The car's stereo was firmly switched off. The white noise of the engine interrupted by the occasional sound outside the vehicle were the only ambiance Jim was subjected to on the drive over to Scotland Yard. He, too, was quiet, not even appreciating the sound. His brain was far too busy for that. There were too many thoughts bumbling around and bumping into each other in his head, making so much noise that he could hardly think about any one of them individually. None of it was pertinent to the job he was on and needed for, however. Without much option, he had to try and just ignore them for the time being. It made him feel guilty for having to do that, seeing how much his husband needed him as well, but he couldn't help Ciel until Ciel helped himself or until he was free of this bloody case that had been troubling them both.
Pulling up to the place, he could already tell this was going to be a shitshow. There were military vehicles parked in the lot close to the entrance and a commotion on the steps to the building. Taking in a deep breath, Jim steadied himself, exhaling all of the things outside of work that were on his mind. He needed to be sharp to navigate this mess. Leaving the vehicle, he shut the door behind him a bit harder than intended, and locked it with his key fob as he started to walk. Jim had long since perfected the walk of someone with authority. Shoulders back, chest out, and chin tilted slightly upward so he was looking downward when speaking to people, somewhat, just like he had seen Ciel do practically every time they went somewhere important—including dates. Jim walked with purpose, storming up the steps of the Scotland Yard building in order to assess the situation. As he drew closer, he was both paradoxically shocked and completely unsurprised by the nonsense he was witnessing.
Four HELLSING soldiers, all lightly armed with a pistol as to not completely overwhelm the officers were in the middle of arguing with a group of policemen in uniform. The latter was prohibiting entrance to the agents as they tried to negotiate allowing the hazmat-wearing HELLSING cleanup crew entrance so that they could securely contain the book. The police were unimpressed—not as unimpressed as Jim was, however, as he parted the group he was escorting and stepped forward to the front of the line.
"Step aside. My name is Sir Jim Phantomhive, agent of HELLSING. I'm here on official government business that you are in the unfortunate position of interfering with." he sternly led with, flashing the officers his badge.
"Sir, we're under orders from our superintendent to not let you in the building." one of the officers replied, stepping directly in the Phantomhive's path.
"Superintendent Fisch, I presume? Yes, I am more than aware of his failure to follow protocol and inform us directly about the deadly artifact he is currently housing in your evidence room. Unfortunately, I'm not here to ask for permission to access it. I'm telling you to hand it over."
"I… Uh… I still can't let you in without orders to-"
"I'll spell this out simply since you aren't quite registering the severity of this situation:" Jim said, placing his badge back inside of his breast pocket. "Your superintendent is an idiot who is putting your lives and the lives of your families at risk by keeping that thing there. He has no idea what it is or what is is capable of doing. One family is already dead because of it and now it is in there with you, spreading its effects to you and your coworkers, which it can in turn bring it home to your families. Hence why I'm bringing a bunch of goons dressed like low budget astronauts. Now, you have two options: Step aside and we can get this thing wrapped up quietly, or you can piss away my time and have me come back with a bunch more armed agents to take it from you by force. Which will it be, uh…" Squinting, Jim read the name on the officer's uniform before he could cover it with his hand. "Sergeant Dickson, is it? Spit spot, now, I'm not fond of waiting."
The Sergeant was visibly taken aback by that and glanced to his fellow officers for some kind of support, only for them to avert their eyes. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, he quietly stepped to the side, allowing the menace to pass. As the demon did, he paused and turned his head to face the poor sap, offering him a smile.
"Thank you for your cooperation. We'll be out of your hair as soon as possible." Jim stated before gesturing for the others to follow him. It was an ominous sight, witnessing the group hauling cases with locks up those steps and even worse seeing them pour into the building's lobby. The faces of those bearing witness to the sight reflected that perfectly. Without missing a beat, the Baronet marched straight up to the front desk and once again flashed his badge.
"Sir Jim Phantomhive of the HELLSING Organisation. I need to have access to evidence room B, please. Superintendent Fisch will know something about it."
Before the words left his mouth, the man in question was already angrily stomping his way down the hall. His brow was furrowed, his fists were clenched. Trailing behind him were a few brownosers who kept dithering about how absolutely unprofessional and inappropriate this was, along with a rather meek looking Detective Michael Bailey, trying to do as much damage control as he possibly could.
