Meat

[Car]

(A bouncy advert is playing on the radio.)

ADVERT: So who can you trust to transport your goods?
RHYS + ADVERT: Harwood's. You won't be sorry with a Harwood's lorry.
RADIO: Good morning. Today sees an improvement on the weather we've been having recently.

(He pulls over to answer his phone.)

RHYS: Yeah, Ruth. Did you hear it? I wrote the last bit. What sort of accident? Yeah, I know it. Yeah, I'll get over there now.

[Accident scene]

POLICEMAN: Stay back, please. You'll have to move your car.
RHYS: I'm Rhys Williams, manager of Harwood's Haulage.

(The lorry is lying on its side and a car behind it is on its roof.)

POLICEMAN: You can check on the vehicle later.
RHYS: Bollocks to that, mate. I know the driver. Is he?
POLICEMAN: Didn't make it. Sorry. Can you give me some details, sir?
RHYS: It's Leighton. Er, Leighton Reynolds.
POLICEMAN: Next of kin?
RHYS: Yeah, he's got a wife. Jen. Just had a baby, man.
POLICEMAN: Do you know the address?
RHYS: Yeah. 54 Keppoch Street, Roath. I give him a lift to football.
POLICEMAN: Thank you, sir.
RHYS: Er, right. I'm gonna need to arrange to move the lorry.
POLICEMAN: Not yet. There's something suspicious in the back.
RHYS: It's just meat. Leighton was taking it to the abattoir.
POLICEMAN: Yeah, well, whatever. Torchwood want to look at it first.

(The Range Rover arrives on the other side of the accident, and Rhys watches Gwen get out with Jack, Owen and Ianto.)

[Lorry]

JACK: Urgh, it stinks. No bones. Just dense flesh.
OWEN: It's not like any flesh I've ever seen.
GWEN: What is it?
JACK: Well, as there haven't been any giant cow sightings, I suggest we take a sample back to the Hub.

[Accident scene]

GWEN: We need to confiscate the contents of the van. Confiscate it till we've done further investigations.
JACK: Did you find out where it came from?
IANTO: No, but it's a Harwood's lorry so they should know.
GWEN: Oh, that's Rhys' firm.
OWEN: Right, done.
JACK: Let's go.

(Rhys runs back to his car and tries to follow the Range Rover.)

POLICEMAN: Sorry, sir, you can't come this way now.

[Autopsy room]

OWEN: There is evidence of a vertebral column but its genetic make-up isn't compatible with any known animal.
JACK: Any idea what it is?
OWEN: I'll have to scan it. But whoever's farming this meat knows it's dodgy. See this? Official vet stamp, fit for human consumption. It's fake. It's good, but it's fake.
JACK: Tosh, get onto the haulage firm. Find out where that meat is from and where it's heading.

[Hub]

GWEN: Why does it have to be Rhys' firm? It's a bit too close to home.
JACK: Want to stand down?
GWEN: No, I want to find out what's going on. Thank you, Ianto.
RADIO: Harwood's. You won't be sorry with a Harwood's lorry.
IANTO: Catchy.
TOSH: Do you think the haulage firm are in on it, too?
GWEN: Rhys? No. He doesn't know what goes in the vans. He just hires them out.
IANTO: The driver must have seen it loaded.
GWEN: That doesn't implicate Rhys. He's the most honest man I know.
TOSH: Have you got his direct line?

[Office]

(The phone rings.)

RUTH: Harwood's Haulage. How may I help you? It's the police.

(Rhys takes the call.)

RHYS: Hello? Yeah, speaking. Yes, I'm aware of the accident.

[Hub / Office]

RHYS: It's a firm is called Harries and Harries. They came to us about two months back. It's a weekly contract.
TOSH: Are they licensed?
RHYS: Yeah, of course they're licensed.
TOSH: Could you give me their address?
RHYS: There's no address down here.
RUTH: There's a pick-up point. They said it was hard to find.
RHYS: Hello? Sorry. All I've got is a service station on the A470, fifteen miles from Cardiff.
TOSH: Do you have a contact number?
RHYS: No, there's no contact number, either.
TOSH: Can you tell me where your driver took the meat?
RHYS: Yes, he was taking it to Caerwen Abattoir. It's a processing plant. Just a general meat suppliers.
TOSH: What time did the driver leave base?
RHYS: Signed out at ten to one. Can I ask what this is about?
TOSH: I can't release that information, sir.

