Disclaimer: This chapter contains a scene of violent, graphic torture. Read at your discretion.
Chapter 2: Torture
The next few hours passed agonizingly slow. Gwen and Tosh rested against each other, eyes open and glassy, Jack paced, stopping every so often to curse. Ianto, once he was dressed, continuously made coffee for everyone and cleaned the place that was already spotless. As he went to put the cleaning supplies away, he stopped in Jack's office. "You need to calm down, don't let him get to you."
"And how do you propose I do that?" Jack snapped, patience thin. "They should be picking him up any second now. I can't wait to get my hands on that bastard."
"None of us can," Ianto reminded him, setting a cup of coffee down for Jack and straightening his tie for the fiftieth time. Jack sighed, cupping Ianto's face in his hands and kissing him, strongly tasting of coffee. "I know."
"Okay, time to get ready for our little guest," Ianto said, putting on a smile. Jack smiled back; it didn't reach his eyes. "Indeed. Let's go teach this asshole a thing or two."
Ianto nodded, "I'll see you soon," he promised, giving Jack another quick kiss before heading up to the tourist shop so he could allow their visitor into the Hub. Jack headed down to the cells; the other members were at attention, tense and ready. Ianto came down soon after with two members of UNIT supporting a figure between them. Ianto displayed no emotion as the UNIT team members sat the handcuffed man in a chair, removing the cuffs and securing him. They silently excused themselves, and Mr. Holmes was left alone with the Torchwood team.
Jack glanced at the team, and they all nodded back. Showtime. He stepped forward and removed the bag from the man's head, revealing the angry, snarling face of Mr. Holmes.
"What the hell is going on here?" the man shouted, recognition flooding his face when he saw Jack. "You." He glared up at the man in the long coat.
"Yeah, me," Jack snarled, backhanding him. "I was kind enough to return your son after he ran away but not before hearing some interesting stories about you, Mr. Holmes."
"What did that freak tell you?" the man asked, seething. Ianto nearly lost it, controlling himself because he knew that Jack wanted the first punch He looked up at his teammates, his pale, Welsh face red and angry.
WHAMCRUNCH! Jack shook his knuckles, cursing, Mr. Holmes' nose effectively broken. "Don't you ever call Sherlock that again! Your boy is brilliant, special, a true rarity in this world, and you belittle him? Torment him?" He turned to the team. "Who wants the next go?"
Ianto walked over to the man, landing a very satisfying blow on his jaw. The Welshman shook his hand out. "Much better," he sighed. Gwen kicked the side of his face, the toe of her boot slicing the skin open, and Tosh pulled out a contraption and shot him in the arm. "Nerve stimulant," she explained when Jack gave her a look. "Owen?"
Owen nodded, Placing a kick to the center of the man's chest, making the chair fall backwards. "Fucking scumbag," he muttered. Jack walked over to the man, crouching by his head. "You see, we don't like what you've done to your son, so we're going to make you very, very sorry you ever decided to hurt the boy."
Mr. Holmes glared up at him. "His mother is dying. He'll be taken away from her," he said, trying to make them feel guilty. His voice was weak and breathy, clearly full of pain.
"Yes he will, and he'll be placed with another, kinder, more supporting family. He'll even get to say goodbye. Somehow, I didn't get the impression that your disappearance would be a big loss for him." Jack stood up. "Make him scream, Owen."
Owen nodded, cracking his knuckles. "With pleasure," he seethed, walking over to the man. He put a foot over where he had broken the man's ribs, slowly pressing down on it. Mr. Holmes screamed, the sound ripped from his mouth as bones crunched. Jack glanced at Ianto, seeing the satisfied smile on his lover's face. "Give him a hand."
Ianto walked forward, placing his foot next to Owen's and pressing down. "You make me sick," he said through gritted teeth, his normally peaceful face filled with hate and anger. Gwen cringed at the screams, her stomach rolling. She glanced at Tosh who had a similar expression on her face. "Jack, can we change it up? Do something different? Tosh and I are-we need this to change."
Jack looked at her then back at Sherlock's father where he was writhing on the ground. "Stop! Exam table, now."
Ianto and Owen reluctantly stepped back. They both undid the bonds that bound Mr. Holmes to the chair and grabbed the man under his arms, dragging him to the table; Jack helped them strap him down. "Now, are you going to tell us why you did what you did to Sherlock?" His voice was low and very dangerous. The man looked up at him spitefully. "Because he deserved it," Mr. Holmes growled, but his voice sounded weak and pathetic from pain.
