"This is just a stakeout." Said the commanding officer. "Don't engage unless absolutely necessary."
A team was en route to the suspected location in an armoured car disguised as a food truck. There were a few humans, including a mister Heinrich Strumer along with a handful of other, lower-ranked agents. Along with them were three non-human agents, a demon known as "Jonnathan Beattie", as well as married couple Amelie and Charlotte Garou. Charlotte was currently rubbing shade-gel on her face in order to protect herself from the sun, despite the fact that it was cloudy, while her wife sat next to her, holding both of their guns while she finished. Meanwhile, Jonnathan and Heinrich, his guardian of sorts, went over the objective and procedure for the mission.
They were simply supposed to stake the place out. It was essential that they know what exactly they're getting themselves into before they advanced. After all, they still weren't completely certain that Cerberus was in the abandoned building in the first place!
The plan was for a few operatives to watch from the car, while the rest kept a close eye on the building from the two neighbouring ones. Naturally, they asked for permission from the owners, first. The civilians believed them to be from the police, as the group wore police uniforms as opposed to their usual ones so that no one would be too suspicious of their operations. The only difference was the red arm band with the Hellsing family crest on it, marking who they were loyal to.
Immediately upon stepping out of the vehicle, however, Amelie froze. Taking a few steps forward, she sniffed the air. Something had caught the lycanthrope's attention.
"Omid." She said, recognizing the scent. She then turned to Charlotte. "He was here. Pretty recent."
"That sure is suspicious…" the vampire replied. "Anything else?"
"Not sure. Need to get closer."
"I'll tell the captain." Charlotte stated, turning to do so. She paused for a moment as she saw the other woman stepping closer to the building. "Don't get to close to it! Wait for instructions!"
Amelie paused for a moment, waiting patiently while her spouse presented the information to the captain. Something wasn't right. There was something else in there. She could smell it. The scent was familiar, but she couldn't decipher it where she was. She would have to open the front door if she wanted to know.
After a few moments, her patience paid off. The captain had given the order to search the surroundings of the building, but not yet to go inside. That was enough for Amelie. She and the other troops moved in, trying to arouse as little suspicion as possible. As she got closer, however, her senses began to pick up information.
"Explosives." She pointed out. "Outside. Some are inside, too."
"Are they live?" asked the captain.
"Hard to say…"
"Shit… We need a bomb unit…" he said, rubbing his forehead. "Anybody inside?"
"I'm not sensing any heartbeats." Charlotte informed. "The Jacks aren't in there, but I can't tell you if the demons are. It's hard to pick them up."
"Let's wait until the bomb specialists get here and call in the Phantomhives." The captain said. "Everybody fall back for now, but keep your eyes on that restaurant!"
"Yes, sir!"
With that order, the faux-police officers waited. They loitered around the building, just waiting for something to happen. Anything. The supernatural beings in particular were on edge. They could all tell that there was obviously something amiss about this place.
"There's something in there…" said Jonnathan, keeping his eyes trained on the front of the restaurant. "I can sense it. It's not human."
"How many?" asked the vampire, knowing that there were things that a demon's sixth sense could pick up that neither a vampire's or a werewolf's senses could detect.
"One." The boy replied. "I can't tell what it is, though."
"Then where did the others go?"
"Who knows… Maybe they moved them?"
"But where would they move them to?" pondered Charlotte, trying to piece things together. All three supernaturals thought for a moment, furrowing their brows while the lycanthrope's eyes wandered around the scene.
The perps would have to move dozens of people inconspicuously around the city. How could they do that, though? Cerberus was clever, but they couldn't just hide in plain sight, could they?
They could. They have before. Amelie immediately looked to the other two, who didn't seem to catch on. Instead of taking time to explain it to them, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her personal mobile phone, dialing a particular number before holding it up to her face.
"Hello?" greeted the blonde menace on the other end. He didn't get a proper greeting in return, however, as the wolf-girl began yelling.
"Blondie! We've got trouble!" she exclaimed, sparking the attention of her coworkers. She paid them no mind, however, as she had much more important things to attend to.
"Don't come here!" she instructed. "Go to Big Ben! That's where they're going, isn't it?! They're hiding out in the open again! Tourists! Tourists! They're posing as tourists!"
A long pause followed suit as everyone began to process that information, including the demonic detective on the other end of the line. The Frenchwoman snorted, pleased with her realization. With that, a voice came out of her phone.
"On it." The menace answered. "Good work, Poodles."
"It's my job." Amelie stated.
"Can you handle things there?"
"Oui. There's only one."
"Alright. Call back if you need anything."
"Yes, my lord!" Amelie spouted, prompting the blonde to hang up. She placed the device back in her pocket with a proud look on her face, rather pleased with the fact that she figured it out. Just as she turned around, however, her ears were assaulted with a loud booming sound and a rush of hot air stuck her cheeks.
The bombs in the restaurant had gone off, setting the building ablaze. The agents on the ground immediately began to scramble, getting in touch with the fire department and evacuating those currently in the neighbouring buildings before the fire could spread. Whatever was inside was caught in the explosion as well, but in due time, the agents would find out what it was as its way out of the inferno.
A large, roundish-shaped object covered in a hard, black substance burst through what remained of the doors, sending shattered glass out toward the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. crew on the scene. It remained still for a few moments before it began to unfold like a flower. Its petals wilted, returning into the humanoid body that they had apparently sprouted from initially.
It was a man, seemingly in his early twenties, with short, black hair and brown skin. He was dressed in a black coat with short sleeves, torn from the armour that had expelled forth from his now healing skin. It patched itself up quickly, far faster than that of an ordinary human. One could see scars of symbols being engraved into his skin, and tattoos of others peeking out from holes in his clothes. He certainly wasn't dressed for the weather, but he didn't seem to mind in the slightest. In fact, he seemed excited. Dark bags outlined the bottom of laughing, golden eyes that peered at the agents as their owner flashed them a smug grin.
"Omid!" Charlotte exclaimed, honestly shocked to see the man there and in such a state. Preston's face relaxed a bit, shifting into a calmer smile.
"Yes?" he answered, adopting a more natural expression. "So you figured out the plan, huh? That sucks…"
"'Plan'?" echoed the vampire. "You're seriously with Cerberus?!" she demanded, causing a smirk to crawl across Preston's face.
"Of course." The man stated. "Why wouldn't I be? They gave me back my ability to walk again. It's not like I can just say 'no' to them. Besides, I'm done pretending to be something I'm not. It's painful. As much as I don't really like it, I'm not…" Preston stalled for a moment, clenching his fist as the corner of his mouth twitched.
"…I'm not even human anymore." He concluded, taking on a more melancholic grin.
"Don't do this, Omid…" Charlotte began, taking a step forward. "It's not too late… Just turn yourself in. We can still help you."
"Help me?" asked the man. He laughed and shook his head. "You can't help me… You people… You monsters… You're the ones who did this to me!"
Armour protruded through his skin, tearing it apart again, causing him to visibly wince at the feeling. He moved his covered arms in front of him, shielding him from anything that the group could dish out at him. Quickly, his legs began to move to one side as he tried to make a break for it.
"I've got places to be! Stay out of my way!"
