On the Slow Path; Torchwood; PG13
Jul. 18th, 2009 06:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
morgynleriTitle: On the Slow Path: Torchwood
Fandom: Torchwood
AU: Darker Guardians
Rating: PG13 (subject to change)
Characters: Owen Harper, Lisa Hallett, Suzie Costello, Jack Harkness
Chapter 2/9
Chapter 1
Word Count: 2906 (6097)
Betas:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
unfeathered and skipthedemon. Thank you both!
Just Visiting
"I like vicious. Especially when it comes with gorgeous."
He'd been careful in trying not to land right on top of Gray and the bastard who'd taken him, but Jack wondered if he shouldn't have tried for closer - in both time and location. His wrist strap had found no sign of Gray, and without a direction to start looking in, he couldn't narrow the search radius, not yet. Frowning, he flipped it shut, pulling the sleeve of the stolen greatcoat over it as he surveyed the city around him. The adrenaline that still surged through his veins focusing his mind as he figured out what to do next. Continue searching in the here-and-now for them both, or get closer to where they'd have come through the rift if he could, and hope he didn't find signs that the alien had jumped again. He didn't want another dead-end.
Opening the wrist-strap again, he changed the settings on the scan, searching for rift-manipulating technology rather than his brother's life-signs themselves, and raised an eyebrow when it picked up a larger signature than he'd expected, down near the bay. Along with a fainter one that barely registered against the larger one, likewise near the bay. Jack snorted, shaking his head as he set the coordinates, glad for the barely-dawn hour when he appeared between buildings with more of a lurch than he'd expected, like he'd been bounced from his intended landing site. Diverted, and left standing somewhere above the signatures he was tracking.
"Well, someone has something they shouldn't," he murmured to himself, grinning slightly as he tried to map out where the interference was effecting, raising an eyebrow at the expanse of some underground structure. Certainly something he'd expect not to be overlooked by humanity, not in the middle of a metropolis. There was nothing, though, in the history records about something like this, and his grin widened at the chance to get to meddle with unwritten history.
It didn't take much to find the boundaries of the interference, but it would take more time than he wanted to waste to search along those edges for a way in. Jack shook his head, and leaned against the wall of one of the buildings where he had a decent view of both the alley between the buildings and the open space that stretched in front of where he'd landed. Watching the handful of people who were out this early in the morning as he waited for someone to come looking for him.
~ ~~ ~
"You think it's another one of those dragon aliens?"
Suzie's voice was quiet in Owen's ear as he scanned the waterfront, gun pointed at the ground as he slowly moved toward the Plass. Having the Rift alarm go off twice in one morning, the second showing practically on their doorstep, was enough excitement without this one being another of the sort of alien they'd rescued the boy from the week before. He muttered as much to Suzie, moving up the stairs toward the coffee shop, ignoring the strange looks he got from the couple of tourists already out and about.
"And I think the tourists would probably be panicking a bit more if it was another one of those," he added, keeping close to the coffee shop, his back to it as he sidled around. "Seeing anything weird out on the Plass?"
"Not really." There was a bit of a frustrated sigh. "Just tourists giving me funny looks for the gun."
Owen snorted, looking up the street, looking for anyone or anything out of place, and grimaced at the continued lack of anything beyond the early-morning tourists and a handful of shop-staff hurrying in for their shifts. No one that stood out, and no fear in the faces he saw, so whatever it was couldn't be too alien. He just hoped that whoever, or whatever, it was, hadn't managed to blend in with the crowd. "Tourists and baristas and shop-girls here," he shot back finally, plastering on a brief attempt at a reassuring smile as he headed down the street. "Where exactly was that spike?"
"Just outside the Thai place Dai likes to nip up to for dinner when it's his turn to choose where we're eating, outside the building. The fountain is blocking my view of the site."
"And you can't be arsed to peek?" Owen rolled his eyes at Suzie's answering huff, keeping close to the shop fronts as he worked his way to the alley between the buildings.
