Disclaimer: All original characters and story line belong to Hirano Kohta. Nonprofit. Thanks Pojo-san and Paper Bullet for beta reading. They have helped me tremendously.
A/N: It's rated M for a reason, fair warning. Anything with a ( * ) is explained at the end of the fic.
–Machination–
Noun: an evil design or plan
He was so bored.
After two months of freedom he wanted to become a desiccated corpse again. The world held no interest for him. No wars or battles were taking place. His new master was far too serious for a young girl and Walter aged, leaving him the soldiers to mess with, but they were all the same.
I suppose I must entertain myself, He sighed. Flipping through human minds, he continued to meet facsimile concerns and thoughts about the next paycheck or getting a good— he paused. He tuned into a woman's mind. She was a mother and like many mothers she could only think about her only daughter, but it was not the mother who intrigued Alucard so much.
A smile curled onto his pale face. "How innocent!" he cackled, "I must have such a person! They will entertainment so much!" His voice echoed off the mildewed walls and through the estate, sending chills up the inhabitant's spines.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, angel?"
"Why can't God do daddy's job?"
A sad smile broke across a beautiful face. "Because there's too many bad guys for God, so daddy helps him."
"Oh!" The child could not have been over five. "So daddy's an angel like me!"
Her mother tittered. "I suppose so, but you are still an angel that doesn't have all her feathers yet."
"That means daddy does! And when I grow up, I can help daddy too then!" The girl exclaimed with glee.
"When you grow up," was the somber reply. "Come now, time for dreams!" The mom ushered her daughter to the bed covered in pink and frills. "What do you think you'll do in your sleep?" The child was tucked farther in.
"Play with my friends!" the girl piped, squirming.
"Who specifically darling?" the mother said playfully.
"I—," the child yawned, "don't know his name yet."
The mother looked quizzically down to her daughter. She had never received such a cryptic answer before. Shrugging off her uneasy feeling, she exited the room with a soft good night.
An exhausted police officer stumbled into his home. Reports came in all night. Two gruesome homicides included. When will this stop? He kicked off his shoes.
"Welcome home," called his wife from her seat on the couch. A commercial broadcasted on the telly.
"It's good to be home." he mumbled, crossing through the kitchen and joining her in their sparse living room.
While they chatted about tomorrow's plans the mother brought up the early conversation with their daughter.
"Such a sweet girl, doesn't know what's she saying." The father pulled at his moustache.
"What about these dreams?" The mother asked.
A hoarse laugh erupted from the man. "What about' em? They're only dreams love! If she has friends in her dreams then let it be. They're not real!"
"I suppose not." The mother nodded, '"Just worrying again."
"It's ya specialty," teased her husband. "Come on, let's go to bed."
The couple made their way back through the apartment to their room. Pausing outside his daughter's room the father swore he heard whispers. His hand hovered over the brass knob.
"Nonsense," he huffed, pulling away. "She's just sleep talkin'." He did not move. He fidgeted outside the door until his wife called from their bedroom. As he drifted off to sleep he could not shake the urge to wake his daughter. Her babbling unnerved him.
"Daddy?" a small voice called out.
"Yeah?" The father looked up from his Sunday morning newspaper. He had been reading the funnies.
"Where are we going today?" The precious child scratched her frazzled blonde hair.
"Mummy's church, angel." He smiled sweetly at his daughter, forgetting about last night. Looks just like her mum, probably be that short when she grows up too. The father observed.
"'Kay." She paused, her round blue eyes scanned the compact kitchen. "Where is she?"
"Takin' a shower."
Another pause. "Can I join her?" It was a question only kids can ask.
"Knock first and tell her it's ya." His daughter beamed before making her way to the single bathroom. Their home was cramped. The kitchen and the living room were connected. The bedrooms and privy were located down a short hall. It did not matter though because it was still their home.
Chuckling, the father went from comics to more serious business. He wanted to see the reaction of the columnists about the rise in bizarre murders from the past two months. Murders even London's best detectives cannot explain. Murders like the ones he experienced while working the evening shift.
"Madelyn!" boomed a voice.
"Hello Father." The mother approached the Catholic Priest as she held on to her daughter's hand.
"Look at whom ye brou't today!" The tall priest looked at the child from behind his square framed glasses.
"Yes, and my husband." Madelyn gestured to the man who stood behind her.
"Ah, yes, Jugas t'was?" Father spoke with a heavy Irish accent.
