Pounding of hooves

The young boy was the first one to react, he had to admit, he wasn't expecting the attack. Seb was glad that he had locked the doors as he wiped paint from his eyes. Gerard was fuming, but knowing that there could be consequences for acting out of line when an order hadn't been given. Gerard's fists were tight and his knuckles turned white. Gerard was just recovering from being hit in the stomach.

Sebastian wore a scowl on his face, turning to face the door, clicking his fingers and both Sera and a paint covered Gerard began to move in on them, trying to shuffle them away from the door. Seb was smirking at the fact that the young girl was carrying a broom from his cupboard, which was useful as she would be cleaning up the young boy's blood real soon. But then again, this boy and girl were rather clever…their parents must have taught them well.

"That, wasn't such a smart idea now, was it, Kiddos?" Seb said with a small tilt of his head. It would have been so much easier to be back with his people and continue to take souls from them, it was swifter and didn't leave so much evidence, in which he had learnt, could be used against him. "Step away from that door…now."

The paint was bit of a pain, it had soaked through and was in the process of drying. Sebastian's facial features didn't change, he wasn't impressed and as much as he wanted them to be out of his life, as he said, these kids were clever and capable of informing about him to the police. Although chances would have been low and Seb would have been real surprised if the police ever came looking for him.

Sebastian wasted no more time as he went back into the cupboard and pulled out some rope and began to advance towards the kids again...

((Leaving it open there as it's your opinion to handle your characters, but I was hoping to have them tied up at some point? If that is alright with you?))

The henchman boss' voice sent chills running down Eric's spine, and he let go of the door knob as he planted his feet on the floor again. Eric's eyes watched warily as the red man moved over to a cupboard, and soon returned with a wad of rope. The other men weren't moving...were they just standing guard in case they tried to escape? He guessed so...and if they did try to escape from being tied up, the other men would grab them and hold them still...probably. He didn't want to be tied up...if they were tied up, the henchman boss might roast them over a fire! Or put them in a field of mines! Or...or...his overactive mind was churning so fast, he wasn't sure what to think, or to do for that matter. They were stuck inside; the door was locked, the window was shut, and there was no other way out that he could see.

His head turned towards Ellie, and he watched admiringly as she bravely stood up to the big men in the room. She didn't seem scared at all, or at least was trying very hard not to be, and he felt a little of his courage come back. Just a little, enough to not go cowering in the corner. But when she said 'brother', he looked confused. Who was Ellie talking about? There was no one else in the room in the room besides...him. He just stared at Ellie when his mind connected the two. Had Ellie just lied about him? Why would she do that? What was wrong with just saying he was her friend? Maybe she was trying to protect him, he decided. Maybe her father wouldn't really care about him if he came to save Ellie. Suddenly he felt his heart sink into his shoes. It hadn't occurred to him that other children his age had parents. He had been all alone. Even when he did have parents about, they didn't want anything to do with him. And here, Ellie had parents who actually cared for her. Her daddy would surely come for her, as she said, but what about him? Would her dad just leave him at the bad mens' mercy?

But then he remembered, Captain Jack! Captain Jack wouldn't forget him. He was like a second father to him, even if he was always going off on some mission without him. He knew one day he'd return and take him along too. He remembered the first time he had met him, and Captain Jack had put his arm protectively about Eric's shoulders. Yeah, Ellie had her father and he had Captain Jack. Between the two of them, even if they did get captured, they'd be rescued soon enough. He hoped.

"Yeah!" He joined in, his spirit renewed. "You'd better not tie us up and hurt us. Captain Jack will hunt you down too! The moment he realizes we're in danger, he'll come looking! And he knows things! He knows things that...that even you don't know! He hunts down aliens from outer space and stops them! And he can stop you too!"

Just then Ellie ran at the bad people, and while he didn't think it was the best course of action, he ran after too. He didn't have a weapon, but he had his two good fists, and he ran at the first man in front of him. He grabbed on and began pummeling the man's legs, trying to knock him down in the painted mess.

This was getting interesting. Sebastian cocked his head to one side, it was a funny little girl. She had managed to pluck up some courage to start speaking...aww. He raised his hands in the air as a mock gesture to show that he wasn't really scared. "You better not hurt us!…Shut up, kid." He said, growing tired of the games that he was playing with these two youngsters.

"You know what I do to people who come looking?" Sebastian said, looking at both of the children. "I kill them." The money aspect of this father sounded tempting but wouldn't children make up stuff in order to be let back loose, into the wild where they could run back to the parents and cry?

