Fic: The Sea After a Storm (85/?)
Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 85
Rating: R
Warnings: None really, just more Zombie!Owen and some swearing ;-)
Spoilers: Season Two thru A Day in the Death (2x08)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood, Doctor Who and all their wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to Andy Goddard for situations and dialogue borrowed from A Day in the Death. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which the team's investigation is hampered by personal issues...
Notes: Hi all! Sorry this is a day late - was out of town all day yesterday. You can find all the previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thraceadams for all the help and support and beta work; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Eighty-Five
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: The team starts to look into a new case whilst Owen deals with his suspension from duties...
Ianto took a seat at his workstation after making himself a fresh cup of coffee. He started a wide search for all documents matching 'Henry John Parker' while he kept an eye out for Owen, who trailed up the stairs several minutes after everyone else without the tea tray or any of the dishes. Ianto sighed. As soon as Owen was out of sight again, Ianto hurried back down to the boardroom and set everything to rights, bringing up the dirty dishes. He ran into Jack at the top of the stairs.
"Ianto, good. Uh... isn't it about time for lunch?" Jack asked awkwardly.
"Thank you, sir, I've already eaten," Ianto replied, deliberately misunderstanding. "If you'll excuse me?" He motioned to the tray and stepped around the Captain who made no move to stop him.
He banged the tray full of mugs on the counter a little harder than necessary, earning him a concerned glance from Tosh. He gave her a tight smile and stepped over to check on his search, which had finished, yielding a long list of files and references. A quick glance showed him that just about everything on Parker was still active in the system which meant there was no chance of hiding out in the archives. He sighed and set the files to print. As the last pages were spooling out from his printer, Jack walked over and pulled open the fridge, blocking Ianto's exit to the rest of the Hub with the door.
"Gotta be something in here to eat," he muttered.
Ianto ignored the obvious ploy. If he wants to order me to bring in lunch, then let him, he thought, feeling justified in his churlishness. If he thinks I'm just dying to wait on him hand and foot after the way he's been behaving... Ianto tapped his papers to align the corners and stepped around Jack with a phony smile and escaped up the spiral stairs to the greenhouse. It wasn't the best place in the Hub to sort through dozens of pages of reports, but at least it was away from Jack. He took a seat at the small desk under the monitor, fished his pen and notepad from his breast pocket, brushed a fern away from his face and got to work.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
About an hour later, Ianto decided he couldn't legitimately stay in the greenhouse any longer. He recycled his reports, tucked his notebook back into his pocket and took the long way around the catwalks, descending by Tosh's workstation.
"Ianto?" Martha stepped over to Tosh's computer and Ianto met her there.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Is everything okay?" Martha asked. "I mean... between you and Jack? I don't want to stick my nose in, but he seems, I don't know... sad. And you don't look very happy either," she added, giving him a searching look.
Ianto gave her a polite smile. "Just a difference of opinion, nothing to worry about," he said.
"I'm glad. I know Jack really cares about you. He -"
Martha broke off when Owen slammed the tea tray down by the sink, much as he'd done himself earlier in the day.
"Owen?" Gwen called from her desk.
"I'm fine," Owen said. His defeated, quiet tone was somehow more disturbing than if he'd just yelled. "I'm fine, I'm just fucking useless, apparently, so I'm going home to be fucking useless in front of the telly. I'd say ring me if something comes up, but I know you won't so -" With a mocking bow, Owen exited the Hub.
They were all silent as the cog door rolled back into place.
"Um... so, yeah," Martha said distractedly. "If I can help with anything..."
Ianto smiled. "Now you're stealing my lines," he teased.
"And Owen's job, God, you must all hate me."
"No," Ianto said firmly. "This is whole situation is just..." He searched in vain for an appropriate word.
"A right cock-up?" Martha offered.
"That about covers it," Ianto muttered, looking at Jack through the cloudy window to his office.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Tosh lasted about half an hour before she left the Hub to check up on Owen. Ianto made himself scarce shortly after she did, heading up to the Tourist Office to do some mindless cataloguing. He was interrupted twice by Jack. Once when Jack came barrelling through swinging door, muttering about people running off and a second time, not quite an hour later, when he came back through the office, muttering about people not dealing with their shit.
Neither time did he speak to Ianto.
It was only about five minutes after Jack's return to the Hub that Gwen rang Ianto and asked him to join them in the conference room again. Just as before, everyone was already seated when Ianto arrived, but this time Gwen just gave him a warm smile - a nice contrast to Jack's cutting comments earlier in the day. He took a seat at the far end of the table from Jack, leaving an empty chair and as much space as possible between them.
Gwen stood. "I just wanted to touch base with everyone. Ianto, what have you found out about Parker?" she asked.
