Continuance (3/13)
Title: Continuance (3/13)
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Rhys, Rhiannon, OCs
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: CoE
Summary: My response to the horrors of series 3. Sequel to Restoration
Well, here's the third chapter! Next one will be up either later today or sometime tomorrow. I've joined the Torchwood Big Bang (yes, I have this annoying tendency to take on a lot more than I probably should all at once) and have various ideas for that. This comes first though! Thanks for all the wonderful comments and feedback and hope you enjoy. :-)
The first thing that alerts Ianto is the sudden, heated wash of anger flowing through him. Something has seriously pissed off Jack. Even without that, though, he would have known from the loud, violent cursing easily audible from Jack’s office. He glances to Gwen, eyebrows raised. Anything that can get Jack so angry is unlikely to be good. Sighing, he sets down the object that they had recovered from the Rift - rigorous testing has provided them with no clues to its purpose or origin; Ianto refers to it as the hedron (due to it’s shape), simply to give it a name - and goes to make some coffee.
The coffee has just brewed when Jack can be heard slamming the phone down, only moments before he comes striding out of the office. Ianto wordlessly hands him a mug, and Jack nods gratefully, taking a sip before beginning his explanation as Gwen moves to stand alongside them.
‘Dunn’s coming back. I was just informed of it.’
‘When?’ Gwen asks, lips pressed together with irritation.
‘In an hour. I suppose they didn’t want to give us time to prepare for her.’
‘It’s a good thing we’ve kept on encrypting things then, isn’t it?’ says Ianto, eyebrow raised. ‘Are we going to tell her to bugger off this time, or should we wait?’
‘It’s not ideal, but the longer we carry on like this the harder it’ll be. We should probably get it over with.’
‘I’m with Jack on this one, Ianto. Frankly, I’m sick of UNIT throwing their weight around and interfering in our business.’
Ianto raises his hands, palms out. ‘I’m not arguing! We should probably pack things away though, just in case.’
Jack nods. ‘And luck with that?’ he asks, gesturing to the hedron.
‘Nothing. Faint energy readings, tests indicate that you were right about psychic receptiveness, but not how, and otherwise we remain clueless.’
‘Okay, file it Archives. Gwen, make sure there isn’t anything around that shouldn’t be. I’ll check security.’
Break
An hour later Ianto is standing, waiting, in the newly finished and reopened tourist office. Jack hadn’t been too sure of letting her into the Hub only to tell her that they would no longer be co-operating with UNIT. However, as Ianto had pointed out, she had gone along at least once to view the construction work; one more view was unlikely to make a great deal of difference.
He watches on the CCTV as Dunn strides across the Plass towards the office, looking as severe as ever. It only takes a few moments and the the door opens and she walks in. Even now there is something disapproving about her expression; he wonders whether her face has set that way permanently.
‘Jones. I’m here for the inspection.’
‘Just follow me,’ he tells her with a curt nod, dropping even his customary ‘ma’am’.
They head down to the Hub in silence and are greeted by a stubborn-looking Jack standing on the main floor, Gwen seated at her usual station, watching with a slightly apprehensive look.
‘Ms. Dunn. So nice of you to drop by,’ Jack starts, smile sickeningly false. Ianto moves to stand by Gwen, hands clasped behind his back.
‘Harkness. First things first, I’ll read over your reports. Then I’ll want a tour of the Hub and to be shown any new artifacts or technology you might have found.’
‘Ah, now, see, there might be a small problem with that.’
‘Oh?’ Her cold eyes flash dangerously, and Ianto can feel her irritation stir and begin to rise.
‘Yes, we’ve actually decided we won’t be reporting to UNIT anymore.’
There is a moment of perfect blankness - shock, almost certainly - before her features contort into something angry and unpleasant. ‘I don’t think you quite understand, Captain.’ The title is spat our, derisive. ‘You don’t have a choice.’
‘Sure we do. Ianto?’
He straightens, looking at her directly. ‘Choice one: continue as we have been, letting you attempt to control us. Choice two: give in completely and allow you to twist Torchwood into something it isn’t meant ti be. Choice three: tell you to fuck off and prevent any kind of UNIT interference or manipulation. I have them in writing, actually, if you’d like to look.’ It’s really quite difficult to keep the smirk off his face.
‘I think it’s fairly obvious which we’ve chosen,’ adds Gwen.
They watch as she stutters, completely thrown, before she regains control of herself, face slightly flushed with anger and lips thinning as her eyes go hard. ‘You will lose all of UNIT’s goodwill. You will have no assistance from us in any way, shape or form. Ever.’
