Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing, I am merely borrowing its characters for my own amusement; I am not making any money whatsoever on this particular piece of fiction.
Not a single sound could be heard in the deserted warehouse save for the slight shuffling noises made by a figure making its way across the floor. Perched on a support beam high over head, crouched a second figure in the shadows.
This second figure watched in silence as the first drew near, finally letting out a slight puff of breath as she fell forward off the beam, descending rapidly but quietly to the ground, the hushed whisper of her rappelling gear the only thing to mark her passage.
Had the figure on the ground bothered to look up at any point in his journey, he might have seen the figure as she slide downward, illuminated for the briefest moment as the moon crept out from behind the clouds and shown its light through what was left of the decrepit building's windows.
Reaching the ground at last, she detached herself from the line and stepped deeper into the shadows as the figure moved closer still. She watched as the man, dressed sedately in a dark, but obviously well tailored suit, hesitated at the edge of the pool of moonlight that separated her from him. After a moment that seemed to drag for eternity, the man stepped out, striding forward the metallic case in his left hand illuminated by the light.
"Are you alone?" The woman asked softly out from the shadows, her voice supple and melodic, blending well with the night.
The man jumped, his gaze darting left and right as he reached his free hand into his suit-coat.
"Where are you?" The man called out, his slightly nasal voice reverberated off the walls, echoing into the darkness as the he spun around wildly.
"Calm down, Monsieur." The woman said quietly. "You will alert everyone for miles around if you do not control yourself."
The man stopped his frantic movement, looking forward towards the sound of the woman's voice.
"Come out so I can see you." He stated, speaking less loudly this time.
"But of course." The woman stepped lightly out from the shadows, her arms spread open in a non combative gesture. "As you can see, I am no threat to you. You on the other hand, have violated our original agreement by bringing along a weapon."
As she moved forward, the moonlight illuminated the delicate Asian features of her face, at odds with her French accent.
The man stared for just a bit, taking in her beauty, then shook himself visibly, before grunting and removing his hand from his coat.
"Regardless, shall we be on with it?" He asked, impatiently.
A smirking grin twisted on the woman's lips, mocking the actions of the man, even as they seemed to ask, you like what you see?
"Oui," She said calmly. "You wish me to take care of some business for you." The innuendo laid thick in her words, leaving no doubt in the mind what sort of business she referred to. "Do you have the requisite down payment?"
The man coughed, "Ah, yes…some business, indeed. You are aware of the particulars of the mission? I want nothing left behind that could trace its way back to my…ah, shareholders, understood?"
"Yes. I understand quite well, Monsieur." The woman chuckled softly.
Irritation flashed briefly over the man's face. "This is no laughing matter, Madam."
The woman's face stilled, and silence settled over the pair. The air became heavy, possessing a dangerous quality to it, as though the woman had power over the very night itself. The man appeared to shrink in on himself as he started to feel that his own mortality might be in peril.
"The payment." The woman hissed, having lost patience with the man before her.
"Ah, yes…here it is." The man choked out, just barely managing to keep a squeak out of his voice. He stepped towards the woman, reaching out the long, slim case to her.
"Vous Arrêtez," She said, putting a hand up. "Put the case on the ground and open it. Then step away."
Visibly shaken by this point, the man did as she asked without hesitation, scuttling backwards as she advanced on the case. Peering downward, the woman inspected the contents and finding them to her liking she looked back at the man.
"Go. I will contact you when the task has been completed. Reaching down she snapped the case shut and picking it up, backed away from the man, disappearing deep into the shadows.
The man stood for just a second longer, before edging backwards towards the way he'd first come. The silence soon became too much for him, and much to his chagrin he found himself bolting for the door on the far wall, as fast as his feet could take him.
The woman chuckled to herself as she watched the man go, once again perched high above the warehouse floor. Popping the case open again, she played a small light downward illuminating its contents. Lying nestled in a bed of silk was a sword, obviously of Japanese origins, its intricate designs revealing to the woman that this was indeed the sword that she had sought. The money that the man would be paying her upon completion of the job was nothing more than an afterthought in her mind as she gazed upon the Chuusawa sword, her ancestors' legacy, lost to her family since WWII.
"And with this," She said to no one in particular as she drew the sword from its sheath, light flashing along its perfectly curved blade. "I shall have my revenge."
It was midnight exactly when Billie Garret stepped out of the modified C-47 she used for long-range transport of troops and supplies, raising her arms high over her head as she stretched after the long flight. Coming in at just over six feet tall, the woman looked small standing in the mouth of cargo plane's loading ramp, gazing out at Heathrow airport in London. She sighed, bringing her arms down, crossing them over her chest as she contemplated what exactly she was doing here.
Walter Ddolneaz had called her a week ago requesting soldiers to 'bolster his ranks.' Billie looked heavenward, Yeah sure, easier said than done. Billie knew exactly what type of organisation Walter worked for, and she'd had a pretty good idea going into the deal, just what sorts of troops he would be looking for.
The job had looked fairly simple until he'd faxed over the particulars the day after his call. Billie had been most unhappy to discover Walter wanted her to track down specialised troops. We weren't talking your average ex-green berets here. Ddolneaz wanted supernatural hunters. This meant she wasn't going to be able to get away with sending just a few regular squads over to England. She would need to be there in person, leading her own personal team.
She sighed again. Why can't I ever get the easy job requests?She thought to herself as she took in her surroundings.
"Well, at least it's not France." She grumbled aloud to no one in particular.
"Hey, I heard that!" Came a hearty cry from behind in heavily accented English, followed by rapid footsteps advancing on her position. A large hand fell heavily on her shoulder, and she reacted blindingly fast, gripping the hand and spinning under her assailant's shoulder to sweep him into a headlock.
