Fic: Carnival Of Sins Chapter 1 (Torchwood Jack/Ianto Time Verse Ianto Big Bang)
Chapter 1
The morning had been quiet so far.
Dr Owen Harper M.D., was down in autopsy doing some research on an old case that had been playing on his mind for some time and couldn't let go. He was running tests on samples that didn't add up, even though his colleague and fellow M.D., Dr Martha Jones, had repeatedly told him that the samples had been contaminated and he'd never get the answered he wanted. Owen wasn't about to give up though - at least not until he'd run out of samples to test.
Donna Noble, their newest recruit and receptionist extraordinaire, was in the archives with Torchwood's second-in-command Ianto Jones (no relation to Martha) working on their latest project of cross-referencing all known artifacts already filed and catalogued in the extensive archives. Torchwood's technology specialist, Toshiko Sato, had designed a cataloguing programme that would allow them to digitalise all of the current files and enter all of the required information just by scanning in the documents and automatically entering in the information by capturing the words that were scanned in. It would still take months for Donna and Ianto to undertake the task of completing the database but once finished it, would allow Torchwood to run much more efficiently and ultimately (hopefully) save lives.
The Director of Torchwood (as it was the only operational Torchwood base left after One was destroy at Canary Wharf, Two was disbanded and Four was sucked into the rift, never to be seen again) was Captain Jack Harkness, who was currently sitting at his desk in his office, his hand repeatedly thumping on his desk as he spoke firmly into the phone with some imbecile at UNIT, arguing over jurisdiction. Some things never changed. Ianto had managed to teach him that yelling never got him anywhere, and usually a firm, calm voice would get the job done. Most of the time he was successful, but the call wasn't going where he wanted it to go. Jack was on the verge of resorting back to his old ways.
Martha was down a few levels of Torchwood's underground and secret base with Mickey Smith, preparing for Mickey's final assessment on the field operative levels that Jack and Ianto had devised upon their subsequent return to Torchwood nine months earlier. While they were not as stringent and regimented as UNIT, Jack had conceded to Ianto that they did have some processes that were necessary, for safety reasons above all else, and they could tie their pay grades in to the testing levels. Mickey was determined to pass his practical examinations with flying colours, and had asked Martha to tutor him given that Martha had passed the testing first time. Owen, Tosh and Gwen Cooper, former Police constable and current police liaison for the team, who were the longest serving members of Torchwood's current operatives, all passed the testing on their second attempts after three months retraining.
Each of them had been stunned and amazed when they were initally put through the testing upon Jack and Ianto's return to Torchwood after Jack had searched the galaxy for Ianto when he was taken by the rift two years and nine months earlier - Earth time. At Gwen's defiant protesting that if Ianto was so damn critical of their skills, he show them how to do it, and that was exactly what Ianto did. Every single test that Ianto has asked them to do, he and Jack demonstrated. While Jack faltered on a couple, Ianto had one hundred percent accuracy on everything, thanks to his years stranded on Havaasana, fighting in a war that wasn't his own after being rescued from the cryogenics facility that not only changed his DNA but subsequently made him immortal, not to mention the training he received at the Time Agency Academy on Daelynea where Jack finally found him after centuries of searching.
Ianto's skills were indeed now far and above the rest of the team, even Jack's, not just in marksmanship, but in tactical intelligence, strategic intelligence, and operational intelligence. It was hard for the team to comprehend when to them, only two years ago, he was by far the weakest member of the team. Ianto still preferred not to do interrogations, deferring that role to Jack, and tended to stick to the tactical and strategic intelligence rather than go out into the field if he could help it. He'd seen enough bloodshed to last many lifetimes over.
Of the current Torchwood team, only Donna had yet to enter the field, but Ianto had patiently taken her under his wing and while working in the archives, without her even realising it, he had been drilling into her head the theory she would need for the role. When he told her that he would test her on what she had learned, she protested. Ianto was firm and stood his ground, determined that she would be able to pass. Donna took the test, and passed with flying colours. To celebrate, Jack and Ianto took her out for dinner. The next evening, after everyone had gone home, they took her down to the shooting range, and commenced her practical training, slowly at first to build her confidence. Between the shooting range, and the hand-to-hand combat training sessions with Martha, it was only a matter of time before Jack or Ianto would push her out into the field.
