As Johnson and Fargason gave Hellsing's troops their briefing, Seras and
Matthew waited at the transport. Matthew was again amazed that Seras could
even hold her Harkonnen cannon. The damn thing was longer then she was!
"You ready?" Matthew asked.
"Yes," she replied. "You?"
Matthew nodded. "This one'll be a lot harder then the last rescue mission we pulled. Lots of people in proximity to who knows how many vampires and ghouls. Let's hope Fargason's people have been keeping in practice. Can't afford to have anyone miss."
Seras looked over at him. "Don't forget us. We can't miss either."
"Well... Yeah... I kinda thought that went without saying." The troops started moving for the transports. "Whoop. Time to go." He hopped into the transport and picked a seat. Seras sat next to him. He looked at her. 'Good luck to us all, huh?' he thought.
'You can say that again,' Seras thought back.
The ride was silent from then on. They rode to the outskirts of London, three transports full of troops. They stopped about a kilometer from where the people were being held. Matthew looked towards the building, his vampire enhanced vision letting him see as if through binoculars. He couldn't tell what the building was, but he could see the front entrance. Johnson started dividing the troops. He would lead the group heading in the front door, and chose Seras to accompany. Matthew would escort the team heading in the back door. Matthew gave a smile and nod to Seras, then joined his team in running to the back entrance. By the time they reached, he was near the front of the group. As they formed up, Matthew cycled his brownings, then lowered their hammersand slid them back into their holsters. The team two leader, a man named Harison, looked at Matthew. "You take point."
"Yes, sir," Matthew replied. He grabbed his Valkyrie and stuffed a slug round into it. 'Probably won't use any shot rounds this time. Too inaccurate for this mission.' He opened the door and started in, the others following. He approached the door to where the civilians were being held, he held up his right fist. The group stopped. Matthew's enhanced hearing told him that Seras was nearly in position. 'We go on three, right?'
'Yes,' her thought came back.
In unison, as Matthew counted down with his fingers for the troops to see, the two thought, 'one... two... three!' As they hit three, Matthew slammed his foot into the door. It blew open. He could see the far door to the same, Seras charging in and to the side to find a good firing position. Matthew charged in and fired his cannon. The hostages had all hit the deck as soon as the doors had been smashed open, so the only standing targets were the ghouls. Matthew sidestepped, not worrying about how many ghouls he'd taken out. The troops entered behind him, firing as they came. Ghouls dropped right and left. Matthew fired his second round as Seras fired her third. Their bullets crossed within inches of each other, taking out lines of ghouls.
Suddenly, there was a loud inhuman yell from the side of the room. "What the bloody hell?!" came the startled cry from one of the Hellsing troops. Matthew looked over. That yell had come from a ghoul. It was actively looking around the room, yelling unintelligible sounds, and pointing in different directions. Other ghouls seemed to be following this one's commands.
"Doesn't matter! Kill it!" Harison brought up his MP5 and opened fire. Several others opened fire as well. It took a lot of firepower to bring it down. 'Damn, some of the ghouls have been enhanced too...' He loaded his next slug round into the Valkyrie and took aim at another enhanced ghoul. This time, it dropped with one hit. He looked around for any more of these enhanced ghouls, but found none.
But the battle was about to get a lot more dangerous. Several shrieks announced the arrival of several vampires into the room. Seras caught one with a high explosive round at close range. Even a vampire couldn't stand up to one of those. Matthew dropped the Valkyrie and pulled his brownings. He no longer carried lead ammo as it only worked on ghouls and anti- vampire ammunition worked on anything. He fired a volley of four rounds at a second vampire, and caught him with all of them. Hellsing's human troops were, wisely, finding cover and sticking with taking out ghouls. Most of the hostages had cleared out by then, or had at least moved near the troops' positions.
A third vampire attacked Matthew from behind, sending him sprawling to the floor. The vampire turned him over and prepared to strike, and was suddenly flying across the room as Seras hit it with a depleted uranium round. It took Matt a moment to recover, but once to his feet he looked over to her. His reply was almost automatic, "Thank you, Master." Seras started at him, her eyes conveying her dislike of that name. "Sorry, Seras. It slipped out."
