Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing. This story is written for my own
enjoyment, and to give some much needed exercise to my overactive
imagination. The characters of Douglas Fang and Samantha Fang are modeled
after two of my friends with their permission.
Chapter 1: Seras Victoria's Dilemma
Seras Victoria had been tossing and turning for three hours, yet every time she found a position that was comfortable enough for her to sleep, she would get a little drowsy. Once that happened her eyes would close. And once they were closed, the events of two days earlier would play through her mind, and the position would no longer be comfortable. She would then repeat the process, with the same results.
Finally, Seras gave up, and pushed the button to open the coffin. Standing up, she grabbed a towel on her way out the door. Once into the hallway, she turned toward the left, and entered the two-room bathroom. One room housed the toilet and a sink; the other housed a bathtub and shower.
Entering the room with the bathtub, she closed and locked the door. She then turned on the water, and while it was getting warm, she stripped off her nightgown. Once the water was the right temperature, lukewarm to humans, but to her it was rather hot, she climbed in, closed the curtain, and turned on the showerhead.
After a few minutes of the water running over her, Seras turned off the water, and climbed out of the shower. After wrapping the towel around herself, and grabbing her nightgown, she headed back to her room.
Once the door was closed behind her, Seras dropped the towel onto the floor, and grabbed a pair of cotton panties. After pulling them on, she grabbed a pair of blue jeans, and pulled them on. She then grabbed a strapless bra, and clipped it on. Over it went a skintight black t-shirt. After pulling on her socks, and shoes, she headed toward the door.
On the way out, she grabbed her hat, gloves, and sunglasses and pulled them on. She then exited her room in the dungeons of the Hellsing Corporations HQ, and headed up to the surface.
Walter slowly propelled his wheel chair toward the kitchen, intending to get something to eat for lunch. It was noon, and his breakfast hadn't been very satisfying. He didn't expect his lunch to be any better, not since his condition didn't allow him to eat any real food. Since the Incognito incident, and the helicopter crash, four days ago, Walter had been confined to this wheel chair He stopped when he saw Miss Victoria ascend the stairs leading out of the dungeons. He raised his eyebrows in surprise when she headed toward the doors leading outside.
As her hand stretched out to grasp the doorknob, a slightly mocking voice rang out.
"Where are you going Seras Victoria?"
The owner of the voice, an exceptionally tall man, topping seven feet, and dressed almost completely in black and blood red stepped out of the wall and gazed at the woman's back, with his trademark grin on his face.
The lack of Alucard using the nickname he had given Seras surprised Walter, but the words out of Seras's mouth shocked him into openly displaying it.
"It's none of your business Alucard."
Alucard's grin vanished instantly. Yet his voice was still entirely courteous.
"Oh, come now Victoria, we're both so much alike that..."
Seras cut him off before he could continue.
"We're both vampires, and vampire hunters. That's the only similarity between us anymore. And I'll burn in the pits of hell before I let it change."
With that, Seras opened the door and stepped outside.
Walter figured out what was wrong rather quickly, and when the last piece fell into place, he sighed. Unfortunately, Alucard heard him.
"Something wrong Walter?"
"Only that you've done something to her that I don't think you should have," was Walter's reply.
"Observant as ever I see. Please, Walter, elaborate. Your reasoning on this subject should prove interesting."
"By the fact that she called you Alucard, and not Master, I assume you had her drink your blood, thus breaking her tie to you." After Alucard nodded, Walter continued. "That is the problem. When she drank your blood, she lost something that was important to her. Something of the bond the two of you shared as Vampire Master and Vampire Servant. She wasn't in love with you," Walter quickly stated when he noticed Alucard opening his mouth to speak. "Nor is she jealous of the fact that you have feelings for Sir Integra."
As the words left his mouth, Alucard fixed his eyes on him in a piercing gaze that should've stuck Walter to the wall.
"Oh, don't look at me like that Alucard. You and Sir Integra display affection in a rather odd way, but it's not too hard to figure out with a little determination to know. Especially when you have the fact blatantly shoved into your face. When Sir Integra was wounded, and you watched over her until she awoke, well...It was rather hard for Miss Victoria not to put two and two together. I don't think she was hurt, possibly a little jealous, but nothing more."
Alucard nodded, and walked through the wall again. Walter then continued on his way to the kitchen.
Seras had left the Hellsing HQ grounds a little while ago, and hadn't stopped walking. Her body was running on automatic while her mind worked overtime. (Just who does he think he is?! Butting into my business like that. Bastard.) Seras was quite mad at Alucard. But the anger didn't stem from the fact that Alucard practically forced her to drink his blood. She was, after all, more trouble than she was worth. She had served her purpose of making Sir Integra jealous, and she was only above average in strength for a vampire. On top of that, she constantly disobeyed him when it mattered.
No, the anger wasn't because he had cut the bond between them as servant and master. The anger was a disguise to hide the hurt, pain, longing, and loneliness that resulted because Alucard had severed the bond. Seras had lost her mother the day she was born, and her father to a drunk driver when she was ten. Since the accident, there had been a craving in her for a father figure, and a sudden feeling of loneliness, and detachment from those around her. It had taken her four years to get fully over her father's death, get out, and make a few friends. She had found herself turning back into the girl she was when her father was alive.
When she graduated High School, she had signed up at the Police academy. It had been a dream since she was a little girl to follow in the footsteps of her father, and become a police officer. She had been shocked to find herself in the Special Forces. She had accomplished her dream, and then some. But on her third mission, she had been sent with her unit to arrest the priest, who was a vampire. When everyone had died, all her best friends, she had felt the loneliness returning, and she had feared it. Then Alucard had turned her into a vampire, and she had been truly isolated from everyone else, with the exception of her newfound master. She had been so relieved when she had realized that she could always feel Alucard, to the point when she knew when he was close bye, to his overall mood.
When he had first offered her his blood, she refused for two reasons. The first, and more obvious reason was that she just couldn't bring herself to drink blood yet. The second was that she had become accustomed to feeling Alucard wherever he was, and that the feeling of him kept the loneliness at bay.
The moment when Alucard's blood touched her lips two days ago, the feeling of him in the back of her head abruptly vanished. After he had left the room, the door had swung shut, and as it did so, Seras had felt as if it was cutting her off from the rest of the world. She hadn't been ready for the feeling of suddenly being utterly alone.
"Seras Victoria."
The sudden voice cut through her musings, and brought her back to the real world.
After blinking in surprise, Seras looked around herself, noticing that she was standing at the mouth of an alley. As she peered deeper into the alley, she saw the person who had called out to her. And she immediately considered running for her life.
Alexander Anderson saw that Seras was about to flee and decided to take actions that would prevent this.
"Wait, Miss Victoria, I don't want to fight." As he said this Alexander stepped out into the light, hands held up in the gesture of surrender.
As Alexander's word's struck home, Seras considered him, noticing several things about the priest's attire. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans, and a black, skintight tank top. His white gloves were gone, as was his trench coat. However, the thing that she truly noted was that he wasn't wearing his silver cross. That fact alone gave her pause. She decided to hear what he had to say, but she would be ready to run at an instant's notice.
"What do you want Alexander?"
