TITLE: To Separate The Lies From Truth
PART THREE OF SERIES: The Five Elements (AU Verse)
CHAPTER SUMMARY: Jack thought a quick trip to the country would help after all the disruption lately – boy he was wrong.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Torchwood or Doctor Who which is unlucky because Jack and Ianto deserve so much more!
WORDS: 4000
Notes: SORRY! I know I meant to post yesterday, but I went on a day trip to London, and didn't get back till near midnight and immediately crashed out! But in return here is one of the longest chapters of mine ever…. So, let's go!
Chapter 17: Countrycide (2007)
18th April 2007
Jack was good at a lot of things in life. Recently however, Ianto figured being subtle was not very high on the list.
A week before, after nearly 6 months of recovery, Ianto had finally been cleared by Owen for full fieldwork (not just the small non-strenuous bits he'd been doing), but this would be first major stint in the field since. He'd been relieved to at last get back in action – all the while the team was a man down there was more of a chance something would go wrong – and his leg hadn't bothered him much for almost two months now, but Jack hadn't budged on the subject without Owen's seal of approval.
Not that he felt they'd actually get much action on this mission, Ianto thought, as he checked each item off his mental list as he loaded camping gear into the SUV.
The Police had been requesting their assistance on a case involving a series of mysterious disappearances in the Brecon Beacons for months, but until now Jack had yet to act on it.
While Ianto agreed the situation in the countryside was serious, there wasn't anything so far that suggested Torchwood's involvement was needed. The rift didn't stretch that far from Cardiff, and there had been no non-contemporary or extra-terrestrial sighting to imply the disappearances were anything more unusual than your average, if professional, serial killer.
All the same, Ianto thought, he hoped they would at least find something they could pass onto the Police, at least to prevent the next person from being abducted, but whatever excuses Jack gave, he knew the Captain didn't expect this to be a working trip. True, another woman had gone missing a few days prior, but even so, the timing was too much of a coincidence. After everything that had happened to the team in the previous months from Suzie to Jasmine and the Fae, combined with Ianto's renewed field work status, he supposed Jack felt the trip would be beneficial to them all.
There had also been another change. This time for him and Jack. The reveal of Ianto having been a Chosen One, and that his powers were that similar of the Fae's, had somewhat been a difficult one for them both, but Jack had been very adamant to prove that he was in no way going to judge Ianto, or even the Fae, based solely on his one of two past experiences with them. While he hadn't budged on his distaste for the Fae's concept of justice, or for their treatment of Estelle, he begun to put aside his prejudices to understand that every chosen one had a choice on whether or not they wanted to leave.
If he were honest however, Ianto actually agreed with Jack on most of his points. Learning the truth hadn't been all so easy for him either. Remembering almost every moment of his father's past treatment of him, had dug up many past insecurities he'd once buried.
"I might have said this more than once already today, but those jeans should be illegal." Jack emerged from the Hub, into the garage. "Got everything?"
"Other than Owen's medical kit." Ianto replied, rolling his eyes at the first comment. "If I recall he said it need restocking first."
"I'll call him in early for that before the others." Jack turned back towards the door, but paused as if remembering something. "Oh, and whatever you do don't mention the word 'camping' to the others. Thought it'd be a nice surprise."
"A surprise attempt at giving Owen a brain aneurysm more likely." Ianto joked.
~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~
As expected, Owen almost had a seizure when the word finally slipped in their conversation while they ate their cheeseburgers. The rest of the team almost couldn't contain their laughter.
"What's the matter with a hotel?" Owen protested as they continued to unpack the SUV. The girls were sharing one tent, Jack and Ianto had another, and Owen had relented to having his own. It was a big flip up on being alone vs sharing with two of the others.
"People are going missing round here. Do you really wanna stay in a place run by strangers?"
"Oh, because sleeping outside is going to be a lot safer."
"No other race in the universe goes camping." Jack argued, dumping the tent on the ground where it would be pitched. "Celebrate your own uniqueness."
