TW Fic: Madrigal (8/10)
Title: Madrigal dei Traditori (8/10)
Author: nancybrown
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto/Lisa (implied past Jack/everyone), Tony Tyler, Mickey/Tosh, Gwen/Rhys, OCs (full New Whoniverse cast cameos)
Warnings: violence, non-explicit sex, dodgy understanding of UNIT hierarchy, angst, fluff, OC overload, chapteritis, alcohol
Words: 50,000 (7,000 this section)
Beta/Britpick: golden_d and temporal_witch audienced this initially, while fide_et_spe and 51stcenturyfox kicked it into shape. Thanks go out to all, and any mistakes still here are mine mine mine. :D
Spoilers: up through CoE, one small spoiler for EoT Pt 2.
Summary: Putting one's thumb on the scale of history is generally considered a bad idea.
A/N: Part of the Rabbit Hole AU. For those who came in late, Jack is the only one who remembers events exactly as they occurred in canon. Since finding himself in this altered universe, he has formed a stable relationship with Ianto and Lisa; together, they chase aliens and raise kids.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
***
Chapter 8: Aliens Came to Greet Our Planet Offering Universal Peace and Harmony and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.
***
Callie's hand drifted over to press against the scar on her shoulder. Beside her, Michael moved in his half-slumbering state.
"So we're going to have to set a date for this," she said.
"Mm hm."
"Not for a while." God alone knew how long until the dust settled, even in the best case. Callie wanted to believe in the best case. "I want Kyle to be in the wedding."
That woke Michael up in a hurry. "You're joking."
"He can be a groomsman."
"He tried to kill you."
She rolled over to face him, watched in amusement as his eyes drifted down her body and up again, was less amused when he settled on the proud flesh at her shoulder. "There's something I need to tell you, but you can't speak about it to another soul."
***
Isabelle woke up before dawn on the last day of the world, and lay in bed for a while, listening to the birds and the vehicle sounds from outside, the mutterings from down the hallway. She'd grown up in this room, had lived here since she was a baby, except for uni and then UNIT. If things went badly, hell, even if things went well, they were likely going to sell the house soon. At best, her parents would move into a small flat, easy to maintain and gentle on the mobility issues Mum wouldn't admit she was having with her knee. At worst, even Callie could be brought up on conspiracy charges, and they had no defence other than that they'd listened to someone who claimed he knew the future.
She hoped Eddie would visit her in gaol.
Isabelle groaned. She had to call Eddie, get the day started. Maybe when this was all done, they'd get a place together. About time he moved out of his folks' house too, and anyway, they'd likely be moving as well. Everyone would be. Eddie's little sister was gonna complain, but Jeanie complained about everything, didn't she? Sixteen, and as pretty as her Mam, and Isabelle let her thoughts keep wandering for just a bit longer and then with a sigh, she got out of bed.
***
Lois sat back in her chair. "You've got to be kidding me."
Toshiko, whom Lois had previously believed to be sane and sensible, said, "We didn't want to keep you out of the loop. But the more people who knew, the more likely it was that someone would slip."
"Or report you. This is serious. We are supposed to be coordinating with UNIT, not taking over their missions for them." She rubbed her forehead, feeling a familiar headache coming on. "Jack knows we have to operate within certain rules. I think he wrote half of them."
Mickey said, "Yeah. Maybe everyone should've thought that through a bit more. But here we are. It's happenin' today no matter what."
She sighed. "Did he say why I had to be bearer of the bad news?"
"Everyone likes you," Tosh said.
"Give me the file."
Mickey handed it to her, but there was nothing they hadn't just spent the past hour explaining. Torchwood reported to the Crown, and today they had plenty to report, and Jack had saddled Lois with the task. Bastard.
"I thought Gwen at least would have said something." She saw the looks on their faces. "Oh no. Oh. She's going to kill him twice."
***
The shout from behind Jack's closed door was unclear but distinct enough for everyone in the office to wince at once. There was another shout, somewhat quieter, and then nothing. Lisa often blessed the soundproofing they'd splurged on. She sat at the edge of Ianto's desk, watching him play nervously with the folders.
"Love you," she told him, and he glanced up with a smile.
"Love you."
Beth came in, grumbling. "What's this about a meeting, then? I'm supposed to get the agenda in advance so we can make copies."
"I handled it," said Ianto, brandishing the folders. Then he said the magic words. "Jack asked me."
"Oh."
Beth still didn't quite grasp the chain of command, which was good because Lisa suspected they didn't really have one. Jack was in charge most of them time, except when Gwen was, and Gwen was always in charge when Jack wasn't around, except when Lois decided she was, and London and Glasgow were supposed to answer to Cardiff, but sometimes they both told Jack to bugger off. Gwen gave the day to day orders, and was in charge of them all, while Jack was the head of the Institute, and was thus also in charge of them all. Despite having retired from active duty, Johnson showed up occasionally and ordered the newbies around, and Jack expected them to listen to her. When Mickey and Tosh were in town, they had automatic seniority over all but Gwen and Jack. Everyone, including Gwen, accepted the fact that Ianto and Lisa were always going to answer primarily to Jack, except when they were annoyed with him, or when Lisa was fed up with both of her husbands, or when Ianto was having A Day. And as the staff physician, Bridget could relieve any of them of duty at any time, including Jack. Lois made a chart once to explain it all to the new people. Before Pej had left, he'd used it as a dartboard. Lisa missed him sometimes.
The door to Jack's office opened, and everyone pretended not to have been eavesdropping. "Okay, kids," Jack said, clapping his hands together. "Group meeting. Tell me someone has doughnuts."
The door to the outer office opened, and Callie let herself inside. Lisa smiled. Show time.
Everyone filed in and took their usual seats. Callie sat down next to Lisa, and Lisa touched her hand as Ianto passed out the folders one by one. Gwen sat across the table from them, a frown on her face aimed directly at Jack.
Jack waited until Ianto finished and took his seat. He gave Ianto a fond smile, and then began.
"On this date in history, Earth makes first contact with a species known as the K'kltic. They're not much different from the other species we've met, which means for us that the first contact is a disaster, a lot of people die, and any excuse humans can find for fighting one another after they leave is excuse enough. With me so far?"
"What did you call them?" asked Bridget.
Jack tilted his head. "The K'kltic. They're from a neighbouring system. Nice enough species. I once dated … "
"Not now," said Ianto.
"Okay. So. First contact."
Gwen asked, "What time?"
"About seven hours from now. There's a UNIT team in position on the space station, where they've arranged to make contact."
Groans went around the table. Dev said, "UNIT? That's going tits up fast."
Jack said, "History agrees with you. Of course, that's my history. It's your future. And in your future, we've got a man in place to conduct the mission who's been versed in K'kltic language and culture."
Beth said hopefully, "Is it Luke?" Beth had a bit of an obvious crush on him.
"Negative, but he's our man on the ground. Our contact is going to put the K'kltic in touch with him, and have Luke act as Earth's representative."
Lisa saw the looks of approval go round the table. Even people who'd never met him admired Luke Smith, and having him as a silent Torchwood asset was one of the better arrangements Jack had ever made. Before Mr. Smith had gone into permanent shutdown, Luke had downloaded everything available on the K'kltic and was almost as well-studied in their language and culture as a native. Jack had arranged more than once for his name to be floated as a possibility for UNIT's mission, and if they'd bitten, Torchwood would already be breathing easier, but they hadn't, and Luke was now waiting with everyone else. Having him on their side for this lent the endeavour some credibility, which they were going to need for this next part.
Bridget said, "You said Luke was our man in the ground. Who's meeting with the K'kltic?"
"Kyle," said Ianto quietly.
Gwen sat still, her frown deepening, but she said nothing as Dev said, "No way."
"He shot Callie," Bridget said, and Callie smiled at her.
"That was my idea."
Lisa said, "Kyle's been working for us on this for years. His entire job has been to infiltrate UNIT and make them believe he was loyal to them for the sake of this mission."
"How long?" asked Gwen, but her eyes were on Jack.
He said, "Almost sixteen years."
"Jesus," said Dev. "You're a sick fuck sometimes, Jack."
"Don't I know it."
Lisa said, "It worked. He's on the mission. They trust him. This afternoon, he's going to make contact."
Jack said, "And while there is still a big possibility that this is going to backfire, and we're the ones who instigate the whole mess, I've just gambled everything we've got on the belief that he's gonna pull this off."
"We're going public," Ianto said. "That's part of what he's going to do. He has to tell them everything, because they can't abide secrets."
