Moonlit Meetings:
Chapter 7:
Ciel was noticeably muted for the rest of the day and didn't even respond to Sebastian offering him tea. He was too worried. There was a slight chance that Sebastian would remember Lizzie's surname and trace her family tree and notice some inconsistencies regarding her cousin Ciel Durless. He had only realised it once they had returned to Scotland Yard.
There was no birth certificate for a Ciel Durless, instead there was one for a Ciel Phantomhive. Deep in his mind he felt there was a greater significance to that as if someone else could have a similar inconsistency, but he had more important things to worry about so he dismissed it.
He also had to worry about what Sebastian had asked Lizzie. He had asked her to relate their conversation and she had. Sebastian had been interested in Alois' address which ultimately would not lead anywhere as the wig Ciel used had gone through several addresses before reaching Mey-Rin's. There was no harm there which was why he had allowed the clue to be found, however he felt that Sebastian as closing in on him.
This meant that they needed to carry out the heist on Ash Landers' house as soon as possible. Their problem was a lack of information about the interior. His aunt who had provided some information, hadn't been there to a party there for 13 years. That could mean that the psycho dog was no longer alive which made it slightly more appealing to Ciel. Alternatively it could mean there was even more security.
The only thing they could do was send the notice and visit as members of the investigation team. The potential problem with that was that Sebastian could notice that they were casing the property rather than taking notes on how to guard it.
It had been Ciel's intention to leave immediately after work had ended and meet up with his aunt, Mey-Rin and Tanaka later to explain his worries and then to contact Alois to warn him about Sebastian. He had a feeling that Alois wasn't taking it seriously. His plan was ruined by Sebastian accosting him at the door.
"What do you want?" Ciel demanded.
"I am aware that you don't like me, but can we have a serious conversation?" Sebastian requested.
That was the last thing Ciel wanted to do. He had spent most of the day trying to avoid talking to Sebastian. That said, it would seem suspicious if he out rightly refused to speak to Sebastian so he accepted.
"Let's do it somewhere else," his rival suggested. "Before you say anything, it is not a roundabout way of asking for a date."
The pair ended up in the canteen of Scotland Yard as neither wanted to spend long there and had other plans for the evening. Ciel screwed up his face in disgust when Sebastian insisted on getting tea there as he knew from past experience that it was a tasteless brown liquid. If Sebastian's intention was to torture him with tea then it definitely was not a date.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" Ciel asked after taking an experimental sip of the tea to check it still tasted horrible.
"I have an interest in getting a promotion. If we caught and arrested the phantom thief we would all get promotions as a reward. There is a benefit in catching the phantom thief for everyone except the phantom thief," Sebastian explained.
He had decided it was time to tackle Ciel directly about the possibility that his friend was the phantom thief. It was a perfect opportunity. His superior officer had been distracted and worried all day and now he was annoyed with him for buying him foul tasting tea. It had been evident from past occasions that Ciel let things slip when he was annoyed.
"Is that so? I never thought about it that way," Ciel said in an uninterested tone.
"With your past experience you probably know the main motives for committing a crime," Sebastian laid the bait.
"Love, revenge, money or coercion," Ciel listed, not predicting where Sebastian was going with his point.
"What is your motive for helping out Alois Trancy? Or should I say, the phantom thief?"
Ciel emitted a small gasp of surprise before recovering and regaining a poker face.
"What are you talking about? I wouldn't help out a criminal," Ciel argued.
"If he is coercing you, I can help you out," Sebastian said gently, looking into Ciel's eyes to check if he had hit on the right motive.
"I am not being coerced," he protested and looked Sebastian right in the eye.
Undeterred, Sebastian tried again: "Are you in love with him?"
"No," Ciel denied without the slightest hint of a blush. "He is just my best friend."
Sebastian detected that Ciel was definitely telling the truth there and for some reason he found it relieving. The idea of a lovesick Ciel obeying Alois Trancy's orders was not pleasant for him to picture.
"Is he bribing you?" he moved on quickly.
"No," Ciel sighed, seemingly getting frustrated. "He wouldn't be able to anyway- he doesn't have enough disposable income to persuade me to betray the Police."
