A/N: Yet another new project. I finished the Book of Circus and was hit with the idea. Basically I wanted a human AU, but I also wanted to write something with Vincent around. He's very much a twisty character in my book, so I'm simply satisfying a self-indulgent urge to write Vincent. Also the groups are kind of mixed up. There are characters in Vincent's criminal empire that clearly were villains in the manga/anime, same goes for the other groups. I'm looking forward to examining these group dynamics. And of course I hope you enjoy!

Rating: M

Genre: Crime, Romance, Friendship, and most likely Drama. A dash of Humour, as always.

Pairings: Sebastian/Ciel and others.

Overall warnings: Violence, character death, age difference issues (shota), mentions of human trafficking and drug use, harassment of a minor.

Disclaimer: Not mine, nope.

CHAPTER 1

It all began with a sheet of paper, a name, and a photograph.

"Ciel Phantomhive," Undertaker said, as if the name wasn't written on the page's top in bold purple letters. Sebastian silently wondered where the My Little Pony watermark was. "Have you heard of him?"

Sebastian looked at the picture again. Ciel was a petite boy with a stunning blue eye and slate-coloured hair. What had happened to his right eye? "I take it he's related to Vincent Phantomhive."

"He's this kid's father." Undertaker grabbed a biscuit from a plate on his ridiculously cluttered desk. In fact, the whole office was cluttered with all kinds of useless things. The highlight was a gigantic and very expensive-looking scythe right behind Undertaker's desk. Rumours were being told about this scythe, but nobody actually knew why Undertaker owned it or what he'd done with it.

"What would you have me do with him?" Sebastian asked, folding the sheet of paper. "I don't abduct kids."

"Well, lucky for you, you won't have to." Undertaker grinned widely, his grey fringe hiding his eyes.

Sebastian sighed. „You want me to kill him." A boy who most likely had nothing to do with anything. That kid couldn't even be sixteen. Sebastian assumed he had to be around thirteen years old. "Do I get to hear a reason?"

Undertaker stared at him. "You never asked for one."

Sebastian realized his mistake and kept quiet. He knew he could be frank with Undertaker, they'd known each other their whole life, but this was work. On the other hand, Sebastian had never felt hesitant when it came to jobs. But this… well, it was a child.

"It's nothing," he finally said. "I'm simply surprised. I wasn't even aware that Vincent had a son."

Undertaker stared at him a little longer and then shrugged. "It's just another person, Sebby. Don't get your knickers in a twist over a little boy who will be just like his father when he grows up. We lost people to Vincent. We're going to tell him to stay away." He leaned back in his chair. "Orders from high up." He offered the plate to Sebastian. "Biscuit?"

Sebastian shook his head. "I'll do it. How much time do I get?"

Undertaker looked at his watch, and Sebastian worried that he'd only get hours. "One week."

That still wasn't a lot of time for a job like Ciel Phantomhive, but Sebastian was very good at what he did. He'd make do.

As he was about to leave the room, Undertaker called him back.

"Be careful," he said, not unkindly. "And let's stay in touch."

He said it as if it was a goodbye. Sebastian fondly shook his head over his friend and left the room without a reply.

ooo

Two of his days – two days too many – were spent on finding Ciel. Sebastian had received the name and location of a school in London Ciel was supposedly attending, but it turned out that Ciel was in fact visiting another school and Undertaker's informants were mediocre at best, having fallen for such a silly little trap. Sebastian hoped that Undertaker's higher ups would take care of that, since he now only had five days left to kill the boy.

Ciel arrived in a sleek black car that seemed built for races rather than chauffeuring a child to school. The boy walked with confidence, even if he sneered at the school building in general. Maybe he thought he was too good for school. Sebastian, watching from afar, allowed himself to snort.

He had to create a schedule, so to say. Find out about the boy's daily life. When that was done Sebastian would find the perfect time to get rid of the boy and leave. It would have to be quick – London wasn't far away from his current hideout; he'd have to move. He'd been thinking about going to Finland for a little while.

A young girl joined Ciel at the parking lot. She had dark hair and fair skin and smiled very charmingly. A girlfriend? They were in that age, after all. Sebastian would have to keep her in mind if his theory turned out to be correct.

As he watched the girl approach and come to a stop in front of Ciel, a curious thing happened: The boy's stance changed, including his expression. All the arrogance and annoyance seemed wiped from every fibre of his being. Ciel smiled at her with the radiance of a sun. It seemed like Ciel Phantomhive had disappeared and another person had taken up his place. It was, however, very likely that Ciel was acting. Sebastian found he could appreciate that. Only a few moments in and the boy held promises of being very interesting.

They talked, and the girl reached out to touch his hand. Ciel shrank back a little, and the girl blinked but didn't dwell long enough on it. Instead, she waved him closer, and they took off. Sebastian watched them enter into the school building, disappearing in a flock of pupils.

ooo

After another three days, Sebastian saw the perfect chance.

