AN: My apologies for all the typos, combed through it and hopefully fixed most of them. I'll attempt to post semi-regularly, and as is the norm here, reviews will keep me motivated, so feel free to comment, criticize or ask a question.
"And all those present bear witness to this act. Now rise, Sir Integra Fairbrooke Wingates Hellsing, new head of the Royal Order of the Protestant Knights."
The girl rose from her knee in front of the throne, her grey dress matching the English fog outside perfectly. Long silver hair fell past her shoulders, cascading to her lower back, unbound by knot, tie, or clip, yet remained as orderly as one would expect from the stern faced child. The dress spoke much about it's wearer's mentality, clean, trim, proper, nothing in excess, not a thread visibly out of place. Without speaking, as was proper, Sir Hellsing bowed her thanks to the Queen and turned to walk slowly from the room. Her butler, Walter C. Dornez, joined her outside of the hall, where her pace quickened noticeably.
Calm, stern, and letting only a small amount of her agitation leak into her voice, Integra spoke for the first time since they had left the manor that evening. "Come, I have an organization to acquaint myself with."
"Yes, ma'am" Walter replied obediently, the faithful butler, "But you should learn to take pleasure in your achievements. Knighting someone so young is not something to scoff at."
"I will take pleasure when I take part in my achievement. All I have done to earn this title was watched my father die and make a deal with the devil," Integra replied hotly, emotion of the fresh wound over riding her cool English demeanor.
"The devil?" a resounding, deep voice asked from the shadow covered stone wall on the pair's left, "You flatter a humble vampire, master." Appearing from the dark, Alucard joined Walter and Integra as they continued their fast walk through the maze of corridors to the front of the castle.
Already used to his shadow walking trick, Integra replied unflustered, "Very well, a devil then. Walter, I take it I know very little about the organization I now direct?"
"That is correct ma'am," Walter replied, not acknowledging Alucard's entrance.
"Well then, introduce me."
"I had thought you might want to attend your gala and begin business in the morning, but I prepared for this as well," Walter said, an exasperated look on his face. "There is a file on the internal affairs of Hellsing in our limo. It will brief you on everything, and I can go into any details you may require."
"Very good. Lets get to it then." Integra quickened her pace, practically making Walter run to keep up. Her face was stoic, but her mind was an ocean of tumultuous thoughts and feelings. Her father had died barely a week before, but he had prepared her for this eventuality, constantly testing her since his health had taken a turn for the worse. She couldn't think about attending a gala of all things when her father was fresh in the ground and her country, which she had just sworn to protect, was in danger because of her ineptitude.
The door closed on the shiny black vehicle, Alucard faded into the night, and Integra sat across from Walter reading intently from a thick manila folder labeled quite simply "Hellsing." Every once in a while, she would mumble something about "bloody vampires" or her father. She went nearly twenty minutes without speaking to Walter, and then suddenly she was staring. "What is all this about M.E.A.N.?"
"M.E.A.N., Midian Extermination and Neutralization. It is a special operations team assembled after World War II to deal with the high risk situations. If the target was particularly powerful or too close to a densely populated area, Hellsing sent M.E.A.N. to deal with the situation. They were particularly useful because of a personnel shortage… everyone that could fight had seen enough of it during the war to sign up for a new service. They are still under our employ, however for various reasons the team is incomplete and has not been called to serve in some time." As Walter spoke, he opened a briefcase and began fingering through more folders. "Ah, here we are. The last mission report filed by M.E.A.N. It was a typical assignment for them, and should give you a better idea of their role."
Integra took the papers Walter handed her, and began reading aloud under her breath as a group photo slid out onto the chair next to her leg. Walter picked it up and looked at the picture, all smiling faces armed with sub machine guns, face masks hanging from their necks. The captain, newly appointed for that mission, had his arm around a veteran member that had suggested he be assigned the position, the sniper.
"Midian Extermination and Neutralization (M.E.A.N.) operation 19870501-0273. Target: Vampire coven of 3 in London. Field Commander: Captain Gregory Dylan Wilson…"
--- --- ---
"Group up! Breach in three!" Captain Wilson yelled, falling back against the wall as his team took their positions. "I want flashes, not explosions Warhol!"
