6

Jack watched Ianto race out of the store and turn the corner toward the side of the building.

Jack couldn't see him from where he had parked, so he decided to get out of the car and follow him from a distance. He left the windows cracked and took one last glance at the woman sleeping in the backseat. He'd tied her up tightly and muted her with some quick magic, but he couldn't leave her here long. Once she awoke, she'd wiggle out from under the blanket and get someone's attention. That was the last thing he needed, but he also needed to see where Ianto was going.

In the very back, he knew Janet slept without a care in the world. He needed the cat to be his eyes and ears while he was gone. "Janet, I'm counting on you to hold things down here. Get your lazy ass up and do something."

"I'll get right on that, boss."

Jack didn't believe his familiar had any intention of doing anything other than taking a nap, but he had to get moving or risk losing sight of Ianto. His captive forgotten for now, he hurried across the two-lane highway and eased around the corner in time to see him walking across the gravel lot behind the building.

He noted the long, swinging braid dancing across his shapely back, sweeping his pert arse. A tail? He wore a Warrior's Tail still, something that rankled given the fact he was not a man of honour, not if he killed his own father. With a shake, he reminded himself that he was his enemy, and noticing him and noticing him were two different things. Yes, he was attractive. Yes, he'd often stared at a particular picture of him in the castle. There were many, but they didn't capture his beauty as much as the one in his father's office did. In most of his pictures, his expression was placid and forced. Yet, in this picture, the photographer had caught him in a moment that he obviously hadn't realized he was the focus of a camera. He admired the way the smile lit up his eyes. From what Jack knew of him, like most Royals he rarely smiled or showed any emotion, and in this one instance, he felt like he saw a hidden part of him.

With a low growl, he reminded himself that he was a suspect, and it was his job to catch him and bring him in, even if he had some doubt that everything was as it seemed. That was not for him to decide, and he'd do well to remember that.

He watched as Ianto walked with a determined stride toward a gray sedan. He unlocked it and got in, starting it up immediately. Jack quickly memorized the license plate and rushed back to his own black SUV and climbed in. Now that he knew what he was driving, he could track him better. If he'd gotten a look inside, he could have 'slipped' right into the car next to him, but he'd drive behind him surreptitiously wherever he went just the same.

He turned to back out of the space but stopped quickly at what he saw on the back seat—or rather what he didn't see. Where had Toshiko gone? "What the hell? How did she...?"

He scanned the surrounding parking lot. She was nowhere to be seen. These two were harder to keep a hold of than an oily noodle. "Janet? Where did the friend go? You were supposed to keep an eye on her."

The cat jumped over the backs of the seat into the middle portion of the SUV, pawed at the empty blanket a few times before laying down again and explaining.

"I was having a good dream. You know, one of those dreams where you're swimming naked with Jennifer Lopez, but something wakes you up. And you try to go back into the dream; however, you can't get back to that same dream. It's changed now. Now, you're in a bathtub with George Lopez, and it's all you can do to wake yourself up as quickly as possible."

"What are you talking about? I just needed you to make sure she stayed put, yet somehow, she's gone."

"Sounds like a 'you' problem to me."

If cats could shrug, that's the most exercise Janet would ever get. Of all the familiars he could've gotten, he got stuck with this lazy arse. Damn it! But he didn't have time to look for her now. He needed to get on the road and follow Ianto.

He continued backing out and straightened the car, pulling onto the street without heeding the car coming at him. He swerved as they honked but kept on going. He had some mileage to make up if he wanted to catch up to Ianto. He just had to wonder where he was going now, and how he was ever going to get him back to Torchwood?

Scanning the road ahead, he drove in the general direction he'd last seen Ianto. Other than side roads, there weren't too many places to turn off the highway on which he was driving, so he had to be somewhere close. As he came up on a slow-moving line of cars, he swerved out across the double line a few times, trying to see when he could pass. Unfortunately, it was all double lines as far as he could see and too much oncoming traffic to chance an illegal pass.

"Come on!" There was no end to the Sunday driving in sight, and Ianto was getting away. He was a freaking warlock, wasn't he? What was the good in having magic if you never used it? He'd just lift all the vehicles slightly, drive under them, and set them all down gently behind him. They'd never even know it was happening because he'd weave an illusion of the road rising as well. Sure, it would be a complicated use of magic, but with the right calculations and intense concentration, he was confident that he could do it.

With a deep breath, he began the spell, speaking the magical words aloud in the car. The car in front of him easily lifted about twenty feet in the air, and he passed swiftly beneath it before lifting the next car. He could feel sweat beginning to coat his forehead. It was a strain, but he knew he could do it if he just kept his focus on the task.

There were three more cars, and he raised the next one, pulling his car underneath and finally setting down the last car in line. He felt his heart rate speed up and his muscles began to shake as if he were literally trying to lift the cars with his own bare hands, but he persevered. There was no turning back now.

