Lots of thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter, brief though it was. So that's: Amy, miladydragon, brionyjae, Stormreaver01, L.A.H.H., cjh4ever, gernumblies, erin, Marian Locksley, Tv-a-holic and NikkieSheepie! And another huge thank you to everyone who's added it to any kind of alert etc.
Reading this through again it seems pathetically short. I really should have merged it and the last chapter. The whole story is starting to seem pathetically short, actually. But unfortunately this is all I've got time for at the moment. Perhaps at Christmas I might get time to write something a bit more substantial.
Ok, I've added a few bits. Some of it's from Owen, and thus counts as offensive. You have been warned!
Chapter Three
The water was lapping at his breast pocket now – he could feel it soaking the tissue he kept there. He didn't have any doubts that unless the others did something the water would keep on rising at this same slow, steady pace. Ianto knew just how deep underground this part of the Hub was built, and he also had a good idea of how deep Cardiff Bay was. Cardiff Bay… It looked so beautiful on the surface, reflecting all the thousand colours of Cardiff's lights as though there was another city beneath the waves, but underneath it was all just murky water and buried bones. Buried by Torchwood, mostly. Ianto tried not to think about that, concentrating instead on the first image of the peaceful Bay, and ignoring the gentle flow pushing and pulling against his numb legs. It couldn't be so bad really, if it was that calm and quiet… He tried to summon up the memories of all those times he'd stood against the railings on a warm summer evening after they'd closed up the Hub, with Jack's arm around his shoulders…
Ianto blinked in the cold light, and yelled into his comms.
"Jack! Call Jack!"
Owen paused in looking helplessly at the controls as Ianto's voice came in over the comms. In less than a second his phone was in his hand, dialling Jack's number.
Tosh turned away from the jumble of piping to watch him desperately as he paced up and down the corridor, waiting for the dial tone.
Owen tried to breathe evenly to calm himself down as he counted the number of rings. One… two… How long did it normally take Jack to answer? It was about the fourth or fifth with most people, wasn't it? Three… four… He turned round as his pacing reached the end of the corridor, making a face at Tosh. Slow bastard. He wouldn't be like this is he knew what was happening. Five… six… No, please no…
"Hello, this is Captain Jack Harkness. Leave a message and I'll get back to you when I -". The answer-phone message was cut off as Owen killed the call and threw the offending mobile at the wall.
Tosh just looked at him helplessly. There were so many dials and knobs on the apparatus in front of her that she didn't dare touch them without plans of some sort. With no knowledge of how any of the controls worked she was as blind as Owen, and she was desperately afraid that by randomly guessing what to do she would only make matters worse.
Please, please, please don't let us lose Ianto just because I can't work this out… Not Ianto. Please. Oh, come on Tosh, you must be able to do something… There'll be plans somewhere and even if Gwen can't find them you should be able to work this out… Come on Tosh!
Gwen had had no idea just how many background systems there were within the Hub. She was coming up with things she had never heard of – lists of complex titles that just weren't quite what she was looking for. The system was running every search she could think of: 'flooding', 'lower defences', 'emergency systems'… And all of them were coming up blank.
Shit. Just shit. Tosh looks like she's going to cry. What a day to find the one system in this bloody place we don't know how to work! And for it to be the one thing the network doesn't have a manual for! God, Owen, you really mucked it up this time, didn't you? Spending the rest of your days with a Ianto-less Jack Harkness? Shit, I wish it was me down there instead of him.
Isn't there something I can do? There must be something we can do, not just stand here waiting…
They haven't called back yet. That means nothing's changed. And Jack's not there.
I wish Jack was there. And its cold down here, so cold.
About a metre above my head until you get to the ceiling, and it's only at my shoulders… That gives it another few minutes. That's time. That's time. There's a lot that can happen in a few minutes. I could drown, for instance… No. I can swim, I must be able to. It sounds really easy. Everyone can do it. We'll manage. Admittedly it would be easier if I could feel my legs… It'll be fine. Nothing to it.
It's the bit after that that I'm worried about.
Ok, so what do you think should happen in those few minutes? I am open to all suggestions.