He had no time to figure out where that came from; he'd spotted a fourth vampire. He fired his brownings, sending six silver bullets at the creature. The vampire dodged all but two. One hit its left shoulder, the other hit it in the chest. It did not fall. 'Shit! Another enhanced vamp!' The vampire drew a long sword with a silver tip, and impaled Matthew.
The blade pierced Matthew's right flank, hitting nothing vital. But the silver plating at its tip burned as it passed through. With a yelp of pain, Matthew withdrew a step and angrily aimed and fired his right browning until its magazine was empty. Apparently, the vampire hadn't expected such a fast retaliation, and was hit by all the bullets. It dropped in a pile of ash. Having a moment to examine himself, he saw that the silver tip had gone all the way through, making it extremely difficult to pull the blade out of him. So, he reached back, grabbed the blade below the silver plating, and broke the tip off. With a grunt, he yanked the blade out of his gut and tossed it aside. Reloading his browning, he looked for another target.
"Help!" Matthew turned to the cry. It was Johnson. Johnson had blood streaming down his right leg and had been disarmed. A vampire was descending on him. Matthew sprinted, firing at the vampire, hoping it would break off its attack. However, Matthew was intercepted before he could get to Johnson. A figure suddenly appeared before him. Matthew collided with the form and was sent sprawling to the floor. He got to his feet quickly. He could still see Johnson, but the vampire attacking him wasn't trying to turn him, it was dragging him away. He looked at the person before him. It was another vampire, but this one had a far greater sense of presence then any other he'd faced.
This vampire had bright red eyes and dark red hair. He was very muscular, and a good six and a half feet tall. He wore a long black cape with deep red clothed underneath. He gave Matthew a cold smile; the type a predator gives before attacking its prey. Matthew's eyes dilated. This vampire had four fangs, the two usual long canines, and a pair pointing upward just inside of each. 'Shalrik...' He knew what he had to do. He had to save Johnson. Matthew brought up both brownings and prepared to fire...
...but he never got the chance. As he started to pull the triggers, Shalrik attacked with blinding speed. Seemingly out of nowhere, a fist collided with the side of Matthew's head, sending him staggering sideways. Matthew tried to aim again, but another fist met the other side of his head, sending him reeling the other way. Matthew could barely stand, and a fist came right at his face...
Matt awoke feeling like a semi-truck had just hit him. He'd been told that there were no pain receptors in one's brain, but at the moment he didn't believe it. His vision cleared, and Seras knelt above him. "Matthew, are you all right?"
He groaned. "Did anyone get the license plate number on that fist...?" With help from Seras, Matthew got up to a sitting position. "I'll manage. Where is Johnson?"
Seras paused, then shook her head. "He was taken. There was nothing we could do."
Matthew punched the floor. "Damn!" He sighed. "Integra's gonna kill me."
He knew Seras wanted to make a joke to lighten the mood. He could almost hear it: 'She's a little late for that'. Thankfully, Seras refrained. "You did all you could. She'll see that."
"Maybe." He looked around the room. "Did everyone else make it?"
"Mostly. We lost six, including Johnson. Two hostages didn't make it, but the rest are safe."
Matthew sighed again. "Anything else we can do to screw up tonight?"
"Probably not. Stay here. You took a bunch of hits from Shalrik. I'll see if we can head back to base."
"Ok." Seras got up and started for Fargason, who was surveying the damage. Matthew settled back, trying to grasp the sheer scope of his failure. Seras's words had been calming, but until he heard it from Integra herself, he assumed she would be furious at him. 'I'm a vampire. I'm supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing, especially after so many battles. Well, if not an expert then certainly experienced enough to protect my commander. Integra will probably have me killed. She can't have weaklings in her organization.'
From the back of his mind, a voice spoke up. 'Matthew! Shut up! You damn well did all you could. I thought we all agreed to trust Seras's judgment. If she says you did all you could, who are you to argue? Worry about Integra later. For now, worry about getting yourself healed.'
With a mental sigh, Matthew replied to himself, 'Fine, I'll try.'
