25
Dozer was enjoying the chance to stretch his legs and Ianto felt guilty for not exercising the horse sooner.
He went in a wide circle, riding past Tosh's monitors for her as he looked for signs of tampering or movement beyond the fence of the compound.
Dozer seemed calm and unperturbed by the day and the dogs loping along gave no indication of danger so Ianto was sitting back on the saddle thinking about planes still.
The body was a surprise.
The woman was face down in the dirt and Ianto sat for some time looking for any signs of life, then nodded to a dog, who approached and sniffed at her.
The dog looked at Ianto with sorrowful eyes.
Dead.
Booby trap?
One of the larger dogs delicately caught her clothing with his teeth and rolled her over as Ianto held his breath.
No bang, no boom. No bomb, not a trap then.
Ianto dismounted and approached warily, scanning the area with his eyes and nose, also tasting the air.
She had been dead for about a day. The wet clothing a testament to the morning dew. The sun had dried her back but not her front.
The gun shot to her forehead reminded him of Suzie and he shuddered from the memory. He had helped move her body, his unspoken question about what had happened compounded by the Gwen Cooper problem.
Jack had thanked him for not asking, he had his own problems at the time.
Ianto touched her face and found rigor mortis was still setting in. Not long ago?
Ianto looked for a casing but found nothing. Whoever has shot her had known to take the bullet shell but they didn't know he had a doctor on hand to dig it out.
Ianto placed the body in the horse and started to do the long circle then stopped.
Damn it.
Ianto started to untie the body from the saddle.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Ianto pulled the body off and chastised himself for his stupidity.
If there was a tracker, he had almost carried it into the village.
No. Owen would have to come to the body.
If it was still there when they returned.
Ianto frowned and then with a grimace, he removed a knife and began to dig.
With the bullet in his pocket and blood on his hands, Ianto rode back to camp, via the large circles. He made a mental note to add wet wipes to the next recon, to be added to recon backpacks.
Jack was horrified to see him ride in with blood on his hands and clothing but relieved when told it was from a dead body.
He examined the bullet while Ianto scrubbed himself down and agreed it was from a pistol, probably military issue Dessert Eagle.
Jack was also worried about the casing being retrieved and was surprised by Ianto's thoughts on a tracking device within the body. He wouldn't have thought of that either.
Owen rode out, gingerly hanging onto Ianto like a limpet as he rode pillion.
Jack thought he looked like a muppet backpack but held back the desire to say it out loud.
The body was still there and they scanned it thoroughly for trackers, viruses or any other Trojans. Finally satisfied, Owen began an autopsy.
"Well? Anything?" Jack demanded.
"Jesus Jack, give me a goddamned minute would you? I'm not exactly proficient at field autopsies!" Owen snarked.
Ianto found himself clutching at Jack, who immediately cuddled him as the woman became meat.
"What is it hon?" Jack asked softly.
"Suzie" Ianto whispered back, "Lisa. God, a beautiful woman reduced to … hunks of flesh. It's not right."
"Easy, easy" Jack soothed as he rubbed Ianto's back and then took his face in his hands, kissing him with as much love as he could muster.
"Oi, no mouth to mouth you two" Owen ribbed them and Ianto looked over at him, a smile finally forming.
"The gunshot is not what was killing her. Looks like radiation poisoning or something. It was a mercy kill. Probably led her away from their base before …. Pow" Owen made a gun shooting motion at his head.
"God, she was dying?"
"Yeah. This s not good. How many are in there, how many are sick with this and how long before they turn? We all know that you can't contain it. One dies in the night, a Z rampages by dawn" Owen frowned.
"The compound is to keep Zs out" Ianto huffed, "Hopefully it will keep them in as well."
"Do we warn them?" Owen asked, "Tell them that all dead need a head shot or they'll come back?"
"Am I a bad man if I say no?" Jack answered with a frown.
"Nah." Owen rose and brushed himself off.
"Just a realist."