Jack said, "Drives them crazy," as he made a circling motion by his ear. "They're telepaths. Secrecy and lies make the K'kltic war-happy. So, we can't lie to them, and we can't stay secret without screwing the pooch, and by pooch, I mean planet. The world is going to find out about Torchwood. Anyone still working for me at the end of the day will be a household name, and not in the good way. Lois is going to hand-deliver the news to the palace right before it happens."
Ianto said, "In front of you, you'll find folders containing new identities for you and your immediate families. We've done our best work on these."
Lisa said, "You did all the work."
"You helped with the names."
"You always name people after characters on the telly."
Jack cleared his throat. "You have the next seven hours to decide if you want to disappear. We're staying," he said, nodding to Lisa and Ianto. "We're in this for the long run. You don't have to be."
Gwen spread her fingers over her folder. "We should have talked about this. You said changing timelines is a bad idea. The Doctor … "
"I'll talk to the Doctor. Anyway, I don't see this as a timeline change. More of an edit."
"How is that better?" He shrugged. "That's what I thought."
Beth said, "Have you told Martha and Andy?"
Jack nodded. "Ronnie took the Glasgow team their materials. He's opening his this morning with them. We've also started contacting our counterparts in other countries as a preliminary measure, though they don't know the full story yet. The Area 51 people do not like getting phoned in the middle of the night, I can tell you that."
Bridget stood up. "I need some air. This is too much. I can't just decide in a few hours if I want to completely drop my life."
There was a click. Lisa watched Jack point his gun at Bridget's head. "You're going to sit down, and you are going to stay here."
Beth's eyes went wide. "Jack!"
Bridget held up her hands, and said soothingly, "This is clearly going too far. You're running roughshod over the rule of law, and now you're threatening me?" She turned to Gwen. "Can't you do something?"
"Certainly," said Gwen, and she pulled her own weapon out and aimed it at Bridget. "I can tell you to sit down and shut up." She glanced at Jack. "I hate it when you're right. But thank you for at least not keeping me in the dark on this."
"You're welcome."
Dev said, "What the hell?"
Lisa said, "Bridget is a UNIT spy. She's been telling them our secrets for years."
"We've been monitoring you," Ianto said, in a weirdly pleasant voice. "We've given you dozens of false seeds to plant, and we've watched you give over every one."
Bridget shuddered. "No. That's not true. Someone's been framing me."
Jack said, "I found out about two months after I brought you on. I almost shot you then, but you've been useful. A few false leads from you, corroborating the spying UNIT thought Kyle was doing for them, it was one of my better plans. We found your UNIT file."
"You couldn't have. Kyle doesn't have access to … " She shut her mouth.
That faint smile again. Ianto said, "Our friend Tony has been working as a file clerk for UNIT. No-one ever sees clerks and underlings."
"We know," Jack said. "So you're going to sit here with us under guard until this is finished one way or another, and if you try to escape, I will shoot you. You are not endangering Kyle. Do I make myself clear?"
She nodded, and folded her hands on her file. "Why did you give me a folder?"
Ianto said, "Your forged records are of an escaped convict. If you'd tried to use them, you'd have been picked up immediately."
"Oh."
***
"Jack?" said Gwen sweetly. "A minute?"
Jack looked up from the datapad and had to reset his brain. A minute for what? "Sure." He gave the pad back to Ianto, who offered him a less than sympathetic nod. Jack was going to get the "We told you so" lecture later.
Jack followed Gwen back to her office.
"There's nothing in my new ID for Edward."
"Edward has his own folder. Isabelle gave it to him this morning."
He watched the fear cross her face. "What's going on? You have cut me out of this, and trust me, we're going to have a long talk about it later, but right now, I need to know how deeply you've got my son involved."
"I've kept him safe. One slightly illegal act."
"Jack."
"Which he didn't even know he was committing, so he can claim ignorance when everything comes out."
"Where is he now?"
Jack sat back in his chair and folded his hands across his stomach. "Out."
"Out where?"
"We've set up a secure landing area in the Beacons. Eddie and Isabelle are doing the last prep for the site. If things go well, they'll send up the signal for the K'kltic to come down there."
"If things don't go well?"
"Isabelle has everything she needs for the two of them to run to safe ground. If this goes bad, it's going to happen in a hurry. The kids have a head start to get away. Out of all of us, they're the ones most likely to survive."
Gwen sat down. "You really should have told me. Jeanie should be with them. Callie should be with them."
"You can still go. Everything you and Rhys need to start a new life is right there. You can get Jeanie out of here. Ireland wasn't touched in the war, other than some residual radiation."
She shut her eyes. "There has to be something else we can do. Radiation? Why are we not up there stopping this ourselves?"
"We are."
"I don't mean Kyle. I mean us. You know about these aliens."
"I couldn't get up there. We don't have a ship. We don't have a transmat. We can't get up there, and we can't get Kyle down."
"He's going with UNIT. He'll … " Realisation dawned, and he reached out, covered her hand with his.
"UNIT has the same opinion on spies and traitors as we do."
"You let Bridget live."
"We can trade her. By the end of the day, I'm going to have to trade a lot. Look at your folder again. Take an hour or two to think. You and Rhys and Jeanie can be out of the country tonight."
"I'm not going anywhere and you bloody well know it."
He smiled, because it was his Gwen, and yeah, he knew she wasn't leaving. But he had to give her the chance. "Good. Let me tell you about the next part."
***
"Thirty minutes of work and we have to wait here all day? I could have slept in."
"Does the phrase 'need to get into position' mean anything to you?"
"No."
"Figures."
"Oh, don't you get all military on me, Iz. You can't even salute right."
"I can so!"
"Can't. You always look like a kid playing with army men."
"You take that back."
"I won't."
Isabelle sulked at him, and Eddie sulked right back. Bloody nuisance, being out here in the middle of nowhere, his feet gone wet from the grass, no-one for miles. Isabelle said they had to stay all day and most of the night, with nothing to do until much later.
"Why do we have to get into position now?"
"'Cause Uncle Jack said so."
"Oh. Good."
"Eddie?"
"What?"
"What's the biggest secret you've ever kept?"
"What? I dunno. Probably that time we stole Mam's car and you wrecked it."
She nodded. "Sounds about right." She turned and went back into the car, digging around for something with her legs sticking out. "Here," she said, shoving a wrinkled and stained folder at him.
"What's this?"
"New life. Papers. ID. Some money."
"What's it for?"
Isabelle sat down heavily on the towel she'd brought. After a moment, Eddie sat down beside her.
"You're gonna be pissed off."
"About what?"
She laughed, and it carried over the rocks and grass. "So my idiot big brother is gonna save the world today … "
***
The lack of sleep was catching up to him. He hadn't slept the night before the launch, had catnapped along the way, had spent all of what was technically last night on duty, and instead of sleeping this morning, he needed to begin his work.
Kyle wasn't afraid. He had been, for so long and for so many reasons, but as the Earth had fallen away behind him, he'd felt his anxiety fall away as well. In the idle time he had on watch or when he should have been sleeping, he stared out the closest window and watched the stars. Jack had travelled them, as had Kyle's grandmother, and Luke's mum, and even Mickey for a little while. Someday Jack would be out here again, no doubt piloting some slapped-together ship as humanity climbed out of its cradle and tottered into space. Moonbase. Bowie 1. Bowie 2. And Kyle, here, now, playing his own part, feeling connected for the first time in his life to that greater tapestry.
The station turned, and the Earth peeked out at the edge of his window.
Tony had come back, damp and silly, just as the Colonel had announced that the mission was back on, but the announcement had meant the team was on lockdown. No-one on the backup team was needed, and they were dismissed. There had been waves and shouts and good luck thrown, and Tony had waved and shouted luck with the rest, and given Kyle a thumbs up. Which could mean they'd had a breakthrough, and could mean nothing at all, but as the team filed out and past the others, what it mostly meant was that they'd fucked up their one chance at saying goodbye.
Kyle looked at the biro in his hand, did not click it. The razor was tucked into his boot.
He wasn't coming back from this. He'd been wound up like a toy, trained to do one thing well, and when his spring went, his life was over. A bullet from a mate's pistol today, or an accident in prison later, UNIT was not going to let him free, not now. And Tony, as much as he wanted Tony to stay, had to go. He'd been the one collecting their information on the Colonel's plans, the same information that, if everything was on schedule, was in Auntie Lois's hands as she waited for her audience this afternoon with the King. She would explain just how far Torchwood had overstepped its jurisdiction, and how far certain members of UNIT had, and in what ways, and why, and how Torchwood had just managed to save UNIT from starting an interstellar war, and because it was Auntie Lois, she would do it without shouting. Any influence that bought would be put towards keeping Dad out of prison, for his health, and with luck, Mum and the girls and the rest of their tiny conspiracy.
