When the first explosion rattled the building, he knew what that meant. The gates at the palace entrance had been blown open, bent metal scattered and laid flat like a bridge to welcome two black hovers that now descended into the property. Men carrying automatic assault rifles followed. His only concern was to reach Ianto before the intruders did.
He knew the intruders well, had known them long before they rushed the metal gates and over the walls of the Tsar's property and began killing his men, leaving bodies along the outer gardens of the great palace.
His own security team scattered like a dandelion's seeds blown all over the palace. Trained well, they did their best, but they couldn't hold back the advancing men wearing black suits with red berets.
Jack led his team away, hoping to buy some time.
He needed to secure Ianto, and get him into the waiting transporter that would take him to the designated safe-house. Those were the rules, that was the set plan he had to follow. If Jack didn't get to him, he hated to think what would happen. This is what they had been trained to do. This is what they were paid for.
"Secure the Prince; get him away safely…" the Brigadier of the security team drilled this into them every day. "Always be prepared for anything…"
Jack was recruited for his military knowledge and training, and that was one of the reasons he was placed in charge.
"Don't make me regret putting you in command," the Brigadier had said to him. He furrowed his brow. He hated being drilled when he knew the role well.
"Keep them at bay long enough so I can secure the Prince," Jack said to his men. The security team was the cream of the crop; not just because they had been handpicked by him, but because they had the experience required to protect their Prince. Their job was to defend the Prince and that was their only task.
Jack hurried up the staircase and ran down the long corridor. The home was beautifully decorated, with sculptures and paintings by famous painters. A few pricey rugs lined the corridor. The place looked like a museum in some areas with decorative patterns carved along the frames of doorways and walls. The home reminded him of the main royal palace, too big of a building for the young Tsar to be roaming alone. It certainly had quite a lonely atmosphere.
The summer palace was large, and had over 40 rooms. To say this place was opulent was an understatement. Ianto's room was at the end of the hall where a single large window overlooked the back of the property, overlooking a white stable which housed the Tsar's four beautiful horses.
The scent of coffee greeted his nose when he opened the door and entered the Prince's bedroom. The room was filled with tat, bookcases lined the walls along with several pictures shoved in amongst the pieces of tat and pretty things. A large bookshelf filled with a variety of books lined one wall of the large room, beside it was a small seating area designed for the leisure of reading in peace. In front of him, at the far end, was a balcony with white linen curtains cascading down the frame to the floor. He had often seen them open, on windy days, blowing a breeze into the quiet space to bring in the scent of fresh garden flowers along with it.
Jack stared towards the bed, the satin sheets and cushion quilts reminded him of his moments upon them when he was requested to remain until the young man was asleep. The thought now made him aroused. He moved over, almost drawn by the memories of his time here watching the man in repose that he had never even kissed let alone done such carnal things that haunted his dreams when he caught sight of him seated on the floor near the bed table. He looked frightened. Jack lowered his gun, placing it into the holster as he approached the bedside.
"Ianto?" The young man immediately looked up, his eyes widening at the call of his name. When he spotted Jack, he immediately rose and rushed to his side. Ianto at once wrapped his arms around him. It caught Jack off guard. It delighted him that the young prince was safe.
Ianto trembled in his arms and Jack held him tightly, hoping to calm the other man. From somewhere in the palace the chaos continued, Ianto gripped onto him tighter at the sound of explosions and gunfire.
"I feared the worse," the young man uttered.
Jack held him, never wanting to let him go. He knew it was wrong to admire the one he was meant to guard and protect. And those feelings could cloud his judgment. But he could no longer help how he felt for the young man.
"I'm so scared, Jax…what if they get close this time? What if…" They had attempted before, but they had not succeeded.
"Listen to me, Ianto, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." The young man's breath tickled his neck as Ianto tried to hide in his arms. Jack pushed him away, slowly lifting Ianto's chin. Their eyes met and, for a brief moment, he resisted the kiss that lingered between them. He couldn't let his feelings cloud his mind. He had to stay on task, and that was getting Ianto to the safe-house, or at least the vehicle awaiting him by the arranged spot.
