Grounded
Title: Grounded
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Owen, Jack, Tosh, Gwen
Words: 3,686
Rating/warnings: 18, swearing, violence, death
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Torchwood
Spoilers: None. Set during season 2, and everyone is alive.
AN: Written for huskyfriends as part of my Chistmas fic gifts, but it's being delivered late. She asled for Owen and Ianto buddy fic, where they have to so something like rescue the team. Un-beta'd so please shout at me for any mistakes and I'll rectify.
“Jack, I can’t believe you’re listening to her!”
Owen faced Jack, his anger obvious. Ianto stood next to him quietly seething.
“Gwen’s got a point. We’re all sick of your bickering and fighting. If you’re going to act like children we will treat you like children. You are both confined to the Hub during working hours until further notice. Now, Tosh, Gwen and I are going to answer this call. It’s a way out so we’ll be gone most of the afternoon but you two are to both stay here. And try not to kill each other.”
With that Jack swept out of the Hub, followed by the two women.
“He’s grounded us! He’s fucking grounded us!” Now Jack was gone Ianto felt free to voice his displeasure. Owen tuned and jabbed a finger in his face.
“You’d better keep out of my fucking way.”
“With pleasure.” Ianto spun in his heel and headed to Jack’s office, feeling the need to tidy and possibly hide some things.
He lost himself in his task, working methodically through the piles of paper that littered the Captain’s office. It gave him time to think and plan what he would say to him later. When he wasn’t in front of the team there would definitely be some harsh words.
After nearly an hour of quietly working Ianto paused and straightened out his back. Leaving the office he headed to his own work station to sooth himself further with some coffee. He didn’t even spare Owen a glance as he went past him, though he knew he would still be making him a cup. It was part of his job and he took all aspects of his work seriously. He spent some time considering what he could lace the drink with though. In the end he settled on not adding anything, but serving it with a grin that would leave the doctor wondering.
Suddenly his comm. burst into life, loud and startling. He grabbed at his ear in shock and looked over at Owen. Owen’s movement’s mirrored his own and he too looked up, their eyes locking across Hub.
Jack’s voice came through the comms., urgent and harsh.
“It’s a trap; an ambush. They’ve got…” Jack’s voice broke off, interrupted by a scream and the line went dead.
Ianto and Owen stared at each other for a beat, eyes wide open in shock, and then, as one, they were both moving.
“I’ll get a trace on the SUV and their phones. “ Owen shouted, racing for the nearest terminal.
“We don’t know what we’re facing; I’ll get weapons from the special store.”
“You don’t know that code for that, none of us do.”
“No, I shouldn’t know the code. There’s a difference.” Ianto called back, running towards the store.
“I’ve got them,” yelled Owen a moment later, “I’ve got a trace on the SUV and their phones. The SUV is static, but the phones are moving…No, no, no, no. I’m losing the phones. Jack’s has gone, so has Tosh’s. Gwen’s…Gwen’s is still on. And it’s still moving in the same direction; still away from the SUV.”
Ianto ran from the weapons store with a duffle bag in his hands.
“We’ll take your car. You drive.”
“Why?”
“You’re a worse driver. We’ll get there quicker.”
“Fair enough.” Owen gave a tight grin and grabbed two PDAs and a hand gun before running to the exit with Ianto.
The pair drove in silence; Owen concentrating on carving a way through the traffic, while Ianto studied his PDA, the sorted and primed bag of weapons on the back seat.
“You realise they could have left Gwen’s phone on on purpose. This could be a trap.” Ianto said.
“Do you care?” Owen asked.
“No.” replied Ianto without hesitation.
“Good boy.” said Owen. Ianto took it for the compliment it was.
As they drove the signal from Gwen’s phone had stopped moving. Ianto called up the position on the GPS and downloaded satellite images.
“The image isn’t clear. All I can see is grass and a van. No sign of any buildings.”
“Use the satellite to do a scan for life signs.”
Ianto somehow managed to bite back his retort, his fingers already moving to pull up the information.
“There are seven life signs under the ground. That’s Jack, Tosh and Gwen and four others.”
“Under the ground?”
“Yes. The army built bunkers in the hills out here during the war. They were all supposed to have been closed up and sealed off.”
“Is there anything you Welsh didn’t do underground?”
“Build train systems then go on strike every week?”
Owen sneered in reply. “That’s the best you can come up with?”
“I’m a little busy, try me again later. Looking at this if we take the next left we can drive around and approach from the other side. It’s a longer way, but there’s a bank of trees we can park behind and it will give us cover to approach.”
