After compiling what minimal amount of evidence they could after entering the home of Preston Omid, it was all sent to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters. Upon further inspection, the computer tower's harddrive had been removed, making the retrieval of any data impossible. What they did gain from this, however, was the knowledge that this was indeed meditated, and Preston had not been captured by force. No, he left willingly.
Preston was a double-agent. He had committed treason against his country and would be punished severely if caught. It was difficult for the duo to really wrap their heads around, and even more so for them to try and explain to the rest of the sensational seven, or rather, the sensational six.
All of them entered depressive states. Audrey lost one of his best friends. They often went to each other's houses to play games and discuss science fiction, but now that person whom he had gotten to know was broken beyond repair, and now waited on the opposing side until he either struck again or was caught. He shuffled through his job, forgetting things and tripping up as his mind wandered elsewhere. Kristopherson blamed himself. After all, he was the one who Preston got infected with black annis while trying to save. He sat in his room and had difficulty doing any work. His college studies suffered as well, but he wasn't the only one who felt that the blame belonged to them. Daniel felt as though it was his fault entirely, as he forced Preston to go along to Castle Krampus in the first place. Preston repeatedly tried to talk him out of it and pointed out how terrible of an idea it was, but Daniel ignored his pleas. If anyone was to have the finger pointed at them, it was him. All of them sort of shut themselves off from other people as they mourned their friend—all but Travis, who sought out emotional support. He moved back to visit his parents for a while until he's feeling better. They didn't mind, and were glad to help. He also had Patricia coming over from time to time to slap him to his senses and get himself on his feet.
The demonic duo were not immune to this. It was a heavy burden to bear, being the ones who would have to pull the trigger on a friend; even a former one. There was a sense of betrayal and a sense of mourning, despite the fact that the man was still alive.
Ciel has had to kill traitors before. Deserters, double-agents, and other treasonous forces that were a hindrance to the cause he was fighting for at the time had to be dispatched swiftly. The Phantomhive was good at it, too, as he made sure to never get attached. It was just another ordinary hit. Now, however, the target was someone whom he considered a companion. Preston was always the kind to crumble under pressure, so it was also quite astounding that he managed to attempt a coup. Regardless, in his heart Ciel knew that his duty had to come first, in this case. There was no salvaging this friendship. It was done, and that's all there was to it. His beau, however, seemed to disagree.
His partner was not used to this. He had only killed one traitor before, and it was indirectly. He never had to get his hands especially dirty, and he also knew deep down that the spider who had killed him must also die. Preston, though? Preston was hardly a "bad" person. In fact, Alois could sympathize with his hurt, and understood why he would be so angry. He just didn't want to believe it.
The man laid face down on the sofa in Ciel's office, moping at the order that they had received. They were to either bring Preston into custody, or kill him. There were no other alternatives. The duo sat in silence, with only the sound of Ciel's fingers tapping against the keyboard as he searched for possible leads. It was starting to get on the Macken's nerves a bit. Groaning, he managed to force the sound to stop for a few moments, as Ciel stopped his actions and looked up at him. His sapphire eye scanned over the menace, watching him as he pressed his face further into the cushion.
"Are you alright over there?" he asked, trying to sound playful, but knowing that the menace may not be in the mood.
"Uuuuurrrraaaaaaggghhh…" Alois groaned again, shifting so that he could look up a bit, but still being unable to see Ciel over the arm of the sofa.
"Kind of feeling that way, myself." Ciel stated. "Anything I can do to help?"
"I have nooooo ideaaaa…" replied his beau, moving so that he was now on his back instead. "Everything is horrible and I don't know how to deal with it."
"It is difficult…"
"Why can't they send other agents to deal with this?"
"Because they need all of us, depending on how bad they've utilized the bounty from their little heist…" Ciel informed. "They stole what is essentially biological weapons, and directly picked a fight with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. It's bad enough that it's got the entire organization is in a tizzy."