"Risk my neck when you've got better cover and can get a closer look? You're out of your mind, Owen," Suzie shot back without real heat in her volley. "It's your turn to face off with whatever, anyway."
Shaking his head, Owen paused just shy of the mouth of the alley, taking in a deep breath before he looked around the corner, peering down the dark gap between the buildings. There was nothing, and no one except a man in a vintage great coat leaning against the wall. He sighed as he leaned against the wall, keeping his gun pointed at the ground. "Just a bloke in a coat. Another human misplaced in time. Looks like he's a refugee from World War Two."
"Brilliant." Suzie paused, and Owen could easily imagine her finally taking the risk of looking around the edge of the bloody fountain. "Watch yourself, Owen, he's moving toward you."
"Probably trying to figure out where he is, and wondering how he got here," Owen murmured, sliding the gun back into the holster at his thigh, and taking a deep breath as he tried to lean casually against the building. Waiting for the man to come out of the alley, watching him cautiously out of the corner of his eye as he looked around. Certainly dressed like he came out of the fourties, but the lack of confusion made Owen suspect he hadn't accidentally slipped through the Rift. No confusion, no surprise, just confidence and purpose. Looking for something.
The man spun a split second before Owen heard Suzie's muttered expletive over his com, his hand going towards his coat pocket a moment before he stopped, spreading his hands wide with a smile that made Owen bite back a snort of amusement.
"If I'd known someone would send such a pretty welcoming committee, I'd have tried to sneak in sooner." His tone was light, almost flirting, matching the smile on his face. "Though, really, your colleague doesn't need the gun, does she?"
Owen straightened, turning to actually face the man with a frown on his face. "Excuse me?"
"Or are you not actually working together?" He glanced over at Owen, sidling towards the far wall of the alley, where he'd have a clear view of them both, and a wall at his back instead of another approach.
"Who are you?" Owen didn't answer the question, studying the man closely now that he had a better look at him. There was something vaguely familiar about him, though from where, Owen couldn't remember.
"Captain Jack Harkness, and you are?"
"Torchwood," Suzie snapped before Owen could say anything, her voice closer now, though Owen hadn't moved far enough away from the wall to see where she was in the alley. "Where are you from, why are you here?"
"Just visiting, decided to do a little touring." Jack flashed them another bright smile. One that Owen didn't believe for a moment, and reminded him uneasily of a wolf lazily yawning to show off its teeth. "You have any recommendations?"
"Not antagonizing the lady with the gun?" Owen gave Jack a sharp look. "She's vicious when she's pissed off."
"I like vicious." Jack flicked a glance at Owen before looking back at Suzie again, keeping his attention more focused on her. "Especially when it comes with gorgeous."
"Why did you come here, really?" Suzie didn't sound like she believed Jack any more than Owen did. "Tourists don't try sneaking into locked and alarmed buildings."
"I told you, just visiting."
~ ~~ ~
Jack gave the woman a warm smile, keeping a careful eye on the gun she held. It wouldn't do Gray any good for him to get shot now, before he had a chance to find him. If these people could be any help in doing that.
"Visiting on business or pleasure?" She lowered the gun slowly, aiming it at the ground at her feet, still watching him warily. "From where? How?"
"You don't really expect me to answer all your questions, do you?" Jack slid his hands into his pockets, one hand curling around the familiar shape of his sonic blaster. "Why do you care why I'm here, or where I'm from?"
"Because we're Torchwood, and you're either not from this time, this planet, or both." The man answered, continuing the tag-teaming they'd started earlier.
"So your some sort of customs agency for this rift?" Jack gave him an amused look that was returned with a glare. "What's your name?"
"Harper." It wasn't his full name, no doubt, but Jack doubted he'd get it from Harper - though it was more than his female colleague appeared willing to provide, if the narrow-eyed glare she shot in Harper's direction was any indication. "Most visitors through the Rift end up in a cell..."
"Harper!" The woman interrupted him with an angry snarl. "Shut up."
"If he's deliberately visiting, do you think we're really going to keep him here, Costello?" Harper shifted a step forward, where he would have a line of sight to Costello, and closer to Jack.