They were just waiting for the right kind of case to get her proverbial feet wet.
Tosh was lost in code, her fingers flying on her keyboard as her eyes fluttered over the screen, her mind rushing to match what she had already coded with what needed to be done when a rift alert popped up on her screen and stopped her in her tracks.
“What the hell?” She frowned and looked over at Gwen, who was typing up a report on her own workstation. “Does this...” she started to ask, but noticed that Gwen had hardly looked up from her own work.
“Hmm? Did you say something, love?” Gwen asked, her eyes still on her own monitor and her fingers still typing.
“Nevermind,” she sighed as she tapped her comm unit. “Ianto?”
Ianto stepped out of the kitchenette that had been installed next to Jack's office and walked up behind Tosh. “You called?”
Tosh whirled around, her hand on her chest. “Oh! I didn't know you were up here.”
He held up two steaming mugs. “Coffee run for Jack, and an opportunity for a break. What's up?” he looked over her shoulder at the screen and frowned. “Where is that?”
Tosh turned back and looked at the screen, crossing her arms over her chest. “I think it's south west of here. It's pulsing pretty strongly.”
Curiosity piqued, Gwen stood up and walked over to have a look at the screen as well. “That looks to be down at Penarth way,” Gwen said, squinting at the screen. “Tosh, can you get maps up on your other monitor?”
Tosh's fingers started flying over the keyboard, causing code and boxes to pop up all over her four screens that culminated together to create a giant computer monitor if required.
“Looks further south than that,” Ianto commented, sipping his own mug of coffee.
“Wot are we gawking at?” Donna asked, walking up behind Ianto and Gwen and stopping to place her hands on her hips.
“There's been a rift alert,” Gwen answered, frowning at Donna's questioning like she was annoyed by Donna asking questions.
“Wot's all that on the screen, then?” Donna pointed in the air between Ianto and Gwen's heads at Tosh's right monitor.
“That's the rift alert coding,” Ianto answered patiently. “That pulsing spike there shows that our monitoring system has picked up some activity south west of here but as to what exactly, we don't know.”
“Can't it tell you what it is if it tells you there's activity?” Donna asked, frowning as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Ianto smiled faintly. “Tosh has yet to work out what algorithms it would need to determine if it's an alien or merely technology, or even if it's a malignant threat or just benign. Not that she hasn't tried, believe me. What we have isn't exact, but it's a damn sight closer than a flashlight and an atlas.”
“Wot's she doing now then?” Donna asked, watching the ever changing flashing of maps on Tosh's screen.
“She's trying to pinpoint where the activity is so we can send a team down to locate exactly what it is and either neutralise or destroy it.”
“That looks like it's down at Barry Island, that does,” Donna looking over at the maps overlay that Tosh brought up on her screen.
“What the hell is that when it's at home?” Gwen asked, looking over her shoulder at Donna.
“Barry Island? Don't tell me you haven't heard of Barry Island? Gawd, and you call yourself Welsh!” Donna shook her head with a chuckle.
“It's an amusement park,” Ianto put Jack's coffee down on Tosh's desk. Ianto saw Gwen's raised eyebrow out of the corner of his eye. “What?”
“I never picked you for someone who spent their time at amusement parks,” Gwen explained, clearly amused by the idea.
“I did have a childhood, you know,” Ianto defended himself. “I wasn't born in a three piece suit.”
“More's the pity,” a voice came from behind. Ianto rolled his eyes and picked up the mug of coffee from Tosh's desk and turned to give it to the man now standing behind him. “You would have looked adorable as a baby in a little three piece suit and a tiny little tie.”
“Jack, that's disturbing,” Ianto shuddered. His lover merely laughed.
“What have we got kids?” Jack asked, as he accepted the coffee from Ianto. “Thanks.”
“It's just a pulse at the moment,” Tosh said, frowning and clicking more keys.
“But it's enough to have you concerned,” Jack summised, watching his technical expert.
Tosh turned to look over her shoulder at her leader. “I don't like it, put it that way.”
Jack shrugged. “So we send a team. Gwen, take Mickey and Martha and head on down to...”
“Barry Island,” Donna piped up. Jack turned and looked at Donna with raised eyebrows. “Wot? Grandad took me every second summer when I was a kid, al'ight? We used to have a great time going on all the rides and eating cotton candy until we got sick.”
