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m_findlowTitle: International relations
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Tosh
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 800 words (4 x double drabbles)
Content notes: Spoilers for Big Finish audioplay "Zone 10"
Author notes: Written for Challenge 240 - Amnesty (using prompts Lie to me, Awkward, Guilty and Torn) at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
drabble_weekly
Summary: Tosh has to come home and face the consequences of going it alone.
Tosh knew Jack would be mad with her when she got home from Russia. She hadn't said anything about her little trip she'd planned, even if she was well aware the whole of the KVI would know she'd been there. She was never really sure where Torchwood stood with the Russian agency, or whether they would call Jack to tell him what had been going on, but someone must have decided Torchwood were to blame for their director getting killed and given Jack a piece of their collective minds.
'I can't believe you lied to me,' Jack said, pacing in front of his desk. 'Just thought you'd take a little overseas trip? Blow up a few Russian assets?'
'It wasn't like that.' Mostly the blowing up and killing had been Maxim. And he was a good guy, even if he was KVI. 'We've been trying to decode the Pulse for forty years and it turned out to be a message for me. I simply had to go.'
Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. She could tell he didn't want to be mad. 'Maxim called me and told me you were going.'
'What?'
'See how it feels being lied to?'
Tosh was struck by Jack's admission. Why hadn't Maxim said anything to her? If he knew Jack had authorised her mission, or at least known even if he hadn't wanted her to go, why not say so?
'But I had to make a deal with them,' she argued. She knew she'd never get to where she needed to be on her own. She needed inside help. They wanted to know what we knew about the Committee and Neil Redmond. Even admitting that much to Jack felt awkward.
'I'll bet they did,' he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning back against the desk, his pacing ceasing. 'It's not the first time they've asked. When I was…' he cleared his throat, 'away… we crossed paths. They didn't trust us because we were disturbing the Committee's normal operations by poking around, and I didn't trust them because they were the ones in cahoots with the Committee forty years ago. And we have history. Maxim and I agreed to align our efforts in secret. You don't know how hard it was to broker that kind of uneasy alliance. So, when you called him, he called me. Proof that the system works.'
Tosh apologised again. Jack knowing from the get go that she was going behind his back only made her feel worse. 'You should have said something or stopped me.'
He shrugged. 'I had a gut feeling something was up. You were already at the airport when he called. And I would have given him that information eventually. I had a suspicion that the FSB were compromised and that they'd infiltrated the KVI with sleeper agents. You were actually the perfect mule to get that intel into the right hands. I should be saying sorry to you for using you like that.'
Tosh dropped her head to the floor. 'For all that good it does. Maxim is dead because of me.' That made her feel even more guilty. He'd risked his life to save hers. She glanced back up at Jack.
'What happens to the KVI now?'
'Oh, they probably go back to hating us, or wanting to capture and dissect me,' he said far too nonchalantly. 'The usual. That or the FSB take over altogether. I think we can discount them as a threat now that the time bomb has been destroyed. They'll go back to being just another bureaucratic agency.'
Jack looked back at the desk behind him, picking up the silver trinket Tosh had brought back with her. She still didn't quite understand why Anna had it or why it was important for Tosh to now have it. She'd been tempted to open it, but something had stopped her, and now she was glad she hadn't. It had been the first thing Jack asked her when she held it up to show him. It sparkled like it was freshly polished as it dangled on its chain.
'What is it? What does it do?'
Jack frowned at it. 'It's a bad penny, and it brings nothing but bad luck, which is why the Committee were so keen for us to have it back. I've tried getting rid of it for years but it always comes back. There's just something about it makes me think it's important for the future. If only it weren't so dangerous to keep in the meantime. I'm torn as to whether we should keep it or not.'
'Couldn't we just lock it away? Or destroy it?' It looked pretty delicate and easy enough to melt.
Jack sighed. 'I wish I could promise that would work.'
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Tosh
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 800 words (4 x double drabbles)
Content notes: Spoilers for Big Finish audioplay "Zone 10"
Author notes: Written for Challenge 240 - Amnesty (using prompts Lie to me, Awkward, Guilty and Torn) at
drabble_weeklySummary: Tosh has to come home and face the consequences of going it alone.
Tosh knew Jack would be mad with her when she got home from Russia. She hadn't said anything about her little trip she'd planned, even if she was well aware the whole of the KVI would know she'd been there. She was never really sure where Torchwood stood with the Russian agency, or whether they would call Jack to tell him what had been going on, but someone must have decided Torchwood were to blame for their director getting killed and given Jack a piece of their collective minds.
'I can't believe you lied to me,' Jack said, pacing in front of his desk. 'Just thought you'd take a little overseas trip? Blow up a few Russian assets?'
'It wasn't like that.' Mostly the blowing up and killing had been Maxim. And he was a good guy, even if he was KVI. 'We've been trying to decode the Pulse for forty years and it turned out to be a message for me. I simply had to go.'
Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. She could tell he didn't want to be mad. 'Maxim called me and told me you were going.'
'What?'
'See how it feels being lied to?'
Tosh was struck by Jack's admission. Why hadn't Maxim said anything to her? If he knew Jack had authorised her mission, or at least known even if he hadn't wanted her to go, why not say so?
'But I had to make a deal with them,' she argued. She knew she'd never get to where she needed to be on her own. She needed inside help. They wanted to know what we knew about the Committee and Neil Redmond. Even admitting that much to Jack felt awkward.
'I'll bet they did,' he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning back against the desk, his pacing ceasing. 'It's not the first time they've asked. When I was…' he cleared his throat, 'away… we crossed paths. They didn't trust us because we were disturbing the Committee's normal operations by poking around, and I didn't trust them because they were the ones in cahoots with the Committee forty years ago. And we have history. Maxim and I agreed to align our efforts in secret. You don't know how hard it was to broker that kind of uneasy alliance. So, when you called him, he called me. Proof that the system works.'
Tosh apologised again. Jack knowing from the get go that she was going behind his back only made her feel worse. 'You should have said something or stopped me.'
He shrugged. 'I had a gut feeling something was up. You were already at the airport when he called. And I would have given him that information eventually. I had a suspicion that the FSB were compromised and that they'd infiltrated the KVI with sleeper agents. You were actually the perfect mule to get that intel into the right hands. I should be saying sorry to you for using you like that.'
Tosh dropped her head to the floor. 'For all that good it does. Maxim is dead because of me.' That made her feel even more guilty. He'd risked his life to save hers. She glanced back up at Jack.
'What happens to the KVI now?'
'Oh, they probably go back to hating us, or wanting to capture and dissect me,' he said far too nonchalantly. 'The usual. That or the FSB take over altogether. I think we can discount them as a threat now that the time bomb has been destroyed. They'll go back to being just another bureaucratic agency.'
Jack looked back at the desk behind him, picking up the silver trinket Tosh had brought back with her. She still didn't quite understand why Anna had it or why it was important for Tosh to now have it. She'd been tempted to open it, but something had stopped her, and now she was glad she hadn't. It had been the first thing Jack asked her when she held it up to show him. It sparkled like it was freshly polished as it dangled on its chain.
'What is it? What does it do?'
Jack frowned at it. 'It's a bad penny, and it brings nothing but bad luck, which is why the Committee were so keen for us to have it back. I've tried getting rid of it for years but it always comes back. There's just something about it makes me think it's important for the future. If only it weren't so dangerous to keep in the meantime. I'm torn as to whether we should keep it or not.'
'Couldn't we just lock it away? Or destroy it?' It looked pretty delicate and easy enough to melt.
Jack sighed. 'I wish I could promise that would work.'
