Author's Notes: Thanks again to everyone who continues to review and support this story. It really does help enormously. A special thank you as always to Prothrombintime for invaluable feedback and encouragement. Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Seven
November 12th, 2004 (continued)
Ianto stood frozen in place, gun still outstretched and held tightly in both hands, his mind a mass of confused, twisted thoughts as he stared wide-eyed at the dead body of the blowfish. The creature was sprawled out unceremoniously in a macabre arrangement of limbs, a pool of dark blood oozing into the rug beneath its head. He'd never fired a gun with the intent to kill before, and a part of him recoiled in horror from the unconscionable but necessary act. The blowfish had tried to kill Jack, and he knew it would have felt no remorse about killing both himself and the young woman if he hadn't intervened. He didn't take any satisfaction in what he'd done, but the more pragmatic part of his nature asserted itself, reminding him that he'd done his job in eliminating a very real and immediate threat.
He was dimly aware of the young woman scurrying away from the alien's corpse to the opposite corner of the modestly furnished living room. Her ragged sobbing punctuated the palpable, unsettling silence. With her arms wrapped defensively around her body, she was looking up at him with tear-filled eyes in what seemed to be a mixture of fear and relief.
"It's okay," he murmured, as much for his own benefit as for the distraught young woman's. He took a deep, shuddering breath and slowly lowered his gun, engaging the safety and tucking it away in the pocket of his jacket, the weight of it feeling heavy and damning in a way he'd never experienced before. "Everything's fine now," he said more loudly, surprised by the calm steadiness of his voice.
He stood indecisively for several more moments, his hands trembling slightly at his sides. It was with profound relief when Jack's voice sounded in his ear, asking if he was all right. Tapping his earpiece, he replied in the affirmative, succinctly reporting that the blowfish he'd pursued had been dealt with. Jack told him to stay put and that he was on his way.
Ianto tried to offer the woman a reassuring smile. "My colleague will be here in a minute or two," he said evenly, in what he hoped was a reassuring, non-threatening tone. "He'll help me remove the body. Then we'll get out of your way."
The woman stared up at him. "What was that thing? I... I thought it was going to kill me."
Ianto shook his head firmly. "I wouldn't have let that happen. You're safe now."
He was spared any further awkward questions when Jack swept in through the front door in a swirl of coattails, looking every bit the dashing hero, albeit a somewhat dishevelled one due to recent events. He quickly surveyed the scene, then moved over to where Ianto was standing. He placed a hand on Ianto's shoulder, squeezing gently. "You okay?" he asked, looking at him with a worried expression.
"Yeah," Ianto murmured, mortified to realise how badly he wanted Jack to take him into his arms and simply hold him.
Jack frowned, looking unconvinced. "Sure?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Ianto smiled weakly, straightening himself up to his full height. "What about the other blowfish?"
"Taken care of," Jack replied grimly. "The body's in the back of the SUV." He gave Ianto's shoulder a reassuring rub before sliding his hand away. "Up to giving me a hand with this one?"
Ianto nodded. "Yes, of course."
Jack turned to look at the young woman. "Sorry about this," he said apologetically. He flashed her one of his trademark persuasive smiles. "Any chance of making us all a cup of tea while we clean up in here?"
The woman stared at him disbelievingly for a moment, but then nodded mutely and rose shakily to her feet. Ianto supposed she thought better of arguing with two strange, armed men who had suddenly invaded her home, no matter how malapropos the request.
"It's kind of tragic really," Jack muttered, once she'd retreated to the kitchen and was out of earshot.
Ianto frowned. "What is?"
"That lovely young woman has two gorgeous, charismatic men in her house, and she'll never even remember." Jack sighed dramatically.
Ianto shook his head in fond exasperation, resisting the urge to admonish Jack for being completely inappropriate. At the same time, he was grateful for the momentary distraction. He drew in a deep breath, forcing himself to look over at the alien corpse again. "Right, let's get this cleaned up then."
###
With retcon administered and all trace of the blowfish's presence removed from the scene, they returned to the Hub and carried the pair of body bags down to the medical bay. Ianto had notified the police about the location of the stolen sports car, effectively bringing the case to a close, apart from disposing of the bodies and writing up the report, both of which they'd agreed could wait until the morning.
At Jack's suggestion, Ianto accompanied him down to his bunker, and they stripped off their mostly ruined clothing. Showering together, they gently cleaned each other's bodies, sharing unhurried, indulgent kisses as the water cascaded over them. He tried not to think too much about the hint of fear that seemed to linger in Jack's eyes, or the trace of desperation in the way Jack touched and kissed him. He was fairly certain the other man was thinking about how easily the outcome of the evening could have been very different.
