Youth and Innocence
Chapter 8
Standard disclaimer: All characters belong to Kohta Hirano and his publishers. They may rest in peace knowing that I make no money off of this.
8.
Sweat rolled down Walter's body as he finished his reps. His body ached. Last night he'd faced more ghouls than he had in years. He was almost tempted to write up his kills like they used to do in the ready room; it must've been decades since they did that. Who had started that? Lyman was it? Long since gone, of course, fallen from a roof during a mission. Fallen or been thrown, either way the result was the same. It was testimony to the way things had calmed down that the only recent death was Bennett's. That or they had all gotten better over the years. The thought brought a smile to the Hellsing Trash man as he started another set.
The meeting with Integra had gone better than expected. His plan, still in its rough form, appealed to her. She'd been director for less than five days and she showed some brilliance. He'd always known she would, but he wished she'd had years to slip into the role. Arthur had wanted to pass along so much. Walter almost stopped his routine at the sudden stabbing in his heart, but after a moment decided that it was of the emotional not physical variety. Toughing through that pain was what they all had to do.
Last night's clean up had been satisfying, at least. Since the site was such a large one, with many ghoul corpses to deal with and hundreds of coffins to explain, he'd decided to torch the place. Alucard was wary, of course, but he seemed to enjoy the end result as much as Walter. The army handled damage control before civilians arrived. Destruction was limited to the infested warehouse, so all's well that ends well. He'd deal with the bruises and sore muscles as best he could. They'd taken down forty seven ghouls and he'd killed three lesser vampires. Alucard must've killed hundreds by the looks of the warehouse, plus the ten or so he took off of Walter. It was good having him back, problematic but good. He'd advised Integra to reconsider her veil of secrecy. He wasn't sure if any of the current agents had been aware of Alucard, he was not by nature a discreet creature. Still, not many went out on missions with him, back in the day.
Knowing his own limits, Walter decided to skip the next round through the gym. He passed Leung on his way to the showers. "Tough night, eh Walter?" Pat Leung was a compact, but powerful man. He'd come on when Walter was almost a twenty year veteran, but they got along well.
"The cultists didn't have time to flee this time. You've been to some of the nests they cleared out of, haven't you?" He watched the smaller man rub his bald head, smiling.
"Frustrating ain't it? At least you got to kill a few!" Leung reminded Walter of a shark sometimes, especially when he spoke of killing. The man had been through a bit of a rough patch in the seventies, crisis of conscious or drugs, or some such. He came out of it leaner and meaner.
Walter agreed and waved as he went to clean off. Perhaps he could recommend Pettrus get Leung to teach the girl some hand to hand as well as the meditating he did so much. Good for pain control as he'd taught Walter long ago. Integra would need that.
"Hey thar, Miss Integger. Sorry 'bout yer 'da," the familiar face of the groom greeted her as she came back from a trot around the riding ring. Her father had loved hunting and made sure she could ride at a young age. She hoped Bennett had been wrong about getting rid of the horses. She could live without dogs, but horses? They had the family horses, even her mother's, and her father had a breeding program that she'd have to look into. An odd family memory struck her: It was years ago while her mother was still with her. They were sitting in the second floor study, Walter, she and her parents. Everyone was reading something and the adults were all smoking. Her father was telling Walter about a secret eugenics or some such Nazi thing that had just been excavated in Poland. It was a small news item, but he sounded so disgusted by it. Her mother chimed in that he didn't seem to mind experimenting on his own creatures. The men froze, her father's face in shock and Walter's was suddenly blank. What struck Integra was how out of proportion their reaction was. Her mother felt it too as she asked, "What? Your breeding program, with the horses?" Everything went back to normal at that, but it creeped her out to see her father so taken off guard.
"Hullo, Skip!" She wondered why he was watching her so carefully as she jumped from the saddle. Her horse snorted at her and she rubbed the mare's neck in a friendly way. Then again, everyone on the staff was worried about her, it seemed. "Yeah, thanks." She was still wearing dark colors, although her riding clothes didn't reflect that. She'd change into her mourning dress before the scheduled meeting. Integra turned her attention to the leather straps on her saddle, startled when she heard him speak again.
"If thar's anythan'..." he stopped, red faced. His thick accent came mainly from his dad, he'd been raised right here on the mansion grounds, but his father was from the north. There'd been a connection between the families that Skip had only heard hints of. Some help that the Hellsings had provided in the past. His dad was a loyal man and there was no complaining about the lowly nature of barn work. Skip hoped to be a great trainer, but if he stayed here his whole life, he wouldn't mind that either. Especially now that Integra was getting older. Last year, he'd wouldn't have paid her any mind. She'd just been the kid. Good with horses, but not exceptionally so. Now?