The rest of the camp was pitched in under an hour – bar from Owen's tent who was still struggling to assemble even the framework. Ianto suspected he'd have more luck should he have chosen to follow the instructions, but that suggestion had quickly been shut down. Jack was perched in the SUV, conferring the map of the nearby area, while he and other started unpacking the various equipment from the wooden crates.
"Oh, come on. It's just a bit of fun. Who was the last person you snogged?" Gwen asked, having decided on a game to pass the time. "Mine was Rhys."
"Yeah, well, there's a surprise." Owen snarked. "You know you sound like an eight-year-old, right? Who the hell says snog?"
Gwen glared but ignored him, turning to direct at Toshiko. "Tosh, your go."
"It's easy for you." She murmured, shaking her head. It was clear from her awkwardness he could sense through his shields that Tosh would rather not play.
"Oh, come on." Gwen urged, not noticing her discomfort. "Spill the beans."
"Owen." She blurted, eventually. Ianto hadn't expected that and by the look of it neither had any of the others. Their surprise must have shown as Tosh explained further. "Three am, Christmas Eve, in front of the Millennium Centre, waiting for a cab. I had mistletoe."
"Christmas? That was 4 months ago." Owen returned, disbelievingly as he sat on one of the crates in the centre of camp. "You've not had a snog since?"
"Nope." Tosh answered, looking slightly hurt now by the conversation. "Go on then. If you're so shocked, who was yours?" Her tone sounded slightly challenging
Owen hesitated a few minutes, then sighed embarrassed. "Okay fine, it was Tosh." Everyone stared at him, shocked and he threw his arms up exasperatedly. "What? Pub Life has been slow recently. When I actually get to go, that it. At least one benefit of Teaboy being back in the field will there be at least one night off once in a while."
"Thanks, I appreciate the concern." Ianto snarked, joining the conversation for the first time. "You can probably guess mine."
Owen automatically turned to Jack for corroboration, and Ianto was glad the centre of attention was no longer on him.
"Jack?"
"Well, it depends on your definition of a snog..." Jack started, folding up the map in his hands. "...and whether we're including non-human lifeforms."
"Oh, come off it, Harkness." Owen grouched. "We all know it was Jonesy."
"Nope." Ianto cut in before Jack could answer. "If I recall correctly, he's asking whether kissing Moses goodbye this morning when we handed him back to Estelle is applicable or not."
"You kissed a cat!?"
"That is disgusting."
"I never know when you two are joking."
The rest of the teams' exclamations were heard over each other as it was Jack's turn to throw his arms up in protest.
"Ianto!"
"Indeed." Ianto replied, ignoring Jack's objections over their bond. "Which is why I've refused to kiss him since. At least until tomorrow morning at the earliest."
"Harkness in the doghouse! Thought I'd never see the day." Owen crowed. "Or would 'cathouse' be more accurate in this scenario?"
"Well, I'm sorry that Moses and I finally bonded during our time together, after him ignoring me so much." Jack complained.
"Of course that was the reason."
"Okay, okay! Enough of hounding the boss." Jack cut in, clearly having had enough of the conversation. "Owen, Gwen, we need more firewood."
"Hey! Why us?!" Owen grouched, not liking the idea of trudging through the woodland. "Ianto started it."
"Because I said so." Jack ordered. "Besides, Ianto got the first load."
~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~
The first sign of trouble came in the form of a disgusting, half-rotten corpse in the woods.
Then the SUV was stolen.
"Looks like that body wasn't a warning. More of a decoy." Jack mused, speaking aloud what Ianto himself had just been considering. He hoped it hadn't been true of course as that meant they're arrival hadn't gone unnoticed. He pulled out his PDA, wondering if he'd be able to get a signal out here in the countryside.
"That would mean we've been watched since we've arrived." Gwen confirmed his thoughts yet again, as Jack turned to Toshiko.
"Tosh, can you get a tracking signal?"
"Already done. I took the liberty." He answered for her, as his device finally connected. "It's currently 3.4 miles west from here. Stationary for the past four minutes."
Gwen took the map from Jack's hands, tracing her finger westward from their current location. "There's a small village in that area. Other than that, nothing for thirty miles."
"Call me suspicious, but this has all the hallmarks of a trap." Owen predicted, scuffing his shoe in the dusty earth.