"Yes sir," Damien Warhol replied, changing grenades and hiding a smirk. There would be plenty of joking when the N.H.B.s were terminated. This new captain was a hard ass, but he got the job done. The grenade in hand, Damien nodded to Thomas, then to Jill. The captain checked their positions, then knocked on the wall three times. Jill kicked open the door, Damien threw in the grenade, and Thomas went in, another man at his back.
"All clear!" the rest of the team followed them in, gun's readied. Over the next few minutes, cries of "all clear" sounded from each of the rooms on the first floor, and the team reassembled at the main stairwell. Captain Wilson took in the scene and considered the blueprints. "Alright, Zach, your scout. Take Thomas with you. Jill, stay back and provide strategic support and backup. Damien, take Sam and cover the west wing. I will be with Jill, and Alicia should be on site about now. Once the target is identified, call it in to her on the shortwave. Damien, Zach, you two will converge on the south end of the main hall, where the target is suspected to be. You all know the drill, any armed human is a target. Alicia will be called as soon as a N.H.B. is confirmed, and we watch each other's backs."
Everyone nodded, split into their assigned groups and went to their orders. Within moments shots were fired and Alicia was called in. the presence of ghouls were confirmed as Jill set the stock on her rifle and laid down in the cracked door of the main hall, watching Zach and Thomas slowly work their way down the aisle of tables, firing well aimed shots at ghoul's heads. Without warning or announcement, something whisked over Jill's head and into the hall, splattering into a ghoul's head about ten feet behind Thomas.
"I'm in the main hall, has the target been sighted?" a sweet, melodic voice called out, followed by the click of a crossbow string being set.
"Negative Alicia, target has not been sighted," Zach replied.
"Damien regrouping with Zach now."
"Roger that. Confirm main hall is secure."
"Confirmed captain."
Zach, Thomas, Sam and Damien set up a four point perimeter as the captain and Jill moved down the aisle to join them, Alicia sitting atop a table, legs crossed elegantly, her crossbow resting on the polished wood next her. "Well, sir? Search or disengage?"
The captain looked at the Slayer, not sure. Luckily his question was answered a moment later when all of the doors slammed closed and a black mist began to more or less drip from the ceiling. All guns were immediately pointed at the vampiric mist, Thomas and Sam fanning to the left and right, Jill falling prone and rolling beneath a table, Damien, Zach, and the captain dropping to a knee, and Alicia jumping onto the table, crossbow bared at the growing darkness.
"Ah, Hellsing! How wonderful of you to come and take out my trash for me!" The mist slowly solidified from the ground up, forming a man dressed in a Naval officer's fatigues.
Alicia frowned, "Evasive, morphing, mist… class C or above," she said, and the captain nodded. They were expecting a class A vampire.
"What, no "your welcome"?" Well then, I suppose you'll need to be taught some manners, won't you?" the vampire said, extending an arm and pointing at Sam. Immediately the smell of gun powder filled the room as the team opened fire on the vampire, holy bullets practically removing his head and opening his chest. And then suddenly Sam was firing on his comrades. Eyes slightly wide, Alicia muttered, "Regeneration, persuasion, class A," and pointed a finger at Sam, who immediately fell to the ground unconscious.
"Scatter! Keep the target occupied! Alicia do your job!" the captain ordered, rolling forward. Automatic fire filled the air with bullets, and Alicia had dropped her crossbow and was running forward, a curved slicing knife in each hand. Laughter echoed throughout the room, coming not from their target, but from behind two of the closed doors.
--- --- ---
"Mission status: Success. Targets eliminated by Slayer Alicia. Three casualties, Thomas Gates, Jill Ashford, and Samuel Bennings." Integra finished, handing the file back to Walter and sitting back in her seat. "What is the situation of M.E.A.N. right now?"
"Well, they are undermanned and their technology is outdated. Bringing them up to date was on your father's extensive to-do list," Walter replied.
"Right, we'll start there. Begin collecting files on potential recruits, and once they're compiled I want to meet with Captain Wilson to go over them. I'm thinking tomorrow's high tea would be appropriate, don't you Walter?"
"Indeed ma'am, most appropriate," was Walter's characteristic and honest reply.
Integra nodded, looking back at the much larger folder, "Now then, about this so called 'Angel of Death'…" she said with an amused smirk on her face.