He'd been sitting on the school's roof, waiting for the school day to end. In his head, several plans had formed already. He knew where Ciel resided (by no means the actual Phantomhive manor; rather one of many decoys), at least during the week, but he also knew that the house was brimming with people – most of all servants who probably weren't only servants. Sebastian couldn't gauge the actual number of people inside the manor, but he knew he'd have a problem if he had to go up against more than five highly-trained people with guns.

He knew that the boy seemed to have a two-hour long violin session every second day. Today was one of those days, and Sebastian might take up the chance to get rid of the boy there. It wasn't ideal, but Sebastian was good at disappearing.

He was so lost in old and new plans that he almost missed the speck of dark colour as Ciel stepped out of the school building, leaning heavily against a woman. They walked over to the parking lot and talked a little. Ciel leaned away from the woman, sitting down on the sidewalk. Whatever he'd said, it made her stand next to him a little uncertainly. In the end she walked away slowly, as if waiting for Ciel to change his mind.

Sebastian moved so that he wouldn't be seen and readied his rifle. Now was as good a time as any, and much more convenient than having to follow the child home or to his violin lessons. He lined up his shot, regarding the boy through the scope. He had never had to kill a child, but if his job demanded it, he'd have to do it. He was not going to quit this job just because the child was still in school. That was what he told himself as his finger caressed the trigger.

And that was where the boy turned around, looking directly at him.

Sebastian faltered. Ciel shot to his feet and took off.

It was a reflex, really. The boy shouldn't get away. Sebastian aimed again and pulled the trigger. The shot was muffled through the silencer, but it still rang loud in Sebastian's ears. The people inside the building wouldn't hear it, he knew that, but he still worried when Ciel's scream reached his ears. The child was partially hidden by cars. No chance of hitting vital organs with the next shot.

Cursing himself, the boy, and the job in general, Sebastian hurried down from the roof, using a rope construction he'd set up earlier. He was back on solid ground in close to no moment. After a second's hesitation he left his climbing construction where it was. It wasn't as if anybody would catch him going by that.

He found Ciel behind a large Mercedes Benz, sitting in a small pool of blood, his hand pressed over the bullet wound in his leg. Upon seeing him, Ciel's eyes widened and he curled in on himself. Sebastian was still carrying his rifle on his back, not having taken it apart in his hurry. Ciel's eyes were fixed on it. He was breathing very fast – most likely close to hyperventilating – and sweat was forming on his brow. His face had lost all colour. Yet he kept quiet, despite his wound.

Sebastian could appreciate that.

"Well," he said. Then he grabbed the boy by his arm and hoisted him up. Ciel immediately tried to stumble away from him, put pressure on his injured leg, and muffled a scream. Sebastian didn't even have to make an effort at holding the boy back. The child was weak.

"You're coming with me," he said, and Ciel shook his head.

"No," the boy choked out, trying to pull away once again. He still kept quiet, breathing heavily.

Sebastian wasn't going to give him an option. He'd already seen his face, heard his voice. This child had to die. Sebastian could put a bullet through Ciel's head right now and it would all be over.

Instead, he lifted the younger male over his shoulder and went to his car. He couldn't assume that no one had seen him but if he was fast enough, he'd still get away. After this job he'd just take a long break out of the country.

He put the child on the backseat. The interior was black, so the blood wouldn't be too prominent, but there was still the smell and Sebastian couldn't do anything about it yet. Ciel was wheezing by now, obviously struggling to breathe. Sebastian could just get into the car and drive and wait for the boy's condition to get the best of him.

"Do you have medicine for that?" he asked instead.

Ciel stared at him, processing his words. "Bag," he finally wheezed.

Sebastian – or rather Ciel – was lucky that the bag had dropped halfway to the car. Keeping an eye on Ciel he quickly retrieved the inhaler from the schoolbag and gave it to Ciel, who brought it to his mouth with shaking hands. Sebastian fumbled around until he had loosened the boy's uniform tie and tied it around the leg above the wound. By now, Ciel's breathing seemed to be coming more easily. He lowered the inhaler and stared at Sebastian.

The older male deposited his rifle and the duffel bag in the trunk, but he made it obvious that he was still armed. He didn't restrain Ciel in any way, hoping that the child was smart enough not to do anything thing stupid while on the road. He locked the car from the inside and started the engine. The windows were tinted, so nobody would spot the boy.

"Where are you taking me?" Ciel asked weakly from the backseat.

"Somewhere quiet," Sebastian replied evenly as he drove away from the school. It was two more hours until the school day ended but Ciel must have left the building earlier because he'd felt ill. Maybe the chauffeur was already on his way to pick him up. Ciel hadn't mentioned it, but then again Sebastian doubted the boy would help him in that way.

It was almost disconcerting how quiet Ciel was. Sebastian had expected screaming and crying, definitely a lot of snot and tears, especially with a bullet wound, but all that he got was laboured breathing and muffled sounds of pain when the leg shifted in a way it shouldn't. Sebastian had left the mobile phone in the bag so that they couldn't be tracked. Maybe there were other trackers on the boy himself, which was why he acted so calm. Maybe Phantomhive's people were on to Sebastian already.

