I am a terrible human being and I'm so sorry for the long wait. My life has been a little nuts and finding time to write has been difficult. I promise that the next update won't take as long. Also, you may notice as the point of view jumps around, that I tweaked my writing style a bit, so any feedback on that would be nice. Anyways. Things get a little interesting in this chapter as you get to know Courtney a little better, though I should warn you now, this is her tame side. I hope you enjoy it and I do not own Hellsing.
The hiss of water boiling over had Courtney running out of the bathroom, where her rain soaked clothes were hung up to dry. The stove was hissing as the contents of the pots she'd put on to boil spilled over and exploded. Quickly removing them from the heat she stared at what was supposed to be ravioli and the burnt sauce that had erupted. Neither looked edible. With a shake of her head she mixed it all together in a bowl. "You can kill vampires no problem, but you can't cook worth a damn." Leaning a hip against the counter she sipped wine from a glass, the past twenty-four hours playing over. This time yesterday she was setting small sapphires into the eyes of the dolphins; then what started out as a routine hunt turned into an encounter with the vampire she hated more than any other; Dracula, now known as Alucard.
Forking up her latest victim, she chewed the over cooked ravioli, tasting nothing but burnt sauce. Making a face it was all dumped into the garbage. Cooking was not one of her talents and she dared not finish it. Food poisoning had been a problem in past. Instead she boosted herself onto the counter, shaking back a long crimson and grey striped sleeve so she could open a tin of brownies that a client had given her. Remaining there she chewed and swung stocking clad feet, and looked around the little kitchen that took up one corner of the open space. It stood out from the rest of the apartment; the cupboards, counters, sauce covered stove and even the walls, were varying shades of the bloody color. Clearly the previous tenant was in on the world wide obsession of making kitchens red. It was annoying enough because she found it made her mind wander to Alucard more than she cared to admit; but it also clashed horribly with the rest of the room, which was painted green. It looked too Christmas-y, and she wasn't a big fan of the dreaded holiday. Courtney shuddered to think of spending Christmas in England where it would no doubt rain an ocean. Her feelings toward the weather here were slightly bitter today, as the skies had opened up into a flood on the way back from Hellsing. Stuffing a brownie in her mouth she chewed and buried her ill will towards the sky.
Sliding down she grabbed the wine glass and turned to the counter for a refill when a shiver ran down her spine. A butcher knife was in hand and being flung before it registered who she was sensing. The blade flew through the air and was caught in a white gloved hand. Alucard's lips quirked in amusement, "That was rude." He tossed the knife carelessly onto her small wooden dining table, seeming completely at ease seated in one of the matching chairs.
"What's rude is breaking into someone's home and stealing their wallet." Courtney snapped, placing the wine bottle down before her grip could crushed it, "Why the hell are you here?"
"Does there have to be a reason?" Alucard let his eyes roam over her change of clothes. The shirt was still off the shoulder and he could see the brutal looking bruise that was still slightly swollen. His gaze trailed down past the rips in grey pants to the odd socks the woman wore; both were striped but one was red, the other grey. She really did seem to like wearing stripes, the vampire mused, but at least the colors went well with that dark cherry red hair and smokey eyes of hers, which his own red ones were drawn back to as she cleared her throat.
"Of course there has to be a reason. Did your boss send you? Are you here to kill me?" Fingers twitching with the need to grab a weapon, she took a calming breath and forced herself to watch and wait. Her temper tended to make her act a bit too rashly sometimes and that was a good way to get killed.
The vampire chuckled and shrugged, "You intrigue me." His fangs flashed in a predatory grin, "And we wouldn't be having this discussion if I were here to kill you." Killing this human was the last thing on his mind, fighting with her on the other hand...
Every muscle in the huntress' body tensed, "Well then what do you want? Because I'm not joining your Hellsing, I have no interest in your company, and I am not a snack so you can go find a blood donor elsewhere." She gritted out, gesturing towards the door with a sleeve covered hand.