Alexander decided to get right to the point.
"I want to make a deal with you."
That statement caught Seras completely off guard.
"Wh...what...?" She gazed at the priest, trying to find any sign of falsehood in his face, and trying to get over her shock.
Alexander slowly reached into his pocket and withdrew his silver cross. When he saw Seras flinch at the cross and take a step back, he raised his free hand, and shook his head. She paused, wondering what he was doing.
"Have you felt it? The evil presence that has appeared?"
As Seras nodded she said, "Yes, I have felt it at night. Now, Alexander, what do you want?" Seras was nervous as hell. When she left the mansion, she hadn't grabbed her gun. And now she was face to face with the only person she had met to this day that was worthy of terror, and that was still alive. Seras knew that if Alexander truly wished to, he could kill her. And now that she was no longer bonded to Alucard, he wouldn't come running to save her. And her only means of defense against Alexander was her gun, and that was about as good as depending on a piece of frail glass to stop a nuclear explosion. Now that it was not only daylight, but now that she was also out in the sun, what little of her vampire powers that she could control weren't working.
"I, Alexander Anderson, do swear by this cross, and by god, to not attack Seras Victoria, or another vampire of her choice save Alucard, in return for Seras Victoria's aid in combating this new evil. Punishment for breaking this oath will be to burn in the deepest pits of hell for eternity."
Seras was now truly shocked beyond all belief. If it had been physically possible for her jaw to hit the ground, it would have done so.
"Wha...?" was Seras's intelligent response.
Alexander grinned at the look on Seras's face. (It would be so easy to send her to her damned fate. But no.) He placed the cross back in his pocket, and extended his hand toward the vampire. "Normally I wouldn't even consider allying myself with a child of the night, but I know I will not be able to defeat this new evil on my own. And I would never be able to ally myself with your master."
Seras eyed the hand warily for a moment before making up her mind.
"Very well, I accept. Should you call for aid to combat this evil at any time, I will come if it is possible." She reached out and shook Alexander's hand. "And for the record Alucard is no longer my master. Until you need aid, Alexander." With that, Seras turned away, heading back to Hellsing HQ.
"Please call me Alex. We are now allies, Miss Victoria."
Seras stopped and looked at Alex over her shoulder. "Very well Alex. But please call me Seras." She then continued onward toward HQ.
Alex nodded, then turned back into the alley, and disappeared from sight.
Integra Hellsing watched as Seras walked across the grounds and back inside HQ. The normally cheerful vampire looked contemplative, and a little depressed.
As Alucard walked in through the wall Integra turned around to face him.
"You should not have broken the bond with her," Integra told Alucard without preamble.
"The choice was mine to make Integra. I have no need for a vampire underling that will not obey when they must, for their own safety."
"Hmph. Will you force me to take your blood as well?"
"Not until you have good enough control of your new powers will I offer you the blood needed to become your own master once again. Whether you take it then will be your choice."
"Like the choice you gave Seras?" The accusational tone did nothing to ruffle Alucard.
"There is always a choice, just as two days ago. Seras had a choice. She made her decision of her own freewill."
Integra didn't dignify Alucard with a verbal response. As she turned back to the window, her hand reached up and played with her now useless glasses. As she fully turned to face the window she looked up at the sun, and couldn't help the slight smile that graced her lips. One of the biggest misconceptions about vampires was their fatal reaction to the sun. That little tidbit of information was much like the wooden stake idea. 'Stab a vampire in the heart with a wooden stake and they shall perish.' According to Alucard, that was supposed to hurt like hell. But it was only a myth.
Vampire's weakness to sunlight on the other hand...
The sunlight did not destroy them, or even burn them, no more than the average human. However, when it was daylight, vampire's powers were greatly weakened. When they stepped into the sunlight vampires were all but stripped of their powers. They only kept their strength, speed, and agility.
Most vampires went to many lengths to avoid sunlight, Alucard among them. Most slept in coffins during the day for protection. If a slayer came across them during the daylight, the vampire would be much easier prey.
Integra turned away from the window to find that Alucard had vanished, and in his place was a bucket of ice with a single packet of medical blood. Integra shared one thing in common with Seras; they both refused to drink any kind of blood besides medical blood. They would not hunt a human for the fresh blood flowing in their veins.
As Integra walked over to the blood, she removed her glasses and placed them on her desk. It had only been three days since Alucard had offered her his vampire blood in the prison cell. Shortly after she had accepted, the prison was forced to release her after the queen made a national broadcast telling everyone a doctored version of the truth.
Integra was released within the hour of the broadcast, with a full apology.
She was grateful to the queen for what she had done for them. The doctored version of the truth included telling everyone about the soldier's that Integra lost, and giving each person who had fought and died the title of 'Knight of the Queen'. There was no higher honor among the British.
In private the Queen had told Integra that she had done all she could, and Integra had responded with 'it was more than enough.'
Integra opened the blood packet, and drank the red liquid within.
And the Queen had done more than enough. Simply honoring Integra's soldiers had settled whatever debt had arisen. Now the Hellsing Corporation's only problem was they were drastically short on personnel. They had no shortage of recruits, but they were mostly rookies, with no combat experience, let alone against the undead.
As Integra drained the last of the blood from the packet, she rubbed at the bridge of her nose, feeling a slight headache coming on.
(What we need are some veterans who can show the rookies how to combat this threat.) Integra had already given some thought to this matter, and it was time to inform the rest of the Hellsing Corporation. She had informed everyone over the intercom earlier about the meeting, and now that Seras had returned, the meeting could begin.
The meeting room of the Hellsing Corporation was the same room where the Round Table conferences were held. The room was supposed to be occupied by the head of the Hellsing Corporation, the most Senior officer, the leaders of the 25 units in Hellsing, and a few others, including Hellsing's top agent. Since the current top agent was a vampire who didn't really care, he was usually absent.
The room at the moment held Integra, the Head of Hellsing, Walter, a usual member, the leaders of the only three remaining units, Seras, and, surprisingly, Alucard.
Here in the meeting room, it was made even more painstakingly clear that Hellsing needed more personnel. Of the three remaining units, only one had half of the needed number of soldiers. The other two didn't even have that.
Never one to beat around the bush, Integra started speaking as soon as everyone was seated.
"Now, you all know about the biggest problem that faces Hellsing Corporation. This room, not even half full, shows us just how badly we need more personnel."
One of the captains spoke up. "I'm sorry Sir Integra, but I don't really see how this is such a problem. I've seen the list of people who have been recruited into Hellsing, and it is more than long enough to easily solve our problem of personnel. Once the new recruits arrive, we can begin training them."
It was Seras who spoke next. "Therein lies the problem captain."
When he raised his eyebrows in question, Seras elaborated.
"I also have seen the list of new recruits, and I agree that there are more than enough to fill out the gaps with a little training. It's not the number of recruits; it's the fact that they need training. We don't need soldiers in three and a half months, we need them now. And what about when they do finish their training? What happens when they're told that they're expected to fight vampires and ghouls? Most of them believe that vampires are fairy tales, and ghouls the material of quickly forgotten nightmares. They'll be terrified in their first battle. I myself was unable to pull the trigger on my first hunt. It was a mixture of terror, and disbelief. If a vampire can doubt in the existence of vampires and ghouls, what do you think a teenager, fresh out of our training camp, will do?"
