1
He rolled in his sleep, that elusive deep sleep of nothingness was so far away, the dream held him too long in the in-between.
The thinking place.
The horrible remembering place.
The reliving place.
It came as almost a relief when he woke to a soft chime and rolled once more, his hand slamming on the bedside table as he fumbled with the light, then the cell phone beside it, lifting it to his ear as he grunted in a nonsensible way to show he was awake…. ish.
"They found you." The soft voice whispered, like a lover might "Move."
His eyes were open, sleep now a thing of the past as he sat bolt upright in bed, his feet swinging as he looked at the now darkening screen that meant the caller had hung up.
The dog at the end of the bed lifted her head with a soft grunt of annoyance, while the other larger one on the floor was already rising to shake off it's own vestiges of sleep.
"Work" he choked out, still trying to shake off his own sleep, staggering for the bathroom where he stood and had a pee, even as his hands moved to the cistern and the gun hidden in the snap lock bag within.
By the time he turned his head, both dogs were ready by the bedroom door, one of them with her head raised slightly higher, telling him she heard something and wants permission to engage. Her sister waiting behind her…. Backup.
He waved a hand, still moving into combat mode, letting the dogs wraith off into the darkness of the house they drilled in with complete darkness most of the time. He shoved his feet into the pants leg of black trousers, the entire black suited outfit laid out on a chair with such careful intent like he was about to go for a job interview, or a funeral.
I guess a funeral will come later.
The side of the gun made a soft schwick noise as he finally armed himself and moved fully dressed in black, down the stairs. The white dress shirt left on the arm of the chair as the black t-shirt on the other arm had been chosen instead. This man likes options, what can I say.
He held the gun at his side, close to his thigh so as not to throw a shadow with it in the semidarkness. Each footfall carefully placed, padding softly to miss a step altogether, then stopping near the bottom to listen to the creaking of the house.
He swung around the corner of the banister, the gun rising even as a shot rang out and plaster exploded near his head. He did not have time to respond mind, the dogs took care of that.
He left them to it, moving through the rest of the house to check if there were any others. Once satisfied that this as a lone wolf scenario, he moved back thought the house to the back hallway where the man lay still, both dogs holding him that way. He scratched at his shaggy beard while considering options here, his long hair brushing his shoulders as he had been asleep, so it had come lose from its usual hair band.
"Janet, release"
The smaller black Doberman moved back as she released her jaws from the man's genitals, her mouth open and her eyes wide with excitement.
The other dog however… the huge honey blonde Cane Corso remained clamped firmly on the man's throat.
"Right then, hello there. Were you looking for me?" Ianto asked with a soft smile like he was greeting the man at the door or while called at from the gate while out gardening out back on a nice spring day.
The man did not seem the talkative type, laying there with eyes goggling out, staring up at him like he was mad while a huge monster squeezed slightly before lessening the grip again, the fear of not breathing a thing of pure beauty to Ianto as he watched the man's face change to panic for a moment.
"She's squeezing yeah? Still trying to teach her to remain still. Can't help it, she's but a youngster really" Ianto canted his had "But she does love feeling that artery pulse against her tongue."
The man whimpered.
"Myfanwy… release."
She rolled her eyes to him like she was asking if he was fucking serious. He made a soft motion with his hand, and she finally released her grip to take a single step back, her mouth still open so the man could feel the tepid breath on his wet, slightly mauled nek.
"Right. Better?"
The man still did not speak, his eyes sliding between the dogs.
"Right, anything silly and Janet will be told to hold again down her end… so you can still talk" Ianto sighed as this fucker was clearly not up to the task he had been sent for. Insulting really. Can't get good hitmen, I guess. All dead or retired…. Or think they are.
Or did thy really think he was THAT rusty?
Ianto crouched and started to go through the man's pockets, the right hand of the man tightening slightly into a fist as Ianto discovered the cell phone and slid it into his own pocket, then with a slight hum he found the wallet and other items of interest.
Finally, the man spoke "You are losing your touch Jonesy. I found you … you think others will not…."
Whatever else he was going to say did not matter.
As Ianto rose, he placed a bullet into the man's forehead and then sighed "Damn. Impulse control again. Maybe I am getting rusty."
The dogs both looked at him in silent rebuke.
"I know" he said to the dogs like they had spoken out loud "But he was… well. Deccan was a prick, even in the academy. But he was good. Second in the class ya know."
They both blinked slowly at the one who had been First in Class, then Ianto added "But if he found me, they will not be far behind right?"
He checked his watch and sighed "No time for cleanup aisle three, ladies."
As the jeep drove away down the driveway the house behind it exploded in the distance, the back of the vehicle lit up like a flare of the sun, both dogs sitting in the back seat like they were being chauffer driven by their own personal man.
And I suppose they were.
As Ianto hit the highway the house continued to raze.
He was back in the world again, somewhere he did not want to be.
And somewhere others wanted him. Flushed out, moving and vulnerable.
But they had forgotten the golden rule of hunting. Remain upwind, undetected, unknown. Do not let the prey know there is a threat.
Oh yeah… and make sure your prey is not hunting you!