Fic: The Sea After a Storm (24/?)
Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 24
Rating: R
Warnings: None really, just don’t feel like changing the rating :)
Spoilers: Season Two thru Sleeper (2x02)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to James Moran for situations borrowed from Sleeper. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which Jack's not wrong…
Notes: Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Twenty-Four
After Jack found the mind probe, he'd sent Ianto out to fetch the chair they would need. Although he was still worried about just how wrong this whole thing could go, Ianto nonetheless obeyed. When he rolled the chair into the Hub, placing it between Tosh and Owen's workstations, Jack was just bringing the probe out of his office. He opened the box, eliciting a worried look from Tosh.
"You said we weren't allowed to use that again," she pointed out.
"It's just a mind probe," Jack said sounding slightly exasperated.
Ianto wondered if he'd have a better chance of convincing Jack to put that thing away with the others around. "Remember what happened last time we used it?" he asked, recalling the hours he'd spent a few days after he'd been hired cleaning purple-hued blood and bits of brain off the Hub walls.
Jack tensed and replied without looking at Ianto. "That was different. That species has extremely high blood pressure."
"Oh, right, their heads must explode all the time," Ianto said with a just touch of sarcasm.
He got a look from Jack at that and Gwen, who hadn't been present for the earlier debacle, looked shocked.
"Jack, you can't do this," she said. "What if you're wrong? If she's human, it'll kill her."
Jack crossed his arms. "I'm not wrong," he said firmly. "We have to find out what she is."
Ianto dropped into the chair, slipping his arms under the restraints and tugging, making sure they were still properly attached.
Tosh sighed, recognising a lost cause. "Take it easy, Jack. Stop at the first sign of trouble."
"Or the first sign of exploding," Ianto muttered.
Jack glanced at Ianto but otherwise ignored him. "Gwen," he said giving her a reassuring nod. "Bring her up."
Gwen hesitated for a moment, glancing between Ianto and Jack. Finally she gave in under Jack's implacable stare. "Okay," she said, waving her hands as if washing them of the whole situation.
As she passed by, Ianto gave it one more shot. He jerked and juddered in the chair making buzzing noises.
Jack snapped his fingers and pointed at Ianto. "Hey!" he said putting a wealth of information in that one syllable.
Ianto read him correctly and hurriedly evacuated the chair. Owen shook his head and Tosh pursed her lips disapprovingly, but Ianto swore that Jack was suppressing a smile. He was sure of it a few seconds later when Jack asked him to get a bottle of water for Beth. He had to pass the Captain to get to the fridge and Jack smacked his arse, muttering, "Cheeky bastard," under his breath.
Once they had Beth settled in the chair with the probe fastened securely to her head, Jack looked at Tosh to see if the computers we're ready to go.
"We're all set," Tosh confirmed.
Jack stepped forward, hands on hips as he explained the device to Beth in the simplest of terms. "The probe drills down through your consciousness, so if there's anything hidden, it'll pop to the surface."
"Will it hurt?" Beth asked in a small voice.
"Yeah," Jack said matter-of-factly.
Beth shook her head. "Your bedside manner's rubbish."
"You should see his manners in bed," Gwen said, obviously trying to lighten the mood. "They're atrocious. Apparently. So I've heard."
Jack's gaze shot to Gwen, and Tosh and Owen were staring at her with blank looks of shock. Ianto realised Gwen must be referring to the bits of misinformation she had of the night Jack attacked Ianto in his sleep. He jumped in, not wanting Jack to dwell on that incident.
"Oh, they are!" he interjected brightly. "I remember this one - "
Jack cleared his throat loudly, cutting Ianto off. Ianto looked at his shoes, biting back his smile, wondering what Jack thought he'd been about to say. He got himself under control while Gwen talked to Beth, his levity fading away at the thought of the mind probe. All too soon, Jack was giving the nod.
"Okay, Tosh"
The probe was switched on.
