A New Dawn 14
Part: 14/?
Rating: 18+
Warnings: Mentions of previous torture and rape
Genre: Angst, AU
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Owen, Tosh, Gwen
Summary: AU. The Torchwood team discover the truth about what happened on the Valiant and search for Jack. A dark fic.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
AN:
Previous chapter here: http://ohinyan.livejournal.com/24616.html
Chapter 14
"Right," said Owen, when they hit the motorway. "Care to explain how you got from finding Jack compos mentis in a pub, to us kidnapping him, stoned to the eyeballs, from a den of iniquity?"
Tosh looked down sadly. "It was my fault. Jack took off the moment he saw us. We caught him up outside, and he let us talk to him for a minute. He was so scared, Owen. He thought we'd brought UNIT with us."
"It wasn't just you, Tosh," Ianto pointed out. "He was more scared of me."
"But you weren't the one who told him about the DVDs," Tosh argued. "That's what pushed him over the edge."
Owen could hardly believe what he had just heard. "You bloody idiots! You shouldn't have told him about that. How did you expect him to take it? How would you take it, it were you on those DVDs?"
"I know," sobbed Tosh, her emotions at last catching up with her. "But he was about to run, and I wanted him to know that he was safe now, that UNIT aren't after him anymore. And he asked what evidence had cleared him."
Owen softened a bit. He patted Tosh's arm gently. "What's done is done. We'll just have to carry on from here."
"How the hell did we reduce him to this?" asked Ianto, largely to himself, as he gently carded his fingers through Jack's hair. "Prostitution was bad enough, but drugs as well. And it is all our fault. He needed help after the Valiant, and we failed him totally."
They lapsed into an unhappy silence as the SUV sped down the motorway.
b_b_b_b_b_b
Two hours into the journey back to Cardiff, Jack began to stir. He half opened his eyes and looked around, without understanding where he was. "Ray?", he asked.
Ianto blanched, as jealousy flooded through him. He knew who Ray was, and he couldn't bear the thought of Jack having any kind of relationship, even friendship, with the man who pimped him out. He knew he had lost all rights to expect anything from Jack, years before, but his newly returned memories were still fresh, and he regretted the loss of the love they had shared more than anything.
As Jack became more aware, he realised that he was no longer safe in his own flat. He was being taken somewhere! Total panic overtook him. UNIT had found him. They were going to take him back to that life of pain and humiliation.
As Jack started to thrash and fight against him, Ianto tried to calm him down. "It's alright Jack, you're safe, it's me Ianto."
But as the identity of his kidnappers became clear, Jack fought just as hard. Tosh might not hand him over to UNIT, but the rest of them would. He grabbed the door handle.
"Jack, no! We're on the motorway, don't open the door." Ianto cried. But Jack did not stop fighting, and actually managed to open the door for a second, before Ianto slammed it shut again. "Tosh, help me," Ianto yelled.
Owen was looking for the best place to get off the motorway, so they could stop, but, when the fracas escalated, he decided to just pull over on the hard shoulder.
Jack was wrestling with Ianto in earnest by this point, though he was hampered by his continuing disorientation. Leaping out of the car, Owen ran round to the boot. Grabbing a tranquiliser dart, he hurried around to the door furthest from the 70 mph traffic that was whizzing past. Opening the door he jabbed the dart into Jack's leg. In seconds, Jack subsided into sleep. The rest of the journey to Cardiff was uneventful.
When they arrived in the underground car park at the Hub, it was close to 4am. Tosh fetched a gurney, and they loaded Jack onto it. Gwen and Joanne had prepared a room for Jack on the lower levels. It was nowhere near the cells, as they did not want Jack to feel that he was a prisoner yet again. Jack's bunker under the main office was now used for whoever was on backup night duty at the Hub.
b_b_b_b_b_b
In the surveillance flat, two UNIT soldiers lounged in chairs. They were bored stiff. They had been watching for Jack Harkness for weeks, with absolutely nothing to report. It was incredibly difficult to stay awake through the long, uneventful, nights. One of the two was actually dozing in his chair.