Owen nodded in response and Ianto continued to study the readout on his PDA as they got closer.
“No!” he suddenly barked out. “Shit, shit, no.”
“What is it?” snapped Owen, briefly turning to face him. But he already knew the answer.
“Six life signs.” said Ianto blandly. “It’s gone down to six life forms.”
Owen didn’t reply; he just pushed his foot harder to the floor, asking for more from the car than it had to give. But within minutes they were at the parking point Ianto had suggested. Now they were closer Ianto used his PDA to do a complete scan.
“Still six life forms. All of them showing as human.”
The confusion was evident in his voice and Owen added a touch of authority to his to keep the other man grounded. They needed each other now; they had to help each other.
“Well that makes it simple then. Guns and cuffs.” Owen reached back and pulled more hand guns and cuffs from the duffle. He shoved some at Ianto and stuffed the reminder into his pockets, before stowing the bag and its contents under the front seat.
Ianto had identified an entrance and, each with a gun in hand, they approached, vigilant and hyper aware. The entrance was a hatch set into the ground, leading downward. Owen kept watch as Ianto knelt and held the lock opening tech against the hatch. The lock fell open with a soft snick. Owen continued to scan the area while Ianto pointed his gun at the hatch before yanking the door open.
“Clear.” he said, quietly but distinctly. Ianto pocketed his PDA and the lock opener, keeping his gun in his hand, and started to descend the ladder, Owen maintaining his lookout above.
At the bottom of the ladder Ianto found himself at one end of a long, deserted corridor. With a soft whistle he signalled for Owen to come down and join him.
Once together they stood side by side, guns steady in front of them, alert to every sight and sound around them.
They started a careful walk down the corridor, going as quickly as they dared while remaining vigilant. They stopped at the first door that they came to and Owen tried the handle. Finding it open he nodded at Ianto. Owen pushed open the door and spun into the room while Ianto kept cover on the corridor. Ianto was quickly pulled from his task though as he heard Owen softly mutter a heartfelt, “shit.”
Ianto was just a step behind Owen as the medic rushed to the prone figure of Jack Harkness lying on the ground. Owen knelt and checked for vital signs and as Ianto stood a pace back, hands on hips surveying the bloodied mess his handsome Captain’s face had become; it’s features battered and swollen beyond all recognition. Blood covered the man’s shirt and was matted in his hair.
Owen shook his head and Ianto moved forwards. Owen stood quickly and placed a firm hand on Ianto’s chest, stopping him from getting any closer.
“There’s nothing we can do for him now. But this can work in our favour. You don’t bother locking dead men up and they don’t appear to know about his stubborn refusal to stay dead.”
Owen kept the steady pressure against Ianto’s chest letting the words sink in, until Ianto nodded.
“Let’s find the others.” Ianto’s voice had dropped low and taken on a husky quality Owen had only heard a few times before. And one of those had ended up with him being on the receiving end of a bullet to the shoulder. Assured that Ianto’s mind was fully back in the game Owen moved past him and back to the door. He poked his head into the corridor, quickly pulling it back when he saw a man purposefully striding towards the room they were in.
“Oi!” he heard the man shout and then the footsteps quickened pace to a run. Ianto nodded at Owen and slipped his gun into his waistband at the small of his back. Standing in the middle of the room Ianto held his hands up at shoulder height in surrender, while Owen flattened himself against the wall next to the door.
The man ran into the room, stopping at the sight of Ianto, who had decided to put a disarming grin on his face.
“How did you get in…”
The rest of his sentence was cut off as Owen brought the butt of his gun down against the man’s head. Owen and Ianto moved simultaneously as the man crumpled to the ground. Ianto pulled out a pair of handcuffs and they dragged the man to a wall. Ianto linked the cuffs around a pipe that ran against the wall before snapping them onto the man’s wrists. He then moved down the man’s body and pulled off one of his shoes before removing his sock. Ianto stuffed the sock into the man’s mouth, making an effective gag, before stepping back.
Owen and Ianto took a moment to glance between Jack and the unconscious man.
“At least it’s a clear signal to Jack when he wakes up that we’ve been here.”
Ianto nodded tersely, his eyes now fixed on Jack and Owen placed a hand on is shoulder. Ianto nodded again and the headed to the door in an attempt to leave the room again. This time when Owen peered into the corridor he found it empty.