"We have to get you to safety," he forced himself to say instead. "The vehicle is waiting by the east side of the house. I want you to stay close behind me. Don't move unless I tell you to."
Ianto nodded.
Jack lifted the cold steel of his gun into his hand again, and moved to the door. Ianto followed very closely. He opened the door and moved into the hallway, the sounds of chaos echoed loudly throughout the palace's interior and down the long halls.
"Are we going to make it? I don't want to lose you Jax. I can't deal with being alone…I won't."
"Don't talk like that…nothing is going to happen. We will get out of this. Trust me."
Ianto nodded with difficulty and a smile warmed Jack.
"You trust me?" Jack asked.
He knew Ianto had no one else. His father, Tsar Ifan, was always away on business and, when he was around, it was as if Ianto didn't exist. His father had many enemies; he was a very powerful man. Jack had been hired to protect Ianto.
During the first weeks at his job, that's what he tried to do. But Ianto tried to befriend him the first time they met. He could see the young man was lonely. But he had been hired to protect him; not to be his friend.
"Why are you so serious?" The young man had asked him, while he was standing nearby on watch. Ianto had been seated outside, feeding the birds. He had been friendly, trying to engage Jack in conversation for days.
Jack was trained to never take his eyes off what was at stake. Never get distracted from what he had to do. And, most importantly, never get involved or close to the subject. Speaking to anyone, especially the subject, was prohibited. Never get too close was a rule in his line of work. Get too close, and you'll get burned.
"I just want to be friends. You don't have to be so sombre around me."
Jack had looked over at the young man, and then frostily replied," Your father doesn't pay me to be your friend."
Jack knew that was horrible thing to say. He knew that now but at the time, it was the only thing to say. Then it had only been a job, now it had become something far more, and it made him hard to think of his moments alone with Ianto.
Things had changed with time, and he had fallen in love with Ianto. Finding him in pain and lonely, Jack had tried to comfort him; a bad thing to do in his line of work. He was there to defend, not make friends.
Others in his field would tell him it was dangerous to get involved with the protected. But that logic had failed him long ago.
"Will you please keep me company?" Ianto had asked him one evening when he had been lonely. All he needed was a friend. A part of him fought with the strict and penalizing part of himself. But there was a softer side to Jack and that wall almost immediately came down. As he took a seat by Ianto's bedside, the young man began to read to him. That was the beginning of their relationship, if one could call it that. He was his protector.
But now he was in love with him…
They moved slowly down the staircase and entered the main corridor. Jack spotted his team scattered on the floor; they were all dead.
He stopped Ianto and pushed him back, he didn't want the young man to see this. There was too much death and his mind would not be able to handle such a sight.
They moved in the other direction, hoping to reach the back of the property, when they were confronted by a group of red caps. They fired and Jack grabbed Ianto, shielding and pushing him back around the corner of the corridor.
He shoved Ianto back and fired a few shots around the corner, even if they were only warning blows. He didn't want them to get any closer.
"Give it up Jack all we want is the Prince. You can live…What's his life worth to you? Your own? Come on…" The voice echoed off the walls.
He recognized the voice, an old friend from his days in the Academy. Apparently, they had both taken the same type of work but he ended up protecting the Prince, and his old acquaintance was there to take the same man.
"Why John? Why?"
"Oh, come on, Jack, do you really have to ask me that? I'm tired, aren't you? I mean, come on. What have we returned to? This? They're expecting us to return to normal. You and I are not made for this; we're fighters, warriors, you and I are made for more…we can't go back to normal. Shit, what do we know about normal?" he laughed. "Death is our normal."
"That's bullshit, John."
"Is it? There's no point in dying over this…why don't you join us? There's better money to be made at kidnapping." The laughter mocked Jack.
He fired, knocking one down. That got their attention.
"Fuck it then … have it your way Captain!" he heard in Galactic standard.
"Get back, Ianto," he told the young man. "I want you to go!"
"And leave you? No way. I will not!"
"I said go!" he growled.