"Oh, thank you," she blushed too, not sure why. He was only a few years older than she. Maybe that was it? He was almost the only young face on the mansion grounds. There was a waiter in his twenties inside the house as well, and the staff children who came now and then when their parents couldn't find sitters, but that was all. Skip wasn't really handsome, just plain in a pleasant way. He had red hair that tended toward the unruly and his chin was a bit weak. Sometimes he tried to grow facial hair, but she expected that his father made him shave. "Um, well. I'll just put Bennie back..."
He moved to help her as she led the gray mare to the stall. Fresh hay and feed had been set out, and Bennie seemed anxious to get to it. Pulling the tack off with Skip's help, Integra shook her hair out of her helmet and watched as his eyes followed the movement. This was new. It seemed warm in the stables now. It had been cool before, but there was too much heat in the small stall, so close together. She didn't want to run, but neither could she tarry with him, be alone with him. "I'd better get back, can you do the brush and curry?" Integra knew about puberty, she'd had the bleeding starting last year, but she'd never felt anything for Skip before. She felt his eyes on her as she headed back to the mansion and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.
Alucard awoke quickly, as he always did. After drawing some stored power from his domain, he searched the building for his master. Following her anger last night, he wanted to keep his contact limited. That plan changed once he heard her addressing questions from the agents. There was a question concerning himself? Temptation is a harsh mistress. If pushed away, she often redoubles her efforts. It is best to give in to her early and often. At least, that was the thought fueling his smile as he emerged behind Integra in the large meeting room.
To their credit, the agents all kept their cool. Several weapons were drawn, but Walter motioned for everyone to sit back down. Alucard came around her and made a big show of bending to her on one knee, his head bowed. "My Master." She played her part, although he felt her fear. This time it was not his nearness that disturbed her, but the public performance of his servitude. He heard her swallow hard.
"Alucard. These are the men who serve Hellsing. Each and every one of them is under your protection, you are not to harm them." She spread her arms to encompass the room and he took advantage of her right hand, gripping it to himself as he rose and looked out at them. She kept her cool, though he could feel tentative tugs as he stood next to her.
He kept his form as normal as possible, even down to dulling the glow of his eyes. The men clearly mistrusted him. He felt open hostility from several and open curiosity from one. They all looked to be younger than Walter but not by much. Alucard smiled, keeping all but his fang tips hidden. He looked each man in the eye, trying to decode their anger towards his presence from their anger at Integra's new plans. She could easily change her orders to him if they needed to cull the herd. Walter had proven himself capable of removing dangers without guilt. Alucard released Integra's hand as she was again pulling, in what she'd hoped was a discreet manner, causing her to bump into Walter, who had stepped back into line with them once he was certain no one would start an unfortunate fight.
"Likewise," she was pleased to see Mr. Pettrus smiling in an encouraging way at her, "you all will form the core of our commanding officers and I'm asking you to set the example of respecting Alucard's expertise at combating the undead." There were some polite coughs that expressed dissension, then silence until one of the larger men stood up.
"With all due respect, Miss, I've been killing filth like him for twice the years you've been alive. Now you want me to work with one?" He shook his head.
Integra tried to pull up his file in her mind. "Reggie" Reynolds, age 50, joined up about thirty years ago. Solid in the field, favored a combination of axe and pistol. Not the sort she'd want on a sensitive mission, like taking out a vampire near civilians, but Walter spoke well of him. She liked the way he challenged her with what they all must be thinking. She looked up at Alucard, but his mask was firmly in place, he didn't seem to be reacting to the insult. "Imagine having one of the most powerful weapons against them and not using it," she reasoned. "Alucard is bound to this family and follows my orders, just as you all do." There was some shifting among the men. A quick look at Walter showed some strain on his face as well. Maybe that was the wrong tack to take, but it was the way she felt it had to be. I can't treat these men as friends or equals, they have to respect me, she reasoned, child though I may be. Integra crossed her arms, daring someone else to speak.
From the corner of his eye, Walter watched Alucard most carefully. His orders were clear, none of these men were to be harmed. The seals should keep him from doing anything against the agents, but Walter had his silver wires laced and ready.
