Out of Place Chapter 4

[galadriel1010]

Jasmine parked the car outside a smart, detached three-storey house about ten minutes from the crime lab and the five of them got out, trailing up the stairs to the front door. Archie and Hodges led the way down the hall, gossiping lightly about a case whilst Jasmine ducked into the kitchen with a bright laugh. Nick and Greg followed Archie and Hodges into the living room and looked around in interest and slight surprise at the way the two lab rats flopped down automatically into two armchairs across from each other. The CSIs settled onto the sofa and Nick hesitated barely a moment before pulling Greg in to rest close against his side. His lab rat turned CSI boyfriend looked surprised but pleased and snuggled against him, resting a hand on his chest lightly, “We out now then?”

“Mmhm.” He hummed against the bleached blond hair with a smile, “You won’t say anything at work, will you guys?”

Archie shook his head, “Anything that gets said in here stays in here, it’s called a safe house for a reason.”

Hodges waved a hand around with a smile much warmer and friendlier than he’d ever shown in the crime lab, “Welcome to UNIT safe house 376. UNIT have another six in the city, Liberty Towers have six, that right Jay?”

“Other way around.” Her voice drifted through from the kitchen, closely followed by her person carrying bowls of chocolate mousse, “UNIT have six Vegas safe houses, LT have seven. I work for both, kinda, it’s complicated. I’m using this one because it’s closest to the crime lab and it was already set up as an operations hub rather than a safe house.”

“We use it quite a lot for cover-ups.” Archie explained, “And for somewhere close to crash when we’ve pulled a double or triple shift. It’s classified as operational. There are four classes, like volcanoes: Retired houses are out of use either temporarily or permanently, sleeper houses are ready for use but not actually in active use, active houses are being used as accommodation for agents or as safe houses or witnesses and the like, and operational houses are being used by agents instead of a permanent base in the city.”

“There’s so much we don’t know.” Greg commented, “How did you two get into all this?”

Hodges smiled, “I left my ex-girlfriend. That was the point when I found out that the fact her hours were so strange, even compared to mine, was because she was secretly running a top secret alien hunting organisation and could pull one on me and get me installed as a groundwork agent.” He chuckled, “If I’d known when I was going out with her, who knows where we’d be now? I wouldn’t be here I suspect.”

“Regret it?” Jazz asked

“Not really. You said she was your granddaughter?”

“Great granddaughter.” She corrected him, “Yeah, my youngest daughter’s granddaughter. I’m older than I look.”

“No kidding.” Nick gaped at her, “How old were you?”

“No idea, but early thirties I suspect. I’m immortal, completely immortal, if I die I bounce back, so when I ended up in the 1920s and lived through… Well it wasn’t much of a challenge. The hard part was having seven children, only two of whom survived the Second World War.”

“That’s terrible.”

She nodded sadly, “But it’s a long time ago now, they’d all be dead by now anyway. Doesn’t stop it hurting, but it makes it more bearable. I’ve lived a long time, lost a lot of people I love. I’ll lose a lot more in the years to come.” She shrugged, “It doesn’t get easier exactly, but you learn to cope. Anyway, how about you Archie, how did you get into it?”

“Hacking.” He answered with a shrug, “I looked at some files I shouldn’t have. Half an hour later there’s these goons on my doorstep telling me that I can find out more about what I saw and help them or forget everything. I’ve never once looked back.”

Jazz laughed at that, “I hear you. Torchwood’s been in operation for over 140 years, and in all that time only one person has retired or left voluntarily. And she was pregnant at the time. It’s… Phew, it’s not a life you could ever turn your back on.”

“You sound like you really love it.” Nick commented

“Yeah, even after so long. But my introduction was better than most I suppose. I was wounded by an alien attack, would have died without medical attention, and I was rescued by an angel, the most gorgeous guy the universe has ever seen.” Her smile grew positively dreamy, “We were together for nearly two years, until we died and got brought back from the dead separately. Neither knew that the other had returned, so we went on alone. That was the moment we became immortal too.”

“Did you find him again?”

“Eventually, but it wasn’t the same.” She levered herself up as the doorbell rang and returned with a short, wiry man in full military dress, “Colonel Mayflower, this is David Hodges, Archie Johnson, Greg Sanders and Nick Stokes. Gentlemen, Colonel Mayflower of Liberty Towers. Glad you could join us Colonel.”

He saluted her and shook her hand, “Commander, it’s an honour to meet you at last, thank you so much for coming to help us.”

“It’s a pleasure, I’m sure you know how much I love to get out and meet people. Even if it does involve Weevils.” She shrugged and gestured down the hall, “Shall we decant to the dining room? I’ve got us set up for the conference in there, and I hope Captain Harkness will be waiting.”

