Chapter 36
Deep in the bowels of the Hub, the flickering emergency lights cast eerie shadows onto the floor of the enclosed space, the unopened metal box with its wire fastening danced to and fro across the wall of sealed drawers opposite them. Jack wondered if the small, yet sturdy examination table in the centre of the room would have any effect if hurled with sufficient force at the door mechanism. He doubted it. However, one thing he was certain of was that he would survive, even if he died first. But Ianto was already showing signs of distress, no doubt exacerbated by the effects of that damn drug. Even in the poor lighting, he could see his chest heaving with the effort to get in more air. If he wasn't careful he would start to hyperventilate.
"Hey there, take it easy… you need to breathe slowly, come on now." Jack tried to soothe Ianto, and then noticed that not only was he shivering, he actually felt cold to the touch as well. "You cold?"
"Yep …" Ianto dragged Jack's arm over him like a blanket, wanting to wrap himself up in the warmth of his lover.
It wasn't surprising. Ianto was in a thin cotton dress shirt and waistcoat, whereas Jack was wearing one of his heavier duty cotton shirts over the top of an undershirt. Ianto also claimed that Jack generated as much heat as a small furnace.
Jack watched as Ianto stifled a yawn and frowned, drowsiness was a symptom of carbon dioxide poisoning, he had to do something to keep him awake, keep him focused.
"Are you sure there's not a way out of here? In the movies the hero always finds something, like a trap door or a grill to a ventilation duct. There's got to be something – come on now, think, you say you know this place better than the back of my neck-"
"That's not the way I put it and you know it!" Ianto rolled his eyes at the image Jack was creating in his imagination. "No, there isn't a way out. We're in the vaults, Jack. They are secure for a reason, to stop anyone taking anything out without appropriate authorisation."
"So, no trapdoors under the table?" Jack pulled Ianto around and into his lap, so that the younger man's back was pressed against his chest and he could wrap his arms about him to keep him warm. He leant his chin on Ianto's shoulder and nodded in the direction of the table.
"There are no levels below this one, so no trapdoors I'm afraid. And before you ask, the ventilation ducts are too narrow for anything bigger than a hamster to get through. So unless you have a secret power, that I am as yet unaware of, which involves shrinking to the size of a gerbil, we're stuffed."
"OK, so we're not going to crawl along the ducts together. Shame, I'd let you go in front so I could stare at your ass. But, you haven't ruled out the existence of a concealed exit or hidden passageway behind that filing cabinet-"
"There isn't – this is the most remote of the vaults. Goodness only knows why Alice decided to relegate those items to the deepest recesses of this part of the Hub. She must have really wanted to make sure they wouldn't be found accidentally."
Although Ianto couldn't see Jack's face, he heard a sharp intake of breath.
"What do you think is in there?" he demanded.
"You stay here." Jack cursed himself for only just putting two and two together. The fact that they had been locked in here just when they had accessed something buried for the past one hundred years was no coincidence. Whatever was in that box meant a hell of a lot to this Patrick guy. He gently pushed Ianto forward so that he could stand up and make his way cautiously to the table.
"Why? What don't you want me to see?" Ianto suspected that Jack had an idea what he'd find in the box, but wasn't prepared to tell him. He got to his feet, shivering, suddenly chilled from the removal of the source of heat and the ominous thoughts that flooded his brain.
"Just stay there, it might be dangerous." Jack held out a hand, trying to prevent Ianto from getting too close.
"Hello?" Ianto took hold of Jack's arm. "Trapped in an airtight room, already in danger."
"OK, but stay behind me and if I say move, you move. Got it?" Jack tried to extract a promise from Ianto by staring at him.
"I'll dive under the table for safety if it starts to tick. Will that do?" Ianto had to concentrate on not rolling his eyes. Otherwise Jack wouldn't believe him.
"Not really, but there aren't many other options I guess."
Jack took the wire cutters from where they had been dropped earlier and cut through the steel cord that held the lid in place. Then he carefully prised open the box, revealing items that shocked him with their familiarity. Alice had done the right thing locking these things away when she did and now he had foolishly opened a virtual Pandora's Box.
"Fuck." Jack swore in an uncharacteristic way, which confused the hell out of Ianto, who didn't know whether to rush to his side in support or crawl under the table with his head in his hands.
