Chapter Fourteen: Hellsing Under Siege
I stared at the intercom, feeling panic rising. Ghouls were here on Hellsing grounds? How was that possible, there are almost one hundred members of the organization here; so how could we have not gotten a better warning before it was too late? I rose from my seat and went to the door.
"Sit down Ms. Summers." I froze when Sir Integra pressed a few more buttons on the intercom. "Communications, I need a report. How many are we dealing with?"
"Forgive me sir, but it seems like a lot. Two tour buses pulled close to the compound, and two men distracted the guards outside and then they were killed by someone on the bus. Then the two men led an assault force that seemed to been on the buses. As far as we can tell sir, only two are not Ghouls. Wait no-!" The man speaking began screaming and I felt my stomach turn uncomfortably as the sounds of flesh being ripped apart echoed throughout the room. I felt my hand cover my mouth instinctively, trying not to be sick; though I was pleased to notice that I wasn't the only one sickened to my stomach.
"Hey is this thing on?" I raised my head from my hand to glance at the intercom as an unfamiliar voice rang out through the speaker. The man speaking cleared his throat dramatically. "This is a shout out to the Round Table Conference and the Queen Bitch herself, Ms. Hellsing. You are currently getting your asses kicked by the Valentine Brothers. This is Jan Valentine, and I'm looking forward to meeting each and every one of you, after we finish lunch. But let me be the first to thank you for the tasty snacks." He clicked off after saying a vulgar rock star farewell, and I silently heaved as Sir Integra tried once more to contact someone.
"Walter, where are you?" I froze as the warm familiar voice replied smoothly.
"I am currently in Ms. Victoria's room in the sub-basement with Alucard, and we've already been brought up to speed on the situation. Outside communication has been cut off, so we can't rely on assistance for four, or maybe five hours. Every able body has been ordered to protect the conference room with their lives. At the moment, I suggest that we split into two groups. Alucard will work his way upstairs clearing every floor, Seras and I will protect the conference room from the third floor."
"How will you manage? The halls are teaming with Ghouls." Sir Integra stared at the conference table expectantly, her brow narrowed in concentration as she weighted her options.
"How did you find Alucard's cell eight years ago?" Realization hit her and she glanced at the ceiling with a small smile of relief.
"The air ducts, of course."
"It seems the most logical choice, considering the situation. Please fortify the door to the conference room. Ms. Victoria and I shall be there momentarily, good luck then."
"Walter, these things are eating my men. Do not let a single one leave the grounds alive." Her face contorted in silent fury that had me cowering back in my chair.
"By your order then, sir. Is Ms. Summers still with you?" I jumped a little as I heard screaming from the floor below and I jumped to my feet, shocked at how close they were.
"Yes, she'll be waiting for instruction until you arrive." At the shocked exclamations of the conference members, I glanced down to avoid making eye contact with any of them. I was sure none of them would approve of my fighting Ghouls on this Plain, because I was a Non-Character.
I heard the intercom click off and Sir Integra glanced at me before reaching out and lighting another cigar. She blew the smoke thoughtfully, then she motioned for me to come closer. I obeyed and I felt her apprehension seeping through her.
"How should I fortify the doors, Sir Integra?" Instead, she pushed a button on the keypad of the intercom as a loud rumble shook the room. Several loud metallic clangs came from the door, and I glanced at her for conformation before I slid back from her as Sir Penwood jumped to his feet.
"We should be concerning ourselves with our evacuation." He seemed determined to leave, and he reminded me of Amy, trying to save themselves before anyone else. The reminder annoyed me greatly and I tried not to let it show.
"I'm afraid that is impossible now. By the sounds of it, they've destroyed the helipad and any helicopters that were there. And the halls are flooded with Ghouls, they are coming for us."
"Well, do something! You are responsible for this!" I felt my jaw drop at how wildly this man placed the blame on Sir Integra. Wasn't there a risk like this eventually going to happen to them anyway? What if it was a meeting called at this guy's place; would he like it if everyone ganged up on him?
"Sir Penwood!" The reproach came from the older man that I had met earlier. "Now is not the time for this behavior. What I believe Sir Integra is getting at, is that we will each be expected to take care of themselves should the time call for it."
"Yes sir, as we speak Walter and Seras are making their way here. We'll make a definite plan when they arrive."
"And the enemy are all Ghouls." Sir Penwood sat down warily and held his head between his hands. "And their armed to the teeth. We're all going to die!"
