Youth and Innocence

Chapter 9

Standard disclaimer: All characters belong to Kohta Hirano and his publishers. I have no stake in them.

9.

Arthur Hellsing had very specific ideas about running a civilized killing organization. For example, Integra knew he was particular about the housing of the agents, rejecting their dormitory style rooms in favor of revamped servant housing. He also abhorred cubicles, so each agent had a small office near the communication rooms. She'd been privy to dinner conversations in which costs came up and he'd firmly denounced such measures as self defeating. "What is saved in money is wasted in terms of morale," he'd said. That was why she stood outside the open door of Walter's office rather than eavesdropping near a cubicle. She could've patched into the switchboard to listen, but she was here to speak with him directly. So she stood silently and listening in on his private conversation.

"You're a short timer yourself, Ferguson, right?" He paused, pleased at how helpful the General had been. "You may want to consider moving over here, once your term is up. Pretty hard for our lot to think of days on the links, eh?" He listened, flipping through a notepad full of names as the old soldier thought out loud about various retirement ideas. "You'd be in on the start of things here, though, that's one consolation. You'd be in charge of getting things done, not like the army. Our leader is young, open to change, I think you'd like her." He didn't want to hard sell the position, but this officer would be a catch for a small paramilitary. "Thanks, you too and keep in touch, thanks again for the list." He leaned back in his chair, removed his monocle and rubbed the bridge of his nose before speaking. "You may feel free to enter, Miss Integra."

She almost jumped, but composed herself before moving into the doorway. "So, you knew I was there?" Had he complemented her just now knowing she was listening?

"Of course, Miss. It's part of what you pay me for, isn't it? I may not have a vampire's senses, but I can smell your perfume. Now, how may I assist you?" His voice sounded tight, all business. His hand gestured toward the chair behind him, but she remained standing. Mary should be proud, he thought, her posture's perfect.

"Right," she'd come to apologize, but her suspicions wouldn't let go, "so you're lining up your army?"

"Yours, my Lady," he clenched back his ire, remembering her youthfulness. "Even in the worst case scenario, I'd only be watching Hellsing while you studied." He raised his hand to stop the storm he saw brewing on her pretty face. "But it is hardly certain that it'll come to that. I have some ideas, if you'd be so kind as to hear them this time?"

Integra prided herself on knowing when to close her mouth. As he'd said, she paid him, at least for the time being, she might as well listen. She inclined her head, but before he could begin, another agent came running up the hallway.

"Walter! Are you on the Vax?" They had a computer network to share information within the organization, though it was pretty slow. "Oh, hello, Ms. Hellsing."Agent Leung focused on her as he neared the office. "Am I interrupting, Walter?" He didn't look unhappy about it if he were.

Walter waved his hand, dismissing concern, "What is it?"

Leung handed him a strip of computer paper, its perforations torn in the excitement. "Your mole is finally paying off! He's intercepted this and, as you can see, it's promising."

"Or a trap," Walter muttered and Leung's grin widened as he watched Walter read the papers.

Integra watched the men interacting in a way she usually didn't get to see. Walter did have a sense of command with the other agents, she thought. He was comfortable with them, but that was to be expected, they relied on each other in the field. She wouldn't be able to have that unless she was one of them. They discussed strategy as she stood, feeling left out. She perked up as Walter reached for the phone again.

"This is Father Baker, is an Emily McMillan there? Oh, well I'm pleased to catch you at home. Yes? Well, some friends asked me to call; you had some questions? Yes, that's him." Walter was writing a name and passing the note to Leung who shrugged his shoulders. "So when would you like to... no, I don't think this is the sort of thing I can discuss here, on the phone. Yes, I see, well as it happens, I was headed there tonight... after a meeting, would you like to- Yes, that might be nice, a touch of food would be lovely." He was internalizing his act, as he always had to. Soon he'd begin to feel peckish, despite having eaten earlier. "Yes, well I'll look for you there, then. Goodbye, Emily."

Leung let out a long breath as Walter hung up the phone. "Quick work, that. So, if it's a trap?"

