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Chapter 23: Exchanges
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Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji. If I did, it would already have a yaoi warning splashed across the cover page.
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Pryce Phantomhive was a charismatic man. He had everything- brains, money and women falling at his feet. He led a comfortable life and could retire at any time if he so wished. But that would mean giving up his throne to another...and that he would not condone. Life was far too short and he wasn't ready to give up the power that he held in his hands for a mere five years. He had thought that there was no one who stood in his way, after the fall of his brother. Imagine his surprise when he found out that just before his death, his dearest older brother had managed to... produce a child.
A nephew- was what he had gained. Rachel, that bitch, managed to hide him for more than half a decade without him knowing. Pryce knew...if word got out that Vincent had a son, his hold on the position of chairman would be in danger as the conservative half of the board would want to groom the child to become the next head of the company. Never mind the child was young and naive... it was better to get rid of a problem before it got out of hand. So when the desperate widow had to leave the country for an operation, Pryce took this opportunity to destroy any remnants of the family that Vincent left behind.
And destroyed he did. All he had to do was to intercept them on their way to Paris. As the bitch's condition worsened soon after, he knew he wouldn't even have to...intervene to make things go his way. The little boy however, was another story.
It was fortunate that Rachel never registered a birth certificate for the boy. There were no records of him anywhere. This means that even if he killed the boy, the police wouldn't even know who he was if they managed to uncover his decaying body. So, he didn't bother with any elaborate planning and simply ordered a group of his subordinates to finish the job.
And one of the stupid fools had to choose that time to grow a heart. Without his knowledge, his subordinate took the boy away and fled. The others, terrified of their boss' wrath, simply told him that they had killed the boy. Years later, when a distant relative of his swore he saw a copy of young Vincent sashaying down the streets of Paris, he knew it was too much of a coincidence. Pryce...coaxed the truth out of one of his old goons. Apparently, they had managed to track down the traitor days later...but the boy was nowhere to be found. That was probably when a one Sebastian Michaelis found the kid and kept him for the next five years.
And then... here they are. Five years later. Pryce looked down at the slumbering figure that lay curled up on his sofa, snoozing away without a care in the world. Capturing the boy had been unexpectedly easy, but that was probably because he acquired a competent secretary who was very unlike the rest of his goons. Honestly, good help is so hard to find these days.
"Sir, the car is ready." Ash announced as he stepped into the dining hall. A stocky man came up from behind Ash and moved towards Ciel, intending on carrying the precious cargo to the vehicle. Pryce stood up from his couch and moved towards Ash, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Good job. Were there any problems?"
Ash shook his head. "No sir...well aside from the fact that Angelina Durless has been making phone calls to all available lines non-stop. Should I cut the lines sir?"
Pryce barked a laugh. So the beloved auntie is growing desperate... Oh well...it doesn't matter. There wasn't a point in hiding it anymore. Besides, he needed to make a deal with the woman.
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Angelina was growing restless. She had tried everything. But whatever she did or whoever she called, she got blocked. She hadn't realised Pryce's influence had grown to such heights. The bastard really covered his tracks up pretty well. She collapsed against her armchair and stared up at the empty ceiling. If things were to continue like this, there was no doubt she would be playing right into Pryce's hands. She sighed and closed her eyes. How is it that the bad guys always got their way?
Then, her phone rang, its ringtone echoing in the dark room. Ruby orbs snapped open as she swerved her chair around. She scrambled for her phone and bit her lip as she saw the name flash across the screen. This was the call she had been waiting for. Resolutely, she pressed the receive button and brought the phone to her ear.
"Angelina darling... How are you?"
"Cut the crap Pryce. Where's my nephew?" Angelina near-growled into the receiver. Pryce laughed lightly.
"Surely you've figured that out by now?" Pryce taunted as he watched the boy in question being lifted into a car with tinted windows. "You're losing your touch." Angelina frowned at that. Only a bastard like him would be proud of being good at evading her claws.
"Oh? What about you? How stupid are you to think that a twelve year old kid will bring a priceless ring into the hospital?" Silence reigned on the other end and Angelina knew she hit a sore spot.
"Well then, you know what I want. I know what you want. Let's... negotiate." Angelina could almost hear the smirk on the other hand. The documents beneath her palms crumpled under her clenched fist.
God please let Ciel be safe.
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The consistent beeping signalled the end of the phone call. The deed had been done and there was no turning back. He just hoped that everything would be ready by the time the exchange would be made. Or at least, he hoped there would be an exchange. All he needed was Madam Red's...
Then, his phone rang. Sebastian stilled and picked up the phone once again. The name Angelina Durless flashed across the screen. Pryce Phantomhive seemed to be moving quickly.
Sebastian accepted the call and answered. "This is Sebastian."
