Hope To make It Through Another Day
AN: Joseph Tarrant features in my story 'Acts Of Kindness'. You don't need to read that but the background is as follows. Ianto helped MI5 and UNIT get rid of a terrorist weapons dealer called Jason Murry. Murry was rather attached to Ianto and reacted very badly when he discovered that Ianto had been working for MI5. Murry was selling backwards engineered alien tech to terrorist groups. Joseph Tarrant was Ianto's MI5 contact whilst he was undercover for Torchwood. Joseph wanted Ianto to leave TW but Ianto just wanted to be at home at TW and try to fix things with Jack.
I've written this chapter to try and establish the links mentioned above. THANK YOU FOR READING.
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Six weeks.
Jack scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed heavily.
Six weeks.
He wasn't certain how he had got through them. He hurt. Everything hurt.
Six weeks two days and seven hours to be more precise and Ianto was still missing.
No one had seen him leave the hospital and it was only after Jack had got hold of the Hospital CCTV recordings that it became apparent that Ianto had not left out of choice. Two suited men had escorted him hurriedly through the AnE department, still in bare feet and a hospital gown and nobody had thought to question it let alone stop it.
The tracking device surgically implanted into Ianto's arm had stopped transmitting twenty minutes later just outside of Cardiff in a conveniently CCTV free zone. Since then, nothing, not a trace. The day after his abduction an MI5 agent by the name of Joseph Tarrant had showed up at the tourist office. That man was now helping Gwen at the computers trying to find evidence of where Ianto may have been taken too, assuming he was alive.
The first few days Jack had been in a blind rage, unable to think or function bordering on the edge of panic. It was too soon after Owen and Tosh and everything else. Too soon full stop. Jack had spent hours on the phone, pulling favours with every department he could think of in an effort to find his team member, friend, lover and…..well what ever else he was. Jack was slowly beginning to realise that he may never find out.
Joseph Tarrant had tried his best to get to Cardiff as quickly as he could. His own employers weren't exactly thrilled with him at the moment. A number of highly sensitive people from around the globe had gone missing recently. All of them had been connected to 'Alien' research of some kind or another. Two people from C.E.T.I, another from N.A.S.A, four F.B.I agents, a UNIT officer and a woman from Australia's astronomical research facility in Canberra. Finally Ianto Jones. He had been the last of the victims to be picked up. No one had seen it coming and no one had connected the cases together until Joseph had looked into it. As soon as he had realised that Ianto was missing…….well he'd come running.
Even though he hadn't seen the young man in a year Joseph still felt very strongly about him. Ianto had forced him to re-evaluate his work and his life by sheer virtue of the fact that he had trusted him to deliver the most important message of his life when he knew his own life would probably end. Thank fully it hadn't though. Joseph was desperately disappointed that the boy had come back to Torchwood instead of joining his department at MI5. He had sent Ianto many emails over the last 12 months, reminding him each time that the place would be held open for him if things at Torchwood or Jack got too much for him. Ianto had always politely refused but they maintained their contact, exchanging information and small talk via the net and occasionally speaking on the phone. It had been Ianto that had advised him of the missing FBI agents. Joseph didn't want to guess at how Ianto had found out about it, but Ianto was always good at finding out things about people.
Joseph barely tolerated Jack. The man's overbearing posturing had been at first irritating, now it was just exhausting. Joseph understood though, Jack was torn between duties and wanting to run off and search for Ianto. Duty won over of course as it should but Joseph could tell that Jack hated himself for it. As his investigation moved on it became apparent that someone out there was trying to pick up from where Jason Murry's terrorist group had left off last year. The Daleks had left weapons all over the planet; some one had been systematically mopping them up too. UNIT had tried their level best to contain the situation, but had failed to locate the wreckages of at least two of the spacecraft that had been shot down by ground to air missiles in the initial stages of the attack. It was like a bad case of Deja Vue and Joseph was pretty sick of the whole damn thing. Surely the attack against Earth itself would convince people to stop fighting amongst themselves?
