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Prompt 44 - Under New Management
Hi, *sheepish grin* an entry for the AU challenge, sorry about the lateness.
Title: Under new Management
Author: szm
Prompt 44: The Battle of Canary Wharf left Ianto Jones, head of logistics, as the most senior surviving Torchwood One member, 'heir' to Yvonne's throne, and new intriguing thorn in Jack's side.
Rating: G
Jack bit his lip to keep from chuckling. Owen was clearly aiming for ‘moody and pissed off’ but his pouting and fidgeting made him look more like a naughty school boy. Jack couldn't help it; it was cute, and well funny.
“Oh, ha-ha Harkness. Laugh it up. Why the hell did we have to drag ourselves all the way to London anyway?” Owen scowled cementing the overall look of ‘sulky five year old’.
“Because the new head of Torchwood One, technically our esteemed leader, requested a meeting,” replied Jack lounging back in the chair, propping his feet up on the boardroom table.
“Jumped up loser,” muttered Owen. “What was he before, head of ‘logistics’ or something equally useless? And why did you bring me anyway, isn’t this Suzie’s job?”
Jack sighed, wondering for the umpteenth time when Owen was going to get over Suzie getting the second in command post instead of him. “Because Suzie was busy,” replied Jack, his tone indicating an end of the argument. Suzie had begged of to spend more time on the glove, it made Jack slightly uneasy how intense she was getting about it, but he trusted her.
A well dressed young man came in with a trolley and started setting up a jug of coffee and the various accessories. Owen ignored him; Jack smiled and nodded, taking a moment to appreciate exactly how well he filled out the suit. He glanced at Jack’s feet on the table and frowned to himself. Jack lowered his feet back to the floor, feeling slightly abashed
In all honesty Jack was impressed. The battle of Canary Wharf had left Torchwood One decimated. Over eight hundred employees down to twenty seven. ‘Ianto Jones’ had managed to salvage something like a working organisation from the mess. He’d moved the operation to a nondescript office block a decent distance away, but close enough that he hadn’t had to re-work supply routes overmuch. But then: head of logistics. Somehow he’d managed to convince all the survivors to stay on and had recruited numbers back up to nearly a hundred. Now three months later, Torchwood One was starting to reappear on a national level, if not yet an international one.
“Coffee, Captain,” asked the well dressed young man pleasantly.
Jack grinned, looking the other man up and down. “If that’s all that’s on offer.”
Owen rolled his eyes and the young man replied, “Careful, that’s harassment.” But he said it with a smirk, pouring out the coffee for both Jack and Owen.
“Is Jones going to keep us much longer?” asked Owen with impatience clear in his voice.
The man looked surprised for a second before smirking slightly, “I’m sure Mr Jones will be here in a minute. If you could excuse me, gentlemen?” He poured a third cup of coffee and left it by an empty chair, then he left the room.
“Could you be more obvious?” asked Owen snippily.
“What?” asked Jack in return, radiating innocence?
“Please, you were staring at his arse as he walked out.”
Jack just smirked, which seemed to irritate Owen more.
The young man walked back in with a pile of papers. He sat down at the empty place and took a sip of the third coffee. Taking out a notepad and a pen he looked at the other two men and said, “Shall we start then, gentlemen?”
“Who are you?” asked Owen.
“Terribly sorry,” replied the man holding out his hand. “Ianto Jones.”
Jack shook the offered hand, slightly awkwardly over the table. “Captain Jack Harkness,” introduced Jack. “And Dr Owen Harper.”
“Pleased to meet you finally Captain, Doctor. You’ll have to excuse how long it took us to get to you, but I’m sure you can appreciate it’s been hectic.”
“But you’re the tea-boy!” exclaimed Owen rudely.
Ianto looked at Owen carefully. “That’s coffee, not tea. Although I’m sure we can arrange tea if you would prefer?”
Jack bit the inside of his cheek to stop from laughing. “I’m sorry Mr Jones, can I call you Ianto? You don’t look much like the photo on your personnel file.”
“I’ll say!” interrupted Owen. “That guy was about fifty and twice the size of you.”
“I believe your referring to Mr Goodwin. He was the head of logistics before the Battle. Sadly he’s no longer with us.”