And that was fine, better than fine. Best case scenario, all down to him now.
Kyle stood and straightened his uniform, then wandered over to where Singh and Baker were watching out the next window. Some of the team were feeling a little unsteady from the artificial gravity. That would mask the real culprit until later, he hoped.
"Hey," said Singh.
"Hey." Kyle clicked the biro beside his leg. Baker went pale, and Singh covered his mouth with his hand. "Are you all right? You don't look well."
Baker said, "Fine. Just a bit … " She sat heavily. Singh leaned against the wall. Kyle helped him to the floor beside Baker.
"Space legs getting to you? I'll fetch the doctor," said Kyle.
***
The waiting wore at him. Ianto was quietly certain that this series of events had already taken a good ten years off his life, but the worry now, for Kyle, for all of them after, well, today was going to eat at least another five.
Lisa closed her phone. "That was Tosh. Everything is set on their end. Lois is heading to the Palace now."
"Good."
"Are you all right?"
"As right as I'm going to be." She sat down next to him, and he held her hand. Lisa didn't have Jack's eternal youth, but she was still lovely, her hair as dark as the day they'd met. After this, after all this, if it all went well, if Kyle came home, if no-one died, so many ifs, the three of them were going to take a long trip somewhere, and they were just going to be for a while. No aliens, no plans, maybe a call every other day or so to the children to ensure they were okay and that Isabelle hadn't blown anything up, and otherwise, just peace.
"He's going to do fine," Lisa said.
"I know." He closed his eyes. "Did Tosh say if Tony checked in?"
"He didn't. But the timetable had him set to leave a few minutes ago. If we haven't heard from him by now, we probably won't."
"Jack will be so pleased. I don't think he liked Tony."
"He liked him enough. But I think he'd have been happier knowing why Tony was helping us," Lisa said, her pretty mouth drawn up.
"I thought we decided it was that whole Rose connection."
"Really? So you'd help one of Rhi's old boyfriends from thirty years ago commit treason?"
He frowned. "Not any of the old boyfriends I've met, no."
"If Jonny asked you, you'd likely turn him in yourself."
"That's not … Yes. I probably would."
"So we don't know why Tony has been helping us."
"A chance to get home?"
Lisa hitched her shoulders. "Could be." But she looked unconvinced.
***
Rani tapped her fingers nervously on her desk. When she went to lose her job over this, she intended to claim she'd broken the biggest story of the century. Which would look lovely at the top of her CV as she was fired anyway.
The tiny device, hardly bigger than a beetle, sat on her desk. Toshiko said it would signal her at the right time. Rani already knew how to change the feed, had checked and rechecked to make sure this would work. Now she waited, wondering what the signal was going to be, as Tosh hadn't actually told her.
The beetle lit up, and hummed.
Rani grinned. As she dashed to the control room, she thought that somewhere, Sarah Jane was smiling.
***
"Mr. Langer, Ealing Southall."
Clyde kept the smile cool and professional. "New business. We need to talk about Torchwood."
Groans echoed through the hall. Dillwyn, the lone MP from Cardiff, hid her face in her hands with a quiet, "Oh God, what now?" that carried.
***
On the television screen, Kyle chittered. In English, he said, "You were misled. I am here on behalf of the Torchwood Institute of Earth."
"The who of what?" said Dev, and Lisa shushed her as the aliens whistled, and Kyle whistled back. She knew the language well enough to follow along, and Kyle translated quickly.
"UNIT has been trying to trick you. They wanted you to liaise with them alone, use you for the opportunities you presented. They would have broken the terms of your agreement. Instead, we are speaking in front of the world as you wished. If you read my thoughts, you know I am telling you the truth."
The aliens chittered, something about gratitude, and an acknowledgement of his veracity. Then the feed cut, and they were left with the BBC technical difficulties screen.
"That's not good," said Jack.
***
Rani folded her arms as her supervisor tried to shout her into cowering.
"Clear out your desk."
"Biggest story in a century," she said. "And we broke it. Ask me how many jobs I could walk into right now, promising an exclusive interview with Lt. Jones when he returns to Earth."
"How exclusive?"
"I've known him since he was three and his parents owe me a huge favour."
Rani ended the day with a raise.
***
Callie's phone vibrated in her pocket. "Excuse me."
Papa said, "You're leaving now?"
"I need to take this," she said, hurrying out of the conference room. "Hello, Charles."
"Shit, Callie, what the hell just happened?"
"First contact, new species. We've done this before." Charles was dating a man from Altair who'd come through the Rift two years ago. Immigration was going to be a nightmare.
"But the man on the telly … "
" … is my brother. Don't worry about it."
"But … "
"Call Michael. We'll be moving out to the landing site shortly. Torchwood wants the Good Neighbours to act as the welcoming committee." More or less. Basically, they were going to greet the aliens, and Callie and Michael would help facilitate their meetings with everyone, though the primary push would be to get them in a room with Luke. "Busy days ahead."
"I thought we didn't get on with Torchwood."
"Charlie, Torchwood has been funding us the whole time. Talk to Michael." She closed her phone.
***
Kyle felt the razor in his hand spark and die, and he knew the broadcast was over. He told the K'kltic ambassador, "I am going to awaken my colleagues now. They will not harm you. They may harm me. This is not unexpected. Please do not hold it against them."
He twisted the biro, and the others immediately lost their sick looks, and began climbing to their feet. Resigned, Kyle turned the sound back on for the monitor with the Colonel.
"You have sound again, sir."
"Lt. Jones, you are relieved of duty. Relinquish your weapons, including all technological devices on your person, immediately."
Kyle set down the biro and the razor, and his unused sidearm, as Trevor came over to him. The diplomat, Leeson, was already speaking to the K'kltic ambassador. Kyle was pleased to hear she was being honest about UNIT's intentions. It would likely get her fired later, but it wouldn't get them killed.
"Lt. Trevor, arrest Lt. Jones. Do it now."
Kyle put his hands on his head. Almost apologetically, Trevor cuffed him. Kyle chittered one last time to the K'kltic.
"What'd you say just then?" asked Trevor, as he hauled him away. "Something about wrong talk?"
"I warned them that my colleagues are not as fluent in their language as I am, and will likely give offence, and it's not intentional. I also told them it was an honour to meet them."
"What happens if they get offended?"
"World War Three. Complete with alien enemies and tactical nuclear strikes."
"So if Leeson back there just called their mums whores … "
Kyle stopped dead. "No."
"Well, I'm not as good as you on this … "
"Sorry."
"For what?"
But Kyle had already brought his hands down in front of him. (Cuffing at the top of his head? Really? Trevor was a well-meaning idiot.) With a sharp crack, he smashed his bound fists into Trevor's chin. He had maybe a minute, as the others still recovered from their illness. He dashed back to Leeson and the K'kltic ambassador.
"What did you say to them?"
"I told them they are going to be highly regarded on Earth."
"Did you use the formal tone or the informal?"
"We weren't told the difference."
Kyle had brought it up during the training, and had been told to stick to the rubric. He turned to the ambassador and said in K'kltic, "Again, please do not take offence. She said you will be held in high esteem."
The ambassador made a sound almost like a laugh. "Thank you for clarification."
"It is my duty and pleasure."
"We will not take offence at her words. Her thoughts say she was considering untruth."
"We had orders. She will tell you the truth now." He looked at Leeson and said in English, "You must tell them the truth, always. Telepaths hate liars and secrets. It's important."
He was aware of the Colonel shouting over the monitor, and the rest had recovered. There were five weapons pointed at him, all held by people who'd liked him until today.
The Colonel's phone rang on the screen.
"You should answer that," said Kyle. "It'll be Jack."
He let them take him into custody this time. He didn't bother ducking when Trevor punched him.
***
"Colonel," said Jack. "Seems we've got ourselves a situation. I've got a monitor if you'd like to speak face to face."
He heard a growl on the phone, and then the screen in front of him connected. Jack put the phone on speaker.
"You're going down, Harkness."
"So many jokes, so little time."
"I'm sure you think you're very clever. How long have you been setting this up?"
"Oh, quite some time. I'm big on long-term planning, as you know."
"Espionage? Treason? Not your usual plans."
"I'm not the one who intended to use the K'kltic to advance my career. By the way, it wouldn't have worked. Your people up there would have insulted them, and we'd be at war now."
"You know this how?"
Jack smiled. "I'm special. I know." He pushed back in his chair and adopted a relaxed position. "So. Before you and I are both arrested, we should talk. What are you going to order them to do with Kyle?"
"I'm not sure it's worth spending the oxygen we'd lose in the airlock to throw him out. Bullets are cheaper."
