STORIES
FOURTEEN
What Gray first saw was the pointy end of a Webley revolver aimed right between his freshly opened eyes. The sight was funny to him. He laughed.
"Hello big brother. It's about time."
Jack widened his stance and cocked the gun's hammer back. "What do you mean?" he snarled.
Ignoring the question, Gray gazed at Ianto, "Hello sweet minion, nice to see you." Then he turned his attention toward The Doctor, "And who is this?" He laughed again.
"I'm…"
Jack cut The Doctor off, "He's nobody, he's not important. Forget about him. Now tell me what you meant…"
"Ah! It's the Time Lord isn't it? Well, Jack, you're finally introducing your new lover to the family, eh? Again, I say it's about time. My name's Gray," he said to The Doctor with a chuckle and a wink. "I'd offer you my hand but if you'll notice, I'm sort of all tied up at the moment." Gray glanced down at his wrists, which were handcuffed over his abdomen, and then looked back up at the Gallifreyan with amused expectation.
"I'm The Doctor, and I'm a friend of your brother's."
Gray laughed again, but this time the laugh sounded less manic, more menacing. "Yes, I know all about you, Time Lord. The last and worst of Gallifrey. The exterminator of your own race. The destroyer of your own world. Such an impressive résumé! Destruction and oblivion always following in your wake; the kiss of death always bequeathed to your beloved companions. I'm honored to finally meet you, dear Doctor. Your reputation precedes you."
Involuntarily The Doctor took a step back. He'd met evil before, plenty of times, but had never stared into the eyes of anything quite like this.
Gray had noticed the little retreat, and his eyes flashed fiercely in recognition of something he saw in The Doctor's expression, in his body language – but what was it? Fear? Weakness? Apprehension? Shame? Guilt?
"Enough with the introductions," Jack hissed. "Now tell me what you meant."
"What?"
"When you said 'it's about time'."
"Well, a future wife, or would this be a future husband, Jack? Same difference from my perspective, but probably not from yours, big brother, ought to be brought by the family, don't you think? You know… meet the parents, the approval process and all."
"ENOUGH!" Jack barked. He stepped in closer to his brother, quickly shifting the gaping mouth of the revolver's barrel back and forth between Gray's eyes.
Gray glanced, eyes dancing, mouth smirking, at The Doctor, "He has no sense of humor, your new human lover – you know that, don't you?" Then he looked again at the Captain, his voice becoming harsh.
"What I meant, Captain Jack Harkness, is that you've left me in here long enough. I thought you were never going to let me out, give me a chance to seek your forgiveness, mend my evil ways, repent for my sins…" Gray giggled but then his expression turned threatening, feral, "It's no fun being frozen, Jack, and I don't like being abandoned any more than you do."
Jack shook his head, suddenly perplexed, "But you were cryopreserved. You couldn't have been aware of anything…"
"That's where once again you're just plain wrong, my dear big brother. I was exquisitely aware of every single passing moment. Of every passing hour of every passing day. And it wasn't very pleasant, let me tell you. I was bored, big brother… With nothing to think about except how lonely I was and how much I was missing you…"
"You're lying!" Jack growled.
"I'm NOT! Do you want me to prove it, big brother? Do you want me to describe the one tiny bit of fun I had, when you were taken by that loathsome incipient TARIDIS? Before you were betrayed and rejected by the delicious little red-haired harlot you were screwing? Before your current boyfriend whisked you away from here to join him on his Quixotic quests, leaving that miserable wreck of a woman Gwen Cooper in charge of your pathetic and impotent team?"
"I resent that!" Ianto muttered.
Gray glanced at the Welshman and smiled. "Oh, I have to tell you, it was very amusing!"
Jack moved in nearer, his livid face inches away from Gray's, the tip of the Webley's muzzle pressing up into his brother's jaw.
"Tell me what you did to our home." The Captain was seething.
"What?"
"Boeshane."
"No."
"Tell me!" Jack's voice grew louder, shriller.
"Make me!"
Jack brought up his free hand, wrapped his fingers around Gray's throat and squeezed. "Thanks for the invitation. I'd love to!"
"Jack!" The Doctor barked as he took a step toward the Captain.
Jack turned his head to look at the Time Lord and that's when Gray struck. The handcuffs somehow, some way no longer meaningful, Gray snatched the revolver with his left hand and with his right he caught Jack's other hand, tore it away from his neck, and crushed it. The bones in the Captain's fingers fractured audibly as he groaned and stumbled back against the table, noisily knocking it over and scattering its contents across the floor.
Then before anyone could react Gray was out of his crèche and holding the Webley to The Doctor's temple, his free hand pinning The Doctor's arm painfully behind his back. "I'd like to see you try!" Gray laughed as he jerked upward excruciatingly on the Time Lord's arm.
The Doctor howled in pain.