Thank you to my reviewers, here is the second and final part.
'The Truth Always Hurts'
Owen was extremely unimpressed about being called back into the Hub. He had arrived shortly after 2pm only to have Jack demand that he assist with getting a body out of the back of the SUV. A post mortem was needed and all Owen could think was what the hell had Tea Boy gone and done this time. He was in no mood to deal with Ianto's stupidity and half wondered why Jack had even bothered to keep the boy on the staff. Having dumped the rather weighty body bag on the metal exam table. Owen set to work preparing his equipment speaking out loud to Jack as he went about his task.
"So who's the stiff then?"
"I don't know. Ianto remembers him from the Trial, or what ever it is you want to call it. We found the clinic. They deny all knowledge of the event, but Ianto is absolutely convinced he was there. He found the body in a skip at the back of the building. I think it's been there a couple of days judging from the smell." Jack explained.
Owen turned to face him. "How do we know that he's telling the truth Jack? Ianto's lied to us before and he had no qualms about putting us all in danger. How do we know he isn't responsible for this man's death?"
Jack hadn't even considered that possibility and it showed.
Owen hissed with disgust. "Stop thinking with your hormones for once in your sorry life Harkness. Ianto can be a devious little shit when he wants to be, I wouldn't put it past him."
Jack tried to return a steady look and sincerely hoped that Owen was wrong. "All avenues of enquiry will be investigated Owen. I know you're angry with Ianto, trust me so am I, but if he's telling me the truth I have an obligation to sort this out."
"Bullshit Jack."
"What am I supposed to do? Let him continue to suffer in silence or maybe worse, go off and find some miracle cure that scrambles his brain for life?"
Owen stopped what he was doing, shocked at the mortified expression on Jack's face. "Just try to be objective Jack. I know you have feelings for Ianto, but you can't let that get in the way of this." He gestured to the bagged corpse. "Have you involved the police?"
Jack shook his head. "I want your PM report first. I also need a complete analysis of the drug you found in Ianto's blood."
"Ok, You'll have everything for tomorrow morning, I'm still waiting for the final set of tests to complete their cycle. What's your nest move?" Owen decided to try and give some sense of focus.
"I'm taking Ianto to London to meet this Dr Simon Pacey, first thing tomorrow, I wanted to wait for your results first. Ianto needs to rest anyway."
"Ok, do you want me to check on him?"
"Yes, I don't think he slept last night and he was very agitated at the clinic. Oh and by the way he told me he remembered drinking water from a cooler at the clinic before everything went to hell."
Owen gave him a doubtful look.
"I believe him. I know him Owen, he wouldn't do this, the only person he's hell bent on hurting is himself. Trust me, please."
"I will trust you Jack, but not him." Owen picked up his PDA scanner. "Where is he?"
"On the couch by Tosh's station. Owen?"
The doctor hesitated. "What?"
"Try to be civil, he really does need our help."
Owen almost smiled at the plea. "Alright, but only because it's you asking."
He took the steps two at a time and found Ianto right where Jack said he would be. The young Welshman, still in his over coat had fallen asleep in an awkward heap his white face drawn with a deep frown. Owen carefully reached out and shook him awake.
"Come on Tea Boy, wakey wakey."
Ianto slowly came round and sat up looking dazed. Owen held up his scanner.
"How are you feeling?"
"Mmmm..OK. Tired."
Owen sighed despite everything he had said to Jack and his own anger, he still felt sorry for his patient.
"Come on, lets get this coat off and get you settled properly." He was grateful that the usually difficult Tea Boy was compliant and did exactly as Owen asked.
Twenty minutes later and Ianto was sound asleep, tucked under a pile of blankets, face buried in the pillow and snoring softly. Owen stepped away looking at his readings. Jack was hovering nearby.
"Well?"
"He'll be alright. His vitals are more like normal now and his pupils have gone back to how they should be, if he gets a decent sleep he should be feeling much better. I've given him a strong sedative to suppress the nightmares, but one of us will need to be around when he wakes up because he'll probably have one when the seds wear off." Owen glanced from Ianto to Jack. "He'll be out for a good eight hours."
"Thank you Owen. I'll get the coffee on."
"Good plan."