Jack glanced up. Lisa and Ianto sat outside the range of the camera on purpose. Lisa's face at this moment was why. She was lousy at poker. Which made strip poker that much more entertaining, but it was time to focus just now.
"That's not in your regulations. Rules say he gets a trial."
"You interfered the last time I put one of yours on trial."
"So I did."
"In the old days, they hanged spies and traitors. I'm sure you'll weasel your way out, and even if you don't, we both know you'd walk away from it regardless. But since we already know he's guilty, it doesn't seem worth the return trip and the cost of a legal case."
"I can see where you're coming from. And you're right. Spies are often executed." He spun the screen, so the Colonel could see where Bridget had been cuffed to her leather chair. "Trade you."
He spun the screen back. The Colonel scowled. "How long have you known?"
"Long enough. Assume anything she's ever given you has been what we wanted you to see."
"Understood. Feel free to shoot her."
Bridget squawked in protest and Dev smacked her on the arm. "Hush."
"Dr. McLaren is a liability. Shoot her, don't shoot her. We don't need her anymore."
"Hear that, Bridge? Suddenly the Torchwood retirement plan is looking pretty sweet, hm?"
"Colonel!" Bridget said.
Jack waved at Devorah. "Roll her outta here and keep an eye on her." Dev pushed the rolling chair in front of her out the door. Beth covered a giggle.
The Colonel said, "If that's all you've got, I'm disappointed."
Jack hid his smile. That had just tipped the other man's hand in a big way. He was willing to deal. "It's not, actually. Ianto?"
Ianto joined him in front of the camera. "Colonel."
"Colonel, I believe you know my handsome husband? He's in charge of our archives, which means he files all the reports, crosschecks all our artefacts, and so on. He came on after our first base was destroyed, and helped put together all that we could scavenge from the old archive, including what survived Canary Wharf. We also maintain all the backup records from our Glasgow office, and the new London office. So basically, if Torchwood touched it in the last hundred-odd years, and it was backed up, dug out, or otherwise recovered since our last disaster, he's handled it. Is that about right, Ianto?"
"Sounds right." Ianto handed Jack the stick.
"This memory stick has a copy of every record we've got. Every alien, every piece of tech, including the stuff I've personally added to the files from memory."
Ianto said, "It includes a list of every item we have, along with their origins, properties, approximate monetary value, potential applications, and so on." He'd spent a lifetime building this database. The last two years, he'd collected everything together for this one project. Plan F, or whatever they were on now.
Jack set the stick down. "Everything you've ever wanted from us. No strings, and only one condition."
The Colonel leaned forward towards his screen. Jack could see the wheels in his head turning. He was going to be in trouble for the mission, but he could salvage a lot of this mess by presenting the entirety of Torchwood to the current head of UNIT.
"And," Jack said, as Ianto moved back beside Lisa and took her hand, "one last offer to sweeten the deal. We get Kyle. You get all the information we've collected since we were founded. And I step down as the head of Torchwood."
He didn't look at the tight faces around him, not now.
The Colonel looked at him. "You're right. That's a very sweet deal." Jack smiled. "But I think once the dust settles, your little club is going to be disbanded anyway, and all your records will still come to us. And I'd rather see your face at his funeral." Jack felt the old fears slam into him, remembered too many funerals, remembered why he was here, why Kyle was even born. Without meaning to, he fingered the leather at his wrist, and cursed himself for the tell. "Yes. I think it'll look much like that."
The Colonel pressed a button. "Execute Lt. Jones."
Jack jumped from his chair. "You're making a mistake. You're throwing away a perfect opportunity for the sake of a little revenge."
"I think my superiors will understand. I'm choosing to save us time and expense. In fact, I … "
There was a click of a safety, and a gun was placed against the Colonel's head. Jack couldn't see anything but the hand holding it, but he knew the voice.
"My Mum always said the thing about choices is that you only get to make them once."
***
Interlude: Five Minutes Ago, or How to Give Someone an Opportunity to Make New Friendships That Will Last a Lifetime
***
Tony'd meant to go earlier, but there was work to do here, a few last documents to sign, proverbial fires to put out, and while he wasn't going to be around later to deal with the fallout, he genuinely liked the people he worked with, and didn't intend to leave them a bigger mess. He'd stayed, and told some easy jokes to get Spitz laughing, and brought a stack of files up to the Colonel's secretary, and he'd said his goodbyes in his head.
But all his mental goodbyes kept going back to other people.
"Goodbye. I'm sorry," he sent to Jenkins, but all he could think about was Rose.
"Goodbye. I liked you, and I'm going to miss you," he thought to Spitz, but he saw John.
"Goodbye. Goodbye."
He needed to write a note. He'd send it to Kyle. Yes. Something quick, because time was wasting. He pulled out the notebook he kept, the one he'd been making notes in all this time, and swiped a pencil from Jenkins' cup. He could drop it in the internal mail, let it arrive on Kyle's desk, or in his cell, in a few days. Hell of a way to say goodbye to someone, but better than nothing.
Tony grabbed a chair in the empty canteen, and started to write. Three words in, he knew he was writing the wrong letter. He tore off the page, stuffed it in his pocket, and started fresh.
When the commotion started, he shoved the notebook in the same pocket as Mickey's letters, the one that held the dimensional transporter. As he hurried, he passed multiple screens, all of them showing Kyle talking to the K'kltic, and Tony smiled warmly, listening as he ran.
He reached Jenkins' desk. Jenkins was stepping out of the Colonel's office. "Did you see?" he asked Tony.
"Everybody saw. The General needs you in his office right now to coordinate a press release. I was sent to get you. Something's up with the phones."
Jenkins nodded. "Thanks." Tony followed him out, then looped around and back into the outer office. Jenkins was a good man, and he didn't deserve to be caught up in this.
Tony went to open the Colonel's door. "Stop right there."
Tony froze. He turned slowly. Harmon had his weapon trained on him.
"I was checking to see if the Colonel had been informed of the new development," Tony said.
"Your boyfriend just broke orders and destroyed our first contact."
"And I was gonna go tell the Colonel about it."
"I liked you," said Harmon. "You're good at making people like you, Tyler. How long have you been planning this?"
"I don't make plans. I follow orders, same as you." He took stock. Harmon was armed, he wasn't. First order of business: change one of those two items. Second, the screens with Kyle and the aliens on them had gone dead a minute or so ago, which meant the feed was gone, or had been cut, and either way, Kyle was no longer in the public eye. He heard a phone ring in the Colonel's office.
"You take orders from Torchwood?"
"Worked for them all my life. Where I'm from, my dad ran Torchwood for years. Pretty sure he's stepped down now. My sister's probably running the place."
"That doesn't make any … " Tony bolted, hit him headfirst in the stomach, and they rolled.
Harmon still had a grip on the gun. Tony dug his thumbs into the pressure points on Harmon's wrists as Harmon twisted under him, swearing. Harmon pulled up his knee hard into Tony's groin, taking the air out of his lungs as pain shot through his whole body. Harmon shoved him off and rolled to his feet.
"You fucking fairy," he said, and Tony's legs shoved out into his knees. Harmon fell again, and he dropped the gun. Tony put a knee on his chest, tears still streaming in his eyes. Harmon brought a fist up, and Tony blocked it, barely, didn't manage to block the other. They rolled again, and Harmon got in another punch. He was on top of Tony, would happily beat him senseless now, and Tony raised one arm to defend himself. With the other, Tony dug into his own pocket, grabbed everything, and shoved the papers into Harmon's shirt.
"What the fuck?" Harmon said, scrabbling in confusion. The distraction was all Tony needed to wrangle the lanyard over Harmon's neck.
"Bye," said Tony, and he slammed his palm against the activator, pushing Harmon hard as he did.
Harmon vanished.
For a few precious seconds, Tony lay there on the floor, balls aching, head pounding. At best guess, the systems at home would pick up the distortion in the dimensional field, and Torchwood would pay a swift visit to the UNIT facility on his world. Within an hour, Harmon would be debriefed, and when they found the letters, whoever was in charge of the operation would call Rose. Hell, she might even eventually ship him back. Home had the tech.
Tony got to his feet, and he grabbed Harmon's gun. And because John had helped raise him, he pulled out the clip and stowed it in his pocket. He went to the Colonel's door. As he opened it as quietly as he could, he heard: "I'd rather see your face at his funeral." The Colonel was intent on his screen.
Tony sighed. The thing about Jack, John had told him once, was that he was great at making and following plans up to a point, but he rarely stuck the landing. Something always went wrong at the end, and someone else had to come along and tidy up the mess.