Integra was impressed. Seras had matured since coming to Hellsing two years ago.
"Seras is right. We don't need rookies, we need veterans." Seras nodded to Integra in thanks. Integra gave the slightest nod in return.
After a moment, another captain asked, "Well, how do we go about getting veterans when the rookies are on their way here. They arrive tomarrow."
Integra answered him. "We can't change the fact that we will have rookies, nor the fact that we have to train them. We can, however, also bring in veterans who can hunt the vampires, and also train the recruits."
It was Walter who continued. "I've made some phone calls, and called in some favors, all inquiring about who we should bring in to our aid. Every time the same people are recommended. They don't belong to an organization, preferring to be self-employed. A multi millionaire heads them, and they've fought everything the world of the dark has to offer. If there were creatures that were said to be invincible, these people wiped them out. Now, unfortunately, the only file I could acquire that was up to date is the first one. All others are a few years old at least." At this point, Walter pulled out some folders, and passed them around. He also turned on the projection screen.
After everyone had a folder, Walter pushed a button on the remote and the first picture came up, displaying a man in his mid 60's. His hair was completely white, and he was balding slightly, but he still gave off an impression of intense power.
"This is their leader, Jared Marindye, age is 65. 55 years ago, his family was murdered by demons, leaving Jared with his fortune, and a craving for revenge. For the next ten years he trained, bringing himself up to be a formidable hunter of the dark. 15 years later, Jared had created an elite team of hunters from people all over the world, and he began to truly hunt the dark. For the next 30 years, they hunted the dark, making a name for themselves in the underground. They were given the nickname 'Dark's Bane,' and they lived up to it. They finally came across the demon's that had killed Jared's family, and after a three-day battle, wiped them out. Jared was critically wounded however, and was forced to retire from the actual hunting. However, he still financially backs the Dark's Bane, doing everything he can to aid the battle against the night."
Walter clicked another button and the picture changed to a man in his late twenties. He was completely bald, and had a pleasant face to look at, but the eyes of whoever looked at him would be drawn to the man's eyes. Or lack there of. The man had two black pools where his eyes should be. Walter continued after the small amount of shock had worn off.
"Now, this man is known only by 'Black,' and is a total mystery. He is the only person remaining from Jared's first team of hunters, and that's because, as far as I know, he doesn't enter battle. He provides the weapons, magic, and knowledge for the rest of the members of the Dark's Bane. The only other known fact about him is that he isn't human. No one knows what he is, only that it's not human, and that whatever it is, it doesn't age apparently, for he hasn't aged a day since Jared first found him."
Walter continued with the descriptions about the members of Dark's Bane, and there was little else of interest. They were humans, and all of them good, most of them on Walter's former level. However the only other two truly noteworthy files were the last two.
"These next two files were made last year, so they are fairly recent." Walter brought up the next picture before continuing, displaying a young man, about 20 years old. He had dark brown hair, and it fell about his head in a 'helmet.' There was a scar that started at his left temple, and ran down the left side of his face, disappearing under his shirt. His eyes were a burnished gold, and the way he was grinning in the picture showed off his slightly larger than average canines.
"This is Douglas Fang. As you can tell, he's not human. When he was 17, Douglas lost his family to a group of vampires. Douglas was able to avoid that fate because he was out. When he returned home, he went into a berserk frenzy, and began to hunt the vampires down. After one meeting where he barely escaped with his life he ran across a mortally wounded werewolf. The same vampires had beaten the wolf. When the wolf realized that Douglas was hunting the same vampires, it offered him help in the form of the wolf bite. Douglas accepted, and then resumed his hunt. Less than three weeks later, he found the vampires and brutally killed them. Dark's Bane recruited him the next day. Now about Douglas's wolf abilities: he has very keen senses, and is slightly stronger than a human body builder. His stamina is unrivaled, just like a wolf's. He also has a wolf's agility and speed. And the last thing of note is that Douglas has complete control of the wolf within him. Because he accepted the bite willingly, Douglas can transform at will into a humanoid wolf. He still transforms on the full moon, but he also keeps his mind intact."
Walter changed the picture, showing a young woman, also about 20 years old. She had long, dark brown hair that reached her mid back, a pair of glasses over her eyes.
"This is Samantha Fang. She is Douglas's wife, and the mother of his children, twins. She has almost no combat abilities, aside from 'a mean right hook,' as Douglas states in his file. She is, however, quite an accomplished nurse, and quite good at rune magic, making her a force to be reckoned with if she has to fight, which she prefers to avoid. She mostly helps Black make weapons and patch up the members when they get done with a mission."
After Walter turned off the projector screen, via remote, Integra spoke once again.
"I have already called the Dark's Bane, and they have agreed to come and train our recruits, as well as aid us in hunting vampires. They will arrive about two days after our new recruits. If no one else has anything that they feel needs to be said, then this meeting is over."
Integra waited for a moment to make sure that no one else had anything to say, then stood, and left. The others followed her example.
Seras entered her room, and shut the door behind her. She moved over to where she kept her clothes, and after picking out a nightgown of very soft white cotton, stripped off her clothes, and pulled the dress over her head. She then climbed into bed, and pressed the button to bring the coffin lid down.
As the lid was lowering, Seras thought back to her meeting with Alex. Something was really wrong for him to even consider approaching her without his weapons, let alone turn her into an ally. She had better prepare herself for this new evil.
(Looks like a visit to Walter is in order.) With that thought, Seras started to drift off to sleep. But before sleep overtook her, she wondered about the feeling she had since Integra had told them that the Dark's Bane was coming to help Hellsing. The feeling like a part of her was coming...
*Somewhere in
New York City*
The new jazz club that had opened earlier that day had a huge crowd, drawing every kind of person to it for the music, and the great food. It also drew other 'things' in hope of a meal of a different kind. And those things drew those that fought them.
One such person was currently sitting at a two-story window over looking the entrance to the club, with a sniper rifle across his lap. From this point he had a clear view of all the people entering and leaving the club. A friend of his was in a similar position on the other side of the club building, guarding the back exit. There were also men guarding the fire exits, all of them alert, and ready.
Now all they had to do was wait for their friends inside the club to find the vampire they were hunting and make him take an exit. Easy as pie.
Inside the club the atmosphere was thoroughly excited and feverish as everyone danced and ate. As the alcohol consumption rose, it would become worse.
There were a few people who used this atmosphere to their advantage, and disappeared into it, getting into advantageous positions around the inside of the club. Two people walked around the dance floor, looking at everyone they could, and trying to get a sight or scent of their prey.
One of them was slightly shorter than the other. He had dark brown hair that fell about his head in a 'helmet.' There was a long scar running down the left side of his face, and his burnished gold eyes were very serious. He looked to be about 21, and was wearing a black leather trench coat. Underneath the coat were a pair of normal blue jeans, and a white long sleeved shirt. For shoes he was wearing a pair of white sneakers. He also was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses to hide his eyes.