"The nerve of those bastards!" Fisch grumbled. "What happened to the boys I put out front?!"
"They let them through, it looks like, sir." one of the his flunkies replied. "It's such a shameful display!"
"Damn right, it is!" the superintendent bellowed. "I'll have their heads for this! And it's your fault, Bailey! I've had it up to here with you and that barmy father of yours bringing them to interfere with our work!"
"Sorry, sir…" Michael replied, averting his gaze as they traveled onward together.
"You'll be lucky to get out of this without joining those idiots out front collecting unemployment! And you can bet your arse you're not getting out of this with your rank intact! You can kiss your detective days goodbye!"
"I understand, sir. I'll take whatever punishment you see fit…"
It was over. Everything he had worked so hard for would be gone and all of the years he spent trying to get there were completely wasted. What was Michael supposed to tell his wife? He would be lucky if he would be able to spend the next few months on the couch and not at his parents' house. He knew that what he did was right, but he couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it. Was it? Did he really even save anyone in exchange? Maybe if he did, he would feel a bit better about the whole thing. Maybe he could justify it all to himself. Maybe he could look back on this while out sitting at a desk in some obscure village he'd be forced to relocate to, bored out of his mind and staring into space and think: "At least what I did mattered." Then, even if it wasn't enough, he would at least have some kind of solace in that.
Michael's stomach dropped as he saw that head of blonde hair from across the room, leaning against the front desk with his posse in tow. The demon looked up at him with a smile and a wave before casually making his way over. For a moment, the detective even forgot that he was with his superior—that is, until the old man started speaking.
"What on earth is the meaning of this?!" Fisch demanded.
"Oh, good! You're here." The menace declared. "Superintendent Fisch, yes? I'm Sir Jim Phantomhive of the HELLSING Organisation and I'm the agent working on this case." he said, introducing himself for what he hoped would be the final time that day.
"Si-Sir?" the Superintendent stammered. While it was perhaps rather ugly of him, Jim did find it funny how immediately the man deflated upon hearing the word.
"Indeed. I'm a baronet, but nevermind that. I'm here on official business and I expect an escort to Evidence Room B, if you please."
"Oh, well, I—ahem-I'm so sorry that you had to travel all the way here, but I assure you, we have the situation under control."
"You should be. Sorry, that is. Frankly, I find your misconduct to be appalling and I have no interest in your bullshit posturing." Jim bluntly stated, causing the senior officer to gawk and his yes-men's mouths to fall open. "You have a lot of nerve, saying you have things under control, when you can't even follow basic procedures. Were you not trained properly? What's the issue, here? Seriously, I kinda wanna know."
"I assure you, our officers are trained with the utmost proficiency and-"
"Enough. If you're just going to give me that, then I'll save you the oxygen." Jim interrupted, holding up a hand. "I'm honestly rather stunned by the shoddy work you've done, here. You have a deadly supernatural artifact in your possession and instead of calling the appropriate authorities to contain it properly, you put your staff in danger and waste my time all to protect your quite frankly fragile ego! So I don't want to hear whatever rubbish you've concocted about the 'proficiency' your staff have been trained with, since I know that you have failed to adhere to your duties as a senior officer. You handle human criminals. We handle supernatural affairs. This isn't hard to understand; it just isn't your department!"
"Well, I-"
"I'm done talking to you. I need somebody competent to work with. Detective Bailey." called out the baronet, prompting the poor detective to flinch.
"Yes, sir?" Without thinking, Michael stood to attention, despite knowing what Jim was really like. It was completely different, actually seeing him in action like this. Despite his laid back attitude normally, he could easily take command and cause those under him to seek out his respect.
"Would you please lead my associates and I to Evidence Room B, please?" It was a simple request, yet it still made the detective look to his superior. He didn't know what for, but he could tell from the way that the man glared at him, what exactly it was that he was not supposed to do.
"Yes, Sir. Right this way." Defiantly, Michael looked his superior in the eye as he said it. He had to admit, it felt good seeing Fisch fume while completely unable to do anything about it. What could he do? Demote him faster?