‘We’ll get over it,’ Jack shrugs, unconcerned.
‘You are endangering everybody with your willful stupidity, your recklessness!’
‘Actually, we’re not. We do good. I’d like to see what you do!’
‘I can have you all classed as renegades. I can order your executions!’
The look on Jack’s face is actually frightening, and Ianto counts himself as lucky that he;s not on the receiving end of it. Unfortunately, he is well aware of the chilled emotions behind it.
‘I wouldn’t threaten us if I were you. You have no idea what we’re capable of. And anyway, you’d be lost. You wouldn’t have a clue what to do with the Rift, and it seems to me that UNIT would have just rolled over and sacrificed millions of children at the first sign of danger.’ Ianto can feel the pain as he says this; the regret at his own sacrifice - Steven - nearly overwhelming, but well-hidden.
Dunn, meanwhile, straightens abruptly. ‘UNIT is going to make life very difficult for you. I will see to it myself.’
‘Go. Now.’ He glances across to Ianto, who steps forward.
‘If you would follow me.’
‘I can find my own way out,’ she hisses.
‘I’m afraid I have to escort you. Torchwood policy.’
Anger flares, and she turns sharply, stalking away towards the door. Ianto follows. It isn’t until the silence of the lift that he speaks, light tone at odds with his words. ‘You know, it’s generally not a good idea to threaten Jack. Or any of us, really.’
The look she gives him is positively venomous. ‘Oh? What are you intending to do about it?’
‘Just a warning.’ He gestures her out of the lift, following her across the tourist office to the door. ‘We’ll be notifying UNIT officially soon, though no doubt you’ll tell them before the paperwork is processed.’ He opens the door, eyeing her as she turns back, expression glacial.
‘You’ll regret this.’
‘I’m sure we’ll manage. Good day.’ And with that he shuts the door behind her and makes his way about down to Jack and Gwen.
‘Coffee?’ he asks, keep a straight face increasingly difficult in the face of their mad grins.
Gwen just shakes her head and hugs him.
‘Finally, we’re done with them,’ Jack laughs.
Ianto gives him a Look. ‘You’re not the one who has to deal with the paperwork and field their calls.’
‘You handle it; admirably. I’d just lose my temper with them’
Ianto raises an eyebrow. ‘I really think it’s a little late to be worrying about that.’
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Rhys, Rhiannon, OCs
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: CoE
Summary: My response to the horrors of series 3. Sequel to Restoration
Well, here's the third chapter! Next one will be up either later today or sometime tomorrow. I've joined the Torchwood Big Bang (yes, I have this annoying tendency to take on a lot more than I probably should all at once) and have various ideas for that. This comes first though! Thanks for all the wonderful comments and feedback and hope you enjoy. :-)
The first thing that alerts Ianto is the sudden, heated wash of anger flowing through him. Something has seriously pissed off Jack. Even without that, though, he would have known from the loud, violent cursing easily audible from Jack’s office. He glances to Gwen, eyebrows raised. Anything that can get Jack so angry is unlikely to be good. Sighing, he sets down the object that they had recovered from the Rift - rigorous testing has provided them with no clues to its purpose or origin; Ianto refers to it as the hedron (due to it’s shape), simply to give it a name - and goes to make some coffee.
The coffee has just brewed when Jack can be heard slamming the phone down, only moments before he comes striding out of the office. Ianto wordlessly hands him a mug, and Jack nods gratefully, taking a sip before beginning his explanation as Gwen moves to stand alongside them.
‘Dunn’s coming back. I was just informed of it.’
‘When?’ Gwen asks, lips pressed together with irritation.
‘In an hour. I suppose they didn’t want to give us time to prepare for her.’
‘It’s a good thing we’ve kept on encrypting things then, isn’t it?’ says Ianto, eyebrow raised. ‘Are we going to tell her to bugger off this time, or should we wait?’
‘It’s not ideal, but the longer we carry on like this the harder it’ll be. We should probably get it over with.’
‘I’m with Jack on this one, Ianto. Frankly, I’m sick of UNIT throwing their weight around and interfering in our business.’
Ianto raises his hands, palms out. ‘I’m not arguing! We should probably pack things away though, just in case.’
Jack nods. ‘And luck with that?’ he asks, gesturing to the hedron.
‘Nothing. Faint energy readings, tests indicate that you were right about psychic receptiveness, but not how, and otherwise we remain clueless.’
‘Okay, file it Archives. Gwen, make sure there isn’t anything around that shouldn’t be. I’ll check security.’
