"Hey,Oliver…"
"My name is Pip, Lord Alucard."
"..Pip, be careful. I sense a vampire here."
The top place within Pip's personal "Things-I-hate" hit-parade belonged completely to Charles Dickens. His parents shared the second place. It wasn't quite logical, because the conjoints Bernadotte, and not Dickens at all, were the ones, whoes affection for the novel "Great Expectations" had cast a shade upon their son's life. It wasn't exactly Dickens's fault, that Pip's classmates had chosen his name to be an object of mockeries and taunts. The day, when nineteenth century literature came in their school syllabus was meant to be the darkest day in Bernadotte's life. Nevertheless Bernadotte was a good son and preferred to blame long ago dead classic writer for trials and tribulations of his childhood.
"David!"
"My name is Pip, Lord Alucard."
"Oh..yes, Pip. Check the side street."
The hatred deadened with the lapse of time, mostly because of the fact that Bernadotte had grown up into a hardened strong mercenary, and there were few people who dared to taunt him. And there were few people within his circle of acquaintance, who'd read "Great expectations". He started to think that the name curse hadn't hang over him anymore. He'd been under this comforting delusion until this evening.
"Mmm….Scrooge…"
"My name is Pip!"
"Sure. I forgot."
For some reasons Lady Hellsing dispatched him for the raid with Alucard this evening. Mercenary was puzzled with the sympathetic expression of Walter's face, while butler was transmitting the orders to him. He was a little bit disturbed the way one of the Hellsing vets shook his hand and patted him on the shoulder. But the most unpleasant and suspicious thing was that Victoria suddenly put him into a strong suffocating embrace, brushed away a bloody tear and asked him to be very very careful and do not stand in the line of Alucard's shooting. "Master has used to make raids with me lately and he might forget accidentally, that you can not regenerate.. Anyway remember: it's not out of spite, just of absent-mindedness"
Those dark omens made him feel uneasy, there was a suspicion, that proved itself later: Alucard definitely had read "Great expectations", moreover, judging by the number of character's names, he's already voiced, Alucard had read a lot of Charles Dickens's novels. And worst of all Alucard was in a cheerful mood.
"Fagin.."
Bernadotte stopped. Alucard stopped as well. Mercenary identified the expression of vampire's face as temporizing.
"I'm not Fagin, Lord Alucard". He uttered quietly.
"Oh". Alucard said with a surprise on his face. "Eem…Monks?"
Bernadotte was often teased in childhood by children twice or trice of his size, but, no matter how much stronger was an opponent, Pip had never allowed himself to stay cowardly silent.
"He'll kill me". He thought bluntly, - would say I was standing in a wrong side.." But sometimes honour is more valuable then life.
"My name is Pip!" He roared standing on the tiptoe to be face to face with the vampire. "Put that in your pipe and smoke it! Pip Bernadotte, you, damn bloodsucker! Got it?"
He stepped aside waiting for an instant death.
Alucard wiped his glasses, which were spat with enraged mercenary's saliva.
"Yes, exactly". He said and grinned with his courteous shark smile. "Pip, of course. I kept in mind it was something from Dickens…So your name is Pip. Yes. The boy with great expactations, from rags to riches.. Good name. Now I'll memorize it for sure. Let's go, Pip. Daily plan should be fulfilled."
He began to walk leisurely, Pip's thoughtful gaze following his back.
Dickens has collapsed from the pedestal of Pip's personal hatred hit-parade with thunder, leaving the leadership position for the more ancient deadman.