"What's so funny?" Jim questioned, alerting the detective to the fact that he was chuckling without realising it.
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about how royally screwed I am." Michael smiled somewhat while walking slightly ahead of the menace. "Looks like this is my last case as a detective. Oh, well. It was good while it lasted."
"Are you retiring or something?"
"No, I'm just in trouble for contacting you and making him look bad."
"Oh, no. You didn't make him look bad. He did that all by himself!" the blonde stated. "Did he threaten you?"
"Yeah, he said he's going to demote me."
"Did he, now? How unfortunate for him." Cryptic as ever, Michael still had no idea how to understand what was going on inside of the Phantomhive's head. But this time, he threw the detective a bone and gave him a little bit of insight. "I'll have to add that to my report."
"You still have to write reports at HELLSING?"
"Of course! We're a legitimate government-commissioned agency. We have our fair share of bureaucracy." Jim's eyes were taken from the conversation rather readily as he saw a plate next to a door that seemed promising. Sure enough, Michael led him right to it.
Without even needing the instruction to do so, the detective stepped forward and unlocked the door, opening it, and moving to the side for the others to pass. Jim gave him a polite "Thank you" before moving in with his hazmat suit covered cronies in tow. The armed agents stayed outside to guard the door and quickly moved to shoo Bailey away, but the Phantomhive intervened.
"No, no, Let him stay. It'll look better if we have someone from their payroll 'observing,' don't you think? Besides, he can explain if anybody has questions, can't you Detective?"
"I… Uh… I guess so." Michael offered, scratching his head. "Let me know if you need anything else."
"I will, thank you." Jim smiled. It actually looked somewhat genuine, much to the detective's surprise, but just as quickly, Jim disappeared between the shelves, followed soon after by his faceless swarm.
He knew exactly what he was looking for, now. All he could do was hope that his agents were equipped to protect themselves against it. They wore crucifixes around their necks underneath their suits, had their bodies and suits sterilised using holy water, and were prepared with the knowledge of what this thing truly was. It was harder to trick someone who already knew the truth. There was nothing for them to wonder. There was nothing for them to be intrigued by. It wasn't a perfect defense, but once it was sealed in it's new case, they were hoping some of the effects would be lessened, at least until they could secure it at the facility.
Jim realised very quickly that he didn't need to have seen pictures of the book. He could sense it. Out of all of the items itemised in this labyrinth of things, he could actually sense this one. Ciel was right. This was the aura of demons, but it was loud and messy, making up for it's lack of strength. It was like sensing the vague imprint of several demons mixed together, all squabbling and clawing at each other like crabs in a bucket. Even the humans around him seemed to be getting a bit uneasy as they drew closer. Of course they would, though. These were the HELLSING cleaning crew. Many of them were familiar with the essence of malevolence, having cleaned up demonic remains before. This was different, though. This thing was alive. Soon, the Phantomhive stopped in front of a shelf, finding a book bound in a plastic bag. There were dates and a case number written on it in sharpie, cataloging it for the police's system.
"I want a list of all of the people who came in contact with this bag." he said, putting on a mask to filter dust. Then, without any fanfare, he reached out toward the object. "We need to make sure that the contamination hasn't spread, and if it has, that those people be treated."
"Yes, sir." a voice from the group answered.
"Give me the cloth and get the box ready." the demon ordered, touching the book with his gloved hands. Indeed, it felt like he had a living thing in his hands, despite it having nor warmth or pulse to speak of. It was alive, all the same and it didn't like that he was picking it up. It especially didn't like the fact that there were things that could harm it approaching it.
Two agents stepped forward with a cloth soaked in rosemary oil and holy water, holding it out at a distance with tongs. The gloves on Jim's hands and mask on his face were entirely for protecting himself from the items used to subdue the book. He helped the pair wrap the book in the cloth, being careful to avoid having it come in contact with his skin or have the book come into contact with the agents. All the while, there were others getting into position for the next phase.
They opened the case that the book would be held in. The outside was fashioned from the metal of a melted down cross and it's inside was lined with yew—treated with Wink's recipe for defeating monsters, of course. It was similar to the mixture of herbs and whatnot used when fashioning the yew sword that defeated Abhartach, but more refined. Runes were etched into the wood for added protection. Truly, it was a state of the art vessel for sealing diabolical objects; fresh from the HELLSING research department.
