Fic: The Spaces In Between - Part five.

[silver_sun]

Part four.

Part five.


The spaceport's supply depot is a walled-off compound amongst the warehouses and goods yards that cluster around the the northern edge of the spaceport.

“How do you know so much about this place?” Ianto asks quietly, as Jack leads them without hesitation towards a lower section of wall.

“Honestly?” Jack looks around to make sure that they haven't been seen, before crouching down behind a row of refuse bins.

Ianto gives him a despairing look that seems to say 'why else would I be bothering' as he joins him.

“I was planning on robbing it, okay?” Jack admits. Falling back in to his old ways as a conman had been too easy. It hadn't been all that high on his list of things to do to get by, but it had been one of them never the less. What he hadn't planned on was having company.

“You're a thief?” Ianto stares at him, surprised, and not a little disappointed.

“I'm not a nice guy, remember, I get people killed,” Jack says darkly, the guilt of everything that he's done returning with a vengeance. He's suddenly very aware that he hasn't got a plan beyond 'get inside and deal with whatever happens as it happens.' And that went so well last time, he thinks bitterly. No, he decides, he can't drag Ianto in to this, can't put him in such unnecessary danger. Turning away from Ianto he says, “You should stay here. I work better alone.”

Before Ianto can object, Jack takes the opportunity to scramble over the wall.

As soon as he's down into the compound Jack looks for cover, ducking behind one of the many shipping containers that are stacked along its edge.

Ianto follows a moment later, having climbed on to one of the bin by the wall, before scrambling over with difficulty. Jack grabs his arm as soon as he's over, dragging him behind the cover of the containers. “I thought I told you to wait.”

“They're my friends, Jack, I'm not going to let them down,” he says defiantly. “And stop treating me like I don't understand the danger.”

Realising that he's not going to dissuade Ianto, Jack takes the motel key from his coat pocket, and the Webley from its holster, and hands them to him. “Take these. If anything happens, get back to the room. There's some money there, you should be able to -”

“Don't,” Ianto says, looking unhappy, as he puts the key into his pocket. “Don't tempt fate.” He holds the Webley for a moment then hands it back to Jack, “I'm not a very good shot with my off hand.”

“How's it holding up?” Jack asks, as he notices that Ianto is holding his injured hand against his chest.

“I'm fine,” Ianto replies, still annoyed at him. “Where to now?”

“That building over there.” Jack points to a long, low building on the other side of the compound. “That's where they store lost property, and any illegally owned tech that the Judoon who provide the security for this place confiscate.”

“So we're stealing from them, because you consider what they did was stealing in the first place?” Ianto says, picking up on the emphasis Jack had put on 'illegally owned.'

“What's with all the questions?” Jack asks, a little distractedly, as he watches a pair of Judoon, their visors up, and guns in their hands, patrol the area in a slow circuit of the compound.

“I want to know what to say in my defence when we get caught,” Ianto says watching as the Judoon turn the corner, and are lost amongst the maze of crates and containers.

“I wouldn't worry about that, they tend to shoot first and never ask questions later.”

Ianto gives Jack an irritated look. “If you're trying to scare me, it won't work,”

“I wasn't.”

They watch the Judoon walk past twice more, making sure they know how long they'll have to reach the next row of containers before they return.

As the patrol leave for a third time, Jack nods to Ianto and they break into a crouching run, keeping low, not stopping until they reach the next source of cover.

They repeat this twice more, until they are hidden behind a pile of crates stacked against the warehouse wall, only a few feet away from the door.

The door is secured with a large padlock.

Ianto gives Jack a faintly disbelieving look, before saying quietly, “I thought it would be, well more, alien.”

“You mean hi-tech,” Jack says, amused. “A lot of places out here use the simplest devices they can. You can't hack it, can't short circuit it, and unless you blow the whole thing up you need to get right next to it to be able to do anything.”

“So how are we going to get in?”

“Universal key.” Jack gets what looks like a small stick of pink putty out of his coat pocket. “Stick it in, give it a wiggle and.. you're laughing at me.”

“No.” Ianto stifles another laugh. “Okay, maybe I am, but you're making it sound like a sex toy.”

“I am?”

“Yes.” The tone of Ianto's voice suggests that he doesn't mind, and perhaps even welcomes the humour as a distraction to their current tense situation.

“You keep watch, and tell me if they come back,” Jack says, then moves cautiously towards the door.

Forming the putty into the rough shape and size of a key that will fit, Jack keeps glancing round to make sure that no one has got past Ianto. He feels exposed standing in the open, but there's nothing else for it.

