Switzerland, January 8, 1999. 10:45 PM Local Time
Dame Integra Fairbrooks Wingates Hellsing sat in the dining car of the train heading from Paris to Geneva waiting for an unwanted but necessary person.
As per usual he was late.
Save for Walter and the bartender/waiter, who was "tipped" extra to keep the dining car open until Integra concluded her business the place was empty. Dressed in a black Edwardian styled dress she made a rather regal, if not slightly dated, sight for the modern world but she felt it was one of the more appropriate items of clothing for the man she was about to meet with.
Turning her gaze to the window, where the landscape and snow whipped past in break neck speeds as the train race down the tracks and to the city where the fate of the Anglican and Catholic churches was to be decided. In perfect secret of course.
The Head of the Hellsing Organization and thus defacto leader of the Convention of Twelve/Round Table Council, she was going to Switzerland for a signing of a Non-Aggression Pact with the Vatican as a whole and Section XIII especially. Planning for this event had taken years, with negotiations breaking down multiple times but finally four months ago, as had been done fifty year prior a treaty setting out the territories and requirements of the two sides had finally been cobbled out and all that was needed was a final stroke of the pen. As with many other treaties and agreements the signing was to happen in Switzerland, a diplomatic cliché which the Vatican insisted upon because of it's closeness to Italy, and it was something Integra was willing to give since no other territory was deemed suitable for such things by the Convention of Twelve; yet when it was discovered that Integra and Enrico Maxwell were on the same train it was decided that they could get everything over with quickly now instead of waiting.
Sighing Integra turned away from the window and settled her gaze upon the cup between her hands.
Watching the steam rise in elegant curls she thought back to the last few hours which she had spent basically hiding from her main rival, avoiding Enrico at any cost even if it meant waiting for a meal or refusing to go for a quick stroll down the corridor to stretch her legs, relying on Walter to go, find, bring, and inform of her the events around her. Until of course Enrico and she bump ed into one another on the way to the restroom. What followed was an exchange of words not suitable enough to be repeated by most who were present, In the end though, some how, Walter C. Dornez and Father Renaldo were able to work out this meeting through diplomatic double speak and maneuvering and were able to convince the leaders that it would be best to work together. Now here she was, sitting, waiting, and becoming more and more annoyed
Integra sighed as she glanced at the pocket watch given to her by her father, it was now 11:00 PM.
Maxwell is officially an hour late.
Suddenly Walter's voice cut through her thoughts, amusement lacing his tone, "Bored?" he asked.
Glancing up at him Integra saw the butler had a smile on his face, which added to her annoyance. She glared at the man from over her glasses, "That is an incredibly stupid question." she replied as she took another sip from her tea before, then added under her breath, "I'm terribly bored."
Hearing this Walter chuckled. "Well, may I suggest that you assist me with my cross word?" He asked, sliding the paper to the center of the table for both of them to see. "It will be quite fun I believe."
Integra raised a brow skeptically while she debated if she should be sitting here in any case or go off to her bed and call it a night. After all, with Maxwell being so late she had every right.Though waiting a little longer couldn't hurt that much... She nodded, agreeing to stay. "I am not one for word puzzles but...fine,why not." Intagra said; leaning forward she gazed Walter and his puzzle her full attention.
"Splendid." Walter exclaimed as he too leaned forward, seemingly very happy that employer was willing to wait a while longer. After all, he did spend most of the day convincing her and Maxwell to meet and he didn't really wish to lose this chance so soon.
"Alright, seven across." He said, using his pen to point to the letter boxes as he read the clue, "A foolish or stupid person, also a type of animal." Walter read out loud before looking up at his boss.
Integra furrowed her brow in thought for a moment or so before a smile spread across her lips, "I believe the answer is Maxwell," She replied with a laugh.
Walter looked up at her humorously with a raised eyebrow of his own. "I believe the answer is actually Jackass." He said.
"Right, one and the same." Integra replied with a quick sip of her tea, "Go on try it." She gestured with her free hand.
The butler allowed himself a chuckle as he started to fill in her answer. "M-A-X-W-E-L-L. Ha! It fits."
Integra grinned softly, "Of course it does. Did you expect any different?" she asked, highly amused by all this. To the honest anything which insulted or humiliated her rival amused her despite her regal habits. It may not have been lady like, but she couldn't help it.
For his part, Walter had to admit that he did not expect any different and so they continued to fill out the little boxes one by one until only three clues remained.