He sucked in a heavy breath and held it as he lifted the next car in line and accelerated under it, setting down the second car he'd raised with just a slightly rough bump. A quick look in his rear-view mirror showed the driver surprised but steady. He only had one more to raise, and he was actually thankful they were all moving so slowly. It made the process easier somehow. Yet, just as he prepared to lift the final car, he felt a tug on his right-side pants pocket. A quick glance downward gave a most unexpected shock to his system. As he lifted his gaze back to the road in front of him, he cleared his head with a shake. Maybe he had worked his own illusionary magic on himself. Yet, as he looked back down, his vision was confirmed. He had seen it correctly. There was a mouse, yanking the folded deed to Toshiko's grandmother's house out of his pocket.

He pulled a hand off the steering wheel to shove the mouse away, but as he did, the car hovering above him touched the roof for just a second before he lifted it back up. He hoped the driver didn't try to brake to see what he or she had just hit. He didn't think he could handle that right now. Fortunately, they didn't seem fazed at all and kept driving without issue.

"Janet! There's a mouse in here. Don't cats live for this shit?"

"Maybe later. Still trying to get back to JLo."

The mouse returned, but he needed to concentrate on what he was doing or this whole juggling act was about to become a magical fiasco. Sweat beads were now sliding down his face as he lifted the final car and pushed the pedal to get underneath. He set down the middle car and began to pull out in front of the pack.

Feeling some relief, he didn't even care that the mouse now had the paper and had scurried down under the passenger seat with it. He'd deal with that in a minute.

He eased the car second in line back to the physical road and pushed the pedal to pick up his pace. As he cleared the front car, he began to set it down as gently as the others, but accidentally let it slam to the ground as he saw a gray sedan parked at a produce stand on the side of the road.

A quick look in the rear-view mirror showed the whole line of cars braking as the lead car swerved back and forth a few times before getting the car back under control. With a few more utterances, the spell was broken, and Jack put on his turn signal to pull off at the next possible place.

A long, dirt driveway beckoned, and he turned into it, watching as the slow progression of cars made their way past him, undoing all his hard work. He cursed at the injustice of it all. He turned the car around and drove back toward the produce stand. As he pulled into the gravel parking lot, he saw the light-brown braid swinging as Ianto picked over the corn and tomatoes. Tired of playing games, he announced to seemingly no one, "Alright, Toshiko. The deed is yours. You can come out. I might even buy you some homemade cheese to make up for dragging you all this way."

Slowly, the mouse eased out and clambered into the passenger seat. In an instant, his captive was sitting in the seat in place of the mouse.

Her hands were free now, but she still couldn't talk. A few muttered words freed her vocal cords, and she railed at him, "How dare you! You son of a bitch. You dragged me all the way down here like some psycho, dangling a deed that I was beginning to doubt was even real. What are you, some weirdo?"

"If you could shift all along, why did you wait until now?"

"Isn't it obvious? I wanted to find Ianto as much as you did. And you know why? To warn him about you."

Her hand flew to the door handle, but he quickly made it impossible to open. She shoved at the door anyway, slamming her hand against the interior panel. "Open the damn door!"

"On one condition."

"No condition! You can't be trusted."

"You have the deed, don't you?"

"Because I stole it from you!"

He shrugged. "Minor detail. I could take it back if I wanted to."

Everything in her face tightened, and he realized he'd used the wrong tactic. "But I don't want to. We're on the same side."

At her reddening face, he held up his hand before she could go on the wild tirade he knew was coming. "I mean it. I've been following Ianto for a while now, and I'm beginning to doubt that he is a murderer. However, if he isn't the one who killed the King, then that means someone else is trying to frame him. I need your and his help to straighten this whole thing out."

As much as he would like to think he was telling Toshiko this just to get Ianto into custody, he had to admit it wasn't as far-fetched as he would have once thought. There were unanswered questions about the whole situation, and he had to wonder if he didn't need to hear Ianto's side of the story.

Of course, if he suspected for a moment that Ianto had been involved in his father's death, he would turn him in, walk away, and dust his hands of her forever. Toshiko's breathing was heavy, but she no longer looked like she wanted to punch his face in. "Just what are you asking me to do?"

"I need you to convince him to trust me."

Her scoffing laughter was not unexpected. "Are you serious? Why would I ever convince him to trust a psychopath like you?"

"Because I can protect him."

"He doesn't need your protection. I've seen what he can do. He'd kick your arse in a heartbeat."

He wasn't entirely certain he could deny that statement, but he could do something that Ianto couldn't do for himself. "I can get him an audience with the Protectorate to let him plead his case, and if things turn sour, I can get him out."

"What if he doesn't want to speak to the Protectorator or whoever?"

"Don't you think he should have a chance to choose one way or the other?"

She shook her head back and forth slowly. "How do I know this isn't just a trick to get him into the castle dungeon or whatever?"

Now it was his turn to laugh. "First of all, there isn't a dungeon in the castle. Second, I made a promise to his father, and I never break my promises, especially not to King Ifan."

"Okay. I'll at least get him to talk to you, but you're on your own to convince him. You're done using me to do your dirty work."