CHAPTER 7

Finger Paint

In the following weeks, Pip had ample time to get his feet wet in his new station. He was horrified to discover how frequently vampire attacks occurred and could not believe how he had gone his whole life without suspecting anything. How could anyone not notice? We have excellent PR skills, Dornez had told him slyly over a glass of whiskey one night. We know how to manipulate the public. To get people to turn the other way. Create diversions. It's better this way, he had assured Pip. The world is enough of a stinking shit hole as it is, already filled with monsters. No need to throw real ones into the mix. Although, Dornez assured him that the frequency of attacks they were seeing now was abnormal. He suspected it was all thanks that Samuel chap.

That conversation had been after a particularly hairy attack. Since rescuing la petite fille from the fire, Integra had them scouring the city night after night for signs of this supposed vampire army. They broke up into units of three, with a total of five teams each assigned a different sector of London. Every night, Pip volunteered himself to be on a team with Hellsing's vampire agents. He pretended that he was taking one for his team by working with ol' tall, dark, and creepifying, as none of his men wanted anything to do with the weirdo. He did not let on that this noble gesture was merely a front to work alongside a certain blonde-haired beauty.

Not that they ever spoke much. In fact, despite spending nearly every night together, they had barely exchanged a dozen words since their first encounter. All of them work-related, much to his dismay. He wanted to talk to her, truly, but the timing never seemed right. The slash across her cheek had finally scabbed over and was beginning to fade into a reddish scar. He thought he might talk to her about that, break the ice and satiate his curiosity, though he realized how insipid that seemed. Also, it felt awkward trying to approach her while the other one was around. Pip didn't know what kind of relationship those two had, but he sensed a certain territorial vibe by the way Alucard always appraised him, lips slightly pursed, as if scrutinizing his worth and not liking what he saw. It was incredibly unnerving.

Even more disheartening was the way the mignonette tried so painfully hard to please that psycho with so little payoff. Pip could see it in her every gesture. Every kill she made, every shot fired, she sought his approval. It seemed that ascot-wearing dick could make or break her entire evening with a single pat on the head or aloof dismissal, respectively. Honestly, it angered the merc that the other male held such sway over her. It wasn't just a jealous, macho thing, either. It just seemed like entirely too much power for one person to have over another. Then again, they're not exactly "persons" are they, Bernadotte? He had to remind himself of that. They were a different breed altogether. An entire species removed. If he knew what was good for him, he'd stay in his lane and forget about it.

But when had he ever known what was good for him?

They patrolled from dusk until dawn every night, paying special attention to school districts and orphanages, any place in which large numbers of children congregated. Sometimes they uncovered a smattering of vampires, hiding in the shadows. Never more than one or two at a time. Alucard was tasked with their interrogation before reducing them to ash. Some were completely ignorant. Most of them, however, were at least half-aware of Samael in the way one can be aware of a nefarious rumor. All insubstantial as smoke on the wind. But they were scared, it was easy to tell that much. And not just of Alucard. Invoking the name of this other vampire put the fear of God in them before bullets blew their heads clean off their shoulders.

Then, less than a week ago, a call came in while they were making their usual rounds. Two vampires had broken into an indiscriminate feeding frenzy in an East End neighborhood. Their unit had been the closest to the attack and they were ordered to neutralize the threat immediately.

The street was quiet when they arrived. Unnaturally quiet. Not even the sound of crickets filled the nighttime air. The little suburban homes, illuminated by the equidistant streetlamps, seemed painfully quaint and peaceful. Nothing seemed amiss until a blood-curdling scream echoed from the end of the boulevard. They ran towards the sound, guns drawn. It must have originated from within one of the houses where they could now hear the unmistakable thumps and blows of a struggle from inside. Further evidence of bloodshed revealed itself in the shattered windows, and on the door there were crudely written words in a deep red that Pip knew damn-well wasn't finger paint: From the ashes, we rise.

The mercenary swallowed hard and spared a glance at his teammates. A moment passed between the two vampires in which they seemed to share a silent understanding. Seras' face took on that fierceness he so rarely saw, but couldn't help but be drawn to. Both their gazes were fixed on something up above. He followed their trajectory and his balls shriveled up into his groin at the sight of something small and impossibly fast crawling spider-like across the gables of one of the rooftops. The thing paused in its scuttling, as if sensing the eyes on it, and whipped its head around. Blood-red eyes like tiny laser beams cut through the darkness and its sharpened fangs glistened as its upper lip curled in a threatening leer.

Pip had been briefed on the child-vampires, but not even his wildest imaginings could have prepared him for the frightful sight of this nightmarish monster. He fumbled with his gun, eyes growing wide as the thing leapt from the rooftop straight for them.

Seras was quicker. Powerful thighs projected her upward and she met the creature in mid-air, clutching the side of its head and violently twisting it to one side. While Seras landed gracefully, the body of the diminutive vampire fell hard against the concrete in an undignified heap. The sound of its bones made a sickening crack on impact.