He turned his head slightly so he could look more directly at Harper, without taking his attention entirely off of Costello. The mention that visitors ended up in cells bothered him, and he smiled cheerfully, trying to hide his uneasiness. He didn't like the mental image he was putting together, of Gray trapped in whatever sort of place these people put him. "I wasn't looking for that sort of kinky, but if you're offering, I'm flexible. What sort of cell, where?" he asked with a bit of a leer.
"The sort that isn't fun, and I'm not telling you where." Harper spoke before Costello could tell him to shut up again, holding Jack's gaze steadily. Almost like he was looking for something. "What are you looking for, then?"
"Do you have something worth finding in this city?" Jack shifted his weight into a wider stance, his hand tightening around the blaster. "And is everyone this unfriendly?"
"No, just us." Harper tensed at his shift of posture, reaching for the gun at his side. "Can't help you find anything if you don't tell us what you're looking for."
"I didn't say I was looking for anything." Just looking for somebody, and he wasn't about to share that with these two. Not unless he had an advantage that he could use to get information out of them that might actually help.
"Right." Costello snorted, her expression conveying her disbelief clearly. "Why are you here?" she asked again as she brought her gun up again in a two-handed grip.
"Because I can be. Do I need any other reason?" Jack frowned as Harper moved toward him, pulling his empty hand out of his pocket to gesture him to stop, even if he didn't think Harper would actually do so. "You planning on making me give you a reason?"
"Part of the job." She smiled, a predatory flash of teeth. "Didn't you listen to Harper telling you that visitors through the Rift end up in a cell?"
"Yeah. That's what I was worried about." Jack ducked to one side as he moved forward at her, hissing at the noise of the gun, and the burn of a bullet as the shot scored across his shoulder. He left his blaster in his pocket, grabbing her hands, and forcing her aim up and away from him as he used his momentum to slam them both against the wall behind her.
Costello let out her breath with a grunt, and Jack felt her grip on the gun loosening, letting him take it from her as she glared at him. He frowned, starting to pull away, turning his head to look over at Harper an instant too late. He felt the metal contacts against his skin before the shock jolted through him, with unconsciousness following close behind it.
~ ~~ ~
"You get all the bloody fun." Hallett flopped onto the couch next to Owen, leaning back as she closed her eyes. "There was nothing up at the castle except some residual energy from the Rift spike. No sign of whatever came through anywhere."
"It was just another human to take across to Flat Holme." Owen had argued with Suzie the entire way down to the cells with Jack slung between them on that. He didn't want to tell London about their guest, or his claim to have deliberately come visiting through the Rift. Which meant taking him to Flat Holme, and keeping their report clear of any mention of his claims or the technology they'd taken off him. "Nothing extraordinary."
Hallett raised an eyebrow, giving him a skeptical look a moment before shrugging. "Still, rather that than a wild goose chase."
"Whatever." Owen shoved off the sofa, heading for the cells. "I'll go check on him, and take him over to the facility in the morning."
He didn't relax until he was out of Hallett's sight, pausing to close his eyes a moment, taking a deep breath. It had been the temptation of a project she didn't have to share that had convinced Suzie to keep things quiet, though right now, Owen was trying to figure out why he'd been so sure it was better to keep Hallett and London in the dark about Jack. The niggling feeling that he should recognize Jack's face aside, there really wasn't anything to make him any more special than anyone else that came through the Rift with technology or knowledge that Torchwood could use.
Shaking his head, Owen started moving again, hurrying down to the cells to look in on their latest temporary guest. He wasn't entirely surprised to find Jack awake and leaning against the wall, watching the door with a hint of a smile on his face, and hands in his pockets.
"The walls are a bit bland, and the company could use some improvement, you know. I was starting to get bored down here." Jack raised an eyebrow at Owen as he came to stand on the other side of the transparent front wall of the cell, his smile fading a bit. "What did you plan to do with me?"