“Take Donna too,” Jack said, staring at Donna. “She's got local knowledge. It'll come in handy.”
“Wot?!” Donna's eyes widened. She looked between Ianto and Jack, both of whom were just watching her and sipping their coffees.
“Oh no! No, no, no, no! I'm not taking her out into the field!” Gwen said, shaking her head and waving her hands.
That got Donna's hackles up and the redhead turned on her colleague. “And just wot's that supposed to mean? Are you saying I can't handle it?”
“Can't handle it? You can't handle anything! You haven't got any experience at all!” Gwen put her hands on her hips. “No way! I'm not having a green rookie on my watch.”
Ianto put his coffee down. “Fine then.” He faced his feuding colleagues. “Gwen, you'll stay here at the Hub and do Tourist Office duty. Donna, you, Mickey and Martha are with me.” He turned to his lover, “Jack, we'll be on the comms. Tosh-”
“I'm on it.” Tosh started tapping away, not sparing a glance for her friend and commanding officer.
“Now wait just a god damn minute!” Gwen chased after Ianto as he headed into the office he now shared with Jack in search of his suit jacket which hung on the coat rack next to Jack's greatcoat.
Jack turned and watched in amusement at the spectacle that followed. He leaned over to Donna and said quietly, “Better go get Mickey and Martha from the shooting range. Ianto doesn't like to be kept waiting. Oh, and there's a comm unit and a gun with your name on it in the locked drawer in the Tourist Office alcove. Holster up, Donna! Your first field assignment.” He put his arm around her shoulders. “I'm so proud.”
Donna looked up at him with terror in her big brown eyes. “Jack! I... I can't!”
Jack laughed and squeezed her shoulders in reassurance. “Sure you can! Donna Noble, you can do anything you set your mind to. Besides, Ianto will be with you every step of the way. Don't you worry about a thing. More than likely it's just a bit of space junk that fell through the rift.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Hey, if Gwen can do it...”
Donna's back stiffened and her eyes narrowed at the mention of the raven haired colleague who was determined to keep her tethered to the Hub as if it were her main mission in life.
“Right!” Donna flipped her the ponytail of her fiery mane over her shoulder and marched off in search of Martha and Mickey, Jack's amused chuckles following her.
“You two manipulate her so much,” Tosh muttered, tapping away at her keyboard.
“For her own benefit,” Jack said, and sipped his coffee. “If reminding her that if Gwen can do it, she can do it too is manipulation, then so be it. Whatever gives her the boost she needs to get her motor going. So to speak, of course.”
Tosh shook her head, but smiled. She liked Donna, and she knew what it was like to have a low self-esteem. Tosh, herself, did what she could to boulster Donna's fragile ego now that the two women had a better understanding of each other, and a common adoration for the man who ran the Hub like a tight ship.
“Ianto!” Gwen growled as she stomped out of the office after him.
“No, Gwen, and that's final! You had your chance to lead the team, and you blew it by being petty. The sooner you learn that leadership is more about teamwork and less about getting your own way, the sooner you'll get to lead an investigation again.”
“I ran this place while you two were god-knows-where for a year!” Gwen yelled. “Don't you tell me I can't lead a team!”
Ianto whirled around and faced his third in command. “Then stop acting like a petulant teenager who has been grounded by her father and start acting like a goddamn adult! You were given a choice to continue as the Director of Torchwood. You chose to hand it back to Jack, knowing full well that it meant you would be third in command. Do not start with me, Gwen Cooper, or we'll go through your record of the time of your leadership of Torchwood with a fine-tooth comb and I sincerely doubt it will hold up to the spotlight you are determined to shine on it. If you have an issue with Donna's work, fine. Bring me examples and we'll work on it. You don't want to be on her team, fine. You won't be. You'll be staying at the Hub. That is the decision that has been made. Donna needs the experience and you have deemed yourself unfit to give her the experience she needs to become a field agent. You made that decision, Gwen. Not Jack or I, but you. So if you won't do it, I'll do it myself. Are we clear?”
Gwen stared at him for a moment and then blew out a breath. “We're clear,” she said through gritted teeth.
Ianto dragged in a breath and blew it out. “Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have rift alert to see to.” Ianto straightened his suit and walked over to Jack.
“I love it when you're all dominating,” Jack murmured as Ianto stood close to him. “I so want to take you right now.”
