Beautiful Minds – Outtakes

by Soledad

Fandom: Sherlock BBC/Whoniverse AU

Genre: Family, Drama, Romance, Action/adventure, Friendship… take your pick.

Rating: G for now. May be raised later.

Series: Beautiful Minds

Timeframe: Set during BBC Sherlock's 3rd season

Disclaimer: Both Sherlock and Torchwood belong to the BBC. Sherlock Holmes also belongs to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Only the weird crossover idea belongs to me. No copyright infringement intended and no money made.

Author's notes: For disclaimer, rating, etc. see Outtakes 01. Also, please consider the big, honking AU label.

These Season 3 AU ficlets aren't written in chronological order. They sometimes overlap, sometimes tell the same events from different POVs, sometimes even the events themselves are a bit different. Everything is still set in the BM'verse, with all that it entails, but I do use some of the original dialogue from the episodes. Reading my story "Convergences" might help to understand the AU aspects better.

This particular story is set after "The Empty Hearse", right before the wedding. However, I've messed up the timeline a bit, so that the whole Magnussen part will take place before the wedding. Some lines of dialogue are borrowed – in a slightly modified form – from "His Last Vow", for obvious reasons.

Beta read by my good friend, m2d2, whom I owe my sincerest thanks. All remaining mistakes are mine, 'cause sometimes I'm just too pig-headed to listen. :))


Outtakes 03 – Hell Hath No Fury…

Part One

Toshiko Sato learned the hard way that one must never give in to blackmail. Not even if the blackmailer would threaten your loved ones.

She's made that mistake once. It nearly destroyed her and those she tried to protect, despite the personal risks she has taken. When Mycroft Homes saved her from prison – not out of the goodness of his heart but because he could put her abilities to good use but still – she swore she'd never make the same mistake again.

For a long time she didn't need to worry about such things. Her life was a great deal more invisible in Mycroft Holmes's employ than it used to be while she'd worked for the Ministry of Defence's science lab. For years upon years, the rest of the world seemed to have forgotten about her and she liked it that way.

Thanks to Mr Holmes's interference, her records have been wiped clean. She was given a second chance, a clean slate to begin anew, and she worked very hard in all those years to make amends for the one terrible mistake in the past.

So far, things have worked out just fine. She even met a wonderful, brave, broken man who might accept her past, should he learn about it one day – although she didn't intend to tell him for a while yet – and whom Mr Holmes wouldn't see as a security risk.

She never thought she'd ever find someone to replace Rajesh, but John Watson proved to be a more than worthy successor. She began to believe that she'd left the past behind her completely and would be allowed to lead a life without fear.

And now this.

She holds the elegant, cream-coloured card in both hands and stares down at it in quiet despair. It has the picture of two interlinked wedding rings and under those a short notice is written in old-fashioned copperplate font – and hand-written at that, not printed.

Congratulations. A shame your family can't be here to share your happiness.

CAM

She is shocked. She and John have just set the wedding date two days previously; no-one has been told just yet, not even Sherlock. And no-one is supposed to know that her contact with her family – repatriated to Japan on Mr Holmes's orders some ten years ago – is still limited.

Well, Sherlock knows, of course. He was the driving force behind her semi-rehabilitation (declaring that allow a brain like hers to rot in prison would be a criminal waste), but he doesn't know about the concrete plans yet. And even if John couldn't resist telling him, which is a distinct possibility – or if he figured out on his own, due to the awesome Holmesian deductive powers – why would he send her such a peculiar card?

No; this is definitely an outsider, up to no good, and the whole thing has the sickeningly familiar smell of blackmail about it. But who could possibly know both of her past and her wedding plans? The thought of such knowledge is most alarming.

Perhaps she ought to warn Mr Holmes about it?

No; ever since she and John decided to get married, she hasn't been Mr Holmes's favourite person (not that she'd ever have been; she is useful for him, but that is all about it). Toshiko understand his worries, she really does. She knows how crucial John has been for Sherlock's well-being, and she knows Mr Holmes is worried that losing John would make Sherlock turn back to the drugs.

It is a real danger, especially after all Sherlock went through in the two years of his absence. And in the eyes of Mr Holmes everything and everyone is irrelevant compared with Sherlock's well-being.

So no, turning to Mr Holmes is not an option.

