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Rain pounded against the pavement in thick, heavy drops. Andy sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.
It was too bloody wet, and too bloody cold, to be waiting around for Torchwood to finish with the crime scene. Normally he wouldn’t have bothered, but Gwen had requested there be someone to keep any civilians away from the area. Seeing as he was the only officer present, he’d begrudgingly offered to stay.
As if anyone would be out in this weather, anyway.
He’d been saddled with the early morning patrol shift, and had come across the victim Torchwood was now examining at the end of an alley. The unfortunate man appeared to have been… liquefied. The sight of gobs of flesh oozing across the ground had nearly been enough to make him sick. He’d swallowed against the bile rising in his throat and called Gwen.
“Melted?”
“Yes, melted. There is a puddle of human on the ground.”
“That does sound like it might be our thing.”
“Just get over here, Cooper.”
And so she had.
He now stood at the entrance to the alley, while she and two others (Harkness and… Jones? Yeah.) crouched over the body. The street was entirely deserted except for the glistening, black SUV parked on the curb. The entire situation was turning out to be excruciatingly boring.
His musings were cut short as Gwen’s teammates walked out of the alleyway, heading for their vehicle. He was about to call after them, to ask if he could go home, when he realized he could hear them conversing from this distance.
“I’ll get the corrosive resistant containment box, and if that doesn’t work we’ll have to go back to the Hub and find something else,” Harkness was saying.
“We could try suspension in a denser substance?” Jones suggested.
“Mm. That might work.”
The rain covered the sound of their voices again, and Andy silently cursed. This could be his one opportunity to find out something about the mysterious organization Gwen worked for, and he was being thwarted by the elements.
Determined, he elected to step closer to the car. They obviously hadn’t noticed him yet, and hopefully he was insignificant enough in their eyes to remain that way. He moved under an awning a few meters off.
“What do you think for tonight, then?” Harkness asked, leaning further into the open trunk.
“Goldfinger,” Jones replied decisively. “And you’d better stay awake through the entire thing, this time.”
“You are never gonna let that go.”
“Dr. No is a cinematic masterpiece, and you were snoring five minutes in.”
They were… discussing Bond films?
“It had been a long day! And exsanguination takes a lot out of a guy.” Harkness said defensively.
Jones waved a dismissive hand. “Excuses. So what have you chosen for dinner?”
“Indian.”
“From the new place?”
“Cardamom, yes.”
Andy was listening to them plan their bloody date night.
Unbelievable.
Harkness finally found what he was looking for, and pulled what looked to be a large, metal box from the depths of the car.
“Here we go. Not too much that can burn a hole through this thing.”
“Fingers crossed.”
Andy leaned against the wall of the building behind him as they walked towards him again, feigning indifference. He noted the way the pair walked shoulder to shoulder, so close that their bodies brushed against each other with every step. They presented a unified front. If he hadn’t just heard them nattering about old movies and takeout, he might have found it intimidating.
Their gazes once again slid over him as they passed, and he marveled at the fact that it was so easy to become part of the background. The alley swallowed them again, and he let out another exasperated sigh.