"Hello Priest." Anderson started when the vampire sat in the stool next to him, leaning with his back on the counter of the bar.
"What is Hellsing doing here?" he snarled, not pleased to find that yet another one of his missions would be tainted by the foul creature.
"Hm?" Alucard tilted his head and gave a deriding smile. "I'm waiting for the vampire that's known to come here. I don't know what you are doing, Priest. I thought men of your occupation didn't indulge in such sinful acts as drinking in a bar like this one. There's enough lust and greed to choke on in here."
"I'll kill you." The paladin spat, furious.
Alucard chuckled, turning to face the counter. "Wouldn't that be fun?" A moment later, the vampire was looking up at someone and Anderson followed his line of sight, finding the bar tender waiting before them.
"What can I get you?" he asked Anderson first. The priest hated the fact that he had been forced to abandon his holy garments for the more casual wear he was dressed in.
"Nothing."
"A glass of red wine."
Anderson snapped his head and stared at the vampire, noticing for the first time that he too was wearing casual clothes that would allow him to blend in with the rest of the masses. His eyes narrowed in utmost disgust, but the vampire only grinned at the priest's expression and then stood up.
"I'm going to check to make sure the vampire isn't already here, Priest, so make sure you aren't tempted to steal my drink should it arrive before I return."
"Damned demon spawn." He hissed as the vampire walked away, scowling when a pair of red eyes flashed over the shoulder of the black jacket he was wearing. At a distance he realized that without the trench coat, the vampire seemed much slighter. His thoughts were interrupted by the man who sat on the stool beside Anderson that had not been occupied by Alucard.
"You seem to have something against that man." Anderson looked at the stranger for a moment and then nodded. The man grinned, putting down the drink he had been holding in his hand. "I might be able to help you out then. How 'bout I take the bastard off your hands? I specialize in getting revenge and sometimes eliminating pests all together."
Anderson shook his head, laughing at the absurdity of the offer. "You can't kill him."
The man stiffened and then laughed with good humor, waving his hand to show the misunderstanding. "No, no, no." he chuckled darkly, disturbing Anderson with the look in his eyes. "I don't do murder, but if you want him to pay for something, then I can make him. I can break tougher looking bastards."
The bar tender put the glass of wine where the vampire's empty stool stood, and the man's grin grew. "So what do you say? I can make sure he disappears tonight and you can get on with whatever you had been planning on doing."
Anderson shrugged, but his eyes widened when the man got up and went to the vampire's stool, taking something from his pocket and pouring some kind of liquid into the wine before sitting back in his own seat. Anderson looked at him curiously, only receiving a smug grin from the man.
"So you made a friend, Judas Priest?" he looked back at the empty stool and found the vampire already swirling the glass of wine in his hand, giving an air of sophistication with the practiced movement. "Good for you."
Anderson growled, then hid his smirk as the vampire took a sip of the wine, but Alucard noticed.
"What?"
"I didn't know your kind drank wine."
The vampire drained the glass suddenly, and then grinned devilishly. "It has a nice color, wouldn't you agree?"
Anderson turned away with a disappointed frown, though he saw the stranger's glee out of the corner of his eye. His eyes flicked to the vampire but saw nothing out of the ordinary as Alucard rested his head in his gloved hand. He was staring at the wall. Minutes went by and Anderson looked at the vampire again, finding him with his eyes closed in the same position. He thanked God for the blessing of the vampire not being in a talkative mood, and he was able to ignore the presence as he waited for his target to enter the bar.
Anderson looked up when the stranger stood, not really minding that he was leaving. Then he gasped in alarm as the man appeared next the Alucard, shaking him slightly so that he would wake up. The priest froze at the sight of the vampire's face. It was like a stranger's. His eyes were lidded and vulnerable while his demeanor had none of its usual arrogance and intimidation. There was a faint rosy blush on his usually colorless cheeks as well.
"Come on." The stranger tugged at the vampire's arm, and Alucard looked at him in dazed confusion, not standing.
"But I'm supposed to be here right now…" he said quietly, blinking a few times and frowning. "I…"
"Now you're supposed to come with me."
There was a moment in which the vampire stared at the man. "My Master told you this?"
The man smiled pleasantly. "Oh yes."
Hesitantly the vampire stood, causing the priest to stare, not realizing he was gawking at the scene until the man gave him a different, darker smile.
