Dark Star: Chapter 2
Jun. 14th, 2010 11:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
galadriel1010Title: Dark Star
Chapter Title: Chapter 2
Challenge/Fest: CaseStory Big Bang
Rating: T
Dedication: Thanks to my wonderful artists, to everyone who's heard me rattle on about this, and to my brother for beta-ing.
Fandoms: Torchwood and Sherlock (BBC)
Summary: When Torchwood encounters an everyday case with far from everyday suspects, they need help they can trust. Fortunately, Ianto had an extraordinary flat mate when he was at university.
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, OCs. Jack/Ianto, mentions of Gwen/Rhys and Gwen/Owen
Contains:
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its environs, occurrences and persons belong to the BBC. The original characters have disowned me.
Jack wove the SUV through the complicated one-way system between the terraces, waiting for the comms. system to connect him to his team members back at the Hub. “Tosh,” he called once it connected. “Is Ianto in yet?”
“Good morning, Sir,” an amused Welsh voice answered, brightening Jack's fraught expression. “I am awake, upright and standing by the coffee machine, and I'd like to register my disapproval of this fact.”
Jack laughed. “Take a note, Mr Jones; you're the one in charge of such things. You can make a note that I'm to make it up to you later as well, if you like.”
“Most magnanimous, Sir. Now, did you want me for something, or did you just want to spoil my morning by getting me out of bed?”
“I know I have a reputation for harshness, but I'm not that cruel. I'm on my way back to the Hub. The Dark Star case looks like it's going to be complicated.” He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and nodded to himself. “I'm going to have to ask you to stay late tonight, after the others have gone.”
“Of course. Should I have breakfast ready for your return, and should I be worried at the disappearance of Gwen and Owen?”
“They're on guard duty. I don't want the scene getting any more contaminated than it already is, and I don't want anyone getting in there who shouldn't be.” He pulled away from a red light and turned onto Lloyd George Avenue, heading down the home straight towards the Bay. “I'm five minutes from the Hub.”
“I know, Sir,” Ianto told him in tones of rebuke. “I'll call the bakery and have them prepare our order, if you could collect it on your way in that would be a great help.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
“Jack...” Ianto managed to sound simultaneously disapproving and amused. “I need to go and make that phone call.”
“Alright, I should be back about five minutes after I leave the bakery. See you shortly.”
“Bye, Jack.”
He smiled to himself as he pulled into the car park under the Millennium Centre and parked in the SUV's reserved space against the back wall. The lift from the car park to the foyer was empty, and the cold weather had driven most people away from the Plass as well. A few hardy souls were braving the bracing winds and brief flurries of rain, but they kept their heads down and ignored him, even when he waved at the CCTV camera on top of the water tower.
Ianto was waiting for him by the cog door when he arrived, barely five minutes later. He took the box of pastries from him and helped him out of his coat, then folded it over his arm and retrieved the box from where Jack was reaching for it again. “I'll get these set out, sir,” he reproached him. “And I'll bring the coffee up to the boardroom as well.”
Jack sighed and reached out for his coat. “You do that, I'll get this put away. Conservation of energy.”
“I think the theory you're referring to is that of comparative advantage,” Ianto corrected him over his shoulder. “Conservation of energy is merely performing actions in the most economic order or manner.”
Jack rolled his eyes and took the coat to his office, taking the opportunity to drop his gun into his desk drawer rather than carry it around the Hub. The mug he'd left on his desk when he went out was gone, and the pile of paperwork was both tidier and higher. He sighed at it and retreated to the boardroom, where Tosh was calibrating one of the scanners. “New toy, Toshiko?”
“Old toy, new idea,” she corrected, sparing him a smile. “I think this should be able to create a 3D recording of the room. Well, what it scans, anyway. So lifesigns, temperature variations, background radiation and Rift and temporal energy.”
He nodded and sat down next to her, watching her eyes flicking between the scanner and the laptop it was hooked up to. “What do you know about crime scene analysis?”
