Chapter 8
Gwen watched as Jack stepped out of his office and scanned the hub, as if looking for something.
"Jack, have you lost something?" Gwen asked from her desk
Tosh gazed up from the program she'd been working on smirking slightly at Jack before getting back to her work.
It had been a few weeks since the incident with Mary and Tosh had settled back into the team happily though she'd developed a stronger friendship with Ianto, which had confused Gwen slightly at first.
But perhaps as they had both lost someone they loved recently they could find comfort and friendship in each other that they needed.
"What?" Jack asked
"Have you lost something?" Gwen repeated rolling her eyes slightly.
"Oh... Um, No. Never mind," Jack said distractedly a small frown on his face.
Without another word Jack turned and made his way down towards the archives.
Gwen watched him in confusion before turning to Tosh
"Is it just me or does Jack seem a little distracted lately?" Gwen asked
"I don't know what you mean," Tosh replied with a shrug not taking her eyes off her work and Gwen could see a twitch of a smile on her face.
Why did she get the feeling Tosh knew something she didn't. Maybe Tosh heard something when she had the pendant on, that might explain it but Gwen was not going to ask and bring up such an awkward topic.
Jack made his way down into the depths of the hub towards the archives in search of his favourite archivist.
"Yan? Hey Ianto you down here somewhere?" Jack called walking down the main corridor passed the many rows of shelving that made up their massive archive.
"Captain?"
Jack practically jumped out of his skin, spinning around to find Ianto leaning casually against the end of one of the rows he'd just passed.
Jack took a moment to admire the lean figure propt up against the end of the row, jacket off and sleeves rolled up, hands in his pocket with a file tucked under his arm it was hard to believe that this gorgeous confident man kept himself so well hidden from the rest of the team behind his 'tea-boy' persona.
"You scared the crap out of me," Jack replied hand to his chest
"I did notice that, sir," Ianto smirked, "Is there something I can do for you?"
"I wanted a second opinion on something," Jack replied walking back to stand in front of the younger man
"And what was that, sir?" Ianto asked curiously
"On... some paperwork..." Jack tried,
Ianto chuckled at Jack's attempt to get his attention and him out of the archives.
"I tell you what sir, why don't I come up and make you a coffee and then I'll help you with whatever paperwork you seem to be having an issue with," Ianto said
Jack grinned at him and was just about to answer when both their earpieces beeped catching their attention.
"What is it?" Jack asked straight down to business
"We've had a call from a Detective Swanson, they're requesting our immediate assistance with a murder investigation down town," Owen's voice came over through their earpiece.
"I'm on my way, gear up and be ready to go in five," Jack ordered cutting the connection.
"Maybe another time then, sir," Ianto said with a smile heading back into the dpeths of the archives with a small smirk unseen to Jack playing on his lips.
"Jack this is a bad idea" Ianto said as soon as the door was open "After what happened last time it was agreed that, that thing would never come out of the safe. And now you're planning on using it!" Ianto blurted marching into Jack's office and stopping in front of the desk
Jack looked up from the safe startled at the Welshman's entrance
"Ianto please not now?"
"When then? When we have to place another team mate in the deep freeze because of that thing?" Ianto demanded
Jack stared at Ianto confused for a moment,
"Ianto? Does it really bother you that much," Jack asked coming around to stand in front of him.
"After what it did to Suzie. We might not have been the best of friends but even she..." Ianto said voice trailing off uncertainly
"What?" Jack prompted his hand resting on Ianto's shoulder trying to meet the younger man's eyes
"She shot you didn't she?" Ianto asked
"What? How?" Jack stumbled
"I was in the hub when you went up on the lift, the CCTV was out but I heard two gun shots and when I was cleaning up there was two different blood stains. I didn't understand it at the time, but now..."
"Yes, she shot me... through the forehead," Jack admitted
"That's why that thing bothers me, it causes to much tragedy, what if it hadn't been you out there that night, what if it had been one of us. We don't just bounce back from being shot in the head like you do." Ianto explained,
Jack stepped forward about to pull Ianto into his arms when the sound of footsteps on the stairs startled them back apart.
Quickly straightening Ianto had to fight down a blush and Jack covered a smirk as the other three walked in, so Jack stepped back to the safe to pull out the lock box containing the knife and glove.
"It fell through the rift about 40 years ago, lay at the bottom of the bay till we dredged it up. I always figured this wasn't just lost. Whoever mad it wanted rid of it," Jack said opening the box as the others gathered around his office to watch.
