyone else. We move to the ruins in an hour, get ready."

People dispersed, faster than she anticipated, and in the commotion she managed to make it back to her office. Breathing shallow and a headache coming on, she leant against the table and tried to focus on someone different.

It had been a week, but she still couldn't get Felicity's face out of her head. Or the screams of her mother when she was informed. There is no worse sound than that of a mother screaming for her child.

The door opened slightly and Penelope stood, not really wanting to be disturbed right now, but having no choice.

Luckily it was only Jasper.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Jasper, I just want this over with now."

"You're allowed to grieve for her, Penelope. You haven't given yourself any time to stop and just accept what has happened." She pulled in a sharp breath, glaring at her agent.

"I don't need to grieve, Jamie, I need to burn them into the ground. I don't want to tell anyone else that their baby is never coming home. If given the chance I will personally kill every single one of these aliens."

"Ma'am." She marched past him, boots clicking, and ignored his concerned stares.

"You should've just left me on that sofa Jasper, because now I don't know what I'm capable of."

"

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