14 Advent of Lazarus

Tick - Tock

The ticking of the grandfather's clock in the Belle's residence moved unhindered. The servants were already sleeping, and most of the lights were already turned off. It was just two minutes before twelve o'clock and the manor was shrouded in silence. The children were sent to bed early, hoping that they would be able to sleep snugly in their beds.

The adults, on the other hand, were gathered in the study. No one spoke, they merely stared at the clock, waiting for it to strike midnight. Arthur, and Alice Belle, the masters of the estate and Ciel's grandparents sat calmly on the couch. Alice was leaning on her husband's shoulder, while the other held her in his embrace.

Elizabeth had a frown on her face. Her lips were pressed in one thin line. She was feeling anxious and guilty. Anxious because she was afraid for her family's safety, and guilty because the Belle Family was involved in their problems. If she only knew that trouble would follow them here, she would have just canceled their trip.

Andrea was leaning on a chair. Her chin was propped up in the palm of her right hand. She was sporting a carefree look, but her eyes betrayed the disdain that was showing in them.

'Idiots. Whoever sent you here, sent you to die.' Andrea's lips curled up as she thought of the bastards that were targeting the people within their estate. Her free hand curled up into a fist. How she wished she could personally strangle these rascals one by one. 'Since you dared to poke the hornet nest, then suffer the consequences! Do you really believe that our family could be easily bullied?' Andrea's gaze landed on the grandfather's clock. She knew that this was going to be a long night.

Finally, the hands of the clock struck home. It was midnight, and the chimes within the Grandfather's Clock resounded in the study. There was a minute change in the expressions of everyone inside the room. However, all of them thought of the same thing.

'It has begun.'

-----

"Batman, in position."

"Wolverine, all clear."

"Hawkeye, they're in my sight."

"Lancelot, ready and waiting."

"Storm, target locked on."

"Iceman, chilling as always."

"Ice, be serious!"

"Sorry suga-- I mean, Freya."

"Geez! Shut up and concentrate!" A girl wearing glasses sighed helplessly at the command center. Behind her, Heinz was seated and monitoring the situation. "Freya, start the operation."

"You heard Odin," Freya announced. "Operation Start!"

A series of acknowledgement was heard on the other side of the line. The Special Forces of the Belle Family, Lazarus, moved in to neutralize their targets. Heinz was very thankful for his young master's assistance. If Ciel didn't come to find him earlier, he wouldn't have known the exact location where the troublemakers were hiding.

He, and the rest of the Belle and Summer's family, suspected that his young master had the ability called clairvoyance.

Why? Because Ciel was able to know when something bad was going to happen. He could also tell the appearance and locations of the people involved. Even the descriptions were on point! The only downside of his young master's ability was that it doesn't work all the time. It seemed that there was a condition that had to be met before the ability was triggered.

Heinz closed his eyes as he recalled the conversation he had with his young master a few hours ago.

-----

"Heinz, do you know of a farmhouse within a mile or two from the estate that recently had renovations?" Ciel asked.

"Recently have renovations? I could think of a few of them," Heinz replied. "Is there something wrong young master?"

"Mmm, this afternoon, I felt that someone was spying on our estate and their target was Chloe." Ciel narrowed his eyes. "I believe it's the same group that has been targeting the Maxwell Family ever since Uncle died in an accident."

"Young master, what does it have to do with the renovated farmhouse?"

"Although, I'm not a hundred percent sure, I think it is the location of their hideout."

Heinz's expression turned serious. "Young master, could you tell me more?"

"Good," Ciel said and closed his eyes. He wanted to help Heinz narrow down his search so he started to describe the scene he saw earlier. Ciel had a photographic memory so remembering things was very easy for him.

"The farmhouse has a long private driveway leading to a central courtyard. It was a handsome stone detached property found in an exceptional location near a river. There is a two story barn house, a stone built cow shed, and a stable. Its most striking feature was that all the buildings had blue roofs." Ciel massaged his temples. He was feeling a dull pain inside his head, but he ignored it. He knew that the sooner this matter was settled, the safer Chloe and her family would be.

"Heinz, Chloe came here for a vacation. Please, clear out the pests."

"As you command, Young master."

-----

It took his team two hours to drive through and search the surrounding area. There were many farmhouses with similar designs that fitted his young master's descriptions. However, he remembered a place that he visited not long ago. It was one of the farm houses that was owned by a couple working for the Belle Family.