His companion had blond hair that was a little unruly, and was also wearing a pair of dark sunglasses. In his left ear was a simple, silver, hoop earring. He was wearing a black jacket that came down a little past his hips, with a hood that wasn't up. Covering his hands was a pair of soft, black leather gloves. Underneath the jacket he wore a maroon t-shirt with a silver dragon on the front. The shirt was tucked into a pair of tan cargo jeans, which would have been baggy if not for the black belt with the silver buckle. The pants bunched slightly over his black steel toe boots.
The slightly shorter one spoke first.
"Do you see him anywhere?"
His companion answered after spotting their quarry.
"Yes. He's at three o'clock. At the bar with that girl practically in his pants. He's wearing a blue shirt, slightly dirty."
After his companion swept his gaze over the bar discreetly, he raised his left hand to his face. He made an act of messing with his sunglasses while he spoke into the microphone up his sleeve.
"This is Doug, we've spotted the vampire. He's at the bar, third stool on the left. Is everyone in position?"
After receiving affirmatives from everyone, Doug moved to the bar, leaving his companion to find a good angle of attack.
His companion moved to the other side of the bar, far from the vampire. He turned to the barkeep.
"Club soda please."
The barkeep eyed the young man for a second, and then gave him a club soda. The young man gave the barkeep the right amount of money, and accepted the soda, but he didn't open it.
While that was happening, Doug had sat on the stool next to the vampire and his lady friend. He caught the barkeep's attention, and made his order.
"Beer please. Miller Genuine."
After he exchanged the correct amount of money for the beer, he opened it and took a healthy swallow. After that one swallow, he turned around on his stool and got a nod from his companion down at the other end of the bar.
They were ready to take another vampire down.
He turned his attention to the vampire sitting next to him.
After lowering his glasses a bit and exposing his golden eyes, Doug made his move.
"Excuse me, but shouldn't the two of you get a room?"
The vampire threw a death glare at Doug and spat, "It's none of your business. If this bothers you go somewhere else."
He then turned his attention back to the women for a second then did a double take at Doug's eyes.
Doug smiled as he said, "Oh, it bothers me very much, vampire. We don't need another ghoul running around."
The vampire laughed at him and said, "Hah, you think I can't handle one human?"
"One? Yes, I think you could handle one ordinary human rather well. You seemed to be doing so a second ago. But in case you can't smell it, I'm not entirely human. And in no way am I alone."
At that the vampire frantically looked around the club and spotted several of the others, all of which were placed at varying locations and gazing back at him. Some even raised their glasses to him.
The woman had heard their little exchange and was looking about ready to run screaming. The vampire decided to give her a head start, only in the wrong direction.
He placed his hands on her hips, and effortlessly heaved her into Doug, and then he made his break. Unfortunately, he hadn't spotted Doug's companion at the bar and he only made it two steps before the club soda smashed into his face with half the force of an artillery shell, sending him to the floor.
Everything after that seemed to happen at once.
People around the sprawling vampire screamed and backed away.
Doug calmly lifted the woman from his lap, and placed her on her feet. She then decided to run screaming.
Doug's companion from the bar retracted his arm from after his throw, and proceeded to calmly walk toward the downed vampire.
The others began to tighten their circle, which had only one exit, out a nearby fire exit, and right into three heavily armed people.
The vampire realized what was happening, and decided to screw it all up with a surprise. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
That's when hell really broke loose.
Six ghouls hidden in the crowd suddenly made an appearance, growling and causing panic. Another seven suddenly charged in from various cleaning closets about the club. What had started as a neatly organized plan of 'heard the sheep' turned into a firefight because several of the ghouls had guns, and the rest had knives and clubs of some sort.
The vampire decided to make his escape during the confusion, and ran up a flight of stairs toward the second floor, where the food was served on a more stable surface. There was also a large window allowing people who were eating to view the outside.
Unfortunately for the vampire, he still hadn't noticed the young man who made the throw earlier, who was now running up the other flight of stairs onto the second floor, while speaking into his microphone.
"James, he's on the second floor. Be ready for a sudden exit from that floor."
The sniper across the street with a view of the front brought his gun up into the ready position after loading a silver bullet.
The vampire made it to the second floor and began running toward a door that would lead to the fire escape. He stopped in his tracks when Doug's companion also made it to the second floor, reaching into his coat as he did so, and drawing forth a Desert Eagle handgun. He clicked off the safety and brought the gun up, aiming for the vampire's heart.
The vampire made a break for the large window, diving through it, and showering the crowd below with glass.
Doug's companion followed, jumping out of the window and landing on the ground 12 feet below him with little more than a grunt. He looked around, and spotted the vampire making a break to his left. He raised his microphone and screamed into it, "James, take the shot!"
A shot rang out in amongst the screams. The vampire at the last second dived to the ground and rolled, coming back onto his feet running. The bullet continued on, tagging a young man in the leg.
Doug's companion swore and gave chase to the vampire, ignoring the injured man. Someone would take care of him.
The chase lasted only half a block, before the vampire turned into an alley, and found his key to freedom, and maybe even a meal.
A young couple that had exited the club a few minutes before the action had started had decided to take the shortcut through the alley to get to their car. They were totally surprised and unprepared for the seemingly 30 year old man that came down the alley behind them at a dead run. That made it all much easier for him to grab the girl and use her as a body shield to protect him from the young man giving chase.
Said young man rounded the corner into the alley a second later, bringing up his gun and taking aim at the vampire and his hostage before coming to a complete stop. He eyed the situation before him carefully, thinking quickly.
The girl was panicking. She was a hostage, and the man across from her had his gun pointed at her captor, and therefore, her. It was made even worse when her captor lowered his head a bit and inhaled deeply.
"*Sniff*...ah, my dear, your blood smells delicious, so sweet, and full of fire. Why I can't wait to..."
Whatever it was he couldn't wait to do, she never found out for at that second, he started to smell the air around them.
"*Sniff...sniff, sniff* Well well, I should've known." He continued after a second, directing his words to the young man with the gun.
"Why don't you come with me? We could be truly powerful together you know. I mean, come on, two vam..."
He was cut off when the young man spoke for the first time.
"Shut." BLAM!
The bullet took the vampire right between the eyes, since he hadn't the sense to raise the girl to a level where she could protect his head. As he fell away from her the girl ran to the comforting arms of her boyfriend.
The young man walked forward to the stunned vampire, and pointed his gun at the vampire's heart.
"Up." BLAM!
After the bullet had torn through skin, bone, and a minimal amount of muscle to strike the heart, the vampire disintegrated.
The young man reached into his coat, and when he withdrew his hand, his gun was nowhere in sight. He then spoke into his radio.
"The target is down, I repeat, the target is down. Our jobs over."
As the young man turned away from the pile of dust, he ran his eyes over the couple, making sure they were all right. His eyes lingered for a moment before he tore them away, and continued on his way out of the alley.
As he was walking back to the car, his friend Doug fell into stride along side, and started a conversation.
"Nice piece of work."
"Thanks."
"What's wrong, homesick?"
"Hmph, you need a home for that."
Doug looked at his friend for a second before returning his eyes to where he was going. After a second, he spoke.
"Don't worry. You'll find another home with people who will accept you."