"Jason, actually." The husband replied. Sparks flashed between them.
"Beg my pard'n."
"And this is our only child and daughter, Seras , I'm sure you remember her." Madelyn rushed to distract the two men. She would not risk her hot headed husband arguing with a priest.
"Of course! She 'as yer face, but 'tis seems as 'f she's in'erited 'er fa'er's eyes and 'air." The priest smiled as Seras scuffed her white dress shoes on the marble floor.
"The best trait 'bout her," Jason said puffing his chest out in pride.
"God 'as certainly graced 'er." Father ignored Jason's comment. "Tis good to see ye toget'er, like a true family." The husband and wife flinched as their daughter watched the transaction. She could not understand why her father's inability to attend church every Sunday made him a bad daddy in the priest's eyes.
Another religious official approached the group, whispered something in Father's ear, and left as quickly as he came.
"Excuse, but I must dep'rt. May peace and God be with ye." The priest blessed them.
"And with you Father Anderson!" Mrs. Victoria called as he walked away.
"Mummy?" Seras murmured.
"Yes?"
"That man scares me."
The mother's brow furrowed in confusion, but the father and daughter shared a moment of understanding.
As the family walked away, Jason leaned down and whispered in Seras' ear, "He gives me the willies too." They then proceeded out the Gothic cathedral and into London's dreary weather.
As Sunday morning waned into afternoon, Jason was forced to separate from his family for work. "See ya later my angel." He kissed his daughter, "Until tonight my love." He kissed his wife.
Upon turning his back to his family, Seras wanted to run after him and beg him to stay. She always felt maybe one day he would not take her to school anymore. She became distracted and left her mother's side to join the other children on the slides; her white dress bounced as she went.
A little ways from the tykes, all the parents gathered. They talked and gossiped with each other to preoccupy their time at the playground. Today's topic of interest dealt with the two unattended children using the swings. Madelyn gathered the gender and the age had been debated before deciding they were both presumably girls around the age of eleven or twelve. Their attire was then scrutinized.
"Yes it is Sunday and the proper dress is required, but theirs seems to be totally inappropriate for girls of their age!" A mother argued.
Don't say anything. It is not your place, Maddie warned herself, but she still agreed with the other woman. They both wore fine black suits. Very particular indeed. Mrs. Victoria added to herself. As she looked at them she also noticed how opposite they were. The one to the left had long, white blonde hair emphasizing her olive tone skin. This child had round, wire rimmed glasses too. The other was sickly looking with her pale skin and dark hair blending in with the suit. An eerie grin played over the child's lips when Madelyn realized she was starring. Feeling ashamed she tore her gaze away from the mysterious strangers.
"I don't like the looks of them." The same mother huffed. "They look like trouble." With that the woman fetched her child from the slide and departed. Three others followed suit, dragging their protesting kids away. The numbers dwindled until only Madelyn, Seras, and the strangers remained. An unsettling feeling grew in the pit of the mother's stomach. Something was not right, but before she called out for her daughter, the ever gregarious Seras chatted pleasantly to them.
Rushing over Madelyn interrupted their conversation by saying in a high pitched voice it was time to go home.
"But mummy!" The child whined as she was grabbed roughly by the shoulders. "My friends!" The mother glanced at the strangers. Her gaze fell on the sickly one. A shiver shot down her spine. The girl's face looked fearsome. The child's eyes became slits and her lips were drawn down in an ugly frown, mutilating her handsome appearance. Her arms were crossed against her chest with fists clenched. The girl's reaction reminded Mrs. Victoria of how a temper tantrum might begin.
Had her daughter said something? No, instincts told the mother why the dark haired girl pouted so. It was because the mother was taking away the child's toy, Madelyn's little angel- Seras.
"Excuse us," the mother choked out.
"Mommy!" squealed her daughter in pain as Madelyn fled the park.
Jason slid the door to his angel's bedroom closed. Normally, he would not have risked disturbing his daughter's sleep, but he had to see the bruises. The blue berret* did not enjoying coming home to a hysterical wife. No, he had enough of that in the field.
Madelyn sat on the worn couch, her knees held against her chest. Her toes curling in and out, in and out…What have I done, what have I done? She repeated in her head.
Jason cleared his throat.
The mother jerked violently and looked up at her husband with pleading doe like eyes. "Did I hurt her?" she asked in a hoarse voice.
