Fic: Time Agent 1/5
Title: Time Agent Author: Lopaka Tanu Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood. Characters: Ianto Words: 1500 Prompt: 5 Professions Ianto Never Had Fandom: Torchwood Pairing: None Rating: Mature. Warnings: Language, Character Deaths, Assassin Ianto. Summary: Once triggered, an under cover Time Agent will complete his mission. Author's Note: This assumes there are stairs leading down from the visitor's center in to the hub due to the difference in ground level. Theme Music: Gangster's Paradise - Coolio ______________________________________
It was the final stir that set him off. A twist to the right, followed by half a twist to the left, cross the glass, then a full two twirls around the inner rim of the mug. Watching as the last white clouds of milk merged in to rich mocha, he blinked five times in rapid succession.
Ianto closed his eyes. Rolling his shoulders, he cocked his head to the side until he heard a pop. When he opened his eyes, their color had bled from blue to a deep black. He stepped back from the counter, the tray forgotten with its mugs.
Walking from the kitchen, he crossed the room. The door slid back with a slight whirring sound. His gun was drawn before it had cleared the last of the track. He chambered a round before stepping in to the central part of the hub.
At the sound of a gun clicking, Tosh instantly zeroed in on the source. She started to ask a question, but the next moment a small explosion echoed in the hub. Tosh was thrown back in to her chair, the force of the impact taking her and it over.
Before a single drop of blood could fall, Ianto was targeting the surprised Gwen and Owen. Having been too busy fighting over a clip board, they hadn't seen Tosh's alarmed expression. He fired a second and third time while Gwen looked to Tosh's body in shock.
Gwen fell dead instantly, not even her police training having been enough to save her.
Having had enough time to react, Owen had started to drop down when the firing started. However, Ianto's aim was true and he was dead before he hit the floor.
All secondary targets neutralized, Ianto scanned the hub a second time. His first sweep had netted only three targets. This time, his visual recon revealed no new targets. Walking around the observation deck, he came upon the main staircase. He raised his head to scan Jack's office, but the Commanding Officer was obviously not in.
No matter.
He moved with even, measured steps until he came to Tosh's console. It was a little matter to shove her body out of his way. Using one hand, he entered in a security code and accessed the Hub's central computer network. Ianto was typing in another access code when he swung out his gun and shot the figure rising from the autopsy bay between the eyes.
When he hit enter, the lights of the hub darkened as red alarms flashed. An alert echoed across the speakers. He typed in two more codes and cleared them before the figure rose. This time, it took two shots to take him down. There would not be a third resurrection as Ianto was done.
Stepping back from the console, he fired twice, destroying the harddrive. With a quick motion, he dropped the clip from the gun and slammed a second home. Ianto faced the dead figure of his former leader. Raising the gun, he fired six more times.
Ianto tossed the gun aside. Reaching up behind his head, he slid two fingers down his spine. He pressed the second cervical vertebrae. Pain filled his entire being as electricity ran down his spine. Arching his back, he threw back his head and cried out.
Falling to his hands and knees, he found himself on a cool black floor, gasping desperately. Brilliant white light surrounded him, blinding him to anything beyond three feet. Slowly, the light drew back until three figures became just barely visible. One was directly ahead of him while the other two were to either side.
Lowering his head, he composed his body until his breathing had leveled out. "Mission almost complete."
"Status?" The voice was indistinct in direction, but was obviously male.
"Branches One, Three, and Four have been eliminated." His voice flat, Ianto rose enough that his shoulders were square. He was now kneeling instead of fallen over.
"Then complete your mission. The time line will be preserved." The light swelled in brilliance until the figures were once more enveloped.
"The time line will be preserved," he automatically echoed. The bright light grew until Ianto had to cover his solid black eyes. When it was suddenly gone, he found himself unable to breathe due to smoke and charred chemicals wafting through the air.
Ianto rose slowly, keeping his head held down to avoid smoke inhalation. Sensing the direction of the wind, he followed along in the hope of reaching clear air. Small fires here and there could be heard as exposed wires sparked. From the spatial orientation and the remains he could sense, he knew these were the remains of the hub.
In the distance, as he walked the stairs to the visitor's center, he could hear voices. He stopped long enough to snag his clothes on warped metal supports, and smeared soot across his clothes, hands, and face. Ianto had finished doing a considerable job of appearing to have survived the explosion when footsteps echoed ahead. For added effort, he jammed his shoulder backwards against the wall. His arm came out of the socket with a wet pop.
Biting back the scream, he leaned against the wall with his good arm and used it to guide him up the stairs. A light pierced the thick smoke, followed quickly by a second and third. Covering his eyes, Ianto squeezed them shut. An electrical surge ran down his spine and he cried out in agony, falling to his knees.
When he opened blue eyes again, he stared out blankly at the hub. What little he could see of his former stationing made tears come to his already too dry eyes. "It's happened again." Voice barely a whisper, it was loud enough to alert the searching lights.
As three figures carefully made their way down the rickety steps, Ianto shook his head in denial. He couldn't remember a thing since making coffee until waking on the stairs. How much time had actually passed, anything that had happened, how he made it this far, was all blank. Desperately, he clutched at the leg of the first person to reach him. He couldn't make out the person's face through the fog. "What happened? Where are the others? Did anyone survive?"
Kneeling down, the figure reached out and grabbed Ianto by the good shoulder. White facial hair covering all that his thick glasses didn't hold domain over, his features were otherwise not visible. "Which one are you, lad?"
"Ianto Jones, the Captain's assistant, sir." Ianto ignored the snort from one of the other two figures. "Can you tell me what happened? The last I recall was making coffee this morning."
"Our computers logged an automated alert that the self destruct had been activated. That was seven hours ago. I'm apologize for the length of time, but we were on a quest in the Orkney." What could be glimpsed of his lips were set in a grim smile. He patted Ianto's good shoulder twice before standing up. "Get him to the surface, have Grisson take a look at his left shoulder."
A smaller figure to the old man's broad form lowered from the smoke. Her breather mask making her look almost alien, she slipped one over Ianto's face. "Come with me, please. We'll get you to the medic an' he can look you over. How's that sound, love?" The last word added to the alien feeling as her tone implied she was feeling anything but friendly.
Ianto almost protested. Then he looked out over the charred remains of the arm rail in to the pit that had been the hub. What he could make out was mostly molten and crumbling. Any hope was dashed to bits at the sight of his once haven. Nodding to her, he let her grab his right arm and sling it over her shoulders.
Glancing down at the still cooling mass at the bottom of the stairs, the leader of Torchwood Two shook his head in dismay. The self destruct had done one fine and thorough job. No one would ever find out what had been going on here. Glancing up the stairs, he followed the progress of his subordinate and Ianto with narrowed eyes through the smoke.
Coming up behind his leader, the third figure took a sharp breath through his rebreather mask. "How do you suppose he survived?"
"To hazard a guess at this point, I should point out the obvious. He wasn't here." Stroking a hand down the arm of his wool coat, he shook his head. "Then, what you really should be asking is 'where was he while his team died'." Patting his own elbow, he smiled. "All answers in time, my young Mr. Holmes."
Shaking his head, the third man followed his boss back up the stairs.
In the mass at the bottom of the stairs, movement rippled in the cooling slag. Something burst up before going still, hardening in the cooler air.