“Jack,” Ianto says, warningly.

“I've nearly got it.” Pressing the putty key blank into the lock, Jack waits a few seconds for it to harden.

“They're coming back,” Ianto whispers urgently. “You've got about half a minute.”

A moment later the lock springs open. Leaving the lock hooked over the catch, so that it still appears to fastened to anybody walking past, Jack opens the door into the warehouse, and they both slip inside.

The building is dimly lit, the contents stacked onto shelves in no discernible order.

Looking around, trying to work out the best place to start their search, Ianto says, “And I thought that Torchwood's filing system was bad.”

On closer inspection the shelves are actually labelled, but only in the date order that the objects on them were acquired.

After fifteen minutes of fruitless searching, Ianto turns to Jack and says, “This is going to take all night. I think we should split up.”

Although he’s not keen on the idea, as splitting up means twice the risk of being caught in his experience, Jack knows that they can’t afford to waste time, and that with two of them searching they can cover twice the amount of space. “All right, but you hear anything and you hide.”

After another half an hour of finding any number of objects that would make him a modest amount of money were he to take them and sell them, Jack is beginning to wonder if he's wrong in his guess that there would be something here that they can use. He's just about to start on another row of shelves when Ianto walks back over to him.

“Have a look at this,” Ianto says, holding up a damaged vortex manipulator for him to see. “Do you think it’s repairable?”

“I’ve not seen one of those in years,” Jack says enthusiastically, taking it from him. “It's an old A class, the original model, issued to the first Time Agents. This thing should be in a museum. Well a few centuries time anyway.”

The main display screen and part of the strap have been sliced through, the staining on the leather suggests that it probably had been attached to the unfortunate Time Agent at the time.

“The spatial circuits should be here.” Jack points to the undamaged part. “That side-” he points to the damaged area. “Would have had the temporal controls.”

“Do you think it still works?” Ianto asks hopefully.

“Only one way to find out.” Jack presses the switch to turn it on. The screen stays blank, although given the level of damage, it’s not exactly surprising. Although it’s a little disappointing that between the three vortex manipulators they now have none of them will allow them to time travel.

“Then I think we should go.” Ianto looks up to where the early morning sunlight is starting to filter through the windows high in the warehouse walls.

“Yeah.” Jack nods. There might be other things that they could use, but the risk of staying longer to find them isn't worth it.

Reaching the door, Jack listens at it for a moment, before opening it slightly, peering round to make sure that there’s nobody outside. He has to duck back almost immediately as the guards walk past.

Removing the universal key, Jack puts the padlock back in place.

The compound seems even more exposed in the light, and they hurry from the cover of one set of containers to another.

They've almost reached the edge of the compound when a siren sounds.

Ianto looks at Jack. “I don't suppose they're just testing their fire alarm, are they?”

“It could be, but when are we ever that lucky?” Jack asks with a grin. “How you feel about running?”

“That it would be a very good idea right now.”

Running through deserted streets, down alleyways and through abandoned buildings, Jack makes their route as directionless as he can. He'll only head back to the motel once he's sure that they aren't being followed.

Half an hour later, and a good way across the city away from the spaceport, they stop in an alleyway to catch their breath.

Jack leans back against the wall, breathless and elated at their success.

Leaning against the opposite wall, Ianto gives him a tired, but pleased smile. “That was insane.”

“Fun though,” Jack replies, realising that, despite his misgivings about dragging Ianto into what could have been a complete mess had they been caught, he's actually having more fun than he has had in a long time.

“You're mad,” Ianto says, laughing, sounding almost carefree for the first time since they met. Ianto's face is flushed and he's breathing hard, his shirt soaked through and clinging to him, damp hair curling and sticking to his forehead, as he looks at Jack.

Before Jack can think about what he's doing, he is leaning forward pressing a kiss to Ianto's lips, relieved when he feels Ianto's hands rest against his chest and not push him away.

The kiss isn't returned, though, and Jack pulls back to find Ianto looking at him with sorrowful eyes.

Ianto smiles sadly at him. "I'm not the man you want."

Just a few simple words, but they hurt more than if Ianto had pushed him away, and for a moment Jack can't turn away, caught in the sad blue gaze.

“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that” Jack doesn't even try to hide the hurt in his voice. He turns away. The sense of fun and excitement he'd felt just moments before is gone, replaced by grief that feels as fresh and raw as in the immediate aftermath of the 456. “Come on, we should be getting back.”

The walk back to the motel is filled with awkward silence that neither of them is sure how to break.