It has escaped neither of their attentions that the room they had just left was thick walled and the doors where of a heavy metal. They both suspected that the rooms were soundproof. This didn’t bode well for what the building was currently being used for.
They came to a set of two doors adjacent to each other on the opposite side of the corridor to the one they had just left. Owen and Ianto stood shoulder to shoulder, guns raised, and as Owen pushed open the door they both moved inside.
Neither of them was prepared for the sight that greeted them.
Tosh sat slumped in a chair in the middle of the room, her unconscious form sagging against bonds that held her against the wooden seat. A large tree of a man loomed over her, but turned around as they burst into the room. He clenched and unclenched his beefy fists at his sides. His hands were stained in blood and they were both certain it wasn’t his own.
Tosh’s head hung limply, her hair hiding her face, but her blood splattered clothes told them all they needed to know. Jack’s coat lay crumpled in the corner of the room.
The man gave them a twisted grin, barely looking at their guns as he started to stalk towards them.
“You’re not going to shoot an unarmed man are you?” he sneered.
Ianto shot him between the eyes.
They watched silently as his body hit the ground.
“I thought I saw him with a weapon.” Ianto said.
Owen looked at Tosh’s battered face and nodded. “Definitely thought I saw him with a weapon.” He took a step forward and knelt next to Tosh, gently lifting her head with one hand and pressing two fingers against her neck. “Okay, she’s unconscious, but stable. Let’s get her out of here.”
Ianto moved forwards and gently picked Tosh up, cradling her in his arms. He stood with his back to a mirror that took up most of one wall and raised his eyebrows at Owen in query. Owen nodded.
“Yes, we should just get out of here.”
They both suspected that it was a two way mirror but didn’t want to alert anyone that might be on the other side that they were next to be visited.
Once back outside the room they moved either side of the next door. They heard the quiet click of a lock falling home. Owen gave Ianto a sickening grin; “my turn.” he said softly, moving in front of the door. He stood, gun raised and ready, head slightly to one side, fingers flexing on the gun’s grip in anticipation.
Ianto shifted Tosh in his grasp to get one arm free. He pulled the lock tech out of his pocket and held it against the door until the lock clicked again. He pressed himself back against the wall, Toshiko held tightly against him and, pocketing the tech, reached for the door handle. He counted quietly to Owen and on three turned the handle and pushed the door open.
Owen moved immediately; stepping into the room, gun moving with his eyes as he scanned the room, assessing it instantly. The only occupant of the room was a short, moon-faced man, who turned to him, a look of fear on his face.
“Down! Face down on the floor now!” barked Owen, “hands behind your head.”
“You…you shot him.” the man stammered.
“And you will be next if you don’t get down now!”
“But you killed him!”
“What part of ‘you’ll be next’ are you not grasping? On the ground now.”
Something in Owen’s tone finally got through to the man and he dropped to the floor. Owen kept him covered with his gun until he was close enough to put a foot in the middle of the man’s back, keeping him in place. Owen reached into his pocket and drew out his pair of cuffs, securing the man’s hands behind his back. He straightened and looked at Ianto, who had followed him into the room, gun raised the best he could as he carried Tosh.
“Reckon he’ll be safe if we lock him in here. There’s only one of them left now. Let’s find Gwen.”
Ianto nodded, and stepped back, allowing Owen to lead the way as he was able to cover the corridor better. Once ensuring the corridor was clear, they both stepped out and Owen locked the door behind them.
Owen continued to move down the corridor, gun high and ready. They tried the next door along the corridor and found the room empty. They approached the corner of the corridor cautiously and Owen led them around it, finding the next corridor empty, but with another three doors coming off it.
Sticking to their same formation they tried the next door and again found it empty. They moved onto the next door and found this one locked. Owen and Ianto exchanged a nod and took up the same positions as they had at the last locked door.
Once the tech had made the lock give up the tell-tale click which said it was open, Owen steadied himself in front of it and Ianto reached for the handle, Tosh still carefully balanced in his arms. They both knew the maths. Two doors left; one assailant and Gwen left to find.
Exchanging another nod Ianto once again counted softly to three before pushing the door open. Owen moved in quickly and caught a flash of movement to his left. He swung his gun and his body around in time to see someone rushing him. He opened his mouth to shout a warning and cocked his gun when a flash of recognition burned through his brain. He lifted his arms in the air and tried to step back.
“Gwen! It’s me.”
Gwen lifted her head, her eyes open wide and tried to stop her charge, but it was difficult to halt her forward momentum as her hands were tied awkwardly behind her back. She careened into Owen, who grabbed her firmly in his arms and took a couple of steps back, stopping her gently.
