Tweak

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Tweak says, "I’ll give you 20 bucks."

Captain Jack Harkness (time_after_time) wrote,
@ 2008-07-17 00:28:00

Jack is... in, out, and around
Sometime after Jack has moved into the TARDIS, he leaves a letter in the TARDIS library since that's where the Doctor spends much of his time, and the Doctor wasn't available to tell in person when it happened:

Letter to the Doctor

Letter to the Doctor

He indeed comes by plenty, what with Ianto busy with work and Jack needing some company and entertainment during the day. Sitting around the house watching movies isn't a bad thing, but he's used to lots of action, so he heads out often during those work hours. And it's quite convenient to pay a visit to people living in Holmes's house, considering that the TARDIS is right there in the garden.

OOC: Since various threads got dropped with the Holmes house crowd (Holmes, Iago, Xel, a few with Dora), I thought I'd offer a post to start new threads with them, horray! Feel free to catch Jack around the garden-- or be caught by him!

ETA: Also, got a shiny layout up for Jack and it makes me happy. Yay!

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	moriartys_bane 2008-07-21 07:54 am UTC (link)
	Holmes is in the garden, holding one of his notebooks and his magnifying glass. He's peering at the various flowers and making sketches. He looks up when Jack comes through the gate. He raises a hand in greeting. "Good morning Captain. It's good to see you. How are you?" (Reply to this) (Thread)

time_after_time
2008-07-21 08:17 am UTC (link)

Jack smiles and raises a hand in return, then his walk comes up short when he sees that Holmes is going around with a magnifying glass. After another look, he realizes that Holmes was studying the flowers, and since Jack wasn't about to trounce through those, it's probably safe to walk on through. "Good morning, Holmes. I'm doing very well, you? All right to walk through the yard?"

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moriartys_bane
2008-07-22 07:34 am UTC (link)

Holmes glances at the glass and tucks it into his pocket with a smile. "Perfectly all right. I'm not searching for clues. I'm doing a spot of botany. Watson mentioned that my knowledge wasn't as thorough as it could be, so I thought I would take the opportunity to remedy the situation. Please, come in. Would you care for tea?" There is a small table and chairs set up in the garden and Holmes saunters over to them.

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	time_after_time 2008-07-22 12:52 pm UTC (link)
	"Ahhh, botany, not forensics." He nods and smiles to that. "Sure, tea would be fine. I'm not in any hurry." If it was coffee on offer, he'd probably decline-- too spoiled by Ianto's coffee-- but tea is something he has a wider taste range for. He heads over to the little table with Holmes. "Nice setup, this." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

moriartys_bane
2008-07-23 07:08 am UTC (link)

"Not unless the oleander has been up to something whilst I wasn't looking," Holmes smiles, tucking his notebook under his arm.

"Thank you Captain. I find it a restful place to think. Please, make yourself comfortable."

Holmes bustles into the house and returns shortly with a laden tray. He quickly sets cups, saucers and napkins out and pours out tea. "Cream and sugar?" he asks Jack. "And do help yourself to the Jaffa cakes. One of the nicest things about our present time I've found." He sits down and stirs sugar into his tea. "You're keeping yourself busy?"

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time_after_time
2008-07-23 04:13 pm UTC (link)

"There are sentient plants out there... I'll let you know if I notice any in your garden. I've met some interesting trees before, think the Doctor has, too."

He gets himself settled into a chair while he waits on Holmes to return with the tea tray. "Ah, thank you. Just a little sugar." He gets himself a Jaffa cake and nibbles it. "Yeah, they've really come up with some interesting, tasty foods these days. Mm, not as busy as I usually am, but it's a nice change of pace, actually. Kind of puts into perspective how ridiculously I've been overworking myself the past several years, so getting a chance to just relax is good. But I could probably use a little something to occupy my time, too. How about you? Taking any cases?"

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moriartys_bane
2008-07-23 08:31 pm UTC (link)

Holmes shoots Jack a suspicious glance, not sure if he's serious. "I appreciate that Captain. A sentient plant that is as toxic as the oleander is definitely a worrying idea."