As his friend nodded and smiled slightly Doug said, "Now, let's go to London!"
End Chapter one.
So, what do you think? Please review.
Chapter 1: Seras Victoria's Dilemma
Seras Victoria had been tossing and turning for three hours, yet every time she found a position that was comfortable enough for her to sleep, she would get a little drowsy. Once that happened her eyes would close. And once they were closed, the events of two days earlier would play through her mind, and the position would no longer be comfortable. She would then repeat the process, with the same results.
Finally, Seras gave up, and pushed the button to open the coffin. Standing up, she grabbed a towel on her way out the door. Once into the hallway, she turned toward the left, and entered the two-room bathroom. One room housed the toilet and a sink; the other housed a bathtub and shower.
Entering the room with the bathtub, she closed and locked the door. She then turned on the water, and while it was getting warm, she stripped off her nightgown. Once the water was the right temperature, lukewarm to humans, but to her it was rather hot, she climbed in, closed the curtain, and turned on the showerhead.
After a few minutes of the water running over her, Seras turned off the water, and climbed out of the shower. After wrapping the towel around herself, and grabbing her nightgown, she headed back to her room.
Once the door was closed behind her, Seras dropped the towel onto the floor, and grabbed a pair of cotton panties. After pulling them on, she grabbed a pair of blue jeans, and pulled them on. She then grabbed a strapless bra, and clipped it on. Over it went a skintight black t-shirt. After pulling on her socks, and shoes, she headed toward the door.
On the way out, she grabbed her hat, gloves, and sunglasses and pulled them on. She then exited her room in the dungeons of the Hellsing Corporations HQ, and headed up to the surface.
Walter slowly propelled his wheel chair toward the kitchen, intending to get something to eat for lunch. It was noon, and his breakfast hadn't been very satisfying. He didn't expect his lunch to be any better, not since his condition didn't allow him to eat any real food. Since the Incognito incident, and the helicopter crash, four days ago, Walter had been confined to this wheel chair He stopped when he saw Miss Victoria ascend the stairs leading out of the dungeons. He raised his eyebrows in surprise when she headed toward the doors leading outside.
As her hand stretched out to grasp the doorknob, a slightly mocking voice rang out.
"Where are you going Seras Victoria?"
The owner of the voice, an exceptionally tall man, topping seven feet, and dressed almost completely in black and blood red stepped out of the wall and gazed at the woman's back, with his trademark grin on his face.
The lack of Alucard using the nickname he had given Seras surprised Walter, but the words out of Seras's mouth shocked him into openly displaying it.
"It's none of your business Alucard."
Alucard's grin vanished instantly. Yet his voice was still entirely courteous.
"Oh, come now Victoria, we're both so much alike that..."
Seras cut him off before he could continue.
"We're both vampires, and vampire hunters. That's the only similarity between us anymore. And I'll burn in the pits of hell before I let it change."
With that, Seras opened the door and stepped outside.
Walter figured out what was wrong rather quickly, and when the last piece fell into place, he sighed. Unfortunately, Alucard heard him.
"Something wrong Walter?"
"Only that you've done something to her that I don't think you should have," was Walter's reply.
"Observant as ever I see. Please, Walter, elaborate. Your reasoning on this subject should prove interesting."
"By the fact that she called you Alucard, and not Master, I assume you had her drink your blood, thus breaking her tie to you." After Alucard nodded, Walter continued. "That is the problem. When she drank your blood, she lost something that was important to her. Something of the bond the two of you shared as Vampire Master and Vampire Servant. She wasn't in love with you," Walter quickly stated when he noticed Alucard opening his mouth to speak. "Nor is she jealous of the fact that you have feelings for Sir Integra."
As the words left his mouth, Alucard fixed his eyes on him in a piercing gaze that should've stuck Walter to the wall.
"Oh, don't look at me like that Alucard. You and Sir Integra display affection in a rather odd way, but it's not too hard to figure out with a little determination to know. Especially when you have the fact blatantly shoved into your face. When Sir Integra was wounded, and you watched over her until she awoke, well...It was rather hard for Miss Victoria not to put two and two together. I don't think she was hurt, possibly a little jealous, but nothing more."
Alucard nodded, and walked through the wall again. Walter then continued on his way to the kitchen.
Seras had left the Hellsing HQ grounds a little while ago, and hadn't stopped walking. Her body was running on automatic while her mind worked overtime. (Just who does he think he is?! Butting into my business like that. Bastard.) Seras was quite mad at Alucard. But the anger didn't stem from the fact that Alucard practically forced her to drink his blood. She was, after all, more trouble than she was worth. She had served her purpose of making Sir Integra jealous, and she was only above average in strength for a vampire. On top of that, she constantly disobeyed him when it mattered.
No, the anger wasn't because he had cut the bond between them as servant and master. The anger was a disguise to hide the hurt, pain, longing, and loneliness that resulted because Alucard had severed the bond. Seras had lost her mother the day she was born, and her father to a drunk driver when she was ten. Since the accident, there had been a craving in her for a father figure, and a sudden feeling of loneliness, and detachment from those around her. It had taken her four years to get fully over her father's death, get out, and make a few friends. She had found herself turning back into the girl she was when her father was alive.
When she graduated High School, she had signed up at the Police academy. It had been a dream since she was a little girl to follow in the footsteps of her father, and become a police officer. She had been shocked to find herself in the Special Forces. She had accomplished her dream, and then some. But on her third mission, she had been sent with her unit to arrest the priest, who was a vampire. When everyone had died, all her best friends, she had felt the loneliness returning, and she had feared it. Then Alucard had turned her into a vampire, and she had been truly isolated from everyone else, with the exception of her newfound master. She had been so relieved when she had realized that she could always feel Alucard, to the point when she knew when he was close bye, to his overall mood.
When he had first offered her his blood, she refused for two reasons. The first, and more obvious reason was that she just couldn't bring herself to drink blood yet. The second was that she had become accustomed to feeling Alucard wherever he was, and that the feeling of him kept the loneliness at bay.
The moment when Alucard's blood touched her lips two days ago, the feeling of him in the back of her head abruptly vanished. After he had left the room, the door had swung shut, and as it did so, Seras had felt as if it was cutting her off from the rest of the world. She hadn't been ready for the feeling of suddenly being utterly alone.
"Seras Victoria."
The sudden voice cut through her musings, and brought her back to the real world.
After blinking in surprise, Seras looked around herself, noticing that she was standing at the mouth of an alley. As she peered deeper into the alley, she saw the person who had called out to her. And she immediately considered running for her life.
Alexander Anderson saw that Seras was about to flee and decided to take actions that would prevent this.
"Wait, Miss Victoria, I don't want to fight." As he said this Alexander stepped out into the light, hands held up in the gesture of surrender.
As Alexander's word's struck home, Seras considered him, noticing several things about the priest's attire. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans, and a black, skintight tank top. His white gloves were gone, as was his trench coat. However, the thing that she truly noted was that he wasn't wearing his silver cross. That fact alone gave her pause. She decided to hear what he had to say, but she would be ready to run at an instant's notice.
"What do you want Alexander?"
Alexander decided to get right to the point.
"I want to make a deal with you."