[Office]

TOSH [OC]: Thanks for your cooperation.
RHYS: Yeah, but I'm the manager

(Call ends.)

RHYS: Brilliant.
RUTH: Leighton was their regular. Apart from that first booking, they just went through him.
RHYS: Yes, but now it looks like I'm hiding something, Ruth.

[Hub]

(Checking the traffic cameras.)

IANTO: Got him. And there he is coming back forty minutes later. Let's say it takes twenty minutes to load. We are talking a ten mile radius.
OWEN: Jack!
JACK: Yeah?

[Autopsy room]

OWEN: The scan shows it's definitely alien meat.
JACK: Where the hell would they get it from?
TOSH: If it's going into the processing plant that means it's going into pies, burgers, pasties, everything.
GWEN: That means people have been eating it for months.
OWEN: Well, the DNA traces are stable. There are some signs of animal sedative, but no diseases or residues. My guess is it's good to eat.
GWEN: Would you eat it?
IANTO: Pizza's arrived. I presumed it would be a late one.
OWEN: What did you get me?
IANTO: Your usual. Meat Feast.
OWEN: Lovely

[Hub]

(Later, Owen is still picking the meat off his pizza.)

IANTO: I've narrowed it down to three potential areas. Only one warehouse is unoccupied. It's just outside Merthyr.
OWEN: Makes sense. Who knows what goes on there?
JACK: We've got to shut the operation down, neutralise whoever's doing this and identify the alien meat. Tosh, you can coordinate.

(Gwen gets a text from Rhys. Can I see you?)

GWEN: I have to slip home and check on Rhys first.
JACK: Good idea. Find out how much he knows.
GWEN: That's not what I meant.

[Gwen's home]

GWEN: Hiya. I got your message. Are you all right?
RHYS: Er, bit of a tough day. Had an accident at work. One of our lorries crashed.
GWEN: Anyone hurt?
RHYS: Leighton. One of my drivers died.
GWEN: Oh, no.
RHYS: He was only twenty four.
GWEN: Were you close?
RHYS: For God's sake, Gwen, you met him. Small, dark hair, played five a side with me.
GWEN: Sorry. I can't, I can't place him.
RHYS: Well, then I hear that the, er, that the police have taken the meat out the back of the van. You any idea why?
GWEN: How would I know?
RHYS: You work for them.
GWEN: I don't deal in traffic accidents, so
RHYS: Well, they phoned the office and they asked loads of questions. Thing is, all I do is hire out the lorries, so I
GWEN: Then there's nothing for you to worry about, is there?
RHYS: Must be something dodgy going on, though.
GWEN: If there was, you weren't to know, were you?
RHYS: No, of course not.
GWEN: No. I wish I didn't have to go back to work now.
RHYS: Hardly worth you coming home.
GWEN: Yes, it was. To see you. I'm sorry. I'll see you later. Go and have a pint. Call Daf.
RHYS: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, maybe I will.

[Roald Dahl Plass]

(Rhys follows Gwen to Roald Dahl Plass and sees her meeting Jack by the Water Tower.)

GWEN: Like I thought. He has no idea what's going on.
JACK: Would you care to accompany me to the slaughterhouse?

(Jack offers Gwen his arm, and she takes it.)

GWEN: Have you ever eaten alien meat?
JACK: Yeah.
GWEN: What was it like?
JACK: He seemed to enjoy it.
GWEN: You're rough.

(Rhys watches them walk away, laughing.)

[Road]

(Rhys tails the Range Rover.)

JACK: Ianto, Owen, we're on our way. How are things looking at the slaughterhouse? Are you in position?
IANTO [OC]: Yes, it's all quiet here. There's a deserted access road to the side. We won't get noticed. I'll direct you in.
JACK: Ianto, nearly there.

[Outside the warehouse]

IANTO: Take the second turning. Park on the left. No one will see the car there. There's a main entrance at the front. It's the only one open. The rest are padlocked and alarmed.

(Rhys parks and watches Owen and Ianto walk round the corner of the building.)

JACK: How many are in there?
OWEN: It's difficult to tell, there are no windows.