“Gwen it’s okay. We’re here.” Owen made Gwen focus on him as Ianto entered the room and settled Tosh gently on the floor behind the door. Gwen looked up at Owen then across to Tosh and Ianto.
“Oh my god. What have they done to her?” Gwen tried to move to Tosh but Owen held her fast.
“She’ll be fine. We put a stop to it.”
“What about Jack? Where’s Jack? They took him first.”
“Jack…Jack is resting. We’ll get him soon. Right now we should think about getting out of here. We’ll start by getting you untied.”
Gwen turned her back on Owen, who was facing away from the door, so that he could undo her bonds. Ianto was still crouched behind the door with Tosh, who was starting to rouse. None of them saw the man come through the doorway until the gun was pressed against the back of Owen’s head.
“Neither of you move.” he said.
Ianto realised in that second that he and Tosh hadn’t been seen behind the door. He stood quietly as the man instructed Owen to raise his hands and Gwen to stay where she was. He knew that with the gun pressed against Owen’s head he couldn’t risk just grabbing the man from behind or shooting him; he had to move the gun.
The man was continuing to talk to Owen and Gwen, giving them orders, as Ianto crept towards him and once he was close enough he rushed forwards in one movement, grabbing the man’s wrist and pushing the gun away from Owen’s head.
But the angle was awkward and the man managed to turn in his grasp and bring the gun between their bodies, aimed now at Ianto’s chest. Ianto struggled to get the gun away from his body but suddenly the iron grip he was fighting against eased slightly and he looked up to see Owen also holding the man’s arms and trying to manoeuvre himself between Ianto and the gun.
Owen’s help allowed Ianto to release the man’s arm with his right hand and he pulled it back, before snapping it forward again and striking the man square in the jaw. Owen managed to shove the man’s gun and hands into the air as the attacker’s eyes rolled back in his head and he started to sink to the floor unconscious. Owen pulled the gun safely from his hands and threw it to the ground. Ianto had taken the man’s weight as he had started collapsing and lowered him to the ground, digging out another pair of cuffs to secure him.
Owen turned back to Gwen who had whirled around to watch the brief fight even though she was unable to participate. She turned her back on him once again and Owen succeeded in freeing her. Tosh had woken up fully and gave a startled cry.
“Where are the others?”
Owen went to her side immediately. “It’s okay Tosh. We’ve got them all. You’re safe. Let me look at you.”
Tosh didn’t protest as Owen quickly looked into her eyes and examined her injuries. Ianto was giving Gwen a quick check over even though her only visible injuries were minor.
“How come you didn’t lose your phone when the others did?” he asked.
Gwen grinned. “I shoved mine down my boot and they didn’t find it. Simple but effective.”
“What were they after?” Owen asked Tosh.
“They wanted information. About the Hub, our findings and the weapons we have.”
“How do they even know about…”
Ianto’s question was interrupted by Jack bursting through the doorway, his Webley raised high in the air and a shout on his lips. Four pairs of eyes turned to look at him.
“There you go again, always unnecessarily brash and loud.” Owen tutted.
“And you’re late.” Ianto added.
Jack stood and stared for a second, watching the two men working with Tosh and Gwen. “You two did this all? I’ve seen the trail you left. And thank you for the gift. I thought it was Christmas when I woke up with a gagged man handcuffed to the wall next to me.”
Ianto turned again and rolled his eyes, Owen merely grunted at him.
“Let’s get out of here.” Tosh said. She received no arguments.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Back at the Hub, three men were slumped in the cells, sleeping off retcon while the body of a fourth lay in the morgue, ready to be dumped somewhere convenient.
Jack sat on the old battered sofa with Tosh slouched next to him. They had tried to send her home, but she had insisted on staying, claiming she could be useful; which was code for “I don’t want to be alone tonight.” Jack had relented, which was code for “I don’t want to let any of my team out of my sight tonight.”
Gwen sat with them and they watched Ianto and Owen as they worked on creating the scenario that would lead to the body being discovered, covered with enough evidence to easily convict the three men who would ultimately be found sleeping in a car nearby with confused memories.
The pair had been bickering ever since they had started working on it.
“They’re never going to change are they?” Gwen mused.
“No.” Jack replied.
“But would you really change that?” Tosh asked.
The three sat silently as the bickering paused for a moment and grins spread across Owen and Ianto’s faces as they shared a look of satisfaction.
