Alucard didn't often notice humans beyond his master and Walter—and those were only because he was compelled to in the case of the former, and because being civil to the latter resulted in perks like nice new weapons and restraining his master when she was upset. The rest of them: the men that were the meat and potatoes of Hellsing's various task forces, the little midges that called themselves the Round Table Organization, the slightly bigger horseflies of the Iscariots (and Catholics in general), the dust motes that were ordinary humans—he didn't give two shits about, and was more than happy to continue on in that manner.

So a mission out to Cheddar Village? Routine for Hellsing. The local police couldn't deal with whatever vampire had decided to call himself a vicar and hole up in the parish church. It was to be expected. They were barely capable of staying on top of the run-of-the-mill sociopaths. London's D-11 special force all but wiped out within a night of deployment? More of a matter for him to take care of. While Hellsing's troops were better trained than those in D-11 (and had higher standards, if he believed Walter), a mission like that could pose some difficulty. Especially given the number of ghouls running around. So hisdearly belovedmaster, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, in her usual practical ice-queen manner, sent him to clean out the nest of vermin.

And vermin they truly were. Vermin like this puffed-up parson just went about creating ghouls with no reason other than to terrify. Oh, that tactic worked plenty fine, but when the goal was tonotalert the humans to your presence (and Hellsing andhimself, not so incidentally), making ghouls was a poor decision. Besides, it just shrank the food supply. No self-respecting Nosferatu would make such a glaring tactical error.

At least the night was nice. Partly cloudy, a full moon, and almost no light pollution. Alucard could see the Milky Way and some stars. Not as many as he had seen when he was younger, but enough. The breeze was nice and warm, bringing with it the scent of night blooming flowers and rich loam from the woods. Yes, quite a perfect night. And what was this, splitting the night air like a pure clarion bell? A scream of terror? How...delicious...it sounded to his ears. He categorized it asyoung,female, terrified, but not in any mortal danger.It could wait. It always could. The mission was quite simple: find and eliminate the vicar. "Cut off the head of the snake," Integra had said. "Save as many humans as you can."

If the vicar was dead, the ghouls lost their puppet strings and stopped attacking people. Hellsing would send in the clean-up team, pay hush money, and the humans unfortunate enough to be here would pay prettily for their therapy. Or drink. It didn't matter much to him. He continued on his leisurely stroll through the Cheddar woods. Someone was running through them up ahead, breathing hard. He could tell by the heartbeat it was a human. Well, perhaps he'd do what Integra might have had in mind when she asked him to save humans. Active saving, instead of leaving them to their fates. He had some time, after all, so why not? Besides, he could smell ghoul too, foul and pungent on his palate. It contrasted harshly with the nicer human scent on the air.

The human had heard something; they'd stopped. Well, the ghoul would be on them soon enough—how about giving them a little fright?That sounded marvelously diverting. He heard the human click the safety off of their gun—and he was close enough now to tell that the human was female, and she smelled like...something floral. No matter. Alucard's hand was through the ghoul's chest, puncturing its heart, and there he was, standing on the other end of a gun from a little human.

Young, female, blonde, blue-eyed and—he couldn't quite tell through her thick clothing, but he was quite sure—buxom too. The police girl looked quite determined, as she pointed her gun at him. He had to smile. He liked that in a human, when they were unafraid. She cocked her gun at him, and he couldn't resist teasing her. "Beautiful night, isn't it, police girl?" he said. "Especially if you're a blood sucker."

She was confused for a moment or two, but then her resolve came up, and she shot him. A bit like a splinter, really. Nothing he couldn't heal, so he did. She lowered her gun. "You're not human," she gasped before turning tail and running.

"Oh? Would you have shot me if I was?" he murmured after her retreating form, allowing his sunglasses to slip down a notch to better watch her. Intriguing thing, this girl. Willing to go up against ghouls, and not afraid to shoot monsters, but with enough sense of self-preservation to turn and run when she faced a threat she couldn't kill with her puny little pistol. A sort of commendable bravery: reckless enough to take risks, but smart enough to retreat when the risk got too great. He'd be interested to see if she made it out; that would give him a reason to read the mission reports as Walter so often begged him to do. But he shrugged and continued on his way, third eye wide open for wherever the vampire might be.

Somehow or other, he ended up meandering his way through the silent night to the church. Someone was speaking in there, and he could hear a heart, beating in terror.Thatheartbeat was familiar. He'd heard it just recently. A blonde girl in blue with a gun.So she's still alive, Alucard mused to himself. And this second voice—it changed slightly in timbre, becoming the dulcet tones of hypnotization. There wasn't a heartbeat attached to that one. So, the police girl and the varmint he'd been dispatched to dispatch then. He smiled a bit, and settled in to listen. It was always useful to know one's enemy. And well, the police girl was interesting.

