Fic: The Sea After a Storm (51/?)
Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 51
Rating: R
Warnings: Some bad language and violence
Spoilers: Season Two thru Meat (2x04)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to Catherine Tregenna for situations and dialogue borrowed from Meat. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: The assault on the slaughterhouse comes to a rather less than satisfactory conclusion…
Notes: Sorry for the one-day delay. Insane hours at work yesterday. :P You can find all the previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thraceadams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!
Previously on The Sea After a Storm:
Rhys was injured during the space-whale rescue attempt and Ianto found himself on the wrong end of a gun…
"Die!" Dale yelled, and pulled the trigger.
The gun clicked on an empty chamber and Ianto felt his heart start beating again. Dale pulled the trigger again to no avail. He must have used all the ammunition when he and Ianto had been fighting for the gun.
"Shit!" Dale turned and ran.
Ianto just lay there, breathing hard and trying to convince himself that he was really still alive until he heard Jack yell.
"Ianto! Go after them!"
Forcing himself to his feet, Ianto watched in horror as the creature broke free from more of the cables and blocked his path. He dodged around it the second he saw an opening and ran after Dale. He caught sight of Vic crashing through the door of the chemical room where Owen was concocting his sedative and followed. When he came around the corner, Owen had slammed Vic up against the wall and was trying to restrain him while searching for his stun gun.
"If it's got loose, you're never gonna stop it!" Vic yelled just before Ianto zapped him in the back.
"We've got to help them," Ianto panted. "It's out of control."
Owen turned back to the bottles of chemicals that filled the shelves of the small room. "Change of plan," he muttered.
Satisfied that Owen would do everything he could to help the others, Ianto continued down the hall after Dale. He heard voices yelling a few doors down and hurried in that direction. Not bothering with finesse this time, he just kicked in the door of the office, bashing it against one of the gang just as he was leaving. Ianto slammed into the door again and stepped inside, stunning the man before he had a chance to recover. He turned to see Dale reaching for a gun, but managed to kick it out of his hand before he could fire.
Dale looked up at Ianto from the ground, an expression of complete disbelief on his face as Ianto raised the stun gun.
"Pray they survive," Ianto ground out, his voice almost a whisper. He set the gun right between Dale's eyes and pulled the trigger, sending 500,000 volts of electricity into his head. He turned and left the room with out a second glance.
He hurried back to the centre of the warehouse, checking for any stray members of the gang, hoping he at least came across the bastard in the orange coat who'd been holding the gun on him. He got lucky at the entrance to the dock. He heard voices shouting over one another, one yelling that they had to get out whilst the other argued for going back in to rescue their mates. Ianto checked the charge on his stun gun and snuck up behind the men.
"If we go back in there we'll be killed as well!" the man in the orange coat yelled.
Ianto stepped out of the shadows, making both men jump. "Should have listened to your friend there," he said and quickly stunned the man closest to him.
Orange-coat dropped to his knees in front of Ianto as his friend fell to the ground. "Please, please don't kill me."
Ianto rolled his eyes. "Good guy," he said, pointing at himself. "Bad guy," he said, waving the gun towards the other man. "We don't kill people, although I might be talked into it in your case," he muttered as he shocked the man and let him fall on top of his mate. Shaking his head in disgust, Ianto headed for the room holding the creature.
He stepped through the doorway and then paused, trying to determine what was different. Then it hit him - silence. The cries and moans of the creature had stopped. He forced his eyes to the huge grey mass and noted sadly that it had stopped moving as well. He saw Jack, Owen and Tosh standing near its head. Jack had his hand on the creature, a look of agony so clear on his face that Ianto could see it from the doorway. Tosh had her hand on Owen's shoulder, and for once Owen hadn't shaken her off, holding on to her hand like it was the only thing keeping him together. A quick glance to his right let Ianto know that Gwen and Rhys were okay as well, although Rhys was alarmingly pale.
Ianto gave Jack a longing look, but headed for Gwen and Rhys instead of going to comfort his lover.
"What does he need?" Ianto said quietly as he knelt by Gwen.
"I - I don't know," Gwen sniffled. "Owen said to keep pressure on it, but that's all. Ianto - I - "
"He'll be fine," Ianto said soothingly. "Is it a through-and-through? Is there blood on his back?" he added when she looked confused.
Gwen wiped her eyes and slipped her hand under Rhys' shoulder. It came away covered in blood. She looked alarmed, but Ianto patted her shoulder and slipped out of his overcoat and his suit jacket. He bundled the coat into a pillow for Rhys and then folded the jacket to place under his injury.
"You keep pressure on the back, and I'll take over on the front here and Owen will have him fixed up in a jiffy, you'll see."
