Torchwood: Divergence
Book Four: Hatchweliad
Chapter 25
When Torchwood's senior pair arrived at the correct spot for the Time flux, the electrical activity had dissipated but it was pouring cold rain in about a two-block radius around the disturbance. Ianto used his PDA to locate the exact point that the Rift Storm had briefly appeared. And even with the heavy rain and only their hand torches and street lamps for illumination, the damage was obvious. A white Vauxhall sat by the kerb with its lights on, the motor still running as though the driver had pulled over to wait out the storm. However, the inside of the driver's side window was awash with blood, a huge section of broken, char-edged, old fashioned dark stone masonry occupying the majority of the front seat, as though it had been hurled by an explosion. But even though it had clear blast damage, it was obvious that the massive object had been out of phase and simply resolidified inside the stopped vehicle, as none of the glass had been broken or cracked. They quickly surrounded the area with yellow crime-scene tape to discourage anyone from poking about while they worked, then carefully surveyed the situation.
"Okay," Harkness called over the drum of the downpour. "Get what readings you can, I'll record the site with the spotlight on the mini-cam, get the door open if I can for a clear view of the victim. Then we'll call UNIT, see if they can pick up the whole car, take it to a secure lock-up where Martha can examine the body tomorrow. We'll tell the police the car was empty and has been impounded for investigation."
They began their separate tasks, both circling the car one behind the other to avoid interfering with each other's work. After a full circuit, the Captain tried the handle on the door, but even though it appeared to be unlocked, the panel refused to budge.
"Gimme a hand with this," he called to the younger immortal nearby. "I'm not sure if the button's up because it's broken and the door's actually locked, or is it's fused shut."
"Step back a bit," Ianto advised, pocketing his PDA and shaking his head to clear some of the rain streaming into his eyes. "Not sure I've stable enough footing in all this water, but I'll give it a go. Good job the staples already came out of my hand, or this'd yank the lot."
The Changeling braced both feet as best he could, pressed his right hand against the metal frame around the windscreen, pulled up on the door handle with his left and hauled back, going red in the face with the effort. The panel came open with a terrible squeal of metal and an ugly gush of gore, a deep depression in the armrest showing where part of the masonry had been imbedded.
"And I though the last guy died badly," Jack blanched, recording the horrific image of the Rift's latest victim, then turning to look at his partner. "At least this one didn't suffer for fifteen minutes. Probably never even knew what happened. Can you get it to close again?"
His Archivist nodded and shoved the door back into place until it stayed, then simply stood there in the frigid rain with his eyes closed for a moment.
"You okay?" Harkness asked worriedly, pocketing the mini-cam and putting a hand on his lover's nearest shoulder. "That was definitely uglier than we normally see."
"Saw worse at Canary Wharf," Ianto breathed tightly. "Could've done without the blood all over my boots though."
"Then why are you breathing so fast and making that face?" the Captain insisted, trying to urge the twenty-six-year-old back toward the SUV.
"What was one of the reasons we were supposed to be relaxing tonight?" the young Welshman grimaced, slowly stepping away from the Vauxhall, his weight obviously centred on his left leg and producing a very pronounced limp.
"Crap," his partner growled, offering a steadying hand. "That knee is never going to heal at this rate. Stay here, I'll bring the SUV to you. We can contact UNIT on the way back to the Hub, get this mess picked up. Once we're home, you need to change into something dry then put that leg up. Any running around needing done for the rest of the night I'll do, yeah?"
"Normally I'd argue," Ianto frowned. "You know I hate sitting on my arse when there's actual work to be done. But I really need to let that joint finally stabilise and heal, or this'll just keep happening. So… yeah."
Within moments, they were on their way to the base beneath Millennium Square once more, both looking forward to getting dried off and warm again. Ianto used the glove box laptop to contact UNIT and arrange to have the Vauxhall picked up, warning them of the grisly contents. Then he called the Heddlu precinct to report an apparently abandoned vehicle at a Torchwood scene and promised to update them if they found anything suspicious. When they make it to the underground carpark, his partner offered a wet shoulder for support to help him get down to the Hub, then into the bedroom where they could both strip and dry off.
Once the pair were in fresh clothes, Ianto got their coats hanging up under the kitchenette platform to drip dry and made a single limping trip up the stairs there to put all the coffee from the machine and side pot into a massive heat retaining carafe, brought it down on a tray with two cups, a spoon, several little sealed sachets of liquid creamer, and a handful of sugar packets. Then he settled on the couch with the laptop his partner had pulled from the Armoury for him, and got his bad leg propped up on the low table.
"Okay," he breathed after a moment. "Let me set up a file and store all the data from this latest Rift Storm for later. Then I'll finish up the Archive plan for tomorrow and access something more entertaining."
"Such as?" Jack prodded, making himself comfortable beside the younger immortal and pouring them both a cup of coffee.
"Film, telly, old CCTV footage," Ianto shrugged. "Whatever strikes your fancy. Though you may want to avoid James Bond films."
"I thought you were a rabid 007 fan," Harkness stated with raised brows. "Don't you want to share the fun?"
"Depends on how fast you get to the point of wanting to throttle me, because I know every line in them," the young Guardian pointed out with a tiny smirk as he continued typing. "If you're up for the torture, I'll be happy to put one on when I'm done."
"No," his boss chuckled. "I think we'll leave your Bond fixation in left field with my office building fetish. Probably safer that way. Though I could tell you some interesting tales about Ian Flemming… quite the man of intrigue in his own right. But a bit of a whiner at times, and surprisingly ticklish at really inopportune moments."
"Pass," Ianto smiled, completing one task and quickly moving on to finish up the other. "How about a bit of vintage comedy? I know for a fact that I can access old episodes of 'Are You Being Served' and 'Benny Hill'."
"Wow, I haven't seen 'Benny Hill' since it first ran," Jack laughed. "That'd be great."
"Just please don't tell you dated him," the young Welshman beside him murmured, completing the reorganisation schedule and shutting down the Torchwood programmes he'd been running. "It'll take a few minutes to boot up the episodes. Do you want to watch on the laptop, or have me run it on the big screen in the Boardroom?"
"You want to be on that leg long enough to get there?" Harkness prodded with a frown.
"You grab the tray with the coffee," his partner nodded, typing in commands then closing the portable computer, sliding it into its case and pulling the long carry strap over his head. "I'll bring the laptop. And by the time I hobble the distance, we should be ready to go."
"I'll pull out the Archive bin for your leg," the American smiled crookedly, leaning over to give the younger immortal a brief but solid kiss before rising to take charge of the tray with the carafe and other related items on it. "Shout if you decide you need Captain Cardiff to play crutch."
"Yes, sir," Ianto agreed readily, carefully gaining his feet and limping slowly in the other man's wake.
Once inside the Boardroom, it didn't take them long to get settled into the chairs Jack had placed side by side at the end of the table near the door before sprinting to the kitchenette for a bag of caramel corn and a packet of rosemary dusted cheese crisps. As soon as he returned and Ianto had his sore leg elevated, the pair got the first episode queued up for viewing and relaxed with fresh cups of coffee and their snacks, looking forward to a bit of naughty comedy before bedtime. Considering how work had gone since 6:00 am, it actually wasn't a bad way to end the day.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
AN: Not good… but at least the boys can relax again after that nasty Rift Storm aftermath.
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM