Fic: Vizzini's Rule (9/105)
Jul. 3rd, 2008 06:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
buttononthetopTitle: Vizzini's Rule, Chapter 9
Rating: PG-13, I guess
Warnings: Character death and a bad word
Spoilers: Everything Changes (1x1), Cyberwoman (1x4) and Fragments (2x12)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around!
Summary: The origin fic continues - in which we say goodbye to a team member...
Notes: Comments and con/crit much appreciated. Merci beaucoup!! :o)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Nine
The next night, Ianto was in the Tourist Office reading the reply from Dr. Tanizaki. He was fascinated by Ianto’s description of Lisa’s condition and was more than willing to make the trip to Cardiff to see her. He was confident that his knowledge of the Cybermen technology would allow him to make an assessment of Lisa and determine how best to help cure her. Ianto frowned over the last paragraph which stated that if he wasn’t able to help, Dr. Tanizaki hoped Ianto would permit him to take Lisa’s body back to the Institute for further study, but he refused to consider the possibility of anything going wrong. He was elated and about to begin a reply when Jack burst through the front door.
“Ianto! Thank god you’re still here. I need your help with her,” he said, indicating PC Cooper. She was dazed, clearly in shock and only vertical because of Jack’s strong arm around her.
Ianto came from behind the counter and Jack passed the unresisting body to Ianto. “Get her downstairs. Are the other’s still here?”
Ianto shook his head.
“Shit,” Jack growled. “Well, I think we can handle this for now.”
Hitching PC Cooper up a little, Ianto asked, “Handle what, sir? What’s happened?”
Jack closed his eyes for a moment. “Suzie is dead.”
“What?!”
“She shot herself. I couldn’t stop her. She was the murderer, Ianto. She was using that knife. She killed three people just to practice with that damn glove. Gwen figured it out, broke through the Retcon. Suzie was about to kill us both…Suzie…” Jack’s voice trailed off. He shook himself. “I’ve got her up on the invisible lift right now. If you’ll get Gwen downstairs, I’ll get Suzie down on the lift and we can…deal with her…with the body...” His voice broke at the end. Ianto wished he didn’t have a half-conscious woman clinging to him. He wanted nothing more than to offer some comfort to his Captain.
“I’ll take care of it, Jack,” he said in a confident voice. “We’ll meet you in the Hub in a minute.” He gave Jack a small smile and then turned to take the constable downstairs.
“Ianto?” Jack called. Ianto turned to see Jack looking at him with an odd expression on his face.
“Yes, sir?”
“You called me Jack.”
Ianto hitched up the constable’s drooping body again. “Yes, sir.”
Jack just shook his head. “Never mind,” he said but he smiled a bit, almost hesitantly.
Ianto returned the smile and headed downstairs. He settled the constable on the sofa and turned the kettle on. It was just beginning to whistle when Ianto heard the lift engage. He quickly prepared three strong mugs of tea, one with four scoops of sugar. He handed that one to the constable, wrapping both her hands around the mug and getting her to take a sip before he let go and went to Jack.
Jack had wrapped a scarf or something around Suzie’s head, mercifully covering her face. He was cradling her body in his arms and his look of grief made Ianto’s stomach clench in sympathy. He tried to take the body from Jack but he shook his head and moved across the Hub to the medical bay. He laid Suzie’s body on the table and pulled a sheet over her. He collapsed on Owen’s nearby stool and bent over the bed, resting his head on his folded arms. Ianto moved behind him and put his hand on Jack’s shoulder. Jack covered it with his own and just held on for a long moment.
He finally raised his head and took a deep breath. He squeezed Ianto’s hand once and then stood up.
“Thanks,” he whispered.
Ianto just nodded.
Jack cleared his throat. “I’m going to check on Gwen. I need you to call Owen and Tosh. Get them back in here, tell them what happened and tell them to bring whatever alien tech they’ve taken home to play with.”
“Yes, sir,” Ianto said. “I made you some tea if you’d like it.”
Jack gave him a thin smile. “No thanks, but I’ll bet Gwen could use some.”
“Already done, sir.”
Jack reached out to grasp his shoulder. “That’s my Ianto. Always one step ahead.”
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Owen was predictably nasty on the phone until Ianto managed to cut in and tell him that Suzie was dead. Owen snapped, “I’m on my way,” and then hung up, necessitating another call to issue Jack’s order about any AWOL alien tech. Ianto could tell that Owen had taken something but he wouldn’t say what. The phone call to Tosh was easier and harder at the same time. Listening to Tosh, Ianto fought the urge to cry for the first time that night. He asked her if she’d taken any tech off the premises and she admitted to it right away. He soothed her best he could while she tried to do the same for him.
