Torchwood: Fanfic: Wrongful arrest - Chapter Fourteen

[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.

Jack's first reaction was panic. Admittedly, he'd grown accustomed to reassuring arms wrapped around him when he revived these days. Those arms weren't here now.  

His last memory was his attempted murder by New Jack. He still wasn't sure if he was okay. What had New Jack said? Something about freedom? Was he safe? Was this part of the plan? He couldn't be sure.

The bag itself caused him to panic as well. It wasn't the claustrophobia, he'd been here before. But now he didn't know where he was, or what was happening. He decided not to wait around and find out.

It wasn't easy to say you developed a skill at opening a body bag from the inside, but Jack had had practice. Still, in the darkness it was quite a job. The bags hadn't been designed to allow for a wide range of movement, since their occupants generally never had need of moving, so getting his arm into a position where he could find the end of the zip and force a finger through the end of the bag to get it started was tricky.

Just as he finally managed to start tugging at the zip, forcing it open, there was a sudden loud sound of something being dropped and footsteps. Not knowing what he was up for, it was a debate as to whether he kept going or froze. In the end the sound of alarms whooping made the decision for him. He thrust open the bag as quickly as he could, staggered off the metal table and ran.

 

 

'Biohazard on level fourteen', chimed the voice in between whoops of the alarm. Jack didn't stick around to find out the source of the alarm, working on the basis that he could have very well been the thing that triggered it.

If anyone found him alive, they'd know that there were two of him, and that they'd faked the switch. All of their lives would be in danger. Blood pounded in his ears as he ran and adrenaline kicked in, forcing his feet forward. Suddenly he could hear footsteps running towards him. He had no weapons, and probably no way of defending himself if he had to take on more than one or two guards. He braced himself for the oncoming assault. What he didn't expect was New Jack and Ianto to be the ones coming hurtling around the corner, nearly slamming into him.

'Jack!' Ianto cried in surprise. He looked like he wanted to say more but didn't know what.

'No time,' Jack said, cutting off his thought train, 'we've got to get out of here.'

The three of them started running back down the corridor, searching for an alternate route out of the facility. Chances were good that there was no way of talking their way out of the situation now. UNIT weren't going to take kindly to the spread of falsehoods they'd already laid down. They just needed to get out and worry about plan B later. Jack was almost tempted to attack New Jack and leave him here to be found by UNIT. Surely if they found any version of Jack they'd be happy. They already thought they had the imposter. Who was to say he too hadn't lied about his mortality. He and Ianto could then walk out of here free men.

But something made him hesitate. The two men had so carefully crafted this plan to get him out, and he caught sight of the look that New Jack gave when he turned to check Ianto was still right behind him, a sort of worried, caring look. Jack knew then he couldn't do it. Couldn't condemn another version of himself. He wouldn't ever forgive himself, and from the looks of things, neither would Ianto. Whatever had happened, there was clearly a rapport between them now. He'd have to deal with that later, assuming they made it out of here alive and in one piece.

If the alarms had attracted the attention of everyone in the vicinity, they were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps the warning of a biohazard had kept them all away. Maybe it was the late hour. In any case, there wasn't time to ponder that particular peculiarity.

They traced their way through the labyrinthine hallways, glass walled and concrete floored, turning into one that was unusually fitted with burnished steel walls and intermittent breaks for what looked like air locks. And still no guards in sight.

Suddenly, another alarm began blaring, and the door in front of them slammed down into place, and seconds later the door behind them. They were trapped.

A metallic feminine voice rang out above their ears. The same one that had voiced the earlier alarm.

'Bio incineration in sixty seconds...'

'Oh, that is not good,' said New Jack. He tried pressing the buttons on a nearby control panel but nothing responded to his commands. He tried shooting at the control panel wedged near the locked door but the bullet richocheted dangerously off it, causing all three of them to react and dodge the deadly bullet.

'Don't do that again!' Ianto yelled over the alarm.

Jack pounded on the door.

'Let them go! Do whatever you want to me, but let them go!'

'I think UNIT are done negotiating with us,' Ianto observed, rather more calmly than he felt.

'Bio incineration in forty seconds...'

'What do we do?' asked Ianto.

Jack was still yelling at whoever was on the other side, presumably watching them through cameras. Still there was no response.

'You're killing an innocent man!' he protested.

'And me!' New Jack yelled. 'We can't all be immortal like you.'

Jack spun from his tirade at the door and shoved New Jack hard up against the wall.

'This is all your fault!' yelled Jack.

'Shut up, both of you!'

'Bio incineration in twenty seconds...'

New Jack pushed himself away from the wall, and Jack, and began pulling open his vortex manipulator, punching madly at the buttons and then pulling the void hopper out of his trouser pocket.

Ianto watched him, confused by the sudden actions.

'What are you doing? I thought that didn't work.'

'Plan B. I only need enough juice for one little trip.'

'I don't understand.'

'Do you trust me?'

'Don't trust him, Ianto! He's a murderer! He'll do anything to save his own skin.'

Ianto swung his gaze wildly back from one Jack to the other.

'Bio incineration in ten, nine...'

New Jack grabbed him by his arms.

'Ianto Jones, do you trust me?'

The nodding was hesitant. His earlier certainty had faded slightly, but they'd made it this far. 'I trust you.'

'Seven, six...'

New Jack grabbed Ianto’s hand and placed it on his wrist, next to his vortex manipulator. He turned to face Jack. 

'See you soon.'

Before Jack had a chance to react, the pair of them disappeared in a flash of glowing orange light.

'Three...'

Jack closed his eyes and braced for the inevitable.

'Two...'

One never came.

Chapter fifteen...

Comments

[bk_forever]

Eeep! Poor Jack!