“I've watched CSI.” She shrugged and sat back. Her glasses hung from her fingers and she tapped them against the table when the door opened to let Ianto in. “It's definitely a crime scene, then?”
“He was murdered,” he confirmed. Ianto set the tray down and squeezed Jack's shoulder before he assumed the seat next to him. “Blunt force trauma to the back of the head from a glass bottle. I couldn't tell whether anything had been taken, but the bar seemed to be intact.”
Tosh rested her chin on her fingers and gazed at the reflections in the glass wall. “So we have to muddle by and possibly get it wrong, or we have to ask for Cathy's help.”
Jack sighed his agreement, but Ianto was looking thoughtful. He set his mug down and leaned back in his chair. “We could hire a private detective.”
“They're all hacks,” Jack scoffed, reaching for a pastry. “It guarantees secrecy, but also guarantees not getting the truth.”
“Not this one.” He met Jack's eyes earnestly. “He's the best, gets hired by Scotland Yard when they need a fresh pair of eyes.”
He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, watching Ianto curiously. “How do you know about him?”
“We went to university together.” He shrugged it off. “I've kept an eye on him since I dropped out. His name comes up in strange places.”
Jack considered him for a while, then nodded curtly. “Bring him in. He's based in London?”
“Yep. He's got a practice on Baker Street.”
“Get him in a taxi over here now. You have about three hours to prepare me a security dossier on him.” He turned to Tosh and gesture to the scanner. “Toshiko, as soon as that's ready I want you to go out to the Dark Star and do the scans. Do every room, and get Gwen to talk to the neighbours. Someone must have seen something, although they might not want to acknowledge it.” He stood up and gestured with the pastry. “I need to talk to some people. Ianto, let me know when he sets off and when you have that dossier ready.”
He left the boardroom and headed back to his office, but Ianto called from the doorway, “Sir?”
“Yes, Ianto?” He turned and waited.
Ianto smiled and nodded. “Be careful.”
Jack smiled and relaxed some of the tension in his shoulders. “Always am, Ianto. Thanks.”
Next chapter
Chapter Title: Chapter 2
Challenge/Fest: CaseStory Big Bang
Rating: T
Dedication: Thanks to my wonderful artists, to everyone who's heard me rattle on about this, and to my brother for beta-ing.
Fandoms: Torchwood and Sherlock (BBC)
Summary: When Torchwood encounters an everyday case with far from everyday suspects, they need help they can trust. Fortunately, Ianto had an extraordinary flat mate when he was at university.
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, OCs. Jack/Ianto, mentions of Gwen/Rhys and Gwen/Owen
Contains:
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its environs, occurrences and persons belong to the BBC. The original characters have disowned me.
Jack wove the SUV through the complicated one-way system between the terraces, waiting for the comms. system to connect him to his team members back at the Hub. “Tosh,” he called once it connected. “Is Ianto in yet?”
“Good morning, Sir,” an amused Welsh voice answered, brightening Jack's fraught expression. “I am awake, upright and standing by the coffee machine, and I'd like to register my disapproval of this fact.”
Jack laughed. “Take a note, Mr Jones; you're the one in charge of such things. You can make a note that I'm to make it up to you later as well, if you like.”
“Most magnanimous, Sir. Now, did you want me for something, or did you just want to spoil my morning by getting me out of bed?”
“I know I have a reputation for harshness, but I'm not that cruel. I'm on my way back to the Hub. The Dark Star case looks like it's going to be complicated.” He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and nodded to himself. “I'm going to have to ask you to stay late tonight, after the others have gone.”
“Of course. Should I have breakfast ready for your return, and should I be worried at the disappearance of Gwen and Owen?”
“They're on guard duty. I don't want the scene getting any more contaminated than it already is, and I don't want anyone getting in there who shouldn't be.” He pulled away from a red light and turned onto Lloyd George Avenue, heading down the home straight towards the Bay. “I'm five minutes from the Hub.”
