Fandom: Torchwood

Characters: Jack, Ianto

Author: m_findlow

Rating: PG

Length: 3,894 words

Content notes: none

Author notes: Written for Challenge 260 - Cave and Challenges 188 - Rush and 199 - Best (Bingo squares)

Summary: Jack and Ianto are facing their toughest assignment yet, and the best solution is a huge gamble.

 

Jack felt Ianto squirm as he pulled his arm tighter around Jack's body, enjoying the warm skin pressed against his own. 'Go to sleep,' he murmured.

'No. Because then the next thing I'll be doing is waking up and then it'll be over.' Jack heard him breathe in deeply, luxuriating in the scent of Jack's pheromones. 'I want this to last as long as possible.'

Jack didn't disagree with Ianto's logic. Tonight would end soon enough, and then it would be another whole week until they could be together like this again. He didn't even feel tired, but he knew tomorrow they'd both feel the consequences of staying up all night and not getting a wink of sleep. Tomorrow, whether they liked it or not, they still had a job to do, and they'd need to be on their toes.

'I used to think that spending every waking minute of every day with you was about as close as I could get to heaven,' Jack said, 'but now I'm pretty sure I'm actually in hell.'

Ianto snuggled closer, rubbing his nose along Jack's jawline and letting out a tired sigh. 'Do you think it's too late to hand in our resignations?' he asked, but already knowing the answer was no. For now, he and Jack were stuck here, representing the Shadow Proclamation for the foreseeable future with no way out. Now he knew why Jack had always liked being his own boss. Having the most powerful organisation in the universe dictating their business was not something he'd imagined would ever be a problem. Had he known they might end up in a situation like this, he would have kept his big mouth shut.

Getting involved with the Shadow Proclamation had been Ianto's idea. They'd traveled far and wide since leaving Earth, but without a real job anymore Ianto was struggling to cope with a lack of feeling like he was contributing. Jack has spent years wondering how Ianto could be so used to the sometimes brutal schedule he'd kept himself to when they'd been at Torchwood, filling his days with long lists of things that needed doing. He'd since been enjoying their travels, like the extended holiday they'd been accruing but never actually stopped to take, Jack could sense the idleness was getting to him.

He hadn't even discussed it with Jack, not until he'd had some discussions with the Shadow Proclamation first and sounded them out. He'd done plenty of liaising with them over the years, getting their assistance in expelling undesirables from Earth, or accessing their extensive libraries when they came up against a problem they couldn't solve. Asking them if there was some way they could render assistance was a subtle way of asking them if there were any jobs going. Only then once he'd confirmed their willingness, did he mention it to Jack and put it on the table. He was sure Jack wouldn't say no. And he hadn't.

It was a liaison role, part translator, part mediator, and importantly, part time. With their previous experience it should be a walk in the park, and still give them the freedom and flexibility to travel when they wanted, simply taking assignments on a choice basis. Plus the pay would keep them out of trouble and put of their piggy bank savings. Travelling the universe was an expensive business even when you had your own ship, and even with Jack's extensive wealth.

Normally their assignments would be to come in and arbitrate between two parties who had some grievance that could only be settled under Proclamation law. Sometimes it was an issue between two neighbouring planets, and sometimes it was a dispute against universal laws themselves, which had created an unjust or unfair outcome. Their task was to represent the aggrieved, to apply the law as they understood it, and to come to some sort of compromise. Nine times out of ten everybody went home happy, and the talk around Proclamation water coolers was that they'd very quickly become the best in the business at this sort of work.

Their current assignment however had gone well beyond arbitration by the time they'd been called in. Three different Shadow Proclamation mediators had already attempted to broker a deal and all of them had hit a wall.

The planet in question comprised two large continents which butted up against one another, each with its own central government and laws. Whilst they'd lived in peace for thousands of years, trading goods and allowing the free flow of commodities and people across their borders, the growth in populations had put increasing strain on resources and political tensions. Despite the initially amicable talks, things had gone rapidly south, with both sides refusing to cave in to demands from the other, and now it had become a peace treaty negotiation before the two continents broke out into all out war.

They'd been briefed beforehand of the complexities involved, as they would have for any assignment they undertook, but negotiations like this weren't what they were accustomed to. Normally, they came in and helped the two parties talk things out. Within a few hours or a few days, everything could be settled. This however was a tense negotiation, and instead of being the independent middle ground, Jack and Ianto found themselves split up, each representing one side. The governments themselves were done with dealing with each other face to face. They wanted the arbitrators to go in and do everything for them, meaning that Jack and Ianto would have to broker the deal between themselves. That meant complete separation from one another except for when they were in the negotiations room, each putting forth the case of their own governments.