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you. Come here tomorrow and I'll enlighten you with the results." He pulled the vampire after himself roughly but Alucard managed to keep his footing level as he stumbled for a second. He peered over his shoulder, allowing Anderson to look into the almost innocent red eyes. Anderson watched in awe when Alucard lifted a hand awkwardly.
"Goodbye Anderson." He waved over his shoulder and then was led out the door.
Anderson was left little time to consider what he had just done before the target stepped into the bar.
In his hotel room, Anderson recalled his visit back to the bar where he found the yellow envelope waiting for him, with a note stating where the vampire currently was in case the Priest had any further interest in a more personal revenge. Inside had been a DVD and he now waited for it to load onto the hotel's laptop. He had been surprised by how early the package must have been left for him, because it was now only 7 o'clock in the morning, and it had been closer to 6 when he went to meet with the man, interested enough to not want to miss him as there had been no specified time for the meeting. He left his thoughts as the window opened and the movie began.
It was a bedroom. The only peculiar thing about it was that it was excessively bare as there weren't any personal possessions in it. The vampire came into view, looking around the room with the same eyes the priest had observed in the bar. Then the man came in, and Anderson learned that the camera in the room had been wired to pick up sound, and that there were several cameras positioned at different angles as the view changed to a closer shot that was able to show the vampire's face more clearly.
"Where is this?" Alucard turned to the man who had come to stand behind him next to the bed which occupied the center of the small room.
"That doesn't matter." The vampire and Anderson gasped in unison when Alucard was pushed onto the mattress, but to the paladin's surprise, the vampire didn't move to get up, only looking at the man with an expression telling that he didn't understand what was happening. His face was a deeper blush than it had been before.
Another angle was shown from directly above the bed, giving a professional shot of the vampire laying on the white sheets, surrounded by a halo of shimmering pitch hair, and it illustrated how he was looking up at the man who now on top of him.
"What are you doing?" Alucard's head was tilted to the side similar to how it had been at one point the night before, but it lacked the deriding smirk, only showing childish wonder. There was a dark chuckle that made Alucard's lips part. A hand brushed strands of black hair from the colored face and then ran over the vampire's cheek.
"I'm going to take you to a nice place." Anderson's eyes widened in revulsion at the statement.
Red eyes widened and remained so as the creature whispered. "A nice place?"
"Yes." The chuckle returned and the bed creaked as the stranger leaned closer.
"Are you helping me?" The eyes became bright.
The question caught the man off guard for only a moment before he replied that indeed he was."Do you want to go?"
Alucard nodded, making the voice hold the man's sneer. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you now. Just relax."
Suddenly something red dripped from one of the vampire's eyes, rolling over the side of his face so that it fell into his black hair. The man started, but recovered and continued to pull away the vampire's coat.
A heartbreakingly beautiful smile spread across his face and his eyes closed while additional crimson tears escaped them. "Thank you." The lips trembled as they spread into a larger smile and tears began to fall in thin streams into his hair. He looked sickeningly tragic and blissful at the same time.
Moments passed and the red eyes opened again, blood still spilling from them as he looked quizzically at the man who was removing the remaining clothes that covered the vampire. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, you'll see." The deep voice and the sound of a zipper made Alucard flinch and his face became unsure.
"I don't like this." Seconds passed while his apprehension grew and the vampire repeated himself, looking at the man with searching eyes.
"That's too bad. You shouldn't have made people hate you so much."
The red eyes deadened and turned to face the wall, but they went back to the man almost immediately. "Stop." He was ignored. "Stop, please." An unsteady hand pushed at the chest, but it was batted away. "I don't like this."
"Shut up."
The bed creaked as the vampire cried out and then trembled, his eyes wide in horror. "Stop it." The blood of the tears had faded from his cheeks and his lips now trembled in a frown. "Please…" He gasped again and whimpered. "Please, it hurts. Please stop." New lines of red appeared from the torturous eyes. "Please." was the final whisper.
The man left and Anderson's eyes were empty as a few figures replaced him. Someone grabbed the vampire which was had curled into the sheets, laughing as he shook in the grip. Anderson couldn't look away from the pleading eyes that soon unfocused. The vampire only stared at the blank wall for the rest of the movie, not even able to cry at the end. There was something broken in his gaze ….
A deep and familiar voice came on as the movie came to an end.
