m_findlow

Title: Lost in a fog
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Gwen, Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,089 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for prisca's prompt "Any, any, lost and found" at fic_promptly
Summary: Cardiff's weather is making the team's job even harder than usual.

'Ianto!' Gwen called out, stepping gingerly forward through the fog. 'Where are you?'

Ianto turned around before tapping his Bluetooth headset. 'Um, well I was going to say the Millennium Stadium is just off to my left, but, well... now I don't know where it is.'

'What do you mean? It hasn't disappeared, has it?'

'Well, in the sense either can't see it anymore, then yes. As to its physical presence, I'm sure it must still be there. At least I hope. Jack?' he called out. Jack had only been a few yards away from him just a few moments ago but now he too had disappeared. If he didn't know better, he'd almost say the fog was alien, but this was Cardiff, and he'd had more foggy days in his life than he could count. Today was just one of those days when it was so thick it might as well have been solid.

'Over here,' came Jack's voice. 'I'm- Ow!'

'Jack, did you find the weevil?' Ianto called back, now on high alert, listening out for the sound of Jack's location so that he could rush to assist.

'Nope! I found a lamppost though. They're harder than they look,' he replied, rubbing his forehead.

Gwen groaned audibly over their headsets. 'This is ridiculous. How on earth are we supposed to track down a weevil in this? I can't even... Well, I can't even see three feet in front of me.' She waved the air in front of her as if that would be enough to dispel the thick white.

'And neither will anybody else,' Jack replied. 'That is until they walk straight into it. We can't just let it go. It needs to be tagged so we can keep an eye on its movements.'

'Of all the days to get a rogue newcomer,' Ianto muttered, stretching his hands out in front of him until he found the corner of a building, then tracing along the edge of the wall. He managed a solid fifteen paces before something jostled him. He immediately recoiled until he realised it was Gwen who'd bumped into him.

'Sorry,' she said. 'At least I found something, though.'

'And now I'm no longer lost,' Ianto quipped, 'though as for our geographic location...'

'Where's Jack?'

'I dunno. He was right behind me, then he did that whole hero thing of wandering off. Or just got lost himself. He's probably three blocks away by now.'

'Brilliant. No sign of any weevil activity?'

'No sign of anything,' Ianto replied. 'I haven't seen so much as another single person, pardon the pun.'

'It's like the city has become a ghost town.'

'Or a weevil town.'

They took a few more tentative steps along the street until behind them came an ominous sound.

'Please tell me that's Jack's heavy breathing behind me,' Ianto said, freezing still.

Gwen's ears pricked up at the sound as well, her ears straining to make out the sound. It was labored and husky, with undertones of growling in it. Definitely a weevil. 'Keep still. Don't say anything.' She froze herself, moving only very slowly, reaching gently into her pocket for her stun gun. Her ears strained even more, and now the sound of the weevil wasn't behind them but to her left. She nudged right ever so slightly, pressing herself against Ianto who took her meaning and moved right as well.

'Guys! Guys!' Jack's voice rang out loudly as he bounded into view. 'There you are! I thought our comms must have gone down in this stupid fog or something.'

The weevil growled loudly and menacingly at the same time as Ianto had managed to lunge forward and grab Jack, slapping a hand over his mouth. It was too late however as the weevil loped forward, finally coming close enough to spot them.

'Get down!' Gwen yelled.

Ianto didn't hesitate. He knew Gwen had her stun gun out and armed. He dragged Jack to the ground with him as Gwen swung around in a wide arc until the end of her gun hit something solid and she fired. The pair of them simultaneously prayed she wasn't about to zap them.

The weevil growled painfully as the gun jolted it with a sharp sustained electric charge. It swung wildly, knocking the gun from Gwen's hand in the process. She quickly backed away two steps to avoid the second wave of weevil claws trying to take a chunk out of her arm.

Somewhere in the tangle that had been Jack and Ianto, Jack managed to get to his knees, throwing himself at the weevil's lower legs and wrapping his arms around them, tripping up the weevil. It fell ungracefully to one side before Ianto managed to climb over the pair of them, injecting his sedative pen into what he hoped was the weevil and not Jack. The sound of the weevil's struggling mewling fading into an unconscious haze told him he'd hit the right mark.

'Are we clear?' Gwen's voice rang out, though her outline was hardly visible, even just a few feet away.

'We're clear,' Jack confirmed. 'Not going to score highly in our scrapbook of classic weevil take downs, though,' he commented. 'Zero points for artistic quality, and not many more for technical ability.'

'Considering the conditions, I'd say that's still got to be a five out of ten,' Ianto replied, pushing himself back to his feet and removing the weevil handclamps from his pocket before helping Jack to affix them in place.

'I was gonna say I didn't see that coming,' Jack began, 'but, well, I really didn't see that coming. Literally. I half thought it was the weevil tackling me to the floor. Lucky I know that weevils don't wear cologne.'

'Remind me to be grateful you didn't try to take me out with a solid right hook followed by a choking headlock.'

'It's just lucky that weevils breathe loudly and that the cold air carried the sound,' Gwen said. 'Otherwise we might have walked straight into it, or it us.'

'Next time the weather forecast is foggy with a chance of weevil, I think I shall stay at home in bed,' Ianto replied.

'Well, the sooner we get this guy back to the hub, the sooner we can start making that a reality,' Jack said. He hefted the weevil over his shoulder in a fireman's lift. 'Now, all we have to do is find the SUV.'

Ianto sighed as the fog seemed to thicken before their eyes. 'Easier said than done.'