…Chapter Four – Mirror of Fog…

Benjamin Symes, a blue-eyed, brown-haired man in his late twenties entered Sir Integra Hellsing's office with much trepidation. He was the third of those that had survived, and had by far the weakest character. Gulping as he entered, the officer found the Knight of the Round Table leaning back in her chair, apparently at ease, and smirking slightly. Had he been observant, or had known the leader, he would have recognised the smile not as pleasure at seeing him; but rather a sneaky turn of the lips indicating Integra was about to enjoy herself. The stone walls of the office contained the shadows of late evening, the time where the sun has set but it is not quite night yet. Still smiling as if she were a predator who had sighted her prey, Integra took one last puff of her cigar and extinguished it with one sharp motion in the ashtray. Leaning forward she beckoned to the scared officer.

"Sit down, Symes."

"Thankyou, ma'am."

"Now, I'm doing some research on how the Hellsing Organisation appeals to new recruits, so I wanted to ask you several questions."

"Erm, sure, ma'am."

"Excellent. So, what made you decide to join my organisation?"

"I, er, thought it might be fun, ma'am."

"Fun?" a frown appeared on her brow. Symes didn't notice it.

"Well, you know, a change. Something different. Almost a, er, challenge."

"Something more stimulating, perhaps?"

"Yeah, I mean who doesn't want to fight vampires and stuff? It's so cool, just like the superheroes on T.V."

The frown deepened. Still looking at the man, Integra picked up a pen and scribbled on a piece of paper to get rid of this man as soon as it was possible. Treating her organisation as playtime indeed! She would not have her organisation treated as a comic.

"So," the sly smile was back, "Did you join with any of your friends?"

"Only two from my unit joined with me."

"And you were with the SAS?"

"Yeah, but I was only there for about six months."

Even the SAS know when some-one is no good! Integra thought to herself. Well I will no longer be a dumping ground for their off cuts!

"Do you think the members of your former unit would mind if I talked to them about Hellsing? For research purposes, obviously."

"Not at all, we all understand the importance of research."

Indeed, research. Integra's smile widened.

"And where might we find them?"

Symes looked out the window. Over the last few minutes the shadows had lengthened considerably until it was what would be considered night. Glancing at his watch he realised the SAS squads would have finished for the day.

"They will be at the pub, ma'am."

"Which one?"

"The Lion's Arms, ma'am."

"Shall we pay them a visit then, Symes?" One stray point of light glinted off Integra's glasses and she had to stop herself laughing out loud. It was time for her to have some fun!

---

The shadows had congealed to darkness in Walter's office. Slowly he sorted the mail. It was a task he knew he should have done that morning but there had been more critical things that had to be done. He was also a lot slower than he used to be, but there was no way he was about to admit that to himself.

Sifting through the return addresses on Sir Integra's mail the retainer looked for something from the Queen. Anything. She may have sent a message of support during the trying times but she had still betrayed them in her actions. Not that either Walter or Integra blamed her, or had even thought of blaming her. Both knew the nightmarish tangle public relations and different corporations placed upon their monarch. Yet a lack of response indicated she continued to distance herself from them. And with the inquiry into the Judas almost complete, Walter wondered what would happen if she hadn't contacted them by the time the results reached Integra.

With a sigh the former Angel of Death passed a weary hand over his eyes. It seemed he would just have to negotiate his way over the tangles and snarls. And hope Integra didn't get any Alucard-inspired ideas as how to solve them.

---

The Lion's Arms Pub was dim and smoky. From the back came the sounds of pool balls chinking along with glasses of beer. Shouts and laughter filled every space and in the corner a television broadcasted the latest sporting game. Today it was football.

Sir Integral Wingates Hellsing strode into the room as if she owned everything, or would soon. Benjamin Symes followed after her, shorter than his master by a head. Stopping suddenly Integra whirled around to face her subordinate. Gulping audibly and wheeling on one foot, Integra had stopped that quickly, the man led her over to a collection of tables. A large group of loud, beefy men were telling dirty jokes. They froze when Integra stalked over to them looking down her nose at their rowdiness. Then she smiled, a turning up of the corners of her mouth only.

"Evening, gentlemen."

"Er, evening lady," one of the men replied.

Integra drew a box of cigars from her pocket. These were of the cheap variety, she would only make so many sacrifices.

"Would anyone like one?" her tone was light but there was a hint of steely malice beneath it.

All the men reached for one eagerly. Anyone who offered them smokes was instantly accepted by personalities already softened by alcohol. Pulling up a chair Integra glared at the seat. It did not pass her cleanliness test, but it seemed this was a sacrifice she would have to make. Her sitting down brought the previously hidden Symes into view.

"Hey, it's Ben Symes!" one of the men exclaimed.

"Didn't you join that Hellsing Organisation?"

"How is it?"

"Any babes?"

"What was that raucous at the Tower of London all about?"