“If anyone were to be doing the taking at this point in time it would be me, Jack,” Ianto muttered.
“Is that a promise?” Jack growled and grinned. “You armed?” Jack asked louder. Ianto opened his jacket to flash his holster before buttoning it. “Stay in contact.”
Ianto rolled his eyes. “Of course.”
“Be careful of clowns,” Jack warned, pulling on Ianto's lapels. Ianto raised an eyebrow. “They're evil.”
“You're coulrophobic? How did I not know this?”
Jack stared at him. “No, I'm not... whatever you just said. I just don't like clowns. A lot.” Ianto rolled his eyes and shoved his hand into Jack's pocket. “Are you happy to see me?” he leered. “I thought you were going to investigate a rift alert?”
Ianto pulled out his hand and held up the SUV keys. “I am now.” He pulled away from Jack's hands on his suit jacket.
“I'll be watching,” Jack called out as Ianto headed for the garage and waved his hand over his head.
Owen came up from autopsy and joined Gwen and Jack as they watched over Tosh's shoulder. “What's going on?” he asked, frowning.
“Gwen, get the CCTV up and follow their progress,” Jack ordered, putting his coffee down on Tosh's desk again and folding his arms over his chest. Gwen moved to Mickey's desk and sat down, her fingers flying over the keyboard. He glanced at Owen. “Rift activity down at Barry Island.”
“Who's gone down there to check it out?” Owen asked, glancing over at Gwen. Usually she would be the one to lead a team out there.
“Ianto's taking Martha, Mickey and Donna,” Gwen said evenly.
Owen stared at her for a moment, and then asked genially, “Anyone got any popcorn?” as he sat down on the sofa.
Jack started to bite on a thumb nail, a habit he did whenever he was nervous. He still didn't like it when Ianto left his sight. He'd relaxed more about Ianto leaving him on his own and doing investigations or witness questioning without him - though their team was larger it didn't mean it was possible that Ianto and Jack could be inseparable. Jack had had to get over his fear of letting Ianto out of his sight, but it always set him on edge, even now though they'd been back on Earth for nine months. He still tracked Ianto's every move when they were separated. To set Jack's mind at ease, Ianto requested Martha to graph a tracking device onto his skull, so tiny no one knew it was there. It was behind his right ear, protected, mostly, from potential harm from any damage that hand-to-hand combat would do. Inserting into his bloodstream wouldn't work. If he had bled out and revived, the chip potentially could have been lost. Any severed limb, again, was a potential risk of losing the tracking device, but it was unlikely that he would lose his skull. The tracking device was tracked by Jack's wrist strap only, though if in the unlikely event his wrist strap was damaged or either of them were taken by the rift, the chip was set to automatically track on the Torchwood server with a password that was coded to only open if Jack's wrist strap was not detected on Earth.
“He'll be fine, Jack,” Tosh said softly, glancing at her boss, before hearing her second-in-command's voice in her ear.
“Is his biting on his thumbnail again?” Ianto asked, amused affection in his voice as it came over the speakers. “Stop it, Jack. I love those nails.”
“Oh god, are we going to have to listen to this lovey-dovey shit the whole way there, or wot?” Mickey asked over the comm units.
“Oi, watch it you!” Donna warned. “Don't make me come back there!”
“Oh wot are you gonna do? Huh? Take me over your knee and spank me?” Mickey taunted.
“Children,” Ianto warned. “Tosh, where are we going?”
Tosh gave them directions to Barry Island Pleasure Park. Twenty-five minutes of Mickey poking and prodding at Donna who bantered back. Martha, meanwhile, tried to keep the peace. Jack knew what Mickey was doing. He was keeping Donna from thinking about what she was about to do - go into the field for the first time.
Jack waited until Ianto announced that they had arrived parked the car to hit the comm unit in his ear until he had Mickey's frequency. “Mickey Mouse.”
“Capt'n Cheesecake,” Mickey's voice came into Jack's ear alone.
“Keep up the good work with Donna. Watch her back,” Jack said quietly. Only Tosh heard him, judging by the small smile that curled on the edge of her mouth.
“Roger that. Over n' out.”
Jack tapped his ear again to open up the channel to everyone again. “Tosh, can you hack into their security cameras and feed it to Gwen's computer so we can record the footage?”
“Already onto it,” Tosh said, and then glanced over her shoulder at Jack. “C'mon Jack. You should know better.”
