Chapter Text
"There's a strong chance Harwood's is a part of what's going on," Tosh said quietly, so as not to be heard over the conversation being conducted in Autopsy.
"A chance, yes, but Gwen isn't going to readily accept it," Ianto replied, as he watched the haulage information flowing across Tosh's monitors.
"Can you really blame her for wanting to be protective?" Tosh asked.
"Not at all. But is she going to help us verify he's not involved so we can move on? Or will she be uncooperative with us before we have the facts."
"If she believes he's not involved…well, she knows him best. Shouldn't we take her word for it?"
"Tosh, I hid a partially converted Cyberwoman in the basement. Would you have said you knew me well enough to think I wouldn't do that type of thing?"
"Point taken." Toshiko conceded. "Is it fair for us to expect her to choose between us and Rhys?"
"She's free to stand down while we clear Rhys. And I really do think he's not involved. But I fear she'll try to obstruct our investigation in order to protect him."
"So, what do you have in mind?"
"We have the information we need to contact Rhys and either clear, or implicate him. First, let's see if she'll help us before we have to go around her. She might surprise me and cooperate fully."
"So what do we do?"
"Ask her what you would ask her if we hadn't already found the information we need. If we don't get the cooperation we need, I'll slip the details to Jack."
Tosh nodded in agreement.
~*~
Gwen refused to stand down, but to her credit she seemed cooperative. She'd readily provided Rhys' direct phone line, but then they'd hit a brick wall with the man himself.
Jack took note as Ianto strode quickly to the lower level of the Hub and stood just behind him. Jack was leaning casually against the railing in front of Tosh's workstation, observing the interaction between she and Gwen. He leaned down to take the hastily written details Ianto handed up to him. Jack felt the usual electricity as their fingers touched briefly, during the hand off. He glanced at slip of paper long enough to know that it was the information they had failed to get from Rhys. Ianto was surreptitiously letting him know they already had what they needed, regardless of Gwen's and Rhys' cooperation. He'd left it up to Jack to decide what to do with what they knew.
Gwen wasn't getting in their way, Jack noted. Surprisingly, it was Rhys who turned out to be the least amount of help. They didn't have enough to implicate him, but they certainly couldn't clear him, at this juncture. Jack casually stepped forward to hand Tosh Ianto's note, before he resumed his casual pose on the railing.
This entire situation had Jack more than a little concerned. All the things he valued in Gwen, all the things that fueled his affection for her, had begun to get in the way of their investigation. The stubborn streak he normally appreciated, was blinding her to their duty to sort this out. It's not that Jack didn't want her to feel what she was feeling, but they needed her to behave professionally in spite of her feelings. Jack knew, first hand, how important it is to do that. The world might depend on it.