"And so much easier," Holmes agrees, helping himself to a cake. "Not to denigrate Mrs Hudson, but this is much more convenient."

He sits back, holding his cup. "I am happy that you find yourself with ample leisure time. As for myself, I prefer to stay busy. I don't cope well with idleness." He stirs his tea absently. "Many interesting things have presented themselves, yes. It just goes to show that appearances can be deceiving."

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time_after_time
2008-07-23 09:43 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, I'm not too keen on them myself. Some of them get outright banned from entering different systems because they aren't trusted not to get someone sick, depending on the time period and place. It's an area a lot of humans got comfortable discriminating against, plant- and gas-based sentient forms, but attitudes do broaden over time."

He sips his tea and looks at Holmes quizzically. "Mrs Hudson? Cook, I'm assuming?"

"I'm used to staying busy, but it's kept me way too keyed up, I guess. I'm actually getting a lot more sleep here than I'm used to, which is really nice. But yeah, I'm not good at just sitting around not doing much. Came over here since sitting around at home isn't too exciting, thought I might find some company over here or stop by the TARDIS, and tadaaaa, here you are!" That gets him quite curious and he gestures with his cake. "What kinds of interesting things?"

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moriartys_bane
2008-07-24 07:01 am UTC (link)

Holmes frowns, absently stirring and stirring his tea. "It is too bad they were discriminated against. One cannot help ones nature but if something, or someone, is poisonous to another, precautions must be taken." He looks at Jack. "How exactly are gaseous species dealt with? I should think they'd be in danger of dissipating outright in some cases."

He finally stops stirring his tea. "Martha Hudson was my landlady. And Watson's of course. She was a remarkable woman with the patience of a saint. I'm sure I must have been a very trying tenant." His eyes darken and he takes a quick sip of tea. "She was also a very good friend."

Holmes, to whom sleep is something to be ignored when necessary, smiles. "A most fortuitous happenstance." He raises an eyebrow. "There is some trouble with the water commission that I've been looking into. Various deceptions to part the tourists from their money. Certain thefts that were not made public. All very normal occurrences I assure you." He helps himself to another cake. "Tell me Captain, are you at all interested in alchemy?"

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time_after_time
2008-07-24 03:23 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, it's not like they went 'gee, I think I want to be a poisonous bipedal flower.' And gaseous species tend to keep themselves pretty incorporated, actually, although some of them kind of dissipate around amongst themselves. Kind of an intimacy thing for them. I guess they just know how to know go spreading about without meaning to, but when they die, well... poof."

He notes the past tense, not sure if it's because Holmes is now here or if something happened to her. "But not so trying that she didn't keep putting up with you?"

Sleep is certainly a luxury for him, not physically necessary but it's nice to be able to shut off and relax for awhile. "The water commission, hmmm? Any interesting conspiracies going on, or just the usual politics and scams?" He sips his tea and shakes his head. "I've never really paid attention to alchemy, no. You?"

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moriartys_bane
2008-07-25 07:09 am UTC (link)

"No more than anyone says they want to be poor or ill," Holmes agrees. Can they talk Captain? These sentient plants?" He nods. "I see. That shall definitely affect my thinking the next time I see steam from the kettle."

"I was very fortunate," Holmes says quietly. "I'd helped her out when her husband died and she helped me on numerous occasions. I couldn't have captured Colonel Moran without her."

"Oh yes," Holmes' eye gleam. "Conspiracies and plots abound. Have you ever had occasion to notice Captain, that freelance criminals are the easiest to catch?"

"I'm going to be starting a series of rather lengthy and involved experiments. I thought you might be willing to help in your spare time."

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time_after_time
2008-07-26 04:22 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, except maybe hypochondriacs." Jack nods. "Depends on the species whether they actually talk or use other means of communication, but yeah."

He regards Holmes, voice quieting a bit as he asks, "What happened?"

He chuckles to that and gestures with his tea in acknowledgment. "Really are, yeah. When you're with an organization, you've got that backing you-- solo, and you're fending for yourself."

"Oh? What sort of experiments? If it's the traditional lead into gold alchemy, gotta say, I don't buy that."

