Torchwood: Fanfic: Trading places - Chapter Eight

[m_findlow]

Title: Trading places
Fandom: Torchwood
Prompt: Blackmail at hc_bingo
Wordcount: 13,803 words
Rating: M
Warnings: N/A
Summary: Ianto will have to team up with an unlikely ally to save Jack

Ianto was eventually returned to the cell that held Jack and John. Jack leapt up at the first sight of him staggering through the door, hands bound behind him just like John. He was in a bad way, his face bloodied and bruised. The rest of his body was probably similarly beaten but still hidden underneath layers of clothing. His stooped posture and wheezing breath suggested cracked ribs at the very least.

'Hey,' Ianto greeted wearily.

'Hey.' Jack felt the greeting was totally inadequate, but it was the best either of them could manage.

'Does it hurt?'

'Only when I breathe.'

Jack had to stifle the laugh at Ianto's attempt at humour. He could have been bleeding to death and would have told Jack it was just a scratch.

John watched on as Jack fussed over him, trying his best to wipe away the blood from his face and seat him comfortably as he could, not easy considering both of them still had hands restrained, but at least Jack's were in front of his body.

'What happened?' Jack asked gently.

'They wanted to know about Torchwood. What was there, how to get in. I didn't tell them anything, I promise.'

'Shhh,' Jack cooed, sensing his agitation.

'They said if I didn't tell them, they'd hurt you.'

'Let them,' Jack replied defiantly. 'They won't break me that easily.'

'No, you don't understand. They're coming back for you. If you don't tell them what they want to know they said they'll hurt me. That's what they meant. They'll use me against you, to get what they want.'

Jack tried to mask the look of fury on his face. 'No, they're not laying a finger on you, do you understand? You're safe.'

Jack held Ianto as best he could. He didn't know how long they had before someone came back to collect one or both of them. In his head, Jack knew he'd sing like a canary before he let them hurt Ianto, whatever secrets Torchwood held, they weren't worth the price of a life. Especially not his life.

'Are you happy now?' Jack asked John. The burning gaze he received told him he should be very, very unhappy.

'I'm sorry, alright. None of this was meant to happen.'

Ianto's wheezing became more laboured. Jack suspected that one of his cracked ribs had made a small puncture in his lung. It didn't sound fatal, but it wasn't good either, and must have been causing considerable discomfort.   

'I need to tell you something,' Ianto wheezed.

'Later,' Jack insisted. He thought he knew what Ianto wanted to say.

'No, if they come back, you can't go out there. You'll be torn to pieces.'

'It's okay.' He didn't care what they did to him, just so long as they didn't hurt Ianto.

'No, you don't understand. I found a Trevarfa disc. It's set, but I don't know how long,' he coughed, unable to finish the sentence

'What? Where did you get a Trevarfa disc?'

Jack didn't get a chance to find out the answer. The building shook violently as if the very foundations had been slammed into by a petrol tanker.

'That'll be the disc,' Jack observed.

'Yup, agreed Ianto.

'I didn't think they could do that much damage. I mean, I've heard stories, but,'

'Oh, that'll be the device,' John supplied. 'Must've gotten hit in the process.'

'What is this device you gave them?'

'A Brandovian night flower,' he replied nonchalantly.  

'You what?'

'What is it?'

'A bomb,' Jack replied, narrowing his eyes at John. 'And banned by the Shadow Proclamation on about 1,500 worlds.'

'Oh, bomb is such a crude word. It's far more sophisticated than that. Judging by what we just heard, those Pretalsians are probably nothing more than a pile of oxidised mush now.'

'Which is what we might have been thanks to you.'

'They weren't going to use it here. This was just neutral territory to make the exchange.'

Jack decided the argument was over. He wasn't going to get any more satisfaction out of lecturing John on morality.

'Nick work, Ianto.'

He seemed taken aback by the compliment. He could very well have killed them by his actions.

'I aim to please.'

'How come he gets all the credit? They were coming back for me. I could have been killed out there when you decided to go all suicidal and set that disc.'

