30
"Status report" Ianto barked as he moved through the Hub, others scattering as they tried to sort their assigned tasks out, looking for other things they needed to do the huge list on the wall being ticked off as each person calmly chose and completed something.
"Fire Crews are still over thirty minutes away, those not humping full gear have ditched as much as they can and are running so… they might be here in just outside twenty" she said, then took a breath.
Ianto turned to look at her. "And when will the fire meet us?"
"Just under twenty?"
"Brilliant" came a bland reply as one of the men threw a handheld camera into a pile.
"Right" Ianto swung to stare back at the faint glow now lerly visible thought he glass.
"Ianto?" Jack softly asked, moving closer to him "Ideas?"
"Hmmm."
Jack didn't like the sound of that, turning to look at him as Ianto chewed on his bottom lip and stared at the flames, then moved his eyes to the left. Jack got it. "But they didn't leave keys."
Ianot turned to look at him, that hooded look as he shrugged, then whispered "I've hotwired bigger."
"Oh-ho?" Jack leaned back, surprised and impressed as Ianto was not one who told lies.
"So, we suit up?" Jack was already moving before he got an answer knowing Ianto would not want to compromise all their hard work for this, even if it was an emergency.
Rhys followed them and Mickey was already there at the airlock helping Martha into a suit "Come on buddy. You are not the only one who can move one of those big fuckers. I can smell your idea like one of his farts!"
"I will take the large dozer to cut a line around the outer perimeter, I ned you to take the tractor with the attachments we used to till the soil for the planting… come after me to turn the soil more and make sure it is large enough for a vehicle to move though. If we can cut down towards an entrance, we can make not only a fire break, but a makeshift road for a unit to get up to the Domes. Likely meet those poor buggers running up."
"This is gonna be hot work" Mickey said as he shrugged on his own suit "Babe, I will follow you with a shovel to pat anything that ignites around you, Rhys, you go with Ianto and Jack. Ianto will lead us and will need to get more coverage."
"Agreed" Ianto nodded this not the time to argue about who is in charge. They are all wanted the same outcome and right now… they needed to move.
Ianto and Jack ran for the huge bulldozer, Rhys keeping pace with not only a shovel in one hand, but a large sledgehammer in the other. Another thing to note here… Rhys is not stupid. He knew as well as Ianto did that whoever did this might still be out there waiting to smoke them out.
The sounds of engines starting was a miracle in itself. Hey, you try stripping wires with big bloody gloves on, luckily doing so in below freezing weather as a troubled youth did come on handy here for both Ianto and Mickey.
They swung into action with Jack standing on the back of the Dozer out of Ianto's way, simply waiting as they tracks started to roll. After all this time, these machines were ready to rock and Ianto lowered the blade to carve out soil and greenery with open malice. He did not care about the landscaping, he cared about his bloody Domes and he did not care what the bigwigs were going to say.
Technically, he owned all of this too, right?
Ianto gritted his teeth and went for it, the lone figure ahead of him clearly Rhys as he knew the saboteurs would not likely wear white space suits, right? Rhys was already catching hot spots and trying to bash them with the flat of the shovel and Ianto aimed for him, taking his initiative to douse already impending danger zones.
He was moving in the right direction after all.
Jack followed as closely as he could not off the dozer and following on foot, turning over anything lose that had landed face up… or grass up. In the distance the lights of the backhoe could be seen as Martha drove the tractor along the now smooth surface, rolling and turning the soil. The dozer continued to grumble underneath him as Ianto steadfastly moved towards the entrance while cutting a swathe through the dirt and towards those downed trees stopping help from coming.
Being Ianto, as focused as he was, he was still chewing over this and the fact this plan had been well thought out. They had not known about these leviathans hidden in the back, they had anticipated more chaos.
But to cut down the trees, to damage them like that in order to block the road… that took some time as well as planning. They most likely did it all at one. Three entrances, not a lone person kind of thing as they were exposed while the chainsaws roared so at least two people per entrance right? So at least six in the unit? Then… did they also set the fire? Or was that another team that did so when given the all clear that the first part of the plan had bene executed? So… ten? Twelve?
One thing is for sure… they REALLY underestimated Ianto.
And he would make them fucking sorry for that.