"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing." Jack answered. "Anyone fancy a walk?"
The village of Brynblaidd looked derelict and abandoned, but something about it sent shivers down Ianto's spine. Water ran from an outside tap situated not far from the appropriately named 'Tap House', but other than that there was no sign of movement.
"You receiving anything?" Jack asked, opening his bond with Ianto.
Ianto closed his eyes, lowering his shields and trying to focus on what he could read. There definitely was something – other than the rest of the team - but he couldn't interpret stronger what it was.
"Hard to tell." Ianto replied. He would have thought his abilities would at least be able to pick up on whether there was anyone in the area, but even that was unclear. "There's something, but it's like it's clouded."
"Sheilded?"
Ianto shrugged – well the mental version of one. He understood what Jack was suggesting - some telepathic species could block their presence from others, but he didn't think that was what was happening here.
"Maybe, but…"
Owen voice interrupted their mental exchange. "Why would anyone want to live out here?" He asked, sarcastically.
"Has the SUV moved?" Jack ignored the question, instead referring to Ianto, verbally this time for the others' benefit. He checked his PDA before replying.
"Not for an hour now. Signal's still to the west."
"Shouldn't we check if anyone's around?" Gwen asked as they continued walking, but Jack shook his head.
"Until we know what's going on around here, I'm not risking us splitting up." He ordered. "If this is a trap, then there's less chance of us being picked off if we're together."
They discovered the SUV behind a locked and boarded-up building at the top of hill. It had surprisingly not been gutted, with the keys still in the ignition, but while that it meant they were reunited with all of their equipment, it proved whatever was going on around here, it was nothing to do with money or scavenging tech.
A vixen barked loudly in the wood, making them all jump.
"What was that?" Tosh asked, looking around nervously.
"Just a fox I think." Ianto replied, shutting the boot of the SUV after checking their all their belongings.
"But something must have disturbed it." Jack said, getting into the driver's seat of the SUV. "We're too out in the open up here. Time to see if there's room at the inn."
The rest of the team followed suit in getting into the vehicle, most likely glad to have the metal of the car between them and whatever was outside, yet back at the Tap House, things only became worse. The money was still in counter, confirming Ianto's previous thoughts, and the heavy sense of lingering fear, similar to what he'd felt in the aftermath of the battle of Canary Wharf, hung in the air.
It also soon became clear the body in the woods hadn't been alone, when a search of the Pub kitchen and neighbouring cottage revealed two more bodies, in the same mutilated and sickening condition as the first.
Then a door slammed in the distance.
"Something's definitely out there." Gwen alleged, still looking green from finding the bodies, her gun raised once again in response to the sound. "Whatever did this can't be human."
"Do you think there's more than one?" Tosh queried. "They'd have to fast otherwise, to be the same person from the hill."
"There's another two houses. We'd better take a look." Jack declared, heading back outside of the first cottage.
Ianto followed, simply keen to get away from the rotting and metallic smell of the bodies and blood. A sweep of the second cottage luckily revealed no third body, but as Jack tried the door of the third, it wouldn't open.
"Locked?" Ianto asked, tightening his grip on his gun.
"Yep." Jack replied. The door did open a crack, suggesting it was hooked by a chain. "From the inside."
"Tosh and I'll try the back." He suggested, looking at Tosh behind them to check she was okay with the idea, seeing her nod in agreement.
"Gwen, Owen. Keep the two of them in sight." Jack ordered, still trying to force the door open. "And keep our bond open." He finished silently.
Ianto brushed his presence against Jack's in confirmation, as he and Tosh moved towards the alley at the side of the house, their guns raised protectively. Owen moved as forward as well, to cover their backs, while still being able to see the front of the house as well.
He was getting a clearer sense of someone from inside this house, as Ianto reached out to check the back door, but it didn't seem right after the muddiness he'd been sensing the rest of the time to be whatever was stalking them.
The door handle rattled uselessly, the door also locked, but at that precise moment, the sound of a gunshot echoed through the air and pain seared through Ianto's forehead.
