Chap 8
"When did this start?" Ianto asks looking into the cell containing a man who seems to be trying to peel his own fingernails off.
"It started a few minutes ago." Owen mutters with a frown.
"What should we do with him?" Tosh asks quietly and Ianto shrugs.
"We can't take him with us." Ianto sighs and Jack peers past him into the cell.
"Then here he stays." He says with a final nod as he swings the door shut.
They walk back into the main room where a table is set up with equipment as they fiddle with the bits of tat.
"Guys, what is that?" Ianto asks pointing at a small inhaler that one of the men is playing with.
"It's a Laffer, a black-market breather." John says absently.
"It gets you high?" Ianto peers at it nervously.
"Turns your brain into Swiss cheese." John leers.
"One gross of detonators." Jack mutters as he looks into the case he just opened.
"What are those good for?" Ianto accepts one offered and their fingers brush, just for a second and both men shiver from the charge.
"It would help if we had some dynamite, but they make a pretty good bang." Jack hefts one to test its weight, "We could put them into food cans or something, and make some hand grenades."
"All right," Ianto smiles down at him, "you got 10 minutes."
"Hey." Dos giggles as he watches Tosh struggling with a tin, "Easy. Here, let me do it."
He snatches up the tin and slams the blade down, cutting off the top of the can as well as his thumb.
He holds up his blood spurting hand with surprise and showed it to his mates as they laugh.
"That's beautiful!" someone huffs.
"That's what you get, dumb-ass." Uno laughs and looks over at Jack.
"You gonna be okay to do this?" Jack asks the team who all grin, including Dos (now renamed thumbless) with wonder.
"All right," Ianto addresses them as Jack leans against the table in a way that is so distracting, "it's almost 2200 hours. Here's the plan, short and simple. Owen and John take the lead, everybody else follows. It's about 50 meters from here to the landing pad. Tosh and I are in the rear. Any questions?"
Thumbless hesitantly raises his bandaged hand and everyone looks.
"Hey." Jack barks, "Put your hand down."
Jack shakes his head at the idiot then turns to smile at Ianto, "All clear."
"Let's do it!" John snarls and they make a run for the pad.
"Hey, bro, I don't see no motherfucking transporter." Uno shouts to Jack.
"Hey, cupcake" Thumbless yells as he struggles with a lunatic … whatever these are, "we don't see no transporter."
"It'll be here." Ianto says with as much confidence as he can muster.
"All right," Jack shouts as he decides to head back in the direction they came, "come on, lets go!"
"Oi! That's the mine office!" Owen barks as they see a building blow sky high.
"What the hell are they doing?" Yvonne cries as they race after Jack, guns blazing.
"It's like they're tearing the whole town apart, building by building" John says with shock as he moves to flank Ianto.
"Come on, pick it up!" Ianto yells as they retreat, crazies beginning to surround them.
"Lieutenant!" John growls, aiming for the nearest crazy.
"Hold your fire." Ianto orders, "Just keep on moving."
"Go!" Ianto shouts as they near the buildings.
"Where's the transporter?" Jack yells over his shoulder at Ianto.
"I don't know." Ianto admits as he nervously looks at the crazies.
"You don't know? What the fuck is that supposed mean?" Uno roars as he looks over at Jack.
"Lieutenant Jones, to the transporter. Come in." Ianto yells into his comms, tripping and Jack catches him as they keep moving.
"Plan A is fucked up." Jack hisses into Ianto's ear, "You got a plan B?"
"Yeah, it's the same as plan A." Ianto snaps, "You got any fresh ideas?"
"Yeah, what we should have done in the first place." Jack yells as he opens fire.
"Shit!" John curses as he joins in.
"Come on, you mindless motherfuckers!" Owen shrieks as he shoots aimlessly into the crazies.
Ianto looks back to check on Tosh and feels something grab at his arm, he pivots and uses his body strength to pull them both to the ground. He uses his rifle as a barrier as he struggles on the ground with the crazy thing.
Jack is suddenly there, pulling it off him and breaking its neck with a snarl.
"Second time I've saved your life." Jack pants as he takes a quick sniff of Ianto's hair and moans softly.
"Yeah, run a tab." Ianto barks, pushing away from him to shoot a crazy almost to them.
"Johnny, grenade!" Uno yells and John lobs him a tin that he throws into the crowd of crazies.
Everyone is thrown backwards from the blast and Ianto finds himself on top of a grinning Captain. With a grunt, Ianto rolls them both sideways as a crazy slams into the ground and Jack is now staring up at a gorgeous creature that is wantonly rubbing their crotches together with a blissed out grin on his face.
Jack takes a chance and reached up, kissing him and revelling in his heady taste. Then, all of a sudden Ianto is gone.