Walter turned to Integra, who thought she must've been forgotten. "I'll need to borrow Alucard, if that's alright?" He was careful with his request, trying to sound less demanding.

Integra couldn't help digging it in, "What would you do if he were locked away?" She noticed Leung's lip had curled up at the mention of the vampire, but he composed himself.

Walter sighed. "I didn't suggest... never mind, if he weren't here, I'd wear a microphone and have two men to back me up. We can do this on our own, but with Alucard, I won't need a wire. That's a benefit in a soft interrogation. Do you understand, Miss?"

Anger filled her, but she choked it back down. He was trying to explain methods and she needed that; she should appreciate it. "Yes," she forced herself to add, "thank you, Walter." She turned to go, but he put a hand on her elbow to stop her.

"Pat, check on this person, see how long she's been at this number, is she registered as a student, the usual. Try to match up that new name with anyone we've contacted. Thanks for the lead. Cheers." He noticed Leung's annoyance as he left. The agent had expected to tag along and get some action, but Walter felt more comfortable teaming with a vamp. Well, that was the truth, and Alucard could follow him easier, provided the vampire didn't get distracted. "I'm sorry, my Lady, but we were about to discuss strategies regarding the proposition from the Knights?"

"Strategies?" Her voice was high and tight. She tried to bring up Alucard's advice, but all she could think of was Walter shipping her off to school with the vampire bound in the basement.

Walter watched her, his face blank. She was not taking this well, he noted. Silence hung between them for a second while Walter considered letting her leave so he could get on with his night's work. "Miss Hellsing," he finally began, "I would not presume to give you advice, but it may be a good idea for you to push ahead with finding and crushing this cult so that you can present it to the Protestant Knights at a formal hearing. With Alucard and myself behind you, I think they would have to back down. Also, they can only force you to attend school for the next three years, after which, they would be hard pressed to keep you from heading Hellsing."

"But, this is an-"

"Yes, my Lady, this is a most important time and I support your leadership, if you could please understand that I am not-" He stopped to lower his voice, which he realized had gotten loud enough to carry down the hallway, "I'm not interested in leading Hellsing."

Integra wanted to believe him, but she had a recent memory of her uncle, who was "just helping out for the first few days" and then tried to off her once she asserted herself. Funny that she felt immense guilt over the dwarf secretary's death, a man she'd loathed, but no guilt over the death of her uncle, a man she'd always thought she loved. She shook her head, trying to get the images of both men out. "I'm sorry Walter." She turned to go and he let her. I'm sorry you're betraying me, was the part she wouldn't speak, not to him, not yet.

A man stood around in the shadows outside the busy pub. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the shadows stood around the man. "Trap?" The man whispered, inaudible to anyone on the street, but the shadows moved, almost as a caress before he heard an answer.

"There is no activity that I can sense," the answer came, disconcertingly close to his ear. He felt a light touch, from the lobe of his ear, down his neck. It drew a shiver, but no other external reaction.

The conservatively dressed gentleman stepped out into the light, with what he hoped was a friendly look on his face. As he entered the pub, Walter looked around for the woman he'd spoken with. He saw her, in a back booth, as they'd agreed, looking much like she'd described. She was young, but she wore a world weary expression. She jumped as he sat down across from her. "Oh! I'd thought you wouldn't come."

"Why would you think that?" He extended a hand, "Father Timothy Baker, at your service. Would you like a card?" She took the offered card, it listed a number that rang at Hellsing, but wouldn't be identified as such. It also listed his work as vicar in a small parish where there had been ghoul attacks.

She gave it the briefest of glances before settling herself back into the booth. "I'm a bit confused," she gave him a shy smile and shrugged her shoulders.

"This is a big decision," he agreed. "You've asked for spiritual advice, how can I assist you?"

She had a pretty enough face, eyes a bit widely spaced for conventional beauty, but he could see she'd tried to compensate for that with her makeup. Her hazel eyes seemed to appraise him back. She smiled. "Well, I've been reading some of the pamphlets I got at church, kind of a lark that I found them."