He chuckled.

"Captain Jack, huh? I've evaded my own people, what makes you think that he can kill me?" Sebastian said this with no arrogance in his voice, his tone had fallen flat and dull.

Suddenly, it was the attack of the very small people. He was forced to the ground by the boy's pummeling on his legs, forcing him off balance and finally getting struck by the broomstick.

"Tie them!" Sebastian roared, kicking out in a random direction. He was not going to be beaten by some scrawny kids. Gerard and Sarah moved in on the children. Sebastian had paint all down his back and his trousers. He scowled, readying himself for the kids attack, trying to block the exit points, even the ones that they most likely couldn't reach, being the window.

Dakota heard noises coming from the office  building or whatever it was. She still couldn't do anything if she wanted to really help the kids. Kota was pretty sure that door would be locked anyways... no use giving up her position. Dakota scrunched down farther towards the bottom of the wall, peering around the corner. If anyone came out, she would beat them for the kids. If they had the kids. The children seemed as if they could take care of themselves for the most part, but they would need Kota's help eventually.

Looking on the ground, Dakota quickly found some piece of metal that could be used as a weapon. She gripped it strongly with both hands, awaiting anyone who came out of that room. No one was going to hurt those kids on Kota's watch.

She really wished she had her cell at a time like this... stupid sidewalk. Always in the way. Of course, Kota should've been watching where she was going. Anyways, the phone was in a hundred pieces at the bottom of her trashcan at the moment, so calling the police was out of the picture.

At first, Dakota wondered why no one saw her or anything that was happening, but then she realized: the race was over and the exit was on the other side of the track. Whoever had built this office had picked a good place for it. For them, anyways. No luck for the kids or Dakota!

Eric felt a sudden powerful rush as the red man's legs collapsed under his punching. It worked! In the back of his mind, he had had a slight paranoia that he wouldn't make it, that adults who were definitely stronger than kids could take it. Now that was gone, and invigorated by his small victory, he leaped over the man's flailing limbs and rushed for Ellie. She was heading for the window, and he clambered after, his little arms lifting him clumsily onto the sill. His own attempts to open the window proved fruitless, as he too discovered the window as locked. But he knew he could fix that, as he had odds and ends in his pockets, and he was sure that one of those things would help him force the window open. He felt like one of those super heroes, flying about and saving the day with little more than a few gadgets and pieces of string.

Of course, just when he tried to stick one of his pieces of wire in the lock, he felt a tug on the back of his collar. Suddenly he was no longer on the window sill, and he waved his arms for balance as he felt himself dragged backward. He kicked as hard as he could, and the hold on his collar released, sending him to the ground against the wall. A little bruised, he clambered back to his feet, and found himself staring at one of the mean guy's men. Quickly he pulled the nearest item out of his pockets.

"Don't move!" He yelled, holding his arm up threatening. "Or I'll throw this...this..." He looked briefly at his hand to see what he had. "This rock! You don't know it, but it's supercharged with electricity. And plasma. And other stuff. And if you move, it'll blow you up!" Raising his arms in a dramatic gesture, he made explosion noises with his mouth, trying to look as powerful as he could manage.

Sebastian was tired, he was sweating and he was very, very frustrated. He made a mental note to never have kids, because, he wasn't someone who wanted to look after these tiny…terrors. Sarah and Gerard quickly moved to grab the kids, trying to get the rope around them, it was tiring work and there was little energy left to be chasing the children around.

He wasn't scared of what that little boy had in his hands, it was not seen as threatening. "Go and get them, it just a rock!" Seb yelled. He was standing now, huffing, his cheeks red and his shirt crumpled and slightly ripped at the sides.

"Can we just stop running around pretending we're some…superhero? It's useless. I don't often open the window and lock the door. So, be good little children and shut up? No one's coming for you. He walked around to the little boy, grabbing the rock off him.

It wasn't something to be afraid of. He was right about that. Butttt…he could use these kids for ransom, Sebastian needed the money to renovate parts of the racecourse. Then again, the police would be called in on this. So what would he do?

Instead of answering, he pulled up a chair and simply sat down, glaring at the two children. "So, any better ideas, or are you finished now?"

