"Ah, c'mon John," Jack laughed, "Enough teasing. Ianto, did you really think we'd come all this way without a plan."
Ianto gave an exasperated groan and glared at his lover angrily.
"Captain Harkness," he grumbled, "I'm beginning to wonder what I ever saw in you. Now how about you tell me the plan while I get dressed."
"John?" Jack said. When the other man didn't respond he raised his voice and repeated it louder this time,
"John!" he yelled.
"What.....huh, oh yeah sorry."
John dragged his eyes away from Ianto who was struggling to slip on his boxers under the sheet. He cleared his throat and shook his head at himself, pressing a button on his wrist strap to bring up a three dimensional star map which hovered just above his arm.
"This," he said with a swirl of his free hand, "is Terrellian 5." He pointed to another area of the map, "we need to get here, the furthest limit of the planet's transporter shield. I've got a ship docked about half a mile away from here which will take us there and then we can transport wherever or whenever we like. If we get stopped by a space patrol on the way I've got papers which describe you as a notorious 51st century criminal and Jack and I will pose as your captors."
"The hard part," Jack took over, "will be smuggling you out of here. We can't risk them linking us to your disappearance because they'll have our descriptions and we shouldn't be too difficult to find since we don't exactly blend in around here. Ianto, you and I will sneak out first. I'll get you settled on the ship, then sneak back in so John and I can check out in the morning. Hopefully by the time they realise you're gone, we'll be miles away."
"Um oh, okay," Ianto stuttered, "but I need to....I can't,...I mean. I can't go, not yet." He swallowed, took a deep breath and started again, "I have to go to my room and get something first, I can't leave without it."
"What?" Jack scowled, "What could you possibly want. What's so important you can't leave it behind?"
"I...Jack, please. I lost everything when I came here. I left everything behind, all the little things that I thought were important, my coffee machine, photographs of you and Lisa, homemade cards my niece made for me, my stopwatch, everything. I just want to hold on to something this time, please."
Jack stared at him for a few moments and then glanced at John who gave him an almost imperceptible shrug of his shoulders. Finally he opened the door,
"Go then, and hurry."
Without another word, Ianto walked out the door and took the lift down to the bowels of the hotel. He hurried along the basement corridor and stopped outside the room he shared with three other people, silently praying that no one would be in. He swiftly opened the door and slipped through it, thanking the gods that the room was empty. He took in a long pull of air and held it for a few seconds before he forced it out through his gritted teeth. He stumbled over to his bed and collapsed on to it, reaching under the pillow to pull out a leather pouch which he clutched tightly to his chest. Tears stung his eyes as he curled up into a tight ball, his breathing coming in short, sharp gasps as he fought to suppress a growing sense of panic. Slowly he uncurled his fingers and removed a small bottle from the pouch. He held it up to the light and grimaced at the contents, placing it down on the table beside the bed. Sitting up, he emptied the pouch, taking each bit of kit and carefully placing it next to the bottle.
Meanwhile, Jack sat on the window seat in the room three floors up, one foot resting on the floor and the other stretched out on the seat in front of him. He stared out at the stars as he rested his head against the window.
"What do you think he's really doing John?" he asked.
"I've no idea," John shook his head, "Let's just get him out of here first, then we'll worry about what's wrong with him."
In another part of the hotel, in a room much less grand, Ianto felt much calmer. He let himself fall backwards; lying sprawled out on the bed, one foot dangling over the side. His eyes rolled back in his head and his vision blurred as tiny yellow stars danced and twirled behind his eye-lids.
When Ianto stumbled through the threshold, beaming from ear to ear, Jack gave him a hard look. The Welshman squirmed under the scrutiny and made an effort to rein in his euphoria. He sniffed, frowning when his heightened senses picked up a new scent. He'd been aware of Jack's unique scent since he'd first fallen into his arms earlier in the evening, but this new aroma was different. Whereas Jack was clean and lemony fresh, lemongrass and apple blossom, this new scent was dark and mysterious. It reminded him of Turkish coffee, freshly ground beans and cardamom with just a hint of chocolate. It was a heady, spicy combination, full of danger and eastern promise. His cock twitched involuntarily in response and he closed his eyes, unable to stop himself humming appreciatively.
"Ianto?"
"Hmmm?"
"Are you okay?"
Ianto jerked as Jack's voice jolted him back to full consciousness. He blushed, realising he'd been getting off on a smell. The blush deepened and his eyes widened in shock with the knowledge that it was John's pheromones he'd been reacting to. He glanced over to the other man and caught him looking back at him, his expression unreadable and his head cocked to one side as if he was contemplating something. The Welshman glared back defiantly and eventually the former time agent shrugged and turned away. Jack felt he was missing something and it wasn't a sensation he enjoyed. It reminded him of his time with Rose and the Doctor. Much as he loved them both, the little looks and the in-jokes they shared had left him feeling like an outsider at times.