"Wrong answer," growled Jack. He nodded at Owen. Owen brought an elbow down on the man's gut, forcing the breath from his body and making him gasp for air.
"Gonna rethink your answer?"
The man looked up at them, his eyes swimming with pain. He didn't speak.
"Not so nice when you're on the receiving end of your own medicine, is it? Pretend I'm your father. You come home from school, proud of a grade or a project, and when you expect praise, you get the back of a hand, a boot to the stomach, insults and names for years until you just want to crawl in a hole and die, when the mention of going home is so terrible that you'd rather run away with a very dangerous group of people because it is safer in your mind than staying home and facing your father?"
Again the man just stared at them. He was in too much pain to speak, and he wouldn't satisfy Jack with answers anymore; he could just keep wondering forever. Ianto turned away, unable to look at the man anymore, the thought of what he had done to his own son made the coffee boy want to be sick.
"You aren't worth the air in your lungs," Jack hissed. He looked at the group. "Gun? Injection? Break his neck?" He glanced at Ianto a second longer than the rest. Ianto shrugged. "Something slow." His eyes looked murderous. The others were nodding in agreement. Something slow...
"Owen, do you still have the acid drip?"
Mr. Holmes's eyes widened and he struggled frantically against his bindings. Owen nodded, going down to storage to look for the device.
"You wanted to inflict pain? Well, now you're gonna feel it."
Owen returned with a sinister looking thing and a large container of liquid. "Stand back," he commanded. Everyone backed up several feet, eyeing the device warily. Owen hung the drip from the ceiling, before putting on some gloves and pouring the liquid into the mouth. "Anybody squeamish?" he asked as the liquid began to make its way slowly down the tube.
Tosh nodded, and Gwen took her in her arms, holding her. She shut her eyes as well, turning away; this was not something she'd ever wanted to see. Jack stood there stone-faced, holding Ianto's hand. Ianto watched as the first drops left the tube, his grip on Jack's hand tightening as the flesh sizzled and burned. Screams pierced the air, and Jack didn't look away; he couldn't. Each drop was another way of getting revenge for every time the bastard had hurt Sherlock, the poor boy. "More, Owen. Right on the broken ribs."
Owen nodded, moving the end of the drip to hang right over the ribs. Ianto watched for a long time, but as the acid began to reach the bone, he felt sick again. He turned, burying his head in Jack's shoulder.
"Hands, Owen." Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto, stroking the Welshman's head. "Hang in there, love," he whispered.
Owen moved the drip again, watching as the acid bore through the man's hand. Ianto shook his head in Jack's shoulder. "I can't watch anymore," he murmured.
"Get his cock, Owen and then dump the rest on him. Make him dissolve." Jack led Ianto from the cell block, Gwen and Tosh following. Ianto allowed himself to be led, wincing as he heard the screams grow even louder and then disappear completely. Jack held on tight as Ianto began sobbing into his shoulder. "It's okay, shhhh, it's okay, love. Ianto, did-did something like this happen to you?"
Ianto nodded. His shoulders were shaking as he clung to Jack's coat. Jack held him tight, refusing to let go. "You're safe now, I promise you...well, as safe as it ever gets around here. He's gone. He can't hurt you or Sherlock anymore."
Ianto nodded, but he couldn't stop himself from sobbing. Memories flooded back to him all at once, invading his mind and destroying barriers that hadn't been touched in years.
"Tell me. Talk it out." Jack took Ianto back to his office, shutting the door and sinking to the floor. Ianto sat down with Jack, resting his head on the man's chest. "I was a kid, and, there was this group of teenagers," he started. "I was so small, and they..." He closed his eyes taking a deep breath.
"Go on. I'm right here."
"They took me into the woods and held me down." Tears came to his eyes. "And they did things to me," he whispered. "They said I was worthless."
Jack's breath caught in his throat. "You are anything but worthless. Did they do anything else?"
He nodded, tears streaming down his face. He couldn't bring himself to say the word.
"I love you Ianto, nothing changes that. Did-did they rape you?"
He nodded again, burying his face in Jack's chest. "I was so small," he repeated.