The sudden sound of the compartment door opening snapped Intregra away from the game and she glanced up to see Enrico Maxwell entering with Father Renaldo his ever loyal bodyguard/assistant a step behind; under his arm he was carrying a thick folder containing his part of the treaty document.
"Good evening Miss Integra." Maxwell purred with a false smile as he approached the table. "I see that we have made ourselves quite comfortable."
Integra smiled as well, remembering the slight wordplay from before. "Well since you were so late, waiting for you has forced me to do something to keep my brain sharp." She answered taking a final sip of her black tea she set the empty cup on the small plate in front of her.
Enrico waved off her comment with a flick of the wrist before he dropped the folder of documents onto the table covering the newspaper. "Yes yes, I apologize for being late but you see I had to get all the papers in order." He then looked down at Walter and frowned, "Excuse me," he said in mock politeness "but I believe that you are in my seat."
Looking up at the Bishop the butler smiled, also remembering Integra's word play, "Do forgive me, Just keeping it warm." He said sarcastically as he pulled the newspaper out from under the other papers and moved to the table across from them. He was promptly joined by Father Renaldo.
As Maxwell took his place, the waiter walked up to Maxwell and grinned. "Good evening Sir," he said, his English perfect and only slightly tinted with an accent. "Would you like to order something off our menu? A drink perhaps?"
Looking up at the man Enrico smiled. "Yes." he said, "Do you have mineral water available?"
The waiter smiled and nodded his head. "Yes, We most certainly do." He quickly turned to Father Renaldo, "And for you?" He asked.
"Nothing," Father Reinaldo answered with a shake of his head. The waiter nodded bowing slightly at the waist and went to the back of the dining car where small bottles of drinks were held A moment later he returned with a bottle of sparkling mineral water, placing it on the table he smiled once more.
"That will be twenty Swiss francs." He said cheerily, glancing at Integra he gave her a quick wink.
"Twenty francs for such a small bottle? Are you crazy?" asked Enrico, angrily. His temper once again slipping out of his control.
Still smiling the bartender offered the Bishop a shrug, "I do not think so but who knows." he said with a grin, chuckling at his own joke before tapping small green bottle, "But this is the best minarle water in Europe as it has been filtered through the volcanic rocks of Iceland." Enrico frowned, not amused in the least, though Integra hid her smile by taking a sip of tea.
Taking the bottle Enrico held it out to the waiter, declaring "I refuse to pay such a high price for relatively nothing! Volcanic of not."
Not bothered in the least the other man shrugged for a once again and taking the bottle from Enrico. "Well, suit yourself Sir." he said with another bow before leaving them alone.
Once the bartender had left Enrico turned to Integra outrage in his voice, "Can you believe these people?" He shat a glare at the bartender who was no longer paying attention to them, choosing this time to continue reading his news paper. "Che bastardo sfacciato." Maxwell muttered with a shake of his head.
Integra sipped her tea smiling. "Maybe we should look at this instead?" She asked tapping the folder of documents with her finger.
Nodding Enrico smoothed out his sleeves and attempted to move the chair closer only to find that one of the legs squeaked but the chair stayed put. What in the world? he thought looking at the chair's legs and saw that they were bolted to the floor. With a sigh he leaned forward resting his arms on the table. "Yes, lets get this over with." he said opening the folder and removing the documents within it.
At the same time in the front of the train, the train's engineer, a large thick limbed man sat hunching over the controls and doing his best to see the rails ahead. "Damn snow..." he mumbled to himself in French as he adjusted the speed of the train movinging along the tracks. Even with the high beam of the train on at full blast the winter weather which had created a soup of fog and snow cut visibility to a horrid low. Glancing at his watch the man contended himself with the knowledge that soon they would arrive to their destination and he could put these troubles behind him. Swallowing the engineer absentmindedly patted his front shirt pocket and found it empty. Looking down in a moment of surprise he remembered that he had left his cigarettes at home, promising his wife that he wouldn't smoke.
Damn. he thought, turning his gaze to the track ahead with a long sigh. No cigarettes and bad weather. he scowled, I just hope the tracks stay stable.
Suddenly the radio came to life with an explosion of static through which a female voice attempted to break through, "Main Rail Hea-" the hiss and pop of static cut through the words "-train 42, come in 42."
The engineer frowned and flicked on the respond switch. "This is Train 42 reading you with major static disruption." He replied.
"Train 4-...reported sno-...-ead! Recommendin-...-of train immediat-." The rest of her words were lost to static as the signal was lost to the snow and mountains.
