48
Ianto wrote his findings and projections down and three days later was satisfied and confident to send it to those still debating things. He did not engage with them, he did not answer any answers from it, he simply sent it and walked away. He had been burned too many times to be scoffed at now when he knew he was right. He did his due diligence, he knew there was nothing else he could do now but protect his home.
This started with the maps.
He placed them on the wall under those already up, then stood back and let his mind superimpose them, finding untold relief in the fact that there was nothing anywhere near them, the nearest system that might be used by them was miles away. Still… the unease would not go away and he decided he didn't like the idea of anything in the district that might be used. After all, spring might bloom with anything and those dreams… man those dreams.
The latest one has them coming out of the earth like moles or something, bursting up into a sunny day and snatching the children playing out in the field. Like… land sharks or something stupid. One… summer is a long way away, secondly … the lids do NOT play out there and third… he knows it is a silly dream based on his fears but still… tell that to his heart at three in the morning while sitting bolt upright in bed gasping for air.
Thankfully Jack is a heavy sleeper these days, mostly from the energetic sex before sleep in the hopes that they would both sleep but each morning he wakes to find Ianto already awake. So far Ianto had kept this dream to himself, too scary to say out loud and he knew he was being more than slightly silly about it. Still, the dream haunted him.
"Look… either do something to reset your brain, fix whatever is bothering you or fucking let it go" Owen suddenly said as they were putting in fence posts on the outer edges of the property in the hopes of creating another barrier.
"Piss or get off the pot, eh?" Ianto laughed.
"Look at you, all crass and shit" Owen snorted and Ianto grinned at him, sighing as he finally decided to speak the dream out loud. He told Owen without fanfare and did not look up from the wire he was twisting until finished, shocked to see the pale face gaping at him.
"What."
"Fuck. Now it's in my head too" Owen finally said, looking around nervously "You are right. It would be a clean sweep… these fences we are putting up… this is why? I thought it was for some sheep or something."
"We can put livestock out here, something else to slow them down I guess" Ianto replied, then laughed as Owen looked even more horrified.
Ianto sighed, looking around "Hmmm."
"you have ideas?" Owen asked with hopefulness in his voice.
"Well… I am still thinking. Come with me"
..
.
Owen and Ianto were in his office staring at the maps, Ianto holding a highlighter. "Right…. If we blow the tunnels over here in this valley, this one here in the outskirts of the town and this one here tht leaved to the sea wall… they can only emerge a county over."
"So, we make this entire area a dead zone for them underground" Owen nodded "We will need some serious bang bang."
"Mickey knows ordinance" Ianto softly replied "and he has some… I know he has some. Mickey is a clever bastard and his go back will be full of tricks."
"So, you think it best I be the one to talk to him about it" Owen guessed.
"I am a little…. An… frantic." Ianto agreed "you will sound more… calm."
"OK."
.
.
Later that afternoon Mickey was in the office, on board with the general idea, Ianto now ready to tell him his thoughts with Owen priming the way. Mickey stood looking at the wall, Jack sitting at the desk watching as Ianto repeated his thoughts, leaving out some things Jack knew might freak Mickey out as they were both unproven thoughts and theories and the fact if real… it was terrifying.
"OK, I don't have enough with me but there is the quarry over in this county, half a day's drive. We go, get their stock for blasting, come back and on the way we can set the charges for these two tunnels. The other one, this side, we can do last." Mickey tapped the map as he spoke.
"And is that an overnighter."
Everyone turned to find Martha in the doorway looking at the map, her baby on her shoulder.
"You stay here love, we will not take all the guns and if they know we are up to something it might be a moment where they try to attack here. I would rather leave some of the warriors behind just in case, they might start to get desperate once they realize up top is a no-go zone for the foreseeable." Jack agreed "They do seem to have an agenda and the last thing we want is to strike an uprising or something."
"Agreed" Ianto swung to smile softly at him.
"Transporter… anything else?" John asked as he became part of the conversation, his spot behind Jack against the wall not lost on anyone.
"Just us four. The fewer the better, I want to hit hard, fast and nasty. Get back here before the timers go off and watch via drone feed" Ianto said, as in charge as always.
And he never even saw it.
A born leader.