The Shadow Cult

Series: Mosaic

Word Count: ~42.200

Summary: Three suicides within twenty-four hours lead the police to believe that there's more to it. Torchwood, however, knows for sure: all the victims are connected to past cases … and to a new cult that seems a bit too interested in Torchwood. Meanwhile, Ianto finds a very interesting young man among the patients on Flat Holm, but his search for answers as to where the man came from is more dangerous than he could have expected.

Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Bilis Manger, Helen, Kathy Swanson, Harold Saxon, Rose Tyler, Micky Smith, the Doctor (Nine), OCs

Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Owen, Gwen/Rhys, Jack/Estelle Cole (hinted)

Rating: NC-17

Spoiler: Day One, Ghost Machine, Cyberwoman, Small Worlds, Greeks Bearing Gifts, They Keep Killing Suzie, Adrift, Fragments / Doctor Who:Boomtown, Parting Of The Ways, The Christmas Invasion, The Sound Of Drums

Setting: After They Keep Killing Suzie

Warnings: Suicide, partner betrayal, language

Contains: Sex

Author's Note: References to previous parts and to some Doctor Who episodes. There's no need to know them but it's always better of course. :)

Beta: larsinger29, who was such a big help with this. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I'm not making money with this fanfic. The tv-show Torchwood and the characters appearing within it belong to their producers and creators. Any similarities to living or dead persons are purely coincidental and not intended.

xxx

Prologue

Eve Franklin had had a bad day. To go out and have some fun with her friends had sounded like a good idea. She didn't quite know, though, how they'd ended up in one of the ugliest clubs in Cardiff. Wolf wasn't known for its size or originality, the music was never after Eve's taste, the drinks were too expensive and the men ... they were even worse. She'd only come here because all her friends had wanted to go.

Around two in the morning, the music became too much for Eve and she went to the loo to have some peace and quiet. Although she could still hear the bass beats through the door, they were much softer. Relieved, she leaned against the tiled wall and breathed in deeply. It smelled of disinfectant and perfume but at least she could move freely. She stood in front of one of the mirrors that hung over the sinks. The one beside her was shattered. It must have happened recently because the shards were still piled in the sink and distributed on the floor. "What kind of bitch was that?" Eve asked herself and grimaced. "This club is a rat hole." Eve put her handbag on the edge of the sink and brushed through her blonde hair with her fingers, then she got lipstick from her bag and leaned closer to the mirror. While she freshened her make-up, she noticed the condom machine in the corner and wondered whether she should buy some. David had offered to come home with her, but Eve didn't know if she should let him. They'd already slept together and she wasn't sure whether a repeat would be a good idea. She didn't want him to think that she was there to get laid whenever he didn't get a better offer.

She heard a muffled gasp from one of the cabins behind her and rolled her eyes. "Guys, go rent a room."

Something – or someone – fell to the floor.

Eve shook her head. "I won't leave just because you guys can't restrain yourselves. Perhaps you even want me to listen." She freshened her eye shadow and mascara and then closed her handbag. She looked at herself, running her fingers through her hair again. It had become quiet in the cabin. Eve turned around, a bit curious now ... and backed away against the sink in shock. A pool of blood was spreading out from underneath the door. "Oh God," she murmured. "Oh God, oh God, oh God ..." She swallowed hard and stepped as close to the cabin as she dared, careful to avoid the growing pool of blood. She knelt down and looked inside through the gap. Dead eyes stared back. Eve let out a startled cry and ran out of the loo. "Oh God!" She bumped into a few people but ignored the angry shouts and curses. She reached the bar and grabbed the first bartender she could find.

"Hey, stand in line," he snapped.

"There's a dead woman in your loo," Eve cried. Several people who had heard her over the music looked at her. The bartender stared at her in disbelief. Eve repeated, "Don't you get it? A girl offed herself in there!"