13
Toshiko was scanning, her mouth in a thin line as her eyes flicked across multiple screens. Ianto was pacing in the background as he went over things, trying to work out where they might be as he rubbed the back of the little Geril and hummed mindlessly.
We checked everything and everywhere so where the fuck are they!" Owen said as he turned to talk to John "you know… they might have been sucked out when they miscalculated their charges."
"More likely they are what terrorized the animals and made them attack us like that" John replied.
"Bullshit… can't be… different holds." Owen countered with a sneer in John's face that instead of annoying him like it would a normal person, made John laugh and pat Owen's head like a proud parental.
Ianto had stopped pacing and was staring into space as he chewed over that conversation.
"Where could they be… we are scanning the holds and cargo bays… we know they are not in those and if they are in those ones sealed off they are fucked so… where could they…" Ianto stopped muttering and his hands stopped clicking fingers at his sides, making Suzie aware of the sudden silence and she turned her head to look at him, watching as his yes slowly tracked up to the ceiling and the ventilation system's grating.
He slowly walked over until he was under it and looked directly up at it, one hand softly fingering the seam of his pants as he frowned and she caught the train of thought he was having, rising slowly to pull a gun for the table where John was cleaning them while playing with Owen.
John noticed her moving and looked over at her "Lover?"
Suzie did not answer, but stepped over bedside Ianto raising her weapon towards the vent. John stalled out, and then he rose and looked around the room before storming over to swipe everything off another table and drag it over under the vent "Move. Here, on this."
Suzie and Ianto let him move the table under the vent then Suzie jumped on the table and reached up to push against the grate with her riffle's muzzle. By now everyone as watching including Jack who walked slowly over to reach out, hooking Ianto by his jacket and pulling him gently back from the table as John now climbed up and got on all fours to let Suzie step up onto his back.
She pushed the grating up and then nervously reached out a hand, Owen silently slapping a torch into it and she tried to see into the space without getting too close. She shook her head and Ianto seized Jack's arm as he watched with wide wyes. Suzie reached up into the space as she moved the grating away and took a deep breath and then to everyone's surprise she simply shot up into the space, John leaping up to follow her.
Toshiko was watching their life signs on screen and called out that they were OK as thumping told everyone the two were moving off in opposite directions along the venting system. It was a short time later that faint banging had Jack pushing Ianto aide and leaping on the table as Owen threw a gun at him and Ianto sighed as he clambered onto the table.
Ianto removed the baby Geril, hanging it back to Toshiko who blinked with alarm. Ianto then scooped up a handful of ammo and started to fill his pant pockets.
"Oi, what the hell are you doing?" Owen demanded with shock.
"I told you I did my service" Ianto said as he removed his jacket and flicked it aside to reveal a waistcoat, then rolled his sleeves "I was a grunt. I was a sweeper for the ground crews."
"Wait… you were a gunner!" Owen said then John threw a weapon at him, watching Ianto snap it with his wrist so effortlessly that he was clearly a natural. Then Ianto was gone.
"Well fuck me… a Gunner." Owen said softly "And he survived a full tour."
"Only one in twenty survive" Toshiko agreed "He is either a coward or a bloody dead shot."
"And I know which one I would go for" Owen said as he looked up at the hole then held out a hand "Give me a gun sweetie… just in case."
.
.
The inside of the shaft was almost six feet high, allowing a tall man to run if you ran hunched over. Ianto moved towards the sound of shouting and gunfire, rounding a corner to find Jack crouched as he fired and three men standing there behind what must be a shield firing back. Clearly this was not working so Inot reached in to his back pocket and removed the little glass bottle from his back pocket he had left over from feeding the Geril and threw it with all his strength at a corner of the screen, the force making it tip back and Jack fired under the opposite corner that had exposed an ankle.
The man fell screaming and the other two could not hold the shield, ceasing fire as they struggled to lift the shied and Ianto ran past Jack in the few second that had created a ceasefire, slamming into the shied as he fired over it with abandon.
Jack rose with his mouth open, John panting as he lay to one side with a hand over his thigh and an open mouth as well.
Ianto lay panting on top of the shield and he groaned rolling to his side then getting his knees under himself as Jack shook himself free of his shock, reaching out to help Ianto to his feet and Ianto staggered back to lean against the wall and shake the empty shells from his weapon, reaching into his pocket to reload. He stared back at Jack and raised his eyebrows "What?"
"OK... seriously… we need to keep him Jax!"
