"Pater?" Heinkel stopped and turned around to face the girl running towards her. The girl was about eight years old, had brown hair and bright brown eyes. Her blue shirt matched her hair tie and bracelet. In her small hands she was clutching a pink flower. Behind her a group of children her age followed. She stopped abruptly before Heinkel. "Pater, I found that flower", she said in Italian.
Another child almost bumped into her. "You stupid, Alessia that's not a pater. A woman cannot be a pater! That's Sister Heinkel."
"Paladin Heinkel, you mean!", another child corrected.
The girl stared at her with huge startled eyes. Her face turned red. "Scusate, Signora, I didn't-"
Heinkel smiled involuntarily. "No problem." She bit at the toothpick. In the orphanage she couldn't smoke, which was annoying. But some moments just rewarded her for that. The smile of this little girl for example. She noticed Anderson standing a few meters away, pretending to read in his bible. The girl held out the flower. "Thank you for caring for us", she said very solemn.
Heinkel wanted to take the flower, but the girl retreated. "Can I put it in your hair?", she asked timidly. Heinkel glanced in confusion over her sunglasses. "Ähm..." The girl glanced at her with begging brown eyes. Heinkel squatted, so the girl could reach her. "Ja, of course", she laughed. Alessia put the flower behind her ear, so it would stick in her hair.
Now Iscariot's youngest top-assassin had a pink flower in her short straw-colored hair. It made her look almost like a child again. Anderson smiled behind his bible. Heinkel refused to believe him, but she had a thing with kids. It was like a natural talent. Not like Yumie and Yumiko. Yumiko always let the kids pull her leg and Yumie was too impatient. But Heinkel was neither too strict nor too yielding. "How do I look?", she now asked the kids and pretended posing for a photo. The children burst out laughing. "Wonderful!", a little girl exclaimed. Alessia hugged Heinkel for a second. "It's a lucky charm", she whispered and off the children were, laughing and yelling.
Heinkel stood up and touched the flower carefully. She didn't want it to fall out. In a fountain she studied her reflection. She made the amusing notion that the flower matched her hair. She leaned against the fountain and watched the children. Alessia seemed happy and the paladin was glad about it.
Not too many years had passed since Heinkel herself had been like that. Her childhood had been significantly different from this little girl's and she hoped Alessia would be spared of the cruelty she had seen. Of course Heinkel liked being a paladin. It was her fate, her destiny. The best use for her talents and abilities. But it was hard. Hard, bloody and cruel. She hoped this little girl wouldn't have to live like her.
Alessia had been brought to Ferdinand Luke's, outside of Rome, about a month ago. She hadn't spoken then. Her parents had mistreated her badly for years before her father killed her mother in a car crash he barely survived. Since the family was catholic, Alessia ended up in Anderson's orphanage. She was a shy girl, suspicious of everybody older than her. So one of her fellow orphans, a boy named Francesco, showed her around and supported her whenever she needed help. Alessia started to open up, even to the adults. Coming up to Heinkel for giving her the flower was a huge step.
She remembered her own first month at the orphanage. She had been six then. Before her parents died she lived in Munich, Germany. When she had been brought here she didn't speak a word Italian and only a few phrases of English. Paladin Francesca only brought her to Rome because she saw her talent. Heinkel had shot the three vampires that killed her parents with the gun her mother gave her before she hid her daughter in the closet. She hadn't even aimed, she was much too young for this, and still hit all of them. The little girl was traumatized. The nightmares woke her up every night. Still she refused to cry again and just lay awake until dawn was breaking. She didn't speak a word for two weeks. Most of the time she was sitting on the bench that still was in it's place today or on the swing, staring at the ground and ignoring everybody. Until she met Yumiko.
Yumiko was a shy, six year old girl that lived in Wales. She originally came from Japan and had been on vacation in Italy with her parents when burglars killed them. She had no relatives and ended up in the orphanage. Yumiko cried often and was easily scared. No one wanted to play with her, because she got really mean when someone stole her glasses. Some two weeks after Heinkel was brought to the orphanage, Yumiko approached her and asked what her name was. Heinkel didn't even want to look up, but somehow she did anyway. They only looked at each other. Yumiko introduced herself and told Heinkel her story. She even told about Yumie. When she asked Heinkel about her name, she answered without thinking. From this moment, the two (or three, if you counted Yumie as an independent person, what wasn't even that far off) were inseparable.
About a half year later, Enrico Maxwell was brought to the orphanage. He was a bit arrogant, but inside she sensed a lonesome and frightened, angry child. They became friends. Enrico was good at planning and acted as a leader. He was a year older than them.
When she was eight, Heinkel found a gun. She never got to know how it got there, but she took it out in the little forest and practiced. There Anderson found her. Instead of punishing her, she started the training as a paladin. She found she had a natural talent with guns. Soon she was able to shoot with both hands, even with quite heavy weapons. Yumie became again her partner, wielding a katana and surprising even father Renaldo with her skills.
The kids were called inside for lunch. Heinkel followed them and took off her jacket while doing so. The sun was burning brightly today, at least for the time it showed itself. Some new children whispered, as she walked past them to the end of the room. A little boy pointed at the holsters on her belt with her two weighty Desert Eagles, his eyes huge with awe. Heinkel hung her Jacket over the chair and sat down by Anderson and Renaldo. Seemingly the guns were more conspicuous, but now another detail was widely noticed. She received giggling from the children and a confused glance from father Renaldo. She ignored it. She wouldn't take out the flower before evening. Maybe even not before she went to sleep in the plane to Canada. Alessia smiled at her briefly, but looked quickly away when Yumiko sat down beside Heinkel.
"Hello," she said. Her tone grew skeptical. "You have a flower in your hair." That sounded more like Yumie. Heinkel ignored it. "I know."
Today's dish was spaghetti what usually ended up in a big mess. In these days the orphanage cared for about one hundred children from four up to 17 years.