Seras returned helped Matthew to his feet. A rather unsteady walk later, they entered a transport and again she told him he did all he could.
"Yes," she replied. "You?"
Matthew nodded. "This one'll be a lot harder then the last rescue mission we pulled. Lots of people in proximity to who knows how many vampires and ghouls. Let's hope Fargason's people have been keeping in practice. Can't afford to have anyone miss."
Seras looked over at him. "Don't forget us. We can't miss either."
"Well... Yeah... I kinda thought that went without saying." The troops started moving for the transports. "Whoop. Time to go." He hopped into the transport and picked a seat. Seras sat next to him. He looked at her. 'Good luck to us all, huh?' he thought.
'You can say that again,' Seras thought back.
The ride was silent from then on. They rode to the outskirts of London, three transports full of troops. They stopped about a kilometer from where the people were being held. Matthew looked towards the building, his vampire enhanced vision letting him see as if through binoculars. He couldn't tell what the building was, but he could see the front entrance. Johnson started dividing the troops. He would lead the group heading in the front door, and chose Seras to accompany. Matthew would escort the team heading in the back door. Matthew gave a smile and nod to Seras, then joined his team in running to the back entrance. By the time they reached, he was near the front of the group. As they formed up, Matthew cycled his brownings, then lowered their hammersand slid them back into their holsters. The team two leader, a man named Harison, looked at Matthew. "You take point."
"Yes, sir," Matthew replied. He grabbed his Valkyrie and stuffed a slug round into it. 'Probably won't use any shot rounds this time. Too inaccurate for this mission.' He opened the door and started in, the others following. He approached the door to where the civilians were being held, he held up his right fist. The group stopped. Matthew's enhanced hearing told him that Seras was nearly in position. 'We go on three, right?'
'Yes,' her thought came back.
In unison, as Matthew counted down with his fingers for the troops to see, the two thought, 'one... two... three!' As they hit three, Matthew slammed his foot into the door. It blew open. He could see the far door to the same, Seras charging in and to the side to find a good firing position. Matthew charged in and fired his cannon. The hostages had all hit the deck as soon as the doors had been smashed open, so the only standing targets were the ghouls. Matthew sidestepped, not worrying about how many ghouls he'd taken out. The troops entered behind him, firing as they came. Ghouls dropped right and left. Matthew fired his second round as Seras fired her third. Their bullets crossed within inches of each other, taking out lines of ghouls.
Suddenly, there was a loud inhuman yell from the side of the room. "What the bloody hell?!" came the startled cry from one of the Hellsing troops. Matthew looked over. That yell had come from a ghoul. It was actively looking around the room, yelling unintelligible sounds, and pointing in different directions. Other ghouls seemed to be following this one's commands.
"Doesn't matter! Kill it!" Harison brought up his MP5 and opened fire. Several others opened fire as well. It took a lot of firepower to bring it down. 'Damn, some of the ghouls have been enhanced too...' He loaded his next slug round into the Valkyrie and took aim at another enhanced ghoul. This time, it dropped with one hit. He looked around for any more of these enhanced ghouls, but found none.
But the battle was about to get a lot more dangerous. Several shrieks announced the arrival of several vampires into the room. Seras caught one with a high explosive round at close range. Even a vampire couldn't stand up to one of those. Matthew dropped the Valkyrie and pulled his brownings. He no longer carried lead ammo as it only worked on ghouls and anti- vampire ammunition worked on anything. He fired a volley of four rounds at a second vampire, and caught him with all of them. Hellsing's human troops were, wisely, finding cover and sticking with taking out ghouls. Most of the hostages had cleared out by then, or had at least moved near the troops' positions.
A third vampire attacked Matthew from behind, sending him sprawling to the floor. The vampire turned him over and prepared to strike, and was suddenly flying across the room as Seras hit it with a depleted uranium round. It took Matt a moment to recover, but once to his feet he looked over to her. His reply was almost automatic, "Thank you, Master." Seras started at him, her eyes conveying her dislike of that name. "Sorry, Seras. It slipped out."
