Fic: Time Out in Washington 2/18 [X-Files/Torchwood/The State Within/Dr Who]
Title: Time Out in Washington (2/18)
Author: fides
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Mulder/Krycek (mostly UST), Mark/Nicholas discussed but whether there is any truth behind the suggestion is open to the reader's interpretation
Fandom: X-Files/Torchwood/Dr Who/The State Within
Rating: NC-17 overall (most parts PG/PG-13, only one part is NC-17 and that part can be skipped with minimum confusion if you want to read the plot but are put off by the idea of graphic sex)
Warnings: Spoilers for The State Within. Some violence and fantasy sexual violence
Disclaimer: None of the recognisable characters are mine, Santa has been really falling down on his job recently, but belong to their respective right holders
Sequal to 1. Plus Ça Change, 2. Hobson's Choice
Prequel to Interlunation
Previous Parts: Part 1 - Prologue
Summary: Finding out Jack's secret in the worst possible way (Hobson's Choice), Alex takes a break from Torchwood Three while he comes to terms with events and his anger towards Jack. To give him the time he needs, Jack arranges a secondment for Alex at the British Embassy in Washington working with the secret service to counter threats to the Ambassador's family. But with Mulder around things don't go to plan and Alex discovers that aliens aren't that easy to leave behind.
Notes: I know that the timelines don't quite fit so I decided to fudge things a little because it was too tempting to compare Torchwood and the Consortium. This story is set concurrent with the early part of X-Files season 6, during the second half of Torchwood season 1, during the time of the 12th Doctor (Doctor Who) and about a year after the events in The State Within. In depth (or indeed any) knowledge of the included fandoms isn't required so please don't let them put you off. Thanks to moth2fic for the beta. Any and all remaining mistakes are own.
Alex thought he could get used to the Torchwood version of a busman's holiday. He wasn't a stranger to chauffeur service but normally he was the one behind the wheel rather than the one relaxing in the backseat while the driver, Tim, worried about the traffic. The flight had landed late, an intentional precaution against casual curiosity, and the ride was a riot of multicoloured flares kindling and fading into the darkness. Above it all the Capitol dominated the skyline, whitewashed with light. Alex thought of the times he had watched Mulder there, such a small figure but undiminished among the neo-classical pretension. Another life but one he had never, could never, truly leave behind, because of Mulder if for no other reason. Nicholas left Alex to the view and his own thoughts as they drove. A spy's trick, fading into the background, and, while he recognised it, Alex was thankful for it.
The residence was a picture of elegance if you liked Regency opulence. For the most part Alex did not care one way or another about the aesthetics of his environment but eye-watering colour schemes could become more than a matter of bad design if they put you off your shot. The building was quiet. Alex had to shrug off the feeling that he was intruding, reminding himself he was there legitimately and didn't need to sneak. Nicholas' presence by his side did little to assuage the feeling which was why Alex had to check his automatic grab for his gun when a door opened behind them as they walked along one of the many impeccably similar corridors. Alex was sure that Nicholas noted the aborted movement.
"Nicholas?"
Their interrupter was older than either of them but Alex estimated that there was less than a decade in it. The face was strong; approaching middle age had done little more than underlined time's passing while pale blue eyes peered intelligently from under dark brows. The clothes were loose and comfortable, suitable for an evening's relaxation rather than any official business, the sort of outfit a man might put on who otherwise lived his life in a suit. Alex looked at Nicholas to confirm his suspicion regarding who had accosted them.
"Mark?" Nicholas looked politely surprised. "What are you doing up?"
Alex would have been willing to lay money that the surprise was genuine even if the politeness Nicholas shoehorned onto it wasn't.
Nicholas' question was met with an equally bland deflection, "Can't an ambassador walk around his own residence?"
Alex remained impassive but could feel the smile stretch beneath his skin. He couldn't help but get the impression that this was a game that the two men played, and enjoyed, on a regular basis. Alex supposed there wasn't any harm so long as they both knew who called the shots when the bullets were flying. Maybe it was what they needed to deal with the disconnected hierarchy of having a nominal subordinate who answered to a higher authority but it made Alex twitchy even as it amused him.
Nicholas frowned slightly at Mark. "Do we need to have another talk on the meaning of plausible deniability?"
There was an unease between them for a moment, a testing of the understanding that existed between them.
"Why?" Mark smiled with a hint of challenge. "Is an international incident likely this time?"
