Chap 7
Malik backs rapidly away from the restroom, recharging.
"Oi Dickhead" Owen shouts as he draws a bead.
Malik spins to see Owen, going into a firing stance behind a support beam. The Alien doesn't hesitate. His laser roars at 900 rounds per minute.
Owen tries to hide behind the beam, which is almost as wide as he is. Shots hit all around him, shattering window glass behind him. His stomach sticks out. He sucks it in. Now his butt is sticking out on the other side. Shots clang into the steel column, and riddle everything behind him.
Just when it looks like Owen is going to get a laser tuck, Malik turns and sprints away, through shocked pedestrians. Ianto runs out of the restroom, trying for a shot, but there are too many people in the line of fire and Malik knows it.
"Get back to the car!" Ianto yells as he pounds after Malik. Malik is fast and vicious. He hurls people out of the way, sending shoppers flying. Ianto is merciless in his pursuit. They scream through the mall and out onto the street-
Malik sprints straight into traffic. A car screeches, not stopping in time... Malik goes right over the bonnet. Ianto slides over the bonnets of cars after him. Malik sees Ianto coming after him like a juggernaut.
He turns and sees a motorbike coming down the street, speeding up from a turn. Malik runs at him, clothes-lining the rider right off the bike. The alien picks up the nimble little bike, which is still running, and leaps on. He pops the clutch and takes off. Ianto tracks after him like a terminator. He sees Malik turn, taking the bike path into Bute park. Ianto runs into the park trying to cut him off.
Ahead of Ianto is a horse drawn carriage sitting in the park as the horse is standing to one side with a feed bag as the driver has a smoke. Ianto doesn't break stride, heading right for the horse. The driver turns, surprised, a split second before- Ianto pushes him away from the horse and slams him to the ground.
"Officer in pursuit of suspect! Sorry." Ianto is in the saddle and galloping after Malik before the man can stop him.
Malik roars through the park on the Kawasaki. He looks back, shocked to see Ianto charging after him on a horse. They scatter joggers and bicyclists, people walking their dogs. Malik leaves the winding path and goes straight through the trees.
Ianto charges through some rollerbladers who go sprawling. Malik fires his laser straight back at Ianto, flattening it. He drops the weapon and crouches over the bike, twisting the last bit of throttle out of it. They are going flat out, through the trees, in a blur.
Owen is panting and heaving, pulls his car into traffic. The Unit Seven car pulls out as well, up the block.
"Ianto, what's your twenty?" Owen demands as he searches for him on the PDA.
Ianto is riding the horse hard. He has his reigns in one hand, his Glock in the other. It's the Wild Wild West.
"Westbound in the park... suspect is on a motorcycle... he's going to come out by the hooker loos. Hang on—"Ianto leaps a park bench like he's in a steeple chase. "I want you left in case he turns south. And I need seven on the north side to box him in."
Owen is weaving furiously through traffic. He slides into a turn, drifting the car like he's seen Too Fast n Furious Tokyo Drift too any times. "Copy that."
"And make it fast." Ianto shouts "My horse is getting tired."
"Your horse?" Owen squeaks to himself.
Malik bursts through the bushes and out onto the street. Cars skid around him, out of control. He turns south. Weaving through traffic. Ianto leaps the hedgerow behind Malik and gallops amongst the spun-out cars. He goes right over the hood on one which is blocking his path. The driver ducks as the horse's hoof pops the windshield.
Up ahead traffic is stopped, at a light. Malik goes into the oncoming traffic lanes, which are empty. Owen's car drifts around the corner in a blare of horns and comes barrelling down the street toward him. Owen cranks the wheel the slides the car broadside, blocking both lanes. Malik locks up the brakes and the bike slides to a stop. Then the Alien pops the clutch and wheels the bike around—jumping the curb and going straight at the entrance of the Hilton.
Bellmen and guests scatter as the bike roars right at them. The sliding doors and opening for a bellman coming out with bags and Malik blasts past him into the lobby.
