Disclaimer: (I have no idea if this is necessary but.) Hellsing and Sin-City do not belong to me, OCs on the other hand, do. Enjoy your stay here reading this.
Hell-City
Chapter-1
They called her the 'Lady in Red' both figuratively and sometimes literally. The mysterious, illustrious, elusive doll that breathes beauty into what she's clad in. They call her the Duchess though no one knows where she truly comes from. Just that her power is something you don't want ta mess with it.
Some say she ripped a man's head clean off his shoulders. Some say she used a sword so fine that it cut through light itself and left darkness in its wake. They say she's the true ruler of Sin City, the scum of the earth, a man-killer that played with her food, a black widow.
And others who've met her, say she's a maiden. A god-sent, with purity long lost within in this City.
For all I know, she's one of those people who sit at the top and look down at the unfortunate and do nothing. She's one of those reasons why people work so hard only to get replaced by a 'favourable' person. In my eyes she was the same as the people who ruled Basin from atop their thrones looking at us with greed and lust.
Of course my partner would know all about it. The one who put me in this god forsaken hospital, the bastards he worked for, the Roarks were one of the few at the top. It wasn't a bad trade-off, my life for the life of a young girl. It was for the best. The bastards had already had their fill of beating me up. Roark himself came to me with the proposition, turned him down like all the others. After today, it's to a life-time in Jail or at least whatever I had left of this life.
I look around, no visitors today. Last I saw of Nancy was yesterday, when she told me she would write to me every day for the rest of her life. When I looked back up I had to guess my ol' eyes must be going a bit wonky if I couldn't spot beauty staring me in the face. She was at the foot of my bed with her hands on the bed railing. She hunched down, her blonde hair falling over one of her eyes though it didn't seem to bother her and somehow added this air of a different kind of beauty. Not the type you see girls going for, a unique natural type. She didn't look she had make-up on but her lips were supple pink as if they had never seen the roughness of the world.
"She's such a sweet little thing isn't she?" Her voice broke me free from my thoughts. I opened my mouth but I couldn't find the words, they were stuck somewhere in my throat. This lady from the British knew something, she had to or else she wouldn't have brought it up. This girl, who looked no more than her early twenties maybe younger, dressed in a red uniform, had to know something if she bought Nancy up.
"So Mister Hartigan, would you like to know how I know of little Nancy?"
They knew of her, of course they would know of her you stupid ol' man.
"What have you done with her!" I shout, hoping to get a reply or anything about little Nancy.
"Nothing, I haven't touched a strand of her hair." She says, though my gut tells me I've just made the biggest mistake of my life. My ears were waiting for that 'yet' just like all those bastards would say but after a few moments of silence nothing came. The girl stayed smiling and looked at me, her eyes wandered as she took in the bags of I.V. connected to me and their prescriptions. I notice something odd as her eye wanders but stays a bit longer than it did for everything else; they were looking at my blood packet. Maybe the letters were too small? I couldn't give a shit if they were.
So what did this lady want, from an ol' guy like me? Surely she's read the papers, she must know of all the shit they pinned on me. Abou-.
"Yes Mister Hartigan, I know. I also know you're a good cop, one of the few in this city of sin." She looked away as though she was able to look at it all. She closed her eyes and looked back at me. That feeling of suspicion which was there before seemed to melt away, she wasn't one of them. She wasn't their kind of people.
My mind raced for questions but only one seemed most necessary to ask at the moment. I began, my voice catching her, a bit off-guard as she seemed just about ready to leave.
"Who are you?" She had to be somebody if she knew of it all. Few names came to mind but none seemed to match her except one but that didn't seem like her at all. Though of course, looks could be deceptive, looks could be feigned and so too could words be twisted to gull the stupid but something about her gave me a vibe that she wouldn't lie to me.
"I'm as the rumours say the 'lady in red'." She giggled as she finished, I wondered for a moment if Nancy's would ever be able to giggle like her.
"Mister Hartigan, I assume you've heard all about me or at least what the rumours had to say. I don't care for how much you they are true but you, Mister Hartigan are one of the few who've actually met me now. And now I must bid you farewell as I have a job to do." But why visit me, an ol' man.