Shaking his head, the husband shoved his hands into his khaki slacks. "No," he assured, "They're light, should be gone in a day or two. Best not make a fuss outta it, eh? Ya know how kids can be."
"Right." Madelyn breathed a little easier.
Jason shuffled from one foot to another, unsure of how to broach the delicate subject pertaining to this afternoon. Well, there's no better way- He sighed and blurted," What the hell happen Maddie?"
A haggard look consumed his young wife. The luster of her hair to the healthy glow of her skin all became dull and old. Deep purple bags sunk below her weary eyes and a painful frown added years to her face. "I was spooked, Jason. More than I have ever been. It was worse than you coming home late. I thought for a second I was going to have to bury my baby if I stayed there any longer. No parent should have to bury their child!" It was like hearing a corpse speak. Hollow and rough. "I lost control! I was trapped under her gaze! That whole maternal thing kicked in!"
Puzzled, the father pushed on. "Who was threatening ya?"
The glow of the telly bounced onto Madelyn. The blue tinge and sharp relief disturbed Jason. He tried to look away, but the desperation in his wife's eyes did not let him waver.
"She was just a child, but oh God! The way she looked at Seras, at me!" She covered her face with shaking hands, trying to hide away from the memory.
The sirens went off in Jason's head. "Come on sweet, ya need to rest." He used his calm police voice as if he was talking to a hysterical stranger and not his wife.
She looked up. "But I'm worried…"
Madelyn was shocked when her husband chuckled, "Are ya forgetting who I am?"
A soft smile broke across her face, returning it back to normal. "How could I ever forget."
Jason looked forward to taking Seras to Kindergarten every morning. She woke up and got ready without complaint. She chose out her own mismatched outfit which her father always let her wear (even though Madelyn picked out cloths the night before). Today, Seras threw on a pair of jean overalls that cutoff below her knees along with a green and white striped t-shirt.
"Daddy, put my hair up?" She held out ridiculous red bow ties to Jason.
"Yeah. I'll do it while ya eatin'." Jason had a hard time saying no to his daughter.
Seras munched on her cereal while he brushed her hair into a lopsided pony tail. She liked when her daddy put up her hair because he did it.
They finished breakfast and rushed out the door. Jason often considered riding the bus or getting a taxi to save time, but the rent was expensive and he wanted to save up money for a nice family vacation.
"Piggy back ride?" he offered his daughter. She bobbed her head up and down, clutching her backpack straps. After hoisting Seras up, Mr. Victoria set off at a brisk pace through the streets. He made a game out of dodging people and traffic with Seras. Pretending they were being chased after or in a grand maze not on a filthy city street. His daughter giggled and cheered the whole way to school.
As West Elementary Public School* came into view, Jason slowed his pace. He needed to talk to Seras. "Angel?"
"Yeah?" she piped.
"Mommy said ya made new friends at the park yesterday!"
"Yupp!"
"Can ya tell me about them?"
Seras shifted against his back. "I wanted to talk to 'em because the one girl looked like my friend. But I don't know his name and I figured she knew his name because she looked like him!"
Jason asked, "Is he a friend from school?"
"No. From my sleep!"
Mr. Victoria dropped the subject. He said goodbye to his angel by scratching her nose with his fuzzy moustache, claiming it was for good luck.
"Bye-Bye Da!" Seras waved as a teacher escorted her into the school with the rest of the children.
When Jason returned home he caught Madelyn before she rushed off to work. "Since when does Seras have an imaginary friend?"
"What?" Mrs. Victoria shuffled around her purse, looking for her bus pass.
"An imaginary friend Maddie. From her sleep?"
The mother stopped moving. "I mentioned him to you! But you said not to worry! Should I worry?"
"No." Jason did not want to tell his wife he was cross examining her story from this weekend.
"She's never needed imaginary friends. She has plenty of real ones. I don't understand why she is doing this now," Madelyn sighed.
"It's probably just a phase. Girls go through a lot of 'em," Mr. Victoria said.
Scoffing, the wife said goodbye to her husband and left for her commute to St. Jerome Emiliani.*
Even though Madelyn's job paid little and expected much out of her, she enjoyed working at the orphanage. She felt as if she was fulfilling her works of mercy.* She changed the sheets, washed the laundry, prepared supper. She did anything possible before she left to pick up Seras at school.
While vacuuming the hallways, Maddie stopped to greet her priest.