She could ask his PA for help, the mysterious woman she knew first as Quilla, then as Erin and lately as Anthea (though none of those names are really her own). But turning to Anthea would be the same as turning to Mr Holmes, only on a more roundabout way. She is practically the extension of Mr Holmes and wouldn't do anything without his knowledge.

Or without his express order.

That leaves Toshiko with exactly one option, and she decides to use it. She takes out her phone, and hits speed dial #2.

"Ianto?" she asks as the phone is answered. "I need your help in a rather… delicate matter."


They meet in a small café just outside Whitehall. It is favoured by young employees of the nearby government offices, so Ianto blends in perfectly in his pin-striped three-piece suit. Knowing the place, Toshiko changed into a skirt suit of her own – her "sexy secretary outfit", as John jokingly calls it – in order to avoid any unwanted attention.

For all means and purposes, they look like two junior civil servants on a lunch break.

"What do you think?" Toshiko asks, showing Ianto the card.

Ianto studies it thoroughly. Toshiko can almost see the mental spreadsheet unfolding in his mind: ink, stationery, handwriting, wording, signature… more than any normal person would take notice of. All listed meticulously and saved away for further analysis.

But, of course, Ianto is a Holmes. A largely unknown one, sure, who spent the first twenty years of his life in happy ignorance, but he still has a brilliant Holmesian mind. And he's learned a great deal from his biological father about how to use it since they so unexpectedly found each other.

"Definitely blackmail," he finally says. "Though unusual, as they make no demands. They're simply signalling that they know of your past; with an additional threat against your family, just in case you'd be considering being belligerent."

"But how could they know about my past?" Toshiko wonders. "Mr Holmes said my records were wiped clean…"

"They were," Ianto reassures her. "But there were a few people who knew about your fate; and unfortunately, people's minds can't be as easily wiped as a computer databank. Well… they can, actually, but it isn't done, unless national security demands it, cos the side effects are unpredictable."

"But what could the blackmailer possibly want from me?" Toshiko asks.

"Nothing right now, I presume," Ianto replies. "He just wants you to know that he knows; to keep you on your toes. He wants you prepared and ready for the time when he actually does have any demands."

"Why threaten my family, though?"

"Cos it's already worked once," Ianto answers simply. "It's all about weaknesses for him. Weaknesses that can be exploited in the future."

Toshiko stares at him in shock.

"You've just said him. Does this mean you know who this CAM is?"

Ianto nods. "Of course I do. So do you. So does everybody in the UK and beyond. I don't think there's anyone with a functioning telly in this country who hasn't heard of Charles Augustus Magnussen. Certainly not in London."

"Oh, God," Toshiko whispers tonelessly. "The media mogul? The owner of bloody CAM Global News?"

Ianto nods.

"But what would he want from me, of all people?"

"That is what he does," Ianto explains. "He uses his power and wealth to gain information. The more he acquires, the greater his wealth and power. He knows the critical pressure point of every person of note or influence in the entire Western world; probably even beyond. You've seen the news about John Garvie, the MP who's been arrested on charges of corruption?"

Toshiko nods.

"That was Magnussen's doing," Ianto tells her. "Or about the suicide of Lord Smallwood?"

Toshiko nods again.

"That, too, was Magnussen's doing," Ianto adds grimly.

"But why would he go after me?" Toshiko asks, still bewildered. "I'm of no importance!"

"He's not after you," Ianto answers. "Not really. But what he knows about your past could be useful for him against… somebody else."

He gives Toshiko a meaningful look and she blanches.

"You mean your…" she stops when Ianto scowls at her warningly. "Cause he saved me from prison? But – but that wasn't illegal, was it? I mean, he did have the power to do so, didn't he?"

Ianto nods. "And therein lies the problem. He did have the power, yes; but a great many things he can do exist in a… a grey zone of legality. Cos that's the only way how he can do some things."

"And should something like my past become public…" she trails off.

She never considered that Mr Holmes might have taken personal risks to save her. Whatever his true motivation might have been.

"… it would destroy him," Ianto finishes for her. "The work he does makes it necessary for him to remain in the shadows. Should he, for whatever reason, get in the spotlight, his usefulness for the higher-ups would end; and they'd toss him to the wolves to save themselves. It's nothing personal," he adds dryly, seeing her horrified expression. "He'd do the same in a second. The work they do is far too important. They can't take individual fates under consideration."

