A bit of alien action now ....

When I woke the second time it was unwillingly. Hands were pulling at me, shaking me and a voice was yelling in my ear. "Ianto! Wake up!" It was Jack, of course. He was standing beside the bed, frowning and rocking me back an forth.

"What is it?" I moaned groggily. I find that if I go back to sleep after waking once, I sleep more soundly and it's much more difficult to wake. That was the case this morning.

"Weevils!" he hissed. "They need you to help."

I was awake now. I flung the duvet back and sat up on the side of the bed. Jack took a pace or two away from the bed and stood, staring at me admiringly. I couldn't think why I so fascinating until I realised I was stark naked. "Give it a rest, Jack." I stood and went to the bathroom and had a very quick shower; shaving would have to wait. It woke me up properly and I dressed hurriedly. I glanced at the clock, 6.58.

In the living room I found Jack, dressed and putting his shoes on. I hoped he'd showered at some point but didn't have time to check. "What happened?" I asked. I grabbed some juice from the fridge and took a swig from the carton. I held it out to Jack but he shook his head.

"I had some milk," he told me. "Two Weevils attacked a man on his way to work this morning, about half an hour ago, killed him. Owen's co-ordinating from the Hub and Gwen's on her way to the scene, somewhere in Splott. I told him not to disturb Tosh, she only went home at 2."

"You're not coming," I stated. "You can stay here and I'll pick you up later."

"Don't be stupid, Ianto, I'm coming. I promise I'll stay in the car and keep out of the way. I can keep in touch with Owen." He stood looking up, putting on his jacket before picking up his overnight bag which he'd obviously packed. I couldn't be bothered to argue. I'd just lock him in the car.

"All right but you make sure that's all you do."

We were out of the flat and running to the car. I belted through the streets, dodging early morning commuters and milk floats. Jack did just as he'd promised, maintaining contact with Owen and Gwen and directing me to the location. Worked pretty well. I parked behind a small row of shops and checked my gun and the Weevil spray I always keep in the car.

"Gwen's over there," cried Jack, pointing to the left. I looked and saw her at the mouth of an alley. She hadn't seen us. She was peering round a corner into the alley, gun held in both hands. "Gwen, we can see you," he said into his comms. "What's the situation?"

I saw her head come round and scan the surroundings, settling on my car. "There's two of them. They're cornered in the alley, it's a dead-end," came her voice over the comms.

"Stay here," I ordered, getting out. I locked the car doors behind me and Jack said something I couldn't hear. I was glad of that as I was pretty sure he was swearing. I ran to Gwen's side and flattened myself against the wall.

"You brought him with you!?" she exclaimed.

"He promised to stay in the car."

"And you believed him!?" she said, disbelief evident.

"I locked him in." We exchanged glances and she smiled her gap-toothed smile. I truly believe she thinks I'm an idiot. If anyone should know not to believe Jack, it's me. I'm the one that hears his lies and excuses when he's flirting – or more - with other people.

"Okay. You take the left, I'll go right. Be careful."

We edged round the corner of the wall and I got my first sight of the Weevils. There were two of them, middling sized, both with blood on their muzzles and claws. They were crouched in a corner, eating something. I was glad I hadn't had time for breakfast. They must have found the dog, a labrador I think, and decided on a snack. We slowly walked towards them; they didn't look up. When we were about two metres away, one of the Weevils looked up suddenly. Perhaps it had caught our smell on the wind. This startled the other one and we now had two alert and angry Weevils looking at us.

"Forget the spray, Ianto," she said. "Shoot to kill." I was more than happy to comply. Once Weevils tasted blood they became violently aggressive and eager for more.

In a blinding flash, both Weevils sprang at us. They covered the distance in very little time and I only managed to get off one shot. It hit the one on the left but only in the shoulder. It did not stop him, just made him angrier. I heard Gwen's pistol fire but I couldn't spare time to think of her. The one I had shot was on me and I tried fending it off, ducking beneath the claws. I managed another shot, directly into its belly and it folded for an instant, long enough for me to take a step away and bring down my fists, which still cradled the gun, on its exposed neck. It fell to the ground but was far from defeated. I risked a quick look across at Gwen and wished I hadn't; she was pressed against the wall, the Weevil holding her head at an angle, getting ready to rip her throat out. I raised my gun, still miraculously in my hand, and was about to shoot when the Weevil I had clubbed sprang at me again and pulled my gun arm down. I heard gun shots nearby; Gwen, I thought relieved. I twisted and shot twice, this time getting some vital organ as the Weevil attacking me went down and stayed down.

Breathing hard, I turned to assist Gwen but she didn't need it. The Weevil that had been attacking her was down, the bullets had ripped away part of its skull. Gwen was slumped on the ground in Jack's arms. Jack!? How the hell? I didn't have time to speculate about how he got out of a locked car or why his Webley was lying on the ground beside him.

"Ianto," Jack said, "get the first aid kit from your car." As I moved to obey, I saw he was holding Gwen's arm in a tight grip. She had been slashed and blood was pumping out. "Owen," he said in his comms, "Gwen's been hurt. We need you. Bring the SUV, we have bodies to collect."

"On my way," he replied.

I ran to the car and heard Jack on the comms again, this time to Tosh summarising what had happened and asking her to come in. A good move, we needed her. When I got back to him and Gwen, the blood was flowing more sluggishly from her wound but she looked pale and shivery. I knelt beside them and fixed a tourniquet around Gwen's upper arm, easing the flow of blood still further Jack held a pressure bandage against the wound, having ripped her sleeve out of the way.

"Ianto, take this," he said, indicating the bandage. "My hands are too small." I did as he asked and was relieved when the blood finally stopped flowing. Jack took off his jacket and draped it round her shoulders before cradling her once more against him. He was murmuring all the time, telling her everything was okay, that Owen was on his way. Her eyes stayed open which was a good sign. He reached for the first aid kit again and with one hand took out a syringe – pain killer – and jabbed it into her thigh rocking her against him all the time.

Phew, exciting start to the day! Next time, it's back to the Hub for much needed medical attention

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