7
Seras made a concerted effort to keep her small fangs from showing. Amon obviously didn't like vampires. He had kept his gun in his hand the whole way to the hotel. He'd had to hide it inside his coat sleeve in the lobby but now that they were in the room, he was clutching it like a talisman. Seras couldn't blame him. She was a vampire, after all, and vampires were dangerous. That didn't seem to bother Robin though. She sat so calmly on one of the beds watching Seras settle in on the other. Amon sat rigidly in the chair in the corner. He was watching too, but not in a good way.
"You know, I thought witches only existed in fairy stories," Seras said.
"I thought vampires only existed in horror stories," Robin replied honestly.
"You said you wanted to ask us something," Amon cut in.
"Yes," Seras said getting suddenly serious. "My… employer, Sir Integra Hellsing is in a lot of trouble right now. She's been in prison for the last week."
"Why? What did she do?" Robin asked.
"Nothing. Except help save the world," Seras returned.
Robin and Amon glanced at each other.
"We know the feeling," Robin said. "Please go on."
Seras took a deep breath and continued.
"While Sir Integra is in this bind, somebody is setting her up to be tried for high treason. If she doesn't escape from prison within twenty-four hours, she'll be executed."
"All very interesting," Amon said. "But what does it have to do with us?"
"Okay, here's the thing," Seras said. "I'm not a very strong vampire yet. So I can't get Sir Integra out of the Tower on my own."
"You mean the Tower of London?" Robin asked.
"Yes. They still use it to keep political prisoners sometimes. The security has been unbelievable lately because of what happened last week."
"So your boss is being held in a maximum security facility. Is that it?" Amon asked.
Seras nodded.
"And you want us to help you rescue her?" he asked.
Seras nodded again.
"We're under no obligation to help you," Amon said.
"I know that. But no one in my own group can help me right now. I wouldn't ask otherwise."
Amon and Robin exchanged glances again, considering. Robin suddenly broke off the gaze and turned back to Seras.
"Your boss… What is she like?"
"Sir Integra is… You have to know her to really understand. She's the toughest human I know. She doesn't let anybody push her around. She can seem pretty hard to get along with sometimes because of her temper. When Master Alucard first turned me, Sir Integra was pretty mad that he did it. I was so weak. She could have thrown me out on the street or just staked me right then. But she took me in and did everything for me. She gave me a job and let me live in her basement. She buys me transfusion blood so I never have to hunt. I was able to stay the person I was because of her. I'll always be grateful to her for that. And she needs my help now."
Another glance. Seras noticed that they seemed to do that a lot.
"We'll help," Amon said flatly.
8
The young vampire forgot all about hiding her fangs and smiled broadly. Robin noticed Amon's jaw tighten.
"How are we going to do this?" Robin asked just to distract him.
"First, you and I have to go to the Tower and take a look at the security," Amon said. "Then we can make a plan."
"You can do that tomorrow," Seras said. "The Tourism Commission has been pressuring the military. They'll be re-opening most of the main areas for tours between twelve noon and four o'clock."
Amon's face darkened. "We need more time," he said. "A simple tour won't be enough."
"We don't have any more time," Seras said apologetically. "Sir Integra's trial is in two days. A jail break tomorrow night is the only chance she's got."
"We'll have to make it work," Amon said.
"How soon can you meet us at the Tower?" Robin asked, dodging Amon's brief glare.
"As soon as it starts to get dark," Seras replied.