Fic: Abort, Retry, Fail? Part 3 (reel_torchwood)
Title: Abort, Retry, Fail?
Author: caledonius72
Prompt: Written for reel_torchwood round 2; The Stepford Wives (1975); based on the 1972 Ira Levin novel of the same name, directed by Bryan Forbes with a screenplay by William Goldman.
Characters: Jack Harkness, Toshiko Sato, Gwen Cooper, Rhys Williams, Ianto Jones, Owen Harper
Pairing(s): Gwen/Rhys, Jack/Ianto, implied Owen/Tosh
Rating: NC-17, for the swearing and darkish themes, no sex but there is innuendo though.
Warnings: Bad language.
Spoilers: Set during S2, may contain spoilers for S1 and S2, and selected back-story from S3
Disclaimer: Belongs to the producers (BBC Wales, Edgar J. Scherick, Columbia Pictures), the creators (Russell T. Davies et al, Ira Lewin, William Goldman, Bryan Forbes). This has been written for fun and not for profit.
Author's Notes:
One of my favourite movies, a thriller in sunlight, great dialogue and terrifying. Paula Prentiss’ performance is mesmerizing; she steals the movie right from under everyone’s nose.
This is the longest thing I’ve written, ever, in my life! It’s been hard but good fun. Constructive criticism is actively sought; I want to become a better writer.
This is inspired by The Stepford Wives, rather than a retelling, and there's a much darker story based on The Stepford Wives that could be written, I've got the ideas for it, but not quite confident enough (yet!) to write it.
Beta: Profound thanks to madder_rose and fide_et_spe for the hand holding, plot pointers, and the sterling beta work - both of them are very much appreciated and have given insightful feedback. Any mistakes, errors, bad science or glaring plotholes are mine alone so just deploy a bit of handwavey to overcome them.
Summary: Rhydygrisiau is picture perfect, a model town. Torchwood know there's no such thing as perfection. Just what is going on?
* * *
Tosh had been in the warehouse for about half an hour, in a tiny room off the office. There wasn't a window, but the partition was glazed so she could at least see outside. Having sent her latest minder off to get her a coffee and some biscuits, she was taking the chance to see what the scanner was picking up. She'd tried in every other building but just as she was about to check, someone would come into the room, interrupting her.
She alt-tabbed into the laptop's secondary operating system, the Torchwood one, clicking through to access the scanner and took a sharp intake of breath. Her hand trembled a little over the mousepad as she took in what the computer was telling her. There appeared to be a powerful supercomputer somewhere nearby, drawing power from all the surrounding buildings. She scribed a quick note to check the power bills to see if there were any anomalies there. The supercomputer wasn't the shocker, it was what it was hooked up to, what it was monitoring... Oh my god. Tosh pushed a finger in her ear to activate the comm.
“Ianto? Jack?”
There was no sound, no reassuring beep, just a ghostly hiss of white noise.
“Jack!” she raised the volume of her whisper in case they hadn't heard. Taking a deep calming breath, she winkled the earpiece out and twirled it in her fingers, checking it over to see if it was working. It looked fine.
She dropped the earpiece on the tabletop, and reached for the laptop, bringing up the Torchwood IM system, to see if she could send a message. She groaned at the “Unable to connect” pop-up that appeared before her. Shit, what the hell is going on? Did this mean that none of the data was being transmitted back to the Hub? She fished around in her handbag, searching for her mobile.
A shadow fell across the desk; her minder was returning with the coffee. Tosh quickly moved the display on the laptop back to the spreadsheet she was “working” on, and tried to calm herself into something like normal. She had to get in contact with the others, she had to do it now.
“Here you are Miss Sato - milk and one sugar, and I brought you some of my home-made flapjack.”
“Thank you.” She took a sip of the coffee, it seemed a little sweet for just one sugar, “I need to make a private call. Would you mind leaving the room?”
“Oh, of course. Is there anything else I can get for you?”
“No, not just yet. I'll let you know if I need anything.” Tosh felt a little nauseous. Nerves, this is huge. Gwen was right.
