Infiltrator - Part Ten
Title: Infiltrator - Part Ten.
Author: magicom
Rating: Maybe PG at the worst.
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of its characters. No money being made.
Pairing/Characters: Jack, Ianto, (Jack/Ianto), Gwen, Doctor Rupesh Patanjali, Johnson (well, off-screen).
Spoilers: Takes into consideration all of S1, S2 and Day One of CoE.
Summary: As a whole: He's a doctor... they need a doctor. What if the 456 fuckery didn't happen and Torchwood actually did recruit Rupesh, who was trying to get the gig to spy on them for Johnson, as discussed in Day One? This part: Something fishy is going on. A violent surprise.
Warnings: None to speak of.
Notes: Takes place starting just before and during CoE: Day One and goes AU from there onwards.
10
The next morning, Rupesh heard Harkness’s raised voice from where he was working in the medical bay, as the captain barked orders at Gwen.
“I don’t care! Tell the police to stay clear of the scene! They’re not to touch anything inside the house! In fact, tell them to get out of the house and to stay the hell back from it!”
Rupesh hurried up the steps. “What’s going on?” he asked, looking from Harkness to Gwen.
“Come with me,” Harkness all but growled. “IANTO!” he shouted across the base, already striding towards the cog door.
Jones appeared from the direction of Harkness’ office, helping the captain into his coat in a fluid motion, barely causing either of them lose their stride. Rupesh grabbed his medical kit and rushed after them.
Harkness didn’t brief them on the way to the crime scene, but as they pulled into the driveway of a nondescript semidetached house surrounded by police tape, Rupesh felt a sinking sensation.
“What’s the situation?” Jones asked as they walked towards the door, which still hung open where it had been forced some time during the night.
“Double murder,” Harkness answered.
“Rudy and Claire?” Jones confirmed. Harkness answered with a curt nod.
“Wait,” Rupesh said. “The man we talked to yesterday… the alien, I mean. He’s… dead?”
Harkness led them upstairs to the small master bedroom where the victims hadn’t even had a chance to sit up in surprise. They’d been executed while they slept, gunshot wounds to the centres of their foreheads.
“Very professional,” Jones observed. “Must have used a silencer, so they didn’t wake the second one whilst killing the first.”
Rupesh didn’t realize he was staring at them dumbly, his mind reeling, until Harkness broke into his thoughts.
“Did you want to participate here, doctor, or was Ianto doing your job to your satisfaction?”
“What?” Rupesh said, then glanced at Jones. “Oh, sorry. Right.” He stepped between Jones and Harkness and bent to get a closer look at the victims. “They were definitely killed by the gunshot wounds. Clean and professional, like he said.”
Rupesh felt a little sick, to be honest. Clean and professional. He knew someone who worked that way. Someone he had briefed on the alien refugees the previous evening.
“Execution style,” he added, his mouth feeling extremely dry.
“So we pay them a visit and then someone waltzes in here and executes them.” Harkness looked from Jones to Rupesh. “Doesn’t strike anyone else here as just a bit weird?”
“Certainly one hell of a coincidence,” Rupesh said weakly.
“We don’t believe in coincidence,” Harkness and Jones said at almost the exact same time.
Harkness gave Jones a nod, then gestured for Rupesh to follow him downstairs.
“Aren’t we going to take the bodies?” Rupesh asked as they walked. “I mean, if they go to the morgue…”
“Of course we’re taking the bodies,” Harkness told him. “What do you think Ianto’s doing up there? Dusting?”
They went into the kitchen and Harkness spun to look Rupesh in the eye.
“Did you see anything out of the ordinary yesterday?” he asked. “Anything at all. Maybe you didn’t think anything of it at the time?”
Rupesh blinked at him and tried to think. “N-no,” he said. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Someone must have been following us, or else they were already watching this house. It’s the only explanation.”
It wasn’t the only explanation, but Rupesh wasn’t about to tell Harkness that.
“We need to watch our backs. If someone is following us around… well, we can’t have that, can we?”
“No, sir.”
Harkness gave him a look. “I’m ‘sir’ now?” he remarked. “Wow. Gwen was right.”