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moriartys_bane
2008-07-26 07:08 am UTC (link)

"Forgive my curiosity Captain, but how exactly is that possible? Plants have no vocal apparatus. Unless of course, these do?" He raises an eyebrow, eyes agleam with interest.

"After Moriarty's death and my reappearance among the living, it was necessary to round up the remains of his criminal circle. Moran was the worst still at large. A fiendishly clever man and an expert marksman. I rigged up a dummy in my rooms. When he shot at it, thinking it was me, Watson and I, along with Scotland Yard were able to capture him. Mrs Hudson was essential in that she moved the dummy occasionally so it would seem lifelike. Moran could have shot at any time. It was a grave risk she undertook."

"The challenge of course, is getting to the head of the orgainisation." He smiles grimly. "A poor pick-pocket hasn't got a chance really. Save that many people choose not to report such incidents. Even I can't do anything about a crime if I don't hear of it."

"Not at all. Transmutation is not possible. Not at this time anyway," Holmes amends. "No, my newest house-mate, Mr Elric, requires medicines to keep him healthy. I am going to try and manufacture or synthesise things that will be useful to him. I call it alchemy mainly because I'm dealing with unknown substances. I have quite a nice laboratory set up in the basement."

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time_after_time
2008-07-26 05:22 pm UTC (link)

"The ones that can have the apparatus for it, yeah. Hmmm, bet there's something in the TARDIS databases or in the library about them..."

He listens to the story and nods with it. "Definitely a risky position to be in, and important to make the dummy believable."

He picks up another Jaffa cake and nibbles at it. "Yeah, thievery's changed over the years. Smashing into vehicles, electronic thefts... home burglary's changed, too, with security systems to monitor houses, but still-- if they aren't activated, kind of useless, and if someone knows how to get around them..."

"Elric-- the really pale guy, right? What kinds of medicines are they? I might be able to help mix them up, but if they're toxic, could be tricky." Fatal medicines would definitely be problematic to make for someone. He's certainly in a position to be a lab rat for them, but not exactly something he wants to volunteer for.

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moriartys_bane
2008-07-27 07:09 am UTC (link)

"Really? How fortunate. I shall have to ask the Doctor if I may peruse them.

"It was a bust in wax done by M Oscar Meunier of Grenoble. When he saw it, Watson said he would be prepared to swear if was myself and he knew me better than anyone."

"I have noticed the potential for abuses through the computer," he comments with a frown. "I understand it is quite a widespread problem." He snorts derisively. "I have it from an acquaintance of mine in the business that of the top ten reasons such alarms go off, actual burglars are at number seven. The first six are due to carelessness and error." He shakes his head sadly at such negligence.

"That is correct," Holmes nods. "And I am not sure as I haven't actually seen any samples but I understand that some of our chemicals and derivatives may be useful to him. As for their toxicity...I don't know. Some toxic substances, curare for instance, are used in small doses as medicine. I would never test such things on a person Captain. That would be quite detrimental." He takes another cake and eats it in two bites. "More tea Captain?" He nods at Jack's empty cup.

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time_after_time
2008-07-27 04:20 pm UTC (link)

"I'm sure he'd be ecstatic if you did." Jack grins. "I was going to pick up some things, so if you'd like, you can follow me on into the TARDIS when we're done with tea."

He's not familiar with the name, but then he's never exactly paid attention to who's who in the wax bust world. And that was around a century back, anyway, easy to start forgetting names in that time. "Did you keep it after it'd served for that?"

He nods to that and chuckles a little at the security alarm comment. "Yeah, I'd believe that. People tripping their own alarms by mistake."

Nodding, he slides his cup and saucer closer to the teapot. "I'm no doctor, but maybe someone should run a medical scan on him to make sure of what he needs treatment for, to be sure he's getting the right treatment?"

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moriartys_bane
2008-07-28 06:04 pm UTC (link)

Puzzled by the emphasis, Holmes asks: "Why me in particular? Surely others use his library."

"No, unfortunately, it was quite spoilt by the bullet Colonel Moran fired through it. A great pity for they could have used it at Madame Tussuad's."

