Abstract Psychopaths by Nemo Baker (Chapter 5)
Title: Abstract Psychopaths
Summary: How do you fight a killer that’s only alive when you can’t see it? The answer: Don’t turn your back, don’t look away, and don’t blink.
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Blink, Adrift (sort of)
Author's Notes: Second to last chapter! Sorry this one took so long.
“Alright. How do we kill a rock?” Gwen asked the conference room at large.
Ianto could have very easily predicted the silence that came after.
“We could blow it up,” Owen suggested.
“That would just make many smaller rocks,” Ianto pointed out.
“Yeah, I’m not really up for destroying an ancient creature that’s just trying to survive,” Jack said.
“Hits a bit too close to home for you?” Owen said acerbically.
“Maybe it’s not about killing it.” Tosh suggested, cutting off any retaliation from Jack. “I mean, you really can’t kill something that’s not alive. So it could just be about preventing it from moving again.”
“True,” Ianto said.
“So, it can’t move if it’s being watched… what could look at it for the rest of its life?” Gwen pondered.
“Maybe an electronic eye? A camera?” Tosh said.
“No, I’m pretty sure it has to be a living thing,” Ianto replied.
They fell silent again.
“Well, what else do we know about them?” Jack prompted. “They’re old. Incredibly fast…”
“They feed on potential energy,” Gwen added. “Usually by sending people back into the past.”
“Oh,” Tosh exclaimed. “And they were called the Lonely Assassins.”
Then, it clicked.
“The Doctor said they can’t risk looking at each other,” Ianto turned to Jack. “What would happen if they did?”
Jack leaned back in his chair. “They’d be frozen.”
“Forever.”
“Okay, problem,” Owen said. “We’ve only found one.”
“If there are others, then it’ll only be a matter of time before they come here,” Jack said. “If not, then we’ll think of something else.”
“Like blowing it up.”
“No, Owen.”
“Jack,” Tosh said tentatively. “We might not have any other choice.”
“We can’t just let this thing go around, snatching people off the streets,” Gwen added.
“And I don’t intend to,” Jack said, vehemence in his tone. “But you said yourself, Tosh. It doesn’t have to be about killing it.”
“I could be wrong.”
“Or you could be right.”
“Well, at the moment we don’t know either way, and bickering about it will hardly get us anywhere,” Ianto interrupted. “So might I suggest we figure out how to locate it, and then see what to do about its containment?”
After a moment’s hesitation, the others nodded. Jack opened his mouth, presumably to reestablish his control over the meeting, when the Rift alarm sounded yet again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“It’s just a normal spike, this time,” Tosh said, pouring over the new readings. “At a museum a few blocks from here.”
Ianto stared at the spike, noting that the shape seemed familiar. He glanced over at Jack, who was peering over Tosh’s shoulder at the monitor.
“Did the Program tell us about this one?” the other man asked.
“Yes, I think we just missed it because of everything that’s been going on.”
“Makes sense.”
“What should we do about it?” Owen said.
“Dunno,” Jack replied. “The Angel is probably still waiting for us out-oh.”
“What?” Gwen prompted.
“I just wonder… could it tell if the Rift opened?”
“I suppose it’s possible,” Ianto said. “Why?”
“It could be attracted to a Rift opening in the same way that it was drawn to us.”
“That would make a lot of sense, actually,” Tosh said.
“So it could be headed over to that museum as we speak,” Ianto concluded. “What should we do?”
Jack gave him a winning smile. “Go and catch it, of course.”
Ianto nodded. Tosh stood up from her seat in front of the computer, and Gwen and Owen came forward. Jack held up a hand.
“Nope. You three are going to stay here and watch the Hub.
“What? Why?” Gwen asked indignantly.
“If the Angel doesn’t go to the museum, then you can make sure it doesn’t get in here while Ianto and I are gone.”
“Hell no,” Owen said.
“Yep.”
“Just because we don’t agree-”
“We’re not arguing about this. Decision’s final. Ianto, let’s go.”
Ianto ignored the exasperated expressions on the other’s faces as he and Jack made their way down to the garage. When they were out of earshot, he spoke.
“About those readings…”
“Yeah, I noticed it too,” Jack said. “That spike’s not dropping something off. It’s gonna take whoever, or whatever, is in its range.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ianto stared out of the night-darkened window as they drove. Any signs of the storm from earlier had gone, except for the shallow puddles on the sides of the road. The tires kicked up water as they sped along.
“What’s the plan?” he asked Jack.
“I told you. We’re going to catch it,” came the matter-of-fact reply. Ianto turned toward him.
“Yes, I got that. My question was more centered around how, exactly, we planned to do that.”
Jack didn’t answer. Ianto raised an eyebrow.
“So if I have this right,” he began. “We’re going to stop this thing, that we don’t know how to stop, before it gets sucked into the Rift. While risking getting pulled in ourselves. And we’re going in without an actual plan.”
