It was cold outside. The ground was covered in snow, as there was no one to clear it away from the streets within the special zone, leaving residents responsible for doing so themselves. It crunched beneath the feet of Ciel and Elizabeth as they wandered the glen, searching for a trace of the blonde menace. Their breath was visible and their hands and faces were almost frozen. They had been outside almost the entire day, and as night fell, it only got colder.
"Ciel…" called the angel at last, after having held her tongue for hours. "It's getting late. We should go back." The bluenette's body only tensed at the suggestion as he became increasingly frustrated.
"Fine." He said, taking a deep breath. It was less than calming, however, as the frosty air pierced lining of his lungs. He had honestly believed that if he wandered around the Glen long enough, he would be able to sense the menace even a little bit. With their contract, he could tell the man's precise location within a broad range of space, but despite this, they still turned up with nothing.
"I'm sorry I made you tag along…" he added somberly.
"It's alright." The woman replied, shaking her head. "We'll try again tomorrow." The bluenette simply nodded before he slowly turning around and following Elizabeth in the direction they came from. His amount of worry and anxiety only seemed to increase at the action.
No, that wasn't it. This nagging feeling was coming from somewhere else. Faintly, he heard the sound of a motor off in the distance. It was the roaring of what sounded like a diesel engine—a van. The Phantomhive stared off in the direction it came from for a moment before looking back to Elizabeth, and judging by the look on her face, she heard it as well.
"Cerberus." She whispered aloud. Her eyes turned fierce as she looked back at the bluenette and nodded.
"Let's go." Ciel replied before dashing off in that direction; angel following him closely. They quickly glided over the ice and snow, passing building after building in the silent neighbourhood, making their way toward the vehicle.
"I see it!" Elizabeth declared, putting her hand on the handle of her sword.
"Don't go all out." Instructed the Phantomhive. "Everyone must be taken alive."
Confusedly, the woman removed her grip. "Then what do we do?"
"Get closer, and then strike the wheels." Ciel said. "That way, we'll strand the—"
The man immediately froze in his tracks, forcing the woman to do the same. He simply stood there, wide-eyed for a moment as he sensed something off in the distance. He looked over his shoulder.
"Jim…" he trailed off, knowing it was his contract he was picking up. It was in the complete opposite direction, however, so he had a choice to make.
"They're probably trying to create a diversion." The woman suggested. "We should go after the truck." Ciel grit his teeth at this, seeing the logic behind it, but not wanting to adhere to it anyway. His beau was nearby, and he needed to save him.
"Ciel!" Elizabeth called, demanding his attention.
"You're right…" he said, clenching his fists. "Let's keep going."
With that, the bluenette begrudgingly prioritized the van with the potentially kidnapped citizens of the special zone. If he could interrogate some of them, he could potentially get clues to the inner workings of Cerberus. It hurt. Ciel really didn't want to do this. He wanted to go after Alois, but he was still obligated to fulfil his duties. Abandoning his post would get him in trouble that might hinder his recovery of the menace.
He and the Hellsing thus followed their original target, increasing their speed in order to catch up to it once again. The pair eventually got alongside it, each drawing a blade. With a slash from both of them, the back tires of the van were no more, causing the vehicle to protest. It began to falter, swaying one way and then the next.
"Draw back!" Ciel instructed his cousin and the woman stopped running, leaving her out of the path when he kicked the side of the van, forcing it to spin out of control. It crashed into the sidewalk, forcing it to sink in the snow now that it wasn't moving.
"Excellent work." The bluenette said to the angel, earning a smile. "Now we just have to disarm the driver and free the passenge—"
Ciel felt it again. It was that nagging anxiety indicating that the menace was near, but this time it was different. This time, it felt as though it were getting closer. The Phantomhive looked up, his legs tensing.
"Move!" he barked, causing Elizabeth to dodge as well when a hail of bullets came spiraling down on top of them.
In the moment that Ciel looked up, he didn't see Alois. That person looked nothing like him. In seconds, the gunman leaped down from his place against the sky, landing perfectly on his feet along with his associates. They were dressed in white with their faces covered with masks. One of them had a mask with a heart painted on it. Another had a diamond. The remaining two had a clover and a spade. The man in the middle, however, was dressed differently. He was clad in mostly black, with a long coat that hung open, a black vest, black pants, and dress shoes. The only thing on him that was white was his dress shirt, as even his gloves and guns were black. All black. The one in the middle wore a mask that covered his eyes, trimmed in gold as it wrapped around the side of his head like a plant.
He was not blonde. His hair was black. Everything was black. Even still, there was one thing that Ciel couldn't deny about the man that appeared before himself and Elizabeth.
"Jim…" he uttered softly, the word escaping him too weighed down with sadness and shock to have volume. It was despair. Around his beloved's neck was a silver amulet, just like on all the others.
The menace raised his guns, aiming them directly at the bluenette as the others at his sides raised their own weapons. No words. Where the blonde menace would spout a clever quip before entering a battle, the black Jack was silent. Expressionless. Cold. Ciel had found Alois, but at the same time, the Macken was still lost.