"You know we never gave it a cool name," Owen said
"I thought we called it the resurrection gauntlet," Tosh perked up
"Cool name," Owen replied with a shake of his head and an eye roll making Tosh sag a little. He really had to talk to Owen about being so bloody patronising all the time.
"What about the Risen Mitten?" Ianto asked
Jack considered it a moment, it wasn't bad actually.
The others look a little surprised for a moment that Ianto had even spoken up which amused Jack immensely, they really had no idea who he was.
Except maybe Tosh who Ianto was becoming quite good friends with.
Owen scoffs at the name and Ianto just shrugs not letting it bother him "I think it's catchy,"
"Sounds good to me. Risen Mitten it is," Jack said grabbing the gloves and heading towards the side door, let's do this, Ianto bring your stopwatch, Owen set your equipment up, Tosh get the monitoring ready to go and Gwen come with me and Ianto it's about time you met the morgue. We'll get the bodies." Jack said and the team quickly went about their work ignoring the bad feeling they were all steadily developing.
Ianto stood in the morgue staring at the draw which contained Suzie Costello, they'd talked to two of the three victims and it wasn't until right at the end of the conversation with Mark Briscoe that they got anything to go on, a name... Suzie.
"Yan? You ok?" Tosh asked coming up beside him,
"Not really," Ianto replied with a shrug,
"I know what you mean, Suzie is... was... I don't know what to think anymore," Tosh replied
"Did your research come up with anything?" Ianto asked
"It's still running a few searches I thought I'd come see how you were going while they finished, I know you and Suzie didn't exactly get along,"
"That's a bit of an understatement Tosh" Ianto sighed eyes still locked onto the draw,
"Does Jack know?" Tosh asked
"I think he was beginning to suspect towards the end but with her death and Gwen's arrival it's been shelved as no longer relevant. And I'll admit I'd put it in the same place."
"Until now,"
"Until now," Ianto agreed,
"Maybe you should talk to him about it. This case may turn out to have nothing to do with our Suzie, we won't know for sure until we've done a little more research. I think Jack's planning on taking us to the lock up, to look through her things." Tosh said.
"I'm sure I can come up with an excuse to stay here,"
"That's not what I meant Ianto, whether she's involved or not having her brought up is enough to stir all those memories and you should talk about them. Get them off your chest or they're just going to weigh you down." Tosh prompted wrapping her arm around Ianto's waist in a sort of half hug
Ianto finally looking away from the draw turned and kissed her on the head.
"Thanks Tosh,"
Ianto found Jack in the shooting range firing off round after round into the targets the only outward sign of his frustration regarding their current situation.
"Captain can I talk to you?" Ianto asked nervously in between rounds when there was relative silence.
"Yan? Of course what is it?" Jack said putting down his gun and walking over to where Ianto stood
"I'm not quite sure how to say this," Ianto sighed eyes aimed at the ground as he watched Jack's boots step into view
Looking up the words Ianto was going to say froze in his throat, Jack was standing a lot closer than he thought.
He could feel Jack's warm breath tickling his cheek, concerned eyes locked into his, a warm hand resting on his shoulder and that intoxicating scent that was purely Captain Jack Harkness.
Ianto wasn't sure which of them moved first but before he knew it he was pressed up against the wall hands roaming over Jack's chest as their lips crashed, tongues fighting for dominance.
Jack's hands mirrored his own caressing arms, back and chest, lips working in what Ianto could only describe as one of the best kisses he'd had in his life.
"Jack? The research is complete do you want us all in the conference room?" Toshiko called as she walked down the hall.
Ianto jumped away from Jack a look of shock and what Jack suspected was horror flash across his face before he took off out of the room.
Tosh entered the range looking confused
"Jack is Ianto ok?" Tosh asked sounding worried
"He's fine Tosh. Are you ready? We'll do this is the conference room and try to figure out what's really going on here," Jack said heading down the corridor ianto had vanished down and Tosh had just appeared from.
"But Jack, Ianto?" Tosh pushed following him
"Tosh, leave it. Please," Jack said quietly not looking back at her, he needed to think, but with these murders happening he was afraid he wouldn't have the time.
"I just have to get something from my desk," Tosh said once they reached the main level of the hub.
Upon entering the conference room Jack found Ianto had already got Owen and Gwen and they were sitting at the table ready to go.
Ianto was leaning against one of the walls staring into space lost in thought.
When he realised Jack was in the room he specifically ignored him and wouldn't meet his gaze, so Jack took up a position by the window staring down at the hub.
The major problem with not having time to think was that he suspected the longer he left things like this with Ianto the worse it was going to be.
TBC