“Gwen… was right about what?” Rupesh said, even as Harkness walked towards the door. He didn’t answer.
Once they stepped outside, Harkness looked at Rupesh and handed him the keys to the SUV. “Pull around the back. Help Ianto get the bodies into the back without the whole neighbourhood seeing what’s going on, okay?”
Rupesh nodded and accepted the keys, climbing behind the wheel and doing what he was told. He saw Harkness in the rearview mirror, walking away down the driveway and wondered briefly where he was going.
+++++
“Did you kill those people?” Rupesh hissed into the phone. The nightly call had barely begun and, for once, he was asking the questions. But it didn’t rattle Johnson in the least.
“They weren’t people. They were aliens.”
“They were alive,” Rupesh pointed out. “And now they’re dead.”
“Torchwood refused to act. We had to.”
“Harkness had it under control,” Rupesh told her.
“That isn’t what it sounded like,” Johnson retorted. “He discovered the murderer and didn’t even take her into custody. They were clearly a threat. Threat neutralized.”
“He was pissed off,” Rupesh told her. “Now he thinks there’s someone following us.”
“I don’t care what he thinks.”
“You’ll care what he thinks when he realizes one of these convenient little executions could only have been an inside job!” he shouted.
“Get your work done and you won’t be there long enough for it to be an issue,” Johnson told him, her voice still perfectly calm.
“If I’m going to do this, you can’t interfere. You have to let them work the way they work or they’re going to batten the hatches,” he warned. “Do you want the information or not?”
“I’ll be the judge of what constitutes ‘interference’,” Johnson informed him. “File your report.”
She hung up.
Rupesh tossed his mobile onto the couch in frustration and stared at the darkness out his window. It wasn’t his cover he’d been concerned about that morning. Not really. Harkness had no reason to suspect him. His problem had been that two sentient beings had been murdered and he - Doctor Rupesh Patanjali, who had sworn to do no harm - may have been the murder weapon.
Harkness had been right that day and Johnson had been wrong. So what side did that leave him on?
In case you missed them:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight
Part Nine
Author: magicom
Rating: Maybe PG at the worst.
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of its characters. No money being made.
Pairing/Characters: Jack, Ianto, (Jack/Ianto), Gwen, Doctor Rupesh Patanjali, Johnson (well, off-screen).
Spoilers: Takes into consideration all of S1, S2 and Day One of CoE.
Summary: As a whole: He's a doctor... they need a doctor. What if the 456 fuckery didn't happen and Torchwood actually did recruit Rupesh, who was trying to get the gig to spy on them for Johnson, as discussed in Day One? This part: Something fishy is going on. A violent surprise.
Warnings: None to speak of.
Notes: Takes place starting just before and during CoE: Day One and goes AU from there onwards.
10
The next morning, Rupesh heard Harkness’s raised voice from where he was working in the medical bay, as the captain barked orders at Gwen.
“I don’t care! Tell the police to stay clear of the scene! They’re not to touch anything inside the house! In fact, tell them to get out of the house and to stay the hell back from it!”
Rupesh hurried up the steps. “What’s going on?” he asked, looking from Harkness to Gwen.
“Come with me,” Harkness all but growled. “IANTO!” he shouted across the base, already striding towards the cog door.
Jones appeared from the direction of Harkness’ office, helping the captain into his coat in a fluid motion, barely causing either of them lose their stride. Rupesh grabbed his medical kit and rushed after them.
Harkness didn’t brief them on the way to the crime scene, but as they pulled into the driveway of a nondescript semidetached house surrounded by police tape, Rupesh felt a sinking sensation.
“What’s the situation?” Jones asked as they walked towards the door, which still hung open where it had been forced some time during the night.
“Double murder,” Harkness answered.
“Rudy and Claire?” Jones confirmed. Harkness answered with a curt nod.
“Wait,” Rupesh said. “The man we talked to yesterday… the alien, I mean. He’s… dead?”
Harkness led them upstairs to the small master bedroom where the victims hadn’t even had a chance to sit up in surprise. They’d been executed while they slept, gunshot wounds to the centres of their foreheads.