From around the corner, he heard the sounds of clicking and immediately knew what was happening.
Ianto hesitated and Jack turned to him, snarling an order. He knew he was being cruel, but he was trying to protect the other man.
"Go!" he yelled again. Ianto stumbled away but almost immediately the firing began.
Jack raced away just as the few shots hit where he had been standing. He leaped and grabbed Ianto, crouching behind a statue of the Prince's dead mother seated in a garden, just as the bullets flew past them. A man emerged with a pulse rifle, firing into the long corridor.
"You don't have to die for him, Jack! Just give us what we want, and I'll let you walk out."
Ianto was shaking uncontrollably.
"Maybe you should do as he said, I don't want…" he whispered.
"Not another word, Ianto." Jack firmly told him while moving over to the side of the garden edging to see if he could spot an escape route. Ianto's slim lips curved at the corners; he felt warmed by Jack's concern. Jack definitely wasn't like that in the beginning, it had been a major jump from the cruel bodyguard to the loyal, protective man Ianto saw in front of him.
Jack spun and steadied his gun, aiming for the man with the machine gun, hitting him in the shoulder.
His shot knocked the man back, and bullets rained down as he fell backward and struck a few of his crew behind him. Jack fired again, the bullet struck the man in the throat, though not before one of the man's bullets hit Jack in the side.
Jack dropped back, tightly holding his wound, as he collapsed on the floor. Ianto kneeled next him and there was fear in his eyes. "Jack, no!"
Everything around Jack became a haze and he could no longer hear the voices or bullets. Ianto was reaching toward him in panic. He was crying, his eyes filled with terror. All Jack could feel was the dull pain in his side, crawling up his arm. His fingers edged over the wound and he could feel the liquid drench his hand. It was blood. He felt dizzy, about to lose consciousness. He wanted to sleep, but he couldn't; he couldn't leave Ianto alone.
He had to protect him.
He loved him.
"Don't leave me!" the young man cried.
Ianto dropped his face onto Jack's neck to hold him. Jack blinked his eyes open, the touch of his young man had awakened far more than his senses. He felt the young man's lips against his neck, his own warm mouth pressing so tenderly upon the side of Ianto's cheek, breathing in his scent.
"I love you Jack, please don't leave me!" Ianto sobbed. "I know you can't…because you're protecting me but I don't care. You're the only person I have ever cared about. The only person I've ever loved…"
Ianto pulled away, staring at him.
Jack reached up and touched his face. He wanted to tell him so much, if he could, he would take him far from here.
"I'm not brave enough." The young man uttered.
"Ianto, you're braver than the toughest agent I know. Even me." Jack gazed up with dreamy, moonstruck eyes, a grin spread over his crooked mouth. "Help me up."
Ianto did as he requested. He gathered Jack slowly and pulled him to his feet. Jack stood, and the younger man reached to kiss him. Only then did he pull away realizing what he had done; afraid that Jack would object to his affections.
But the tough Agent, the disciplined, brawny Jack merely smiled, gently caressing Ianto's face.
He moved, pulling the dazed Ianto alongside him.
The young man stumbled behind him, and they hurried toward the other side of the palace. It was far too quiet now. At the far side, Jack spotted the open door leading to the hangar path; if they could get to the part of the property where the Hover was located, Ianto would be safe. Unfortunately, it was too dangerous to head on foot into the wooded area surrounding the property.
The only other way was through the underground tunnels that led into the world of mazes under the palace. The tunnels split in various directions but only one led to the Hover hangar. And Jack knew he had to get Ianto there safely.
They neared the entrance. He pushed open the door, ushered Ianto out, and pulled the young man alongside him toward the stables. They approached and ducked into one of the stalls. There was another way to enter the tunnels inside the palace but with all the invaders, the only way was inside the horse stables.
He patted the white horse as he moved around him to the back, pushing away the hay that hid the entrance to the tunnel below.
"What are you doing?" Ianto asked. Then he saw the metal entrance. "I never knew this was here."
"That's the point. Your father had it created just for emergencies.…" Jack pulled open the hatch, and he struggled dragging it up, with the throbbing wound in his side.
