Fic: Vizzini's Rule (81/105)
Title: Vizzini's Rule, Chapter 81
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Nope
Spoilers: Season One thru Combat (1x11)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around! All ©’s to Noel Clarke for dialogue and situations borrowed from Combat - no infringement, only worship intended.
Summary: In which the team discovers that someone is kidnapping weevils…
Notes: And here we are at Combat. Other than the Jack-and-Ianto-y goodness of a few scenes, I really didn’t care for this episode - mostly cuz I kept yelling “Fight Club!” at the screen but no one would listen to me! ;) So I hope I do it justice!! All comments will be cuddled and hand fed bon-bons. :o)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Eighty-One
Ianto was hungry.
He was also becoming quite irritated with Jack.
His lover had left over an hour ago to pick up dinner and even if he had changed his mind about sandwiches from Tegan’s and had opted for the Chinese place or his favorite Indian take-away or even the bloody pub on match night, he should have been back by now. Ianto sighed again and dropped onto the sofa. He had toyed with the idea of waiting for Jack stretched out naked in his bed, but was glad he’d decided not to bother. Probably have fallen asleep by now, Ianto thought grumpily, except that I’m starving.
He continued to sulk for another few minutes before worry started to replace annoyance. “Come on, Jack,” he muttered as he started to walk around the Hub. He took out his mobile and tossed it absentmindedly in his hand as he paced. He glanced down, trying to decide if he should call Jack when suddenly the phone began to buzz in his hand. He checked the display and smiled as he flipped it open.
“Trouble finding a restaurant, Jack?” he said.
“Ianto! I need you to get Tosh and Owen back in. We’ve got trouble.”
“Right away, sir,” Ianto said, unconsciously straightening and slipping back into professional mode. “Shall I call Gwen as well?”
“No need. She’s with me and we’re heading back in.”
Trying to ignore the slight stab of jealousy that still always plagued him when Jack and Gwen were alone together, Ianto merely said. “Yes, sir.”
“Oh and Ianto?” Jack said, sounding out of breath. “You might want to order in some pizza. I’m starving.”
Ianto rolled his eyes and snapped the phone closed. He called Tosh and Owen as instructed. Tosh said she’d be right there and Owen didn’t answer. Ianto left a quick message and then called the pizza place. He was waiting for the delivery boy in the Tourist Office when Jack and Gwen burst through the door.
“I’ve got to… I need to try Rhys again,” Gwen said. “Jack, I -”
“Go on, Gwen,” Jack said in a soothing tone of voice. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked in her eyes. “Tell him I’m sorry too, okay?”
She opened her mouth to speak but darted a glance at Ianto and just nodded. Ianto gritted his teeth and pressed the blue button to open the wall. As Gwen disappeared down the passageway, Jack sighed and turned to Ianto.
“Sorry about dinner,” he said as he leaned on the counter. His coat gaped open and Ianto gasped at the wound on his chest.
“Jack! Are you okay?” Ianto hurried around the counter and reached for Jack who pulled his coat closed over the bloody shreds of his shirt.
“I’m fine, Yan. Little trouble with a weevil, that’s all. But we’ve got bigger problems.”
“They can wait a few minutes while we get you cleaned up,” Ianto said firmly.
“I’m fine,” Jack said again. He tightened the coat and asked conversationally, “Dare I dream that you’re up here waiting for the pizza boy?”
Ianto sighed. Jack was clearly hanging a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the subject of his injuries. “Yes, sir,” Ianto answered. “He should be here any minute now.”
“Great. I’m gonna go get changed. Tosh and Owen on their way?”
“Tosh is,” Ianto said. “I couldn’t get a hold of Owen.”
“Hm. Getting to be a bit of a habit with him.” Jack frowned and then shook his head. “Well, when Toshiko gets in, give her this,” Jack said, handing Ianto a slip of paper.
“Number plate and an intersection, sir?”
“Yeah, tell her it was a white van. Gwen and I chased a weevil into the car park at that location. We just about had it cornered when that van appeared out of nowhere and kidnapped it.”
“Sorry, kidnapped? The weevil?”
“Kidnapped, captured, whatever. I want to know why and I want it back, safe in our vaults,” Jack said as he strode towards the open wall.
