SPLASH – Chapter 2
By Storms-Are-My-Nature
I've just checked over the last chapter and I was horrified at how rubbish it was. And I even forgot the disclaimer. Remind me never again to listen to a book-tape whilst writing.
Disclaimer: If I owned Torchwood, Jack would be better to Ianto and Gwen would be so annoying. So what does that tell you?
Ianto let himself into his dark flat with a barely audible sigh. His cat, Moses, trotted out of the kitchen, green eyes curious. Moses opened his mouth in a Silent Miaow, begging to be picked up.
Ianto obliged, bending down and picking up the black-and-white tom, rubbing his fingers through the warm fur.
"Hello boy," he murmured, feeling the cat's purr rumbling in his chest. "I've been a while, haven't I?"
Moses responded with an indignant mrrow, and wriggled to be put down again.
Ianto let him go and wandered into the kitchen to make some coffee.
The machine was old and not nearly as glamorous as the one at the Hub, but Ianto didn't particularly care. It was hardly as if anyone came to visit his house, was it? Not since Lisa, anyway.
As soon as the coffee was done he went into the sitting room and flicked on the television, not with anything in mind to watch but rather just to have something to do.
Moses jumped up onto his lap and they spent the next forty minutes watching the XFactor. Ianto had never really been one for those kinds of programmes – he was more of a documentary person – but he had to admit there were some advantages to such brain-numbing-ness. The memory of the phone call was starting to fade.
At least, until the phone rang.
Ianto sighed in annoyance, before shifting an indignant Moses and answering it.
"Hello? This is Ianto Jones speaking."
"...Ianto Jones..."
Shit.
"What do you want?" Ianto asked, feeling as if cold fingers were running up and down his back. "How did you get this number?"
"...so-"
"I don't care what sort of sick joke this is, but I promise you, you call me again and you will be sorry!" Ianto yelled, surprising himself with his own aggressiveness.
The other end was silent. A rattling breath was sucked in and let out with a trembling hiss. There was a wet slapping sound, and splashing on the other end.
"...islands..."
"What about islands?" Ianto growled. "Because unless you tell me something useful in the next thirty seconds I am putting this phone down."
"...help...us..."
And the line went dead.
Ianto swore and threw the phone at the wall, spinning around and storming into his bedroom. He flung himself on the bed and buried his face in the duvet. It smelt of cats, and Ianto's nose was tickled by cat hairs.
He rolled over and stared at the ceiling. There were cobwebs all over the place, indicative of how long it had been since he had been home. There was nothing to keep him there, nobody to talk with or watch television with. Nobody to share a life with.
"I wonder if Moses would like the Hub..." he said out loud. "Myfanwy might enjoy the company."
Who was he kidding? Myfanwy was a pterodactyl (pteradacton, to be precise, but pterodactyl sounded sexier) and would be much more likely to simply eat Moses on sight. So maybe not.
"Ah well," he murmured. "It was only an idea."
He got up, going to the window and staring out into lamp-lit Cardiff. He could see why Jack loved to stand on rooftops so much, just looking at the world. Sometimes it was nice to feel like you were not a part of this crazy, crazy place.
But who was he kidding? His job was to hunt down aliens, to monitor a Rift in time and space running through the city. If that wasn't crazy, what was?
His mobile buzzed. Ianto growled under his breath and shoved his hand into his pocket to fish it out.
"If this is..." he muttered grumpily under his breath, checking the caller ID.
"Ianto!" Jack's American tones filtered through.
"Sir? I've only just got home – what is it?"
"I've been checking through the CCTV-" Jack started, but Ianto cut him off, feeling cold dread.
"The CCTV? Why?"
"...I was bored," Jack lied. Ianto raised an eyebrow. Jack was a really bad liar.
"Of course. That sounds just like the sort of thing you would do."
"Anyway, I found a really interesting file...Ianto, why didn't you tell me about that phone call? Don't you trust me?"
Jack sounded so hurt that Ianto, for the first time, felt a twinge of guilt.
"Sorry Jack," he muttered. "I...I don't know."
"Ianto, this is important. I checked the calls log too, after hearing the audio file, to try and trace the call." Jack sounded worried.
"Tosh is the person you ought to call if you want help," Ianto yawned, looking longingly back to his bed.
"No, I managed," Jack said. "But the thing is, that call was made from the middle of the English Channel."
"Jack, there's no reception in the middle of the Channel," Ianto said. "You must have got something wrong."
"I never get things wrong!" Jack said indignantly. Ianto snorted. "And, even more interesting, that call was also made from the bottom, on the sea-floor."
"Not possible," Ianto replied. "Mobile phones don't work underwater. No equipment does, excepting diving gear."
"I know."
"Then the equipment must be playing up. I just got another call-"
"You did? Yan, why didn't you call me?"
"I was just about to," Ianto lied glibly. He, unlike Jack, was a master at lying.
"What did it say?"
"Nothing much. I think I did too much shouting for it to get a word in edgeways." Ianto wrinkled his nose.
"You, shouting?" Jack sounded impressed. "Shame I missed that, it-"
"But it did say something about islands and helping it. Well, them, actually," Ianto corrected himself.
"Seems there's more than one of them, then. Definitely worth checking out."
"Jack, there is no way you're going to be able to convince Owen to comb the bottom of the English Channel because of a phone call I got," Ianto pointed out. "And I can't say that I like the idea much, either."
"Shame. I'd have loved to see you in a wetsuit."
"Shut up."
"So rude!" Jack laughed. "But you agree there's something up?"
"Dunno." Ianto sat on the edge of the bed. "Why don't you ask the others?"
"OK. I don't want to see you in work tomorrow, by the way. You're overdue for a day off."
"You're joking. There is no way I'm missing seeing how Owen takes this."
"Good point."
So there we are! Two chapters up in two days! That is a RECORD for me!
Look, I know you really can't be bothered to review because that takes time and all that hoo-ha, but it would be cool if you could leave just ONE WORD in your review. Don't particularly care what it is. But no swearing or sick-minded stuff, 'kay?
You can always leave a longer review if you want...-hinthint-