Disclaimer: Hellsing is not mine, worse luck. Apologies about the muddle with Victoria and Seras – I'm new to all of this.

Chapter Four

The troop carrier grumbled its way through the dark countryside. Inside, occupants were wreathed in a fug of cigarette smoke, the tang of gun oil and the low hum of murmured conversations. A few of the more veteran members were dozing.

Seras was seated at the front of the carrier, she had been studying the map that Jones, the unit commander had given her. Her police training was coming to the fore as she discussed the best method of searching the village with Jones, who was seated opposite her.

Her master had taken the second transport, as it meant that he could sit in the front seat. She grinned inwardly as she tried to imagine him sitting in the back with the normal troops. She was about to ask Jones about the village church when the driver's voice crackled on the intercom.

"Second transport pulling over sir, stopping to see what the problem is. We're about fifteen minutes out."

The vehicle ground to a stop and two troopers flung the doors open, hopped down and peered into the dark hedges on either side of the road with their automatic rifles at the ready. Seras sighed as she picked up her cannon and made her way out of the carrier. She had a very good idea of what was going on and as she approached Jones speaking to her master, her suspicions were confirmed.

"You and your men will form a perimeter around the village, the police girl and I will take it from there."

"What, we're just supposed to stand around looking pretty?" snapped Jones.

Alucard grinned at Jones, who took an involuntary step back.

"We're the best suited for this operation Captain and I don't want any humans getting in the way."

He looked over the top of his glasses and added with menace:

"I can't guarantee their safety."

Jones swallowed hard, his mouth dry and bitter. Turning abruptly he ordered everyone back into the carriers and soon the two trucks were making their way towards the village.

Alucard turned to Seras and said with a sardonic grin:

"Its such a nice night, I thought we'd walk."

She coloured slightly as she recalled him saying nearly the same thing on the night that they met. Adjusting the cannon's strap, she fell into step beside him and they made their way to the quiet little village resting in the moonlight.

About a kilometer away, the pair of them climbed a small hill and Seras settled into the dew bedecked grass so she could get a line of sight on the outlying buildings.

"If you lay down to shots on the east and west, the smoke will provide enough cover for you to go into the streets without being seen." said Alucard, pointing at the locations.

"M..Me?" she stammered, looking up at him in surprise. "In the streets, by myself?"

"I don't think a bunch of ghouls will be too much trouble for a police girl." he smirked. "After all, I saw what you did to the ones in Ireland."

She nodded and was about to re-sight on the cannon but his next words startled her into looking at him again.

"You will of course stay well away from the village hall." he said sternly.

"Okay, but why?"

"The vampire is in there, and you're not capable of taking him on." he answered bluntly.

She considered his words and then nodded, turning quickly back to her sighting mechanism so he wouldn't see the hurt in her eyes. She couldn't bear to think that he didn't think she was capable.

Alucard sighed quietly. He was well aware of his fledgling injured feelings and knew that he'd have to address the matter soon. But first, there was killing to do.

The high velocity round embedded itself into the remains of a field wall and ignited with an incandescent hiss. Thick smoke quickly enveloped the wall and started spreading towards the houses. Another round on the other end of town produced the same effect and the village was rapidly blanketed in a cloud made opalescent by the overhead street lamps.

Seras left the cannon with the men that had surrounded the area and moved silently into the streets, her combat knife ready in her hand. She had also borrowed a bayonet from one the trooper. She could hear feet shuffling towards her and ducked into an alley to let the ghouls get in front of her. She counted three of them and as they passed the opening of the alley, she stepped in behind them.

A sharp kick to the back of the middle man's knees and a swift upthrust with both hands left three ghouls at her feet. Two with blades embedded in the base of their skulls and one with smashed knees. A heavy stomp ended the wriggling of the last ghoul and she was left to retrieve her knives from a pile of sand. Her preternatural senses sharpened with the adrenaline of killing and with a feral grin, she headed off down a side street where she could hear more shuffling.

A hot excitement spread through her body as she tracked the ghouls through the village, felling them with her knives, her boots and in once instance: smashing a head into a wall by hand.

Dusting the grey ash off her hands, Victoria looked around and heard faint gunfire echoing from the middle of the village – where her master had told her not to go, where she was headed to anyway.

Alucard stepped into the town hall and called out:

"Okay maggot, what rock are you crawling under?"

There was no answer to his taunt and he stomped his way up towards the podium, his footfalls echoing through the empty hall. He reached the front of the room without incident and drew his gun, probing outwards with his senses.

"I know you're here." he said, his resonant voice filling the space. "Come out and let me kill you."

Silence.

"Your little army of ghouls is gone, there's no one to help you now. Stop wasting my time!"

The last ended in a roar as he turned to look upwards at the rafters. Crouched on one of the trusses was a shape that he opened fire on. The vampire fell from the truss and landed on the flagstone floor with a horrid smacking sound.

Alucard watched impassively as the man twitched and tried to roll over. Btu the silver bullet lodged in his chest, wouldn't allow that. Closing the space between them he put a heavy boot on the injured vampires back and pointed his gun at the back of its head.

"Who made you?" he snarled.

"Go fuck y'self."

He ground his heel in, feeling bones creak and grind.

"I won't ask again, who made you?"

The vampire responded with a vulgar suggestion involving Alucard's male anatomy and an inhuman gymnastic ability.

"Been there, done that."

With deafening boom the gun fired and the rogue vampire's head vaporised. Alucard looked at the mess he had made and then dipped a finger in a small puddle and licked it clean, as the body disintegrated into ash.

Images came to him, of a normal and mundane human life that ended in a squeal of car breaks and a sickening thump. After that – nothing.

A footstep at the door alerted him to Seras' presence and he looked round at her.

"Finished so quickly police girl?"

She shrugged and said flippantly "They weren't that hard."

Looking past her master she saw the pile of dust and asked:

"You get your man then?"

"Did you doubt?" he smirked, as he walked past her and out into the night.

"Never."

The smoke cover had all but dissipated and she fell into step alongside him as they strolled through silent streets, back towards the carriers. While they were walking, she asked quietly:

"Why did you say that I'm not capable of handling a vampire?"

"Because you're not. Not yet."

They were within sight of the barrier erected by the Hellsing troops when she asked:

"When will I be?"

Alucard stopped and looked down at his little fledgling. Taking his glasses off with one hand, he caught her chin in the other and forced her head up to meet his eyes.

"When you feed Seras." he said in a deadly tone. "When you nourish yourself with the blood of others, only then will your abilities rise."

He let go of her chin and walked off, throwing over his shoulder:

"But you're still too much of a coward."

Seras' eyes filled with tears as she realised he was right. Almost every dawn she went to her bed with a gnawing pain inside of her that was so much more than mere hunger. It was only different on the days she managed to gag down a blood pack, and even then the relief was temporary. She had to use all of her will power to dispose of the blood on other nights. Despite her craving, she just couldn't get around the fact that she was about to swallow human blood.

"Come on police girl, dawn is coming."

The shout roused her from her thoughts and she angrily wiped away her tears as she dashed after her master. Soon they were on their way back to Hellsing, leaving the village to sit quietly under the moonlight.