That statement caught Seras completely off guard.
"Wh...what...?" She gazed at the priest, trying to find any sign of falsehood in his face, and trying to get over her shock.
Alexander slowly reached into his pocket and withdrew his silver cross. When he saw Seras flinch at the cross and take a step back, he raised his free hand, and shook his head. She paused, wondering what he was doing.
"Have you felt it? The evil presence that has appeared?"
As Seras nodded she said, "Yes, I have felt it at night. Now, Alexander, what do you want?" Seras was nervous as hell. When she left the mansion, she hadn't grabbed her gun. And now she was face to face with the only person she had met to this day that was worthy of terror, and that was still alive. Seras knew that if Alexander truly wished to, he could kill her. And now that she was no longer bonded to Alucard, he wouldn't come running to save her. And her only means of defense against Alexander was her gun, and that was about as good as depending on a piece of frail glass to stop a nuclear explosion. Now that it was not only daylight, but now that she was also out in the sun, what little of her vampire powers that she could control weren't working.
"I, Alexander Anderson, do swear by this cross, and by god, to not attack Seras Victoria, or another vampire of her choice save Alucard, in return for Seras Victoria's aid in combating this new evil. Punishment for breaking this oath will be to burn in the deepest pits of hell for eternity."
Seras was now truly shocked beyond all belief. If it had been physically possible for her jaw to hit the ground, it would have done so.
"Wha...?" was Seras's intelligent response.
Alexander grinned at the look on Seras's face. (It would be so easy to send her to her damned fate. But no.) He placed the cross back in his pocket, and extended his hand toward the vampire. "Normally I wouldn't even consider allying myself with a child of the night, but I know I will not be able to defeat this new evil on my own. And I would never be able to ally myself with your master."
Seras eyed the hand warily for a moment before making up her mind.
"Very well, I accept. Should you call for aid to combat this evil at any time, I will come if it is possible." She reached out and shook Alexander's hand. "And for the record Alucard is no longer my master. Until you need aid, Alexander." With that, Seras turned away, heading back to Hellsing HQ.
"Please call me Alex. We are now allies, Miss Victoria."
Seras stopped and looked at Alex over her shoulder. "Very well Alex. But please call me Seras." She then continued onward toward HQ.
Alex nodded, then turned back into the alley, and disappeared from sight.
Integra Hellsing watched as Seras walked across the grounds and back inside HQ. The normally cheerful vampire looked contemplative, and a little depressed.
As Alucard walked in through the wall Integra turned around to face him.
"You should not have broken the bond with her," Integra told Alucard without preamble.
"The choice was mine to make Integra. I have no need for a vampire underling that will not obey when they must, for their own safety."
"Hmph. Will you force me to take your blood as well?"
"Not until you have good enough control of your new powers will I offer you the blood needed to become your own master once again. Whether you take it then will be your choice."
"Like the choice you gave Seras?" The accusational tone did nothing to ruffle Alucard.
"There is always a choice, just as two days ago. Seras had a choice. She made her decision of her own freewill."
Integra didn't dignify Alucard with a verbal response. As she turned back to the window, her hand reached up and played with her now useless glasses. As she fully turned to face the window she looked up at the sun, and couldn't help the slight smile that graced her lips. One of the biggest misconceptions about vampires was their fatal reaction to the sun. That little tidbit of information was much like the wooden stake idea. 'Stab a vampire in the heart with a wooden stake and they shall perish.' According to Alucard, that was supposed to hurt like hell. But it was only a myth.
Vampire's weakness to sunlight on the other hand...
The sunlight did not destroy them, or even burn them, no more than the average human. However, when it was daylight, vampire's powers were greatly weakened. When they stepped into the sunlight vampires were all but stripped of their powers. They only kept their strength, speed, and agility.
Most vampires went to many lengths to avoid sunlight, Alucard among them. Most slept in coffins during the day for protection. If a slayer came across them during the daylight, the vampire would be much easier prey.
Integra turned away from the window to find that Alucard had vanished, and in his place was a bucket of ice with a single packet of medical blood. Integra shared one thing in common with Seras; they both refused to drink any kind of blood besides medical blood. They would not hunt a human for the fresh blood flowing in their veins.
As Integra walked over to the blood, she removed her glasses and placed them on her desk. It had only been three days since Alucard had offered her his vampire blood in the prison cell. Shortly after she had accepted, the prison was forced to release her after the queen made a national broadcast telling everyone a doctored version of the truth.
Integra was released within the hour of the broadcast, with a full apology.
She was grateful to the queen for what she had done for them. The doctored version of the truth included telling everyone about the soldier's that Integra lost, and giving each person who had fought and died the title of 'Knight of the Queen'. There was no higher honor among the British.
In private the Queen had told Integra that she had done all she could, and Integra had responded with 'it was more than enough.'
Integra opened the blood packet, and drank the red liquid within.
And the Queen had done more than enough. Simply honoring Integra's soldiers had settled whatever debt had arisen. Now the Hellsing Corporation's only problem was they were drastically short on personnel. They had no shortage of recruits, but they were mostly rookies, with no combat experience, let alone against the undead.
As Integra drained the last of the blood from the packet, she rubbed at the bridge of her nose, feeling a slight headache coming on.
(What we need are some veterans who can show the rookies how to combat this threat.) Integra had already given some thought to this matter, and it was time to inform the rest of the Hellsing Corporation. She had informed everyone over the intercom earlier about the meeting, and now that Seras had returned, the meeting could begin.
The meeting room of the Hellsing Corporation was the same room where the Round Table conferences were held. The room was supposed to be occupied by the head of the Hellsing Corporation, the most Senior officer, the leaders of the 25 units in Hellsing, and a few others, including Hellsing's top agent. Since the current top agent was a vampire who didn't really care, he was usually absent.
The room at the moment held Integra, the Head of Hellsing, Walter, a usual member, the leaders of the only three remaining units, Seras, and, surprisingly, Alucard.
Here in the meeting room, it was made even more painstakingly clear that Hellsing needed more personnel. Of the three remaining units, only one had half of the needed number of soldiers. The other two didn't even have that.
Never one to beat around the bush, Integra started speaking as soon as everyone was seated.
"Now, you all know about the biggest problem that faces Hellsing Corporation. This room, not even half full, shows us just how badly we need more personnel."
One of the captains spoke up. "I'm sorry Sir Integra, but I don't really see how this is such a problem. I've seen the list of people who have been recruited into Hellsing, and it is more than long enough to easily solve our problem of personnel. Once the new recruits arrive, we can begin training them."
It was Seras who spoke next. "Therein lies the problem captain."
When he raised his eyebrows in question, Seras elaborated.
"I also have seen the list of new recruits, and I agree that there are more than enough to fill out the gaps with a little training. It's not the number of recruits; it's the fact that they need training. We don't need soldiers in three and a half months, we need them now. And what about when they do finish their training? What happens when they're told that they're expected to fight vampires and ghouls? Most of them believe that vampires are fairy tales, and ghouls the material of quickly forgotten nightmares. They'll be terrified in their first battle. I myself was unable to pull the trigger on my first hunt. It was a mixture of terror, and disbelief. If a vampire can doubt in the existence of vampires and ghouls, what do you think a teenager, fresh out of our training camp, will do?"