"Lady Hellsing," a small man began. She remembered him as Patrick Leung, originally from Hong Kong, orphan, brought in due to his excellence in martial arts and an unfortunate run in with the Hellsing crew as they cleared out a nest near his neighborhood. "I applaud your vision of Hellsing with a paramilitary army, but I have severe reservations about your relationship with... Well, you are young and haven't dealt with them, but vampires, they're not, I mean, you can't-"
"I can and I will!" Integra exploded with anger. Her fist shook at the older men, "don't patronize me. I've seen this beast in action." Her finger pointed up at the vampire. "I am alive because of him! He will serve Hellsing and you will get over that. If you can't, you can just walk right out that door." She crossed her arms and stared down the larger men. It took all of the agents and Walter by surprise, but Alucard chuckled quietly, a satisfied grin spreading across his face. No one moved for some time. From the back, hands began to clap. Integra wasn't sure who started it, but soon they all stood clapping, some less enthusiastically than Mr. Pettrus. "Right then, dismissed." She turned and exited, Alucard close behind.
"Well done, Master," he said once they were in her office. He felt her annoyance at the compliment, did she consider it condescending? He would leave it for now. "May I inquire about your new army?"
She swirled to face him, her anger from last night tied with her burst of confidence from the meeting. "Why don't you drag it out of my mind, then!" In the silence that followed, the intercom on her desk chirped into life.
"Integra, darling, it's tea time. Are you there?"
Her finger lingered over the button for just a second before, "Yes, Mary?"
"Would you like me to bring it up to you or will you join me in your study? I wouldn't normally impose, but I've been over your projected schedule and I think we should-"
Integra picked up the line, "I'll be down to join you in a few minutes. Thank you." She turned back to the vampire, his face partially obscured by his shoulder length hair.
"Sir Hellsing, you wound me." He was impressed that she kept eye contact this time, despite how it unnerved her.
"Well, if you must know, the men are aging and I don't want to have to depend on you so much that I can't keep control over you," honesty, she'd read, was very important to vampires. She couldn't find her father's books, but that didn't keep her from reading as much as she could find last night. She was rewarded with what seemed to be a genuine smile on his face. "Now, if you'll excuse me?"
He nodded, "Orders, my Master?"
She stopped walking to the door and considered. "Would you mind going over the events last night and those papers on my desk to see if you can find a pattern? I'll be back from tea in an hour and we can discuss it then. Please don't leave the grounds until we talked." She turned to leave and missed his low bow.
"My pleasure, Master," he said to the air after she'd left. Still, he knew she heard.
Tom Pettrus was not a small man, but he jumped as quickly as a gymnast when the call came in. "Three limousines? Yes, by all means, let them in!" The security company that manned the front gate should know that by now, he thought. His body was already in motion, running down the hallways to alert Integra. Walter was opening the study door as Pettrus tried to slow down, causing a minor collision that they both were too distracted to care about. "The Knights," he huffed, but the look on Walter's face told him he needn't of rushed.
"Come in, Tom. I was just alerting Integra to their unscheduled visit," he didn't want to scare her or upset the governess as the two finished dinner. He couldn't have avoided the first and the latter presupposed that Mary had enough brains to worry over such matters.
"Ah, Tom, good you're all here, the very people I need to change-" Mary stopped as Walter raised one hand, palm out.
"This is not the time. My Lady, we are needed in your office immediately," he could imagine what the governess would be on about. No doubt she wanted Integra to cut back on her schooling. The girl would be ruined by bad advice, now was not the time to slow down. He knew what it was to lose everything in one stroke. She needed focus. She needed challenge and she'd be getting that in spades. "Pettrus, please go to the door and give us a few minutes before Patel escorts them in." There was a slight tensing in both Integra and Tom at his tone, but he brushed that aside. "Go."
Soon Mary was the only one left, sitting bewildered in an empty room.
Alucard lay back on the gravelly rooftop. The lights of the city kept his view from being all he remembered, but the sky was beautiful none the less. He relaxed his form and his mind, taking in all he could of the swirling activity around him. The world outside the mansion was in the first bloom of night. Creatures went on about their routines, living and dying as they should. Within the walls, his master fretted with her minders. Silly child!
He felt the comings and goings of the staff. A familiar pang reminded him that he wasn't to leave the grounds. It wasn't that he was hungry, Alucard dismissed hunger altogether. He'd eaten quite well of late. Having gone almost twenty years between meals, he'd made a vindictive point of eating. There was even a pack of medical blood in his pocket from the lorry he'd raided the night before. Truth was that he could go months between meals without damage, any mature vampire could. No, the pang was deeper. It was servitude itself that pained him. Still, she had such potential! He chuckled at himself, perhaps I am that 'fickle creature,' as her ancestor called me. He rolled his body up and rose to another perch.
