Title: Necessary Ends, Part Four of Four

Author: Emma

Characters: Canonical Torchwood Three members… sort of.

Rating: Some chapters definitely not safe for work.

Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned them, would I let some of those idiots write the scripts? And if I were making any money off them, would I be where they could find me?

Summary: An old, old friend helps Jack and Ianto in a quest to defeat an angry wraith…

Author’s Note: For those of you counting, this is They Keep Killing Suzie

Author’s Note: Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste their death but once. Of all the wonders that I have yet heard, It seems to me the most strange that men should fear; Seeing that Death, a necessary end, will come when it will come. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
Author’s Note: The Kaddish achar Hakk'vura is the “mourner’s Kaddish” which Jews recite daily for eleven months after the death of a relative.

Part One is here; Part Two is here; Part Three is here
 

            They crept along the corridors, keeping to the older parts of the Hub. Ianto remembered Suzie telling him that she hated them because they made her feel like she was stuck in a bad horror movie. She had never bothered to learn to get around them. In typical Suzie fashion, she had been arrogantly sure she would never need an escape route.

             Ianto had made it his business to memorize all the routes in and out of the Hub, walking them both virtually and physically several times. The one they were in at the moment led to one of the cold storage units in the Medical bay. If the Hub had been put in lockdown, that area would be protected by Healers’ wards, which were notoriously hard on the undead and the nonliving. Wraiths would not be able to pass them.

            The access to the drawer looked like a duplicate of the door on the other side, but it was rigged to trap intruders. Jack pressed his palm to what looked like a blank spot below the handle and then backed away as the door swung silently downwards and lay flat. Ianto lay down on it and rolled in, pressing his palm to the exact spot of the door on the other side, making the inner door swing open.

            He rolled out and landed on his feet just in time to grab Toshiko as she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He lifted her off her feet and moved aside, giving Jack and chance to get in and be subjected to the same treatment. After a few seconds, she stood back and pointed to a flat black box on one of the tables.

            “Sound dampener. They can’t hear us.” She whispered. “Gwen is alive, but in bad shape. Suzie is draining her somehow. I don’t think we have much time.”

            “What happened?” Jack asked.

            “She showed up at the tourist office with several children. Children, Jack. She nearly killed one when we wouldn’t let her in. She was hurting Gwen too. So we let her and the two wraiths holding Gwen in and locked down the Hub as soon as they were in the corridor. The others were left outside. She threatened to kill Gwen, but Andy reminded her he was a lay chaplain and Kathy was an extraordinary minister of last rites, and asked her if she really wanted to be in a narrow corridor fitted with sprinklers and no hostage.” Toshiko shuddered. “She wails, Jack, she makes this sound…”

            Jack hugged her again. “I know.”

            “They had sent me in here before the lockdown. Andy said if you could get in you would probably use this route, and if not, I could get out and find you. I called Owen. He’s out in the Plas somewhere, watching from that end. Kathy’s assistant is with him.”

            “All right. Tosh, go and join Owen. Shortest route is…”

            “I know it, Jack. I’m as paranoid as Ianto in some ways.” She gave them a shaky smile. “Not as thorough, but I can be in the Plas in five minutes.”

            “Good. When you hear the comm alarm, the three of you take out whoever or whatever is still in the tourist office. Tell Aaron the Kaddish achar Hakk'vura works to keep them down.”

            They waited until she was on her feet in the corridor before closing the door.

            “Go full dark,” Jack said to Ianto. “When I remove the wards, move fast.” Ianto nodded. “Go!”

            Ianto ran up the stairs and around the perimeter until he could see the whole of the main floor. Suzie was sitting at what used to be her desk, flanked by her two wraiths. Gwen was sitting on the floor at her feet; she seemed weak and listless and Ianto was sure she would have slumped into a heap if Suzie’s grip on her hair were not holding her up. Andy and Kathy stood near the fountain. Andy had his stole of office over his shoulders.

             Ianto moved carefully until he reached the entrance to the corridor leading to the weapons rooms, in a direct line of sight to Suzie, then stood still and waited for his signal.

            “Hello Suzie.” Jack walked out of the Medical bay. “I think you’re waiting for me.”

            Her wail jolted Ianto. His mam-gu had told him stories of what happened when the living got trapped between the two Worlds. The sound coming from Suzie’s throat was exactly how he had imagined them to sound as they cried for release.

            “I’m waiting for you to watch as I drain her. Gwen bloody Cooper.” The dead woman spat out the words venomously. “I hope she was fun in the sack, Jack. You’re going to have to live on the memories until you find her replacement. Hear that, Gwen?” She yanked on Gwen’s hair viciously. “I hope you’re not full of illusions, girl. He always finds a replacement.”

            “Is that what this is all about? You’re angry at Gwen because you think she’s my lover?”

            “Why bring her in otherwise? You didn’t need her! I was a good medium, the best, and you could have had me in your bed any time you wanted, but she batted her eyes at you and that was all it took, didn’t it? Gave her my job!”

