"They had to look for me eventually."

Sir Olivia was pacing the floor of Anderson's room. Alfonse had briefed her on Iscariot's inquiries and she had come directly to him. Unusual, but not unheard of in the Hellsing Organization. Sir Olivia was not as much of a stickler for formalities as some of her forebears.

"I blame myself. I should have known that there'd be a rotten piece in the fruit he'd dropped in my lap. Anderson, why did you not inform me that you had not actually severed your ties with the Church and Iscariot?"

He shook his head at her. "Ye should talk to Alucard about that."

"I am asking you. If he is your Master," he lifted a lip in disgust, "I am his Master. Ultimately, you will answer to me. Now tell me."

"I told ye. I chose to become a vampire. I just didn't tell ye the circumstances. He didn't give me time to say my goodbyes or sever my ties with the Church. This came on me in a matter of minutes, not hours or days or years."

"You're still holding back." She scowled when he shook his head at her. "Alucard!"

"You called, my Master?" Where there had been shadow, there was now the vampire.

"Oh shut up. You only get obsequious when you know you're in trouble. You're going to tell me exactly how Alexander Anderson came to be a vampire or I am going to lock you up, throw away the key and destroy every reference to you in existence. You can spend the rest of the lifetime of this building alone and starved in a cell. You have endangered my organization and I will know why!" She had advanced on him as she spoke and almost shouted the last words in his face.

"The Judas Priest chose to become a vampire as restitution for his murder of Seras Victoria. I came to him, we spoke, I told him to choose and he did. We left his church and his parish and came here. Since then, he has been busy acclimating to his new existence. I assume that Iscariot spotted him when he was out tonight. You have to give them credit for their information gathering."

"That is an entirely inadequate response. I'm asking both of you, right now, tell me the whole story because I do not make empty threats and I am out of patience with this game. Anderson? Alucard?"

Anderson looked at his putative Master. Alucard grinned back at him. "Go ahead, Judas Priest."

Alex was surprised. He'd expected Alucard to keep playing this stupid game and to mess with his mind to keep him from telling the whole story. "I was at my church. Alucard came and told me that he was going to make one of the children of my parish into a vampire in retribution for my killing Seras unless I chose to go with him. I couldn't allow one of my children to be damned for something I had done, so I chose to become a vampire. After that, we came here and I have not been able to determine the best way to deal with the Church."

"First question then, Anderson. Why didn't you tell me this to start with?" Anderson looked pointedly at Alucard in response.

"Second question. You believed Alucard's lie?" She had caught the lie immediately.

"I haven't paid attention to the goings on of the Hellsings and their abomination in nigh on fifty years. I retired from monster hunting a long time ago. When he made his threats, it was clear to me that the well-being of the children whose souls have been entrusted to me was more important than my soul."

"Third question. What will Iscariot do when they find out indisputably that you are a vampire?"

"They'll send someone to kill me. I'm an abomination in the eyes of God and deserve to be destroyed."

Olivia raised an eyebrow but continued, "Fourth. What repercussions can Hellsing expect?"

"I don't know. I'm not familiar with the current Iscariot leadership. After Enrico Maxwell's fall almost a hundred years ago, they have tended to choose more moderate leaders. You probably know more about the current Iscariot leadership than I do."

"Fifth," and this she directed to Alucard. "What should I do with a vampire who lies to his master and endangers our organization? Anderson may have technically chosen his fate, but the fact of the matter is that you made an unwilling human into a vampire."

"I have not told you a single lie, Master, and I would argue whether Anderson was a human."

"Lies of omission count, Alucard and we are not here to debate Anderson's former state of humanity or lack thereof."

"Then I suppose it is up to my Master to determine my punishment."

"We'll get to that. Last," and she turned back to Anderson, her demeanor less harsh, "What do you want us to do with you, Alexander Anderson? You have been wronged by my servant."

"I want to kill him, Sir Olivia. I want to kill him and see his unclean soul roast in the deepest pits of Hell!"

"I can empathize, Alexander, but with all due respect, I don't think you are capable of doing that. Maybe you will be able to with time, but not as you are now.

"What do we do with you? Do you want us to simply turn you over to Iscariot for termination? We could do that for you here. Or you could stay with the Organization. As long as you abide by the guidelines we have for servant vampires, you would be allowed to continue your monster hunting and killing."

"I have an additional problem, Sir Hellsing."

"Which is?"

"The ties that bind me to Alucard are strait. Do you know how much control he has over me?"

She frowned at him, "Control? I knew he had influence, but you're telling me he has control of you?"

Alucard cut in, "The Master has complete control of his fledgling if he so chooses. I was able to allow Seras Victoria relatively free rein because she was overall very compliant. The Judas Priest is the opposite of compliant and I have had to demonstrate my mastery to him on several occasions."

"How is it that you have such complete control over him and how can it be lifted?"

"When a vampire is made, part of the process is the taking of the person's soul into the master vampire. Then, the soul is fed back into the fledgling through the Master's blood. However, a small piece of the soul remains with the Master until the Master chooses to release it. That is the connection that allows me to have such influence over our priest here. It is also a safety measure. A newly turned vampire is a dangerous thing. The control allows the Master to avoid dangerous 'outbursts' from their child."

"Then you could release him?"

"I could, but I will not."

Olivia closed her eyes as though her head pained her. Alex thought it probably did. Alucard was enough to give him a headache. "Why will you not release him, Alucard?"

"Because he is mine and he is not ready."

"I am not yours and I am damned well ready to be free of you, you blasphemous abomination!"

"Be that as it may, you are not ready to be an unrestricted vampire and whether you like it or not, you are mine. My blood flows through your veins and it is by my will that you exist."

"And it is by my will that you exist, Alucard." Olivia was glaring at her servant. "Now I have to think of an appropriate punishment for you."

"I wouldn't be too hasty with thoughts of whips, chains and ensorcelled rooms were I you, Master. There's trouble brewing and you'll need me and our Judas Priest to come through it."

"Are you making threats, Alucard?"

"No, Master, merely stating a fact. I was examining those swords when you summoned me down here. It has been a long time since I encountered vampires wielding magic other than that which comes with undeath. Other than myself and the Judas Priest, that is.

"The swords are not enchanted, which means that the vampire Anderson eliminated was the source of the taint I found on him. She was merely a minion. If that's the quality of servant her master has, the master will be formidable indeed." His smile showed an unnatural number of teeth, "It promises to be a good year."