Tony went inside.
***
Chapter Nine
Author: nancybrown
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto/Lisa (implied past Jack/everyone), Tony Tyler, Mickey/Tosh, Gwen/Rhys, OCs (full New Whoniverse cast cameos)
Warnings: violence, non-explicit sex, dodgy understanding of UNIT hierarchy, angst, fluff, OC overload, chapteritis, alcohol
Words: 50,000 (7,000 this section)
Beta/Britpick: golden_d and temporal_witch audienced this initially, while fide_et_spe and 51stcenturyfox kicked it into shape. Thanks go out to all, and any mistakes still here are mine mine mine. :D
Spoilers: up through CoE, one small spoiler for EoT Pt 2.
Summary: Putting one's thumb on the scale of history is generally considered a bad idea.
A/N: Part of the Rabbit Hole AU. For those who came in late, Jack is the only one who remembers events exactly as they occurred in canon. Since finding himself in this altered universe, he has formed a stable relationship with Ianto and Lisa; together, they chase aliens and raise kids.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
***
Chapter 8: Aliens Came to Greet Our Planet Offering Universal Peace and Harmony and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.
***
Callie's hand drifted over to press against the scar on her shoulder. Beside her, Michael moved in his half-slumbering state.
"So we're going to have to set a date for this," she said.
"Mm hm."
"Not for a while." God alone knew how long until the dust settled, even in the best case. Callie wanted to believe in the best case. "I want Kyle to be in the wedding."
That woke Michael up in a hurry. "You're joking."
"He can be a groomsman."
"He tried to kill you."
She rolled over to face him, watched in amusement as his eyes drifted down her body and up again, was less amused when he settled on the proud flesh at her shoulder. "There's something I need to tell you, but you can't speak about it to another soul."
***
Isabelle woke up before dawn on the last day of the world, and lay in bed for a while, listening to the birds and the vehicle sounds from outside, the mutterings from down the hallway. She'd grown up in this room, had lived here since she was a baby, except for uni and then UNIT. If things went badly, hell, even if things went well, they were likely going to sell the house soon. At best, her parents would move into a small flat, easy to maintain and gentle on the mobility issues Mum wouldn't admit she was having with her knee. At worst, even Callie could be brought up on conspiracy charges, and they had no defence other than that they'd listened to someone who claimed he knew the future.
She hoped Eddie would visit her in gaol.
Isabelle groaned. She had to call Eddie, get the day started. Maybe when this was all done, they'd get a place together. About time he moved out of his folks' house too, and anyway, they'd likely be moving as well. Everyone would be. Eddie's little sister was gonna complain, but Jeanie complained about everything, didn't she? Sixteen, and as pretty as her Mam, and Isabelle let her thoughts keep wandering for just a bit longer and then with a sigh, she got out of bed.
***
Lois sat back in her chair. "You've got to be kidding me."
Toshiko, whom Lois had previously believed to be sane and sensible, said, "We didn't want to keep you out of the loop. But the more people who knew, the more likely it was that someone would slip."
"Or report you. This is serious. We are supposed to be coordinating with UNIT, not taking over their missions for them." She rubbed her forehead, feeling a familiar headache coming on. "Jack knows we have to operate within certain rules. I think he wrote half of them."
Mickey said, "Yeah. Maybe everyone should've thought that through a bit more. But here we are. It's happenin' today no matter what."
She sighed. "Did he say why I had to be bearer of the bad news?"
"Everyone likes you," Tosh said.
"Give me the file."
Mickey handed it to her, but there was nothing they hadn't just spent the past hour explaining. Torchwood reported to the Crown, and today they had plenty to report, and Jack had saddled Lois with the task. Bastard.
"I thought Gwen at least would have said something." She saw the looks on their faces. "Oh no. Oh. She's going to kill him twice."
***
The shout from behind Jack's closed door was unclear but distinct enough for everyone in the office to wince at once. There was another shout, somewhat quieter, and then nothing. Lisa often blessed the soundproofing they'd splurged on. She sat at the edge of Ianto's desk, watching him play nervously with the folders.
"Love you," she told him, and he glanced up with a smile.
"Love you."
Beth came in, grumbling. "What's this about a meeting, then? I'm supposed to get the agenda in advance so we can make copies."
"I handled it," said Ianto, brandishing the folders. Then he said the magic words. "Jack asked me."
"Oh."
Beth still didn't quite grasp the chain of command, which was good because Lisa suspected they didn't really have one. Jack was in charge most of them time, except when Gwen was, and Gwen was always in charge when Jack wasn't around, except when Lois decided she was, and London and Glasgow were supposed to answer to Cardiff, but sometimes they both told Jack to bugger off. Gwen gave the day to day orders, and was in charge of them all, while Jack was the head of the Institute, and was thus also in charge of them all. Despite having retired from active duty, Johnson showed up occasionally and ordered the newbies around, and Jack expected them to listen to her. When Mickey and Tosh were in town, they had automatic seniority over all but Gwen and Jack. Everyone, including Gwen, accepted the fact that Ianto and Lisa were always going to answer primarily to Jack, except when they were annoyed with him, or when Lisa was fed up with both of her husbands, or when Ianto was having A Day. And as the staff physician, Bridget could relieve any of them of duty at any time, including Jack. Lois made a chart once to explain it all to the new people. Before Pej had left, he'd used it as a dartboard. Lisa missed him sometimes.
The door to Jack's office opened, and everyone pretended not to have been eavesdropping. "Okay, kids," Jack said, clapping his hands together. "Group meeting. Tell me someone has doughnuts."
The door to the outer office opened, and Callie let herself inside. Lisa smiled. Show time.
Everyone filed in and took their usual seats. Callie sat down next to Lisa, and Lisa touched her hand as Ianto passed out the folders one by one. Gwen sat across the table from them, a frown on her face aimed directly at Jack.
Jack waited until Ianto finished and took his seat. He gave Ianto a fond smile, and then began.
"On this date in history, Earth makes first contact with a species known as the K'kltic. They're not much different from the other species we've met, which means for us that the first contact is a disaster, a lot of people die, and any excuse humans can find for fighting one another after they leave is excuse enough. With me so far?"
"What did you call them?" asked Bridget.
Jack tilted his head. "The K'kltic. They're from a neighbouring system. Nice enough species. I once dated … "
"Not now," said Ianto.
"Okay. So. First contact."
Gwen asked, "What time?"
"About seven hours from now. There's a UNIT team in position on the space station, where they've arranged to make contact."
Groans went around the table. Dev said, "UNIT? That's going tits up fast."
Jack said, "History agrees with you. Of course, that's my history. It's your future. And in your future, we've got a man in place to conduct the mission who's been versed in K'kltic language and culture."
Beth said hopefully, "Is it Luke?" Beth had a bit of an obvious crush on him.
"Negative, but he's our man on the ground. Our contact is going to put the K'kltic in touch with him, and have Luke act as Earth's representative."
Lisa saw the looks of approval go round the table. Even people who'd never met him admired Luke Smith, and having him as a silent Torchwood asset was one of the better arrangements Jack had ever made. Before Mr. Smith had gone into permanent shutdown, Luke had downloaded everything available on the K'kltic and was almost as well-studied in their language and culture as a native. Jack had arranged more than once for his name to be floated as a possibility for UNIT's mission, and if they'd bitten, Torchwood would already be breathing easier, but they hadn't, and Luke was now waiting with everyone else. Having him on their side for this lent the endeavour some credibility, which they were going to need for this next part.
Bridget said, "You said Luke was our man in the ground. Who's meeting with the K'kltic?"
"Kyle," said Ianto quietly.
Gwen sat still, her frown deepening, but she said nothing as Dev said, "No way."
"He shot Callie," Bridget said, and Callie smiled at her.
"That was my idea."
Lisa said, "Kyle's been working for us on this for years. His entire job has been to infiltrate UNIT and make them believe he was loyal to them for the sake of this mission."
"How long?" asked Gwen, but her eyes were on Jack.
He said, "Almost sixteen years."
"Jesus," said Dev. "You're a sick fuck sometimes, Jack."
"Don't I know it."
Lisa said, "It worked. He's on the mission. They trust him. This afternoon, he's going to make contact."
Jack said, "And while there is still a big possibility that this is going to backfire, and we're the ones who instigate the whole mess, I've just gambled everything we've got on the belief that he's gonna pull this off."
"We're going public," Ianto said. "That's part of what he's going to do. He has to tell them everything, because they can't abide secrets."
