Long tail on a ghost part 2.3

[esteliohan]

Jack had his feet up on the desk and the casino’s CCTV footage playing on the screen. He was reading through some old reports of encounters of beings that matched Owen’s description, and kept glancing up to monitor Ianto’s progress.

He’d just disgustedly dumped the useless report on the desk when he noticed a woman in the a dress, the image on the screen crackling slightly around her. He cocked his head, following her progress across the casino floor. Before he could make anything of it, the rift alarm sounded.

Jack cursed, glancing from his door to the screen. He checked the source of the alarm, two weevils having a fight in an alley behind a nightclub. He tabbed back to the video footage. The woman was talking to Ianto, handing out flyers. He’d be fine. The clubbers probably wouldn’t be.

Decision made, he rushed from the office, grabbing his coat as he went.***

Owen nearly threw his phone at the wall when it started ringing. He groaned heavily and rolled over, feeling along his bedside table for the offending device.

“What?” he muttered, blinking up at the ceiling as his brain tried to remember how it felt to be a functioning human being.

Jack’s voice came gasping over the line. “Little help.”

“Aw Jack, I came in last night. There are other members in this team you know?”

“None of them are doctors,” was the wheezing reply.

“You don’t need a doctor,” Owen shot back, “You need a coroner. Anyone can shift a body around.”

“Two weevils. One dead, one sedated. Behind the Barfly.” There was a rasping sound before the line went dead.

Owen sighed. “Of course there is,” he muttered at the phone, before reluctantly forcing himself from his bed.

By the time he arrived at the scene, Jack had already revived though he looked a little peaked around the edges and his shirt was smeared with blood.

“You know most of us manage to take down two weevils without getting killed,” Owen remarked as he came down the alley.

Jack gave him a look. “They were fighting. I had to throw myself in there.”

“You couldn’t, oh I don’t know, shoot at them?”

Jack ignored him in favour of grabbing the dead weevil’s arms. Owen took the hint and gathered its legs and together they carted it off to the SUV.

“Is it just me or are they getting fatter?” Owen asked as they heaved it into the boot.

“No they’re definitely getting bigger. Must’ve found something new to snack on.”

Owen snorted. “That’s comforting.” He turned to head back into the alley only to freeze. “Uh Jack, I thought you said the other one was sedated.”

“It is sedated,” Jack replied, head popping around the SVU, “Why...oh.”

“Oh.” Owen repeated as a very pissed off weevil stared from out of the shadows. Behind it three other shadows moved.

“Was it you that laughed at Gwen suggesting a turf war?” Jack asked as he squared up next to Owen.

“Okay so this feels a little like an organised hit, but they’re weevils Jack, not the Sopranos.”

The weevils shuffled forwards. Jack’s eyebrows shot up. “Try telling them that.”

Before Owen could reply, two of them launched forwards and he dodged. Jack caught it on the turn, giving it a good douse of weevil spray. It keened and fell back, giving Owen a chance to deal with the other one.

The remaining weevils entered the fray and it was just a flurry of limbs, spray, curses and a stray stiletto Owen liberated from the sidewalk and launched at one of the creatures’ head. It deflected off the top and caught Jack’s shoulder, earning him an outraged ‘Hey!’

They were so caught up in their battle, neither man heard their phones ringing within minutes of each other.

***

Ianto knew something was wrong from the minute he took the first sip. The drink tasted off, not in the way a dirty Martini tasted off or his tonic additions had, just completely wrong in the same way green bean coffee did, like it could kill you. Something Ianto didn’t think was particularly far-fetched, all things considered.

He eyed the contents of his glass speculatively, as if the olive would somehow start talking and explain itself. When he started seeing two olives, he knew he may have a little problem. Ianto looked back at Zeta who smiled.

“We all have our parts to play,” she said softly. She got up and nodded at Epi. The other woman turned to the dealer. “You must forgive our friend, I’m afraid he’s had a little too much to drink tonight.”

The dealer nodded, barely concealing his boredom at seeing the same thing happen week after week. Epi smirked and got to her feet. They each took one of Ianto’s elbows and hauled him up. He swayed unsteadily, his legs refusing to obey the command to stand.

They escorted him through to the door, the benign smiles plastered on their faces earning them indulgent and compassionate looks from everyone they passed. Once he managed to regain some semblance of control over his own limbs, Ianto tried to shake them off. It seemed to bother them as much as a fly might’ve. He was either a lot weaker than he thought, or they were stronger than they looked.

They exited into the car park, and they dragged him along to his car. He wondered briefly how they knew, but these little details were becoming more and more inconsequential as the seconds ticked on. They bundled him into the driver’s seat without hesitation and stepped back. Ianto involuntarily hunched over the steering wheel, his head feeling at least five times heavier than it ever had before.

“Should we take the keys?” Epi asked, surveying his slumped form impassively.

Zeta shrugged. “Seems unnecessary.” She slammed the car door and grinned. “They’ll find him in the morning and trace it back to us.”

“Act three,” Epi noted, “Turning point.”

“And we’re ahead of Gamma.” She paused as another figure approached. “Ah Phi, excellent timing.” The blonde in the blue dress merely inclined her head.

Epi rolled her shoulders. “Shall we call it a night then?”

“And a very productive one at that,” Zeta replied with a nod. She linked arms with the other two women, and sauntered away from the car, the darkness swallowing their retreating forms.