"Father Anderson!" she beamed.
"Madelyn," he nodded, "Did ye enjoy yer Sunday?"
"About that, I would like to talk to you."
Father regarded her for a few seconds, and then replied, "What tis wrong child?"
Madelyn lowered her gaze, ashamed. "While Seras and I were at the park, these two girls were there. And I judged them—"
"Madelyn, ye shouldn't be so 'ard on yerself. Only Jesus—"
"No Father," she looked up, face haunted, "As I dragged my daughter away I thought horrible things. I went as far as accusing one of the girls to be a murderer! I did not know where it came from, but that's what I thought she was! A murderer!"
The priest's glasses reflected the light, concealing his eyes.
Mrs. Victoria did not say anything. She gripped the handle of the vacuum, waiting for hopeful words, forgiving words. He would offer some kind of comfort, right?
"Maddie!" the shout shattered the silence, "Maddie! Come quick there's a call for you in the office! It has to do with Seras!"
The mother shot Father a fleeting glance before rushing off. His opinion could wait; her daughter came first.
Someone knocked on Jason's private office.
"Yeah!" he growled. After coming to work at ten and having to do nothing but paper work (much unlike Saturday), the CO19 was not in the most pleasant mood.
Robert Moore, a friend of Jason's on the force, entered in. "Jason, I gotta tell you something."
Captain Victoria raised his head, attentive.
"A call came in 'bout a half an hour ago for a feral dog—"
"What the hell? I have—"
"A patrol cop got there before animal control. No dog. Instead he found that wanted kiddie fucker lurking 'round Seras' school."
Jason left the station for West Elementary without a word.
The school buzzed with activity. Police officers forced news crews out of the way to let frantic parents fetch their children. Teachers rushed about. Kids cried because of the confusion and Jason was ready to throw a tantrum of his own. He could not find Seras! Frustrated, he shoved his badge beneath a secretary's nose and demanded to know where his daughter was.
The woman gave him a funny look, "The police already detained that student. She's in the lounge with her mother." Jason received directions to the room and marched his way there. A guard stood at the door.
"What's the situation?" Jason asked after flashing his badge.
"We've got a kid interrogator in there, precaution."
"Right." The blue berret pushed past the stranger and into the room, despite his protests.
"Da!" Squealed Seras.
"Hey Angel." Jason looked over at the interrogator. "I'll ask, ya can observe." The man nodded.
"How's ya day been, Seras?" The father sat down at the long table. Madelyn clutched Seras' in her lap.
"Great! You wouldn't believe it daddy, I met a really sweet doggy!"
"Did ya? When was that?" Jason played along with his daughter, faking a smile.
"At recess. A meanie threw the ball over the fence and I went to go get it. And there the doggy was! He was huge!"
"Did the teacher let you go get the ball?"
Seras lowered her eyes and pouted her lips. "Nooo…"
"Seras!" scolded Madelyn.
"She would have taken too long! So I slipped through the hole!" the child whined.
"What 'bout the doggy?" Jason reminded.
"He was nice. I got to pet him. His fur felt like—" Seras reached for her ponytail and pulled at some hair. "—this, but a lot softer and it was black."
"Where's he now?" the father peered around the mundane room, acting as if the animal should be there with them.
"The teacher scared him." Seras sighed. "He tried to go towards her, but she screamed really really loudly! My ears hurt after that!" she nodded her head and lifted her eye brows, making her eyes even wider.
"Did ya not get to play with the dog?" Jason kept the facade going.
"No. I had to come in early from recess. Then mommy got called." Seras looked around, "Am I in trouble?"
Jason laughed, "No, but guess what?" He leaned across the table.
"What?" Seras whispered, stretching to meet him.
"Ya get to go home early."
Seras exploded in glee."Yay! Can I watch cartoons too!"
"Wait—" the interrogator began, but Jason shot him a cool look.
"Course ya can angel. See ya at home 'kay?"
"Let's go mum!" Seras wiggled with anticipation. Jason said a quick good bye before releasing his family. As soon as they were gone, his smile dropped.
"How did that cop find the freak?" he grumbled to the only remaining person in the room.
"The man had been attacked while hiding. He no longer has an ear and suffered great blood loss." The interrogator explained. "We think it was the same dog your daughter was talking about that bit it off."
Good boy. Jason thought, strutting out of the room.
"This is why we should have sent her to a Catholic school!" hissed Madelyn. They stood in their bedroom.