The lunch was served and everybody asked a blessing before beginning to eat. Immediately it grew almost silent except for the rattling of dishes. "Mhm, Spaghetti. Anderson's are still the best", Yumiko remarked as if nothing had happened. Heinkel simply nodded. She wasn't hungry. She never was before a mission. Still she needed her strength, so she forced herself to eat at least a bit. And yes, Anderson's spaghetti were the best. They had been since her childhood.
After the lunch the kids cleaned up the room. Anderson made Heinkel come to him. "Beautiful flower, isn' it?", he asked.
"Vat is it, teacher?", Heinkel asked. She tried not to sound like she was in a huff.
"Ah saw ye deal wi' the childr'n the last days. Renaldo an' me hae tae gae on ae mission an' will be away for a few days. We want ye tae tak care o' the orphanage."
"Zis von't be possible. I'm going to Canada zis evening." Heinkel had a really bad feeling about this. Anderson wasn't the kind of man that wasn't informed what was going on with his protegees. He nodded – almost pitiful. "Ah ken. But for now yer place is here. A'm afraid we had tae cancel that. Yumie will be going wi' thon new lad Sebastian. We will accompany them."
Heinkel felt herself turn pale with anger. "VAT?! But-"
"Naw. Ye might feel it's no fair, but it's decided. Sairy. Yer the only yin we hae right now. We wanted Garcia for that, but he wis injured on his last mission." Heinkel nodded grimly.
"Kids!", Anderson yelled. The children grew silent. Everyone looked at the priest. He waited a second more until the last mumbling had disappeared. "Faither Renaldo an' Ah will be away for a few days. Till then Heinkel haes the command." He pointed her out. "Ah dinna want tae hear something bad o' ye! Dae whit she says, ye hear me?"
"Yes, Father Anderson!", the children replied dutiful.
"Good. Ye mebbe gae now."The children ran outside immediately. Heinkel waited if Anderson wanted to say something else. He didn't. Without paying attention either to Renaldo or even Yumiko, she left the room.
On her way out she met the newbie Anderson mentioned. Sebastian. He was sympathetic, smart and at least averagely skilled with his weapons. Heinkel still didn't think he had what it took to be a real successful paladin. He was too shy, too regretful. She only greeted him with a brief nod. The children were already playing again. She stepped aside to avoid bumping into a little boy that ran after another kid. She left the ground of the orphanage and strolled into the woods. She needed time for herself. Before anyone was injured.
It wasn't fair! Just not fair! Yumie was her partner. They had been a team since almost forever. Of course Sebastian needed training, but Yumie wasn't exactly the best choice for partnering with a newbie. She tended to just run in on a situation. That was alright for her – Heinkel was highly doubtful if Yumie even could be hurt in battle with monsters and heathens. She could even dodge bullets. But she would be in trouble if the newbie got himself killed.
And, more important, Heinkel had been looking forward to this mission for two months. The last months there had been nothing interesting. No vampires, not even heathens that needed a lesson not to mess with the catholic church. The new pope even wanted to dissolve Iscariot because of the humanitarian and peaceful new policies. Maxwell had somehow convinced him that the church needed it's hitmen (though they always called themselves 'deliverers of divine punishment', Heinkel had no illusions what they were in fact). Maybe he had said some of the paladins would go crazy and act on their own if they didn't get mission anymore. It would have been the truth. Heinkel was one of the more level-headed paladins, but even she was going crazy due to lack of occupation. She spent her time in the orphanage or in training, with Yumie and Yumiko, helped Enrico with his bureaucracy, prayed in the chapel more than she had in years (normally she just hadn't the time to stay long enough somewhere to find one) and had read a pile of books she never had time for before. Still, she was awfully bored. Then Enrico had chosen her for this critical mission in northern Canada. A kind of satanic sect would gather to perform their rituals. The paladins were ordered to destroy the sect and find out if there were more of them. It was a mission just to Heinkel's taste. And now she would been sitting here watching the children while her partner and everybody else had the fun.
She sat down, leaning on a tree. She didn't notice herself falling asleep, but when quick footsteps woke her with a start the sun was setting, the sky almost dark.
It was Alessia. She ran straight into her and clutched to her shirt with the strength of pure fear. "Signora, Signora, aiuto!", she sobbed. Heinkel put her arm around the frightened girl. He thoughts were still foggy from the nap. "Alessia, vat is it?"
"The bad men", Alessia whimpered. "They just k-killed Father Giacomo. And they said they will kill us if we don't go inside. They brought them into the dining room. We were playing hide-and-seek, so they didn't see me." She broke down in tears again. Heinkel felt the girl's tears soak her shirt. Somehow this simple thing was too much. This moment she swore revenge. Alessia had already experienced too much in her short life. She didn't need some freaks making it hell again. Not if Heinkel was there. The kids were her protegees right now. Just like Anderson had protected her and her friends years ago she would protect those children now. Gently, she made Alessia look at her. "How many vere zey?", she asked.
"Th-Three. Three leaders. But there were many others. The others didn't say anything."
"How did zey look?"
"One looked like a priest. With a hood. And one wears a suit. The other is a woman. A-And" She sniffed. "The others all had hoods. And- and red eyes", she whispered. New tears spilled over her cheeks. "They said the orphanage belongs to them now. All the paladins are away and are not coming back. And the main quarter will be destroyed. No more new paladins, no Iscariot." She looked at Heinkel with frightened, but extraordinary bright eyes. "What do they mean?"
