20
They reached the Outpost without incident, the marks in the dirt by the road telling them there have been a pack in the area recently. Ianto was leaning out the passenger window looking at their weird striations in the ground when the Transporter came to a halt. He still could not work out what the deep drag marks were.
"Yan" Mickey hissed beside him.
Ianto straightened up to ask why they were stopped when he saw the reason why. Openly. The gates were open, the cattle stop covered in what looked like… branches?
Well, that explains the weird marks.
Ianto got out, the bang of the doors telling him Jack was out of the Fire Truck as well, turning to signal everyone else to stay in their vehicles. Mickey immediately got out, his face telling them he was not sitting there when his pregnant wife is in there.
"Look… It must be one of the big bastards. No way they would normally think around a problem like this. Fuck" Jack hissed.
"I agree, the marks were large scrapes, and the drag marks from the braches were different. It's got big fucking claws." Ianto greed "I think… I think we need to walk around the perimeter as quietly and slowly as we can, then meet back. There is no screaming, shots fired… I think everyone got inside and is hiding. We need to see where the big fucker is. Ant can wait for us in the Fire Truck, Rhys in the RV."
"It will see us."
"OK… hang on. How about… what if I drive the Transporter into the compound… you two creep around the inside perimeter. It will come out when it hears the vehicle right? Then you can see it." Mickey suggested.
"Do we want t to leave... or kill it?" Ianto asked.
"Kill it. If we make it leave it will come back" Jack knew Ianto knew this too, this was more for Mickey who had not actually killed one yet, did not really know the strength and terror of such a moment. They needed him frosty..
"Sound good… maybe we pull out the braches so it can't escape. We hunt it as long as we need to. We don't want it to escape, and we don't need naother one or pack to turn up if it starts screeching." Ianto nodded.
"Screeching?" Mickey asked.
"Hopefully you will not hear it but it's.. unsettling." Ianto shuddered.
"Right, let's do this."
They removed the branches and Mickey drove the Transporter over the cattle stop, both men moving behind the vehicle to peel off and they moved quickly with guns raised.
As they crept around the buildings Mickey made sure to rev the engine a few times and then sit and wait. Then he had an idea, flicking the lights on.
It came hard and fast.
Mickey yelped as the vehicle shuddered from the impact, the steering wheel moving as it was shunted and he gripped it hard. He saw Ianto running towards him, the man running full tit with the gun raised to face level, firing at the bug with open malice.
Mickey ducked, and then peered as the Bug hit the front grillwork, the bullets finding their mark. Jack as nowhere to be seen and as Mickey went to open the door Ianto yelled at him to stay put, there may have been two.
This was new information.
"What do you mean?"
"The marks, either it did a lot of walking about or there's two. Different sizes scratches, Ianto thinks it might be two" Jack explained.
"Or it might be walking on different feet sometimes… I am just being careful" Ianto said, then swung with alarm "what was that?"
They all turned to see something coming at them and Jack started to laugh as Myfanwy powered along "Oh god. How did she get out?"
"Shit" Ianto started to run for the front and Jack realized the dog could only get out of the RV if someone opened the door to let her out. The Rv. That was still outside the safety grid.
They got to the front gates to find Rhiannon had convinced Rhys to drive inside the grid, now sitting there as she stood outside the door with her rifle on her hip "Well? I take it ya got the bloody Bugger?"
"What if there were two!" Ianto roared with anger "Jesus Christ on a Harley Rhia!"
"Oh suck my balls" she scoffed, turning to let the kids out "Come on, out ya come."
"Rhia!"
"If there was another one it would already be on ya and that fine looking piece or arse you call your Jack would take it out in a heartbeat!" she waved a hand at Jack who grinned wider.
"I'm a fine looking piece of arse eh? Hear that Tiger? I'm a…" Jack started to laugh and then stopped as Anna stepped down and turned to look at him, the glare pure Jones. "Oops. Sorry Princess."
"There is no need for that talk. We all know my Taddy is the handsomest man here!" she said with a sniff, then turned to follow her cousins.
Mickey was first to laugh as Ianto gaped after his daughter.
God she has a gob on her.