You Can't Hide Forever

His Butler, Strongest (part 1)

I woke up early in the morning and got dressed. Ciel was having guests over that morning, so I had to look as presentable as a maid could look.

I had been with Ciel all morning when I was told to go see what the others were doing. I nodded and walked out of the room.

I walked into the hallway and saw Bard, Finny, and Mey-Rin sitting in the middle of the floor. Bard was looking in a space under the floor boards.

"Bloody hell. This wire's done for", Bard said.

"Oh, not the rats again", Mey-Rin said.

"This is gettin' ridiculous. I mean, I heard they've been plaguing London lately, but I never expected them to be such a problem this far out of the city", he said.

"What are you all up to?", I asked. All of a sudden, we heard the squeak of a rat.

"Ah!" The others screamed. I turned around and saw the rat sitting behind me. Rats were never a problem for me. After all, I lived on the streets for five months.

Finny grabbed a nearby statue and threw it in my direction.

"Now, I've got you rat!", he yelled. I quickly ran to the wall and pressed myself as close to it as possible.

"No!", Bard yelled. The statue went through the floor boards, missed the rat, and shook the house.

"Looks like it got away", Finny said and nervously laughed.

"What are you laughing for?! Are you trying to kill US too, you idiot?!", Bard yelled. Tanaka laughed slightly and Mey-Rin and I stood in shock. I quickly and quietly took my leave and headed back to Ciel.

I took my place, to the right, behind Ciel's chair. From inside the room, I could hear the others outside in the hallway. I cringed slightly when I heard them.

"Look! There's another one!", Finny yelled.

"Catch it!", Bard yelled.

"Quite the commotion going on out there. It seems you're experiencing the rat problem as well", one man, who I was told was called Randal, said.

"Speaking of which, how long will you let the vermin run wild? Filthy monsters. Someone really ought to take care of that, don't you think?", another man eating sandwiches said.

"And someone will. He's just waiting for the opportune moment", another man, called Lau, said. A girl, named Ran-Mao, was sitting on his lap.

"Indeed. He prefers to settle things with one blow", a woman in all red with red hair, called Madam Red, said. "Will you pass on this turn too, Lord Phantomhive?"

"I'll pass", Ciel said with a mischievous smile. "It's my policy not to shoot, if I know that I'll miss."

"That's all very well, but when will you handle the problem?", Randal said.

"Any time you like. The rats will soon come looking for their forbidden cheese and I hold the key to the store house", Ciel said. A blonde man with a huge scar on his face, who I was told was called Azzurro Vanel, attempted a shot and missed. Ciel continued. "Even so, locating the nest and eliminating the vermin promises to be a tedious task. You should concentrate on preparing me a suitable reward."

"You're a vulture", Randal said, glaring at Ciel.

"Sir Randal", Ciel said. He looked angry now. "I'd be careful how you smear my family name."

"Ha. You're in trouble now, Randal. What next, Lord Phantomhive?", Azzurro asked.

"It's time to put an end to this worthless game, don't you think?", Ciel said. He stood and walked over to Randal. "How soon can you secure the payment?"