"We don't have the money!" Jason spat back. He shot a look out the door, making sure Seras could not hear them over the telly. "Besides, a pedophile could be around Catholic school too."
Maddie ground her teeth. "She would have been more protected."
"No. The only difference between a private and a public school is ya have to pay for it and ya learn 'bout religion!" He grumbled.
His wife hushed and turned her back to him. He forgot Madelyn went to a Catholic school as a girl.
Crap. Jason tried to scratch up an apology, "Aw, come on love, I didn't mean to offend you!", but he was never good at that.
"Please put Seras to bed."
Groaning, he left the room and slumped onto the coach with his daughter.
"Are you in trouble?" Seras asked, climbing into his lap.
"Yeah, big trouble."
Seras did not go to school the next day. Jason tried to convince Madelyn it was safe, but she refused to listen to him. She was still seething from last night. Dejected, the husband left for the station.
Maddie called in sick and apologized for any inconveniences. She and her daughter played at the park until noon when it began to drizzle. The mother's heart felt light. Nothing strange happened today. When Seras lay down to take a nap, Maddie decided to slip out and fetch some groceries. They were running low on vegetables and she wanted to get ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. She liked to splurge and spoil her Angel.
Exposed. That is how Madelyn felt when she returned. It felt as if the apartment was no longer her home. As if she was in a stranger's house instead. She did not like this. Not. One. Bit.
"Seras?" she whispered, dropping the groceries on the kitchen counter and padding back to her daughter's room. The door was open, mocking her. "Oh God." She did not see her daughter where she left her. "Seras!" Her voice found its courage and grew louder. "Seras!" it cracked as Madelyn became more frantic.
Her heart thumped inside its cage. It clenched when Seras was not in the main bedroom either. "Oh God, oh God!" She repeated the mantra over again, but it did nothing to calm her nerves.
Where was she to look now? The only place left was—"The living room," she breathed, jogged back to the front of the apartment. Stepping towards the back of the couch she worried what awaited her on the other side. An edge of a blanket she did not recognize came into view. She grasped the material and ripped it from the couch.
Beneath lay a rosy cheeked sleeping Seras. "My angel!" Madelyn sobbed loudly, waking her daughter.
"Mumm?" the child grumbled as she rubbed an eye in a lazy way. "Mummy?" Seras' hair was ruffled from her nap.
"Angel, Baby, Darling!" Madelyn continued to whine, taking the small girl into her arms and hugging her close. Tears of relief spilled out as she clutched the half conscious child. "Thank God, thank God!" she muttered over and over again.
"I's still sweepy mummy." Seras mumbled resting her head upon her mother's shoulder.
"Okay, okay." Mrs. Victoria sniffed, as she pulled her daughter away from her body for a moment. "Are you okay?"
"Fine..." Seras sighed, her head lolling to one side.
"Yes you are, yes you are! Now go back to sleep, I am sorry." She hushed. Madelyn ambled back to her daughter's room, rocking her baby. As she laid Seras amongst the pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals, Mrs. Victoria wondered how her daughter ended up in the living room.
"Mummy?"
"Hmm?"
"My blankie."
Madelyn began to move the pink comforter onto her daughter when Seras began to protest. "Noo, my blankie!"
Confused, the mother thought for a moment. She never had a baby blanket, what is she talking ab-The realization settled in her gut like a pebble into a still pond, the ripples shaking her composure. Her daughter was asking for the unfamiliar blanket in the living room. Reluctant to hand it over, Madelyn explained she did not know what Seras was talking about. Unlike most five year olds, she did not throw a fit or get upset; she accepted what her mother said and drifted off to sleep.
Madelyn shut the door as she left her daughter to nap. Strutting back to the couch, she searched for the mysterious blanket, but in vain. It was nowhere to be found! Madelyn cursed at herself. She did not imagine this! Turning back around to face the kitchen a vice clutched her heart.
A note hung on the refrigerator's immaculate white surface. She stumbled towards it, her hand outreached the whole time. It took a moment for her brain to register this was real and tangible. A shudder ran down her spine. Crumpling up the paper she threw it to the floor. Although she knew she should wait for her husband to see, she could not stand to have those elegantly written words visible. It was a twisted joke. It had to be that. Madelyn's eye caught the full moon peaking through the gloomy clouds. Racing around the apartment she shut all the blinds, including those in Seras' room, but there was no comfort to be gained. The words haunted her. Burned into her memory.