"Verdammt", Heinkel mumbled. "Is zere anyzing else you saw or heard?" The girl thought about it and then shook her head. Heinkel held her frightened gaze. "Alessia, listen. You run into ze village as fast as you can. Don't stop. Run straight to ze church. Father Phillip should be zere. Tell him you need to make a call. Heinkel Wolfe sent you. He knows me, don't worry. You call zis number." Heinkel took a pretty crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket. On it was the new number of their boss in the Iscariot main quarter. "You vill reach a man named Enrico Maxwell. He is ze chief of Iscariot. You say I sent you. Ze orphanage is under attack by unknown enemies. Maybe vampires. Except for me no paladins are here. AND, more important." She looked at Alessia intensely. "Tell him, Canada is a trap. Ze paladins must not go zere. Now repeat, what I said."
Alessia gulped down her tears. "I will run straight to the church and call Enrico Maxwell. I say you sent me. The orphanage is under attack. Maybe vampires. You're the only paladin. And I say, Canada is a trap, the paladins must not go there."
"Excellent. You can also tell him I take care of ze orphanage. Ah, right." Heinkel gave her a few euros. "If father Phillip is not in ze church, find a phone box and call Maxwell from zere. Now go." Alessia looked at her with huge frightened eyes. Then her face grew stern. She nodded and ran. Heinkel involuntarily thought of herself. Had she looked like that in that night years ago?
'Being nostalgic today, or what?' She dismissed these thoughts and unlocked her guns while walking. Just in case. She didn't just want to run in without knowing her enemies. First of all she needed to survey the battlefield and get to the armory, like Yumie called it. She only had the magazines in her guns and they weren't even full. She had checked it this morning. She had 13 bullets. Enough to feel safe around here, but far too little for a heavy fight like she expected it to be.
She sneaked around the building until she reached the windows of the dining room. Alessia's descriptions had been surprisingly accurate. The three leaders stood side by side and watched the frightened children cower on the floor like a heard of sheep during a storm. Many cried. Some had bruises or were bleeding.
One of the attackers was dressed like a priest, clutching a semi-automatic rifle. He had his hood up and Heinkel couldn't see his face. From the color of his hands she concluded he had to be a class H or T vampire. Another was a beautiful, pale woman in a tight green dress that would be expected on a gala or film festival, with complicated done-up red hair. Redhead waved a pistol at one of the older kids that rolled on the floor in pain. It was a approximately 15 year old boy with brown hair. He clutched his knee, tears rolling over his face. Blood ran through his fingers.
The third one was a man of about 30 years. He too looked more like he belonged in a noble casino. He wore a white suit with sunglasses and had perfectly styled blonde hair. Under the jacket Heinkel noticed another gun. Around the room were five others. Grey skin, red eyes – it had to be ghouls. She closed her eyes and listened. It had never been that quiet at the Orphanage before in her life except for the dead of night. The boy moaned in pain. Some children were crying silently. "Have they found it already?" The voice of a woman. The redhead was speaking.
"Non. But they will soon." This voice had a french accent. Heinkel immediately thought of the man in the suit. "Believe me. But what will we do with zese kids?"
"The paladins won't bother us. We can stay here as long as we want and feed on them. I haven't had such a range in my whole existence. Until they know what's going on it's too late. What will Iscariot do? The police?" The woman laughed. "We have their armory and they have no soldiers anymore. They're defenseless. Besides, no one knows we're here."
"I still have a bad feeling. Like we missed somezing", the man said. "Don't you zink it was too easy? Come on, an organization like Iscariot? Destroyed like zat?"
The woman sighed. "Yes, yes I know. But it's a heavy blow. Loosing your main training center AND your best paladins as well as most of the trainees? It will take years for them to regather their strength. We just need to take out this guy Enrico Maxwell and Iscariot's history."
"Fair enough", the man said. "After all zis time of waiting for revenge."
Heinkel understood. The vampires wanted revenge for their dead friends – presumably killed by paladins years ago. It was an almost perfect trap. A big mission like the one in Canada was done by all top-assassins. It was a large scale operation. The only ones left would be those who were on other missions, the wounded and a few trainees. No one was there to stop them. The poor father Giacomo, who lay in front of the main entrance with his brain shot out hadn't put up a fight. The plan was perfect. It had only one weakness.
They didn't expect Heinkel to stay behind. Because it was never planned she did. But because of Garcia's incapability of taking over the orphanage as long as the others were away, one of Iscariot's most powerful weapons was there to kick their heathen asses back to hell. Iscariot would be saved by a pure coincidence. What an irony, she thought. Or was it godly intervention?
Heinkel kept herself low while she tiptoed around the building. On the back was the side section of the complex. It contained the training center of Iscariot and the armory. In fact was the "head quarter" in Rome just a sorry excuse for a real headquarter of a military organization like Iscariot. It was there because the pope wanted it like that. Because the headquarters of the other sections were also there. But the real base was here, covered by the orphanage "Ferdinand Luke's" where most of the paladins came from anyway. Redhead was right: It would have been a really heavy blow for Iscariot. But it wouldn't happen.
She slipped behind a corner when a ghoul staggered past. She was not used to hide from her enemies. Yumie and her normally just went in and killed the opponents. But it was too dangerous. She had no information about the leaders and there were too many enemies for her to take out with only thirteen bullets. Five in the room, plus the leaders. At least fifteen ghouls on the orphanage grounds. They would overwhelm her in a matter of seconds. She needed new rounds and a plan to lure them into a trap.
The ghoul didn't notice her. She quickly opened the door to the side wing. Her gun hit the door frame and made a loud clacking sound. She cursed herself for forgetting her jacket inside. The air grew cold now that the sun was down. She listened, strained. No one seemed to have noticed. She drew her guns. In here no one would hear the shots. The section was soundproof to cover up the true use of the building and to not scare the children.
It was dark. She heard a moaning noise right of her and blindly fired in that direction. In the moment of light the muzzle flash gave her, she saw four ghouls running towards her. And they were fast. "Shit!", she growled and shot while she retreated. Somewhere here was a light switch. She found it by bumping backwards into the wall where it painfully hit her spine. The bright lights of neon lamps showed the bodies of the ghouls lying on the floor, not moving anymore.