Now, what was this? The tick wanted to make a vampire out of her?Sweet blood coursing through her body—Alucard couldn't fault the vicar that. She smelled good, but that didn't always equate to taste. His mistress liked to wreathe herself in cigar smoke—quality smoke, but smoke nonetheless—andshestill tasted decent. But it took more than the taste of sweet blood and the need to make a Childe to actually succeed at turning a fledgeling.

"I'll blow your brains out, and then—and thene-everyone will know," the Police Girl said haltingly.Well, she can resist hypnosis then, can she? She could make for a good Childe.

There was a yelp from in the chapel, and Alucard jumped. The Police Girl had quite a piercing voice.

"None of that," the vicar growled. "Perhaps you're not worth it. I'll just defile you first. It's not worth it, having a servant who has a mind of her own! I'll start just here—Or maybe here! And I'll drain youdryonce I'm done."

The Police Girl screamed then, and Alucarddidend up putting his hands over his ears. "NOOO!" She shrieked.

Save the humans save the humans—that was his order. Alucard kicked down the chapel door. "That'senough, you goddamn punk!" he boomed. "Absolute vermin, the lot of you youngsters. I can barely tell you apart anymore."

"Who the hell are you?" the scumstain asked insouciantly. He had the police girl tucked in the crook of his arm, and she had the half-glazed look of the hypnotized and utterly terrified.

"Alucard. A humble servant of the Hellsing organization, and a specialist in garbage disposal."

"Really? A specialist. For garbage disposal. To exactlywhomdo you think you're speaking?"

"No, not even garbage. Justscum. Perhaps even less than that.Whereexactly did you get that ridiculous costume? You look like you belong in some sad carnival freak show. Don't you have any shame, wearing the clothes of a priest like you do? Scum should haveshameat least."

"I think that's enough. Boys!"

There was a rumbling in the pews as rows upon rows of ghouls stood up. Oh, a slight challenge then? There was nothing wrong with that. It hadn't quite surprised him, that this upjumped vicar would keep such things on hand. He'd noted their presence, but then dismissed them, like the lesser beings they were. They all pointed their guns at him. The Police Girl murmured a name, but he dismissed it, all thoughts on the target and threat in front of him.Kill the vampire, save the humans.

"You are a fool," Alucard continued in his smooth, inexorable voice. He knew exactly how well it worked on its targets, provoking them todo somethingto make it stop, and allowing him a little fun. "An incompetent coward, creating slaves to do your bidding and dirty work. Did you think you were worthy of the name vampire? You're not even worthy of the lowest pits of hell!"

"KILL HIM!" the tick shrieked.

Then the bullets started. It was a verifiable hail. They shot Alucard's jaw wide open. They made his torso into a giant slice of what the humans called Swiss cheese. They shot his left arm off. None of this irritated him; it made him feel alive. They shot his glasses off. He didn't like that. Those wereexpensive, and Walter would give him a bit of a chewing-out later, couched as always in polite British-isms. Finally, he'd been so perforated and drained of blood that he just keeled over, landing in an ungraceful heap in his own blood. It had been a while since that had happened. Most of the vermin he was called out to exterminate didn't have the destructive urges this one had. That was mildly refreshing.

That, and the gasp he was half-certain the Police Girl let out. Well, that was new too. Generally, females made noises like that when he was getting shotat. Now just to wait for a bit, for the moon to rise those few critical degrees—and damn the Hellsing family for putting these chains on me!There it was. He started pullinghimselftogether, drop by drop—and oh, how exhilarating, the feeling of his consciousness working on simple drops of liquid! He was nothing more than a shadow with bright white teeth and flashing red eyes. He chuckled, a small amusement. Oh, he could have fun now! The roach had proven himself to be worthy of a small amount of his power.

"Oh God," the roach said, disbelief coloring his tone.

"Shooting me won't do you any good," Alucard replied, darkly amused. "You'll need more than guns to stopme."

"One of us." the false priest whispered, before barking, "Just kill him!"

Alucard already had his Casull in his hand, the weight quite familiar. Ghouls weren't an issue, now. He amused himself with a couple trick shots, turning the pathetic wretches into dust. As he mowed down the brainless undead, a half-thought brought him back to the Police Girl. Perhaps it was her statement, once again of him being not human—but with admiration this time. "Are you a virgin, my dear?" he asked. It was quite casual, effortless.

"What?" she returned in her lovely breathy voice.

It wasn't the answer he was looking for. "I asked, are you a virgin?"

The chapel became quiet, except for his gunfire. It seemed like everything—the false priest, himself—hung anxiously on her answer.Except he wasn't anxious. It was a quite casual question! "Yes. Yes, I am!"

Good. The last of the ghouls were vanquished, and he turned back to the roach masquerading as a priest. Said priest was quite quickly losing his composure. "What are you doing? Stop it! Both of us are vampires! Don't you have some respect for us as a species? We're better than humans! You don't have to obey your master!"

