His gear stored back in the armory, Matthew joined John Armen in reporting to Lieutenant Colonel Richard. The two walked in and stood at attention. Richard looked up from his paperwork. "Please be seated." After both had settled into chairs, he spoke again. "Your reports?"

By earlier agreement, Armen went first. He gave details on the mission, ensuring to cover the change in objective. He had weighed in the benefits of the assault against the possible loses. He also explained that if they had not found the weakened Global Fang base in the first three tries he would have aborted and returned to base.

Matthew took responsibility for their falling into ambushes. He believed that since the attack was his recommendation, he should have scanned better to ensure they hadn't been planning something. He'd missed something, putting them at risk. Richard and Armen agreed that he was wrong. While Matthew had brought it up, Armen made the final decision. And he'd done a fine job detecting the first ambush before it was sprung, and helped fight off the second. Due to the flexible nature of their mission and the fact that no one was injured, the change in mission was approved and declared a success.

The vampire returned to his room alone, tossing his jacket into a chair as he entered. Much as he disliked it, there was something he had to do. He reached into the refrigerator, pulled out a blood bag, and drank it. Almost irritated that he felt better, he tried to put it out of mind by grabbing a book. His distraction did not last for long.

An alert klaxon pierced the air. Matthew shot up and sprinted for the door, grabbing his jacket on the way. He followed the flow of troops to an assembly area. Support personnel wee bringing weapons and body armor from the armory. Matthew saw his gear to one side. Richard entered and started for the podium, telling the troops "As you were," before anyone would get to attention. "This'll be brief. We've gotten a distress call from Silver Base. We're sending as much help as we can. Alpha company, load up and proceed to the Vultures. Bravo, you're reserve this time. Get to guard positions in case we're attacked too. Move out!"

There was a flurry of motion. Matthew, not officially part of either company, chose to join Alpha. He slung on all his gear and a radio headset over his jacket and joined the new flow to the hanger. Six Vultures, most of what they had, were loading up to leave. Matthew jumped in Armen's Vulture. "Matthew," Armen said, "I want you to join second squad. They might need the extra help after that last mission." Matthew nodded, wondering if there was more to his assignment change.

The heavily loaded Vultures slowly lifted, their pilots taking extra care. But once they were clear of the base, they shot off into the near midnight sky. Silver Base was about a half-hour flight away.

Matthew looked at the troops. All were alert, so far as he could tell. Somehow they were good to go for another mission after only a short time rest from the last one. Hellsing troops could do it too, but Matthew had to rely on his vampiric endurance to get him through times like these. The DPSD troops wore heavier armor. It looked similar to Hellsing battle gear, but excluded the gas mask and was all green, kinda like the marines in Halo. They carried similar gear to the recon op: utility kits and night vision goggles. With the heavier loadout, several soldiers in each squad were armed with a SAW light machine gun. The others carried M4s or M16s.

The flight was quiet. Almost too soon, word came over the comm. "Two minutes to drop. Repeat, two minutes to drop." The DPSD troops roused from their states of thought and got ready to move. Mathew had moved over by Carter during the flight. The man had nodded a greeting to him, which made Matthew feel better. Suddenly, the Vulture was at ground level, both doors sliding open. The troops leapt from the Vulture, forming into squads as they fan for the base. Orders came over the headset. "First squad, move in and secure entry. Second squad, hold that position," Armen said. Matthew heard that the Vultures would be landing nearby in case extraction was needed. Third squad was guarding them. Second platoon moved for another side of the base.

Above ground, Silver Base was similar to Diamond in its building layout. The differences lay underground. There were fewer offices and less intelligence spaces. It had fewer Vultures to maintain. The base's exterior lights were running, illuminating the base. Smoke billowed from the garage and the office building showed signs of damage.

It was time to give the Global Fangs a battle on two fronts. First squad reached the garage and broke down the doors. They entered, guns blazing. Carter led his squad plus Matthew in. An overturned Humvee and chunks from the roof gave excellent places for cover. One of the vehicle lifts had collapsed, and smoke rose from a fire beneath the garage. Its heat and light reached the garage, giving the room an orange glow every time the lights flickered. First squad had already secured the area and started below once second got in position. Matthew had Spitfire drawn, waiting to be useful.

After ten minutes of waiting, a change in orders came. "Second squad, send a fire-team into the upper offices. We need you to flank some Global Fang forces."

"Understood," Carter replied. He grabbed a few of his people and ordered the rest to hold their positions. "Jemeth, you're with us."

"Yes, sir." He moved away from his place by the wall and leapt down, joining the team in a run to the office. No enemy forces stood in their way. They entered the building.