"But the public wouldn't understand that," she says slowly, starting to understand the ramifications.

"No," Ianto agrees. "And the press would love to have their big scandal about government officials doing illegal – or, at the very least, semi-legal – things in the background. No-one would care for the reasons. No-one would be willing to accept that such things are necessary. When it comes to people in power, everyone gets onto their moral high horses. And they want a scapegoat. They want heads to roll. Even if those are the heads of the only people who are keeping them safe." He smiles thinly. "As Sherlock so truthfully states, most people are idiots."

Toshiko nods in disillusioned agreement because everything he said is depressingly true.

"Is that why he never acknowledged you? Because you'd be a liability?"

"Of course," Ianto replies with a wry grin. "They'd jump at the saucy piece of news that he used to have an affair with somebody do deeply beneath his own standing and abandoned her, pregnant and penniless, when his rich father threw a tantrum. No-one would care that he didn't even know Mam was pregnant and hadn't learned about my existence until Tad died. Just as they wouldn't care why he chose to help somebody who was thrown into prison without a trial."

"Do you think Magnussen knows about you?" Toshiko asks. "I know you don't speak about your connection as a rule, but it isn't exactly a secret. Your entire family knows, and a lot of people who work for them."

Ianto shrugs. "He might know; but it's possible that I haven't registered on his radar just yet. I never held any important position. Archivist of the Torchwood Institute, then one of Mr Holmes's PAs – and not even the head one at that – isn't big enough to catch his eye. Or to raise the accusation of nepotism. Even if he does know about our connection, there's little to no blackmail material, since I'm just a little bureaucrat – and quite happy that way, if I may add."

"You're so much more than just that!" Toshiko laughs, knowing that Ianto's skills reach from high-end hacking through dangerous undercover missions to financial acrobatics if the need arises.

Ianto winks at her conspiratorially.

"True; but I hide in plain sight very well. Not even Sherlock has truly spotted me so far."

"No!" Toshiko laughs in disbelief. "The entire family knows – except him? How is that even possible?"

Ianto shrugs again. "Well, it's his own fault that he doesn't speak with the rest of the family. Or with the family lawyers. Or with the family accountant. It's the same sort of arrogance as Magnussen's; or as Moriarty's used to be. I've been right in front of their noses, and they never suspected a thing."

"But Magnussen," Tosh says, after they are done laughing. "Can't Mr Holmes do something against him?"

"Afraid not," Ianto admits. "Not until he can get his hands on Magnussen's files. You see, the man has created an entire library of forbidden knowledge. The greatest database of sensitive and dangerous information anywhere in the world. A whole library of secrets and scandals – and none of it is on a computer. He keeps the files underneath his house, in sealed vaults."

"He keeps hard copies?" the computer geek in Toshiko almost feels insulted.

"Oh, he's shrewd," Ianto says. "Think about it: computers can be hacked. A vault can be protected by physical means. And he does have the money to buy the best security that is available."

"Better than Mr Holmes's agents?" Toshiko asks doubtfully. Ianto nods.

"Oh, they've tried to get in a few times, believe me – but so far they've failed. And Mr Holmes needs to know first what Magnussen knows to be able to counteract him. Besides, Magnussen is cautious. He never causes too much damage to anyone really important. He's far too intelligent for that."

"What do you mean? Wasn't Lord Smallwood an important person?"

"No," Ianto says. "Lady Smallwood is the important one: a senior government official who was recently chairing an inquiry into press standards – specifically the level of influence Magnussen had over the Western world. To warn her off, Magnussen released the information about Lord Smallwood's romantic… interest in a then-underage girl in the 1970s. Lord Smallwood committed suicide, but Lady Smallwood still holds a position of prominence in the British security establishment. She didn't back off, so he chose to hurt her but didn't dare to go against her directly."

"But he would go against Mr Holmes?"

"He might," Ianto says thoughtfully. "It's more likely, though, that he'll use his knowledge to keep my… boss from going against him. As Mr Holmes says, he's a businessman, first and foremost; and occasionally even useful to him. A necessary evil."

"And you agree with that?" Toshiko can't quite believe it. Ianto shakes his head.

"No. But right now I don't think I could do anything about the matter – or that I should. Sometimes one has to make a deal with the devil, for the greater good. I don't have to like it; but I have to accept it."

"Still, Mr Holmes must be keeping a close eye on Magnussen," Toshiko says. "Or else you wouldn't know so much about him."