Ianto pulled his notebook out of his jacket. "I've identified some of the things he's purchased over the past year," he said, consulting his notes. "We've got a Dogon eye, a pair of Myakian wings, some meteorites, an Arcanteenian translation of James Herbert's The Fog, but there are a few things we've never seen before."
"So one of these is causing the energy spikes?" Gwen asked.
"Looks like it," he confirmed. "And they're getting bigger, dangerously bigger," he added, since Tosh wasn't there to report on her findings.
"Well, okay, we need to get in there."
Gwen handed a file to Ianto, leaning across the table to pass it to him when he stood but didn't step any closer to her, which would have put him right next to Jack. Jack seemed to realise what Ianto was doing and glared at him as he sat back down. Ianto could see that Jack looked tired as well as angry from the corner of his eye, but he refused to look directly at him or acknowledge that their disagreement might be weighing on his - former? - lover.
Ignoring this byplay, Gwen laid out their plan. "Parker employs a Mr. Phillip Farrington to run security. There's at least six guards, CCTV everywhere, all of which we can bring down by taking out the generator. But then there's these..." Gwen changed the image on the monitor behind her and they all shifted in their chairs to look. "Heat sensors," she explained.
"As in body heat?" Martha asked.
"Yep," Gwen said, not turning around. "Solar powered. There's one on every doorway, every window."
"So... how do we get past them?" Ianto asked.
"Sounds like you need a dead man," Owen said from behind them.
Everyone turned in their seats to see Owen standing in the doorway, a towel around his neck and a new bandage around his fingers. He was dripping wet.
"Someone with no body heat," he added, looking directly at Jack as he walked to the table. "What have you got to lose?"
There was a tense moment as the two men stared each other down. Jack dropped his gaze first, flicking his eyes to Ianto and giving him a nod. Relief flooded through Ianto as he reached under his jacket and brought out Owen's sidearm. He handed it to Owen who took it with a steady hand. Before anyone could speak, Tosh appeared in the doorway.
Owen turned. "Tosh," he said hesitantly as if bracing himself for a bollocksing.
She simply walked forward and handed Owen a set of keys. "I turned your telly off."
She took the empty seat between Ianto and Jack. "So what's the plan?" she asked.
"Um..." Gwen seemed at a loss after all the unspoken drama that had just occurred.
"I'm going in," Owen said firmly, daring anyone to contradict him.
Luckily, no one did.
TBC...
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/118232.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Rating: R
Warnings: None really, just more Zombie!Owen and some swearing ;-)
Spoilers: Season Two thru A Day in the Death (2x08)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood, Doctor Who and all their wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to Andy Goddard for situations and dialogue borrowed from A Day in the Death. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which the team's investigation is hampered by personal issues...
Notes: Hi all! Sorry this is a day late - was out of town all day yesterday. You can find all the previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thraceadams for all the help and support and beta work; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Eighty-Five
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: The team starts to look into a new case whilst Owen deals with his suspension from duties...
Ianto took a seat at his workstation after making himself a fresh cup of coffee. He started a wide search for all documents matching 'Henry John Parker' while he kept an eye out for Owen, who trailed up the stairs several minutes after everyone else without the tea tray or any of the dishes. Ianto sighed. As soon as Owen was out of sight again, Ianto hurried back down to the boardroom and set everything to rights, bringing up the dirty dishes. He ran into Jack at the top of the stairs.
"Ianto, good. Uh... isn't it about time for lunch?" Jack asked awkwardly.
"Thank you, sir, I've already eaten," Ianto replied, deliberately misunderstanding. "If you'll excuse me?" He motioned to the tray and stepped around the Captain who made no move to stop him.
He banged the tray full of mugs on the counter a little harder than necessary, earning him a concerned glance from Tosh. He gave her a tight smile and stepped over to check on his search, which had finished, yielding a long list of files and references. A quick glance showed him that just about everything on Parker was still active in the system which meant there was no chance of hiding out in the archives. He sighed and set the files to print. As the last pages were spooling out from his printer, Jack walked over and pulled open the fridge, blocking Ianto's exit to the rest of the Hub with the door.
"Gotta be something in here to eat," he muttered.
Ianto ignored the obvious ploy. If he wants to order me to bring in lunch, then let him, he thought, feeling justified in his churlishness. If he thinks I'm just dying to wait on him hand and foot after the way he's been behaving... Ianto tapped his papers to align the corners and stepped around Jack with a phony smile and escaped up the spiral stairs to the greenhouse. It wasn't the best place in the Hub to sort through dozens of pages of reports, but at least it was away from Jack. He took a seat at the small desk under the monitor, fished his pen and notepad from his breast pocket, brushed a fern away from his face and got to work.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
About an hour later, Ianto decided he couldn't legitimately stay in the greenhouse any longer. He recycled his reports, tucked his notebook back into his pocket and took the long way around the catwalks, descending by Tosh's workstation.