Glaring the the box in front of him the engineer threw the receiver back into place now more frustrated than ever. Something important had happen ahead, something with snow and he wasn't even able to hear what they wanted him to do.I picked the wrong week to quit smoking. he thought unhappily and he adjusted the trains speed once more and hoped that they would all arrive to their destination safely.
Enrico Maxwell sat with his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he waited for Integra to finish reading over the document which he had brought to her. Her own documents he had skimmed over very quickly, not exactly caring what she wrote. After all, the territory held by the Anglican Church was minimal at best and could hardly threaten the Vatican's position in the world. In fact, as far as he was concern this treaty was more an offer of good will on part of the Catholics rather than an act of careful diplomacy.
"My dear Integra," Maxwell spoke up, "I certainly hope you do not plan on reading the entire document until we arrive to Geneva." He he said, smirking as he glanced at Renaldo who did not react. "I can assure you that all outlines were agreed upon by your Round Table Group."
Not looking up from the papers Integra replied, "I plan on reading all the fine print you and your cronies might have put in here. I do not put it past you to try to trick me at the eleventh hour."
Maxwell's eyes narrowed as his head tilted slightly like a bird's,Is she making a pun? he wondered glancing at the clock on the wall near the bar before he sighed pushing the question away. To her he simply said "You are not the trusting type I see."
Integra nodded her head, "That is right, I don't trust anyone but myself... and my inner circle." She looked up and smiled at the Bishop before going back to read.
Enrico raised a brow, "Well I can not say that is not a wise decision..." He admitted as he turned his gaze to the window where he was met by the sight of heavy snow and ice. "I just wish to get this over with quickly." He added, "I do not like the cold of this place."
"I don't mind." Integra stated dryly.
Enrico glanced at her then forced a smile, "Well of course you do not mind. I am sure you do not mind any place that is similar to your own heart."
If he expected to get a sharp reply Enrico did not get one, in fact neither he nor Integra were exactly prepared for what happened next. For at that very moment a horrible squeal from the train's wheels filled every compartment and sparks lit the windows as the emergency brakes were suddenly pulled by the engineer at the controls. What followed was utter chaos as screams of surprise, pain, and fear filled every car as people were flung from their seats or beds; while those who had been moving along in the corridor slammed into walls or doors. Everything which was not bolted to the floor was ripped from its resting place and became a dangerous projectile.
Thankfully in the dining car all the table and chairs were bolted down but china, bottles, silverware, and glasses were not and they crashed to the floor. The waiter who was standing behind the bar was violently thrown from his place sending him flipping over the counter and falling to the floor on the other side. At the same time, Enrico Maxwell felt his body shoot backward slamming into the metal back of the chair, causing an ominous jolt to shake the front leg bolts out of the floor, while his head snapped back and crashed against the metal. Searing pain shot from his skull and down his spine, while spots danced in his eyes. Just then hot tea from the pot splashed over his chest. A moment later, through the spots floating before his eyes he saw Dame Integra Fairbrooks Wingates Hellsing shoot out of her place, slip over the smooth surface of the table and fell into his lap with such force that the final two bolts holding the chair down gave out and the two leaders tumbled onto the floor. Had they all expected the worst to be done with, the lights chose that moment to flicker and fail, plunging the room into darkness.
"Enrico...Borther Mexwell..." The distant sound of Renaldo's voice cut into Maxwell's consciousness, forcing the haze of his mind to clear. Groaning he forced his eyes to slowly open, wincing at the pain which still radiated from his head. "Renaldo...?" he groaned blinking the haze from his eyes. "No, don't sit up." another voice said as hands pushed him down onto the floor. "You may have a serious injury."
"Io sto bene." Maxwell said, forcing his voice to be steady as he pushed the arms away from him. Carefully he sat up, wincing at a jolt of pain which shot from his head once more. Blinking he looked around himself, doing his best to remember where he was. I am in the train... he thought, there was an accident.
Looking around the once peaceful compartment Enrico now saw destruction as photographs, china, and anything else that wasn't some how held down had toppled and broke. Glass was everywhere and sparks still erupted from some of the damaged wiring of broken lamps.
"Maxwell are you alright?" The voice belonged to Walter C. Dornez, who along with Father Renaldo had survived the event relatively unscathed. Turning his gaze to the English man Enrico nodded, "Sì ... io sono illeso." he replied forgetting that the man did not understand his native tongue. "Cos'è successo?"
"He assures that he is unharmed." Renaldo translated quietly before turning to his superior. "Brother Maxwell, are you able to speak English?" he asked.