“I'll be just outside”
Tosh nodded and smiled wanly. Once the woman had left the room she started to pat down her pockets, searching for the tell-tale lump of her mobile. Nothing. She then hefted her large handbag onto her lap and began another search. Her hands felt strange, tingly. Her vision seemed a little blurry, it was hard to focus, to see inside the bag. They've drugged me.
She let the bag slide off her lap, and squinting and blinking she powered down the laptop; as her vision dimmed she groped around the table top, fingers blindly searching for the earpiece. She found it, and her last conscious act was to crush the earpiece between her fingers.
* * *
Owen was engrossed and almost bouncing on the chair with excitement. He'd begun by searching for the Eberhart woman, and found a whole batch of data; blood work, MRI scans, X-rays - a full range of diagnostic tests and scans. It was if someone was measuring her up as a template; he moved on to some of the other women and found more of the same, almost a complete body map - bone structure and soft tissue. He saved a couple of folders onto the flash drive and then returned to the root directory.
He'd spotted a large folder called “Galatea”. Sounds promising. He clicked in and started drilling down, jumping from folder to folder, deeper and deeper into the data. And then his heart froze. Sitting right before his eyes was a folder, a fucking Torchwood folder - the pointer on the screen tipping over and over with its little hourglass. Fuck. He clicked into the folder, and there they all were, all 5 of them. Unable to resist, he clicked his own name. Dry-mouthed he looked at the files. Clips of CCTV footage of him, estimates of his vital statistics, sound files of his voice, and more. He sat there, stunned for a few seconds and quickly reached for his mobile.
He didn't sense the door open behind him, he didn't sense the soft footsteps across the carpet, he didn't sense the person behind him. He did, however, sense the tang of chloroform as the rag was pressed over his mouth and then he sensed nothing at all.
* * *
Ianto was taking the stairs up from the lower levels when he could hear a raised voice echoing down from the main Hub. He'd finished cataloguing, indexing and archiving the flotsam from the Bristol Channel and his internal clock told him it was time for coffee. It had been a frustrating day. The stupid call-out that pulled Jack and Gwen away from the Hub, a couple of calls from Owen and no word from Tosh.
Ianto caught Gwen's eye, and received a shrug and glance at Jack as a response to his enquiring look. Jack slammed down the handset of the phone and glared at both of them.
“Coffee?” Ianto kept his tone low and calm; with Jack just this side of furious, and Gwen's tendency to jump in both feet first, he knew he'd have to remain the voice of reason, no matter how worried he was.
“Oh, yes please!” Gwen jumped at the chance to deflect any chance of Jack going off on one.
“Sure Ianto,” Jack was venting his frustration, “hell, why not have tea and scones and we can sit and have a natter like a bunch of old ladies!”
Oh dear, that bad. Ianto didn't even flinch at Jack's sarcasm. He nodded, turned about and headed off to the kitchenette, realising that someone was hot on his heels.
“Best to let him stew in his own juices for a while.” Gwen had propped herself against the counter, arms folded and giving Ianto a rueful smile.
“Should I be decaffing him?” Ianto's hand hovered over the coffee canisters, dithering a little over which blend, his hand trembling slightly.
He felt Gwen's hand rest on his shoulder. “You alright pet?”
Ianto put both hands on the counter. Honest answer or not honest answer? He turned to her and moved in closer. “No... I don't like being shouted at when it's not my fault. I'm worried about Tosh, and he is too. You know he can't be seen to show fear, but what was that all about?”
“Leaving yet another message for Tosh. He's furious with her. At least Owen called a couple of times. What do you think?”
“Not like Tosh, but then there were problems with getting scans from those buildings. Perhaps there's something blocking her comms.?” He pulled the coffee from the shelf and set the machine brewing - just enough for 3 mugs.
“Yeah. But why can't she phone? Surely there can't be anything wrong with them?” Gwen was fiddling about, getting the sugar and milk together.