Jack glared at John and he fell silent. 'It wouldn't be the worst thing that's ever happened.'

He turned to Ianto. 'Time to go home?'

'Yes, please.'

John laughed, full of mirth.

'I think I've spotted the flaw in your plan. Now they're all dead, that is,  assuming they're all dead, who's going to get us out?'

'No keys for you to regurgitate this time?' Ianto quipped.

'Do we have any way of getting in touch with Gwen?' John said, ignoring Ianto.

'They took my phone.'

'And mine. Probably best she doesn't get involved,' Jack agreed. 'God only knows how pissed off she'll be when she finds out. Plus, you probably won't make it out of here in one piece,' he said, directing his comments at John.

'Fine,' John huffed. 'What's plan B then?'

'If I can just,' Jack grunted, squirming awkwardly and pulling a face.

'What are you doing?'

'Argh!' he cried out.

'Jack!'

'I'm good,' he panted, having freed one of his hands from the cuffs, now hanging uselessly from his other hand.

'How did you manage that?' John asked.  

'Oh, you know, just a little twist here, a broken wrist there.'

Ianto glared at John. He could tell the young man blamed him for Jack's now shattered wrist and the inordinate amount of pain it must be causing.

Jack walked over to Ianto and began the arduous task of untying the slippery nylon cord that tightly bound Ianto's hands together. It was trickier still, having only one good hand to work at knots requiring two good hands.

'Last as usual,' John complained, still struggling against his own restraints.

'Age before beauty. But today I'm making the exception,' Jack explained. He was already thinking about the fantastic thankyou sex Ianto to was going to be getting later for busting him out of this mess that John had created.

Once Ianto was free, he helped extract John from his own bonds, sparing Jack any further pain from his wrist.

He undid his tie and gently wrapped it around Jack's wrist in an intricate knot, preventing him from being able to move it too much, reducing the pain and swelling. He couldn't wait to get back to the hub  and sort it out properly.

Owen had a device that mended broken bones reasonably well. It would be tender for a few hours whilst the bones fully hardened back together, but it was better than having it stuck in plaster for six weeks. He might run it over his own torso, just in case they really had broken something. It was hard to tell, and he was no medical expert. Hot coffee and a handful of painkillers wouldn't go astray either.

While Ianto was distracted putting the finished touches on his makeshift bandage, Jack took the opportunity to reach out and kiss him. It was insufficient gratitude, but there'd be time later for the rest.

In the background Jack could hear John making loud retching noises. He needed to deal with John, but he wasn't about to cut short this moment on his account. 'Thank you,' he whispered softly so that only Ianto could hear him.

He turned and faced John.

'On scale of one to ten, just how badly do you think you screwed up this time?'

'Not as badly as you apparently think,' came the snide reply.

Jack's expression darkened, and Ianto could tell he was mad. Just wait until he found out John had tried to blackmail them for more money to guarantee Jack's safety. Maybe what John had said earlier was true. Gorsian cats really didn't change their spots. John was still, selfish, money grubbing John.

Jack began working on the door. It was locked, but it wasn't overly solid considering. The room wasn't designed to lock people in, it was just a storage room, and the warehouse was not showing signs that it would withstand an earthquake. He body charged the door several times and eventually the frail lock mechanism conceded defeat.

 

Just a few yards from the doorway was a pool of grey liquid and some shreds of dark fibred cloth.

'Toby,' Ianto said, remembering the guard posted near the door when they'd dragged him back here.

'What?'

'Nothing,' he muttered.

'Looks like we got lucky,' Jack observed, throwing another dark look at John. 'A few more yards range, and we'd have been soup too.'

Ianto spared a final look at the pile a grey mush, and with Jack's mention of soup, he knew it'd be months before he'd be able to face a bowl of potato and leek soup without feeling sick.

Down the corridor and into the main bowels of the warehouse, the scene was one of carnage. The walls were streaked with dark burn marks where the laser had tried to slice though the concrete. Whatever furniture and detritus had been there was largely unrecognisable. A distinctive and acrid smell pervaded the area. On their investigations, they found another five mounds of thick grey pulp, confirmation that all of the Pretalsians were now accounted for. They too had not survived.