Understanding just how much his presence wasn't wanted, Alucard removed both hat and glasses, laying them on the table with the knife. It was a clear sign that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. "I'm curious about your refusal. Why not join?"
Eye twitching slightly from the display, Courtney fidgeted with the end of her damp braid. "Why should I? I'm doing fine on my own. No one tells me what to do or where to go. I'm free." The subtle darkening of the vampire's expression was not lost on her; freedom was something he clearly did not have. Good.
"And what has your freedom given you? You have no friends and your entire family is dead. You're alone. Is that your choice?" He mocked cruelly, "At Hellsing you would be surrounded by people with a shared goal, people you could trust." The last bit was added for the sake of his master. However, if the fiery woman before him was anything like he suspected the answer would always be no; but that didn't stop the sudden outburst from taking Alucard by surprise.
Rage burned through her veins, "How could I trust anyone who has you working for them? Who lets you live? All of this, every bloody thing that's happened is your fault!" Her voice rose, some part of her snapping as she let loose the words that had been clawing up her throat as soon as she'd realized who this particular vampire was. "You are the first. The original. The rest of them wouldn't exist if you'd just died!" Another knife was in her tightly fisted hand, "You coward!" Courtney screeched, lunging with the intent to butcher the monster.
Next thing she knew, Alucard had her shoved against the counter, bent back far enough that she feared her spine would snap. Both wrists were held in a grip like iron, cutting off the circulation as the knife clattered on the ceramic floor. The huntress didn't allow herself to flinch as the vampire's face loomed over hers, expression livid.
"A coward am I? I refused to die and was given another chance at life." Alucard snarled. "Give up and you die. Is that really so cowardly?"
"Another chance at life my ass. You sold your soul to the devil and became a monster!" She snarled back and head butted him as best she could from the restrained position, hearing a satisfying crunch as the impact broke his nose. The hold on her disappeared as the vampire stepped back, laughter bubbling up as the damage was repaired in seconds.
"You are the first to call me a monster without an ounce of fear. You truly are fascinating." He gave the red head another of his cheshire cat grins, "Would you by chance be a virgin?"
Courtney's cheeks flamed as she slid the revolver out of her waistband and shot the grin off of his face. "That is NONE of your god damned business!" Fury made her voice shake, but her body trembled from the realization that this vampire was unstable. His shifts in mood were drastic and it made him all the more dangerous.
"You waste your bullets huntress. I'm not so easily killed." Alucard didn't sound quite right as the skin and bones regenerated. This fierce woman most definitely was a virgin. How interesting.
"Waste of bullets or not I will shoot until you are a bloody puddle on the floor." Lifting the gun again, she was pleased to see that her hand was steady.
"And what will you do when the other humans hear the shots?" Mischief was apparent as a firm knock sounded at the door. He was curious to see how the woman would handle the situation.
Replacing the revolver in her waistband, Courtney opened the door a crack. There stood the building's manager, Ted. He was somewhere in his fifties, balding and short, with a shorter temper. The manager and her didn't have a very good relationship. Something about her being caught on camera several times while entering the building at odd hours, covered in blood, didn't sit well with him. Courtney had merely sent him a folder containing a list of all the internet sites he visited daily and the threats of eviction had stopped. Since then, the man had made it his job to hassle her at every opportunity. A gun shot was a very good opportunity.
"Good evening Ted, what brings you here?" She pasted a smile on her face, and mentally called him every foul thing she could think of.
Scowling, Ted pointed a pudgy finger at her, "I just got a complaint. Something about shouting and a gunshot on this floor. Do you know anything about it?" The older man's voice was gruff and stank of pickled eggs.
"Nope, I haven't heard anything, I just got out of the shower." Wrinkling her nose she tried to close the door but the persistent fool stuck his foot in it. "I said I haven't heard anything, so kindly go and inform Ms. Tibbs that she's senile and let's move on with our lives." She tensed, as Alucard stood behind her, much too close, and reached a hand past her face, stopping just short of Ted's.