They did a quick scan of their surroundings. Once they were satisfied there wouldn't be any more surprise attacks, they began once again towards the house. Though it had only taken moments to deal with the vampire, the noise coming from inside the house had already ceased. That can't be good. Pip grimaced.

"Stay at my back, Mr. Bernadotte," Alucard ordered. "Pick off ghouls if and when they appear. Cover us while we have a little chat with whoever is in there."

Pip nodded and fell back, letting them get some distance on him before he followed. Seras branched off, taking to the roof with her preternatural agility. Pip watched her disappear through one of the shattered windows. He and Alucard continued forward. They move together like clockwork, Pip thought ruefully. Without saying anything to each other.

It's the master-fledgling bond. Pip nearly jumped as a dark, amused voice echoed in his mind. His head whipped towards Alucard. The vampire wasn't even looking at him, although his lips tugged up into a slight smirk. Pip scowled and opened his mouth to retort before Alucard continued. Don't let it worry you too much.

They made it to the front door and Pip was aghast when Alucard lightly rapped thrice at the door with his knuckles.

"What are you doing?" The mercenary hissed.

An insane grin flashed over the vampire's face before he answered reasonably, "Being polite." Then he cocked his gun, and fired a round of bullets at the hinges, blowing the door into the darkness of the house. The deafening shots echoed into the distance.

So much for the element of surprise, Jesus Christ—"You're a bloody vampire, couldn't you just turn to smoke and float through the keyhole, or something?!"

"Where's the fun in that?" Alucard asked wickedly before stepping across the threshold. Pip growled, readjusting the grip on his gun before following.

The scene waiting for them inside the house was enough to make Pip's stomach churn. A wide trail of blood ran down the stairs, the wallpaper was torn in places, and furniture was upturned. A lopsided picture frame caught Pip's eye. The glass was shattered, the picture inside was a family portrait taken on a beach somewhere. A young couple with three kids. Pip's heart sank as he recognized one of those smiling faces as belonging to what now lay dead in the middle of the street. Alucard cleared his throat to catch the merc's attention. The vampire indicated to the trail of blood which lead deeper into the house. Pip nodded.

The low, guttural noises Pip had come to associate with ghouls came from the living room. What remained of the young couple in the photograph, Pip decided when they rounded the corner and took in the tattered night clothes hanging from their skeletal bodies. The creatures skulked in lazy circles around two vampires who held each other in an indecent embrace, bloodied lips locked in a searing kiss. It was a moment before either of them deigned to notice Alucard and Pip. When they did, their eyes were glazed over with lust. Their cheeks had a lively glow, having engorged themselves on so much blood in so short a time. There was a familiarity to their faces that Pip couldn't quite put his finger on.

"You know, it's really rude to stare," said the female who must have been devastatingly ugly as a human. Her eyes were too big and far apart for her face. Her blue hair, though it had an ethereal sheen, must have been the product of cheap dye as it faded terribly at the roots and ends. It seemed not even the gift of immortality could make her beautiful.

"We did knock," Alucard offered, while he surveyed the room.

"It's about time you showed up," drawled the male, who wasn't much to look at either. He peered over Alucard's shoulder at Pip. "And you brought along a piece of mortal filth for us to cleanse. How nice of you."

Alucard gave a short whistle and jutted his chin towards the ghouls. Pip knew it was his signal to act. Dutifully, he fired his weapon, taking out both lumbering creatures. So that takes care of mummy and daddy. Pip frowned. But where are the other kiddos?

If the vampires felt any grief for the loss of their ghouls, they certainly didn't show it. In fact, an evil amusement glinted in their eyes which seemed to give Alucard pause. The red-clad vampire looked over his shoulder and his lips twisted into a snarl as he bellowed at Pip, "Hit the deck!"

The order came too little, too late. Even before he had a chance to fully comprehend the words, Pip felt icy breath tickle the back of his neck. Twotiny but powerful arms lashed out from the shadows and wrapped themselves tightly around Pip's shoulders. A high-pitched hissing seared the mercenary's ears and out of the corner of his eye he could see the cherubic face of a little girl turned demonic by the pinpricks of her red irises. Her fangs gnashed ferociously and despite all his strength Pip could not throw her off. Another small figure, the third child, dashed straight for Alucard and wrapped itself around his legs like a boa constrictor. His tiny fangs ripped into his thighs like an animal.

Is this really how it ends?! Was Pip's only thought as the girl's incisors flew to his throat. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain. But it never came. Instead, he felt the weight of the child leave his shoulders. Tentatively, he opened his eyes.

Seras!

The mignonette must have come from behind, having descended from the upper floor. She held the demon against the wall, her lips curled into a feral sneer, and emptied a bullet into the thing's head. It fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

Meanwhile, Alucard seized the boy's throat and peeled him from his body. The boy's strength was meager compared to the elder vampire. Holding him at arm's length, Alucard's mouth was a thin, passionless line as he fired his own weapon. The boy's body went limp and Alucard laid him gently on the floor before turning his attention back to the lovers who, at last, had the decency to look at least little frightened.