"Phew. Still have it", Heinkel murmured while wiping imaginary sweat from her forehead. She quickly walked down the hallway. The next ghoul was alone and easy to take out. There were eight in total until she reached the armory. The room was a mess. The attackers had already rummaged it.
Heinkel dropped the almost empty clips of her guns on the table in the left corner and filled them. She attached another four full clips to her belt. She was glad she had the habit of wearing her holsters just because it made her feel better. She would probably never go out without them again. Not after this day.
When she wanted to leave the room something raised her attention. Behind the door was a little closet that the intruders seemed to have missed. Heinkel got curious. She never had looked in it before, mostly because she didn't expect something interesting to be there. She opened it and saw a brand-new semi-automatic sniper rifle. She picked it up and surveyed it. It even was loaded. "A Dragunov SVD", she recognized. "I don't even vant to know vhy ve have zis here." She smiled. It was a cold smile. "Vell, zis makes it much simpler."
Alessia almost couldn't breath anymore but kept running. Her lungs burned. She slowed down. Where was the church? She discovered the bell tower just a few streets away. She ran on and reached the door breathless, but glad to have made it. She hadn't understood everything Paladin Heinkel had said but she was clever enough to know that she had to hurry if she wanted to prevent a catastrophe. She knocked. No one answered. Alessia knocked again. She grew nervous and tried the door. It was locked.
"Scusi, signorina, may I help you?" She jumped at the sound of the voice. An old woman had stopped in front of the church an smiled at her friendly.
"I-I-I'm searching for Father Phillip", Alessia stuttered.
"He is probably sleeping. It's quite late. What are you doing out here alone, little girl? The streets are dangerous at night."
"I need to go to the next payphone", Alessia almost yelled. The old woman looked at her, frowning. "Just down the street." She said something else, but Alessia didn't hear it. She had already started to run again. When she reached the end of the street, she found the phone box. When she closed the door behind her she was relieved. The dark streets were scary. But she hadn't completed her task yet.
At first she had problems with reading the number and typing it in. It was too dark and her hands shook badly. But then she finally got the relieving tooooot of a free line. Someone picked up. It was a dark male voice with a strong Italian accent. "Hello?", the voice said. He sounded tired.
Alessia switched to Italian. "Is this Enrico Maxwell?", she asked breathlessly.
"Uhm... Yes. Who's there?"
"My name is Alessia. Paladin Heinkel Wolfe told me to call you. She said I should tell you that the orphanage is-" Maxwell interrupted her. "What is it with Heinkel, where is she anyway? She should be on the way to Canada. You're from the orphanage, right?"
Alessia was so tense she forgot her respect of adults and burst out: "Don't interrupt me before I forget what I have to say!" She drew a shaking breath. Silence at the end of the line.
About twenty miles away Enrico Maxwell stared at his phone in utter confusion, too surprised not to obey. The girl was lucky he had been still there. He was awfully tired and wanted to go home, but bureaucracy didn't consider his need of sleep.
"The orphanage is under attack by unknown enemies", Alessia repeated more calmly. "She said maybe vampires. She will take care of it." She paused for a moment, panic struck her. She thought she had forgotten the rest. Then she remembered. Every word. "AND, more important, I have to tell you, Canada is a trap. The paladins must not go there", she recited.
Maxwell let himself fall into his chair. His thoughts were rushing. He had to warn Anderson. But first the child. "Where are you?"
"In a phone box... the street of the church.", Alessia answered.
Maxwell jumped up and hastily fished out a map of the village the orphanage lay in. "Okay. You turn left on the intersection. About two hundred meters, left side. Number 42. Signora Belini should be still awake. Just tell her that Rico sent you and you have to stay until the situation in the orphanage is solved."
"Can I tell her about the vampires?", Alessia asked timidly.
"She's a former paladin, so yes, you can. Now hurry up, dark streets aren't for kids like you", he ordered impatiently. Alessia hung up. Maxwell immediately dialed Anderson's mobile number. While he was waiting, he rubbed his temples. He felt his eye twitch. Not that he had enough problems, now he was on the best way to a headache too. "God, don't let them run into this", he murmured. All of their best paladins were on that mission. Anderson and Yumiko in particular. They were strong. He doubted that someone could easily destroy the Iscariot forces. But there would be high casualties. (In fact he worried about Yumie. Else than Anderson she was – despite her abilities – just a normal human. Of course he would never admit that. It didn't fit his position.)
He was too nervous to stand still and shoved the papers on his desk with the free hand from one side to the other. Somehow he found a small yellow sheet of paper, not more than a post-it.
Garcia got wounded, so Heinkel will take care of the orphanage.
We're taking Sebastian instead.
God Bless You
A.A.
Enrico frowned. When was he supposed to read that? Then he remembered he just dropped the new package of annoying papers on his desk without looking what lay there.
"Come on", he hissed. The telephone gave no answer except for this godawful toooot, toooot, toooot. Finally, finally, someone picked up.
Heinkel knew the orphanage grounds by heart. She had lived here most of her life. Now she used every cover she found to reach the shed on the edge of the playground. It was not a real shed, more a little house with walls of bricks and two floors. It only contained gardening implements and everything that was not really important. No one ever thought twice about that little building. But for the children and even for the fate of Iscariot it was vital now.
Heinkel used the fire escape on the back to get on the flat roof. From here she had an excellent view on the orphanage grounds and especially into the big window of the dining hall. She saw only the priest and the French guy from here. Enough to do. She placed the Dragunov's long muzzle on the margin of the roof and laid flat on her belly. Through the telescopic sight she targeted the back of the vampire priest and checked on the 'French guy', as she had named him by now. Every target needed a name. It made it easier to focus. She needed to be fast if she wanted to get him too. Redhead was nowhere to be seen. It made her uncomfortable to be that vulnerable but she had to take out the others first. Seeing the kids cowering together like frightened puppies while the two figures looked at them made her angry. The French Guy laughed.