As the Torchwood SUV pulled in to the underground garage, it showed up on the monitor. The soldier nudged his companion. "Wake up, they're back."
They watched the monitor as the Torchwood team unloaded what appeared to be a body. The angle of the camera did not allow them to see any details of what or who it was.
"Probably just another of their alien problems," one suggested.
"Yeah," the other agreed. "Let's log it."
They made a note, and sank back into semi dozes.
b_b_b_b_b_b
Laying Jack upon the bed in his room, Ianto gazed at him anxiously. Gwen and Tosh stood to one side as Owen, who had barely had a chance to see Jack, finally got a good look at him. Joanne had brought some medical equipment down from the autopsy bay, and she handed him the stethoscope to check Jack's heart and chest. Predictably they were fine. Owen pulled Jack's T-shirt up to check for injuries, There were none, though Jack was clearly undernourished. He lifted each of his arms in turn, rotating them and gazing at the track marks. "By the looks of this he's a heavy user."
"We brought some of the stuff he was using," Ianto said, as he dug it out of the bag they had put Jack's things in. "Here."
Owen looked at it carefully. "It looks like heroin to me, but we need to find out for sure. Joanne, can you go up to the lab, and analyse a sample of it to check?"
As Joanne took the sample, Owen continued his examination. Seeing Jack in this state, and knowing that it was down to him and the Torchwood team, was heartbreaking. He forced himself into physician mode, clamping down on his emotions. He shooed the other members of the team out of the room, so that he could check Jack thoroughly. Dreading what he might find, given what he now knew of Jack's lifestyle, he removed Jack's lower clothing. There was damage, but, to Owen's heartfelt relief, it was minor. Jack's clients clearly were not abusive. After treating the area with salve, Owen took some samples to test for STDs,. When he was done, Owen re-dressed Jack, and called the others back.
"He's basically fine," he reported. "Malnourished, but heroin suppresses the appetite. So, if that is heroin he's using, that would explain why he's so thin. If we get him on a balanced diet that should be easy to sort out."
"We need to get him off that drug, whatever it is," Ianto stated adamantly.
"Yes, but he won't thank us for it. You know that don't you?" Owen warned.
Ianto and Tosh both nodded. "It doesn't matter if he hates us, we need to do what is best for Jack," was Tosh's reply. "He was adamant that he didn't want to come with us, so he's going to be spitting mad when he comes round anyway, and justifiably."
Gwen, who had only heard the bare bones of what went on in Manchester, was in a state of stunned disbelief. "Are you sure you understood right?" she quizzed Tosh and Ianto. "I just can't believe that Jack would work as a prostitute, never mind take drugs!"
"There's no mistake," Ianto assured her. "And what's worse is that he wanted to stay living that life, rather than come back to Cardiff with us."
"And if it wasn't for the drugs, we'd have let him," Tosh interjected. "It should have been his choice."
"There's something I suggest that we do," Owen said, seriously. "Jack knows the Hub better than any of us. And he's going to want to get out, to find drugs. We can try and keep him here, but we should be prepared if he does manage to get away from us."
"What are you suggesting?" asked Ianto.
"We should implant a tracer under his skin. He'd never know it was there, but if he gets away we'll be able to find him."
"Are you certain he wouldn't realise?"
"It's minute," Owen explained. He held up a small vial, in which a chip, only a couple of millimetres across, sat. "The very latest in tracking devices. If I implant it on his back, between his shoulders, there's no chance of him ever noticing it."
"Well, we're already violating his rights," Tosh pointed out, slightly hysterically. "What does once more matter?"
No one objected, so Owen rolled Jack onto his side, moved his T-shirt out of the way, and implanted the chip. Then he made Jack comfortable again. "He should sleep off the tranquiliser in another couple of hours. Someone should stay with him to reassure him when he wakes." He looked at Ianto and Tosh.
"I think Tosh should stay," suggested Ianto, surprising Owen, who had thought Ianto would be stuck to Jack's side like glue. "Jack seemed to trust her more than me, when we saw him. And I don't want him to panic when he wakes up again."
