Author's Notes: Well I would say that I do not do episode AUs, but the evidence below says otherwise. I am just going to blame the Cold and Flu drugs and Dexter…or more explicitly watching a whole season of Dexter while on Cold and Flu drugs.
I have no beta, so I apologise for any stupid mistakes…actually I also apologise the excessive amount of POV changes…drugs, its all the drugs fault.
Summary: This story takes a slightly different direction with Countrycide and They Keep Killing Suzie.
Disclaimer: Not my property and no profit is being made by this.
Warnings: Character Death…because life is more fun that way.
Daylight
Chapter 1: Actions
The day had not gone at all like Jack had initially planned, it had started to go wrong the moment the team had, had to question the safety of their food, then exacerbated by Gwen's persistence in asking stupid questions. His deflection to her question had been reciprocated by an out right lie from Ianto and the man had all but dared Jack to correct it.
Jack now stood in the middle of nowhere, unsure as to the condition of his employees. He was thinking that maybe he should of paid more attention to Owen's grumblings about the countryside; looking at the tractor before him, Jack decided to at least recoup some of the day.
Owen staggered as he was pushed through the dining room of the country home and into a back area surrounded by plastic sheets that had no hope of blocking the stench of blood and gore coming from the room. As he was pushed through the plastic sheets with Tosh and Gwen, he was too busy glaring at the man to notice at first, but a gasp from Tosh drew his attention.
Owen was pushed to ground along with Tosh, his attention fixed on the bodies hanging from the ceiling, most wrapped in plastic, but two were still clothed, clothes he recognised.
Gwen was pushed further forward into the storage area, as the man moved past Owen and Tosh.
The man let her go, close enough the young boy that had been found in the town, such that Gwen could quickly check for a pulse. She was relieved to find a pulse and that he seemed to be okay, other then the fact he was unconscious and hung upside down in a veritable house of horrors.
Gwen looked over to the other hanging unwrapped body, its identity only clear by the blood splattered clothes, as Ianto's head was covered by a bag. The man moved to block her way when he saw her looking, a malicious smirk on his face.
"What did you do to Ianto?" Tosh demanded to know.
The man turned to her, the expression on his face not changing as he explained, "Just prepping the meat, you see once you've tenderised the meat, you then need to bleed it, makes the meat taste better." He pulled off the bag to reveal Ianto's bruised and flushed face.
Owen, Gwen and Tosh all gasped at Ianto's condition, the sight and implication of their position, causing Owen to increase his struggles to remove the restraints around his hands.
The man slapped Ianto in the face a couple of times to see if he would wake.
Ianto grumbled a response; the blows to the head and the blood now pooling in his brain making any response groggy and incoherent. It was not until the cleaver moved in front of his face that Ianto seemed to register that his life was in danger and started to struggle.
The man leant down and grabbed Ianto by his hair to hold him still, but looked up as Gwen moved forward from her position intent on stopping him. Her movement was stopped by the blonde woman moving in from the other room with her shotgun up and pointed at Gwen. Gwen looked at Owen and Tosh for some kind of guidance, but both were still tied up and on the floor, looking on in despair and anger at the whole situation.
Seeing Owen suddenly try to stand up regardless of the shotgun, Gwen looked back at the man who now had the cleaver against Ianto's neck, digging it in slightly before pulling it across the neck. His work however was interrupted by a rumbling noise that shook the whole house.
The man put the knife on the table, ignoring the blood that now pooled on the floor and the gasping struggles of the body beside him. The man moved to the woman with the shotgun, just as a tractor burst through the wall revealing a dangerous and angry Captain Jack Harkness.
As the gunfire started to fill the room, Gwen shot forward to Ianto, nearly slipping on the blood now pooling on the floor below him. She half blocked his body, trying to prevent any stray bullets from hitting him and putting her hands around his neck, trying to stop the blood flow that was pumping thorough the gaping wound.
"Gwen lift his head and shoulders, it will slow the bleeding." Owen shouted to her, trying to be heard over the gunfire.
Gwen turned to see Owen fighting his restraints, anger and desperation fighting for dominance in his features. Tosh was stood next to him also trying to dislodge her bindings.
Once the gunfire had stopped and Jack stood panting in the middle of the room, Owen shouted at him, "Jack, get these damn things off of me now."
With the adrenalin pumping in his ears, it took a moment for Jack to understand what was being said before moving over to Owen to undo his restraints while still keeping an eye on the people slumped on the floor around them.
"Jack I am going to need you to help me lift him down." Jack looked at Owen in confusion before Owen's next command made him turn around, "Gwen, hold his bloody head up!"
Jack looked at Gwen who was struggling to lift Ianto's head while holding his neck; Ianto who was hanging upside down from the ceiling and bleeding onto the floor.
Jack gasped at what he saw; this trip had definitely left the planned course and had gone off the map.
Releasing Owen, Jack handed him his knife, before moving over to Ianto grabbing his torso and trying to support him, as Owen used the knife to cut the rope at his feet.
All three of them were struggling to keep their footing on the now slippery floor, but they managed to release Ianto from the hook and lower him to the ground in a controlled manner, laying him horizontal.
Owen looked at the blood still drizzling out between Gwen's fingers and swore to himself, with no medical gear there was no way he would be able to anything other then keep pressure until help arrived. "Gwen I'll take over, undo Tosh and help Jack get the boy down."