* * *


“So this is it then?” Ianto says, looking at the repaired vortex manipulator. The parts from stolen vortex manipulator having eventually been been made to work.

“Yeah,” Jack says a little half-heartedly, knowing that Ianto is going to leave. “Will you come back to….here?” Jack just manages to stop himself from saying ‘to me.’

“Of course,” Ianto replies, sounding a little surprised that Jack could think that he wouldn’t. “Owen and Tosh will want to see you, and you’re our best chance of understanding this world, and of working for Torchwood again.”

“How long will it take?” Jack asks, helping Ianto put on the power cell rig, knowing that any amount of time is going to feel too long.

“I don’t know.” Ianto looks down, more focused on the fastenings than is necessary. “If there’s enough power left in the system three or four hours, maybe a little more, to recharge the cells.”

“And if there’s not?” Jack asks, a sense of foreboding setting in.

“I think you already know the answer to that,” Ianto replies quietly, still not looking at him.

“So you could be going to your death?”

“Maybe. But if I stay here and do nothing they will die,” Ianto says, as he buckles the vortex manipulator about his wrist. “Why does this matter so much to you anyway? You barely know me.”

“Because I don't want to lose you again.”

“I'm not him!”

“Ianto-”

“No, Jack, you don’t get a say in this.” Ianto moves away from him.

“At least let me go with you.”

“You can’t,” Ianto says exasperated. “Just do the math. Two teleports in and four out, as opposed to one in and three out. I know there's not enough power left for that. You'd be killing us all.”

“I could use the device, the one your Jack used,” Jack offers, desperate for any solution where he doesn't feel so powerless to help. “I wouldn’t be using it for long, it’d be safe.”

“No. I know you're trying to help, but this is something that I have to do.” Ianto opens the cover on the vortex manipulator, ready to start inputting the coordinates.

“Wait, at least have a drink before you go. Manipulator travel is pretty dehydrating,” Jack says, trying to stall Ianto just a little longer, a plan forming in his mind. It's not the sort of plan that he wants to think too closely about his motivations in doing it. He knows that saving this Ianto, Owen and Tosh can't make up for his own passed failures, or for any of the other things that he's done.

Walking over to the table, Jack picks up one of the cartons of juice they'd been drinking while working on the manipulator. Making sure that he keeps his back to Ianto, he takes the sleeping draft from his coat pocket, and adds a little to the bottom of a glass before filling it with the juice.

"You're not going to try and talk me out of it again?" Ianto accepts the glass.

"I should know better than that." Jack smiles sadly. "Well, if you're anywhere near as stubborn as the man I knew, it'll be a waste of time."

"Thank you.” Ianto puts a hand on Jack's arm. He smiles slightly, then says, “I do appreciate all that you've done for me, and I meant what I said yesterday, about us needing to talk when I get back.”

"Yeah." Jack wonders if that's going to be a possibility. Given what he's just done, Ianto may well decide never to trust or talk to him again.

Putting the glass down, Ianto blinks. Looking confused he rubs his eyes, then as he realises what Jack has done he takes a couple of stumbling steps towards him.

Jack catches him as he falls forward.

"Bastard," Ianto slurs into Jack's chest as he falls asleep where he stands.

Picking Ianto up, Jack lays him on the bed, knowing that the small amount of the sleeping drug that's he's given him will only work for an hour or so at most.

Removing the power cell rig from Ianto, Jack puts it on, then does the same with the vortex manipulator.

Leaving without a word doesn't seem right after what he has just done, especially as he doesn't want Ianto to think that he's stolen the vortex manipulator. Something that wouldn't be a totally unreasonable assumption based on the fact that he has admitted to being thief.

Looking round, Jack finds Ianto's diary, and pen. Sitting down at the table he writes Ianto a note.

Ianto,

I know you're going to be pissed with me, and not just for taking a page out of your diary to write this on. And you've got every right to be, I know that, but if you're angry that means you're still alive, and you being alive is always going to be worth it to me.

There's enough money on the card for you to get back to Earth if you still want to go, and to give you something to live on while you get settled. There are contact numbers for Gwen and Martha on the mobile that's in the drawer, if you want to talk to them or rejoin Torchwood. It won't work from here, so you'll have to wait until you get to Earth to call them.

I've paid for this room for another week. If I'm not back by then – well you get the picture.

You deserve a chance at life, so take it.

Jack.


Leaving the note, the card, and his mobile on the bedside table, Jack takes one last look around the room. Then, hoping that he's not about to materialise in to the vacuum of space, Jack enters the coordinates into the vortex manipulator, and disappears.

Part six.