"I'll pass that on to the higher ups." He didn't think the art budges was high on their list of priorities, but who knew. Maybe they'd be willing to give them much of anything in exchange for the chaos twins.
Jack wished there was an easy way to handle this. He really didn't enjoy doing this, but he knew there was nothing he could do to avoid it. "We've managed to contain Barty for now, Giacomo. He's been with us for about a week now."
A lot of it spent listening to obnoxious music or listening to football matches. Sam's revenge was so very bizarre.
"Right. Well. I don't know a Barty so..." Giacomo stood up and started to edge his way to the door. "Look, man, it's a pleasure but like I said, I have a party and I-I-I just don't want to be here. You're coming on a little too strong."
Ianto came in and set the coffee down, sparing Giacomo a look. "The doors are locked, I wouldn't advise it." Just some helpful advise.
"Ah." Damn. "Isn't this illegal? I have rights. It's unlawful detention and you don't want to take me to court, I'm a damn good lawyer."
"You're a lawyer."
"Uh. Sure. It's not that hard." Giacomo dismissed as he gave Jack a nervous look, eyeing him up and down. Had to be a ploy, they didn't have Barty. Barty was too smart to get caught.
"Torchwood operates outside the government and beyond the police. I'm afraid the legality of this isn't really a concern. But it doesn't have to be unpleasant, we can simply work together." Somehow, Jack was beginning to doubt that would happen.
He turned on the screen placed on one wall and got to the right camera feed, showing Barty reading in his cell, looking relatively at peace for the moment. "Your brother is right here, as you can see. Just down the stairs."
"No. No, no, no. Why would you do that?!" Giacomo yelled suddenly, hands in his hair, pulling on it tightly. "Why would you put him there? What is wrong with you!?" Okay, maybe yelling at this guy was a bad way to start off but what else could he do? He was fucked. "He doesn't belong in a cage."
Not again. Why was this happening again? He felt a surge of every single horrible feeling run inside of him and the most stark feeling was defeat. He was fucked. "What the fuck is wrong with you people?"
"Please calm down." He wasn't truly expecting him to, but sometimes it helped to request it calmly. Jack was trying to deescalate the situation. "As you must know, Barty is a threat to essentially everyone he interacts with. For that reason, it has been a priority to contain him for many years now."
Essentially since they learned he existed on any level, as far as Jack could tell. "He hasn't been harmed at all in our care, Giacomo. Please. I can explain."
"But he will be! That's why I'm here. You're all the fucking same, Jesus Christ. Can't you people leave us alone?!" Was it mom and dad again? Or was this some horrible new company that wanted an in? His stomach twisted into knots and he backed away from Jack. "There's many more dangerous men in the world but they don't end up in cages. You just want him. Everyone does."
Of course they did. It was a race to the best weapon, the biggest gun, the best asset to win every war. "Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot, I don't need it explaining. I know what this is." Giacomo sucked in a breath, trying to calm himself as much as he could. "I won't do it."
Yes, that went about as badly as could be expected. Jack got up and took a deep breath, wondering how to best handle it from here. He supposed he wasn't about to gain Giacomo's trust. It would feel wrong too, because it wasn't as if what Giacomo assumed didn't have some truth to it.
"One of my people here, one of the team. He's dated your brother, years ago. Your brother claims to love him and he has all but been destroyed." Now it just sounded as if he was after revenge. Damn. "All that man wants is for your brother to be neutralised. Just a little. Enough to function like a person."
That was no lie, at least. That was what Sam wanted.
"But he is a person. He's a person, can't you see that?!" Giacomo asked in disbelief as he gestured at his brother, sitting in his cell, likely bored out of his mind. That was always the worse part, the boredom - waiting for the inevitable pain. "He's a person who feels emotions and pain and exists in this world. It's people like you that ruined him. You owe him, he doesn't fucking owe you!"
They were owed their life back, they lost it when they were young and it was impossible to get back. He'd tried, it was never quite right. Nothing was safe, nothing was like the books. It wasn't fair.
His nose started to drip blood and he raised his hand, catching it. "For the love -- can you get me a tissue? Fuck."
"Here you go." There were some tissues on the side table. Suspiciously close to Owen's spot, maybe it was best not to think about that too much. Jack sat back down, wanting to appear less threatening. Wanting to try and figure this out. "Look, Giacomo. Everyone on my team is powered. Not all with powers as impressive as you or your brother, but it's not as if we don't know what it can be like. How it is."