"She won't be your angel much longer."
Nothing calmed her frayed nerves. Maddie tried to make cookies, but they burned. Seras ended up eating cereal for dinner because the mother could not concentrate. And when she turned on the television after Seras went to bed, the news talked of how the kidnapping rate had risen in the past year. How the homicide rate has risen in the past year. How organized crime has risen in the past year.
She chewed on her finger nails, rocking herself back and forth on the couch. She searched for the note, but like the blanket, it disappeared too. As soon as the door opened the mother shot to her feet.
"Hey Mad-" Jason stopped and gave his wife a wary look. He had seen this before in other crazed women who have lost a lover or a child. "Evening." He continued with slow movements so not to startle her. His gaze shifted ever so briefly to the television. "Ya really shouldn't watch that shit."
"But you see worse." Her voice was low, accusing.
He sighed, the couch stood between them. "Maddie what I see makes me ashamed to be human."
"Maybe we should be talking about it then." Jason could tell she read more Healthy living for Catholic families. She never said cheesy shit like that unless she had. Goddamn book. He cursed.
"I can't talk about that stuff! I can only shut my brain off to those images, sounds, and smells." He closed his eyes. He handled another mysterious murder. It was the most gruesome yet. I feel like the fucking detective charged with finding Jack the Ripper.
Madelyn paused, her mouth agape. She then changed the subject. "I think we should get more security for the apartment." She spoke firmly now.
Surprised, the husband pondered on what might have aroused such gumption in his wife.
"Okay, but tomorrow please?" Jason groaned.
"Tomorrow." The mother nodded.
They headed off the bed where they both encountered dark, disturbing dreams, but when they tried to remember what caused the cold sweat, they came up blank.
When Jason staggered into the kitchen to make his morning coffee, he found his wife waiting for him. The phone book lay open on the table and he could tell several pages have been dog-eared.
He grumbled, "When I said tomorrow, I didn't mean this early in tomorrow."
Madelyn sat still. Her resolution was obvious. For the next half hour, they decided on the best security agency and one they could afford. Jason felt as if he was going through the application process to become a Catholic again. To get married, Maddie insisted on him converting from Protestant. He consented to the simple request. Like he gave a damn about religion any ways. But again, one of his wife's simple requests turned into an intricate and grueling task. She had him calculating numbers all through breakfast and on the phone after he dropped Seras off. She refused to leave for work until he called and scheduled an appointment to install the security system.
"Thank you for choosing us, Mr. Victoria," the man said on the other line.
"Why the hell am I buying this shit when ya are the real thieves?" Jason wondered aloud before hanging up. There goes vacation, he sighed.
Alucard sat in the confides of his chamber watching as a CO19 was chewed out by his superior. The man compromised a mission because of a tactical slip up. The team zeroed in on a warehouse confirmed to belong to a drug trafficking group referred to as "Kane". The same people were suspected of the gruesome murders, but Alucard knew very well a human did not have the imagination needed to kill another person in such a fashion. An inane smile slipped onto his face. He could still hear their screams.
The conversation ended with the officer being dismissed for the day. Alucard allowed the rest of the pieces fall into place. He prepared for this night. When she would be released from anyone else and he could lure her into his dark world.
The sun began to sink below the cities horizon as the father left the station. Having no ride, he was forced to take the tube* home. Jason hated the tube. It was crowded and he never did well with crowds. People shoved each other and not bothering to excuse themselves when knocking into another. With the six o'clock rush jostling him on all sides, the disoriented officer was jostled on all sides. When a particular woman jammed her stiletto heels into his foot, Jason moved to give her a piece of his mind. Instead, he saw them. Two men who had been watching him, only to turn away when he made eye contact with them.
Jumping into action, the cop now moved a path through the people to the next arriving train. Why am I being trailed? he asked. It doesn't make sense! He boarded the nearest open cab. He noted the men sneak into one two cars behind. "Dammit," Jason cursed. He shuffled through his muddled mind to dig up all his experience and knowledge.
"Next stop, Greenpark," an automated voice announced over the intercom. The husband settled down, crossing his arms over his chest. "Next stop," he mimicked to himself, "Very busy streets."
