Jack’s and Ianto’s Private Archives - Season 2 -16/28 part 3 - 04/08
Title: Jack’s and Ianto’s Private Archives - Season 2 -16/28
Fandom: Torchwood
Part 4: A Matter of Trust 04/08
POV: from Jack’s point of view.
Characters/pairings: Jack/Ianto and Lord Henry Lothian.
Rating: PG-15
Summary: Jack as been taken to face a secret trial somewhere in Scotland.
Disclaimer: The usual, I don’t own what you’ll be able to recognize, the rest is all mine.
Beta: czarina_kitty
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Jack was taken to his room, not a cell, even if the place looked like the Alamo. Before the attack, obviously.
He’d told Henry he wouldn’t come down for dinner. He needed to be alone, to put himself back together. He had to do it, to keep on fighting. If not for himself, he had to for Owen and Tosh. Those two had only him to protect them from UNIT’s wolves. And also for Ianto: who would look after him if Jack let them put him back in a cage?
Jack swung the three folders on the bed, he’ll have to study them thoroughly, and find a line of defence... But first, needed a long shower.
Despite his misfortune, luck seemed to still be on his side; Henry had found out about the plot in time to allow him to defend his skin in person.
And as if to give him time to adjust, as soon as they had arrived on scene, they were told the meeting was postponed until tomorrow late morning. The representative of the Shadow had been the victim of a poisoning. That would give Jack some time to put his ideas in order...
At dawn, he went down for breakfast, hoping to have the room to himself. That hope was in vain, as he was surrounded by soldiers who were unaware of the delights of sleeping late. Sam came to join him--he was in charge of security, of course...!
“This is bullshit,” he said by way of introduction.
Jack only shrugged in response.
“How these guys, these hiding cowards can allow themselves to judge you, it just makes me sick.”
Jack was content to outline a half-smile.
“And according rumour, your fate depends mainly on one guy, the one from the Shadow--- I wonder where he was, while the Master--”
Sam cut himself short and looked at Jack with compassion. Jack didn’t need that, certainly not coming from Sam. Sam, who used to be his jailer aboard the Valiant.
“What happened to him? Indigestion?” Jack asked, he was growing annoyed and anxious for this to come to an end.
“No, murder. Or at least, attempted murder,” Sam replied.
“Oh ...!” Jack let out. Working for the Shadow seemed to be even more dangerous than working for Torchwood.
After breakfast, Jack had a walk with Sam and Henry. The Scottish moor was beautiful in the mist. They walked in silence and it helped to past the time. They returned just in time to see the mysterious representative of the Shadow’s helicopter landing.
“I was told the big boss was coming in person,” Mac Gregor yelled to Henry with a predatory smile.
“Just for me?”Jack responded with a rebellious smile, while a very young man wearing a three-piece suit, emerged from the helicopter...
Jack wasn’t paying attention. He was watching the UNIT representatives instead of looking toward the helicopter at the newcomer. It was the general air of dismay on their faces that make him look back. Ianto!
Ianto Jones! Alive and kicking, as stiff as justice, and as cold as the resistance leader who had faced the Master...
With a firm and authoritarian gesture, the young man stopped Colonel MacGregor dead in his tracks as he hastened to welcome him.
Ianto responded to a brief call on his mobile. He then walked toward the assembled UNI T staff’, while the helicopter engine finally stopped its racket.
“Gentlemen, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get this started without delay. My second was victim of attempted murder and I look forward hunting down the coward who did it,” he said, looking straight at Mac Gregor.
“Yes, of course, I understand ... Sir ...?” the officer mumbled, taken aback by such self-assurance.
“Jones! I’m afraid you’ll have to do with Jones, only,” Ianto replied in the same tone.
“I wouldn’t want to look too suspicious, but can we have a look at your credentials, Mr. Jones?” Henry asked politely, but not without some disdain.
“Of course, my lord,” the young man replied, handing Henry the precious document. “Now, gentlemen, can we get to work?” he asked.
Jack was shocked, just like everyone else, but probably not for the same reasons. The old officials never expected to see such a young man at the head of the Shadow. Because, yes, this was the chief officer of Shadow who had made the trip. Henry was starting to understand the mystery surrounding Amy’s former fiancé. As for Sam, he recognized the young leader of the resistance.
Ianto was safe-- that was all Jack needed to know right now.
They all went into a meeting room and settled around the large table set up for this purpose. Ianto took a thermos out of his case and poured himself a coffee, pointedly ignoring the tea that he had been served.
