A/N: Hey, here I am with the sequel to Boundaries and third in the Problematic Series. I posted up a one-shot called Seclusions to fill in a few gaps, (and to explain why Alan is alive eight years after catching the Thorns) between this and Boundaries. So, without further ado, here's the opening chapter to Imposition!
Grell had disappeared.
Completely and utterly disappeared.
William wondered if he should start attaching large wooden signs to his employees; ones that couldn't be removed with anything less than the saw that Eric used as his scythe. It wasn't as if they didn't know exactly where the man was, per se. There'd been around ten of them at one point in one district of London searching for him, but with so many other Shinigami present it was hard to pinpoint an exact location, and no one could actually see the redhead in the sea of blondes, brunettes and less-than-glaring redheads.
Yes, wooden signs with their names on seemed to be the solution; you couldn't hide in a crowd with one of those on. He frowned; they'd probably need something different for Alan, since he probably wasn't strong enough to actually have one stuck to his back all day. Maybe a piece of parchment sewn onto the back of his suit jacket?
Either way, it was more than disconcerting to realise that Grell had not only found a way to hide his many red tresses, but that because of this he'd also managed to likely walk right under the noses of several shinigami and not a single one had noticed it. The man had probably done just that, and William could imagine that he'd do it with a smug little wave as he did so, too.
He'd been verbally lashed for it. William was certain that if the superiors were still in the tradition of physically punishing the division heads, then he'd be several floors below in one of the old dungeons that Eric often liked to lock Ronald in.
Oh but William would much prefer to be in one of those dungeons with lash marks on his back rather than have to listen to his immediate superior. He was given a lovely 'I warned you' at least twice a day, and reminded often that he had been told to take Grell's scythe away in fear that he was about to defect.
Everyone knew what the redhead was up to; everyone knew that the names that appeared on the death list mere seconds before an actual death were the work of a Shinigami who was purposely picking off people not on the death list so that he could not be caught. It could be no one else, as every other Shinigami was accounted for. Only one thing was ever regarded as odd; the most brutal of the random murders still ended up with the victims cinematic record in the library; the remaining murders that seemed oddly random appeared on the list, but the souls could never be accounted for.
Secretly, William suspected that there was another Shinigami involved somehow, but he couldn't pinpoint a single Shinigami to be missing with Grell at the time of the Jack the Ripper killings.
With an inward groan that caused the blond sitting before his desk to snap his head up in curiosity, William took one more look at the paperwork before him and felt an uncharacteristic urge to rip it to shreds. Ronald carefully picked it up, eyes warily scanning the page before they widened considerably, his lips parting in surprise.
"Close your mouth, Knox, you look like you're trying to catch flies." William commented after a minute of watching Ronald read through the paper.
"But boss, you can't let this happen!"
"I do not have a choice; I was warned something like this would happen, and I chose to ignore it. I can either be given partial blame for this, or I can represent him at the hearing and have not a single accusation placed on my head." William took the sheet back and signed it, his tidy, eloquent writing filling one line before he handed it to Ronald. The blond signed it reluctantly, his messy scrawl looking terrible next to William's handwriting.
"Is there no way you can change the punishment if he's found guilty?"
"Believe me Knox, I have checked everything. He knows the rules, and as he has clearly killed more than four people whilst knowing them, then he must be prepared to face the consequences of his actions. This is not a hole I will drag him out of." William's voice was sharp, and with any other employee it would have signalled the end of the conversation, but Ronald persisted.
"But boss, they'll kill him!"
"I assure you, he would die much more nicely than he would if the British Public were to get a hold of him. And it is not definite that he would be killed; he could get sent to the Antarctica base." At those words Ronald gave a sigh, and then grumbled under his breath. At William's raised eyebrow, he repeated his words clearly.
"He would probably find that worse than death."
"Indeed. However, I will repeat; he must face the consequences of his own actions, and I will not allow myself to be dragged into the hole he has dug." William's voice held its usual cold, sharp tone, which told Ronald everything the man was not saying; he was worried about the redhead, and he had a hundred more reasons to be worried than Ronald.
"What did the higher-ups say, boss?" Ronald asked cautiously, seeing William's eyes dart up to meet his own before he returned to signing paperwork.
"That they were right and I was wrong, and that I have the deaths of four women on my conscience for not taking his scythe away when I was warned to. I was also politely told that I am lucky to still hold my position as head of this division and deputy director of the London Branch. A post, they informed me, which will be given to someone else should Grell be found guilty and given the highest form of punishment." William spoke quickly, eyes darting to his open ledger and ignoring the look of dissatisfaction on Ronald's face.
"Will he be found guilty?" Ronald regretted asking the question at the look on William's face.
"Of course he'll be found guilty. You cannot kill four women –at least- and not turn up to work without suspicion being laid upon you. And it's not like he hasn't been hiding out at his home; I would notice if Grell was in the house, and I haven't been able to sense his presence for weeks." William gave a small frown, feeling around with his senses to reassure himself that he wasn't losing them. He could still sense the vibrant energy of the blond before him, he could still sense the buzzing aura of many Shinigami packed together in a room, and could tell apart the weaker aura of Alan at his desk in the far right hand side of the room outside his office.
Not losing his senses, then.
"I hope for his sake he's been kidnapped by a demon- say, boss, why do you keep looking at your ledger?" Ronald cut himself off with another question, eyes following William's as they snapped towards the old book lying open on the desk. William raised an eyebrow at the blond's curiosity.
"We only know that a Shinigami is doing the killings because the victim does not appear in a ledger a few days before they are supposed to; they show up spontaneously, showing that they were not meant to die when they have. Randomised killing's then, hand-picked and hidden by the Shinigami responsible until minutes from the death. I have an idea about who the next several victims could be. I am waiting for one of their names to appear in my ledger with a time of death less than twenty-four hours from the time it appears." William placed his quill onto the table, placing his palms together and resting his chin on top of his fingertips. Ronald gave a nod of understanding.
"Will you fight at the hearing?"
"Tooth and nail. I will not allow that redhead to cost me my job."
"Will you still keep him in the house if he's acquitted?" At the brief look of confusion on William's face, Ronald could tell that William hadn't thought of that.
"Full of question's today, aren't you Knox?" William asked sharply, adjusting his glasses and looking back to the ledger. No sooner than his eyes had lain upon it did a new name scrawl itself across the parchment with smaller details underneath: 'Mary Kelly.' The implications were clear; Grell had picked another victim, and one of the ones that William suspected would appear on the list sometime soon. Ronald's eyes followed his, eyebrows rising to meet his hairline. William stood up, snatching up the ledger, taking note of the location and quickly sorting out his suit jacket. Ronald rose instinctively, following William out the door of the office as the man's scythe appeared in his hands.
"Are you going to let her die?"
"Too late; if her name is on the list, she needs to die. I will simply observe before bringing him back. By the hair, if I have to." Ronald gave a wide grin at the constantly-there serious look on William's face.
"Remember to bring him back in one piece, boss!"
The older man didn't even grace him with a response to that, making Ronald wonder if he should be worried, and if he should perhaps place a medical kit on William's desk for when they came back. He took the kit from Eric's desk as William left for London, relaying the information to Eric before quickly darting into his boss' office.
He felt sorry for Grell, in a way; the redhead really had no idea just how angry William was, or what was about to hit him. Literally.