"Thank you again. I can say, tonight was quite successful. I'm glad he was such a pretty bastard, for my wallet's sake and for the sake of your settled revenge. Farewell then…oh, and you can keep this. And if that man remains where he is, I can't assure you what may happen during the day. I relocate every night."
Anderson hid his face in his hands when the screen went blank, whispering the Lord's name feverously as salty tears slipped into his mouth. Then his teeth bit into his lip, drawing blood and he jumped from the seat, slamming the laptop close as he snatched the note and ran to the door.
He showed the address to the cab driver who whistled and frowned sharply. "This is a pretty shady part of town, Sir."
"Someone I know was taken there." He forced himself to watch as the man paled and turned to put his hands on the wheel.
"Was your friend a woman? There might…I don't want to scare you but…"
"He's a man."
The shoulder's jerked. "Then he was probably taken there to be killed, Sir. I can't ensure your safety and I don't want to become part of a drug scandal or gang related…"
"I'm a priest." Anderson admitted suddenly, making the cab driver fall silent. "It has nothing to do with…" He was cut off by a quiet voice.
"Is he the pretty type…because that would be the only…"
"That's it." The man checked his rear view mirror and saw the priest's face in his hands.
"The police can't do anything there…they've been trying for a real long time now. I'm sorry for your friend, Father."
The paladin's fist tightened, but he didn't correct the man's misunderstanding.
The priest felt dizzy at the familiarity of the room and then the shape under a white sheet on the mattress. The vampire was curled up, and the sheet only went to his shoulders, exposing some of his upper back and the hands that were next to his face. Anderson shook one of the bare shoulders, readying himself for an attack, but when the red eyes opened and turned to him, he realized that Alucard was still under the drug's influence though the blush was almost entirely gone.
"Anderson?" the vampire sat up, staring at him with the eyes of a stranger. The priest threw the clothes he had gathered from the side of the bed at Alucard and went to the door.
"Get dressed. I have a car waiting." With that he closed the door and waited for the vampire to appear.
The cab driver glanced at Alucard with pity and shamed curiosity, deciding to not look at him for the rest of the drive. Anderson let the vampire into his room, knowing that it wouldn't be easy to explain his state if he were to return to Hellsing at the moment. Then he left as Alucard fell asleep.
"What do you mean you would like to meet with Alucard?" Hostility was clear in Integra's voice, making Anderson frown.
"About what happened on the hunt two nights ago." He waited for a gasp but heard nothing.
"So what about it? Yes, Alucard admitted that he was unable to get to the vampire before you. You won. What do you want? A prize, Priest?"
Anderson sat in the chair in quiet shock. He hung up suddenly, unable to tell her the truth.
"It was my fault." Anderson had let the vampire finish his hunt without trying to interfere, now he had caught him by the hall to the entrance of the empty building.
Alucard watched the priest emotionlessly before putting his pistols away and turning to leave. Anderson was paralyzed in disbelief for a moment. Recovering, he ran after the vampire, cutting him off.
"Did you hear me? What happened to you, that night…it was my fault. I let some man spike your drink…not that I knew he was going to…and I didn't know his intentions…"
"It wasn't your fault then." The stoic figure clad in red moved around Anderson, but the priest grabbed his coat, halting him with a frustrated growl.
"Curse me! Shoot me! Do something, vampire!" Alucard was unaffected as Anderson shook him. When the outburst ended, he broke away and attempted to continue down the hall when a bayonet slid through his calf and embedded itself in the tile flooring. The moon made the white squares radiate with an eerie haze, but the dark blood that pooled onto the tile cut into it, dispelling the illusion.
"What will any of those things do, Judas Priest? This shouldn't affect you in the least even if you had participated actively…"
"I was given a tape. I saw everything." Anderson was glaring at the vampire, but he seemed to be looking right through him. "I saw you cry. I heard you beg. I saw them…"
"Enough." The blade clattered to the floor when Alucard wrenched it out and tossed it to the side. "I'm done speaking to you, Priest. I'm leaving."
"So you do care." Anderson declared in triumph.
The vampire froze, having only taken a few steps, but he only growled and resumed his path down the corridor. Anderson pursued, catching Alucard's arm again. Suddenly a fist shot out, knocking the priest into the wall where he grunted and slid to the floor. Then the vampire was gone, leaving Anderson to wipe the blood from his mouth in silence.