"Well, yes, I'm sure I don't even know half of it," Ianto shrugs. "But Lady Smallwood chose to ask Sherlock's help with getting back those compromising letters of her late husband; and Sherlock being Sherlock, accepted the job, despite his brother empathically telling him to leave Magnussen alone. Or perhaps because Mr Holmes told him to back off," he added resignedly.

Toshiko laughs. "Sherlock is… how old now? Forty-ish? And his brother still hasn't learned that telling him not to do something is the best way to make him do it anyway? He's like a petulant eight-year-old."

"Oh, I'm sure my… boss knows that," says Ianto slowly. "Which makes me wonder if he's forbidden him to pursue the case for exactly that reason. It's hard to tell how many different levels of mental manipulation are going on in the Holmes family at the same time."

"You're one of them," Tosh raises an elegant eyebrow. "You tell me."

But Ianto shakes his head emphatically.

"Oh no, I'm not. We… may share some genetic material as Sherlock would put it, should he know about our connection, but I've grown up in a simple, loving, down-to-earth Welsh family and I'll be eternally grateful for that. Look at them: they're all broken in some way; including Lady Violet and even Aunt Diane, although she's the one who's kept most of her… er… humanity."

"And you aren't?" Toshiko asks gently. "You've lost your parents, your girlfriend, your flatmate… and over eight hundred people you used to work with, in that terrorist bombing. No-one can go through that and come out of it unscarred."

"True," Ianto allows. "And I still miss them, every single one of them. But at least I had them all, for a while. Long enough to have fond memories. The Holmeses don't have friends, and they don't do love. I pity them for that."

"Is that why you chose to move in with your father after Canary Wharf?" Toshiko asks quietly. Ianto nods.

"When Wesley was found among the casualties… and later, when I had to have Lisa's plug pulled, for the first time in my life I was alone. It made me understand how lonely he must have been all his life. Working for him gave me purpose again; and I like to think that having me around made him just a tad less lonely."

He pauses and his expression softens ever so slightly. "He's not a bad person, you know. He was taught to be aloof and ruthless at a very young age; that sentiment was a weakness and that caring was not an advantage. He internalised that well. Perhaps too well for his own good. But under all those layers of armour he's fiercely protective. Just look at the risks he takes to keep Sherlock alive!"

Toshiko nods slowly, thoughtfully. She knows what loneliness is like. She's been alone all her life, for one reason or another. And she knows what family is and how far one would go to protect one's family. She's been there, done that, and paid the price. Is still paying the price, in fact.

"So," Ianto then says, changing the topic deliberately. "What are you going to do? Call off the wedding?"

For a moment Toshiko hesitates, uncertainty gnawing at her like rats in her stomach. Then she gathers all her courage and raises her chin defiantly.

"No way! I won't let that blackmailing slime ruin the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time!"

"That's the spirit," Ianto grins, looking his true (still fairly young) age for a moment. Then he leans forward conspiratorially. "Do you need any help with the planning?"


The wedding, when it finally does take place, is a quiet affair. It's mostly John's friends and colleagues that fill the invited list. Toshiko's family cannot come from Japan, for reasons John still isn't aware of. One day she'll have to tell him; and that day probably isn't very far. Right now, however, she is trying to enjoy her big day… as long as it lasts.

Only her grandfather, now well beyond his ninetieth year, who still lives in London, is present. He and John go on like a house on fire. Mr Nakamura, who worked for Bletchley Park in World War Two, even manages to lure Major Sholto out of his reserve, although John's former commanding officer really isn't one for small talk.

Toshiko has no friends left, so Jenny Smith, one of the family lawyers (and Ianto's current girlfriend) gets roped in as bridesmaid in the last moment. They've considered Molly Hooper first, but since – of course – Sherlock is John's best man, it would have been too awkward. There's no need to make anyone uncomfortable.

John's sister doesn't come and neither does Mr Holmes make an appearance. But Ianto is there, omnipresent, keeping an eye on everything, and it is his doing that the photographer intending to murder Major Sholto is arrested and taken quietly away, right after Sherlock's brilliant deduction that has replaced what should have been the best man's speech.

Aside from that episode, though, Toshiko is happy with the wedding… until Sherlock drops the bombshell about her pregnancy, that is.

"You really didn't know?" Ianto asks, and she shakes her head.

