42

"Well?"

Ianto looked up from the file he was reading to find Jack standing there watching him.

"Well what?" he asked with surprise.

"Owen is still doing that muttering thing and I do not know what the hell is going on so … do you know?" Jack settled next to him, the emergency camp in turmoil as people moved about the bustle of a developing emergency.

"It's the same thing, different strain" Ianto finally said as he closed the file "Looks like it mutated. Or ... they released another version of it. Pure madness. Looks like there is no reasoning, no control whatsoever. These ones are insane with it, will attack anyone and anything, including one another. Unlike the ones released into the base, these have absolutely no cognitive control."

"Great" Jack sighed, "Tell me something good."

"Only passed thought bite. Not airborne. It's only a side-strain. Like a bi-product. Andy and th others are safe as it's only caught through the saliva, like bloody rabies. They released this to flush us out. Looks like we flinched. Right? Out we went, they saw us and saw that we flinched. They can't get in here, can't get to me but they know I will respond now." Ianto rubbed his face as he considered "You know … they don't know where I am, do they. Or they would be watching this place. They don't. They are doing this to try and find where we are. Where Brac is."

"Shit" Jack agreed "You're right. This is some sort of exercise to show their strength. Like a threat? Give him back or we release this again?"

"Only they fucked up because this strain … this strain has a cure" Ianto leaned back to smile softly, no humour in it. "This one is one we developed an anti-serum for and even tested. It works. They don't know, are not even close to developing their own anti-serum the idiots."

Jack knew without asking that Ianto had been the guinea pig, that clear in the proud stance so instead he asked "So … we inject tit into those going into the front lines and…"

"No. No, we don't have to" Ianto started to laugh softly now, a hollow sound, almost sad "we have developed it in mist form. Aerosol. We simply release a canister of anti-serum into the middle of a fray of them and they simply drop to the ground. Dead once more."

"You are shitting me" Owen said from across the way where he had been listening to them "Like… strings cut."

"Yeah. Idiots. Fucking…stupid …" Ianto rose and started to pace "They would kill people, turn them to simply piss me off and then … we turn them off. Who wins? No one. Still dead people everywhere!"

"Yes, but the point is … you will also show you have something else they don't. They will be left wondering what else you've got up your tailor-made sleeves" Jack pointed out "we can even insinuate we have a cure to the real thing. How would they know otherwise?"

"After all … Ianto has survived this right?" Toshiko agreed "Time we show him off in all his sickeningly healthy glory?"

"Yeah. Ianto? Care to go out for a meal at the Crow's Nest?" Jack asked with a cheeky grin "Dress nice now."

"Ah… not wanting to interrupt but … that gappy one just called" Eggsy said as he entered the conversation "Apparently she just screwed up the car."

"Of course she did" Ianto said without blinking.

"Backed into something and is going a bit spare in the shopping mall car park" Eggsy was grinning now.

"Gods" Ianto sighed "Come on then. What the hell did she back into?"

"A Fire Engine!" Eggsy ws gleeful now, jigging on the balls of his feet "Apparently she slammed right nito it. Like … a huge red engine!"

Ianto looked over at Jack who shrugged knowing full well it was a very credible story. After all, this is the same woman who wrote off two of their SUVs within a six month period. Sure. Bang. Oops. Not that it mattered, he did give her one that was decommissioned after all.

"Brac?"

"With Grandy" Tosh said as they started for the car parking area "Apparently they are now at the knife throwing stage."

"Gods, hope he doesn't pierce anyone" Ianto groaned "I really hated that time I got that man's arse."

"Are you kidding? That was hilarious, my favourite memory of our indicting was you throwing that knife at another recruit and making him scream like that." Toshiko laughed "Was only a little blade too. Pussy."

"Yep. That name stuck, he was called Pussy until he scrubbed out. No way he could ever sit at the table with a name like that" Ianto sniffed, then grinned at her.

"You know… sometimes you are a very evil man Ianto Pendragon Jones" she laughed as she swung into the back seat in a fluid movement, Owen sighing softly as he watched then walked around to the other side of the SUV, clambering in like a spider monkey. He wished he could do that hero move. Maybe Ianto would teach him?

He really wanted to be able to look cool.

Just a bit.