Jack said, "Drives them crazy," as he made a circling motion by his ear. "They're telepaths. Secrecy and lies make the K'kltic war-happy. So, we can't lie to them, and we can't stay secret without screwing the pooch, and by pooch, I mean planet. The world is going to find out about Torchwood. Anyone still working for me at the end of the day will be a household name, and not in the good way. Lois is going to hand-deliver the news to the palace right before it happens."
Ianto said, "In front of you, you'll find folders containing new identities for you and your immediate families. We've done our best work on these."
Lisa said, "You did all the work."
"You helped with the names."
"You always name people after characters on the telly."
Jack cleared his throat. "You have the next seven hours to decide if you want to disappear. We're staying," he said, nodding to Lisa and Ianto. "We're in this for the long run. You don't have to be."
Gwen spread her fingers over her folder. "We should have talked about this. You said changing timelines is a bad idea. The Doctor … "
"I'll talk to the Doctor. Anyway, I don't see this as a timeline change. More of an edit."
"How is that better?" He shrugged. "That's what I thought."
Beth said, "Have you told Martha and Andy?"
Jack nodded. "Ronnie took the Glasgow team their materials. He's opening his this morning with them. We've also started contacting our counterparts in other countries as a preliminary measure, though they don't know the full story yet. The Area 51 people do not like getting phoned in the middle of the night, I can tell you that."
Bridget stood up. "I need some air. This is too much. I can't just decide in a few hours if I want to completely drop my life."
There was a click. Lisa watched Jack point his gun at Bridget's head. "You're going to sit down, and you are going to stay here."
Beth's eyes went wide. "Jack!"
Bridget held up her hands, and said soothingly, "This is clearly going too far. You're running roughshod over the rule of law, and now you're threatening me?" She turned to Gwen. "Can't you do something?"
"Certainly," said Gwen, and she pulled her own weapon out and aimed it at Bridget. "I can tell you to sit down and shut up." She glanced at Jack. "I hate it when you're right. But thank you for at least not keeping me in the dark on this."
"You're welcome."
Dev said, "What the hell?"
Lisa said, "Bridget is a UNIT spy. She's been telling them our secrets for years."
"We've been monitoring you," Ianto said, in a weirdly pleasant voice. "We've given you dozens of false seeds to plant, and we've watched you give over every one."
Bridget shuddered. "No. That's not true. Someone's been framing me."
Jack said, "I found out about two months after I brought you on. I almost shot you then, but you've been useful. A few false leads from you, corroborating the spying UNIT thought Kyle was doing for them, it was one of my better plans. We found your UNIT file."
"You couldn't have. Kyle doesn't have access to … " She shut her mouth.
That faint smile again. Ianto said, "Our friend Tony has been working as a file clerk for UNIT. No-one ever sees clerks and underlings."
"We know," Jack said. "So you're going to sit here with us under guard until this is finished one way or another, and if you try to escape, I will shoot you. You are not endangering Kyle. Do I make myself clear?"
She nodded, and folded her hands on her file. "Why did you give me a folder?"
Ianto said, "Your forged records are of an escaped convict. If you'd tried to use them, you'd have been picked up immediately."
"Oh."
***
"Jack?" said Gwen sweetly. "A minute?"
Jack looked up from the datapad and had to reset his brain. A minute for what? "Sure." He gave the pad back to Ianto, who offered him a less than sympathetic nod. Jack was going to get the "We told you so" lecture later.
Jack followed Gwen back to her office.
"There's nothing in my new ID for Edward."
"Edward has his own folder. Isabelle gave it to him this morning."
He watched the fear cross her face. "What's going on? You have cut me out of this, and trust me, we're going to have a long talk about it later, but right now, I need to know how deeply you've got my son involved."
"I've kept him safe. One slightly illegal act."
"Jack."
"Which he didn't even know he was committing, so he can claim ignorance when everything comes out."
"Where is he now?"
Jack sat back in his chair and folded his hands across his stomach. "Out."
"Out where?"
"We've set up a secure landing area in the Beacons. Eddie and Isabelle are doing the last prep for the site. If things go well, they'll send up the signal for the K'kltic to come down there."
"If things don't go well?"
"Isabelle has everything she needs for the two of them to run to safe ground. If this goes bad, it's going to happen in a hurry. The kids have a head start to get away. Out of all of us, they're the ones most likely to survive."
Gwen sat down. "You really should have told me. Jeanie should be with them. Callie should be with them."
"You can still go. Everything you and Rhys need to start a new life is right there. You can get Jeanie out of here. Ireland wasn't touched in the war, other than some residual radiation."
She shut her eyes. "There has to be something else we can do. Radiation? Why are we not up there stopping this ourselves?"
"We are."
"I don't mean Kyle. I mean us. You know about these aliens."
"I couldn't get up there. We don't have a ship. We don't have a transmat. We can't get up there, and we can't get Kyle down."
"He's going with UNIT. He'll … " Realisation dawned, and he reached out, covered her hand with his.
"UNIT has the same opinion on spies and traitors as we do."
"You let Bridget live."
"We can trade her. By the end of the day, I'm going to have to trade a lot. Look at your folder again. Take an hour or two to think. You and Rhys and Jeanie can be out of the country tonight."
"I'm not going anywhere and you bloody well know it."
He smiled, because it was his Gwen, and yeah, he knew she wasn't leaving. But he had to give her the chance. "Good. Let me tell you about the next part."
***
"Thirty minutes of work and we have to wait here all day? I could have slept in."
"Does the phrase 'need to get into position' mean anything to you?"
"No."
"Figures."
"Oh, don't you get all military on me, Iz. You can't even salute right."
"I can so!"
"Can't. You always look like a kid playing with army men."
"You take that back."
"I won't."
Isabelle sulked at him, and Eddie sulked right back. Bloody nuisance, being out here in the middle of nowhere, his feet gone wet from the grass, no-one for miles. Isabelle said they had to stay all day and most of the night, with nothing to do until much later.
"Why do we have to get into position now?"
"'Cause Uncle Jack said so."
"Oh. Good."
"Eddie?"
"What?"
"What's the biggest secret you've ever kept?"
"What? I dunno. Probably that time we stole Mam's car and you wrecked it."
She nodded. "Sounds about right." She turned and went back into the car, digging around for something with her legs sticking out. "Here," she said, shoving a wrinkled and stained folder at him.
"What's this?"
"New life. Papers. ID. Some money."
"What's it for?"
Isabelle sat down heavily on the towel she'd brought. After a moment, Eddie sat down beside her.
"You're gonna be pissed off."
"About what?"
She laughed, and it carried over the rocks and grass. "So my idiot big brother is gonna save the world today … "
***
The lack of sleep was catching up to him. He hadn't slept the night before the launch, had catnapped along the way, had spent all of what was technically last night on duty, and instead of sleeping this morning, he needed to begin his work.
Kyle wasn't afraid. He had been, for so long and for so many reasons, but as the Earth had fallen away behind him, he'd felt his anxiety fall away as well. In the idle time he had on watch or when he should have been sleeping, he stared out the closest window and watched the stars. Jack had travelled them, as had Kyle's grandmother, and Luke's mum, and even Mickey for a little while. Someday Jack would be out here again, no doubt piloting some slapped-together ship as humanity climbed out of its cradle and tottered into space. Moonbase. Bowie 1. Bowie 2. And Kyle, here, now, playing his own part, feeling connected for the first time in his life to that greater tapestry.
The station turned, and the Earth peeked out at the edge of his window.
Tony had come back, damp and silly, just as the Colonel had announced that the mission was back on, but the announcement had meant the team was on lockdown. No-one on the backup team was needed, and they were dismissed. There had been waves and shouts and good luck thrown, and Tony had waved and shouted luck with the rest, and given Kyle a thumbs up. Which could mean they'd had a breakthrough, and could mean nothing at all, but as the team filed out and past the others, what it mostly meant was that they'd fucked up their one chance at saying goodbye.
Kyle looked at the biro in his hand, did not click it. The razor was tucked into his boot.
He wasn't coming back from this. He'd been wound up like a toy, trained to do one thing well, and when his spring went, his life was over. A bullet from a mate's pistol today, or an accident in prison later, UNIT was not going to let him free, not now. And Tony, as much as he wanted Tony to stay, had to go. He'd been the one collecting their information on the Colonel's plans, the same information that, if everything was on schedule, was in Auntie Lois's hands as she waited for her audience this afternoon with the King. She would explain just how far Torchwood had overstepped its jurisdiction, and how far certain members of UNIT had, and in what ways, and why, and how Torchwood had just managed to save UNIT from starting an interstellar war, and because it was Auntie Lois, she would do it without shouting. Any influence that bought would be put towards keeping Dad out of prison, for his health, and with luck, Mum and the girls and the rest of their tiny conspiracy.