"No; I thought my birth control was idiot proof. Apparently, I was mistaken."

"Apparently," Ianto agrees. "Do you want to keep the baby?"

Toshiko nods with emphasis. "Oh, yes. I'm not eighteen anymore; who knows if I could get pregnant again if I had an abortion now. You know how the time in prison screwed up my cycles. No; if we want a child, we're having in it now, while we still got the chance."

"Yep, but the question is: do you want a child?" Ianto asks quietly, and Toshiko nods again.

"I do; and more importantly, so does John. You saw the joy on his face… after he got over his first shock. I'd never take that from him. But I'm not doing this for him alone. This baby is part of him; and there's no part of him that I'd willingly harm."

"Have you ever wanted children… you know, before?" Ianto phrases the question discreetly.

"Rajesh and I were talking about it," Toshiko replies. "But he got himself killed before we'd have made the final decision. I do love kids; and I hope John and I will be able to build a proper family."

"Even with Sherlock dragging him off to mortal danger every other day?" Ianto smiles, but she can feel that the question is very serious.

"We're all acquainted to the Holmes family, one way or another," she answers. "That alone makes our lives dangerous. But I'd rather live dangerously than vegetate in fear in some dark hole like a trapped rat."

"You still have Magnussen to consider," Ianto warns her.

"I know," she sights. "And I'll have to deal with him while I still can. Before I get as big as a beached wale."

Ianto remains silent for a while.

"Do you need help?" he then asks. Toshiko shakes her head.

"No; this is something I better do alone. You'll have to watch over John, though. I'm sure Sherlock will be dragging him into this game, and he won't tell me about it, out of misplaced protectiveness."

"He still doesn't know what you're capable of," Ianto says with a faint smile.

He does know, of course.

"And he doesn't need to learn; not yet," Toshiko replies. "One day, I'll tell him anything. I don't want to live a lie- But this is not the time; not while Mr Holmes is at risk because of me. Not before I've dealt with the problem. You know I can do it; but only if I can count on you to keep John safe."

"I would," Ianto says thoughtfully. "But you must remember that he still works on cases with Sherlock. There's little to no chance to keep anyone safe around Sherlock. Not even Sherlock himself. But I'll do my best."

Toshiko nods her thanks, her mind on the next problem already. "Do you have any data on Magnussen?"

Ianto hands her a memory stick that looks like a lipstick.

"Everything we have is here; but I must warn you, it's not much. So far, we've failed to find anything electronically stored. We've hacked every computer he's come near in the last fifteen years – nothing. Oh, there's a huge database of everything that's been posted in the media he controls, but nothing of the actual proof. Nothing of the compromising data he uses for blackmail."

Toshiko nods her understanding. "The hard copies we've spoken about the last time. Easily protected with the right security measures and easily destroyed if needs must be."

Ianto nods. "Exactly. A brilliant solution, you must admit."

But Toshiko waves him off impatiently. Admiration isn't the thing she feels for the blackmailer, no matter how brilliant he might be.

"Where would he keep them?" she asks, because that's the next logical question, and she's nothing if not practical-minded.

"Appledore," Ianto replies promptly.

She gives him a blank look. "Am I supposed to know what the hell that is?"

"Magnussen's home in Hampstead," Ianto explains. "A high-tech mansion divided over ten floors, in the middle of some nice, green hills. It sports a bowling alley, a swimming pool and a squash court; and it has a central viewing tower, made of steel and bullet-proof glass, set more than fourteen metres above the lower ground floor level. It's very imposing, actually – if you're into that bleak, impersonal, futuristic style."

Toshiko laughs nervously. "You sound like a real estate agent. I don't think I'm interested, thanks."

"You wouldn't be able to buy it anyway, even if it were on sale," Ianto grins at her. "It cost thirty million pounds when it was completed, and its value has gone up considerable since then, due to its location and its notoriety."

"I imagine it has," Toshiko murmurs, "but how does that help me?"

"That doesn't," Ianto admits. "But I haven't mentioned yet that one third of the property's twenty-three thousand two hundred and fifty square foot floor space is located partially underground, behind a highly insulated, waterproof concrete structure."

"I see," Toshiko says; and she does indeed. "The vaults where he keeps his blackmail material?"

"The most likely place," Ianto agrees. "If not there, then I'm at a loss where they might be."