After three weeks of stalled talks and offers that refused to be met, both of them were feeling on edge, and even becoming argumentative with one another over the other's refusal to accept terms. They were used to playing good cop, bad cop, but they'd always worked as a team to get a result. Fighting on opposite sides was not their usual gameplan.

Seeing the strain that it was putting on their own relationship, Jack had finally pulled rank, demanding that they be allowed conjugal rights. They were Shadow Proclamation representatives, after all. It didn't see fair that just because the two sides couldn't or wouldn't reach an agreement, that he and Ianto should be forced to live apart. They way things were going, this could drag on for months. He didn't think they would survive it if something didn't give, and soon.

'The more time I spend with them the more I sympathise with them,' Ianto confessed.

'I know,' Jack agreed. It was impossible not to. It wasn't that one continent was being overly aggressive, they just had differences of opinion that they held fast to and which had caused increasing tensions as then years had rolled on. Even though their demands were getting more petty and refusing to cooperate on previously accepted proposals, Jack found himself fighting harder for every inch of ground, and things were going to turn nasty if he couldn't bring back news that he'd succeeded in brokering the terms they wanted.

'It feels like were stuck in some kind of weird Stockholm syndrome,' Ianto replied.

Jack breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. 'They're going to propose tomorrow that all marriages between Cartans and Eltonians be annulled in Eltonia,' he admitted.

Ianto pushed up from where his head had been resting on Jack's shoulder. 'But they can't.' He sounded horrified and rightly so. The whole reason they'd gotten married in Eltonia was because of the stringent religious requirements in Carta. They couldn't be wed in Carta unless both were baptised by a high priest and adopted their religious edict. Many Eltonians, if not all of them, believed that religion was a farce, as did a growing number of Cartans. Getting married in Eltonia was their only option. To have their unions annulled would force them either to re-wed in Carta and be forced to abide by their religious laws, or otherwise have their soulmates deported. It had already been made clear by law that marriage was the only way Eltonians could legally remain in Carta, and vice versa. 'It would be a forced deportation of all Cartans.'

Jack sighed, reaching up to touch Ianto's face. 'I know. They don't have to negotiate it. They just change the law and that's that. What a mess, huh?' Jack knew if it were them, he wouldn't let any stupid laws stand in their way, but this was not their planet, and they had the choice to go wherever they wanted. These people didn't have space travel. They were stuck here living with whatever laws and politics were devised.

'We've put so many options on the table,' Ianto replied, sighing heavily. 'I don't know what the best way forward is anymore.' He was tired of having to quibble with Jack over the stupidest things put forth by the Cartan government that Ianto was supposed to endorse on their behalf. They didn't want Eltonian aircraft flying anywhere within one hundred miles of the border, knowing full well that there were three major cities within that strip. Eltonians wanted to stop the export of maize even though their farming land was far more fertile because of the geography, and despite the fact that the export brought a considerable boost to their economy.

'They're going to prevent access to the myoloxia vaccine,' Ianto said when Jack didn't reply.

Jack sat up in bed, dislodging Ianto from his comfortable spot nestled against Jack's collarbone. 'They can't do that. There's of thousand of kids who could die without that vaccine.'

Ianto sat up to face him in the darkness. 'I know. I wasn't even supposed to tell you that unless you refused to concede on reducing sulphur emissions from your manufacturing operations.'

Jack clenched his jaw. 'We agreed to the eight percent reduction over ten years. Manufacturing is the lifeblood of the Eltonian economy and they know that.'

'They want fifteen over five years, now. And regular spot check inspections of water quality in the upper Vyne River.'

'And you told them that it the most ridiculous thing you ever ever heard, right? Afraid we're going to dump a whole bunch of chemicals in it and send them down river to poison their fish? They can shove their emissions target up their corn growing, sanctimonious arses.' Jack heaved out a breath, trying to quell his sudden anger. 'Sorry. I shouldn't be getting mad at you.'

'Guess that's why they don't want us spending time together outside of the negotiation room.' Talk like that, if it had been said in the negotiation room and overheard by their constituent governments, could cause a complete collapse in peace talks.

'It's okay,' Jack said, gently rubbing his hand up and down Ianto's arm. 'There was another group of insurgents that crossed the border last night and set fires out the front of an apartment block. The Eltonians are openly denying involvement but behind closed doors they admitted they knew about it and would do nothing to stop it. They think it's sending a message. The Cartans will be responding to that. That's why they're being difficult.'

