Disclaimer: Hellsing is not mine. Nathan is!
When Worlds Collide
Chapter Three: Bad Timing
The abandoned house stood forlornly in the moonlight, its exterior long deteriorated to a point beyond repair. It seemed to sag as it stood at the top of the hill, appearing to lean upon the surrounding trees for support. The walls were overgrown with ivy, and some tiles had fallen from the roof.
It was old.
It was isolated.
But what interested Integra was, it was a vampire's nest.
The Hellsing director stood beside the helicopter, standing on the dirt road that led solely to this house, one that bisected a grassy field. Around her the troops were gathering, checking their weapons and moving into position. She dropped her burnt out cigar onto the field, crushing it with her feet. Her mind contemplated the success rate of this mission. Hopefully there wouldn't be any fatalities, though casualties were unavoidable when dealing with such predators.
The villagers just down the road had complained of mysterious happenings that occurred in the vicinity of the derelict manor. Many claimed to see figures moving within its grounds and hear screams in the dead of night. When the local constable had found the body of a dead woman, drained of blood, he had gone to his superiors to report on what he thought was cult activity. Scotland Yard had called in the experts.
Her platinum blond hair rustled around her head as she turned to see Captain Ferguson come towards her. She was dressed in clothes that were radically different from what she had worn on Saturday morning a day before. Clad in an olive green suit, with a royal blue cravat adorned with a silver cross pin at her neck, she was no longer just another civilian.
"Report," she said, her manner brisk.
"All the troops are in position, Sir Hellsing. Awaiting your orders to proceed."
Integra was about to open her mouth when an alien sound cut through the ruckus of the gathering troops. It keened sharply through the cold night air, jarring her senses, as well as her coat pocket.
It was the ring of her handphone.
"Excuse me, Captain Ferguson," she said curtly. Not even bothering to glance at the screen, she lifted it to her ear, preparing to give whoever it was a piece of her mind for interrupting her mission.
"Hellsing," she growled into the phone, glaring into the distance to the right of the Captain's head.
"Well, that's a novel way to say hello," Nathan's cheery voice rang in her ears. This was followed by his usual laughter. "I didn't call at a bad time, did I?"
The Hellsing Director's face froze. She tried to keep calm even as she flicked her eyes to the Captain's face. He was staring at her, waiting patiently for her to end her call. This was not the time for pleasantries. She had vampires to kill, deadly ones that were getting more common these days.
"Call you later," she barked into the phone, trying her best to keep a straight face. She could only pray that the speaker wasn't turned up to high, else her best army officer get a faint earful of Nathan's boisterous laughter. She pushed all thoughts of the young man to the back of her mind. Intent on the task at hand, she ended the call with a beep and cried out the usual parting words.
"My orders are to proceed. May the blessings of God and the Queen go with you. Amen."
Captain Ferguson saluted smartly, then turned on his heel and marched off. His mind went over details even as a stray thought popped up in his head.
Did he just see Sir Hellsing blush?
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Hours later, Integra was in her office, indulging in a smoke. The misty grey tendrils grabbed at her hair as she leant slightly forward, her chin resting on interlaced fingers, her elbows propped up on her desk. She was thankful for the silence. It allowed her some time to mull over her thoughts. Behind her the window was open to let in the cool night air, and she could hear the rustle of the tree that grew just to the right of it. It was nearly dawn, and the sky to the east was just beginning to lighten with the coming ofa new day.
The mission had been a success, the rookie vampires easily destroyed. The men had only suffered cuts and bruises. As always, an autopsy report revealed the sinister presence of a strange computer chip. Though the thought troubled her, she found her mind wandering someplace else. She frowned as she realized that this had happened many times today.
She glanced down at the handphone for what was the tenth time, still undecided about what to do. Today, for the first time, she had felt threatened. She led two lives now, one in the comforting presence of books, talk and pale sunshine, and another stained with blood, death and the everlasting night. Both worlds had come so close to colliding today with that phone call. She knew she was walking on thin ice. The secrecy of the entire Organization was at the risk of being jeopardized, and all because of a moment's fancy. She cursed herself. A sudden drop in room temperature made her look up.
The vampire was already standing beside the chair opposite her. He had just risen from the floor, and he stood in his signature red coat, his face partially obscured by his unruly hair. As was his custom in the mansion, he did not don his hat or glasses, and so Integra had a full view of his red-eyed gaze. He sat down without invitation on the chair opposite her, his eyes as usual boring into her head.
"I don't remember summoning you, Alucard." She spoke stiffly. She really wasn't in the mood for his idle banter right now. "Neither do I remember asking you to sit down."
"I came out of concern, Master," he purred in a husky tone.
"Oh? Not for me, I hope," she snapped. Her hand reached out to remove the cigar from her mouth in order to tap the excess ash into the ashtray.
"Yes… You seem distracted lately…" his voice trailed off. His eyes moved to the handphone on the table, before rising slowly to meet her gaze. It was an obvious hint. What reinforced it was the maddening smile that had begun to form on his face.
"Stay out of my head, Alucard. That is an order." Integra's voice was dangerously low. It was always like this. She had to be intimidating to get her way with the vampire.
"I don't see what you see in that human. He seems to be one of the worst specimens of a man I have ever laid my eyes upon. Not a bit of a fighter in him. In my time I would have made him a court jester or a bard." His tone was tinged with disapproval, though he grinned in his usual enigmatic manner.
"What you think of him is none of my concern. Should I even consult you on who I fraternize with?" Integra stood up and turned her back on Alucard, staring resolutely out the window.
"Master, he is a man blessed with good looks and charm. Nothing more. He is not the type you can depend upon." He answered smoothly.
"Hmph. I don't care what you think." She inhaled and breathed out the cigar smoke, enjoying the tobacco taste which permeated her mouth. "And what type of a man do you think is good for me. You?" She chuckled without mirth.
Alucard ignored the last statement, going on to say more.
"And he is one who will fear the night that you constantly live in. Unlike you, I doubt he can accept that there are sinister things that lurk in the shadows. Once he learns of your true identity, I thin-"
THUDAlucard's words were cut off as Integra had suddenly whipped around and slammed her hand hard on the oak surface of her desk. Her face was a mask of cold fury as she glared frostily at Alucard. He had touched a raw nerve with his tactless comments. The next few words out of her mouth were hissed rather than spoken. They dripped with venom.
"Get. Out. Now."
"But Master, I am simply stating the f-"
"OUT!" she screamed at him. In that same instant, her other hand grabbed the ashtray and flung it at the vampire. It slammed into the front of his coat and landed on the floor with a crash, breaking into several large fragments. The ash and smoked cigar butts stained the front of Alucard's coat a whitish grey. More ash floated around him as the cigar butts rolled to a stop on the floor.
Alucard's eyes narrowed as anger flashed within its depths. Without even saying a word more, he walked to the wall and disappeared in a swirl or red and black. Integra slumped back into her chair and closed her eyes. She had lost control, and she felt slightly guilty at blowing up at the vampire. Even if it was for his personal amusement, knowing what he thought of Nathan was valuable. His impressions of a person were usually accurate. A skill he had honed over five hundred years.
However, he was not going to meddle in her affairs. He was only a mere servant, someone who was bound to obey without question. On top of that, he was a vampire. Human emotions were below him.
Stubbing out the cigar, she made up her mind.
She reached out a gloved hand for her handphone.