Ianto never liked to recall the next few minutes. The mind probe was even worse than he'd remembered. At least that time the poor guy's head had just exploded. This… Ianto swallowed the bile in the back of his throat as Beth thrashed and cried in agony. But the worst part was watching Jack - cold and detached, all Torchwood, asking question after question, telling Tosh to go deeper with every denial. When Beth slumped in the chair, Ianto was certain for a long moment that they'd killed her. But then she straightened, her face frighteningly blank, her palms turned upwards in their bonds.
Oh, my God, her arm, Ianto thought, taking an involuntary step back from her chair as Beth's left arm changed, the skin pulling into a spiny pattern with red, glowing patches. His eyes shot to Jack who was staring at Beth's arm too, a look of sad satisfaction on his face.
"Oh, my God!" Gwen breathed, echoing Ianto's thought perfectly as she darted forward.
Jack grabbed her arm and held her back. "I wouldn't get that close. Toshiko, what happened?"
"Hit a buried compartment," Tosh explained, studying the monitor. "Locked away. She couldn't have been aware of it."
Jack nodded. He moved directly in front of Beth, standing a few feet away from the chair. "Who are you?" he asked quietly.
Beth replied in an unfamiliar language, her voice low, completely devoid of any emotion.
"Where are you from?" Jack tried again but received the exact same response. He frowned and then looked back at Beth. "How do you like my boots?"
Beth actually looked down at Jack's feet but she still gave the same reply. Before she finished, Jack had stalked over to Tosh's workstation and grabbed a scanner which he used on Beth's glowing forearm.
"Jack, what is it, what is she saying?" Gwen asked, clearly upset.
"Name, rank, serial number, and that's all she's gonna say."
"How do you know?" Tosh asked.
Jack stopped scanning Beth and stood up. "'Cause I know who she is and why she's here." Jack's eyes darted to Ianto and he tossed the scanner to him.
Ianto caught it and placed it back on Tosh's workstation as Jack ordered her to switch off the probe. Beth's arm returned to normal and she began gasping with pain as soon as the probe was disengaged.
"Oh, you weren't lying, that really hurt!" she panted. She looked up at all of them, fear written plainly across her features. "Did you find anything?"
Jack pressed his lips into a straight line and jerked his head at Ianto.
"Ianto will get you settled downstairs," Jack said to Beth, sternly but not unkindly.
"Down… did you find anything?" Beth asked again.
Ianto stepped forward and started to unfasten the straps around Beth's arms.
"Why won't you say anything?" Beth was starting to get hysterical, fighting the restraints.
"It'll be all right," Ianto said soothingly. "We just need a bit, I mean, we - " He glanced at Gwen, mutely begging for a little of her specialty.
She didn't fail. She gave Beth a wide smile and nodded. "Yes, we don't want to go off half-cocked, right? So you just let us take a look at the data we got from the probe and then we'll know where we are, yeah?"
Beth looked over at Ianto who was still kneeling by the chair, the last buckle now undone. She glanced back up at Gwen's reassuring smile and nodded hesitantly. She rose from the chair as Ianto stood up. Jack stepped forward and clicked the cuffs around her wrists again, making them all flinch.
"Just 'til you're downstairs," Jack said in that same quiet tone. "Boardroom, five minutes," he called to the team as he hurried to his office.
Beth turned her frightened eyes to Ianto once again and he took her arm gently. "What's downstairs, other than that alien?" she asked as they started walking.
"A place you'll be safe to be on your own for a bit," Ianto said evasively. "We'll get you settled and get these off you," he added, motioning to the cuffs. "Did you need anything before we go down? Some more water?"
Beth nodded and Ianto snagged a fresh bottle of water out of the kitchen area on their way to the cells. He was relieved when Beth didn't fuss about being locked up. She actually thanked him when he removed the cuffs and handed her the water before securing the door.
"You won't… you know, forget about me down here, will you?" Beth asked as he stepped away from the glass.