[Hub / Outside the warehouse / Range Rover]

TOSH: I've got blueprints of the warehouse. The stock has to be in the central area. Having fun?
IANTO: You don't know what you're missing.
OWEN: According to the sensor, there's a heat signature across the entire building.
GWEN: That's a lot of meat.

[Car]

(Rhys phones Gwen, but she declines the call.)

RHYS: Answer the phone, Gwen.

[Outside the warehouse]

JACK [OC]: You two take the sides, Gwen and I will go in the front.

[Range Rover]

JACK: We don't want any casualties. We stun gun whoever's in there and put a stop to what they're doing.

(Rhys gets out of his car.)

JACK: Let's go.

[Outside the warehouse]

JACK: There's someone there.
GWEN: It's Rhys. It's Rh. What's he doing?
IANTO: Did you bring the alarm de-activator?

(Owen shoots the pad.)

IANTO: Well, that's one way of doing it.

(A car with a spread eagle painted on the bonnet pulls up next to Rhys.)

JACK: He must be in on it.
DALE: Don't bother running, mate.
GWEN: Never. No.

(Vic uses a walkie talkie.)

DALE: Greg? We've got a bit of a problem, bruv.
JACK: How else do you explain that? Ianto, Owen, stand down. Repeat, stand down.
GWEN: He told me he didn't know what was going on. He wouldn't lie to me.
JACK: He also said he didn't know where they were based, but he did.
GWEN: There's something wrong. There has to be.
JACK: Gwen, no. No. No.

(Jack stops Gwen from running out.)

DALE: Come with me.
GWEN: I just have to get him out.
JACK: What, by charging in there? What then? You gonna knock them out?

[Corridor]

RHYS: Look, lads, I don't mean any harm, honestly.

[Outside the warehouse]

JACK: You can't just go in there. You have to do as I say. We wait until he comes out.

[Packing room]

(Large slabs of meat are being loaded on a conveyer belt.)

VIC: Boys, you should've waited for the ketamine injection before doing that.
WORKER: What about the hoses?
VIC: That's only lidocaine. It's not strong enough.
DALE: Well, if you care so much, go and work for the RSPCA. Or don't they pay as good? Oi, you. Through here. Shift. I want you and one of those with me, now.

(The worker picks up a cleaver and follows them into -)

[H&H office]

GREG: Who sent you? Come on. Don't waste our time.
RHYS: No one sent me. I er, I came on my own. I'm looking for the boss.
DALE: You're looking at him.
GREG: Ignore my little brother.
RHYS: I'm, er I'm from Harwood's. Harwood's Haulage. Leighton. Er, Leighton, your driver, he er, well, he sort of told me what was going on, like.
DALE: Mouthy git. He was paid to keep quiet.
GREG: Shush.
RHYS: Yeah, well, he's dead. Lorry crashed.
DALE: With the goods inside?
GREG: What happened to the meat? Did anyone see the meat?
RHYS: No, no, no. I er, I picked it all up and took it all to be incinerated. You see, er, I was hoping maybe I could pick up from where he left off, boys?
DALE: How do we know you won't report us?
RHYS: I'm here, aren't I?
GREG: So what exactly did he tell you?
RHYS: Everything. You know, that you were cleaning up old meat.
DALE: Oh, it's a lot bigger than that.

[Warehouse]

(The smell is getting to Rhys, and something wails.)

RHYS: What's that noise?

(Rhys is shown a massive alien beast that fills over half the warehouse, like a whale. It opens its one metre eye and looks at him.)

RHYS: What is it, boys?
GREG: No idea. But the beauty of it is, it just keeps growing. No matter how much we cut it.

(Vic gives it a massive injection, and Rhys goes to be sick.)

DALE: He'll get used to it.

[Outside the warehouse]

(Jack and Gwen watch Rhys come out and shake hands with Dale.)

GWEN: I don't get it.

(Rhys gets into his car and drives away.)

JACK: Come on, let's go.

[Gwen's home]

(Rhys is having a beer when Gwen rushes in.)

