The truck was loaded full of soldiers, including the demonic duo. Everyone was focused on the task at hand, seeing as though Blackwood was a slippery snake that had evaded them more than once. Alois, however, had a different image on his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about Crystal and about what she was doing there. He was angry that he couldn't save her, despite not knowing. Though, in hindsight, he probably should have instructed someone to look for her that evening. Like the blonde often did, he felt responsible. The burden of these thoughts weighed down heavily, clouding his judgment and distracting him from what was really important right then and there. They needed to eliminate Blackwood. That took top priority over feeling sad for a girl he hardly knew. Yet, one of Alois' best qualities unfortunately got in the way. His heart was far too big to handle both at once.
Gently, a warm hand rested on top of his own, squeezing it lightly, but firmly in a soothing fashion. Ciel had snapped him back to reality once again, and Alois could tell by the look on the Watchdog's face that he knew what was happening to him, as Ciel knew the menace well. That said, he never vocalised these concerns right then and there due to the lack of privacy.
"It's okay." was all he disclosed, but it did boost the blonde's spirits a bit. "We can talk about it once we're done here."
"It's alright." Alois sighed before adopting a more certain expression. "Business first."
They group parked the truck a ways off, hidden from prying eyes while the troops hiked to the target. It took a while and wasn't easy, given their smaller numbers. Ciel regretted his decision to separate the team into smaller groups, as there weren't enough people to surround the building safely anymore. It was either place them so sparsely, that if something were to happen, they wouldn't be able to defend themselves or keep the target in place, or pack them in closer together so that they were secure, leaving massive holes in their defenses for the team to escape through. In the end, Ciel chose to do it the latter way so that the chain of communication was still strong. That would allow them to move quicker if Blackwood were to slip through.
Meanwhile, Ciel, Alois, and August were going to flush them out for the team to mow down once they were outside. The soldiers shouldn't all be in a tight, enclosed space with automatic rifles. It was a recipe for disaster. Thus, it was the most durable and strong they sent inside. Already, the demons could sense anxious life inside. They knew. Blackwood and his men knew that they weren't going to make it out of this unless they did something drastic. Thus, before Ciel could turn the door handle and infiltrate the building, the demons could hear shouting.
"Phantomhive!" the voice boomed, coming from the other side of the building. It belonged to Blackwood, they could tell, drawing them away from the building. "Call off your men!"
When they found the man, they found him looking worse than they remembered. He was scruffier, with patchy facial hair and longer hair. His right eye was sewn shut so that he could only see with his left. Most pressingly, however, he had a hostage. It was the other man they were hunting, Beck Garrett, also known as "The Sudoku Killer." He stood there, trapped in Blackwood's grasp with a syringe pointed against his neck by his captor. Sudoku grasped at Blackwood's arm, trying to both pry him off and keep himself from being choked, gritting his teeth and scrunching his face as he could only imagine what that needle is going to feel like once it pierces his skin.
"You thought you had more eyes than me, huh, Phantomhive?!" Blackwood huffed, attempting to goad Ciel into making a mistake. "Like this fucker, here, huh? Leaving all those stupid suitcases like he used to to lead you here… Then you sent that girl! Yeah, I saw her. I see everything! I got rid of her easily. Didn't matter that she wasn't human! Supernaturals are just as weak as humans are!"
Alois was about to step out and grab the man, but Ciel stopped him. "Wait," the bluenette whispered. "Let him talk..."
"Come out, you pussy!" the former assistant shouted, his voice cracking from the strain. "I'll inject your little snitch with adrenochrome, if you don't!"
"'Adrenochrome?'" questioned the menace.
"It's a drug made from the adrenal gland of a human being." explained the Watchdog. "Maybe Blackwood was using Garrett to get him some fresh bodies."
"Makes sense, but what are we gonna do now?"
"Well… It would be nice to bring in Sudoku alive. He did lead us here, after all."
"Are you saying we owe a murderer a favour?"
"You do that every time I let you borrow my ties."
"I mean a murderer who kills innocent people..."
"To-may-to, to-mah-to." Ciel replied with a shrug.
"I know you're there!" Blackwood warned, interrupting the duo's banter. "I'll do it! Hurry up and call off your grunts!"