“Yes, sir,” Ianto said softly as he closed the wall after Jack. It swung shut just as the bell over the door jingled and the delivery boy came in. Ianto paid him and was just about to lock up when he saw Tosh approaching. He held the door for her and locked it behind her, flipping the sign around to CLOSED.
“Thanks, Ianto. God, that smells good. I was just about to eat when you called. Please tell me one of these is just cheese?” Tosh asked, grabbing two of the pizza boxes.
“Of course,” Ianto said. He pressed the blue button once again and picked up the remaining boxes. “And a big salad. I have a feeling we’re in for an all-nighter. People are apparently kidnapping weevils,” he said as he called the elevator back up.
“Sorry, kidnapping? Weevils?”
“Exactly what I said,” Ianto said with a nod. “Oh! And this is for you,” he added, maneuvering the boxes so he could pull the piece of paper Jack had given him out of his pocket.
Tosh glanced at Jack’s scribbles. “Well, we have a place to start, anyway,” she said with a smile.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Tosh and Ianto dove in to the cheese pizza as soon as they got downstairs. Tosh took a few slices over to her workstation along with a large helping of the salad and got to work tracing the white van. Ianto, after carefully folding his pizza as Jack had shown him all those months ago, worked at one of the standing stations, looking for any weevil-like attacks or sightings one handed while he ate his pizza.
Jack came back up from his room a few minutes later in a fresh shirt. Ianto kept an eye on his movements as they discussed the increase in odd A&E reports and the fact that their weevil spray was losing its effectiveness. He was relieved to note that Jack really did seem to be fine; he didn’t move like he was in pain nor did he appear to have a bandage under his shirt. When Ianto left to get the supply of weevil spray from the vaults, Jack was shoving pizza into his mouth with gusto.
Ianto had to search through the cabinets in the vaults for a few minutes before he found the case of weevil spray. Cursing Owen’s inability to put anything back where he found it, Ianto pulled the box off of a top shelf. A low-pitched sound from behind him startled him so much that he fumbled the box and almost dropped it. Cursing again and wishing he was armed, he set the box on the stone floor and turned slowly around as the odd noise sounded again.
“Christ!” he gasped in relief. It’s just the weevils, he thought. He shook his head at his jumpiness and turned his back on the vaults again and bent to pick up the box.
The weevil moaned again and this time the anguish in the sound made all the hair on the back of Ianto’s neck stand up. Leaving the box, he turned to look at the weevil more closely. It didn’t appear to be ill. Although exactly what an ill weevil would look like, I have no idea, he thought. As he watched, the creature crouched down and put its arms over its head, wailing again. Ianto put his hands in his pockets and stared for several minutes, trying to work out what was wrong. He finally gave up and pulled out his mobile.
“Ianto? Where are you?” Jack said when he picked up.
“The vaults. I think you should get down here,” Ianto said. He didn’t take his eyes off the weevil, even when Jack slid down the metal stairs a few moments later. He turned his head slightly to acknowledge the Captain’s presence and said, “It started ten minutes ago.”
Before Jack could ask what he was talking about, the weevil crouched down again and howled. Jack stared intently at the creature through the glass.
“What do you think it’s doing?” Ianto asked.
Jack continued to listen for a moment before replying. “I think it’s weeping,” he said, sounding slightly surprised.
“Why?” Ianto asked in a whisper.
“Owen’s been studying this one,” Jack said. Ianto glanced over at Jack and then back to the weevil when it moaned again. “He thinks they have a low level of telepathic ability… to share emotion across distance.”
Slightly horrified, Ianto asked, “You mean it might be feeling the pain of another weevil?”
“I kinda hope we’re wrong, though,” Jack said quietly.
“Why?” Ianto looked at Jack.
“Because that would mean that somebody’s not only kidnapping weevils… they’re causing them pain.”
Ianto marveled at Jack’s ability to feel sympathy for a creature that had tried to kill him less than an hour before. But then he thought about being able to feel Jack’s pain, not just know about it but feel it and he looked at the weevil again with new compassion.
Jack stepped closer to the glass, almost communing with the weevil inside. “What can you feel?” he whispered, “What do you know?”
But the weevil simply howled in pain.