He gave her a smile. “I do,” he bowed his head.
“You're forgiven.” She turned back to the computer, and continued to tap away. “Well, that was so easy it was embarrassing. Gwen, it's all yours.” She got the visuals just as Ianto was arguing with the girl on the front counter about them having to pay when they were from Torchwood.
“Got it,” Gwen said, tapping away. Owen got up and watched the monitors behind Gwen. “Owen, you watch the top two. I'll take the bottom two.”
“Yeah, what are we looking for, exactly?” Owen asked, frowning.
“That's the problem. We don't know,” Jack said, moving forward to lean on Tosh's desk. “Tosh, can you forward the pulse to Ianto's PDA? Turn it into a...a...”
“Like a homing device, using the GPS in our phone to point us out against the rift activity? Jack, that's brilliant!” Ianto asked over the comm unit, finally having got through the front gate and into the park which was teeming with holidaying families; screaming, crying children running from their parents, and screaming teenagers on rides. All the summer patrons were loudly enjoying the amenities the Pleasure Park had to offer.
Tosh lit up. “Sure!” Her fingers flew over the keyboard. “I just need to... write some... code... then upload it...” Tosh pressed some more keys and UPLOADING FILE flashed up on the screen in a big red box. “Ianto, it's uploading to your PDA now.”
“It's coming through,” Ianto confirmed, then paused while the file went through on the end of the Hub. “Got it.”
“Okay. Run the program. It should automatically install and then allow you to track the signal that we're following,” Tosh instructed, and folded her arms over her chest, looking at her computer nervously waiting for her boss to tell her that it worked.
“It's installed,” Ianto said. “It's showing a dot for us and a flashing arrow in the north east direction from where we are. Tosh, can you upload this to Martha's too? That way, we can split into teams of two and spread out, cover more ground.”
Tosh hit some more keys. “Done.”
“Got it, it's coming through,” Martha said.
“We've got you on the security cameras throughout the park,” Jack said loudly, “but they don't cover everywhere, so keep in touch.”
“Of course, Jack,” Martha agreed. “You don't have to worry about us.”
Ianto sighed. “Jack.”
“I know. Just... be careful,” he said, his voice softening.
Ianto didn't reply to Jack, he merely gave orders to Martha and Mickey. “You two head over to the Ghost Train. Donna and I will take the Haunted House. I can't believe this place even has a Haunted House.”
“Oi! Watch it, you! This Park has some wonderful memories for me,” Donna said, and Jack couldn't help but smile at what sounded like Donna smacking Ianto on the shoulder. She was the only person he let get away with it.
“Memories or not, a Haunted House is a little outdated isn't it? In this day and age and all?” Ianto questioned as they started in the direction they were going. “Oh! Cotton candy.”
“Ianto! We're on a mission here!” Donna reminded him.
“Mmmm cotton candy,” Jack mumbled. Owen rasied an eyebrow at him. “What? I love it.”
“Donna, remind me to get some on the way out,” Ianto muttered as they continued on their way to the Haunted House. The closer they got to their destination, the closer they got to the flashing dot on their screens.
“I think you're on the right track,” Tosh said. “You're getting closer to the mark.”
“Ianto, wait. Can you hear that?” Donna asked breathlessly, as they came into view again on the security camera in front of the Haunted House. “I... I think it's coming from inside the Haunted House. It... it sounds like screaming.”
“What makes you say that, Donna?” Gwen asked, rolling her eyes.
“Shhh,” Ianto shushed Gwen over the comm unit. “Yes. Yeah, I heard it. Mickey, Martha, get over here! It's the Haunted House.”
“What?” Martha's voice came over the comm system. “Well, how'd you know?”
“I don't know if you can see them on the security cameras but...” Donna gasped and covered her mouth. “Ianto, look at their faces! When people see them, Ianto, that's going to cause a riot, that is!”
“Fuck! Mickey, Martha, get over here to the Haunted House, A-sap. Martha, we might need your expertise,” Ianto frowned as he and Donna moved closer. “Jack, we have a problem. Whatever it is that's come through the rift? It's... it's distorting people's faces. Fucking hell, how the fuck are we going to ... We won't be able to contain this ourselves-”
That was when they all heard a loud, horrendous scream - and all hell broke loose.
Chapter 2