GWEN: What were you doing in that warehouse?
RHYS: You lied to me. You were at that crash.
GWEN: I don't know What you're talking about.
RHYS: Stop pissing me around, Gwen. You're so used to lying and fobbing me off, like the idiot I obviously am.
GWEN: Are those blokes paying you? Why you were there?
RHYS: No. I'm asking the questions, all right? I followed you, okay? Yeah. So that bloke, the tall bloke in the coat, you fucking him or what?
GWEN: All I ever asked was you trust me.
RHYS: What, like you trust me? It's a two way street, Gwen.
GWEN: There's stuff you don't understand, Rhys.
RHYS: Oh, of course not. I'm just a big, dumb animal, aren't I? I mean, what's so secret you can't even tell your own fianc�, eh? In fact, why are you marrying me, Gwen, eh? What am I, just a habit you can't be arsed to break?
GWEN: No.
RHYS: Then tell the truth!
GWEN: All right! All right. My job, the special ops thing, it's a lie, a cover story.
RHYS: Thank you. At last! God, what's that taken? About a year? That's one lie down. How many more have we got to deal with, eh? Is there anything in your life that's actually based on truth?
GWEN: Us.
RHYS: Us? Us? Us is crumbling, Gwen. Us is falling to shit.
GWEN: You think I enjoy keeping all this stuff to myself?
RHYS: Then why did you?
GWEN: Because I'm trying to protect you! Have you ever stopped to think about that? No. No. Because you prefer to blunder in without thinking or looking. Good old ham fisted Rhys. His heart, his heart is in the right place but his brain is a million miles fucking back.
RHYS: Come on, let's have it all, shall we? What exactly do I need protecting from?
GWEN: I catch aliens.
RHYS: Piss off.
GWEN: No, you piss off
RHYS: If you're not going to take it seriously
GWEN: This is why I couldn't tell you, because I hunt down aliens and I scavenge the stuff they leave behind, and sometimes I don't believe it myself.
RHYS: What's got into you? Have you been brainwashed? Is that it, yeah? Is that what's happened? Because you are talking high grade shit here.
GWEN: Every word is the truth. Rhys, the things I have seen. The times I have wanted to tell you.
RHYS: Aliens? In Cardiff?
GWEN: Have you never seen something so mad, so extraordinary, that just for one second you think there might be more out there?
RHYS: Prove it.

[Hub]

IANTO: Well, this is unprecedented. The fianc� finding out.
TOSH: Mainly because we're all sad and single.
OWEN: Speak for yourself. I am better off without all that kind of hassle.
TOSH: Maybe the answer is to go out with someone who knows what you do.
OWEN: Look around you, Tosh. Only we know what we do.

[Roald Dahl Plass]

RHYS: I saw you here earlier. With him, that bloke. He just appeared out of nowhere.
GWEN: It's an invisible lift. Oh, it's too complicated to explain. Come on. Trust me.

(They get on the slab.)

GWEN: Ready?
RHYS: Yeah.

(Going down.)

[Hub]

RHYS: Wow! Who'd have thought this was here?

(The pterodactyl glides overhead.)

RHYS: Oh! That looked so real.
GWEN: It was real.
RHYS: They're extinct, Gwen.
GWEN: Oh, boy.
JACK: In your timeline, yes. Captain Jack Harkness. Thanks for dropping in, Rhys.
GWEN: This is the rest of the team. Owen and Toshiko. Ianto.
RHYS: Pleased to meet you.
JACK: Welcome to our headquarters.
RHYS: It's a bit bigger than mine. So, Gwen tells me you catch aliens.
JACK: That's right.
OWEN: There's a Rift through space and time runs through Cardiff, Rhys, and stuff slips in from other timelines and planets, and it's our job to monitor it.
RHYS: Are you sure they're not some kind of weird cult?
GWEN: You saw that alien in the warehouse. Go on.
JACK: What did you see?
RHYS: It was like this huge, shapeless beast, filling the space. Like a mound of flesh.
TOSH: So it's one massive entity as opposed to several organisms.
OWEN: The latest tests reveal high levels of chloride, so it probably lives in the water. I reckon it came through the Rift, into the sea and its beached itself.
JACK: Like a giant alien manatee.
IANTO: But how did they get it there? That warehouse must be fifty metres long.
RHYS: Maybe it was smaller when they found it, because they said it's growing.
JACK: It's not dead?
RHYS: No, it's breathing. Its eye opened.
OWEN: So the protein chains regenerate despite the mutilation. So not only is it replenishing its own flesh but it's increasing it, giving them a brand new meat supply.
TOSH: It could last them for years, then. If we understood how it worked, we could feed the world.
IANTO: We could release a single.
JACK: Before we get ahead of ourselves, we're talking about dodgy pies in Merthyr, okay? And the fact that they're cutting it up alive, Which we could have put a stop to already if it wasn't for you.
RHYS: I thought my fianc�e was in danger.
JACK: Well, Mr Caveman, she wasn't. She can handle herself.
GWEN: Jack
JACK: All you did tonight was mess things up. Now we have to think of a way to get back in and, thanks to you, they'll have tightened security.
RHYS: Well, if you stopped and asked me what I saw in there, instead of showing off around the place
JACK: Do I show off?
IANTO: Just a bit.
RHYS: You'd know I got out by telling them I wanted a job as a delivery boy. So rather than cock things up, I've found you a way to get in. But if you can't handle that, big boy, then you can stuff it.
JACK: This is quite homoerotic.
GWEN: No, no, no, no, no. Jack, he is not getting us in.
JACK: Team meeting. You, too.
GWEN: Jack.