The hatred between the two humans was apparent, but now was not the time to risk the police getting involved. Integra would be displeased if they showed up and she learned it was his fault, when her goal was to recruit Courtney. "You heard her. Everything is fine here, and now you're going to leave." His voice was hypnotic as red eyes opened up all over him, staring fixedly at the foul smelling man. "You will tell no one and forget this encounter ever happened."
"Yes, everything is fine and I'm going to leave now." Ted sounded high and...wrong as he turned and walked dazedly away. What Courtney had seen reflected in the dull brown eyes had been disturbing. Eyes, lots of red eyes. Closing the door she quickly reached for her gun again but the vampire had hold of her wrist once more. His other hand grabbed hold of her braid and tugged until her throat was exposed. Feeling cool breath on the unprotected flesh caused her to jerk and growl.
"That's enough for one night, but don't worry, I will find you again Huntress." Alucard leaned down and inhaled the rich scent of the fiery woman's blood before releasing her. It was time he returned to face the wrath of his master, for surely she'd noticed his absence by now and guessed where he'd gone.
Courtney spun around as soon as he let her go and scanned every inch of the silent apartment, but the vampire and his belongings were gone. Emotionally drained and aching all over, she slid down the wall next to the door and stared. At least he had the courtesy to clean up the blood she'd spilled from blowing a hole through his stupid face. How was she supposed to deal with this? He'd just shown up, questioned and mocked her, hypnotized Ted, then left without killing her. Perhaps his master had forbade it, which would give her the upper hand in their next encounter. The huntress swore to herself then and there, that she would be the death of Dracula.
The following evening was foggy and again, wet. The pier was deserted, nothing to be heard but the lapping of water and the boats bobbing up and down, creaking every now and then. A rat skittered across the damp ground as Courtney walked out from behind a small crane. Her breath misted in the cool air as she looked around. There was just enough light filtering through the fog that she could see past the few shipping containers and hulking shapes of various machinery. With a slow and steady pace, the huntress remained alert as she stepped onto the musty boards.
"Why is it that the water smells funny no matter where you go?" She muttered, careful that her voice didn't carry too far down the row of tethered vessels. The vampire she was hunting had run off. "Bloody pansy never even tried to fight." But there was no hurry, she could sense him up ahead. The daggers in her hands were freshly sharpened and begging to be put to use. After she'd recovered from Alucard's intrusion the night before, she'd been angry and restless. Since the feeling hadn't passed during the day, her hope was that killing a vampire would help. Of course the chicken shit that had to be dealt with right now was making that rather difficult. Sudden gunfire broke the silence, echoing in the night.
"Dammit Alucard, this one was mine!" Courtney ran down the docks, long legs carrying her quickly to where she could still sense her prey. As smokey eyes honed in on the fleeing vampire, she had to resist the urge to tackle and force him to eat a bullet for making her run all over the city. It could be such a pain to get more blessed silver ammunition. Instead she flung one of the deadly blades, cutting deep into the vampire's leg and causing him to stumble. It was all she needed. Grabbing a fistful of hair she held the spitting, snapping jaws away from her and decapitated him in one hard swing. Blood rained down onto her boots as some of the tension she'd been feeling eased up.
"Well shit, there goes my bonus." A rich french accent preceded the man who walked into Courtney's range of view. He was mid thirties by her best guess, with long brown hair pulled back into a braid that looked as though it could rival hers in length. One teal eye looked her over appreciatively, the other was covered by a patch. Moving cautiously towards her, worn brown boots clunked on the wood as he slipped a hand into the pocket of camo green pants. Very slowly he pulled out a zippo and cigarette pack. Tapping out one of the white, tobacco filled rolls he extended a hand in a silent offer. Courtney shook her head and stooped to pick up the dagger she'd thrown. With a shrug the man lit one for himself before setting the headless vampire's body on fire.
"So what's a pretty thing like you doing out here killing vampires?" He finally asked, tilting back a brown australian slouch hat and puffing on the cigarette.
