Tuesday 3 March 2015

Articles Episode Breakdown 'Adam' by DJ Forrest


Writer – Catherine Tregenna
Director – Andy Goddard
Producer – Richard Stokes

It’s the morning, and Gwen wrestles her Converse trainer from the grips of her boyfriend Rhys as he lies in bed.  Laughing and cajoling, Gwen giggles.
   “Come on, let’s…” 
   “No, I can’t, I’m late as it is.”  Gwen says as Rhys pulls her back into bed.  “Aargh!” she laughs wrestling her shoe free of him finally.  “Rhys!”  She laughs, staring at him as he pins her to the bed, looking down at her deeply.  “I can’t, I’m late as it is.”
   “You’re itching to get back to work aren’t you?”  She pauses and looks away grinning.  “Oh, I’ll take that as a yes then.”
   “Having you to come home to, that’s the best bit.  Aww.”  Rhys gags and collapses on top of her as Gwen squeals with giggly laughter.

In the Hub, Owen sits in a smart grey v neck cardigan and clean white shirt, his hair smoothed over and he’s wearing glasses.  Jack enters carrying a large metal container with a Torchwood stencil on the side.  “Unlabelled Class D artefacts. Tosh, I need you to run a full check.”
   “Sure.”  She replies glancing up as she walks into view. 
   “Owen, you can help.” 
   “Happy to.”
   “Adam, I know how much you love audits.”
   “It’s gotta be done.”  He replies taking the seat where Owen had just vacated. 
   “If you could….”
   “Go through the investigation reports, find out when they might have come through the Rift.”  He says interrupting Jack mid flow and settles down as Gwen enters the Hub.
   “You ok with that?”  Jack asks.
   “I have been for the last three years.” His eyes settle on Gwen as she enters, his cheery smile fades. 
   “You’re late.”  Jack reminds Gwen as he stands with his hands on his hips.
   “Yes, Paris was lovely, thank you.”  She replies hanging up her coat.  Adam slides his chair back to view Gwen, when she clocks him then glances at the team her eyes questioning them for answers as to who the blond guy is wearing the black leather jacket, assuming position at the workstation as if he’s been there for years.  
   “Who the hell is this?” 
The team look confused, surely she’d know that.  After a few awkward moments Adam gets up and walks towards her. 
   “Just coz that’s what I said to you on your first day…remember?”  He says placing his hand upon her shoulder.  Suddenly a flash of memories come flooding back, set in, with laughter and basketball and copious amounts of black coffee.  Her perception altered her attitude changes towards Adam.
   “Sorry, couldn’t resist, come here you.”  She pulls him in for a hug.  “Good to see you. Hey, Tosh, you're looking good.”  She remarks.
     Adam’s face turns from a smile to a sneer, he’s got them right where he wants them…

Adam sits at the computer and updates the records, adding his own personal profile.  He fills in the blank spaces with his name as: Adam Smith, Date of Birth ‘16/11/82’ and when he was recruited to Torchwood Three ‘07/05/05-0000.’  Toshiko calls to him as he works. 
   “Adam, what are you doing with your personnel file?”
   “Nothing, just finished updating details of Rift activity.”  He lies.
   “Any idea when this came through?”  She says holding up an ornate wooden box.  “It’s got a low meson energy reading.”
   “No, I’ll keep looking.”  He takes the box from her and sets it down.  Quickly placing his hand on her neck he creates a series of flashbacks into her memories.  Drawn by the emotions stirred within her, they kiss, passionately.
   “A year ago today.”  Adam tells her.  She smiles mischievously.
   “Our first kiss.”
   “You remembered.”
Owen enters from the Autopsy room and clatters a few metal dishes down.  It breaks Toshiko’s momentum and she breaks from the kiss.
   “Are you OK Owen?”  She asks confidently, different to how she might normally behave around him. 
      Fumbling with his words, rather embarrassed at being found out, he assures her that he’s fine.  “No, no, it’s just…er…kissing at work…I wasn’t expecting it.”  He finally pulls the latex gloves off and walks away, as Adam sneers. 
   “We’ll celebrate tonight.”  Adam tells Toshiko, kissing her briefly.  As she walks away his smile fades. 

Jack switches on the lights in the Cells.  He strides through the room checking each cell, his stride is different to usual, there’s less confidence, less consideration.  He snaps at the Weevil in the middle cell for growling at him.
   “Save it.”
As he walks towards the third cell a small boy in sandy coloured clothing stares back at him.  He’s only about seven or eight years old, it shocks Jack to the core, he recognises the boy, remembers letting go of his hand in a distant memory, but why is he there.  Before he can do or say anything more, Gwen enters, distracting him.
   “Jack?”  Gwen calls.  Distracted Jack looks at her.  “You OK?”
   “Yeah fine.”  Jack replies, glancing at her, before returning to gaze at the empty cell.
    She slaps him on the leg, grinning.  “Did you miss me?”
   “Were you gone?”  He replies attempting to tickle her.  Gwen laughs, heading out of the cell, Jack in hot pursuit.  As he reaches the door he glances back into the room. His smile fading as Gwen laughs further up the corridor.   

Toshiko walks in, Gwen and Ianto are on the sofa reading up on paperwork relating to a metal object in Ianto’s hand.  Adam sits comfortably in his chair watching everyone. 
   “Just doing a quick check.”  She says walking to her workstation, all her computer screens displaying various blueprints of alien tech.  “We had Rift activity two days ago, but nothing seems to have come through.”
   “Apart from me!”  A small furry squeaky toy pokes around the bottom of the computer monitor.  Gwen and Ianto grin, Toshiko looks bemused. 
   “What’s that?”
Laughing, Owen peers around the computer.  “It’s a screen cleaner.  I thought you might like it, um…do you…do you like it?”
   “Just what I need…a small rodent looking at me while I work.”  She replies walking away.  Owen’s smile fades.  “Think I’ll call it Owen.”
Sighing, Owen walks back to the Autopsy room clutching a folder. 
   “He’s like a little puppy, bringing her sticks.” Gwen laughs as she turns to Ianto.  “When’s he going to realise he’s got no chance?”  Gwen gets up off the sofa and sets the paperwork down behind Adam. 
   “Love’s blind, apparently.  He’s idolised her for years now.”
   “Oh, leave him alone.  I think it’s sweet.  He’s happy.”