Ianto came to stand next to him and helped him lift the door
The metal fell back and he motioned Ianto in first. A long ladder led the way down to a dimly-lit tunnel below. There were metal cargo boxes sitting along the walls of the tunnel. He knew most were filled with weapons, a heavy arsenal, as Ianto's father was in the general business of arms, though royalty he lived on the cusp between morality and survival.
Ianto's grandfather's Reign had been as a leader in the creation of an important drug that had saved a lot of lives, and he had made it available to the less-fortunate. It was Ianto's father that wanted to raise the prices.
They dropped into the tunnel and Jack pulled Ianto with him. The underground passageways that led to the hangar were dank and dim, water dripping from small cracks in the wall. They hadn't been well maintained.
Little patches here and there covered what little leaks and cracks now riddled the walls.
Jack picked his coms earpiece up; he hadn't had much use for it until now. He wanted to keep the radio silenced at least until it was necessary.
He stopped near a section that split in two directions, pulling at Ianto's arm when he didn't immediately stop. One tunnel continued straight to the hangar and the other led to the other east wing of the palace. These were the underground tunnels that were often used to bring in goods and avoid the media.
"Come in Unit 2, Andy can you read me?"
Silence.
Again, he tried, "Anyone out there? Andy come in."
Jack gasped as only static followed. Had no one survived? Hadn't the others called for backup? Then, a faded voice replied from the other end… hope…
"Captain Harkness, come in."
"Yes, Andy?" a sigh escaped Jack's lips.
"Andy is dead, sir." He dropped his head. Ianto watched him as he clutched his side.
"This is Agent Harper…"
"Where are you, Agent? Speak to me…What happened? Where is everyone?"
"We were ambushed, sir. Something went wrong… they knew where we would be. I'm thinking there was a spy, someone working on the inside, sir." Jack furrowed his brow, staring back at Ianto. The young man didn't look surprised, he looked far more anxious by the news. Scared now.
"Where are you, Owen?"
"We're at the hangar now…"
"We're heading in your direction, Owen. I have the Prince."
"You have 20 minutes, sir." Then silence.
20 minutes? Jack wrinkled his brow. What did that mean? "What? What are you talking about, agent?"
"We've been ordered to rig the palace, sir. Orders from the heads." Rig the place?
"Agent, what are you saying?"
"The palace, sir, it's rigged to blow… if we don't leave now, we aren't…"
"But we have to secure the Prince. That is our main objective."
"I'm afraid not, sir. Our orders are to destroy the property if breached."
Jack didn't understand.
"You have less than 20 minutes to get to the hangar…" there was a sudden explosion from the other end. Jack pulled the radio back from his face.
"We're under attack!" he heard Owen yell. Static made it difficult to hear. He heard a hoard of screaming and shooting. He gasped.
"Agent Harper, what's going on? Come in! Come in!"
There was static then the radio went dead.
"Owen! Agent Harper, answer me! Shit!" Jack threw the radio to the ground and once again grabbed at his lower side. It was obvious what had happened; they had gotten to the Hover and the explosion more than likely was the Hover going up in flames.
"Fucking bastards!"
Ianto neared Jack, he looked troubled. "What about the horses? Gods. We're not getting out of here alive, are we, Jack?"
He gazed over at Ianto. "Don't speak like that. I'm not letting anything happen to you. I made you a promise…" He grabbed at his side, groaning in pain.
Ianto reached for him at once.
"Jack, you're really hurt! We need to stop the bleeding." Ianto said as he knelt by him, tearing part of the sleeve of his expensive silk tunic. Jack cringed as the pain returned. Ianto began to wrap a portion of the cloth around his side.
"I'm fine." Jack muttered, "The only important thing is to get you out of here…" He bit his lip as the pain throbbed down his lower side.
"No, you're not. You have to stop. Sometimes you can be so proud. I know you, Jax…" Jack blinked, he didn't say anything merely watching Ianto as he secured the cloth around his side to stop the flow of blood.