[Conference room]

(Rhys points out the various locations on the blueprints.)

RHYS: That's where the thing is. That's the sedatives room. That's where they hang and pack all the meat.
OWEN: That's good to know.
GWEN: Yeah, that is good to know. but he's not driving us in.
RHYS: They're expecting me. You lot can hide in the back of the van.
GWEN: What is this, Scooby-Doo?. Absolutely no way is he getting involved.
RHYS: Oh, where was I when you to decided to get involved? Did you give me a thought?
OWEN: Oh joy, a domestic.
JACK: Rhys is right. He's our best way in. Stun guns only.
OWEN: We've handled bigger than this. Why don't we just storm in, guns in the air, and arrest them?
JACK: Those men aren't organised criminals. If we go in, guns blazing, they'll kill the evidence and run.
OWEN: I wasn't suggesting blazing, just waving.
JACK: The last thing we need is a bloodbath.
OWEN: Point taken.
GWEN: I know that.
JACK: Once Rhys has loaded up, he can clear. You don't have to come. You can stand down.
TOSH: It might be better.
JACK: You love him. Makes you vulnerable.
GWEN: He's not going in there without me.
JACK: That's your decision.
GWEN: Yes, it is.
JACK: You both have to live by it.
RHYS: Oh, come on. You and me, a team.
GWEN: Damn it, Rhys! This is for real. Do you understand that? This is for real. And if you mess up, I will kill you.
TOSH: So, after we've stun-gunned the workers, we put the creature out of its misery.
JACK: No. We're gonna save it. Stabilise it, wait for the Rift to open and send it back.
IANTO: Guess who'll have to look after it in the meantime.
TOSH: Tell me exactly how are we going to use it to arm ourselves against the future?
OWEN: We can always hide behind it.
JACK: Why shouldn't we save it? Because it's an alien? It needs our protection.
RHYS: You didn't hear its cry. Heartbreaking.
IANTO: Listen to Ahab.
OWEN: Jack, it's growing.
JACK: Well, we'll find a way to stop it mutating. We are doing this. That's an order.
OWEN: Fine.
IANTO: I'll stock up on plankton.

(The others leave.)

GWEN: So you do have a heart.
JACK: We see enough death.

[Hub]

TOSH: What's that?
OWEN: Oh, it's just an idea of what it looks like. I had it made up from the genetic make-up.
TOSH: It looks lovely. You're just a big softie, really, aren't you?
OWEN: I'd better get on with that report.
TOSH: I brought you some sandwiches.
OWEN: Thanks, Tosh.
TOSH: It's okay, just cheese and pickle. I can keep you company. I'm not tired.
OWEN: In that case, maybe you can do it. I'm knackered.

(He sees Gwen and Rhys talking across the Hub.)

OWEN: That's another big lump out of its habitat.
TOSH: Makes you realise, maybe it is possible to do this job and have a relationship. Do you fancy a game of pool sometime? We're always in here, slaving away. It might be nice to, I don't know, kick back and have some fun.
OWEN: Yeah, why not?
TOSH: When?
OWEN: I'll check with the others. We could have a Torchwood tournament. Thanks for the sandwiches, Tosh.
RHYS: I thought you worked for anti-terrorism or something. That was bad enough, but knowing you're in this much danger
GWEN: Yeah, you'd feel like I do now. Worried sick. You don't have to do this to prove anything to me.
RHYS: I'm not leaving you here with all these sexy young men.
GWEN: There's only one from where I'm sitting.