            “Dear God, you’re an idiot.” Andy sounded amused. “I’ve spent a day fearing a blind idiot. Oh don’t glare at me, Suzie Costello. Jack wouldn’t have given you or Gwen the time of day anyway. Not while Ianto was around.” He smirked at her. “Jack has a thing for beautiful young men, Suzie. And you never noticed.”

            She jumped to her feet, howling. Power shimmered around her as she let go of Gwen’s hair and raised her arms. The wraiths fell back, moaning and covering their heads in terror. Almost at the same time, Jack’s hand came up, wand pointed at her. A stream of blue light shot out from the tip, hitting the shimmering field around her. Flashes of light resembling blue lightning bolts appeared all over its surface. Suzie howled again as the uncontrolled discharges burned into her.

            Ianto was running even before the comm alarm sounded. He didn’t bother to stay concealed; the amount of power swirling around Suzie would cancel any glamour he could cast. He heard her scream his name, but didn’t even look in her direction as he scooped Gwen up by her armpits and dragged her out of Suzie’s reach. He pushed her under the stairs leading to the greenhouse and turned to face the main floor again, standing guard.

            The loss of her hostage seemed to drive Suzie even deeper into insanity. She paid no attention as Kathy and Andy disposed of her two wraiths. Her whole attention was on Jack. Power flared between them as they dueled.

            Suzie was clearly weakened by whatever Jack had done to disrupt her connection to the glove, but Ianto remembered what the Doctor had said about a window of opportunity. Sooner or later Suzie would reconnect with the glove, and she could bring her power back under control. The one chance they had was to push her mentally off balance so she couldn’t take advantage of it.

            “Poor Suzie,” he singsonged loud enough to be heard over the energy hum. “Nobody loves her, nobody cares.”

            Her scream of rage nearly deafened them all. She turned towards him, but Jack used the wand’s light to block her. She tried to move through it, snarling. Ianto was shocked by the pure hate that flowed from her as she looked at him. But now he knew where her sore spot was, and he ground his words into it ruthlessly. 

            “He’s the perfect lover, Suzie. Should I tell you how he touches me? How me makes me beg for more?” He noticed Jack doing something to the wand. “Look at me, Suzie. Shall I tell you how he likes to be touched? I touch him, Suzie. Every night.”

            Her right hand came up and a bolt of energy shot out at him. He dove out of the way, but couldn’t avoid part of the charge. He was thrown to the ground. His breath was knocked out of his lungs as he crashed into the metal rim of the fountain. He belt a burning in his chest and looked down to see his shirt smouldering red. He rolled into the cool water below, mentally thanking Owen for his insistence on keeping it clean and well decontaminated. He heard Suzie wail one last time and then blessed silence fell. A few seconds later, a hand reached in, grabbed the back of his jacket, and pulled him up to a sitting position.

            “The next time you play target,” Jack said, “move faster…”

            He stopped suddenly, staring at Ianto’s chest. Ianto looked down at himself and he felt his knees go weak. The Doctor’s medallion was gone. In its place, exactly in the middle of his breastbone, was a tattoo that matched it exactly.

            “Jack…”

            “Look inside you. Inside us.”

            “I don’t need to,” he said. “The compulsion is gone. Jack, what happened?”

            “I don’t know. I don’t think this has ever happened before.”

            “I’ll go see Mother Katherine as soon as we’re through here.” He took a step closer. “Jack…”

            They were jolted apart by the cog door opening. Owen, Tosh, and Aaron ben Joseph entered. The doctor made a dash towards the greenhouse stairs, where Andy was holding Gwen in his lap. She seemed to be coming out of her trance.

            “Rhys?” Her weak voice was frantic with worry. “Where is Rhys?”

            Owen knelt next to her. “He’s in hospital, but he’s on the mend. You’ll be on the bed next to his as soon as we can get you there and you can see for yourself. All right?”

            She nodded. Owen and Andy pulled her up to her feet between them. As they passed Jack, she stopped, put her arms around his waist, and hung on for a moment.

            “Thank you. I kept thinking… I knew you would save us both. Rhys… I have to go to Rhys.”

            Jack kissed her forehead, then nodded to the other two. Andy put his arm around Gwen’s waist and let her lean into him. “Let’s go find that man of yours.”

            They walked out with Owen right behind them. Jack turned to the others. “Kathy, Aaron, thanks for everything. Tosh, get the hell out of here. Get some rest. I’ll clean up.”

            “Are you out of your mind?” Tosh said. “There’s no way I’m leaving you here with this mess. You’ll probably sweep stuff into the corners or something. Besides, Ianto has to go see Mother Katherine.” She laughed at their startled look. “One of the perks of being in contact with animal spirits, remember? Improved senses?”

            “We’ll stay too,” Kathy said. “I know Aaron has been dying to see this place.”

             Jack turned to Ianto, who grinned and saluted. “On my way. Before I forget, you left your stopwatch on the shooting range last time we had a training session.”

            Jack gave him a puzzled look. “And?”

            “You told me once there were lots of things you could do with a stopwatch.” He watched Jack’s face light up as he caught on. “Yeah. Think about that for a while. I’ll be back soon.”