As expected, none of the bad guys seemed to believe his rock was charged with outer space particles. It was heavy though, and as he rocked it, he figured if he threw real hard, he could hit one on the head and knock it out. If the man didn't grab him before getting a chance. Then suddenly he thought, he was doing this all wrong. Even if they did manage to beat up these bullies, they still needed to escape. So instead, he swung his arm, and as one of the bad guys braced himself, he threw it at the window. It smashed it with a resounding crash, and left a gaping hole that was certainly big enough to stick an arm through.

But as he attempted to get up on the windowsill, he was dragged back down by strong arms. "Hey! Let me go!" Eric kicked, and squirmed, and punched, even earning an annoyed cry from his assailant. But soon he was tied up alone with Ellie, and sitting wide eyed on the floor as he stared back at the red man. For once, words failed him. What was he supposed to do when his arms were all tied up? More importantly, what was the red man going to do now? He didn't think sitting down and talking calmly to them was it.

As Ellie bravely talked back to the red man, Eric pondered on untying the ropes. Did he have anything in his pockets that would cut ropes? He had lots of objects in his pockets, but he'd all but forgotten most of them, and besides, he couldn't reach them anyway. He struggled and twisted, but he still couldn't reach his pockets, so he slunk down hunched. Maybe their only option now was to wait for Ellie's daddy and Captain Jack. He wondered if Captain Jack was back from his mission yet. Would his group let him know he was captured if he didn't come home soon? Would Jack be back home today? Would they even be alive by the time they did realize? He couldn't help but blink away a few tears as he looked over at Ellie. Now she was talking about a guy named Dalek or somebody, and he wished somebody would break down the door soon.

Looking back at Sebs, he said quietly, "I have an idea." Then he took in a deep breath and shouted, "HELP!"

Sebastian continued with his gaze, in silence, watching the two squirming children. The young girl could scream all she wanted and the young boy could try and back up her point, but he simply didn't care. He stood up, frustrated, throwing his hands up in the air. Yes, the kids were persistent in their story and that he had now a window broken.

When someone called Dalek arose, he didn't recognize the name nor if it was some sort of species, something he could handle. She was smiling, a human way of saying that they were lying, apparently. So…he didn't believe her. Both of the humans were crying. He sighed, leaning hard against one of the walls, near the smashed window. A small breeze circulated around the room. Gerard and Sarah stood there, looking rather pleased with one another for managing to finally get the children to sit down.

"Look here…I don't give a damn whether your father comes, I don't care whether you'd make a friend with this Dalek, they won't---" Seb was suddenly interrupted when the young boy hollered. "No one can hear you! Get that in your stupid little head!"

Dakota was still hidden behind the corner of the wall, waiting for something to happen. Or for someone to walk/run out of that room. It was very nerve-wracking, you know. The only way she could do anything would be if she happened to overpower three people. With a piece of metal.

Dakota started hearing noises -loud noises- coming from the room. She realized that the kids could be in serious danger, and she jumped up with her weapon in hand. What do I do what do I do what do I do?!?! she thought.

Quietly, Dakota made her way to the door. She made sure she wasn't in the way of a window, made sure she wouldn't be seen if someone glanced out the window. Waiting with crowbar-thingie in hand, she yelled at the top of her lungs: "HELP!" That way, if she went down, maybe someone would hear her... and help the kids.

(OOC: I wanted to post more, but seriously running out of options.)

Sebastian's yelling at him did not deter him as he gave the shout all of his lung power. Then when he had exhausted that breath, he inhaled, and yelled again. He wasn't exactly crying, but he was upset and that distress was conveyed in his voice as he shouted for help. Between his and Ellie's chorus, he was sure SOMEBODY would hear them through the broken window. And sure enough, he heard someone calling outside for help. For a moment he stopped, confused. Why was someone responding to them with a call for help? Had they been captured too? However, there was someone close by, and that stirred up his hopes. Pulling his legs out from underneath him, he began kicking at the floor, the wall, anything he could reach to make as much noise as possible with his sneakers. He twisted and turned so he could use his hands as well, but that didn't work as well.

"HELP! HELP! There are mean men trying to kill us! HELP!" He did his best to rush the request, as he knew that one of them could instantly clamp their hand over his mouth before he was done. But would anyone come even if they knew a murder was in progress? Or would they be too scared to? Quickly he tried to think of anyone useful he could call for, but he knew of nobody nearby. There was always the police, but he didn't remember if any officers were nearby. Surely if they were, they would have locked up this murderer already? "Police, police! Captain Jack! Help me!"

Wham!