“Honestly Gwen, I don't know. There's no use trying to guess. I bet she's not had the chance to call.” He pulled his tray out from the shelves. “Have a look in the cupboard, see if there's some HobNobs, if they don't calm him down, then at least we'll have something to dunk.”
“I don't think biscuits'll help - but they can't hurt.” Gwen straightened up from the cupboard brandishing the packet like a trophy.
“C'mon then, bring them with you while we go back to the lion's den.” Tray in hand Ianto made his way to Jack's office.
Jack looked up on hearing the sound of Ianto's knock on his door frame. His face shifted from the pensive look to something approaching contrition.
“Thanks Ianto. Come in both of you.” That was the nearest that Jack would come to apologising; never show fear, never show weakness, that was his Modus Operandi, by need rather than choice - being bigger on the inside took its toll.
“Machu Picchu blend for Captain Grumpy, and some HobNobs, if he's a good boy.”
Jack chuckled, and grabbed hold of the mug, ladling in at least 3 spoons of sugar, stirring briskly, the spoon clanging loudly against the china.
“Sit down. We need to plan what to do if Tosh doesn't contact us. Owen's already in the same town so he'll have to go and find her, and then we...”
Jack's train of thought was interrupted by the main phone ringing. Ianto picked up the handset on Jack's desk and picked up the call.
“Good afternoon, how can I help?”
“Hello Ianto. How are you?” It was a crackly line, whistling and popping, an electronic whine, but Tosh sounded, well, normal.
“Tosh! Thank god! I'm better now. What's going on?”
“I'm fine Ianto. Is Jack there?”
“Hold on.” Ianto handed the phone over to Jack.
“Toshiko! What the hell is going on? Why the hell haven't you been in touch.”
“I'm sorry Jack, there must have been a problem with the new comms. and I didn't get the chance to ring before now. “
“Well? Did you find anything?”
“No Jack, I'm sorry. Neither of us have found anything.”
“Wait, is Owen with you?”
“Yes Jack, He's fine. We're going to stay overnight and go back tomorrow. If that's okay?”
Jack hesitated as he thought it through. “Fine, but you two have to come back tomorrow, without fail”
“Yes Jack, we understand.”
Jack put the handset back in the cradle with infinite care.
“I gather from that that we won't be expecting to see Owen or Tosh soon?”
“No Ianto. They've found nothing and they're going back in again tomorrow.”
“If there's anything to be found then they'll get it. I bet they're talking tactics right now”
“As much as I admire your optimism Gwen, I just hope that it doesn't backfire on us.”
* * *
The remains of lunch were strewn across the coffee table; the dregs of ‘Special Menu 3’ from Thai Palace smearing plates and faces alike. Jack and Gwen were discussing the merits of semi-automatics over revolvers, and Ianto was thinking about clearing everything up when the klaxon sounded, before the cogwheel began its revolve. Ianto pulled himself off the sofa and picked his way down to the inner door ready to grab whatever needed grabbing. Jack and Gwen stood too, Jack with his arms folded and Gwen with a hopeful look on her face.
Ianto's eyes widened a little in mild surprise. Owen was carrying Tosh's flight case, and was holding open the gate to allow Tosh through. Immediately after Tosh entered another alarm began to sound. Gwen stepped over to Tosh's workstation.
“It's an intruder alert,” she stared at the screen, a small frown of confusion on her face, “but it's saying the intruder has just come through the door. I don't understand?”
Tosh clacked her way across the atrium, up the stairs, and stood next to Gwen.
“If I could have a look, Gwen?” Tosh politely stood next to Gwen “I'm sure it's nothing but let's get rid of that nasty noise.”
Gwen took a couple of steps back and Tosh quickly took her place. A few key strokes and the alarm stopped. “There we are. I'll just set a diagnostic running, see if there's a problem.”
Their attention was drawn to the doorway, Ianto and Owen seemed to be fighting over who would carry Tosh's case. It seemed that Owen was going to win. Oddly there were no raised voices. Owen was being polite but firm, and Ianto was dumbfounded enough to concede.