Alucard turned out the nattering as he loaded another clip into his gun. "You're more of a cockroach than a proper vampire," he observed. "Left by yourself, you'd cover the world infilth. I can't stand your kind, you barely even know what you are, you lackwit maggot. How can you call yourself a self-respecting vampire? And as for myself," he continued, cocking his gun, "I have my own reasons for serving my human master. But that's not for vermin like you to know.

"Now, this gun," he said as he aimed, "fires a 13mm explosive round. A silver crucifix from Manchester Cathedral was melted into the alloy for these bullets. I suggest preparing yourself for eternity in Hell."

The roach priest twitched, grabbing the girl and tugging her close to his chest. "If that's the case, you'll have to kill the girl to get to me. Are you sure you want to do that, plaything of the humans? Do you wish to continue to be their puppet? Come with me! We can drain the girl—"

And the roach was prattling on again. But that wasn't important. He would have to shoot the girl to kill this insect, and he wasn't quite sure if he could do that. The shot would be quite easy, but something in him hesitated a bit. This wasn't played out yet, his instincts told him. There was something more to do. So he looked into the Police Girl's wide, trusting sapphire blue eyes, and stretched out his mind.

--Police Girl--he said.

--Y-yes?--

The roach continued rattling on about power and how much they could do together, trying to persuade him. Alucard wasn't that easy to persuade.

"I'm going to shoot now, and the bullet will rip through your lungs before it hits the maggot behind you," Alucard said, voice rather calm.

"Wait a minute!" the priest protested, but Alucard paid him no heed. He had the Police Girl's attention now.

"I know you don't want to die tonight. Would you like to come with me instead? I can't make the decision for you. It has to be made of your own free will. So choose!"

"Yes," the girl said. She straightened her spine, closed her eyes, and lifted her chin. Courage at the point of death. He had to admire that.

He fired the Casull.

It blew back both the roach priest and the girl some ways, but Alucard was moving as soon as his fingers left the trigger. He reached out and speared through the false priest's chest, twisting the heart and ripping it out. The vampire dissolved into so much dust around him. Quite anticlimactic really, but what could he do? He brushed himself off and looked around for the girl.

She was reaching out to him, some bright spark of determination shining in her starry eyes. Her breathing was labored, and spots of blood flecked her lips. He stood over her for a bit, before he knelt at her side. He picked up her head and gently (gently!) cradled her in his arms. It must have hurt quite a bit, but she was rather stoic about it. He admired that too. "Remember, Police Girl," he said. "The choice was always yours." He leaned in to kiss her (kiss her!), gently licking up the dribble of blood at the corner of her mouth. It tasted quite pleasant. He pulled back, and looked into those trusting blue eyes. "This is where you're supposed to close your eyes," he said.

She just twitched a smile at him, and kept her eyes open.

He chuckled.Brave little thing. He leaned in, fangs wide, and bit. Her skin was smooth, and tasted a bit like her floral perfume, with some dirt and sweat mixed in. She was human, after all. But her blood! Ah, that was something else. Better than his favorite vintage, a delicate rosé maybe, perhaps Riesling, or champagne. It was light and sweet and somewhat sparkly. But there was a richness to it too, that reminded him of a field of wildflowers in the springtime. Perhaps he could describe it as elderflower wine—a bit rustic, yes, but quite...refreshingtoo, and tastier than he anticipated. He had to be careful not to drain her. Just enough, just enough, and there. The endpoint. Her valiant little heart—like a kitten's, if he was feeling whimsical (which he wasnot)—pitter-pattered its way to its last beat. Now the real work began.

Later, he left the village, the Police Girl bundled up in a blanket he had scrounged. He had considered using his cloak, but carrying her bridal style was bad enough. But there was no other way he could conceivably think of carrying his newest Childe, this delicate fledgeling. Her head felt quite nice against his shoulder. And there was the perpetual thorn in his side, Sir Integra, standing a bit apart from her men as they rushed about like busy ants.

"Mission objective completed. Target vampire has been silenced. Limited power release has been fulfilled."

"It took far too long for you to silence just one target." Her eyes tracked over to the bundle in his arms. "A survivor?"

"Not quite."

"I'll have someone take care of her then." She turned to walk away.

"No. Transfer her to Hellsing." He was quite shockingly firm on this. It was just one of many small shocks this night.

"You don't make decisions," Integra ground out.

"The Police Girl made the decision all on her own, didn't you?" he said, addressing the last to the bundle he carried.

The Police Girl looked over at Integra and nodded.

"Fine." Integra's word was as sharp as a bullet. "But you're responsible for her." She turned and left.

Alucard smiled down at the Police Girl.Yes. Quite a perfect night.He said as much to the girl too, her eyes wide and trusting, and the color of amethysts. Better yet, she agreed.