"I could ask the same of you." Courtney commented lightly, turning to survey the area in case someone was around to see the flames. Her attention was drawn back to the stranger as he chuckled and rubbed absently at the bridge of his nose, which was sporting a plain white bandage. Looking over the patches covering his coat, which matched the pants and looked vaguely military. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted the emblem over his heart.
Not missing the look, he grinned, "Might you be the huntress that Sir Integra told us about? I was hoping to run into you after what I'd heard, and I must say I am not disappointed." A low whistle had the woman rolling her eyes. Stretching a hand out again he introduced himself, "Captain Pip Bernadotte, leader of the Wild Geese."
"Courtney Dawn Rosenburry, jeweler by day, vampire hunter by night." She accepted his hand and shook firmly. So, Integra had been talking about her eh? She wondered if it was to keep her men from shooting at her or to make sure they didn't get shot by her.
"A pleasure to meet you." He tapped the ash from his cigarette and took a deep drag. "Am I right to assume it was you I heard yelling at Alucard before?"
With a grimace, she nodded, "When I heard the gun shots I thought he was here, stealing my kill, again." Suddenly alert she spun in a circle, "He's not though, is he?"
"Nope, it's just you and me chéri. Last I heard he was on the other side of the city. We split up to cover more ground." He waved a hand at the now smoldering pile of ash on the ground, "There's been more vampire activity than usual. You wouldn't by chance know why?"
"Sorry, I don't. I've only been in London about a month." This was more than usual? Seriously, she'd be afraid to see what they called a crisis. A drop of water fell past the tip of her nose. Looking up, more rained down, hard and fast. Fan-freaking-tastic.
Pip stifled a laugh at the look on the red head's face. "How about we get out of this rain? I need to report our friend here and perhaps we could have a chat." He tossed the finished cigarette and motioned towards the invisible street.
"You go ahead. I have another vampire to kill." Courtney turned and headed farther down the boardwalk. The vampire that had been on her radar was finally docking as the sound of an engine dying could only just be heard.
"Do you mean Alucard? Because I heard how you two got into a fight." After giving a quick update to the flock via radio, he easily fell into step beside the woman, noticing that they were roughly the same height.
"Not really, I haven't had the chance yet. But no, I'm not referring to him right now, so I suppose that means I have two vampires to kill tonight." And this time, she was ready.
"So it's true then, that you can sense them." Fascinated, he wondered how it worked, "It must be amazing to have a super power like that." He flicked back his red scarf and drew the gun that had been slung over a broad shoulder.
"Yes, I suppose it is." Smiling slightly her focus returned to the task at hand. The adrenaline that had faded after her first kill started to flood back as she strained to hear anything over the sound of their footsteps and the rain pinging off of every metal surface. A small fishing boat seemed to drift out of the gloom, movement catching her eye, as a woman worked at tethering it to the dock.
Leaning close, Courtney whispered into Pip's ear, "Sling your gun back so it's out of sight but quick to draw, and follow my lead." Tucking her own weapons out of sight, she paused before calling out. "Hey there! Do you need some help?"
The vampire froze in the middle of trying to tie a knot and turned, a look of interest on her face. "Yes, please. My friend is hurt and I don't know how to tether the boat so it doesn't float away." With such a soft, gratitude filled voice one could almost miss the hunger that flashed in those dark eyes.
"Not to worry, I can help with that." Pip gave a charming smile and stepped closer, but felt the huntress grab the back of his coat, causing him to halt.
Alert now, Courtney couldn't help but wonder. "What happened to your friend?" Tossing the original plan aside her free hand slid into the exterior coat pocket.
"Oh, he hurt himself while fishing. Twisted his ankle very badly." Real concern laced the poorly told lie as the vampire's eyes flickered around as if looking for someone.
Tugging her handful of green coat to signal that he should stay put, Courtney strode forward alone, "I see. Maybe I can help." Full lips turned up into a delightful smile as she paused beside the unsuspecting fool, "The reason your friend hasn't shown up is because he's now a pathetic pile of ash. Didn't even put up much of a fight." Her tone was so conversational that it took a second for the vampire to register the words. Without waiting for any sort of reaction, Courtney's fist slammed into the other woman's face.
