Abstract Psychopaths by Nemo Baker (Chapter 4)
Title: Abstract Psychopaths
Summary: How do you fight a killer that's only alive when you can't see it? The answer: Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink.
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Blink
He gasped and lurched backward. He hit the chair behind him forcefully, and resisted the urge to close his eyes against the pain of the jolt.
“Don’t blink, don’t even blink. Blink, and you’re dead.”
The Angel’s gaze was empty and terrible. It pinned him to the carpet, sent waves of fear rolling down his spine. Flecks of water glistened upon the stone shoulders and head. Its hand reached toward the window, and its fingers pressed against the pane. More than anything, Ianto wanted to run. But there was no way he could leave the flat without taking his eyes off of it.
And he didn’t even know if it was the only one.
He inched towards the table again, and grasped his phone. He dialed Jack’s number without looking down, and waited.
Ring.
Ring.
“Hey, there.”
“Help me.”
That came out a bit more panicked than he’d intended.
“Ianto? What’s wrong?”
“It’s the statues, Jack,” Ianto said. “The angel statues are alive. They’ve been sending people back into the past, and trying to feed off of the Rift energy. And there’s one at my flat right now and it’s going to kill me.”
“Get your gun, lock yourself in your room-”
“I can’t leave the living room. It can only move when I’m not looking at it. And guns won’t work because it’s made of bloody stone.”
“Okay, just hang on. We’re heading over right now.”
“Can you stay on the line?”
“Yes.”
“Hurry, please.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time had never moved slower. It inched along at a perilous crawl as the Angel continued to stare. Ianto held the phone to his ear like a lifeline, and his eyes burned.
“Jack-” his voice broke.
“Four minutes.”
“Who else is with you?”
“Everyone.”
“Oh. Say hi, for me.”
“You’ll be able to do that yourself, in a minute.”
“You said four.”
“Three and a half.” Jack paused. “It’s gonna be okay.”
“I know.”
“Hang on.”
“I am.”
He walked slowly towards the television, and felt along the DVD player for the ‘eject’ button. After pressing a few incorrect keys, the disc finally popped out. As he made to transfer it to its case, it slipped from his fingers. His gaze twitched downward for a moment.
His mistake was heralded by the sound of shattering glass.
He cried out and dropped the phone. The Angel had crashed its fist through the window, and its face was now distorted into a vicious snarl. Its mouth was open, revealing a set of razor-like fangs.
The sound of Jack’s muted shouting cut through his terror. He leaned down to pick up the disc and the phone with shaking hands. His eyes were watering.
“Ianto, answer me please!”
“Sorry, sorry, I’m alright.”
“What happened?” Jack demanded.
“It broke the window,” he said quietly.
“We’re turning onto your street.”
“Don’t come into the flat.”
“What should we do?”
“Just let me know when you can see it. And then I can run out to you.”
“I can see it.”
“Okay. Don’t blink. Keep looking at it.”
“I won’t blink. Just come out.”
He clutched the disc to his chest and fled.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“So I sent you home to nap,” Jack said, once they were back inside the Hub. “And you somehow managed to solve the case and land yourself in mortal danger over the course of seven hours.”
Ianto shrugged. “Can’t seem to do things by halves.”
“I’ll say,” Owen said, pressing another butterfly bandage to Ianto’s forehead. One of the shards from the window had clipped him. He hadn’t noticed until Gwen pointed out that he was bleeding.
“Mind explaining what happened?” Jack asked. “And why the one possession you wanted to save with your place under attack was a collector’s edition of Dirty Harry?”
“Well, I can assure you that it wasn’t an effort to preserve the acting genius of Clint Eastwood,” Ianto said. “I began to have suspicions about the statue’s involvement in the case, so I looked it up. That DVD happens to be one of seventeen containing a hidden extra.”
“An Easter Egg?” Tosh asked, bewildered.
“Yep. A video of a man who explained what the Angels are. What they do.”
“What man?” Jack asked.
Ianto locked eyes with him.
“The Doctor.”
Jack’s shoulders stiffened.
“What?”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They huddled around Tosh’s monitor and watched the Easter Egg from beginning to end. Ianto added his bits (heavily edited for the sake of professionalism), and explained how it had seemed as though The Doctor had been talking to him.
“But I don’t think the message was originally meant for me,” Ianto said. “There’s been no evidence to suggest the Angels have the phone box, or even that there’s more than one of them. And a comment I found on the Egg forum suggests that the events surrounding this have already happened.”
He was beginning to feel a bit unnerved. Jack had been staring at him intently for the past few minutes, and he seemed to have no intention of shifting his eyes elsewhere. Ianto had taken to avoiding the scrutinization entirely, instead bouncing his gaze between the other members of the team.
“But why do you think it’s trying to feed on the Rift?” Gwen asked.