Diamond Base's, and hopefully Silver Base as well, underground consisted of a system of round concrete tunnels connecting its various sections. Personnel areas used smaller tunnels wide enough for three people side-by-side. They connected staff offices, intelligence analyzation rooms, mess halls and living quarters. Similar to a US Navy ship, the living quarters and mess halls were divided. There was "enlisted country" for low to mid rating enlisted men, "NCO country" for higher level enlisted, and "officer country" for all the officers. Each grouping got their own mess hall.

Central areas were connected by larger tunnels, ones wide enough for two Humvees to pass side-by-side. These connected the assembly and briefing rooms, the vehicle lifts to the garage, the armory, and the Vulture hanger. In earlier briefings, he'd learned that parts of the metal floor were designed to hinge up to form protected firing positions. Markings along the floor also indicated directions to one part of the base or another. It was far different from Hellsing's mansion. Hellsing had an elegant look to it, excluding the basement. DPSD bases were utilitarian in design; though each one had break rooms, exercise rooms, etc. One could easily find a group of off-duty soldiers gathered around a pair of linked X-Boxes playing Halo 2.

Though Silver Base would have none of that. Matthew wasn't going to guess what they would find, past the basic design of the base. He knew nothing of the above ground portion save for the garage, but that was about to change. Carter's fire-team burst through the front entrance to the building. On the floor was the seal of the United States Army, along with the base's fake name. It felt like a typical office to Matthew, save the presence of vampires a couple floors up. The ground floor had a reception desk, conference rooms, a security checkpoint, and a few offices. Dark colored carpeted floors and normal walls painted white. Some of the lights were out, giving the whole interior a dark, sinister look.

A quick scan told Matthew exactly where they had to go. He led them around the to the building's other side and up two stories. The sounds of gunfire punctuated the air along with muffled battle commands. The fire-team stalked through the darkened halls, moving toward their for. Matthew stopped, signaling to Carter that Global Fang forces were right around the corner. The increased volume of the fighting agreed. Carter signaled to his troops, and in unison all stepped around the corner, took position, and opened fire. The vampires before them didn't stand a chance.

The fighting was brief, their successful flanking maneuver cutting the legs out from under the Global Fang vampires. Carter reported in to Armen, requesting new orders. "Get below," Lieutenant Armen said. "All above ground threats have been neutralized. And we've linked up with Silver Base personnel. We'll pass on possible threat numbers when we have them. Out."

Carter led the way back to the garage. He yelled his orders as he entered. "Let's move, second squad. Double time!" The troops moved onto a lift and hit the controls. They started below. As the lift cleared the ceiling, echoes of gunfire could be heard from the tunnels. The squad moved out, weapons drawn. Some of the lights were blown own, and fires started by exploding machinery gave the tunnels the same orange glow as the garage. Floor panels had been lifted, and tables overturned for additional cover. No troops, good or bad, were to be seen. Foregoing stealth, Matthew focused his vampiric sense, trying to locate any vampires or ghouls in their path. He couldn't help but think this was a retaliation strike. It seemed like Breka's style. 'Oh God, I hope she didn't come with them…' If she had, they were probably screwed.

Piles of ash showed their fellows in first squad had done their job. Slowly but surely the base was being cleared out. Every so often they found a human survivor. Most were sent back to the surface. One, who had been bit and was near death, demanded to be shot in the head. He didn't want to become something inhuman. 'Something like me…'

Second squad had two firefights, both short. One squad member spotted a stray ghoul and fired. The other spotted a vampire, which Matthew took out with a single browning bullet. Suddenly, a call came over the comm. "Matthew, first squad has encountered a heavy hitter and needs assistance. Proceed to assembly area bravo."

Matthew keyed his headset. "Aye, sir." With a nod of good luck to second squad, Matthew started running back for the central corridors. Luckily, he found assembly area bravo easily enough. However, he couldn't see his opponent. Remembering Alucard's fighting style, Matthew stripped off his gear. Laying his backpack, sword/shield frame, and jacket on the floor, he pulled four more magazines for his auto-mag and stuffed his pockets. He also grabbed his shield, feeling the bulletproof metal plate might come in handy real fast. In the end, dropping his gear would let him move faster. After his last battle with Anderson, he knew that when fighting someone stronger than oneself you've gotta be able to move fast. He entered the assembly area. Overturned tables and broken chair littered the floor. Concrete columns helped support the ceiling. Turning to one side, he saw his target. A vampire was about to kill Roland. With no hesitation, Matthew drew his auto-mag, aimed one-handed at the vampire's heart, and fired.

The bullets struck, but a metal-on-metal sound told Matthew this vampire was armored. And now, he was mad. Roland no longer a real threat, the vampire turned to face Matthew. Roland scrambled for cover and started searching his pack for ammo. Matthew saw his opponent's weapons. 'Oh, shit…' The vampire was armed with a pair of M16 assault rifles, each loaded with 200 round drum magazines. Matthew brought up his shield, suddenly wishing Seras and Alucard were there. He tried to build himself up. "Why don't you pick on someone dead?"