"Ah, you must be thinking all the lines of why I'm visiting you Mister Hartigan, an old man. Well I've come here to give you a chance. Being the 'Lady in Red' aren't just cheap rumours and over the years I've gotten a lot of power Mister Hartigan and so when you find yourself in a situation where you have no way out. Give me a ring, I'll take you in. Though I'm sure after that call's been made, your life will forever change. I have a need for good men and I'll be looking forward to that call."
She sauntered around the bed up to me and took out a card. It was a comical card with a girl in red as the background. I looked back up to find her gone and not a trace of her left, nothing to show she had even come here except for this card. I flipped the card looking at the number for a few minutes, letting it get into my head and for good measure I wrote it down a few times before tearing it up and throwing it away. I doubt I'll ever need that card in jail but it helped it felt like a lifeline if the prison life ever got to me.
A few years later
By the time I got her to the car, Nancy stopped shaking. Her skin is warm again, she's herself again. I wrap her coat around her, a little thing I grabbed as I took off from the motel.
"Thanks for remembering my coat, for all the little things... like saving my life, twice." It's obvious what's going to happen next. Roark's going to come at me with all his power to getrevenge on me and he'll get to me through Nancy.
"You better get rolling." I say, trying to hold back the voice of defeat. I wasn't sure I was doing well but it was enough.
"You're not coming with me?" she asks with hope and surprise.
"No, I'm going to blow this whole sick mess wide open. Gonna clear my name and get Roark where he belongs, behind bars."
"Will you come back, to me?" I've got no choice Nancy.
"Yeah, I'll be back. Now it's time, he's probably sending all his goons to get us. They want me, not you. Go and don't look back, I'll make it. After I get Roark behind bars, I'll come back."
When I get Roark behind bars what then? What then, Punch god in the face? Getting Roark persecuted is impossible, not a single one would do it. Heck, with his legacy gone, he'll be sending every last goon he's got to get me. Heh, this is how it's meant to be, they'll get her if I stay alive and there's only one way to win against Roark.
An old man dies so a young girl lives. I fall to my knees, then I lift my pistol up, I can't hesitate. If I do, I'll stop. I aim it to my head in a shift motion and pull the trigger. I open my eyes again as I feel nothing, of course I would feel nothing with a bullet through my brain but the chilly wind against my body told me I missed, well my eyes told me otherwise as I saw a hand on my gun. Pushing it past my head, no wonder it missed.
"Mister John Hartigan, you old man, why don't you use the call. She's waiting for it ya know. Don't go senile on us just yet Old Man."
The hand moves away from my gun and disappears over my shoulder. I look over my shoulder to get a look at the person but when my eyes glance over; I see nothing but trees and snow. The hand that I so vividly remember from a moment ago gone.
A phone was resting on the snow in front of me, the number was already inputted and waiting for me to hit the button.
Come on old man, it's a chance. You could get Nancy a proper life. Even if it meant selling my soul to the demon himself, it's worth the risk.
I grab the phone with my left hand; my right wasn't feeling its usual self after it got shot by that yellow bastard. I stared at the screen for a second, this was my final stop. After I ring this phone, there was no turning back. Heh, maybe the Lady Red would get me an appointment with Roark. With high hopes on my sleeve I called. The phone rung once, twice and then a voice answered.
"Yes, who is this? Lady Red is…. Huh, eh. Oh okay! Just a minute Sir Hartigan." She seemed to receive the memo a bit late but I guess they were expecting the call like they said they were.
"Yes! Mister Hartigan, I take it you've come to a decision. It would've been heart-breaking if you decided to take your life in the end. Death… is something so terribly final while life has so many opportunities… so come, let's talk business. My men should've arrived by now. They'll escort you back. And ah, you don't have to worry about Roark's men. They,… let's just say they're taking a long nap." The phone hung up immediately as she finished. I guess she wasn't one to take no for an answer. Perhaps she was confident of what I was calling for. I breathed out; my heart felt like it was on fire. The action was over old man. Pull yourself together. There's still work to do.
