They had their first break in the series of vampire-perpetrated thefts and arsons. The pattern that Olivia was trying so hard to find was starting to come together. All of the people who had been robbed had property insurance. In order to document and insure valuable and unique properties such as Egyptian artifacts or Renaissance paintings, the owners had pictures submitted along with the policy. The pattern wasn't clear yet, but they were starting to see overlaps between the three objects Hellsing had retrieved and items unaccounted for from the burned estates, but documented in the insurance papers.
Egyptian artifacts are less unusual than the paintings of Artemisia Gentileschi, who painted fewer than forty-five attributed paintings in her lifetime. Five of the seven burned estates had insured Egyptian antiquities of varying eras and subject matter. Three of the seven had housed paintings by Gentileschi. It wasn't a pattern that made sense, but it was a pattern. Two of the seven had overlaps of both paintings by Gentileschi and Egyptian artifacts. They had not identified anything from the single estate that had neither a painting nor Egyptian objects that fit the pattern. Nor had they found any way that the amulet fit into the vague pattern that was emerging.
They couldn't watch every noble estate that housed something from Egypt. Great Britain had looted so much from Egypt that there was hardly a noble house that didn't have something. Certainly, the Hellsing mansion was no exception, although the items were of a more esoteric nature than most nobles collected.
However, there were only two more Gentileschi paintings in England and Olivia had placed teams to keep those under surveillance. She was tracking the other paintings internationally to determine whether they were being stolen abroad as well. Many were in the hands of private collectors and were difficult to locate.
After a great deal of internal debate, Olivia had dispatched Anderson and Alucard with the teams watching the two locations. She was afraid it would be overkill, but she was more concerned about minimizing future loss of human life and trying to actually capture one of these thieving vampires.
ooo
Boring. This is bloody boring. Anderson would have been appalled, and Alucard would have been amused, to know that they were both thinking the same thing about sitting around keeping watch over a sleeping family of privileged British aristocrats.
Sir Olivia had sent them off to their respective stakeouts - a smirk from Alucard at the term - with an unnecessary warning about preserving human life and an order to attempt to keep a member of the expected team of vampires alive for questioning. The Hellsing troops' orders were to get the human occupants out of the buildings and leave Anderson and Alucard to deal with the vampires.
After three frustrating nights, Alucard was ready to shoot the next thing that moved, regardless of its origin. Anderson was considering taking up whittling as a hobby. He smiled ruefully at his whimsy. Just what my blessed silver bayonets were intended for. Mirroring each other many miles apart, both vampires stared over the shoulders of the soldiers monitoring the equipment trained on the houses.
Alex stepped out of the modified lorry that served as a command center. He had to stretch his legs and get out of that claustrophobic space that reeked of humans and their blood. It made him horribly uncomfortable when his sense of humanity would slip and the men would start to smell like food. He didn't need to worry about being out of touch. After the first mission where they'd given him an antiquated phone (don't waste real equipment on the expendable, eh?) he'd been outfitted with a proper comm patch. He didn't like the way it felt, stuck to the skin behind his ear, but it would monitor and record everything he said, relaying anything prefaced with the proper keyword to the commander. It was efficient, but it itched.
Alucard stared at the night sky. He couldn't stand being in such close areas with things that smelled like dinner. They'd call if they saw anything. He stood and watched the clouds as they alternately obscured and exposed the stars. It's a pity there's no moon tonight, there's something in the air that would go well with moonlight.
At the separate estates, the two vampires left to scout around. Alucard was confident in his ability to be indistinguishable from shadow; Anderson told himself he needed to refresh old stalking skills.
The shadows writhed unnaturally as three figures silently slipped past them, intent on their target.
As Alex drew farther away from the Hellsing operatives, he began to feel his hackles rise in a manner that told him he had company. He continued away from the humans, hoping to draw his target away from the more vulnerable Hellsing members.
A voice spun the three vampires around, two of them suddenly holding swords. "What sort of vampires sneak into human homes at night to loot and burn?" Alucard stepped out of a darkness even their eyes could not penetrate and looked at them scornfully.
"Father Anderson, we are here to save your soul." Alex had heard them coming, he had smelled them coming. If he had always been so obvious to Alucard's senses as these Iscariots were to his, it was clear that most of their battles had been just a way of playing for the elder vampire.
o
The unarmed vampire spoke as his two companions moved to flank him, "What sort of vampire debases himself to a human and murders his own kind?" On an unspoken signal, the two with swords charged.
o
"My soul? It's too late to save my soul." The fallen paladin turned to face his would-be assassins. He smiled to emphasize his wickedly sharp teeth. "I've already traveled down that well-paved road to Hell, children. Don't make me add taking yer lives to my list of sins." The smaller of the two Iscariots raised his gun and fired.
o
Alucard dropped one of his two attackers with shots snapped off quickly to the man's head and heart. The other was upon him as he shifted his aim. He blocked a vicious cut with his forearm and was rewarded with a searing pain. He grinned at the woman wielding the swords, "More magic? Wonderful!"