Ianto risked a look at Jack and Gwen to see their reaction. Jack still stood there, he could almost see the fumes of irritation radiating from Jack; Gwen looked a little confused and returned his look.
“Tosh, Owen. My office. Now.” Jack whirled about and stomped off into his lair.
Owen propped the flight case next to Tosh. “There you are Tosh, all safe and sound.”
“Thank you, Owen”
“My pleasure, Tosh”
Ianto gave a cough, and inclined his head towards Jack's office.
“Oh, thank you Ianto. We can't keep Jack waiting any longer.” With that, they both headed to Jack's office, Owen again letting Tosh lead the way. Jack pulled the door closed behind him.
“Gwen, you want to help me clear up?”
Gwen looked at Ianto, and caught the look on his face. There was some talking to be done. They gathered up the containers and dishes and headed to the kitchen area.
“What the hell?” Ianto scraped the remains of the meal into one container and shoved it into the fridge, no doubt Jack would be hungry later, and he didn't mind eating mixed leftovers.
“And what part of the last 5 minutes are you ‘helling’ about?” Gwen was filling the sink, ready to wash up.
“Oh, I don't know. Perhaps the bit where Owen has turned into a gentleman?”
“Hah, I was wondering about that too.” Gwen pulled on the rubber gloves and picked up the first of the plates. “And Tosh too, normally she just shoves me gently but insistently out of the way.”
“What do you think?” Ianto had picked up a tea towel, and began drying the dishes.
There was a couple of minutes of silence, Ianto could almost hear the gears grinding in Gwen's brain. She suddenly snapped her fingers, “I know! They've had it off. I bet they spent the night together and he's being all chivalrous.”
“Hmmm. Possibly. Though given the good doctor's track record with women, it'd have to be a fantastic shag to transform him from the cantankerous sod that he normally is.”
“Ah, but this time it's love. You know they've been giving each other those looks when they think the other isn't looking.”
Ianto gave her a slightly doubtful look.
“We'll see. I know Tosh won't put up with any crap from him, so I'm surprised she's taken this change so well.”
“We won't know until they tell us. Perhaps you could ask Tosh?”
“Can't you? All girls together?”
“Ianto, you know that she'll tell you stuff she won't tell me. Especially about Owen.”
Ianto had almost forgotten about Gwen and Owen's little liaison. He sighed. “I'll see what I can do.”
She'd pulled off the rubber gloves and gave his arm a pat. “I'm sure you'll get it out of her, you're very persuasive, and who could say no to this gorgeous face?” She grabbed him by the chin and gave his face a waggle. With that she walked out of the kitchenette and left Ianto to distractedly rub his chin where she'd touched him, and ponder how the hell he was going to bring the topic up with Tosh.
* * *
“Sit.”
Tosh and Owen took seats in front of Jack while he perched on the edge of his desk, folding his arms. They sat composed, no sign of any fear of Jack's anger.
“First off you're going to debrief me, and then I'm going to chew you both new ones. Any objections?”
“That's fine Jack. Who do you want to start with? Tosh or me?” Jack studied Owen's face looking for any sign of sarcasm, the words were right but the inflection seemed wrong.
“Tosh. You can start, since we heard absolutely nothing from you all day.”
Tosh looked up at Jack, a soft smile on her face. Jack noticed that she wasn't wearing the god-awful suit from yesterday, but was back in her own clothes; sexy little heels, a close fitting skirt and blouse, made up and hair done. She looked really good, and there was a kind of glow about her - really alluring.
“Jack, I am sorry about yesterday. It couldn't be helped. I couldn't phone, and the comm didn't work. Back to the drawing board with that redesign.”
“Fine - but what did you find out?”
“I thought I hadn't found anything, I was in and out of the offices all day long, and tried scanning but I didn't find anything. But when I got to the warehouse, at first it seemed as if there was nothing there too, but I got some strange energy readings.”
“So there is something going on!”
