3
"Jaccob, lovely to see you again" Ianto had the same outfit on again today but had added an old floppy hat like he was afraid of the sunlight, made him sort of like an ancient vampire and the man he was talking to lit up with delight.
"I got me something to show ya!"
"Oh?" Ianto had a list of things to hopefully procure from this rag and bone man who was so good at getting prepper style stuff and not asking a lot of questions. Only bug in the ointment was that he was Pro-Humans and that meant Anti-Mutant. The best thing about the entire thing was that Ianto never referenced the movement's flag and such around the place, merely admired a new one now and then giving the impression that he was also a member of the militant group.
Nothing as scary as being deep in enemy territory and trying to speak their language but Ianto was fluent in arsehole. How he and Jack had saved so many in the first wave.
"Here it is. Not supposed to have it but my cousin is on the local police force and they got issued some… the one sort of fell off the back of a truck, ya know? They fudged the inventory a bit so we could have some… for the cause." As the man spoke he raised something that looked a bit like a little dust buster vacuum cleaner but it had a screen on it.
Ianto realized with sickening horror that it was a Hand Scanner about the same time as it was lifted towards him and he had mere seconds to have a massive choking fit that had Jaccob's wife rushing over with a glass of water to stop between them, the scanner still held up and as it went off… it was not Ianto but Velda who was in its sights.
"Oh my god" she breathed with horror.
"Now… maybe it makes that noise for Normals then… after all this gal of yours is no more a mutant than I am" Ianto blustered with some fake laughter.
"feckin thing is faulty. No wonder he gave it to me so cheap the fucker" came a muttered reply as the man slapped at the side of it.
Velda slowly turned to retrieve the now empty glass, er hand shaking, and Ianto seized it to steady her, looking her fair in the eye as he said calmly "I think he was fucking with you. Lame joke if ya ask me. I would seek your money back from the idiot."
She blinked, then he released her hand letting her scuttle off.
Well, well, well.
Seemed Ianto wasn't the only one in enemy territory.
.
.
Ianto found her in the kitchen, clutching the edge of the sink as Andy and the man laughed in the other room. "Velda?"
She turned to face him and he saw the raw fear. He sighed softly "Once we leave, he is going to try that thing again, you know that right? He is going to go over the instructions and try it on you again and know for sure that you are either a sleeper agent of just plain stupid."
She opened her mouth but he held his finger up.
"Velda. You need to think of an excuse to leave. Now. Tell him your friend called, sister called, daughter called… someone called and you have to go babysit overnight, his food is in the fridge. Pack… get out. Wait at the end of the drive around the corner where he can't see you." Ianto paused as he seemed to consider "Velda… this is the only chance you will have. He is probably already looking at it again."
She nodded.
Ianto headed back in and soon she came bustling in to give the speech about her friend. He nodded and she looked at Ianto then took off, a large overnight bag that he knew would be full of family heirlooms she could not bear to leave.
After a small period of time where the scanner got another shake and slap Ianto finally turned to Andy "Come on boy. I need my meds and a fucking nap after this shit."
They left, picking Velda up on the corner and it was not until they were halfway to the meeting spot that she said softly "I have one of those scanner things in my bag, he has a room full of them for the cause."
Ianto knew he was a good judge of character.
Damn.
.
.
Jack was slightly hesitant to allow her into their home but after meeting her, he understood her fear of being alone that had held her captive there with her abuser for so long.
Having a handheld scanner was what tipped things and as everyone welcomed her, Toshiko motioned for him to another room, needing to talk about something that he felt was not for everyone's ears just yet.
He hoped it was about her little one… still unannounced but clearly seeded. No. it was not the pregnancy.
"When?" he found himself asking.
"According to the scuttlebutt, there is going to be testing starting in a month" she sighed "Once those drones are airborne, they can cover large distances with those scanners on board, the colonies hiding in the wild will be in danger."
"The Cleansing is beginning" Ianto said softly, swinging to find Jack in the doorway, his face stern as he had listened. It did not matter, Ianto did not keep things from him and he had heard the conversation from the other rom in their shared mind.
"We need to start consolidating" Jack sighed "I need to look at our finances again, see what we can do here."
"Sell what we cannot take… leave only a percentage for those staying, as agreed. They either buy us out for what they want of our half… or we sell it on. Whether they like it or not. They are making their decision, and we must make ours."
"Agreed, and you need to look at that land again." Ianto turned to head back to the main room, "Right now I think it is time to declare. Staying or going. We need numbers, we need percentages and we sure as hell need credits."
Jack could not agree more.