“Never.” They all said at once.
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Owen, Jack, Tosh, Gwen
Words: 3,686
Rating/warnings: 18, swearing, violence, death
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Torchwood
Spoilers: None. Set during season 2, and everyone is alive.
AN: Written for huskyfriends as part of my Chistmas fic gifts, but it's being delivered late. She asled for Owen and Ianto buddy fic, where they have to so something like rescue the team. Un-beta'd so please shout at me for any mistakes and I'll rectify.
“Jack, I can’t believe you’re listening to her!”
Owen faced Jack, his anger obvious. Ianto stood next to him quietly seething.
“Gwen’s got a point. We’re all sick of your bickering and fighting. If you’re going to act like children we will treat you like children. You are both confined to the Hub during working hours until further notice. Now, Tosh, Gwen and I are going to answer this call. It’s a way out so we’ll be gone most of the afternoon but you two are to both stay here. And try not to kill each other.”
With that Jack swept out of the Hub, followed by the two women.
“He’s grounded us! He’s fucking grounded us!” Now Jack was gone Ianto felt free to voice his displeasure. Owen tuned and jabbed a finger in his face.
“You’d better keep out of my fucking way.”
“With pleasure.” Ianto spun in his heel and headed to Jack’s office, feeling the need to tidy and possibly hide some things.
He lost himself in his task, working methodically through the piles of paper that littered the Captain’s office. It gave him time to think and plan what he would say to him later. When he wasn’t in front of the team there would definitely be some harsh words.
After nearly an hour of quietly working Ianto paused and straightened out his back. Leaving the office he headed to his own work station to sooth himself further with some coffee. He didn’t even spare Owen a glance as he went past him, though he knew he would still be making him a cup. It was part of his job and he took all aspects of his work seriously. He spent some time considering what he could lace the drink with though. In the end he settled on not adding anything, but serving it with a grin that would leave the doctor wondering.
Suddenly his comm. burst into life, loud and startling. He grabbed at his ear in shock and looked over at Owen. Owen’s movement’s mirrored his own and he too looked up, their eyes locking across Hub.
Jack’s voice came through the comms., urgent and harsh.
“It’s a trap; an ambush. They’ve got…” Jack’s voice broke off, interrupted by a scream and the line went dead.
Ianto and Owen stared at each other for a beat, eyes wide open in shock, and then, as one, they were both moving.
“I’ll get a trace on the SUV and their phones. “ Owen shouted, racing for the nearest terminal.
“We don’t know what we’re facing; I’ll get weapons from the special store.”
“You don’t know that code for that, none of us do.”
“No, I shouldn’t know the code. There’s a difference.” Ianto called back, running towards the store.
“I’ve got them,” yelled Owen a moment later, “I’ve got a trace on the SUV and their phones. The SUV is static, but the phones are moving…No, no, no, no. I’m losing the phones. Jack’s has gone, so has Tosh’s. Gwen’s…Gwen’s is still on. And it’s still moving in the same direction; still away from the SUV.”
Ianto ran from the weapons store with a duffle bag in his hands.
“We’ll take your car. You drive.”
“Why?”
“You’re a worse driver. We’ll get there quicker.”
“Fair enough.” Owen gave a tight grin and grabbed two PDAs and a hand gun before running to the exit with Ianto.
The pair drove in silence; Owen concentrating on carving a way through the traffic, while Ianto studied his PDA, the sorted and primed bag of weapons on the back seat.
“You realise they could have left Gwen’s phone on on purpose. This could be a trap.” Ianto said.
“Do you care?” Owen asked.
“No.” replied Ianto without hesitation.
“Good boy.” said Owen. Ianto took it for the compliment it was.
As they drove the signal from Gwen’s phone had stopped moving. Ianto called up the position on the GPS and downloaded satellite images.
“The image isn’t clear. All I can see is grass and a van. No sign of any buildings.”
“Use the satellite to do a scan for life signs.”
Ianto somehow managed to bite back his retort, his fingers already moving to pull up the information.
“There are seven life signs under the ground. That’s Jack, Tosh and Gwen and four others.”
“Under the ground?”
“Yes. The army built bunkers in the hills out here during the war. They were all supposed to have been closed up and sealed off.”
“Is there anything you Welsh didn’t do underground?”
“Build train systems then go on strike every week?”
Owen sneered in reply. “That’s the best you can come up with?”
“I’m a little busy, try me again later. Looking at this if we take the next left we can drive around and approach from the other side. It’s a longer way, but there’s a bank of trees we can park behind and it will give us cover to approach.”