"We have a facility we'll transfer you to tomorrow morning. It's not any more exciting than here, but it's better than London." Owen kept his voice low, his body angled to keep his back to the CCTV. No need to have anyone read his lips and figure out what he was telling Jack.
"I'll take your word for it, but I really can't be staying." Jack straightened, meeting Owen's gaze squarely. "Where's my wrist-strap?"
"Costello has it, and the gun from your pocket."
"It's not a toy, Harper." Jack's brows lowered, glaring at him. "I need it back."
"I can't do that." Owen shrugged, sliding his hands into his own pockets. "Procedures and all that." Ones that he'd already broken, just by keeping the existence of the advanced gun and whatever the device Jack had worn on his wrist out of his report.
"You could just get it back, and let me go."
"Why?" Owen raised an eyebrow in an echo of Jack's earlier expression. "The equipment already recorded a Rift spike, and London's not going to believe there was nothing when you landed practically on top of the Hub. I'm not loosing my job over one person. And they won't believe an escape, either. Not from here."
"But they might, from this other facility." Jack looked skeptical, and Owen shrugged. It wasn't really likely they'd accept an escape from Flat Holme, either, but it wouldn't be his job on the line if Jack broke out of there. "It'd be easier if you brought me my wrist-strap in the morning."
"Ask Costello for it back, I'm not going to tell her she can't study it." Owen looked up at the faint creak of a door, and shook his head at Jack when he opened his mouth, adding quietly, "If London finds out, you'll be interrogated, and probably killed when they can't find any other use for you. If you really would rather that, fine, but I'd rather not be party to a murder I can prevent."
The door to the cell block opened a moment later, Suzie slipping through the opening, and closing it behind her. "Hallett's going to try to get the boat to take our guest over this afternoon, instead of waiting for the supply run tomorrow morning, if he's in good enough shape to ship over now." She raised an eyebrow at him. "No reason to quarantine him here for longer than that, is there?"
Owen glanced at the camera, rolling his eyes for the benefit of whoever was watching. "Everyone there's got all their vaccinations, and he's not showing any side-effects from having been stun-gunned."
"Good." Suzie pressed her lips together a moment, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly as if she was trying to repress a smirk, before turning and leaving. That was never a good sign.
Fandom: Torchwood
AU: Darker Guardians
Rating: PG13 (subject to change)
Characters: Owen Harper, Lisa Hallett, Suzie Costello, Jack Harkness
Chapter 2/9
Chapter 1
Word Count: 2906 (6097)
Betas:
unfeathered and skipthedemon. Thank you both!"I like vicious. Especially when it comes with gorgeous."
He'd been careful in trying not to land right on top of Gray and the bastard who'd taken him, but Jack wondered if he shouldn't have tried for closer - in both time and location. His wrist strap had found no sign of Gray, and without a direction to start looking in, he couldn't narrow the search radius, not yet. Frowning, he flipped it shut, pulling the sleeve of the stolen greatcoat over it as he surveyed the city around him. The adrenaline that still surged through his veins focusing his mind as he figured out what to do next. Continue searching in the here-and-now for them both, or get closer to where they'd have come through the rift if he could, and hope he didn't find signs that the alien had jumped again. He didn't want another dead-end.
Opening the wrist-strap again, he changed the settings on the scan, searching for rift-manipulating technology rather than his brother's life-signs themselves, and raised an eyebrow when it picked up a larger signature than he'd expected, down near the bay. Along with a fainter one that barely registered against the larger one, likewise near the bay. Jack snorted, shaking his head as he set the coordinates, glad for the barely-dawn hour when he appeared between buildings with more of a lurch than he'd expected, like he'd been bounced from his intended landing site. Diverted, and left standing somewhere above the signatures he was tracking.
"Well, someone has something they shouldn't," he murmured to himself, grinning slightly as he tried to map out where the interference was effecting, raising an eyebrow at the expanse of some underground structure. Certainly something he'd expect not to be overlooked by humanity, not in the middle of a metropolis. There was nothing, though, in the history records about something like this, and his grin widened at the chance to get to meddle with unwritten history.