Heinkel pulled the trigger. The window shattered into a thousand pieces. The torso of the priest exploded in a splash of blood. The screams of the children were loud enough to reach her. They jumped up and panicked. The vampire priest's body dissolved into dust. The French guy tried to hold the children where they were and flung a little girl against the wall. Heinkel controlled her anger and concentrated on her target. "One down, two to go", she murmured under her breath. If it were normal vampires, their ghouls would vanish together with them, making it easier for her to find Redhead. The French Guy still tried preventing the kids from running instead of saving himself. Most of them had already retreated. He shouted what seemed to be orders and was in the act of slapping a boy that tried to get past him when the bullet entered his heart. Blood splattered on the children. They screamed again ear-piercingly. Then, silence. Heinkel left the sniper rifle where it was and jumped down the building, merely using the fire ladder. Time to find Redhead. No way she couldn't have heard this.
Heinkel drew her guns. First she wanted to go directly to the dining hall. But then her training reminded her she needed to secure the area first. She took out the ghouls with the rest of one magazine. There weren't many left. Most seemed to have belonged to the priest and the French Guy. She found many piles of ash. The only thing that didn't turn up was Redhead herself. Only then Heinkel entered the building and checked on the children. They stared at her in disbelief and shock. "You stay here. Stay quiet", she commanded. "You." She pointed out the oldest boy she saw without taking a closer look. "Take care everybody behaves. No one leafs zis room until I say it. And look after zose who got hurt."
"Where are you going, Signora?", a quiet voice asked. It was the little girl that got slammed against the wall. She seemed to be hurt pretty bad, blood flowing from her mouth and not being able to move. At least her arm was broken. Two of her friends were cowering beside her, both crying in terror.
"Finding ze woman and her helpers." Heinkel didn't wait for a reply. She had to take out the third vampire. Swiftness was almost as important as thoroughness. The more time Redhead got, the easier she got away or was able to prepare an ambush. Heinkel searched the ground floor systematically. It was almost ridiculously easy to find Redhead. Her sobbing could be heard from meters away. She had huddled in the corner of a classroom only two rooms away from the dining hall. She was hysterically whispering to someone. Heinkel used every trick she knew to approach her noiselessly. That was absolutely not her style but she wanted to know who Redhead was talking to.
"Don't screw around, Ferdinand, give me the master, it's important! I don't care!" She drew a shaky breath. "Yes, master, it's Cherry. The plan failed! Please help me. He will find me soon." A pause. "No, there is a paladin left", she wailed. "I don't know! But they have left one behind. Eli and Jay are dead. What should I do?"
Heinkel pressed the muzzle of her gun against Redhead's head. "How about you give me zat phone?", she said. Redhead – Cherry was her name, that was so fitting it had to be a nickname – froze. "Help me", she whimpered. Heinkel took the cellphone out of her hand. "Hello, who's zere?", she asked in a mockingly lighthearted tone. The voice on the other end was dark and calm. It spoke English without any recognizable accent. "Ah, Signora Paladin. Who do I have the honor to speak to?"
"First answer my question", Heinkel demanded. "You're ze master of zis sorry creature?"
"Indeed I am. You can call me Mars", the man said. "I'm impressed, Signora Paladin. You killed two of my best men. Jay and Eli were really talented."
"I couldn't care less. Vat do you vant?" Redhead tried to crawl away. She received an almost indifferent but violent kick that flung her against the wall. She screamed. Heinkel pointed the gun with the free hand at her chest.
"You didn't answer my question. Who are you?", Mars said friendly.
"I'm ze deliverer of divine punishment."
"I thought so", Mars sighed. "But I will find you anyway. Your accent is quite recognizable."
Heinkel laughed. "You vant to target me because I broke up your dilettante plan? Fine viz me. Come and try me. My name is Heinkel Wolfe."
"Of all paladins they left one of their top-assassins behind. Clever. Really clever", Mars said, sounding almost impressed.
"You zought ve vould leaf ze orfanage unprotected? You're kidding", Heinkel teased. "I repeat my question. You heazens seem to be half-deaf. Vat do you vant?"
"War", Mars said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "We want to destroy you religious abominations. Your main forces will be ripped into little pieces. You may have reconquered your training grounds but it won't help you. I can tell you because it's too late. All the great paladins – dead." He broke into mad laughter.
"I don't zink so", Heinkel said in the same tone. "You vant var? You get var. You vill vish you never revealed yourself to Iscariot."
From the corner of her eye she saw a quick movement. With an automatic move she shot Redhead the gun right out of the hand. An instant later the muzzle pointed at the bright red head. The woman sobbed in panic. "Farevell zen, Mars. Somezing I should tell your pitiful servant?" But Mars had already hung up. Heinkel shrugged her shoulders and put the cellphone in her pocket. "Now on to you."
Redhead watched her with huge, frightened green eyes. She wasn't even in her true undead form yet. She had to be a newbie. "Vat is your boss planning?"
Redhead – Cherry – shook her head violently. Heinkel sighed. "Don't make it harder for yourself. You vill tell me anyway. The question is if I have to vaste more zen one bullet on you lousy abomination before I send you to hell."
"He will kill me", she whispered.
"He von't." Heinkel smiled. It was the smile of an insane. She was in full battle-mode now. No regrets, no doubts, no mercy. "Because I vill", she said with cold glee. "You have two options: You tell me now and I kill you quick. One bullet into your rotten heart." She poked Redhead's chest with her gun. It was a risky move but Redhead was too scared to notice her chances. The vampire winced and pressed herself even more against the wall. "Or you tell me after I'm finished viz you. Meaning your death vill be very painful." Redhead just stared at her, shaking.