Gwen gave him a grateful, if watery, smile.
They sat in silence for a long, painful moment, Gwen watching Rhys' face, Ianto watching the others as they stood with creature. Owen finally raised his head and wiped at his face. He gave Tosh's hand a squeeze and then pulled away from her, turning towards Rhys. Tosh followed, leaving Jack alone with the beast.
"Christ, what a mess," Owen said roughly. He dropped to his knees by Rhys and gave Ianto an approving nod for the efforts he'd taken to keep the man comfortable. "Gwen, does Rhys have the lorry keys?"
"Um…" Gwen reached into Rhys' pocket, coming out with a heavy set of keys. "I think it's these," she said. "Why?"
"Someone needs to get the SUV. I need the medical supplies before I can do anything else for him."
"I'll go."
Ianto looked up as Jack spoke. He had joined them silently and was standing close to Ianto, looking as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. His voice was low and leaden, with none of his usual energy. "Tell me you got the ringleader," he said to Ianto as he took the keys from Gwen.
"Yes, sir. And I stunned five others but that doesn't mean much since we don't know how many there were."
A little light crept into Jack's eyes with Ianto's statement. "You got six? Nice work, Ianto. I got one when we first came in."
"And I got another," Owen said.
"Okay, that's eight then." Jack nodded slowly and Ianto could tell he was working out a plan. "All right, Tosh, with me. We'll go get the SUV and you can run a heat signature of the building, it should be easier now with… without the interference." He swallowed hard. "We can double check no one else is on the premises. Ianto, Owen, do a sweep, round up the bodies. Anyone starts waking up, give 'em another jolt. Will Rhys need the hospital, Owen?"
With a shake of his head, Owen said, "No, I'll be able to patch him up, no worries. He was lucky."
"Good. Let's go, Tosh."
Owen made sure Rhys was as comfortable as possible which wasn't hard considering he was still drifting in and out of consciousness, and then he and Ianto did the sweep that Jack had ordered. Luckily, they didn't find anyone else beyond the eight men they'd already encountered. Owen came across a dolly that made it easier for them to move the bodies of the gang to a central location. They agreed on the dock, reasoning that they would be moving them from the warehouse at some point.
"What do you reckon?" Owen asked, kicking Dale's unresisting form a bit harder than necessary to line him up with the others. "The Harkness Special?"
Ianto thought about it for a moment as he leant on the dolly. "Seems likely. I know he keeps the SUV stocked with plenty of Retcon. And it's not like we can explain any of this to the police."
"Yeah." Owen brooded for another moment and then looked back towards the door that led to the creature. "I suppose it's probably best we couldn't save it," he muttered. "Who knows how long it would've lingered in agony."
Placing his hand on Owen's shoulder, much as Tosh had done earlier, Ianto gave Owen a reassuring squeeze. "You did everything you could," he murmured.
"Yeah," Owen said again. "And it's never enough."
Ianto remembered Jack saying something similar just a few days ago and, just like then, he couldn't find any words to make Owen feel better about his decision. He was saved from having to say anything by the sound of the lorry's reverse beeping from the drive. He and Ianto hopped off the dock and went to meet Jack. Owen headed for the SUV, opening the boot before Tosh had pulled to a complete stop. He grabbed the medical kit and hurried back into the warehouse without talking to anyone.
"Tosh? What's the word?" Jack called as he climbed down from the lorry. He put his arm around Ianto as they walked to the SUV. Ianto leant into the half-embrace for a moment, drawing strength from Jack's presence.
"All clear," Tosh replied. "The creature's heat signature is fading quickly and the only other readings are Gwen, Rhys and now Owen inside the warehouse and a cluster of signatures right through there," she elaborated, pointing at dock.
"Ease of transport," Ianto murmured.
"Good thinking. OK, Owen is going to need to monitor Rhys and, if I know Gwen, she'll be in no state to drive. One of you will have to drive them back, get Rhys to the med bay so Owen can get him patched up. The other can stay here and help me with the warehouse and these scumbags."
Ianto and Tosh exchanged a look.
"I'll stay with Jack," Ianto offered. "No offense, Tosh, but I'll be more help dragging the bodies around," he added with a slight smile.
"No offense taken," she said. "I just feel like I'm taking the soft option again."
Ianto's smile bloomed into a grin. "That's just because you haven't heard Gwen complain every time you hit a bump yet."
Tosh smothered a laugh as Owen's voice crackled to life on the comms, asking for someone to bring him the bloody stretcher already. Gwen's voice was clear underneath Owen's frustrated tone, cautioning him to be careful moving Rhys. Ianto raised an eyebrow at Tosh who just shook her head and headed back to the SUV.