Bringing the case she'd asked him to think about to mind, he was quite certain that there were several vampires involved. Perhaps one would be a challenge, but probably not. The quality of their recruits, and hence their judgment, pointed in the other direction. Unraveling their work would give him pleasure, though. There was solace in that. He'd wait until the three Knights left before approaching her again. Like a statue he sat, filtering through the sounds of the night.
"...with Walter Dollnez in charge, in a caretaker capacity until your eighteenth birthday. The vampire, Alucard can be released at that time, if you so choose." The report smacked her desk as the man finished.
Integra quickly surveyed the room. Pettrus stood behind her, a frown creasing his face. She'd figured out earlier that he was no fan of Walter. Standing next to her, Walter's face was unreadable. For years she'd seen that look on his face and was no closer to figuring it out now. She knew from his personnel report that he'd been trained as a butler and valet, so perhaps that was part of his training, that non-look? The three men who faced her, the ones that would take Hellsing from her, looked smug and certain. They talked to Walter, in fact, dismissing her altogether. A thought nestled itself inside her throat and stuck there, maybe Walter wants this? No. Impossible. Or was it?
"For the time being, then," Sir Islands said as he picked up his briefcase.
"Sir Hellsing?" Walter turned to her, eyebrows raised. Isn't she going to stand up for herself, he wondered. He could see the shock and anger, but where was the reaction? She had defended herself admirably with the agents and the fact that she was not yet drinking herself into a stupor meant she must be handling Alucard well, better at least than Arthur. Her eyes met his briefly before she turned back to the men, the blue skies reflected pain and a part of him winced.
"You have decided this?" Integra wasn't surprised to see the bobbing heads of the men standing. She was spared some moments as her butler entered, carrying a tray of tea and biscuits. Pettrus relieved him of it, but the social burden remained. The Knights were clearly not here for a social call, but to send the tray back would be a faux pas. She waved her hand at the treats, but no one moved.
"Really, Integra, we're doing this for you," Sir Jacob Bolcom, one of the younger men on the Convention of Twelve, said somberly. "You don't know the difficulties and you would be better served improving yourself at this age." Bennett's report revealed Bolcom to be one of the men who supported her uncle's attempt to take control of Hellsing, although there was no reason to think he wanted her dead. Still, he clearly didn't want her in charge.
"We promised your father we'd look after you," Sir Grayson Newcastle tried for a friendly look. "I have girls of my own and wouldn't wish this duty on anyone, much less a thirteen year old."
That is exactly the wrong thing to say, thought Walter with a swallowed smile. He watched as her dusky skin went two shades darker.
"My Father," Integra bit off each word, spitting them back out at the ones who would take her birthright away, "put me in charge. Personally. On his deathbed. Who are you to take that away?"
"Yes, well. I think we've all been given a bit to think about, don't you?" Sir Islands shrank back with the other men, "We'll have a formal round table on Monday. That way, we can get you back in school next term and all will be well." The middle aged Knight turned to Walter, "see to the vampire, Walter."
"This way, gentlemen," Mr. Patel's deep voice resonated back into the office.
Integra still stood, almost forgetting how to breathe. "W... Walter?" She turned to look at him as her secretary came up on the other side of her. "Can they do that?" She let Tom help her sit once Walter nodded, his face thoughtful. She knew that of course, they ran England, they could do most anything.
"Where is Alucard?" Walter asked. "We'll need-"
"No!" The force of her fist hitting the desk propelled her out of her seat, empty teacups clinking as they jumped about. "That I won't allow! No! I am responsible and I won't let you do it." Her body spoke of barely contained anger, more than she had mustered when her directorship was threatened.
"My Lady, no-"
"You heard her, Dollnez, now why don't you get out?" Pettrus moved to open the hallway door.
Momentarily shaken, Walter walked towards it. "Miss Integra?" He felt stung by the wariness in her look. She said nothing, but pointed. Since he had been her age, he'd served the Hellsings. Did she think he'd suddenly change? He sighed, she needed time, though there was precious little of that now. "As you wish, my Lady." Walter bowed as he exited.
Pettrus contained himself well enough not to slam the door behind the Trash man, but was caught by surprise as Alucard chose that moment to enter. He solidified through the same door, though in fact he'd been observing for a few minutes.
"Sir Hellsing," his senses were on alert, watching the large man who lurked behind as well as the petite girl in front of him.