Ianto listened as the sounds of their easy banter faded into nothing. He tried to focus on his breathing. It was important to keep his heart rate steady, to keep everything functioning just long enough to get help.

It was obvious his comm unit wasn’t working and neither were the contact lenses or he’d have received some sign by now. He cursed his own stupidity. They’d obviously known from the start that he was being monitored. Ianto decided to deal with that blow to his ego later in less dire circumstances. Dying wasn’t exactly on the list of all the things he had hoped to achieve with these clandestine spy games.

It took an enormous amount of effort just to pull himself back into the seat properly and it was only his stubborn dignity that got him there. He fumbled for his keys and, finally having gotten them into the ignition, pressed a button on the dash that would call Jack’s number.

Clearly they hadn’t thought to compromise his car’s phone connection. It never ceased to surprise Ianto how often they missed the little things. The call went to voicemail and Ianto made a mental note to kill Jack if he survived this.

The next speed dial was Owen’s. As the phone rang and rang, Ianto leant across to the passenger side and pulled a small medical kit from the glove compartment. With a syringe in hand, he slumped back in the seat, alarmed at how laboured his breathing had become at the little action. Again the call went through to voicemail.

Ianto knew he couldn’t have much time before he blacked out. His vision was already swimming. He didn’t want to spend what little of that time he had trying to call people. Without further thought, he plunged the syringe into his leg.

With shaking hands, Ianto threw the car into reverse. The adrenaline kicked in and the tires squealed as he sped towards the hub.

***

Jack and Owen were laughing as they hauled the last weevil into the cells. The ludicrous nature of their job often meant that situations were best dealt with in humour afterwards, and since no one was permanently harmed, the idea of a crime lord Weevil family seemed hilarious somehow.

Jack still chuckling as he entered his office, leaving Owen to clean up and catch a couple of more hours’ sleep in the med rooms. The last thing he expected as he dropped down into his bunker was to find Ianto face down on the bed, still impeccably dressed in his suit.

“Ianto?” he asked surprised, tapping the other man’s leg. “What are you doing here?” When he got no reply he pressed on. “How’d the recon go, we lost contact about halfway through.”

Ianto muttered something incomprehensible, still not moving. A sudden realisation came to Jack and he huffed a laugh. “Had one too many Martinis, huh?” he asked, and this time Ianto hummed his ascent.

Jack grinned and moved to take off Ianto’s jacket. He’d never hear the end of it if he let Ianto get it all messed up, drunk or not. As he stepped aside to hang it up, Ianto’s hand curled in his shirt. “Don’t go.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jack said, prying the hand loose.

Something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Missed you’ was mumbled into the pillow.

Jack’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow you must really be drunk,” he said as he finally extricated himself and hung up the jacket. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling at the situation. Ianto very rarely got in a state like this which was odd for a guy his age, but probably not so odd for someone working for Torchwood.

Besides, Jack thought as he pulled off Ianto’s shoes, he could really hold his liquor. Well, as long as it wasn’t spirits. He remembered this one time the team all went out after what Owen had officially reported as “a giant clusterfuck of a mission” and Ianto had -

The thought stopped dead and Jack frowned. Ianto knew he didn’t have the best head for spirits, and it’d still take a few Martinis to get him in this state. More than he’d ever drink on a mission. But if he wasn’t drunk, he was either very tired or...

Jack shifted and brought two fingers to Ianto’s neck. It took him a second to find the pulse, which was alarmingly weak and sluggish. Doing his best not to panic, he flipped Ianto over only to find that his breathing was shallow and he was trembling.

Jack straightened and tapped his comm. “Owen, I need you in my quarters - ”

“Flattering as that is Jack, I really don’t - ”

“Bring your med kit. Ianto’s been poisoned.”

Owen was there within seconds. “Jesus Christ,” he muttered as he dropped into the room. “How long has he been like this?”

“I don’t know, I found him when we got back.”

“And you didn’t think to say anything?”

“I just thought he was drunk.”

Owen made no reply as he opened his tox kit and settled next to Ianto. He took a swab and handed it back to Jack, who took it without question and ran the screen. Owen meanwhile checked the vitals.

“Pulse is slow and erratic, breathing is shallow, pupils dilated, and his body temperature is also dropping rapidly.” He sat back on his heels as the machine beeped. “Shit,” he muttered, looking over the results. “It’s the same thing used to drug all those women.”

“Can you fix it?”

Owen considered. “I’ve never been able to figure out if the drug was merely meant to be a sedative or an actual poison but - ”

“I think it’s safe to say poison,” Jack interrupted, “Though I’d prefer not to test the theory."

Owen pointedly ignored him. “- but structurally it’s a lot like cyanide, so I should be able to counter-act it.” He busied himself with vials and needles as Jack rolled up Ianto’s sleeve.

“What happens if you’re wrong?” Jack asked, watching as Owen plunged the needle into Ianto’s arm.

“Well this certainly won’t do him any harm,” Owen replied, discarding the used needle in favour of another.

“Owen.”

The doctor paused briefly, then busied himself with the second injection. “Most patients are likely to have a heart attack or a seizure, but this seems to be a slow-acting drug, so a coma is more likely.” He pulled back and checked Ianto’s pulse again. “I think he should be okay though.”

“You think?” Jack repeated unimpressed.

Owen smiled grimly. “I’m a doctor not a psychic. Only time will tell.”

***

Part 3