'I didn't know,' Ianto confessed, 'but that does make sense now as to why they suddenly decided to pull the vaccine off the table. Everyone was acting very cagey yesterday. It was almost like they were afraid to let me be in the room. Was anyone hurt?'

'I don't think so, fortunately.'

Ianto leant forward, pressing his forehead against Jack's. 'This is a disaster. I just wish it was over.'

Jack reached up a hand to stroke his face. 'We can't afford to rush this. I know that sounds hard, but this is what we were brought here to do.'

Jack hated saying it. He wanted it to be over with so that he and Ianto could go back to their normal lives, laughing and enjoying one another's company instead of being at cross purposes over the negotiating table. Even just coming together each day was a battle. The border was intensely secured by both continents, with a huge military facility that spanned both sides. They had to pass through three different checkpoints and a long tunnel, just to reach the central office where they could talk, and even then, it was only through a thick glass wall and speaker system. Each of them would then relay the conversation back to their respective representatives housed in a separate conference room on each side. It has hard to believe they'd built all of this in just months as political tensions rose. It felt like the kind of bunker that had been here for decades. He'd they known what they might be walking into, they might not have accepted the appointment quite so readily. The list of things they'd managed to agree on was far shorter than the list of things as yet unresolved. Even here, in room they'd been allowed to occupy for one night per week in the old Eltonian consulate, they were kept in lockdown with guards posted outside the door so that they wouldn't be able to move about unfettered on Eltonian territory. Even as diplomats it seemed they weren't to be trusted.

The media had done nothing to aid peace talks either, each side claiming more and more outlandish stories - how crops were failing on Carta because of genetically modified seed being swept across the borders by winds at first, but now claimed as intentional flyovers, dumping seed that was strangling regular crops. Eltonians spread stories about flag burning and mass protests in Carta, threatening to destroy Eltonian historical artifacts that had been loaned to their libraries and museums under pre-existing cultural exchanges.

It wasn't that there weren't genuine acts of atrocity going on. Insurgents from both sides had been causing trouble for years, finally escalating things to where they were now. For the most part, the people seemed peaceable and friendly, despite the one-sided media coverage which had been bought by the government to, portray their own agenda. As always, it was the few that had spoiled it for the many, and the more the media churned up headlines, the more people began to distrust those on the other side, even family who'd crossed borders for work or for love.

Ianto gave a tiny shudder. 'I wish we'd never taken on this assignment.'

Jack hugged him closer. 'Someone had to. Talks had broken down three times already. The Proclamation were at their wits end with who to send in next.'

Ianto made a vexed sound. 'Reward for doing our job a little too well, I suppose. At this rate it's going to take months, maybe even years.'

'And if we don't do it properly, they'll just fall back into civil unrest, or even war. We can't walk away and let that happen.'

'I know that!' Ianto snapped, pulling away from Jack. 'That doesn't mean I have to like it!'

'Hey, it's not a walk in the park for me, either,' Jack said, trying to bite down on his own rising temper. 'You're the one who was always good at being patient. There are whole days when I just want to smack their heads together and tell them to stop being so petty. Some alien race from another world could come along tomorrow and enslave their whole planet and they'll still be bickering over who gets the better prison cells. They have no idea what's out there waiting for them. If they did, maybe they'd put aside their differences.'

'We both know it's more complicated than that. Even back home it's no different. You saw what happened with the 456. We nearly got wiped from existence but as soon as it was over, everyone went back to their political games and their infighting. You'd hardly know they'd rallied together.'

'To condemn millions of kids to a terrible fate, ' Jack countered. 'If I were them, I wouldn't be crowing about solidarity either.' They'd be glad to go back to their petty religious and political differences just to be able to sweep memories of what they'd agreed to under the proverbial rug. And so they should. They should have stood together and fought back, whatever the consequences. It still rankled him to this day. It was not a proud moment for the human race.

Ianto remained silent for a long time. Jack could tell he was thinking about home. Jack pulled him back down onto the bed and pulled the covers up over them. Ianto complied but Jack could tell he was still unsettled. He should have been enjoying the feeling of being wrapped up in Jack's arms, since in a few hours it would be gone. He'd have to wait a whole week to be reunited again. It didn't matter that they spend half their day siting across from one another, trying to nut out treaty terms. That glass window might as well have been a great concrete wall, preventing them from being together, and their negotiations were being scrutinised carefully by both side via closed circuit cameras. The only thing more trying was having to return to those conference rooms and put up with the arguments from the governments themselves, insisting that they not come back until they'd gotten their own way.

