14

Jack's team were swarming the place and Ianto felt his hackles rise more than once as he was pushed aside like he was in the way. In the way. When he was the one who even thought of this place.

"Oi, who took the red and gold room at the end of the left wing with the big bed" a woman roared over the balustrade to the upper floor "I want that one. Come get your shit out so I can move in, I need space for my shit!"

Ianto leaned back to look up at her and considered an answer, then said with a calmness that belied his anger "No, I got it first. Choose another one not already in use. There are about twenty fucking rooms to choose from."

"But I want that one, the bed is fucking huge!"

"So is my dog" Ianto pointed as Myfanwy wandered past with a bottle of water, stopping to offer it to Ianto like it was no big deal and the woman's mouth, still open to give another volley or argument, snapped called as she watched.

"Is she a service dog?"

"She is MY dog so she is hands off too!" Ianto loked up one more time and gave her a look that left no confusion in his ire "I will not move."

"Well, I might just have to move your shit myself and…"

"SUZIE!" Jack roared "FIND ANOTHER FUCKING ROOM!"

"Fine!"

Ianto turned to look at the man who had bellowed while less than a meter from him and Jack grinned "Sorry about that. We have been too long in closed quarters and wanting to shoot one another towards the end."

"So. Suzie?"

"Yeah, Suzie is team Torchwood, as is Martha over there with her hus…"

"MARTHA!" Ianto yelled then took off for the woman who was arguing quietly with a man, her face lighting up as well and they ran to embrace as the man still standing there gaped.

"Ianto?" the man asked as he slowly walked over and Jack find himself confused now.

The two broke apart and still hugging, loked at one other with laughter "Bloody hell! Martha Mabel!"

"And Ianto Phoenix!" she replied, still laughing "Oh my god. What the fuck!"

"I am London branch."

"Oh god… of course you are. Mickey, you remember my cousin Ianto, right?" Martha swing to the man whose face was changing to recognition.

"Oh yeah… shit. The white side of the tree… shit. Ianto mate… been a while. You look… shit. Your sister, Rhia and the kids… no?"

Ianto shook his head mutely and looked down at his feet, cleared his throat and loked up again, once more animated "And you?"

"Mama Francine and Papa Clive of course as they were at home… Marcus and the kids… no."

"Yeah. Fucking sucks… like some bad dream" Martha said, puling Ianto into another hug.

"Tish?" Ianto asked over her shoulder and Mickey shook his head in the negative, making him screw his face up more.

Jack stood watching and had clarity that they were related also he had not thought of Martha's family. Snathcign up her parents on the wat out of town was like a second thought as he knew his own ex-wife and daughter were long gone in the epicentre. Shit. He met her little sister Tish as the Christmas do last year. Ah… fuck.

"Right" Toshiko said suddenly, breaking into the moment "Ianto, can I have a word?"

Ianto turned to her and motioned for a room but she shook her head to show it was OK to talk "I have the camera array hacked, we have every camera in the place now, including those for wide shots of the ;property and the driveway. No one and nothing can move without the cameras picking it up. I have created a program that pings if the outer cameras detect movement."

"Brilliant as always Tosh, now… did you eat?" Ianto asked.

"Yes mother, now… I want to get some of the camera angles adjusted and I need… ah. Right. Filming crew… I can use their on-set walkie talkies?" she answered her own question, walking off like they had finished the conversation and Ianto turned to Martha again like that was normal for her to suddenly veer off.

"Lisa?"

"Botom of an elevator shaft and I am just sad the frock she was wearing probably looks so good on her still" Ianto huffed and she grinned wider as she poked at him.

"Really? The rose-coloured glasses fell off there?"

"Well, she was screwing someone at the office and I got wind. Was about to leave her and ruin her Christmas but.. seems I didn't have to in the end." Ianto replied "I had packed all me stuff already, I am moving in here for reals!"

She laughed as she slapped at him "Always was impulsive."

Then she did something that Jack knew was a signal for a side-talk. Something she taught him, something he also now used to signal the person to step into another room covertly and as Ianto immediately stepped into the side room full of glassware and tablecloths Jack followed slipping around the door before it closed, sealing him, Ianto, Martha and Mickey inside.

"Right, thoughts?"

"Calculated, also.. clearly well-coordinated with whoever blew the main communications array at the same time as they set off this… viruses at multiple sites" Ianto said quietly "also… they gained access to several of our satellites I can either not find or control. Toshiko and I tried several times before it all crashed… we were crippled on several levels."

"So someone big with enough money to cause this" Mickey nodded "Makes sense. What can we do about it?"

"Nothing. This is above our paygrade" Jack said calmly "If it is some sort of international attack, the Universal Cyber Force are the ones to sort this out… if they still exist."

"I counted four Communication Transformers on their sides in the fields on our way here" Ianto admitted "either they were set to blow the main supports at the same time or were sabotaged prior… or… scarily… the fucking Zombies did it afterwards."

"You know, your theory that they are intelligent fills me with dread but at the same time explains the roadblocks and such that look slightly… Mad Max in creation. One even had a dead horse in the pile of wood and car parts." Mickey turned to Jack who nodded his agreement.

"I think we should not say anything to the others, why give them something else to worry about" Ianto grimaced. "If we set up good security, adding ot the great camera and such already on the property for the filming thing… we might be far enough awy fomr everything ot just… sit it out."

"Sit it out?"

"Well, like herd immunity, there muse be the flash fire that burns itself out after a while if there is no fresh fuel" Ianto explained "So sooner or later… only those who dug in will survive but it also means hose thongs out there must die off in the end. I mean… do they still die again or rot or something? Owen would love investigation that. You know he is a bloody pathologist right? Works for us because he hates people interaction."

"Agreed, if we can't fix it… don't poke at it" Martha nodded then squared her shoulders and looked around "Now, let's get out of here before someone comes knocking. Orgies aside… this place is not large enough for us to have this kind of conversation."

Jack grinned widely as he said "Come on… just a little slap and tickle?"

"I will slap ya if ya like Captain Cheesecake" Mickey laughed as they tried to shake off the conversation.

But Ianto knew he was right.

He is always right.