Evening and Gwen returns to her flat to find the lights are on in the living room.  Puzzled she heads to the kitchen counter and lifts off her shoulder bag as Rhys enters in his bathrobe, drying his hair with a towel.  A set of keys lie on the counter beside hers and she lifts them up for closer inspection as Rhys grabs her from behind. 
   “Ehhhh.”  Gwen screams and wriggles out of his grip backing away into the kitchen.  It startles Rhys and he quickly apologises.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
   “How did you get in?”
   “With a key.”
Locating a carving knife on the draining board Gwen snatches it up and brandishes it at Rhys.
   “This isn’t funny.”
   “Stay back alright, stay back!”  Gwen says horrified at the man she has no clue of in her flat.  She nears her bag on the counter, waving the knife for Rhys to take heed of.
   “Gwen, what’s going on?”
   “How do you know my name? Huh?”  She pulls her gun from her bag and snaps a bullet into the chamber, quickly taking aim she keeps the gun aloft.  “I know how to use this, now, who are you and what do you want?”
   “You know who I am.”
   “Fine, if you won’t tell me, fine.  You stay there.”  She roots for her phone in the shoulder bag.  “Don’t you move.”  She says as she speed dials the Hub.  “Jack, yeah…someone’s broken into my flat.  He had a key and he knows my name.”
   “It’s because I live here with you.”  Rhys tries to tell her.
    “Shut it!  Shut it!  Yeah…can you hurry Jack?  He’s a nutter.”  Quickly putting her phone down to take a firm two handed grip on the pistol she stepped closer to Rhys.  “You have picked the wrong girl to stalk, mate.”

With Adam in tow, Jack leaps from the SUV parked close to Gwen’s flat and jumps over the small fence at the front of the building, pressing the buzzer to the flat seconds after.  Their weapons are drawn.
Inside the flat Gwen edges towards the door her gun trained on a puzzled Rhys.
   “Gwen?”
   “Stay there.”  Lifting the telephone she calls: “Jack?”
   “Gwen, it’s us.”  She buzzes them inside.  Haring up the stairs and into the flat, Jack is puzzled when they reach the flat to discover no stranger, only Rhys.
   “In here, Jack.”
   “What’s going on?”  Puzzled, Jack glances over at Gwen.  Rhys already looking with disgust at Jack.
   “You tell me.  Look, he’s put photos of us up.”  She says grabbing a photo frame nearest to show them.  “He must have done it while I was at work.  He’s deluded.  He keeps saying he’s my boyfriend.”
   “He is.  It’s Rhys.”  Jack confirms while still keeping his weapon trained on Rhys.
   “I've never seen him before in my life!”
   “You've been with him for years.”
   “See!”
   “Give me the gun, Gwen.”
   “No! He… he grabbed me, Jack. Who knows what he was going to do?”
   “How can you say that? What have you done to her?"
   “Nothing."
   “Oh, come on, I know what kind of sick games you play. Pills that make you forget... Is that what this is, yeah? Are you fazing me out so you can have her all to yourself?”
   “Hey, stay away from him.”  Gwen replies as Rhys looks ready for a fight – with Jack.  Placing his hand over Gwen’s gun, Jack tries to diffuse the situation.
   “We're engaged! I bought you the bloody ring you're wearing!”  Rhys yells at Gwen.
She stops in her tracks and stares at her hand.  Jack nods towards the ring on her finger.  She takes her hand off the gun and stares quickly at her finger, turning her hand around to stare as if for the first time, the ring on her finger. Then just as quickly resumes her grip on the gun. 
   “Why don’t you come with me to the Hub?”  Suggests Adam after a few moments.
   “Who the hell are you?”
   “He's one of us.”
   “We can check you over. Jack will stay and take care of things.”
   “OK?”  Jack asks calmly.  Gwen lowers the gun.  Rhys still in shock takes a few breaths of relief.  As Gwen heads to the door with Adam she turns back to face Jack and Rhys.
   “Don’t let him go.  If he comes for me again, I’ll kill him.”
Adam looks pensive as he pauses in the hallway.
   “Trust me, I didn’t do this.  But whatever’s happened, we’ll put it right.”  Jack assures Rhys. 
   He nods.

Owen shines a light into Gwen’s eyes but is puzzled; he can’t find any reason as to why she can’t remember Rhys. 
In Gwen’s flat, Jack sets up the video camera that will relay the film back at the Hub.  Rhys watches Jack set it to the right angle.
   “Is this really necessary?”
   “She needs to remember.”  Rhys sighs.  “Where did you meet?”
   “Er…college.”  Rhys begins.  “Fancied her from the moment I saw her. Er, Not just her looks, you know, I mean, I mean she is a looker, er...”  It felt a little crazy opening up to Jack, explaining his love for Gwen.  He shook his head, running his hands over his head, wondering how it had all come to this.  At the Hub, Gwen sat and watched the monitor.
   “Tell me about your first kiss.”
   "Erm, in the supermarket. I was going to make her spag bol... and then I realised, didn't I? Bloody garlic. Can't kiss a girl with garlic breath.”  He laughed.

In the Hub Adam crouched beside Gwen as they listened to Rhys. 
   “Do you remember that?”
   “Sort of.  It’s like I’m…I’m seeing what he’s saying but…”  Gwen replies listening to Rhys talk more about garlic breath and kissing.  “I don’t remember how I felt.”
   “Believe me when I tell you that that is your fiancé.  Your memory’s just playing tricks on you that’s all.”
   “…she starts to laugh, she calls me Rhys the Rant and then she kissed me, right there in the queue.”  Rhys’ emotions threaten to bubble over as he speaks.  “And I thought then, Jack, I thought, “I'm going to marry this bloody mad woman, even if it kills me.”

Using the desk top scanner in the Meeting Room, Owen collects the ornate wooden box as it slides out of the machine.
   “Worked out what that thing is yet?”  Toshiko asks.
   “No joy yet.”  He replies, observing the finer details of the box a little closer.  “But you should have a look at the detail Tosh, it’s gorgeous. Oh, let me get that.”  He says lifting the box and getting up from the seat at the table.  He pauses a moment as their hands almost meet around the box.  Toshiko is aware of how close they are but thinks nothing of it.
   “Have you managed to open it yet?”
   “Er, no, sorry. I'm not doing very well, am I?”
   “It's gonna be a long night.” Toshiko says bringing the laptop screen around to face her.
   “Yes, er…which is why I brought... some sandwiches?”  He snatched up two plastic sealed boxes, and slid the red box along the table towards Toshiko.  “One for you... and one for me, so smoked salmon that is your favourite isn't it?”
   “How d'you know that?” Owen faltered, shook his head and looked away, embarrassed.  It wasn’t as if he were a stalker!  “I'm going to need a beer.”
   “What while we're working? Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah, right, relax, kick back, it's a good idea. Er, not for me though, thanks!”