"Ciel is in Chevreuse...or will be. Pryce promised that he wouldn't hurt Ciel if we bring him the ring at midnight...or around twenty-four hours later. I will pick you up in the morning at 9. I will tell you everything else then." Angelina explained, sounding quite distracted. Sebastian assumed she was ploughing through the available documents and databases-anything to give them an edge when the exchange took place later on.
"Alright. See you then."
"Night." A resounding click signalled the end of the phone call. Sebastian didn't bother giving a reply. He knew that there was no way he was falling asleep that night. He simply hoped that Ciel would be safe and unharmed. He laughed. Somehow, their argument seemed small compared to all of this. What he had just done prior to the phone call was nothing compared to the lie that caused this rift between them. Now, it felt like the rift had become a chasm.
He only hoped Ciel would forgive him for what he chose to do.
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When Angelina's chauffer came to pick Sebastian up in the morning, the man couldn't help but notice that his passenger seemed less...well-kept than the day before. Although he didn't know much about the situation, his boss' frantic calls and harsh whispers across her phone were enough to tell him that something big was going down. He flexed his gloved fingers. Well, he hoped no one was getting hurt.
"You alright sir?" the chauffer asked, seemingly snapping his passenger out of some daze.
"Yes. Thank you for asking. Please...bring me wherever Madam Red is." Sebastian said as he leaned back into the soft cushion. He desperately needed to sleep... but he absolutely refused to if Ciel wasn't in the same bed as he was.
"Yes sir." The chauffer nodded and began to drive off. He headed south of Paris- towards Chevreuse. His boss had set up some sort of camp there virtually overnight.
An hour or so later, both of them arrived at a brick house. As Sebastian alighted from the vehicle, he scrutinized the place. It seemed too...rural for the woman's taste. Then, the front door opened and Sebastian's doubts were eased. Madam Red stood strong and not a hair out of place. But if one took a closer look, they could just see the dark rings below her make-up. She probably worked through the night. Sebastian now knew he wasn't alone in this.
"Come in."
As Sebastian walked into the humble adobe, he realised the rural look of the house was simply a cover. Inside, there was a whole team of people working separately on their laptops and computers. Others were shouting into their phones. Every one of them seemed engrossed in their tasks.
"These are my best employees in Paris. I've enlisted their help to see if they can dig up any dirt on Pryce that we can possibly use as leverage if the deal falls through." Angelina explained as she motioned Sebastian to follow her into another room. When Sebastian entered, he could tell that it was a temporary office. Did she really manage to set up all of this in a night?
"What do you mean if the deal falls through?" Sebastian questioned, finally tearing his eyes away from the busy scene in the living room.
Instead of answering, Angelina shoved a couple of documents towards Sebastian. A quick look-over of them told Sebastian everything he needed to know.
"Pryce is in debt?" Sebastian asked aloud in wonderment. Every document was a copy of receipts that Pryce Phantomhive had procured in the past few months. Some of them were investments while others were expensive purchases of highly sought after land in countries all over the world.
"Not exactly. Pryce has always been an eager beaver when it comes to making money. He's just a little short of cash to settle a deal he made with some hot-shots in the USA after making some pretty expensive investments. Once he shows them that he does have the financial capability to settle the deal, his wealth would increase exponentially." Sebastian nodded. This explained why Pryce seemed so eager to make the exchange.
Angelina huffed. "But after a night of searching, this was all I could dig up about him. However, at the very least, these documents tell me that he wasn't lying. At least we now know the exchange isn't a ruse..well, until he gets the ring anyway."
Sebastian furrowed his brow at this. "You think he's planning to kill Ciel?" Angelina smiled almost sadly. "You catch on fast. In a way, Ciel might be more important than a whole lump of gold. A simple DNA test is all that is needed to prove that Ciel is the son of Vincent. Pryce definitely doesn't want that to happen. Furthermore, if people knew who Ciel was and how he had lived since his birth...Pryce's reputation will go down the drain. It doesn't make any sense if Pryce allowed Ciel to go scot-free after this incident. But there's one thing that bothers me. If Ciel had been alright all this while, why didn't he report his kidnapping?"
Sebastian shook his head. "No. When I found Ciel, he had amnesia. He doesn't remember anything else besides his name."
Angelina blinked and huffed. "Well, that explains everything. But no matter. He won't forget his bastard of an uncle a second time. Pryce said he will call at six in the evening...to make sure that everything is in order for the exchange. Now...we can only wait. Hopefully, we can dig up something before midnight comes."
Sebastian nodded in agreement. Waiting...that was all he had been doing lately. But no matter. Just a little more..and everything will finally be over.
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A/N: Dun dun dun..we've now reached the climax of the story! Well, the next chapter that is. It will probably be a long one and I WILL get it out before school starts. Hope you guys enjoyed this! Also, I've updated Hellfire two days ago. Go check it out!