Break
An hour later Ianto is standing, waiting, in the newly finished and reopened tourist office. Jack hadn’t been too sure of letting her into the Hub only to tell her that they would no longer be co-operating with UNIT. However, as Ianto had pointed out, she had gone along at least once to view the construction work; one more view was unlikely to make a great deal of difference.
He watches on the CCTV as Dunn strides across the Plass towards the office, looking as severe as ever. It only takes a few moments and the the door opens and she walks in. Even now there is something disapproving about her expression; he wonders whether her face has set that way permanently.
‘Jones. I’m here for the inspection.’
‘Just follow me,’ he tells her with a curt nod, dropping even his customary ‘ma’am’.
They head down to the Hub in silence and are greeted by a stubborn-looking Jack standing on the main floor, Gwen seated at her usual station, watching with a slightly apprehensive look.
‘Ms. Dunn. So nice of you to drop by,’ Jack starts, smile sickeningly false. Ianto moves to stand by Gwen, hands clasped behind his back.
‘Harkness. First things first, I’ll read over your reports. Then I’ll want a tour of the Hub and to be shown any new artifacts or technology you might have found.’
‘Ah, now, see, there might be a small problem with that.’
‘Oh?’ Her cold eyes flash dangerously, and Ianto can feel her irritation stir and begin to rise.
‘Yes, we’ve actually decided we won’t be reporting to UNIT anymore.’
There is a moment of perfect blankness - shock, almost certainly - before her features contort into something angry and unpleasant. ‘I don’t think you quite understand, Captain.’ The title is spat our, derisive. ‘You don’t have a choice.’
‘Sure we do. Ianto?’
He straightens, looking at her directly. ‘Choice one: continue as we have been, letting you attempt to control us. Choice two: give in completely and allow you to twist Torchwood into something it isn’t meant ti be. Choice three: tell you to fuck off and prevent any kind of UNIT interference or manipulation. I have them in writing, actually, if you’d like to look.’ It’s really quite difficult to keep the smirk off his face.
‘I think it’s fairly obvious which we’ve chosen,’ adds Gwen.
They watch as she stutters, completely thrown, before she regains control of herself, face slightly flushed with anger and lips thinning as her eyes go hard. ‘You will lose all of UNIT’s goodwill. You will have no assistance from us in any way, shape or form. Ever.’
‘We’ll get over it,’ Jack shrugs, unconcerned.
‘You are endangering everybody with your willful stupidity, your recklessness!’
‘Actually, we’re not. We do good. I’d like to see what you do!’
‘I can have you all classed as renegades. I can order your executions!’
The look on Jack’s face is actually frightening, and Ianto counts himself as lucky that he;s not on the receiving end of it. Unfortunately, he is well aware of the chilled emotions behind it.
‘I wouldn’t threaten us if I were you. You have no idea what we’re capable of. And anyway, you’d be lost. You wouldn’t have a clue what to do with the Rift, and it seems to me that UNIT would have just rolled over and sacrificed millions of children at the first sign of danger.’ Ianto can feel the pain as he says this; the regret at his own sacrifice - Steven - nearly overwhelming, but well-hidden.
Dunn, meanwhile, straightens abruptly. ‘UNIT is going to make life very difficult for you. I will see to it myself.’
‘Go. Now.’ He glances across to Ianto, who steps forward.
‘If you would follow me.’
‘I can find my own way out,’ she hisses.
‘I’m afraid I have to escort you. Torchwood policy.’
Anger flares, and she turns sharply, stalking away towards the door. Ianto follows. It isn’t until the silence of the lift that he speaks, light tone at odds with his words. ‘You know, it’s generally not a good idea to threaten Jack. Or any of us, really.’
The look she gives him is positively venomous. ‘Oh? What are you intending to do about it?’
‘Just a warning.’ He gestures her out of the lift, following her across the tourist office to the door. ‘We’ll be notifying UNIT officially soon, though no doubt you’ll tell them before the paperwork is processed.’ He opens the door, eyeing her as she turns back, expression glacial.
‘You’ll regret this.’
‘I’m sure we’ll manage. Good day.’ And with that he shuts the door behind her and makes his way about down to Jack and Gwen.
‘Coffee?’ he asks, keep a straight face increasingly difficult in the face of their mad grins.
Gwen just shakes her head and hugs him.
‘Finally, we’re done with them,’ Jack laughs.
Ianto gives him a Look. ‘You’re not the one who has to deal with the paperwork and field their calls.’
‘You handle it; admirably. I’d just lose my temper with them’
Ianto raises an eyebrow. ‘I really think it’s a little late to be worrying about that.’