Ianto brings Gwen back to the flat but as Jack leaves both Rhys and Gwen alone, it’s too much for Gwen and she begs Jack to stay, grabbing him as he passes her. 
   “Don’t leave me, Jack.”
   “You’ll be ok.”  He tells her calmly. Ianto winks at her and gives a thumbs up before following Jack out.  Nervously she looks at Rhys who smiles softly at her. 

Out in the street Jack and Ianto return to the parked SUV.
   “What was that all about?” 
   “Temporary amnesia.  Owen's checking possible causes. Oh... “  He tosses the car keys to Jack who catches them deftly and clicks off the alarm as he goes around to the drivers door.  As he nears the door the sight of the young boy from the cell catches him in the throat. “Weevil sighting by the sewer in Rockall Street.”  The boy remains fixed beside the lamplight.  “Jack…Jack?”  Ianto calls.
   “Can you see him?” 
   “Who?” 
When Jack turns back, the boy has gone. Swallowing back an age old emotion he pulls open the car door.  “I’ll drop you off and check out the sighting.”  Ianto climbs in beside him.
   “I could come with you.  It’s been a while since we went hunting together.”
   “I'll be fine on my own.”

In the Meeting Room Owen glances up as Toshiko enters carrying two bottles of beer.  She’s confidently dressed, not reserved as usual, very professional and very much in charge, in control.  She sets the beers down on the table in front of Owen, taking a pew on the edge of the table.   
   “Go on. Live a little.”
   “Well, as it's you.”  He says, accepting the bottle opener, as Toshiko takes a pew on the edge of the table and crosses her leg over the other.  Her smile is radiant.
   “Thank you.”
   “Call it a celebration.”
   “Oh yes?”  They clink bottles.
   “Adam and I have been together for one year today.”
   “Right, right.”
   “A whole year. My stomach still flips when he touches me. I've never known anything like it. The two of us, we just fit. D'you know what I mean?"
   “Erm, not sure I do, no.”
   “Don't worry. You'll meet the right girl one day."
   “Yeah. Tosh... Erm... Erm... D'you really think I look like a rodent?”
 Toshiko laughs and slips eloquently off the table.  “Come on, we’re going to crack this box even if it kills us.”

Climbing down a wrought iron ladder into the sewers Jack jumps the last step and splashes in the low lying water.  He shines the powerful Maglite up ahead of him.  Lights along the brickwork walls shine with a cold blueness.  The old Victorian tunnel system is damp and trickling with surface water. Jack shines the torch up and down the tunnel.
   “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”  Walking through the tunnel, ducking at the low pipework along the roof, he hears the low growl of a weevil and spins around, shining the torch ahead of him.  “Giving me the run around, huh? You picked the wrong day, my friend.” He says returning back the way he’d come, but heavy foot splashes force Jack back along the tunnel.  A few more corridors and he rounds on a shape in the darkness.  Focusing on the face he’s horrified to discover the identity of the man.  It’s not possible!
   “Get out! Get out, son.”
   “Dad?”
   “RUN!”
Jack leaves the sewer in a blind panic and climbs back out onto safe soil.  Leaving the flashlight just at the entrance to the sewer he struggles to run, his mind racing.  He’s overcome by what he saw but equally taken aback when he sees Adam.
   “Jack? Was it down there? The Weevil?”
   “No. How did you get here?”
   “I came with you, Jack, remember?”  Adam says placing a hand on Jack’s shoulder.
   “Yeah, of course.”
   “Are you OK? Jack, what did you see?”
   “My past.”

Gwen sets down a picture frame onto the coffee table back in the flat, while she and Rhys sit on the sofa together.
   “If what you say is true... “
   “It is. We love each other.”
   “But how could I forget that?”
Shaking his head Rhys gets up and heads to the fridge.  “Nothing in.  I was going to take you out for a meal.”  He lifts a bottle from the counter and pours himself a drink.  “Didn’t want the weekend to finish I suppose.”  He said, his voice breaking.  Gwen looked at him awkwardly before glancing at the photos on the side of the pair of them together.  Another awkward silence. 