The door shook as a powerful leg collided with its sturdy form, though it wasn't enough force to destroy the lock.

Crack!

The door went lurching inward; the top hinge came undone and hung, left to rely on the bottom to keep it on its frame.  A man in a navy overcoat stormed in, his .38 Webley was drawn and it soon fired two shots. One. Sarah was hit in the thigh, forcing her to power through the pain if she wished to move or to kneel on the ground to nurse her new wound. Two. Gerard was hit just left of his heart, a warning- or perhaps a promise- of what the man would do to the henchman if he pressed his luck.

"Nobody move! You move, I shoot. Do I make myself clear?" Captain Jack took several steps in, his eyes trained on Seb.  Though he didn't look over at Eric, his senses were keened in on the boy, the want to walk over and check if he was okay was distracting but did not cause him to act.  Jack was here to take control of the situation first and foremost.

An hour before

Jack had returned to Torchwood.  The mission had gone better than expected, which was always nice.  The 'weapon of mass distraction' a rogue group of alien rebels were trying to build had been disposed of... disposed of in the sense that it was launched into their trash can of a spaceship.  They should have thought twice before threatening Earth.

It wasn't long after his arrival when Gwen had told Jack that she couldn't find Eric. Grim faced, he had activated his tracker which- without admitting it- tended to be keened in on the boy's DNA than any thing else's.  With an order at Gwen to hold down the fort, he was off.  Why would Eric be at the stalls?  At a horse race?  He had never gone there.  And, being as he was, he had phoned Tosh to give him what she knew about the race track.

When he had shown up, the screams for help had drawn him into the proper direction. A jolt of adrenaline shot through his veins, confirming that this wasn't just a coincidence.  Something was up and whoever was in charge had chosen the wrong people.  Jack arrived at the door, acknowledged Dakota briefly, drew his gun, and started to break down the door.

Oh great. Sebastian, although he would never admit it, was getting quite bored of the kids and simply had no plan to what he was to do with them, even with all the time he had spent watching them. He presumed because most of the session was consisting of pain, screams, the kids wouldn't sit still. But what he wasn't expecting was for the young boy's threat to become reality. There was the cracking of the doors, his reaction time was slow and finally the door gave in and there stood who he presumed to be called Captain Jack.

Sarah was shot, his head snapped over to her pained form. As much as he never truly cared for the human kind, Seb had grown to care for his two 'henchmen' and as Gerard got shot, Sebastian was truly reeking of revenge as he turned to the man. "I hear you. You're here for the boy, aren't you?" Even with the barrel pointed at him, Seb had a calling card. Something that was practiced over and over with countless of his victims that he had been caught with. He pulled out a knife, slipping his hand under Eric's chin, pointing the knife directly at the boy's neck.

As for the girl, he didn't care for what happened to her. He knew that the boy held value to the man, that was why he was so very close to killing him. Of course, Sebastian wasn't truly going to kill the boy, however, it would give him a chance to talk.

"But…do you hear me? I will kill the boy. The girl, you can keep. Now, let's talk. We both want to come out of this situation with something…you want the boy and I want to keep my life." He had grown pretty attached to the human that he embodied and didn't want to die like this. Looking past the man, he saw a girl, holding a bar. "Who's the girl? A friend of yours?"

Dakota jumped back a bit when suddenly this Captain Jack dude just went and busted through the door. Gun in hand, Dakota heard two shots before she recovered and turned around to see what was happening. Two people were down, both injured. Dakota then realized that this person was more powerful and more dangerous than Sebastian could ever be.

She stood, staring, as Sebastian threatened Eric and moved with a knife to his throat. Kota didn't know what would happen next, but she was scared as anything as to what would unfold next.

Dakota heard Sebastian's witty comment to her. "Uh, nope, I don't know him," she said.

Whispering to Jack, who had the gun concentrated on Eric, Kota said "Ya know, I'm not really amazing at this whole RESCUING thing. Good for all of us that y oy showed up! "

Just when things seemed hopeless, and Eric's voice was getting tired from shouting, the almost impossible happened. A loud smash to the door sent his head spinning, and he watched as the door burst open with another bang. Eric watched in awe as the figure of his saviour and hero appeared, and began firing a sizeable pistol. His actions were smooth and graceful as he gunned down the two lackeys, and he squirmed with glee. Soon he and Ellie would be free, and he struggled to get his hands free of the knots holding his wrists in place.

