Chap 4
"Harkness?" Ianto barks as he walks into the cellblock, "Do you know what's going on outside?
"What's going on outside?" Jack asks lazily as he leans back and smiles, his eyes closed.
"Let's go. This asshole doesn't know anything either." Ianto sneers as he turns to motion John out the door.
As they leave Jack opens his eyes with surprise and sees Ianto for the first time. He leaps to his feet with his mouth gaping open.
"You got some balls calling him an asshole to his face." John hoots outside the door, "That's Captain Harkness. I heard he took out at least six when they cornered him at Demos Station."
"Yeah, and this is eight inches." Ianto holds his fingers apart a few inches and rolls his eyes, "You career men love to exaggerate, Hart."
"Just goes with the territory." John bristles, still wanting a taste of this exotic man. "Yeah, well, in my case, it's a bit different. Perhaps a connoisseur like yourself would appreciate what I have to offer."
Ianto laughs softly as John refuses to give up, then they hear banging from one of the doors they had locked. They run for the guns and strike a pose.
"Go get the commander." Ianto barks to John as he tightens his grip on his revolver.
They open the door and a woman come screaming through the door, her face is bleeding and she is tearing at her hair and face as she screeches. She has a mean looking knife that she swings at Ianto who jumps away.
"Disarm her." Lisa screams as she watches Ianto in Danger.
.
.
.
Ianto has lost his train of thought and as the tread of the story fades, so does his voice.
Many of the panel shift in their seats and an elderly man leans over the desk to look at him more closely, "Officer?"
"It was almost like she was..." Ianto struggles to find the word, "possessed."
"Like a force was inside her." He frowns and looks up at the pale faces regarding him.
"Who was she?" a purple Zelachian asks and Ianto turns politely to address the question.
"She was a dispatch officer. We tried to make her comfortable. The rookies took her to a storage room in the back of the jail. Then the commander and I went back outside to look around town."
.
.
.
.
.
"What do you think?" Lisa asks as she and Ianto do a perimeter sweep. It is getting dark and the place is even creepier as the shadows lengthen, like oil slicks.
"That the Science Officer's lying." Ianto answers crisply.
"Tell me again about Harkness." Lisa prompts as she scouts a shadowy corner then relaxes as it is empty.
"I didn't read the full file." Ianto struggles to recall the file he flicked through knowing his eidetic memory will find the relevant information, "Caught him with the money but he said he didn't kill anybody."
"Huh, of course. They all just died of fright." Lisa scoffs with a grin, "And then cut their own heads off?"
As they walk they turn a corner and come across a land crawler. These large vehicles resemble a cross between a tank and a kombi van. Inside a man is raging, he screams and thrashes against the large glass frontage, spittle and blood flecking the glass.
"Put down your weapon!" Ianto reacts first, raising the pulse rifle and stepping in front of Lisa. Protect your Commander.
"Put it down!" Lisa raises her own rifle and squares her shoulders as he steps to one side, behind yet clearly visible to Ianto to show she is OK.
They can't hear what the man is ranting as he screams and gestures but is seems he is telling them to go away.
"Call Hart." Lisa demands as she moves to the back of the transport and tries the locked door.
"Sergeant Hart," Ianto yells down the comms as the man continues to bang against the glass at him. "We need backup. We're 20 southwest of the RecFac."
"Don't open the door!" the man is screaming, "Don't let it out!"
Lisa notices movement in the enveloping darkness and places her back to the vehicle as she scans with her rifle, "Who goes there?"
"Can't fight it! It's in me!" the man shrieks as he tears at his face, his fingernails leaving deep bloody gouges in the skin. He raises the knife and slices his own throat while Ianto watches with horror.
"Commander Hallett!" John barks, gaining Ianto's attention as he walks slowly around the vehicle with open confusion on his face.
"There's a man in there. Open it." Ianto finally commands as he turns and looks into the dark.
"The lock is destroyed. We're gonna need a cutting torch." John mutters as he examines the lock.
"How long?" Ianto demands, turning to look at John, taking a moment from his night scanning.
"At least half an hour, maybe more." John shrugs then he turns to look at Ianto and sees the fear, "What the fuck is going on here, lieutenant?"
"He committed suicide. But before he slit his throat, he yelled something, something like: Stay away!" "Don't open the door." "Stay away." And now the commander's gone." Ianto explains and John rears back with surprise.
Ianto walks a few feet from the vehicle and shouts out into the dark "Lisa!"
"Maybe he was contagious. Or crazy, I don't know." John reasons as he scans nervously, "I say we take him at his word and leave him locked in."
Ianto swings to glare at him and he raises a hand to stop the reprimand coming. "Look, one of us has to
stay with the rookies. Why don't you go back to the jail? I'll find the commander."
"Let's get the hell out of this place." Ianto finally agrees, "There's nothing we can do for this guy. You're right. Okay, let's go."
Ianto heads back towards the Jail house as John nervously tries to find Lisa's trail.
Ianto enters the jail only to find an escaped prisoner holding a knife to Tosh's throat and everyone yells for or against the threat of violence.
"Drop your weapon, or I'll cut this dyke-bitch's head off!" Jack snarls as Ianto raises his weapon.
"What the fuck happened?" Ianto roars at Owen who was cowering behind a desk.
"Tosh let him out for some food."
"Let me guess." Ianto rolls his eyes, "You unshackled him. What do you want, Hartness?"
"I want to get the fuck out of here." He snarls as he tightens his grip on Tosh's throat.
"Okay. We'll let you walk, just let the girl go." Ianto reasons.
"Think I'm falling for that shit?" Jack laughs and Ianto shrugs.
"I can't let you take the rookie." Ianto explains and takes a step forward, "Take me. Okay?"
"Put the gun down." John enters behind Ianto and freaks the fuck out.
Jack commands again, this time looking more closely at Ianto, "Put them down!"
"Drop your gun, Hart." Ianto orders.
"Yeah, drop the gun, Hart." Jack parrots with a leer.
"Okay." Ianto places his gun on the ground with his other hand held out palm up, "Relax! Take it easy. Relax! Relax. You're gonna get what you want."
"I know I'm gonna get everything I want. Now let's go." Jack spins Tosh away as he reaches out and grabs Ianto by the outstretched hand, pulling him into his arms. Ianto rears back and decks Jack on the jaw and Jack yelps with pain. He slams the handle of the knife down on Ianto's head and he folds gracefully to the ground stunned.
"Damn, boy." Jack laughs, "I like you already."