It was a week later when Ianto found himself about to complete his first relocation. He had memorized every piece of information about all five members of the Reveal Rebellion he was in charge of taking out. For his first target he had chosen Sarah Higgins, for two reasons one she would be the easiest and two she would also be the hardest.
Sarah Higgins was 19 years old and attended Cardiff University majoring in history. This was her first life, she had a mother, father, and little sister and Ianto was hyperaware of the fact that he was about to take her away from them.
He had been watching her every night for the last week and he knew that at 10 pm she always left her dorm for a late night run, which is why he was now waiting for her in the shadow cast by her three story dorm building.
It was when she turned the corner that he grabbed her. She didn't have time to react as he pressed the chloroform covered rag to her face and her body went limp in his arms. He then lifted her into a fireman's hold and walked to his car placing her gently into the trunk and securing her arms with hand cuffs behind her back. He closed the trunk, got into the driver's seat and drove out of town.
When he reached the predefined field he had chosen he drove onto it and parked his car by a single tree. He turned on his car's interior lights. He knew he was far enough away from the main road that no passing cars would see them.
It was then that she started screaming. He couldn't help but roll his eyes. He knew that she had been in training as a Rift Child since she was 12 so it was odd to him that she was panicking. If he woke up and found himself locked in a trunk he wouldn't scream. He would have been trying to pop the trunk from the inside while remaining as quiet as possible. Not that that tactic would work for her because he had disengaged that feature of his car. Clearly she wasn't trained as well as him. He looked at himself in the rearview mirror. He must be going crazy because he had just complemented Jason, even if it was just in his head.
He climbed into the back seat and released one of the seats so it came down to reveal his trunk. Sarah stopped screaming.
"Who are you?" she asked.
He didn't answer he just reached in and pulled her out in to the back seat. She started fighting the moment she was free of the trunk. He pushed her face first into the back of the passenger seat. He put his face close to her ear. "If you stop fighting I will release your hands." She stopped fighting. He reached into his inner jacket pocket and took out the cuffs key. He used it to undo her hands.
Ianto clicked the backseat back up. He then pointed to the seat right behind the passenger seat and looked at the girl who was kneeling in the floor board rubbing her wrists. "Sit there and be calm or I will cuff your hands again," he said trying to sound demanding. It must have worked because she nodded her head and did what she was told.
Ianto reached into the passenger's seat and grabbed the advanced lie detector he had 'borrowed' from Jack. He placed it in the middle seat and he sat back in the seat behind the driver. He began setting it up. Ianto guessed Sarah thought that he was far enough from her that she should be able to make it out of the car and get a good head start because she started trying to open the back door. She was unsuccessful of course because Ianto had enabled the child safety locks.
He raised an eyebrow at her, "are you quite finished?" he asked. She looked at him and promptly started sobbing uncontrollably. Ianto sighed he hated seeing a woman cry.
"Okay," he said trying to ignore her sobs. "As I am sure you know, I am a Rift Child like you," She nodded.
He decided to just be diplomatic about this, "Sarah Higgins, you have been accused of conspiring to reveal the truth about the Children of the Rift, how do you plea?"
"What?" she sobbed.
Ianto ran his hand through his hair, "look hold this," he handed her a small black cylinder, "I am going to ask you a simple yes or no question and you answer it then we will be able to wrap this up."
She nodded. "Are you apart of a rebellion group that is hell-bent on revealing Rift Children to the world?" he asked.
"No," she said still sobbing. The machine glowed red, which meant she was lying.
"How about you answer truthfully," he said.
"I just wanted to let my future children to live forever like me," she sobbed. "Please don't relocate me please!" Tears started to fall from Ianto's eyes.
"I have no choice," he said to her. She clearly wasn't going to give up without a fight because she started trying to go over the passenger's seat to get to the front of the car. He rose up from his seat and grabbed her crying just as hard as her now. She turned slightly and punched him in the mouth. It hurt put it didn't deter him he quickly had her back in her seat keeping her there with one hand while the other reached for the syringe of weevil sedative in his suit pocket, harmless to weevils but deadly to humans. He flipped the cap off of the needle with his thumb. "It's not going to hurt, it's just going to be like falling asleep," he said.
Sarah stopped fighting and started shaking her head at him, "please don't," she pleaded, but he did.