Questions by the tipsy men were fired at random. Symes looked overwhelmed.

"The Hellsing Organisation was betrayed by a traitor at the Tower and employed the press as their accomplice," Integra answered for her officer.

"Ah, I hate it when that happens," one of the men sympathised, "The press are just a pack of rabid wolves attacking the organisations that keep them safe."

"Indeed," Integra answered.

"So come on, Symes! Tell us what Hellsing is like," another man encouraged.

"Er," the man snuck a hasty glance at his leader, "It's really great."

"What do you do?"

"We, er, fight vampires."

A couple of the drunker men laughed but the older, more experienced of them said nothing. They knew the forces they encountered were not all human.

"So what do you think of the SAS?" Integra asked, seemingly innocent.

"Aww, it's ok I suppose," one replied.

"The pay is pretty shit, oh, pardon me lady."

A frown flickered across Integra's face, but she hid it quickly.

"Shall I buy the next round of drinks?"

There were hearty cheers all-round and Integra brought Symes in to the table, placing a drink in one of his hands and pushing him towards some of the men. She was in luck that night, it seemed there were at least two units present.

A few rounds of drinks later and all the SAS soldiers were significantly drunk enough to have lost any inhibitions. Integra smirked to herself. Manipulation was so fun.

"So, such magnificent SAS soldiers as yourselves must have some future plans," Integra prompted them, "Rising up the ranks and such."

"I want to be a Commander!" one of the men slurred, almost out of it.

"Ever thought of the Hellsing Organisation?"

"Oh yeah," one of the men answered, "That's supposed to be really elitist, isn't it?"

"Only the very best," Integra replied.

"I wouldn't mind joining that," another man slurred.

"But doesn't it take years?" the man on his right asked.

"Actually," Integra replied, "As long as the talent is there it does not matter how long you have served."

"But how would we get in? The SAS never has any information about applying anymore."

"I happen to have some forms, that, once signed, would allow you into their interview process. It is rather exclusive, but I'm sure all of you could deal with that."

The men who had been looking slightly unsure instantly sat up straighter, they had pride after all! Integra hid a smile while she handed out the forms, they were all too drunk to read the fine print.

---

Alucard was half-hidden in a dark corner near the main staircase in the Hellsing mansion when Integra returned. She made no attempt to hide her smirk as she ascended the gold railed staircase to the second floor. Striding along the corridor the knight was joined by the vampire. He moved as the shadows themselves.

"Yet another beautiful night," he drawled slowly, a wide smirk spreading across his face as well.

"Indeed!" Integra replied, mocking him, "The kind of night that makes me feel like a bite of fun!"

Alucard laughed in his deep, low way, "Humans so easily give up their masters for new ones."

Integra's smile faded for a minute, a steely look flashing through her blue eyes, "No-one will ever steal people from my organisation!"

"I don't think anyone would dare," Alucard's murmur was too soft for his master to hear.

Integra's smirk returned as she felt the thick stack of signed papers. She was not the only one who could play dirty.

---

The half moon glinted off the rooves of tightly packed houses. Catching a window it was strangely prevented from penetrating into the room. Small gusts of wind tugged the edges of the window as it opened smoothly. There was a pause and complete silence descended. The darkness inside shifted, pulsed, and erupted in a flock of bats. Streaming out in a black mass they briefly obscured the moon and dispersed like pieces of shattered glass. In a few seconds the air was clear again and the soft sound of thousands of bat wings beating dissipated. Moonlight now fell into the room, creating a white splash along the empty wooden floor.

---

Seras Victoria fired a shot at the human-shaped target in one of Hellsing's training complexes. Today she was experimenting with a large revolver; Alucard had instructed her that she needed to be able to use more than one weapon competently if she was to become a master hunter. Seras herself was not sure if she wanted to be a master hunter, but it made sense to keep up the skills with a range of weapons she had learnt as a police officer. She took another shot and missed the heart-target by a few centimetres. The police had taught her to shoot, but they had not demanded the accuracy that Hellsing did. Her Halconnen Cannon was also not the best weapon to develop accuracy with as it rarely required such a precise hit. A direct one usually sufficed.

"Try to aim with your eyes more," a soft male voice said behind her as hands reached passed hers to reposition the gun, "Then all you need to do is pull the trigger."

Seras fired the gun and this time the bullet was true, embedding itself in the dummy's heart.

"Just slightly to the right, but much better, as you can see."

The vampire turned as the man released the gun into her hands. She found herself staring into the broad face of Hugh Johnson.

"It may sound idiotic, but to truly aim you must fuse your eyes and your gun. That way you find the true position of the target. Using them separately causes each to over-compensate for the other and you miss."

Seras just blinked.

"Yes, I do know it sounds stupid, but it works."

"Actually it makes quite a bit of sense," Seras replied.