Jack held him in silence for a few minutes before he started kissing Ianto. It started just on the top of his head, but soon Jack was kissing every inch of Ianto's face he could reach, finally making it to his lips, whispering things like "Strong" and "gorgeous" and "love" with each caress, trying to show Ianto just how much he meant to the immortal. Ianto was crying. "I love you so much," he whispered.
"I know. I know, and I'm going to do everything I can to keep you safe. I promise."
Ianto nodded, just letting himself be held. He had never told anybody before, and he felt so vulnerable. Jack held the man until he relaxed before scooping him him up and taking him to his bunker, setting his lover down on the immortal's cot and pulling the blankets up. "Sleep, love," he whispered. Ianto nodded, curling up under the blankets and closing his eyes; he felt drained. There were still tears falling down his cheeks as he drifted off, dampening the pillow under his head.
oOoOo
Owen came up from the cell block, looking somber. "Taken care of," he said.
"Good. Ianto has the day off, so you all will take turns in the shop. Tosh, what is Sherlock's status?"
Tosh ran to the computer, looking. "He's at school now, but UNIT-they just picked him up. He's going back to get his things and then he's off to London."
Owen nodded sadly. "Good. What's up with Ianto?" Owen asked, having been busy dissolving a man when the whole thing happened.
"Needed some rest, extenuating circumstances. Now, what is the status of the cell?"
"Well, not too bad since the acid pretty much cleaned everything away. Shouldn't take too long to clean," Owen reported.
oOoOo
Several hours later, Owen emerged from the cell block having scrubbed every inch of all the cells and returned the acid drip to storage. "He there yet?" the doctor asked, walking over to stand behind Tosh at her computer.
"Yep. Arrived ten minutes ago. UNIT's just leaving now." Tosh worked very hard to keep her breathing steady with Owen so close, glad he couldn't really see her blushing.
Owen patted Tosh on the shoulder. "You did good, Tosh, you gave him a fighting chance," he told her with a smile. Tosh smiled back, fully blushing now. God, why is his smile so adorable? "D'you really think so?"
Owen looked at her, trying to ignore the blush because he knew it probably didn't mean anything and responded "Of course I do, he'll get to be with other kids in a good family, it's good," he assured her. Owen is proud of me, Tosh thought, fighting the urge to freeze. "How'd you like to get a drink after work," she blurted out. Owen was taken aback by the question. "Uh, sure, Tosh, yeah," he replied after a moment.
"Great." Act natural, not like you want him to kiss the pants off you right now. "Yeah, cool."
"Okay. I'll see you later," Owen said, leaving the platform, his footsteps a bit lighter.
Gwen went over to Tosh. "Finally asked Owen out?" she whispered. Tosh grinned. "Maybe."
Gwen hugged her. "Ah! That's excellent. I'm just hoping I'll get to see Rhys tonight."
oOoOo
Ianto stirred in his sleep, mumbling softly as his dreams shifted and turned. Jack was sitting in his office when he heard Ianto start yelling. He dashed to the bunker, flying to the Welshman as the man thrashed. "Ianto? Ianto! wake up!"
Ianto jerked up from his sleep. "Oh, Jack. Sorry," he apologized, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. "I was just dreaming."
"Don't apologize; I thought someone was murdering you for a second." Jack stroked Ianto's hair, kissing his forehead. Ianto smiled. "Don't worry so much," he said, brushing Jack's cheek with his fingertips.
"It's my job to worry, love." Jack kissed his lover gently. "You feeling any better?"
"I can go back up, I don't want to be useless all day," Ianto told him, standing and fixing his suit.
"Only if you feel you're ready." Jack helped him tuck in his shirt, fix his tie and jacket.
"I'm ready," Ianto said, leaning in to peck Jack on the lips. "Thank you." He headed out of the bunker, relieved that the mess in the cell block had been taken care of. Jack followed him up, looking around at the Hub. "Status of the boy?"
"Safe at the Watson household," Tosh, Gwen, and Owen answered.
"Good." Ianto said. Now this could be over. The boy would be happy and hopefully so would everybody else in time.
"All right, so the rift has been fairly quiet today, no new Weevil sightings or warnings, and we dispatched a very dangerous man. I say we all take a few hours off. Ianto, I'm taking you for dinner. Everyone else, we meet back here at 2300 for a night shift." Jack swept Ianto from the hub.