Fangs snapped as the vampire was effectively pinned down, the tip of a silver dagger pressed to her heart. Pip applauded, impressed. "I barely saw you move. Now go ahead and finish her off."
"Not yet." Grunting with the effort of keeping the struggling vampire down without causing death, she pressed the dagger in a little ways. "What are you doing here and what was your plan? Why are there so many of you undead bastards in London?" She demanded with a sharp twist.
"Not my plan." Was all the vampire said, hatred dripping from every pain filled word.
Aware of approaching footsteps and Pip calling out to someone, she pressed harder, "If not yours then whose, and what is it?"
Hissing, the vampire snapped, "We were never given any details in case you Hellsing scum caught us, or worse. Your London will burn. The Major may have failed but our master is clever and patient. The Hellsing family's dog will die."
There was a gasp behind her but it was ignored. "Who is your-" The question never made it all the way out before the vampire lunged up into the dagger, stabbing it all the way through and spitting blood into Courtney's face before dying. "Bloody bitch." she cursed standing and wiping it off with the sleeve of her coat. Turning, she saw several men gathered behind Pip, all showing signs of having been in a fight and bearing scars of battles long past. "I'm guessing these are your Wild Geese?" When no one answered right away she looked from the body to the men and clued in, "You know what that leech was talking about don't you?" The shared look of horror on all their faces was answer enough but she needed to hear it.
"Yes and...yes." Pip frowned and spoke over his shoulder, "Call in what happened here and clean up this mess. Tell Sir Integra that both kills were made by Courtney." Shaking his head he looked at the sodden woman, "How did you figure out they were working together?"
Tying the line securely before stepping onto the boat Courtney called back, "The first one had me chasing him all over the city. I assumed he was just running away, but after I sensed the second one out on the water I wondered..." her voice trailed off as she explored the deck. There was a green tarp pulled tight over something. "Hey do you have a flashlight?" A moment later the boat rocked as Pip came to stand next to her, holding the torch and shining it over the large tarp covered shape. "Now let's see what our friend's were up to shall we?" Quick fingers unhooked and pulled back the tarp to reveal dozens of crates. As she used a dagger to pry one of the lids open the light was brought closer. The two shared a confused look as the beam lit up tubes filled with neon green liquid. "Have you ever seen this before?" She asked pulling one out and checking for a label.
"Never." Popping open another crate he held up an identical tube, but this one's contents were black. Shining the light at it to see if anything else was inside he frowned. The light didn't penetrate it and the stuff inside remained black as pitch. "Is there anything that says what this stuff is or where it came from?"
Replacing the green stuff to its crate Courtney moved into the cabin, removing her hat and shaking the water off of it. "Come in here, I need the light." Relieved to be out of the rain for the moment she checked around the wheel, under seat cushions, in compartments full of fishing gear and under every surface. As Pip shone the flashlight around it reflected off of something and her breath inhaled sharply. "Pip we need to get off this boat right now!" Shouting as she ran past his confused face she caught hold of a sleeve and half dragged him with her as he stumbled. His words were blocked out by the numbers steadily ticking off in her head. Under the radio she'd found a wireless webcam attached to a very large bomb. They now had ten seconds left.
"What the-" Pip was half pushed, half thrown off the boat and onto the boardwalk, then being pulled farther with such force that he was amazed that the slender woman didn't just pick him up and toss him like a pitcher would a baseball. When he tripped up the cold, white knuckled grip that had his arm yanked him forward even farther.
Three seconds left and time seemed to slow down for the huntress. Every breath burned in her lungs, every beat of her heart seemed too loud, each step too slow and heavy. It was like one of those dreams where you have to run for your life or someone else's but you don't make it because it's like you're running through molasses.
Two seconds and every muscle strained to whip the larger built man onto the ground in front of her before diving down beside him.
One second. She forced his head down and braced herself.