It was 3 am and for the third time in as many days Jack had to hold a screaming and struggling Ianto as he hauled himself out of his sleep. It took over an hour to calm him sufficiently enough to be able to just embrace his shaking body. Ianto sat there bunched up in Jack's arms mumbling incoherently. Jack didn't know what to do. It upset him seeing any one of his team in distress and he would do any thing he could to protect them. Bullets, monsters and aliens he could understand, these were things that were known quantities to him, tangible, physical things that could be dealt with, usually with a gun, or Retcon. Jack was wholly aware though that sometimes the demons were impossible to drive away because they were incomprehensible in the first place. The villagers at Brecon had taught him that, in all his long life, having faced so many dangers and terrors that one incident had left it's mark on him. The inconceivable, the unbelievable. The last few days made him realise just how different he was from the rest of the team. His immortality had hardened him to the pain of two world wars and a daily struggle with the protection of the Earth. Not a single year had gone by when some one he cared about had not died. He'd started to lose count, and worse still he'd actually started to forget the names and faces. He sighed, resting his chin on the top of Ianto's head, gently rubbing little circles against the back of his neck lost in his own losses.
Jack wondered what it was that had sent Ianto so far over the edge. It was obvious really. He was only human, a child compared to Jack, forced to cope with a world that he simply couldn't possibly deal with. Jack had seen it before, in Flanders, young men broken into pieces, their souls shattered by inhumanity. He could only guess at what had happened at Canary Wharf, Jack had seen the aftermath of the carnage and it had shocked even him. Then there had been Lisa and Ianto's desperation to keep the only thing left in his life alive. The only reason Jack hadn't killed him for that was because Ianto had done it for love. He put everything on the line just for love. Jack understood that, he'd done something equally misguided himself once.
He paused in thought for a moment as Ianto shifted beside him, pulling away from his hold. Ianto wouldn't look at him. Jack half smiled realising that even in the state that Ianto was in the young man still managed to get embarrassed about being molly coddled.
Ianto mumbled something about the bathroom and stood up.
"You OK?" Jack ventured. He was met with a slightly foggy look and a half hearted response.
"Yes, sir. I'm fine. Thank you."
Jack sighed, he'd fallen back on the 'Sir' again then. Ianto walked away in the direction of the locker rooms. Jack got up and stretched. He wandered down to the autopsy bay where Owen was still at work and stood at the top of the stairs watching for a moment before speaking.
"I was gonna do some coffee, want some?"
"Does mouse shit roll?"
Jack did a double take and let out a short burst of laughter. "One coffee coming right up."
A while later he was back, handing his medic a fresh mug of his favourite brew. It wasn't up to Ianto's high standards he realised, but Owen looked like he appreciated it anyway.
"Ok Owen so where are we at?" Jack asked glancing at the newly sewn up corpse on the table.
Owen sipped at his drink and hissed because it was still too hot. It looked cute and that made Jack smile.
"Cause of death, head trauma, due to self inflicted gouging of his own eyes out and internal cranial damage. I think some kind of pick or a screwdriver was shoved…." He demonstrated. "Right up here through the eye socket, bit like the old style lobotomy. God knows how he did it. He's got much higher levels of the same drug that Ianto had in his system. This is really…." He became lost for words for a moment. Jack waited patiently for him to continue.
"It's just weird Jack. Under normal circumstances that kind of trauma would render one unconscious pretty quickly, from the pain alone. The facial injuries indicate that he made several attempts to lobotomise himself and at least three times he was successful. I can't imagine how he managed to do that unless the drug was the cause. I've never seen anything like it before."
"Definitely self inflicted?"
Owen returned his attention to his charts. "I'm certain of it. The only contents in his stomach were approximately 100ml of water, laced with this drug. According to the police report when Ianto was arrested, he was violent and needed restraint. I'm guessing that Ianto didn't ingest as much of the drug and if he'd eaten before going to this 'trial' it may have cushioned the symptoms a bit. This thing really fucks with people. Ianto says he wasn't the only one there. So what's happened to the others?"
Jack had wondered that himself. "Anything new you can tell me about the drug?"
Owen was drinking his coffee again now. "I have no clue what it's medicinal qualities are supposed to be. There is definitely Retcon, or it's equivelant, in the formula, but they've added something else I can't identify. If I'm right it seems to trigger a fight or flight response in the brain…."
