Youth and Innocence
Chapter 5
Standard disclaimer: All characters belong to Kohta Hirano and his publishers. I have no stake in them.
5.
"Miss Hellsing?" Walter tapped at her door again.
"Go away."
Her governess stood beside Walter and he would've loved to wipe that smug look off of her face. Thoughts of wires and Mary's eyes bulging due to asphyxiation filled his head. Her look said 'I told you so' as she had, several times this morning. She advocated giving Integra the week to mourn before starting up her duties and he'd pointed out that the organization didn't work that way. He'd given her the whole of yesterday to lounge about. Lives were on the line. "My lady, this is unacceptable."
"Who do you think you work for?" Integra threw a pillow at the door as she asked the rhetorical question. "If you value that job, leave me alone!" She hadn't done well on the debate team but she'd learned enough through the years, listening to and arguing with her father and uncle.
Without raising his voice, "Do not threaten me, young lady. I work for the Hellsing Organization and the Royal Order of Protestant Knights who work at the behest of the Queen. You would do well to remember that you work for her as well." Walter watched Mary turn an ugly shade of pink, presumably in shock that he'd speak to her charge thus. "You have your father's secretary waiting in your office and I have charged your servants with moving your belongings to your father's room. If you would be so kind as to vacate?"
"On whose order? Remember, I give the orders now Walter and I am ordering you to leave." She stood now, almost wobbling, and stared at the closed door. Yesterday she had only risen long enough to pee and then back to bed with her head under the covers, wallowing in self-pity. "No one gives me orders, Agent Dollnez. Remember that."
He sighed. This was to be expected with teenagers, but still. "On your Father's orders. Now get up and get working." Silence from within the room told him that he'd struck the nerve he was seeking.
"Now Integra, dear. I'm sure he means for the best," Mary tried the door handle again. They both had keys, but she and Walter were trying to let Integra keep some dignity. She'd opposed the idea from the start, really, but once this course of action was decided, Mary felt she had to back the old man up. "Do get up, love. At least to eat something." They were the only parents the poor girl had left. "The chef's done you up a scrummy little fry up."
Walter reached for the pack of fags he carried, before remembering that he was trying to quit. If he had to listen to Mary much longer he would quit quitting. Damn that bloody vampire.
There was no sound for a time except for the murmurings of the governess. Then the door opened and Integra, looking both disheveled and humbled asked, "Would you mind asking Mr. Bennett to wait just a few more minutes for me?"
Walter half bowed and kept his smile hidden. "Of course, Miss."
When she walked into the director's office, she somehow expected to see her father sitting there. He would either be busy and stern, or relaxed and indulgent. She couldn't ever predict which. Instead of his reassuring blue eyes, Integra was greeted by stacks of paper which had grown considerably. Three days of news, dispatches and reports were piled up high. Where would she find the time to sort through all of this? Her despair turned to mild disgust as the doorway to the anteroom opened and Gerald Bennett walked in. He'd always given her the creeps, following her da' all the time with his folders and clipboards always at the ready. Now he looked to her expectantly.
"Dear Miss Integral," his sibilance created little whistles when he hit the letter 's,' just one more thing to get on her nerves. "You have my deepest sympathies."
"Thank you, Mr. Bennett."
"Please, Miss, call me Gerald." His bushy eyebrows were raised, as though waiting for more from her. When she couldn't think of anything, he went on, "Uh, the first thing I'd like to speak of is the issue of the thank you notes. You have received hundreds of cards and approximately ninety plants and flower arrangements and... nearly forty fruit baskets. We have them listed for you, here, broken down by personal and business relations." He was rifling through the papers on one clipboard, before switching to a manila folder. "Simple Hellsing cards would be best, of course." The small man turned to nod at Walter as he joined them. Walter was not the world's tallest man, but compared to Mr. Bennett, he was a giant. "And there's your signature needed on these for the fallen agents, Miss. I have some documents for your records. The police inquiry is closed with a finding of self defense in the death of Richard Hellsing. The sheriff wishes you God speed. However, I'd like to see to a small headstone for your uncle." His beady eyes watched her.
"Yes, of course," she glanced at the trashcan which was mercifully empty of family photos, "for appearances." She sat down, almost lost behind the wall of Hellsing paperwork. Bennett had to come around the desk and hand her several folders. Like most of the Hellsing staff, he favored gloves, but his were customized as he had a few fingers missing. Integra suppressed a shudder, as she always did when he was close.
