Alucard walked forward quickly, almost dragging Victoria after him. Unless Integra had ordered him not to kill Maxwell, he would have got rid of that annoying Iscariot pest once and forever... His eyes shone gloomily, catching and reflecting the last orange rays of the dying sun. The twilight flooded the streets of the gigantic city with surreal violet shadows, erazing the logical order of daylight London. Victoria sighed, looking around. She had been afraid of darkness being a kid, hadn't liked it being an adult, but now... She longed for darkness, so soft and comforting. The uncontrollable changes kept occuring, her mind and body were getting less and less human. Deep in thought, the young vampire bumped into her senior, who stopped suddenly.
"Look, police-girl."
They stood on the stone-coated bank of Thames, watching the night conquering the angled line of the city horizon. Street lamps flashed into life as the last defense line against the falling darkness.
"The dusk is a fracture between two worlds, Victoria. Humans are led to their shelters by their instincts now... Our instincts tell us that our time is coming. Do you feel it? The whisper in your blood... You are a creature of a night and it's no use to deny it. You chose your path that night in Chaders church."
"I know, Master... - the girl braced herself with both hands and closed her eyes sadly, - There is no way back, I understand... But I'm scared! My humanity is disappearing drop after drop, every moment I lose my former self. When the last bit of that human me vanishes… What will I become?"
"A handful of ash, I suppose. Only total destruction can remove 'human you' from present you, little coward! - Alucard smirked sarcastically, turning to his shocked subordinate, - How can you be so inept? Do you think your humanity is only physiology? Your mind, Seres, is all that matters. The mind and the soul of a human - it's not that easy to lose them..." Deep shadows turned Alucard's face into an ancient mask. He looked at the river again.
"How old is he?" - Victoria wondered for the hundredth time. The life of her master had always been a mystery for her, but she had never mustered enough courage to ask that straightforwardly. The same happened this time, she even parted her lips to let the question fly out but hesitated at the last moment.
"I'm old enough to regret it sometimes. - uttered Master suddenly without turning his head, - And quit drilling me with your stare! Yes, I can read your thoughts when they are as clear as now."
"What?!" - that was an unexpected turn of events for Victoria. - Ah... Errr..." She blushed violently and tried to remember what she had been thinking about these days. Alucard looked at her from his height and obviously enjoyed the show, grinning wider and wider. At last he barked a laugh.
"Well, I'm really glad to have you around lately, cop! You are making my life less boring... Why so awkward all of a sudden? I'm not going to dig your mind for everything you think... - Alucard pressed his gloved hand to his chest and said with a flourish, - Fear not, fair maiden! Your terrible secrets will be safe with me! I'll carry them with me into my coffin... Heh-heh-heh!" Victoria sulked, feeling really annoyed.
"Oh, what a glare! Don't worry about your precious privacy, Seres. Usually I'm aware of your thoughts only when they are almost pronounced... So if you want to tell me something - don't hesitate. Like this time - "Stop that idiotic cackling, Master, will ya?", right? Mwahaha!"
"Fine! Stop that idiotic cackling, Master, will ya?!" - blurted Victoria suddenly. Her angry red eyes shone in the dark like candles. This was the first time she talked to her Master in such a way.
"Good. If you had accepted my offer and drunk my blood back then, it would have been even better... Now you look like a true vampire, Seres, so enraged and independent. So beautiful... Here, catch." - Alucard tossed something small to his subordinate. Victoria caught it automatically and looked at her trophy.
"What's this?"
"Those glasses you chose back in the shop. Pink again, huh? Tsk, tsk… By the way, what was that about me being clumsy at work, eh, police-girl?"
"And what was I supposed to say? - Victoria looked slightly embarassed but stubborn enough to keep arguing, - That a couple of times a week you get a bullet in your head and thus your shades break? Hah... Nice excuse! And the time when you were careless enough to let your head be chopped off by Anderson? I remember how I stepped on your glasses and then your head was tossed right into my arms! I thought you were dead... That I'd never see you again... I... I..." - her voice broke and trailed away. A long pause fell, with only the splashing of the river waves and distant sounds of the city softening the silence.
"I'm sorry, Master... - muttered Victoria at last, - I shouldn't talk like that to you... These things are not of my concern, I believe." She turned away and started to open the package awkwardly. The girl almost dropped it when a long arm stretched and caught the box in the air. Alucard opened the case and put the shades on Victoria's nose.
"Here... Like master like apprentice, I guess... Both of us are clumsy sometimes. - the vampire chuckled softly. - I'll try not to lose my head in the future. Not that I'm enjoying it either, you know..."
"Yes... Probably..." - Victoria rose her head and glanced at her Master face unsurely. His eyes watched her intently but the expression of his face was unreadable.
Suddenly Alucard smiled and held out his hand: "Shall we? I'm sure the street is clean already... Our Vatican friends and cops have left by now. It's time to return."
