Fic: Better Late...
Title: Better Late...
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Tosh, Owen, Gwen.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Team Torchwood are having some difficulty getting where they need to be.
Word Count: 1450
Written For: Prompt 175 - Late Arrival at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Cardiff’s one-way system existed for a number of very sensible reasons involving the reduction of traffic congestion in and around the city centre. It was effective, up to a point, but it could also be a confounded nuisance, especially for anyone needing to get from point A to point B in the fastest possible time.
It didn’t help that the Cardiff police refused to consider the Torchwood SUV an official emergency response vehicle, which was frankly ridiculous, considering some of the things the team had to deal with. Hostile alien invasion forces, rogue Weevils attacking citizens and tourists alike, Blowfish high on drugs, explosive devices given dangerously unstable by their trip through the Rift… The police were neither trained nor equipped to handle such things, they wouldn’t have the faintest idea of how to deal with them, which was why Torchwood Three had been set up in the first place.
Unfortunately, as necessary as is might be to keep secret all details of what the organisation actually did, that very secrecy inevitably got in the way of their ability to do their job. They couldn’t contact the police and ask them to clear the route to their destination without explaining why, and to do that would be to risk causing widespread panic, not to mention potentially getting civilians injured or killed, because most curious onlookers had no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. Chances were, they wouldn’t understand enough about what they were seeing to even recognise they were putting themselves in danger. All they cared about was getting pictures they could put up on their social media sites.
So, despite the flashing blue lights on the SUV, Team Torchwood were currently stuck in traffic. Not even cutting through side streets with Jack’s foot jammed down hard on the accelerator was going to help them this time. For a start there weren’t any side streets for them to detour down, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, roadworks in progress had narrowed this section of the one-way system to a single lane, which was almost at a standstill.
“How much further, Tosh?” Jack snapped, revving the engine as he glared through the windscreen. Eight cars ahead of them, the traffic light was showing red; only a couple of cars were getting through each time it turned green.
“Just under a mile,” Tosh responded from the backseat, where she was tracking their painfully slow progress using the onboard computers.
“Stupid one-way streets! We were closer ten minutes ago than we are now! We’d be faster on foot! By the time we get there we’ll probably be too late!” Jack slammed his hand down on the steering wheel in frustration.
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Ianto sighed. He knew what was coming next before Jack even opened his mouth.
“Ianto, take the wheel. Owen and Gwen, with me. Tosh, direct us, and see what you can do about that damned traffic light!”
“It’s not part of the system, Jack, it’s a temporary one, independent and on a set timer. There’s nothing I can do.”
Jack wasn’t listening, he was already out of the car, with Gwen and Owen hurriedly following. Owen managed to snag his medical bag from the rear compartment on his way out, then the doors were slamming shut, and Ianto was scrambling past the central console into the driver’s seat.
Horns sounded as Jack, with half his team in tow, raced across the next street, paying little heed to the traffic. Ianto tensed at the sound of screeching brakes, then when there were no sounds to indicate a collision, relaxed and inched the SUV forwards. Only six cars were ahead of them now. Not that it helped them much; at the rate the lights were changing, it would be another ten minutes before the SUV was past them, and they’d still have to follow the diversions in place to accommodate the roadworks.
Tosh was busy on her computers in the rear, directing Jack and the others, and Ianto listened with half an ear, at the same time running a street map of central Cardiff through his head, trying to find a quicker route to the coordinates. He had a distinct feeling that the clock was against them, and if he couldn’t speed things along, backup might not be available when Jack and the others needed it.
Rift events were usually over in a matter of moments. A portal would open in a flare of golden light, something would be ejected, and then it would close again, like a match flame blazing briefly into life before being blown out. This one, however, was behaving differently. The alerts had sounded back at the Hub twenty minutes ago, but instead of closing, the portal had stabilised. According to all the data Tosh had collected since then, it was still open, but it was unclear whether or not anything had come through. To make matters worse, there were no CCTV or security cameras covering the patch of waste ground where the portal had formed, so they couldn’t get a look at what was happening.
Now there were four cars ahead of the SUV. Ianto gripped the steering wheel tighter. The lights changed again, and two more cars slipped through. He readied himself to slam his foot down on the accelerator, because when the two vehicles in front of him went through, he was going with them; he didn’t have any more time to waste.
“Brace yourself, Tosh.” Glancing in the rear-view mirror, Ianto saw his friend grip the seat with one hand.
The lights changed, the cars ahead began to move, and then Ianto was swerving out and around them, paying no attention to the blaring of horns. He had the route mapped out in his head now, screeching into a tight turn.
“How are we doing?” he called to Tosh.
