13
Ianto looked around with mild concern as the place resembled a flop house.
They were not technically squatting but he knew the entire top level was actually his, the Predators had left the paperwork on the table and he had found it after he had moved some money.
It was a good home for now, a good base but long term he was going to flip out if they didn't start cleaning up after themselves.
Then it hit him.
It was the hub.
He looked around at the workstations that had appeared and the tech scattered about.
Mickey was leaning against the window, sitting on the floor with a rifle in pieces around him as he cleaned it, oil seeping into the wooden floor and Ianto decided to accept that this was not his home, this was his base of attack.
Jack was watching his as his eyes swept the room and tried to see whatever he did, finally seeing the mess and he face palmed as he waited for the angry explosion.
When Ianto calmly started making a list he leaned over to see what it was.
"Babe?" Jack asked with mild confusion.
"This is a workplace. The new Hub, I need stuff from the old one" Ianto muttered, then sighed softly. "This is just a safe house, really. Not home."
"What?" Jack asked softly.
"The bodies. Oh god, they're still in the cryo-units." Ianto groaned, "Unit sealed it all off. Tosh, Grey, Lisa … shit. Suzie. They are all still down there. No power, they all thawed. Now they are still down there in the dark, Cariad, we can't leave them there."
Jack made a small noise at his brother's name and pulled Ianto close, the enormity of it hitting them.
"We need a spot of land, we need to bury them, or .. God. What are we going to do?" Ianto was starting to shake at the thought of what was ahead of them and Jack closed his eyes, wanting a moment longer before speaking.
Mickey had stopped putting the weapon back together was watching them with a soft frown, Martha joining him with a can of cola.
"Ianto? What's up mate?" he finally asked.
"We have people still in the Torchwood hub's lower levels. Bodies" Ianto said with his voice breaking, "We have to give them rest. We have to … honor them."
"Shit" Mickey huffed with horror.
"What do you need boss?" Mickey asked as he started slapping pieces together with more intent.
"Back in" Ianto answered before Jack could and Jack realized it was Ianto Mickey had referred to, not him.
Having their memories of that year meant Mickey saw the man he had followed blindly into battle, smiling as he was ready to do so again.
Jack wondered how powerful his mate had been and stifled a grin.
He would have been a thorn in Saxton's side for sure.
"We can either buy a plot of land somewhere and bury them, or we burn them." Mickey said confidently.
"I want the hub, in case we need it, I want some stuff still in there, we can't take it all and I want somewhere I can go to mourn, remember and give thanks" Ianto said with a soft smile to show he understood Mickey's enthusiasm.
"I would suggest somewhere out of the city" Tosh spoke and Mickey yelped as she crouched by his head and Ianto laughed.
"Toshi, you minx!" Jack spluttered.
"Shit! An AI with an evil streak!" Mickey bemoaned as they all laughed, Tosh rising to her full height and grinning back.
"So, we get … what? A compound or something?" Ianto asked with a soft frown.
"I have a number or Torchwood facilities, Unit facilities as well as a couple of Doomsday Prepper Bases available" Tosh said happily, stepping to one side as a number of pictures floated into view like a real estate agent's window.
"Jeez, you should have been a Real Estate Agent" Ianto grinned as he rose and walked over to tap on one, the file opening and showing him the levels and such.
"Unit are always Unit and I don't want the old Torchwood over our heads" Ianto sighed, "These two Doomsday Prepper ones, that one is weird, I think he went too far with the whole Zombie Apocalypse thing, like that is ever going to happen."
"Maybe not in this verse, but don't joke about things like that" Jack scolded softly as he stepped close enough for their bodies to touch, "Zs might be roaming an alternate earth, ya know."
"Don't start that 'fold in the fabric' stuff" Martha scolded, "its bad enough when the Doctor starts."
Jack laughed softly and pointed to the other one, "Large underground facility, nice wee homestead on top, plenty of land so it covers the huge underground facility and we have some outbuilding that would hide vehicles and such."
"Three levels, not too much. I could reinstitute a lot of the archives on the lower one, maybe a couple of cells … in case we need them" Ianto hesitated.
Jack reached out to squeeze his hip, "Always good to be prepared. It is a Prepper Base after all!"
Ianto snorted and nodded, "It's far enough out of town that a tail would be easy to get rid of but close enough to work covertly. I like it."
"And a nice wee corner of trees where some graves would suit?" Jack pointed to an area that looked to contain some wooded land.
"Then we organize a viewing?" Martha asked.
"What do we say? A Prepper family?" Tish asked.
"We think there are Aliens" Ianto said blandly and they all started to laugh, "Alien Invasion Preppers."
Now he laughed too, turning to Jack who was eager for a hug.
A truth within a lie.
Best cover.