(Jack looks up from his pulp sci-fi book and catches Gwen's eye as she kisses Rhys.)

[Harwood's yard]

JACK: Sure about this?
RHYS: Yeah.
JACK: Because once they ring, there's no turning back.

[Office]

RHYS: Morning.
RUTH: You just missed the advert.
RHYS: Yeah? Just popped in for my jacket and to sign for a van.
RUTH: Here's your tea. And I got you a Danish, your favourite.
JACK: I'm in the wrong job.
RUTH: We have got job vacancies.
JACK: Maybe you could fit me in.
RUTH: I'd be delighted to.
JACK: Would I need a licence for trucking?
RUTH: Yes. It takes four weeks, and then you can go long distance.
JACK: That wouldn't be a problem.

(Rhys' mobile phone rings.)

RHYS: It's them.
JACK: Okay.
RHYS: Yeah, hello?

[Van]

RHYS: Why her? Out of all the women you could have chosen
JACK: She chose us. Kind of stumbled upon us.
RHYS: So did I. Doubt you'll be asking me to join.
JACK: We needed someone with police skills.
RHYS: Could have chosen anyone. Did you ever think about us? You know, me, her parents, people who love her, who want her safe?
JACK: No, I'm sorry. We needed her. On her first day of work, she told me off for being too clinical.
RHYS: She doesn't hold back, mind.
JACK: Hmm. Stubborn as hell.
RHYS: Tell me about it. Yeah, she's an amazing girl. I'm a lucky man, Jack.
JACK: Yeah, you said it.
RHYS: I just wish you were a bit uglier. You're not gay by any chance, are you?

[Alley]

(Rhys backs the van in. Gwen comes to the van door.)

GWEN: I brought you a Danish, your favourite. I know what you're like on an empty stomach.

(He's only just finished the one Ruth got him.)

RHYS: Cheers.

(Jack and Rhys get out of the van.)

GWEN: Get out as soon as you can, remember?
RHYS: Yes, yes, yes.

(Tosh, Ianto and Owen get in the back of the van.)

GWEN: I love you.
RHYS: I love you, too. Now, stop fussing and get in the back of the van. Go on.

(Gwen does, and Jack follows her.)

[Back of the van]

OWEN: I'll prepare an antidote of ketamine so we can start weaning it off.
JACK: Gwen, Tosh and I will take the main area. Owen, Ianto, cover the corridors and the small rooms. You okay?
GWEN: What do you think?
OWEN: He'll be fine. He's a good bloke.
JACK: Let's go.

[Loading bay]

RHYS: Yeah, I just need your boss to sign this, mate. I don't want any questions asked, see.

(The worker leaves. Rhys whistles to the other one there.)

RHYS: You couldn't get us a cup of tea, could you?
MAN: Yes.

(And leaves. Rhys opens the back of the van. Torchwood have already left.)

GREG: Where do you want my autograph?
RHYS: Er, just on there, mate.
GREG: Here's a oner for your trouble. Count it, if you like.
RHYS: No, no, it's fine, mate. I trust you.
DALE: When you get to the abattoir, ask for Graham. Him and the boys clean it up and process it.
RHYS: All right.

[Warehouse]

GWEN: Oh, my God. It's amazing. How did it get here?

(They hide in the shadows as a worker comes into hack another lump out of the beast. It whimpers. Jack stuns him as he wheels a barrowload of meat away.)

JACK: Imprisoned, chained and drugged. Welcome to planet Earth.

(It looks at Jack.)

TOSH: It heard you. It's sentient.
GWEN: Jack.

(They go to the big hole cut in its side.)

GWEN: Oh, that's disgusting.
JACK: What have they done to you? What have they done to you, my poor friend?

[Packing room]

(Owen stuns a worker then relieves him of his firearm.)

OWEN: Everyone, they're armed.

[Warehouse]

GWEN: Rhys.
JACK: Gwen, stay here.

[Loading bay]

(Vic bicycles in.)

DALE: Where have you been? An injection was due ten minutes ago.
VIC: I needed more ketamine. I've had to up the dose, Dale. The thing's in agony.
DALE: It's meat. It can't feel anything. You going soft, or what? Get inside and play nurse, if you're so bothered. We've got work to do.
GREG: Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on. There's only twelve bags in here. He's supposed to have three more. Come on, hurry up.