Nicholas' lips quirked in acknowledgment and resignation, dispersing the tension. Some time, soon, Alex was really going to have to find out what Ianto had got up to while he was in Washington. He had assumed, and now that he thought about it, he had been led to assume that the reticence that Jack and Ianto had displayed had been related to Nicholas. He should have known better than to trust either of them. When he returned to Wales he was going to have to have a very long talk with them about misleading any of their colleagues smart enough to catch on, namely himself.
"Alex Krycek," Nicholas introduced, "Sir Mark Brydon."
Alex shook the proffered hand; it was warm and strong, large but not overwhelming - the type of hand you sent out to represent the country at diplomatic functions when appearance was as important as substance.
"Pleased to meet you, Sir Mark," he offered. He'd been with the Brit long enough to add a gloss of British manners to the home-grown ones of his upbringing. The Consortium were the biggest sticklers for etiquette outside Buckingham Palace.
Mark's eyebrows rose. "You're American?"
"Yes."
There were so many different ways to answer that, that Alex picked the simplest. He didn't miss the way Mark immediately glanced to Nicholas for an explanation.
"He works for Torchwood," Nicholas supplied, unblinking. Alex watched the tension vibrate between them for a moment and then Mark looked away from Nicholas and back to him. That was apparently all it took.
"I'm sure there is a story there that you aren't going to tell me." A flash of humour transformed Mark's face as his took in Alex's well-tailored suit. "At least you look less like a rent-boy than the last one." He looked back at Nicholas. "Jane told me the rumours were still doing the rounds."
"Jane told you that?" Nicholas sounded surprised, apparently taking the comment seriously although Alex didn't think it had been meant that way.
Mark looked defensive but whether on his own behalf or for the aforementioned Jane, Alex wasn't sure. "I had gone some way to disproving them at the time," he admitted stiffly.
Nicholas frowned a little, a small crease forming between his eyebrows. "Is it likely to be a problem? I would have thought Jane's presence..."
"I'm sure it did, right until she left and I had a young man brought over," Mark nodded an apology to Alex. "By the way, if she asks, I'm telling her he's one of yours."
Alex wasn't entirely sure how that last was supposed to be taken but it seemed better not to ask.
"Is she likely to ask?" Nicholas tone suggested he was just collecting the facts but the hair on the back of Alex's neck rose. He had never had the same belief in psychic phenomena that Mulder had, and certainly had no such pretensions himself, but years in the game had given him a sixth sense for the hidden.
Mark paused before answering and something that Alex couldn't quite grasp hovered in the silence. He filed his impressions away for later analysis.
"I'm not actually sure," Mark admitted.
Nicholas raised an eyebrow but let that pass without comment. "It isn't a bad cover, all things considered," he said carefully instead.
"It is if I want to be taken seriously by the Americans," Mark pointed out, "but we'd better discuss this later." Nicholas' nod was discrete but acquiescent. The subject was dropped, for then at least. Like the topic, Nicholas was dismissed for the moment as Mark turned his full attention to Alex. "I'm sorry Alex, we seem to have got slightly off the point. I wanted to welcome you to the residence, even if I'm not supposed to know you are here for now. Nicholas - we can discuss everything further at the briefing tomorrow."
"I can come by after I've seen Alex to his room if you want," Nicholas offered.
"Thank you, Nicholas, but probably best we leave things for now." Mark's eyes darted between Nicholas and Alex. "Tomorrow will be soon enough. On the subject of which - Azzam wants to ask you something; he won't tell me what. I'd take it as a personal favour if you didn't tell him any more of anyone else's state secrets. I spent the last reception petrified about what he might say to the French Ambassador." At Nicholas' nod of understanding Mark turned back to Alex. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Krycek." The smile was unclouded. "I'm sure I will see you tomorrow when we are officially introduced."
Alex found himself shaking Mark's hand again. There was something about the man that made you take part in the pointless inanities and made them seem meaningful. Alex hadn't decided whether that was a good thing or a bad one but, in its own way, it made Mark as dangerous as Nicholas.
When Mark had, once more, retreated into his own domain, Nicholas showed Alex into his room.
"So how much of that was an act?" Alex asked bluntly as soon as the door was closed behind them.
"Surprisingly little," Nicholas admitted without rancour, "Mark is a very intelligent man and a damn good ambassador. Which, as you can imagine, makes life very interesting for the rest of us."
'Interesting' was one word; Alex was sure that Nicholas had a few others he used privately. He nodded tightly to show he understood. A few more words about how the next day would play out and Nicholas bade Alex goodnight. Not before time. Drifting to sleep, Alex thought of Torchwood Three and the situation he had found himself in, but it was Mulder who accompanied his conscious mind into his dreams.