Maxwell blinked then furrowed his brow in thought trying remember the movements to do so, "Y-...Yes." he answered a moment later, "Yes I am." Then he suddenly looked around the room. "Wait..where is Miss Integra?" he asked, quite frantically, which surprised the two gentlemen crouched next him.
"She is here." Walter replied, gesturing with his hand, "She has unfortunately been harmed."
Maxwell's gaze quickly turned to where Walter had indicated and saw to his horror that Integra was bleeding from an injury in her chest from which protruded a bloodied, broken tea cup.
12:00 PM Local time
As the large clock within Geneva train station struck midnight, Sir Hugh Irons the President of the Convention of Twelve, closed his own pocket watch with a snap before exhaling a stream of cigarette smoke Well, there is no doubt about it now, something serious has happened to the train... He thought with a dissatisfied frown. He had worried much when Integra had agreed not to bring Alucard along with her, something he had been adamantly against, Section XIII be damned. Still Integra had felt that the Vatican relationship was much more important than feelings of security.
"I am not a helpless person Irons. Have a little faith in me." she had said as her parting words on the phone that morning.
"I have faith in you, it's Section XIII which give me sleepless nights." he had answered back, although it was already to late; she had hung up.
Now it seemed his fears had been correct, something had happened. Bringing the cigarette to his lips again he took a quick drag before tossing it onto the rails, This is going to be a long night. he thought as he turned and headed back to his car. Now the clock was really ticking, especially because he was sure that across town officials from the Vatican were thinking the exact same thing he was thinking: The other side could have staged an assassination.
If even a hint of such a thing was found by either side, and he knew that there were those on both sides itching to find such hints, there could be a full on religipus war. He shuddered at the thought, as far as he could remember the The Round Table had not fought a religious war since the mid-nineteenth century and the closest they had come to a serious conflict with the Vatican, thankfully avoided, was in the late 1940s. He needed to get to the Hotel they had commandeered and take charge before someone lost their head.
Approaching his car he saw Seras Victoria waiting for him. This vampire had, thankfully, been allowed to come along with him as a personal body guard with little protest from the Vatican.
"Back to the hotel, on the double." he snapped frustrated and worried.
Blinking the woman stared at him with her vampiric eyes, "Has Dame Hellsing not arrived?" she asked her brow furrowed with concern. "What happened?"
Still frowning Sir. Irons shot her a harsh glare, "I don't know yet. Just drive." he ordered, yanking open the back passenger door and slipping into the back seat.
Sighing Seras bit back a reply as she slipped into her place in the drivers seat of the car. Alucard would have bitten his head off... she thought; then forced herself to relax. It was not her place to get angry at these people, she didn't work for them and once this situation was over would probably never have to deal with them again.
Or at least not as often.
As Seras pull the car into reverse and then melted it into the late, practically empty, streets of the city, Sir Irons got himself another cigarette and lit it, which got him an annoyed scowl from Seras who despised the smell which he didn't notice in the least.
Assuring himself that Integra was more than likely alright his main problem was to calm the nerves of those around him, both in the Convention of Twelve as well as Section XIII...a task easier said than done. Sighing once more he opened the window and tossed out the smoking tube. "Miss Victoria." he said, "I will need you tonight when we break this news of Ms. Hellsing's absence to the members." he said.
"Very well sir." She replied with a quick nod
"Good, your presence will probably force people to behave."
Seras couldn't help but smirk slightly, "If you say so Sir." she said, "I just hope that across town someone will be reigning in Section XIII."
"As do I Miss Victoria, as do I.
12:30 AM Local Time
"They must has done something!" snapped a man, well into his age, dressed in red robes of a Cardinal. "The Protestants should not have been trusted. The Round Table took advantage of the expiring treaty and turned it against us." A murmur rolled off the tongues of the circle of Cardinals and Section XIII agents sitting around a large conference table. Glancing about the table Heinkel Wolfe noted the tension in the air as the Cardinal who had spoken stood, and set his fists upon the table. Using them to support his weight as he leaned forward, "If we do not act fast, we may not be alive in the morning." he boomed.
"Brother Cornelius, the train itself has not arrived to the station. Neither The Round Table nor the Hellsing Organization would risk such a public attack to remove one of our members." another Cardinal who happened to be sitting across from Heinkel spoke up, he leaning back in his chair he rested his hands upon his stomach, "I suspect the European Rail Service is to blame for this delay. Worst case we will have to wait until morning."