"Seems you need a demonstration." Heinkel thought of that poor boy lying on the floor, crying in pain while the vampires laughed at him. Redhead screamed in agony as the .50 bullet shattered her knee. The noise of the bang and her scream echoed violently through the silent hallways.
"Let's start viz somezing easy. I heard you say you vant revenge. But you were just turned. So vat is zis about if not your personal crusade?"
"The master... His friends were killed by the Catholics. He wants to destroy you", Redhead explained silently. Sweat ran down her face. "We are his fledgelings. He gave us this life and in return we serve him. He saved me."
"Yes, I figured zat. You should have chosen death as a human when you had ze chance. You'll go to hell for zis. But not yet." She paused for a moment. "Kids, you can come out, I know you are zere."
After a moment of silence the children came out of hiding. They were five, three boys and two girls. One was the boy Redhead shot in the knee. Two others carried him. He had stopped crying. On his face lay a look of grim firmness. Heinkel recognized this expression. She had seen it many times, including in her own reflection many years ago. All had become good paladins and so would this boy. If he ever fully recovered she would ask Father Renaldo and Maxwell to take him into training. No need to waste such a talent. No matter how sad it was. God had chosen his way.
"I told you not to come out before I tell you", Heinkel said. She wasn't mad. In fact she almost didn't care at all. She never paid much attention to hostages or bystanders. Her job didn't require this. So she let them do what they wanted. To send the children away would probably do more damage than letting them stay anyway.
"Sorry, Signora. But we wanted to see", the wounded boy said hoarsely.
"Is that what you do? Hurting people?", the bigger girl asked. She sounded scared to death but stood her ground.
"She's not human", Heinkel said indifferent. "You believe in vampires?" The children hesitated. "Yes", the boy said. The girls looked at each other and didn't reply.
"You'll see. She's just a low creature. Vee call zis class H. Ze lowest of vampires. Cherry it vas, right? Smile." Cherry looked at her without comprehension. Heinkel pressed the muzzle of her gun against Redhead's temple. "Come on, smile for ze kids. Vat are you vaiting for? Christmas?" Redhead forced a shaky smile flashing her sharp teeth. "See?"
"She looks so normal", the boy on the right said in awe.
"Of all paladins it had to be you", Redhead whispered. "The Wolf." Heinkel glanced at her in bewilderment. Then she burst out laughing. "You people gave me a nickname? Ze wolf", she mused. "Yumie vill find zis hilarious. You couldn't come up viz somezing more creative?" Redhead didn't reply. The children stared at her. The first time Heinkel really was aware how she had to appear to others. A complete madman. Or madwoman, to be exact. He laughter died. "Maybe you're right." She turned towards the children, changing her position so she could still have an eye on Redhead. "Paladins are ze special forces of ze Roman Catholic Church. Vee work for ze zirteenz chapter of ze Vatican, called Iscariot. Our purpose is dealing viz inhuman monsters, heretics and heathens. Like zis one." The children nodded gravely. Heinkel noticed with amusement it was entertaining to be a teacher herself. "Can I go on viz my work now?" No answer. She returned her attention to Redhead. "Vat is your next step?" Redhead didn't answer. She screamed when a bullet hit her left thigh. "I have two complete magazines in store and zose are almost full." She tapped on the gun in the holster and made clear she meant both guns. "I can keep going like zat for a long time. Can you?" Redhead sobbed and shook her head. "Kill me. Please."
"I vill. Just not now. First vee talk." Redhead shook her head. Heinkel thought about another shot into the right thigh but dismissed it. The girl was broken anyway. No need to scare the kids more than necessary. "Vee know of ze trap in Canada. Ze other paladins are on zeir way back right now." Redhead hissed at her. "You're lying!"
"Vee both know I don't need to. Give up. You have nothing left to fight for. Your master abandoned you."
"No, no!" This time her voice broke in mid-scream. She doubled over and clutched her bleeding abdomen. "Come on, I don't vant to kill you on accident, hell bastard. Vat is the next step of your plan? Attacking ze main quarter in Rome?"
Redhead nodded. Tears steamed over her face and big drops poured onto the blood-covered floor. "Yes", she whispered. "Yes."
"Could you get a bit more specific zan 'yes'?", Heinkel asked. She grew impatient.
"The master said to destroy Iscariot!", Redhead howled. "Jay and Eli and me should take over the orphanage. He said all the paladins were away. Running into a trap in the Canadian woods. He said it wouldn't be easy but we could kill them all and drink their blood to become true vampires. And after this he wanted us to take down this office in Rome. There should be no resistance. They are weak he said. Their leader can't protect himself."
Heinkel smirked when she thought of Enrico Maxwell in battle. "You'd be surprised." She made Redhead look at her by lifting her chin with the barrel of her gun. "Zat's much better for both of us, don't you agree? Keep going." Redhead nodded hastily. "How many of you are zere?"
"I don't know." Redhead screamed when Heinkel took aim. "No, please, I really don't know! We are different units. Eli and Jay and me planned the attack on the orphanage. I just saw a few of the others. About seven or eight vampires, us included and the ghouls master gave us."
"So those weren't your ghouls?"
"The master said we only could drink from humans if we are worthy. Eli and Jay already were. Master said we will get independent after we finished our mission."
"Who is your leader? Who is Mars and where is your base?" Redhead stayed silent. The next bullet hit her in the chest, just below the heart. She endured it. Heinkel frowned. She didn't want to kill the girl by accident. Low level-vampires were extremely vulnerable to blessed silver like she used as ammunition. "Vhy ze sudden change of heart?"
Redhead giggled. Soon she was screaming with laughter, at the same time she was coughing up blood. "You're never gonna win, Judas priest!", she howled. She leaped forward, suddenly a knife in her hand. She was fast. More in a reflex Heinkel stumbled back and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the vampire in the shoulder. The knife drove across Heinkel's face. Pure luck prevented a serious injury. It only cut her cheek, just enough to start bleeding. She didn't feel the pain.