“I’m sorry,” said Jack. “I thought you were previously head of logistics?”
“Deputy Head,” replied Ianto. “There must have been a mix up in the personnel files during the Battle.” He made a note on his pad. “I’ll look into it. Now let’s start shall we?”
**
Jack was expecting to do the meet and greet, nod a lot, and basically ignore whatever was said but Ianto Jones was proving to be a little hard to brush off. He wasn’t even put off by Owen’s rudeness (which was of course he reason Jack had brought him, Yvonne Hartman had never managed more than ten minutes in Owens company). He was also unswayed by Jack’s charm. Not unaffected, he blushed prettily every time, but he stuck to his guns. Deflecting every attempt Jack made to derail the conversation.
Ianto made valid points. Listened to what Jack and Owen said in response no matter how weak the argument. He suggested useful ideas, like hiring someone with local knowledge. He even had a list of twenty possible names with three highlighted. Robert Bevan, Gwen Cooper, Andy Davidson.
“Of course, it’s entirely your decision, Captain,” said Ianto but Jack was left with the feeling that he’d better have a really good reason if he chose not to do it. Besides it was a good idea. The ‘lost weevil’ incident of last month wouldn’t have happened if they’d had someone with them with a little more local knowledge. And people always did feel more at home talking to someone local. And a Welsh speaker would come in handy.
After half an hour, Jack found himself agreeing to a lot of perfectly reasonable things that basically added up to a fundamental change in management of his organisation.
Ianto had a notepad full of carefully written notes.
“Well, we just need to organise another meeting,” said Ianto eventually. “Unless you have anything you want to bring up?”
Jack and Owen shook their heads.
“Okay,” said Ianto consulting a diary. “Shall we say three months?”
Jack and Owen looked at each other. “Three months?” asked Jack. “Yvonne used to schedule these things every two years.”
“I’m not Yvonne Hartman,” replied Ianto simply.
“I hope not,” snorted Owen. “She was a psycho.”
Ianto stiffened. It was the first time anything Owen had said had invoked any reaction other than mild sarcasm. “Miss Hartman was possibly misguided, but she was a focused, dedicated woman who did a lot for Torchwood.”
“Yeah,” countered Owen. “Like nearly destroying it.”
“With all due respect Doctor. You weren’t there,” said Ianto coldly. “Shall we say the 15th three months from now?”
“Yes, that’s fine,” replied Jack quickly cutting across whatever Owen was going to say next.
Ianto excused himself and left the room. Jack asked Owen to contact Tosh and ask her to dig up whatever she could on Ianto Jones. He didn’t believe for one moment that the ‘personnel mix up’ was accidental.
Then he went after Ianto.
**
He caught up with him outside his office.
“Ianto!” he called.
Ianto stopped and turned back towards Jack.
“Yes, Captain?” he asked politely.
“I’d like to apologise for my collegue,” replied Jack with an easy smile.
“That’s not necessary,” said Ianto, returning the smile but still a little distant.
“I insist,” countered Jack, widening the smile and leaning forward slightly. “Let me take you out for dinner.”
Ianto blushed again. “I don’t think that’s completely appropriate Captain.”
“Jack.”
Ianto seemed to give himself a mental shake. “I’m afraid I’m busy tonight, Captain.”
“Busy?” asked Jack raising an eyebrow.
Ianto smirked. “Washing my hair.”
“Alright then,” consented Jack. “I’ll take a rain check. Shall we say three months?”
Ianto looked at him for a long moment. “Okay then,” he agreed finally.
Jack broke into a huge grin. “Excellent.”
“Goodbye, Captain,” said Ianto pointedly opening the door to his office.
“Ianto?” asked Jack seriously. “Why are you doing all this?” He gestured vaguely, trying to encompass all of the rebuilding work.
Ianto stared at the doorknob for a moment then looked up at Jack. “A lot of people died at Canary Wharf, including… a person very close to me. I don’t want them to have died for nothing.”
“I can understand that,” said Jack carefully.
Ianto nodded and closed the office door behind him.
“Ianto Jones,” said Jack to himself quietly before heading back up the corridor towards Owen.
