TITLE: To Separate The Lies From Truth
PART THREE OF SERIES: The Five Elements (AU Verse)
CHAPTER SUMMARY: Jack mourns the past and present, while Ianto struggles with what he's discovered
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Torchwood or Doctor Who which is unlucky because Jack and Ianto deserve so much more!
WORDS: 2300
NOTES: I had trouble writing the second half of this chapter, I hope Ianto's not too OOC, I just needed this to happen to lead to something in the next few chapters.
Chapter 8: Clutching at Straws (2006)
29th November 2006
Mourning was something Jack could say with firm confidence he'd had the most practise with, and mourning in private and secret came a close second.
In recent years, he would have turned to Ianto for support, even if the other didn't know exactly why he was down - the subject of his past family having yet to come up with his lover. Yet despite their new closeness from their bond, Ianto had for some reason been avoiding him, even going as far as blocking their link.
Therefore, today he shadowed the edge of the cemetery alone once again. As usual after the death of an old friend or ex-lover, Jack had not been invited to the funeral, but that didn't stop him from attending. He couldn't allow himself to be seen however, either because it would bring along unwanted questions about his age, but more likely because he just wasn't welcome. This would certainly be the latter.
Lucia Moretti had once been as fiery as her Italian name implied. It had been years since he'd last seen her, but Jack remembered her as a vibrant woman, hot-tempered but full of passion - an overall force to be reckoned with. When she'd wanted something, she went after it, letting nothing and no one stand in her way, something that had both drawn her to Torchwood, and ultimately to Jack in the beginning, as well as being what had eventually driven her away.
'No' Jack mused. It had been the fear of his immortality that had done that, but no matter what little resentment he had for Lucia for depriving him of being a father, he could still remember the affection he'd once held for her, and it was favourable to see a Torchwood operative die from old age for once.
He hadn't seen his daughter since that first unsuccessful visit either. He'd kept an eye on them mind, but it had been clear two years ago, that Lucia had managed to drive all the devotion Alice had once held for him from her, but he hoped it wasn't unredeemable. Maybe he should have tried harder to find her sooner, been a part of her childhood. Make no mistake he'd poured everything into searching over the years, but over time he'd begun to believe she would never be found, and the search had slowed to almost nothing before he'd met Ianto and his nephew. Maybe subconsciously he had believed they were better off, safer and happier without the dangers him and Torchwood would bring.
He watched the proceedings coming to an end from his distance, shadowed by the trees. Not only had he missed his daughter's life, but each passing moment he was aware he was missing more and more of his only grandchild's. Steven stood by his mother, dressed smartly for the occasion, and looking a lot taller from when he'd last seen him (even while slouched from his clear boredom, Jack couldn't help but chuckle as he noticed).
As the crowd started to disperse, he stepped back further into the shadows, hoping to avoid being spotted, but it seemed his presence hadn't gone unnoticed after all, as he saw his daughter start to approach him. Jack forced himself not to disappear, instead bracing himself for the inevitable confrontation.
"What do you want?" Alice asked without ceremony once in range, her voice void of any emotion.
"Nothing, you weren't meant to see me." Jack's hands scrunched in his pockets nervously as he evaded her searching gaze. "You made it clear I wasn't welcome."
"Yet still you came." Alice eyes narrowed into small slits. "Why?"
"For the same reason you did." Jack shrugged. "Your mother might have had her issues with me, but that doesn't just overwrite the times we spent together. I know it probably won't mean much from me, but even so I'm sorry for your loss."
"You're right it doesn't."
Jack held back his flinch, instead straightening himself up at the reproach. It was a habit he still had from as long ago as the agency. "Did you read my letter?" He asked, changing the subject even though he could already guess the answer - that the envelope he'd handed over that day containing his brief letter and cheque had remained unopened, if it had even made it past the first bin it'd passed in the first place. At least he knew that the money hadn't moved from his account, but he'd instead made the payment to the nursing home himself, by the form of an anonymous donation.
Alice, however, was saved from answering as Steven scampered towards them. "Mum!"
"Steven, I told you to stay with Dad." Alice chided, but wrapped an arm around her son's shoulders regardless.
"He got another phone call and left." Steven sighed, disappointed but with a tone that suggested this was the new normal. "He said not to expect him back tonight until late."
Alice's face morphed into one of supressed annoyance, causing Jack to wonder exactly what was transpiring within his daughter's marriage, but he knew he was in no position to judge or question.
"Who are you?" Steven asked, looking up at him nervously. "Did you know my Gran?"
"Yeah, I knew your Gran." Jack squatted down to his grandson's level and held out his hand. "Captain Jack Harkness."
"Whoa!" Steven exclaimed loudly, shaking the offered hand. "Are you in the army?"
"Not quite, I'm afraid." Jack replied. He was subconsciously aware of Alice pursing her lips beside him at the exchange, but surprisingly she remained silent. "But I used to be in the air force."
"Cool! I want to be in the army when I grow up."
Unfortunately, it was at that precise moment that Alice decided their conversation had gone on for long enough. "Come on, Steven. We have to meet the others back at the house. We don't want to be late."
"Oh." Steven frowned, then looked back at Jack as he stood back up. "Are you coming too? We have cake."
Jack caught a glance at Alice's impassive expression, and sighed. "Not today I'm afraid Soldier, but you enjoy it for both of us, yeah?"
~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~
30th November 2006
Ianto sat on his sofa at 6am the next morning, shoving down the instinct to get an early start at the Hub, in case Jack was up and around. It didn't take any of his highly tuned empathic abilities to know Jack was decidedly confused by his current avoidance tactics, but Ianto's thoughts were too muddled and hurt himself to take much notice.