He was back in an instant. "Of course not. In fact, if you need anything just holler. Literally. We'll be able to hear you wherever we are."
"Okay," Beth said. "Okay," she repeated in a whisper, almost as if she was trying to convince herself.
Ianto gave her one last smile and ran to join the others in the conference room. Jack started immediately after Ianto sat down, sharing all the information he had on Sleeper Cell 114 and their diabolical and successful strategies for conquering entire planets. When he was finished, he gave Tosh the floor and she filled them in on the specifics of the technology in Beth's arm.
"The implant gathers information," Tosh stated, pointing to the display behind her, the swirls of orange and yellow coalescing into pictures and text now and then. "Normal X-rays don't show it. She's projecting a false image. It's got all this data stored inside it."
Well, that explains the sniffing, Ianto thought. She's probably capable of gathering information through all five senses.
This," she added, switching to the laptop next to her, "is a force-field generator. It creates an impervious layer above the skin, just a nanometre thick. That's why you couldn't get the needle inside her."
Owen shook his head. "Right, well… God, look, they even know about us."
Ianto stared at the screen, aghast. She must have been tapping into the mainframe the whole time she's been here! There were layouts to levels of the Hub that even Ianto had never seen. "They know more about this place than I do," he said incredulously. He thumped the table in frustration. "Nobody knows more than I do."
Jack gave him a little half smile and reached out to touch his hand. He withdrew it and knit his fingers together as Gwen started to panic a bit.
"What if there's more of them? What are we gonna do about this?"
"For a start..." Jack interjected. "I think we should tell her."
"Her? Beth? Jack, you can't," Gwen protested.
"Why not?" Owen asked. "She deserves the truth about who she is, don't you think?"
"But it'll…" Gwen sighed and then nodded. "Yeah, okay, you're right. But I'm coming with you," she told Jack.
If she expected an argument, she was disappointed. Jack merely nodded and led the way.
TBC in Chapter Twenty-Five
Rating: R
Warnings: None really, just don’t feel like changing the rating :)
Spoilers: Season Two thru Sleeper (2x02)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to James Moran for situations borrowed from Sleeper. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which Jack's not wrong…
Notes: Sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Twenty-Four
After Jack found the mind probe, he'd sent Ianto out to fetch the chair they would need. Although he was still worried about just how wrong this whole thing could go, Ianto nonetheless obeyed. When he rolled the chair into the Hub, placing it between Tosh and Owen's workstations, Jack was just bringing the probe out of his office. He opened the box, eliciting a worried look from Tosh.
"You said we weren't allowed to use that again," she pointed out.
"It's just a mind probe," Jack said sounding slightly exasperated.
Ianto wondered if he'd have a better chance of convincing Jack to put that thing away with the others around. "Remember what happened last time we used it?" he asked, recalling the hours he'd spent a few days after he'd been hired cleaning purple-hued blood and bits of brain off the Hub walls.
Jack tensed and replied without looking at Ianto. "That was different. That species has extremely high blood pressure."
"Oh, right, their heads must explode all the time," Ianto said with a just touch of sarcasm.
He got a look from Jack at that and Gwen, who hadn't been present for the earlier debacle, looked shocked.
"Jack, you can't do this," she said. "What if you're wrong? If she's human, it'll kill her."
Jack crossed his arms. "I'm not wrong," he said firmly. "We have to find out what she is."
Ianto dropped into the chair, slipping his arms under the restraints and tugging, making sure they were still properly attached.
Tosh sighed, recognising a lost cause. "Take it easy, Jack. Stop at the first sign of trouble."
"Or the first sign of exploding," Ianto muttered.
Jack glanced at Ianto but otherwise ignored him. "Gwen," he said giving her a reassuring nod. "Bring her up."
Gwen hesitated for a moment, glancing between Ianto and Jack. Finally she gave in under Jack's implacable stare. "Okay," she said, waving her hands as if washing them of the whole situation.