Their personal exchanges were limited to the beginning of the day as everyone settled in. They were lucky to have time to ask one another if they'd slept okay. Even their breaks were meant to be taken apart. Jack joked that their first point of negotiations should be how to get some of Ianto's coffee across the border. There was no doubt that Ianto had taken matters into hand on that front, ensuring that the coffee came up to meet his exacting standards, but Jack was left with a poor imitation and nought he could do about it. It was just one more reason he'd be glad to see the back of this assignment. No wonder he was getting so cranky.

'You're thinking loudly again, Ianto,' Jack teased, trying to break the tension in the room. He wasn't psychic by any means, but he knew just by some sixth sense that Ianto was mulling over something more serious than just a yearning for home.

Ianto ran a hand over Jack's shoulder and lifted his head. 'I was just thinking about invasion. It's not a bad idea, really.'

Jack gave a little chuckle. 'Whilst I've often admired your determination, Ianto Jones, I don't think we need a whole planet for ourselves. Especially not this one. Though I'm sure they have many lovely features,' he added slightly louder for anyone else who might be listening in.

Ianto nipped Jack's ear with his teeth for his flippant comment. 'That's not what I meant.'

Jack frowned, trying to focus on Ianto's facial expression which was difficult to discern in the dark. 'Then what did you mean?'

'You said if they were threatened by an outside force, they might put aside their differences.'

Jack resisted the urge to laugh out loud. 'Chances of that happening are pretty slim.' Wouldn't that just be the "Hail Mary" of all negotiation tactics?

Ianto brought his voice down the less than a whisper, pulling the covers up higher around their heads. He couldn't be certain either that the room wasn't bugged despite assurances that they would have complete privacy. He and Jack both knew better. 'Unless of course we brought the invasion to them,' he whispered.

Jack tensed despite the warm breath in his ear. He pulled Ianto as close as he could, snuggling down into the bed so that his lower face was now underneath the duvet. 'You want to bring invading forces here just to try and broker peace?'

Ianto gave a reassuring squeeze. 'Not a real invasion. Just enough of a show to make them think it's real. Force them to have to work together. A wake up call if you like. We know people. It wouldn't be impossible to get a message out and call in a few favours.'

Jack pondered the idea, playing devil's advocate. 'And what's to stop our fake invasionary forces from being attacked? You think they'll just sit here and not mount a defense?'

'We know this planet's military defenses. If we brought an invading force in that had superior technology and firepower, they wouldn't attempt a first strike. We could threaten them with say a virus or something that would be unleashed unless they surrendered. No shots would have to be fired.'

Jack knew where this was going. Ianto wanted a repeat performance of what they'd experienced on Earth. 'Only we beat them,' Jack reminded him, 'and as you said, it didn't change a thing.'

'This is just two continents, not a whole planet of countries in conflict. They've lived here peaceably for thousands of years. They don't have a whole complicated history of war and conflict bubbling away under the surface. We could put an end to tensions before they manifest into something that can't be undone.'

Jack fell silent. It could work. A little risky and unpredictable, but it could work. They did know people who with a single large vessel and sufficiently futuristic technology could imitate an entire race of hostile aliens. Demonstrating their power without creating casualties would be tricky but not impossible. 'You want to orchestrate a fake war to prevent a real one breaking out,' he said. Jack hated to admit it, but this was by far the best idea they'd had, crazy as it sounded. 'It's going to take time to plan,' Jack whispered.

'We won't be able to discuss details anywhere except here,' Ianto replied. 'It's too risky.'

They'd need days to work it all out. That translated into weeks in reality. They'd only get one shot at this. If anyone found out what they were doing, it would spell disaster. 'Can we stall negotiations long enough?' Jack asked.

'Negotiations aren't going anywhere and we're the ones doing all the negotiating.'

Jack admitted that was true. On a good day Ianto could wear Jack down with long-winded arguments as to why something should be the way he wanted it, and Jack was similarly skilled in digging his heels in for as long as was necessary to get his own way. 'All we need to do is enough to prevent them going to war with each other,' he surmised.

'So, we go around in circles and don't agree to anything,' Ianto replied. 'Not that it should be difficult given how well things are going so far. The more time we can buy ourselves, the better.'

Jack groaned. 'More weeks of not being able to be together, but I agree it's the best plan we have. I just hope that we don't cave in first. I'm not sure how much longer I can stand it and now we're about to give up our one night to plan a war.'

Ianto hugged him close and kissed his nose. 'I'm sure we'll be able to find time in between battle plans for a little coming together of our own.'

Jack grinned. 'That's one fight I'll be happy to lose.'