7

Ianto didn't have time for this, so he did what he did best. Focused on the problem at hand as he raced into the Hub "Tosh, tell me you were still offline!"

"Yes" she replied proudly "I had another half hour before I have to patch back in. Mainframe is safe"

"MAX!"

"Yes Ianto?" the dog asked as it came out from under the stairs and the kids squealed with glee as they ogled the antique.

"These children are your pups now. Tend them please!" Ianto waved a hand in their direction "And the big one with them is a possible threat."

"Hey!" Johnny spluttered then stalled out as Myfanwy swept down to look at the new people, swinging low overhead before disappearing again.

"That's my pterodactyl, don't' piss her off OK?" Ianto muttered as he started looking at screens.

"Tosh, isolate one of the computers out and log on, let's see what it is shall we? Make sure we buffer so Fanny is safe" Ianto demanded as he continued to work, his eyes scanning frequencies "Shit."

"What?" Jack asked as he finally broke eye contact with Johnny, Owen remaining near the man with a glare and a sidearm.

"Hospitals are sending out SOS signals. Power is being shut down, people are dying" Ianto slumped "It's happening. It's really happening."

"Judgement Day" Jack nodded "The day the AI world becomes self-aware and decided it doesn't like it's Creator."

"Radio waves are still safe, Gwen. Check and see if UNIT have snatched a band, remember how? I did show you" Ianto said then noticed the man standing by her chair with a doleful stare "You must be Rhys. Shit. I know you, I played rugby with you a few times. Right. Do you get what is happening?"

"Shit-storm"

"Well said. Right. This entire base is run by a Mainframe that at the moment is buffered against … this. Unfortunately sooner or later that will not be the case. Someone will hack in or UNIT will try to contact us, opening the phone lines … an idiot in other words will trample all over our tenuous safety. What I need is three packed to the gunnels SUVs ready to roll. Can you do that? Owen, stop trying to find a way to scare the lard ball, go with Rhys and remove all the AIs from the SUVs. You've berated me for doing it enough times to know how I do it, go."

"Your car?" Jack asked.

"Recognisable. The SUVs look like any SUVs. My car is immediately flagged as non-compliant. Right now we need to blend, not wave flags" Ianto replied calmly, "Sir. Weapons please? Some big boom booms?"

Jack motioned for his office and Ianto followed him. Instead of opening the safe Jack sat on the sofa and Ianto knew something else had to be said so he settled beside him to wait, then raised an eyebrow when it became obvious that Jack was struggling to say it out loud. "Sir? Another problem?"

Jack nodded, "Yeah … gotta….ah…. I have family out there in London."

Ianto sighed "She is either smart enough to have hunkered down and wait or she is gone. Did you have an evacuation plan? An agreed spot to meet if you ever had to bug out?"

"Yes. The playground I used to take her to as a child" Jack nodded, not surprised he knew.

"Right. We go past, we do not slow down, if she is there we snatch and grab. If she isn't … she is gone. Sorry … you and I both know the chances…"

"I have to try. She's my daughter. She has a child too … we need to go that way? You don't know what playground I am referring to" Jack smiled softly.

"We are going through London, heading to the Fens" Ianto whispered softly to him "Marshland, wetland. No tech. Remember?"

Jack stared at him and nodded slowly "Yeah. Thatched roofs, river boats. Livestock … farming and agriculture. It's like stepping back in time, just electricity and such, hard to keep modern tech going, it all shorts out with the damp …shit. Ianto, brilliant!"

"Shhhhhhh" Ianto hissed "She might hear you."

Fanny. They shared a moment of silence as Jack considered and then reached out, hooking Ianto's hand in a silent squeeze before he cleared his throat as if just deciding something. Jack nodded and rose as he said loudly "Right. We need to prepare if we are going to Scotland then"

"Yes sir" Ianto smiled as the lie came so easily, sounded so real. Ianto knew the little fishing ports and marshy estates would be more than capable of accommodating them in the Fens. They might even stand a chance of surviving the next wave.

He wasn't a fool.

He knew an invasion when he saw one, and he also knew that Jack was well aware of what was happening as well. Damn it all, when was that man going to trust them enough to tell them the truth?