When they arrived at the Hub, Jack was still sitting with Gwen on the sofa. She was calmer now and Jack was answering her questions as he continued to make her drink her tea. Before Tosh or Owen could speak, Jack jerked his head at his office and the whole team, including Gwen, joined Ianto. He had been packing up the Resurrection Glove and the knife Suzie had used in her killing spree. As they walked in, he finished tagging the box and moved it to the secure archives in the wall by Jack’s desk.
Silently, Owen and Toshiko placed the items they’d taken on the desk. Gwen huddled in the corner, still unsure why she was there.
Everyone jumped when Jack finally spoke.
“Owen, the body is in the med bay. Get it prepped for storage, I want this over as soon as possible.”
Owen nodded.
“Tosh, I need Suzie’s records tidied up and archived. Ianto, these items need to get back into storage,” Jack said, handing Ianto the tech Owen and Tosh had returned. “And if you could make some coffee?”
“Of course, sir,” Ianto said as he headed out the door. He heard Owen and Tosh follow as Jack began to talk quietly with Gwen again.
Ianto brought Tosh a mug of coffee as soon as it was brewed. She was typing furiously, trying to find Suzie’s records which she said had been deleted, pausing now and then to wipe a tear from her cheek. Ianto set the coffee next to her and gave her a small smile. Tosh reached out to grab his hand and Ianto sat next to her for a moment, his arm around her narrow shoulders. She sniffed and wiped her face again. Giving Ianto a quick hug, she returned to the computer.
Owen was next. Ianto didn’t really want to speak to the doctor, so he just set the mug of coffee on a table as far away from the body as possible and walked quickly back up the stairs. He glanced back to see Owen looking at him. He nodded his thanks to Ianto, pressed his mouth into a grim line and got back to work.
Ianto knocked quietly on Jack’s open door before entering. Jack motioned for him to come in and took his coffee with a grateful sigh. Ianto turned to Gwen and said, “I didn’t know if you wanted coffee or some more tea, so I brought both.” He set the tray, complete with sugar, cream, honey, milk and lemon, on Jack’s desk. “I also wasn’t sure how you took either, so I just brought everything.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly, reaching for the mug of tea.
Ianto nodded and turned to Jack. “Is there anything else I can do, sir?”
“No, Ianto, but thanks. Go on home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Ianto wanted to protest. Surely there was something he could do to help, but Jack had already turned back to Gwen and Ianto didn’t want to interrupt. He sighed quietly and left the room, heading back up to the Tourist Office. When he entered the drab little room he saw that he had left his laptop open on the counter with his email from Dr. Tanizaki still open. He leapt for the computer and slammed it shut. He knew with everything going on that night in the Hub that no one would have seen it, but the fact that he had been so careless scared him.
He packed up his computer and locked up the Tourist Office behind him as he left. He slung his bag into his car but then found that he couldn’t make himself get in. He slammed the door and walked back out onto the boardwalk. Hoping the long walk home would clear his head, Ianto set off for his flat.
As he walked, he tried to figure out why Jack had dismissed him. Ianto wondered if he thought that Ianto was useless or if he didn’t want Ianto there since he hadn’t known Suzie for very long. But he let that constable stay, a tiny voice in his head pointed out. Maybe Jack thought he was being kind letting Ianto leave, a reward of sorts for being the only one who hadn’t taken tech out of the Hub. And just why do you care? asked that annoying little voice again. I don’t, he told himself firmly and resolved to stop thinking about Torchwood for the rest of the walk.
Ianto strolled through several very nice neighborhoods before he reached the sketchier part of town where he lived. I should start looking for a new place, he thought as he noticed several flats to let. Lisa should be able to come home to a nice, posh flat after she’s cured, not that dump. After I email Dr. Tanizaki tomorrow morning, I’ll start looking at flats.
Ianto finished his walk thinking happily of his future with Lisa for the first time since Canary Wharf.
TBC in Chapter Ten
Rating: PG-13, I guess
Warnings: Character death and a bad word
Spoilers: Everything Changes (1x1), Cyberwoman (1x4) and Fragments (2x12)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around!
Summary: The origin fic continues - in which we say goodbye to a team member...
