Torchwood One's New Second In Command

Part 1: Joining Torchwood

Ianto had always known that he was different from the other kids. He knew he was different when he finished his tests in middle school one hour before everyone else. Or when the teacher asked him to answer a question on the lesson and he would recite by heart the chapter of his book on the subject. A book he had only read once before going to bed.

He knew he was different when his classmates ran out at the sound of the bell smiling and hugging the parents or relatives who had come to pick them up while he walked away by himself. His backpack was straining his shoulders; while he mentally prepared himself for a long hour of walking through the dark streets of Cardiff.

He knew he was different when his school mates would take out their homemade lunches that had been thoughtfully prepared by their parents the night before, whereas he ate a cheap store-bought sandwich that he had bought on his way to school with his hard-earned and well-hidden pocket money.

And Ianto knew he would never be like them the day he came back home and found out that from now on it would only be him and his father in this old and cramped apartment. His father was drunkenly passed out on his favourite armchair mumbling incoherent words. Half a dozen glass bottles were thrown around the living room. His beard was unevenly growing in patches on his face. His shirt was stained with what looked like some sort of sauce. Ianto could smell the tobacco and alcohol from the entrance door. He kicked off his shoes and hid them in one of the entrance closets. Then, he ran up the stairs as quickly as possible. He did not want his father to notice his return.

A few weeks ago, his father's "tantrum", that was Ianto's personal nickname for his father's more difficult nights, had still been bearable. His sister had at that time been here to share the burden with him. They would go every Sunday together to see their mother and read her what used to be her favourite detective novels. Some of them he knew now by heart after reading them out loud every week. And when their father would come back drunk on Friday nights, they would lock themselves in Ianto's room and eat bowls of super sweet cereals while playing the few board games they possessed.

But Rhiannon had moved in with her boyfriend so that she would be closer to her work place and probably to finally get out of this miserable flat. He was happy for her. Happy that she had found a place she could call home and a person she could trust. Those were the thoughts of the more mature part of himself. However, deep down, his eleven-year-old self could not stop the feeling of solitude and abandonment from festering in his heart. She had left him behind with their drunk father. And while until then it had only been loud yelling and heavy drinking, after Rhiannon's departure, everything got worse.

He spent five years in this hell, and not once did he tell his sister what really happened those Friday nights. He's not sure why he never told her. Perhaps he still resented her for leaving, or maybe it was his way for him to protect her, by keeping her away from the darkness of their father. Never the less, he spent those five years finding excuses for the occasional bruise and broken arm to tell his sister and his teachers. It became easier with practice. Moreover, he joined numerous sport teams in an attempt to get out of the house more often, no one batted an eye when he entered the classroom with a small bruise under the eye because he would instantly remind them that he had boxing classes and rugby practice every week and accidents were bound to happen.

He had learned a substantial number of things during those five years. He learned how to lie and hide his feelings from the people around him. He could now locate and distinguish the dangerous people from the rest. And in the rest he could see which would stubbornly look for the truth and avoid them by sticking close to the oblivious and uncaring people. From then on, he knew to get his way meant that he had to act and say the things that people wanted to hear. He had to blend in or at least please the people who had the biggest influence on his life. Perhaps, that is what got him through school. He graduated top of his class with a letter of recommendation from all his teachers and the respect of all his classmates. Maybe that's also why at the end of his graduation ceremony, two men in dark official suits came to see him and made him the offer of a life time.

He clearly remembered that day like it was yesterday. The sky was cloudy and the air was slightly chilly. He watched his classmates, one by one, accept their graduation certificate from the principal himself. Some part of the crowd, relatives probably, would cheer louder than the rest. The student would wave pose for pictures and run down the stage to hug their family. As first of the class and council president, something he had taken on as another way to explain to his father why he would not be at home most of the evening, he already had his paper in hand. His sister who was heavily pregnant and about to give birth could not come to see him and his father thankfully was not present. The man had died from a heart attack six months ago. According to Ianto, it was a predictable early death.

Ianto still lived at his father's flat that he had surprisingly inherited. He was planning on selling the place in the future to help him financially with his studies. While half listening to the principal's speech, he was trying to plan his distressing future. He had to find studies that could be done quickly and that would allow him to join the professional world as quickly as possible so that he could start paying off the family's debts and hopefully later helping his sister with her own debts. He could already feel the burden on his shoulder and he was barely out of school. He was looking down deep in his thoughts and plans when he noticed two shadows appear on each side of his feet and felt a tap on his right shoulder.

When he turned around, he was met with the intimidating sight of two men wearing dark suits and sunglasses. Everything about them said professional and classified.

"Mr. Jones, we would like to speak to you in private."

These men could be here for any reason. Perhaps his father had left behind more debts than he thought to the wrong sort of people. Just great, another burden placed on his shoulders that he did not have the time nor the money to get rid of. By the look of them, they would not accept any refusal on his part. So, he hesitantly followed them to a spot in the courtyard that was much calmer than the one they had just left. He was relieved to see that they weren't that far from the others. People could still see them, and he could still hear the names being called in the mike. So at least these men weren't planning to beat him up in a dark alley, that was good news. He did not feel like tempting his luck, therefore he waited for the men to break the awkward silence. And finally explain their unusual presence to a school graduation ceremony.

"Mr. Jones, we would like to offer you a job position."

These words probably changed his life. He could probably pinpoint that moment as one of his biggest life changing event. Never would he have thought that these men's job offer would completely change his perspective on the world. These man had told him offer that was too tempting to refuse; especially after he researched the topic of torchwood a bit more and read the files and documents the men had sent him the next day to help him in his decision making. They had explained to him that the deal was quite simple. He would join the agency as a trainee for two years, if he was successful in all his evaluations and had the approval of his trainers, he could choose to join the branch of the agency that he was the most fitted for. Of course, he would have to sigh confidentiality papers and never tell details about what he saw at work to anyone outside Torchwood. But what won him over was the minimum pay that was included in the files they sent him. Even as the lowest ranked archivist he would still win more in a month than what he would have won in a year working for any normal business. Plus, all his expenses including living arrangements in London during his training would be payed by Torchwood. This was his chance to finally live comfortably, far way from his father's shadow. With this salary he could perhaps buy a nice flat for his sister, and spoil his little nieces and nephews during Christmas family reunions.

The only problem was that if he got fired from his job, he would have no real qualifications that would help him find another job. It seemed like it was Torchwood and nothing else. Which was quite dangerous. However, with this kind of salary he could easily save in case he needed to pay for university classes and living expenses later. But he concluded that there existed risks and dangers for every kind of work. At least this job no matter how terrible or difficult it could get, at least he would not have to worry to make end meets like he had been doing for the past five years.

Two weeks after the graduation ceremony, he signed the contract, sold the flat to a newly married couple, giving two thirds of the money to his very pregnant sister, and packing the few things he wanted to keep, he jumped on the next train to London. He silently said good bye to the welsh country side passing in front of his window and mentally prepared himself to show Torchwood that they had done well choosing him for the job.