“Yes, I'm absolutely sure of it. I'm sorry but that's all I've managed to find out. Even going back this morning I couldn't find out anything more.” Tosh looked apologetically up at Jack.
“You did your best. I hope that there's something we can glean from the scanner.”
“Oh. I'm sorry Jack. The secretary at the warehouse dropped a coffee over it. It's ruined. I don't think I can get any data out of it.”
Jack was flabbergasted.
“What the hell... Surely you of all people can salvage something from it?”
“I can try Jack, but I can't promise - the sugar in the coffee will have crystallised, and that may have damaged the circuits.”
“Do what you can,” Jack sighed in exasperation, “at least you found something. Owen?”
“Yes, Jack?” Owen faced Jack calmly, almost blankly.
“Please tell me you found something, and you've got hard evidence.”
“I did find something today, but yesterday was a washout. The scanner gizmo didn't work. Tosh says she'll take a look at it to see why not.”
Jack's face had begun to cloud over, heavy dark thunderous clouds.
“It's on this.” Owen pulled a flash drive from his pocket, “It's encrypted and beyond my skills - maybe Tosh can get something out of it?”
“At last! Something good has come out of this little field trip of yours. And I take it you both had a pleasant night together?”
“Yes. We had a nice dinner in the pub, and we had rooms in a B&B. Very restful.”
“Oh good,” Jack voice positively dripped with sarcasm, “because the two of you, especially you Tosh, had me worried. What the hell were you thinking? You must have had opportunities to get in touch with us. Even an unsecured call to let me know you were all right.”
Tosh's face took on a contrite appearance. “I am sorry about that. I never had the chance, honestly Jack. I didn't stop, and there was always someone about. And then when the comm didn't work...”
“I expected more from you Tosh. Not like you to not follow procedures. Next time...”
“It won't happen again Jack, I promise.”
“Okay. Tosh, have a look at everything and let me know. Both of you can write up reports with all the intel you've gathered. We'll have a council of war tomorrow.”
* * *
Ianto was doing a stint in the Tourist Office upstairs, which was so routine by now that he went through everything like an automaton. He enjoyed being up here, it gave him a chance to think. Down in the Hub it was all about doing and reacting, but up here he could ponder.
Something was off. There was a feeling of wrongness. Ianto hadn't quite shaken off the little watchful habits he'd got into from when he was hiding Lisa in the Hub. Keeping an eye on everyone, observing their behaviour, their actions.
He'd been keeping an eye on both Owen and Tosh since their return from Rhydygrisiau. Owen's behaviour had troubled him the most, but even Tosh was causing him a twinge or two. Tosh had always been a smart dresser, but somehow she was smarter than normal, she looked immaculate. Not a hair out of place, make-up like she'd stepped off a film set, and her clothes were overtly sexy, clinging in all the right places. He didn’t think it was for Jack's benefit; Jack liked to be surrounded by pretty things, but there'd never been a hint of anything between them, beyond Jack's usual default setting of flirtatious. Maybe it was for Owen, maybe Gwen was right, and they had shagged on their overnight stay? That might explain the change in Owen. It was as if he'd turned over a new leaf. For two days running he'd come in to work in a shirt, trousers and shoes, rather than his usual jeans and trainers - much smarter, but he'd not gone as far as wearing a suit. Suits were Ianto's territory, his USP, and he wasn't keen to share.
Setting their appearance aside, as wardrobe choices sometimes just boiled down to what was clean and what was dirty and what came to hand, he thought most about Owen's change in attitude. The chivalry towards Tosh, which on its own could have been attributed to the change in relationship between them. But Ianto remember back to when Owen and Gwen had been having their oh-so-secret shagfest, and Owen hadn't treated Gwen any differently than he did now. Perhaps the difference between lusting after someone or loving them? There was more to it than that though. Owen was being much more pleasant to everyone; and that was a big change. Owen was usually infuriating, provoking and just this side of insubordinate. But since yesterday he'd agreed to every task that was requested, said thank you every time Ianto dropped off a coffee for him. Ianto couldn't fathom what had brought about the change. Maybe Gwen had spotted it too; Jack seemed oblivious.
