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fandomweekly2019-11-03 09:33 pm
m_findlow) wrote in fandomweekly2019-11-03 09:33 pm
Entry tags:
[#030] THE FINAL PUSH (TORCHWOOD)
Theme Prompt: #030 - Moment of truth
Title: The final push
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: M / Spoilers for Big Finish audioplay Broken
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: All of Ianto's hard work is about to pay off, but could a last minute appearance by someone unexpected be about to ruin it all?
Ianto sipped at the pint of lager in front of him, still cool and fresh, having been poured only a few minutes ago. He knew he should probably stop drinking at this point or at least slow down, but he suspected he'd already had a few too many and his ability to make smart decisions was deteriorating by the second.
He'd done it. He finally convinced Mandy to reveal whatever it was she had hidden up her sleeve. He knew his hunch had been right from the offset. This pub and the barmaid who ran it had something to do with all the people who were going missing in the area.
Maybe it was alien and maybe it wasn't. Maybe Mandy was just some crazy serial killer and he was about to walk right into her little honey trap. It wasn't all a trap of course. He'd come here willingly, knowing full well what he was getting into, and had even gone out of his way to put himself right in the thick of it. That's what real Torchwood operatives did, he decided. They didn't wait for an engraved invitation. They got an inkling, or intuition, or whatever you wanted to call it, and they followed it wherever it lead. At least, that was his experience of his fellow coworkers. It didn't necessarily mean Jack approved of it, but neither did he discourage his team from following their instincts.
This had been weeks of work, probably close to three months now, coming here each night. Sometimes it was hard work - he was tired after a long day and even the prospect of slumping at the bar with a pint wasn't that appealing. Other times, he almost looked forward to it. Though he was undercover and working on getting Mandy to drop little hints that she knew something about all these missing people, there was a part of him that was starting to enjoy having someone there to listen to all his problems. It had started off mostly as an act, but the longer their acquaintance dragged on, the more Ianto found himself pouring his own reality into their conversation. Some of Mandy's advice was actually helpful, and sometimes it was just nice to have someone to offload on. God knew his head was stuffed full of things he couldn't talk to anyone else about - not his teammates, and most definitely not Jack. Mandy was more like the wayward stranger that didn't know him and therefore couldn't pass judgment on what he'd done, or hadn't done, as the case might be. If anything, they'd struck up a friendship of sorts: one where Ianto told Mandy all his problems and she gave him advice. Considering he barely said two words all day at work, he managed to do most of the talking once he had a pint in him. He'd been called out on it more than once, always managing to turn their conversation back around so that it focused on him and his problems. Then again, wasn't that the point? He was pitching himself as a down and out - just like the ones that had gone missing - just the kind that a barmaid who was up to more than serving drinks might target as her next victim.
Some nights he came here and nursed one pint all night long as they talked and watched the regular crowd drift in and out. Other nights it was one drink after the other until he was almost certain he wouldn't be able to walk home. He'd have a hangover in the morning, but he'd brick it. The alcohol loosened him up and made talking with Mandy easier. He wasn't worried about spilling too many beans. After all, the whole reason he was here was because he was on the job, determined to crack the case on his own, because what else did he have to do with the hours in between cleaning up the hub, answering the phone and making coffee for the team?
Tonight had been different though. Tonight, between the string of drinks set in front of him and his own jumble of emotions, spilling them out across the bar, he'd finally reached a tipping point. Mandy could see just how much he was hurting on the inside - how much he needed to escape his life - and she had something she wanted him to stay back after closing hours to see. He knew it. He'd known it from the start. She was involved, and now he'd finally worked his way into the inner circle of desperados willing to do anything to make their pain go away. Even though he was getting drunker by the minute tonight was the night he brought then whole thing to a head. No more people were going missing from now on. Whatever it was that Mandy was doing, he was going to shut it down.
He sipped the lager, telling himself to stop and sober the hell up. He probably had less than an hour before closing time. He needed to have his wits about him now. He had no idea what he was about to come face to face with. It could literally be anything. This was the moment when all his weeks of hard work were finally about to pay off.
The door of the pub went crashing open, turning the heads of every patron in the bar, even those fixated on the screens of the three sad poker machines tucked in the far corner.
'Hello ladies and gentlemen!' came a familiar American accent. Ianto turned and saw the tall grey-coated man and their eyes locked across the narrow space between the front door and the main bar. 'And... Ianto?'