With the exception of Ianto all the people abducted had been communications specialists. Joseph had discussed this with Jack and discovered that Ianto could speak non-terrestrial languages. In some strange way it seemed logical really, Ianto was first and foremost an archivist, maybe in his line of work that included languages. Joseph wondered why Jack hadn't been taken instead. It was obvious really, no one very much would miss Ianto but if the head of Torchwood Three went missing UNIT officials would be having kittens. It was ridiculous really, because Ianto probably had more collective knowledge than Jack did anyway.
Joseph thought back to last year's operation. It had been a shambles from day one. A lot of people had died and then the CIA had ordered a military strike essentially destroying all the evidence and killing two MI5 agents in the process. Jason Murry's operation had been wiped out, but there was no follow up evidence to suggest that the man himself was dead. The Americans had been quick to cover up the mess and keep the British authorities out and Joseph was convinced that any surviving Alien tech from the incident would've ended up in their hands. He could prove nothing and worst of all he'd been ordered to lie to Ianto Jones about the status of the situation. As far as Ianto had been aware the operation had been a success, a costly one but a success non-the less and now he was paying the price for his involvement.
Joseph looked up from his place at 'Tosh's' desk. He hadn't had to wonder who she was, Ianto had explained in an email a couple of months back about their recent losses. Heart felt words with underlying anger and despair at what had happened and guilt for surviving summed up in a few brief sentences.
"We lost two of our team a couple of days ago. It's hit us hard; we're so close knit. I don't know how to help Jack and Gwen. It's like Canary Wharf all over, just this constant pain in my guts. Do you get the same Jo? When things go bad, is it like this for everyone? I hate being alive when my friends are dead."
Joseph sighed at the memory, he wanted to drop everything that day and come to Cardiff, but at the time he was on assignment in Hong Kong. He glanced around the 'Hub' and found himself looking upwards in the direction of the dinosaur's lair. Ianto had often referred to a 'Myfanwy' but had never elaborated on the thing that had won so much of his affection, a chocolate obsessed bird. Who'd have thought one could actually get sentimental about a dinosaur that tried to bite you whenever you went to feed it. Only Ianto. It was sitting there and looking above him that made him realise why Ianto would never leave this place. It housed such vast knowledge and wonders that Joseph could only dream about or find in an Isaac Asimov novel. No one in his or her right mind would walk away from that, no matter the personal cost. He turned his attention to Jack's office. The man was on the phone again pacing up and down the length of the confines, clearly yelling at the person he was speaking to, even though with the door closed he could not heard out here. Joseph sighed looking down at the monitor in front of him. He needed a drink so he got up.
"I'm going to Starbuck's, any one want anything?"
Gwen sat up and smiled. Joseph liked her; she had honest to God basic humanity oozing through those beautiful doey eyes and smile. He would have dearly loved a sister like her.
"Please, a latte. Thanks Joe."
Joseph nodded. "Martha? Can you get you anything?"
"Orange juice please." Was called up from the tiled autopsy bay.
"Jack'll have a double espresso." Gwen added with another slightly more cautious smile. She was well aware of Joseph's feelings toward that man.
"No problem. I may not like him that much, but I won't be rude, Ianto would skin me alive."
Gwen was left wondering what Joseph's relationship with Ianto actually was. Ianto had never mentioned him before, but Jack had obviously met him previously. She watched as Joseph departed through the roller door and was then distracted by Jack coming out of his office.
"Where's he going?" Jack demanded.
"Coffee run."
"Oh. I'm going to be leaving you and Martha to run things for a bit. Joseph and I will be flying out to Canada this evening. The FBI have a lead on the where abouts of Ianto and the others. I've called for UNIT back up so you and Martha do not have go out in the field whilst I'm not here."
Gwen opened her mouth to respond, couldn't think of a reply and closed it again.
Jack actually smiled at her. "You look confused."
"Er… no. I'm just concerned and I want Ianto back and now you're going…I just."
"Don't want to be left here alone. I know. You know you can bring Rhys in any time you need him, just not out in the field. I'm sorry Gwen, but I have to go. If there is any chance that he is still alive."
"Just bring him home Jack."
"I'll do my best."