"Riiiiiiiight," Jack declared, looking at the row of children lined up in front of him. "Rule one. You are never to address me as Sir." He looked across the line to where Ianto was standing, and the Welshman blushed.
"Why?" Nine year old Eleri asked.
"Does it matter?" her twelve year old sister Suki hissed in her ear.
Eleri scowled. "Shut up, Su."
"Hey, a bit of quiet please, Suki and Ellie Harper," Jack sighed. "Rule two; you listen to every word I say. I'm your boss, and will be even when you take over this place. Rule three; you only shoot me when I tell you to. You do not shoot anyone else. Rule four; you never take a gun out of here unless I tell you to. Rule five; you don't tell anyone at school about this. Ever. Do you all understand?"
The eldest in the group, sixteen year old Cerys Williams, spoke up. "Do I really need to do this? You taught me it years ago; is there much point me being here?"
"You can show the little ones how it's done," Jack told her, flashing a grin. "Right, all of you, pick up your guns."
The five youngsters turned around and picked up their weapons. Ten year old Jacob, Cerys' younger brother, was the first to cock his gun.
"Not so quickly, Jake," Jack reprimanded. "Right, I taught you the stance last week. Do it."
They all stood in the shooting position, guns raised.
"Ok, on three," Jack declared, running to the back of the shooting range. "One, two, three. Shoot me!" He ran around the range, dodging bullets and hiding behind cardboard Weevil cutouts as the five youngsters pounded bullet after bullet at him. Eventually one caught him in the chest, and he fell to the ground, dying.
Ianto blew on the whistle around his neck, halting the gunshots. "I think that one was yours, Tobes," he said, ruffling his seven year old son's brown hair. "Guns down, kids, and take a drink break."
After marking the shot on a chart stuck to the wall, he walked over to Jack and sat beside him, talking quietly to him until he resurrected again a few minutes later.
"Why are you putting yourself through this?" Ianto asked softly. "There's got to be better ways to train them to shoot live targets than killing you all the time. It's got to hurt, hasn't it?"
"I'd rather I die now than they die in the future," Jack said quietly as he stood up. "I'm doing this for the kids. Who got me that time?"
"Toby, I think," Ianto smiled.
"He's a good kid," Jack nodded as they walked back. "They all are. They're Torchwood's future, and I think they'll be the best we'll ever have." He greeted the gathered group, taking a mouthful of water before heading back down the hall. "Right, round two. Guns ready."