As the book drew nearer to its new home, Jim could feel it grow angry with him, yet some of the infernal energy mixed within it seemed to also be pleading with him. The others, despite not having his senses, could feel it too and winced as they heard crackling in their ears. Jim, however, could hear something else in the sound. It was buried within the static, but it grew clearer and clearer the closer his hands got to the vessel. The nearer it got, the more desperate it became.
"Please. Don't."
Jim swore he could hear the static whisper it. It sounded pitiful, yet there was a buzzing within it that was rather angry. He could feel the rage wafting off of the book and the agony it felt as the cloth around it caused it's power to diminish. It was angry, it was desperate, and it felt betrayed by him. He, a demon, was sealing it away. He was going against his kin, but these monsters were not his kin. His human heart could see that, so he felt no pity for the object. Quickly, he placed it in the box and tucked the cloth down into the sides of it so that it did not hamper the lid when it was slammed shut.
"Chains!" Jim called out and still more agents came. They sealed the seam where the lid met the box in tape covered in runes before wrapping it in silver chains.
By the end of it, this case was sealed so tightly shut that it was almost comical, but there was nothing funny about how serious of a threat this thing was. Not all diabolical objects were created equal. Some could merely be locked in a room and as long as nobody touched or used them, they would be harmless, but not this one. With this one, they couldn't take any chances.
"We good?" Jim questioned.
"The case is sealed." one of the hazmats replied.
"Then lets move out." he said, standing straight up. He stretched his legs for a moment while the others put the case on a handcart and started to wheel it out. Not far behind, he followed, still giving orders. "Number Seventy-five, get the rest of the crew in here to sanitise the place. If anybody gives you trouble, call me and I'll take care of it."
Passing through the doorway, he was greeted by a rather confused and shocked looking Michael Bailey, who started following behind as the group made their way down the hall. "That's it?" asked the detective. "That's all there is to it?"
"Pretty much. Amazing what you can accomplish when you call in professionals, huh?" Jim jested in turn.
"I guess…"
"You were hoping for something more climactic?"
"I dunno. I'm kind of glad it was simple. At the same time, I staked my career on this, so it's like… I feel like there should be more to it."
"Like I said, don't worry about your career. It'll be taken care of. You'll see."
"You seem to be on top of everything. What are you going to do?"
"Well, HELLSING's going to launch another investigation into why we weren't called in from the start and all that. We don't really take kindly to people who waste our time with petty bullshit, if you catch my drift. You did good. You followed procedure, admitted when you needed help, and did the right thing to get the job done, even when your peers made it hard for you. That takes a good cop to do. You're pretty alright, Juniour. The Yard could use cops like you, so I think we should keep things that way, wouldn't you agree?"
"I…" the detective began, not quite sure where he was going with it. It was a lot to digest. He started out the day worrying for his family's livlihood and now he's being told everything will be fine! While he wasn't really sure which to believe in, he knew which one he felt was more trustworthy. It surprised him, really. "Yeah? Well, if that's how it is, I guess I have no choice, then."
"That's the spirit!" Jim replied just as they were reaching the front of the building. Michael stopped, unable to cross that threshold, but there was an understanding between the two, now. The specifics of which weren't really clear to either of them in full detail, but there was an understanding.
"Hold down the fort for us, okay?" the baronet asked, making his way down the steps. Then, he paused, looking at the detective from over his shoulder. "...Juniour?"
Detective Bailey shook his head, but still, he gave the demon a slight smile. That on its own was good enough for the both of them. He watched the group carefully make their way down the steps toward an awaiting armoured van for a while before turning and resuming his duties. After all, he, too, had a report to write.
The HELLSING agents reached the bottom of the stairs without incident and carefully, they hazmats began to try and coax the box into to vehicle. A few went in first to take the box from those already carrying it and once inside, it was secured to the bottom of the vehicle under the watchful eye of the baronet. Once they were wrapping up, he decided it was safe enough to look away for a moment to watch the others in the cleanup crew gathering around another vehicle to grab their supplies while still more agents arrived in order to interview those who might have had contact with the book. It was going to be a long week for them, but things were starting to end for the menace. Thank god. He was tired of this mission and more than ready to be rid of it.