Owen nodded in response and Ianto continued to study the readout on his PDA as they got closer.
“No!” he suddenly barked out. “Shit, shit, no.”
“What is it?” snapped Owen, briefly turning to face him. But he already knew the answer.
“Six life signs.” said Ianto blandly. “It’s gone down to six life forms.”
Owen didn’t reply; he just pushed his foot harder to the floor, asking for more from the car than it had to give. But within minutes they were at the parking point Ianto had suggested. Now they were closer Ianto used his PDA to do a complete scan.
“Still six life forms. All of them showing as human.”
The confusion was evident in his voice and Owen added a touch of authority to his to keep the other man grounded. They needed each other now; they had to help each other.
“Well that makes it simple then. Guns and cuffs.” Owen reached back and pulled more hand guns and cuffs from the duffle. He shoved some at Ianto and stuffed the reminder into his pockets, before stowing the bag and its contents under the front seat.
Ianto had identified an entrance and, each with a gun in hand, they approached, vigilant and hyper aware. The entrance was a hatch set into the ground, leading downward. Owen kept watch as Ianto knelt and held the lock opening tech against the hatch. The lock fell open with a soft snick. Owen continued to scan the area while Ianto pointed his gun at the hatch before yanking the door open.
“Clear.” he said, quietly but distinctly. Ianto pocketed his PDA and the lock opener, keeping his gun in his hand, and started to descend the ladder, Owen maintaining his lookout above.
At the bottom of the ladder Ianto found himself at one end of a long, deserted corridor. With a soft whistle he signalled for Owen to come down and join him.
Once together they stood side by side, guns steady in front of them, alert to every sight and sound around them.
They started a careful walk down the corridor, going as quickly as they dared while remaining vigilant. They stopped at the first door that they came to and Owen tried the handle. Finding it open he nodded at Ianto. Owen pushed open the door and spun into the room while Ianto kept cover on the corridor. Ianto was quickly pulled from his task though as he heard Owen softly mutter a heartfelt, “shit.”
Ianto was just a step behind Owen as the medic rushed to the prone figure of Jack Harkness lying on the ground. Owen knelt and checked for vital signs and as Ianto stood a pace back, hands on hips surveying the bloodied mess his handsome Captain’s face had become; it’s features battered and swollen beyond all recognition. Blood covered the man’s shirt and was matted in his hair.
Owen shook his head and Ianto moved forwards. Owen stood quickly and placed a firm hand on Ianto’s chest, stopping him from getting any closer.
“There’s nothing we can do for him now. But this can work in our favour. You don’t bother locking dead men up and they don’t appear to know about his stubborn refusal to stay dead.”
Owen kept the steady pressure against Ianto’s chest letting the words sink in, until Ianto nodded.
“Let’s find the others.” Ianto’s voice had dropped low and taken on a husky quality Owen had only heard a few times before. And one of those had ended up with him being on the receiving end of a bullet to the shoulder. Assured that Ianto’s mind was fully back in the game Owen moved past him and back to the door. He poked his head into the corridor, quickly pulling it back when he saw a man purposefully striding towards the room they were in.
“Oi!” he heard the man shout and then the footsteps quickened pace to a run. Ianto nodded at Owen and slipped his gun into his waistband at the small of his back. Standing in the middle of the room Ianto held his hands up at shoulder height in surrender, while Owen flattened himself against the wall next to the door.
The man ran into the room, stopping at the sight of Ianto, who had decided to put a disarming grin on his face.
“How did you get in…”
The rest of his sentence was cut off as Owen brought the butt of his gun down against the man’s head. Owen and Ianto moved simultaneously as the man crumpled to the ground. Ianto pulled out a pair of handcuffs and they dragged the man to a wall. Ianto linked the cuffs around a pipe that ran against the wall before snapping them onto the man’s wrists. He then moved down the man’s body and pulled off one of his shoes before removing his sock. Ianto stuffed the sock into the man’s mouth, making an effective gag, before stepping back.
Owen and Ianto took a moment to glance between Jack and the unconscious man.
“At least it’s a clear signal to Jack when he wakes up that we’ve been here.”
Ianto nodded tersely, his eyes now fixed on Jack and Owen placed a hand on is shoulder. Ianto nodded again and the headed to the door in an attempt to leave the room again. This time when Owen peered into the corridor he found it empty.
It has escaped neither of their attentions that the room they had just left was thick walled and the doors where of a heavy metal. They both suspected that the rooms were soundproof. This didn’t bode well for what the building was currently being used for.
