MISS COOPER

Chapter 2: Hostage Protocol 4

Disclaimer: Again, I own nothing. Just the Gelbin. Ooh, and the device Ianto has in his pocket; any name suggestions for that?

Author's note: I'm aiming to write at least four more chapters of this...does that meet with approval? THANK YOU to everyone who continues to read and review and have put this on their Story Alert...thing. Let me know what you think of this chapter; it's slightly shorter than the last one and perhaps not as good as the others, but I'll let you be the judge of that, shall I ?

It took only a moment for Jack to recover from the surprise of seeing two members of his team standing there pointing guns at him. Unfortunately, it was not a situation that he was new to. He'd been mutinied against before, though something about the looks on Gwen and Toshiko's faces told him that, this time he wouldn't be able to talk himself out of it. Or kiss himself out of it either, come to think of that.

" Is this the way we're greeting each other now?" he asked calmly, " because, call me old-fashioned but I think I prefer 'hello'"

" Hello, Jack," quipped Gwen, breathlessly, taking a small step towards him, her gun aimed at his forehead. Toshiko copied her.

Jack considered the two women in front of him carefully; Toshiko's hands were shaking so badly she could barely hold her gun straight and her lips were quivering. He had never before seen her look so angry. Beside her, Gwen was standing perfectly poised, watching him like a hawk, as cool and collected as ever, though slightly paler. But then, this was Gwen; she could keep her composure in the face of a rabid Weevil.

Even though he was staring down two gun barrels, looking at Gwen and Toshiko, he couldn't help but feel a surge of fierce pride. When he'd first recruited Toshiko to Torchwood she'd been so quiet and shy that she'd barely spoken to anyone for the first two weeks. During weapons training she'd missed her target, fired a whole in the wall and dropped her gun. In Gwen's first week at Torchwood she accidentally unleashed a sex-addicted alien onto the people of Cardiff; during her weapons training she'd attempted to bring down the roof and had refused to even cock her gun.

Now, the two of them stood side by side, guns loaded, aimed confidently at him; Torchwood's answer to Charlie's Angels. Impressive. Stunning. Terrifying. He had to admit, he felt very slightly intimidated. Slightly. Only one thing could have angered them so much that they'd kicked Owen in the balls, (though, actually Jack could think of several reasons for that) and started waving their guns around the place. They must've found out. Somehow, they'd found out what he'd been doing…

" Alright," he said quietly, stretching out a placatory hand towards them, " why don't you both just calm down and-"

" Don't you dare," hissed Gwen through clenched teeth, "tell me to calm down"

She took a threatening step towards him, her hands gripping her gun tightly.

" If you could die Jack Harkness, I'd have shot you by now," she fumed, looking at him in bitter disgust, " but maybe I'll shoot you anyway- it'd make me feel better."

" Gwen-" began Ianto

" SHUT UP!" shouted Gwen and Toshiko, together, without even looking in his direction. Their shouts echoed around the silent Hub, reverberating off the walls. The tense, resentful atmosphere was almost unbearable as everyone stared at each other uncertainly, waiting to see who would say what. Ianto stood to Jack's left, shifting nervously, cowed into silence. Jack stood with his hands raised slightly, looking bemused, facing Gwen and Toshiko; who both stood with their guns outstretched. Behind them, knelt Owen, who was beginning to recover, looking from Gwen to Toshiko, warily.

" Thank you," said Toshiko, sharply, breathing hard, as if she'd been running. She hoped she sounded a lot braver than she felt; she was no more capable of actually shooting Jack than she was of…break dancing. Yet, as she stared up at Jack, standing stock-still at the foot of the stairs, looking more inconvenienced than threatened, she could not pretend that she didn't feel shocked and betrayed that he had lied to her and Gwen so easily.

She'd been hurt by people before; it was what made her so clinical and independent, but she'd never have expected it from Jack, of all people. How long had she worked for him at Torchwood? How long had she fought by his side, running after Weevils and Cybermen and every other filthy creature that the Rift had thrown at them? How often had her quick thinking and technical genius got them out of peril? Did that mean nothing to him?

" Tell me, Jack," she said coldly, unable to keep the contempt out of her voice, " did you honestly think that we wouldn't find out?

