2
"You know him?" Red asks, looking at Ianto with surprise.
"Yes, sir. He was my case subject my first year at the Agency. Ex-companion. Possibly not of this world… crafty and messy… an excellent fighter and assassin. Wow. Ywonne ha been after him for years."
Red snorts "Why she agreed to share resources boy."
Ianto turns to look at him with undisguised annoyance. Boy? Excuse me? They are only about a year apart to look at and Ianto knows this idiot has no idea the skills and ability of the man who is only here because he had been waiting for this to happen.
Harkness stares directly ahead … unfazed. Been here before.
"How'd you find him?" Ianto asks softly, like he might hear them.
"The only way you a find an operative like Harkness. Luck. His face got scanned at the American embassy."
Ianto reacts. Something about that doesn't track.
Red does not notice Ianto's reaction as he continues to speak "Hartman wants him debriefed before check out."
Ianto finds that notion insane. "Excuse me sir, but an ex-field officer like Harkness is not just gonna open up to you without some incentive."
"I couldn't agree more." Red grins. Just then, two Jarheads cross up to the room, toting the bucket filled with water and a car battery.
"What's that?"
"Incentive."
.
.
Harkness's shoes are removed. Socks too. His tie is loosened, and his shirt torn open. Buttons fly. Electrodes are attached to his chest and neck. His feet are placed in the bucket as water spills out.
Ianto is watching this unfold through the glass and is horrified. "You can't do this. There are rules."
But when he turns Red is already heading inside.
"As long as he's in my house, he's in my care … Red!"
Red Boss ignores him, shutting the door behind him.
Harkness looks up. Eyes Red stepping inside. He slides the chair out across from him. Takes a seat.
Ianto watches them through the glass … two pros regarding each other. Respect there. But not much.
"I'm Simon Red, Mr. Harkness. I'm here to make you aware of your rights." Red said in a gleeful way "You're being held under National Security Directive 72-C which means you have none. Per the Directive, I could literally lock you in a room and throw away the room."
Harkness seems unintimidated.
"But before that happens, you're gonna give us the names of all your resources, contacts and assets … everyone you've done business with, traded intel with, sold secrets to, in the fifteen years since you turned traitor." Red finishes; his arms folded.
"That's gonna be a long list. Promise not to tell anyone?" Harkness asks, then gives a shit eating grin that makes Ianto snort softly in the other room.
Red Boss is annoyed but maintains his composure. "I know you've read the books on our interrogation methods. Hell, you've written some of them. There's no need wasting time with coercion; intimidation; bullying. You and I both know they won't work on you. What will, I suspect, is tolerance. How much I have for you and how much you have for this."
Greer cranks a dial on the car battery and a current surges through Jack's …body arching back in agony.
watching this, Ianto is horrified. He knows Red's got a job to do but doesn't have the stomach for it.
With another twist of the dial the current abates. Jack sags.
"We think there are at least three separate operations in the works that you may have compromised. We need to know how badly our security's been breached. We're not gonna lose any more lives because of you." Again, Greer wrenches the dial. Electricity streams. Jack howls as power courses through his body. He thrashes around in the chair but gets snapped back to it by the shackles.
"Your contacts, Harkness. I want the names." Another twist of the dial. "The names!"
The power shuts off. Jack is spent, but defiant.
"You smell that?" Jack spits on the floor. Looks up. "I think it's me."
He laughs.
Red is pissed as he turns at Greer. Nods: again! He cranks the dial.
Jack wails in agony until Red sees something. On Harkness's arm: is that an injection scar? He turns to Greer. Signals him to cut the power. He obeys. Jack is slumped over in the chair by now, exhausted. Red grabs his arm. Twists it. He looks over the mark. Blinks. Realizes what it means. "Get me a knife."
But before anyone can do anything the lights shut off plunging the room into darkness.
Next door Ianto is in the same black here too. A beat and the emergency back-up lights hum to life, illuminating Ianto, confused. He shrugs through the now see through glass at the men, Red turns to the Jarheads. "Come with me."
The door swings open and Red rushes out with Beck and Greer, ordering Ianto "Watch him."
They step out. Ianto turns to Jack who has his head bowed, exhausted.
.
.
A van with tinted windows screeches to a stop out front.
.
.
Craig, Virkler and Velez are at the bank of surveillance monitors, struggling to switch them on, but they're all black. Red rushes in, "What the hell's going on?"
"I don't know - we're dark. Whole building's gone black."
.
.
The back of the van explodes open and ten mercenaries explode out. All heavily armed with machine guns. Locals. Faces covered with bandanas. Tats wherever there's skin. They storm up to the building.
Red is fuming "Where the fuck did thy come from? Motion sensors?"
Virkler checks a console. Turns to Red. Look says it all: they're fucked.
.
.
As the gunmen make their way up a staircase, inching toward the apartment Ianto tries to make sense of what's happening, looking around, on edge.
Jack slurs softly "You better have an exit strategy."
Ianto turns to Jack. Shakes his head. Tries to convince himself as he hisses back "This is a safe house. A fortress."
Jack shakes his head. "Not for long."
.
.
Red and the five Jarheads take up defensive positions, around corners, in doorways, raising weapons, switching off safeties, tickling triggers. Each of them getting loose trying not to freeze up.
Beck aims his gun at the front door - listening with bated breath at the sound of approaching footfalls which stop at the door. Someone's on the other side. He tightens the grip on his Heckler and cracks his neck, ready.
Everything that happens now …. happens fast.
BOOOOOOOM! The floor beneath his feet explodes! Just goes off in a heartbeat. Beck vanishes, dropping through to the apartment below.
CRASHING!
A Gas Grenade Rocket slams through the front door - travels the length of the front hallway. It is shooting through the air before it BLOWS UP in the living room.
Smoke is now everywhere, filling up the entire room and spreading to the other parts of the house.
Virkler rushes down the smoke-filled hall. Blind. Lost. Coughing. Bullets tear through the wall. Rip him to bloody pieces.
The mercs, looking even more ominous in Gas Masks, charge through the house - on the hunt. Thy are moving quickly with their all handheld cameras on their weapons sending back images to the Big Boss as they shoot Craig who is rushing out a doorway unleashing a fury of fire. He crashes to the floor dead.
Gunmen kick open the door to the kitchen and charge in. Greer pops up from behind the island firing blindly. The mercs return fire, guns blazing. Bullets strike the stove. Gas ignites… vomits fire which engulfs Greer who wails and thrashes wildly.
Assassins cut through the haze … searching to find Velez struggling to escape the smoke. He gets riddled as he tries to make it into one of the rooms.
Twin gunmen KICK DOWN the bedroom door. Announce their arrival with gunfire but hit nothing.
Room's clear.
Two mercs pass. Once they turn a corner Red emerges and slips into another room, out of view.
Assassins enter and look around. The room is empty, so they back out the room and PHFT! PHFT! …Red takes them out with silenced rounds.
BANG! A bullet spins him around.
BANG!
Another takes out his kneecap dropping him to the floor howling with agony.
Vargas stands over him - aiming his Rohrbaugh R9s Stealth. In charge chilling as she snarls "Where's Harkness?"
Vargas and another merc rush up to the guest room and kick the door open but it's EMPTY.
NO IANTO. NO JACK.
Vargas is confused. Another merc calls him into another room. He rushes out.
Vargas enters another room and finds an assassin sliding the bed across the floor to reveal … a trap door hidden underneath it.
The Housekeeper and his Guest are in the wind.
"FUCK!"