Notes: Comments and con/crit much appreciated. Merci beaucoup!! :o)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Nine
The next night, Ianto was in the Tourist Office reading the reply from Dr. Tanizaki. He was fascinated by Ianto’s description of Lisa’s condition and was more than willing to make the trip to Cardiff to see her. He was confident that his knowledge of the Cybermen technology would allow him to make an assessment of Lisa and determine how best to help cure her. Ianto frowned over the last paragraph which stated that if he wasn’t able to help, Dr. Tanizaki hoped Ianto would permit him to take Lisa’s body back to the Institute for further study, but he refused to consider the possibility of anything going wrong. He was elated and about to begin a reply when Jack burst through the front door.
“Ianto! Thank god you’re still here. I need your help with her,” he said, indicating PC Cooper. She was dazed, clearly in shock and only vertical because of Jack’s strong arm around her.
Ianto came from behind the counter and Jack passed the unresisting body to Ianto. “Get her downstairs. Are the other’s still here?”
Ianto shook his head.
“Shit,” Jack growled. “Well, I think we can handle this for now.”
Hitching PC Cooper up a little, Ianto asked, “Handle what, sir? What’s happened?”
Jack closed his eyes for a moment. “Suzie is dead.”
“What?!”
“She shot herself. I couldn’t stop her. She was the murderer, Ianto. She was using that knife. She killed three people just to practice with that damn glove. Gwen figured it out, broke through the Retcon. Suzie was about to kill us both…Suzie…” Jack’s voice trailed off. He shook himself. “I’ve got her up on the invisible lift right now. If you’ll get Gwen downstairs, I’ll get Suzie down on the lift and we can…deal with her…with the body...” His voice broke at the end. Ianto wished he didn’t have a half-conscious woman clinging to him. He wanted nothing more than to offer some comfort to his Captain.
“I’ll take care of it, Jack,” he said in a confident voice. “We’ll meet you in the Hub in a minute.” He gave Jack a small smile and then turned to take the constable downstairs.
“Ianto?” Jack called. Ianto turned to see Jack looking at him with an odd expression on his face.
“Yes, sir?”
“You called me Jack.”
Ianto hitched up the constable’s drooping body again. “Yes, sir.”
Jack just shook his head. “Never mind,” he said but he smiled a bit, almost hesitantly.
Ianto returned the smile and headed downstairs. He settled the constable on the sofa and turned the kettle on. It was just beginning to whistle when Ianto heard the lift engage. He quickly prepared three strong mugs of tea, one with four scoops of sugar. He handed that one to the constable, wrapping both her hands around the mug and getting her to take a sip before he let go and went to Jack.
Jack had wrapped a scarf or something around Suzie’s head, mercifully covering her face. He was cradling her body in his arms and his look of grief made Ianto’s stomach clench in sympathy. He tried to take the body from Jack but he shook his head and moved across the Hub to the medical bay. He laid Suzie’s body on the table and pulled a sheet over her. He collapsed on Owen’s nearby stool and bent over the bed, resting his head on his folded arms. Ianto moved behind him and put his hand on Jack’s shoulder. Jack covered it with his own and just held on for a long moment.
He finally raised his head and took a deep breath. He squeezed Ianto’s hand once and then stood up.
“Thanks,” he whispered.
Ianto just nodded.
Jack cleared his throat. “I’m going to check on Gwen. I need you to call Owen and Tosh. Get them back in here, tell them what happened and tell them to bring whatever alien tech they’ve taken home to play with.”
“Yes, sir,” Ianto said. “I made you some tea if you’d like it.”
Jack gave him a thin smile. “No thanks, but I’ll bet Gwen could use some.”
“Already done, sir.”
Jack reached out to grasp his shoulder. “That’s my Ianto. Always one step ahead.”
Owen was predictably nasty on the phone until Ianto managed to cut in and tell him that Suzie was dead. Owen snapped, “I’m on my way,” and then hung up, necessitating another call to issue Jack’s order about any AWOL alien tech. Ianto could tell that Owen had taken something but he wouldn’t say what. The phone call to Tosh was easier and harder at the same time. Listening to Tosh, Ianto fought the urge to cry for the first time that night. He asked her if she’d taken any tech off the premises and she admitted to it right away. He soothed her best he could while she tried to do the same for him.
When they arrived at the Hub, Jack was still sitting with Gwen on the sofa. She was calmer now and Jack was answering her questions as he continued to make her drink her tea. Before Tosh or Owen could speak, Jack jerked his head at his office and the whole team, including Gwen, joined Ianto. He had been packing up the Resurrection Glove and the knife Suzie had used in her killing spree. As they walked in, he finished tagging the box and moved it to the secure archives in the wall by Jack’s desk.