"Captain Jack!" He couldn't help shouting, a big grin replacing the awed open mouth look. "Over here! Ellie and I are..." But he never finished as suddenly the red man was at their side, and something cold and metallic was at his neck. He wasn't sure what it was until he looked down; a sharp ugly looking knife. He gulped, and a sudden wave of fear shot through his spine. He stared at the red man in fear, wondering if he was really going to kill him. He knew Captain Jack would save him, and shoot him before he had a chance to kill him, right? His eyes looked pleadingly at Captain Jack as the red man and Ellie's words rang in his ears.

"Kill him!" he begged. "He-he kills people! He talked about killing people!" He began stuttering, as the sudden realization that he might die right then and there if Captain Jack wasn't fast enough hit him. He almost trembled in fear, and the surrounding walls took on a slight blue and purple hue, that wasn't noticable unless staring straight at it. "Don't let him kill Ellie and me!"

The relief in the children's voices was guaranteed to be short lived.  Dangerous situations like these didn't end smoothly like everyone involved hoped.  There would be no surrendering of the bad guys while they dropped to their knees and the hero could walk over and untie the victims.  Things like that just didn't happen, and that was the reality of life.

Jack's eyes narrowed as Seb spoke his response and promptly tensed as the knife was pressed against Eric's throat.  One wrong move and the floor would be painted with a fresh coat of red.  At least the Captain had been in this situation enough to know he shouldn't panic.  He'd just talk his way out of it like he always does, promise and compromise. Sebastian wanted to live, as almost every mortal does.  They were willing to do anything in order to keep themselves breathing.  That was good to know.  It made talking easier.

Glancing behind him, Jack briefly eyed Dakota for a second time before watching the tense situation before him. "You could say that. Don't worry about her, she won't do anything to threaten you. Isn't that right?" The last question was a rhetoric one aimed at Dakota. He really hoped she didn't move a muscle.

"It looks like we're at a stalemate. You kill him, I'll put a bullet in your head. Neither of us want that. So how about I drop my gun and you drop your knife. You get to walk away with your life and I get to take these children to their homes. What do you say? On the count of three?"

Sebastian never let up with the knife, keeping it pressed against the boy's neck. One move and the boy will be dead. That was something he'd do to keep his secrets from being leaked; although it would be no point if he was dead.

"Mephis. Do you know the race?" He cocked his head to one side, wondering whether the traveller had seen aliens, which the boy must have mentioned in their previous conversation. With all the effort, he couldn't remember the whole time leading up to this 'stalemate.' Did he want to give up the kids, no. But did he want to live? Yes. Very much so.

"Do me a favor. The kids cannot tell anyone. I will keep my mouth shut but they snoop around or if I see them again, there will be not compromise." Sebastian counted up in his head and dropped the knife, which clinked against the concrete below and out of reach.

Dakota watched the whole thing play out from behind the door. She still wasn't quite sure what was happening, and she didn't want to get involved. She only came to watch a horse race. Look how that turned out!

Her pulse quickened as a knife was held up to Eric's throat, but then dropped as the knife itself dropped.
Now that no one was in danger, she could sneak away and be forgotten.

Placing her metal pipe on the ground, she started tiptoeing backwards away from the office. Everyone was fine, she kept telling herself. When she was a good distance away, she put her back to the horse place and ran as far as she could, away.

Eric was tense, almost shaky the entire time through as he stared at Captain Jack, wondering when he was going to shoot the red man already! But that didn't happen, and instead he suggested they both drop their weapons. Eric wondered if that was a good idea...the red man could just pretend to lower his, and then slit his throat. He had a hard time swallowing against the knife to his throat, and his eyes watched the knife as it moved, then dropped to the floor. He almost sighed in relief, but making any sound short of screaming was too hard in his anxious state.

With the man no longer holding him, he got up and hopped over to where Captain Jack stood. Once he had reached him, his hands still tied and his feet finally shaking loose where his legs had been poorly tied, he practically hid behind the large tall man. He stared at the red man, taking in his words with a shudder of fear. He had no intention of telling anyone...at least not at the moment, and he didn't like the idea of the red man coming after them if he DID tell them. He was sure Captain Jack could do something once they were safe...but he didn't dwell on that too much. He only wanted to get out of there before the red man changed his mind and attempted to kill all three of them.

"Ellie," he finally spoke in a voice barely above a loud whisper. "Let's go." He looked up to Captain Jack, and waited for the man to move with them and protect them from the red man, in case he changed his mind.