Jack knew that things weren't that easy. "Sometimes there are only hard choices. For the greater good."
"Yeah, usually when people talk about the greater good, it's code for 'I'm going to do a bad thing that I don't agree with because someone above me told me it's a good idea'." Giacomo remarked sarcastically as he tilted his head back to try and stop the flow. It was so embarrassing, he really didn't want to greet Barty again after so many years with blood on his face.
"And for the record, my power isn't impressive. It's garbage. It's barely a power." All he could do was turn powers on and off. And he couldn't always control it. With a huff, he pulled the tissue away from his nose and sniffed. "And I won't use it on my brother. Those days are over."
"What if that is what would give your brother a chance to have a better life? A proper life." He supposed there was no use trying to get through with that approach. And probably also no way of convincing Giacomo that they were after anything other than finetuning a way to use Barty without risking anything. Jack wanted to do something else, he certainly knew Sam and Ianto and probably most of his team wanted it, but he knew what they were expecting higher up.
"Your brother has been trying to be good lately. It's a thing. For the man I told you about. For Sam Tyler. He's been trying not to hurt people."
"So he's trying to be good and rehabilitate and his reward for that is captivity?" That didn't track for him either. If his brother wanted to change, why didn't they help him? "He wants to be a better person but that's never going to happen if he stays like this. You think they did what they did to us so we could be good people? No one who wants him, or us, wants good."
He sat back down, reluctant and tired, putting his head in his hands. "If he likes someone, why not use them to help him? Why use me?" It just didn't seem fair. "I haven't done anything bad. I don't have a criminal record. I've never hurt anyone either. I gamble and fuck around but not illegally. Why am I pawn?"
"I am sorry." It wasn't fair, no. "Your brother's obsession, what he thinks is love, it's volatile. I'm sure you know, he seems to have some of that over you as well." Given the memories he had put into Ianto's head. They were clearly about Giacomo, it was very obvious now.
"Maybe you can just meet him. We'll... We'll monitor things." They had to run experiments, really. Gather data. But Jack had a feeling that wasn't a good subject to bring up. "We have experts and great technology. I'm sure your physical presence could be obsolete soon." They just needed something that could temporarily neutralise Barty at any point. An injection based on Giacomo's power, maybe that was possible.
"He's my brother." Giacomo stated hopelessly, not sure what to say. "I don't want to hurt him any more. I never did." But what choice did he have? He was stuck here and as always, the circus had to go on. He hated it so much. He hated that mom and dad made them do it and whatever slim chance of a life they had would be gone now.
"You people always say Barty is a monster but he never hurt me. Can't say the same for anyone else I've ever met in a place like this." Giacomo sighed and leaned his head back, looking at the ceiling. "When do I talk to him?"
"Whenever you feel ready." Jack was trying to be kind here, but he also knew that they had to get results. And he knew that there was no way to make Giacomo feel better about this, no matter how he argued for it. He didn't want to treat him as if he was stupid or naive. "If you'd like, we could walk down right now. He doesn't know that you're in the country."
He was sure that would be an unpleasant surprise, given everything.
"He knew it was coming, he's not an idiot. Bet he's expecting me."
Giacomo got up and shoved his hands into his pockets, shrugging his shoulders. "Lead the way, I guess." As they left the conference room, Giacomo eyed up the people in the room and frowned, wondering which one was the guy his brother was into. It was interesting though, for a bunch of people who thought they were doing the right thing, none of them wanted to look him in the eye. "Like I said before - you need more art on the walls. This place is depressing and not just cause of the human right violations. Maybe get some pop art."
"We'll work on it," Jack promised as he opened the door to the stairs and let Giacomo go first. "He's not here. Sam. He's out right now." He wasn't sure why he clarified. "You can meet him later, if you want."
That said, they arrived on the door to the cells and he opened that as well. Barty didn't put his book down, he kept on reading. There was a rather outdated boombox placed right next to his cell and the book he was reading with a frown was titled 'Chicken soup for the soul', because Sam could be a cruel son of a bitch.
"Hey, Jakob." Barty was still looking at the book, even turning a page. "Long time no see."