The sound of footsteps shuffling towards them stopped Owen mid sentence and Jack turned to see Ianto at the top of the stairs staring at the body on the table. He was frozen there for a moment his face unreadable and then he slumped down on to the top step and leaned against the rail. Jack and Owen both watched him for a moment. Ianto waved them off.
"I'm OK. Really." He muttered.
Jack returned his attention to Owen.
"Go on."
"Yeah, right. Ok. When one is exposed to a threatening situation, the brain kicks in with a whole bunch of chemicals. Most people usually run, some fight and some freeze. It's instinct kicking in rather than rational thought. If I'm right, this drug is designed to generate those responses artificially."
"Why would any one want to do that?" Ianto asked.
Owen shrugged glancing from to Jack to the young man huddled at the top of the steps. "I have no idea, but you just dodged a bullet on this one. I wouldn't be at all surprised if more bodies turn up. I think this is something a hell of a lot more sinister than some dodgy pharmaceutical company and we need to find out who they are."
Jack frowned at him, but it was Ianto that spoke up.
"You thinking along the lines of biological weapons?"
Owen nodded.
"So who ever organised the trial at the medical centre did some massive clean up operation after the fact to cover their tracks? Seems a bit of a waste of effort leaving that body behind, don't you think?" Ianto rubbed at his forehead. "I can't believe I've been so stupid. We have to talk to Dr Pacey Jack."
Jack shoved his hands into his pockets. "Owen, do some research on this, see if there is any way we can track this via the internet, but be cautious, don't be obvious. Ianto and I will head to London. When Tosh and Gwen get in have them do a search for any unusual deaths, missing persons etc since Christmas Eve, see if we can track any one else that was there."
Owen sagged. "Yeah, but first I'm going home for a couple of hours sleep. I'll be back in at seven."
"Thank you Owen."
The trip to London was taken via Ianto's flat, so that he could shower and get changed. Jack surveyed his young team member in silent appreciation when Ianto stepped out of his bedroom in baggy jeans, hoody and leather jacket. Ianto had struggled to find any thing that would enable him to get a sleeve over his plaster cast and Jack had sat in the lounge listening to a variety of Welsh curses before Ianto had emerged. The young man had blushed flame red when he had to ask Jack to tie the laces on his walking boots.
They didn't hit much traffic until they reached the M25 and Jack sat the wheel frustrated by the fact they were crawling at 15mph. The two of them hadn't exchanged a word through out the whole journey and Jack kept stealing glances at Ianto. Ianto just leaned against the door staring out of the windscreen, obviously light years away. It was awkward times like these that Jack wished they had a radio or a CD player in the SUV. He tapped on the steering wheel absently as once again they came to a halt, lines of break lights ahead of them, nearly all the traffic stationary in both directions. Bloody typical. Jack hated the motorways. He decided to break the uncomfortable silence.
"Tell me about your parents."
He glanced as Ianto shifted in his seat.
"What's to tell?"
Jack was determined to get him to talk. "Well, what were they like? What did they do?"
"Is this you trying to help me or are we passing the time of day here?" Ianto's tone was resentful.
Jack sighed. "A bit of both. I seem to remember you yelling at me a few months back about never taking the time to ask. So here I am taking the time. Make some effort Ianto, your attitude is really starting to piss me off."
Jack saw the guilty look on Ianto's face and smiled.
"My Mam and Tad were wonderful Jack. They loved me so much and they loved each other and I loved them. I grew up in an idyllic bubble, we were very happy and I was very fortunate. I miss them." He paused appearing to gather his thoughts, or his strength to talk, Jack wasn't sure which.
"My Tad had a small tailoring business and my Mam worked part time at Providence Park. She always liked to help people. I wasn't very good at school and all I wanted to do was work with Tad and they never pushed me to do anything but what I wanted. My Tad and I would go out to see films together on Saturdays and then I would help Mam…..It was perfect Jack. We were perfect completely untouched by the outside world. I just always expected to leave school and work with Tad as a tailor, meet a nice girl, get married, have a family. I didn't expect much and I didn't want anything more from my life."
Jack just wanted to hug him. "I'm sorry. What happened? I mean I know they passed away but….."