[Corridor]

(A worker sees Ianto.)

IANTO: Hello. I have a thingy here somewhere. Hell of a day.

(Finds his stun gun and uses it.)

[Loading bay]

RHYS: I should be getting off, mate. I've got jobs backing up, you see?
DALE: Well, they'll have to wait, won't they.

(A worker sees Ianto dragging a body, and radios his boss.)

WORKER [OC]: Dale, we've got a problem. There are people in the building.

(Dale hits Rhys.)

DALE: You want to mess with me?

[Warehouse]

GWEN: Ianto, did Rhys get away?
IANTO: I'll check now.

(Owen is in the sedatives room, mixing chemicals.)

[Packing room]

(Ianto runs into a gun.)

DALE: Hey, hey, hey. You looking for someone? How many more of you?
IANTO: Just us.
DALE: You thought the two of you could take us out? Nah, you're not that stupid. Dave, get some ropes, tie their hands. I want every door locked, inside and out. Nobody leaves the building till this is sorted. Move it.
OWEN: They've got Rhys and Ianto.

[Warehouse]

JACK: Gwen. Gwen, no. Listen. Hey. It will be okay. Locked.
GWEN: They must know we're here.

(Jack and Gwen hide as Ianto is brought in at gunpoint.)

IANTO: What is it?
DALE: The lads call it the Cash Cow.
VIC: Dale, what are you doing?
DALE: They couldn't bear to see us making money, Vic. Fancied some for yourselves, eh? Thought we'd be a pushover?
RHYS: Mate, you're so out of your depth.
DALE: Funny, I was just thinking the same about you.
VIC: Dale, don't be an idiot.
DALE: Show yourselves or I shoot the delivery boy.

(Gwen comes out of hiding)

GWEN: Okay! There's no need to make any threats.
DALE: It's just the two of you, is it? Gun down. Kick it over.
GWEN: I don't have a gun.
DALE: He had one, so you must have.
GWEN: Okay, okay.
DALE: Any more of you? And before you answer, have a proper think, because if you lie, I will shoot you.
GWEN: There's just me.
DALE: Get against the drum.
GWEN: We can help you out, Dale.
DALE: Yeah, help yourselves, more like. Come on, stand next to her. You, too.

(Greg can see Jack and Tosh from his position on the catwalk.)

GREG: Dale! Two more. Far corner. They can't get out. It's locked.
DALE: Take out your weapons, stand where I can see you. Drop your weapons.
JACK: Do you know what you've got here, Dale?
DALE: Shut up now.
JACK: It's an alien. A creature from another galaxy. It came through a Rift in time and space, and it was unlucky enough to find you.
DALE: No. No way.
ROSH: Did you really think it originated on this planet? Have you ever seen anything like it before?
VIC: It can't be. Can it?
JACK: Look at it. Look at it.
DALE: It's just meat, that's all.

(Ianto has nearly got his hands free.)

JACK: You're carving up a sentient creature, and you've got to stop.
DALE: And then what have I got? I'm making money here. This is my business. For the first time in my life, I've actually got something for myself.
GWEN: Dale, stop. You can still walk away from this.
DALE: No. You lied to me.

(As Dale aims at Gwen, Rhys steps forward and takes the bullet for her.)

JACK: No!

(Ianto grabs Dale's arm and points it upwards. More shots are fired and the beast starts to break the ropes holding it down whilst emitting a painful sound. Dale gets Ianto on the ground.)

DALE: Die!

(But he is out of bullets.)

DALE: Shit.

(Dale runs.)

BEAST: Free! Free!
JACK: Ianto. Go. After them. Owen. Rhys has been shot. The creature's coming loose. We need that sedative now.

(Gwen cradles Rhys' head.)

GWEN: Open your eyes. Come on, you can do this. Open your eyes now, okay?
OWEN: Yeah, I'm on it, I'm on it.
JACK: Owen, we need you. We're trapped. The creature's breaking free. If we try and get past, we'll be crushed.

[Sedatives room]

OWEN: Come on.
VIC: It wasn't me. I never wanted to be a part of this. Sedatives won't work now. If it's got loose, you're never gonna stop it.

(Ianto stuns Vic.)

IANTO: We've got to help them. It's out of control.
OWEN: Change of plan.

[H&H office]

(The Harries brothers are filling a bag with money from the safe.)

