The Torchwood - 8/10
Gwen and Tosh exited the TARDIS first, after having established that no guards were nearby. They moved left, away from the area of Ianto’s cell. They crept slowly along the corridors, Tosh holding the extrapolator like St. George’s shield in front of her.
As they came to an intersection of two corridors, Gwen leaned over and whispered, “So not the time, I know, but I have to say, love the shampoo. Mango?”
“Yeah, Ianto found it at the chemists for me. He remembered that I liked a similar discontinued brand. He saw me use it at the Hub after the Beacons to get the smell out.”
Tosh and Gwen continued on their journey, searching for, and finally locating, the Ugorian version of an electrical fuse box.
“Ok, here we go. Set up the charge, Gwen. Two should be enough to disrupt their internal communications and CCTV cameras.” Gwen nodded her understanding and began to work quickly. Weapons training with Jack may have had some serious non-work-related overtones, but at least it had taught her how to handle explosives. She’d never forget the look on his face when she slammed a grenade into his pants after an inappropriate gesture with his Webley; he hadn’t been best pleased, but at least it wasn’t a live grenade.
Owen and Jack waited in the TARDIS, listening to Gwen and Tosh as they discussed shampoo choices while setting the charges.
“Strawberry?” Owen asked. “Who wants to smell like a strawberry?”
“Strawberries are one of the sexiest fruits,” Jack said knowingly. “Maybe you should try it when you go out on the pull.”
“At that point, I should just wear oyster spray! And who said I needed any help? Women naturally flock to me!” Owen retorted indignantly. “Wouldn’t mind smelling Tosh’s mango and strawberries, though…”
The pair fell into silence, waiting for the sign from Tosh and Gwen that they were ready. They heard the explosion over their earpieces and watched as the ship’s hallway lights flickered and went out. A few seconds later, the emergency generators kicked on, bathing the hallways and corridors in an iridescent red glow.
“Right. Let’s do this,” Jack said, ushering Owen out of the TARDIS.
As a desert people with multiple suns, Ugorians hadn’t evolved to deal with darkness, and so Jack and Owen found it easy to sneak up behind the guards and take them out. From a distance the Ugorians appeared human; it wasn’t until Owen saw how small their purple double-lidded pupils were that he realized they were actually aliens.
Jack and Owen continued walking down corridor after corridor searching for Ianto and the Doctor. They could hear Tosh and Gwen over their earpieces setting off more charges in other areas to draw attention away from the two men. As Jack and Owen rounded the last corner, they came face to face with Ianto’s mysterious scientist.
“Jack Harkess?” the man said. “God, it’s you! It’s really you!”
“Have we met?” Jack asked, leering at the scientist’s black-clad behind.
“I was on the Valiant. My name’s Dr. Joshua Bevan. The Doctor’s been keeping me here, please take me with you!”
“Ok, ok, hang on. I think I remember you…”
“Wait, Bevan?! Are you related to Isaac Bevan?” Owen asked, slamming Joshua’s head against the wall. “That traitor! He must have been the one to leave that transmitter in the Hub!”
“He’s my brother. But please, don’t blame him! It wasn’t his fault. Lucy said she’d kill me if he didn’t do what she wanted! Look, please, I’m not your enemy. I can get you into Ianto’s cell…I have the combination! I’m the one that’s been giving him the injections and keeping him alive!”
“Fine, you’re with us for now. Walk in front of us. If you do anything to attract attention, we’ll kill you,” Jack growled.
When Jack, Owen, and Joshua reached Ianto’s cell unmolested, Jack barely had time to consider why they hadn’t seen any guards since they met Bevan before Joshua was keying in a combination on a small keypad by the door. Eight digits later, the door slid open, revealing a round, off-white room. Jack’s eyes were drawn to the center of the room, where the Doctor was softly stroking Ianto’s hair and trying to use a scrap of fabric torn from his trousers to wipe away the sweat.
Not looking up to see who had arrived, the Doctor said, “He’s not dead yet, Master. And his organs are still working. Guess you can’t blow anything up just now. I suggest you come back later. Take a raincheck, maybe make an appointment…”
Shaking his head to dispel images of Ianto’s pale, sallow face laid out in the morgue, Jack ran to Ianto’s side. The Doctor snapped his head up as Jack fell to his knees, cradling Ianto.
“No. Oh no. No no NO!” The Doctor cried, trying to pull Ianto away from Jack. “You idiot! Why are you here! Get out before he gets you! The fate of the universe depends on him not getting you!”
Jack’s arms wrapped tighter around Ianto as Owen pushed the Doctor to move aside. “And what do you think you’re doing?” the Doctor asked the medic.
“Saving his life. The TARDIS helped create an anti-venom. He needs an injection twice an hour for 24 hours, but this should start the process,” Owen explained as he unclamped a needle and shot the anti-venom into Ianto’s left arm.
“Ow’n?” Ianto asked, waking at the harsh treatment.
“It’s ok Tea-Boy. You’re gonna be fine. Super Doc’s here now,” Owen said, softly patting Ianto’s shoulder.
Ianto turned his head to see who was holding him “Jack?” he asked, confused. “No! No, you have to go! Go now! He’ll kill you!”