"It was the year of their 20th wedding anniversary. I saved up all my pocket money and my paper round earnings for that entire year so I could buy them RSC tickets and a couple of nights in a posh Hotel in London. Mam loved Shakespeare and Tad always loved to see the costumes in plays and on the old films. I just wanted for them to have a perfect memory. They were on their way home when there was an accident on the motorway, some drunk lorry driver who managed to kill three other people as well." Ianto's face was unreadable. Jack reached out to give some comfort but Ianto swatted his hand away. Jack was struggling not to be upset the rejection.
"So what happened to you?"
"I was taken in by my best mates parents. They got a solicitor to sort out everything, close down the business and sell our house. Then the bastard ran off with the money. Sean's mom and dad, they did their best, but I let them down and eventually I ran away to London. I had no idea that there were bad people in the world until then."
The traffic started moving again and Ianto repositioned himself putting his feet up on the dash. Jack smiled, typical kid, and once again he was reminded just how young Ianto actually was.
"You can't go on blaming yourself for what happened to them."
"That's what Lisa said." Ianto responded dully.
"Smart girl."
"I almost believed her, then those ghosts showed up and I was stupid enough to think that my Mam and Tad were coming back for me. I wouldn't listen to her, she kept telling that they were bad and I didn't listen to her."
Jack remembered the ghosts, they had frightened him from the first moment he had seen one.
They lapsed back into silence as Jack now steered them along the North Circular in the direction of Hangar Lane.
8:20am saw them both stepping out of the SUV into a swirling chilly, overcast day. Ianto gave the vandalised tower block a disheartened look and sighed.
"I bet the bastard lives on the top floor." He muttered. He followed Jack through the door with broken glass and stood beside Jack waiting for the lift. The bleak tiled space stank of piss and vomit and the taggers had sprayed varying obsenities on the dirty walls. Ianto unconsciously hugged at his plastered hand as he and Jack stepped in the lift. The smell was worse in here. He found himself wondering how any one could survive growing up in such a place, but remained silent observing Jack's own distaste at the environment as well as his own. They emerged onto a dimly lit corridor. The vandals had been up here too.
"Its number 57." Jack said. Ianto nodded, leading the way.
"I'll do the talking Jack." He said firmly.
Jack gave him a pissy look.
"He may not want to talk otherwise."
They found the appropriate door. Ianto tapped it and to his surprise it swung open. He briefly glanced at Jack who nodded as he took out and cocked the webley he always carried with him. Ianto cautiously pushed the door open.
"Dr Pacey? It's Ifan Davies." He called out. He heard a noise. Next thing he was on his back as some one literally ran over him straight into Jack. Ianto lurched to his feet at the sound of yelling and saw Jack running off after a retreating figure. They disappeared round the corner at the end of the corridor.
Ianto deciding that there was little he could do to help Jack, stepped into the dingy flat. In the lounge he found a middle aged man slumped over a cluttered desk a bullet hole in the back of his head. Ianto sighed and for some strange reason his grasped the dead man's shoulder a flare of grief rising in his chest with a dull ache. Regardless of the consequences this man had given Ianto reason to hope and now he was gone. Ianto carefully eased the body upright so he could get a better look at the contents on the desk. The whole room was a jumble of filing cabinets folders and boxes and a computer. It would take a while to sort through it all. No time like the present he decided.
He'd been at it for some hours before a very breathless Jack Harkness came back into the apartment. He went straight to Ianto and Ianto noted the bullet hole and blood stains in Jack's shirt.
"You OK, sir?"
Jack nodded. "Yep. You?"
"I'm fine, sir. Perhaps you should sit down for a minute." Ianto was sure that Jack had done a dying routine somewhere as the older man looked rather unwell. "I take it who ever that was got away."
Jack slumped down in the only available chair. "Yeah, he was a good shot, professional."
Ianto silently agreed. "Most likely given the state of my friend there."
"That's Pacey?"
Ianto inclined his head and tossed Jack the drivers liscence to confirm that. "I've been going through all the papers on his desk. It's going to take a while……" He was still sifting. "No wait….maybe not." He held up a large padded brown envelope with the name Ifan Davies scrawled across it. Abandoning the other documents Ianto ripped the package open extremely nervous about what he might find there. An a4 mannila folder slid out and DVD in a clear plastic case. There was also a handwritten envelope addressed to Ianto Jones Torchwood. Ianto held it up like it was about to bite him, so that Jack could see.