"That may be because I saw him in Cardiff, but did not hand him over to UNIT," Tosh agreed. " He may still believe that the rest of you would hand him over."
Ianto, Gwen and Owen looked stricken at this, but acknowledged to themselves that, only a few months ago, they would have done exactly that.
"You need to convince him that UNIT are no longer after him, Tosh," advised Ianto. "I don't think he believed us before. He probably thought it was a trick."
"And, Tosh," Owen added. "We don't want Jack to see himself as a prisoner, but it's probably unavoidable. We can't let him leave the Hub, for his own good. Try to get him to believe that we only have his best interests at heart."
Not to be left out, Gwen added her contribution. "Make sure that he understands that we know that he wasn't responsible for anything that happened on the Valiant, and that we know that we misjudged him totally."
"Oh yes, I'm sure I'll manage all that," Tosh spat sarcastically. "And how about I organise world peace at the same time? It might be easier," she muttered to herself.
b_b_b_b_b_b
Gwen and Ianto had joined Owen in his office. They had his computer screen set to show the CCTV images from Jack's room. He was still unconscious. Tosh was sitting next to the bed.
"What are we going to do now?" Ianto asked Owen.
"Well, the first step is up to Tosh," Owen pointed out. "We have to hope that she can convince Jack that he is safe."
"Yes, but even if she can persuade him, there's the drugs to deal with," Ianto added, "and, as you said, he won't want us to force him to give them up."
"Unless you want us to leave him addicted, and become his supplier, we don't have a choice about that," Owen replied. "And we've all seen those DVDs. Jack has dealt with a hell of a lot of worse things than heroin withdrawal."
"But not things forced on him by so called friends," Gwen pointed out. "But I agree. We owe it to him to help him get his life sorted out. If that means doing something that he won't like, that's what we have to do."
"It just seems so unfair that, after all he's suffered, the first thing we do will be to make him suffer more," Ianto added sadly.
At that moment, Joanne knocked on the door. She came in with the results of her analysis. "You were right," she announced. "It's heroin, and good quality stuff at that."
Owen sighed. "I'd better go brush up on the effects of heroin withdrawal, then. It's going to be hard, but we want to do all that we can to make this as painless as possible for Jack." He paused to rub his eyes. "Mark will be in soon, to man the Hub. The rest of you go home, get some sleep. I'll keep an eye on Jack and Tosh."
Ianto wanted to argue, but he was dog tired, and emotionally drained, after the events of the day. He'd be more help to Jack fresh the next day, than if he insisted on staying now.
I'll sleep in the bunker and relieve you in four hours, OK?" Gwen told Owen. "You need sleep as much as we do."
b_b_b_b_b_b
When Jack awoke, his fear was the first thing that hit him. Every muscle tense, he stayed absolutely still, eyes closed, listening for anything that could give him a clue as to where he was, and who was with him. The only clue he got was the sound of soft breathing nearby. One person. Still keeping absolutely still, he cracked his eyes open. Tosh sat in a chair close to where he lay. He relaxed slightly. Of all the people it could have been, Tosh was the person least likely to try to hurt him. She was asleep, and there was no one else in the room. He glanced towards the ceiling, where he saw a camera. So every move he made would be seen on CCTV.
Looking around, he saw that the room was small, but comfortable. Not a cell, then. Perhaps Tosh and Ianto had spoken the truth, and he was no longer a fugitive. There was one way to find out. Slipping quietly off the bed, he walked to the door and tried it. Locked. He should have known. The hope he hadn't even realised he was feeling, died away. He looked at Tosh. Perhaps she had the key. He considered searching her, but she would wake, and then what? He would never hurt her to get it, and there was guaranteed to be someone watching on the CCTV. No, this was not the time, it was better to wait. And waiting was something he had plenty of practice at.