"It takes a real special kind of freak to condemn such innocence to damnation," Alucard's voice was casually impressed, but Pip had known him just long enough to hear the threat in it.

"Damnation?" The girl's eyes shone fanatically. "We're saving them. From the scourge of humanity. Don't you see that? That's all our master wants. He wants to save us. All of us."

"You're dumber than you look if you believe all that rot," Alucard cocked his head.

"We were nothing before the Great Master found us," the male cut in. "Nothing but vagabonds. Common criminals. Until he showed us the error in our ways. Until he cleansed us and made us pure again."

Then it dawned on Pip where he had seen these two clowns before. Their faces were on wanted posters all over London. The two teenage thieves who fancied themselves a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. They had been responsible for robbing a gas-station a few months back before trying their hand at holding up a bank. It had been all over the news. They were never caught, however, nor were they ever seen again after that. And now look at what's become of you poor fools.

"He's offered us a place in Heaven," the girl spoke again. "Eternal paradise. And all he asks in return is that we bring him more angels." She gestured to where the vampire children lay in pitiful heaps on the ground. "The irony is that while we saved them from death. You're the one who fated them to an eternity in hell with your so-called holy bullets." She wiped a tear from her eye. "Poor darlings." The boy took her into his arms.

"It's okay, Jessica," he smoothed her hideous hair. He fixed Alucard with a determined glared. "Samael will make them pay."

"Oh, I hope he does," Alucard crooned. "I owe him one or two wallops, myself. In fact, we've been searching high and low for old Sam-I-Am. I don't suppose you'd tell us where he's been hiding?"

The boy scoffed, "He hasn't been hiding."

"Then why doesn't he show himself? Why does he make his cronies do all his dirty work?"

"He's waiting," the girl spat. "Our Master isn't a coward."

"And what is he waiting for, exactly?" Seras demanded. Her voice somehow retained that softness it usually held. It was incongruent with the rage that twisted her face, as if her voice were incapable of any severity.

The boy smirked. "Wouldn't you just like to know."

The very next moment, a bullet careened from Alucard's gun and tore straight through the male vampire's skull. His brains were a mural of gore splattered against the walls, over the girl's face, and his headless body slumped to ground.

"Leif!" The girl cried out, her too-big eyes growing impossibly wider.

"I don't tolerate cheekiness from low-lifes like you," Alucard said plainly. "And having both of you here seemed a little redundant seeing as you both know where to find Samael."

A palpable vengeance darkened the girl's countenance and she lunged towards Alucard. Seras was on her before she could even get close, trapping her arms behind her back and forcing her to the ground. All the while, the female vampire screamed like a banshee. Alucard moved forward and cuffed a hand over her mouth.

"That's enough of that," he demanded, applying a painful amount of pressure to quiet her. "Hopefully by now you've ascertained that I'm not one for fucking around. Now, you're going to tell us where your master is hiding or so help me God, I will blow your head from your shoulders." He raised his gun to her temple. He withdrew his hand from her mouth. Seras gasped when the girl spat in her master's face which earned a furious growl from Alucard. A shot fired, right into the girl's foot. A hand clamped down on her mouth again. This time with enough force to break her jaw. The girl moaned in pain, eyes squeezed shut.

"You want to play hard ball?" Alucard breathed in her ear. "Fine. But I feel I must warn you, I am a very good player."

Once more, he removed his hand. The girl's vampire abilities were already working to repair her broken jaw. "No, I am a loyal servant." Her eyes were on fire. "Go ahead, blow my fucking brains out. I'd rather join Leif in hell. I'll never betray my master." Alucard quirked a brow before rising to his feet.

"Hmm, yes, I can see that you mean it." He tucked his gun away. "In that case, your head can stay exactly where it is. For now." He turned to Pip who had been watching the scene unfold with amazement. "Mr. Bernadotte, please give Walter a call. I need him to bring me a few things. And have him tell Integra that I'm bringing her a little present." He leered back at the girl and patted her tenderly on the cheek. "Nice and gift-wrapped."

Pip swallowed hard, but did as instructed.

The girl flew into a panic when it dawned on her what they meant to do with her. She pulled relentlessly against Seras' hold on her, though the mignonette's grip was vice-like and resolute. The girl never tired the whole half hour they waited for Walter to arrive with the requested items. The butler was flanked by two Wild Geese when he showed up. The girl continued to thrash madly as they fitted her mouth with a silver muzzle and shackled her wrists and ankles with similar cuffs.

Walter caught Pip gawking. "The silver is blessed. There's no way a vampire of her ilk will escape them."

"How can you be sure?"

Pip didn't miss the sidelong glance he gave Alucard, who was occupied with carrying the writhing creature from the house. Though Pip suspected the vampire could hear them very well. "Let's just say, Hellsing has put them to the test."

And that was how they came to have a prisoner.

A/N: Thank you to everyone leaving reviews. All of your comments and critiques mean a great deal. And another heart-felt thanks to those who have added this story to their favorites/alert list. I'm glad this story is finding an audience, even with the fandom all but dead.