"Ianto?" Martha stepped over to Tosh's computer and Ianto met her there.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Is everything okay?" Martha asked. "I mean... between you and Jack? I don't want to stick my nose in, but he seems, I don't know... sad. And you don't look very happy either," she added, giving him a searching look.
Ianto gave her a polite smile. "Just a difference of opinion, nothing to worry about," he said.
"I'm glad. I know Jack really cares about you. He -"
Martha broke off when Owen slammed the tea tray down by the sink, much as he'd done himself earlier in the day.
"Owen?" Gwen called from her desk.
"I'm fine," Owen said. His defeated, quiet tone was somehow more disturbing than if he'd just yelled. "I'm fine, I'm just fucking useless, apparently, so I'm going home to be fucking useless in front of the telly. I'd say ring me if something comes up, but I know you won't so -" With a mocking bow, Owen exited the Hub.
They were all silent as the cog door rolled back into place.
"Um... so, yeah," Martha said distractedly. "If I can help with anything..."
Ianto smiled. "Now you're stealing my lines," he teased.
"And Owen's job, God, you must all hate me."
"No," Ianto said firmly. "This is whole situation is just..." He searched in vain for an appropriate word.
"A right cock-up?" Martha offered.
"That about covers it," Ianto muttered, looking at Jack through the cloudy window to his office.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Tosh lasted about half an hour before she left the Hub to check up on Owen. Ianto made himself scarce shortly after she did, heading up to the Tourist Office to do some mindless cataloguing. He was interrupted twice by Jack. Once when Jack came barrelling through swinging door, muttering about people running off and a second time, not quite an hour later, when he came back through the office, muttering about people not dealing with their shit.
Neither time did he speak to Ianto.
It was only about five minutes after Jack's return to the Hub that Gwen rang Ianto and asked him to join them in the conference room again. Just as before, everyone was already seated when Ianto arrived, but this time Gwen just gave him a warm smile - a nice contrast to Jack's cutting comments earlier in the day. He took a seat at the far end of the table from Jack, leaving an empty chair and as much space as possible between them.
Gwen stood. "I just wanted to touch base with everyone. Ianto, what have you found out about Parker?" she asked.
Ianto pulled his notebook out of his jacket. "I've identified some of the things he's purchased over the past year," he said, consulting his notes. "We've got a Dogon eye, a pair of Myakian wings, some meteorites, an Arcanteenian translation of James Herbert's The Fog, but there are a few things we've never seen before."
"So one of these is causing the energy spikes?" Gwen asked.
"Looks like it," he confirmed. "And they're getting bigger, dangerously bigger," he added, since Tosh wasn't there to report on her findings.
"Well, okay, we need to get in there."
Gwen handed a file to Ianto, leaning across the table to pass it to him when he stood but didn't step any closer to her, which would have put him right next to Jack. Jack seemed to realise what Ianto was doing and glared at him as he sat back down. Ianto could see that Jack looked tired as well as angry from the corner of his eye, but he refused to look directly at him or acknowledge that their disagreement might be weighing on his - former? - lover.
Ignoring this byplay, Gwen laid out their plan. "Parker employs a Mr. Phillip Farrington to run security. There's at least six guards, CCTV everywhere, all of which we can bring down by taking out the generator. But then there's these..." Gwen changed the image on the monitor behind her and they all shifted in their chairs to look. "Heat sensors," she explained.
"As in body heat?" Martha asked.
"Yep," Gwen said, not turning around. "Solar powered. There's one on every doorway, every window."
"So... how do we get past them?" Ianto asked.
"Sounds like you need a dead man," Owen said from behind them.
Everyone turned in their seats to see Owen standing in the doorway, a towel around his neck and a new bandage around his fingers. He was dripping wet.
"Someone with no body heat," he added, looking directly at Jack as he walked to the table. "What have you got to lose?"
There was a tense moment as the two men stared each other down. Jack dropped his gaze first, flicking his eyes to Ianto and giving him a nod. Relief flooded through Ianto as he reached under his jacket and brought out Owen's sidearm. He handed it to Owen who took it with a steady hand. Before anyone could speak, Tosh appeared in the doorway.
Owen turned. "Tosh," he said hesitantly as if bracing himself for a bollocksing.
She simply walked forward and handed Owen a set of keys. "I turned your telly off."
She took the empty seat between Ianto and Jack. "So what's the plan?" she asked.
"Um..." Gwen seemed at a loss after all the unspoken drama that had just occurred.
"I'm going in," Owen said firmly, daring anyone to contradict him.
Luckily, no one did.
TBC...
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/118232.html. Please comment there using OpenID.