The Colonel groaned whilst the others looked somewhere between interested and curious, which was a clear indication that he was the only one apart from Jazz who had had any dealing with the garrulous and flirtatious captain. “Will he be dressed?”

“Oh, you’ve met him.” She grinned broadly.

---

Captain Jack Harkness smiled and accepted the cup of coffee gratefully, brushing his fingers gently across the back of his fiancé’s hand as he did so. He arched an eyebrow in happy surprise when Ianto pushed his leg down from where it had been crossed over his knee and curled into his now level lap, wrapping strong arms loosely around his shoulders and tucking his head in against the crook of his neck, “We’re off duty, are we?”

“Yep. I don’t think ‘Commander Donovan’ will complain, do you?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Jack turned his head and kissed Ianto’s temple gently, putting his arms around the younger man and pulling him closer, lacing his fingers together and resting them on Ianto’s hip, “She’ll have sent us, and Gwen, the screen captures by the time we wake up.”

“Hmm, I look forwards to photos of us canoodling being pasted around the Hub for all to see yet again… “ He chuckled, “Which will inevitably happen, especially if I fall asleep here. And I find that I actually do look forwards to it.”

“If you’re tired you can head down and get some sleep, I can handle Jazzy.” Jack stroked his hip, not wanting the younger man to move, but knowing that he really should

“Why would I want to move? I’m warm, comfy and happy; and going nowhere without you.”

“Torchwood 3 are officially off duty I take it?” The screen activated and they were greeted by the sight of a grinning Jasmine holding a remote and adjusting her camera, “Tell me when you’ve got the best view.”

“I can see you babe.” Jack laughed, “That’s good enough for me.”

“Yes, Captain, but there’s another five people in the room with me, and we can all see both of you.”

Ianto stiffened for a minute but relaxed and snuggled further into Jack’s warm embrace, “Yeah, well you can all be jealous then, can’t you?”

“Well at least he’s dressed this time.” The Colonel’s mutter could be heard quite clearly, as could Jack’s answering bellow of laughter as the whole of the team in Vegas came into view.

“Don’t give him ideas.” Ianto muttered into Jack’s chest with a smile, playing gently with his hair, “Commander, good to see you again.”

“Likewise Ianto. How did the rift storm containment go?”

He smiled and nodded, looking more towards the camera so that he could also see the feed from Vegas properly, “Smooth as you like, nothing dangerous. Fairly boring really, but it’s kept us up for a while.”

“God, I’m sorry.” She clearly was, “I won’t keep you long if you’ve had a long one, let’s get on with it then.”

“Not to worry Jay, but you owe us one, OK?” He chuckled, “So what have you got over there?”

She smiled and nodded, “You got it sweetie. What we’ve got is a weevil, first indications were correct.”

Jack whistled and sat up slightly, pulling Ianto up to rest more comfortably against him and giving the younger man chance to slip his arms down further, “That’s… not what you expect to find in Vegas. How long’s it been there?”

“No way of knowing really.” She pointed out, “But it’s killed two people in the last couple of days and none before, so I’m assuming not long.”

Nick glanced at her, “How do you know?”

“We’d have known about it sooner if it had been here longer, trust me.” She turned back to the camera, “Problem is, there’s no way for it to have got here that recently.”

"No rift activity in Vegas then?” Jack asked thoughtfully.

“Nothing since the big kerplooey.”

“I’m sorry, kerplooey?” Ianto chuckled

“Yeah, you know, when you opened the rift and the whole world sort of collopsed.”

“You know Zee, sometimes I haven’t a clue what you’re smoking, but whatever it is I want some.”

“John!” She bolted upwards and grinned in clear delight, “Heya baby, what are you doing in Cardiff?”

“Came across to help out with the storm, and I was getting lonely without you in London.”

“Aww, I miss you too.” She blew him a kiss, “I’ll call you later, yeah?”

“I look forwards to it. Come on.” He prodded Ianto and Jack in turn and gestured vaguely at them, “Bed you two, I’ll deal with this. Ianto’s shattered and won’t go anywhere without you Jack.”

“I’m OK.” The Welshman insisted, “And I’m sure Jay will let me off if I nod off.”

“I might, then again I might get your superior officer to discipline you for your… something. I’m sure neither of you will complain. Can we concentrate on aliens for once?”

“I’m concentrating on an alien.” Ianto’s chuckle was muffled but easy to hear, “But anyway, what’s a Weevil doing in Vegas?”