Jack felt his throat tighten. Honestly? No. If he was being completely honest with himself, then he'd known from the very beginning that Toshiko and Gwen would find out eventually. Like Owen had said, they were far from stupid. As soon as he'd written the fake Rift reading the previous morning; the fake Rift reading that would make sure that Gwen and Toshiko were away from the Hub for a few hours, he'd felt a prickle of shame and guilt go through him; he'd known that he wasn't doing the right thing, that he had no right to keep secrets from them. So, why did he carry on, regardless? He wasn't even sure, himself. Perhaps some small part of him felt that he was being…noble; that by lying to them he was protecting them, in a way; the lesser of two evils? But then, maybe it wasn't his place to decide what Gwen and Toshiko needed protecting from.

" I don't know what you're talking about," he lied. Well, it was worth a try.

Gwen spluttered disbelievingly. " The Gelbin!" she shrieked, " where did it come from? It didn't come through the Rift, because it hasn't got any residual Rift energy and there was no Rift activity yesterday!"

She glared at Jack, but his face was strangely impassive. " So, where did it come from, Jack? The pet shop? Order it off e-bay?"

Realisation dawning on him, Jack actually felt his legs weaken with relief. They didn't know what was going on, after all. He'd assumed the worst when he'd seen them standing there waiting for him with their weapons raised, but it wasn't as bad as he originally thought. If all they'd worked out was that the Gelbin hadn't came through the Rift like he'd said, then he didn't have anything to worry about, really; he could easily make something up. If they were this upset now, then God help him when they actually found out the full story-if they ever found out the full story…which they wouldn't, because as soon as they'd sorted out this business with Ty Enfys Nursing Home, then he was going to take them out to dinner to apologise. The only question was; would they need three Retcon pills in their drinks, or four? Ooh, the decision.

Jack relaxed and half-smiled to himself. It didn't look like he'd need to start searching for two new Torchwood members to replace Toshiko and Gwen anytime soon. This time tomorrow, they'd have no recollection of the entire thing.

" What are you smiling at," snapped Gwen, " momentarily distracted by his lack of concern.

Jack smirked at her, " Nothing. You just look really good with a gun. D'I ever tell you that?"

" Piss off."

Lip curling at her feisty retort, Jack nodded slightly, his head barely moving, at Owen; who had unsteadily, though silently risen to his feet behind Gwen and Toshiko's backs. He coughed quietly, catching Ianto's eye, who nodded once and began to fumble for something in his pocket, then turned his attention back to Toshiko and Gwen.

" Jack," interrupted Toshiko, shortly " that alien artifact that you sent Gwen and I to investigate yesterday; that was just to get us out of your way, wasn't it?" she smiled wryly.

Jack did not dare to meet her eyes.

"Don't lie to us, Jack," put in Gwen, reproachfully, " we got its catalogue number off the paperwork Ianto gave us and checked the Vaults." She glanced at Ianto, who for some reason went bright red and stared down at his perfectly polished shoes. Frowning at him, she carried on " you logged that thing in, in 1959."

Jack, however, wasn't listening to her. He was staring at Ianto in poorly disguised shock, his face a picture of annoyance and bewilderment.

" You were supposed to give them the paperwork with the fake catalogue number," he said quietly, accusingly.

Ianto shot an apologetic look at him. He hated the fact that he'd had to disobey Jack, but his conscience wouldn't let him stay quiet. For once, (and he'd actually written today's date in his diary), he'd agreed with Owen; he'd thought that Gwen and Toshiko had a right to know what was going on and so had given them the real documents in the hope that they'd be able to work it out for themselves.

Gwen gaped at Ianto, her eyes widening. Ianto knew? She'd assumed that Owen was in on it, of course but Ianto? Why had Jack told Ianto and not her? She felt a sudden surge of jealousy come over her, that she could not explain.