TBC in Chapter Fifty-Two
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/101401.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Rating: R
Warnings: Some bad language and violence
Spoilers: Season Two thru Meat (2x04)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to Catherine Tregenna for situations and dialogue borrowed from Meat. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: The assault on the slaughterhouse comes to a rather less than satisfactory conclusion…
Notes: Sorry for the one-day delay. Insane hours at work yesterday. :P You can find all the previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thraceadams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!
Previously on The Sea After a Storm:
Rhys was injured during the space-whale rescue attempt and Ianto found himself on the wrong end of a gun…
"Die!" Dale yelled, and pulled the trigger.
The gun clicked on an empty chamber and Ianto felt his heart start beating again. Dale pulled the trigger again to no avail. He must have used all the ammunition when he and Ianto had been fighting for the gun.
"Shit!" Dale turned and ran.
Ianto just lay there, breathing hard and trying to convince himself that he was really still alive until he heard Jack yell.
"Ianto! Go after them!"
Forcing himself to his feet, Ianto watched in horror as the creature broke free from more of the cables and blocked his path. He dodged around it the second he saw an opening and ran after Dale. He caught sight of Vic crashing through the door of the chemical room where Owen was concocting his sedative and followed. When he came around the corner, Owen had slammed Vic up against the wall and was trying to restrain him while searching for his stun gun.
"If it's got loose, you're never gonna stop it!" Vic yelled just before Ianto zapped him in the back.
"We've got to help them," Ianto panted. "It's out of control."
Owen turned back to the bottles of chemicals that filled the shelves of the small room. "Change of plan," he muttered.
Satisfied that Owen would do everything he could to help the others, Ianto continued down the hall after Dale. He heard voices yelling a few doors down and hurried in that direction. Not bothering with finesse this time, he just kicked in the door of the office, bashing it against one of the gang just as he was leaving. Ianto slammed into the door again and stepped inside, stunning the man before he had a chance to recover. He turned to see Dale reaching for a gun, but managed to kick it out of his hand before he could fire.
Dale looked up at Ianto from the ground, an expression of complete disbelief on his face as Ianto raised the stun gun.
"Pray they survive," Ianto ground out, his voice almost a whisper. He set the gun right between Dale's eyes and pulled the trigger, sending 500,000 volts of electricity into his head. He turned and left the room with out a second glance.
He hurried back to the centre of the warehouse, checking for any stray members of the gang, hoping he at least came across the bastard in the orange coat who'd been holding the gun on him. He got lucky at the entrance to the dock. He heard voices shouting over one another, one yelling that they had to get out whilst the other argued for going back in to rescue their mates. Ianto checked the charge on his stun gun and snuck up behind the men.
"If we go back in there we'll be killed as well!" the man in the orange coat yelled.
Ianto stepped out of the shadows, making both men jump. "Should have listened to your friend there," he said and quickly stunned the man closest to him.
Orange-coat dropped to his knees in front of Ianto as his friend fell to the ground. "Please, please don't kill me."
Ianto rolled his eyes. "Good guy," he said, pointing at himself. "Bad guy," he said, waving the gun towards the other man. "We don't kill people, although I might be talked into it in your case," he muttered as he shocked the man and let him fall on top of his mate. Shaking his head in disgust, Ianto headed for the room holding the creature.
He stepped through the doorway and then paused, trying to determine what was different. Then it hit him - silence. The cries and moans of the creature had stopped. He forced his eyes to the huge grey mass and noted sadly that it had stopped moving as well. He saw Jack, Owen and Tosh standing near its head. Jack had his hand on the creature, a look of agony so clear on his face that Ianto could see it from the doorway. Tosh had her hand on Owen's shoulder, and for once Owen hadn't shaken her off, holding on to her hand like it was the only thing keeping him together. A quick glance to his right let Ianto know that Gwen and Rhys were okay as well, although Rhys was alarmingly pale.
Ianto gave Jack a longing look, but headed for Gwen and Rhys instead of going to comfort his lover.
"What does he need?" Ianto said quietly as he knelt by Gwen.
"I - I don't know," Gwen sniffled. "Owen said to keep pressure on it, but that's all. Ianto - I - "
"He'll be fine," Ianto said soothingly. "Is it a through-and-through? Is there blood on his back?" he added when she looked confused.
Gwen wiped her eyes and slipped her hand under Rhys' shoulder. It came away covered in blood. She looked alarmed, but Ianto patted her shoulder and slipped out of his overcoat and his suit jacket. He bundled the coat into a pillow for Rhys and then folded the jacket to place under his injury.
"You keep pressure on the back, and I'll take over on the front here and Owen will have him fixed up in a jiffy, you'll see."
Gwen gave him a grateful, if watery, smile.