It didn't take much to find the boundaries of the interference, but it would take more time than he wanted to waste to search along those edges for a way in. Jack shook his head, and leaned against the wall of one of the buildings where he had a decent view of both the alley between the buildings and the open space that stretched in front of where he'd landed. Watching the handful of people who were out this early in the morning as he waited for someone to come looking for him.
"You think it's another one of those dragon aliens?"
Suzie's voice was quiet in Owen's ear as he scanned the waterfront, gun pointed at the ground as he slowly moved toward the Plass. Having the Rift alarm go off twice in one morning, the second showing practically on their doorstep, was enough excitement without this one being another of the sort of alien they'd rescued the boy from the week before. He muttered as much to Suzie, moving up the stairs toward the coffee shop, ignoring the strange looks he got from the couple of tourists already out and about.
"And I think the tourists would probably be panicking a bit more if it was another one of those," he added, keeping close to the coffee shop, his back to it as he sidled around. "Seeing anything weird out on the Plass?"
"Not really." There was a bit of a frustrated sigh. "Just tourists giving me funny looks for the gun."
Owen snorted, looking up the street, looking for anyone or anything out of place, and grimaced at the continued lack of anything beyond the early-morning tourists and a handful of shop-staff hurrying in for their shifts. No one that stood out, and no fear in the faces he saw, so whatever it was couldn't be too alien. He just hoped that whoever, or whatever, it was, hadn't managed to blend in with the crowd. "Tourists and baristas and shop-girls here," he shot back finally, plastering on a brief attempt at a reassuring smile as he headed down the street. "Where exactly was that spike?"
"Just outside the Thai place Dai likes to nip up to for dinner when it's his turn to choose where we're eating, outside the building. The fountain is blocking my view of the site."
"And you can't be arsed to peek?" Owen rolled his eyes at Suzie's answering huff, keeping close to the shop fronts as he worked his way to the alley between the buildings.
"Risk my neck when you've got better cover and can get a closer look? You're out of your mind, Owen," Suzie shot back without real heat in her volley. "It's your turn to face off with whatever, anyway."
Shaking his head, Owen paused just shy of the mouth of the alley, taking in a deep breath before he looked around the corner, peering down the dark gap between the buildings. There was nothing, and no one except a man in a vintage great coat leaning against the wall. He sighed as he leaned against the wall, keeping his gun pointed at the ground. "Just a bloke in a coat. Another human misplaced in time. Looks like he's a refugee from World War Two."
"Brilliant." Suzie paused, and Owen could easily imagine her finally taking the risk of looking around the edge of the bloody fountain. "Watch yourself, Owen, he's moving toward you."
"Probably trying to figure out where he is, and wondering how he got here," Owen murmured, sliding the gun back into the holster at his thigh, and taking a deep breath as he tried to lean casually against the building. Waiting for the man to come out of the alley, watching him cautiously out of the corner of his eye as he looked around. Certainly dressed like he came out of the fourties, but the lack of confusion made Owen suspect he hadn't accidentally slipped through the Rift. No confusion, no surprise, just confidence and purpose. Looking for something.
The man spun a split second before Owen heard Suzie's muttered expletive over his com, his hand going towards his coat pocket a moment before he stopped, spreading his hands wide with a smile that made Owen bite back a snort of amusement.
"If I'd known someone would send such a pretty welcoming committee, I'd have tried to sneak in sooner." His tone was light, almost flirting, matching the smile on his face. "Though, really, your colleague doesn't need the gun, does she?"
Owen straightened, turning to actually face the man with a frown on his face. "Excuse me?"
"Or are you not actually working together?" He glanced over at Owen, sidling towards the far wall of the alley, where he'd have a clear view of them both, and a wall at his back instead of another approach.
"Who are you?" Owen didn't answer the question, studying the man closely now that he had a better look at him. There was something vaguely familiar about him, though from where, Owen couldn't remember.
"Captain Jack Harkness, and you are?"
"Torchwood," Suzie snapped before Owen could say anything, her voice closer now, though Owen hadn't moved far enough away from the wall to see where she was in the alley. "Where are you from, why are you here?"