Stalking across a car-park towards a row of portacabins in the pouring rain, Adam runs after him.
   “Jack, please.  Talk to me.  What about the past?  Is it your childhood?”  Jack stops walking and turns to face Adam who catches up and places his left hand upon Jack’s shoulder.  “I’ve always been here for you Jack.  From the very beginning.  I’m the one you can confide in, remember?” 
   “It was meant to be buried.  I buried the memory over 150 years ago.  Why now?” Jack turns and strides away, distraught.  
   “Well, maybe it's time. Maybe up until now, your subconscious was protecting you. But you can't block out the past forever.”  Jack turns on Adam, growling.
   “I can't afford to remember.” He replies before striding away again.  Aware of how much he needs Jack to remember, he chases after Jack to the waterlogged astro turf football pitch. 
   “Jack, talk to me, please?“
   “Why?”
   “I can help. Trust me.”
   “I'm not sure I should do this.”
   “Just tell me what you see. I can help you. That's why I'm here.”  Jack closes his eyes, taking himself back to where it all began.  “Where are you, Jack?”
In between the present to his memory Jack remembers the landscape around him, bathed in a yellow light he sees himself standing on the shoreline back home.  As he searches further he remembers himself as a boy, dressed in the sand coloured clothing of the boy and the man he saw earlier that night.  Running up the sandy dunes, a younger Jack in his teens reaches the top of the hill and stares across at the building over the water, the array of apartments stacked in a higgledy piggledy fashion, home for more than one or two families. Back in the present Jack smiles.
  Boeshane Peninsula.  My home in the 51st century.  We lived under the threat of invasion.”  He tells Adam as he sees himself and a group of children running in vast numbers for safety.  He has hold of the younger boy’s hand.  “We lived under the threat of invasion.”  He opens his eyes in the present.  “They came without warning.  We thought they’d pass over us, like they always did.”  He remembers hiding under tree roots “But they didn’t…not that day.”
   “Who?”
   “The most horrible creatures you could possibly have imagined.”  Jack’s father instructs Jack to run with his brother.  “Their howls travelled before them.”  The screeching from an unseen creature could be heard above them.
   “Run!  Take Gray.  Keep him safe.”
   “Take Gray.”  Jack repeats in the present.
   “Gray?”
   “My little brother.”
   “No, no Dad.  Come with us.”
   “No, I’ve got to go get your mother.  RUN!”
   “One minute I was holding his hand.”  Jack recalls running but Gray falling and before he had time to think, he was already in the bolt hole under the tree roots.  “I don't know when he let go.”
   “Gray? Gray? Gray! Gray, where are you? Gray!”
   “One minute, his hand was in mine, I don't know when he let go. I don't think I noticed, I thought he was there, just behind me.”
   “Gray!”
   “I retraced my steps, hoping that I'd see him again.” Jack’s voice breaks as he tearfully remembers running up and down the Boeshane shoreline calling for his brother, while all around him lay the bodies of the dead.
   “Did you find him?”
   “I ran all the way home.”
   “Gray! Where are you? Gray!”
   “Jack, what did you find?”
Jack covered his face with his hands.  It was too much to remember.  He saw his Dad lying dead and bleeding outside the large sandstone building.  As the boy he ran over and called for help, begging for help, crying. 
   “No!  Can someone help? Please?”
   “I searched for Gray for years.  I never found the body.”
   “It wasn’t your fault.”
   “I let go of his hand!”  Jack yells pointing at Adam.  “It was the worst day of my life. It's the last thing I want to remember.”  Jack strides out of the waterlogged pitch. 

Ianto leans casually against the pillar just outside the Meeting Room while Owen and Toshiko solve the puzzle of the box. 
   “So, according to the molecular breakdown, this potentially alien complex artefact is, in fact, made out of wood.”
   “Well, perhaps it fell in the crate by mistake. Picked up meson energy from the other stuff.“
   “Yeah, right!”
   “Oh, yes, sorry, it's a stupid idea.”
   “I think Jack brought it in.”
   “No, I'm sure Adam found it on an excavation a few months back.”
   “I'll have a look in the diary. I like to log the interesting stuff.”
   “You write about artefacts in your diary?”
   “Among other things.” He winks and takes his leave.
   “So, we are done for the night.”
   “I guess.”  Tosh replies checking her phone.
   “Everything all right?” Owen asks pushing his hands into his trouser pockets.
   “Yeah, just, Adam hasn't rung yet.”
   “Ah. Sure he will. I know I would, if it was our anniversary. I wouldn't disappear. In fact, I would... cherish you.”
   “Ah, Owen!”  Toshiko smiles, as she packs up for the evening.
   “Yeah, no, no, really, really, I would. In fact, I wouldn't let you out of my sight, Tosh... because I love you.”
   “What?”  She smiles rather abashed as she looks up from her laptop.
   “Yeah, there we are. I've said it. I… I love you. Yes, I always have, actually, ever since we started working together, and in fact, I actually ache for you, physically. When you're in the room, I when you’re in the room I just want to reach out and touch you and... “
   “Owen!” Her smile has gone.
   “No, no, no, you know, I can't keep this secret any more! My mum said to me, So, seize the day, and so I am seizing it, and you know I've got so much love to give you, Tosh, and and you know, you won't know that unless I tell you. So here I am, telling you that I love you. You know I know there's Adam, OK, but you know, I think... In fact, I know that we would be amazing together, erm... if you would only just give it a chance.” 
Having listened to Owen declare his love for her, she can take no more.  Closing the laptop with a resounding click, she looks away, her hand on her hip. 
   “Oh God say something.”
   “That is completely inappropriate.”
   “Pardon? “
   “What are you thinking of?” Tosh says storming around the table collecting her data. 
   “I'm sorry, I just wanted you to know.“
   “How dare you! I'm with Adam. And even if I wasn't... you're not my type. Never will be.” She strides out angrily leaving Owen alone.
   “Oh.”

Rhys and Gwen are shopping for something for tea. 
   “Maybe I should be on my own tonight.”
   “No way. What if you forget who you are?” He says lifting a frozen bag of something into his basket.
   “I know who I am.”
   “It's not just you who's lost something.”  He sets his basket down at the checkout just as the cashier takes a call from his mobile.
   “But you remember.”
   “All you know about me. You're my girl, my best friend.  Suddenly, all that's gone.”  He watches the cashier wander off into the shop.  “Where's he going now? He just walked off! He knows I'm waiting. Oh, fine. I'll help myself, then! Here you are.” He tosses some change onto the counter.  “Keep the change. Buy some spot cream!” Gwen begins to laugh.  “I'm not coming here again. It's overpriced. There's a £1.50 charge on the cash machine. It's a bloody disgrace. Honestly. Kids these days.”  He packs the shopping up as Gwen begins to laugh out loud.  “Don't know the meaning of hard work. What? “
   “Rhys… Rhys the Rant! Always when you're in a queue, or driving, or when you're on the phone to one of those automated phone thingies...”
   “Hey, it's OK. It's OK.” He says as Gwen begins to cry.  He lifts the shopping from the counter and takes her hand.  “Come on sweetheart.”