"I never told anyone my real name or mentioned Torchwood." He said the moment he registered Jack's glare.
"Open it Ianto." Jack's tone was dangerous.
Ianto complied. A long hand written letter came to light.
Mr Davies,
If you are reading this then it means that I am dead. As I am sure you are now well aware, the Clinical Trial I sent you to on Christmas Day was a fraud, a fake, a set up. I am so terribly sorry for putting you in such danger. I've spent months searching for some one to assist me in my investigation. The drug to which you were subjected….compound G87c/a….. is in it's final test stage.
I can only tell that my intentions to help people have always been honourable. Do no harm, my mantra. When I had to cease practice after my stroke I wanted to continue my work as a doctor. I had good relations with many respectable companies who run medication trials all over the world. I have helped many and I do not do this for money or personal gain. I do it because I can.
Unfortunately I stumbled upon something, shall we say not strictly Kosher. I went to the police with my concerns and they fobbed me off. Which leads me to you. See I'm quite good on the old IT front and I managed to find out who you really are and once I discovered Torchwood I knew you'd be able to help. You're so dam tenacious. I am sorry to have exploited you in this manner, it is a total abuse of the trust you have put in me and for that I apologise.
An old colleague contacted me about a series of drug trials that had been advertised, he knew I was involved in such things, but people have been going missing or turning up dead. I've attached everything I have in this package including a copy of the DVD surveillance disc of the trial you attended. My 'inside help' is dead, which is why I am writing this. Please track these animals down and deal with them before more people die.
Yours Humbly Dr Simon Pacey.
PS. Forgive yourself, it's the only way forward Ianto.
Ianto sat there stunned and the letter slipped from his grasp on to the floor. He didn't register the fact that Jack had got up and was calling the police, while resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.
'This Is The Way The World Ends. Not With Bang But A Whimper.' (T.S.Elliot)
Jack made the executive decision to involve the police as soon as he realised just how difficult and time consuming any investigation was likely to be. It was not a Torchwood matter and much to Owen's and Ianto's consternation he had handed all the evidence including the body over to the police in London. An explosive row had erupted in the Hub which ended in Ianto screaming bitterly at him because Jack had refused him permission to assist the police with their investigation. It didn't fall with in Torchwood's mandate. Owen accepted the decision with out comment. He knew Jack was right, they simply didn't have the time or the man power to commit to this and the truth was Owen was too preoccupied with the loss of Diane to care enough to do anything about it.
Ianto had fled from the Hub in a flood of fury as soon as the argument was over. Gwen and Tosh had stood back watching the whole drama unfold like some cheap play. Tosh had run out after Ianto, but he was a fast runner and she didn't stand a hope of catching him up.
Ianto slammed his front door with such force that the double glazed glass cracked from top to bottom. He sank down on the floor in the hallway and kicked the wall before subsiding into tears. He was so angry, at Jack, at himself at life really. He knew that Jack was right and he hated him for it. This was Ianto's problem, his life and he had wanted to fix it himself, make the pain go away by maybe even doing some good to make up for the crap in his life. Eventually the tears ran out. His gut ached and his head felt light. Ianto lurched to his feet roughly pulled off his Jacket and boots and went to bed with out bothering to get undressed. He lay there with the quilt bunched up and tightly pulled around him. The trouble was, Jack was right. Ianto was too personally involved, a victim no less of his own folly and the bottom line Ianto was no nearer to the answers or the cure that he so longed for. Perhaps that was why he was so angry and maybe it was just easier to blame Jack for his own failings. None of it was Jack's fault, the man had gone out of his way to help him, effectively offered a life line that Ianto had slapped away and that had hurt. Ianto chewed at the fingernails on his right hand trying to swallow down an over whelming sense of hopelessness.
When he awoke from his torturous night mare some 6 hours later he was surprised to discover that he was enveloped in Jack's arms, comforting whispers in his ears, gentle fingers running through his sweat damp hair. He didn't dare question it in case Jack went away and in that moment in time Ianto realised that the answer had been in front of him all along.