"People seem to go out of their way to make things easier for criminals. Honestly Captain, I doubt if I'll ever be out of a job." He doesn't seem at all disappointed by that.

"Nor am I, but we have no doctor here and I am loathe to subject Mr Elric to the circus that would result if he were to consult a regular physician." A thought occurs to him. "Would you know if perchance the Doctor might have such a device in the TARDIS?"

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time_after_time
2008-07-29 12:49 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, but he's a fan of your work, appreciates other brilliant minds. I think he'd love the idea that you got use out of his library."

In the old conning days, that would've been something interesting to pick up and get copied before its destruction, or maybe get ahold of the bullet that did the job. Surely there were collectors who'd go nuts for that. "Too bad! Ah well, very clever."

He smiles a little crookedly and holds up his teacup. "Yeah, it's almost embarrassing for humanity that some people are so gullible or unaware or otherwise really bad at looking out for their own personal security. You won't be."

"Actually, I've known the Doctor to use his sonic screwdriver for medical scans. Not quite sure how it does that. And I'm not sure if the current arrangement of the TARDIS has access to other medical equipment, but it might."

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moriartys_bane
2008-07-29 08:26 pm UTC (link)

"Ah," Holmes is a bit embarrassed that Jack has noticed this and covers by pouring more tea. "In that case, I would be honoured to read them."

"Colonel Sebastian Moran was the second most clever criminal in Europe," Holmes informs Jack solemnly. "If, in your travels, you ever hear of him, I advise the most extreme caution."

"I have already made myself available as a consultant," he says, stirring sugar into his cup. "It's a very lucrative field, security." He smiles.

Holmes sits forward eagerly. "Thank you Jack. That is quite a relief to know. I shall ask him immediately if he would be willing to perform such a procedure." He frowns. "If, of course, he is able to do so."

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time_after_time
2008-07-29 09:26 pm UTC (link)

"I sure can't keep up with him sometimes. Few people can. He needs genius like yours around-- some nice intelligent conversation!"

Some distaste shows on his face at that. "Colonel. So was he Army?" The Royal Air Force started out using 'Colonel' after the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service were brought together into the RAF, but that didn't last long. They switched to Group Captain instead, his own rank, and only the Army retained 'Colonel.' He's a bit disgruntled someone at the equivalent rank level could become so notorious. Little bit of service pride still, he supposes.

"Oh yeah? Maybe you should come check out our place. I'm not sure if we've got any security measures, and I'm used to the kind you stick on a secret underground base, so I don't really know about residential and business security." And since he doesn't trust himself with his own gun after the... incident with Krycek... that's not on hand should they have a problem. At least, he assumes it's not; he doesn't know where it's being kept.

"I doubt he'd say no if he's able to help."

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moriartys_bane
2008-07-31 05:17 pm UTC (link)

"My blushes Captain!" Holmes murmurs. "I shall do my best to live up to my end of the bargain."

"Indeed he was," Holmes speaks with understanding for Jack's distaste. "With the 1st Bangalore Pioneers, he distinguished himself in the Afghan Campaign. Yes, up to a point, he did well but India became to hot for him so he retired, came to London and acquired an evil name. It happens sometimes. I have a theory about that, but it is rather fanciful."

"I would be delighted to be of service Captain. Just say the word and I am at your disposal." Holmes inclines his head.

"So do I Captain. And I hope in this case he can. But I am still in need of an assistant in my laboratory. Won't you agree to help, even if it's just for a brief time?"

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time_after_time
2008-07-31 05:37 pm UTC (link)

"Somehow I don't think people like the two of you have to put much effort into it. You just are brilliant. The rest of us have to work more at it."

He grimaces some at that. "Yeah, unfortunately, some people get out of the service and turn into a disgrace. Or are a disgrace in the service. It can happen, yeah. What's your theory?"

He'll have to talk to Ianto about that and see if Ianto's interested. Probably. Why turn down security help from Sherlock Holmes?

"I can try to help, sure."

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moriartys_bane
2008-07-31 08:39 pm UTC (link)

"Thank you Captain." Holmes is a bit discomfited and reaches for another cake.

