Three of a Kind
Disclaimer: I still don't own anything, but give credit to a certain veteran of the site for beta reading and such.
A/N: The following, until otherwise stated, is occurring at the time of chapter 6, however, in a different location.
Chapter Seven:
Somewhere in London…
The woman awoke from her daily slumber, opened her coffin and blinked the sleep goo from her eyes.
"About time lady, it's already eight-o-clock and you're only just waking up?" a man's voice jeered out from the hall. She looked at the man standing at her open door, a towel wrapped around his waist. His skin had the totally even, (and slightly orange) tone of someone who constantly used fake tanning cream.
"Shut it numb-nuts, I put in a long morning so I need this sleep!" she growled out, perturbed.
"So? I put in a long evening too, now get up and get to work-ouch!!" the 'ouch' was because she had found on of the grapnel launching crossbows lying scattered around the room and shot him squarely in the face with a half-kilo of steel grapnel and rope.
"Now," she began, recoiling the rope and putting the hook back in its place on the launch rail. "Leave or I'll hurt you." She said that in a way as to imply that she hadn't just done that.
"Fine but the bossman won't like you slaking off when you're supposed to be working on the big day," he replied with a snide smile.
"That's it! I'm going to count to five, and if you are still there, I am going to kick you very solidly and painfully," she said picking up and putting on a combat boot. "One," she started to tie the laces. "Two…"
"Right, laters." said the man walking out of sight down the hallway, when he had reached a safe distance he called out, "Bitch!"
"Man-whore!" she shouted back feeling justified. She assembled her clothes for the day's work. Wrapped a towel around herself and walked up the hall to the shower.
Thirty minutes later she walked out again, refreshed and nearly bumped into the annoying man's brother, who to contrast prided himself for his paper white skin.
"Oh, sorry my dear. Have you seen the grapnel launchers?" he said politely with a faint German accent.
"Sure, they're in my quarters, I was giving them the once over, again, and before you ask. Yes you have permission to enter my room and retrieve them," she replied cheerfully.
"O.K., your breakfast is in its normal room." With that he left to get the crossbows.
From there she went to eat breakfast, which in this case was a Hispanic tourist she had singled out near dawn, tazed, and dragged into the nearest taxi. He was now hanging by the wrists in the freezer. He'd received his nutrient/flavor injection and was unconscious. She bit deeply, relishing the taste of years of greasy, salty food and the memories of life. That done she returned to find Whitey and a ghoul putting the grapnel launchers on a mobile cart. On the table beside him was her combat load-out, an amped up FN F2000, custom made Calico pistol chambered in .357 colt magnum with its 75 round magazine drum's next to it on the table, and her baby a Japanese nodachi great-sword just under 130cm of gleaming steel and silver alloyed blade in it's lacquered sheath.
"While you're at it, could you take my platoon's weapons load to their bus? They're busy working it over, and I have to prep my own weapons." She waved her hand at the butler ghoul in the corner. They needed thought to guide and she needed to concentrate.
"I don't see why not," he said, always the gentleman
She opened her weapons locker and pulled out her toolkit and carry-all and went down to the impromptu firing range to re-sight her weapons for the work ahead. From there she went to the section of the warehouse were the five commandeered buses were undergoing their remodeling. She walked up to hers, a big double decker and hailed her vampire underlings.
"Hey!, what's the skinny? We ready yet?" she yelled at the bus shielding her eyes from the ultraviolet spark of arc welders.
A head wearing a welders helmet peeped down from the top and answered, "sure just some finishing touches, you can get to your section safely and load in. ARCING!!" he yelled as he dove back out of sight and the sizzle and zap of welding filled the air.
Their plan, all those years ago, had been to attack the Hellsing manor using just the two Valentine brothers and an army of cheap ghouls. Since then she had joined and altered their plan a bit first by adding three bus-loads of ghouls and getting more vampires to control them so they could perform more complex tasks and be more valuable as soldiers. To protect their brain trust, they acquired the double decker, equipped it with an appropriate level of armor so that the controlling vampires would have a modicum of safety and the snipers could get clearer fields of fire from the top. Just the three would go in and provide instructions and operate as the vanguard. Her and the Valentine 'Brothers' volunteered for that honor. One would lead a force down to the basement, another would go up, and hers would climb to the roof and work its way down.
The woman walked on board the bus sat down in her assigned seat and started the task of loading her weapons one black penetrator at a time, saying to herself softly the poems she had taught herself years ago.
"The Earth is full of anger," 'click' as the first round went into the magazine "The seas are dark with wrath," 'click' went the second, and so on. She was somewhere in the middle of the derelict when she finished loading the magazines and started re-checking her equipment. During her meditation the older brother, Luke came in and put her crossbows to their mounts along the walls. By morning she was totally prepared and the other vampires had started loading their weapons.