The vampire chuckled. "I would have expected better from a Hellsing."

Matthew shrugged. "I'm no Alucard."

"If you see him again, tell him Ralik says hello."

"Will do, not that I think he'll much care."

"Fine." Ralik opened fire, sending two streams of 223-caliber bullets at Matthew. The Hellsing vampire let his vampiric sense have influence, jerking his shield arm to block the incoming fire. Bullets pinged off the shield as Matthew moved for cover. One bullet streaked across his thigh; easily ignored, the bullet was lead. He swung around a concrete column, bringing up his auto-mag and firing a trio of anti-vampire bullets. Two missed. One hit Ralik in the leg, the silver and mercury blowing a chunk out of his thigh. Ralik let up his fire a moment, growling and rebalancing as the leg started regenerating. He returned fire.

Matthew started for another column, again blocking bullets with his shield. Some got through, but the lead bullets had little effect on him. Ralik's leg healed, and he started moving to drive Matthew away from his cover. Matthew fired another trio of rounds, finishing the magazine. All missed, but the distraction was enough time for him to reload.

More gunfire pierced the fire. Roland had stood, shouldered his SAW, and started firing. Ralik was surprised by the silver bullets hitting his exposed back. He turned to attack Roland. Matthew didn't give him the chance. He aimed and fired, emptying the auto-mag's magazine into Ralik's damaged back. While not as powerful as Alucard's pistols, Matthew's 44-magnum rounds, through sheer number, broke through the armor plate and hit Ralik in the heart. The vampire fell to his knees, slowly collapsed, and dissolved to ash.

Roland stepped out, his arm now wearing a simple bandage. Matthew spoke. "The rest of your squad made it out?" He sidestepped any seek of gratitude for saving Roland. 'Probably one of the last things that man wants to do.'

"Yes," Roland replied, "most of them. I've lost three. The rest should be linking up with second squad."

Armen's voice came over the headset. "Status reports."

"Carter here. Second squad intact. Have joined with remaining first squad members. Continuing sweep."

Matthew keyed his headset. "Matthew here. Heavy hitter silenced. Awaiting further orders."

Roland was next. "Roland here. I was separated from my squad, but I'm fine. Awaiting orders."

Armen came back. "Matthew, any sign of additional Global Fangs?"

The Hellsing vampire was silent, allowing his senses to stretch out. "Nothing I can feel, sir."

"Understood. Platoon, return to the surface. Second platoon is making a final sweep. Good work today, people."

Armen signed off. Matthew let the slide of the auto-mag go forward, dropped the hammer, and slid it back into its holster. He started from the room. As he pulled his backpack back on, Roland passed by. He went about ten paces up the hall before stopping. "Jemeth," he said, "thanks." He continued on, not waiting for a reply.

'First words he's said to me without prompting,' Matthew noted. Really, he should've been thanking Roland for the help… but that would have to wait.

Thankfully, the trip back went smoothly, and even gave time for Matthew to do something he'd been neglecting to do. Once the Vultures had finished transporting the wounded, Matthew joined one of the last groups of troops to head back to Diamond base. He settled back and stretched out with his mind, soon finding the one he was looking for. 'Hey there,' he said through his mind.

The reply came swiftly. 'Matthew! I was waiting to hear from you.' It was Seras.

'Sorry 'bout that. Got a little busy after I got here.' He felt relaxed. Seemed he always felt relaxed when talking to Seras, mentally or verbally. Must've been the whole master / fledgling thing. 'Just got done with mission number two, actually.'

'Two missions already? Things must be worse than we'd heard.'

'In a way. Breka is around, though we haven't encountered her yet. We crushed one of her bases, but they responded by attacking one of ours. We just drove them away. Took losses, but we got at least most of them.'

'Good to hear.' He could hear her chuckle lightly. 'Good to know you're making a good name for us.'

'Would I do any less, Master? Umm… I mean… Sorry.' Yeah… She didn't like being called Master. Matthew mentally slapped himself, wondering where that mistake had come from. 'Oh, and ask Alucard if he knows a vampire named Ralik. Wanted me to pass a greeting. Won't mean a lot, since I silenced him.'

'What grade?'

'My scale, high. Alucard's, maybe a D.'

'Don't pick a fight you can't win, all right?'

He smiled. 'Will do, Seras.'

The remaining Silver Base personnel were brought back to Diamond Base. It would be a little while before the base could be rebuilt. Richard called Armen, Waltrin, and Matthew to his office. They gave their reports. In total, they'd lost six people, not including Silver Base personnel.

Richard listened to the reports. "I need to get in touch with the Silver Base staff, find out how they made out. Matthew, I want you to get some sleep. I have an important mission for you, and it starts tomorrow."

"What is that, sir?" To him, backing up the troops seemed the number one priority.

"The Global Fangs have vanished. I want you to find them."