When the bells above the door jingled Ianto glanced over to see several people in uniform enter the tourist center. He turned his attention back to the women in front of him and deliberately took his time in answering their questions about sights to see while they were visiting. He briefly went to the computer to look up some information for the tourists, using the time to notify those below of an impending visit.
"Oh, it looks like the Army is lost, too!" One of the women exclaimed as she took in the group standing just inside the door. Ianto smiled politely and continued to answer her companion's questions for the next several minutes.
"Ladies, please enjoy your stay here in Cardiff," Ianto said as he escorted them to the entrance. Once they left, he closed the door and locked it, flipping the sign in the window to signify that the office was closed.
"May I help you?" He asked politely as he turned to face the group that awaited him. A quick glance took in the well armed soldiers, three men and two women, behind which stood two military aides and what looked to be a general he hadn't met before. Off to one side, as if to distance himself was another man wearing the insignia identifying him as a major. That man looked slightly familiar, but Ianto returned his concentration to the large man in front of him. The red caps gave away their regimental affiliation.
"This is Torchwood," the general all but barked, clearly confused by the interior of the room. He was a large man, easily Ianto's match in height, but with twice the bulk behind it. The weathered features were fixed in what seemed to be a permanent scowl as he looked at the young man in the impeccable suit.
"That's correct, this is the entrance. How may I help you?" Ianto asked politely, stalling for time as he waited for word from below.
"I want to see Harkness!" The general demanded, looking around the room in an attempt to find the individual he was looking for. Ianto debated asking him to schedule an appointment to see the Captain but judging by how antsy this group looked, he thought that might not go over very well. "And who the hell are you?"
Ianto stared at him a moment, considering his answer. The general hadn't done much homework, apparently. He had a bad feeling about this visit. "Agent Ianto Jones, sir." The man grunted in response.
"One moment," he responded politely. "Let me see if the Captain is available." By the widening of one of the aide's eyes he knew that he had shocked them by not immediately jumping to do the general's bidding. Ianto went behind the counter and pulled up the CCTV view in the hub. He angled the display away from the group and once he saw that Jack was at his desk he picked up the phone. "Good morning, sir. I know your schedule is quite busy this morning but Regiment J from UNIT is here with General Maddock, who would like to request a meeting."
Ianto suppressed a smile at the reaction from the group that he had accurately identified them as he listened to Jack swear on the other end of the phone.
"Christ Ianto, couldn't you have told them I wasn't in?" Jack whined as he pulled up the camera view of the center above him.
"Not possible sir," Ianto responded apologetically. "I'm sure you understand that short of a massive spike in the next few minutes that we will have to accommodate our schedules." He deliberately ignored the glare from the general as he heard Jack sigh heavily.
"So they won't just go away?" Jack had that petulant tone to his voice. Ianto spared a glance at the display in front of him, trying not to laugh as he saw his boss spinning his chair back and forth. He quickly shut down the camera view as one of the aides moved closer to the desk. Besides, he if kept on looking he wouldn't be able to keep a straight face in front of this crowd.
"No, sir. I'm sure I can re-schedule your appointments. Not a problem, sir." Another sigh met his comment.
"All right. Damn the PM for making me do this! But I'm not happy, Ianto. You're going to have to do something about that later," Jack said, blaming Ianto for the UNIT team arrival. "Bring'em down."
"Will do. I'll escort them to the boardroom," Ianto replied as he rang off. He neatly sidestepped the group who turned in surprise as the wall retreated behind them. Two of the soldiers quickly moved to the wall as if to protect the general. Ianto mentally compared that to Jack pushing to the front in a similar situation and shook his head. Reaching the doorway he gestured gracefully at the group. "Please follow me."
The two soldiers stepped smartly behind him, followed by the aides, the major and then the general, with the other soldiers bringing up the rear. Ianto deliberately bypassed the lift in favor of the stairs. If he was going to escort this tin plated dictator into the heart of Torchwood, he was damned well going to make the man earn it.