A chat and a Rift alert
Who?
Chapter Seven
They sat in chairs on the customers' side of the counter, a mug of coffee in hand, and talked. Having cleared the air, Ianto was doing his best to help Jack sort through the images that had come back to him. He was feeling stupid for his earlier actions. He was supposed to love Jack but had let him down when he needed help the most. Jack was injured and if the tables had been turned, Ianto knew Jack would have moved heaven and earth to help him. He had been a complete twat.
"It's pretty clear, Jack. You can remember more about what happened years ago than the last twenty or thirty years."
"Do you realise how strange that sounds? I don't look more than, what, thirty?" Ianto raised an eyebrow. "Okay, thirty five." Jack grinned then sighed. "I still can't believe I'm any older, not really, but I'll go along with it for now. How do you know about this old stuff?"
"I'm the archivist and I know everything." They laughed.
"How long have you been here?" Jack sipped his coffee and watched the young man. The light was creating shadows on his face adding contrast to what was otherwise merely conventionally handsome. He understood why he was attracted to him.
"Eighteen months, just about."
"And how long have we …" he raised his eyebrows.
"Been shagging? Started a year ago but then you … went away. We've only just got back together." Ianto put down his empty coffee mug, unwilling to look at Jack. It still hurt.
"Then I go and lose my memory and forget all about you! Great timing."
"Oh, we always had that," Ianto said ironically, smiling. "I fell in love with you while using you to care for my Cyberman girlfriend!"
Jack froze in place and the coffee mug fell from nerveless fingers to the floor. He could see huge metal men, a tall building, the Pteranodon and a woman wearing little but a metal bikini. Finally he saw Ianto, face down in the dirty puddle of water in the Hub and knew he was dead. He felt the horror of it all and started to shake. He opened his mouth to scream.
"Jack! Jack, it's okay, I'm here." Ianto was on his knees by the older man's side, his arms round his rigid body. "Jack, it's okay." The body relaxed suddenly and Ianto buckled with the weight but righted himself even as Jack regained control. "It's okay," repeated Ianto as Jack's head fell to his shoulder.
It was several minutes before Jack moved away from the embrace and sat back in his chair. He smile wanly. "Sorry. These flashbacks come out of nowhere and they just …"
"It doesn't matter." Ianto remained on his knees at Jack's side, a hand on the other man's back. "What did you see?"
Jack closed his eyes and the images were there again but had, thankfully, lost that initial overwhelming impact. He opened his eyes and looked at the young man. "Metal men. A tall building. A woman in metal. And you, I saw you lying dead."
"Were the men tall with square kind of antennae on their heads?" Jack nodded. "They're Cybermen and the building may have been Canary Wharf."
"The Battle of Canary Wharf! I remember it," Jack was elated at putting the pieces together himself.
"So do I, I was there." Ianto got up and moved back to his chair, gaining a moment to fight back the horror of that time.
"Was I there?" Jack's mind was racing and he failed to spot Ianto's distress. "No, I wasn't. I remember, I went there later to … to clear up. The woman, who was she?"
"Lisa Hallett, my girlfriend."
"She was here, down in the Hub. How did she get here? Doesn't matter. She attacked us, attacked me and you. She killed you." Jack looked at Ianto, "Why are you alive? Are you immortal too?"
"No, no I'm not. You kissed me, brought me back to life." Ianto's voice was soft and level, hiding the pain these memories were bringing back to the surface.
"I can do that!? Wow." Jack smiled delightedly and then saw Ianto's closed expression. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing."
"Don't give me that. It's these memories, isn't it? What? Do they mean something?"
"I lost friends at Canary Wharf and I lost Lisa, the girl I loved. It's not a happy time."
"You're a master of understatement, Jones Ianto Jones." Jack put his hand on the young man's arm. "I'm sorry."
"That's something else you remembered." Ianto looked up and smiled slightly. "You called me 'Jones Ianto Jones'."
"Is that special?"
"It's how I introduced myself, when we first met. You call me that from time to time." The smile became more genuine.
-ooOoo-
Instead of bringing the file back to the main level, Gwen stayed in the archives to read it, sitting cross-legged on the floor. When she finally made it back to the work area she noticed immediately that Jack was missing. "Tosh, where's Jack?" Gwen was checking the Medical Bay as she spoke; no Jack.
"Um, not sure. He was here." Toshiko looked round, surprised. Seeing Gwen was irritated, she immediately added, "I'll check the CCTV."
Gwen sighed heavily and opened the comms. Was she the only one with a sense of responsibility in this place? "Ianto, have you seen Jack?"
"He's here with me. You need him?"
"No, not particularly. Just didn't know where he was." She paused then added, "Everything all right?"
"Fine, thanks."
"Good. If you felt like making a …" Her words were lost in the noise of a sudden alarm. She crossed to Toshiko's side. "Tosh?"