Everything seemed deathly silent before the explosion roared deafeningly. It was as if someone was holding her against a jet engine flying over a volcano. Everything lit up with white light that burned so bright that it hurt even through her closed eyelids. The ground shook worse than any earthquake she'd ever felt. Debris fell around them, some on fire, others leaving a trail of smoke like the tails of comets. Someone cried out, it might have been her. Ears ringing, she risked a look. The world went in and out of focus, moving as though everything was permanently set in slow motion. Pip had started to get up, yelling something but she pulled him back down as a second, smaller explosion went off. When that passed she stayed on the ground. Her body felt like lead and there was a good chance of a black out, but at least she and the Captain of the Wild Geese were alive.
Someone grabbed her by the arms then and lifted her bone rattled body off the wooden boards. Courtney looked up into the face of Alucard. His brows were furrowed and he was speaking but she couldn't hear what it was. The long, high pitched note drowning out all other sound was nauseating and she swayed backwards. The vampire caught her by grabbing her battered shoulder and with a wince she managed to pull out the revolver and shoot twice. The first one went through his head, but the second went off it's mark and knocked the red fedora from his head instead. As the vampire let go she saw him laugh, heard the dark, crazy sound of it slither into her mind. He laughed a lot, Courtney mused as she steadied herself. Pip was getting to his feet again and her abused ears could just make out what he was saying as the ringing died down a bit.
"Fuck! What the hell was that?" Pip braced himself on one of the men next to him. The rain stung as it pelted onto his scraped cheek and it was icy cold in contrast to the hot blood running from his nose to drip onto the white shirt beneath his jacket. Looking around he saw that there were fires everywhere, the largest of which should have been the boat he'd just been on, but nothing remained of it. Finally, it occurred to him that the wobbling, bruised and bleeding red head had saved him. They were both banged up pretty good, but alive.
"Bomb." Courtney's voice was hoarse, as she rubbed her ears. Huh, maybe she had been the one who'd screamed during the eruption. "There was a camera under the radio, taped to some kind of bomb." Wary of the vampire in her presence she bent down to retrieve her hat. It was then that she noticed the six inch jagged piece of glass sticking out of her thigh. The tattoo on her leg was covered in thick red blood as though the thorns had pierced her skin. Gripping the glass she pulled it out with sharp tug, slicing herself some more in the process. "Son of a-" Teeth bit into her full bottom lip, cutting off the words. With every intention to toss the offending thing away she jumped when it was pulled from her grip. Looking for who had taken it she watched as Alucard raised the glass to his lips. Before there was any chance for him to get a taste though, she shot him three more times, leaving his arm hanging from a few cords of muscle. One black boot stomped down on the shard until it was powder.
"What did I do to bring on such wrath this time?" The vampire asked dryly, as the flesh of his arm reached for either end and pulled itself back together again.
Shooting him again in the face out of spite she stormed up to him. "You know damn well. You will never get a single drop of my blood, so try it again and I will rip your teeth out one by one and make sure you choke on them." Courtney growled, her hand fisted around the bloody vampire's red cravat.
"We shall see." Her threat amused him and his mouth twisted into a gruesome version of his usual toothy grin because half of his face was missing. As the woman's grip on his attire was released he picked up the hat she'd neglected after noticing the large protrusion from her well toned thigh. "Go get fixed up. My master would like to speak with you later." Alucard placed the hat on her head, amused by the stunned look on the little huntress's face.
Pip looked between them and stopped the shocked woman from lifting her arm and shooting his co-worker again. What was with these two? Baffled he touched his rescuer on the arm, "Thank you." He said earnestly.
Courtney tilted her head to him, "You're welcome." stepping away from both men she looked at the place the boat had been. "I'll be in touch this afternoon...as long as I am left completely alone until then." Shooting a meaningful glare at Alucard she turned on her heel, coat fanning out as she did so, and walked away with no trace of a limp in her step or sag in her posture. The huntress kept her head held high as she felt those fathomless red eyes on her all the way home.