– Torchwood style
Chap 2
Ianto sprints across the snow-covered lawn, onto the trees. Guards with pulse weapons run after him, firing. The snow explodes around him with hits.
Two Doberman sized rats pelt toward Ianto, leaping at him in perfect unison. He waits... and knocks their heads together in mid-leap with a crack like a gun-shot. The beasts drop to the snow, wobbling around like they're drunk.
As Ianto sprints on, another dober-rat lunges out of the bushes ahead, leaping directly for his throat. Ianto grabs the rat-dog and swings him up into a tree without breaking stride. The beast yelps and scrambles to hold onto an icy branch, looking down in astonishment.
Ianto leaps down on the outside of the wall, hitting a snow bank and sliding downhill. He runs down the gentle slope toward the highway.
Ianto looks back as two security men come out of a guard station beside the main entrance. They have lost Ianto. They stop. A snowbank behind them bursts as Ianto leaps out. He takes care of them both with vicious ninja moves. Ianto looks up as a gate opens in the perimeter wall and a team of men in white snow-suits pour out, some on skis, some on hover-bikes. A chopper rises over the wall in a blast of snow. Its search lights rake through the trees, casting vivid swinging shadows on the snow.
Ianto, snapped closed the ski boots he has stolen from one of the disabled guards. He pops the boots quickly into the bindings and takes off downhill with one of the guard's rifles slung across his back.
The helicopter dives downhill, its searchlight blazing through the forest. Snowmobile headlights irradiate the patrols zig-zagging among the trees.
Ianto skis expertly downhill. He cuts a distinguished figure in his black tux. Pulse weapons fire rips through the trees from behind him. Ianto is motoring. The search light hits him. An auto-pulse gun in the chopper rips the slope into white clouds around him. Ianto slashes, turns, weaving among the trees at incredible speed. A snowmobile is closing in, trapping him. He turns toward it, suddenly. Uses the air to slash his skis right across the rider's face. The snowmobile crashes and tumbles into the night.
Owen's van takes an icy turn in a daring fast n' furious style drifting slide.
Owen is peering upslope, trying to see what's going on. All he can see are lights and gunfire. "Ianto, what's your twenty? I need a position, buddy"
Suddenly a skier in a black tux launches across the road from the slope above, and lands deftly downslope.
"Uh... right! I'll catch you on the next bend." Owen sighs.
Behind the van, goons leap across the road. Only about half can make the jump. The rest crash horribly. The helicopter rumbles overhead.
Ianto sees the chopper start to turn to attack. He comes out into the open, going straight downhill like a missile. The chopper gets suckered in… dropping right down behind him... and suddenly- Ianto slides to a stop in an explosion of snow and raises the rifle. Rat-a-tat-tat! He sends a burst across the windshield. The pilot swerves and- Suddenly two tall trees are right in front of him.
The rotor blade snaps off and the chopper descents into the snow, ploughing into a snowbank. It slides right to the edge of a steep ridge and stops, rocking back and forth.
Firing from a snowmobile, one of the guards puts a flurry across Ianto's path. Ianto's skis disintegrate and he tumbles, recovers and is running down the hill like a well-dressed yeti in his heavy boots. He has lost the rifle somewhere in the snow as he fell.
Ianto takes cover behind the burning wreck of the chopper, which still has its engine running. The ski patrol opens fire from up the slope. Rounds whacking against the immobilised helicopter.
Ianto looks down the slope and gets an idea. He jerks the pilot's body out and pushes on the fuselage, rocking it. It slips over the edge. He leaps inside as it topples forward and slides down the slope.
Ianto adds throttle and works the pedals, using the tail-rotor to steer. The chopper had snow-skids, and Ianto is sliding it down the mountain.
The copter is burning as it rockets down the slope on its skids like huge skis. Bullets are hitting the fuselage. Skiing attackers are wiping out, hitting trees. A snowmobile hits a rock and flies dramatically into a ravine.
"Ianto! Where are you?" Owen screams through the earpiece.
"In the helicopter." Ianto calmly replies.
Owen slides the van around a corner as he repeats to Tosh with incredulity, "He's in the helicopter."
Owen is scanning above them for the chopper. Then up the slope he sees the burning hulk skiing expertly among the trees.
The chopper hits a jump and launches into the air- It crashes through trees, still soaring and—Owen looks up, shouting as- The chopper drops right toward him- He hits the brakes and- Crash! It drops onto the road in front of the skidding van... then slides over the edge and tumbles into a rocky gulley where ii blows up. The flash lights up the valley.
Owen and Tosh jump out of the van. They look down at the burning wreckage.
"Ianto!" Tosh screams as Owen swears and looks down with shock.
"Yes?"
Owen and Tosh spin to look behind them. Ianto is brushing snow off his suit, and stomps toward the van in his ski-boots. He is completely composed.
"Let's go. We can still make our flight." Ianto barks over his shoulder.
As Owen is climbing into the van behind Ianto, two crews of security roar around the bend behind them, sliding on the ice. Owen opens fire. One snowmobile swerves over the bank. The other pulls up broadside, and the guards drop behind it. Owen floors it and the van roars down the mountain. Owen is still firing like he's Arnie Schwarzenegger on full-auto.
"This is Awesome! I never get to shoot!" Owen yells excitedly.
.
.
.
An American Airlines 747 touches down as they land back home.
A car pulls to the curb in a neighbourhood of modest middle-income homes. The street is deserted. It is the middle of the night. Owen is at the wheel, dropping Ianto home.
Ianto is emptying his pockets... passport, business cards etc. all documents under his name "Harper". He checks that his pants and jacket pockets and empty. Owen fastidiously puts the items into a plastic zip-lock.
"Empty. Go." Ianto barks.
Owen starts handing him items from a briefcase. This feels like a well-rehearsed ritual between them.
"Ianto Harkness-Jones wallet. Ianto Harkness-Jones passport. Plane ticket stub, hotel receipt, Ianto Harkness-Jones. Two postcards of Lake Geneva. House keys. Souvenir snowing Swiss village." Owen mutters as he hands over each item.
Owen demonstrates how it snows when you shake it up and turn it over.
"What's this for?" Ianto frowns.
"For Janet, twat. Bring your kid something. You know. The dad thing." Owen rolls his eyes.
"Got it. Nice touch. Okay, pick me up at eight. De-brief is at ten hundred." Ianto orders as he goes to exit the vehicle.
"Hey, hey, hey... what are we forgetting?" Owen snipes.
Owen holds up Ianto's gold wedding band. Ianto puts it on. "What a team. See you at eight."
"Yep. Sleep fast." Owen shouts as he pulls away.
Ianto slips inside the house. He sets down his suitcase and walks softly down the hall. He pauses at a door with gaudy labels and stickers plastered all over it.
Ianto silently opens the door and looks in at his sleeping daughter, Janet. She looks like an angel in the moonlight coming in the window. In fact, she is a typical 14 year old girl, and therefore hardly an angel. But to Ianto she is perfect.
Ianto, undresses, slips into bed next to... a lump in the blankets. He kisses an exposed cheek as the lump moves. He gets a sleepy kiss.
"Hi, honey. How was the flight?" a deep rumble asks.
"Fine, Cariad. Stay asleep."
"Okay." Comes the sleepy reply.
Ianto puts his head on the pillow and stares at the ceiling.