Jason exited the underground* and made his way towards the heart of the city where dinner time crowds and tourists flocked the streets. With people acting as cover he lost the men in no time. Proud of himself, Jason hailed a taxi. His detour took him almost nine kilometers* farther from his home and family, but it also took the strangers nine kilometers farther too. They can't tail me now, he assumed. Blinded by his accomplishment, he did not consider how dangerous it was to assume.
Two men hunched in an alleyway watched as a beautiful mother and daughter entered their targeted apartment building. Between them, they carried the produce from their shopping trip.
"I'd like to fuck that," grunted the more vulgar of the two.
"The kid?" squeaked the other. He was new to "Kane", a gang of drug addicts, alcoholics, and criminals of different varieties who enjoy mischief and feeding their vices as well as those of others.
"Yes dipshit." The man rolled his eyes and went on to explain the plan. "Jim and Carl said they lost him in Piccadilly Circus*, but saw him catch a cab. So we wait for the popo, follow him up to his place and blow his brains out! Can you do that kid?" He sneered.
The younger one nodded. His throat clenched and his body shook. If I do this, then they'll let Mary go. I am going to kill this guy for Mary. He convinced himself.
They waited only fifteen minutes before a cab rolled up.
"There he is Russell," the man nudged the potential member, "Our cop."
The man that got out of the vehicle did not seem like a CO19 officer to Russell. He looked like an average man, nothing special. Russell suddenly felt more confident about killing the man. At least he's an easy target.
"Let's go," ordered Russell's partner and they strolled out into the street.
"Marty what are you—"
"'Ello neighbor!" Marty called to their target as the cop unlocked the main door.
"Hello," nodded the blonde man. His cast a suspicious glance between the two men. "Are ya guys moving in together?"
"You bet," smiled Marty, "Two bachelor's need some space don't they?"
The man chuckled, understanding exactly how the two young men felt. "Nice to meet ya, I'm Jason, My wife, daughter, and I live up in 3C."
"Really!" Marty grinned at Russell. "We got one on the same floor!"
Russell could not look Jason in the eye. He's got a wife, he's got a little girl. Loosing all confidence, he plummeted into despair.
"A, B, C, D, E, F, G," Seras chirped while scrubbing her hands, H, I, J, K, LMNOP,"
"Q, R, S, T, U, V," Maddie added in as she too washed her hands for dinner.
"W, X, Y, and Z!" They sang in unison. "Now I know my ABC's, next time won't you sing with me?" Mother and daughter giggled.
Madelyn's gloom lifted as the day wore on, starting with her husband getting the security system. Tomorrow's only a day away, she thought, a smile tweaking her lips.
Seras held up her wet hands."Mommy I need a towel!"
Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Please," added her daughter. Nodding in approval Mrs. Victoria walked across the hallway to the linen closet. As she shuffled around the toilet paper and cereal boxes the door to the apartment opened.
"Jason?" She called, abandoning her search.
"Hey love." Her husband stepped into the door. "Have ya met our new neighbors?"
Maddie did not hear him, she stared passed her husband and out the door. She watched a young man raise a gun and shoot. She watched as her husbands brains splattered over the kitchen floor, a smile plastered on his face. She watched as he collapsed.
The world shifted and shattered. The men did not seem to notice. They argued about a silencer.
"Mum?" Seras stood in front of the open closet. She could not see, but she could hear. She heard the gun fire. The yelling and the swearing. "Mum?" she repeated.
Madelyn suddenly shoved her daughter into the cupboard and shut the door, squishing Seras against dry food and blankets. "Seras, don't say anything, don't come out!" The words tumbled out of the widow's lips. Through slits in the door Seras saw water fall down her mother cheeks.
Russell puked on the kitchen floor. For Mary, for Mary! he chanted, heaving up more of his stomach. His dinner ran together with the blood. It smelled horrible already of excretion from the body and now Russell added his own scent.
"Fucking pansy," grumbled Marty who marched right into the apartment, purposely stepping on Jason's body. "Where's that bitch? Ah... there you are my pretty thing."
The woman stood tall and proud. Her skirt stretched as she took a strong stance before the hallway.
"So that's how it's gonna be, eh?" leered the murder. "Fine by me." He lifted his own weapon and fired into the woman's stomach and chest. Shock splayed across her face as she died. "I like my woman obedient," He laughed, unzipping his pants.
"Marty, what the fuck are you doing?" Russell heaved, horrified as his partner crouch down by the murdered wife and hiked up her skirt.
"I gotta get some before she goes cold." the man grunted.