And that was fine, better than fine. Best case scenario, all down to him now.
Kyle stood and straightened his uniform, then wandered over to where Singh and Baker were watching out the next window. Some of the team were feeling a little unsteady from the artificial gravity. That would mask the real culprit until later, he hoped.
"Hey," said Singh.
"Hey." Kyle clicked the biro beside his leg. Baker went pale, and Singh covered his mouth with his hand. "Are you all right? You don't look well."
Baker said, "Fine. Just a bit … " She sat heavily. Singh leaned against the wall. Kyle helped him to the floor beside Baker.
"Space legs getting to you? I'll fetch the doctor," said Kyle.
***
The waiting wore at him. Ianto was quietly certain that this series of events had already taken a good ten years off his life, but the worry now, for Kyle, for all of them after, well, today was going to eat at least another five.
Lisa closed her phone. "That was Tosh. Everything is set on their end. Lois is heading to the Palace now."
"Good."
"Are you all right?"
"As right as I'm going to be." She sat down next to him, and he held her hand. Lisa didn't have Jack's eternal youth, but she was still lovely, her hair as dark as the day they'd met. After this, after all this, if it all went well, if Kyle came home, if no-one died, so many ifs, the three of them were going to take a long trip somewhere, and they were just going to be for a while. No aliens, no plans, maybe a call every other day or so to the children to ensure they were okay and that Isabelle hadn't blown anything up, and otherwise, just peace.
"He's going to do fine," Lisa said.
"I know." He closed his eyes. "Did Tosh say if Tony checked in?"
"He didn't. But the timetable had him set to leave a few minutes ago. If we haven't heard from him by now, we probably won't."
"Jack will be so pleased. I don't think he liked Tony."
"He liked him enough. But I think he'd have been happier knowing why Tony was helping us," Lisa said, her pretty mouth drawn up.
"I thought we decided it was that whole Rose connection."
"Really? So you'd help one of Rhi's old boyfriends from thirty years ago commit treason?"
He frowned. "Not any of the old boyfriends I've met, no."
"If Jonny asked you, you'd likely turn him in yourself."
"That's not … Yes. I probably would."
"So we don't know why Tony has been helping us."
"A chance to get home?"
Lisa hitched her shoulders. "Could be." But she looked unconvinced.
***
Rani tapped her fingers nervously on her desk. When she went to lose her job over this, she intended to claim she'd broken the biggest story of the century. Which would look lovely at the top of her CV as she was fired anyway.
The tiny device, hardly bigger than a beetle, sat on her desk. Toshiko said it would signal her at the right time. Rani already knew how to change the feed, had checked and rechecked to make sure this would work. Now she waited, wondering what the signal was going to be, as Tosh hadn't actually told her.
The beetle lit up, and hummed.
Rani grinned. As she dashed to the control room, she thought that somewhere, Sarah Jane was smiling.
***
"Mr. Langer, Ealing Southall."
Clyde kept the smile cool and professional. "New business. We need to talk about Torchwood."
Groans echoed through the hall. Dillwyn, the lone MP from Cardiff, hid her face in her hands with a quiet, "Oh God, what now?" that carried.
***
On the television screen, Kyle chittered. In English, he said, "You were misled. I am here on behalf of the Torchwood Institute of Earth."
"The who of what?" said Dev, and Lisa shushed her as the aliens whistled, and Kyle whistled back. She knew the language well enough to follow along, and Kyle translated quickly.
"UNIT has been trying to trick you. They wanted you to liaise with them alone, use you for the opportunities you presented. They would have broken the terms of your agreement. Instead, we are speaking in front of the world as you wished. If you read my thoughts, you know I am telling you the truth."
The aliens chittered, something about gratitude, and an acknowledgement of his veracity. Then the feed cut, and they were left with the BBC technical difficulties screen.
"That's not good," said Jack.
***
Rani folded her arms as her supervisor tried to shout her into cowering.
"Clear out your desk."
"Biggest story in a century," she said. "And we broke it. Ask me how many jobs I could walk into right now, promising an exclusive interview with Lt. Jones when he returns to Earth."
"How exclusive?"
"I've known him since he was three and his parents owe me a huge favour."
Rani ended the day with a raise.
***
Callie's phone vibrated in her pocket. "Excuse me."
Papa said, "You're leaving now?"
"I need to take this," she said, hurrying out of the conference room. "Hello, Charles."
"Shit, Callie, what the hell just happened?"
"First contact, new species. We've done this before." Charles was dating a man from Altair who'd come through the Rift two years ago. Immigration was going to be a nightmare.
"But the man on the telly … "
" … is my brother. Don't worry about it."
"But … "
"Call Michael. We'll be moving out to the landing site shortly. Torchwood wants the Good Neighbours to act as the welcoming committee." More or less. Basically, they were going to greet the aliens, and Callie and Michael would help facilitate their meetings with everyone, though the primary push would be to get them in a room with Luke. "Busy days ahead."
"I thought we didn't get on with Torchwood."
"Charlie, Torchwood has been funding us the whole time. Talk to Michael." She closed her phone.
***
Kyle felt the razor in his hand spark and die, and he knew the broadcast was over. He told the K'kltic ambassador, "I am going to awaken my colleagues now. They will not harm you. They may harm me. This is not unexpected. Please do not hold it against them."
He twisted the biro, and the others immediately lost their sick looks, and began climbing to their feet. Resigned, Kyle turned the sound back on for the monitor with the Colonel.
"You have sound again, sir."
"Lt. Jones, you are relieved of duty. Relinquish your weapons, including all technological devices on your person, immediately."
Kyle set down the biro and the razor, and his unused sidearm, as Trevor came over to him. The diplomat, Leeson, was already speaking to the K'kltic ambassador. Kyle was pleased to hear she was being honest about UNIT's intentions. It would likely get her fired later, but it wouldn't get them killed.
"Lt. Trevor, arrest Lt. Jones. Do it now."
Kyle put his hands on his head. Almost apologetically, Trevor cuffed him. Kyle chittered one last time to the K'kltic.
"What'd you say just then?" asked Trevor, as he hauled him away. "Something about wrong talk?"
"I warned them that my colleagues are not as fluent in their language as I am, and will likely give offence, and it's not intentional. I also told them it was an honour to meet them."
"What happens if they get offended?"
"World War Three. Complete with alien enemies and tactical nuclear strikes."
"So if Leeson back there just called their mums whores … "
Kyle stopped dead. "No."
"Well, I'm not as good as you on this … "
"Sorry."
"For what?"
But Kyle had already brought his hands down in front of him. (Cuffing at the top of his head? Really? Trevor was a well-meaning idiot.) With a sharp crack, he smashed his bound fists into Trevor's chin. He had maybe a minute, as the others still recovered from their illness. He dashed back to Leeson and the K'kltic ambassador.
"What did you say to them?"
"I told them they are going to be highly regarded on Earth."
"Did you use the formal tone or the informal?"
"We weren't told the difference."
Kyle had brought it up during the training, and had been told to stick to the rubric. He turned to the ambassador and said in K'kltic, "Again, please do not take offence. She said you will be held in high esteem."
The ambassador made a sound almost like a laugh. "Thank you for clarification."
"It is my duty and pleasure."
"We will not take offence at her words. Her thoughts say she was considering untruth."
"We had orders. She will tell you the truth now." He looked at Leeson and said in English, "You must tell them the truth, always. Telepaths hate liars and secrets. It's important."
He was aware of the Colonel shouting over the monitor, and the rest had recovered. There were five weapons pointed at him, all held by people who'd liked him until today.
The Colonel's phone rang on the screen.
"You should answer that," said Kyle. "It'll be Jack."
He let them take him into custody this time. He didn't bother ducking when Trevor punched him.
***
"Colonel," said Jack. "Seems we've got ourselves a situation. I've got a monitor if you'd like to speak face to face."
He heard a growl on the phone, and then the screen in front of him connected. Jack put the phone on speaker.
"You're going down, Harkness."
"So many jokes, so little time."
"I'm sure you think you're very clever. How long have you been setting this up?"
"Oh, quite some time. I'm big on long-term planning, as you know."
"Espionage? Treason? Not your usual plans."
"I'm not the one who intended to use the K'kltic to advance my career. By the way, it wouldn't have worked. Your people up there would have insulted them, and we'd be at war now."
"You know this how?"
Jack smiled. "I'm special. I know." He pushed back in his chair and adopted a relaxed position. "So. Before you and I are both arrested, we should talk. What are you going to order them to do with Kyle?"
"I'm not sure it's worth spending the oxygen we'd lose in the airlock to throw him out. Bullets are cheaper."