As she passed by, Ianto gave it one more shot. He jerked and juddered in the chair making buzzing noises.
Jack snapped his fingers and pointed at Ianto. "Hey!" he said putting a wealth of information in that one syllable.
Ianto read him correctly and hurriedly evacuated the chair. Owen shook his head and Tosh pursed her lips disapprovingly, but Ianto swore that Jack was suppressing a smile. He was sure of it a few seconds later when Jack asked him to get a bottle of water for Beth. He had to pass the Captain to get to the fridge and Jack smacked his arse, muttering, "Cheeky bastard," under his breath.
Once they had Beth settled in the chair with the probe fastened securely to her head, Jack looked at Tosh to see if the computers we're ready to go.
"We're all set," Tosh confirmed.
Jack stepped forward, hands on hips as he explained the device to Beth in the simplest of terms. "The probe drills down through your consciousness, so if there's anything hidden, it'll pop to the surface."
"Will it hurt?" Beth asked in a small voice.
"Yeah," Jack said matter-of-factly.
Beth shook her head. "Your bedside manner's rubbish."
"You should see his manners in bed," Gwen said, obviously trying to lighten the mood. "They're atrocious. Apparently. So I've heard."
Jack's gaze shot to Gwen, and Tosh and Owen were staring at her with blank looks of shock. Ianto realised Gwen must be referring to the bits of misinformation she had of the night Jack attacked Ianto in his sleep. He jumped in, not wanting Jack to dwell on that incident.
"Oh, they are!" he interjected brightly. "I remember this one - "
Jack cleared his throat loudly, cutting Ianto off. Ianto looked at his shoes, biting back his smile, wondering what Jack thought he'd been about to say. He got himself under control while Gwen talked to Beth, his levity fading away at the thought of the mind probe. All too soon, Jack was giving the nod.
"Okay, Tosh"
The probe was switched on.
Ianto never liked to recall the next few minutes. The mind probe was even worse than he'd remembered. At least that time the poor guy's head had just exploded. This… Ianto swallowed the bile in the back of his throat as Beth thrashed and cried in agony. But the worst part was watching Jack - cold and detached, all Torchwood, asking question after question, telling Tosh to go deeper with every denial. When Beth slumped in the chair, Ianto was certain for a long moment that they'd killed her. But then she straightened, her face frighteningly blank, her palms turned upwards in their bonds.
Oh, my God, her arm, Ianto thought, taking an involuntary step back from her chair as Beth's left arm changed, the skin pulling into a spiny pattern with red, glowing patches. His eyes shot to Jack who was staring at Beth's arm too, a look of sad satisfaction on his face.
"Oh, my God!" Gwen breathed, echoing Ianto's thought perfectly as she darted forward.
Jack grabbed her arm and held her back. "I wouldn't get that close. Toshiko, what happened?"
"Hit a buried compartment," Tosh explained, studying the monitor. "Locked away. She couldn't have been aware of it."
Jack nodded. He moved directly in front of Beth, standing a few feet away from the chair. "Who are you?" he asked quietly.
Beth replied in an unfamiliar language, her voice low, completely devoid of any emotion.
"Where are you from?" Jack tried again but received the exact same response. He frowned and then looked back at Beth. "How do you like my boots?"
Beth actually looked down at Jack's feet but she still gave the same reply. Before she finished, Jack had stalked over to Tosh's workstation and grabbed a scanner which he used on Beth's glowing forearm.
"Jack, what is it, what is she saying?" Gwen asked, clearly upset.
"Name, rank, serial number, and that's all she's gonna say."
"How do you know?" Tosh asked.
Jack stopped scanning Beth and stood up. "'Cause I know who she is and why she's here." Jack's eyes darted to Ianto and he tossed the scanner to him.
Ianto caught it and placed it back on Tosh's workstation as Jack ordered her to switch off the probe. Beth's arm returned to normal and she began gasping with pain as soon as the probe was disengaged.