They came to a set of two doors adjacent to each other on the opposite side of the corridor to the one they had just left. Owen and Ianto stood shoulder to shoulder, guns raised, and as Owen pushed open the door they both moved inside.
Neither of them was prepared for the sight that greeted them.
Tosh sat slumped in a chair in the middle of the room, her unconscious form sagging against bonds that held her against the wooden seat. A large tree of a man loomed over her, but turned around as they burst into the room. He clenched and unclenched his beefy fists at his sides. His hands were stained in blood and they were both certain it wasn’t his own.
Tosh’s head hung limply, her hair hiding her face, but her blood splattered clothes told them all they needed to know. Jack’s coat lay crumpled in the corner of the room.
The man gave them a twisted grin, barely looking at their guns as he started to stalk towards them.
“You’re not going to shoot an unarmed man are you?” he sneered.
Ianto shot him between the eyes.
They watched silently as his body hit the ground.
“I thought I saw him with a weapon.” Ianto said.
Owen looked at Tosh’s battered face and nodded. “Definitely thought I saw him with a weapon.” He took a step forward and knelt next to Tosh, gently lifting her head with one hand and pressing two fingers against her neck. “Okay, she’s unconscious, but stable. Let’s get her out of here.”
Ianto moved forwards and gently picked Tosh up, cradling her in his arms. He stood with his back to a mirror that took up most of one wall and raised his eyebrows at Owen in query. Owen nodded.
“Yes, we should just get out of here.”
They both suspected that it was a two way mirror but didn’t want to alert anyone that might be on the other side that they were next to be visited.
Once back outside the room they moved either side of the next door. They heard the quiet click of a lock falling home. Owen gave Ianto a sickening grin; “my turn.” he said softly, moving in front of the door. He stood, gun raised and ready, head slightly to one side, fingers flexing on the gun’s grip in anticipation.
Ianto shifted Tosh in his grasp to get one arm free. He pulled the lock tech out of his pocket and held it against the door until the lock clicked again. He pressed himself back against the wall, Toshiko held tightly against him and, pocketing the tech, reached for the door handle. He counted quietly to Owen and on three turned the handle and pushed the door open.
Owen moved immediately; stepping into the room, gun moving with his eyes as he scanned the room, assessing it instantly. The only occupant of the room was a short, moon-faced man, who turned to him, a look of fear on his face.
“Down! Face down on the floor now!” barked Owen, “hands behind your head.”
“You…you shot him.” the man stammered.
“And you will be next if you don’t get down now!”
“But you killed him!”
“What part of ‘you’ll be next’ are you not grasping? On the ground now.”
Something in Owen’s tone finally got through to the man and he dropped to the floor. Owen kept him covered with his gun until he was close enough to put a foot in the middle of the man’s back, keeping him in place. Owen reached into his pocket and drew out his pair of cuffs, securing the man’s hands behind his back. He straightened and looked at Ianto, who had followed him into the room, gun raised the best he could as he carried Tosh.
“Reckon he’ll be safe if we lock him in here. There’s only one of them left now. Let’s find Gwen.”
Ianto nodded, and stepped back, allowing Owen to lead the way as he was able to cover the corridor better. Once ensuring the corridor was clear, they both stepped out and Owen locked the door behind them.
Owen continued to move down the corridor, gun high and ready. They tried the next door along the corridor and found the room empty. They approached the corner of the corridor cautiously and Owen led them around it, finding the next corridor empty, but with another three doors coming off it.
Sticking to their same formation they tried the next door and again found it empty. They moved onto the next door and found this one locked. Owen and Ianto exchanged a nod and took up the same positions as they had at the last locked door.
Once the tech had made the lock give up the tell-tale click which said it was open, Owen steadied himself in front of it and Ianto reached for the handle, Tosh still carefully balanced in his arms. They both knew the maths. Two doors left; one assailant and Gwen left to find.
Exchanging another nod Ianto once again counted softly to three before pushing the door open. Owen moved in quickly and caught a flash of movement to his left. He swung his gun and his body around in time to see someone rushing him. He opened his mouth to shout a warning and cocked his gun when a flash of recognition burned through his brain. He lifted his arms in the air and tried to step back.
“Gwen! It’s me.”
Gwen lifted her head, her eyes open wide and tried to stop her charge, but it was difficult to halt her forward momentum as her hands were tied awkwardly behind her back. She careened into Owen, who grabbed her firmly in his arms and took a couple of steps back, stopping her gently.