Cardinal Cornelius shook his head with an exasperated sigh, "And here as always we have Brother Nathaniel being a trusting fool." he chuckled sarcastically which caused Wolfe to frown, her gaze flicking to the other Cardinals who had yet to say a word. Silently she attempted to assess with whom they agreed more as the Cardinal Cornelius continued to speak. "We will be at war before you ever see what has been before you this whole time: The Anglicans are out to destroy the Holy See! They, like the Eastern Orthodox Church, are our enemies and always have been! We should have been preparing for war, not signing Pacts."
"There is no proof of that." Cardinal Nathaniel said sitting forward, trying to challenge the accusers words.
"Their violations of our sacred Irish territory is proof enough!"came a quick harsh reply, "And now this. There are few men in this room which lived through The Event of 1948, I know, but I remember, and I know you," he gestured at Cardinal Nathaniel, "remember also." He shook his head and moved away from the table, folding his arms gently, "Gentlemen, we must be ready for the worst."
With these words the room fell into a deafening silence as each person mulled the words spoken by the Cardinal. For her part Heinkel felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end as the tension rose within the four walls. She knew that the future of this meeting, as well as the future of Anglo-Vatican relations might live or die depending on the next statement. Silently she prayed that peace and levelheadedness would prevail.
The sound of Cardinal Nathaniel exhaling deeply broke the silence in the room. From the frown on his face it seemed that he had had enough of the blustering, he needed to act or else a conflict would start, but it would be Cardinal Cornelius, and not Enrico's absence, which caused it. "Brothers," he said, standing slowly, "and Sister," he added nodded at Heinkel, "I am sure it is obvious that Brother Cornelius is simply allowing his Italian blood and temper to get the better of him." he chuckled, "But we can not jump to conclusions. If we do not hear from anyone at all by morning then we begin to worry but still we must act with care. Trains and mountains...they have never been friends. Let us put our trust in God that all is well. And if we learn without a shadow of a doubt that The Round Table, or the Hellsing Organization itself, is the cause then and only then may we act."
Standing on the other side of the table Cardinal Cornelius glared at his equal, annoyed by how right he was; though he would still sleep with protection under his pillow, no doubt about that. "Very well..." he conceded, "The Cardinal makes a flawless argument. We will wait but mark my words I will be looking out for wrong doing, and I will be the first to act upon it's discovery."
Hearing this Cardinal Nathaniel smiled, "As will we all Brother Cornelius, as we all."
As the meeting move on to other topics Heinkel Wolfe could not help but sigh with relief at the close call, had the meeting gone a different way there might have been serious consequences.
With the crisis meeting finished the Cardinals had little more to discuss that night, after all without Enrico Maxwell, their Head, they were powerless to do anything at all; and going over his head to speak with the Pope was not an option at the moment. Thus after another ten or so minutes the meeting broke up without much other drama. As the men in red robes slowly filed out, and there were seven in all, they bidden each other good night and went about their separate ways to their rooms and promptly went to sleep...all but one. One of the seven, upon entering his rooms, found them occupied by an unexpected guest.
Jumping with surprise he flicked on the lights causing the other man to yelp with pain as he covered his eyes, "Turn them off!" he whispered harshly, the bright light causing the fangs in his mouth to flash. "You know my eyes are very sensitive!"
Flicking off the light the Cardinal glared at the man dressed in robes, "How many times have I told you to avoid this place entirely?" he said "Someone might ask questions, they might think. We do not need that."
The robed man chuckled as he rubbed the pain from his eyes, "You worry too much Brother. I have every right to be here as I work for you all." he smiled, revealing his elongated fangs. Upon seeing them the Cardinal again felt his heart skip a beat, though he forced himself to calm. The robed man chuckled, "Careful Cardinal," he teased, "I would hate to have to save you at this time. I am still new to this life and it might get messy."
The Cardinal waved his words off quickly, "Bite your tongue!" he snapped in a harsh whisper, "I am fine it is Enrico we have to worry about. Something happened to him and that woman."
The robed man tilted his head slightly, "Happened you say? Interesting." he paused, "Would that not make our work easier?"
The Cardinal shook his head as he began to remove the ties and upper layers of his robes in preparation for sleep, "Not necessarily. Everyone is on edge but if the situation calls for it we will change our plans. In the mean time contact our friends in the mountains, they can search them with more ease. Then meet with me tomorrow night. I plan to have more information about them then." he paused as he removed another robe. The other man nodded, "As you wish." he said, "I will be there like clockwork." he then went to the open window and dropped away from sight; leaving the Cardinal alone with his thoughts.