Silently, Owen and Toshiko placed the items they’d taken on the desk. Gwen huddled in the corner, still unsure why she was there.
Everyone jumped when Jack finally spoke.
“Owen, the body is in the med bay. Get it prepped for storage, I want this over as soon as possible.”
Owen nodded.
“Tosh, I need Suzie’s records tidied up and archived. Ianto, these items need to get back into storage,” Jack said, handing Ianto the tech Owen and Tosh had returned. “And if you could make some coffee?”
“Of course, sir,” Ianto said as he headed out the door. He heard Owen and Tosh follow as Jack began to talk quietly with Gwen again.
Ianto brought Tosh a mug of coffee as soon as it was brewed. She was typing furiously, trying to find Suzie’s records which she said had been deleted, pausing now and then to wipe a tear from her cheek. Ianto set the coffee next to her and gave her a small smile. Tosh reached out to grab his hand and Ianto sat next to her for a moment, his arm around her narrow shoulders. She sniffed and wiped her face again. Giving Ianto a quick hug, she returned to the computer.
Owen was next. Ianto didn’t really want to speak to the doctor, so he just set the mug of coffee on a table as far away from the body as possible and walked quickly back up the stairs. He glanced back to see Owen looking at him. He nodded his thanks to Ianto, pressed his mouth into a grim line and got back to work.
Ianto knocked quietly on Jack’s open door before entering. Jack motioned for him to come in and took his coffee with a grateful sigh. Ianto turned to Gwen and said, “I didn’t know if you wanted coffee or some more tea, so I brought both.” He set the tray, complete with sugar, cream, honey, milk and lemon, on Jack’s desk. “I also wasn’t sure how you took either, so I just brought everything.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly, reaching for the mug of tea.
Ianto nodded and turned to Jack. “Is there anything else I can do, sir?”
“No, Ianto, but thanks. Go on home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Ianto wanted to protest. Surely there was something he could do to help, but Jack had already turned back to Gwen and Ianto didn’t want to interrupt. He sighed quietly and left the room, heading back up to the Tourist Office. When he entered the drab little room he saw that he had left his laptop open on the counter with his email from Dr. Tanizaki still open. He leapt for the computer and slammed it shut. He knew with everything going on that night in the Hub that no one would have seen it, but the fact that he had been so careless scared him.
He packed up his computer and locked up the Tourist Office behind him as he left. He slung his bag into his car but then found that he couldn’t make himself get in. He slammed the door and walked back out onto the boardwalk. Hoping the long walk home would clear his head, Ianto set off for his flat.
As he walked, he tried to figure out why Jack had dismissed him. Ianto wondered if he thought that Ianto was useless or if he didn’t want Ianto there since he hadn’t known Suzie for very long. But he let that constable stay, a tiny voice in his head pointed out. Maybe Jack thought he was being kind letting Ianto leave, a reward of sorts for being the only one who hadn’t taken tech out of the Hub. And just why do you care? asked that annoying little voice again. I don’t, he told himself firmly and resolved to stop thinking about Torchwood for the rest of the walk.
Ianto strolled through several very nice neighborhoods before he reached the sketchier part of town where he lived. I should start looking for a new place, he thought as he noticed several flats to let. Lisa should be able to come home to a nice, posh flat after she’s cured, not that dump. After I email Dr. Tanizaki tomorrow morning, I’ll start looking at flats.
Ianto finished his walk thinking happily of his future with Lisa for the first time since Canary Wharf.
TBC in Chapter Ten
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 04:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 02:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 04:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 02:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 04:06 am (UTC)Thanks hon! Good to see Buffy again, too, even if it is Concerned!Buffy. :D
no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 06:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 03:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 12:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 03:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 07:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-05 06:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-06 11:32 am (UTC)Grrrr! He's denying himself someone wonderful over the chance of someone he used to have... But that last litte bit about finding a place to live with Lisa broke my heart.
You're building this up superbly! Great work =]
no subject
Date: 2008-07-06 06:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-26 04:38 pm (UTC)It takes place in periods not always focused on in 'Ianot comes to TW3' fics, which is a nice touch.
You asked for concrit and I do have one pice: when doing plurals, one never uses apostrophes. I noticed that you wrote "Ianto's" and in this chapter there was another example, but I can't remember which. I think the problem comes when you pluralise names and words already ending in 's' or something. Apostrophes always signifies ownership, except "it's" (it is) and "its" (belonging to 'it').
*eagerly skips off to read more*
no subject
Date: 2008-09-27 03:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-07 04:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-01 03:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-01 05:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-02 04:48 am (UTC)