If his young master didn't mention the "blue roofs" then he would have completely forgotten about it. This was the only farm house within a two miles radius of the estate with a blue roof. After observing the location, they made preparations to raid it during the night.

Heinz watched the monitors on the command center. The cameras that were attached to his subordinates were night vision cameras that allowed him to see the operation in real time. He watched as his men silently infiltrated the house through a window.

His subordinates were armed with silencers, and tranquilizer guns. They were ordered to capture their targets alive if possible. If not, then sorry. Their enemy would just serve as fertilizer for the weeds that grew within the countryside.

The man with the codename 'Batman' raised a hand and the members following behind him stopped. There were two people in the living room and they were sleeping on the couch. He made another hand signal and two members with the code names Storm and Wolverine moved to the front.

The two exchanged a glance at each other before moving at the same time. With fluid movements, they pulled the trigger of their custom made tranquilizer guns. A muffled sound similar to someone clicking his tongue echoed silently in the night.

Storm and Wolverine immediately covered the mouth of the two individuals to prevent them from making a sound. Clearly, they didn't want to take any chances. The fast acting sedative worked its magic and the two people lost consciousness.

The two unconscious men were handcuffed and dragged to where the other members were located. Batman took the lead once more and the others followed. There was nothing else to see on the first floor, so they decided to change locations. They left their captives with Lancelot, and headed to the stairs.

The group made their way to the second floor successfully. They didn't meet anyone along the way. As they were walking through the hallway, they heard muffled grunts inside a room. A woman could be heard crying and pleading for mercy behind the door.

"Please, no more!"

"You b*tch! When I tell you to move your hips, you will move those hips!"

The sound of two sharp slaps was heard followed by the anguished cry of a woman being raped. Iceman's lips curled up, while Storm's expression had a hint of disgust. Batman made a hand gesture to tell everyone to get ready. He then slowly turned the knob of the door. He was pleasantly surprised when he found out that it wasn't locked.

Batman moved aside and tapped Iceman's shoulder. With a hint of understanding, Iceman prepared to enter the room. He slowly opened the door and peeked. The scene that waited for him was a burly man pinning down a woman with his back facing the door. The rapist was too focused on what he was doing that he didn't notice that someone was steadily sneaking behind him.

The burly man's face was dyed with pleasure as he tormented the woman lying on the bed. He had plenty of experience doing these kinds of things and he was looking forward to breaking another victim.

Iceman raised his hand and made a chopping motion. He hit the man at the back of his neck, knocking him out completely. He didn't take any chances and shot the bastard with a tranquilizer dart as well. When the woman felt the weight pushing down on her suddenly disappeared, she got curious and opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was someone wearing a black commando suit and holding a gun. Although it was not pointed at her, she panicked and was not able to stop herself from screaming her lungs out.

'F*ck!'

'Sh*t!'

'B*tch!'

The Lazarus Squad silently cursed the woman whom they just saved. If they only knew that this b*tch would start screaming, then they would have just ignored her and checked the other rooms instead. Iceman's lips twitched and irritatedly shot a tranquilizer dart on the stupid woman putting an end to her damned screaming.

He turned his head and shot a nervous glance at his teammates who were glaring at him. They didn't say anything and listened to the movements inside the house. Everyone held their breath and silently prayed to the image of their beloved young master Ciel in their heads. Their kind and benevolent young master who would always smile at them whenever they met him.

With their divine young master backing them up, everything would be fine right?

Suddenly, they heard shouting and hurried footsteps coming from the hallway. It was then that they realized that their God had abandoned them. They knew that they were screwed.

It seemed that their young master was displeased with them and completely ignored their prayers. They could even faintly hear someone say the word "idiots" from their communicators.

"Switch to Plan B." Heinz's cool and displeased voice rang in their ears. "Make sure that no one escapes alive!"

The group shuddered. They knew what was waiting for them after this operation ended. They clenched their teeth and equipped their firearms. They were hoping to complete this mission without using their silencer guns, but it was already too late. With determined expressions, they stormed out of the hallway and engaged their targets.

Freya fidgeted inside the command center. Even though they messed up, she was confident that the Lazarus Squad would be able to successfully complete their mission. The reason why she was feeling agitated was not because of the gunshots she was hearing in the background.

It was because of the killing intent of the man behind her that was leaking out. She knew that a punishment would be waiting for the rest of the group when they returned. She just hoped that her boss would not include her in the torment that was about to come.

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