His musings were interrupted by a ping from his computer. He glanced at the screen to see a reminder for the meeting Jack had convened to discuss the Rhydygrisiau issue. He locked the front door, and flipped the sign to closed, locked his computer and made his way down to the Boardroom - pad and pen in his hands.
Everyone else was already there, and it looked like someone else had made coffee. He paused and looked hard at the coffee pot, and then around the room.
“Ianto mate. I thought I'd give you a break from making the coffee all the time. Sorry if I've jumped the gun, but you've been so busy.”
Ianto was so surprised that he couldn't think of a put-down, and the expression on Owen's face was such a strange mix of hope, expectation and fear that to make a snarky comment would have felt like kicking a puppy. Shocked, he sat down, still staring at the pot and cups.
“Thank you, Owen, it's nice for someone else to do if for a change.”
Ianto took the proffered cup, and took a trepidatious sip. Not bad, not bad at all. Not as good as his mind, but a good attempt. He gave a smile and a nod to indicate his acceptance of the coffee. Tosh beamed, looking between the two of them, like her favourite boys were playing nicely. Owen appeared to have a genuinely gratified expression on his face, and Jack and Gwen were staring as if they thought world war three was about to break out.
“It's good, isn't it? I'm not that much of a coffee fascist not to appreciate someone else's attempts. If he'd ruined it, on the other hand...”
“Well since the world seems to have turned on its head, maybe I should get Janet up here to chair the meeting.” There was a round of laughter at Jack's joke “But moving swiftly on, I've read through the reports from Owen and Tosh. Tosh, anything from either the scanner or Owen's files?”
Tosh gave a cheerful grin, “I'm afraid the scanner is useless, there was nothing I could salvage, it may as well be recycled for spare parts. The good news is that I've been able to get some information out of the files that Owen found. He did a good job in recognising them as significant and for copying what he could.”
Ianto saw Owen puff up a little at this compliment, saw Owen flash Tosh a thank-you glance. Another little quirk to add to the list.
“What have you been able to decipher?”
“It seems to be a whole batch of multimedia files. Sound, movies, images, there's a pattern to the file names, so they must be linked somehow, but the encryption is stopping me from opening them, but I did get into an index document, and it's got a list of the town's inhabitants, some sort of coding, which I can't work out what it stands for - my guess is that the multimedia files are of the people on the list.”
“Surely they're encrypted because they're patient records?” Gwen couldn't quite see why the stuff Owen had got was important, “I'd hate to think that anyone could have a look at my records.”
“They weren't in the server for the practice Gwen; they were on another server, separate from the NHS records.” Owen smiled at Gwen.
“Okay,” Gwen sounded pissed off, “I didn't know where you'd found them. That list Tosh, is there a link between the names and the files?”
“Yes, there's a code number that must be an identifier, and that's the prefix on the multimedia file names.”
“Is there a higher number of files per person?”
“Not sure what you mean Gwen?” Tosh tilted her head, her hair falling perfectly into place, and gave Gwen an encouraging look.
“If you count up the number of files with the same prefix, and then match it to the names on the list, is there a pattern?”
“Oh, I hadn't thought of that. One moment.” Tosh typed in a few commands into the laptop, and then sent the data to the plasma. “Well done, Gwen there's a higher number of files for these people - this is the top ten.”
They all read through the list of names on the screen - Joanna Eberhart was one of them.
“But this is a list of women! Look, Joanna, and there's about three others whose names I recognise; they're on the list of women that Owen found last week. I'll bet that it's all women.” Gwen felt like punching the air. Now they were getting somewhere.
“So far we've got indications that there's some kind of supercomputer that's well shielded, a big batch of data on a select population, and no way of tying the two together.” Ianto looked up from summarising his notes, “Now what?”
“We plan. Thoughts?” Jack looked around the table at the team, Ianto was chewing on his bottom lip, Gwen staring into space, a slight frown on her face, Tosh smiling down at her laptop, and Owen sitting alert, ready.