"Oh, you weren't lying, that really hurt!" she panted. She looked up at all of them, fear written plainly across her features. "Did you find anything?"
Jack pressed his lips into a straight line and jerked his head at Ianto.
"Ianto will get you settled downstairs," Jack said to Beth, sternly but not unkindly.
"Down… did you find anything?" Beth asked again.
Ianto stepped forward and started to unfasten the straps around Beth's arms.
"Why won't you say anything?" Beth was starting to get hysterical, fighting the restraints.
"It'll be all right," Ianto said soothingly. "We just need a bit, I mean, we - " He glanced at Gwen, mutely begging for a little of her specialty.
She didn't fail. She gave Beth a wide smile and nodded. "Yes, we don't want to go off half-cocked, right? So you just let us take a look at the data we got from the probe and then we'll know where we are, yeah?"
Beth looked over at Ianto who was still kneeling by the chair, the last buckle now undone. She glanced back up at Gwen's reassuring smile and nodded hesitantly. She rose from the chair as Ianto stood up. Jack stepped forward and clicked the cuffs around her wrists again, making them all flinch.
"Just 'til you're downstairs," Jack said in that same quiet tone. "Boardroom, five minutes," he called to the team as he hurried to his office.
Beth turned her frightened eyes to Ianto once again and he took her arm gently. "What's downstairs, other than that alien?" she asked as they started walking.
"A place you'll be safe to be on your own for a bit," Ianto said evasively. "We'll get you settled and get these off you," he added, motioning to the cuffs. "Did you need anything before we go down? Some more water?"
Beth nodded and Ianto snagged a fresh bottle of water out of the kitchen area on their way to the cells. He was relieved when Beth didn't fuss about being locked up. She actually thanked him when he removed the cuffs and handed her the water before securing the door.
"You won't… you know, forget about me down here, will you?" Beth asked as he stepped away from the glass.
He was back in an instant. "Of course not. In fact, if you need anything just holler. Literally. We'll be able to hear you wherever we are."
"Okay," Beth said. "Okay," she repeated in a whisper, almost as if she was trying to convince herself.
Ianto gave her one last smile and ran to join the others in the conference room. Jack started immediately after Ianto sat down, sharing all the information he had on Sleeper Cell 114 and their diabolical and successful strategies for conquering entire planets. When he was finished, he gave Tosh the floor and she filled them in on the specifics of the technology in Beth's arm.
"The implant gathers information," Tosh stated, pointing to the display behind her, the swirls of orange and yellow coalescing into pictures and text now and then. "Normal X-rays don't show it. She's projecting a false image. It's got all this data stored inside it."
Well, that explains the sniffing, Ianto thought. She's probably capable of gathering information through all five senses.
This," she added, switching to the laptop next to her, "is a force-field generator. It creates an impervious layer above the skin, just a nanometre thick. That's why you couldn't get the needle inside her."
Owen shook his head. "Right, well… God, look, they even know about us."
Ianto stared at the screen, aghast. She must have been tapping into the mainframe the whole time she's been here! There were layouts to levels of the Hub that even Ianto had never seen. "They know more about this place than I do," he said incredulously. He thumped the table in frustration. "Nobody knows more than I do."
Jack gave him a little half smile and reached out to touch his hand. He withdrew it and knit his fingers together as Gwen started to panic a bit.
"What if there's more of them? What are we gonna do about this?"
"For a start..." Jack interjected. "I think we should tell her."
"Her? Beth? Jack, you can't," Gwen protested.
"Why not?" Owen asked. "She deserves the truth about who she is, don't you think?"
"But it'll…" Gwen sighed and then nodded. "Yeah, okay, you're right. But I'm coming with you," she told Jack.
If she expected an argument, she was disappointed. Jack merely nodded and led the way.
TBC in Chapter Twenty-Five