A car come to a skidding abrupt halt, the door swung open. He suit seemed flawless, just what you'd expect from one of the wealthier sides of the City.
"Come along now Old Man, no time to be gawking around. We've got to go."
I got off my knees and cautiously got in. My arm was giving me hell and my heart didn't make it any lighter as my vision swirled a bit.
"John Hartigan, right? I'm Andy, Andy Helter. Call me Andy. I don't need to tell you that you've pissed off the wrong folks around here, right? I'm sure you knew what you were getting yourself into when you killed those corrupt blues."
"Yeah, I'm sure I realized that when I blew out somebody's balls out a couple of years ago."
"Hehehah. Ouch. That has got to be one of the craziest shit anybody's told me after they got on this one way trip to hell. Heh, you heard me right. Hell."
"I don't know of this hell you're taking me to but if it gets me what I want. I'll go all the way to even the deepest pits of this hell." Sure, if it meant getting Nancy a proper life. Getting her out of harm's way, it was the least I could do. I know getting in the way of Roark is going to be hard but, but if, she get Nancy her life. I'll do it, heh, deepest pits of hell? That seems like a small price.
"You've got some big balls man. Just like I said before, you're a first. Everybody who drove this road down before you had no clue of what they were going to do after they met her. Well, you'll still have the choice as long as you want out but I'll tell ya this. It's hell in every sense of the word once you accept the price."
This was something I didn't expect, the chap seemed to get quite serious as he finished. His eyes squinted as he peered through the heavy know and dark roads but it didn't feel dangerous as he seemed to know the roads like the back of his hands. Twisting through a corner quite easily, swirling past another turn. It seemed like I was in one of those chick flick racing movies.
I kept quiet not knowing quite what to say to get the topic off the serious route it took.
"Heh. Old man, I got a question. What would you do if you see a guy, it doesn't matter who, and he's desperate. He needs money, he's been driving a car for all his life trying to earn his keep but he gets robbed after all his hard work. Now he's turned to the darker side of the city, he goes into this shop. It was a small timers shop, there were no customers and the cashier was full. He knew it was full cause he checked. Now he makes his move, he holds a gun up to the head of the cashier. The small timer can see the desperation seeping through his assailant's eyes. What do you think happens next?"
I look at him for a moment, it felt like the story was part of his past but I didn't want to prod into it and he wanted a fair answer. He was testing me, probably tryna find out if he'd like me or not.
"The small-timer lets him take the money." I say, it was the obvious outcome and the answer the man was looking for.
"No, he looks at his eyes and sees that desperation. He can tell just how desperate he is, you wanna know why? It's cause he's been through the same thin, that time in his life where everything seems to go wrong. He leans close and hugs the man and the man… scared shitless, pulls the trigger. Blood spurts into the wall behind the small-timer but you know what he does? He hugs him tighter and whispers a few words into his ear before the small-timer goes weak and falls off to the ground. It was far too late for the small-timer but for this young man he'd just said something. The young man had an entire life to live."
He stops the story, cutting it there as he stops the car abruptly, again skidding a little past the point he wanted to stop due to the snow.
"So… what does he say?" I ask as I get off the car and look up at the five storey building. It didn't seem like it was anything special and the doors seemed rusted and just about ready to fall apart. The place was practically run-down.
"Ah… so you were listening. Too bad but I can't tell you. Not until you make you final decision. You can take ma word though, if you get on that last bus at that final stop. I'll tell ya."
I make my way towards the door. The cold night had already done a number on the handlebars as they were freezing. My arm had stopped bleeding long ago; it was… just a flesh wound. I pull the doors open and light blinds my eyes. Light I thought impossible for a place so run-down.
I'm going to say this, right now. I'm a terrible writer. If you've read this and you like it, I'm insisting you ask another writer to either adopt it or write one of his own, possibly featuring Alucard or Integra but for now, this'll be chapter one of HellCity. Cheesy title, I know. And final chapter of HellCity for a time to come. I'm a very interest driven writer and not a committed one. I cannot promise you another chapter but you can hope to your fullest that it'll come. (Of course it'll come, as long as I stop the chapter in a cliff-hanger, it'll come.)
DeathFrown.