The first to load was Zane who would stay and control the snipers on top of the bus as well as the one who was welding up the open second level.
"Morning 'E' you ready for the fun?" he said in a very chipper and unprofessional way.
"Shut it Zane, and stow your gear!" she yelled at him, (she did that a lot) and then smiled. "Yes, I guess I am."
Following Zane was the detachment of ghouls whose job it was to block off the adjoining streets and guard the buses. Needless to say they didn't greet or even acknowledge the other occupants of the bus.
When everyone had loaded up, the driver called in ready on the radio, started the engine, and pulled into the cue of buses exiting the warehouse and departing on their four hour trip into the heart of London and into battle.
Meanwhile at Hellsing manor…
Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing was a little stressed. She had been scrabbling to build reports on both the FREAK chip and the Lone Star company and she wasn't particularly happy when Walter knocked on her door.
"Sir Integra, Sir Penwood has arrived and would like to speak with you about the last minute additions to the conference, and-" he was cut off by an impatient and angry Sir Arthur Penwood striding through the door.
"What is the meaning of this? You've added an extra two hours to the scheduled meeting length! What is so important that we can't cover it in the normal sum of time?!" The anger in his voice at this aberration was evident in every spitting syllable.
"What was added to your meeting good sir was what we assumed is the possibility of an alliance between our corporation and your organization," answered a voice behind him.
He turned to look down upon what, to him, appeared to be a shabbily dressed eighteen year old boy carrying a duffel bag.
"And exactly who are you to interrupt me with your insane ramblings?!?"
Luke looked him in the eye reached into a pocket pulled out a small device, and pressed a button. The device flashed, whirred, and then stated out loud the following.
"Sir Arthur Penwood, owns the Penwood estate, as well as some small interests in the MediCorp needle factory, the Ireland branch Lone Star distributors station, and holds a seat in Parliament, estimated black mark-"
Luke pressed the button, cutting off the voice and said, "Sir Penwood as we recall our UK service agents have all remarked on your 'holier-than-thou' attitudes so in order to annoy you for annoying them we will refuse to name ourselves, but will say that insulting us will result in a three-quarter drop in your income." As Luke said this the characteristic grin stayed on his face. His statement did seem to flabbergast the angry knight not just a little bit. Seeing this reaction Luke turned to Walter and asked, "Could you direct us to your armory so we can reload? We can and will reimburse this household for the cost."
Integra took the chance made by Luke. "Show him Walter and provide him whatever he asks. As for your question Sir Penwood what he said is the answer. He has proposed an alliance between his company and ours for the purpose of facilitating the hunting of monsters just last night." That said she watched and savored the sight of Penwood's face changing color from pale to purple.
"Sir Integra, for the insult and threat I have received today you will have an enemy at the conference this afternoon." Penwood vehemently declared.
Integra's only response was, "that's fine, now I have to finish the report on it, good day Sir Penwood."
"I will not be dismissed in such a manner!!!" said he in the voice of anger.
"Yes, I do believe you can human," said the silky voice of Alucard as he walked down the wall behind Integra. Alucard wasn't openly holding weapons, but that didn't stop the now afraid Penwood from taking a step back.
"I will report this to the table at the meeting, be sure of that!" This last said, Penwood turned and literally, with not much dignity ran from the room.
Walter was quite enjoying his conversation with the three who had exited when they got to Armory One. Especially the one who dressed in fatigues, he seemed to be the creative of the three. He exchanged weapon design ideas (the large weapon the blue one carried for Alucard's Casull), all the while the one in black brooded over his little Calico and the one in blue whistled an assortment of complex tunes
When they had finished they returned to their 'host' and he returned to his room. Walter departed and returned to the foyer to greet the other round table members who were currently arriving.
Sitting in her room, Seras was feeling a bit mixed about her current condition, she wasn't sure if she was happy or sad. The first thing she saw was the little note Walter had left for her on the lid of her coffin.
'Look inside for a little present.'
When she opened the coffin she saw it, two meters of gleaming gray steel, a page of instructions on the operation and two massive boxes of bullets one labeled 'VT fused. CAUTION: EXPLOSIVE' and the other labeled 'KE penetrators CAUTION: URANIUM'. Engraved on the side of the massive weapon in big block letters was the word HARKONNEN I. Her squeal of delight was heard all the way to the Rec-room, and it filled the soldiers there with a sense of dread
"What do you think she's doing?" asked William
"I saw Walter walking downstairs with a pair of large boxes so it's one of two things. One, she is currently redecorating her room, or Two she just found an enormous weapon sitting on her bed," said another soldier taking his shot at the billiards on the table. The whole room shivered at the second option.
TBC…
A/N: OK, guys how was that chapter for you?