“Very professional,” Jones observed. “Must have used a silencer, so they didn’t wake the second one whilst killing the first.”
Rupesh didn’t realize he was staring at them dumbly, his mind reeling, until Harkness broke into his thoughts.
“Did you want to participate here, doctor, or was Ianto doing your job to your satisfaction?”
“What?” Rupesh said, then glanced at Jones. “Oh, sorry. Right.” He stepped between Jones and Harkness and bent to get a closer look at the victims. “They were definitely killed by the gunshot wounds. Clean and professional, like he said.”
Rupesh felt a little sick, to be honest. Clean and professional. He knew someone who worked that way. Someone he had briefed on the alien refugees the previous evening.
“Execution style,” he added, his mouth feeling extremely dry.
“So we pay them a visit and then someone waltzes in here and executes them.” Harkness looked from Jones to Rupesh. “Doesn’t strike anyone else here as just a bit weird?”
“Certainly one hell of a coincidence,” Rupesh said weakly.
“We don’t believe in coincidence,” Harkness and Jones said at almost the exact same time.
Harkness gave Jones a nod, then gestured for Rupesh to follow him downstairs.
“Aren’t we going to take the bodies?” Rupesh asked as they walked. “I mean, if they go to the morgue…”
“Of course we’re taking the bodies,” Harkness told him. “What do you think Ianto’s doing up there? Dusting?”
They went into the kitchen and Harkness spun to look Rupesh in the eye.
“Did you see anything out of the ordinary yesterday?” he asked. “Anything at all. Maybe you didn’t think anything of it at the time?”
Rupesh blinked at him and tried to think. “N-no,” he said. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Someone must have been following us, or else they were already watching this house. It’s the only explanation.”
It wasn’t the only explanation, but Rupesh wasn’t about to tell Harkness that.
“We need to watch our backs. If someone is following us around… well, we can’t have that, can we?”
“No, sir.”
Harkness gave him a look. “I’m ‘sir’ now?” he remarked. “Wow. Gwen was right.”
“Gwen… was right about what?” Rupesh said, even as Harkness walked towards the door. He didn’t answer.
Once they stepped outside, Harkness looked at Rupesh and handed him the keys to the SUV. “Pull around the back. Help Ianto get the bodies into the back without the whole neighbourhood seeing what’s going on, okay?”
Rupesh nodded and accepted the keys, climbing behind the wheel and doing what he was told. He saw Harkness in the rearview mirror, walking away down the driveway and wondered briefly where he was going.
+++++
“Did you kill those people?” Rupesh hissed into the phone. The nightly call had barely begun and, for once, he was asking the questions. But it didn’t rattle Johnson in the least.
“They weren’t people. They were aliens.”
“They were alive,” Rupesh pointed out. “And now they’re dead.”
“Torchwood refused to act. We had to.”
“Harkness had it under control,” Rupesh told her.
“That isn’t what it sounded like,” Johnson retorted. “He discovered the murderer and didn’t even take her into custody. They were clearly a threat. Threat neutralized.”
“He was pissed off,” Rupesh told her. “Now he thinks there’s someone following us.”
“I don’t care what he thinks.”
“You’ll care what he thinks when he realizes one of these convenient little executions could only have been an inside job!” he shouted.
“Get your work done and you won’t be there long enough for it to be an issue,” Johnson told him, her voice still perfectly calm.
“If I’m going to do this, you can’t interfere. You have to let them work the way they work or they’re going to batten the hatches,” he warned. “Do you want the information or not?”
“I’ll be the judge of what constitutes ‘interference’,” Johnson informed him. “File your report.”
She hung up.
Rupesh tossed his mobile onto the couch in frustration and stared at the darkness out his window. It wasn’t his cover he’d been concerned about that morning. Not really. Harkness had no reason to suspect him. His problem had been that two sentient beings had been murdered and he - Doctor Rupesh Patanjali, who had sworn to do no harm - may have been the murder weapon.
Harkness had been right that day and Johnson had been wrong. So what side did that leave him on?
In case you missed them:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight
Part Nine