“Welllll,” Gwen was drawing her thoughts together, “it seems like a quick in and out isn't enough. The information we need is too well hidden to get at quickly, and technology doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere. I'm thinking we're going to have to rely on good old-fashioned detective work.”
“But how? What is it we want? We need more evidence, even if to rule out that there's something weird going on there. But there is, isn't there?” Ianto looked quite earnest as he posed his questions.
“Perhaps... Perhaps we need someone in the town. Getting to know the locals, seeing the links between everyone and everything?”
“Good idea Tosh, but like Ianto says - How?”
“Seems as if it's the women we need to check up on,” Owen gestured to the plasma screen, “there's your list of targets to follow up. We need to check them out, tail them.”
“Agreed, the women are key, there's too much evidence to suggest that there isn't something going on with them, but again, how?” Jack ran his hands through his hair, feeling the excitement of taking some concrete action building.
“It's all married couples you know. There's no single women affected. I think it'll have to be a couple, to avoid suspicion.” Ianto said.
“Well, that rules out me and Tosh then. They've already seen us. Ianto too.” Owen counted off on his fingers, “Looks like it's got to be you and Gwen.” He leant forward eagerly, looking almost manic.
“Hmmm. Think you're up for it, Gwen? Think you can cope being married to me?” Jack grinned across at Gwen, her face flitting between shock, delight and stupefaction. He also risked a glance at Ianto, who seemed to have a more thoughtful look on his face. A deep one, our Ianto Jones.
“Ha. I'll give you a run for your money Jack. We argue enough to be married.” Gwen grinned back at Jack, excited at the prospect.
“You two do realise this will have to be longer than a day, you're going to have to live there to get to know the people.” The ever-practical Ianto was going through the logistics, too busy to join in on their banter.
Jack laughed. “We're going to have to play house then.”
“But what about Rhys?” Gwen realised that Rhys might have an opinion on her going away for a few weeks, never mind the whole “married to Jack” scenario.
“What about him? Your first duty is to the job. You'll need to think of something to tell him.” Jack gave Gwen a hard look.
Gwen nodded, she'd come up with something that would make sense, besides she could still call him while she was out of town.
“Right, that's decided then. Tosh, you can create all the necessary records for the marriage of Jason and Gwyneth Harcourt. Ianto, sort us out for a house in or near the town, rent or buy, I don't care much. Make sure it's big enough though, we need to make an impression.” Jack was back in boss-mode, issuing orders.
Jack stood up and stalked out, leaving a room full of mixed feelings.
* * *
Ianto had taken the workstation next to Tosh to do the work needed to get Gwen and Jack set up in Rhydygrisiau; it made sense as he'd have to liaise with her about the couple's history. He wasn't particularly worried about Gwen and Jack spending all that time alone together. He tried to see if he felt any jealousy, but surprisingly he didn't. He put that thought to one side to look at later, work to be done, and to be honest he was more worried about Tosh and Owen.
Initially he'd thought that Owen had turned over a new leaf, had a personality transplant, but Tosh was more subtle. He'd spent some time thinking about it; he realised that Tosh wasn't exactly her usual self, she was a fairly shy woman at the best of times, her attempts to make conversation were sweet and awkward. Now she was more gregarious, joining in more on banter between the team, and making conversation. He girded his loins and jumped in.
“So Tosh, what is it?”
“What's what?” Her fingers were flying over the keys as she filled out the marriage certificate.
“Perfect hair, a spring in your step, very vivacious... What's up?”
Tosh gave a little giggle, and a sideways glance at Ianto. “Oh Ianto, it's wonderful. After that day in Rhydygrisiau I feel like a new person.”
“Would the reason have something to do with a certain medic?”
Tosh gave a little blush and looked at Ianto, eyes shining. “Oh yes, that night was a turning point. Owen told me exactly how he feels about me, and this, this... It's wonderful!”