Gwen released her grip and stepped back, wiping her bloody hands on her jeans before moving to Tosh to undo her restraints. Tosh moved to raise the alert to the authorities before moving to assist Owen; there were others there that required medical attention, but her anger at their crimes and Ianto's condition made him their top priority
Gwen turned to find Jack threatening the leader with his gun and quickly moved to them, standing behind a crouched and angry Jack. "Jack, stop, we need answers."
"I do not give a fuck about answers Gwen, I give a fuck about making this monster suffer as much as possible." The man in question merely smirked at Jack.
Jack made a move to put a dent the man's face, but he was held by Gwen, "Not now Jack, we need to help Ianto and the boy…and sort this mess out."
Jack growled in frustration, before moving away from the man, a kick to the man's crotch his parting comment.
"Ianto mate, just stay with me yeah. The ambulance will be here in no time and we will get everything sealed up. Tosh?"
"Twenty minutes Owen." Tosh replied, moving towards the two men on the floor
"He doesn't have twenty minutes."
"The nearest hospital is two towns over Owen."
Owen looked down at Ianto who was barely conscious and incoherent, whatever slim chance he may have had at survival was slowly slipping through Owen's fingers and it would run out before help arrived.
"Do you know if the SUV is near by?" Owen asked Tosh hopefully.
Tosh shook her head, "I don't…"
"Jack, we need to find the SUV, I need the other first aid kit." Owen shouted, trying to get the attention of the man stood at the other side of the room.
Jack looked over, processing the question before nodding and turning to Gwen, "Gwen, watch these guys, if they move shoot them again." Jack commanded before racing out of the hole in the wall.
"Tosh, take over, I am going to check the others." Owen requested, shifting to make room for her.
Tosh frowned at him but only nodded a response before swapping places with him.
Tosh started to talk to the unresponsive man below her, the blood still seeping out from between her shaking hands, the situation bringing tears to her eyes.
There was no response to her questions or comments at first, but Ianto eventually seemed to see her, his focus clearing and his expression questioning around the pain.
"It's okay Ianto, help is on the way, just hold on." Tosh tried to sound as confident as possible for his sake.
Ianto's only response was a slight frown before his eyes slid close. Tosh held her breath, her fingers in his throat still noting a slight pulse before the blood stopped flowing through her fingers and the pulse stopped.
Gasping, Tosh sat back and released her hold, "Owen." The first was a whisper and the second a devastated cry, "Owen."
"Tosh, why have you…" Looking over, Owen was trying to discern why she had released her hold before noting the lack of blood flow.
Owen moved towards Tosh and grabbed hold of her, holding her tight as she started to cry into his shoulder, pulling Gwen in also when she joined them.
Jack ran back through the hole in the wall, kit in hand to come across the scene of his team mates all stood in a huddle and not near Ianto.
Owen noticed him straight away, "I'm sorry Jack."
The team stood alongside the SUV, the early morning sun warming their bodies but not the cold numbness inside of them.
There had been discussion about how to transport Ianto back to Cardiff. None of them liked the idea of him in the back of the SUV, but at the same time Jack was not keen to leave him anywhere near the people that were responsible for his death. He did not trust something not to happen.
Hearing the conversation, one of the ambulance officers had walked over and requested Owen's audience. Once discerning that they were indeed a type of law enforcement group, the paramedic had offered to look after and deliver the body to them later that day after he had finished with moving all of the injured.
Owen had looked sceptical, but the ambulance officer had convinced him, when he explained that it was a common duty when dealing with a law enforcement officer.
Owen gratefully accepted the offer, saying he would be there to collect in Cardiff and moved back to the group to let them know that they could leave.
Jack was still reluctant but seeing the need of his living employees let the arrangement sit.
Owen stood over the body, finalising the documentation and trying not to think about the injuries he had identified in his examination.
There had been no autopsy, no need, but he had inspected the body, his findings confirming an unwelcome realisation, their colleague had died in a lot of pain even if he was too confused to realise it at the time.
The birth and death dates that rested on the page raised another feeling of nausea in Owen, but that was the thing with Torchwood, they all died young here.
Owen could hear Jack approach from behind, the man had been a shadow since they had returned and Owen could not help but think that there was something else driving Jack's attitude other then the loss of an employee.
It could just be the fact that Ianto was not a field agent and Jack had demanded he join them on this trip, but there was something else in Jack's eye, something like regret and an acknowledgement of lost opportunity.
Owen left Ianto's side and merely nodded to the subdued Captain as he walked past leaving the room, his work now completed.
Jack nodded in response, waiting for Owen to clear the room before moving forward.
Jack stood staring at the pale and lifeless corpse laid out on the draw. He had considered the resurrection glove earlier, if only to have a couple of minutes to talk to Ianto and let him know that even with everything that had happened he still cared that he was gone.
Jack could not bring himself to face Ianto yet; the potential accusations or the look on Ianto's face, when he realises that he only has a minute of life.
Bending down, Jack rested his forehead against the other mans, a tear slipping out, "I'm sorry."
Jack stood up and closed the draw, locking the door in place before striding out of the room that housed so many of his previous associates, friends and lovers.
Chapter 2 coming soon to a website near you.