AN: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, alerted or favourited. I'm always really happy to see the numbers go up and read the reviews.
Only one more chapter of Part 2 to go after this one.
Chapter 9
Months went by and Jack became used to his new life. He fell in to a routine, waking late in the day ready for the evening and night's work. He ate little, possibly because his body had been trained to expect a tiny amount of food, or possibly the heroin suppressed his appetite. Through willpower, he managed to keep the heroin use to once every three days, and did not increase the dose. But neither did he decrease it. When the track marks on his arms got so bad, that they might put his clients off, Jack killed himself. It meant little more to him than having a shower. He still found that he needed a lot of sleep, but he would never sleep when a client was present, even a regular client. For one thing he did not want to be that vulnerable, and for another his nightmares would scare them off.
Jack got on well with Ray's other boys, though he did not socialise with them often, or encourage friendships. They were so young and, despite their lifestyle, inexperienced. And, anyway, friends were all potential hostages against you. Jack wanted to avoid going that route again. The nearest thing Jack had to a friend was Ray, and he kept that to a strictly business relationship.
b_b_b_b_b
Three months after he escaped from UNIT, Jack was watching the late afternoon news as he got up. As usual there was no mention of an escaped criminal with his photo. After so much time he was beginning to relax about that. There would have been no reason for UNIT to delay if they were going to go public. He wouldn't even bother watching anymore, except that daytime TV was useful in numbing his mind and allowing him to fill the time between fixes with mindless soaps.
He was washing up his breakfast dishes, when another story came on. It showed a picture of the Valiant. It was undergoing a 250 million pound refurbishment. As part of the background story, the news channel flashed up photos of President Winters and The Master. Jack couldn't help his reaction. He threw himself back against the wall of his flat, practically hyperventilating with shock. The news moved on, but it was several minutes before Jack could calm his racing heart and nerves enough to move.
When he did manage to move away from the wall, he went straight to the drawer where he kept his drugs and, even though he wasn't due a dose, he started making preparations to shoot up. It was tricky, as he was still shaking, but he eventually managed it. The relief flooded through him as he injected himself.
b_b_b_b_b
Hours later, Ray banged on his door. Jack had not shown up at Paddy's Goose where he was supposed to be working. Getting no response, he unlocked the door with his passkey, and walked into the bedroom. Jack lay, fully dressed, on his bed, eyes glazed and with a ligature tied around his arm. An empty syringe was laying on the floor next to the bed.
Ray looked at the scene angrily. Though he accepted that many of his employees were addicts, and indeed he knew that was what drove them to work for him, he did not expect his people to blow off work to do their drugs. There was a time and a place for that. There was nothing that could be done for the moment, but Jack would be on a warning after this.
b_b_b_b_b
A few days after seeing the Master on TV, Jack was thinking about his team again. He missed them, especially Ianto. He still remembered that night on the Valiant, and how he felt then. It was the one memory that he did not want to lose. He wanted to see them again, and now he could. Although he knew it was a stupid idea, he decided to go to Cardiff; not to make contact with them, but just to look from a distance. To make sure that they were alright and happy. He would have to clear it with Ray though. He couldn't afford to upset him again, or do anything that would jeopardise his heroin supply.
b_b_b_b_b
The next time he got a day off, Jack got on a train to Cardiff at 7am. He'd get there late morning, and would be able to spy on the Hub from one of his favourite roofs. Getting off the train at Cathays, to avoid the CCTV near the Millennium Centre, Jack made his way to the Plass through back alleys. He went up to the roof of a building that allowed him to overlook the exits from the Hub, and waited. His patience was rewarded after a couple of hours, when Ianto, Gwen and Owen emerged together, and headed to the coffee house for lunch. Tosh was not with them. Jack didn't expect such a strong reaction, but he suddenly felt his emotions welling up. Seeing them there, looking fit and well, he remembered why he had done what he did. But it also brought to the fore his abject loneliness, and the longing to be able to return home. Jack drank in the sight of them, as they walked across the Plass. Ianto was as gorgeous as ever, and looked far healthier than he ever had on the Valiant. They all did of course.