"It doesn't look like I will ever be now," there was just a trace of humor in her voice as she pointed at the slim book on her desk. She plopped back into her father's chair and watched as the vampire absorbed the information, flipping pages with gloved fingers. Sealing him away was wrong, no matter how annoying he could be. There was an aching in her chest at the very idea. He was hers, even more than Hellsing was. The organization belonged to the nation, to the monarch and could be disbanded at a whim. She'd gotten upset about being tied to him by blood, but the connection was all she could really call her own. Integra felt the shifting of Mr. Pettrus as he came to stand behind her. No doubt he'd have knives readied. Paranoia, her father had explained, was a useful trait in the agents and they were always armed. As a child he'd warned her of trying to play too much around them. Except for Uncle Walter... now a second traitorous uncle. Perhaps her father had bad judgment?
Alucard held the report, "This does not preclude your knighting, Sir Hellsing, only postpones it." He knew that to a child, five years might as well be fifty. "It seems like a fair plan to help you gradually take command." He let his inflection rise, indicating that she could argue with him if she chose.
"I do not have the leisure to take command slowly, Hellsing is mine and I must run it." Integra felt the nervousness of her secretary again as Alucard moved around the desk. "Tom, would you take the tray back, I don't think anyone will be needing more tea tonight."
Alucard stepped back to let the large man pass, then wandered to look out the window. He enjoyed the man's discomfort as his decision played out on his face, to stay and protect Integra or get the hell away from the vampire. One could hardly fault the poor agent for taking the tray. "I'll be right back, sir."
Integra turned to the vampire, leaning against the large windows. "But what of you? What would you have me do? I can't let them put you away... again."
There was an unspoken question in there, one he'd leave alone for the time being. The question burned in her mind. He'd let her father explain the imprisonment, if ever she found the journals. "You needn't trouble yourself over me. Think of your own desires." He went as near to her as he could without making her nervous. He noted that got him closer than it had before. Good, she was getting comfortable with him. "You have friends?"
She nodded sullenly, opening a drawer full of cards, "these are some from my schoolmates." She pulled some of their names up in her mind, but most of their faces remained elusive.
"Don't you want to see them again? Enjoy your classes? Play sports with girls your age? Dance with boys?"
"Of course I do!" Her shout drew a smile from him and she realized he'd been baiting her, playing devil's advocate. Time to try a different tack. "Do you think Walter will run Hellsing better than I can?"
The vampire shrugged, "Probably, but it's not Hellsing I care for, child."
Her heart lurched. His vermilion eyes held no rancor, no teasing. He looked at her with a look that she might give to Bennie after a good run. Integra looked down, blushing slightly. His words hung in the air. What would a vampire care for, aside from killing and chaos? She was getting better at reading him, was this a good thing? She wasn't sure. She must be reading too much into this, assuming a vampire could care for anything but blood. Back to the point at hand, "Why would Walter turn on me? Power?"
Alucard tossed the Convention of Twelve's advice in the trash can. "What makes you think he has?" He walked around, moving to the corner chair he liked, the one with a direct view outside.
Integra walked closer. "Well," she paused, biting her lip, "he stands to gain from their plan. It didn't come as a surprise to him and he is close to the Knights. He told me about working for them when he prepped me before Father's funeral."
"I work for Hellsing because I am enslaved, bound." His gaze made Integra step back, the muted anger in those orbs wasn't in his voice, but it was real. She felt it. "Why does Walter work for you?"
"He... It's all he's ever... for my father and... But Uncle Richard also worked for Hellsing!" Her eyes shone with the hurt she felt. Twice betrayed by the men she grew up with. No, she would resist this. School was something she was prepared to give up. Childhood was something she was prepared to give up. Hellsing was not.
"Hold your friends close, and your enemies closer, Master," he smiled at her, watching emotions play in her large azure eyes.
"Like you?"
He was enjoying this discussion much more than the one he'd come to have, about the case at hand. Yes, he'd lived by that motto, both in his human days and in his unlife. As a no-life King, his first wife had been such an enemy, a vampire bent on beating down the 'upstart' in the Carpathian mountains. Beautiful creature, but that was not why he'd courted, broken and wed her. He kept her where he could control the damage she would do to him. Centuries later, her last reproof to him had been that he didn't love her anymore. Of course, he had never loved her. Still, he mourned her loss as he did the loss of his other wives and the dear ones he lost too soon, Lucy and Mina. All lost to the great grandfather of the child before him, the child who felt such a deep sense of ownership of him. It touched him. "Yes, my Master. It is safest to keep counsel with your enemies, to hold them close so that they can do little harm to you. Bide your time, then claim your rightful place."
Integra sighed as she rose and walked to the door, "Then I suppose I should speak with Walter."