"It's the best starting point we could have," Toshiko says. "I'll analyse your data, of course, and see what else I can find – no offence to Mr Holmes's people, but I'm better than them."

"He knows," Ianto smiles. "That's why he keeps you around."

"Gee, thanks," Toshiko mutters bitterly, but Ianto keeps smiling.

"That's why he keeps you around," he repeats. "Now me, I simply like you; and so does Sherlock, in his inept ways."

"Sherlock likes John," she corrects, and Ianto nods.

"True; but you're now part of John's life, and by extension, he likes you, too. That vow he made at your wedding; he truly meant it. He considers you both his own, and the Holmeses are fiercely protective of their own."

"I don't know if that should reassure or terrify me," Toshiko murmurs.

"Perhaps a bit of both," Ianto suggests. "They – we, I guess – can be suffocatingly protective. But at least I'm firmly on your side, don't forget that."

"You are?" Toshiko is honestly surprised. Ianto has always been kind to her, but she knows nothing about taking sides. Ianto nods and smiles at her again.

"Of course. I'm the only one of the family with a clue how the majority of humankind lives and thinks; and it's my job to bring them back to Earth now and again."

That thought makes her smile, too. "Even Mr Holmes?"

"Especially him," Ianto confirms. "He's so used to looking at the big picture that he keeps forgotten the mundane details: that the pawns he's playing the game with are actually living, breathing people with lives of their own," he pauses. "Or do you think he was happy to see you and John grow close?"

"I know he wasn't; in the unlikely case he'd be capable of any kind of happiness," Toshiko says bitterly. "He confronted me early on, you know. Needled me about my intentions towards John. I was surprised that he didn't interfere when we got engaged."

"He wanted to," Ianto says, darkly amused. "He was worried about Sherlock's reaction. You know he constantly worries about him."

Toshiko nods. Of course she knows. Everyone knows that.

"He didn't interfere, though…"

"No," Ianto says with smug satisfaction. "I… persuaded him not to."

"I'm surprised that anyone could do that," she says and she means it. Mr Holmes isn't very susceptible to other people's arguments, as a rule.

"Not anyone," Ianto corrects. "Just me."

Toshiko shakes her head in amazement. "U still can't imagine how you've managed to do so. He's so… unmovable."

"Well," Ianto confesses a little ruefully. "I'm not above a little blackmailing myself. If it serves a good purpose, of course. And I felt that you and John have both deserved a little happiness."

For a moment Toshiko is absolutely speechless. The thought that Ianto would confront his terrifyingly powerful father for her sake is almost incomprehensible. No-one has done something like that for her, ever. Her eyes become misty, and she resists the urge to hug the young man spontaneously. Given the circumstances, that wouldn't be wise.

"You're such a good friend, Ianto!" she says instead. He hugs shrugs modestly.

"I'm trying not to get corrupted by money and power, which isn't always easy," he confesses. "Fortunately, Mam and Tad raised me with good Welsh sense, so I don't get blinded easily. Now; do you intend to pay Appledore a visit? It won't be easy, you know. The security measures are incredible. I know you're good with that sort of stuff, but breaking into Appledore could be very dangerous."

"I don't intend to break in," Toshiko replies calmly. "I intend to walk in through the front door, openly."

"And he'd just let you walk in?" Ianto asks doubtfully.

"He will, if I have something to offer him," she answers. "Or if he thinks I have something."

"Oh!" Ianto is quick enough to catch up with her. "You want to pretend you're about to sell him something he doesn't know yet about Mr Holmes, right?"

Toshiko nods. "Of course. I do have the reputation of becoming a traitor to keep my loved ones safe, don't I? Of all people with a connection to Mr Holmes, I'm the most likely to do so, am I not?"

"I for my part don't believe you'd make the same mistake again," Ianto replies. "But you're right. For somebody like Magnussen you'd be the most promising candidate. I think he's actually counting on it; why else would he have begun blackmailing you in the first place? I think he'd contact you eventually."

"Which is why I need to make the pre-emptive strike," Tosh points out. "I need to deal with things on my own terms."

"In that case you'll need to make your move fast, if you want to be there before Sherlock," Ianto says grimly. "The fact that he failed to retrieve the late Lord Smallwood's compromising letters has only made him wish to corner Magnussen more."

~TBC~

Yes, I know I've promised one-shots. But this was growing too long, so I'm making an exception.