Oh Jesus, Ianto thought. Of all the bloody nights for Jack to come bungling into something! Did he fess up, or did he try and convince Jack there was nothing to see here? Whatever he did, he knew he was going to need another drink.
Title: The final push
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: M / Spoilers for Big Finish audioplay Broken
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: All of Ianto's hard work is about to pay off, but could a last minute appearance by someone unexpected be about to ruin it all?
Ianto sipped at the pint of lager in front of him, still cool and fresh, having been poured only a few minutes ago. He knew he should probably stop drinking at this point or at least slow down, but he suspected he'd already had a few too many and his ability to make smart decisions was deteriorating by the second.
He'd done it. He finally convinced Mandy to reveal whatever it was she had hidden up her sleeve. He knew his hunch had been right from the offset. This pub and the barmaid who ran it had something to do with all the people who were going missing in the area.
Maybe it was alien and maybe it wasn't. Maybe Mandy was just some crazy serial killer and he was about to walk right into her little honey trap. It wasn't all a trap of course. He'd come here willingly, knowing full well what he was getting into, and had even gone out of his way to put himself right in the thick of it. That's what real Torchwood operatives did, he decided. They didn't wait for an engraved invitation. They got an inkling, or intuition, or whatever you wanted to call it, and they followed it wherever it lead. At least, that was his experience of his fellow coworkers. It didn't necessarily mean Jack approved of it, but neither did he discourage his team from following their instincts.
This had been weeks of work, probably close to three months now, coming here each night. Sometimes it was hard work - he was tired after a long day and even the prospect of slumping at the bar with a pint wasn't that appealing. Other times, he almost looked forward to it. Though he was undercover and working on getting Mandy to drop little hints that she knew something about all these missing people, there was a part of him that was starting to enjoy having someone there to listen to all his problems. It had started off mostly as an act, but the longer their acquaintance dragged on, the more Ianto found himself pouring his own reality into their conversation. Some of Mandy's advice was actually helpful, and sometimes it was just nice to have someone to offload on. God knew his head was stuffed full of things he couldn't talk to anyone else about - not his teammates, and most definitely not Jack. Mandy was more like the wayward stranger that didn't know him and therefore couldn't pass judgment on what he'd done, or hadn't done, as the case might be. If anything, they'd struck up a friendship of sorts: one where Ianto told Mandy all his problems and she gave him advice. Considering he barely said two words all day at work, he managed to do most of the talking once he had a pint in him. He'd been called out on it more than once, always managing to turn their conversation back around so that it focused on him and his problems. Then again, wasn't that the point? He was pitching himself as a down and out - just like the ones that had gone missing - just the kind that a barmaid who was up to more than serving drinks might target as her next victim.
Some nights he came here and nursed one pint all night long as they talked and watched the regular crowd drift in and out. Other nights it was one drink after the other until he was almost certain he wouldn't be able to walk home. He'd have a hangover in the morning, but he'd brick it. The alcohol loosened him up and made talking with Mandy easier. He wasn't worried about spilling too many beans. After all, the whole reason he was here was because he was on the job, determined to crack the case on his own, because what else did he have to do with the hours in between cleaning up the hub, answering the phone and making coffee for the team?
Tonight had been different though. Tonight, between the string of drinks set in front of him and his own jumble of emotions, spilling them out across the bar, he'd finally reached a tipping point. Mandy could see just how much he was hurting on the inside - how much he needed to escape his life - and she had something she wanted him to stay back after closing hours to see. He knew it. He'd known it from the start. She was involved, and now he'd finally worked his way into the inner circle of desperados willing to do anything to make their pain go away. Even though he was getting drunker by the minute tonight was the night he brought then whole thing to a head. No more people were going missing from now on. Whatever it was that Mandy was doing, he was going to shut it down.
He sipped the lager, telling himself to stop and sober the hell up. He probably had less than an hour before closing time. He needed to have his wits about him now. He had no idea what he was about to come face to face with. It could literally be anything. This was the moment when all his weeks of hard work were finally about to pay off.
The door of the pub went crashing open, turning the heads of every patron in the bar, even those fixated on the screens of the three sad poker machines tucked in the far corner.
'Hello ladies and gentlemen!' came a familiar American accent. Ianto turned and saw the tall grey-coated man and their eyes locked across the narrow space between the front door and the main bar. 'And... Ianto?'
Oh Jesus, Ianto thought. Of all the bloody nights for Jack to come bungling into something! Did he fess up, or did he try and convince Jack there was nothing to see here? Whatever he did, he knew he was going to need another drink.
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