Xander was lost again. It was the third time in as many weeks. The vast rolling house that was the Hellsing base of operations was, to his eye, a maze. A really old maze, that made you feel like you shouldn't be touching anything.

Finally catching sight of a well-dressed man striding through the halls, he called out to him. "Yo Jeeves, wait up, sorry I'm lost and Iv never seen you before and…"

"Public television has left you with the impression that any well dressed British person can be called Jeeves." The man commented dryly

"You are so right you are way cooler then any butler."

"I am a butler among other duties." The man was dressed extremely well in a pants with a crisp white shirt, over top of the ensemble was a vest. His hair was pulled back in a pony tail as if his look was not stereotypical enough he had a monocle set in place over one eye. "I am Walter Dolnez and you are Xander Harris."

"All us yanks stand out." Xander sighed

"That and the nametag on your uniform." Walter smiled thinly at the boy

"This is the dry British wit I keep hearing about isn't it "

"No this is the powers of observation made famous in the works of Conon Doyle and others."

"One of us is enjoying this conversation way too much and I think it's you Mr. Dolnez. "

"Please Walter will do. I have been a retainer to the Hellsing family for sometime since before Madam Hellsing's tenure head of the organization."

The two began walking together Xander admitted he was supposed to be on his way to see Integra, an intimidating prospect at best. "You think she's going to sack me"

"The kitchen staff would raise up in protest I'm sure Mr. Harris. They have never had cleaner plates and cutlery then during your regime as dishwasher.

"Two weeks for blowing up a building, I mean, Alucard made a vampire out of the first likely prospect he came across and nothing "

"Ah the men have been telling tales, indeed in comparison your transgression seems to have been dealt with harshly but Alucard is difficult to chastise and there is historical precedent."

"Namely?"

"Napoleon had a general shot for disobedience despite his success on the battlefield." Walter caught the young man's gaze. "I think the lesson to be learned here is discipline must be maintained regardless of the outcome of battle."

"Or we could go with Don't piss off my scary British boss." Xander responded

Walter chuckled "I believe that was what I was trying to say "

"You're enjoying this aren't you. Californian Yankee in the Hellsing Court "

"I will admit your file does make for fascinating reading "

"I have a file -- with pictures and everything?"

"Your sponsor Mr. Giles filed detailed reports about his activities in America. Hellsing obtained a copy of those record upon your transfer here."

"Well what do you think."

"Your continued survival is proof of the existence of the divine. Speaking of your records, I was meaning to ask if you would like access to the machine shop."

The mystified look on Xander's face amused Walter who explained that among his duties was outfitting the troops with weaponry of all types. Walter oversaw the modification of all field weapons. From Alucard's modified Jackal and Casull Automatics to the Helconnon that Seres used in the field.

"Big guns " Xander sighed "you want to hook me up with something like that?"

Walter looked at the boy as though measuring him for a suit. "I think something low tech, you have an expert class rating with crossbows and the like. But, we do have to give you something easy to use but that you will be proficient with…. Hmmm. I know, a modified Needle Gun

"Needle gun?"

"Oh you will love it, perfect marriage of your tastes and our needs. I should have something for you in a few days. "

"Wow that's really nice of you Walt."

"Nicety has nothing to do with it; you are a more effective fighter if the weapon you use is particularly suited to you. And, with that I shall leave you here." And the duo stopped

"Why here?"

"Because this is madam's office and when we began our chat, you indicated this was your destination. " Walter patted Xander on the back and walked away leaving the boy standing outside the heavy door that led to Integra's inner sanctum.

She responded to his knock immediately. Somehow she knew he was out there and bid him enter. The first thing he noticed was the smell of her cigar. An expensive brand which had been light off one of these showy desk lighters that exist solely for advertising your wealth and taste. Everything about the room and its occupant gave the very clear idea. "I'm rich, I smoke, you'll just have to bloody adept if you please."

Integra Hellsing was pretty in the way that Joyce had been or that Buffy might be one day. Long platinum blonde hair and oval features. She looked at him through large glasses. That did more to disguise what her eyes might actually look like then anything else. She wore a drab olive colored uniform with white gloves. There was paleness to her complexion. Xander had heard that recently she had been ill or in hospital or something.

"Mr. Harris, I was expecting you five minutes earlier."

"I'm still learning my way around this place, if Walter hadn't found me I would still be wandering the halls "

"You seem to have the route to the kitchens mapped out rather well "

"You pick things up in a few weeks "

"Excellent." She reached across the desk and opened a thick file. The wallet-sized picture from his last yearbook indicated the file was about him. "Interesting reading Mr. Harris, you career is most storied. "

"Been there, done that have the T-shirt." He was nervous and as usual dealt with his nervousness by cracking wise.

"Indeed." She looked at him severely while paging though the thick file before her. "Close contact with the Slayer, ground zero for the some of the most dangerous battles fought over the Hellmouth, Personally responsible for stopping your friend Ms. Rosenberg."

Xander automatically went defensive on behalf of Willow. "She was upset, out of her head with guilt and grief. People do things when loved ones die that they might not do otherwise."

Integra startled, then a cold look shadowed her face "We all do things in memory of loved ones departed. Things we never thought we could." She brightened "So how are you aquatinting yourself."