They sat in silence for a long, painful moment, Gwen watching Rhys' face, Ianto watching the others as they stood with creature. Owen finally raised his head and wiped at his face. He gave Tosh's hand a squeeze and then pulled away from her, turning towards Rhys. Tosh followed, leaving Jack alone with the beast.
"Christ, what a mess," Owen said roughly. He dropped to his knees by Rhys and gave Ianto an approving nod for the efforts he'd taken to keep the man comfortable. "Gwen, does Rhys have the lorry keys?"
"Um…" Gwen reached into Rhys' pocket, coming out with a heavy set of keys. "I think it's these," she said. "Why?"
"Someone needs to get the SUV. I need the medical supplies before I can do anything else for him."
"I'll go."
Ianto looked up as Jack spoke. He had joined them silently and was standing close to Ianto, looking as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. His voice was low and leaden, with none of his usual energy. "Tell me you got the ringleader," he said to Ianto as he took the keys from Gwen.
"Yes, sir. And I stunned five others but that doesn't mean much since we don't know how many there were."
A little light crept into Jack's eyes with Ianto's statement. "You got six? Nice work, Ianto. I got one when we first came in."
"And I got another," Owen said.
"Okay, that's eight then." Jack nodded slowly and Ianto could tell he was working out a plan. "All right, Tosh, with me. We'll go get the SUV and you can run a heat signature of the building, it should be easier now with… without the interference." He swallowed hard. "We can double check no one else is on the premises. Ianto, Owen, do a sweep, round up the bodies. Anyone starts waking up, give 'em another jolt. Will Rhys need the hospital, Owen?"
With a shake of his head, Owen said, "No, I'll be able to patch him up, no worries. He was lucky."
"Good. Let's go, Tosh."
Owen made sure Rhys was as comfortable as possible which wasn't hard considering he was still drifting in and out of consciousness, and then he and Ianto did the sweep that Jack had ordered. Luckily, they didn't find anyone else beyond the eight men they'd already encountered. Owen came across a dolly that made it easier for them to move the bodies of the gang to a central location. They agreed on the dock, reasoning that they would be moving them from the warehouse at some point.
"What do you reckon?" Owen asked, kicking Dale's unresisting form a bit harder than necessary to line him up with the others. "The Harkness Special?"
Ianto thought about it for a moment as he leant on the dolly. "Seems likely. I know he keeps the SUV stocked with plenty of Retcon. And it's not like we can explain any of this to the police."
"Yeah." Owen brooded for another moment and then looked back towards the door that led to the creature. "I suppose it's probably best we couldn't save it," he muttered. "Who knows how long it would've lingered in agony."
Placing his hand on Owen's shoulder, much as Tosh had done earlier, Ianto gave Owen a reassuring squeeze. "You did everything you could," he murmured.
"Yeah," Owen said again. "And it's never enough."
Ianto remembered Jack saying something similar just a few days ago and, just like then, he couldn't find any words to make Owen feel better about his decision. He was saved from having to say anything by the sound of the lorry's reverse beeping from the drive. He and Ianto hopped off the dock and went to meet Jack. Owen headed for the SUV, opening the boot before Tosh had pulled to a complete stop. He grabbed the medical kit and hurried back into the warehouse without talking to anyone.
"Tosh? What's the word?" Jack called as he climbed down from the lorry. He put his arm around Ianto as they walked to the SUV. Ianto leant into the half-embrace for a moment, drawing strength from Jack's presence.
"All clear," Tosh replied. "The creature's heat signature is fading quickly and the only other readings are Gwen, Rhys and now Owen inside the warehouse and a cluster of signatures right through there," she elaborated, pointing at dock.
"Ease of transport," Ianto murmured.
"Good thinking. OK, Owen is going to need to monitor Rhys and, if I know Gwen, she'll be in no state to drive. One of you will have to drive them back, get Rhys to the med bay so Owen can get him patched up. The other can stay here and help me with the warehouse and these scumbags."
Ianto and Tosh exchanged a look.
"I'll stay with Jack," Ianto offered. "No offense, Tosh, but I'll be more help dragging the bodies around," he added with a slight smile.
"No offense taken," she said. "I just feel like I'm taking the soft option again."
Ianto's smile bloomed into a grin. "That's just because you haven't heard Gwen complain every time you hit a bump yet."
Tosh smothered a laugh as Owen's voice crackled to life on the comms, asking for someone to bring him the bloody stretcher already. Gwen's voice was clear underneath Owen's frustrated tone, cautioning him to be careful moving Rhys. Ianto raised an eyebrow at Tosh who just shook her head and headed back to the SUV.
TBC in Chapter Fifty-Two
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/101401.html. Please comment there using OpenID.