As he leaned against the truck, overseeing what remained of the operation—primarily just hazmats piling in the truck with the box with the tools they'd need in case it got loose—he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Casually, he fished it out and read the name. Weighing his options, he decided to answer it.
"What's up, Sea-bass?" he greeted, shoving his free hand in his pocket.
"I was merely wondering whether I should place your dinner to the side and wrap it for you tonight. Do you have an estimate of how much time until I can expect your return?"
"Oh, I dunno… Looks like we're wrapping up things at the Yard, so we're about to head to HQ. Once this bad boy is locked up, I'll head back. It shouldn't take long." The menace paused as one of the hazmats gave him a thumbs up to indicate that they were packed up. The baronet returned the gesture, notifying them that they were free to board. With that, he stood upright and began heading toward his own vehicle. "I expect to be back well before dinner, actually."
"Is that so?" Sebastian answered. It was more of a question, really. His tone made him sound a bit confused, somehow. It was unlike him.
"Is… Something going on?" inquired the menace, arching an eyebrow. There was enough going on at home that the butler's tone was enough to cause some worry.
"I'm certain it's nothing." Sebastian replied. "The Lord was on his way to meet you there. He said you called him?"
"I didn't call him anywhere." Shaking his head, Jim wrinkled his nose and furrowed his brow. "In fact, I believe I very distinctly instructed him to stay put."
"Oh?" That wasn't a playful "oh" like it normally was, coming from Sebastian. "So he isn't with you?"
"No, I don't see or sense him."
"How strange…" Sebastian seemed to ponder that for a moment. Each passing second made Jim's stomach bubble with worry. "Sir, could I possibly trouble you for permission to speak a bit freely for just a moment?"
"Permission granted?"
"The Lord… He… Has been acting strangely, yes?"
Jim actually had to pause and run his hand down his own face, stretching it downward until the pink behind his eyelids were visible. "I've noticed." he stated. "So he's run off somewhere, has he? God, what is that man up to, now?"
"Praying won't help, I'm afraid, but I am concerned. He and I had a rather strange conversation last night… It made sense for him to be after the book and he has never lied about you, so I disregarded it."
"Great…" the Phantomhive lamented, looking down toward the ground. The situation was most certainly not great. Jim had known that he was involved with whatever it was that was going on with Ciel simply by virtue of being so close to him, but now he realised that it was now spilling over into his interactions outside of his marriage and the case. "So you've seen it firsthand, huh?"
"Indeed, I have. He was… Well, he seemed rather frazzled, but also upset. He seemed to think that I was hiding information about the book from the two of you. He suspected that since it was probable that it was a diabolical object that I somehow knew what it was. I told him that he didn't and that perhaps the Book of Akeldama might know."
"So that's where he got the idea… No offense, though, Sebastian, but I kind of get the feeling that you are avoiding telling me something."
"That is not at all my intention, sir."
"Is there anything else, then? Did anything about him stand out? Or was he honed in on something in particular?"
"Well, if I may put things rather bluntly, sir, the Lord was a tad aggressive when we spoke." the butler answered, still speaking in a manner that was obviously meant to cushion the severity of what happened. "He was concerned that I posed a danger to the family by supposedly 'hiding' things. He even wrinkled my uniform when he grabbed it." Sebastian paused in order to allow Jim room to speak, but when he heard nothing, he felt compelled to pipe up again. "Sir?"
"Yes, Sebastian?"
"Just making sure that you were still on the line."
"I… Am, I'm just... Thinking…" Staring straight ahead, Jim furrowed his brow. "You say he grabbed you?"
"Yes sir. I must say, it surprised me for just a moment. It was slightly difficult to convince him. He simply didn't seem to want to hear it." Sebastian confessed before pausing. "Sir?"
"Yeah?"
"You wouldn't happen to know where he might have gone, would you?"
"That's what I'm thinking about…" Jim said. "Can I get back to you? I've gotta sort through what I know, you know?"
"Do what ever you need to, sir. You don't require my permission. I would appreciate being kept in the loop, however. If... that's alright, Sir."