Jack glanced up. Lisa and Ianto sat outside the range of the camera on purpose. Lisa's face at this moment was why. She was lousy at poker. Which made strip poker that much more entertaining, but it was time to focus just now.
"That's not in your regulations. Rules say he gets a trial."
"You interfered the last time I put one of yours on trial."
"So I did."
"In the old days, they hanged spies and traitors. I'm sure you'll weasel your way out, and even if you don't, we both know you'd walk away from it regardless. But since we already know he's guilty, it doesn't seem worth the return trip and the cost of a legal case."
"I can see where you're coming from. And you're right. Spies are often executed." He spun the screen, so the Colonel could see where Bridget had been cuffed to her leather chair. "Trade you."
He spun the screen back. The Colonel scowled. "How long have you known?"
"Long enough. Assume anything she's ever given you has been what we wanted you to see."
"Understood. Feel free to shoot her."
Bridget squawked in protest and Dev smacked her on the arm. "Hush."
"Dr. McLaren is a liability. Shoot her, don't shoot her. We don't need her anymore."
"Hear that, Bridge? Suddenly the Torchwood retirement plan is looking pretty sweet, hm?"
"Colonel!" Bridget said.
Jack waved at Devorah. "Roll her outta here and keep an eye on her." Dev pushed the rolling chair in front of her out the door. Beth covered a giggle.
The Colonel said, "If that's all you've got, I'm disappointed."
Jack hid his smile. That had just tipped the other man's hand in a big way. He was willing to deal. "It's not, actually. Ianto?"
Ianto joined him in front of the camera. "Colonel."
"Colonel, I believe you know my handsome husband? He's in charge of our archives, which means he files all the reports, crosschecks all our artefacts, and so on. He came on after our first base was destroyed, and helped put together all that we could scavenge from the old archive, including what survived Canary Wharf. We also maintain all the backup records from our Glasgow office, and the new London office. So basically, if Torchwood touched it in the last hundred-odd years, and it was backed up, dug out, or otherwise recovered since our last disaster, he's handled it. Is that about right, Ianto?"
"Sounds right." Ianto handed Jack the stick.
"This memory stick has a copy of every record we've got. Every alien, every piece of tech, including the stuff I've personally added to the files from memory."
Ianto said, "It includes a list of every item we have, along with their origins, properties, approximate monetary value, potential applications, and so on." He'd spent a lifetime building this database. The last two years, he'd collected everything together for this one project. Plan F, or whatever they were on now.
Jack set the stick down. "Everything you've ever wanted from us. No strings, and only one condition."
The Colonel leaned forward towards his screen. Jack could see the wheels in his head turning. He was going to be in trouble for the mission, but he could salvage a lot of this mess by presenting the entirety of Torchwood to the current head of UNIT.
"And," Jack said, as Ianto moved back beside Lisa and took her hand, "one last offer to sweeten the deal. We get Kyle. You get all the information we've collected since we were founded. And I step down as the head of Torchwood."
He didn't look at the tight faces around him, not now.
The Colonel looked at him. "You're right. That's a very sweet deal." Jack smiled. "But I think once the dust settles, your little club is going to be disbanded anyway, and all your records will still come to us. And I'd rather see your face at his funeral." Jack felt the old fears slam into him, remembered too many funerals, remembered why he was here, why Kyle was even born. Without meaning to, he fingered the leather at his wrist, and cursed himself for the tell. "Yes. I think it'll look much like that."
The Colonel pressed a button. "Execute Lt. Jones."
Jack jumped from his chair. "You're making a mistake. You're throwing away a perfect opportunity for the sake of a little revenge."
"I think my superiors will understand. I'm choosing to save us time and expense. In fact, I … "
There was a click of a safety, and a gun was placed against the Colonel's head. Jack couldn't see anything but the hand holding it, but he knew the voice.
"My Mum always said the thing about choices is that you only get to make them once."
***
Interlude: Five Minutes Ago, or How to Give Someone an Opportunity to Make New Friendships That Will Last a Lifetime
***
Tony'd meant to go earlier, but there was work to do here, a few last documents to sign, proverbial fires to put out, and while he wasn't going to be around later to deal with the fallout, he genuinely liked the people he worked with, and didn't intend to leave them a bigger mess. He'd stayed, and told some easy jokes to get Spitz laughing, and brought a stack of files up to the Colonel's secretary, and he'd said his goodbyes in his head.
But all his mental goodbyes kept going back to other people.
"Goodbye. I'm sorry," he sent to Jenkins, but all he could think about was Rose.
"Goodbye. I liked you, and I'm going to miss you," he thought to Spitz, but he saw John.
"Goodbye. Goodbye."
He needed to write a note. He'd send it to Kyle. Yes. Something quick, because time was wasting. He pulled out the notebook he kept, the one he'd been making notes in all this time, and swiped a pencil from Jenkins' cup. He could drop it in the internal mail, let it arrive on Kyle's desk, or in his cell, in a few days. Hell of a way to say goodbye to someone, but better than nothing.
Tony grabbed a chair in the empty canteen, and started to write. Three words in, he knew he was writing the wrong letter. He tore off the page, stuffed it in his pocket, and started fresh.
When the commotion started, he shoved the notebook in the same pocket as Mickey's letters, the one that held the dimensional transporter. As he hurried, he passed multiple screens, all of them showing Kyle talking to the K'kltic, and Tony smiled warmly, listening as he ran.
He reached Jenkins' desk. Jenkins was stepping out of the Colonel's office. "Did you see?" he asked Tony.
"Everybody saw. The General needs you in his office right now to coordinate a press release. I was sent to get you. Something's up with the phones."
Jenkins nodded. "Thanks." Tony followed him out, then looped around and back into the outer office. Jenkins was a good man, and he didn't deserve to be caught up in this.
Tony went to open the Colonel's door. "Stop right there."
Tony froze. He turned slowly. Harmon had his weapon trained on him.
"I was checking to see if the Colonel had been informed of the new development," Tony said.
"Your boyfriend just broke orders and destroyed our first contact."
"And I was gonna go tell the Colonel about it."
"I liked you," said Harmon. "You're good at making people like you, Tyler. How long have you been planning this?"
"I don't make plans. I follow orders, same as you." He took stock. Harmon was armed, he wasn't. First order of business: change one of those two items. Second, the screens with Kyle and the aliens on them had gone dead a minute or so ago, which meant the feed was gone, or had been cut, and either way, Kyle was no longer in the public eye. He heard a phone ring in the Colonel's office.
"You take orders from Torchwood?"
"Worked for them all my life. Where I'm from, my dad ran Torchwood for years. Pretty sure he's stepped down now. My sister's probably running the place."
"That doesn't make any … " Tony bolted, hit him headfirst in the stomach, and they rolled.
Harmon still had a grip on the gun. Tony dug his thumbs into the pressure points on Harmon's wrists as Harmon twisted under him, swearing. Harmon pulled up his knee hard into Tony's groin, taking the air out of his lungs as pain shot through his whole body. Harmon shoved him off and rolled to his feet.
"You fucking fairy," he said, and Tony's legs shoved out into his knees. Harmon fell again, and he dropped the gun. Tony put a knee on his chest, tears still streaming in his eyes. Harmon brought a fist up, and Tony blocked it, barely, didn't manage to block the other. They rolled again, and Harmon got in another punch. He was on top of Tony, would happily beat him senseless now, and Tony raised one arm to defend himself. With the other, Tony dug into his own pocket, grabbed everything, and shoved the papers into Harmon's shirt.
"What the fuck?" Harmon said, scrabbling in confusion. The distraction was all Tony needed to wrangle the lanyard over Harmon's neck.
"Bye," said Tony, and he slammed his palm against the activator, pushing Harmon hard as he did.
Harmon vanished.
For a few precious seconds, Tony lay there on the floor, balls aching, head pounding. At best guess, the systems at home would pick up the distortion in the dimensional field, and Torchwood would pay a swift visit to the UNIT facility on his world. Within an hour, Harmon would be debriefed, and when they found the letters, whoever was in charge of the operation would call Rose. Hell, she might even eventually ship him back. Home had the tech.
Tony got to his feet, and he grabbed Harmon's gun. And because John had helped raise him, he pulled out the clip and stowed it in his pocket. He went to the Colonel's door. As he opened it as quietly as he could, he heard: "I'd rather see your face at his funeral." The Colonel was intent on his screen.
Tony sighed. The thing about Jack, John had told him once, was that he was great at making and following plans up to a point, but he rarely stuck the landing. Something always went wrong at the end, and someone else had to come along and tidy up the mess.
Tony went inside.
***
Chapter Nine