A Bit of String
Title: A Bit of String
Characters: Suzie, Tosh
Summary: For a genius who works in a covert agency, Tosh is terrible at secrets
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Word Count: 500
Beta:demotu
Authors Note: This was written for the WIAD round 4.05. The prompt was a 'Phone Call to the Grave'. Torchwood member finds a phone/mobile that will let them call anyone, from any time past, present or future. Who do they call first and why?. The added element was an acronym.
The overly furtive glance that Toshiko cast over her shoulder had Suzie smiling into her soldering. Through lidded eyes, she watched as Tosh set her work-station humming on some long, complicated simulation, then backed up slowly and tried to slip unnoticed into the shadowed stairway to the basement.
Suzie snorted, amused at the drama, and forced herself to count to ten before moving. Chasing Tosh to the basement would only spook the girl prematurely. At ten, Suzie lay down her soldering iron and calmly walked across the Hub. She nodded placidly to Jack in his office, raising her hand in a wave. Jack returned the gesture, then went back to playing with his not-work.
Unhurried strides took Suzie through the ill-lit corridors of basement rooms. From behind one of the doors, etched with a dark monogram that didn't match the modern logo, came Tosh's voice, her words muffled and indistinct. Suzie put her hands on the cool metal and shoved it open.
"Who are you talking to?" Tosh's whole body jerked into rigid attention; the mobile she had been using was now clutched tightly to her chest.
"I... my mother," Tosh stuttered. Suzie paused, absorbing the idea that Tosh had chosen that falsehood as a cover-up.
"She's dead," Suzie corrected eventually and the explosion of pain that danced across Tosh's face was electric. "The untempered exposure to the sonic modulator caused a hemorrhagic stroke. She died while you were with UNIT." Suzie savored the raw emotions as they played out, then let Tosh gather enough composure to speak.
"But the postcards... Why?" Suzie smiled, trying to tilt her expression from predatory to sympathetic.
"Jack didn't want to... burden you with the idea that you had killed your mother, but I think that's less important right now. Who were you talking to?"
"I don't know," Tosh stated, her voice an almost dead monotone. "It sounded like her. But if she's dead... " Suzie chose not to acknowledge the dampness in Tosh's eyes.
"It's as if this were..." Tosh tried to continue, focusing on the phone in her hand; its screen still glowed softly. "I picked it up, and within seconds the address book had generated the names of everyone I'd ever cared about, my father, my mother, my best-friend from uni, everyone just a button-press away. I could talk to... anyone. After six months, here alone, it was a gift."
"I'll need a report on every conversation you've ever had on it," Suzie demanded and extended her hand expectantly.
Tosh hesitated, then placed the device in Suzie's open palm, looking up with wide, scared eyes. The rush of power was intoxicating and Suzie had to consider her next words carefully. "If I'm satisfied, then Jack doesn't necessarily need to know."
Suzie held the device in her hand, staring at it long after Tosh had fled the room. At Suzie's touch the screen had flickered, then faded to darkness; a search of the address book revealed not even a single name.
Characters: Suzie, Tosh
Summary: For a genius who works in a covert agency, Tosh is terrible at secrets
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Word Count: 500
Beta:demotu
Authors Note: This was written for the WIAD round 4.05. The prompt was a 'Phone Call to the Grave'. Torchwood member finds a phone/mobile that will let them call anyone, from any time past, present or future. Who do they call first and why?. The added element was an acronym.
The overly furtive glance that Toshiko cast over her shoulder had Suzie smiling into her soldering. Through lidded eyes, she watched as Tosh set her work-station humming on some long, complicated simulation, then backed up slowly and tried to slip unnoticed into the shadowed stairway to the basement.
Suzie snorted, amused at the drama, and forced herself to count to ten before moving. Chasing Tosh to the basement would only spook the girl prematurely. At ten, Suzie lay down her soldering iron and calmly walked across the Hub. She nodded placidly to Jack in his office, raising her hand in a wave. Jack returned the gesture, then went back to playing with his not-work.
Unhurried strides took Suzie through the ill-lit corridors of basement rooms. From behind one of the doors, etched with a dark monogram that didn't match the modern logo, came Tosh's voice, her words muffled and indistinct. Suzie put her hands on the cool metal and shoved it open.
"Who are you talking to?" Tosh's whole body jerked into rigid attention; the mobile she had been using was now clutched tightly to her chest.
"I... my mother," Tosh stuttered. Suzie paused, absorbing the idea that Tosh had chosen that falsehood as a cover-up.
"She's dead," Suzie corrected eventually and the explosion of pain that danced across Tosh's face was electric. "The untempered exposure to the sonic modulator caused a hemorrhagic stroke. She died while you were with UNIT." Suzie savored the raw emotions as they played out, then let Tosh gather enough composure to speak.
"But the postcards... Why?" Suzie smiled, trying to tilt her expression from predatory to sympathetic.
"Jack didn't want to... burden you with the idea that you had killed your mother, but I think that's less important right now. Who were you talking to?"
"I don't know," Tosh stated, her voice an almost dead monotone. "It sounded like her. But if she's dead... " Suzie chose not to acknowledge the dampness in Tosh's eyes.
"It's as if this were..." Tosh tried to continue, focusing on the phone in her hand; its screen still glowed softly. "I picked it up, and within seconds the address book had generated the names of everyone I'd ever cared about, my father, my mother, my best-friend from uni, everyone just a button-press away. I could talk to... anyone. After six months, here alone, it was a gift."
"I'll need a report on every conversation you've ever had on it," Suzie demanded and extended her hand expectantly.
Tosh hesitated, then placed the device in Suzie's open palm, looking up with wide, scared eyes. The rush of power was intoxicating and Suzie had to consider her next words carefully. "If I'm satisfied, then Jack doesn't necessarily need to know."
Suzie held the device in her hand, staring at it long after Tosh had fled the room. At Suzie's touch the screen had flickered, then faded to darkness; a search of the address book revealed not even a single name.