Amazingly though, in amongst the debris, Jack managed to find the collection of weapons and phones that had been confiscated from them.

Jack reluctantly handed back John his own weapon.

'All's well that ends well. What's a little kidnapping and torture between friends, eh?'

Ianto was the first to react, quickly turning the gun on John, his earlier injuries temporarily forgotten. Jack was not much further behind him, but seemed less inclined to actually shoot. It was instinctive to act as backup.

'You know he wanted more money before need let us trade you for the device,' Ianto announced. 'His altruism needs some serious work,' he said, keeping his gun fixed firmly on John.

Jack cast him a sideward glance, before reverting his own gaze back to John. Why didn't that surprise him?

'You know he's not worth it, right?' Jack asked Ianto casually.

'Yeah, but it would still make me feel better,' he replied equally as indifferent.

'You're not that cold.'

'No, I'm not.'

'John's a lucky man.'

'Isn't he just?'

'You're both very amusing,' said John.

'He could probably live without one hand though, couldn't he?' Jack asked.

'He'd still be able to perform the basics,' Ianto agreed.

'What about an eye? He could always get a glass eye.'

'Or a patch.'

'Ooh, what about a peg leg?' Jack was really getting into it now. He and Ianto could probably go on for hours like this.

'He could change his name to Captain John Hook.'

Jack laughed cynically.

'You can stop now,' John said, clearly unimpressed.

Jack pulled his hand away but kept the gun pointed skyward and easily able to be pointed back at John if necessary.

'I'm giving you exactly twenty minutes to be gone from this city, this planet, and never to return. If you do come back, the only argument will be which of us gets to shoot you first. Do I make myself clear?'

'Crystal.'

'Ianto?'

Ianto reluctantly took the order and lowered his own gun. The tiny smirk John gave at this small victory was enough to make him want to ignore the instruction.

John took his time in opening the flap on his wrist strap and activating the vortex.

'Ta ta for now,' he said, grinning and waggling his fingers in a childish way, as the glow enveloped him.

Jack and Ianto both knew it wouldn't be the last they saw of John Hart.

 

Once they were both alone there was silence for a few moments.

'Time to pack up the bodies, or what's left of them?' Jack asked.

'It would be if we had the SUV. It's currently hidden in some woodland near the MoD facility outside of London.'

'Huh?' Jack was confused. 'How did it get there?'

'Don't ask. Long story.'

'So?'

'And you're not stinking up my car with that muck,' Ianto clarified.

'Right, well, back to the hub then? Coffee? Maybe some victory celebrations?' Jack asked hopefully.

'Broken bones, then coffee, then road trip to collect the SUV, then cleanup. Then maybe you can think about celebrating.'

Ianto had to stifle a yawn at the thought of everything they still had to do before they could call it a day. 'After that I think I'm going to sleep for about twelve hours.'

'I think you've more than earned it,' Jack agreed.

'I'm glad you think so. Saving your boss from psychopath alien mafia is so very exhausting. A nice soft bed will do very nicely for reward,' he remarked, gingerly touching his tender ribcage.

'Want some company?'

'Only if you promise not to snore.'

For once Jack didn't bother arguing the point, he was just glad everything turned out okay in the end.

'And are we mentioning this little incident to Gwen?'

'Oh, hell no. We'll never be allowed on our own ever again!'

The end.

Comments

[jo02]

I really enjoyed this - thank you.

[bk_forever]

They definitely need to use the bone repairer on Ianto. Got to repair him before there can be any kind of celebrating.

I've always thought that Jack's injuries heal within a few hours, sometimes even a few minutes, so he should be good as new soon.

John deserved worse than a few vague threats after what he put them through, but I guess Ianto and Jack are too civilised.

Great story!

[m-findlow.livejournal.com]

Yep, there's a long list of to do before they can get down to the important business of celebrating. They're better than John, so that's why he got off so easy.

Glad you enjoyed it!