"Just visiting, decided to do a little touring." Jack flashed them another bright smile. One that Owen didn't believe for a moment, and reminded him uneasily of a wolf lazily yawning to show off its teeth. "You have any recommendations?"
"Not antagonizing the lady with the gun?" Owen gave Jack a sharp look. "She's vicious when she's pissed off."
"I like vicious." Jack flicked a glance at Owen before looking back at Suzie again, keeping his attention more focused on her. "Especially when it comes with gorgeous."
"Why did you come here, really?" Suzie didn't sound like she believed Jack any more than Owen did. "Tourists don't try sneaking into locked and alarmed buildings."
"I told you, just visiting."
Jack gave the woman a warm smile, keeping a careful eye on the gun she held. It wouldn't do Gray any good for him to get shot now, before he had a chance to find him. If these people could be any help in doing that.
"Visiting on business or pleasure?" She lowered the gun slowly, aiming it at the ground at her feet, still watching him warily. "From where? How?"
"You don't really expect me to answer all your questions, do you?" Jack slid his hands into his pockets, one hand curling around the familiar shape of his sonic blaster. "Why do you care why I'm here, or where I'm from?"
"Because we're Torchwood, and you're either not from this time, this planet, or both." The man answered, continuing the tag-teaming they'd started earlier.
"So your some sort of customs agency for this rift?" Jack gave him an amused look that was returned with a glare. "What's your name?"
"Harper." It wasn't his full name, no doubt, but Jack doubted he'd get it from Harper - though it was more than his female colleague appeared willing to provide, if the narrow-eyed glare she shot in Harper's direction was any indication. "Most visitors through the Rift end up in a cell..."
"Harper!" The woman interrupted him with an angry snarl. "Shut up."
"If he's deliberately visiting, do you think we're really going to keep him here, Costello?" Harper shifted a step forward, where he would have a line of sight to Costello, and closer to Jack.
He turned his head slightly so he could look more directly at Harper, without taking his attention entirely off of Costello. The mention that visitors ended up in cells bothered him, and he smiled cheerfully, trying to hide his uneasiness. He didn't like the mental image he was putting together, of Gray trapped in whatever sort of place these people put him. "I wasn't looking for that sort of kinky, but if you're offering, I'm flexible. What sort of cell, where?" he asked with a bit of a leer.
"The sort that isn't fun, and I'm not telling you where." Harper spoke before Costello could tell him to shut up again, holding Jack's gaze steadily. Almost like he was looking for something. "What are you looking for, then?"
"Do you have something worth finding in this city?" Jack shifted his weight into a wider stance, his hand tightening around the blaster. "And is everyone this unfriendly?"
"No, just us." Harper tensed at his shift of posture, reaching for the gun at his side. "Can't help you find anything if you don't tell us what you're looking for."
"I didn't say I was looking for anything." Just looking for somebody, and he wasn't about to share that with these two. Not unless he had an advantage that he could use to get information out of them that might actually help.
"Right." Costello snorted, her expression conveying her disbelief clearly. "Why are you here?" she asked again as she brought her gun up again in a two-handed grip.
"Because I can be. Do I need any other reason?" Jack frowned as Harper moved toward him, pulling his empty hand out of his pocket to gesture him to stop, even if he didn't think Harper would actually do so. "You planning on making me give you a reason?"
"Part of the job." She smiled, a predatory flash of teeth. "Didn't you listen to Harper telling you that visitors through the Rift end up in a cell?"
"Yeah. That's what I was worried about." Jack ducked to one side as he moved forward at her, hissing at the noise of the gun, and the burn of a bullet as the shot scored across his shoulder. He left his blaster in his pocket, grabbing her hands, and forcing her aim up and away from him as he used his momentum to slam them both against the wall behind her.
Costello let out her breath with a grunt, and Jack felt her grip on the gun loosening, letting him take it from her as she glared at him. He frowned, starting to pull away, turning his head to look over at Harper an instant too late. He felt the metal contacts against his skin before the shock jolted through him, with unconsciousness following close behind it.