They dried each other off, and with a towel wrapped around his waist, Ianto retrieved the spare set of clothes he now kept for convenience in Jack's wardrobe. He focused his attention on getting dressed again, Jack following his lead. As much as he was tempted to curl up in Jack's narrow bed, he wanted the comfort of home, whether Jack decided to accompany him or not. He frowned slightly at the soft pink shirt before slipping it on, the colour seeming inappropriate for his current mood, but it was the only clean one he had on hand, and Jack's shirts were too big for him. Returning to the tiny, cramped bathroom, he styled his damp hair, then carefully knotted his blue striped tie. He stared at his reflection for a long moment, trying to discern any difference, but other than a tinge of weariness in his features, nothing seemed to have changed. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disturbed.
He turned to find Jack dressed and leaning against the door frame, watching him intently. Stepping around him and over to the ladder, he averted his eyes from the other man's penetrating gaze and slipped on the jacket of his pinstriped suit. He didn't want Jack to coddle or worry about him, or treat him as fragile and innocent. Presentable again and shrouded in the familiarity of a clean, pressed suit, he began to feel calmer and more composed.
"I'll make us some coffee," he said lightly, glancing back at Jack before retrieving the last of Jack's spare coats and nimbly climbing the ladder.
He hung the new coat on the stand near Jack's desk, trailing his fingers over the heavy, dark wool and making a mental note to see about sourcing some more replacements. Then he strode briskly to the kitchen area and busied himself with the routine, comforting task. He'd just finished when Jack joined him, and they carried their drinks over to the sofa, Jack making his usual decadent murmurings as he breathed in the rich aroma of the steaming liquid and began sipping at it tentatively.
"It's never easy to take a life." Jack's voice was soft and pensive. "But they didn't give us a choice and they needed to be stopped. It's not noble or honourable... killing never is. But we did what needed to be done."
Ianto took a sip of his coffee and breathed out a soft sigh. He glanced up to see Jack's blue eyes looking at him imploringly. "I know."
"I just don't want you to tear yourself up over it, okay?" Jack paused, resting his free hand on Ianto's knee. "If you want to talk about it, you can talk to me any time you like."
Ianto nodded and smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Jack. I'll be fine."
"That's what you always say." Jack sighed and shook his head.
Ianto struggled to hold back his irritation. He appreciated Jack's concern, he really did, but there was nothing to be said. He'd done what was necessary, and it was unlikely to be the last time he'd be required to do something distasteful in the line of duty. When he held a loaded gun in his hands he knew he had to be prepared to use it, whether in defence of himself or of others. He understood that and it was one of the first things Jack had taught him. "Because it's usually true," he said matter-of-factly.
For a moment it looked like Jack was going to keep pushing, but then he simply nodded. "Just as long as you know it's okay not to be fine once in a while."
Not sure what else to say, Ianto settled on taking Jack's hand in his own and tangling their fingers together.
"I hate putting you in danger," Jack murmured a few moments later, breaking the silence again. "But you were amazing tonight. I'm proud of you, Ianto. Very proud."
Ianto squeezed Jack's hand to convey his appreciation. Although he didn't feel like he'd done anything to deserve Jack's praise, the rush of warmth he felt in response acted as a balm to his turbulent thoughts. If nothing else, he was glad he hadn't let Jack down.
The Rift alarm suddenly sounded, startling them both, and Jack swore under his breath. He moved over to the nearest workstation and pulled up the relevant data, Ianto joining him and peering over his shoulder.
Jack straightened up and looked at him apologetically. "Car park in the city centre. I'd better go check it out."
"I'll come with you," Ianto said quickly, turning and moving to Jack's office to retrieve his greatcoat.
He returned a moment later and helped Jack to put the coat on. Jack seemed about to protest, so he added, "With a bit of luck it won't be anything major. Then we can head back to the apartment for the night."
Jack nodded, surprisingly without further debate. "All right. Let's go."
###
Ianto studied his hand scanner as he and Jack stood beside corpse they'd found on the ground below the multi-storey car park. The man appeared to be in his late twenties. "Fragments of Rift energy, around the neck, arm and shoulders."
"He was grabbed and pushed," Jack concluded.
Ianto glanced at him. "So, there's a potential killer on the loose. Bipedal, maybe humanoid."
Jack nodded, sighing wearily. "Okay, I'll drop you off at home, then I'll head back to the Hub and see what I can piece together."
Ianto looked over to where the two police constables attending the scene were watching them. One was a tall, lanky, blond-haired man, the other a shorter, young brunette woman with wide, curious eyes. The woman seemed to be taking a particular interest in Jack, not that he could really blame her for that. Jack always attracted attention and Ianto was perfectly happy with that arrangement, preferring to remain inconspicuous and in the background. She whispered something insistently to the blond man, who just shrugged, muttering in reply while looking bored and uninterested.