"Hey, Barty. God, that's annoying." He came over and turned the boombox off because he didn't want to listen to Disco. Who did? Fuck disco. He looked up at the camera and he knew they would be able to translate it but maybe not in real time. Maybe it brought him some ounce of privacy. So he switched to Italian.
"Tell me what to do." He didn't know, he was lost and confused, he had no idea what he should do or how to keep them both safe. "I don't want to be here. I don't want you here. What do we do?"
Going one step further, Barty switched to Latin, reciting a poem before closing the book. "Alas, poor brother, unfairly taken away from me, now in the meantime, nevertheless, these things which in the ancient custom of ancestors are handed over as a sad tribute to the rites, receive, dripping much with brotherly weeping."
That said he sat up, set the book aside and finally looked at Giacomo. It had been a while. He moved on to Italian as well, since it was more of a token effort anyway. At least Jack looked confused, so there was some satisfaction in that. "I've been feeling nostalgic, Jakob. I think it's time to bury the past."
"Bury? How? It won't go away. I've tried, it doesn't go. You can party, drink and fuck but it doesn't go away." He had been trying. A lot. He moved closer to the cell and then leaned on the glass, looking at his brother curiously. And then he switched to Tolkien Elvish. Why not? It was fun to be around his brother, only he could play with languages the same way he did. "Mother? Father? They've been so absent."
He had never seen them again, even if in the early days, he had a pathetically childish want to be found by them and just have a normal life. As if. Idly, he changed it up to French this time. It was just satisfying to make it as hard as possible for these guys to snoop. "It's just us at the end. As always. What do you have in mind, brother?"
"My mind is on blood and death." What else was new there. Other than the language, which was Gaelic. Barty sounded almost wistful there and then he turned his head and smiled suddenly, looking at Giac, his tongue touching the corner of his mouth briefly. Ancient Greek was a good choice for this. "Oedipus was ignorant when he killed his father. I've never claimed ignorance. It doesn't fit me."
He planned on killing both their parents with full awareness.
"...are you two fucking around?" Jack honestly couldn't tell. "How many languages do you speak?"
"At least one more." Barty answered him in English, then spoke to Giacomo in one of the languages they had made up. One that only they spoke. "I know where they are. That's why I came here. To find out."
He wanted him to know that he was still too smart to be caught. That he could still protect him.
"It's fun, you'll enjoy translating. Promise." Giacomo assured Jack with a bright smile before he turned back to Barty, seamlessly switching to the language they had built together all those years ago. A shared language of trauma and resistance. One he enjoyed speaking and hadn't been able to for years.
"I knew it was on purpose! Smart Bart. Are you going to kill them?" Giacomo didn't know how it felt but he couldn't say he was weeping over it. "They want to stop you. They want to use me to neutralise you. I can't let it happen, not this time. I want to not be a coward or -- or it never stops, does it?"
Giacomo looked scared as he looked to his brother, clearly unhappy with the situation. "Kill them and make it all stop, Barty. I want it to stop."
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Jack wished there was an easy way to handle this. He really didn't enjoy doing this, but he knew there was nothing he could do to avoid it. "We've managed to contain Barty for now, Giacomo. He's been with us for about a week now."
A lot of it spent listening to obnoxious music or listening to football matches. Sam's revenge was so very bizarre.
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Ianto came in and set the coffee down, sparing Giacomo a look. "The doors are locked, I wouldn't advise it." Just some helpful advise.
"Ah." Damn. "Isn't this illegal? I have rights. It's unlawful detention and you don't want to take me to court, I'm a damn good lawyer."
"You're a lawyer."
"Uh. Sure. It's not that hard." Giacomo dismissed as he gave Jack a nervous look, eyeing him up and down. Had to be a ploy, they didn't have Barty. Barty was too smart to get caught.
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He turned on the screen placed on one wall and got to the right camera feed, showing Barty reading in his cell, looking relatively at peace for the moment. "Your brother is right here, as you can see. Just down the stairs."
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Not again. Why was this happening again? He felt a surge of every single horrible feeling run inside of him and the most stark feeling was defeat. He was fucked. "What the fuck is wrong with you people?"
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Essentially since they learned he existed on any level, as far as Jack could tell. "He hasn't been harmed at all in our care, Giacomo. Please. I can explain."