"Jack? What is it?"
"Not now." Jack put a finger to his lips and then pocketed the items, before returning the box to the dusty shelf that it had been removed from.
Jack turned to take Ianto in his arms, cupping his head in one hand so his lips were brushing Ianto's ear and whispered softly to him:
"CCTV?"
"None – to maintain security." Ianto had taken the hint and replied just as quietly. "But there is sound surveillance – is that why…?" Ianto trailed off as he realised that Jack didn't want to say anything more if there was the least chance that they would be overheard.
"Sit down with me? We may as well keep warm." Jack dragged Ianto back to the far corner of the room.
"So you've finally taken my word that there aren't any sliding panels or secret trapdoors?" Ianto sighed dramatically.
They settled down in the corner, Jack with his back to the wall, cradling Ianto between his legs and folding his arms across the front of his body to pull him tight to his chest. Ianto was glad to be sitting down again, he'd been starting to feel dizzy and hadn't wanted Jack to notice.
"Well, you do seem convinced that you know your way around every single inch of this place don't you?"
"I do … I definitely know more about it than you do." Ianto smiled as he rested back into Jack's embrace.
"I'll have to put that to the test when this is all over." Jack couldn't resist a challenge, even though he knew that Ianto was just playing along with him for the benefit of any possible eavesdroppers.
"How do you propose to do that?" Ianto twisted around to look Jack in the eye.
"Hide and seek," Jack smirked.
"Isn't that rather childish, even for you?"
"Not the way I play it."
"Dare I ask?"
"Take it in turn to hide – if found within the allotted time, you have to remove an item of clothing, the person that ends up naked first has to submit to whatever the other person wants to do with them or to them… in the location where they are finally found …"
"You just made that up, didn't you?" Ianto had enough experience of Jack's games to know when he was making up the rules as he went along. He always bloody cheated.
"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't play it that way." Jack lifted his chin defiantly.
"You're serious aren't you?"
"What d'you say? Interested?"
Ianto didn't reply straight away. He was beginning to wonder if the conversation had really taken place or whether he'd just imagined it. But they were no longer sitting by the door, so they must have moved at some point. Trying to work out how he'd got from one end of the room to the other just made his head hurt, so he let it fall back onto Jack's shoulder and closed his eyes.
"Ianto? Are you paying attention? Or are you just trying to get out of playing the game because you know you'll lose?" Jack ruffled Ianto's hair, worried that he was drifting off.
"Game?" Ianto sounded muddled and ever so slightly breathless.
"Naked hide and seek?" Jack stroked his hair back into place and gently kissed his head.
"Now?"
"No, there aren't enough places to hide in here." Jack didn't let on that he had noticed Ianto becoming less focused. "Anyway, you don't have your stopwatch, which means you'll only accuse me of cheating. I was thinking of one night when I've sent the kids home early."
"If I survive this, then yes, why not." Ianto was glad that Jack was with him, his warmth surrounding him like a vibrant security blanket.
"I'll hold you to that."
"I imagine you would, sir."
Even though Jack had been attempting to distract Ianto from the fact that the air quality was rapidly diminishing, it did occur to him that the whole concept of naked hide and seek had a lot of potential and he would regret it if he never got the chance to work on the rules in practice.
Meanwhile he held Ianto closer, knowing that if this bastard intended for them to die, he'd succeed in killing his lover and then Jack would make sure he took revenge. It was always possible that he just wanted to wait until they passed out. Either way there was nothing he could do to protect Ianto, all he could do was hold him close and make sure he knew how he felt about him.
"Hey there, you still awake?" Jack whispered. Ianto had been getting heavier it seemed as he began to lose consciousness. His breathing was becoming more laboured and his forehead was damp with sweat.
Jack thought it best to let him sleep. Better to slip away unaware than the alternative. Was it his right to let him die without a chance to scream at the injustice of it all? Yes, because he would scream on his behalf, he'd yell and shout, and curse anyone that tried to stop him until his throat bled.
On the other side of the door stood a tall, slim-built man, wearing a long, dark coat. He had been listening with interest to the muttered conversation inside this vault that he'd eventually located. He smiled grimly as he pushed up the sleeve of his coat and unclipped the cover on a wide, tanned leather strap that circled his wrist.