"Sorry," Ianto apologised, "I'm just happy to be going home at last. Now how are we doing this?" he said, changing the subject, "There's a fire escape at the end of the corridor but it's alarmed. I suppose we could break into one of the empty rooms on the ground floor and get out through a window but I don't know which rooms are empty and I don't know how we'd explain it if we get caught breaking in in the middle of the night. That leaves the back entrance through the kitchen. The door there is alarmed too but it's usually left open because the kitchen workers are always popping out for a smoke or for fresh air. I guess the management trust them not to run away because most of them have no where to go."
"Kitchen it is then," Jack said, placing a hand between Ianto's shoulder blades and guiding him towards the door, "and If we get caught," Jack went on, "just act as if we have every right to be there. You'd be amazed how often that works."
Jack followed Ianto into the lift and watched as he pressed the button for the lower ground floor.
"We'll have to enter the kitchen via the staff quarters." Ianto explained, "the restaurant will still have a few late night customers at this time so we could be spotted if we go in that way. We'll need to go down to the basement and back up. It's a bit of a labyrinth down there so keep close or you're likely to get lost."
As soon as they stepped out of the lift into the corridor, Jack was struck by the marked contrast between this floor and the ones above. No pictures or other ornaments adorned the gray, drab walls. There was nothing in fact, that wasn't entirely functional. Even the floorboards were bare. Ianto placed a finger to his lips, and waved for Jack to follow him.
After the third or fourth change of direction Jack's head was spinning;
"You were right about it being a bit of a labyrinth," he said, "How much longer?"
"Hush," Ianto replied, "not far now."
Both men froze in place when they heard a voice calling from behind them;
"Hey, you shouldn't be down here."
Ianto stopped and turned around slowly, watching as Jack strode purposefully towards the owner of the voice. Although he couldn't see his face, the Welshman knew his lover would be treating the newcomer to the full on Harkness grin.
"Captain Jack Harkness," he bellowed, holding out his hand, "and you are?"
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ianto had to suppress a snigger, wondering how many times he'd heard Jack use that line, starting with the time when he'd first met the charismatic Torchwood leader in Bute Park.
"You shouldn't be down here," the young man repeated, ignoring Jack's outstretched hand.
"Aaron," Ianto said, pushing past the Captain, "I'm getting out of here. Why don't you come with us," he looked towards Jack, "he could, couldn't he, Jack."
Jack considered his options and came to the conclusion that their best chance of leaving the hotel unseen would be to take the boy with them. They could always dump him later if necessary. Before he could reply however, they heard the sound of boots hurrying down the corridor towards them.
"It's too late," the boy cried, "I saw you earlier, when you got out of the lift. I've all ready called security."
Jack looked around desperately and noticed an open door to his right. He bundled the other two through it and shut it behind him with a soft click. He placed a finger to his lips and waited, putting a hand on Aaron's shoulder in a gesture that was meant to be both comforting and threatening. The three men stilled, barely breathing as the sound of boots came closer and then gradually faded away.
"Do you think we can make it to the kitchen before they come back," Jack whispered.
Ianto nodded.
"Right, in a minute I'm gonna open this door and we're gonna run like hell," He turned to the boy, "Aaron is it?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Okay Aaron. I want you to follow Ianto and try not to make too much noise. I'll take up the rear."
As soon as he opened the door Jack became aware of two things, the first was that the boots had turned around and were coming closer again, the second and more urgent concern was that Aaron had started yelling at the top of his voice.
"Hey, they're here, they're over here!"
"Run Ianto, Run!"
He took his out his gun from its holster and hit the boy on the back on the neck, catching hold of him and gently laying him to the floor as he crumpled. He took off after Ianto, shooting his gun blindly over his shoulder as he went.
"Change of plan, John," he yelled into his wrist strap, "Get the fuck out of there, NOW!"
John left the room hurriedly and walked quickly past the lift, making his way to the fire escape at the end of the corridor. He ignored the high pitched screeching noise as he pushed it open and he ran down the metal stairs taking them two at a time. As he reached the last flight, he leaped over the railings, landing on his feet in the alley way below. He stumbled slightly as he recovered his footing and took off towards the street. He hadn't gone more than a few yards when a burly men dressed in a hotel uniform stepped around the corner in front of him. He reached for his gun but froze when he heard a familiar click behind him and felt something hard poking into his back.
"Hands were I can see them."
John slowly rose his hands,
"Ya know, if you wanted to play, all you had to do was ask."
From their hiding place across the street, Ianto gasped as he watched two men bundle John back into the hotel. He tried to stand up but was grabbed by the arm and forcibly pulled back down.
"John can look after himself," Jack growled, "we have to get you somewhere safe first."