Laughter ensued, as she turned the two of them around to face the inside of the cargo plane and the rest of her crew. Giving the large dusty blonde man she held captive a rather thorough noogie, she released him back towards his crew members.
"Don't worry François, I still love you." Billie laughed as the man spun slightly, rubbing his head.
"Don't take it personally, François. The only reason Billie doesn't like France it because that's the only place she's ever failed a mission." A small dark haired woman called out from her perch atop a large pile of crates still lashed in place to the deck of the plane.
"For the last time I didn't fail that mission! We still got the package delivered."
"Sure. Two weeks late, and under a voodoo curse. Poor girl." The woman shot back, snickering.
"You shut your face 'Melia. Some sister you are," Billie ground out, mock anger marring an otherwise pleasant face.
"How'dya get a voodoo curse in France?" A voice called out with a Welsh accent from underneath one of the two ground transport vehicles. There was a slight scrapping noise as a youthful face slid into view.
"That's a story best left untold Arvel, my boy. It's not something the Boss likes to talk about often. Though get her drunk and she'll spill the entire sordid tale from start to finish," chuckled the heavily muscled man standing near the truck.
"Gee thanks Marty, you're so supportive." Billie rolled her eyes before looking around.
"Well, does anyone else want to add anything?" She shouted to everyone in general.
"Hanya?" She called out looking over to where a dark-skinned woman possessing a sinewy grace was passing boxes down to a squat barrel of a bearded man. "Mandel? Do you two have anything you want to add? Maybe you can start questioning my leadership skills."
Hanya laughed as she handed down a loaded crate to Mandel. "No, Boss. Not about your leadership skills," her accent definitely Australian carrying a curious lilt, given it by her Aboriginal descent.
"Ja, ve're more concerned vith the benefit's package you're offering us for zis deal. No Dental? And vhat about overtime?" Mandel said in his usual German deadpan.
"Yeah, what're we supposed to do if the ghouls knock our teeth out, huh?" Sounded out a thin dusky skinned boy, the native Hawaiian looking out of place amongst all the military gear in his colorful shirt
"Not you too Kouka!" Billie cried out in pseudo abject horror. "You always used to support me! My entire team's turning on me. What am I gonna do?"
"The same thing you always do, Billie. Put up and shut up." Amelia said, jumping down from her boxes of equipment and crossing to her younger, taller sister. "'Side's you know there's no other group of people you'd want at your back fighting the bad guys than us."
There were nods all around from the rest of the bunch as they all stopped working for a moment to look at their leader. Billie looked at each of them in turn, all of them returning her own gaze fully. Despite their joking, Billie knew Amelia was right; every last one of them would work as hard as possible to ensure the safety of the others. There was no other group she'd rather have under her command.
"You guys could at least pretend to respect me, you know." Billie finally said, giving up with a sigh.
"Aw, where would be the fun in that?" François said a smile spreading across his face as he walked back up the ramp to finish unloading.
"Where indeed…" Billie was about to continue when Amelia punched her lightly in the shoulder.
"Hey, Billie. We've got company." She said, drawing Billie's attention towards two people walking quickly towards the plane.
Billie scrutinized the pair as they made their way across the tarmac. The one on the left most definitely Walter, not looking much older than he originally had eleven years ago. The other must be Sir Integra, Walter's current employer.
"Funny, Sir Integra sure looks like a woman to me." Billie mumbled under her breath.
"Hmm?" Amelia said, looking up at her younger sister, but Billie just waved her hand.
"It's nothing. Take over for me here. I want all this unloaded by the time I get done with these two." As she stepped away from her sister Billie couldn't help but take one last jab at Amelia, "It's mostly your stuff left on board anyways. Did you have to bring your entire lab with you?"
"It's not my entire lab!" Amelia shouted as Billie moved away. "Just most of it!" this admission garnering another shared laugh from the group, Amelia turning to stick her tongue out at the collective bunch before ordering them to hustle to it.
Knowing full well that her sister was capable of getting the job done, Billie turned her attention to the task at hand. From what she knew of Sir Integra from Walter the woman was sure and determined, possessing a very clear idea of her path in life. From what Billie could see of the woman drawing towards her, she could make a good guess that the woman was also a little uptight, cynical, and probably devoid of most forms of humour, except perhaps that dry wit that all of Britain was famous for. This was going to be an interesting assignment.
"Ah, Ms. Garret!" Walter exclaimed as soon as she was within reasonable earshot. "I trust your flight went smoothly?"
"Indeed it did Mr. Ddolneaz. How have you been?" Billie countered.
"Well enough," Walter said, making a slight bow. "But I am forgetting myself. Please, let me introduce my employer. Billie Garret, meet Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing head of Hellsing Organisation."
"Your reputation precedes you, Ms. Garret. I pray, for the sake of my Organisation, that you will live up to it." Integra said, extending a hand towards Billie.
Billie grinned a bit sardonically, and said smoothly as she grasped the woman's hand, "Your reputation precedes you as well, it would seem. I'm certain my group will more than surpass your expectations, Ms. Hellsing."
As she turned her face completely towards Sir Integra, the terminal lighting illuminated Billie's features fully for the first time. There came a barely stifled gasp from the woman, as the light glinted off two of Billie's most distinctive features.
"Oh, Walter. Please tell me you didn't!" Billie exclaimed looking from Integra's well concealed shock to Walter's somewhat sheepish grin. "Tell me you didn't tell the leader of the most well known vampire hunting organisation in the world that I was a vampire!"
To be continued……
As always, this fic is dedicated to my sister. Without her help, and constant nagging, none of you would be reading this chapter today.
And thank you, all that have reviewed. The feedback is greatly appreciated.