~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~
(A/N:)
(So, so , so tempting to leave that there…)
(…but luckily I'm not that mean…)
(…it seems I have learnt my lesson….)
(…which I'm sure you're very thankful for at this precise moment!)
~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~
"Jack!"
"Put the gun on the floor! Put the gun down on the floor!"
Ianto heard Owen and Gwen shouting before he'd even jumped back down from the backdoor step, racing yards ahead of Tosh back around the side of the house.
"Jack? Jack!" His lover didn't reply either verbally or mentally as he ran, the open bond hazy from pain which as least proved he was alive, but as he turned the final corner he saw Jack sprawled on the ground motionlessly. Owen was already kneeling beside him however, blocking most his view as he ran up and skidded to his own knees next to him. He vaguely registered Gwen aiming her gun through the open door of the cottage. "Owen! What happened?"
"He forced open the door." Owen replied, hurriedly. "A kid hit him with a shotgun."
Ianto grabbed Jack's closest arm, holding it tightly. His eyelids flickered slightly but otherwise the latter didn't react. "What can I do?"
"Help him up. I need to have a look now." Owen instructed, hooking his arm underneath Jack's back. "We're too exposed out here. Move. Get in."
This time Jack did react as they lifted him into Ianto's arms. He yelled out in pain as the wound was jostled, and Ianto tightened his hold reflexively, trying to keep the other as still as possible. "I got you, I got you."
Tosh held open the doors as they moved through the house, passing Gwen and the clearly terrified kid on the staircase, as Owen swept everything off the kitchen table so he could place Jack gently on top. He hadn't made another sound since the first scream, and lay limp and still on the table, the only sign of life was the pain Ianto felt himself, and Jack's own ragged breaths.
"Jack?" Ianto shook Jack's shoulder to try and rouse him. While he knew Jack would eventually be alright and hated the pain his lover felt when injured, he hated the agony and fear of his revivals more. Plus, Jack still hadn't figured out when or how he was going to share his immortality with the others, and they both would agree this wasn't the best choice. He hoped it wouldn't get to that point. "Jack, can you hear me?"
"Stay with us, Captain." Owen added, ripping open his kit.
"I'll check upstairs." Tosh informed from the doorway, worried but not wanting to be a distraction for the medic.
Ianto nodded towards her, looking back quickly as Owen pushed open flaps of Jack's greatcoat, then peeled back the bloodied shirt from his side, revealing a scattered array of pellet marks across the skin, each one still sluggishly leaking blood.
"Okay, this isn't good, but it could've been much worse." Owen breathed. "Our fearless leader here was lucky."
"Actually, I think I'm feeling rather unlucky at the moment." A quiet voice rasped from the table, almost inaudibly.
Ianto's gaze snapped towards Jack's face to see two pale blue eyes squinting up at them through a haze of pain. "Jack? You with us?"
"Hurts." Jack's legs began to draw inwards instinctively, as Ianto saw Owen palpating the area surrounding the wound. Jack glared at Owen with enough force he could muster. "You're not exactly filling me with confidence." He whispered, his voice scratchy.
"The pellets are lodged near the surface, but they're in the range of some of your vital organs so you need to stay still while I get them out." Owen merely replied, using his arm to stop Jack's legs from moving. "Here…."
At that moment, Owen jabbed Jack with a needle, taking him by surprise.
"Hey?! What happened to the warning about feeling a small prick?" Jack protested weakly but even as he did, Ianto felt the pain they were both feeling thankfully start to fade to a dull ache.
"With you? You've got to be kidding." Owen exclaimed, affronted by the suggestion. "I know well enough to leave all that up to Teaboy over there."
"Thanks." Ianto piped up, half sincerely, half sarcastically.
"Just get it over it!" Jack snapped, gritting his teeth and readying himself.
"Cool it Captain. I'm doing it now. Just lie back and think of Torchwood." Owen started, then changed his mind at Jack's glare. "Actually, Ianto, distract him would you."
"Certainly." He bent forward, placing a gentle kiss on Jack's lip with the other returned eagerly.
"Thought you weren't kissing me till tomorrow." Jack teased when they parted, it had taken all his effort not to move further into the kiss, but he had to agree it had definitely succeeded in distracting him from Owen's administrations.