It was dimly lit in the Hub.  Ianto thumbs through his diary, flipping back through the book growing steadily anxious as he does so.  He closes the book and puts it down on the coffee table and leans forward in silent prayer before leaning back.  Out of nowhere, Adam appears at the other end of the sofa startling Ianto. 
   “What’s wrong?”
Ianto quickly jumps from the sofa.  “My diary.” He points to it.  Adam picks it up.  “You’re not in it.  Everyone else is.” Adam gets to his feet and walks towards Ianto who backs away.  “Why would I leave you out when you've been here so long?” Adam closes the diary.  “Like I'm remembering a man who doesn't exist." The book drops from Adam’s hand, his hand begins to flicker as it loses its corporeal state. Adam uses his other hand to restore it.  Ianto looks on.   “What are you?”
Adam lunges at Ianto and shoves him up against the pillar.
   “Cross me and I will fill you full of fake memories until your head is on fire, because that’s how I exist.”  Ianto shoves him back.
   “Gwen.  What did you do to her?”
   “Memory is a very delicate thing.  Feeding myself in wiped other memories out.  It's a side effect of what I have to do in order to survive.” He tells Ianto as he follows Ianto slowly around the workspace.
   “Jack has to know.”
Before he can react, Adam grabs Ianto and slams him against the wall.  Placing his hand against Ianto’s forehead he causes Ianto to gasp as if he’s suffocating. 
   “Remember this.”  He tells Ianto as he forces a dark and distressing memory into the young Welshman’s head.  He sees himself throwing a young woman down onto a mattress in a cold dark alleyway against her will, ignoring her desperation as he strangled the life from her.  “I know you didn't mean to kill her. You just couldn't stop yourself. Remember this.”  Again he sees another woman struggle to survive against the torturous grip of the coffee boy.  Adam continues to pour dark thoughts into Ianto’s mind until Ianto slumps to the ground.
   “I didn’t do that.”
   “Oh yes you did, and she wasn’t the first.”
Adam stands out in a dark alleyway as the rain continues to beat down.  Ianto sees the memories of a woman who tries to run but reaches a dead end.  Ianto is blocking her escape route.  Terrified she begs for her life.
   “Please don't hurt me!”
   “Good old Ianto, loyal Ianto. Roaming the streets at night for bait.”  Another image as he sees himself following another, his fists clenching and unclenching as he stalks the unwitting victim.
   “My. . .diary!”
Adam drags Ianto down the alley, tossing the diary over his shoulder.  “All human record is a lie. You twist it into what you want to believe.”  From the cold wet alleyway, Ianto is back in the Hub, edging away from Adam, scared of his own shadow.  “But we know the rot in your heart. You crave flesh.”
   “No. Please.”
Adam grabs Ianto in the Hub, his hands pressed against his temples and they’re back in the alley. 
 “Remember it.”
 “Aaargh!”  Ianto wraps his gloved hand around the trapped woman’s throat and squeezes tightly, choking her.  He screams as she screams.  He’s in control in the distorted memory.  “Remember it.” Adam stares at him as the shadows show Ianto punching a female victim.  Ianto gasps and shakes as another memory is forced into his head, removing all the good memories.  “Remember it! Remember it!  Remember it!”
Ianto screams in the Hub.  “Aaargh!”
With a carpet end a piece Ianto and Adam carry the corpse wrapped in the carpet and dump it in a large metal bin down an alleyway in the dead of night as the rain hammers the ground. 
   “I helped you dump the bodies. It's me you call.” Adam kisses Ianto as they sit in the Hub before pulling him into an embrace, trawling his fingers through his hair.  “You know I forgot what a rush it is, feeding in the bad stuff.”  He tells him before patting Ianto’s forehead and letting go of him, and walking away. 
Terrified of his own shadow, Ianto’s mind is broken.  He doesn’t know what is down or up, one minute he’s in the Hub the next he’s in the alley with a dead woman and the rain running like a steady flow of tears.  It’s like a nightmare he can’t wake from.  He cries loudly at the women he’s killed.  He can’t believe he could do it, but the evidence is all around him.  He curls up and cries his heart out. 

Up on a rooftop, the wind buffeting his face, Jack stares out across the city, his mind cast back to his teenage self in the Boeshane peninsula.  He’s sat as before beside the body of his dad as his Mum rushes over to them both.  Distraught at the loss of her husband she looks up and enquires after her youngest son, Gray, who she suddenly realises isn’t with young Jack. 
   “Where's Gray? Where's Gray? Where is he, son? Where is he?”
   “We were running so fast. One moment, his hand was in mine...”
   “No, not my little boy! Not my little boy!”
Young Jack gets to his feet, the older version stands behind him.
   “Why now?” As he stares across the dark city he asks the question again. “Why now?”

Gwen enters the bedroom wearing a pink dressing gown and grey pyjamas.  Rhys sits at the end of the bed till Gwen pulls back the covers and climbs into bed.
   “Anything?”
   “It's still a bit of a blur, but I'm getting there.”
   “That's all we've got, really. Memories. That's what brought us to here. To this point.”
   “We found it before, we'll find it again.”
   “You know, I, um, I always worried that you'd... that you'd just settled for me, you know. Cos if you met me now, Gwen, with all that goes on in your life, could be that you wouldn't look twice at me.”
   “Don't say that.” He kisses her suddenly.
   “Do you remember that?”
   “No. It felt like the first time. But it was nice.” She smiled, raising his hopes. He kisses her neck.  “I like that.”
 “I know.”  He grins.
 “Remind me some more.”  She says nodding back at the bed.  Smiling, they lie back together.

In Toshiko’s flat, Adam is in a state of undress as both passionately kiss and embrace in her bed.  Taking control Toshiko pushes Adam onto the bed and crawls seductively up his body kissing his naked flesh till she reaches his lips.  He rolls them over and now he’s on top, taking control as they kiss hungrily, before he pulls away.
   “What's wrong?” Toshiko asks stroking his face.
   “How far would you go for me?” She reaches down to the zipper on his trousers. He stops her.  “I need to know. Would you die for me?”
   “Yes.”  They return to passionately kissing again.

It’s dark in the Hub when Jack returns from his rooftop.  As he climbs the stairs to his office he hears someone whisper his name and turns to see who it is.  He relaxes when he sees who it really is.
   “Ianto.  Hey, what’s wrong?”  He smiles walking over. Ianto is less than his usual self.  He’s lost, pale and sweating. 
   “You'll have to put me in the vaults. Lock me up. I killed three girls.” He sniffs.  “Strangled them.”
   “Stop kidding around!” If this is a game, Jack’s not impressed.
Ianto’s voice changes to a man in control revelling in the murderous spree earlier.    
   “I'm serious. I murdered them, in cold blood. I took their bodies, and...” Out of nowhere he jumps, startled scared of his own shadow. “You have to lock me away... before I turn on you. None of you are safe.”  He says walking quickly away from Jack, in case he inflicts harm upon him.
   “Hey, hey, come here, come here.” Jack grabs hold of Ianto and studies him, it’s unlike Ianto to act in this way.  He’s concerned.  “What's happened to you?” He pulls him close, gently stroking his fingers through his hair.
After a moment’s pause where Ianto can hardly bring himself to admit it, he whispers in Jack’s ear.  “I’m a monster.”

