The Lincolnshire Poacher (audio story)

The Lincolnshire Poacher was the sixty-seventh story in the Torchwood - Monthly Range by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle.

Publisher's summary
Mysterious signals lead Torchwood to the Moil. 4-1-8-4. Greg likes countryside walks and recording the songs of birds. 3-6-2-7. No one knows the secret of the numbers stations. 1-2-0-5.

How long has Ianto Jones been trapped in the boiler room? 9-7-2-3. Reality is collapsing. 3-5-8-1.

The Lincolnshire Poacher is waiting.

Plot
Greg, a hunter and radio enthusiast who has called and written to Torchwood before, calls Ianto and unsuccessfully tries to tell him about a numbers station. He makes further attempts, including calling a woman on Ianto's bus, the information desk at his supermarket and the pub, and Ianto eventually sets up a shortwave receiver and tunes into the numbers station before calling Greg, although he does not know how he got his phone number. Greg hangs up and Ianto becomes obsessed with the numbers, losing track of time and becoming unable to eat.

Ianto finds himself in the boiler room of Greg's home in the forest, having triangulated Greg's calls three or four months ago and lost his memory due to him being used as a conduit for the numbers. Greg explains that alien technology fell from the sky when he was a young technician and Torchwood left him behind in the Moil, a tear in reality caused by an explosion, to keep it closed with Block Transfer Computations transmitted by numbers stations. By making Ianto take his place, he has got his revenge on Torchwood and leaves, but he passes out and is taken to Lincoln County Hospital.

Greg adjusts to living in the normal world again until he realises that he is still in the Moil. Ianto reveals that the Moil is made up of Greg's memories and that he is barely a person as a result, unable to leave. He apologises to Greg for what Torchwood did to him and leaves him to continue his job. Greg decides that the apology will have to do.

Cast

 * Ianto Jones - Gareth David-Lloyd
 * Greg - David Shaw-Parker
 * The Numbers Station - Tania Rodrigues
 * Doctor - Hywel Morgan

Worldbuilding

 * Ianto calls for Jack.
 * Ianto speaks to Rhiannon on his mobile phone.
 * Greg was a technician.
 * Greg is using a Block Transfer Computation to protect against a rip in reality.
 * Greg is found beside the B1203, south of Swinhope, and taken to Lincoln County Hospital.

Continuity
to be added