"A bit of each in the Colonel's case." Holmes sets the cake down and steeples his fingers under his chin. "My theory is that the individual represents in his development the whole procession of his ancestors, and that such a sudden turn to good or evil stands for some strong influence which came into the line of his pedigree. The person becomes, as it were, the epitome of the history of his own family."

Holmes smiles warmly. "Thank you Captain. The more people we have working on Mr Elric's problem, the quicker we will find a solution."

There will be further development of the chemistry/alchemy plot as soon as we can get around to it. Er, how does Jack feel about iguanas? And I am totally open to a plot having Holmes do a security check on the spa! :D

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time_after_time
2008-07-31 09:00 pm UTC (link)

Jack could go on, but Holmes isn't exactly basking in the compliments, so Jack sips his tea instead.

"Hmm. Interesting theory, but how does that account for siblings who are very different from each other? Would your theory suggest they're epitomizing different parts of the family history?"

He nods once and gestures a bit with his teacup in acknowledgment. "You're welcome."

I'll have to talk to ye olde Ianto-player when she's back from work, which should be soon! :D And Jack isn't very iguana-familiar, but plenty of other experience with reptiles. Less WTF? confusion than with puppies, probably. :D

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moriartys_bane
2008-08-05 06:45 pm UTC (link)

"Different traits are represented in different ratios in people. My own brother and I look very dissimilar, yet we both share the knack for deduction," Holmes explains. "The sudden appearance of red hair for instance, or the ability to paint could be accounted for by some forgotten ancestor."

"I don't suppose you've come across anything similar? Any scrap of information is useful."

GAH! A bazillion apologies for losing track of this! 1000 lashes with a wet noodle for me! Cool! Any time. *snort* I loved that! But iguanas are difficult in their own right. Esp when it comes to feeding.

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	time_after_time 2008-08-08 02:30 pm UTC (link)
	Jack looks down into his teacup as Holmes starts going on about brothers. He doesn't quite catch exactly what Holmes is saying, but the gist of it gets through. "Genetics, yeah." He looks a little confused at the question, "Similar to your theory or to Elric's situation? Whatever that is?" No problem! doofs with Puppies v iguanas sounds epic! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

moriartys_bane
2008-08-08 05:01 pm UTC (link)

"Yes. I understand from my reading that it is quite common nowadays. Of course, it's been done with plants and to some extent animals for years. More tea Captain?" He picks up the pot.

Holmes smiles. "I would imagine that such genetic manipulations were commonplace to you. No I meant Mr Elric. Another person or race of peoples who have had to rely on certain medications in order to stay alive."

Whew! Dear god I hope they don't have carpeting!

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time_after_time
2008-08-08 06:20 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, uh--" Might as well accept more tea to cover for the way he went off staring. He holds his cup out closer to the pot. "Yeah, genetics is getting more and more understood these days."

He smiles slightly. "The time I'm from, yeah, genetics is-- definitely something else. And I'm not sure how much some of our traits just naturally evolved or were genetically tweaked a bit along the way. I've got a much sharper sense of smell and taste than 21st century humans do, but I couldn't say how that came about. It wasn't unusual then, but these days, people look at me like 'how can you possibly smell that?'" He nods to the comment about Elric. "Yeah, sometimes people get to where they need medications to maintain quality of life or to live at all. Sometimes it's in-born conditions, sometimes comes about later. And these days people can live longer with things they couldn't a century ago thanks to medicines available now."

Restricting them to tiled kitchen, because they aren't insane! (I mean, geez, my family has only ever had one dog at a time, and gah they can make a mess-- but six puppies at once?!)

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moriartys_bane
2008-08-08 08:49 pm UTC (link)

Holmes refills his cup, going on smoothly. "I have been reading about the Human Genome Project with a great deal of interest."

Holmes leans back. "And do you think our researches will lead us down the same road?" He perks up. "Surely such acuity would be seen as a boon? As a chemist," he smiles, "it would be an amazing asset."

"I'm not sure," Holmes is quite frank. "But I believe Mr Elric's condition is in-born. Whether in addition to his albinism or because of it I'll have to find out."

Thank goodness the luggage is there with an endless supply of newspapers! :D

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