GREG: You went and shot him, bruv. Come on.
DALE: Go, go.
GREG: Fill the other one.
DALE: I'm going as fast as I can.

(Ianto bursts in and stuns Greg. Dale reaches for a gun and Ianto kicks it out of his hand.)

IANTO: Pray they survive.

(He stuns Dale.)

[Warehouse]

OWEN: Bloody hell.
BEAST: Free! Free! Free!
OWEN: I'm sorry.

(Owen delivers a big dose of sedative to the beast.)

GWEN: He's okay.
JACK: Owen, you're making it worse.
BEAST: Free! Free!

(Another dose goes in and it stops thrashing about.)

GWEN: Open your eyes. You can do it. Come on.
OWEN: It's working. Yeah, it's working.
JACK: What did you do?
OWEN: Mercy killing.

(The beast sings a whale song.)

GWEN: Rhys, Rhys, listen to me, listen to me. That's it, breathe me, okay? I've got you tight. Keep your eyes nice and open.
OWEN: Gwen, let me look at him.
BEAST: No.
OWEN: Okay. Stop, stop, stop. Okay, I'm going to rip this. I want you to keep the pressure on, okay? Okay.
OWEN: I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

(The big eye finally closes.)

[Autopsy room]

OWEN: Here he is.
TOSH: Hero of the hour.
RHYS: Hey.
GWEN: Hey.
RHYS: Are you all right?
GWEN: I am now you are, yeah.

(She kisses him, but it hurts.)

GWEN: Sorry.
IANTO: Next time, let her take the bullet.
RHYS: Never. What happened to the blokes?
JACK: We gave them amnesia pills. They'll remember who they are but not what they did over the past few months.
RHYS: So they got away with it?
JACK: It would never stand up in court of law.
RHYS: And the creature?
JACK: Incinerated.
RHYS: So there's nothing left. It was never there.
JACK: Gwen, I need a word.
GWEN: Sure.

[Jack's office]

JACK: Rhys has to forget too, you know?
GWEN: At least let me give it to him at home.

(Gwen takes the proffered Retcon pill and puts it in her back pocket.)

[Roald Dahl Plass]

RHYS: Let's not go home just yet.
GWEN: Rhys, you've just been shot.
RHYS: I know. Come on, Let's go for an ice cream.

(On a bench.)

RHYS: Look around us. Nobody else knows what we've been through. Or what else is out there. The sky won't be the same to me any more. I used to look up and think, ah, looks like rain, man. But now, oh, now I'll look and I'll think of all the other worlds and the planets and stuff spinning around out there. And I got to be a part of it all. Fantastic. Which puts worrying about unsigned dockets into perspective, I can tell you.
GWEN: You've got some ice cream on your chin.
RHYS: Have I? Gone? I want to know about all of it, about every alien you've ever seen. You could take photos. I'll keep a scrap book. Wouldn't show no one, no way.
GWEN: No, because you won't be keeping one.
RHYS: And you know, I'm even cool about Jack. Yeah, all right, yeah, he's handsome, enigmatic, saves the world and all that. But it's me you come home to at the end of it all.
GWEN: And I always will.

(Rhys' phone rings.)

RHYS: Hey. Daf. All right? Oh, nothing much. Same old, same old. Yeah. What? No way.

[Hub]

GWEN: I'm not doing it. I won't drug him.
TOSH: You have to.
OWEN: You can't allow him to remember.
IANTO: It's the rules.
GWEN: But none of you have any partners outside of this.
JACK: But we understand how you feel.
GWEN: No, you don't. No, you don't, Jack. You all think it's cold and lonely out there. But it isn't for me because I have him. He matters. And I've lied to him for long enough. What he did today was so brave, braver than any of us because we signed up for this. But he didn't. He did it because he loves me, and I won't take that away from him. I won't. And if that means I have to quit or you Retcon me or whatever, then fine. Fine.
JACK: You really think you could go back to your old life before Torchwood?
GWEN: I wouldn't know anything different.
JACK: I would. Give Rhys my love, and I will see you tomorrow.

(Jack returns to his office, and watches Gwen and Rhys on a monitor as they kiss and walk away.)

Transcript originally provided by Chrissie. Adapted by TARDIS.guide. The transcripts are for educational and entertainment purposes only. All other copyrights property of their respective holders.

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