Ianto smiled back, relief coursing through him, almost making him sag under it. She’s loved up. “If he misbehaves, let me know. He’ll be on decaff before he knows it.”
Tosh gave him a strange look. “Oh no, Owen won't do anything to hurt me. He can't.”
“This is Owen we're talking about Tosh, king of the sarcastic comment. But I'm happy for you, despite the attitude, he's a good man.”
“He is. And I'm a lucky woman.” Ianto almost gave Tosh a double-take, but decided to leave it for now.
* * *
“Right. Two cars, an SUV and a Mini Cooper. I've taken a long lease on 6, The Cedars for Mr and Mrs Harcourt. You're in a 'select executive development' in Rhydygrisiau - well that's what the estate agent says. You're also 2 doors down from Walter and Joanna Eberhart. The house is ready furnished, but I've got you sorted out for linen, crockery and the rest. It's arriving courtesy of Harwoods Haulage,” Ianto paused to give Gwen and Jack a grin. Jack chuckled at the reference, but Gwen flushed and then gave brittle smile. So that didn't go as well as she'd hoped then. Ianto'd wondered why Rhys had sounded a bit off when he arranged the delivery. Ianto thought that he'd be adding credibility to the undercover. He cleared his throat and continued, “They're also delivering your new clothes. Don't give me that look, Jack. Pseudo-military gear is not what the good burghers of Rhydigrisiau are expecting from a... what was it, Tosh?”
“A research and defence logistics consultant.”
“Yes, so the coat, as much as it pains me to say this, will have to be mothballed for the duration. There are two garment bags in the locker room, I've made an educated guess about your sizes Gwen, peeking at the labels in your shoes and clothes helped.” Ianto grinned as Gwen realised that Ianto had been sizing her up “Jack, I know that everything will fit perfectly. Run along and change, and then Tosh can brief you on your cover story.”
“You're enjoying this a little too much Ianto.”
“Not at all Jack, accuracy and veracity are key to any good undercover operation. We'll also sort you out for tech to take with you. Tosh and I have been looking at lightweight and portable.”
Ianto turned to Tosh as the other two went down the stairs into the bowels of the structure. “Something tells me that there may be trouble in paradise.”
“Jack and Gwen? I don't understand.”
“No - Gwen and Rhys. She's says he's okay with it, but I think he's not. I mean, what man wouldn't be suspicious of their fiancée shacking up with their handsome boss, no matter how much it was 'work-related'?”
“I suppose you're right, but it's all about trust. I trust Owen, and he trusts me. He'd be fine if I were Gwen.”
“Things that serious?” Tosh nodded, and Ianto just didn't want to go there, “Coffee?”
“Oh yes please. I better get the dossiers ready for the Harcourts.” she gave Ianto a wink.
Ianto stuck his head over the parapet in the autopsy area. “Owen? Coffee?”
“Gladly Ianto, just what the doctor ordered.” Ianto turned to move off, but was caught by Owen's voice. “Ianto?”
“Yes?” he wondered what was coming now.
“Tosh tells me she's told you about us.”
Ianto nodded, fearing the worst of an Owen-tirade of 'mind your own bloody business'.
“She makes me happy mate, and I won't do anything to hurt her. I guessed that you might be concerned about that.”
Ianto gave Owen a grateful look, and puffed out a little sigh. “I was worried you'd be an arse with her, and she's worth more than that. You've changed Owen...”
“Yes, and for the better, no?”
“Yes... But it's been a bit disconcerting. Such a total transformation.”
“Think about it Ianto. What was I like before? A mess. Sarcastic, caustic, bitter. You came in for the brunt of it, and I'm sorry for that.” Ianto eyes almost popped out at Owen apologising. Owen gave Ianto a rueful grin. “But Tosh loves me, and for her I'll change. I'm a new man.”
Ianto really wanted to end this outpouring of 'feelings', this was not what Torchwood was about. He flailed mentally for an excuse to get away and settled on routine.
“Yes... Well... I'll just get you that coffee, shall I?”
Part Four