Order 18: Cruel Minds

Author's note: Thanks for the tips ChunX, but please don't rewrite and edit my story. Oh, and by the way Lingoe the White I really couldn't think of any other way to get Alucard into that position. There will probably be a few more cameos by Anderson and Iscariot again, however, so I hope to improve upon the last fight. This chapter reopens the plotline that was left out for the past two chapters. Hope you enjoy.

Seres walked across the streets of London. She was dead tired. Ever since Alucard had reported to Integra that there was a Nosferatu in London, she had started to drive all the agents like cattle. No one was exempt from patrolling the streets. Seres had only gotten one hour of sleep in the past few days. The air around her was damp, making her flesh feel even colder than the cold air would have made it to begin with. The streets of London were filthy. Dirt was piled on top of everything. Of, coarse, these were the slums of society. There was water everywhere you walked. Her clothes were soaked.

She had been prepared for this and wore tall boots, a black long sleeved shirt and a hat. She did not carry her Halconen Cannon with her. It would attract too much attention. She instead had a normal pistol with her. She suddenly noticed a figure walking towards an alley. This figure was probably a male. He wore a trench coat that covered his whole body. On his head was a hat which made him look like one of those tell-tale spies you saw in the movies.

Normally Seres would have just ignored such a figure, but she felt like something was strange about this one. So, she decided to follow him into the alley, and see what he was up to.

He walked very intently, shoving anyone who got in his way down. Most of the people who went to repay this act took one look at him and sat back down. He stopped every once in a while at intersections. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity he would turn right or left.

He finally stopped at an isolated spot and turned around to face Seres. He had pale skin, but was not devoid of some color. She saw that he was wearing dark glasses. He had long brown hair witch was somewhat curly. His face wouldn't have had any unusual features, if it weren't for that psychotic grin.

"So, you're Alucard fledgling." He said with pure contempt in his voice. He laughed suddenly. It was the high pitched laugh that Alucard would have realized only belonged to lunatics. Seres, however, didn't know humanity well enough to distinguish this. "I want you to bring a message to your masters, little fledgling. Tell them that Shivaren sends his greetings. Tell them that their end is near. I advise you to use what little time you have left."

He then let out that high pitched laugh again. A fraction of a second later he was right in front of Seres. She felt blood dripping down her forehead. She looked at him and saw a long silver needle sticking out of his right pointer finger. There was blood at the tip of it. He licked the blood off the tip. He then held out both of his hands and duplicates of the needle in his pointer finger shot out of every finger in his hand.

"What do you plan to do to me?" Seres asked, with a frightful tone to her voice.

"What do I plan to do?" he said mockingly. "Why, I plan to make an example of you, of course." He let out that horrible laugh again.

Seres could do nothing against this foe. He moved so fast that by the time she tried to defend, he was on to another attack. Within two minutes she was flat on her back losing blood quickly.

He bent over her and she saw his eyes. They were full of joy. It was almost as if he was on drugs. They weren't red for some reason, though. "And now, it is time to apply the finishing touch."

He retracted all needle, except for the one on his right pointer finger. The needle touched Seres's left cheek. Seres cried out pain. This hurt even more than the stabs he had been using to take her down. After he was finished she passed out from the pain.

Shivaren stood up and stared at his masterpiece. Absolutely perfect, he thought. This would send the proper message those who dared to challenge his master. That fool Incognito might have thought he was brutal, but he was dead wrong. To Shivaren torture wasn't something you did for fun. It was a work of art. And he was one of the best artists in the world.

It was time for him to find the fool who had dared to run out on his master's plans. After that he would create a masterpiece of death and carnage so great that it would make this little street drawing look pathetic...

James T. Bloom sat in a cold dark room. It was hard to believe, from looking at him, that he had once been one of the richest men in Great Britain. He had always loved money. He valued it more than anything else. Now, he was paying for his greed. He had bitten off more than he could chew. It was partially from his funding that the production of the FREAK chips had been possible.

After the events of the Tower of London, however, he could not live with himself. He had decided, after seeing how horrible the FREAK chips were, to turn himself in and give up all information he could on the products. He was now waiting for the escort that would take him to the Hellsng Manor. He would likely be killed for his involvement with the group who had made FREAK chips, but at least he would go with a semi-clear conscience.

When he heard a knock at the he quickly went to answer it, thinking it was his escort. When he opened the door, however, he was horrified to see the creature dressed in a trench coat in front of him.

"Hello, James. Surprised to see me?" The high pitched laugh that followed sent ice flowing through Jason's blood.

Fairmount went up the stairs with two armed personnel. Sir Integra had said that retrieving this defector alive absolutely important to learning what plans the FREAK group might have planned. When he got to where this Bloom fellow was supposed to be hiding he saw that the door was open. He slowly opened the door and was absolutely sickened by what he saw.

James T. Bloom was laid on the floor. His internal organs had been taken out. And the killer had placed his heart in James's mouth.

When Integra had received the news from Fairmount, she went to the shooting range to take out some of her fury. It wasn't enough to calm her though. This would have been a big lead. It could have been the thing which would have sent the FREAK chips producers plummeting down. But they knew he had defected, and they had dealt with it thoroughly.

There was a frantic knock at the door. "Come in."

It was Walter who entered. There was a worried look on his face. Integra knew things were going to get worse. "What is it Walter?"

"Seres Victoria was found in a back of an alley this morning."

That was surprising, but Integra knew there was more. "And?"

"She has lost almost all of the blood contained in her body."

"What's the cause?"

"Multiple stab wounds, but, except for the slashes, they were very small. Also of note is that there was a pentagram carved on her left cheek. It had the letter 'H' carved underneath it."

The phone rang almost instantly after he said this. Integra picked it up slowly. "Hello."

"Hello, Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing. I have heard about your loss recently." It was a warped voice.

"Oh, really!!"

"I have some information on the ones who were responsible. Perhaps you would like to see it."

"Then why don't you come here and give it to us."

"I will give you the information, if you meet my terms."

"What do you want?"

"You will send Alucard to meet me at Jerry's Café. Only he will go there. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes."

"Good." There was a call tone after that one word.

"Alucard, get over here."