He moved back to the front seat once her heart stopped beating his tears never ceasing. He felt like a monster. Like a piece of his soul had died. He took a deep breath and started the drive to Lavender's. He could see Sarah's body in the rearview. She looked as if she had fallen asleep after a long car ride; he had even buckled her in.
When he reached Lavender's house he parked his car near the back door. The door to the kitchen opened and Ianto saw the silhouette of a man, it was Jason. He walked down the few short steps and over to the driver's door of Ianto's car. He opened it and pulled Ianto out softly and engulfing him in a hug. Ianto didn't try to pull away he just laid his head on Jason's shoulder and cried quietly. "You go inside and sit with Lavender and I will take care of the rest," Jason said softly into Ianto's ear. Ianto nodded as he pried himself away from Jason and turned to walk into the house.
TW-TW-TW-TW-TW-TW-TW-TW
Ianto woke up on one of Lavender's couches in her front parlor. He looked at his watch, 8:37, shit he thought. He had stayed up late into the night with Lavender and Jason, eating dark chocolate and watching James Bond movies. Lavender had turned in about half way through the first movie and Ianto seemed to have fallen asleep during the second. He vaguely remembered leaning against Jason as he drifted into much needed sleep.
The way Jason had behaved the night before was exactly how he would behave after a tough training exercise when Ianto was still half-way in love with the man. He wasn't anywhere near in love with the man now, but last night had been comforting like listening to a song your mom use to sing to you.
Ianto sighed as he stopped reminiscing and remembered how late he was for work. Of the several months that Ianto had worked at Torchwood 3 he had only been late once and that had been the day after he fainted, plus Jack had known he was going to be late. Now he was over an hour late and he would have to use another hour to get himself presentable.
This was why it was nearly 10:30 before he finally walk through the cog door. Owen was the first to acknowledge him.
"Oi, tea-boy were the hell have you been we need coffee," the doctor yelled.
Ianto didn't answer the question he just went straight to the coffee machine, he needed coffee too. As he made coffee for himself and the team he tried not to think. Of course that just made him think more. He thought of Lisa, down in her dungeon, he thought of Jason and how it was possible to hate someone yet still receive comfort from their presence. He thought about Sarah Higgins, was her second life better or worse than her first life. Thought of Sarah just made him think of the four other rebels he needed to relocate. His thoughts than drifted to Jack, how he felt things for the man that he shouldn't, how the man had cornered him in the archives two days ago and the oh so amazing things the man could do with his mouth.
When the coffees were ready he went to deliver them. He stopped first at Susie's station. She was looking between the glove Dredge had salvaged and a dead fly on her table. She looked up at him when he sat his coffee beside her.
"Ianto when you get a chance I need a dead rat. Preferably one that's freshly dead," she said to him. Ianto just nodded resisting the urge to tell her that was the oddest thank you he had ever received.
Ianto headed to Tosh's station next. Owen was there currently asking a stuffed tiger that sat on Tosh's desk how to properly reboot a Torchwood computer. He looked up when Ianto approached.
"What happened to your face," the doctor asked referring to the busted lip Ianto had received from Sarah the night before.
"What happened to your dignity," asked Ianto gesturing between Owen and the stuffed tiger he had been just talking to.
Tosh giggled from her chair. Owen took his coffee from Ianto's tray while scowling at the back of Tosh's head. "She won't answer any of my questions until I ask the bloody tiger," he answered.
Ianto smiled and placed Tosh's coffee beside her. She looked back and nodded her head at him. "Pub fight," he said gesturing to his lip, "defending a lady's honor." Then with a wink at Tosh he headed towards Jacks office.
When he entered Jack's office Jack told him to shut the door. Ianto obeyed, sat Jack's coffee before him then sat in the chair in front of Jack's desk to enjoy his own coffee. Jack casually asked what happen to Ianto's lip and enjoyed his coffee. Ianto felt like the exchange was kind of domestic. As if they always drank coffee together and spoke of pub fights and busted lips. Then Jack shocked him.
"So you are three hours late for work, do you think that because we have this thing going on," Jack gestured between them, "that I would just let such insubordination slide?" Ianto studied Jacks face for signs that he was joking. He appeared to be totally serious.
Ianto tried to defend himself. "Technically I am only an hour and a half late; Owen is that late on almost a daily basis."