"What the—"
A shriek erupted as a child burst from a closet wielding a fork. Before Marty had a chance to stop her, she stabbed him in the eye. Russell raised his gun and shot the girl. Her small body hit the wall with the bullet's impact. She slid to the ground, blood staining the paint.
"Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!" shouted Marty, clutching his gouged eye. "Damn little bitch!" he snarled.
Russell stood shell shocked. I shot that girl. She might have been a little younger than Mary! I fucking shot that girl! Air refused to fill his lungs. Sick, wet slapping sounds filled the apartment. It was obvious how Marty decided to relieve himself of the current situation.
"I fucking shot that girl, I fucking shot that girl." Russell repeated out loud, starring at the floor, trying to find a place not besmirched by blood or piss or puke.
"Yes you did," hissed a voice.
Russell glanced over at Marty, but he was still too preoccupied with fucking the corpse. "Jesus, am I hearing fucking voices?" hiccupped the young man.
"It would be much better for you if you were only hearing voices."
Russell's head snapped towards the door. Looming in the corridor stood a stranger dressed in a leather outfit. His hair danced as his red eyes bored into Russell's. The lackey's head slipped to the side and an eerie smile bloomed onto the once hysterical man's face. He raised his gun and turned towards Marty, who huffed as his orgasm neared.
The sirens screamed outside as Russell filled Marty's body with bullets. The police made it to the open apartment door just as Russell fitted the gun into his mouth and committed suicide. Crying and smiling at the same time.
A solitary figure stood off in the distance and watched a funeral procession. Many police officers dressed in their uniforms stood outside in the bitter fall weather. The wind bit at their bare faces and chilled their tears. A child sat bundled in a wheel chair. She had been shot in the abdomen by some burglars, or so the police report claimed. Her physical wound would heal in time, but the wound dealt to her heart, could it ever mend? Her parents were now six feet under and she had no one to look to. Even her mother's respected priest, Father Anderson, was not there to give her solace. He was across the sea in his homeland, Ireland. Leaving her so all alone...
Alucard grinned as he watched. Everything was right. His precious prize, his condemned angel, would soon belong to only him.
A somber girl flipped through some files. "This man never had an interview," she pointed out, shoving her glasses higher on her face.
The man standing attentive next to her nodded. "I was never able to get in contact with him."
"Why not?" she demanded from her plush arm chair; she made many demands from this seat and would make many more too.
"It appears as if he is dead now."
"Really?" The girls light eyebrows shot up into her bangs. Curiosity plagued her voice.
"Yes, his wife too. Tragic really, their daughter is in an orphanage now." Walter frowned in disapproval. He did not wish Integra to show her emotions so easily. Those belonging to the Round Table would take advantage of this weakness.
"Maybe we should send the establishment a fund?" suggested the girl, examining the dead CO19 profile. She thought it mature of her to say such a thing.
"It's Catholic, Sir Integra," the butler gently informed.
"Oh well we can't have that now can we, Alucard?" She addressed a tall figure standing in the shadows of the room.
"No, Master," purred the vampire.
She regarded him carefully before requesting more tea, "Tell me more about your species. I am interested to hear about— fledglings was it? Have you ever had one?"
"No," Alucard grinned, "Not yet." His canines gleamed in the light.
Integra gave him a sharp look, "Maybe it is wise to keep it that way."
Alucard did not reply. Other things preoccupied his mind, such as the entertaining future awaiting him.
Word Count: 6,798
A/N: This oneshot was intense for me to write. It took a lot more effort than I expected, but I do not regret it either. I want to give one more shout out to Pojo-san, if I could buy you a plane ticket to see Oomph! I would!
Any comments are appreciated as well.
*Blue Berret is the nickname for the CO19. Its American counterpart is SWAT, but they deal with a more wide range of situations.
*West Elementary Public School is not a real place.
*St. Jerome Emiliani is the patron saint of orphans. Fitting for a Catholic orphanage, no?
*Works of mercy are codes Catholics are expected to follow. There are two types: corporal and Spiritual. Corporal deals with physical things, i.e. Feed the hungry, cloth the naked, shelter the homeless, ect. Spiritual mostly has to do with praying or bettering the soul, i.e. Comfort the grieving, pray for the sinners, ect.
*tube/underground a.k.a subway
*Nine kilometers is roughly six miles.
*Piccadilly Circus in London is like Time's Square in New York City.