Integra was impressed. Seras had matured since coming to Hellsing two years ago.
"Seras is right. We don't need rookies, we need veterans." Seras nodded to Integra in thanks. Integra gave the slightest nod in return.
After a moment, another captain asked, "Well, how do we go about getting veterans when the rookies are on their way here. They arrive tomarrow."
Integra answered him. "We can't change the fact that we will have rookies, nor the fact that we have to train them. We can, however, also bring in veterans who can hunt the vampires, and also train the recruits."
It was Walter who continued. "I've made some phone calls, and called in some favors, all inquiring about who we should bring in to our aid. Every time the same people are recommended. They don't belong to an organization, preferring to be self-employed. A multi millionaire heads them, and they've fought everything the world of the dark has to offer. If there were creatures that were said to be invincible, these people wiped them out. Now, unfortunately, the only file I could acquire that was up to date is the first one. All others are a few years old at least." At this point, Walter pulled out some folders, and passed them around. He also turned on the projection screen.
After everyone had a folder, Walter pushed a button on the remote and the first picture came up, displaying a man in his mid 60's. His hair was completely white, and he was balding slightly, but he still gave off an impression of intense power.
"This is their leader, Jared Marindye, age is 65. 55 years ago, his family was murdered by demons, leaving Jared with his fortune, and a craving for revenge. For the next ten years he trained, bringing himself up to be a formidable hunter of the dark. 15 years later, Jared had created an elite team of hunters from people all over the world, and he began to truly hunt the dark. For the next 30 years, they hunted the dark, making a name for themselves in the underground. They were given the nickname 'Dark's Bane,' and they lived up to it. They finally came across the demon's that had killed Jared's family, and after a three-day battle, wiped them out. Jared was critically wounded however, and was forced to retire from the actual hunting. However, he still financially backs the Dark's Bane, doing everything he can to aid the battle against the night."
Walter clicked another button and the picture changed to a man in his late twenties. He was completely bald, and had a pleasant face to look at, but the eyes of whoever looked at him would be drawn to the man's eyes. Or lack there of. The man had two black pools where his eyes should be. Walter continued after the small amount of shock had worn off.
"Now, this man is known only by 'Black,' and is a total mystery. He is the only person remaining from Jared's first team of hunters, and that's because, as far as I know, he doesn't enter battle. He provides the weapons, magic, and knowledge for the rest of the members of the Dark's Bane. The only other known fact about him is that he isn't human. No one knows what he is, only that it's not human, and that whatever it is, it doesn't age apparently, for he hasn't aged a day since Jared first found him."
Walter continued with the descriptions about the members of Dark's Bane, and there was little else of interest. They were humans, and all of them good, most of them on Walter's former level. However the only other two truly noteworthy files were the last two.
"These next two files were made last year, so they are fairly recent." Walter brought up the next picture before continuing, displaying a young man, about 20 years old. He had dark brown hair, and it fell about his head in a 'helmet.' There was a scar that started at his left temple, and ran down the left side of his face, disappearing under his shirt. His eyes were a burnished gold, and the way he was grinning in the picture showed off his slightly larger than average canines.
"This is Douglas Fang. As you can tell, he's not human. When he was 17, Douglas lost his family to a group of vampires. Douglas was able to avoid that fate because he was out. When he returned home, he went into a berserk frenzy, and began to hunt the vampires down. After one meeting where he barely escaped with his life he ran across a mortally wounded werewolf. The same vampires had beaten the wolf. When the wolf realized that Douglas was hunting the same vampires, it offered him help in the form of the wolf bite. Douglas accepted, and then resumed his hunt. Less than three weeks later, he found the vampires and brutally killed them. Dark's Bane recruited him the next day. Now about Douglas's wolf abilities: he has very keen senses, and is slightly stronger than a human body builder. His stamina is unrivaled, just like a wolf's. He also has a wolf's agility and speed. And the last thing of note is that Douglas has complete control of the wolf within him. Because he accepted the bite willingly, Douglas can transform at will into a humanoid wolf. He still transforms on the full moon, but he also keeps his mind intact."
Walter changed the picture, showing a young woman, also about 20 years old. She had long, dark brown hair that reached her mid back, a pair of glasses over her eyes.
"This is Samantha Fang. She is Douglas's wife, and the mother of his children, twins. She has almost no combat abilities, aside from 'a mean right hook,' as Douglas states in his file. She is, however, quite an accomplished nurse, and quite good at rune magic, making her a force to be reckoned with if she has to fight, which she prefers to avoid. She mostly helps Black make weapons and patch up the members when they get done with a mission."
After Walter turned off the projector screen, via remote, Integra spoke once again.
"I have already called the Dark's Bane, and they have agreed to come and train our recruits, as well as aid us in hunting vampires. They will arrive about two days after our new recruits. If no one else has anything that they feel needs to be said, then this meeting is over."
Integra waited for a moment to make sure that no one else had anything to say, then stood, and left. The others followed her example.
Seras entered her room, and shut the door behind her. She moved over to where she kept her clothes, and after picking out a nightgown of very soft white cotton, stripped off her clothes, and pulled the dress over her head. She then climbed into bed, and pressed the button to bring the coffin lid down.
As the lid was lowering, Seras thought back to her meeting with Alex. Something was really wrong for him to even consider approaching her without his weapons, let alone turn her into an ally. She had better prepare herself for this new evil.
(Looks like a visit to Walter is in order.) With that thought, Seras started to drift off to sleep. But before sleep overtook her, she wondered about the feeling she had since Integra had told them that the Dark's Bane was coming to help Hellsing. The feeling like a part of her was coming...
*Somewhere in
New York City*
The new jazz club that had opened earlier that day had a huge crowd, drawing every kind of person to it for the music, and the great food. It also drew other 'things' in hope of a meal of a different kind. And those things drew those that fought them.
One such person was currently sitting at a two-story window over looking the entrance to the club, with a sniper rifle across his lap. From this point he had a clear view of all the people entering and leaving the club. A friend of his was in a similar position on the other side of the club building, guarding the back exit. There were also men guarding the fire exits, all of them alert, and ready.
Now all they had to do was wait for their friends inside the club to find the vampire they were hunting and make him take an exit. Easy as pie.
Inside the club the atmosphere was thoroughly excited and feverish as everyone danced and ate. As the alcohol consumption rose, it would become worse.
There were a few people who used this atmosphere to their advantage, and disappeared into it, getting into advantageous positions around the inside of the club. Two people walked around the dance floor, looking at everyone they could, and trying to get a sight or scent of their prey.
One of them was slightly shorter than the other. He had dark brown hair that fell about his head in a 'helmet.' There was a long scar running down the left side of his face, and his burnished gold eyes were very serious. He looked to be about 21, and was wearing a black leather trench coat. Underneath the coat were a pair of normal blue jeans, and a white long sleeved shirt. For shoes he was wearing a pair of white sneakers. He also was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses to hide his eyes.
