9.

Ianto entered the backyard of Torchwood Two with the help of Jack's remote control and saw that he wouldn't need to use the code for the back door. All that was left of it was a blackened mess of metal hanging sadly on its hinges.

He stepped into the back room of the store that functioned as a kitchen niche and a work space. Through the open secret door normally hidden behind a moveable bookshelf, Ianto found the corridor that led down to the lift. Just like Torchwood Three, the archive was lying beneath the ground. Ianto saw that all that was left of the door mechanism of the lift was a crater in the wall. He hurried back to the back room and, after some searching, found a crowbar that McIntyre probably used to open crates. He forced the lift doors open and found McIntyre pale and breathing raggedly, sitting leaning against the wall. Worried, he knelt down next to him and put down the bag of medical supplies. "Mr. McIntyre, I'm Ianto Jones from Torchwood Three. Captain Harkness sent me."

"It's just a scratch," McIntyre said and lifted one hand from his thigh. Ianto pulled a face when he saw the amount of blood that stained the jeans and was congealing on the floor. The jeans were ripped, showing a deep, ugly wound. "Just a graze," McIntyre added.

Ianto got stuff out of his bag and proceeded to apply a compression bandage. "I have to get you into the store to call an ambulance, sir."

McIntyre nodded his consent and draped an arm around Ianto's neck while Ianto helped him to his feet carefully.

xxx

Jack turned the wheel sharply, sending the SUV off the street onto the grass of the valley. Gwen grabbed the edge of her seat anxiously and heard Tosh gasp. Owen cursed, "Damn it! What are you doing?"

The drive along the motorway and then the more rural streets had been bad enough. They'd needed an hour for the trip to Torchwood House a few days ago, now they'd made it in half the time. Gwen hated it when Jack did that. If he put his mind to it, he could drive really fast. They'd never had an accident, but sometimes Gwen was downright scared when Jack was the driver. The police woman in her also bemoaned the reckless speeding and now the fact that they weren't even using the street.

Jack answered, "I'm taking a short cut. They can't drive that fast with the device in the back. We can reach them before they even see Torchwood House."

"Not if you kill us first," Owen hissed.

"Don't be so negative," Jack replied with a grin.

Gwen accidentally bit her tongue when they jolted over the grass and looked at Tosh as if she would be able to make it stop.

Tosh said, "I'm just glad we have shock absorbers."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "We do?"

Owen pointed out the window. "There they are." Gwen carefully leaned to be able to see through the gap in the frontseats. She recognized the white van driving along the street a few hundred metres away. Jack accelerated and Owen groaned. "Where did you learn to drive?"

"You never wanted to know that before," Jack answered.

"There was never a reason to ask."

They jolted onto the tarmac of the street and somewhere, metal was screaming in protest. Gwen hoped they were insured. The car rental company wouldn't be too pleased about damages.

Jack forced the car onto the correct lane and tried to catch up to the van. "Owen, I'm close enough," he said.

Gwen would have laughed at Owen's disbelieving look if she wouldn't have felt sick at the thought of what Jack was about to do.

Owen shook his head. "Oh, please, no!"

Jack raised an eyebrow at him and pushed the button to lower the passenger window.

"I hate you," Owen said, pulling his weapon and opening his seatbelt to lean out of the window. Jack laughed.

Owen was now hanging out the window, trying to point his weapon properly, and shooting. He missed the van twice but the third time was the charm and he managed to hit the back tyre. The van jackknifed as the driver lost control. Gwen knew what would happen next. Acting on instinct, she released her seatbelt and leaned forwards, grabbing Owen's jacket and pulling him back into the car. Her arms wrapped around the headrest and her hands folded across Owen's chest. Jack braked.

The van keeled over and Jack somehow managed to avoid the same fate for the SUV – either because he was lucky or maybe he really was that good. Nevertheless, the car slipped over the tarmac and the driver's side crashed against the floor of the van. Only Gwen's grip stopped Owen from being thrown through the wind shield.

Breathless silence.

Then Jack chuckled.

Owen gasped. "You crazy ..." His words died as if he didn't know how to end the sentence. Gwen heard the door to the SUV open and Tosh getting out. Hurriedly, she let go of Owen and followed her, her gun drawn.

Tosh asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks."

The front passenger door opened and Jack pushed Owen out impatiently before following him. The driver's door had to be badly damaged. The four of them walked around the van, their weapons at the ready. There was a man lying on the street a few meters away. Owen ran over to him but Gwen could see that he was dead. The leader of the group and Joel Howe were lying next to the van. They didn't seem too badly hurt. Joel was staring at the dead man in shock while the leader pulled his weapon clumsily. Jack kicked it out of his hand.

The man yelled at him, "You could have killed us!"

"You risked the same by trapping us in that house," Jack replied. He looked questioningly at Owen who shook his head. Owen came back to them and started to examine the two men while Gwen and Jack kept their weapons trained on them. Tosh hurried to the back doors of the van.

Joel's dark eyes were wide with shock. "Shit. Bailey."

"Bailey should have worn a safety belt," Jack said.

Tosh said, "Jack, the device seems to be okay."

"Good," he replied. He activated his comm link. "Ianto."

Gwen didn't bother activating her comm link. She kept an eye on the leader who was staring at Jack with utter hate. She wasn't worried about Joel. He seemed too shocked to do anything but sit there but the leader was another thing.