Ianto nodded to them and smiled politely. "Thank you. We'll be on our way. You can let SOCO in now."
He turned and followed Jack around the corner to where the SUV was parked. Jack's hand was on the handle of the driver's side door when an unfamiliar beeping tone began emanating from his wrist-strap.
Ianto raised his eyebrows as he moved to stand at Jack's side. "Whoa! I've never heard it beep like that before."
"That's what I was thinking," Jack agreed, turning away from the SUV and pressing a button on the device. A blue holographic image of a lean, angular man with short, combed-back wavy hair shimmered to life in front of them.
Ianto stared at the image incredulously. The implications of this man contacting Jack via fifty-first century technology wasn't lost on him, but even more startling was the familiarity of the man's narrow, chiselled features, complete with prominent, sculptured cheekbones. He blinked several times, wondering if his weary mind was playing tricks on him.
"I can't believe I got the answering machine!" the hologram declared disdainfully. "What can you be doing that's more important than me? Anyway, you've probably traced the energy shift, found the body. All me, sorry about the mess. Bill me for the clean-up. Now, drinks! Trace the transmission coordinates, that's where I am. And hurry up, work to do!" The man bent down and glanced over his shoulder. "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope," he added, impersonating an earnest, female voice.
The holographic projection vanished and Ianto experienced a sinking feeling with the realisation that another part of Jack's long, secretive past had chosen that moment to come crashing into their lives. He turned and looked at Jack's shell-shocked features.
"Jack?" he asked reluctantly, his tone lacking his usual calm stoicism. "Who the bloody hell was that?"
The other man's features shifted into a hard, guarded expression. "I need to deal with this. You'll have to get a taxi to take you home."
Ianto shook his head, putting his hands on his hips. "No, I'm coming with you."
"Ianto, just do as I say. Please." Jack's voice carried a mixture of irritation and impatience. "I don't have time to argue with you."
"Then don't. You know I'm just going to follow you anyway," Ianto retorted, squaring his shoulders and looking at Jack stubbornly. He still hadn't confronted Jack about the Doctor, the timing never seeming to be right to raise the delicate subject. He was damned if he was going to let Jack keep him in the dark this time.
Jack growled in frustration, yanking open the car door and climbing in. "Fine, get in then."
They pulled up a few minutes later outside a bar at the southern end of the city centre, the silence between them thick and heavy for the duration of the brief trip. Ianto's mind was spinning with questions about this mysterious stranger, but Jack clearly wasn't in a receptive mood so he'd remained silent. He unfastened his seatbelt and reached for the door handle, but Jack grabbed his forearm tightly, causing him to stop and look at the other man.
"I need you to stay back and out of the way. Whatever happens in there, don't get involved." Jack's eyes were steely and uncompromising. "That's an order, Ianto."
"Yes, sir," Ianto replied tersely, irritated more than usual by Jack's overprotective treatment of him.
Jack narrowed his eyes, but he removed his grip from Ianto's arm without another word. He took a deep breath and climbed out of the SUV, slamming the door behind him and striding briskly towards the bar's main entrance, leaving Ianto to follow cautiously in his wake.
The eclectic, upmarket interior of Bar Reunion was strangely deserted, except for a man sitting alone at the far end of the bar counter. It spanned the entire left-hand side of the extensive room, the opposite side filled with booths and tables. The man was downing shots of alcohol from a long row of glasses spread out in front of him, tossing them back carelessly, like they were nothing more than water. Although hunched over and in profile, it was unmistakeably the man from the hologram.
As soon as they'd crossed the threshold, Jack turned to Ianto, placing a palm against his chest and halting his progress. "Wait here," he ordered.
Ianto watched anxiously as Jack stalked towards the other man. Looking up and directing his gaze at Jack, the stranger swallowed the contents of another shot glass before sliding off the barstool and sauntering forward a few steps. His hands dropped to his sides where a pair of gun holsters were strapped low around his hips, while his eyes remained fixed on Jack's approach. Like Jack, his attire was anachronistic and obviously chosen to draw attention. He was wearing tall, battered brown boots and tight jeans, accompanied by a short red military-style jacket with white trim across the front, vaguely reminiscent of coats historically worn by soldiers of the British army. A tight, stained white t-shirt encased the slim torso beneath his jacket. The outfit combined with the man's body language oozed danger and arrogant self-confidence.
He didn't give any indication he'd noticed Ianto yet, who remained standing in the shadows just inside the doorway. The man was clearly trouble, and every muscle in Ianto's body was tense as he waited to see what would happen next.
Jack came to a stop in front of the stranger, and the two men stared at each other for a long, tension-filled moment, neither of them moving. Suddenly the man surged forward, grabbed hold of Jack, and began kissing him fiercely.
Ianto felt his mouth drop open in shock.