“Apart from killing people you mean?” Jazz leaned back, “I’ve sent you the files, it would appear that we have a Weevil trapped above the surface. We’ve had two murders in the same area of town, the first one shortly after the sewers were opened for maintenance work. When I looked there were signs that something clawed had tried to get through the grate.”

“Might it have found its way back down there?” Jack asked

“Possibly, but we’ve no way of knowing really.” She sighed, “We’ve just got to wait for more evidence.”

“More murders?” Greg asked and groaned when she nodded heavily, “I hate it when that happens.”

“Me too.” She shrugged, “I’ll have a poke around down there when I come off shift tomorrow, but I doubt I’ll find anything.”

“We’ll be ready to come over if you need us.” Jack offered, “And we’ll have a look to see if any of our Weevils has gone missing.”

“Thanks Jack, and I’ll pull some strings for you. Mind you, I suspect I’m probably the only string that needs pulling anyway.”

“Thanks doll, keep us posted?”

“Always, thank you Jack.”

“Anytime, but preferably not this late at night again.”

She laughed and terminated the connection, turning to the team gathered around her again, “So anyone got any questions?”

“Yeah, what the hell is going on, I’m missing something here?”

“And what’s wrong with Captain Harkness, he didn’t flirt with any of us, not once!”

Jazz laughed brightly, “The second one’s easy, he’s totally loved up and adorably cute about Ianto. And very tired, I don’t think they’ve slept in about 36, maybe 48 hours or even more.” She puffed out her cheeks, “And as for the first one… Weevils are native to we’re not sure where, but relatively native to Cardiff by now. We get them all the time over there, that’s why it’s Jack’s team standing by to respond, not one of yours Colonel. You don’t have the same experience that they do. As for what it’s doing in Vegas; that remains a mystery. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing much we can do until we locate it and I can contain it and return it to Cardiff, where it should hopefully become less violent.”

“So what do you want us to do?” Archie asked

“Monitor, the usual. Keep your eyes peeled for all the usual suspects, plus reports of youths in Halloween masks, things like that. They get a lot of them in Cardiff, despite the number of times Weevils have been seen, people are always prepared to believe it’s teenagers.”

“I’ll pass the report down the chain, you’ve got my number right?” The Colonel stood up and offered her his hand, “Anything you need, we’ll provide. It’s truly an honour to have you back in the country Commander.”

“Like I said, it’s a pleasure to be back, pass on my love to Lou.” She grinned, “Sorry, General Colton.”

“I will do so. Gentlemen.” He saluted casually and left them to it.

Archie and Hodges stood too, “Want a lift Arch?”

“Thanks mate, see you two tomorrow.” They waved and also disappeared, leaving the two CSIs alone with Jasmine.

She looked them over fondly and smiled, “If you two want to crash here you’re welcome to. It’s a safe house, there’s plenty of room and clean clothes and stuff, and you look bushed.”

Nick considered it, he could either go back alone to his empty flat and bed and know that Greg was doing the same, or stay here and have a perfectly valid excuse for doing so. And yes, there were enough rooms for them both, but why make work when they could just share? “I think I’ll take you up on the offer Jay.”

“Me too.” Greg agreed, “I wouldn’t like to try driving like this. Besides, my car’s at the crime lab.”

“And when you go in you can say that you crashed at mine.” She grinned, “I’ll make you a room up.”

As she breezed out of the room their eyes met and they smiled, “Takes some of the fun out of sneaking in together when she’s trying to persuade us into it.”

Greg chuckled and leaned across hesitantly, smiling when the Texan met him halfway, “Still looking forwards to it. I quite like alien hunting so far.”

“It certainly has its perks.” Nick kissed him again and pulled back, lacing their fingers together evidently deep in thought, “So does living in the UK apparently.”

“Ah, you were thinking the same as me. They looked happy.”

Jasmine cleared her throat from the doorway and smiled at them, her arms wrapped around a cushion, “They are happy, really happy. It’s adorable.”

“Are you always this mushy?” Nick asked, highly amused

She shrugged, “I don’t know, I’m a woman so I mood swing all over the place, but probably.” The cushion was hugged tighter and she grimaced, “And yeah, I’m particularly bad at the moment. Give me half an hour and I’ll be right as rain.”

“You flash on and off like that?” She nodded sadly at Nick’s question but said nothing, “My youngest sister was like that, my eldest sister was a constant moody cow, but that didn’t change when she was off, so we didn’t really notice.”

She laughed at that and beckoned them through to the living room, “Want a drink?”

“One maybe.” Nick smiled across at her, “Then we should turn in.”

She passed them their drinks and settled into an armchair, dropping the cushion on the floor as she did so, “Welcome to the family then guys. Here’s to friendship, aliens and saving the world.”