Walter chuckled lightly as though he knew. He signaled the waitress for a beer. She nodded and he turned back to Emily. "We don't keep those out most of the time, how did you come across one?" It was easy to fit into the act, the nagging voice warning him of a trap was silenced in order for him to believe the character he created.

"There's a lending library in our undercroft," she sipped her drink. He noted she drank the sort of drink that one unaccustomed to hard liquor might favor, something fruity, but packed with a punch. Those are best for putting additives in, should he need to. He nodded for her to continue as she seemed to be a bit uncomfortable. "Well, I shouldn't have been just poking through, but the geriatric sorts of books?" She stopped when the waitress set his drink down, then started again in a whisper. "The ones about when to pull the plug and such? My mum, you see, she's a bit... off now. We put her in a home, but... I've been wondering about such like."

A million ways to follow up occurred to him, but Walter took a drink to keep from putting her off.

"I just pulled a black book from the shelf, and there it was!" She did a little 'ta da' gesture with her hands. She giggled. Walter worried about how long they could stay in public. If she got too drunk, he'd have a problem on his hands. "It was like a revelation, just waiting for me to find it!"

No doubt, thought Walter dryly, but what he said was, "How lucky for us! We need people like you." He was rewarded with a beaming smile. She covered her mouth, embarrassed. There was a space between her front teeth. He thought it was cute, but people could be sensitive about anything he supposed.

"How long have you been..." she wasn't sure how to phrase it, "with them?"

He laughed heartily. "Well, I've been in the church since I was a child, but with them, maybe it's been a decade." One of the keys to keeping a straight face when lying was to laugh ahead of it, so that the person you're lying to is too busy wondering if you're laughing at them or yourself to see the clues sitting in front of them.

"Oh," she looked around, as if noticing the crowded pub for the first time. "Would you like to, um, come up to my place; I have more questions, but maybe we shouldn't, um..."

His shoulders almost tensed, but he used a quick mental trick to keep himself relaxed. If this was the spring to the trap, he was well prepared. He'd packed a kit bag, which Alucard stashed somewhere, and he had his killing wires on. The rings were unobtrusive and in fact, some girlfriends had asked for matching ones. "Well, I don't want to keep you up too late, you probably have work in the morning?"

She shook her head, "naw, day off. I work in a little office, but we work the weekends, so we get days off every few weeks." Her eyes were puffy from lack of sleep, but she seemed to push that worry off with a shy smile.

"If it's no trouble for you, then, I'd love to continue our discussion," he allowed. He helped her into her coat. "Do you still have the booklet? I'd like to see it." He watched her fish through her pockets, but she came up empty. "No bother, then."

"I think it's at my flat," she smiled a little broader, this time without covering her teeth. He rewarded her with his most charming look. Yes, he thought, this was probably a set up for a trap. Still, she was nice to be with until then. They walked along the late night street. The night time crowd had thinned down to trickles streaming now and then from the various pubs and clubs around Cambridge.

Emily grabbed his arm to keep her balance as they crossed a small alleyway, but kept a hold of him for some time after. Considering they'd just met, he was a bit taken aback, but he played his role. He sensed some nervousness as they entered her building. She seemed to be looking at it through his eyes. "It's a bit shabby now, but it used to be quite grand." She fumbled with her keys in the lock. His wires were ready as soon as she moved to open it, but he quickly moved his hands down once the door opened and there was no ambush. "Sit anywhere," she laughed as she put her coat away. There were no chairs, just cushions on the floor and a futon bed in the center of the messy efficiency. He looked over to the small kitchen, there was a stool up against the counter, but that didn't look like a cozy place to chat, more like a utilitarian place to slurp soup.

Well, this is awkward, Walter thought. She blushed as she closed the closet door, "I don't entertain, as you can see." She pushed aside some books and cleared off a cushion for him. "Oh, here's the little book." She handed him the pamphlet as he sat.

"This is the church?" He read the name stamped onto the back and she nodded, smiling. The cracking in his knees caused them both to laugh, "I'm not as young as I used to be," he mock apologized.

"Have you..." she paused, "I mean, when will you join them? You know, the Risen?"