The first thing the two saw after their return the empty street was a chalked silhouette of a long human body on the pavement. A huge puddle of blood was almost dry already, but numerous chains of bloody footprints around showed that it had taken quite a time.
"Hm... It was quite a commotion here after we'd left! - said Victoria, enthusiastically observing the spot. She felt as if she had returned back to her police duties. - Look, these traces must belong to that man, Maxwell... And somebody else! The body was dragged here - to a car, I assume - pretty hurriedly..."
"Wonderful deductive ablilities, Sherlock Holmes, but we know already who the murderer is! Heh… - Alucard watched his young partner sarcastically, - At least, I hope that 'murderer' is the right term... Maxwell was babbling about the Ultimate Incantation or something like that so they'll try to repeat their resurrecting trick, I think."
"What? Oh no, not again... - Victoria hugged her shoulders with both hands and frowned, - Goodness, that crazy priest keeps returning like some bogeyman from a fairy-tale. I thought you got rid of him for good, Master..."
"Hah, let's hope Anderson is already rotting in a grave he so richly deserved... Anyway, if he appears again, let's try an explosive round from your Harconnen on him. It may turn out a perfect lullaby for that Vatican dope... My, my, and what are we having here?"
Hellsing undead operatives turned around a corner to a place their car was parked. They quietly stopped and looked down the street. A motorcycle stood by their Royce and two bulky figures were doing something with the front door window.
"Know what, Victoria? I think these guys are going to have a joyride in Integra's car... Surprise, surprise. Well, I leave it to you, police-girl. You said you need practice, so go ahead. I'll be nearby... Undercover." Alucard melted in the warm night air, smiling like Cheshire Cat.
Victoria nodded and moved forward. She didn't want to be noticed too early and stepped as noiselessly as she could. She managed to do that, because the sound of her voice made both thieves start violently and turn to her in unison.
"Good evening, gentlemen! What are you doing to this car, if I may ask?" - chimed Victoria with an innocent girlish intonation. The reward for this was Master's amused snicker in the back of her mind.
The criminals eyed the harmless appearance of the unwished witness and were obviously relieved.
"It's not business of yours... So get lost."
"Unfortunately, it's my business. And my car! Kind of..." - Victoria waved the car key in front of their noses and presented the carjackers with a bright smile, - Why don't you follow your own advice and get lost? I can be generous enough and let you go..."
"Oh, really? And what can you do - scream for cops? Don't even try!" - the closest man stepped to her and grabbed the thin elbow of the girl with a free arm - the other one held a screwdriver in it.
"Cops? Who needs cops? - Victoria twisted his arm and easily threw the heavily built body over her shoulder, aiming it into a small puddle a few feet away, - Oops, here we go! You are so careless, mister! Gimme this, you can hurt yourself with this pointy thingie..." The screwdriver found itself in Victoria palm. She looked intently into thieves' eyes and pressed her thumb onto the screwdriver's stem. It bent a little and broke with a dry snapping sound. One of the men gasped.
"Shall we have any further discussion? - inquired the girl in a purring voice, - or start the proper punishment already? I'm always thirsty after physical exercises..."
She stepped forward, grinning widely and exposing her long white canines. A pleasant buzzing appeared in her head, hushing the cold voice of sanity, making her understand the feelings of a cat toying with a mouse... The men backed a little, looking into Victoria's face with wide opened eyes as if being hypnotized. Her right hand rose - it looked like it knew what to do - and the man at the car door stumbled to her in an unsteady pace. He got into the young vampire's embrace like a lamb, staring blankly into the dark sky. Victoria's hands closed in a lock on his back and her lips parted greedily above her victim's carotid artery. The urge to gnaw her teeth into the warm flesh and feel the salty taste of blood was almost unbearable... Her vision blurred and colored red.
"Help... Somebody... For God's sake..." - a weak whisper of the man was hardly heard, but cut Victoria's mind like a sharpened blade. She exhaled chokingly and released her embrace. The man fell on the ground as a puppet with torn strings and fidgeted, trying to get up. As soon as he succeeded, he rushed away, howling wordlessly in animal fear. The other unlucky thief followed, glancing back at the scene with absolutely mad eyes. Victoria's anger and tension needed some release. Unexpectedly, without thinking, she seized the motorcycle and hurled it perhaps twenty feet along the street. The vehicle slightly missed the second fugitive's back, he yelped, sped up and disappeared round the corner.
When the horrified screams faded in distance, Victoria's shoulders sagged slightly. She turned to the sound of cold laughter, coming from behind.
"You are a coward, cop. Why have you stopped? - Alucard stood a few feet away with a derisive grin on his face, - Why don't you quit this ridiculous fight against your own nature?"
"Against my own nature, you say?" - Victoria breathed on the verge of hyperventilation. It seemed impossibly hard to clear her head. The ecstasy of awoken instincts was still screaming in her blood, pushing her to do something crazy. Suddenly she moved forward and grabbed her Master's coat with both arms. Pulling him down to her face level, she kissed him.