His companion had blond hair that was a little unruly, and was also wearing a pair of dark sunglasses. In his left ear was a simple, silver, hoop earring. He was wearing a black jacket that came down a little past his hips, with a hood that wasn't up. Covering his hands was a pair of soft, black leather gloves. Underneath the jacket he wore a maroon t-shirt with a silver dragon on the front. The shirt was tucked into a pair of tan cargo jeans, which would have been baggy if not for the black belt with the silver buckle. The pants bunched slightly over his black steel toe boots.
The slightly shorter one spoke first.
"Do you see him anywhere?"
His companion answered after spotting their quarry.
"Yes. He's at three o'clock. At the bar with that girl practically in his pants. He's wearing a blue shirt, slightly dirty."
After his companion swept his gaze over the bar discreetly, he raised his left hand to his face. He made an act of messing with his sunglasses while he spoke into the microphone up his sleeve.
"This is Doug, we've spotted the vampire. He's at the bar, third stool on the left. Is everyone in position?"
After receiving affirmatives from everyone, Doug moved to the bar, leaving his companion to find a good angle of attack.
His companion moved to the other side of the bar, far from the vampire. He turned to the barkeep.
"Club soda please."
The barkeep eyed the young man for a second, and then gave him a club soda. The young man gave the barkeep the right amount of money, and accepted the soda, but he didn't open it.
While that was happening, Doug had sat on the stool next to the vampire and his lady friend. He caught the barkeep's attention, and made his order.
"Beer please. Miller Genuine."
After he exchanged the correct amount of money for the beer, he opened it and took a healthy swallow. After that one swallow, he turned around on his stool and got a nod from his companion down at the other end of the bar.
They were ready to take another vampire down.
He turned his attention to the vampire sitting next to him.
After lowering his glasses a bit and exposing his golden eyes, Doug made his move.
"Excuse me, but shouldn't the two of you get a room?"
The vampire threw a death glare at Doug and spat, "It's none of your business. If this bothers you go somewhere else."
He then turned his attention back to the women for a second then did a double take at Doug's eyes.
Doug smiled as he said, "Oh, it bothers me very much, vampire. We don't need another ghoul running around."
The vampire laughed at him and said, "Hah, you think I can't handle one human?"
"One? Yes, I think you could handle one ordinary human rather well. You seemed to be doing so a second ago. But in case you can't smell it, I'm not entirely human. And in no way am I alone."
At that the vampire frantically looked around the club and spotted several of the others, all of which were placed at varying locations and gazing back at him. Some even raised their glasses to him.
The woman had heard their little exchange and was looking about ready to run screaming. The vampire decided to give her a head start, only in the wrong direction.
He placed his hands on her hips, and effortlessly heaved her into Doug, and then he made his break. Unfortunately, he hadn't spotted Doug's companion at the bar and he only made it two steps before the club soda smashed into his face with half the force of an artillery shell, sending him to the floor.
Everything after that seemed to happen at once.
People around the sprawling vampire screamed and backed away.
Doug calmly lifted the woman from his lap, and placed her on her feet. She then decided to run screaming.
Doug's companion from the bar retracted his arm from after his throw, and proceeded to calmly walk toward the downed vampire.
The others began to tighten their circle, which had only one exit, out a nearby fire exit, and right into three heavily armed people.
The vampire realized what was happening, and decided to screw it all up with a surprise. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
That's when hell really broke loose.
Six ghouls hidden in the crowd suddenly made an appearance, growling and causing panic. Another seven suddenly charged in from various cleaning closets about the club. What had started as a neatly organized plan of 'heard the sheep' turned into a firefight because several of the ghouls had guns, and the rest had knives and clubs of some sort.
The vampire decided to make his escape during the confusion, and ran up a flight of stairs toward the second floor, where the food was served on a more stable surface. There was also a large window allowing people who were eating to view the outside.
Unfortunately for the vampire, he still hadn't noticed the young man who made the throw earlier, who was now running up the other flight of stairs onto the second floor, while speaking into his microphone.
"James, he's on the second floor. Be ready for a sudden exit from that floor."
The sniper across the street with a view of the front brought his gun up into the ready position after loading a silver bullet.
The vampire made it to the second floor and began running toward a door that would lead to the fire escape. He stopped in his tracks when Doug's companion also made it to the second floor, reaching into his coat as he did so, and drawing forth a Desert Eagle handgun. He clicked off the safety and brought the gun up, aiming for the vampire's heart.
The vampire made a break for the large window, diving through it, and showering the crowd below with glass.
Doug's companion followed, jumping out of the window and landing on the ground 12 feet below him with little more than a grunt. He looked around, and spotted the vampire making a break to his left. He raised his microphone and screamed into it, "James, take the shot!"
A shot rang out in amongst the screams. The vampire at the last second dived to the ground and rolled, coming back onto his feet running. The bullet continued on, tagging a young man in the leg.
Doug's companion swore and gave chase to the vampire, ignoring the injured man. Someone would take care of him.
The chase lasted only half a block, before the vampire turned into an alley, and found his key to freedom, and maybe even a meal.
A young couple that had exited the club a few minutes before the action had started had decided to take the shortcut through the alley to get to their car. They were totally surprised and unprepared for the seemingly 30 year old man that came down the alley behind them at a dead run. That made it all much easier for him to grab the girl and use her as a body shield to protect him from the young man giving chase.
Said young man rounded the corner into the alley a second later, bringing up his gun and taking aim at the vampire and his hostage before coming to a complete stop. He eyed the situation before him carefully, thinking quickly.
The girl was panicking. She was a hostage, and the man across from her had his gun pointed at her captor, and therefore, her. It was made even worse when her captor lowered his head a bit and inhaled deeply.
"*Sniff*...ah, my dear, your blood smells delicious, so sweet, and full of fire. Why I can't wait to..."
Whatever it was he couldn't wait to do, she never found out for at that second, he started to smell the air around them.
"*Sniff...sniff, sniff* Well well, I should've known." He continued after a second, directing his words to the young man with the gun.
"Why don't you come with me? We could be truly powerful together you know. I mean, come on, two vam..."
He was cut off when the young man spoke for the first time.
"Shut." BLAM!
The bullet took the vampire right between the eyes, since he hadn't the sense to raise the girl to a level where she could protect his head. As he fell away from her the girl ran to the comforting arms of her boyfriend.
The young man walked forward to the stunned vampire, and pointed his gun at the vampire's heart.
"Up." BLAM!
After the bullet had torn through skin, bone, and a minimal amount of muscle to strike the heart, the vampire disintegrated.
The young man reached into his coat, and when he withdrew his hand, his gun was nowhere in sight. He then spoke into his radio.
"The target is down, I repeat, the target is down. Our jobs over."
As the young man turned away from the pile of dust, he ran his eyes over the couple, making sure they were all right. His eyes lingered for a moment before he tore them away, and continued on his way out of the alley.
As he was walking back to the car, his friend Doug fell into stride along side, and started a conversation.
"Nice piece of work."
"Thanks."
"What's wrong, homesick?"
"Hmph, you need a home for that."
Doug looked at his friend for a second before returning his eyes to where he was going. After a second, he spoke.
"Don't worry. You'll find another home with people who will accept you."
As his friend nodded and smiled slightly Doug said, "Now, let's go to London!"
End Chapter one.
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