"Well, I do my share," he had to duck around, hoping she knew less about them than he did. "Do you have anything to drink?" She was already rising, nodding her head and smiling. He was pleased to see her wobble just a touch as she reached the tiny kitchen. If no monsters jumped out of her closets, he should have her talking and be gone in no time.

She chatted on as she returned, bottle in one hand and glasses in the other. It was a cheap white wine, not his first choice, but he received it warmly. "They seem awfully interested in... well, you know already, but... they asked about my maidenhead," she giggled and he joined her in a smile. She looked almost sly as she asked, "how important is that, Father?"

"Please, call me Tim," since they were talking about such intimate subjects, "it's less a theological than a biological problem, truth be told." He knew the vampire's minions used fancy terms to disguise the fact that they would kill her and turn her into a killing demon. In fact, they denied the existence of vampires entirely. "The ritual is easier if one is untouched, but it is possible, by preparing the initiate properly, to change anyone." It was also easier if the creature doing the changing happened to be very powerful, like Alucard, or whoever it was that changed him in the first place. Vlad Dracula had lost his virginity in every sense well before he became a true monster. "Who did you speak to?" Once she'd named the contact, he nodded his head, like he knew the man. "Yeah, that's the way some of them think. It would be easier if you were virgin, but really, it's not worth eliminating anyone for. Is there anything you'd like to share with me about your concerns?" She was drinking two for every one glass he had.

"Well, I said I was, but there was this bloke in high school. No shagging," she blurted with a blush, "but there was... you know... messing about. I didn't know if it was a big deal. But if it's not that important..."

Degrees of virginity... Her soul hung in the balance. She was considering joining a vampire cult and she had no idea. Walter tried to stay detached, he could use her to get to the entry level folks, at least. If she were bit, she'd either be a ghoul or a weak vampire. Of the two, he'd personally prefer to be a ghoul. At least their souls go on, usually. They're not responsible for the actions done with their corpses. Not so the vampire.

"So you know the Risen ones? You've been with them?" She had such honest reverence on her face that he wondered how much longer he could keep up the act. "We can really defeat death? Like Jesus?"

Luckily Walter had heard such talk from their converts before, so he avoided breaking out in laughter, "Oh yes, I've been quite close to them. It is, perhaps an overstatement to compare them to Jesus," he could imagine the size of Alucard's grin. "You need to make an educated decision, though. Are you scheduled? Do you know when they want to... turn you?" He had to guess at their language, but she didn't flinch, so he mustn't have been too far off.

"This Sunday coming up, so you can see why we needed to talk right away," she looked dreamily into her wine, then finished her glass.

"Where?" He'd spoken too sharply. Suspicion drifted across her face and she wrinkled her nose as her befuddled mind tried to think. He laughed it off. "I've been invited to serve at three inductions this weekend, I'd like to be at yours, so I was wondering where it was being held."

Her tension eased, "Oh, yeah, they're picking me up so I'm not sure... I think a church would be nice, maybe a cathedral..." her dreamy self returned, along with a sly, almost sexual look.

"Have they talked about the spiritual implications, yet?"

She moved closer to him, grabbing the bottle that sat between them. Her hand brushed along his knee, as if she was fascinated by the texture of the wool. "Well, there's the communion, the holy blood of Christ..."

Walter leaned back ignoring her touch. The cushions were actually pretty comfortable as long as he didn't need to stand up and sit down rapidly. "It's a bit more literal than you may be used to. Do you think you could handle the transmutation if the wine becomes true blood? Human blood?"

She rose, clearly drunk now. "I'd do anything to skip the decline, the death I see on my mother's face." She stood over him and stumbled slightly. "I've got to go to the loo. If you wanna," she gestured at the bed, it's crumpled duvet testifying to her poor seduction skills.

He smiled and shrugged rather than answer. As she closed the door he rose. This would be the most graceful time he'd have to exit, but first he went to her closet to plant a small transmitter in her coat. It was a small gesture, but he hoped that they'd be able to save her from herself if they knew where she'd gone.