Jack sat on the bed in despair, and cursed himself. He should have known better. He had known that it wasn't safe to stay in Manchester. He should have left as soon as he revived in the hospital. And just to compound his idiocy, he had taken a hit, and left himself completely vulnerable, knowing that Torchwood were nearby. The fact that emotional trauma had set off his memories, and the desperation for drugs had been overwhelming, was no excuse. But how had they found him at all? What had led them to Manchester? He had scoured the internet everyday since that time, and had not found a hint of anything that could have led to him.
Jack froze, as Tosh stirred. Now that he had had time to remember what happened, he cringed. The thought of his team ... no, scratch that, they weren't his team, and had not been for several years. The thought of these people watching what had happened to him on the Valiant was utterly humiliating. Just the thought made him flush with shame.
At that moment Tosh opened her eyes and looked at him. "Jack," she exclaimed. "You're awake."
He just looked at her, like a deer caught in headlights, his whole body taut as a bowstring.
Tosh started again, this time very quietly and gently. "Jack, everything is OK. You're back at the Hub. What Ianto and I told you, about you being pardoned, it's all true. So you are a free man. UNIT can't touch you anymore."
"Then why am I locked in?" Jack asked, indicating the door. "If I'm free, why have you locked me up?"
Tosh knew that he would ask that. And she had to be honest. "You are free Jack, but you are also an addict. For your own good, we can't let you out of the Hub until you get that sorted."
It was just like Jack had feared. Even if, in the best case scenario, Torchwood did not hand him over to UNIT, they would withhold his drugs. It was going to be like the UNIT prison, all over again. The fact that Torchwood would be doing it with a completely different motive, if he believed that, was no consolation.
Voice cracking with suppressed emotion, Jack ground out, "You have no right."
"It's for your own good, Jack," repeated Tosh.
"You have no idea what it will do to me. What you will do to me, if you do this," Jack hissed.
"I know it will be hard," Tosh answered sympathetically, "but it will be for the best in the long run. And, now that you've been pardoned, you have access to all your assets again. You don't need to work as a prostitute anymore. You can do anything you want."
"Anything except leave here, and make my own decisions, right?" Jack demanded sarcastically. As he spoke his mind was racing. He actually believed Tosh when she said that UNIT was no longer after him. And that should be a cause for celebration. But, in the current circumstances, it wasn't; he was still a prisoner. Torchwood would try to dictate his actions. They truly could not comprehend the implications of withholding the drugs. They would believe that a mere physical withdrawal would solve the problem. Jack knew, from bitter experience, that that was nothing compared to what would come later. Resentment laced his next words. "What makes you think that, after four years of abandonment, I will go along with anything that Torchwood want from me now? You washed your hands of me, and I came to terms with that. I am no longer any of Torchwood's concern."
"But you are Jack," Tosh cried. "We know what you did for us. And we know how badly we treated you. We are so, so sorry. Please let us help you, and try to make amends."
"Then let me go," Jack implored her. "Take my word that forcing me off the drugs is not the answer, and let me leave here. You said yourself that I'm a free man, so Torchwood has no right to stop me."
For a moment Tosh was tempted to do as he asked. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Jack in any way. But then her common sense took over. Jack was an addict. He would say anything to preserve his drug supply. The best thing that she, and Torchwood, could do for him was get him off the drugs.
Seeing the conflicting emotions cross Tosh's face, Jack forced himself to be calm. There were two things that he could not afford Torchwood to find out. One was that physical withdrawal was not the end of his addiction, and the other was what had happened in the UNIT prison. The Torchwood team might pity him now, but he could imagine how that would change if they discovered that he had spilled all of Torchwood's secrets to UNIT. Getting angry could lead to a loose tongue, which he could not risk.
"I'm sorry I can't let you go," Tosh finally answered, tears flowing down her face. "The last thing I want is to hurt you Jack, but you need help with this."
Sensing defeat with Tosh, Jack began to plan. He knew the Hub better than anyone, and he knew all the security features, though, no doubt his codes wouldn't work any more. He would get away, and he had to do it before true withdrawal hit, and he became incapable of coherent thought.
Next chapter here: http://ohinyan.livejournal.com/25176.html