The Undertakers Gift by Trevor Baxendale Read Free Book Online Page A

matters.’
    Gwen stared at him. Her eyes were big and deep and black, just like they had been in the dream.

ELEVEN
    ‘Hey, Ianto. Anything on that writ yet?’
    ‘Still working on it.’ Ianto looked up from a workstation and his eyes narrowed as he watched Jack sweep across the Hub. ‘Is that a tear in your coat sleeve?’
    Jack looked down at his arm and fingered the thick grey material of his greatcoat. There was a short, rough slit next to his elbow. ‘Knife cut,’ he said, shrugging. ‘Blowfish fancied himself in a fight.’
    ‘Leave it with me,’ said Ianto with a tut. ‘I’ll fix it.’
    Gwen followed Jack into his office. ‘What’s got into you, Jack? You’ve not been the same since the Greenway funeral.’
    ‘Leave it.’ Jack threw his coat down and slumped into the seat behind his desk. It overlooked the rest of the Hub via a large circular window. He stared out of it, pointedly not looking at Ianto, who was quietly and neatly carrying on with his work.
    ‘No.’ Gwen folded her arms. ‘I won’t leave it. All that business about making a choice – whether we could look someone in the eye and kill them. If you meant could I shoot someone in cold blood, then I’m not sure I could. It depends. It’s a decision you can only make at the time.’
    ‘I just want to make sure we’re all on the same wavelength, that’s all.’
    ‘You mean that I’m on the same wavelength. Or don’t you trust Ianto to make the right choice either?’
    ‘I trust both of you. You know that.’
    ‘Really? Then why did you go after those Blowfish alone?’
    ‘There were only two of them and they were just kids. Didn’t seem worth risking everyone.’
    ‘Just yourself, you mean.’
    ‘Not the same kind of risk. You know that.’ He blew out a sigh and sat back. He folded his arms, mirroring her. He looked at her for a long time and then broke out a grin.
    ‘Not working,’ Gwen stated. She leaned on the desk. ‘Just tell me the truth, Jack. What’s the matter? What’s worrying you? Is it the Undertaker’s Gift?’
    He had the decency to blink. The brilliant blue of his eyes looked steely now as the shutters came down, but she’d got him. Sometimes Gwen could really get under his skin.
    Jack sat back, thinking what to say. Gwen waited. It was basic police interview stuff – let the silence do the work; people could never stand the silence. They felt compelled to fill it.
    ‘I’m losing too many people, Gwen,’ he said at last. He spoke very quietly. ‘Too many.’
    ‘So – what’s the plan? You take all the risks because you can’t be killed, and leave us to do the office work?’
    ‘How many more people do I have to lose, Gwen? Tell me that. When’s it going to stop?’
    ‘You know it’s not going to.’
    ‘And how much more can I take? How many more deaths are gonna pile up in my memory? I’m running out of room in here.’ Jack tapped the side of his head. ‘Something’s got to give.’
    Gwen thought for a moment. She wasn’t used to seeing Jack distraught. He was trying his best to hide it in that slightly cocky, slightly old-fashioned way of his, but she still felt her heart aching for him. Immortality had its price. ‘Maybe,’ she said carefully, ‘you just need a break.’
    ‘There aren’t any holidays in this job. You know that.’
    ‘Everyone needs some downtime.’
    ‘The Rift never takes a break. Right now it’s busier than ever. And, yes, we’ve got the Undertaker’s Gift to deal with on top of that – maybe . We can’t afford to stop. I can’t afford to stop.’
    ‘We managed without you for a while before.’
    ‘That was different. And there were more of you then.’ Jack turned and let his gaze rest on the back of Ianto’s head as he worked at his station. ‘I just can’t bear the thought of losing you. Either of you.’
    ‘If this Undertaker thing is real then you may be losing everyone – not just us.’ Gwen sat on the edge of his desk and smiled at him.