TBC in Chapter Eighty-Two
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Nope
Spoilers: Season One thru Combat (1x11)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around! All ©’s to Noel Clarke for dialogue and situations borrowed from Combat - no infringement, only worship intended.
Summary: In which the team discovers that someone is kidnapping weevils…
Notes: And here we are at Combat. Other than the Jack-and-Ianto-y goodness of a few scenes, I really didn’t care for this episode - mostly cuz I kept yelling “Fight Club!” at the screen but no one would listen to me! ;) So I hope I do it justice!! All comments will be cuddled and hand fed bon-bons. :o)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Eighty-One
Ianto was hungry.
He was also becoming quite irritated with Jack.
His lover had left over an hour ago to pick up dinner and even if he had changed his mind about sandwiches from Tegan’s and had opted for the Chinese place or his favorite Indian take-away or even the bloody pub on match night, he should have been back by now. Ianto sighed again and dropped onto the sofa. He had toyed with the idea of waiting for Jack stretched out naked in his bed, but was glad he’d decided not to bother. Probably have fallen asleep by now, Ianto thought grumpily, except that I’m starving.
He continued to sulk for another few minutes before worry started to replace annoyance. “Come on, Jack,” he muttered as he started to walk around the Hub. He took out his mobile and tossed it absentmindedly in his hand as he paced. He glanced down, trying to decide if he should call Jack when suddenly the phone began to buzz in his hand. He checked the display and smiled as he flipped it open.
“Trouble finding a restaurant, Jack?” he said.
“Ianto! I need you to get Tosh and Owen back in. We’ve got trouble.”
“Right away, sir,” Ianto said, unconsciously straightening and slipping back into professional mode. “Shall I call Gwen as well?”
“No need. She’s with me and we’re heading back in.”
Trying to ignore the slight stab of jealousy that still always plagued him when Jack and Gwen were alone together, Ianto merely said. “Yes, sir.”
“Oh and Ianto?” Jack said, sounding out of breath. “You might want to order in some pizza. I’m starving.”
Ianto rolled his eyes and snapped the phone closed. He called Tosh and Owen as instructed. Tosh said she’d be right there and Owen didn’t answer. Ianto left a quick message and then called the pizza place. He was waiting for the delivery boy in the Tourist Office when Jack and Gwen burst through the door.
“I’ve got to… I need to try Rhys again,” Gwen said. “Jack, I -”
“Go on, Gwen,” Jack said in a soothing tone of voice. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked in her eyes. “Tell him I’m sorry too, okay?”
She opened her mouth to speak but darted a glance at Ianto and just nodded. Ianto gritted his teeth and pressed the blue button to open the wall. As Gwen disappeared down the passageway, Jack sighed and turned to Ianto.
“Sorry about dinner,” he said as he leaned on the counter. His coat gaped open and Ianto gasped at the wound on his chest.
“Jack! Are you okay?” Ianto hurried around the counter and reached for Jack who pulled his coat closed over the bloody shreds of his shirt.
“I’m fine, Yan. Little trouble with a weevil, that’s all. But we’ve got bigger problems.”
“They can wait a few minutes while we get you cleaned up,” Ianto said firmly.
“I’m fine,” Jack said again. He tightened the coat and asked conversationally, “Dare I dream that you’re up here waiting for the pizza boy?”
Ianto sighed. Jack was clearly hanging a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the subject of his injuries. “Yes, sir,” Ianto answered. “He should be here any minute now.”
“Great. I’m gonna go get changed. Tosh and Owen on their way?”
“Tosh is,” Ianto said. “I couldn’t get a hold of Owen.”
“Hm. Getting to be a bit of a habit with him.” Jack frowned and then shook his head. “Well, when Toshiko gets in, give her this,” Jack said, handing Ianto a slip of paper.
“Number plate and an intersection, sir?”
“Yeah, tell her it was a white van. Gwen and I chased a weevil into the car park at that location. We just about had it cornered when that van appeared out of nowhere and kidnapped it.”
“Sorry, kidnapped? The weevil?”
“Kidnapped, captured, whatever. I want to know why and I want it back, safe in our vaults,” Jack said as he strode towards the open wall.