"Owen lets me fuck him over my desk, so he can do as he pleases." Jack deadpanned.
Ianto raised an eyebrow. Then Jack grinned the jerk was just messing with him. Well two can play this game Ianto thought.
"Well, how about I agree to the same treatment. Will you forgive my tardiness then, sir," Ianto retorted.
"Oh, I would enjoy nothing more, in fact let's do that now," Jack said back to looking serious.
Ianto realized that he should have made his escape the moment he figured out that Jack was just teasing instead of trying to play a game he would surly lose. Ianto backed into the closed door when Jack got up from his desk and started towards him. He looked out Jacks windowed office and could plainly see Owen and Tosh. Jack couldn't seriously be about to try and bend Ianto over the desk. Ianto's breath quickened as Jack got closer, he quickly turned and opened Jack's door and practically leapt through it while calling over his shoulder, "Sorry sir, I have to go find a dead rat."
Ianto headed to the basement of the hub to try and complete the task Susie had set for him. He had rat traps set up all over the hub but the basement usually had more luck catching them, and today luck was on Ianto's side. Returning to the main hub Ianto sat down a plastic bag containing the dead rat on Susie's desk. She didn't acknowledge him only the bag. She opened it and the rat fell out onto her desk. She then put on the glove and touched the dead creature with it. It began to squeak and thrash around for a few seconds then it went back to being dead.
Ianto jumped back, "What the hell was that," he asked Susie.
Susie looked at him with pure excitement in her eyes, "this glove brings things back from the dead," she answered.
"And you are happy about this," Ianto said still staring at the rat with a bit of fear.
"Yes, imagine the possibilities," she answered as she got up from her seat and headed towards Jacks office.
Ianto could imagine the possibilities and that is what frightened him and made him want to put the glove into the secure archives or possible destroy it. Ianto broke out of his thoughts when he heard Jack yell for him.
He walked over to Jacks office and stuck his head into the door way. "You hallored sir," he said to Jack trying not to look at Jack's desk, which proved difficult as the said man was currently sitting behind it.
"I do not 'hallor,' I yell in a very manly fashion," Jack said pouting a bit.
"Of course, you yelled in a very manly fashion, sir," Ianto said not even trying to hide the grin on his face.
"Yes, I need you to go round up some more dead rats and bring them to the medical bay. We are going to try out this new trick of Susie's," Jack said.
This time when Ianto went to the basement he had to look harder to find the little bastards. He even ripped his suit jacket while squeezing in to one particular crevice. So by the time Ianto was heading back to the main hub holding a Torchwood evidence bag filled with five dead rats, he was the picture of a pissed off Welshman. He put on his calm, cool, and collected mask right before he descended the steps into the medical bay.
He placed the bag on the autopsy table and tried not to wonder how long the rest of the team had been standing there waiting on his return. The bastards could have helped, he thought as he looked at them all clean and no tears on their clothing. No one even said thank you.
"Alright," said Jack as he began to take the rats out of the bag and line them up across the table, "who wants to go first?" No one spoke up and Ianto even took a step back. Jack just grinned. He retrieved the glove from Susie and put it on. He gently touched the first rat in the line. Ianto was prepared for the thing to start thrashing around but it didn't. Jack took off the glove with a pout and handed it to Owen.
Both Owen and Tosh tried and failed. When it was Ianto's turn he reluctantly put the glove on. It was cold and gave him a creeped out feeling. He sighed in relief when he touched his rat and it remained quite dead. He quickly passed the glove on to Susie.
Susie took it happily and slipped it on. She waited a few seconds before touching her rat, but when she did the thing came back to life just like the other one Ianto had witnessed her touch. Everyone stared in fascination until the thing once again returned to being dead.
Susie broke the silence, "why do you think it only works for me," she asked Jack.
He pondered for a second then answered, "Maybe it has something to do with your personality."
"Ya, maybe being a bitch is a requirement," Owen said.
"Sod off Owen," Susie retorted.
By the end of the day Ianto was sure he had single handedly fixed Torchwood's rat problems. He had even resorted to stealing some of Owen's lab rats, much to the doctor's dismay. In the end Susie had managed to keep a rat alive for 1 minute and 20 seconds. Ianto had been in charge of the stop watch.