Sitting opposite Jack and wired up to an elaborate device on his desk Jack is determined to get to the bottom of this.  A green light flashes on top of the device. 
   “Best lie detector on the planet. If something's untrue, the light turns red. Go.”
   “My hands on her throat. And it felt so good. Squeezing the life out of her.  It reads as true.“
   “I don't believe it. OK, tell me about the second girl.”
   “She tried to get away... but I was too quick. Pleading... And I... I didn't care. Something in me wants to kill.”
   “No. This is not you.” Jack switches off the machine, lifting the light stalk from the top of the device. “Something's changed you. You're not a murderer.” Jack gets to his feet and strides across the office, passing Ianto he lightly places a hand on his shoulder before striding from the room. “I'm certain of it.”
Ianto is less convinced.

The only way something could have changed is if something had entered the Hub while Jack was out.  He pulls up the CCTV files of the Hub and discovers Adam with Ianto. 
   ‘All human record is a lie. You crave flesh. Remember this.’  Ianto screams as Adam forces the dark memories into him.  Jack brings up more CCTV data, this time it’s Toshiko’s turn. 
   'A year ago today... you remembered.'
 In a flashback, Jack remembers hearing. “Do you remember that?”  He taps in another moment, Gwen arriving and enquiring after Adam. 'Who the hell is this?'
   'Just cos that's what I said to you on your first day, remember.'
Jack rewinds the tape and hears the same words with the same actions.  'Remember? Remember?' 'Well, I came with you, Jack, remember. Remember, remember. I can help you - that's why I'm here. 'Remember this.' Jack pulls Ianto towards the computer and shows him the results.  
   “Come here, come here, just look, look."
'Remember it.'  Ianto watches himself suffer as a victim and grows angrier by the minute.  'Remember it, remember it, remember it. Remember it.'

In the Autopsy room Jack pulls out blood samples from the fridge and checks through them.   
   “Where's Adam's blood sample?”
Ianto gets up and brings up Adam’s personnel data on the computer.  “Everything's in order here.”
   “When was it last updated?” Jack asks glancing over Ianto’s shoulder.
   “Er... 24 hours ago.”

The lights burst into life, the door alarm echoes around the Hub.  Quickly covering up what they’ve been doing, Jack moves away from Ianto and selects a book.  Owen appears behind a large bunch of flowers.  Ianto stares in surprise at Owen before moving away.  Owen quickly places the flowers on Tosh’s desk before going to work, Jack watches him go before walking to his own office as Toshiko and Adam arrive.
Tosh notices the flowers on the desk. “Oh...” Adam shrugs as he walks past her to his own desk.  Tosh sniffs the flowers and lifts the card off the bouquet as Owen comes over.  “Owen... “
   “About last night, um, it was selfish of me.”
   “Owen, I think the world of you...”
From his office Jack watches Adam very closely.
   “I know. I'm really sorry. I don't want to jeopardise our friendship. The most important thing is that you're happy.”
   “Thank you.”
   “Tosh... You are... you are happy with Adam, aren't you?”
   “Completely.”
   “OK.”
Ianto watches from the walkway beside the painting of the Welsh dragon.  Gwen arrives, relaxed but still a little nervous. 
   “Hey. “
   “Hey, how are you today?” Toshiko asks her.
   “Um, things are coming back slowly. Rhys thought I shouldn't come into work but...”
   “Hey, we'll look after you. You just have to give yourself time. Come on, group hug.“ Says Adam walking over to them both encouraging Owen over, strengthening his control over the team.  Jack and Ianto remain vigilant. 
As Ianto comes down the stairs, watching the camaraderie between the four he heads towards the office.  Adam breaks from the hug intending to go after Ianto.
   “Hey Ianto, come here. You all right, mate?” Ianto pulls away from Adam’s outstretched hand.  Countering the rebuke he changes tact.  “Listen, I could murder a coffee.” He takes a seat back at his desk.  Leaning back in his seat, Adam hears a gun cock and feels the barrel press against the back of his head.
   “Talk to me, Adam. If that's even your name.”
   “What?“  Adam laughs turning in his seat to face Jack.
   “What are you doing, Jack?”
   “He's not who you think he is. He's been feeding himself into our memories, by touch.”
   “Is this some kind of sick joke?”
“He didn't exist until two days ago.”
“Can somebody tell me what's going on, please?”
“Jack, we've known him for years. He is part of the team.“  Owen says under the impression that Jack has forgotten, just like Gwen.
   “No. He just made you think that.”
   “Come on, Jack.” Adam says reaching out to Jack.
   “Ah, you don't get to me like that.”
   “Jack, you know me. You recruited me three years ago.”
   “All I know is that when I think of my team I see you there. But I don't feel anything for you. No pride, no warmth... You, the one who I can confide in, the one who unburied the dead.” Jack growls.
   “Jack, maybe you've just forgotten him. Like I did with Rhys, yeah?”
   “Oh I should have spotted it then. That wasn't stress. That was him. By making us think we know him, he disturbs our real memories.”
   “I have no idea what you're talking about. “
“I'm taking him to the vaults.” Jack growls grabbing hold of Adam and pushing him towards the cells.
   “Jack, this is ridiculous.”  Adam yells backing away as Jack stalks towards him, gun aloft. A gun cocks behind the two men as Tosh yells.
   “NO!”
   “Tosh!” Gwen tries to calm the situation.
   “Tosh, that's not gonna help.” Owen replies.
   “It's fine.”
   “Toshiko.”  Jack calls calmly to her.  “I'm just going to lock him up.”
   “Let him go.”
   “I'm not going to harm him.”
   “Why should I believe you?”
   “Tosh, Tosh, we can talk about this.”
   “Drop the gun, Jack.” Quickly Ianto grabs Toshiko and forces the gun down.  Gwen quickly retrieves the weapon as Toshiko struggles to wrestle free of Ianto.  It’s a fraught few moments as Adam stares down the barrel of Jack’s gun, while Jack looks on at his team, fighting to protect their colleague who is fighting to protect the man she thinks she loves.
   “Shit!“
   “Get off me!”
   “This is what you've done to us.” Growls Jack to Adam.  “Move. “
   “No! Adam!!!”