"Well I'm glad I could help," Hugh moved away to find a gun for himself.

Seras tried again, this time she did not miss by quite as much. Drops of sweat forming on her forehead and a frown of concentration crinkling her brow Seras shot again. The bullet whizzed past the hole Hugh had helped her make, but clipped it as it went through. The tall man came and stood behind her.

"Much better," he said, Seras blushed slightly, "It will get better with practice."

He moved off to the next patrician and loaded. Seras turned to watch. Hugh fired repetitively, a volley of shots that never missed the target by more than a few millimetres. He was very good for a policeman; Seras wondered where he had trained. As Hugh paused to reload, the vampire interrupted him.

"Did you get accepted to Hellsing then?" she blushed; it was such a blindingly obvious question, only a complete idiot would need an answer. Hugh didn't seem to notice though.

"Yes, I was sent a letter this morning. They wanted everyone to start right away, which is why I'm here. Decided to get in a bit of training before we officially start tomorrow."

"Oh," Seras turned back and tried to focus on the target. This time it was Hugh who interrupted her.

"You been with Hellsing long yourself?"

"A time," Seras didn't know what to say.

"You must be pretty good though, to have survived that debacle at the Tower of London and everything."

"Well, um, yeah, I guess," Seras was getting uncomfortable. How did you usually tell guys that you were a vampire? Or that you weren't actually counted among the survivors as you were already dead? Desperate to try and change the subject she tried the only thing she could think of.

"So, why did you decide to join the Hellsing Organisation anyway?"

"I was there when they raided a warehouse a couple of years ago."

"Yeah?"

"One of my mates, he was in the same squad as me, was trapped inside. The rest of us had been pulled out; all I can remember is that something highly unusual had been in there. We though it was a drug gang because of all the reports of unusual behaviour. But when we got there it was something very different," Hugh shuddered, "There was dried blood all over the wall and in the far corner a body with its neck torn out. My mate, Dan, and I went to have a closer look while the rest tried to find the gang and any drugs. Dan bent right over the guy, he said there was no way he could be alive as he had lost almost all his blood. But then the body started moving! He was making guttural noises and waving his arms around. He grabbed Dan and was moaning terribly. We thought he was hurt and so Dan tried to get him to stand so he could lead him out. Then the moon came out from behind a cloud and his face was not that of a human."

"He was a ghoul," Seras supplied.

"Sorry, what?"

"A ghoul. When vampires drain a person of blood who has lost their virginity they become a ghoul, essentially a mindless slave to the vampire that created them."

"Oh, what happens to those that are, er, virgins?"

Seras blushed, "They become vampires."

"Oh, I see."

"So you and Dan were attacked by a ghoul. Unfortunately there is no way to reverse the process."

"Whatever it was, it wasn't human," Hugh shuddered again, "It grabbed Dan and forced him to the ground. That was when we heard screaming coming from the upper levels. Confusion broke out and we were ordered to retreat. I tried to grab Dan, but the ghoul was too strong and whatever we tried it clung to him. It was trying to hit him over the head with a piece of brick. Almost everyone was out but I couldn't get Dan."

Seras looked at the floor, remembering her own desperate attempt to save a Hellsing soldier from a bomb in a warehouse. A mistake she would never forgive herself for making.

"I couldn't get Dan and the screams upstairs were changing. I dread to think what was going on up there. Then I felt someone grab me from behind and haul me out. There was smoke everywhere and all I could hear was gun fire. The man dragged me out and I saw that his uniform was that of the Hellsing Organisation. Up until then I had thought he was one of the police. He was a real professional, left me a little way away from the warehouse and told me he would go back in for Dan."

"Dan made it then?" Seras asked, anxious for a happy ending.

"No," Hugh's voice was a whisper, "They brought him out and there was blood everywhere. In total that night we lost seven good men, Hellsing only lost one which they attributed to the fact we had stirred everything up.

"I'm sorry," again Seras didn't know what to say.

"It was all the fault of our commander," there was bitterness in Hugh's voice now, "He messed up, got us involved in something he should have realised wasn't right. After that I vowed I would train harder, get better, become the best commander and earn a place among the highest of the elite. I would do so to avenge Dan, with me as leader I would never let anything like that happen again."

There was silence for a while.

"I see," Seras finally replied.

Hugh just nodded and returned to loading his gun. Seras tried a few more shots but couldn't get her concentration back. In the end she gave up and left. Hugh was still concentrating furiously, ear muffs pulled down tight. Seras sighed.

---

The spirit is waving a sign that announces he is on strike.

Seras: (pauses) Why aren't you saying anything? You usually have too much to say.

Spirit: I'm on STRIKE! (points at sign)

Seras: But you're still here doing the ending with me. By appearing and talking you are actually doing your job.

Spirit: I never said I had to be useful! I'm deliberately doing it badly.

Seras: (mutters) I don't think anyone would notice the difference.