Heinkel stayed on her feet with ease. The adrenaline rushing through her made her once again Iscariot's perfect weapon. There were no thoughts. Just a mixture of joy, excitement and something much darker controlling her body. Balancing, dodging, aiming, shooting. She pulled the trigger twice. One bullet in the heart, one in the head. The girl dissolved into dust. In this last moment Heinkel was the one to look in her eyes. She saw something eerily similar to relief when the life drained out of the vampire girl named Cherry.
Heinkel stood there for a moment longer, trying to calm down. She was not even close to being out of breath. She didn't even breathe much faster than before. But adrenaline was still rushing through her blood. She almost regretted that the fight had been over that quick. She wanted it to continue. The dark thing longed for blood. Every soldier got it at some point, like a disease. It had hundred of different names. For the soldiers of Iscariot it could be the hatred on heathens, devotion to their mission or just the joy of playing God over others. However it was named, it ended always in the same way: The soldiers found joy in killing. Heinkel knew that. It was one of the few things in her life that she regretted.
The only trace the vampire girl had left was a little pile of ash soaking up the blood. The paladin looked around when she heard sirens quickly approaching the orphanage grounds.
The children came out of their hideouts. They did it hesitantly, as if being afraid of her. "You go to ze front door", she ordered the boys. "Wait for ze police and tell zem what happened. No, forget zat. Just tell zem zey have to ask me. No, zat von't vork..." She rubbed her temples. She was always a bit dizzy after a fight. "Most kids would be in a shock, so pretend you are." She saw how skeptical the boy with the shattered knee looked at her. "Zey underestimate kids, believe me", she said. "You two come viz me."
Heinkel didn't run but walked quite fast to the dining room. Most of the kids seemed to haven't moved at all. "Listen, everybody", Heinkel called. It wouldn't have been necessary. She had their attention from the moment she entered the room. "Ze police is here. Get ze wounded outside. Ze ozers stay here until someone comes to get you."
"Where are you going?", one of the two brave girls asked.
"Just tidying up a bit." Heinkel grabbed her jacket that still hung over the chair at the end of the long table and put it on. The two guns disappeared from sight. She didn't want to run into some carabinieri, so she just left through the shattered window. This wasn't Vatican State. She had to be careful. Paying attention to journalists that might be sneaking around she once again climbed on the little building where she had left the Dragunov sniper rifle. In a relaxed jog she returned to the armory and stored the rifle in it's closet. "I really have to ask vhy ve have zis", she mused. After a moment of hesitation she also left her guns in an empty locker. In fact the paladins, especially the trainees, were ordered to keep their weapons here when not on a mission. Mostly for not scaring the children or raising attention. But Heinkel had never obeyed that. She felt naked and defenseless without her weapons.
Two .50 Desert Eagles, with a number of improvements specifically designed for her. More rounds in one magazine – 12 instead of 7 -, less weight by special materials and they were still working even after getting wet as long as it was not too long. They even had her name engraved on the handle in tiny letters. As much as she hated it to leave them now, she knew she had to. It would raise too many questions. Outside of the Vatican neither the police nor the press was on her side. There was no danger to expect and at least the rest of the paladins from Rome would be there. Still, the missing seven pounds on her belt were unfamiliar and made her nervous.
On her way back she stopped in the bathroom to wash the blood out of her face. When she looked into the mirror the first thing she noticed was the pink flower. The pink flower Alessia had given her what seemed to be an eternity ago. It was still in his place, standing out brightly against her ash blonde hair and pale skin. It was completely undamaged by everything that happened. Just a tiny drop of red had hit it. She couldn't tell if it was her blood, Redhead's or a ghoul's. It looked like it belonged there.
Heinkel leaned on the sink and began to laugh. She just couldn't get a grip on herself. "Iscariot almost got destroyed, I took out a vampire attack all by myself and zis freaking flower is still zere", she gasped. She laughed not about the flower. It was the whole day, the whole crazy, stupid world she lived in. She just had to. Sometimes it was necessary to act crazy if she wanted to keep her sanity. She didn't know how long she stayed there, laughing like mad. When she finally calmed down a bit she sat on the floor, leaning against the cold wall, her eyes were streaming and she was more out of breath than after the fight with the redheaded vampire. She put off her sunglasses – she didn't need them now anyway, it was just a habit – and wiped her eyes. "Jesus", she whispered, almost getting into another laughing fit. She got on her feet by pulling herself up at the edge of the sink. She looked awfully pale in the cold electric light except for her bright red cheeks, one bleeding slightly and her eyes reddened as if she had cried. The flower seemed to say: "Cheer up! Everything's fine." She thought about taking it out. She even had her hand up half the way when she dismissed the idea. It had survived a massive attack on Iscariot so it could stay there for a few hours longer. She wondered what Alessia had done to make it hold that well. She shook her head. The flower followed the move but didn't stir in any other way. Heinkel sighed. After washing the blood from her face, she went back to the front entrance of the orphanage.
Just as she had expected everything was full of carabinieri, their car's dipping everything in flaring blue and red lights. The first journalists were also present, no matter what time it was. They were held off by some policemen, but still took pictures like mad. Three ambulances were waiting. Heinkel saw the back doors of the first one closing with the little girl in it and then it was rushing off, almost running over a reporter. 'Would serve him right!', Heinkel thought spitefully. God, she was tired.
Also rushing was a man with a blonde ponytail and green eyes. Towards her to be exact. "Heinkel!"
The paladin greeted her old childhood friend and now boss with a dull "Hi". Enrico Maxwell seemed startled for a moment then got down to business. "Where were you?", he asked.
"Cleaning up a few zings. Vat are vee making of ze press?"
"Leave this to me. You will have to give a statement to the police I'm afraid. But that can wait until we have made up a decent story. So what exactly happened? I just got a call from this little girl and all hell broke loose. Figuratively."