Ianto ducks, galloping through the doors after him.
Acres of marble and red carpet. Liveries porters. Guests dressed for evening, the men in suits, and diamonds on the women. And sudden chaos as Malik roars through the lobby, with Ianto charging along behind him. Malik guns it across the lounge, knocking over tables. He gets air at the top of the steps going up to the restaurant.
Ianto swerves to avoid a panicking guest and finds himself careening toward the brass band at a full gallop. He gathers the animal and leaps (in glorious slow motion) over the drummer, who is diving for the carpet. Ianto and horse land neatly and then he urges his mount right up the steps after Malik.
Ianto roars between the tables, looking around wildly for a way out. Ianto charges in, ducking to avoid the chandelier. Waiters, trays, dinners, tables... everything seems to be flying at once as people dive out of the way.
Malik skids out into the main hall by another door, and sees the lifts.
Owen is at the large water feature, screaming at Malik who ignores him as he turns towards the lift doors. The door is just closing on one of them. He guns it and slides through the doors.
Ianto gallops out of the restaurant in time to catch a glimpse of Malik as the doors close.
As Owen watches with his mouth open, Ianto gallops the horse through the water and Tosh swears as Ianto canters the horse into the next elevator, which has just been boarded by an older couple. He has to practically lie down on the horse to fit through the door. The animal barely fits, nose to tail, in what is a glass lift with a view of the whole atrium of the hotel as it rises, right to the top of the building. Ianto looks through the glass at the lift car next to him, fifteen feet away. Malik is inside, punching a button. He glances up and sees Ianto. Their eyes meet for a moment, just before Malik's car ascends rapidly. Malik's malevolent glare is etched on Ianto's brain.
The older couple is jammed against the side-wall by Ianto's sweaty, panting, snorting horse. It clomps around the tight space. The woman is trying to slide between her husband and the wall.
"Can you just press the top floor, please?" Ianto asks politely and the man nods silently and obeys. Their lift takes off, chasing after Malik's.
Ianto has to slide off the horse to get next to the control panel so he just lays over the horse's neck. He can look up at an angle and see Malik in the car above him. His thumb hovers over the emergency stop button. If Malik gets out at any floor, Ianto will have a moment to react and stop. Malik can look down and see this. He knows Ianto's got him. He just keeps going, floor after floor, using the time to think.
The older woman is still just staring, trying not to breathe. The horse flicks her in the face with his tail.
The rooftop has a spectacular view of the city. Malik comes out of the elevator, rides to the far edge of the roof and slides to a stop. He looks down twenty stories.
Ianto arrives. The doors part and Ianto comes out, with his Glock poised and ready. He sees Malik revving his bike. The alien guns the bike into a fast one-eighty and speeds back toward the edge of the roof. Amazingly, he increases speed, spinning the wheel off the roof as he flies into space.
Ianto rides to the edge in time to see Malik, on his bike, splash into the rooftop pool on the roof of the next hotel!
Ianto is out of control now, seeing the guy setting away. He turns his mount and charges across the roof to get some running space. Then he turns again, back toward the edge Malik jumped from. He kicks the horse's flanks and yells HAAHH!
The horse's hoofs thunder on the roof as they go full tilt toward the edge.
But a horse is not a motorcycle. It is slightly smarter. It slams its front hoofs down together, stopping suddenly. Ianto shoots right over its head. He flies forward, almost going right off the roof. He slams to the edge, with his legs hanging over, holding onto a piece of pipe with one hand. His Glock tumbles down into darkness.
Ianto sees Malik far below, climb out of the pool, running to the roof door of the other building. Getting away. Ianto calmly clicks at the horse who backs up, pulling Ianto back up so he clambers up onto his own roof, breathing hard. He walks over to the horse.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Ianto berates the horse "We had the guy and you let him get away."
He looks into the horse's innocent brown eyes. Pats its neck fondly.
"What kind of horse are you? Are you even Welsh?"