"I think getting shot supersedes the doghouse." Ianto replied, grinning. "Unless it doesn't put you in there in the first place, but I can safely say this one wasn't all your fault."
"Why couldn't he have been a better shot and killed me?" Jack asked over their bond, wincing in pain as Owen dug out another fragment.
"Don't even go there." Ianto rebuked. "If not for yourself, the last thing I would want today is to have explain your immortality to the others."
"I agree. Not the best place to have that conversation."
"Is there any place that is?" Ianto countered.
"I'll let you know when I find one."
Despite the fact they weren't talking aloud to begin with, Ianto had to purse his lips not to say anything else. He would prefer that Jack never got into the situation where he'd have to explain another death to the others.
"Ah, you beauty." Owen interrupted suddenly, holding up the final piece of buckshot, the sight of which made Ianto stomach roll. "Come on. I'm good."
"I would still prefer no-one to get shot in the first place." Jack quipped. The kid Gwen was guarding from the doorway, looked up the words.
"I'm sorry. I thought you were them." Tears were streaming down the kid's face as he shook in fear. "I thought they'd come back for me."
"Thought who'd come back for you?" Jack demanded. The deep breath it took to raise his voice, pulling at his wounds as Owen taped a bandage over them. "Who?"
"Jack, not now." Ianto cut in, feeling Jack's pain intensifying. "You need to rest."
"No, we need to move somewhere more secure. We still don't know what we're dealing with." Jack returned, authoritatively. "We can make base at the pub."
Ianto nodded, agreeing. The walls and doors at the pub would be a lot stronger than this small cottage. Owen started packing his equipment back into his kit, while Gwen stood next to the boy in the doorway, still guarding the front door and staircase, but Ianto froze as he noticed someone was missing.
"Where's Tosh?"
Gwen looked confused at the question. "She went to check upstairs, why?"
Ianto shook his head. "She should've been back by now."
"She might have found something." Owen countered.
"Or she could be dead." The words were rewarded by a furious gaze from everyone else in the room which the teenager quickly tried to rectify in a calm voice. "Well, everyone else is."
Owen and Gwen shared a look before grabbing their guns and racing upstairs. Ianto moved to follow, but stopped when he heard a groan of pain from behind him, and he turned to see Jack trying to sit up.
"Where do you think you're going?" Ianto protested, trying to stop him moving further. "You'll make yourself bleed again."
"I'm fine. Just help me up." Jack argued, still struggling to his feet whether Ianto helped or not. "Tosh needs our help."
"You can't do anything! They're gonna kill us!" The boy cried, voice hysteric.
Jack almost fell forward as soon as he took his hands from the table, Ianto catching and holding him upright to stop him faceplanting the floor. Jack's lower half was clearly still weakened by the drugs Owen had given.
"Sit down! Both of you." Ianto ordered, which they both obeyed immediately, Jack slumping back down exhaustedly onto the table while the boy slid down to the floor. Any other time he would have found it amusing but his fear for Tosh overshadowed it.
"What's your name?" He turned to the teenager who still looked on the brink of a panic attack.
"Kieran." He answered, shakily, looking surprised at being asked his name. "Look, whatever's out there, it's not human! My mum won't know what's happened. She's not expecting me back till the weekend!"
"Look, we'll get you home, okay?" Jack promised, from over on the table.
"What are you going to do? You can't fight them, they're too strong. The only thing we can do is barricade the door."
The thundering of footsteps back down the stairs hailed the return of Owen and Gwen, but any optimism Ianto had that Tosh had just been taking longer than usual, vanished when they appeared through the doorway to the kitchen shakily their heads dejectedly.
Tosh had been taken.
Notes: Hides Ok maybe I haven't learnt my lesson entirely….but as promised, finally some Jack whump! I was going along with the fact that because Jack is bigger and taller than Gwen the bullets/pellets would have hit him in a slightly different location – more centrally.
Please review – next chapter up tomorrow. This countrycide arc covers 3 chapters total and takes an unexpected turn so watch out!
Sorry again and see you tomorrow.
