m_findlow

Title: Wrongful arrest
Fandom: Torchwood
Prompt: Arrest at hc_bingo
Wordcount: 24,947 words
Rating: M
Warnings: N/A
Summary: UNIT are on the warpath, and they've got Jack in their sights.

When Jack woke the next morning he was slightly surprised to find Ianto still there. He was slumped against the wall, head leaning against the perspex at an odd angle where he'd fallen asleep, ostensibly watching over Jack.

Jack considered the man with curiosity. He clearly felt very strongly for this universe's version of him, but couldn't figure out why he felt the need to be bothered with him.

The movement in the cell caused Ianto to stir awake, and he shivered involuntarily.

'Any more of that coffee going?'

Ianto raised an eyebrow at him, a little surprised to find himself still down here, and even more surprised that Jack was speaking to him. He didn't remember falling asleep.

'It gets quite cold down here,' Jack offered as explanation.

'That depends,' Ianto countered, 'are you prepared to admit to breaking into UNIT and killing those men?'

There it was, Ianto thought, as the silence pervaded the room, and the door slammed shut in his face as the old stony Jack returned with a vengeance.

'I'll be here if you need me,' replied Jack, walking away to the back of the cell and parking himself there.

'Right,' Ianto sighed. Guess it's going to be a long day then.

Less than 24 hours to save Jack. He was going to need a better mousetrap.

Ianto had been hard at work all morning, trying to piece together all of the pieces of the puzzle. Jack still wasn't prepared to confess to anything, even though Ianto now had almost a full working knowledge of how he'd come to be here and what his plans were. How he was going to catch him out on the lie was another matter completely. Jack was the best of the best when it came to snaking his way out of the truth with his lies and half truths. He was tempted to just take everything he already had, plus Jack, straight down to UNIT hope and hope for the best. Time was running out on him.

UNIT's willingness to take it all on face value was still questionable. Right now they had Jack, and they weren't about to give him up without a really good reason. It was an absolute fluke for them to finally have the freedom to run whatever tests they wanted, to find out what made him tick, with absolutely no down side. Second prize would be getting Torchwood shut down, and having unfettered access to all of their information and technology.

Not succeeding meant the end of Torchwood, and Ianto couldn't let that happen. He'd almost convinced himself that this was his only remaining option, which must have been subconsciously agreed to, because he found his feet had taken him all the way down to the cells by the time he'd reached that desperate conclusion.

Janet growled quietly as he passed, probably annoyed that she was suddenly no longer his favourite inmate. It was nice to know someone missed him, he thought.

'Are you playing nice with Jack? Making friends?' he asked.

She growled again as if to say that she would prefer it that he be gone.

'Soon, I promise,' he said, continuing their imaginary conversation.

'It's a desperate man that talks to the vicious pets and expects them to talk back,' came the voice from two doors down. Ianto kept walking until he came face to face with the perspex door, containing the man to whom the voice belonged.

'Seems to work with you,' Ianto quipped. 'Janet is just misunderstood.'

'Tell me that after you've stood in her cell for ten minutes and been ripped to shreds.'

Ianto didn't give him the satisfaction of agreeing with him. 'And how is the peanut gallery doing?'

Jack stretched out and surveyed him, the reference clearly lost on him.

'Lovely as the accommodations here are, any chance of a shower?'

Ianto raised an eyebrow. It wasn't quite what he expected. 'Seriously?'

Jack's look was one of sincerity, mixed with that puppy dog look that Ianto's own version of Jack had perfected in order to get what he wanted with minimum fuss. Ianto always hated the way that look made his resolve crumble.

'What's in it for me?'

'Maybe we could talk after?'

Ianto stood there for a long while contemplating what it meant. Could it really be that Jack was coming around? He had to believe it was worth a try.

He pulled his gun from the back of his belt and deactivated the door lock, keeping his gun trained on Jack.

'No funny business, alright?'

'Promise.'

Ianto lead him through a series of corridors and stairways to their communal bathrooms. All the while Jack asked him what he'd been doing, had he found out what was happening to his version of Jack? He suddenly seemed to have taken an interest in his alternate. Might it be possible that he could collect enough evidence to free his Jack without giving him up? Could he perhaps help? A win win for everyone as he put it. That was the suggestion he made as he began stripping off his shirt.

'But you killed those men.' Somehow Ianto struggled to get past that particular part. It was the one thing he had to hold on to, to remind him that this was not his Jack.

'Just how bad is this place they've got him locked up?' Jack asked, removing his undershirt. 'It's pretty bad, isn't it? Otherwise why would you be trying so hard to free him?'

Ianto had been trying not to think about how bad it was. He knew how bad it had been when Tosh had been locked up there. The fact that she'd said very little about the whole experience spoke volumes. Jack was likely to be treated far worse.

Ianto did his best to keep his expression neutral. 'He's immortal. They'll torture him, experiment on him. Try and find out why he can't die. Not to mention the knowledge they'll try to get out of him, by any means necessary.'

'And would giving me up to UNIT achieve anything?'

'I'd get Jack back. He'd be safe.'

'And you'd be willing to let me suffer the same fate in his place? You think they wouldn't try to pump me for information too? Could you really condemn me to that? Could you?'

Ianto knew he couldn't. Wasn't that why Jack had asked him the question in the first place? If he traded this Jack for his, it made him no better than this Jack, sacrificing someone else for his own needs. But what else could he do?

Jack turned away when Ianto didn't answer, dissatisfied, removing the rest of his clothes and stepping into the cubicle. He wasn't fussed about being naked, even at gunpoint.

At the sound of the water starting up, Ianto slumped down onto the nearby bench, laying the gun down beside him, and running hands through his hair. When had this gotten so complicated? His head felt muddled full of emotions that shouldn't be there. He loved Jack. His Jack. He'd do anything for him, but could he sacrifice another human being for him? Especially if that other human being was another version of him? What gave him that right? Did he have feelings for him? He'd seen what this Jack was, what he'd been in the past, but also what he might be in the future, given the right chances. This hadn't been part of the plan.

He didn't get a chance to ponder these thoughts any further. His head was still in his hands when the figure silently approached him from behind, the sound of the water slapping onto the tiled floor masking the footsteps. He didn't notice his gun carefully picked up from its abandoned spot beside him. All he felt was the sharp pain that exploded at the back of his head before he keeled forward onto the floor and everything became a blur, then nothing.

Jack had been warily watching the cell door for hours. No one had come to see him and to question him. It would come eventually. No, right now he was more worried about the men in white coats returning to finish what they'd started. Considering everything he faced working for Torchwood, nothing should have scared him, but the idea that he could become a permanent guinea pig for some scientists lacking morals, had him on edge.

He was tucked up in the far corner of the cell, as best a defensive position as he could manage. There was no point in waiting by the door ready to jump the first person who tried to enter. They could see his every move on camera. And even if he did make a break for it, he'd be shot dead in seconds. Then they'd be able to take whatever liberties they liked. He wouldn't eat any more of the food that was proferred either, knowing it could be once again laced with drugs. If they wanted him, they'd have to come and get him, and he'd fight like hell before he gave in, futile as it might be.

So for now he just huddled and silently prayed that Ianto would figure out a way to save him.

Chapter nine...