"I'll talk to you later, Sebastian." With that, the baronet hung up. He stood for a moment, trying to recall what he was doing before, only to remember it was walking to his car. It was a quiet place for him to think, so it was welcome, despite him still needing to work. He still needed to follow the truck back to headquarters, after all.
Jim pondered as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. There were clues, he was certain. It was just a matter of memory. He had spoken to Ciel every day since this all started. Going back further, they had spoken every day for a bout nine years, now. Ciel was upset. He was so upset that he was behaving in a manner that was erratic as it was irrational. Truly, it was hard for Jim to believe the Watchdog would ever put his hands on anyone in the family in a threatening manner, but if he was seeking to protect his family? That made it plausible. Maybe that was why he didn't want Jim on this mission in the first place. But Ciel didn't know about the book being a diabolical object yet, so why the hesitance? Jim had gone on missions before. Countless times. Ciel was there, so he knew the Lion was more than capable of completing what was, in essence, and ultimately very simple mission. Maybe he just had a bad feeling? Who knew? He had been acting strange since the party with Renee, so maybe that was part of it.
Suddenly, Jim's eyes widened. Reaching up, he slapped his own forehead. He felt stupid for not connecting the dots sooner. He was right there! He was always right there and although he could assume, he was missing the clarity to piece it all together. Ciel wasn't apprehensive about the case. He was worried something might happen to Jim! He had known that the party had been a trigger for the Earl and known that it was because he was waiting for a party the night that his parents were murdered, but what he hadn't realised was that he was still approaching things from that mindset.
Ciel refused the mission because he didn't want to tamper with the happiness that he had. Ciel got upset with Jim for accepting it because it undid the purpose of rejecting the mission in the first place. Ciel tried to persuade Jim at every turn in order to "fix" things and remove him from danger. When his fears were realised and the threat was actually quite large, he couldn't bear to be excluded anymore and needed to protect Jim personally. Even if that meant fighting Sebastian. Even if that meant overstepping and making decisions on his husband's behalf. Neither of those things are actions that Ciel would ordinarily take, but these were dire straits for him. From his perspective, this was a time for war.
"Fuck!" Jim hissed, banging on the steering wheel with his fist. This wasn't where he needed to be! Every moment he was spending here, his husband was out there, doing God knows what. Jim had a hunch and it wasn't good.
He remained in formation with the other vehicles, but shoved his hand in his pocket while driving. Quickly, he fished around inside of it before yanking out his cellphone. Wide eyes darted from the road to the phone and from the phone to the road as he urgently scrolled through his recent calls. Finding the bluenette's name, he pressed the call button and pressed the phone to his ear.
"I swear to God, if you don't pick up…" he muttered, listening as each ring the phone made kicked him in the ear.
"You have the phone of Earl Ciel Phantomhive." the voice of his husband finally answered. " If this is important, please leave a message after the tone."
"Fuck!" the Lion roared before hanging up the line. Urgently, he scrolled through his contacts again, only looking up when another car honked at him for veering into the oncoming lane.
"Fuck you, too, arsehole!" he shouted, correcting his course. Clicking on a different name, he repeated the process and this time, he could hear the phone being picked up.
"How may I be of assistance, Sir?" Sebastian greeted. "Any news?"
"Change of plans. I'm going to follow the convoy to HQ and pass you the torch when I get there. Just help the agents lock up the book in it's cell. I'm gonna go after my husband."
"Are you sure that you trust me with a diabolical object?" questioned the butler, feeling strangely surprised by the request. "Should I perhaps go after the master instead?"
"My only other option is Luka, and he's too little. If Ciel is up to something, I'm just about the only person who can talk him out of it." Jim replied. "Besides, I don't want you to get hurt."
Now that really surprised Sebastian. In a way, he felt like it shouldn't have, but the sincerity with which Jim spoke did something that made Sebastian feel a bit queasy. It wasn't bad, but it was also seriously outside of the norm for the butler.
"As you wish, Sir." the butler answered, giving a slight bow despite the other man not being able to see it. With that, the two of them hung up and started to set their plan into motion. All the while, Ciel was already in the process of enacting his own.
A/N: Oh where, oh where, has my little dog gone~? Oh where, oh where can he be~?
It is late. I am sleepy. So that is all my note is going to be this time. Let me know what you think of the chapter or whatever lol
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!