1
Lisa stood in the clearing, where once stood a house. Only the fireplace and a metal safe remained, everything else either completely consumed or too fire damaged to understand what they originally were before the fire warped and renewed.
"Holy shit, what sort of accelerant causes this?" one of the men asked quietly in the background, poking at a lump of metal that may have been a gun originally.
"It was named Dragon's Breath by it's creator" she said with venom, screaming with rage as she kicked at the fireplace and the watched an entire section of stone fly off like it was cookie dough.
"Wow… must be some fucking dragon. And you are just the fair maiden… we don't stand a chance without at least a harpoon or something" came a soft bray of laughter, the thing being held up might have bene a candlestick? Or… part of a lay-z-boy? Hmmmm.
She swung to look at him and the sound of the gunshot echoed a moment after the man felt a surprising whack to his torso. He looked down at the blooming red strain that was swiftly moving across his white shirt, then back at her with surprise as his knees buckled, finally falling forward on his face, the ash and soot fluffing into the air around him.
Ashes to ashes… dust to dust… fuckhead to fuckery.
"Anyone else got something fucking helpful to say?" she roared.
Nope.
Right.
With a whoop the two working on the safe finally had it open and they stood back as she rushed to look inside, then start to laugh softly.
It was empty bar a single thing.
A little solid metal paperweight the size of a mandarin that had somehow survived the heat.
A little sleeping dragon.
.
.
"So, it looks like this was the fall-back area."
Lisa stood in the groundkeeper's cottage looking around at the things Ianto had left behind in his hurry to escape her impending arrival.
Bloody cloths were dumped in the bucket by the table along with the remains of some antiseptic spray and the shirt on the floor was one of his. She knew it was, he always wore dark t-shirts when working instead of white, his size too. For a muscular man, he was also lithe. His form fitting shirts always long and sleek like a teenager might wear. Something people mistook for skinny. But she knew better. No, that mass under the clothing was taut like a tiger. She actually missed that body, even if she was the one who fucked it all up. She picked it up and moved it to find the knife slice through the fabric and sighed. Idiot. Some fucking idiot attacked him and paid the price.
"You know, I do wonder if ANYONE knows what stealth means." She said as she let it drop.
"Well, whoever is with him, they have a kid" someone called out, moving aside to show her the sink of dishes, the little Sippy cup and sweet spoon and fork combo that a certain little girl will be upset to find was forgotten.
"What the hell. The one in the photo? So, these are not just acquaintances." She said with interest as she opened the fridge to find pottles of yoghurt which Ianto hated as much as the container of salad. "So, they are staying with hm? Why? Is this some Favor to Owen and Toshiko? Look into it."
Someone made a noise of dissatisfaction, and she smiled as she called out louder "Come on. Scared of the Dragon? We are here for the Fire Dragon after all, or did you all miss what was back there?"
"We would rather not butt heads with any dragons at all Missus" one of the newbies said with a grimace "But… you are the Rattlesnake so… there is that. I will just stay behind you."
She smiled at the compliment, preening slightly as she looked around again.
"Someone get Johnty on the phone, let's see what that arsehole is up to lately. He might like a job."
.
.
John looked at his phone with surprise, then rose to head outside and answer it, the little one asleep on Jack's chest needed quiet and Jack asleep in the armchair while cuddling her nearby seemed to need it too, even if Ianto's eyes moved to the screen to make a soft noise of interest before waving him off.
John settled in the chair on the back porch he likes the best, the soft sound of the surf as the tide crept in soft in the background. He answered the still ringing phone "Underground Airways here… how may we send you?"
He listened. He grinned and tried not to make a noise of amusement as he listened.
"And… she wants me?" he finally managed to squeak out, glancing back at the man watching through the glass. Ianto was like a shark, always moving and as he moved past the glass again, he did something that was out of character for him.
He showed his teeth… a wide, teethy grin like a fucking madman and John found himself struggling not to laugh as he continued to listen to the little sycophant on the phone begging him to report to Lia on what he knew of the movements of the Dragon.
Ah.
"I can facetime her tomorrow. This is not something I can agree to over the phone with a nobody like you" John grandly explained "And she better have some coin for me, I have expensive tastes when it comes to my hookers so if you are trying to fuck with me know that you will pay dearly little one."
He closed out the call and looked up from his feet as a shadow fell over him to find the great white shark now in his waters.
The Dragon in his Dell.
"Well?"
"We're green for go Sweetie."