“When you put it like that-”
“You sound like a bloody idiot? Yes. You do.”
“We’ve done stuff like this before. When we get there, an option will present itself.”
“I’m glad you’re so assured.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Jack insisted. Ianto shrugged, and decided it was a bit too late for him to do anything but take Jack’s word for it.
They rounded a corner and the National Museum appeared. Jack took them into the parking lot, and Ianto pulled out the portable scanner. They checked their torches and holstered their guns. Ianto peered out towards the building, looking for any sign of their quarry. But there was none. Finally, Jack turned to him.
“Ready?”
“No.”
“Great! Let’s go.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ianto stared down at the scanner, and then up at the diagram in the entryway of the deserted museum.
“You’re kidding me,” he murmured.
“What?” Jack asked.
“The Rift opening. It’s in the middle of the statue gallery.”
Jack groaned. “No…”
“I hate you so much right now.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Let’s just get on with it.”
They took the elevator up to the third floor, and a tense silence fell. Ianto could feel his fingers tensing around the scanner as his mind played through the various ways this could go wrong. The lift announced their arrival with a soft ‘ping’, and the doors slid aside. They stepped out.
Ianto stared around the wide, high-ceilinged gallery. Beautifully carved stone figures were spaced around the room, casting ominous shadows on the walls. Their very breath seemed to echo in the cavernous space. The intense sense of foreboding that had settled on Ianto’s shoulders intensified.
“This gallery is separated into two wings,” Jack said from beside him. “You take the west, I’ll take the east. Keep your comm open.”
Ianto nodded, although splitting up was the last thing he wanted to do. He watched as Jack strode away, skirting around the pedestals as he went. He swallowed, and made his way down the opposite hall.
He shined his torch at the statues around him as he walked. His movements felt jarring, as if any step he took could disturb one of the figures that he passed. It was difficult to stop himself from flinching when he accidentally met their eyes. The darkness around him was nearly absolute.
Finally, he reached the end of the hallway and found a door that lead to the rest of the west gallery. He pushed it open, and light from a solitary window illuminated the room beyond. He crossed the threshold, and nearly gasped.
The Rift tear was in the center of the room. It gave off a soft, golden glow that spun patterns into the air around it. The Weeping Angel was standing mere feet from the breach, reaching for the the light.
The other statues stood around the walls like sentries. The only witnesses.
Ianto found that he had no breath to speak, and no strength to move. His mind whirled, and only one thought was clear. He hesitated for a moment.
And closed his eyes.
Beginning, Previous, Next
Summary: How do you fight a killer that’s only alive when you can’t see it? The answer: Don’t turn your back, don’t look away, and don’t blink.
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Blink, Adrift (sort of)
Author's Notes: Second to last chapter! Sorry this one took so long.
“Alright. How do we kill a rock?” Gwen asked the conference room at large.
Ianto could have very easily predicted the silence that came after.
“We could blow it up,” Owen suggested.
“That would just make many smaller rocks,” Ianto pointed out.
“Yeah, I’m not really up for destroying an ancient creature that’s just trying to survive,” Jack said.
“Hits a bit too close to home for you?” Owen said acerbically.
“Maybe it’s not about killing it.” Tosh suggested, cutting off any retaliation from Jack. “I mean, you really can’t kill something that’s not alive. So it could just be about preventing it from moving again.”
“True,” Ianto said.
“So, it can’t move if it’s being watched… what could look at it for the rest of its life?” Gwen pondered.
“Maybe an electronic eye? A camera?” Tosh said.
“No, I’m pretty sure it has to be a living thing,” Ianto replied.
They fell silent again.
“Well, what else do we know about them?” Jack prompted. “They’re old. Incredibly fast…”
“They feed on potential energy,” Gwen added. “Usually by sending people back into the past.”
“Oh,” Tosh exclaimed. “And they were called the Lonely Assassins.”
Then, it clicked.
“The Doctor said they can’t risk looking at each other,” Ianto turned to Jack. “What would happen if they did?”
Jack leaned back in his chair. “They’d be frozen.”
“Forever.”
“Okay, problem,” Owen said. “We’ve only found one.”
“If there are others, then it’ll only be a matter of time before they come here,” Jack said. “If not, then we’ll think of something else.”
“Like blowing it up.”
“No, Owen.”
“Jack,” Tosh said tentatively. “We might not have any other choice.”
“We can’t just let this thing go around, snatching people off the streets,” Gwen added.
“And I don’t intend to,” Jack said, vehemence in his tone. “But you said yourself, Tosh. It doesn’t have to be about killing it.”
“I could be wrong.”
“Or you could be right.”
“Well, at the moment we don’t know either way, and bickering about it will hardly get us anywhere,” Ianto interrupted. “So might I suggest we figure out how to locate it, and then see what to do about its containment?”