Again, his body language communicated that he was being truthful. Sebastian didn't ask about revenge as it didn't fit in anywhere.
"Why do you even think Alois is the phantom thief? He hadn't got the brains for-" Ciel broke off. "...Is it because he is short and likes manga?"
"Yes," Sebastian admitted reluctantly and dropped the subject. "Why did you join the Police?"
"Because I liked the idea of getting justice for people in need. I ended up being disillusioned later on. The rich and those with connections are impossible to arrest and can do anything they like, even murder people."
It was the first time that he had seen Ciel look intelligent and thoughful. His answer made Sebastian realise that they actually had something in common.
"That's why I joined too," Sebastian told him. "I can finally arrest those that bribe their way out of trouble."
They sat in an agreeable silence for a while until Ciel saw the time and made an excuse to hurry home.
***
2 days later:
Early in the morning of a wet and rainy day Ciel entered the office and spotted an envelope lying on his desk. He recognised it as being the envelope containing the heist notice that Tanaka had posted the afternoon before. He was about to open it when Sebastian arrived and immediately caught sight of the envelope.
"Is that a heist notice?" he questioned with alacrity.
"It is the usual envelope," Ciel said and handed it over to Sebastian.
He watched his rival's face as he neatly cut open the envelope with a paper knife from his desk and read the contents. Unexpectedly his face turned as white as snow and his eyes were wide with shock.
"...Interesting," was all he commented before giving it back.
Rather unsurprisingly Ciel read the notice and checked the envelope to make sure there was nothing strange or any evidence that he had accidently left when he had sealed it the previous day. Everything as the same as it had been, he hadn't left a hair caught in the adhesive. Something else had to be bothering Sebastian. The notice only listed the time, date and the address.
The others arrived separately within ten minutes and they discussed the notice between themselves as if they hadn't been the ones to create it. Sebastian did not partake in the conversation and appeared to be staring into space.
"I just looked up the address on the internet and it looks swanky," Mey-Rin said like they had not seen it multiple times already. "I'll look it up in the system to see who it belongs to."
Ciel turned to stare at Sebastian when Mey-Rin announced Ash Landers' name to observe his reaction. He wasn't disappointed as Sebastian flinched and looked annoyed. Was there a connection between Ash Landers and Sebastian? Was it related to his desire to dispense justice?
Again, he remembered the lack of information on Sebastian's past and wondered if there was a link there.
"We will have to arrange a visit there to inform Mr. Landers and ask if he has anything of value that could be the thief's target," Tanaka said. "Who wants to go this time?"
"I went to the Wordsmith one so I won't," Ciel answered.
Another voice agreed with him. "I will not go. I went on the initial visit to Wordsmith's house."
They all turned to look at Sebastian. It had been expected that Sebastian would want to do a better job than Ciel and would attend. His absence would make the casing of the house easier, but it was odd that he didn't want to go.
"Are you all right?" Mey-Rin queried in concern, now noticing his pale face.
Ciel got up and pressed his hand to Sebastian's forehead, noting that Sebastian didn't even react to his touch.
"I think you should take today off," he suggested in the kindest tone he could muster.
Much to his surprise Sebastian obeyed without protest and left the office. Ciel rejoined Tanaka and Mey-Rin and sighed in relief. It felt more relaxing without Sebastian there.
"That was strange," Mey-Rin stated the obvious.
"He may be genuinely ill," Tanaka pointed out.
Ciel shook his head. "He only became like that once he saw the notice and heard Ash Landers' name."
***
Whilst that conversation was occurring, Sebastian was returning to a place he thought he would never have to go to again unless it was with a couple pairs of handcuffs. His reasons for joining the Police and trying to steadily rise through the ranks were tied to it. Now he had to find out why the phantom thief wanted to do a heist on them.
When he arrived he stated his name at the gate and was buzzed through instantly. It seemed like they were expecting his return at any time. He stormed past the butler that opened the door and headed straight to the study.
A tall grey haired man looked up as he strode in.
"I thought you swore to never return here," he said with a nasty smirk.
"Ash, why does a phantom thief want to break into your house?" he questioned brusquely.
Instead of answering the question, Ash tutted. "I remember when you used to call me "Dad"."