"He-hey, Blackwood, please..." begged the Sudoku Killer. "You don't need to do this, you know! We can still make this work!"
"Quiet! You think you're so smart… You got caught once already, you fucking tit! Don't think I don't know what you were doing… Traitor!"
"Well, I didn't escape fucking prison to be made your bitch!" snapped Garrett, letting out a chortle at the confusion that washed over the other man's face. "Yeah, that's right! I hate working for you! So what you gave me a place to stay?! Prison was better!"
Without another word, Blackwood brought down his hand and stabbed the other man in the neck with his needle. The suddenness of the action caught the demons completely off guard, forcing them to move far too late. By the time that they revealed themselves, Beck Garrett was already screaming while Blackwood pushed him away, causing him to stumble while clawing at his wound.
"Blackwood!" Ciel called out, causing the man to turn. For a moment, he looked surprised, but then he smiled and pointed up. There were men with rifles up above on the roof. They were poised to shoot at the demons, and did just that swiftly.
"Shit!" Alois let out while the two of them ducked for cover. Pulling out his pistols, he fired back and took out a few of Blackwood's flunkies. They howled in pain as they fell from the roof above and whimpered when their bones cracked on the ground below. There was no way that the HELLSING soldiers didn't hear any of that, so the demons knew that help was on the way.
"That could have gone better..." Ciel remarked, doing the same.
"Ya think?" scoffed the blonde as August joined them. Together, the group managed to clear the roof enough for them to move with ease. Once that was the case, they peeked out to see how things were doing on the ground. Blackwood was still firing at them, paying no mind to Sudoku as he stood up and tried to get away. Noticing this, Alois called out: "Sudoku's getting away!"
"August! Go to Garrett!" the Watchdog instructed, earning an enthusiastic "yes sir" from the lesser demon. Meanwhile, the demonic duo plunged headfirst into going after Blackwood while the man was reloading.
"End of the fucking line, shitlord!" Alois called out, aiming his weapons. The action caused their foe to yelp and fire as soon as bullets were in his gun. The unexpected pain of the bullet entering his abdomen caused the menace to falter, but the burning of the blessed bullet is what made him drop down on one knee and drop a pistol to clutch at his wound.
"Jim!"
"He's got blessed bullets..." grunted the fair-haired Phantomhive. "I'm fine. He didn't hit anything vital."
"Sir!" shouted August, having stopped the Sudoku Killer from wandering into the forest in his dazed, delirious state. "I'm here!"
"Good work!" Ciel praised before turning back to Blackwood with his gun raised, shooting the instrument out of the man's hand, causing him to yowl, before listening to the sound of a train horn blaring. The train was coming. Ciel could see it as it barreled down the tracks. These same tracks were the ones where August and Garrett were standing on.
"August! Move!" barked the Phantomhive, flabbergasted that the lesser demon was just standing there.
August followed orders to a T, and will do whatever it is she was told. Ciel had to think about what he told her to do. "Go to Garrett," he had said. Upon remembering this, Ciel realised that he wasn't specific enough!
"August! Move out of the bloody way!" It was no use. The train was too loud. August couldn't hear him. All she could do was stand there confusedly while wondering what her orders were.
"Ciel! Move her!" Alois instructed, holding up his gun. "I can handle Blackwood!"
With a nod, Ciel ran. He ran as fast as he could in hoped of moving that foolish demon out of the way. All the while, he called out to her in hopes that she was close enough to hear him. Once he was there, he grabbed her by the arm and yelled at her, baring his teeth and flaring his nostrils with a snarl.
"Idiot! Move out of the way!" The man's heart was racing as time was running out. The train would be right on top of them within a matter of seconds. To his surprise, however, he was shoved away but it was too late. He didn't receive the full brunt of it, but the train had clipped him, causing the world to go to black.
A/N: Hello~!
Blackwood really is a slippery snake, isn't he? Mostly due to dumb luck.
Forgive August. She cannot think for herself. No, really. That's what lesser demons do. Once they have a master, they will follow that master's orders. Because Ciel "gave" her her name in the last fic, he is her master. It's really quite sad. More on that in the future, however.
Well, if y'all have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