Ianto looked up at Gwen and Toshiko, defiantly; Toshiko merely looked stunned, but Gwen gazed back at him with puppy-dog eyes, as if he had slapped her; she seemed dangerously close to tears. He felt awful; he really did. He'd been unsure about Jack's motives in keeping Gwen and Toshiko in the dark, but afraid of a confrontation, he'd dutifully kept quiet and followed Jack's orders. Now, Gwen's expression convinced him that he should have followed his first instinct and told her and Toshiko. He groaned, inwardly as his fingers closed around a small, cold, metallic device in his pocket, his thumb feeling for the switch. He wasn't proud of what he was about to do, but really, with a Gelbin running loose in a nursing home, they didn't have time to be standing around pointing guns at each other. Oh, Gwen and Toshiko were going to kill him…

" I must've given them the real documents by accident. Sir," he replied, pointedly. He looked discreetly over at Gwen to see if she'd understood. She had; she looked absolutely dumbfounded. Toshiko, too, looked slightly touched at this, yet even more agitated, if that were possible.

Eyes glistening, Gwen stamped her foot and let out a yelp of frustration.

" Look at us!" she shouted at Jack, throwing her free hand in the air, " look at what you've done to us; we're all betraying each other…and it's YOUR FAULT! I'm going to ask you ONE more time, or I'll shoot you, I swear; where the hell did the Gelbin come from?" she roared, clenching her fist.

The sheer, hopelessness of the situation seemed to overwhelm her, take the fight out of her, and for one split-second she lowered her gun slightly, unable to muster up the energy to fire it. Anything, she'd give anything right now to be back out on the beat with Andy, sitting in a dingy café drinking weak tea chatting about Eastenders, or even taking police statements from some hung-over yob, who'd had too much to drink and had got a bit too animated with his fists. Anything for it just to be normal again, because this; standing here threatening to shoot Jack, being betrayed by him, not being able to stand the sight of him, this was not normal. This was not the Torchwood, not the team, not the man that she so adored. If this was how it was going to be, she'd go back to her old job in blissful ignorance than be part of Torchwood, not believing in what she worked for.

It was in that split-second that Ianto, Owen and Jack chose to act. What happened next, happened so fast that none of them were entirely sure who had acted first. With a feeling of deep foreboding and unease, Ianto had activated the switch of the device that he had been hiding in his pocket, plunging the Hub into complete darkness. The whirring of the computers came to a grinding halt. From out of the momentary silence that ensued came the sounds of scuffles and distinctly female-sounding high-pitched cries of surprise as two Torchwood-issue guns were wrenched from their owner's hands and flung to the floor, backfiring dangerously.

"Hostage Protocol 4; terminated," yelled Jack out of the darkness.

All at once, the lights flickered back on and the computers re-started again. Ianto bent down to retrieve Gwen and Toshiko's fallen weapons, which were both smoking slightly. The sharp whiff of sulphur hung heavily in the air as Jack and Owen fought to control a flailing, swearing Gwen and Toshiko, respectively.

" Calm down, Tosh," bellowed Owen, roughly pinning her arms to her sides as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, " stop it…come on, shush," he panted, as he tried to keep a hold of her. He had caught Jack's nod before; a signal that meant something along the lines of ' I'm-bored-of-this-now-take-their-guns-off-them-and-get-them-to-shut-up.' As soon as Ianto had temporarily cut all power to the Hub (also on Jack's discreet orders), he had walked forward and knocked the oblivious Toshiko's gun out of her hand.

" Get OFF me," she bawled, trying her best to stamp on Owen's feet and elbowing him in the ribs, but his grip was too strong. After a few minutes desperate struggle, Owen felt her weaken and pulled her to him in a crushing half-hug.

Gwen though, was putting up more of a fight; she and Jack were wrestling with each other in a furious, violent tango. He had strode over to her and none too politely relieved her of her weapon, grappling her wrists together so hard that she whimpered out in pain, before she kneed him in the groin; a brief tribute to Toshiko's way of dealing with Owen. Grunting with effort, he blocked several of her punches, (though not before she had managed to land a few) and attempted to lock her hands behind her back.

" I bloody HATE you, you know that?" screeched Gwen, sweating, throwing a body blow to his ribs.

"No you don't," replied Jack, through clenched teeth, his face red, " you just think you do."