"Well, I was thinking more to keep his spirit quiet-like, no need for an angry ghost around if you can help it. And here's the report on the current level of agent staffing. I've included photos as you requested, ma'am." He opened the folder to show her. "The payroll is automatic, but your signature will be required on these expenditures," more papers, more folders piled up in front of her.
Integra caught Walter's eye as he leaned against the wall opposite her desk. He was trying not to laugh, but she saw his shoulders shake just a touch as one pile of Teletypes began to unroll, jarred loose by a report on this month's budget. "Thank you, Gerald," she rushed out in one of his few silent moments, "I'll see how much of this I can get through." She paused to consider the major issue weighing on her mind, considering how close he was to her father. "Are you aware of the… any new… um, an agent?"
Walter coughed, drawing her secretary's attention, "I believe she's referring to the vampire, Gerald." He watched understanding dawn on the odd fellow's face.
"Ooooooh. Oh bugger." Bennett looked between Integra and Walter for a time, finally sitting down in one of the chairs across from the desk, visibly shaken. Integra had to stand to see him. "Well then. Ah. It's been ahhh…" He put a hand to his head, as if to soothe a headache. After nearly a minute, he straightened up his back, "Let's see, we'll need to place the dogs, hmm, horses to be safe," he began flipping more papers and taking notes. "Yes, I'll get that started, then."
"The dogs?"
The secretary looked to Walter, willing him to answer her. "There's a connection, Miss Integra, even without the control art restrictions being lifted, he has a link with canines and other animals..." it was clear he'd lost her. "We'll speak about it later."
Bennett's eyebrows remained low, casting a shadow over his eyes. When he raised them, he looked straight at Integra. "Are you sure, Miss? No disrespect, but… He's not a pet, Miss. He's, you know. I don't need to tell you, do I? Safer with him gone, ma'am." At her silence he added, "Have you warned the staff as well?" More note taking followed.
"I think this would be best kept as a secret, Gerald. Don't you?"
Both Walter and Bennett looked at her, momentarily startled, before Walter nodded. "He's managed that before, but it depends on how much control you can keep, Integra."
A dark look passed over the secretary's face, but he kept his own counsel. To change the topic as quickly as she could, Integra moved on, "I need you to coordinate with my governess and schedule tutors starting next week. I'll need to push straight through my studies as rapidly as I can. I had my things sent on from school when I came back, but do see to canceling my tuition for next semester." This would be hard, but it was the only way she could see to do it. Hellsing would be her life now.
Bennett rose, gripping the side of his chair. "Right away, ma'am." As Walter opened the door for him, he hissed, "I don't think I can take it, Walter. She doesn't even know about the restrictions!" The two men stopped just outside the door and he went on, still in a whisper, "he'll come for me, I know it. It's all right for you; you're happy you are. Don't bother denying." The little man allowed no protest and Walter knew it would be in vain. Bennett was a former agent with a limited amount of heightened senses, what some would call ESP. Formerly used for interrogations, he moved to his current position following a serious breakdown. "You all see him as a man; he can appear as such, but to me…" The man stood, holding his head in his hands and Walter resisted the urge to put a hand on his shoulder. "The screaming, it's only bearable when he sleeps!"
"Where would you go?" That was the question the agents often asked each other after a rough mission. No active agent ever had though, except in a body bag.
Gerald must've been thinking about this for a while, possibly since Arthur became sick, because he had a ready answer. "The 'family' still travels the tinker routes. Go back to palmistry maybe."
Walter read the twitching in the small man's eyes and gripped him gently by the shoulder. Still speaking low and calmly, he guided the man out of the waiting room and into the hallway, "We've known each other a long time, haven't we?" The scared look coming across the secretary's face was testament to his empathetic skills. "And in that time, we have both been quite close to the Hellsing family, haven't we? They saved us both, really. So why, may I ask, did you not tell me about Richard's treachery?" Both men knew that to deny it would be futile. Walter's hand was still on Bennett's shoulder, giving the little man a glimpse into the executioner's blank conscience. The blood fled from Bennett's usually ruddy face.
"Between you and that creature, I don't know who's worse," his throat was tight, raising his pitch unnaturally. Papers shifted in his arms. He wanted to get out of the mansion at all costs, but didn't dare try to run.
Walter cracked a smile and released his grip. "Good. That's what I've always liked about you, Gerald; I can drop the pretense." He watched the man nod slowly and twist his head to look up at him. "I need to know who his allies were. All of them, here and on the council." Walter's left hand moved to his pocket, threading one strand of wire between his fingers. "Shall we go to your office?"