"You and I know what's happening here. I'm not a kid anymore. I might be young, but I know what's going on."
Ianto's blue eyes smiled back at him. Jack knew Ianto was an intelligent 24-year-old man. Young yes, but no longer a child. He was older in mind and wiser in soul than most people Jack knew.
"My grandfather left me a lot of money, the family business and when I reach 25 I get the crown…everything is mine…"
Jack was hearing this for the first time, although he had suspected something like that. Most certainly, he didn't know Ianto's father was now going to let him die here in order to secure what he possessed.
"I'm no idiot. Father wants me out of the way because he wants everything my grandfather left me. He can't do anything, he can't sell or change anything unless he owns it. For a long time, it was easy to take control of, but now he knows he's losing everything. I'm not letting him destroy what my grandfather left me…" Ianto collapsed against the wall. "He's never cared about me…and my grandfather knew it. That's why he left everything to me. He knew Father was no good, and he cut him out of the line of succession. By the end of this year, he'll have no control of anything. And now he's desperate."
Jack blinked: now things started to come together.
Get Ianto out of the way and own everything, or end up losing everything once the year ended.
"But I don't want any of it, Jack." He turned to the Agent.
Jack was studying his features, examining his large, grey-blue eyes; he had more heart than anyone he knew. He wasn't arrogant or selfish, for someone with such wealth, he acted like one with nothing.
"All I want is to be with you, Jack. That's what I want." Jack was surprised; he didn't know what to say.
He balanced himself carefully.
"I wanted to ask you something before all this started…" Jack now was having a hard time looking up at Ianto; the young man captivated him and he felt paralyzed by his mere presence. How could a man of his stature, of his age, be so easily beguiled by someone so young? But Ianto was not only lovely and beautiful, he was also very wise. And it was that mature respect for others that Jack had fallen hard for. He might have been young, but he was kind and acted far older than his age.
"This is not the time, Ianto," he firmly said. Was he trying to avoid the feelings he held for Ianto? And why? To protect Ianto? To protect himself?
"This is the only time, Jack," Ianto stubbornly replied. Grabbing his arm suddenly, Jack pushed him and they were face to face now. He felt drawn to kiss him and Ianto seemed just as spellbound, drawing closer.
Jack pushed at the soft locks of his dark hair, stroking his soft, tender cheek. Ianto bit his lower lip. The gesture itself was hard to resist and passion exploded within him, straining the fabric of his slacks. Jack exhaled. He hated when Ianto bit his lip because it made him quiver and the other man knew it. It revealed how weak and vulnerable Jack really was.
"Don't do that," he ordered the young man. "You know I don't like it when you do that. It's not proper…"
Ianto stopped when he realized he had succeeded in getting to him.
"You need to know how I feel…" Ianto insisted.
Jack caressed his cheek tenderly. He felt weak around the young man. "I wish I could take you away from all this…"
He swallowed hard; whatever else he wanted to say, he pushed away. He had already said too much.
"It's better this way, Ianto." Jack moved away from him, leaving Ianto with his back to the wall.
Ianto rushed over to him, as Jack spun back, confronted with the grey-blue eyes of the young Prince.
"It's not…"
Jack pushed a hand over his mouth. Ianto meant to protest when Jack put his finger over his own lips to hush him. Ianto listened, he also heard something.
Voices from behind them alerted him almost immediately and Jack grabbed at Ianto's arm, pulling him down the tunnel.
"This way."
The young man stumbled alongside him, and as they moved, he looked back. Ianto's eyes were glued to the wound on Jack's side. Jack was leaving a trail of blood. The young man was worried.
Jack stopped near a section that split once more.
He took out a few items from his suit; bullets, there were only a few left.
"Jack, what are we going to do?"
"What I said I was going to do—get you out of here."
He took out a second gun and added all the remaining bullets, then grabbing Ianto's hand he placed it gently in his palm.
"I want you to take this." He caressed Ianto's hand as he closed his fingers around the metal.
"What?—No! What are you doing?"
"Listen to me! I need you to listen very carefully, Ianto." He cupped Ianto's face with both hands.