The more and more he researched on what he'd found in Suzie's place, the more like truth it started to seem, but that meant Jack had lied. If Torchwood Three had been involved like the report suggested, plus Jack having read the file he currently had in front of him, how couldn't he have known. He still couldn't understand why however, that Jack, who'd been wanting answers about himself for over a century, hadn't shared the answers he'd found on Ianto.
Fortunately, Jack had been out on some unknown errand the previous afternoon. He had said to call if the world was at risk of ending, but while the day had been hectic it had unfortunately not been as drastic enough to justify being classed as 'world-ending'. Yet, while normally he would have slept like a rock afterwards, his mind had been too active to sleep for more than a couple hours, unsettled dreams and thoughts dragging his from his bed at only 3am that morning.
He picked up his file once again, taking another look at the report that had scrapped all his previous beliefs on where and what had happened before he was held captive at Torchwood One. He'd already read it word for word since he'd first found it earlier that month, and probably had it memorised, but still he stared at the papers, hoping for something new to jump out the page.
The human brain has confused scientists from the very start, having thousands of differing functions that keep us alive and intelligent. Experimentation and research have displayed however, that the main activity in the brain is centred in only specific regions such as the Cerebral cortex, whereas scientists debate that other areas of the brain are more dormant and aren't being used to their full potential. The Institute of Neuroscience in Cardiff…
Ianto skimmed the rest of the document that detailed the Institute's trials and hypothesis', his eyes drawn once again to the separate section at the bottom, the one that had actually caught his attention the first time he'd read it.
In late 1995, the Institute came under investigation after multiple reports of unethical experimentations on abducted minors, between the ages of 10-15. The accounts from disgruntled employees, who were also reporting cases of the experiments resulting in Telekinesis and Aerokinesis were at first denied as truth, but after reports of multiple child fatalities from electrotherapy in early 1996, the facility was raided supposedly by the mysterious Torchwood (that has been rumoured to be based in Cardiff for years) and ultimately shut down. The raid resulted in no arrests, the facility having been deserted, but evidence was collated to suggest that two adolescent survivors – names and ages unknown – escaped during the raid. How they invaded the authorities has been kept classified, but it was rumoured that the experiments were funded by an Dr R Tanizaki, but all claims were denied, and no further action was taken.
The report ended there, but the questions still nagged him, no matter how many times he'd read it. There wasn't any proof in the report that he'd been one of the escaped two, and there was nothing about the raid in Torchwood's archives, but it was clear both Torchwood One and Suzie had thought the connection to much of a coincidence to think he wasn't.
He dropped the file on the sofa beside him, before opening his laptop, and clicking the search icon at the top of his screen. He carefully copied the name of the facility from the report into google.
As expected, nothing in the results gave him any more information other than that the facility had been abandoned for years, and while the name Dr R Tanizaki was a renowned and respected scientist by the public, there was no mention of the facility in any if the webpages, and with only a moment's hesitation he clicked open google maps, and noted down the address, before calling a taxi. While the burns on his leg had almost healed, the muscles were still weakened by the injury, meaning Owen still wasn't comfortable with him driving.
Getting dressed while he waited, he couldn't help but wonder why he was going. Maybe a part of him was hoping that seeing the building with his own eyes would spark some memories. Then maybe he could figure out the rest himself.
"Wait here." Ianto asked the driver as he pulled up beside the curb outside the facility. He handed over half the cash as assurance before grabbing his cane. "I'll only be a few minutes."
From first glance the building wasn't much to be seen. Surrounded by a security fence, he couldn't get close, but even from his distance, it was clear it had been abandoned for years, looking as if it could be demolished at the click of a finger. He stalked the perimeter, looking for a weak spot in the fence, but the place had almost been sealed up tighter than the Hub's own security. Probably to stop teenagers breaking in and using the area as a haunt. The building was most likely unstable and dangerous.
He racked his brain, trying to find the smallest detail in the area that might jog his memory, but he got nothing before a loud, impatient blast of the horn from the taxi disrupted his search and he sighed. He should have known.
He returned to the car, disheartened by the lack of lead. However, just as the taxi had pulled out away from the curb, his phone chimed from an unknown number.
07495 847453: Is this Ianto Jones? I saw you outside the facility.
Ianto spun around to glance out the Taxi window at the surrounding area, but he couldn't see anyone from his vantage point. He didn't know who it was from, but he was actually more interested in why they had his number and why were they interested in the facility?
Ianto: Who is this?
07495 847453: My name's Lisa, do you remember me? We're the same.
~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~
A few minutes previously
In a plain, discreet car across the street from facility, a slim woman perked up at the sight of movement, watching as Ianto trailed the perimeter of the fence. She'd been staking out the building for months for someone to arrive, and checking the face against the picture on her phone, she keyed her comm. "Target in sight."
"At last!" A male voice returned in her ear as she opened an app on her mobile, and set it scanning for frequencies. "At least Miss Costello was good for something before she skipped town, even if we will never get the glove."
"Took the bait like a fish to water. Phones are synced, I'm accessing the number now." The woman informed, then grumbled under her breath with an annoyed tone. "Finally. Let's get this started."
"Remember my terms, Miss Hallett." The heavily accented voice admonished over the line, having heard her quiet tone. "I'm not paying you to rush this."
"Understood Sir." She muted her end, and pulled up her messages. While she preferred action, for this kind of money she could settle with the slow game.
NOTES: Yay Alice and Steven are back – will be more of them in later chapters. I've loved their concept in Children Of Earth (which of course was ruined in Day 5 but let's mention that no more.)
NEXT-UP: AU of Cyberwoman (but without a Cyberwoman haha)
Thanks for reading, hope it made sense! Please Review!