9
Adeola had done as she was told, calling family on the cell phone as she used the stairs, like Ianto instructed. Funny but, here they were in panic mode and the only thing that made sense right now was to do as Ianto says. After all…he's never been wrong. After whatever happened to him in his teens that he does not talk about, that week he was 'missing' he has been… different. Stronger and more direct. Like in that short time he grew several years, ya know? No one in the family argues with him, his eyes so old and wise. Right now she wondered where her beloved cousin was. Probably still with that man he seemed to be so connected to.
They were running, the sight of more metal men making Jack seize Ianto's arm and redirect him each time and Ianto knew they were now going in the wrong direction so he seized Jack and swung him around a corner straight into another metal thing.
Only… not the same sort of metal thing. This was squat, round like a rubbish bin or something and for a moment he had a mad thought that someone was trying to make an R2D2 or something and the other metal men were weird C3Pos or something, and he actually looked for someone with a remote control with giggling bubbling as he wondered if Jack was Leia … damn… more of a Hans surely… oh god… am I Skywalker? ….. before clocking Jack's reaction to it.
Jack had slammed against a wall, his arms out like it was a dangerous dog about to maul him and the fear was cloying. OK. He's seen these before too? Great. Right. No time for this. Ianto stepped around the thing and seized Jack's arm as a Cyberman rounded the corner after them and saw the pepper pot.
"DELETE"
"EXTERMINATE"
"Come on, run" Ianto hissed, pulling Jack away and now they were in the stairwell, almost colliding with Adeola who was crying as she panted with exertion, her heels long gone as she ran in bare feet.
"Ianto… I tried to find Lisa but that floor was overrun with those things… what is going on" she sobbed.
"Jack" Ianto barked "help her."
Jack looked down and saw her feet, already bloody from the running and simply scooped her into his arms as he followed Ianto into a doorway, through the another Secure Archives section where they ran through high stacks, over things that had fallen and with horror… past bodies of the fallen.
"Don't' look, close your eyes" Jack panted to her, the need to protect her real as he knew she was somehow connected to Ianto given the relief on his face when he saw her. It was not hard to realize this must be the Adie he was talking to.
They exploded into a large bay full of vehicles and Jack slowed as he saw the TARDIS on the back of a truck, gaping at it as Ianto reached for the door of an armored vehicle nearby.
"JACK!" Ianto yelled "COME ON!"
Jack turned to say something and saw the Cyberman behind Ianto, yelling as he ran to intercept and he thrust the woman at Ianto who swing her into the back seat and Ianto turned to see Jack still running, tackling the metal man before pummeling at it. It had what looked like a damaged arm that it kept raising and with horror Ianto knew it was a weapon that was malfunctioning.
"JACK!" he screamed "what about me! SAVE ME!"
Jack rose and ran back towards him and the metal man struggled to right itself as Ianto closed the doors, muttering to himself as he felt around in the console. Then took a deep breath and flicked the sun visor.
The keys fell.
"So predictable" Ianto muttered, starting the engine and looking up to find the Cyberman in front of the vehicle staring in at them. "and fuck you."
Ianto hit the gas, the vehicle lurched forward and then slammed into the nearby pillar, pinning the Cyberman with ease, then Ianto hit reverse and sped back into a tight spin that found them facing the exit.
"Go" Jack said calmly as he buckled up and Ianto hit the gas again, the barriers exploding as the heavy vehicle rocketed through them and up into the street.
Cybermen and … Daleks. Jack said they were Daleks. Right? Didn't he? A Dalek?
Ianto decided to just stop thinking and act, slamming the pedal to the metal and racing along the streets as chaos reigned around them. By the time they got to the Jones House Clive was on the front lawn with a gun in each hand blasting away as Martha swung what looked like the fireside poker. Out of ammo. Bad place to be.
Jack seized the large blaster from the rack by the door and as the doors opened he stepped out and started to… well…blast. Adeola did the same as Ianto slid out and ran into the house for his aunt. She was on the phone with her son, telling him to stay inside and keep the kids away from the windows, it would be OK.
"Aunty Fran, Marcus will be fine over that side of the river, tell him to get Tish form her college course at the library that way too. We have to move." Ianto barked, and she nodded, slipping the cell phone into her cardigan pocket as she followed him out, stopping in the hallway to open the cupboard under the stars, retrieving a go-bad and passing it to him before pulling out another two. Ianto cared both the purple and pink one as Francine followed with a sturdy black one.
Martha grabbed the purple one that was hers, Adeola taking the pink one that belongs to an absent Tish and hefted it into the back of the vehicle as Ianto helped his Aunt in, Clive following as did the girls.
Finally Jack settled in the passenger seat and calmly stated to reload the blaster as Ianto took off.
Then he glanced at Ianto. Looked at the hard, set jaw line and grinned.
"OK, I don't; know about you Tiger, but I am having fun!" Jack said as he reached back and handed the blaster to Martha.
"Yeah well… yippie kayeeee motherfucker… or whatever" Ianto muttered, swinging the wheel and taking some air across a traffic median as those in the back yelped, then laughed while slamming back into their seats.
"IANTO LOVE!" Francine blurted, then laughed too.
They were across the road, through a car park and as Jack looked around with open interest they then entered the greenbelt behind it and started to race along what seemed to be a maintenance track or something.
"Daddy, Mama, brace" Martha yelled as she did so and everyone looked at the rock face Ianto was driving towards with open malice.
The wooden façade splintered, the fake frontage gave way and they entered the old disused copper mine without much fanfare really, Ianto turning on the headlights as the vehicle now roared along the tunnel passage to finally stop around a bend.
Ianto let his head fall to the steering wheel as he took deep cleansing breaths.
"Not bad driving boy" Clive finally broke the silence "But where the hell did this come from?"
"Silurians" Jack answered with amazement as he opened the side doors to the transporter and clambered out "Aliens built these tunnels hundreds of years ago, some still slide about to keep weapons hot for now. Might be abandoned… might not be."
"They are gone." Ianto said as he got out and looked at Jack with open accusation "As you well know. Only a small handful near the Cornwall coast hibernate there."
Jack grinned.
"Ah, but do you know how to turn the power on down here?" he asked Ianto with a finger waggle.
Ianto placed his hands in his hips and answered "I am sure you will show me Captain!"
As the two men walked towards a doorway Clive turned to Martha and said "So… THAT is the prisoner?"
"doesn't seem very prisonery to me Dad" she snorted with amusement as he nodded his agreement.
Nope. Not a very prisonery prisoner at all.