After a moment’s hesitation, the others nodded. Jack opened his mouth, presumably to reestablish his control over the meeting, when the Rift alarm sounded yet again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“It’s just a normal spike, this time,” Tosh said, pouring over the new readings. “At a museum a few blocks from here.”
Ianto stared at the spike, noting that the shape seemed familiar. He glanced over at Jack, who was peering over Tosh’s shoulder at the monitor.
“Did the Program tell us about this one?” the other man asked.
“Yes, I think we just missed it because of everything that’s been going on.”
“Makes sense.”
“What should we do about it?” Owen said.
“Dunno,” Jack replied. “The Angel is probably still waiting for us out-oh.”
“What?” Gwen prompted.
“I just wonder… could it tell if the Rift opened?”
“I suppose it’s possible,” Ianto said. “Why?”
“It could be attracted to a Rift opening in the same way that it was drawn to us.”
“That would make a lot of sense, actually,” Tosh said.
“So it could be headed over to that museum as we speak,” Ianto concluded. “What should we do?”
Jack gave him a winning smile. “Go and catch it, of course.”
Ianto nodded. Tosh stood up from her seat in front of the computer, and Gwen and Owen came forward. Jack held up a hand.
“Nope. You three are going to stay here and watch the Hub.
“What? Why?” Gwen asked indignantly.
“If the Angel doesn’t go to the museum, then you can make sure it doesn’t get in here while Ianto and I are gone.”
“Hell no,” Owen said.
“Yep.”
“Just because we don’t agree-”
“We’re not arguing about this. Decision’s final. Ianto, let’s go.”
Ianto ignored the exasperated expressions on the other’s faces as he and Jack made their way down to the garage. When they were out of earshot, he spoke.
“About those readings…”
“Yeah, I noticed it too,” Jack said. “That spike’s not dropping something off. It’s gonna take whoever, or whatever, is in its range.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ianto stared out of the night-darkened window as they drove. Any signs of the storm from earlier had gone, except for the shallow puddles on the sides of the road. The tires kicked up water as they sped along.
“What’s the plan?” he asked Jack.
“I told you. We’re going to catch it,” came the matter-of-fact reply. Ianto turned toward him.
“Yes, I got that. My question was more centered around how, exactly, we planned to do that.”
Jack didn’t answer. Ianto raised an eyebrow.
“So if I have this right,” he began. “We’re going to stop this thing, that we don’t know how to stop, before it gets sucked into the Rift. While risking getting pulled in ourselves. And we’re going in without an actual plan.”
“When you put it like that-”
“You sound like a bloody idiot? Yes. You do.”
“We’ve done stuff like this before. When we get there, an option will present itself.”
“I’m glad you’re so assured.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Jack insisted. Ianto shrugged, and decided it was a bit too late for him to do anything but take Jack’s word for it.
They rounded a corner and the National Museum appeared. Jack took them into the parking lot, and Ianto pulled out the portable scanner. They checked their torches and holstered their guns. Ianto peered out towards the building, looking for any sign of their quarry. But there was none. Finally, Jack turned to him.
“Ready?”
“No.”
“Great! Let’s go.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ianto stared down at the scanner, and then up at the diagram in the entryway of the deserted museum.
“You’re kidding me,” he murmured.
“What?” Jack asked.
“The Rift opening. It’s in the middle of the statue gallery.”
Jack groaned. “No…”
“I hate you so much right now.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Let’s just get on with it.”
They took the elevator up to the third floor, and a tense silence fell. Ianto could feel his fingers tensing around the scanner as his mind played through the various ways this could go wrong. The lift announced their arrival with a soft ‘ping’, and the doors slid aside. They stepped out.
Ianto stared around the wide, high-ceilinged gallery. Beautifully carved stone figures were spaced around the room, casting ominous shadows on the walls. Their very breath seemed to echo in the cavernous space. The intense sense of foreboding that had settled on Ianto’s shoulders intensified.
“This gallery is separated into two wings,” Jack said from beside him. “You take the west, I’ll take the east. Keep your comm open.”
Ianto nodded, although splitting up was the last thing he wanted to do. He watched as Jack strode away, skirting around the pedestals as he went. He swallowed, and made his way down the opposite hall.
He shined his torch at the statues around him as he walked. His movements felt jarring, as if any step he took could disturb one of the figures that he passed. It was difficult to stop himself from flinching when he accidentally met their eyes. The darkness around him was nearly absolute.
Finally, he reached the end of the hallway and found a door that lead to the rest of the west gallery. He pushed it open, and light from a solitary window illuminated the room beyond. He crossed the threshold, and nearly gasped.
The Rift tear was in the center of the room. It gave off a soft, golden glow that spun patterns into the air around it. The Weeping Angel was standing mere feet from the breach, reaching for the the light.
The other statues stood around the walls like sentries. The only witnesses.
Ianto found that he had no breath to speak, and no strength to move. His mind whirled, and only one thought was clear. He hesitated for a moment.
And closed his eyes.
Beginning, Previous, Next