The young man stopped; frozen by Jack's touch. Tears pooled in the corner of his eyes.
"I want you to start walking in that direction," Jack pointed to his left. "You listening?"
Ianto nodded his head slowly. The tears were now rolling down his face. Jack wiped at them.
"I'll be right behind you. You trust me?"
Ianto nodded again with difficulty. "Don't do this. Please come with me."
"I will, I promise."
"You're a bad liar…"
Jack smiled. "I won't let them hurt you. I want you safe. You've given me so much, Ianto. It's because of you…I have learned to love again. Nothing mattered until I met you." He put his hand on the other man's cheek.
Ianto held his palm against his face. A sob broke through his lips and at once Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto and held him tightly.
"I love you," he whispered into Ianto's ear, then pulled back slowly. Their lips locked, and for a moment Jack couldn't let go. He didn't want to, as he gasped in agony. The pain now consuming him was not the pain in his side but the one radiating from his aching heart. He fought with himself, releasing Ianto. A breath escaped him, gnawing at him painfully. He pushed the young man back.
"Go," he said. "Now…"
Ianto moved. He looked back then started running quickly as the voices grew louder.
As he watched Ianto disappear, Jack moved towards the nearest door; a closet that had been designed to hold an arsenal of weapons. He shot through the lock. The door popped open and he took his pick of the heavy arsenal in front of him.
He strapped on a vest and placed the suit coat over it; if it came to that, he was prepared to go out with a bang.
He just hoped it didn't come to that. He wanted to return to the embrace of the young man. It was the one thing that kept him moving now. He was living on borrowed time. The wound was bleeding through the fabric of the wrap Ianto had secured.
Jack grabbed his hand gun, preparing to load it, when he heard a sound from behind. It was the click of a gun, and before he could turn, he heard the familiar voice….
"Stop right there." Jack froze. "Put your hands up very slowly, and turn to me."
He did as he was told and slowly lifted his hands very carefully and began to twist. He was startled by sight of the man standing a few steps from him; a man he recognized.
"Brigadier?" Jack looked confused but after what little Ianto had revealed in regards to his father wanting his inheritance, it started to make sense.
The smile from the Brigadier made him realize what was happening. Why the Hover was disabled. Why it had been so easy to get into the well-guarded palace.
Why his men were all dead.
"We trusted the wrong person…" But why would the Brigadier be involved?
"Don't look so disappointed, Jack, you must have suspected something."
"Why?" Jack asked.
"Easy; the money…where is he?" A group of Red Caps approached, along with John, his old partner from his days as a Agent.
"He's not gonna tell you. He's stubborn," John said, smiling over at Jack.
"You got close…poor Jack."
"He's long gone…you'll never get him. He's too smart for you."
"You really think you can stop this? You don't have to die. You can continue to work with me," the Brigadier said.
"I'm not letting you harm him…he's innocent."
"He's not getting away. They'll get him; he's not going anywhere…" another voice said. A figure approached, and came into focus. Jack realized it was Ianto's father, Tsar Ifan.
"He's your son…"
"Yeah, that…if only Father would have left me the crown and the business. Things would have been better for Ianto. Maybe he could have ended up with you, Jack." He didn't look bothered by the fact.
"As for you, Jack, you're done." He could barely see the figures in front of him.
"I can't possibly let you leave, knowing what you know…" he laughed.
Jack could feel the steel in his hand, he knew he only had two bullets left in the chamber.
Tsar Ifan sneered. "Nothing personal, I hope you understand. If it's any consolation, I can bury you with my son. So you'll be together at last." He laughed.
"Kill him," he commanded the Brigadier.
Jack swiftly lifted the gun and fired. He struck the Brigadier in the shoulder. Tsar Ifan quickly took cover. The Brigadier shot his own gun, a bullet striking Jack again as he tried to flee. He was struck a second time; this one in the back, and he dropped to the ground, still holding the gun in his grip.
The Red Cpas approached with the Brigadier looming over Jack.