Locked in the Cells there’s no escape for Adam.  He slams his hands against the window and begs to be kept alive. Jack walks into view, arms folded and glares at the man in the cells.
   “Don't kill me. I had to become part of your memories in order to survive. I didn't mean any harm.”
   “You've changed us. “
   “For the better! You didn't remember who you were. I helped you. Look at Owen, all his cynicism gone. He's a different man now. Selfless, happier. And Toshiko, too - she's never been more confident.”
Jack strides towards the cell window and growls at Adam.
   “How did you come here? Why us? “
   “All of you have such unique memories, specially you, Jack. All those extraordinary memories you hold - some hidden, some absent. Your singular mind. That's what drew me here.”
   “Good job. It's what we do best... wipe out aliens.”  Jack replies smugly before backing away from the screen dividing the pair. 
   “You can't shoot me. You made me live. And you always remember what you killed…”  He calls after Jack, who stops aware of what he means.  “Don't you Jack?” Adam growls after him, aware of the nerve he’s caught.

In the Meeting Room Jack once again strikes the same stand offish pose, arms folded.  On the screen behind him is the monitor showing the image of Adam in the cell, before him the team around the table. 
   “Our memories define us. Adam changed those memories changed who we are. Now I have to help you all go back, find a memory that defines you. Rediscover who you are. If I'm wrong…”  he says staring back at the screen as he walks around the table.  “…he'll still be here when we've done this.”  Jack changes the screen to a ever decreasing circles of blue calming ripples and soft ambient sounds.  “Let me take you back to before we all met.  Feel around for anything that makes you what you are, the hidden and the forgotten. Tell me where you are.”

Around the table the team dig deep in their thoughts, concentrating hard.  Gwen finds one first.
   'The college canteen... Rhys is sitting opposite me, telling stupid jokes.' She recalls to memory.  Rhys makes her laugh.  'Where do you find a tortoise with no legs? Where you left it.'
Jack sees her laughter and smiles. 
Owen recalls his birthday.  “I’m ten.” His Mum spends the whole day screaming. “I love you because you’re my son.” Yet he remembers her adding those crushing words ‘but that doesn’t mean I have to like you.’
Toshiko recalls Maths club.  “Something so reliable about maths…” ‘Always the right answer.' She tells herself.
Ianto smiles as he remembers meeting Lisa.  “Falling in love.”  ‘Never felt so alive.’
   'I turn 16. She packs my bags.' “That is the nicest thing you've done for me in years, Mother.” Owen laughs.   
   'Kissing him in the supermarket.' “The look on his face.”  Gwen recalls.
   'My first flat.' “I don't have a flat-warming.” 'There's no-one I want to invite.'
  The smile fades as Ianto remembers 'Losing Lisa.' “Like the world had ended.”
   “The way he looks at me sometimes.”   ‘As if he's scared of what he feels for me,’ “I love him.But not in the way I love you.”  Gwen says looking up at Jack. 
Jack moves towards her his hand containing the Retcon pills outstretched to her, he instructs her to take it and as she closes her hand around the pill, not contemplating taking it straight away, his hand gently brushes against her cheek, acknowledging her feelings towards him. 
   ‘Knowing there has to be more to life than this. Knowing I'm special,’ “Waiting for someone to see it.” She says tearfully.
Jack’s hands place lightly upon her shoulder as he looks down at her seated, a smile of admiration upon his face. 
  “I saw it.”  He places a pill on the table in front of her
   “You save one life, 100 lives but it's never enough. Who'll save me?”
   “I will.”  Says Jack placing a hand on Owen’s shoulder and setting a pill upon the table in front of him.
   'Coming here' “gave me meaning again.” Ianto glances up at Jack as he reaches him around the table. “You.”
Jack gently reaches down and kisses him on the forehead, placing the pill on the table in front of him as he has with the others, his hand gently caressing the back of his neck, gently strokes his chin before passing around the table again.  These feelings are real, far greater than the feelings any of them felt for Adam, real memories, real thoughts.
   “You each have a short-term amnesia pill. It'll make you forget Adam. We have to wipe out the last 48 hours from our memories, go back to who we were.”  Ianto takes his almost instantly.

In the cell Adam can feel a shift in belief, they’re letting go and it’s starting to have an effect upon him. 

In the Meeting Room nearly all the members of the team have taken the pill.  Owen removes his spectacles after he’s done so.  Only Jack and Toshiko remain.  Tosh reaches for the remote and flicks the screen back to Adam in the cells and can feel the building regret if she takes the pill.  That feeling of being loved, how alive it made her feel. 
   “I’m going to lose so much.”
   “None of it was real.”
   “He loved me…and I loved him.  It’s no different from real memory.”
   “He forced it on you.  You have to let it go.”
Taking the pill from Jack again, composing herself, Toshiko retakes her seat at the table, Jack gently remains beside her his hand upon her shoulder in gentle soothing rhythm as she takes the pill.  Glancing towards the screen she says her final farewell to Adam before resting her head on the table. 

Jack quickly reaches Gwen as sleep overcomes her and rests her head gently on the table.  All four team members are asleep, with only Jack remaining, the Captain makes his way back to the cells, ready to ‘wipe-out the alien’.

Exhausted and slumped on the stone seat in the cell Adam glances up at Jack as he faces him through the glass.
   “Just me left.”  Jack tells him, casually, hands in his pockets, comforted by the fact that his team are safe upstairs.
   “Jack, I know what it's like not to exist. Please don't send me back there.”
   “I have to.”
   “What are you gonna do?”
Jack holds up the little Retcon pill.  “This will wipe out the past two days.”
   “Well, you'll still keep the bad memories because they were always yours. But what about the good times, Jack? What about the last good memory of you and your Dad?”
   “It's lost.”  Jack growls regretfully.
   “I can help you find it. I can take you back there. Before I die.”
   “Why would you do that?”
   “I was in the void for so long, the colours of this world almost blinded me Jack. It was so beautiful after the darkness and the stench of fear. You gave me that. Let me do this for you. Come on. You want this.”
It was a risk, even for Jack to even contemplate, but a final chance to remember his Dad, that memory, there was nothing that could damage it, nothing….right? Closing his eyes, taking himself back to a lifetime long before Torchwood and Earth, Jack recalled his last memory and smiled as he saw it just as it had been all those years ago. 
 “It's early evening... “

On a wide open expanse of beach on the Boeshane Peninsula,  where wind turning toys spin in the breeze, a young Jack and his Dad play a game of baseball in the setting of the evening sun.  Jack bowls. Franklin bats and hits the runs but is caught out before he can stop his son reaching the last base.  In laughter as Jack’s brought down he declares his Dad ‘Out’. 
   “Ah... You know, one day you won't want to play with your old dad any more.”  Franklin tells the young Jack as he sits up in the sand.
   “Never.”