Gwen snarled, attempting to head butt him, (after all, he had always told her to use her head). " No, I really do,"

Jack laughed ironically; he was the one who had taught her to fight like this, now here she was using it against him, " Ah ah ah," he chided, as one might say to a toddler, who was doing something they shouldn't, " I'm not having you messing your pretty face up on me, Gwen Cooper,"

With one, final effort, he scooped her up in his arms and threw her over his shoulder, ignoring her beating fists on his back, as Ianto joined him. Together, they held Gwen between them, until she wore herself out and collapsed into outraged sobs on Ianto's shoulder.

Breathing heavily, slightly put out at Gwen's choice of male, Jack put a hand to his nose, which was bleeding pathetically, ran a hand through his hair in distress and gazed round at his team. Barely 20 minutes ago they'd been sitting eating pizza, arguing over Ant and Dec; tonight they were supposed to be going out for a drink. How had it all gone so horribly out of his control? He had no time to muse it over further, though; if ten people had been murdered at a nursing home, with their faces all digested, then he needed to be there-with or without his team.

" Now that you've got that out your system…next time you get bored of paperwork and feel like mutinying, can you let me know, so that I can arrange to have it done around a time when we don't have a crisis on our hands?" he asked sarcastically, trying to regain control of the situation.

He looked over at Ianto, who was stroking Gwen's hair gently, muttering soothingly. He didn't even bother to try to attempt to listen to what he was telling her; they'd subconsciously slipped into their native Welsh tongue. Oddly enough, the sight of the two of them; Ianto comforting Gwen made him feel uncomfortable. Comforting Gwen was something he saw as his job, and his alone. As for embracing Ianto, well, seeing Ianto with anyone else made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Biting down his jealousy he looked at Owen and Toshiko, who were both shooting daggers at him.

" We need to go," he said shortly, "Now."

Not quite believing what she was hearing, Gwen pulled away from Ianto to turn and stare at Jack.

" What?" she said, amazed at his nerve, " Jack, we're not going anywhere until you tell us what the bloody hell's going on. Or did Tosh and I not make that clear enough?"

" Trust me; you did," he assured her "but we don't have time to sit around and have a chat with a cup of tea and our knitting, alright?" he said, taking in her swollen eyes and blotchy face, sure that it wasn't possible for anyone to hate him more than he hated himself right now. He felt utterly rotten; it was his fault that she was this upset. He tried to ignore his conscience, because if he didn't he knew that he'd end up wanting to hold her to him and explain why he'd done what he had, why he'd lied to her and Toshiko. Tell her all about the Gelbin. Say anything that would make things alright between them, but there was a snide voice at the back of his mind that told him that things never would be again. Yet, Gwen wasn't the only person on his team. No matter what he felt for her…and he wasn't even sure what he did feel for her because he refused to allow himself to think about that, refused to accept that his feelings for her were anything more than platonic; he had to stay in control of his emotions, stay in control of his team and stay professional. It was just how things had to be, even if it meant that he came across as being cold-hearted.

" What's going on?" asked Owen, sharply. " What's happened?" He looked from Jack to Ianto and back again.

" Gelbin attack at Ty Enfys Nursing Home. Ten murders. The police have evacuated the place," filled in Ianto, matter-of-factly

" Shit," swore Owen, in horror. He seemed to struggle with himself for a second, and then shrugged at Jack and Ianto, smiling smugly and taking the keys to the SUV from his jeans pocket. " I'll just go and get the Torchwoodmobile then, shall I? Leave you two to sort out these two genteel and fair-tempered young maidens?" He gave Gwen and Toshiko a brief thumbs-up and set off. Cowardly though it was, he was thoroughly glad that he wouldn't have to be the one to cajole Gwen and Toshiko into coming. His groin was still painful.

"Chicken," muttered Ianto, under his breath, looking after his retreating back.

Gwen and Toshiko exchanged dangerous looks, both of them looking as if they'd recently recovered from very bad head colds.

" You said there was only one Gelbin," said Gwen furiously to Ianto, " you said 'trust me we'd have known if there was more than one,' so where did this one come from, Ianto? Did it just appear out of nowhere? Tell us," she implored him, desperately. "Tell us the truth."

Ianto looked into her face and saw how troubled and hurt she was. He did not have the heart to lie to her, or Toshiko anymore. For once, he was going to do what he thought was right, not what he was told to do.