“Jack and the others are almost at the coordinates, but I think we’re out of time. According to the latest readings, something’s coming through, and it’s big.”
Ianto swore under his breath, spun the wheel, cut through an alley barely wide enough for the SUV, out onto another street, and round two more corners, before skidding to a halt on the edge of the waste ground. He drew his gun even as he shut the engine off, staring at the massive creature that had emerged from the portal.
“What is that?” Tosh gasped.
“No idea, but I think it’s safe to say it’s hostile.”
Jack was already down and unmoving in a pool of his own blood. Further back, keeping out of range of the monster’s four long arms, each one tipped with two sharp claws that looked to be a good six inches long, Gwen and Owen were shooting at it, to no noticeable effect.
Scrambling from the SUV and opening the boot, Ianto reached for the heavy case containing the Big Gun, dragging it onto the tailgate and flipping it open. Assembling and loading it with an efficiency gained from countless practice sessions, he stepped around the vehicle to rest the weight of the weapon on the bonnet. If this didn’t work, they were in big trouble and might need to call in UNIT for reinforcements. That wouldn’t go down well with Jack.
“Tosh, you’d better take the wheel in case we have to retreat in a hurry.”
“Already ahead of you,” Tosh replied from inside the SUV, climbing into the driving seat and adjusting it so she could reach the floor pedals.
“Cover your ears; this might be a bit loud!” One-handed, Ianto tugged ear defenders into place; the last thing he needed was to burst his eardrums. “Okay, here goes. Better late than never.” Taking careful aim, he fired.
The result was impressive. The Big Gun roared like a jet taking off, the first shell hitting the creature between the two arms on its left side, and the second punching a hole big enough for a basketball to fit through deep into the alien’s chest. It froze in place, roared with pain and rage, and Ianto fired a third time, straight into its gaping mouth. The three shells exploded in quick succession, ripping the monster apart, and scattering bits of it for a good twenty metres in all directions.
Owen and Gwen, who’d ducked behind an abandoned sofa, managed to escape the worst; Jack wasn’t so lucky. Gasping back to life, he sat up just as the creature exploded, receiving a faceful of gooey alien bits. Ianto winced. Ah well, he could apologise for that later.
Straightening up, he removed the ear defenders and surveyed the carnage with a resigned sigh. He wasn’t looking forward to cleaning that up.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Tosh, Owen, Gwen.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Team Torchwood are having some difficulty getting where they need to be.
Word Count: 1450
Written For: Prompt 175 - Late Arrival at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Cardiff’s one-way system existed for a number of very sensible reasons involving the reduction of traffic congestion in and around the city centre. It was effective, up to a point, but it could also be a confounded nuisance, especially for anyone needing to get from point A to point B in the fastest possible time.
It didn’t help that the Cardiff police refused to consider the Torchwood SUV an official emergency response vehicle, which was frankly ridiculous, considering some of the things the team had to deal with. Hostile alien invasion forces, rogue Weevils attacking citizens and tourists alike, Blowfish high on drugs, explosive devices given dangerously unstable by their trip through the Rift… The police were neither trained nor equipped to handle such things, they wouldn’t have the faintest idea of how to deal with them, which was why Torchwood Three had been set up in the first place.
Unfortunately, as necessary as is might be to keep secret all details of what the organisation actually did, that very secrecy inevitably got in the way of their ability to do their job. They couldn’t contact the police and ask them to clear the route to their destination without explaining why, and to do that would be to risk causing widespread panic, not to mention potentially getting civilians injured or killed, because most curious onlookers had no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. Chances were, they wouldn’t understand enough about what they were seeing to even recognise they were putting themselves in danger. All they cared about was getting pictures they could put up on their social media sites.
So, despite the flashing blue lights on the SUV, Team Torchwood were currently stuck in traffic. Not even cutting through side streets with Jack’s foot jammed down hard on the accelerator was going to help them this time. For a start there weren’t any side streets for them to detour down, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, roadworks in progress had narrowed this section of the one-way system to a single lane, which was almost at a standstill.
“How much further, Tosh?” Jack snapped, revving the engine as he glared through the windscreen. Eight cars ahead of them, the traffic light was showing red; only a couple of cars were getting through each time it turned green.
“Just under a mile,” Tosh responded from the backseat, where she was tracking their painfully slow progress using the onboard computers.
“Stupid one-way streets! We were closer ten minutes ago than we are now! We’d be faster on foot! By the time we get there we’ll probably be too late!” Jack slammed his hand down on the steering wheel in frustration.
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Ianto sighed. He knew what was coming next before Jack even opened his mouth.