"That's good," Jack answered to whatever Ianto had told him. "We need a van and the police here. Use my mobile to track us. And ensure that we get the approval to move prisoners back to Cardiff. The Prime Minister should be able to arrange something."

The leader snorted derisively. "We're going nowhere with you."

"Yes, you are," Jack answered. "And you're lucky … you're very lucky that Archie McIntyre is still alive. Or I would kill you right now."

xxx

Ianto knocked on the door and entered McIntyre's hospital room. He was resting in bed, his leg lifted up by a pillow, and looked at Ianto curiously. "What's happening out there, lad?"

"They have them," Ianto answered. "The device didn't take any damage. One of the men died but the other two are coming back to Cardiff with us."

McIntyre nodded. "That's good."

"The captain asked me to inform you that he would love to come and see you but that he has preparations for the journey to tend to. The Prime Minister is organizing a plane for us but the flight leaves within the hour. Captain Harkness is dropping the device off at Torchwood Two and you can send it to us via courier. He sends his best and will call you."

McIntyre nodded again. He didn't answer, he just stared at Ianto with a curious expression.

Silence descended, then Ianto said, "I have to leave now, sir."

"Jack told Archie about you, Ianto."

Surprised, he looked up at McIntyre. "He … he did?"

"He talks about everybody on his team," McIntyre said. "But you … Archie knows you. He couldn't remember your name but he never forgets a face."

Ianto stepped closer to the bed. "I was here for a course, sir."

"Torchwood One."

"Yes, sir."

"Archie remembers you from back then, lad. Smart, organized ..." He smiled. "And you had emotional perception."

"That's what Torchwood One told me, sir."

"Don't call Archie 'sir'. Jack might like it but he doesn't."

Ianto opened his mouth to answer but he didn't quite know what to say, so he closed it again.

McIntyre looked at him thoughtfully. "An interesting gift, empathy. Useful when dealing with Jack, that's for sure."

"Oh," Ianto said with a nervous smile. "I was never trained, s ..." He pressed his lips together.

McIntyre smiled. "You're a good boy. Jack likes you. You're good at your job. Why are you so sad, then?"

The question hit Ianto out of nowhere. "You … are a trained empath?"

McIntyre nodded. "A curse and a blessing."

Ianto ducked his head.

"Come here," McIntyre said, waving him closer. Ianto obeyed hesitantly. Actually, he wanted to leave. He felt uncomfortable talking like this to McIntyre who he didn't even know. McIntyre chuckled. "It's okay," he said. "No need to be ashamed." He looked at Ianto attentively through his golden glasses and then he said, "Jack Harkness is a very special man."

Ianto didn't know why McIntyre was telling him this, so he didn't answer.

"Archie knows it's probably easy to fall in love with him, but not as easy to actually love him."

Ianto swallowed. "I need to leave now."

"If you really love him – and Archie thinks you do, he can feel it –, then you'll let him go when his time comes."

Ianto took a nervous breath. "I don't want to stop him."

"That's good, lad."

Ianto crossed his arms. He felt naked and vulnerable, unable to turn around and walk away.

"Don't worry," McIntyre said softly. "Archie's harmless."

"I don't want … stop it," Ianto said softly.

"Then stop Archie, lad."

"I can't."

"Yes. Yes, you can."

Ianto shook his head.

"Close your eyes," McIntyre said. Ianto obeyed and McIntyre made a satisfied noise. "Can you feel Archie being here with you?"

Ianto frowned in concentration. He heard McIntyre's breaths …

"Don't think about hearing or seeing. You have to feel him."

Ianto was clueless. "How?"

"Do you feel something that doesn't belong to you?"

Ianto shook his head.

"Come on, lad, Archie's making it easy for you."

A numb feeling in Ianto's leg. It was like background noise among his loud emotions of confusion, fear and embarrassment … "Pain."

"Good," McIntyre said. "Now that you have it, imagine you're switching it off."

Ianto tried but the pain stayed. "I can't."

"You have to focus, lad."

Ianto concentrated. His own emotions reduced to background noise and the pain became all he felt. And then he pushed it away.

"Good," McIntyre said. "Very good. You're blocking Archie."

Ianto opened his eyes. With concern, he saw that McIntyre had become rather pale and was pressing down on the wound in his leg.

Shocked, he asked, "What are you doing?" He wanted to rush around the bed but his legs gave out and he collapsed, gasping for breath.

"Stay calm," McIntyre said. "That was exhausting for you. Take a few minutes."

Ianto wiped a hand down his face and noticed that it was sweaty and his hands were trembling. Carefully, he sat up and then down on the edge of the bed. McIntyre's hand touched his and Ianto looked up at him.

"Archie wanted to make it easier for you to find the feeling," McIntyre explained, "so he had to make the pain worse." He smiled. "You're good, lad. You don't carry your heart on your sleeve and you control your emotions and that's what makes you talented. You know all about control. Believe Archie. If you practise long enough, you will be able to block emotions and to project them. And you'll be able to do it within seconds. Without keeling over."

"Why would I want that?" Ianto asked.

McIntyre's eyes became sad. "Jack needs someone who can understand him. He was alone for too long. Archie's worried about him."

Ianto swallowed. "Me, too."

"Archie knows. You understand that he'll leave?"

"Yes."

"It would be better for you not to stop him."

Ianto shook his head. "I didn't plan on it."

McIntyre looked at him thoughtfully. "Good," he finally said. "Jack … he needs somebody who can accept that. And Archie will not be around forever."