Treachery -Operation Clean Sweep Part 3/?
Jan. 23rd, 2011 08:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aviv_b_artworkTITLE: Operation Clean Sweep (Part 3 of the Treachery Series)
RATING: PG (this chapter)
CHARACTERS: Ianto, Jack, Owen, Tosh, Gwen
WORDS: ~ 1250
SUMMARY: A post-cyberwoman fic. Evidence of Ianto's time with Torchwood is eradicated.
A/N: For ease of identification, I'm going to call this the Treachery Series and give it its own little space on my main story page.
Treachery (Part 1) here: http://aviv-b.livejournal.com/49816.html (PG13)
Prisoner Number 35417 (Part 2) here: http://aviv-b.livejournal.com/83412.html (PG)
Tosh and Gwen were greeted at the door by Owen when they arrived at Ianto’s flat. He handed Tosh a key and tried to quickly make his exit.
“Owen,” Tosh said putting a hand on shoulder as he moved past her, “wait up a minute.”
“Great,” Owen, thought, “just what I need, interrogation by Tosh.” He steeled himself as he turned to face her and Gwen.
“How is Ianto doing? What’s happening to him?”
Owen had to restrain himself from losing his composure. What could he possible say to Tosh, ‘just fine for a man who is imprisoned by UNIT?’ He wasn’t kidding when he had reminded Jack that deceptive stories were not his forte; that was always Tosh and Ianto’s territory.
“Owen, are you OK?” Gwen asked.
“Yeah, yeah, just got a lot on my mind. Jack’s created a new identity for Ianto and is taking him to a new location today. And before you ask, no, I don’t know anything about his new identity or whether he’s still in Cardiff or even Wales for that matter.”
”But wouldn’t Jack need some help…”
“Tosh, leave it. Jack been working at Torchwood a long time and believe it or not, he knows what he’s doing. Probably one of his primary responsibilities as a young recruit.”
Tosh began to speak again but Owen quickly silenced her. “Seriously Tosh, Jack was so angry after you two left that I was sure he was going to execute Ianto. So let’s be grateful that he calmed down.” He saw the wheels turning in Tosh’s head and knew just what she was thinking. “And please don’t go meddling to find out where Ianto is. You could be signing his death warrant if you were to do that.”
Gwen watched the exchange silently as she too sensed that something wasn’t right. While she had almost been converted by the cyberwoman, she was shocked to think that Ianto might have been executed. Punished, sure, fired, maybe but even retconned seemed awfully harsh.
Once Owen had left Tosh and Gwen went into Ianto’s flat. They were both shocked to see that it was a drab small studio flat, furnished with only a mattress on the floor a small chest of drawers and numerous sealed boxes.
“That’s odd,” Gwen remarked as she looked at the boxes. “Did Owen box up stuff before we got here?”
Tosh walked over to a box and tore the seal open. She gasped at what she found. “Gwen, I don’t think these boxes have ever been open, come over and have a look.”
Inside the box were women’s clothing, shirts and some lingerie. “You don’t think…”
“I’m pretty sure these are Lisa’s clothes.” Tosh sighed. “He really did believe he could find a cure for her. And look what its cost him.”
“You forget that I was almost killed by that..that…thing.”
“No I haven’t. But here you are safe, and Ianto has had at least three years of his memory stripped away, maybe more, and a confusing new life to face.”
Tosh explained that all memories regarding Lisa or Torchwood would have to be erased. “Which means he’s going to wake up in a strange place with a huge gap in his memories with no friends or family to turn to.”
“That’s horrible.” All Tosh could do was nod in agreement.
In the end they opened up all the sealed boxes. Jack had ordered them to check every possible place for any hidden cyber-technology or other items that were alien in origin. In addition to Lisa’s clothes and personal items, they found books and DVDs and much of Ianto’s possessions that one would expect to find in his flat.
Gwen was practically in tears. “He never even unpacked! He came home to this dreary flat with just a bed and some clothes.”
“If he even came home,” Tosh replied as she walked into the tiny kitchen and opened a cabinet. It was completely empty. A thorough search of the kitchen found one cabinet with a few dishes and cups and one drawer with a mismatched assortment of flatware. The refrigerator was empty except for a couple cans of beer.
Tosh turned on the kitchen taps and there was a sputtering sound until some brackish water ran out. It took some time before the water ran clear. The same was true of the bathroom taps on both the sink and tub. It was clear that he hadn’t been to his flat very often and certainly not in recent days.
They resealed the cartons and boxed up the remainder of Ianto’s possessions. “That’s so sad,” Tosh thought as she realized that all of his unboxed possessions fit into three cardboard cartons.
Their call to the Hub was answered by Owen who told them that Jack hadn’t returned from relocating Ianto but that he had left instructions for them to leave everything boxed to be dealt with later.
“Do you need us back at the Hub?” Tosh asked.
“No, the rift has been quiet. Jack said he would contact you both later with instructions for tomorrow.”
Tosh felt a flutter of unease as she wondered why they couldn’t come back to the Hub.
As if Owen could read her thoughts, he continued, “Yeah, I’m going through Ianto’s workstation but Jack wants to check the Archives personally before both of you return. Said something about a bomb or a booby trap.”
“But he let you stay.”
“Guess I’m more expendable,” Owen said, not bothering to hide the irritation in his voice.
“Uh…Ok, Owen, we’ll see you whenever, I guess.”
Tosh looked at Gwen who shrugged. She hadn’t been part of the team very long and she didn’t think Owen said anything out-of-line. She noticed that Tosh was exhausted. Well, Ianto was closest with Tosh so that was understandable.
“Would you like to go get a drink?” she asked tentatively. Tosh did not seem like the go out and gossip type of co-worker, but still it was worth a try.
“I think I’ll pass. I just want to go home and curl up with a good book…and have a good cry.”
Back at the Hub, Owen exhaled as he hung up the phone. Looking over at Jack’s office he saw Jack in total concentration on his computer screen. Owen had finished his clean up some time ago and had searched Ianto’s work station. Not much of interest there, Owen thought. The usual paper, pens, lists for supplies. Nothing, not one thing that would have hinted at the horror that Ianto was hiding downstairs.
He had offered to check the archives, but Jack had declined his assistance. He had organized all his supplies in the medical bay, twice, and wanted to leave. Heading into Jack’s office he recounted what Tosh had told him.
“And you told her I was still away and I would call her and Gwen later?” Owen nodded. “Good.”
“Well if there’s nothing else…”
“Just one more thing. Let me grab my coat. We’re going to Ianto’s flat to move everything out.”
“Are we going to the offsite storage facility?”
“No. We’re bringing everything back here and incinerating it.”
“But I thought protocol said we are to store everything in case further investigation was warranted.”
“Any further investigation will be handled by UNIT. As far as we are concerned, after today, Ianto Jones ceases to exist. In fact he never existed. His name will never be spoken by any Torchwood employee in my hearing again.”
Chapter 4 here: http://aviv-b.livejournal.com/84590.html
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Date: 2011-01-25 01:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-25 01:15 am (UTC)