"You get all the bloody fun." Hallett flopped onto the couch next to Owen, leaning back as she closed her eyes. "There was nothing up at the castle except some residual energy from the Rift spike. No sign of whatever came through anywhere."
"It was just another human to take across to Flat Holme." Owen had argued with Suzie the entire way down to the cells with Jack slung between them on that. He didn't want to tell London about their guest, or his claim to have deliberately come visiting through the Rift. Which meant taking him to Flat Holme, and keeping their report clear of any mention of his claims or the technology they'd taken off him. "Nothing extraordinary."
Hallett raised an eyebrow, giving him a skeptical look a moment before shrugging. "Still, rather that than a wild goose chase."
"Whatever." Owen shoved off the sofa, heading for the cells. "I'll go check on him, and take him over to the facility in the morning."
He didn't relax until he was out of Hallett's sight, pausing to close his eyes a moment, taking a deep breath. It had been the temptation of a project she didn't have to share that had convinced Suzie to keep things quiet, though right now, Owen was trying to figure out why he'd been so sure it was better to keep Hallett and London in the dark about Jack. The niggling feeling that he should recognize Jack's face aside, there really wasn't anything to make him any more special than anyone else that came through the Rift with technology or knowledge that Torchwood could use.
Shaking his head, Owen started moving again, hurrying down to the cells to look in on their latest temporary guest. He wasn't entirely surprised to find Jack awake and leaning against the wall, watching the door with a hint of a smile on his face, and hands in his pockets.
"The walls are a bit bland, and the company could use some improvement, you know. I was starting to get bored down here." Jack raised an eyebrow at Owen as he came to stand on the other side of the transparent front wall of the cell, his smile fading a bit. "What did you plan to do with me?"
"We have a facility we'll transfer you to tomorrow morning. It's not any more exciting than here, but it's better than London." Owen kept his voice low, his body angled to keep his back to the CCTV. No need to have anyone read his lips and figure out what he was telling Jack.
"I'll take your word for it, but I really can't be staying." Jack straightened, meeting Owen's gaze squarely. "Where's my wrist-strap?"
"Costello has it, and the gun from your pocket."
"It's not a toy, Harper." Jack's brows lowered, glaring at him. "I need it back."
"I can't do that." Owen shrugged, sliding his hands into his own pockets. "Procedures and all that." Ones that he'd already broken, just by keeping the existence of the advanced gun and whatever the device Jack had worn on his wrist out of his report.
"You could just get it back, and let me go."
"Why?" Owen raised an eyebrow in an echo of Jack's earlier expression. "The equipment already recorded a Rift spike, and London's not going to believe there was nothing when you landed practically on top of the Hub. I'm not loosing my job over one person. And they won't believe an escape, either. Not from here."
"But they might, from this other facility." Jack looked skeptical, and Owen shrugged. It wasn't really likely they'd accept an escape from Flat Holme, either, but it wouldn't be his job on the line if Jack broke out of there. "It'd be easier if you brought me my wrist-strap in the morning."
"Ask Costello for it back, I'm not going to tell her she can't study it." Owen looked up at the faint creak of a door, and shook his head at Jack when he opened his mouth, adding quietly, "If London finds out, you'll be interrogated, and probably killed when they can't find any other use for you. If you really would rather that, fine, but I'd rather not be party to a murder I can prevent."
The door to the cell block opened a moment later, Suzie slipping through the opening, and closing it behind her. "Hallett's going to try to get the boat to take our guest over this afternoon, instead of waiting for the supply run tomorrow morning, if he's in good enough shape to ship over now." She raised an eyebrow at him. "No reason to quarantine him here for longer than that, is there?"
Owen glanced at the camera, rolling his eyes for the benefit of whoever was watching. "Everyone there's got all their vaccinations, and he's not showing any side-effects from having been stun-gunned."
"Good." Suzie pressed her lips together a moment, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly as if she was trying to repress a smirk, before turning and leaving. That was never a good sign.