The next time she cut at him, he allowed her to strike again. This time he shifted himself around the sword and trapped the blade inside his incoherent limb. She dropped the ensnared blade and struck with her remaining sword. The woman's sword pierced Alucard's stomach and it burned, but her attack had left her open to his counterattack. His hand had penetrated her heart and burst through her back and she dropped away around his outstretched hand. He plucked the two swords from his body and looked at the remaining vampire, "That hurt," he said mildly.
o
Alex felt the bullet hit with a familiar sick pain that spread from the point of impact, but he'd taken direct shots from Alucard's Casull without stopping and this man's gun was not equal to the elder vampire's hand cannon. He was stepping forward to engage his former spiritual kindred when a new agony asserted itself with the pain of the bullet. He pushed it away, but had a sick feeling he knew what it was - blessed silver in his unholy flesh. "Did Traversera tell ye nothing of me?"
The two men didn't speak, just opened fire. This time Alex used his new inhuman speed to move almost faster than they could see. He spoke from behind them and smiled as they whirled around, "I was killing vampires when yer grandparents were pissing themselves the first time."
The larger man holstered his gun. "Yes, the bishop told us about you, Alexander Anderson. It's a black mark on Iscariot and the Church to have one of its greatest champions fall as you have. How can you stand yourself as the unholy beast you are now? Did your shame go with you into death?" He drew a sword and took a ready stance in front of Anderson.
The smaller man had moved away from his companion, out of range of Anderson's reach if he chose to engage the man with the sword. A classic tactic to force Anderson be able to only reach one foe or the other, not both at the same time. It didn't do him any good because Anderson chose to take out the enemy with the ranged weapon first.
He rushed the small priest with the gun. He did not want to kill an Iscariot. He did not want to fall even lower. Instead of cutting the man, he turned his bayonet and struck him between the eyes with the butt. It cost him several more burning bullet wounds in the chest and stomach, but the man crumpled to the ground, hopefully wounded, not dead.
o
Alucard glided across the ground toward the remaining vampire. He could feel the man attempting to rummage around in his head. Alucard threw his head back and laughed at this infant's temerity. "Trying to get inside my head?" He disappeared. "Do you really think that's wise?" he purred into the man's ear from where he had rematerialized behind him.
The vampire whirled around and slapped his hand on Alucard's stomach where the woman's sword had pierced him. He pulled his hand back dripping with Alucard's blood and quickly licked it off of his hand. Alucard watched with amusement as the man's eyes widened with horror.
"I told you it wasn't wise to try to get inside my head," he chortled as he advanced on the now terrified vampire.
o
Alex's eyes snapped away from the man on the ground to his chest where a silver blade had suddenly erupted. He grunted and threw himself forward and off of the sword on which he had been impaled. He rolled off the ground and faced his attacker. Blue eyes met red and Anderson was hit with a painful wave of déjà vu. He'd been here so many times before, but this was the first time he was on the side of the devils and his enemy on that of the angels.
"Father Anderson, remember what you were. You know you can't go on like this. It is an –"
"- abomination in the sight of God." Anderson finished for him. "I know, and I haven't forgotten." He watched the man watch him as he sheathed his bayonets. "But I still have work to do. There's not an Iscariot alive," he smiled ruefully, "or undead, who can kill the demon Alucard. I will carry the burden of this unnatural existence until I achieve that worthy goal."
"I can't just let you go."
"I know." Alex smiled at him again and launched his attack. He met every sword blow with a deflection or by simply catching the blade in his flesh, ignoring the pain and bleeding. He'd been fighting with blades for well over a hundred years and there were no surprises this pup could bring him. He battered the sword away from his opponent's grasp and caught him a brutal blow to the head. He said a quick prayer he hadn't crushed the man's skull as he dropped to the leafy ground.
He quickly searched both men and took their weapons and passports. "Control, we have two human trespassers here. Please send a team to take them into custody and escort them to the Vatican embassy." He gave his location and settled in to watch over the two unconscious men.
ooo
Alex and Alucard both returned to Hellsing pleased with themselves. Alucard had had a fine meal that evening and Alex had stopped two assassins sent to execute him without compromising himself by killing them.
Alucard's unique method of travel had brought him back to the mansion well before Anderson. He was amused by Sir Olivia's initial reaction.
"I told you to capture one of the thieves, not eat him, Alucard!" She slapped her hand on the desk and glared at him.
"I did both, Master."
"Stop being insufferably oblique and tell me what you mean." Olivia calmed herself with images of thumbscrews and the rack. It would be life-threatening to try what she was thinking on Alucard, but was soothing to contemplate.
"And stop smirking!"
"Of course, Master." Alucard pulled his face into a sober expression that somehow managed to still be mocking. "You should be aware from family records that I don't take just blood from my prey when I feed. I have young Master Vittorini with me even as we speak."
"You're still being obscure. Is this Vittorini hiding in the shadows or are you just going to show me his severed head as proof of his presence?"
"For someone who prides herself on her knowledge of family history, you've missed an important piece. 'The blood is the coin of the soul.' Vittorini is in me, with me, and will be mine until I no longer exist or I choose to free him. What he knows, I know. You have but to ask and I will answer…my Master."