“Gwen it’s okay. We’re here.” Owen made Gwen focus on him as Ianto entered the room and settled Tosh gently on the floor behind the door. Gwen looked up at Owen then across to Tosh and Ianto.
“Oh my god. What have they done to her?” Gwen tried to move to Tosh but Owen held her fast.
“She’ll be fine. We put a stop to it.”
“What about Jack? Where’s Jack? They took him first.”
“Jack…Jack is resting. We’ll get him soon. Right now we should think about getting out of here. We’ll start by getting you untied.”
Gwen turned her back on Owen, who was facing away from the door, so that he could undo her bonds. Ianto was still crouched behind the door with Tosh, who was starting to rouse. None of them saw the man come through the doorway until the gun was pressed against the back of Owen’s head.
“Neither of you move.” he said.
Ianto realised in that second that he and Tosh hadn’t been seen behind the door. He stood quietly as the man instructed Owen to raise his hands and Gwen to stay where she was. He knew that with the gun pressed against Owen’s head he couldn’t risk just grabbing the man from behind or shooting him; he had to move the gun.
The man was continuing to talk to Owen and Gwen, giving them orders, as Ianto crept towards him and once he was close enough he rushed forwards in one movement, grabbing the man’s wrist and pushing the gun away from Owen’s head.
But the angle was awkward and the man managed to turn in his grasp and bring the gun between their bodies, aimed now at Ianto’s chest. Ianto struggled to get the gun away from his body but suddenly the iron grip he was fighting against eased slightly and he looked up to see Owen also holding the man’s arms and trying to manoeuvre himself between Ianto and the gun.
Owen’s help allowed Ianto to release the man’s arm with his right hand and he pulled it back, before snapping it forward again and striking the man square in the jaw. Owen managed to shove the man’s gun and hands into the air as the attacker’s eyes rolled back in his head and he started to sink to the floor unconscious. Owen pulled the gun safely from his hands and threw it to the ground. Ianto had taken the man’s weight as he had started collapsing and lowered him to the ground, digging out another pair of cuffs to secure him.
Owen turned back to Gwen who had whirled around to watch the brief fight even though she was unable to participate. She turned her back on him once again and Owen succeeded in freeing her. Tosh had woken up fully and gave a startled cry.
“Where are the others?”
Owen went to her side immediately. “It’s okay Tosh. We’ve got them all. You’re safe. Let me look at you.”
Tosh didn’t protest as Owen quickly looked into her eyes and examined her injuries. Ianto was giving Gwen a quick check over even though her only visible injuries were minor.
“How come you didn’t lose your phone when the others did?” he asked.
Gwen grinned. “I shoved mine down my boot and they didn’t find it. Simple but effective.”
“What were they after?” Owen asked Tosh.
“They wanted information. About the Hub, our findings and the weapons we have.”
“How do they even know about…”
Ianto’s question was interrupted by Jack bursting through the doorway, his Webley raised high in the air and a shout on his lips. Four pairs of eyes turned to look at him.
“There you go again, always unnecessarily brash and loud.” Owen tutted.
“And you’re late.” Ianto added.
Jack stood and stared for a second, watching the two men working with Tosh and Gwen. “You two did this all? I’ve seen the trail you left. And thank you for the gift. I thought it was Christmas when I woke up with a gagged man handcuffed to the wall next to me.”
Ianto turned again and rolled his eyes, Owen merely grunted at him.
“Let’s get out of here.” Tosh said. She received no arguments.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Back at the Hub, three men were slumped in the cells, sleeping off retcon while the body of a fourth lay in the morgue, ready to be dumped somewhere convenient.
Jack sat on the old battered sofa with Tosh slouched next to him. They had tried to send her home, but she had insisted on staying, claiming she could be useful; which was code for “I don’t want to be alone tonight.” Jack had relented, which was code for “I don’t want to let any of my team out of my sight tonight.”
Gwen sat with them and they watched Ianto and Owen as they worked on creating the scenario that would lead to the body being discovered, covered with enough evidence to easily convict the three men who would ultimately be found sleeping in a car nearby with confused memories.
The pair had been bickering ever since they had started working on it.
“They’re never going to change are they?” Gwen mused.
“No.” Jack replied.
“But would you really change that?” Tosh asked.
The three sat silently as the bickering paused for a moment and grins spread across Owen and Ianto’s faces as they shared a look of satisfaction.
“Never.” They all said at once.