Jack watched him, dumbfounded. Calmly and without letting on, Ianto sized up the men present one by one. Once he crossed Jack’s eyes, but he moved on without stopping and without the slightest trace of emotion...
He looked like a predator choosing its prey.
“Mr. Jones, did you have time to read the files?” Mac Gregor asked with some paternalism.
“I'm afraid I have been provided some sort of bullshit, a bunch of inane ranting,” Ianto responded as he seized the records the Colonel handed him.
“Really, I don’t understand--” Stetson began at a complete loss.
“Is this really your charge file?” Ianto asked glancing at the documents the Colonel had just handed him. Documents which looked pretty much like the ones Jack had in his hands.
“Yes, as you will notice--” Mac Gregor tried to take over.
“You call this a charge file? This Informal bunch of allegations from various unverified sources-- probably unverifiable? I call it a rag unworthy of a tabloid!” Ianto stated coldly but very calmly with displayed disdain.
Taking advantage of his audience’s silence, he marked his point. “What are your sources? Where’s your proof? Do you even have any witnesses?”
“As you seem to have not noticed, Mr. Jones, this survey was conducted upon a secret organization-” Stetson explained condescendingly.
“What you seem to have missed, General, is that I’m the leader of an organization specialized in such investigations. Secrecy is our daily business. And this, General, is by no means the result of a field investigation! Just baseless allegations used for defamation”, Ianto shut him up. He stopped to take a sip of coffee and resumed, “And keeping this theme for others, General, everyone here is accredited to the highest level of confidentiality. If you had a shred of evidence, it would be on the table ... Can we at least know who your so-called sources are? Or is that too much to ask?”
Electricity ran through the air, the old veterans had not expected to fall for such an ambush, let alone be ridiculed by a kid.
Jack gloated inwardly taking care not to cross Ianto’s too piercing eyes. He didn’t want to be next in his sights. The fact that the young man spent his nerves on his opponents wasn’t a guarantee he wouldn’t turn against Jack at the last minute. As far as he knew, Ianto was perfectly capable, after demonstrating their inabilities from A to Z,, of showing them how to tear apart a man’s life.
The evidence these men lacked, Ianto could very well hold in his cute black leather briefcase.
“The captain himself acknowledged some of these facts,” Stetson finally spit out.
“I beg your pardon?” Jack heard himself say, stunned, before finally asking, “What am I suppose to have admitted?”
Ianto immediately turned toward him. “Really ?” he inquired, discreetly intimating Jack to keep quiet with a glance. The young man went back to his prey.
“May I ask if there is any kind of testimony? Written records?” he kept on, mimicking the General’s previous condescending tone.
“...”
“General, don’t tell me you’ve got nothing,” Ianto concluded, not faking the exasperation. The young man no longer tried to hide the cold anger within. “Don’t tell me my second is now fighting between life and death in a hospital bed because of a farce.”
“Mr. Jones, you wouldn’t pretend to charge us without any proof,” Orwell thought it wise to say.
“I never accuse without proof, Mr. Orwell. Believe me, when I file criminal charges it goes directly to the relevant judge’s desk, and the only thing left to him is the arrest. No cockroaches I’ve pinned have ever got away free,” Ianto responded tit-for-tat, glaring at him.
“Okay, I’ve got enough of this masquerade. We end this here and now. Clerk, note my veto against Captain Jack Harkness’s layoff. This meeting is over,” he added, picking up his briefcase and his thermos.
But then his mobile rang and he took the call.
“Yes?” he asked more calmly, and then tears came to his eyes. He bit his lip before answering his interlocutor, “Thank you for letting me know.” He hung up and, eyes filled with tears, he turned toward Henry. “I'm sorry, my lord,” he told him. Then addressing the entire meeting he announced, “Lord Thomas Prescott has died. He was 25, getting married, and he was my second, my brother, my friend ... and I will find the one who did this and on whose behalf they acted. I promise you that.” Then Ianto turned to Jack and said, “I’m going to Cardiff, will you join me?”
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
They travelled back in silence. Ianto stared at the horizon to better restrain tears, and Jack couldn’t come with appropriate words...
Ianto was the Shadow’s leader. Which explained a lot of things, but raised as many questions.
Of course he’d saved Jack’s ass, but the Captain was wondering why he’d done it.
The retcon seemed to have left no trace-- which was really disturbing.
First chapter of the Archives season one here on LJ and Master list of both seasons here
To be continued.