4
"OK, there are a few ground rules" Ianto said as he and the child crouched up in the rafters, watching the team enter to begin their day.
"Like?"
"Those ones down there… we don't eat them." Ianto said and the child giggled as this was a joke. Wraiths don't eat people. He canted his head to watch as Rhys and Andy arrived together, laughing and clearly together. Their smells were the same. Mates. Clark was curious about that too.
"We do not impede their day or mess with them… too much" Ianto amended and the child grinned wider as he saw that this father figure was fun.
"Most importantly, they do not know we are here so we remain hidden. OK?"
"Why?" the boy asked.
"Why do they not know I am here? OR why remain hidden?"
"Yes."
Ianto found himself smiling at the child who was clearly innocent in the ways of things, despite his vicious streetwise facade. He had survived on his wits and by imitating those around him. Clever.
"OK. They met me once, saw me die. To explain that we do not die is… well. You know." Ianto grimaced.
"Messy" the child nodded "Because we do die. Merely resurrect as ourselves once more but not. Like the Phoenix, we rise."
"Exactly. They do not know this... apart from him. He is a horse of a different colour… he is… mine" Ianto whispered as Jack wandered out onto the mezzanine level to look out over the Hub and he slowly looked up at them both and smiled, seeing them clearly even with heir cloaking in place.
"How does he do that?"
"He is not one of them either. That's the other thing. Jack is… well. A wolf in sheep's clothing too. Only, the sheep are his flock and he is protecting them from things worse than a wolf."
The child huffed "So he is like us then. A Bad Wolf production."
"Yes, we are of the Bad Wolf yet are not bad… or wolves. I guess… as she brings life, love and vitality she also brings purpose. I am here to protect and nurture what is here. You need to learn that, these humans… we are their shepherds too." Ianto crooned. "I promised her."
They both missed Jack's jerk back from the railing to openly swing and gape at them for the comments just made.
"So, they are our wards?"
"Yes, much so. More than I can explain to you right now. Ah. See her? I like her. She is nice" Ianto pointed to Toshiko as she walked across the grating with a file in her hand and Jack leaned over the railing to talk to her, trying to shake off the weirdness in his gut.
"She is his? I thought you and he…"
"It's not like that. He loves her more as a daughter. These ones, he does not play with. They are his pack."
"Ahhhhhh."He understood that. Right.
"Like the Vampire, he is their Head Honcho?"
Now Jack was tuning his head to look at them again, sharing a look with Ianto that told them both that this was a conversation to be had somewhere else.
"Come on kiddo, wanna ride a dragon?"
Clark giggled as he followed Ianto up into the aviary to play with Myfanwy who was surprised and pleased to see them, hooting softly as they approached. Below them, Jack waited impatiently for the shift's end. Claiming himself on night watch tonight so everyone gets time off and ignoring the cheers as everyone rushed for their coats.
Clark had hit a nerve.
.
.
"Do you know where their nest is?"
"What?"
"Jack means, where they roost. Their home base. It's called a nest for Vampire" Ianto explained patiently as the boy swung in Owen's chair looking at the desk of weird things with mild interest.
"Oh. An old house over to the south-side of the city" the boy finally shrugged "I didn't go in. Smelt wrong."
"Good boy, it's important to listen to your senses, they are there for a reason. Anything feels weird or funky, never go forward" Ianto nodded.
"At least it's not a fucking warehouse" Jack grumbled as he shifted in his own chair "But I have been after this flock for a few years now. They are furtive, clever. Never hitting the same nightclub twice in a row. Almost random choices and random times. No calendar or mathematical equation fits. Toshiko has tried everything but no algorithm works."
"Because a different one chooses each time" Clark said like Jack as silly.
"What?"
"I have watched them. There is about twenty of them and each time they stand on the turret of their house looking out over the city like fucking Batman or something… sorry… bloody Batman or something, one chooses the where and when. Also, they argue about how many to 'sample' as they put it. Sometimes they simply take a whole one to take home. Lasts longer I guess. They call it a takeout meal. Usually a homeless person, but only one a month for one of those." Clark picked up a bobble head and frowned at it, not sure of the purpose for such a thing.
Ianto swung to Jack with horror "Take a live one home… for afters? Or for one who does not leave the house? If they got hold of you, you would be an everlasting gobstopper."
Jack blinked "Did you just make a Willy Wonka reference?"
"But I'm right, right?"
"Yes, you are. They do not know about my… ability. If they did I would be in a world of hurt, for a very long time" Jack agreed.
"Ability?"
"That is talk for another day. Today we will talk about the place and their routines, since you have watched them for so long. Well done, what a brilliant job Clark. Your first assignment and already you have aced it due to swatting up" Ianto praised the child who puffed out his chest with delight in the affection he had never felt from another before.
By the team arrived the next morning the Wraith were both in the rafters again and the whiteboard was a detailed map of the house (as much as could be seen from the windows since the boy had not entered) and the exit/entry points as well as some of the key names of the vampire.
Owen was first to give a girly shriek of excitement like a girl shown a diamond ring as he stared at the board and recognised the scribbling for what it was.
"THE FUCKING VAMPIRES!"