“It’s logical. If the Angels can feed from a time machine, it would make sense that they could also tap into energy from the Rift. It’s a literal tear through time and space,” he replied.
“Must have been like a beacon to it,” Tosh said.
“Yep.”
“So now,” Owen said. “We just have to figure out how to stop it.”
“And why it targeted Ianto,” Gwen added. “You’re not at the center of one of the spikes, so you shouldn’t be a person of interest.”
“Unfortunately, I think I might have an answer for that part,” Jack chimed in.
“Do tell,” Ianto said curiously.
“Those spikes are its attempts to access the Rift, right?” Jack began. “But who says those attempts were successful? Tosh, you said it yourself, yesterday. Torchwood is the only known place on Earth with the ability to manipulate the Rift. Maybe it’s having trouble, and want to use Torchwood technology.”
“So it was going to use Ianto to access the Hub.” Tosh concluded.
“That’s my theory.”
“Do you think it would have followed him here, after we picked him up?” Owen asked.
“Maybe. It probably already knew where we were located if Angels can sense Rift energy. But I imagine it would have tried to track its ticket in.”
“So it could be outside of the Hub right now,” Ianto murmured.
Jack nodded. “And that’s why we’re all going to stay here until we figure out what to do.”
“I suppose I’ll start the coffee, then.”
He hopped down from the autopsy table and made for the stairs, fairly certain that Jack would follow him.
---
“Can I ask what was with the staring?” Ianto said.
Now, Jack was looking toward the kitchen sink. As if prompting it to answer for him.
“I didn’t want you to become associated with The Doctor.”
That would certainly explain why he never even mentioned, him except through stupid hints.
Ianto raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“I… he’s like me, in some ways,” Jack said, finally looking up at him.
“Which one is worrying you?”
“The one involving death and destruction following him. Wherever he goes.”
“Jack-”
“He’s so much better than me,” Jack continued, almost at a whisper. “He’s saved millions of lives. Hell, he’s saved worlds. But one thing we’re both really good at is getting the people we care about into trouble.”
Ianto moved closer, under the pretense of moving the coffee pot. He allowed his shoulder to brush against Jack’s and maintained the point of contact as he filled the team’s mugs.
“A couple things,” he said. “One, I find it quite hard to imagine a better person than you. So you can tone down the unimaginably low self esteem.”
He stirred a bit of cream into Gwen’s cup and placed it on the tray.
“Two, please stop taking credit for all of the trouble I manage to get into perfectly well on my own.”
Jack’s laugh was short, but genuine.
TBC
Beginning, Previous, Next
Summary: How do you fight a killer that's only alive when you can't see it? The answer: Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink.
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Blink
He gasped and lurched backward. He hit the chair behind him forcefully, and resisted the urge to close his eyes against the pain of the jolt.
“Don’t blink, don’t even blink. Blink, and you’re dead.”
The Angel’s gaze was empty and terrible. It pinned him to the carpet, sent waves of fear rolling down his spine. Flecks of water glistened upon the stone shoulders and head. Its hand reached toward the window, and its fingers pressed against the pane. More than anything, Ianto wanted to run. But there was no way he could leave the flat without taking his eyes off of it.
And he didn’t even know if it was the only one.
He inched towards the table again, and grasped his phone. He dialed Jack’s number without looking down, and waited.
Ring.
Ring.
“Hey, there.”
“Help me.”
That came out a bit more panicked than he’d intended.
“Ianto? What’s wrong?”
“It’s the statues, Jack,” Ianto said. “The angel statues are alive. They’ve been sending people back into the past, and trying to feed off of the Rift energy. And there’s one at my flat right now and it’s going to kill me.”
“Get your gun, lock yourself in your room-”
“I can’t leave the living room. It can only move when I’m not looking at it. And guns won’t work because it’s made of bloody stone.”
“Okay, just hang on. We’re heading over right now.”
“Can you stay on the line?”
“Yes.”
“Hurry, please.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time had never moved slower. It inched along at a perilous crawl as the Angel continued to stare. Ianto held the phone to his ear like a lifeline, and his eyes burned.
“Jack-” his voice broke.
“Four minutes.”
“Who else is with you?”
“Everyone.”
“Oh. Say hi, for me.”
“You’ll be able to do that yourself, in a minute.”
“You said four.”
“Three and a half.” Jack paused. “It’s gonna be okay.”
“I know.”
“Hang on.”
“I am.”
He walked slowly towards the television, and felt along the DVD player for the ‘eject’ button. After pressing a few incorrect keys, the disc finally popped out. As he made to transfer it to its case, it slipped from his fingers. His gaze twitched downward for a moment.
His mistake was heralded by the sound of shattering glass.
He cried out and dropped the phone. The Angel had crashed its fist through the window, and its face was now distorted into a vicious snarl. Its mouth was open, revealing a set of razor-like fangs.
The sound of Jack’s muted shouting cut through his terror. He leaned down to pick up the disc and the phone with shaking hands. His eyes were watering.
