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fandomweekly2025-02-15 06:26 pm
badly_knitted) wrote in fandomweekly2025-02-15 06:26 pm
Entry tags:
[#250] Sneaking Away (Torchwood)
Theme Prompt: #250 – Quick Exit
Title: Sneaking Away
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: No
Word Count: 1000
Summary: Torchwood had nothing to do with the chaos occurring in the shopping centre, but if they’re seen, no one will believe they’re not responsible.
The worst part of the whole thing was that it wasn’t even Torchwood’s fault. They just happened to be there, dealing with a completely unrelated matter, but if anyone were to spot them, there was no doubt in any of the team’s minds that they’d be the ones shouldering the blame for something they hadn’t done, and couldn’t have prevented.
They’d only come to the St David’s shopping centre in the first place to locate and capture something living that had come through the Rift, and the whole team had mobilised simply because they weren’t sure what kind of creature it was, how difficult it might be to round up, and whether or not it might be dangerous in some way.
There’d also been nothing at all happening back at the Hub, everyone had been bored because they’d already caught up on most of their routine work, and the weather was so bad that not even the local Weevil population could be bothered to cause trouble. They were content to keep to the sewers, where it was warmer. When the Rift alarms had sounded, everyone had perked up, grateful for a break in the monotony.
So they’d set out in the SUV, with Ianto driving because he didn’t trust Jack on the icy roads. They’d parked discreetly behind the shopping centre, tucking the SUV behind a large dumpster, where it would be less likely to be noticed, despite the way it stood out against the snow, and with Jack wielding the alien lockpick, they’d slipped inside through a fire exit.
The alien had turned out to be completely harmless, small, tired, bewildered, and happy to be rescued by the nice people. It wasn’t much larger than a half-grown kitten, although it more closely resembled a red panda, only in shades of silver and grey, with six legs, and tufted pinkish ears. It trilled when Tosh picked it up and petted it, after Jack had assured her it wouldn’t bite.
Ianto had nipped from the maintenance corridors into the public part of the shopping centre to get a pet carrier and a few other items for the alien before rejoining the rest of the team, and that was when things started to go a bit wrong.
First, in helping to get the new arrival into the carrier, Jack had somehow managed to drop the alien lockpick, breaking it, which meant they wouldn’t be able to get back out the way they’d come in, since all the doors locked automatically when they shut. That meant the only way out was through the shopping centre itself, and they slipped through the maintenance door, which thankfully hadn’t shut properly because one of Ianto’s purchases, a cat bed, was in the way.
The doorway was tucked out of sight behind some planters and a little indoor water feature, which wasn’t working at present, presumably having been turned off for the winter. Out of sight of the shoppers, the team was busily sorting out who was going to carry what when a commotion began, out in the upper level’s main concourse. Curious, everyone peered out through the foliage, and the reason behind the inactive water feature became clear; one or more pipes had burst, and water was now coming through the ceiling, not just in the concourse, but inside several of the stores as well.
The shoppers weren’t happy about the indoor rainfall, and neither were the store workers, suddenly in the unenviable position of trying to rescue stock that was already getting soaked: clothing, furnishings, books and magazines, electrical equipment… thousands of pounds worth of items were being rendered unsaleable, and it was probably all down to poorly insulated pipes.
“Now what’re we going to do?” Owen hissed. “We can’t let anyone spot us; they’ll think this is our fault! That would be a disaster!”
“Thanks for stating the obvious,” Jack snapped in reply, for once keeping his voice barely above a whisper.
“We can’t stay here much longer,” Ianto added. “There’s going to be a lot of traffic coming and going through the door behind us soon, maintenance crews, cleaning staff, plumbers…”
“Police too,” Gwen added. “They’ll be needed to restore order before the chaos turns into a riot, complete with looting. We need a better hiding place.”
“Like where? Out there getting wet with all the panicking shoppers?” Owen turned to glare at Gwen.
“We don’t have a lot of choice,” Ianto said, trying to forestall the argument that was brewing. They didn’t have time for that. He turned to Jack. “Take off your coat, braces, and holster.” He hurriedly shoved his purchases for the alien into one bag, handing the other to Jack. “Put them in here. You’re too recognisable with them on.”
Surprisingly, Jack didn’t argue, doing as he was told. “Incognito mode engaged!”
Ianto stripped his own coat off, then his suit jacket, which he handed to Jack. “Put that on. Owen, give Tosh your hoodie. I’ll be right back.” Nipping out into the crowds again, Ianto dashed through the falling water to a newsagent that stocked a few souvenir-type items, where he bought several I Love Cardiff baseball caps and a beach umbrella.
Back with the others, he handed the beach umbrella to Owen and Tosh, everyone else got a baseball cap.
“What now?” Gwen asked.
“Now we split up, we’ll mingle with the shoppers, go out through the main entrances and meet up back at the SUV. Tosh, you take our friend and go with Owen. Jack, carry the bag with your coat, I’ll take the other one. Gwen, you take the cat bed.”