He had no time to figure out where that came from; he'd spotted a fourth vampire. He fired his brownings, sending six silver bullets at the creature. The vampire dodged all but two. One hit its left shoulder, the other hit it in the chest. It did not fall. 'Shit! Another enhanced vamp!' The vampire drew a long sword with a silver tip, and impaled Matthew.
The blade pierced Matthew's right flank, hitting nothing vital. But the silver plating at its tip burned as it passed through. With a yelp of pain, Matthew withdrew a step and angrily aimed and fired his right browning until its magazine was empty. Apparently, the vampire hadn't expected such a fast retaliation, and was hit by all the bullets. It dropped in a pile of ash. Having a moment to examine himself, he saw that the silver tip had gone all the way through, making it extremely difficult to pull the blade out of him. So, he reached back, grabbed the blade below the silver plating, and broke the tip off. With a grunt, he yanked the blade out of his gut and tossed it aside. Reloading his browning, he looked for another target.
"Help!" Matthew turned to the cry. It was Johnson. Johnson had blood streaming down his right leg and had been disarmed. A vampire was descending on him. Matthew sprinted, firing at the vampire, hoping it would break off its attack. However, Matthew was intercepted before he could get to Johnson. A figure suddenly appeared before him. Matthew collided with the form and was sent sprawling to the floor. He got to his feet quickly. He could still see Johnson, but the vampire attacking him wasn't trying to turn him, it was dragging him away. He looked at the person before him. It was another vampire, but this one had a far greater sense of presence then any other he'd faced.
This vampire had bright red eyes and dark red hair. He was very muscular, and a good six and a half feet tall. He wore a long black cape with deep red clothed underneath. He gave Matthew a cold smile; the type a predator gives before attacking its prey. Matthew's eyes dilated. This vampire had four fangs, the two usual long canines, and a pair pointing upward just inside of each. 'Shalrik...' He knew what he had to do. He had to save Johnson. Matthew brought up both brownings and prepared to fire...
...but he never got the chance. As he started to pull the triggers, Shalrik attacked with blinding speed. Seemingly out of nowhere, a fist collided with the side of Matthew's head, sending him staggering sideways. Matthew tried to aim again, but another fist met the other side of his head, sending him reeling the other way. Matthew could barely stand, and a fist came right at his face...
Matt awoke feeling like a semi-truck had just hit him. He'd been told that there were no pain receptors in one's brain, but at the moment he didn't believe it. His vision cleared, and Seras knelt above him. "Matthew, are you all right?"
He groaned. "Did anyone get the license plate number on that fist...?" With help from Seras, Matthew got up to a sitting position. "I'll manage. Where is Johnson?"
Seras paused, then shook her head. "He was taken. There was nothing we could do."
Matthew punched the floor. "Damn!" He sighed. "Integra's gonna kill me."
He knew Seras wanted to make a joke to lighten the mood. He could almost hear it: 'She's a little late for that'. Thankfully, Seras refrained. "You did all you could. She'll see that."
"Maybe." He looked around the room. "Did everyone else make it?"
"Mostly. We lost six, including Johnson. Two hostages didn't make it, but the rest are safe."
Matthew sighed again. "Anything else we can do to screw up tonight?"
"Probably not. Stay here. You took a bunch of hits from Shalrik. I'll see if we can head back to base."
"Ok." Seras got up and started for Fargason, who was surveying the damage. Matthew settled back, trying to grasp the sheer scope of his failure. Seras's words had been calming, but until he heard it from Integra herself, he assumed she would be furious at him. 'I'm a vampire. I'm supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing, especially after so many battles. Well, if not an expert then certainly experienced enough to protect my commander. Integra will probably have me killed. She can't have weaklings in her organization.'
From the back of his mind, a voice spoke up. 'Matthew! Shut up! You damn well did all you could. I thought we all agreed to trust Seras's judgment. If she says you did all you could, who are you to argue? Worry about Integra later. For now, worry about getting yourself healed.'
With a mental sigh, Matthew replied to himself, 'Fine, I'll try.'
Seras returned helped Matthew to his feet. A rather unsteady walk later, they entered a transport and again she told him he did all he could.