Next Part...
Author: fides
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Mulder/Krycek (mostly UST), Mark/Nicholas discussed but whether there is any truth behind the suggestion is open to the reader's interpretation
Fandom: X-Files/Torchwood/Dr Who/The State Within
Rating: NC-17 overall (most parts PG/PG-13, only one part is NC-17 and that part can be skipped with minimum confusion if you want to read the plot but are put off by the idea of graphic sex)
Warnings: Spoilers for The State Within. Some violence and fantasy sexual violence
Disclaimer: None of the recognisable characters are mine, Santa has been really falling down on his job recently, but belong to their respective right holders
Sequal to 1. Plus Ça Change, 2. Hobson's Choice
Prequel to Interlunation
Previous Parts: Part 1 - Prologue
Summary: Finding out Jack's secret in the worst possible way (Hobson's Choice), Alex takes a break from Torchwood Three while he comes to terms with events and his anger towards Jack. To give him the time he needs, Jack arranges a secondment for Alex at the British Embassy in Washington working with the secret service to counter threats to the Ambassador's family. But with Mulder around things don't go to plan and Alex discovers that aliens aren't that easy to leave behind.
Notes: I know that the timelines don't quite fit so I decided to fudge things a little because it was too tempting to compare Torchwood and the Consortium. This story is set concurrent with the early part of X-Files season 6, during the second half of Torchwood season 1, during the time of the 12th Doctor (Doctor Who) and about a year after the events in The State Within. In depth (or indeed any) knowledge of the included fandoms isn't required so please don't let them put you off. Thanks to moth2fic for the beta. Any and all remaining mistakes are own.
Alex thought he could get used to the Torchwood version of a busman's holiday. He wasn't a stranger to chauffeur service but normally he was the one behind the wheel rather than the one relaxing in the backseat while the driver, Tim, worried about the traffic. The flight had landed late, an intentional precaution against casual curiosity, and the ride was a riot of multicoloured flares kindling and fading into the darkness. Above it all the Capitol dominated the skyline, whitewashed with light. Alex thought of the times he had watched Mulder there, such a small figure but undiminished among the neo-classical pretension. Another life but one he had never, could never, truly leave behind, because of Mulder if for no other reason. Nicholas left Alex to the view and his own thoughts as they drove. A spy's trick, fading into the background, and, while he recognised it, Alex was thankful for it.
The residence was a picture of elegance if you liked Regency opulence. For the most part Alex did not care one way or another about the aesthetics of his environment but eye-watering colour schemes could become more than a matter of bad design if they put you off your shot. The building was quiet. Alex had to shrug off the feeling that he was intruding, reminding himself he was there legitimately and didn't need to sneak. Nicholas' presence by his side did little to assuage the feeling which was why Alex had to check his automatic grab for his gun when a door opened behind them as they walked along one of the many impeccably similar corridors. Alex was sure that Nicholas noted the aborted movement.
"Nicholas?"
Their interrupter was older than either of them but Alex estimated that there was less than a decade in it. The face was strong; approaching middle age had done little more than underlined time's passing while pale blue eyes peered intelligently from under dark brows. The clothes were loose and comfortable, suitable for an evening's relaxation rather than any official business, the sort of outfit a man might put on who otherwise lived his life in a suit. Alex looked at Nicholas to confirm his suspicion regarding who had accosted them.
"Mark?" Nicholas looked politely surprised. "What are you doing up?"
Alex would have been willing to lay money that the surprise was genuine even if the politeness Nicholas shoehorned onto it wasn't.
Nicholas' question was met with an equally bland deflection, "Can't an ambassador walk around his own residence?"
Alex remained impassive but could feel the smile stretch beneath his skin. He couldn't help but get the impression that this was a game that the two men played, and enjoyed, on a regular basis. Alex supposed there wasn't any harm so long as they both knew who called the shots when the bullets were flying. Maybe it was what they needed to deal with the disconnected hierarchy of having a nominal subordinate who answered to a higher authority but it made Alex twitchy even as it amused him.
Nicholas frowned slightly at Mark. "Do we need to have another talk on the meaning of plausible deniability?"
There was an unease between them for a moment, a testing of the understanding that existed between them.
"Why?" Mark smiled with a hint of challenge. "Is an international incident likely this time?"