He waited another hour for them to come back, and watched them reenter the Hub.
After they had disappeared from view, Jack moved to leave. He had hoped to see Tosh as well, but that would have to wait for another time. He hoped she was OK, but there was no way to find out. He was feeling a strange mix of happiness to see them, and anger mixed with sorrow at their desertion. It affected his concentration, and he walked right in front of a CCTV camera as he left the building.
b_b_b_b_b
Tosh had stayed to man the Hub, while the others went out for lunch, and continued to work on her computer as they walked back in. Returning to work, the three never noticed as a silent alarm popped up on Tosh's computer screen. She looked at it in surprise, clicking on it to get the details. Then grabbing her coat, and rushing out, she called to the others, "I'm just going to grab myself a sandwich, see you later."
As she left the Hub, Tosh thought quickly about what she had seen. Jack had been one street away from the square, and, if she was quick, she could catch him in the alley between two main roads. Reaching her goal, Tosh spotted Jack walking away from her in the alley, and, approaching quietly, said "Jack".
Jack turned abruptly, and froze in shock. A brief moment of panic showed on his face, but he quashed it fiercely. "Tosh," he stated calmly and stared at her, waiting.
Tosh approached warily, Jack didn't realise, but she had seen the fleeting look of fear. And she understood why. He had no reason to trust any of them not to turn him over to UNIT. She continued her appraisal as she drew nearer. Jack was thin to the point of gauntness, and he had a haunted look about him that she could not place. He looked wrong in the jeans and sweatshirt he was wearing.
"Why are you here, Jack?" she asked.
Jack hesitated, before stating simply, "I escaped from UNIT, and I wanted to see how you were all doing."
"Are you crazy!" Tosh hissed emphatically. "They have us on alert to let them know if you come near us."
He swallowed nervously, "Have you called them, Tosh?"
"No! I would never turn anyone over to UNIT, no matter what they had done. You know how they treated me."
"Do the others know I'm here?" Jack asked nervously.
"No, and we'd better keep it that way," Tosh replied. "I'm not sure, but I wouldn't bet that they wouldn't turn you in."
Even though he already knew that, hearing Tosh confirm it hurt. "How did you know I was here?"
"I had an automated program to alert me if the CCTV picked you up," Tosh explained.
Jack berated himself for not being as careful as he should have been. For hours he had religiously avoided the CCTV, keeping in the blind spots. But this time he had been careless.
Tosh could barely believe that this shadow of a man was the flamboyant boss she had worked for just a few years before. Her compassion outweighed her horror about the atrocities she had seen him commit on the Valiant. "How have you been Jack, and is there anything you need?"
"I'm fine," he replied. "I have everything I need, and I'm keeping a low profile."
"Where have you been living?"
"I don't think I'd better tell you where I live now," Jack answered with a grimace.
"Did UNIT mistreat you?" Tosh asked guiltily. "I tried to get the others to get you assigned to us, but they wouldn't even consider it."
"Mistreat?," Jack repeated, staring off into the distance. "That all depends on what you think the proper treatment of a treasonous convicted torturer is." He shivered, and then folded his arms around himself.
"How are you all?" Jack asked, changing the subject hurriedly. "I watched the others go to lunch."
"We're fine," she assured him. "No one has been seriously injured. Gwen married Rhys, and Owen's got himself a steady girlfriend." There was a note of sadness in her eyes as she said this, that Jack picked up on, although she was trying to be happy for Owen. "We had to find a couple of extra staff to help and they are working out well."
"And Ianto?" Jack asked, keeping the longing out of his voice, but Tosh could see it in his eyes.
"He's fine. Just getting on with the job."
"Does he ever mention me?"
Tosh looked down, "I'm sorry, no he doesn't."
"I still love him," Jack told her softly.
"I know you do."
Pulling himself together, Jack straightened and prepared to leave. "Don't tell anyone I was here. Please."
"Of course I won't. Goodbye Jack." And she watched him walk away.