"Ok," he said simply, nodding at her and Toshiko, who both looked surprised, but no less suspicious. Jack, too, looked flabbergasted.

" Ianto," said Jack warningly, " Don't be-"

" Don't be what?" snapped Ianto, surprising even himself, " don't be honest? Lie to your team? Keep aliens as prisoners? Yeah that sounds like Torchwood alright," he said angrily, " Torchwood One."

Jack took a step away from him, all colour draining from his face, mouthing wordlessly.

With difficulty, Ianto retained eye-contact with him, bravely, aware that his remark had been below the belt, but knowing that it was true nevertheless.

His face stormy, Jack gave him a withering look of repressed fury, before turning on his heel and following Owen out of the door, too angry to even say anything.

Gwen and Toshiko recoiled slightly, letting out a breath they hadn't been aware they'd been holding.

"Ianto…" said Toshiko softly, half admiringly, half disbelievingly,

" He'll get over it," he said shakily, smiling uncertainly at her and Gwen. It was common knowledge that Jack loathed Torchwood One and everything it stood for; accusing him of being like Torchwood One was perhaps the greatest insult anyone could ever pay him. Ianto knew that he would not be forgiven in a hurry, but he pushed this thought aside; he had more pressing things to address.

" Yesterday Jack and Owen brought a Gelbin back to the Hub," he began, holding up his hands to Gwen and Toshiko, who looked as if they wanted to say something. " They didn't say where they'd got it or how they had found it; just that I wasn't to tell you two about it," he gave them a sympathetic look before carrying on, " They did say though, that there was another one loose and that I had to keep an eye out for any signs; monitor any emergency service calls, that sort of thing."

" Yeah," said Gwen slowly, " yeah, Jack said they came in pairs but that Gethin," she jerked her thumb at the autopsy room behind her, " was probably separated from his pair by the Rift."

Ianto shook his head sadly, " I'm sorry," he said, shrugging his shoulders helplessly, " he was lying; he knew there was another one close by."

" Big surprise," muttered Toshiko bitterly, " Jack lied to us...imagine that."

" About ten minutes ago the police had a call-out to Ty Enfys Nursing Home with ten suspicious murders," said Ianto heavily, " all the victims had had their faces reduced to powder; digested by some unknown substance."

" Gelbin saliva?" guessed Gwen, remembering that Jack had said it was toxic to humans.

"Probably," agreed Ianto. " Needless to say the police got a bit freaked out and called Torchwood. Bless them."

" So, somehow a Gelbin has got into a Nursing Home and has killed ten of the residents? How?" asked Toshiko, trying hard to repress a shudder.

Ianto raised his eyebrows at the pair of them. " That's what we need to find out. Unless you'd rather stay here?" he suggested, withdrawing their guns from inside his jacket and holding them out to them.

Gwen and Toshiko looked at each other. What choice did they have?

In reply, they both took their guns back from Ianto and began to shrug on their jackets, gathering together any other equipment they might need.

Smiling gratefully at them, Ianto followed suit.

" Thank you, Ianto," said Gwen quietly, as together, all three of them squeezed together on the paving slab of the invisible lift.

Ianto dipped his head in response, taking Gwen's cool hand in his left, and Toshiko's clammier one in his right as the paving slab rose up towards the surface.

Light drizzle began to fall from a grey, miserable sky as they reached the open air and caught sight of the waiting SUV, its engine purring impatiently.

In silence, Gwen, Toshiko and Ianto climbed in the back, slamming the door behind them. In front, Jack was in the driver's seat, unsmiling, gripping the steering wheel harder than was necessary. Owen sat next to him with his arms folded, rigidly staring out of the window.

" We all set?" he asked, moodily, clearly in a foul temper as he watched them settle and put their seatbelts on, in the rear-view mirror, his gaze lingering on Gwen for just a second longer. She ignored him and stared stonily straight in front of her.

With a screech of the tyres, and the smell of burning rubber, the SUV pulled out into the road and set off a great speed, like a particularly irate bat from an especially fiery Hell.

Back                         Home                              Doctor Who Main Page                          Next

Your Name or Alias:      Your E-mail (optional):

Please type your review below. Only positive reviews and constructive criticism will be posted.