Nicholas' lips quirked in acknowledgment and resignation, dispersing the tension. Some time, soon, Alex was really going to have to find out what Ianto had got up to while he was in Washington. He had assumed, and now that he thought about it, he had been led to assume that the reticence that Jack and Ianto had displayed had been related to Nicholas. He should have known better than to trust either of them. When he returned to Wales he was going to have to have a very long talk with them about misleading any of their colleagues smart enough to catch on, namely himself.
"Alex Krycek," Nicholas introduced, "Sir Mark Brydon."
Alex shook the proffered hand; it was warm and strong, large but not overwhelming - the type of hand you sent out to represent the country at diplomatic functions when appearance was as important as substance.
"Pleased to meet you, Sir Mark," he offered. He'd been with the Brit long enough to add a gloss of British manners to the home-grown ones of his upbringing. The Consortium were the biggest sticklers for etiquette outside Buckingham Palace.
Mark's eyebrows rose. "You're American?"
"Yes."
There were so many different ways to answer that, that Alex picked the simplest. He didn't miss the way Mark immediately glanced to Nicholas for an explanation.
"He works for Torchwood," Nicholas supplied, unblinking. Alex watched the tension vibrate between them for a moment and then Mark looked away from Nicholas and back to him. That was apparently all it took.
"I'm sure there is a story there that you aren't going to tell me." A flash of humour transformed Mark's face as his took in Alex's well-tailored suit. "At least you look less like a rent-boy than the last one." He looked back at Nicholas. "Jane told me the rumours were still doing the rounds."
"Jane told you that?" Nicholas sounded surprised, apparently taking the comment seriously although Alex didn't think it had been meant that way.
Mark looked defensive but whether on his own behalf or for the aforementioned Jane, Alex wasn't sure. "I had gone some way to disproving them at the time," he admitted stiffly.
Nicholas frowned a little, a small crease forming between his eyebrows. "Is it likely to be a problem? I would have thought Jane's presence..."
"I'm sure it did, right until she left and I had a young man brought over," Mark nodded an apology to Alex. "By the way, if she asks, I'm telling her he's one of yours."
Alex wasn't entirely sure how that last was supposed to be taken but it seemed better not to ask.
"Is she likely to ask?" Nicholas tone suggested he was just collecting the facts but the hair on the back of Alex's neck rose. He had never had the same belief in psychic phenomena that Mulder had, and certainly had no such pretensions himself, but years in the game had given him a sixth sense for the hidden.
Mark paused before answering and something that Alex couldn't quite grasp hovered in the silence. He filed his impressions away for later analysis.
"I'm not actually sure," Mark admitted.
Nicholas raised an eyebrow but let that pass without comment. "It isn't a bad cover, all things considered," he said carefully instead.
"It is if I want to be taken seriously by the Americans," Mark pointed out, "but we'd better discuss this later." Nicholas' nod was discrete but acquiescent. The subject was dropped, for then at least. Like the topic, Nicholas was dismissed for the moment as Mark turned his full attention to Alex. "I'm sorry Alex, we seem to have got slightly off the point. I wanted to welcome you to the residence, even if I'm not supposed to know you are here for now. Nicholas - we can discuss everything further at the briefing tomorrow."
"I can come by after I've seen Alex to his room if you want," Nicholas offered.
"Thank you, Nicholas, but probably best we leave things for now." Mark's eyes darted between Nicholas and Alex. "Tomorrow will be soon enough. On the subject of which - Azzam wants to ask you something; he won't tell me what. I'd take it as a personal favour if you didn't tell him any more of anyone else's state secrets. I spent the last reception petrified about what he might say to the French Ambassador." At Nicholas' nod of understanding Mark turned back to Alex. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Krycek." The smile was unclouded. "I'm sure I will see you tomorrow when we are officially introduced."
Alex found himself shaking Mark's hand again. There was something about the man that made you take part in the pointless inanities and made them seem meaningful. Alex hadn't decided whether that was a good thing or a bad one but, in its own way, it made Mark as dangerous as Nicholas.
When Mark had, once more, retreated into his own domain, Nicholas showed Alex into his room.
"So how much of that was an act?" Alex asked bluntly as soon as the door was closed behind them.
"Surprisingly little," Nicholas admitted without rancour, "Mark is a very intelligent man and a damn good ambassador. Which, as you can imagine, makes life very interesting for the rest of us."
'Interesting' was one word; Alex was sure that Nicholas had a few others he used privately. He nodded tightly to show he understood. A few more words about how the next day would play out and Nicholas bade Alex goodnight. Not before time. Drifting to sleep, Alex thought of Torchwood Three and the situation he had found himself in, but it was Mulder who accompanied his conscious mind into his dreams.
Next Part...