"Yeah…" Alois said sadly. He knew what was at stake. It would be hard for him not to acknowledge it. However, that didn't change the fact that the blonde didn't want to believe it. In truth, no one did. With a sigh, Ciel scooted his chair back and stood up, walking around his desk in order to make his way over to the menace. Alois felt a hand sweeping his bangs out of his face and opened his eyes in order to look up at the bluenette and watch him as he crouched down in front of the sofa.
"It's not the end of the world." The Phantomhive said. "Ideally, this sort of thing would never happen, but it does. It's more common than anyone thinks."
"Have you needed to do this sort of thing before?" questioned Alois.
"Many times." His beau answered, continuing to run his hand through the other man's hair. His face was a tad somber, but he wasn't going to try and force a positive atmosphere where it wasn't wanted or needed. "I've lived through two of the biggest wars in history, remember? I actually fought in one. There were many times when I had to take down my own comrades. Some of them I knew quite well. I knew about their families back home, and their hopes and dreams when they returned… My job, however, was to cut that short."
"Does it ever get easier?" the Macken asked, rolling so that he was now laying on his side, facing the bluenette. He didn't like the hesitation on the other demons' face as Ciel opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. It was never a sign of anything good.
"No…" softly spoke the Phantomhive. "It doesn't… Killing people isn't always easy. It gets harder when you know them."
"That's not helpful at all…"
"I know, but I like you enough to tell you the truth." Ciel said. "We could go for a capture, but that would be more difficult and risky. Worst-case scenario; I could probably do it. Preston isn't the same person we used to know. People like him… they don't handle this sort of thing well… There's a very small chance that he will come back to us, especially since he'll be treated worse if he captured. That's part of what led him to do this in the first place."
"So that's it, then? There's really no other way?" To Alois' inquiry, the Watchdog, paused.
"I'm afraid not, love…" he finally replied. Pulling his hand away from the blonde's lock, the Phantomhive then reached for his beau's hand and intertwined their fingers. Both of them held tight for comfort, both upset by this course of action.
"I don't want to…" Alois sadly stated, trying not to allow his voice to crack. Trying to blink away tears, he accidentally allowed some water to drip from the corner of his eye and fall to the couch cushion as he lamented. "That's too cruel…"
"I know… I'm sorry…" lifting both of their hands, Ciel kissed his lover's fingers. "I know it's hard. It's hard for me, too. I don't want to… to kill Preston, but there aren't many options."
"Because they're our orders?"
"Yes."
"Would you take out anyone if you were ordered to?"
Ciel opened his mouth to answer, but stopped as he fully processed the potential weight of that question. He furrowed his brow as he thought, only to relax again as he found the answer. "No." he said. "If I knew that there was another way, or if I knew that we needed the person enough for an even bigger cause to make that attempt, then no, I wouldn't. I'm not so mindless as to simply obey all orders without giving them heavy consideration, first."
The blonde was silent as the other spoke, and shook his hand out of his beau's grip as Ciel finished speaking. He then sat up and held his arms out. "Hold me." He instructed, to which the bluenette stood up from his crouching position and took a seat next to the menace. After wrapping his arms around the menace's shoulders, Alois continued.
"So you wouldn't—"
"No, I wouldn't." Ciel interrupted, stopping Alois before he could even ask. "If I was ever ordered to, I could think of at least ten different arguments against it, and if that didn't work, I'd beg."
"What if that didn't work?" questioned the menace.
"I'd come up with another plan. If running away would work, so be it. If bribery did, so be it. Really, there's not a lot that I wouldn't do to prevent that." The Phantomhive said. Leaning over, he pecked the Macken's temple. "So don't think like that."
"Okay…" Alois replied. A small smile played at the corners of his lips from relief, but faded as another thought resurfaced. "But what are we going to do about Preston?"
"Make a plan and stick to it until there's a chance to change it. If none appear, then carry out the plan."
"So you're saying that if there's a chance to capture him or talk him down, we'll take it?"
"Precisely." The Phantomhive answered. "If we can avoid it, we will. If we can't, we can't. Sometimes, things are unavoidable, but sometimes, circumstances change the game."
"That's better, I guess…" the menace mumbled. "This sucks…"
"I know…"