“Ianto, answer me please!”
“Sorry, sorry, I’m alright.”
“What happened?” Jack demanded.
“It broke the window,” he said quietly.
“We’re turning onto your street.”
“Don’t come into the flat.”
“What should we do?”
“Just let me know when you can see it. And then I can run out to you.”
“I can see it.”
“Okay. Don’t blink. Keep looking at it.”
“I won’t blink. Just come out.”
He clutched the disc to his chest and fled.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“So I sent you home to nap,” Jack said, once they were back inside the Hub. “And you somehow managed to solve the case and land yourself in mortal danger over the course of seven hours.”
Ianto shrugged. “Can’t seem to do things by halves.”
“I’ll say,” Owen said, pressing another butterfly bandage to Ianto’s forehead. One of the shards from the window had clipped him. He hadn’t noticed until Gwen pointed out that he was bleeding.
“Mind explaining what happened?” Jack asked. “And why the one possession you wanted to save with your place under attack was a collector’s edition of Dirty Harry?”
“Well, I can assure you that it wasn’t an effort to preserve the acting genius of Clint Eastwood,” Ianto said. “I began to have suspicions about the statue’s involvement in the case, so I looked it up. That DVD happens to be one of seventeen containing a hidden extra.”
“An Easter Egg?” Tosh asked, bewildered.
“Yep. A video of a man who explained what the Angels are. What they do.”
“What man?” Jack asked.
Ianto locked eyes with him.
“The Doctor.”
Jack’s shoulders stiffened.
“What?”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They huddled around Tosh’s monitor and watched the Easter Egg from beginning to end. Ianto added his bits (heavily edited for the sake of professionalism), and explained how it had seemed as though The Doctor had been talking to him.
“But I don’t think the message was originally meant for me,” Ianto said. “There’s been no evidence to suggest the Angels have the phone box, or even that there’s more than one of them. And a comment I found on the Egg forum suggests that the events surrounding this have already happened.”
He was beginning to feel a bit unnerved. Jack had been staring at him intently for the past few minutes, and he seemed to have no intention of shifting his eyes elsewhere. Ianto had taken to avoiding the scrutinization entirely, instead bouncing his gaze between the other members of the team.
“But why do you think it’s trying to feed on the Rift?” Gwen asked.
“It’s logical. If the Angels can feed from a time machine, it would make sense that they could also tap into energy from the Rift. It’s a literal tear through time and space,” he replied.
“Must have been like a beacon to it,” Tosh said.
“Yep.”
“So now,” Owen said. “We just have to figure out how to stop it.”
“And why it targeted Ianto,” Gwen added. “You’re not at the center of one of the spikes, so you shouldn’t be a person of interest.”
“Unfortunately, I think I might have an answer for that part,” Jack chimed in.
“Do tell,” Ianto said curiously.
“Those spikes are its attempts to access the Rift, right?” Jack began. “But who says those attempts were successful? Tosh, you said it yourself, yesterday. Torchwood is the only known place on Earth with the ability to manipulate the Rift. Maybe it’s having trouble, and want to use Torchwood technology.”
“So it was going to use Ianto to access the Hub.” Tosh concluded.
“That’s my theory.”
“Do you think it would have followed him here, after we picked him up?” Owen asked.
“Maybe. It probably already knew where we were located if Angels can sense Rift energy. But I imagine it would have tried to track its ticket in.”
“So it could be outside of the Hub right now,” Ianto murmured.
Jack nodded. “And that’s why we’re all going to stay here until we figure out what to do.”
“I suppose I’ll start the coffee, then.”
He hopped down from the autopsy table and made for the stairs, fairly certain that Jack would follow him.
---
“Can I ask what was with the staring?” Ianto said.
Now, Jack was looking toward the kitchen sink. As if prompting it to answer for him.
“I didn’t want you to become associated with The Doctor.”
That would certainly explain why he never even mentioned, him except through stupid hints.
Ianto raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“I… he’s like me, in some ways,” Jack said, finally looking up at him.
“Which one is worrying you?”
“The one involving death and destruction following him. Wherever he goes.”
“Jack-”
“He’s so much better than me,” Jack continued, almost at a whisper. “He’s saved millions of lives. Hell, he’s saved worlds. But one thing we’re both really good at is getting the people we care about into trouble.”
Ianto moved closer, under the pretense of moving the coffee pot. He allowed his shoulder to brush against Jack’s and maintained the point of contact as he filled the team’s mugs.
“A couple things,” he said. “One, I find it quite hard to imagine a better person than you. So you can tone down the unimaginably low self esteem.”
He stirred a bit of cream into Gwen’s cup and placed it on the tray.
“Two, please stop taking credit for all of the trouble I manage to get into perfectly well on my own.”
Jack’s laugh was short, but genuine.
TBC
Beginning, Previous, Next