"Rift alert, a big one."
Toshiko was working furiously to pinpoint the site of the alert. Gwen stood at her shoulder knowing there was nothing she could do to help. The door alarm sounded and Ianto and Jack appeared, both looking anxious. They also ended up standing by Toshiko's desk, looking over her shoulder.
"It's in Rhiwbina, a small parade of shops," announced Toshiko. Ianto moved swiftly to Owen's desk to check police radio transmissions.
Gwen, seeing Jack's confusion, took a pace away from Toshiko, not wanting to distract her and he went with her. "It's a Rift alert, a big one. Soon as Toshiko gets a precise fix and we know what we're dealing with Ianto and I'll go out there," she explained. "Pity Owen's not here, it'll take him ages to get there." She tried her comms but the doctor was not responding. She fumbled for her mobile.
"I'll come with you. I must be able to help somehow," said Jack immediately. His instincts were telling him to go with them, not to let the two of them go alone.
"Without your memories, you won't be much use," said Gwen, ignoring the niceties for the direct approach. Owen wasn't answering his mobile either; she left a message on his voice mail.
"I don't need memories to help! My brain may be mush but the body works just fine." He grabbed her arm. "You need me out there, Gwen." He fixed her with his most determined stare and she weakened.
"All right, another body would be useful. But you stay back and do exactly what I tell you." She wagged a finger in his face to emphasis her words.
"Yes, Ma'am!" he replied, grinning. "I ever tell you I love an assertive woman."
"You never let up!"
"Whatever it is, and I can't tell precisely, it's in the newsagents on Beulah Road," said Toshiko urgently.
"The police are responding," Ianto added. "The locals have reported something in the shop. A large animal is how it's described."
"Okay. Ianto, break out the guns. You, me and Jack will go out there. Tosh, you stay here and keep track of it. I've left a message for Owen, he must be in the postmortems because his comms and mobile are switched off. When he calls in, tell him to meet us there." Ianto had returned with two guns and spare ammunition. He handed Gwen hers, keeping the other for himself; Jack still had his Webley strapped to his hip. "Let's go."
Jack and Gwen turned to leave and were down the steps before they realised Ianto wasn't with them. Gwen looked back, irritated, but then saw him running to catch up. He had Jack's greatcoat over his arm. Despite the urgency, she smiled.
"You'll need this," said Ianto, handing the coat to Jack, running with Gwen to the lift, Jack a pace or two behind.
"Why? It's not cold out there," were the last words Toshiko heard as the trio disappeared out of the door.
-ooOoo-
The SUV was having trouble getting through the late afternoon traffic. It was just after the end of the school day and all the mums and dads were out in their cars collecting their little darlings and ferrying them home, though it seemed even worse than normal. Ianto fumed as he hit jam after jam but no matter what he tried, he was forced to slow down. Gwen was in the passenger seat, pooling her local knowledge with Ianto's to try all the back ways that may get them to the scene as quickly as possible. Jack was silent in the back, watching the unfamiliar streets as they edged forward. It took them three quarters of an hour to reach Beulah Road where an ambulance with lights flashing rushed past them in the opposite direction. Ianto edged the SUV forward until he reached the first of the police cars.
"Stop here, we'll walk."
Gwen stood on the door sill to see over the obstructions. Emergency vehicles were parked over about a hundred metres and the road was cordoned off. Beyond that, there was little activity to be seen, only an occasional flash of a fluorescent jacket. Ianto and Jack were also out of the vehicle, their greater height giving them much the same view as hers.
"Let's go," she said, walking up between the vehicles and easing past residents gawping at the scene. At the cordon, they were stopped by the duty police officer who moved aside hurriedly when Gwen announced they were Torchwood. They walked through.
"Oh, I like that," commented Jack, smiling at the young policeman as they passed. "Do they always just roll over for us?"
"Pretty much. You frighten them," she added grinning.
"The newsagents is over there," said Ianto pointing to a row of five shops on the right. "Tosh, you got any more?" he asked into his comms.
"Not on the creature, it's one we haven't come across before. It's in the shop still. Some customers and a couple of staff are trapped in a store room, only access is through the shop where the creature is. The police tried taking it down but without success. Four police officers were injured, one critically."
Gwen's heart missed a beat. Was it one of her former colleagues? Was it Andy? No, she told herself, it can't be, he's off duty. Breathing more freely, she said, "Keep monitoring, Tosh, we're going in for a closer look. Any news of Owen?"
"He called and is on his way but the traffic is heavy and holding him up. A power cut has caused havoc in the city centre." In her other ear, Toshiko was getting a running commentary from the doctor in which he used all the swear words he knew and a few he was making up on the spot.
"Tell him to get here as soon as he can; I think we're going to need him."
Next time, things get a bit hairy for the team as they tackle the alien ....
Many thanks to those who have reviewed, so pleased you're enjoying the story.