“Ianto, take the wheel. Owen and Gwen, with me. Tosh, direct us, and see what you can do about that damned traffic light!”
“It’s not part of the system, Jack, it’s a temporary one, independent and on a set timer. There’s nothing I can do.”
Jack wasn’t listening, he was already out of the car, with Gwen and Owen hurriedly following. Owen managed to snag his medical bag from the rear compartment on his way out, then the doors were slamming shut, and Ianto was scrambling past the central console into the driver’s seat.
Horns sounded as Jack, with half his team in tow, raced across the next street, paying little heed to the traffic. Ianto tensed at the sound of screeching brakes, then when there were no sounds to indicate a collision, relaxed and inched the SUV forwards. Only six cars were ahead of them now. Not that it helped them much; at the rate the lights were changing, it would be another ten minutes before the SUV was past them, and they’d still have to follow the diversions in place to accommodate the roadworks.
Tosh was busy on her computers in the rear, directing Jack and the others, and Ianto listened with half an ear, at the same time running a street map of central Cardiff through his head, trying to find a quicker route to the coordinates. He had a distinct feeling that the clock was against them, and if he couldn’t speed things along, backup might not be available when Jack and the others needed it.
Rift events were usually over in a matter of moments. A portal would open in a flare of golden light, something would be ejected, and then it would close again, like a match flame blazing briefly into life before being blown out. This one, however, was behaving differently. The alerts had sounded back at the Hub twenty minutes ago, but instead of closing, the portal had stabilised. According to all the data Tosh had collected since then, it was still open, but it was unclear whether or not anything had come through. To make matters worse, there were no CCTV or security cameras covering the patch of waste ground where the portal had formed, so they couldn’t get a look at what was happening.
Now there were four cars ahead of the SUV. Ianto gripped the steering wheel tighter. The lights changed again, and two more cars slipped through. He readied himself to slam his foot down on the accelerator, because when the two vehicles in front of him went through, he was going with them; he didn’t have any more time to waste.
“Brace yourself, Tosh.” Glancing in the rear-view mirror, Ianto saw his friend grip the seat with one hand.
The lights changed, the cars ahead began to move, and then Ianto was swerving out and around them, paying no attention to the blaring of horns. He had the route mapped out in his head now, screeching into a tight turn.
“How are we doing?” he called to Tosh.
“Jack and the others are almost at the coordinates, but I think we’re out of time. According to the latest readings, something’s coming through, and it’s big.”
Ianto swore under his breath, spun the wheel, cut through an alley barely wide enough for the SUV, out onto another street, and round two more corners, before skidding to a halt on the edge of the waste ground. He drew his gun even as he shut the engine off, staring at the massive creature that had emerged from the portal.
“What is that?” Tosh gasped.
“No idea, but I think it’s safe to say it’s hostile.”
Jack was already down and unmoving in a pool of his own blood. Further back, keeping out of range of the monster’s four long arms, each one tipped with two sharp claws that looked to be a good six inches long, Gwen and Owen were shooting at it, to no noticeable effect.
Scrambling from the SUV and opening the boot, Ianto reached for the heavy case containing the Big Gun, dragging it onto the tailgate and flipping it open. Assembling and loading it with an efficiency gained from countless practice sessions, he stepped around the vehicle to rest the weight of the weapon on the bonnet. If this didn’t work, they were in big trouble and might need to call in UNIT for reinforcements. That wouldn’t go down well with Jack.
“Tosh, you’d better take the wheel in case we have to retreat in a hurry.”
“Already ahead of you,” Tosh replied from inside the SUV, climbing into the driving seat and adjusting it so she could reach the floor pedals.
“Cover your ears; this might be a bit loud!” One-handed, Ianto tugged ear defenders into place; the last thing he needed was to burst his eardrums. “Okay, here goes. Better late than never.” Taking careful aim, he fired.
The result was impressive. The Big Gun roared like a jet taking off, the first shell hitting the creature between the two arms on its left side, and the second punching a hole big enough for a basketball to fit through deep into the alien’s chest. It froze in place, roared with pain and rage, and Ianto fired a third time, straight into its gaping mouth. The three shells exploded in quick succession, ripping the monster apart, and scattering bits of it for a good twenty metres in all directions.
Owen and Gwen, who’d ducked behind an abandoned sofa, managed to escape the worst; Jack wasn’t so lucky. Gasping back to life, he sat up just as the creature exploded, receiving a faceful of gooey alien bits. Ianto winced. Ah well, he could apologise for that later.
Straightening up, he removed the ear defenders and surveyed the carnage with a resigned sigh. He wasn’t looking forward to cleaning that up.
The End