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Of course they did. It was a race to the best weapon, the biggest gun, the best asset to win every war. "Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot, I don't need it explaining. I know what this is." Giacomo sucked in a breath, trying to calm himself as much as he could. "I won't do it."
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"One of my people here, one of the team. He's dated your brother, years ago. Your brother claims to love him and he has all but been destroyed." Now it just sounded as if he was after revenge. Damn. "All that man wants is for your brother to be neutralised. Just a little. Enough to function like a person."
That was no lie, at least. That was what Sam wanted.
no subject
They were owed their life back, they lost it when they were young and it was impossible to get back. He'd tried, it was never quite right. Nothing was safe, nothing was like the books. It wasn't fair.
His nose started to drip blood and he raised his hand, catching it. "For the love -- can you get me a tissue? Fuck."
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Jack knew that things weren't that easy. "Sometimes there are only hard choices. For the greater good."
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"And for the record, my power isn't impressive. It's garbage. It's barely a power." All he could do was turn powers on and off. And he couldn't always control it. With a huff, he pulled the tissue away from his nose and sniffed. "And I won't use it on my brother. Those days are over."
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"Your brother has been trying to be good lately. It's a thing. For the man I told you about. For Sam Tyler. He's been trying not to hurt people."
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He sat back down, reluctant and tired, putting his head in his hands. "If he likes someone, why not use them to help him? Why use me?" It just didn't seem fair. "I haven't done anything bad. I don't have a criminal record. I've never hurt anyone either. I gamble and fuck around but not illegally. Why am I pawn?"
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"Maybe you can just meet him. We'll... We'll monitor things." They had to run experiments, really. Gather data. But Jack had a feeling that wasn't a good subject to bring up. "We have experts and great technology. I'm sure your physical presence could be obsolete soon." They just needed something that could temporarily neutralise Barty at any point. An injection based on Giacomo's power, maybe that was possible.
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"You people always say Barty is a monster but he never hurt me. Can't say the same for anyone else I've ever met in a place like this." Giacomo sighed and leaned his head back, looking at the ceiling. "When do I talk to him?"
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He was sure that would be an unpleasant surprise, given everything.
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Giacomo got up and shoved his hands into his pockets, shrugging his shoulders. "Lead the way, I guess." As they left the conference room, Giacomo eyed up the people in the room and frowned, wondering which one was the guy his brother was into. It was interesting though, for a bunch of people who thought they were doing the right thing, none of them wanted to look him in the eye. "Like I said before - you need more art on the walls. This place is depressing and not just cause of the human right violations. Maybe get some pop art."
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That said, they arrived on the door to the cells and he opened that as well. Barty didn't put his book down, he kept on reading. There was a rather outdated boombox placed right next to his cell and the book he was reading with a frown was titled 'Chicken soup for the soul', because Sam could be a cruel son of a bitch.
"Hey, Jakob." Barty was still looking at the book, even turning a page. "Long time no see."
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"Tell me what to do." He didn't know, he was lost and confused, he had no idea what he should do or how to keep them both safe. "I don't want to be here. I don't want you here. What do we do?"
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That said he sat up, set the book aside and finally looked at Giacomo. It had been a while. He moved on to Italian as well, since it was more of a token effort anyway. At least Jack looked confused, so there was some satisfaction in that. "I've been feeling nostalgic, Jakob. I think it's time to bury the past."
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He had never seen them again, even if in the early days, he had a pathetically childish want to be found by them and just have a normal life. As if. Idly, he changed it up to French this time. It was just satisfying to make it as hard as possible for these guys to snoop. "It's just us at the end. As always. What do you have in mind, brother?"
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He planned on killing both their parents with full awareness.
"...are you two fucking around?" Jack honestly couldn't tell. "How many languages do you speak?"
"At least one more." Barty answered him in English, then spoke to Giacomo in one of the languages they had made up. One that only they spoke. "I know where they are. That's why I came here. To find out."
He wanted him to know that he was still too smart to be caught. That he could still protect him.
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"I knew it was on purpose! Smart Bart. Are you going to kill them?" Giacomo didn't know how it felt but he couldn't say he was weeping over it. "They want to stop you. They want to use me to neutralise you. I can't let it happen, not this time. I want to not be a coward or -- or it never stops, does it?"
Giacomo looked scared as he looked to his brother, clearly unhappy with the situation. "Kill them and make it all stop, Barty. I want it to stop."