*******
Now has a sequel Three Months Later
Title: Under new Management
Author: szm
Prompt 44: The Battle of Canary Wharf left Ianto Jones, head of logistics, as the most senior surviving Torchwood One member, 'heir' to Yvonne's throne, and new intriguing thorn in Jack's side.
Rating: G
Jack bit his lip to keep from chuckling. Owen was clearly aiming for ‘moody and pissed off’ but his pouting and fidgeting made him look more like a naughty school boy. Jack couldn't help it; it was cute, and well funny.
“Oh, ha-ha Harkness. Laugh it up. Why the hell did we have to drag ourselves all the way to London anyway?” Owen scowled cementing the overall look of ‘sulky five year old’.
“Because the new head of Torchwood One, technically our esteemed leader, requested a meeting,” replied Jack lounging back in the chair, propping his feet up on the boardroom table.
“Jumped up loser,” muttered Owen. “What was he before, head of ‘logistics’ or something equally useless? And why did you bring me anyway, isn’t this Suzie’s job?”
Jack sighed, wondering for the umpteenth time when Owen was going to get over Suzie getting the second in command post instead of him. “Because Suzie was busy,” replied Jack, his tone indicating an end of the argument. Suzie had begged of to spend more time on the glove, it made Jack slightly uneasy how intense she was getting about it, but he trusted her.
A well dressed young man came in with a trolley and started setting up a jug of coffee and the various accessories. Owen ignored him; Jack smiled and nodded, taking a moment to appreciate exactly how well he filled out the suit. He glanced at Jack’s feet on the table and frowned to himself. Jack lowered his feet back to the floor, feeling slightly abashed
In all honesty Jack was impressed. The battle of Canary Wharf had left Torchwood One decimated. Over eight hundred employees down to twenty seven. ‘Ianto Jones’ had managed to salvage something like a working organisation from the mess. He’d moved the operation to a nondescript office block a decent distance away, but close enough that he hadn’t had to re-work supply routes overmuch. But then: head of logistics. Somehow he’d managed to convince all the survivors to stay on and had recruited numbers back up to nearly a hundred. Now three months later, Torchwood One was starting to reappear on a national level, if not yet an international one.
“Coffee, Captain,” asked the well dressed young man pleasantly.
Jack grinned, looking the other man up and down. “If that’s all that’s on offer.”
Owen rolled his eyes and the young man replied, “Careful, that’s harassment.” But he said it with a smirk, pouring out the coffee for both Jack and Owen.
“Is Jones going to keep us much longer?” asked Owen with impatience clear in his voice.
The man looked surprised for a second before smirking slightly, “I’m sure Mr Jones will be here in a minute. If you could excuse me, gentlemen?” He poured a third cup of coffee and left it by an empty chair, then he left the room.
“Could you be more obvious?” asked Owen snippily.
“What?” asked Jack in return, radiating innocence?
“Please, you were staring at his arse as he walked out.”
Jack just smirked, which seemed to irritate Owen more.
The young man walked back in with a pile of papers. He sat down at the empty place and took a sip of the third coffee. Taking out a notepad and a pen he looked at the other two men and said, “Shall we start then, gentlemen?”
“Who are you?” asked Owen.
“Terribly sorry,” replied the man holding out his hand. “Ianto Jones.”
Jack shook the offered hand, slightly awkwardly over the table. “Captain Jack Harkness,” introduced Jack. “And Dr Owen Harper.”
“Pleased to meet you finally Captain, Doctor. You’ll have to excuse how long it took us to get to you, but I’m sure you can appreciate it’s been hectic.”
“But you’re the tea-boy!” exclaimed Owen rudely.
Ianto looked at Owen carefully. “That’s coffee, not tea. Although I’m sure we can arrange tea if you would prefer?”
Jack bit the inside of his cheek to stop from laughing. “I’m sorry Mr Jones, can I call you Ianto? You don’t look much like the photo on your personnel file.”
“I’ll say!” interrupted Owen. “That guy was about fifty and twice the size of you.”
“I believe your referring to Mr Goodwin. He was the head of logistics before the Battle. Sadly he’s no longer with us.”