“Got it.”
“With any luck, no one will ever know Torchwood was here. Owen, you and Tosh should go first, then Gwen, then Jack. Don’t follow each other, head for different exits if you can.” Ianto handed the SUV’s keys to Owen. “Good luck.”
The following day, the papers were full of news about the disaster at the shopping centre. Torchwood wasn’t even mentioned.
The End
They’d only come to the St David’s shopping centre in the first place to locate and capture something living that had come through the Rift, and the whole team had mobilised simply because they weren’t sure what kind of creature it was, how difficult it might be to round up, and whether or not it might be dangerous in some way.
There’d also been nothing at all happening back at the Hub, everyone had been bored because they’d already caught up on most of their routine work, and the weather was so bad that not even the local Weevil population could be bothered to cause trouble. They were content to keep to the sewers, where it was warmer. When the Rift alarms had sounded, everyone had perked up, grateful for a break in the monotony.
So they’d set out in the SUV, with Ianto driving because he didn’t trust Jack on the icy roads. They’d parked discreetly behind the shopping centre, tucking the SUV behind a large dumpster, where it would be less likely to be noticed, despite the way it stood out against the snow, and with Jack wielding the alien lockpick, they’d slipped inside through a fire exit.
The alien had turned out to be completely harmless, small, tired, bewildered, and happy to be rescued by the nice people. It wasn’t much larger than a half-grown kitten, although it more closely resembled a red panda, only in shades of silver and grey, with six legs, and tufted pinkish ears. It trilled when Tosh picked it up and petted it, after Jack had assured her it wouldn’t bite.
Ianto had nipped from the maintenance corridors into the public part of the shopping centre to get a pet carrier and a few other items for the alien before rejoining the rest of the team, and that was when things started to go a bit wrong.
First, in helping to get the new arrival into the carrier, Jack had somehow managed to drop the alien lockpick, breaking it, which meant they wouldn’t be able to get back out the way they’d come in, since all the doors locked automatically when they shut. That meant the only way out was through the shopping centre itself, and they slipped through the maintenance door, which thankfully hadn’t shut properly because one of Ianto’s purchases, a cat bed, was in the way.
The doorway was tucked out of sight behind some planters and a little indoor water feature, which wasn’t working at present, presumably having been turned off for the winter. Out of sight of the shoppers, the team was busily sorting out who was going to carry what when a commotion began, out in the upper level’s main concourse. Curious, everyone peered out through the foliage, and the reason behind the inactive water feature became clear; one or more pipes had burst, and water was now coming through the ceiling, not just in the concourse, but inside several of the stores as well.
The shoppers weren’t happy about the indoor rainfall, and neither were the store workers, suddenly in the unenviable position of trying to rescue stock that was already getting soaked: clothing, furnishings, books and magazines, electrical equipment… thousands of pounds worth of items were being rendered unsaleable, and it was probably all down to poorly insulated pipes.
“Now what’re we going to do?” Owen hissed. “We can’t let anyone spot us; they’ll think this is our fault! That would be a disaster!”
“Thanks for stating the obvious,” Jack snapped in reply, for once keeping his voice barely above a whisper.
“We can’t stay here much longer,” Ianto added. “There’s going to be a lot of traffic coming and going through the door behind us soon, maintenance crews, cleaning staff, plumbers…”
“Police too,” Gwen added. “They’ll be needed to restore order before the chaos turns into a riot, complete with looting. We need a better hiding place.”
“Like where? Out there getting wet with all the panicking shoppers?” Owen turned to glare at Gwen.
“We don’t have a lot of choice,” Ianto said, trying to forestall the argument that was brewing. They didn’t have time for that. He turned to Jack. “Take off your coat, braces, and holster.” He hurriedly shoved his purchases for the alien into one bag, handing the other to Jack. “Put them in here. You’re too recognisable with them on.”
Surprisingly, Jack didn’t argue, doing as he was told. “Incognito mode engaged!”
Ianto stripped his own coat off, then his suit jacket, which he handed to Jack. “Put that on. Owen, give Tosh your hoodie. I’ll be right back.” Nipping out into the crowds again, Ianto dashed through the falling water to a newsagent that stocked a few souvenir-type items, where he bought several I Love Cardiff baseball caps and a beach umbrella.
Back with the others, he handed the beach umbrella to Owen and Tosh, everyone else got a baseball cap.
“What now?” Gwen asked.
“Now we split up, we’ll mingle with the shoppers, go out through the main entrances and meet up back at the SUV. Tosh, you take our friend and go with Owen. Jack, carry the bag with your coat, I’ll take the other one. Gwen, you take the cat bed.”
“Got it.”
“With any luck, no one will ever know Torchwood was here. Owen, you and Tosh should go first, then Gwen, then Jack. Don’t follow each other, head for different exits if you can.” Ianto handed the SUV’s keys to Owen. “Good luck.”
The following day, the papers were full of news about the disaster at the shopping centre. Torchwood wasn’t even mentioned.
The End
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