This was all a mess. A terrible mess. Had Ciel not looked at him just ten minutes ago, Sebastian would have shot him and that would have been all. Never in his life had a job gone so bad so quickly. Sebastian had been trained for this from a young age, he had erased so many people from the face of this world, yet one stupid boy happened to make it all go to hell with just one look over his shoulder.

The worst thing about this was that Sebastian didn't want to kill the kid anymore. He hadn't wanted to do it from the beginning, but now he found that if he pressed the barrel of a gun to Ciel's head, he wouldn't find it in him to pull the trigger and actually end it. He felt a sting of regret for having shot the child in the leg, but instincts were instincts and sometimes it was too hard to suppress them in time.

He stopped at a cottage somewhere outside London. It had been long drive during which Ciel's breathing had grown quieter by the minute. Sebastian wondered if the kid was dead from blood loss. At least he wouldn't have to deliver the final blow then.

When he opened the door to the backseat, he found Ciel lying there, one arm resting over his eyes, the other hand gingerly touching around the wound. Very much alive, after all, even if his blood was practically coating the whole backseat.

"Don't do that," Sebastian said. "It needs to be disinfected. The bullet needs to be removed, too."

"And you would do that for me?" Ciel asked through clenched teeth, but he made an effort to speak clearly despite his agony. He lifted the arm from his eyes to look at Sebastian, but it didn't seem like he could focus.

"Do you see anybody else out here?" Sebastian took hold of Ciel's arms and pulled him into an upright position. Then he lifted the younger male out of the car. His reward were whimpers of pain. Ciel's breathing picked up again. He made no move to push Sebastian away. It was slightly worrying, but Sebastian blamed the delirium the boy must have entered.

Still, Sebastian entered the cottage and (gently) dropped Ciel on the couch. The boy hissed in pain but stayed put. Sebastian went around the cottage, gathering all the things he'd need to remove the bullet and close the wound and came back. "I need you to cut open your trousers." He handed Ciel a pair of scissors. The boy stared at them, clearly bewildered.

So Sebastian ended up cutting the uniform trousers himself, with not so much as a flinch from Ciel. The wound was swollen and leaking blood, but fortunately the bullet went through and didn't hit any arteries on its way out.

"You are truly lucky," Sebastian muttered as he began dressing the wound. Ciel merely slumped back in the couch and didn't say a word.

ooo

After having taken care of the wound, Sebastian had made Ciel drink as much water as he could. He hadn't wanted to bring the boy to a hospital. Too many people would see them, and Sebastian still wasn't sure of all the places Vincent Phantomhive had his people working undercover.

The boy had slept through afternoon and night, right up until late morning, with Sebastian checking his vitals regularly. When Ciel woke up he demanded tea. He seemed groggy and exhausted, slightly feverish, but he'd live.

Sebastian looked at the child and knew he had failed.

And how he had failed.

First came the bangs on the entrance door as Ciel was absently nursing a cup of tea with his antibiotics. The boy looked up once, awaited the second bang, and then went back to his tea.

Sebastian on the other hand moved into action. "It's them, isn't it?"

Ciel still seemed very out of it, but he nodded. "You didn't honestly think your plan would work."

"I didn't even have a plan," Sebastian murmured bitterly. And look where it had gotten him. He found his two best handguns just as the entrance door crashed into the cottage. Three men stood there, armed to their teeth. The fourth one at the back stepped into the room first. Sebastian assumed he was the leader of this little group. He had a shock of white hair and eyes of a disconcerting colour. The strangest thing about him was that he was wearing a white suit. He folded his hand behind his back as his eyes scanned the room.

"We believe you have something that doesn't belong to you," he said, his eyes finally resting on Ciel.

The boy looked up and shrank back a little, mild concern written over his features.

Another man came into the room, one with jet black hair and an angry expression. He had a subtle accent as he spoke. "We aren't supposed to waste time here. Let's get Ciel and leave."

"We don't want to cause any trouble," the white-haired man said with an infuriating smirk that demanded just that, "we'll retrieve the boy and be on our way."

"And you'll shoot me in the process," Sebastian said, nodding at the two armed men in the doorway.

The white-haired man looked behind him. Sebastian wondered what was wrong with the guy. In the split second in which he'd looked back, Sebastian could have shot him. "Well, yes. That was the plan."

"Don't shoot him," Ciel murmured from the dining table. He was sitting behind Sebastian, but was clearly visible, just like his bandaged leg. Everybody seemed to have heard him because the white-haired man frowned slightly, and the black-haired man scoffed.

"We won't shoot him," the latter said, and his eyes fell on the boy's injured leg. "But your father might."

"You're coming with us," the white haired man said, and before Sebastian could react he moved, quick as lightning, and with a well-placed strike, Sebastian went down.

So, the first chapter. What did you think?

Updates will be coming slowly. I'm thinking biweekly to monthly here. If I have enough chapters on stock I might make faster updates but for now it can't be helped.

See you in the next chapter!