   “Are you there?”  Adam asks from the other side of the cell.  Jack nods.
   “Yeah.  Me, Dad and Gray.”  He says as a younger child runs into view, reminding them both that he wants to play too.  Excited to see his younger brother he lifts him up and spins him around laughing, as siblings do.  Franklin calls over for one last game and throws the ball to Jack to bowl again for his dad.  He takes up the ball  throws again.  His Dad bats it hard, and young Jack heads off in the direction of the ball, while an older Jack stands and watches – unseen. 

In the Cells Jack laughs.  “I’m running for the ball.”  Adam isn’t ready to let go of Jack and the colourful world of the Torchwood Hub, and all the delights of the world outside.  As young Jack reaches the top of the sand dune, he sees another figure and he’s got the ball.  “Some other boy is there, I don’t know who.”
   “Can I play?”  Asks the boy in the memory.
   “Who are you?”
   “My name’s Adam.”
   “Let me play, before it gets dark?”  Adam asks from the cell at the Torchwood Hub. “There’s lots of room.”
Young Jack shoves Adam backwards abruptly, when a shout goes up on the ridge.  Franklin has seen the whole thing and isn’t happy with Jack. 
   “Hey, what are you doing? Are you all right?”
   “I just want to play.”
   “He can play.”
   “No! He doesn't belong here. I don't want him playing with us.”
   “I'm Adam.”
   “Don't touch my dad.” Young Jack retaliates pushing Adam away, the boy falls back down.
   “Hey, easy! Are you all right, Adam?” Franklin is concerned and reaches a hand down pulling, no longer the young boy Adam, but the fully grown Adam into the memory, distorting it forever.
   “Yes, he just doesn't want to share.”
   “Right, well, if you're going to behave that way, we're going home.”
   “What?!”
   “Come on, Gray.”
   “No, we don't leave yet. We play some more, it gets dark, we light a fire... Mum joins us.” Older Jack calls to his Dad and Gray as they stride away back up the sand dune.
   “Come on, son. I'll race you.”
   “Race you!”
   “Dad!” Young Jack turns angrily to face the grown Adam now forever in the memory.  “You did this. You spoilt it.”
   “I made it happen.”  Adam tells Jack from the confines of his dark cell.
   “Dad! Dad, I love you.”  Calls out the young Jack as he races over the sandy ridge to be with his family.
   “Dad, wait... Dad!!!” Yells Jack as he charges down the other side of the sandy ridge as a sandstorm threatens overhead.  Gasping back the tears he begs Adam for the old memories back as he opens his eyes once more. 
   “Then let me live. That box you found contains my last good memory of you, your dad and Gray. You see, I'm a part of it now and I'll always live as long as you remember it.”
   “That's why you took me back.”
   “Wasn't it lovely? Playing in the sand, no-one knowing what was ahead... your dad laughing. Gray, safe and happy.“
Sickened by the damage he’d allowed to have happen to him, by the only real memory he had of his Dad and brother Gray, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the pill holding it up in his fingers for Adam to see.  The look of fear upon the condemned mans face telling a thousand fears. 
   “I don't want to die! You take that pill and you will lose everything I've given you. Wipe me out now and you will lose all your memories of your father. He will cease to have existed for you.”
  “Goodbye, Adam.”  Jack pops the pill into his mouth and watches as Adam begins to feel the result of his actions.  The effects of the Retcon begin to take their effect upon Jack who begins to feel light headed.
The sandstorm begins to whip up around Jack as he calls to his brother and Dad in the distorted memory.
   “Dad! Gray! Come back! It wasn't like this!”
Adams existence flickers out.  Jack slides to the floor.  The sandstorm grows stronger as he continues calling after his brother and father.
On the Cell floor Jack sobs before slumping forward unconscious. 

48 hours pass, the skies are blue, the sun is bright and the world is safe for a while longer.  In the cells of Torchwood Three, Jack wakes up with little clue how he came to be down in the Cells and more to the point sleeping beside and empty cell.  Upstairs it’s business as usual although…
   “Jack, how have we lost two days?”
   “What d'you mean? “ He asks looking at the computers.
   “The last 48 hours. None of us can remember a thing.”
   “The system's blank, the CCTV's been wiped. What's been going on? What've we been doing?”
   “I don't know.” He admits
   “Great! That's two days of my life that I'll never get back!”
   “Looks like Toshiko got herself a secret admirer, though.” Jack notes at the bunch of flowers on Toshiko’s desk.
   “Oh, yeah?”
   “To Tosh, love and apologies, Owen. They're from you!” Tosh reads from the inscription on the card.
   “In your dreams, Tosh. I think someone's winding you up, darling... No, I don't do flowers... “  Owen takes the card to read before handing it back.  “And I definitely don’t do apologies.”

In his office Jack pulls out the wooden box contained inside the clear plastic Torchwood bag.  A portion of it falls to the ground.  Picking it up he stares at the piece as Ianto enters the office.
   “Did you call?”
   “Found your diary.”
   “Yep, been looking for that.”
   “And for the record... measuring tapes never lie.”
Ianto rolls his eyes and mutters ‘fuck’ under his breath before walking quickly away, as Jack yells again from something that’s just caught his attention. 
   “Hey...”
   “Yep?”
   “Who's Adam?”  He asks holding up the plastic bag stating: Adam’s Property.
   “Don't know.” Ianto replies before ducking back out of the office again.  Jack puts the bag down, picks up the oddly shaped wooden piece and fiddles with the box till he finds where the piece slots into.  He waits for something to happen but nothing does.  Putting it down, he walks away, just as the box reveals its secrets.  Jack turns back and collects up the box that holds a red light inside and tips out the contents.  It puzzles Jack why an ornate box would hold a handful of sand inside.  After some thought he dispenses with the sand onto the floor. 

The End

Next month…

“We’ve got a murder victim and a survivor both attacked with hypodermics, both with medical records wiped….” 

'Reset'

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