“Yes, sir,” Ianto said softly as he closed the wall after Jack. It swung shut just as the bell over the door jingled and the delivery boy came in. Ianto paid him and was just about to lock up when he saw Tosh approaching. He held the door for her and locked it behind her, flipping the sign around to CLOSED.
“Thanks, Ianto. God, that smells good. I was just about to eat when you called. Please tell me one of these is just cheese?” Tosh asked, grabbing two of the pizza boxes.
“Of course,” Ianto said. He pressed the blue button once again and picked up the remaining boxes. “And a big salad. I have a feeling we’re in for an all-nighter. People are apparently kidnapping weevils,” he said as he called the elevator back up.
“Sorry, kidnapping? Weevils?”
“Exactly what I said,” Ianto said with a nod. “Oh! And this is for you,” he added, maneuvering the boxes so he could pull the piece of paper Jack had given him out of his pocket.
Tosh glanced at Jack’s scribbles. “Well, we have a place to start, anyway,” she said with a smile.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Tosh and Ianto dove in to the cheese pizza as soon as they got downstairs. Tosh took a few slices over to her workstation along with a large helping of the salad and got to work tracing the white van. Ianto, after carefully folding his pizza as Jack had shown him all those months ago, worked at one of the standing stations, looking for any weevil-like attacks or sightings one handed while he ate his pizza.
Jack came back up from his room a few minutes later in a fresh shirt. Ianto kept an eye on his movements as they discussed the increase in odd A&E reports and the fact that their weevil spray was losing its effectiveness. He was relieved to note that Jack really did seem to be fine; he didn’t move like he was in pain nor did he appear to have a bandage under his shirt. When Ianto left to get the supply of weevil spray from the vaults, Jack was shoving pizza into his mouth with gusto.
Ianto had to search through the cabinets in the vaults for a few minutes before he found the case of weevil spray. Cursing Owen’s inability to put anything back where he found it, Ianto pulled the box off of a top shelf. A low-pitched sound from behind him startled him so much that he fumbled the box and almost dropped it. Cursing again and wishing he was armed, he set the box on the stone floor and turned slowly around as the odd noise sounded again.
“Christ!” he gasped in relief. It’s just the weevils, he thought. He shook his head at his jumpiness and turned his back on the vaults again and bent to pick up the box.
The weevil moaned again and this time the anguish in the sound made all the hair on the back of Ianto’s neck stand up. Leaving the box, he turned to look at the weevil more closely. It didn’t appear to be ill. Although exactly what an ill weevil would look like, I have no idea, he thought. As he watched, the creature crouched down and put its arms over its head, wailing again. Ianto put his hands in his pockets and stared for several minutes, trying to work out what was wrong. He finally gave up and pulled out his mobile.
“Ianto? Where are you?” Jack said when he picked up.
“The vaults. I think you should get down here,” Ianto said. He didn’t take his eyes off the weevil, even when Jack slid down the metal stairs a few moments later. He turned his head slightly to acknowledge the Captain’s presence and said, “It started ten minutes ago.”
Before Jack could ask what he was talking about, the weevil crouched down again and howled. Jack stared intently at the creature through the glass.
“What do you think it’s doing?” Ianto asked.
Jack continued to listen for a moment before replying. “I think it’s weeping,” he said, sounding slightly surprised.
“Why?” Ianto asked in a whisper.
“Owen’s been studying this one,” Jack said. Ianto glanced over at Jack and then back to the weevil when it moaned again. “He thinks they have a low level of telepathic ability… to share emotion across distance.”
Slightly horrified, Ianto asked, “You mean it might be feeling the pain of another weevil?”
“I kinda hope we’re wrong, though,” Jack said quietly.
“Why?” Ianto looked at Jack.
“Because that would mean that somebody’s not only kidnapping weevils… they’re causing them pain.”
Ianto marveled at Jack’s ability to feel sympathy for a creature that had tried to kill him less than an hour before. But then he thought about being able to feel Jack’s pain, not just know about it but feel it and he looked at the weevil again with new compassion.
Jack stepped closer to the glass, almost communing with the weevil inside. “What can you feel?” he whispered, “What do you know?”
But the weevil simply howled in pain.
TBC in Chapter Eighty-Two