"Excellent ma'am, Hellsing seems an efficient organization. You could have taught the Watchers a few things."

"We learned quite a bit from them. The nature of our methods insured that our operations rarely conflicted. Of course, that is the past. Now we want to change things. Everyone must learn to work together. Toward common goals "

"I'm big with the goals thing, I really want to show what I can do in the field" he said eagerly

Integra smiled wolfishly at him " I think we are well aware what you can do in the field, hence your two weeks KP. I trust you will be more forthcoming with those you are working with in future."

"Ill let everyone know the next time I blow up a building "

" It will be appreciated, in the meantime…I'm reassigning you. You will accompany Seres in the field and provide backup should it be necessary "

"I thought that Seres worked with Alucard. "

"She does and will continue to do so at my discretion." Her tone was icy but since Xander had never heard her speak any other way he assumed that was normal. "Alucard feels that she is capable of operating without his close supervision. It will free him up to eradicate some of our more high profile targets.

"K so I'm working with Ms. Victoria now."

"Your file says that you can work with supernatural beings toward a common goal was this not true?"

"Oh yeah I can work with her"

"Good recon has noted several situations. We need all our resources and if Seres and Alucard can work independent of each other, all the better.".

"Can I ask what situations?"

"Normally no, but in there is a case…When your friends activated all The Slayers in the World what arrangements, if any, were made concerning that plan."

"Well we were under the gun. We needed a stronger fighting force so Buffy and Will just kind of went with the plan."

"What resources have you been using to find and contact these girls."

"Mostly we are just searching for incident reports, eyewitness testimony, that kind of thing, you'd be surprised how frequently that yields pretty solid leads."

"And are all these girls eager to join you once they know what they can do and what they are."

"Not all some just want to lead normal live, we usually tell them that training will be needed anyway to keep them from hurting themselves and others. "

"And are these new Slayers easy to identify?"

"They're girls, super strong, super fast, I don't know too many natural explanations for a woman being able to lift ten times her weight overnight. It's important that we contact as many as we can."

"I see. We had a report of an incident in Los angels concerning a girl, a slayer; she had been in psychiatric confinement."

Xander nodded. "Yeah that thing, I didn't hear too much about it. But it was taken care of. Can I ask why you're curious about this."

"For right now, no, I want you to report to the firing range this evening. I'm sending Alucard out on an errand he will not be available for Seres to train with so that duty now falls to you. "

"Neat, am I still in trouble about the building thing "

"You are off KP; I have taken the liberty of including a commendation on your file. Original thinking. Now I suggest you get some rest since you are living according to Seres schedule now that means that you sleep and raise when she does. "

Xander saluted and left. As soon as the door closed, Integra addressed the rooms only other occupant. "He was being surprisingly open."

"If he was evasive you wouldn't trust him, not tell him what he needs to know." Said Alucard

"Do you think he will alert his friends?" Integra crushed out her cigar.

"Almost certainly but that will work in our favour, if they find anything they will pass it to him."

"We must determine if these are new Freak chips with greater power or a group of Slayers out to even some scores or..."

"…Or. have the makers of the chips found a way to duplicate the powers of a Slayer as they have Vampires. " Alucard finished her thought

"And considering the latest incident, we have to find out before the Vatican gets involved "

"Oh I don't know I might look forward to another encounter with The Regenerator."

"As he would with you. If everyone could suppress their blood lust I do have a sovereign nation whose protection is my charge. "

Alucard turned on his heel "I'm going to deal with your errand. Should you need me you know how to contact me."

Integra's voice brought him to a halt as it always did. "One more thing Alucard, I'm curious. The boy is everything you hinted at when the Watchers Council approached us about sending him here. Why him exactly?"

He is perfect, isn't he you couldn't have chosen better." He vanished back into the shadows. Integra often wonder if that was where he lived. Emerging from them only to taunt her, or kill something for her.

Xander's frenzied telephone call arrived at Giles residence.

"Xander how are things at Hellsing house " Giles said sleepily

"My dishpan hands have calluses on them."

"I received notification about the commendation last week. "

"Last week she only told me about it today."

"They are impressed I'm proud of you, if you don't mind my saying "

"Trust me G-man that means more from you then it would from my dad. But, have the girls gotten back yet?"

"No, Andrew just headed out to Rome to join Buffy and Dawn. Willow is on some spiritual retreat. I'll tell them you said hello of course "

"Thanks Giles but it's a tad more serious then that. I think some Slayers are kicking up a fuss. The good Lady Hellsing is getting ready to send in Big Red. Trust me Giles, I've seen Alucard in action you do not want a situation to get to the point that they send him to deal with it. He is scorched earth waiting for a place to happen. "

"I see, did Dame Hellsing tell you where or when this was going to happen?"

"Nope, you think maybe you should go though the reports again. Maybe something we missed."

"We are doing all that we can Xander, keep an eye on things and let me know if you learn anything. In the meantime I think I should approach some of our other sources."

"Who are you going to find that can go toe to toe with Hellsing."

"I'm dealing with that very thing, it was the other reason I sent Andrew to Rome." Giles said as he hung up the telephone.