“I know, Sir,” Ianto told him in tones of rebuke. “I'll call the bakery and have them prepare our order, if you could collect it on your way in that would be a great help.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
“Jack...” Ianto managed to sound simultaneously disapproving and amused. “I need to go and make that phone call.”
“Alright, I should be back about five minutes after I leave the bakery. See you shortly.”
“Bye, Jack.”
He smiled to himself as he pulled into the car park under the Millennium Centre and parked in the SUV's reserved space against the back wall. The lift from the car park to the foyer was empty, and the cold weather had driven most people away from the Plass as well. A few hardy souls were braving the bracing winds and brief flurries of rain, but they kept their heads down and ignored him, even when he waved at the CCTV camera on top of the water tower.
Ianto was waiting for him by the cog door when he arrived, barely five minutes later. He took the box of pastries from him and helped him out of his coat, then folded it over his arm and retrieved the box from where Jack was reaching for it again. “I'll get these set out, sir,” he reproached him. “And I'll bring the coffee up to the boardroom as well.”
Jack sighed and reached out for his coat. “You do that, I'll get this put away. Conservation of energy.”
“I think the theory you're referring to is that of comparative advantage,” Ianto corrected him over his shoulder. “Conservation of energy is merely performing actions in the most economic order or manner.”
Jack rolled his eyes and took the coat to his office, taking the opportunity to drop his gun into his desk drawer rather than carry it around the Hub. The mug he'd left on his desk when he went out was gone, and the pile of paperwork was both tidier and higher. He sighed at it and retreated to the boardroom, where Tosh was calibrating one of the scanners. “New toy, Toshiko?”
“Old toy, new idea,” she corrected, sparing him a smile. “I think this should be able to create a 3D recording of the room. Well, what it scans, anyway. So lifesigns, temperature variations, background radiation and Rift and temporal energy.”
He nodded and sat down next to her, watching her eyes flicking between the scanner and the laptop it was hooked up to. “What do you know about crime scene analysis?”
“I've watched CSI.” She shrugged and sat back. Her glasses hung from her fingers and she tapped them against the table when the door opened to let Ianto in. “It's definitely a crime scene, then?”
“He was murdered,” he confirmed. Ianto set the tray down and squeezed Jack's shoulder before he assumed the seat next to him. “Blunt force trauma to the back of the head from a glass bottle. I couldn't tell whether anything had been taken, but the bar seemed to be intact.”
Tosh rested her chin on her fingers and gazed at the reflections in the glass wall. “So we have to muddle by and possibly get it wrong, or we have to ask for Cathy's help.”
Jack sighed his agreement, but Ianto was looking thoughtful. He set his mug down and leaned back in his chair. “We could hire a private detective.”
“They're all hacks,” Jack scoffed, reaching for a pastry. “It guarantees secrecy, but also guarantees not getting the truth.”
“Not this one.” He met Jack's eyes earnestly. “He's the best, gets hired by Scotland Yard when they need a fresh pair of eyes.”
He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, watching Ianto curiously. “How do you know about him?”
“We went to university together.” He shrugged it off. “I've kept an eye on him since I dropped out. His name comes up in strange places.”
Jack considered him for a while, then nodded curtly. “Bring him in. He's based in London?”
“Yep. He's got a practice on Baker Street.”
“Get him in a taxi over here now. You have about three hours to prepare me a security dossier on him.” He turned to Tosh and gesture to the scanner. “Toshiko, as soon as that's ready I want you to go out to the Dark Star and do the scans. Do every room, and get Gwen to talk to the neighbours. Someone must have seen something, although they might not want to acknowledge it.” He stood up and gestured with the pastry. “I need to talk to some people. Ianto, let me know when he sets off and when you have that dossier ready.”
He left the boardroom and headed back to his office, but Ianto called from the doorway, “Sir?”
“Yes, Ianto?” He turned and waited.
Ianto smiled and nodded. “Be careful.”
Jack smiled and relaxed some of the tension in his shoulders. “Always am, Ianto. Thanks.”
Next chapter
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Date: 2011-06-25 03:23 pm (UTC)