"You're done…" Jack fired again catching the Brigadier straight between the eyes. He dropped immediately and Jack dropped his gun, groaning in pain as both John and Tsar Ifan came forward.
Tsar Ifan stopped his men from firing.
"He's done," he sneered. He knelt before the bleeding Jack.
Jack tried to speak through the blood running from his mouth. It gurgled, pouring from between his teeth as he tried to talk.
"What? What more can you say, Jack? You did all you had to do. But Ianto is in my way and he must be dealt with. This is really my father's fault…now I have to kill my only son." He laughed.
"Oh well…Jack, I really liked you. It sucks it has to end this way for you. I could have used a good man like you."
Jack reached up to him, grabbing at his arm.
"What? What do you have there, more pleas? Bargaining chips," he chuckled.
"I have something for you…" He reached up, his hand closing around Tsar Ifan's.
"This is for Ianto." Jack's fingers unwrapped and from within, a pile of grenade pins dropped into the centre of Tsar Ifan's hand.
The man blinked, then gasped, realizing what he was holding in his palm. He looked down at Jack and watched the man slowly roll over the edge of the garden into the courtyard below leaving the grenades at the man's feet.
Tsar Ifan barely had time to say a word as he rose and spun around quickly, a single word escaping his mouth "Shit!"
The explosion rocked the tunnels, the walls collapsed over the men and buried them completely.
Ianto walked out of the forest. As he found the path, he spotted a vehicle in the distance; the old Hover Jack had left for such emergencies. He hurried, there was a large explosion behind him. He spun back, catching sight of a large black cloud of smoke and fire that erupted into the sky.
"Jack," he gasped, and collapsed against a nearby tree, peering into the forest and hoping to see Jack running from between the trees. But he knew he wouldn't; he knew he wouldn't see Jack again.
Ianto wiped at the tears in his eyes. He examined the gun in his hand and dropped it to the ground.
He moved away, looking back only once as he approached the Hover. There, he found the keys under the seat, where Jack had often revealed hiding an extra pair for emergencies.
"You're gonna be alright Ianto. You're strong," Ianto recalled, as he settled in the driver's seat. "You've always been strong…"
"If I asked you to come away with me, would you, Jack?" He recalled Jack's smiling face as they lay under the silk sheets of his bed the night they had been together.
"Ianto, what do you see in me? I have nothing to offer you."
"Shut up…and answer my question," Ianto demanded.
He sat up on the bed to examine the features of the very handsome older man, dark locks of hair, and dreamy blue eyes. What indeed had he seen in Jack?
Besides the obvious; the man was strikingly handsome, ripped like a chiselled god, with a manly jaw, and above all, mysterious and dangerous.
Ianto was attracted to danger, and Jack was oozing with it. The bodyguard was always on alert, except for this evening when he had been seduced by his boyish charm. Was it possible? The only rise was the rise beneath the sheets, Ianto recalled with a devilish grin. Jack had reached to stroke his cheek.
"If things were different, I would go anywhere to be with you," he recalled Jack saying.
Jack removed a pocket watch from his pocket, one Ianto had never seen him without. He put it into Ianto's palm, "I want you to have this…so you'll always have a part of me with you…"
Ianto now caressed the metal under his fingertips, examining it.
"Keep it…as my promise to you that one day…" Ianto gave him no time to finish and kissed him.
"Jack…we're free…"
Ianto felt the surface of the pocket watch again and tucked it back into his ruined tunic's pocket. A noise had him looking up and he watched Jack stumble towards him like a mirage and it took him a few beats to recognise that he was real, not a ghost.
Ianto soon had Jack in the back seat of the Hover with some pain meds from the medical kit applied, Jack's blood everywhere but he was still there and the packing inside the bulletproof vest had helped slow the bleeding.
He kept his promise.
He came back.
Now it was Ianto's turn to shine.
He pulled out into the clearing, finding the dirt road that would take them to the open street and to safety.
The young Prince flew from the smouldering ruins of his childhood with his soon-to-be lover breathing easier now and he raised his head, taking a deep breath as he felt the new weight of what had happened.
The young Tsar didn't look back.