60
The screen flickered then came into focus as the Drone flew. It passed low over houses, children playing in a school yard who were totally unaware of the threat overhead, over the supermarket Paul works… I mean worked at… the parking lot where a fender bender had taken place and two men were in one another's faces with spit flying as the wives sorted things to one side… more roofs … then a field with cows… another one with long grass… a road… then another field… then in the distance the old dilapidated looking house sat on its own. It was creepy looking, they were right.
It looked abandoned and had been for years. It was hard to believe someone WAS actually living there and as the Drone banked lower it now seemed to skim the ground as it passed under the gate, the thought of a dust cloud coming after it like splashing water crossed more than one smile as is moved under the front steps of the house.
It met solid concrete and went up.
"BOOOOOOOYYAHHHH!" Beckett yelled, his arms up with glee as the silent screen went white.
Everyone sat silently as Lucy tapped a spot on her table, the keypad built into the glass, then the four split screens resumed with the Bots doing some preliminary checks.
"So… we can see from the aerial photos that the house was destroyed, as were the basement areas … here are photos" Beckett slid photos accross the table so everyone can see them.
Ianto watched everyone pick them up and examine them, watching Paul who chose a 'before' one to bring close and scrutinize carefully with a deep frown. Ianto had an idea why but wanted to see if he was right in his choice for a recruit. Jack chose the other two... this one was his and he really wanted to show Jack why.
Paul sat back and glanced at Lucy who leaned forward "what?"
"The car" Paul said, and then shifted in his seat "Ah… the car isn't there."
Everyone picked up photos and looked at them, and then Beckett replayed the Drone on the screen built into the table, everyone checking for the vehicle. Beckett finally said "Maybe it's in the garage there."
"No, the blast from the house threw heat that way. The garage is close enough in the way that the gas in the tank alone would have created a secondary blast …. Right?" the boy asked then looked at Jack who was studying the photos.
"Paul is right. Good spotting there Hawkeye. The car is NOT there." Jack looked openly impressed as he nodded his agreement.
"Lucy, do you have the tag for the car?" Gwen asked.
"Number plate going in the computer…. Now" Lucy muttered as she demanded the DMV status and employed all the CCTV cameras to actively hunt go the number plate with the facial recognition software Toshiko had developed. Once again, Toshiko lingered in the room.
"So… we took out the lab but the cook is still out there" Jack swung in the chair "Let's make sure the lab it gone… Lucy what are you doing?"
Lucy had already commandeered a Bot and was moving it towards the remains of the garage as a solder could be seen through the lens of another Bot chasing the arrant Bot. She got to the doorway, the door blown off, to reveal an empty shell. Yep. No car. Then the Bot was airborne as the soldier picked it up and carried it back, soldiers now seen laughing as they ragged on the soldier who had lost control of his Bot.
"Don't… don't do that again" Ianto said softly "This time they are tanking it's a funny oops. Next time they might realize we are watching too."
"Sorry… I just…"
"Wanted to back him up. Good call but let's try to remain covert" Jack nodded.
"OK… Bot Two is going in first." Beckett called out and they turned to watch as the Bot moved to the crater, then slid into it with a grace that showed the controller to have soft hands. The other Bots followed.
Rex picked up a small cake and chewed as he watched Ianto, not the screens. Ianto's eyes were flicking about as he drank it in and Rex wondered just how photographic that mind really was or if it was some sort of parlour trick he did.
Ianto's head slowly swivelled to stare at him and Rex looked down, now chagrined as he remembered this one's ability to 'guess' what he was thinking. Fuck. Scary fucker. Ianto looked back to the screen.
"There, to the left" Lucy reached out to touch the screen on the table, Bot Two's image transferring there and she rewound it, freezing it to show what was left of the drug lab "See the copper piping? We hit pay-dirt … look"
She panned in and down, to the corner of the screen and some pills were visible. Yep. This was the place.
"Well… I say we nuke the place from orbit… only way to be sure" Paul muttered and Ianto could not hide the grin as everyone laughed, the movie quote cutting the tension. Something said in jest at the start of this now coming back in another's mind showed the team was all on the same wavelength.
Yes.
Ianto, as usual had been correct.
This young man was a good asset.