Heinkel briefly summarized the events. "A vampire named Mars vants to destroy Iscariot. Some revenge zing or vatever. Sent three of his fledgelings. By ze vay, I'd love to know vhy ve have a sniper rifle in the armory. Had to break the big vindow I'm afraid. Anyhow, I interrogated ze last one. Mars seems to have a bigger army of ghouls and some ozer 'units'. He announced he vill target me because I broke up his plan. Redhead – ze third vampire I mean – said the next step vould be attacking ze main quarter in Rome. I doubt zat vill happen. Everyzing depended on our forces running into zat trap in Canada. How are zey anyway?"
"It was pretty close. They were already on the transit stop in Frankfurt airport when I reached Anderson. They are on their way back. Should be here any minute." Enrico Maxwell smiled dully. He looked as tired as she felt. "Now I really have to ask: What is this-"
He was interrupted by a bright voice. "Paladin Heinkel!" Alessia was accompanied by an old woman Heinkel recognized as a former paladin named Francesca Belini. Her savior from years ago. Francesca smiled at her warmly. Maxwell said something about the press and went off. Alessia ran to her, flung her arms around Heinkel's neck and refused to let go. The smile seemed to split her face – in a cute way. Heinkel lifted her up and held her. Alessia beamed with joy. "I knew you could do it! And you even kept the flower. I told you it's a lucky charm."
Heinkel just had to return the smile. "I know, dear."
They simultaneously looked at the improvised barrier where someone shouted "Freedom of press". In this moment the picture that ran through all Italian news – even though Enrico Maxwell and even the pope tried to minimize the damage – was taken. A tired looking young woman with a flower in her hair and a small smile on her face holding the obviously traumatized but joyfully smiling little girl.
"Couragous nun saves orphanage", the newspapers titled the next day.
"When I grow up, I want to be like you!" That struck Heinkel with a sense of bitterness.
"No you don't", she said gently. "I'll be glad to see you have a safe normal life. You shouldn't wish for the one I have." Alessia looked at her questioningly. Her smile faded a bit when a bad-tempered Yumie showed up. Heinkel put Alessia down and she immediately ran to her friends. The physically unharmed children were sitting in one big cluster, sharing blankets and cookies they got from the paramedics.
"So you got all the action while I was sitting in a damn aircraft and this newbie was annoying the hell out of me", Yumie complained. She restlessly tapped the point of her safely stored katana against her ankle. Heinkel sighed. "Who knows vat it's good for. I'm just glad you're alive. And unlike me you don't have an angry vampire viz a small army on your ass."
"It was really lucky you stayed behind", Yumie growled. "I don't want to know what would have happened if not. Although it is obvious we would never have ran into that ambush and lost, is it not?"
"Of course it is", Heinkel agreed. Suddenly she felt dead tired and very irritable. Yumie seemed to search for someone to start a quarrel with. "And you still have that fucking flower. Just one word: Why?!", she asked.
"'Cuz I'm fabulous." Heinkel left her partner where she was and headed for the front entrance. She knew she had been incredibly immature by saying this. But she knew she would do it again if she had the chance. Yumie's face had been priceless. Just for he sake of seeing this she accepted being childish. Who cared? It had been a crazy day anyway.
Maxwell could deal with the press and police. That was his job after all. The children were safe. She had completed her mission. For now she just wanted to go bed.
"Haed an interesting dae?" She stopped. Anderson had a talent on sneaking up on somebody despite his undeniable big size. "Leuking after the children wisn't that bad at aw, ay?"
She shrugged her shoulders and managed a dry smile. "At least I von't be bored anymore viz Mars trying to destroy us and going after me."
Anderson laughed. "Ay, richt. Gae rest yersel'. Ye earned it. Nice flower by the wey. Ye hae tae tell me yer trick." Heinkel simply nodded and trotted inside. She had already closed the door to her room (she still lived in the orphanage some time simply because it was the easiest when she wasn't on a mission) when she realized she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. So she turned around and entered the side wing with the armory. "I sure as hell have issues if I can't sleep vizout my guns", she said to herself. It doesn't really came to her though. Whatever. Who cared? Her habits had proven to be life-saving. She got her weapons out of the locker and soon felt the comforting weight around her waist. "Screw it", she murmured and went outside. She hadn't smoked the whole day. It was about damn time she got a bit of rest. The light breeze blew the smoke away from her.
"A bad habit." She turned to see the former Paladin Francesca standing in the door. The old woman smiled at her. "You saved that little girl. You are her savior."
"I had a good example."
Francesca laughed. "You know, that's what paladins do. Saving people." Heinkel glared at her skeptical. That wasn't really the first thing she would think when asked about her job. Francesca ignored her and continued: "I saw your talent back then. Taking out a whole unit of attackers is an incredible effort. I don't think many could have done this." Heinkel stared into the darkness. "Alessia said she vants to be like me. I told her she shouldn't vish for zis life."
"It's cruel", Francesca said matter-of-factly. "Cruel and unfair and fearsome. But someone has to do it."
"Probably."
Back in her room Heinkel stood again in front of the mirror. She should take out the flower before she crushed it on accident. She had already set up an improvised vase (not more than a cup with water). The question was: how? It stayed in it's place during the whole attack, when she fought ghouls, jumped down a two-story-building, operated with a sniper rifle and had a short fight with a vampire. What had Alessia done to mount it like that? Heinkel wasn't eager on sacrificing some of her hair. Neither she wanted to destroy the flower that seemed to be some kind of lucky charm, just like Alessia said.
She carefully took the flower between two fingers. She was able to pull it out without any problems. Her hair rustled, then fell back in its place s if nothing had happened. For a moment she just stared at the pink flower in her hand in disbelief. It didn't answer her.
"Screw it", she said again. She put it into the vase and went to bed.