Alex stared at the telephone Alfonse had brought him. This will be a telephone call to remember. I can hear it now: May I speak to Bishop Traversera? Yes, Monseigneur, this is Alexander Anderson. I just wanted to call ye and tell ye that I've become an accursed servant of Satan and will be working for the Hellsing Organization as one of their pet attack vampires. Could ye do me a favor and not have me executed like the unclean filth I am until I've killed Alucard?
Aye, that's going to go over well.
He punched in the numbers and waited through the endless ringing. He then waded through the protective layers of bureaucrats until he was finally connected to Bishop Angelo Traversera, the current head of Section XIII.
Sir Olivia had not given him the option of delaying any longer. It was her direct order that he contact Iscariot immediately and tell them whatever was necessary. She had left the offer of allowing him to leave hanging, but they both knew he wouldn't be taking it as long as Alucard held his leash.
"Anderson? Alexander Anderson? Where have you gotten to? I have some very difficult to believe intelligence here about you." Alex had met Bishop Traversera once when he had come to Iscariot's Vatican headquarters to give a lecture to the new crop of hunters. There's no such thing as ever truly leaving Iscariot, although one's duties might take one elsewhere, as they had with Alex.
"Aye. It's a story only an Iscariot would believe, Monseigneur. I have a problem."
ooo
An hour and a half later, Alex wasn't sure where he stood with Iscariot. He knew where he stood with the Church. He would be immediately excommunicated and interdicted from entering a church. He'd known it was coming. There were no other choices. It didn't make him any less miserable.
Bishop Traversera had been appalled. Anderson had endured his (former) superior's remonstrations. Traversera had not said anything Anderson himself had not said to vampires during his long career, but it was different being on the receiving end.
The bishop had toned down the rhetoric a little when Anderson told him of his reasons for making his choice. Nobody could doubt Alexander Anderson's commitment to the wellbeing of the children in his care.
He had made no commitment to leave Hellsing, Alucard or Anderson alone, but had offered to arrange an acceptable story to feed to the congregation and general public about Anderson's disappearance and subsequent tragic accidental death. It was disconcerting to consider that his funeral would be held in a few days' time and he wouldn't be in the coffin they buried. He was grateful for the cover story, at least. "His" children would never have to know the depths to which he had fallen.
The head of Iscariot had ended their conversation with a less-than-comforting comment about discussing restitution and reprisal with Sir Olivia in the very near future.
He put his head in his hands and began to pray.
ooo
Alucard watched from the mirror. Anderson's anguish was deeply satisfying. He'd anticipated almost all of Anderson's reactions so far; he had anticipated the reaction from Iscariot; he was eagerly awaiting Iscariot hunters sent to punish him and destroy Anderson. The new threats from this group of thieving vampires and their interesting abilities were just icing on a huge, blood-soaked cake.
He left his favorite toy to his pain and went in search of Sir Olivia. He had a feeling she'd be getting an urgent phone call very soon and he wanted to see her handle it. She thought she was so strong, but that could be a weakness of its own.
ooo
Olivia was having a very unsatisfying telephone conversation with Angelo Traversera. He was doing an excellent job of being threatening and insulting without being direct about it. What was most frustrating was that she was in the weaker position because there was no arguing with the fact that her servant had overstepped his bounds. Overstepped his bounds? He made a bloody Iscariot paladin into a vampire! Not for the first time she wished he wasn't so useful.
She made a rude gesture at the speakerphone before she closed her eyes and allowed his continued bitching to wash over her. He would have to get this out of his system before they could get down to the business of negotiating reparations for the Hellsing Organization's failure to control its vampire. Her failure.
She could feel Alucard's arrival. She didn't want Traversera to hear her address him, so she just motioned him to the chair he usually favored. He might as well hear this. She was hoping Traversera would have some interesting suggestions for Alucard's punishment.
Images of Iscariot reviving old methods from the Inquisition for her errant vampire were enough to help her mood considerably. For once, she was hoping Alucard was eavesdropping on her thoughts.
She opened her eyes as Traversera seemed to be winding down his tirade against vampires, Protestants and weak leaders who couldn't even control their servants. She was very tempted to throw a paperweight at Alucard's smirking face. Instead she just scowled at him.
"Angelo, I have no argument. What Alucard did was unconscionable. I have offered Anderson the opportunity to leave here, either to submit to execution by Iscariot or the less likely option that your Church would allow him to resume his duties. He has declined and chosen," she ignored Alucard's raised eyebrow, "to stay here with us. We will ensure that he does not endanger humans and he will be able to continue the battle he had to leave behind due to age."
She tuned out Traversera's outraged response until he heard his voice change, "…will be there in 24 hours."
"Like hell! Angelo, I'm trying to be reasonable here, but you will not send your assassins onto British soil to execute Alexander Anderson. He will not be allowed to harm humans and he will serve the greater good by eliminating garbage vampires." She looked directly into Alucard's eyes as she spoke, "He wants to stay here until he is strong enough to destroy Alucard and I am of a mind to allow him his chance at revenge." This time it was Olivia who smirked and Alucard who scowled.
The rest of the conversation was less rewarding. Olivia made some concessions to Traversera regarding Iscariot's actions in Ireland and agreed to share information with them regarding any patterns of vampire activity they noted. In return, Traversera made a half-hearted promise not to send any agents to England with the express intent of destroying Anderson or Alucard. Olivia didn't trust him on that, but it was better than a full scale war with Section XIII over something that was ultimately her responsibility.
ooo
"You don't believe that Catholic when he says he won't send any assassins, do you?"
"Of course not, Alucard. This arrangement allows both organizations to save face, though. Hellsing and Iscariot have publicly made their peace and that benefits us in more than one way. It means that Iscariot cannot attack us overtly, which also limits the amount of force they can use. I have no concern that they are able to harm you in any lasting manner and if Anderson can't take care of a few Iscariot assassins, I don't really want to be harboring his weakness at my breast."
Alucard watched her as she ignored him and returned to her paperwork. She was interesting, but annoying. He had spent her whole life trying to subvert her commitment to Hellsing and to her humanity. He hadn't gotten very far.
She was different from her predecessors. He thought the difference lay in the fact that she still had a living parent. Most Hellsings lost both parents to disease, enemy vampires and the occasional strategically arranged "accident." Beatrice Hellsing née Vanderpoort was an exception. She stood by her daughter during the first four years of her leadership, providing her with strength and acceptance. When Olivia turned eighteen, Beatrice left England and returned to her native Netherlands. She told her daughter that Olivia didn't need the distraction of worrying about her mother when she had the work of running Hellsing. They still spoke often.
He hated that woman. She had come between him and Samuel Hellsing when she married him. She had provided a careful counterbalance for Olivia to all of Alucard's efforts to mold the girl as he wanted her. He loathed her for her interference.
Sir Samuel was a clever man. He had given Alucard such explicit orders regarding Beatrice that there was nothing the vampire could do to twist them, subvert them or find a loophole that would allow him to harm or arrange any sort of harm to her. He had been forced to actively protect the woman on one occasion because of the specificity of Samuel's orders.
His only consolation was that nobody had understood what it was that Samuel had done that broke the seeming curse on Hellsing spouses. When Olivia got around to marrying, her husband wouldn't be as fortunate as her mother.
Olivia glanced up from her paperwork to him now and then. She wondered about the meaning of the catlike smile he wore, but didn't think it worth asking.