“I’m sorry,” said Jack. “I thought you were previously head of logistics?”
“Deputy Head,” replied Ianto. “There must have been a mix up in the personnel files during the Battle.” He made a note on his pad. “I’ll look into it. Now let’s start shall we?”
**
Jack was expecting to do the meet and greet, nod a lot, and basically ignore whatever was said but Ianto Jones was proving to be a little hard to brush off. He wasn’t even put off by Owen’s rudeness (which was of course he reason Jack had brought him, Yvonne Hartman had never managed more than ten minutes in Owens company). He was also unswayed by Jack’s charm. Not unaffected, he blushed prettily every time, but he stuck to his guns. Deflecting every attempt Jack made to derail the conversation.
Ianto made valid points. Listened to what Jack and Owen said in response no matter how weak the argument. He suggested useful ideas, like hiring someone with local knowledge. He even had a list of twenty possible names with three highlighted. Robert Bevan, Gwen Cooper, Andy Davidson.
“Of course, it’s entirely your decision, Captain,” said Ianto but Jack was left with the feeling that he’d better have a really good reason if he chose not to do it. Besides it was a good idea. The ‘lost weevil’ incident of last month wouldn’t have happened if they’d had someone with them with a little more local knowledge. And people always did feel more at home talking to someone local. And a Welsh speaker would come in handy.
After half an hour, Jack found himself agreeing to a lot of perfectly reasonable things that basically added up to a fundamental change in management of his organisation.
Ianto had a notepad full of carefully written notes.
“Well, we just need to organise another meeting,” said Ianto eventually. “Unless you have anything you want to bring up?”
Jack and Owen shook their heads.
“Okay,” said Ianto consulting a diary. “Shall we say three months?”
Jack and Owen looked at each other. “Three months?” asked Jack. “Yvonne used to schedule these things every two years.”
“I’m not Yvonne Hartman,” replied Ianto simply.
“I hope not,” snorted Owen. “She was a psycho.”
Ianto stiffened. It was the first time anything Owen had said had invoked any reaction other than mild sarcasm. “Miss Hartman was possibly misguided, but she was a focused, dedicated woman who did a lot for Torchwood.”
“Yeah,” countered Owen. “Like nearly destroying it.”
“With all due respect Doctor. You weren’t there,” said Ianto coldly. “Shall we say the 15th three months from now?”
“Yes, that’s fine,” replied Jack quickly cutting across whatever Owen was going to say next.
Ianto excused himself and left the room. Jack asked Owen to contact Tosh and ask her to dig up whatever she could on Ianto Jones. He didn’t believe for one moment that the ‘personnel mix up’ was accidental.
Then he went after Ianto.
**
He caught up with him outside his office.
“Ianto!” he called.
Ianto stopped and turned back towards Jack.
“Yes, Captain?” he asked politely.
“I’d like to apologise for my collegue,” replied Jack with an easy smile.
“That’s not necessary,” said Ianto, returning the smile but still a little distant.
“I insist,” countered Jack, widening the smile and leaning forward slightly. “Let me take you out for dinner.”
Ianto blushed again. “I don’t think that’s completely appropriate Captain.”
“Jack.”
Ianto seemed to give himself a mental shake. “I’m afraid I’m busy tonight, Captain.”
“Busy?” asked Jack raising an eyebrow.
Ianto smirked. “Washing my hair.”
“Alright then,” consented Jack. “I’ll take a rain check. Shall we say three months?”
Ianto looked at him for a long moment. “Okay then,” he agreed finally.
Jack broke into a huge grin. “Excellent.”
“Goodbye, Captain,” said Ianto pointedly opening the door to his office.
“Ianto?” asked Jack seriously. “Why are you doing all this?” He gestured vaguely, trying to encompass all of the rebuilding work.
Ianto stared at the doorknob for a moment then looked up at Jack. “A lot of people died at Canary Wharf, including… a person very close to me. I don’t want them to have died for nothing.”
“I can understand that,” said Jack carefully.
Ianto nodded and closed the office door behind him.
“Ianto Jones,” said Jack to himself quietly before heading back up the corridor towards Owen.
*******
Now has a sequel Three Months Later