*Celebrates wildly* Okay, I finally got this bit up. It's five to one am now & not only have I not showered & washed my hair, I have an interview & jazz from 10am to 4pm tomorrow (today) Wish me luck & please do review if you get a chance! Also, a special Kudos to those of you on mobile devices reading this! It's a wonderful thing, reading fanfic on the bus... Anyway! I'm rambling, goodnight! Enjoy! Carrie ; )

Hucking Harkness

Chapter 11

8 am Abergelli Farm, Swansea

Ianto was just wiping all traces of his bacon buttie from his mouth as Llewelyn walked into the large open part of the barn. Breakfast had been an informal affair; with the grooms helping themselves to a high pile of bacon and sausage baps as soon as they'd finished the first string of horses to be warmed up. All the grooms were present, and Llewelyn whistled sharply for their attention.

"Right, I've called you all here, to discuss who's at the races on Thursday- Jenny you're grooming for Swansea Lee, first race of the day, Billy you've got two mounts now- Harkness in the 2:20 as before and Bella at 5:30, Gareth, you still in charge of Moon-"

Ianto zoned out slightly, staring vaguely at Llewelyn's lips, so that the team at the hub could know what was planned, but only half listening. As a new groom he was listed to stay on the yard and do the horses not racing. It was a disappointment for him, since the whole team would all be at the races, but it couldn't be helped. "Ianto-" The young jockey started slightly at his name, before meeting Llewelyn's brown eyes, "Yes, sir?"

"Mr Harper called this morning- he wants to see some results. I've entered Prima Ballerina into the stake race, with Billy Harris on board, but I want you to look after her. You'll be coming with us- think you can manage that?" Ianto was surprised, but nodded; he would be in on the team's action after all. "Harper's coming round this afternoon, so we'll just breeze her round nice and easy then, for his to see- don't want his little Bella over doing it before the big race." He smirked, glancing at his head groom with a glint in his eye before going back to his list. Ianto made a mental note of the gesture, spotting Cledwin's smirk before he focussed once more on Llwelyn. "Eli you've got Blue in the 12:10-"

That afternoon when Owen pulled into the yard, his Boxster struggling over the uneven ground, he looked more like his usual self, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, but he'd donned a cap for the occasion which complimented his cockney accent and image nicely. He also acted bored the whole time, lamenting that "The wife was too busy to come see the nag herself." which gave him the perfect alibi as 'the husband with the money who knew nothing of the sport' and Ianto was immensely grateful he'd not tried to fit in. The horse world was one where you couldn't just learn enough to fool people. Trainers were savvy, they'd spot a fool a mile off- and rip them off too. That was the last thing Torchwood needed- he did the accounts! Although to be fair, Jack had cut down on the bribes to security guards recently...

-T-

"Owen, could you at least have changed your shoes?" sighed Toshiko, as she clutched her scarf and small, matching purse, in one hand, her other hand holding a large, matching pale green hat to her shiny dark hair. Owen just scowled, before catching sight of a similarly dressed couple, arm-in-arm. He held out his hand to his 'wife'. "Can we just go, please? Jack would've got here hours ago the way he drives."

Jack and Owen had both driven up to the races. Jack in the SUV with Gwen; and Owen and Tosh in his blue Boxter. They'd all left Cardiff that morning, relieved to discover that there was no predicted rift activity for the rest of the day. Though Jack wasn't taking chances , and had alerted UNIT that they were out of town on a case. They'd seemed strangely more than co-operative for once, when Jack had said they weren't going too far.

Now that they'd arrived, the team were gathered discreetly in the SUV for a last minute meeting. When Tosh and Owen arrived, she spotted Jack had a pair of binoculars out, but he wasn't watching the races. Owen slammed the heavy door behind him and Jack started slightly before clearing his throat guiltily. "Owen, you're playing the owner here, as well as vet so I want you and Tosh to stick together, okay? Go and make yourselves known in the boxes, mingle a little. Gwen and I will scout out where Ianto is, and make good on the plan. Fourteen hundred hours: Owen, you take that blood sample from Hucking Harkness, leave Tosh in the box if you have to. Gwen and I will meet Ianto, and establish comms. before we split up and follow Llwelyn and Cledwyn. All clear?"

"Yes, boss." replied Owen in a bored tone, before putting a prepared syringe in one pocket and their tickets for the box in another. Toshiko checked their guns were loaded before handing one to each of the team. Jack re-checked his own weapon before holstering it smoothly at his hip.

-T-

After taking his blood sample Owen just made it up to the boxes before Hucking Harkness was due to race. The horse's blood work was running in the SUV and Jack would get an alert on his wrist strap and Toshiko by mobile when it was finished. They'd have to rely on Jack to tell them the results though, since the text would simply alert them that the test had completed.

The race was just about to begin, all the horses gathered at the start line and under starters orders. There was a slight delay with one horse on the outside edge, but the jockey quickly managed to settle them before there was a slight pause, and as the start shot went off, the commentary started...

"They're off! Action Impact has made a strong start, with Tanley close behind and Geester and B-King following. Harkness is at the back, with Wall Street and Crystal just ahead. Ain't She a Lady and Katchit are in the middle of the field and Katchit just passing Lady now. Both are ahead of Wall Street, and Crystal Runner, and Harkness is coming from the rear fast, passing Wall Street and Crystal, and look at Harkness go! She's flying up the field! She's passed Tanley and is now passing Action Impact, and into the lead! They're coming to the finish line, what an incredible finish! It's Hucking Harkness first, Action Impact second, Tanley a strong third, Balthazar King beats Geester, and Katchit to finish fourth, with Crystal Runner coming in last. What a fantastic result!

"And Hucking Harkness is true to form, coming flying up the rear of the field, ladies and gentleman, it's a second wind trainer, Llewelyn is- Oh! What's this? Harkness is showing no sign of stopping there. Harkness is really fighting to keep going. Oh my goodness! Harkness has just thrown Billy Harris off!"

Owen could only watch in horror as the jockey was thrown into the air and landed roughly against the fence, with a practically audible crack. He swore as the jockey then tumbled, at an incredible rate across the grass. Owen didn't notice his and Tosh's mobiles go off, he just continued to watch the jockey. His instincts had taken over and he was nothing more than a bright green and yellow ball.

"Owen!" He glanced away, meeting Tosh's anxious face, she had her PDA in her hand now. "Jack's got the results, we've gotta go." For a moment Owen just stared. Tosh had been so completely absorbed in the results and talking to Jack, that she'd completely missed the after race action. He glanced towards the track again, but the jockey was now surrounded by medics and Hucking Harkness was struggling against three handlers on ponies. With a sigh Owen relented, following Tosh out of the box.

Once safely in the SUV Jack waited for silence to fall amongst the team before clearing his throat; Owen was retelling the story of the fallen jockey to Gwen in all its gory detail.

"We've got a problem." Jack announced gravely.

Evil I know, but I love you all! & it's not as bad as you all think. Really. CJH4ever (Jay) A special thank you, I hope you like your input! & Vertigo Sway I think it was... there's another Red-herring for you- or is it? ;p Cx ? Five- *coughs* I have... *squeeks* Fifty reviews?! The mind boggles... Thank you so much guys!! Wow... *daydream believer...* Thank you so, so much!