I noticed that a tile on the ceiling moved, and so did everyone else in the room but Sir Penwood. In fact, judging by the look of it, the tile was over his head. Without warning the tile dropped right onto Sir Penwood's head. I gasped when I recognized the material trying to squirm through the opening. Suddenly, Seras fell from the opening and landed butt-first on Sir Penwood's face, and I had to fight to keep my composure and act mature. Walter landed gracefully for being an older man.
"Hi," was Seras's response as she got to her feet. She moved to stand closer to me and noticed my tight expression.
"Walter, Seras!" Sir Integra looked quite relieved to see them. Walter moved as if automatic to light Sir Integra's next cigar. "What are we dealing with?"
"I don't know who trained these creatures, but whoever they are, they're tactical geniuses. They knew exactly how to hit us, and where." I felt my respect for the man raise several meters; it seemed that Walter was also a tactician, and I don't know why that relieved me.
"Are we truly done for?" He smirked and shook his head and I glanced at him uncertainly. I noticed something was off about him and my gaze was riveted to his gloves. He usually wore white gloves, but the pair that he was wearing was black.
"No. In fact, considering the trials that Van Hellsing faced a century ago, this hardly classes as a crisis. The plan is as follows: your standing order will be followed to the letter. I can assure you that none of these villains will leave here alive. Now, I think it is time that I taught these children a proper lesson in violence." He flicked his wrist with a soft chuckle, and that was when I noticed the difference.
"Are those wires?" Walter seemed shocked at my question, but then he smiled and motioned for Seras. She handed him a case that she was holding with a small smile of her own.
"Yes, Ms. Summers, they are wires. I used to be one of this organization's top agents when it came to vampire hunting." I felt my jaw drop and he chuckled. "I was hoping to give you these under less dire circumstances, but I'm afraid that you will need them now."
He placed the case down on the table and motioned for me to open it. I complied and my eyes widened at what I saw. Trying to compose myself, I smiled.
"But Walter, it's not my birthday yet." His smile stretched wider and his eyes crinkled as he shook with silent laughter at my antics.
"Those are dual combat pistols, left unnamed for your purposes. Each pistol is five kilograms in weight, twenty rounds per magazine. You've been training with two guns ever since the Anderson incident, and it seems that you've found yourself your own weapon speciality."
"What are the casings?" I inquired as I moved automatically the slide in the magazines. Sir Integra kept her eyes on my movements, proud as I expertly loaded the weapons, even though the other conference members seemed horrified.
"Pure Macedonian silver, nine millimeters, the tips are mercury, and they've already been blessed." My felt my eyes welling up with tears as he explained the finer details of my new weapons.
"Nine millimeters will leave a nice sized hole, and you've made them light for me to carry around without trouble. No one would expect these to pack as much of a punch as they will." I glanced back to Walter as he turned toward the door with Seras.
"Ms. Summers, your job will be to protect the conference members and Sir Integra, should anyone come in here." Walter made direct eye contact with me, sadly noting the nervousness of my actions. "I don't think that you should go outside these doors until you get permission first. The sights that you will see, are not for the eyes of children."
I nodded in understanding. Sir Integra unlocked the door and allowed Seras and Walter to leave, though when the door closed she never locked it up again. She asked the other members to turn their chairs to the door, and had them all load and ready their own weapons. She had me situated beside the doors, so then I could shoot into the oncoming assailant's blind spot.
After ten minutes of waiting I heard the familiar vulgar voice that called himself Jan Valentine. My anger bubbled as I listened to Walter's taunts and Seras's weapon going off, hold on, that gunshot sounded deeper, and when it collided with the enemy, it almost sounded like a whole row of them were wiped out. Did she get an upgrade as well?
I heard telltale sounds of someone running loudly towards the door, psychotic laughter ringing out before a force slammed the doors open. I was greeted by the sight of a young man with multiple facial piercings, wearing all black. He seemed shocked at the sight of the conference training their weapons on him.
"Oh, fuck me." I pulled the safety back and he glanced at me, his jaw dropping. I pulled the trigger and felt a surprisingly strong recoil.
A/N: Wow, am I getting better with all of the details, or what? I had this chapter started a month ago, and man has it taken me a while to get back into the swing of things. I've officially graduated college a month ago as well. Now it is onto job searching and using my spare time in between to get Book One complete. This crossover is coming along quite nicely if I do say so myself. Please rate and review and I hope that I'll be able to have more free time; ah what the hell am I saying, right now it's the weekend and I have all the free time in the world for two days. I'll do my best to get this posted as soon as possible so then you all can enjoy my awesome creativeness. Shout outs will happen if you review and like this story. Free publicity, so there should be no complaining.