m_findlow

Title: Justice served
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, OC
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,357 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for m_findlow's prompt "Any, any, letting justice take its course" at fic_promptly
Summary: All Jack wants is justice for his team.

'Don’t get angry with me, Jack,' the patient voice across the other side of the desk instructed.

'And why the hell shouldn’t I get angry?'

The man on the other side of the desk gave him an unyielding look and Jack slumped back in the chair, his face still a mask of displeasure. He huffed in a petulant way.

'Don’t be like this, Jack,' the man replied, leaning forward, hands calmly clasped over the file on his desk blotter. 'These things take time.'

'Believe me,' Jack said, 'I know all about time. I’ve got oodles of the stuff, but I’m sick of this dragging on. Three of them have made bail. How long until they’re all out on bail? And what are your department doing about it?'

The man tried to be patient with Jack. He knew it was a hard ask. Jack had never been patient in all the time he’d known him. It was part of what had attracted him in the first place; that devil may care, fast and loose wildness that had swept him off his feet, and straight into bed with him. That and the fact that he’d been unceremoniously shoved into a broom closet to prevent them from having their legs eaten off by something called a Vargol which was prowling the halls near the chief prosecutor’s office. Pressed up that close together, was it any wonder that Jack had managed to sneak a kiss, or had he perhaps initiated it? It was so hard to tell anymore.

That had been at least two years ago now, but it still felt like yesterday. He could have fallen straight back into bed with him right now if it wasn’t for professionalism and the desk sitting between them. Jack wasn’t just a fling anymore. Now he was part of his current case load, and the expression on his face was not one of romantic interest, but of annoyance and frustration.

'Jack, you can’t just keep coming here every few days wanting an update. The director of the CPS is going to start wondering why I keep calling you in for further interviews. There’s only so many witness statement amendments I can make, or be claiming to make.'

Jack leaned forward. 'Seriously? How long does it take to put together a case against a bunch of murdering cannibals? You’ve got physical evidence, eyewitnesses, full confessions. What more do you need? They’re guilty as hell.'

He wanted to pull out the file that showed the photos the SOCO unit had taken of the fridges down in the cellar, the blood spattered plastic curtains stapled to the inner walls of their butchering room, and the photos of the bodily bruises borne by his own team members, black, blue, purple and red. The list of injuries from their medical files was lengthy, and that was just what was physically observable. Their psychological records were being held back as corroborating evidence. There was too much history in those files to risk going on public record.

'We’ve petitioned the courts to revoke bail for the remaining defendants. I expect they’ll be remanded in custody until a trial date is set. The ones already on bail have had their passports surrendered.'

'Oh good,' Jack replied, blue eyes stormy, 'so they’ll only be able to kill locally in the meantime. I should have killed them all when I had the chance.'

He stared seriously into Jack’s eyes. 'Don’t say that.'

'Why? Because it’s true? Are you gonna arrest me for wishing I’d done it? Will I sit and rot in a cell for months whilst the CPS sit on their hands trying to figure out if they’ve got a case against me?'

Jack’s attitude was beginning to irk him. Now he remembered all the reasons why they’d split up in the first place.

'I’m working on this as hard as I can. You have to let the justice system take its course.'

'And what do we do in the meantime? What am I supposed to tell my team? My team who were nearly killed themselves by these animals. What do I say to them to ease the nightmares that keep them awake at night? Tell them to just forget about it and move on?'

He leaned back in his own chair now. Yes, he’d spoken with all of Jack's team at length about their ordeal. Some more than others; gathering evidence and testimony for his files. They all seemed like good people, and people who didn’t deserve to have been put through such horrors. It didn’t surprise him that they might be suffering from the aftereffects. The young Asian woman, Toshiko, and the Welshman, Ianto, seemed to be worst affected. He knew what Jack did for a livng, but even so, the experience, and the notes he’d gathered, painted a very vivid picture. They were all lucky to be alive. There was no question that the defendants weren’t guilty. What he didn’t want was these people getting off without the maximum sentence, but ensuring that happened meant investing time.

'I’m sorry I can’t give you more, Jack. I can only extend to you the offer of counselling for your team again. After a traumatic event, it’s important that people seek out ways and means of dealing with what happened to provide them with understanding and closure. They’ve clearly been through a lot, even if they are accustomed to stressful situations. You might avail yourself too. I’m sure they’re not alone in their feelings. Or you can talk to me, if that's preferable.'

'The only closure they’ll get is knowing that they won’t be cut up into little bits by some crazy whilst they’re asleep in their beds. I need them locked up and the key thrown away. Do that for me.'

He didn’t know how to appease Jack. Just sitting there staring across at him now, he could see that the lengthiness of the process was wearing him down too. He looked as if he’d had very few nights sleep since the incident either, and his hands trembled ever so slightly at the mention of them, though whether it was anger or fear he couldn’t tell. Instead, he stood up and walked around to the other side of desk, resting a hand on that familiar shoulder, sensing the tension in the muscles underneath.

'It’ll happen, Jack. I promise you. Keep me safe from aliens at night, and I’ll keep you safe from cannibals. You tell your team that the CPS will make sure that they are put away for a very long time. I wouldn’t do anything less for you.'

He felt Jack’s body ease slightly under his touch, as if he’d just unburdened himself of some of the responsibility for what happened next. He wanted to be able to unburden Jack completely, take him into bed and to kiss him and screw him until all he could feel was the kind of pain associated with pleasure. Instead he held back. In all of the interviews he’d had, he’d sensed an undercurrent between Jack and the young man named Ianto Jones when each of them mentioned the other. It was subtle, but he’d known his own feelings so long ago, and saw them replicated here in tiny little ways. He hoped that they could help each other through the mess. He left his hand there a moment longer, almost wishing things had been different. He felt Jack sigh and move to stand up.

'You’re right,' Jack said. 'And I’m taking up your time. I know you’re doing everything you can.' There was more he wanted to say, but he held back. It didn’t do well to muddy the waters with things best left in the past.

'It’s no trouble,' the young man assured him. 'It’s been nice to have you visit, if only the circumstances were better.'

'If only,' Jack replied wistfully. He extended a hand and shook it.

'Just promise me that you won’t do anything stupid, Jack. I don’t want anything to jeopardise this case. Justice will be served.'

'Promise,' he replied, crossing his fingers behind his back as he said it.