Ianto turned his head towards the Doctor, pleading with his new friend to get Jack off the ship. That’s when he saw Bevan. “Jack? What’s he doing here?”
“He’s with us Ianto. He brought us to you,” Owen said as Jack carefully picked Ianto up, wrapping his arm under Ianto’s shoulders so that Ianto could lean against him. Jack was worried about how light Ianto felt. He’d carried Ianto before, many times (especially after a particularly intense bought of Naked Volleyball), and Ianto had never felt this weightless.
“No, he’s one of them. He’ll bring the Master here,” Ianto coughed.
“No, he won’t. He’s one of the good guys. Now let’s get you back to the TARDIS, huh?” Jack said softly.
“He’s right Jack,” the Doctor said slowly. “Didn’t you see it?”
“See what Doctor?”
“The collar. The collar around his neck. That’s how the Master keeps track of him. He’s led the Master right to you.”
“Got it in one, Doctor!” Bevan laughed happily as the Master sashayed into the room.
“As if I would ever side with Torchwood. He killed you all last time. Well, all but the secretary here. Just think, Jones, you survived the end of the world. The only surviving member of Torchwood. Hell, you weren’t just a part of Torchwood, you were Torchwood. The Torchwood. And now you’re going to die. I’m sorry it has to be so painful, though. Hippocratic Oath and all,” Bevan crowed as he walked over to stand behind Lucy/Master.
“If I’m going ….to die,” Ianto said, forcing himself to talk through another coughing fit. “Can I get…. a last request?”
“Oooooh, poetic!” Lucy/Master said delightedly. “Of course! Let no one ever say I was unmerciful at the end. What do you want? A last shag? A last meal? A last shag while eating your last meal?”
“No. I want you both to….stop monologuing. You’re not….in a bloody James….Bond film.”
At this, the Master looked put out, confused, and angry all in one. “That’s it,” he growled. “Guards! Take them to the observation deck! I want the boy and the Doctor to watch as I accept my immortality! Bring the medic too. He can be my plaything when I get bored. Amuse me plaything! Do some tumbling!”
Four guards walked behind Ianto, Jack and the Doctor, aiming their weapons directly at the men’s heads. A fourth guard stood behind Owen, pushing his weapon into Owen’s ribs. They marched the prisoners towards the observation deck, Lucy/Master leading the way in her latest red dress.
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“Tosh,” Gwen began as she finished setting another charge, “Jack said we were to keep in touch at all times.”
“Yeah, I know. He isn’t answering his comm..”
“He was captured, wasn’t he?”
“Of course he was captured. He’s always bloody captured! He’s as bad as you Gwen!”
“Hey! I’ll have you know I don’t get captured all the time! Only sometimes!”
“Only most times,” Tosh said sotto voce. At that, Tosh and Gwen saw something moving at the side of their vision. Spinning quickly on her heel, Gwen grabbed the hunting knife from her belt and flung it in the direction of the movement. What happened next astonished both of them. A fully-armed Ugorian guard fell to the ground, blood dripping from the knife in his chest.
“Um Gwen? Did you mean to do that?” Tosh gulped.
“Er…Yes? No? Maybe? It worked, didn’t it?”
“Remind me never to sneak up behind you!”
“Let’s head back to the TARDIS. We’re almost out of charges, and we can see if Jack got Ianto back,” Gwen suggested, rising from the ground and walking over to the dead guard to retrieve her knife.
“You know he won’t be there. We’ll have to come up with plan B to save him from the evil clutches of the Master. God, this is becoming just like one of those campy late-night movies on SkyTV!” Tosh said, joining Gwen next to the guard. The women looked at each other, both silently acknowledging that they were now the only chance that Jack had. Holding the extrapolator like a shield again, they crept along the darkened hallways toward the TARDIS.
When they finally turned the last corner, both women stopped in their tracks. There, standing beside the TARDIS, reverently stroking the machine, stood Isaac Bevan.
“Mr. Bevan? What are you doing here?” Gwen asked, pulling one of her guns from its holster.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Williams. I’m so sorry. He said he’d kill me if I didn’t bring the transmitter to the Hub. I didn’t want to, please believe me!”
“Who said they’d kill you?” Tosh questioned.
“My brother, Joshua. He’s working for the Master now. I don’t know when it started, but he’s changed. The Master promised Joshua that he’d get the chance to experiment on anything he wants. Josh….Josh lost his place at the University because he tried to clone humans. Something’s snapped. I tried to stop him, really I did!”
“Ok, Mr. Bevan, ok,” Gween said soothingly placing her hand on Bevan’s arm.
“I came here to help you. I think Josh wanted me to come around to his thinking, to join him. He gave me this,” Isaac said, pulling a small gray box from his jacket pocket. “He said it’s a miniature transmat beam, so I could come up here before….well, before the Master gave the Earth to the Ugorians.”
“Mr. Bevan, how many people can this beam transport?” Tosh asked.
“I don’t know. No more than 2 or 3 at a time, I think.”
“Gwen,” Tosh said, turning to her friend, “I think we may have a plan.”