Do not own! Not mine!

*Kudos to anyone who gets the reference for Al's last last name. Hint: FMA

Integra's POV:

"Alucard…"

He grunted in answer, his arms tightening around Flora's waist as she shrugged helplessly, squirming around in his fierce embrace to smile sheepishly at me. "He's fine…just a little worried I guess." His gloved hand rested on her head and she was yanked back into the dubious safety of his embrace as he mumbled something and held her even tighter, her nose buried in his chest. I hid a smile as I blew out a cloud of cigar smoke, despite the true gravity of the situation. "Alucard, it's not like he's going to snatch her right out from under our noses. You don't have to hold onto her like that." One baleful crimson eye peeked out from under his bangs. "Funny, wasn't that just what he was attempting in Italy?!" he half-snarled, and promptly turned over, Flora still squashed against him. It was obvious he was not letting her out of his arms, never mind out of his sight.

But there was Flora's comfort to be considered too. Being forcibly "cuddled" by a more than average-strength vampire, which by definition physically little more than a sentient corpse, would probably get both chilling, uncomfortable, and boring within a very short space of time. "Flora, are you alright with this temporary…situation?" I asked with the barest hint of a frown, and she managed to wave a hand at me before Alucard reclaimed it and tucked it back into the little protective ball he had gotten her into. "Yes sir, I don't mind. Really. He'll probably let go soon anyway." There was a rumble of disagreement from aforementioned vampire and she hastily added. "–I think." This time he made a slightly less ominous sound and probably stroked her hair as I watched dubiously.

Well, nothing I could do to pry him off short of confining him to the basement and locking Flora in her room, which would mean the vampire quite likely going into conniptions and the human wearing out the floorboards with worried pacing. This would have to work as Alucard's stress relief and Flora's security detail until I managed to find something else that might work. "Very well then, continue doing as you will. And Alucard, if she gets cold, you will let go until she warms up." He shot me an outraged glare over his shoulder, then growled and reached down to his feet, pulling a blanket over Flora and tucking it around her before shooting me a filthy look, as if to say "There, now leave me alone and let me cuddle my precious".

I rolled my eyes and left the room.

Al's POV:

Gotta be a connection…there's always a connection… I thought frantically as my fingers flew over the keyboard, my hazel brown eyes raking over the screen. Large, empty coffee containers littered my workdesk –wonderful stuff, coffee– and there was a large pile of papers in the "In" bin of my cubicle. I growled and ran a hand through my dirty blonde hair in frustration as I abruptly leaned back in my chair. I'll bite the big bazooka before I admit anyone's better than me at web-stalking, but whoever those people are, they're pretty damn good. Not one tiny glimpse of evidence, never mind a nice convenient hole in a firewall I can wiggle through to access the duty register.

"Hey Al, head's up! Boss man's coming!"

I mentally swore as I swept as many of the empty cups into the trashcan as I could, typing frantically with my other hand as I erased all my history up until my last job-relevant page, quickly composing my hair and twitching the cuffs of my shirt straight before inhaling and putting my fingers to the keyboard. "Curtis, where is the report on the latest boat transits? I expected it on my desk a week ago." The cold, brusque tone made me swallow hard, even though I was a grown man who defied the forces of law and order on a regular basis, sometimes to their face. "I was sidetracked sir. It will not happen again." I said nervously, and there was a pause.

Slim, bone-white fingers reached past me, then snatched up the picture of Jay that had been half-hidden under my keyboard. "Who is this woman?" I swallowed twice, gathering my nerve. "Old acquaintance from America." Dead-on truth. "We haven't spoken in a few years." Bending the truth a little. "I think she's living in New York right now." Flat out lie. I held my breath as he continued to gaze down at the image blankly, as if memorizing it. One corner of his bloodless lips twitched up, and he flicked the small picture back down on my desk. "She looks as if she has a very sharp tongue. I would do well to keep track of such a woman." I hastily yanked it back, shoving it in my pant pocket. For some reason I didn't like the look in his eye as he described her. "Yeah, whatever. Have a nice day." I mumbled, then turned and started typing nervously, well aware of the sharp gaze resting on my back.

There was a chuckle, and his dominating presence faded away as his footsteps moved down the row, and I unconsciously let out the breath I had been holding. Why I still work for a guy like him makes me really want to examine my life sometimes. But then again, this job gives me a real legit reason to have a bunch of high-tech computer crap about the apartment. I leaned back and ran a hand through my hair again, messing it up. Well, nothing to it but to do it. Hang on Jay; teacher's got some paperwork to do before he avenges ya. I set my fingers to the keys, typing at a much slower, controlled pace as my tense posture relaxed, becoming a slump of boredom. There was a limit to how high-strung a guy could stay, especially since he was working on Boredom Inc. make-work when surrounded by the office sounds of sharpening pencils, typing fingers, and squeaky wheels on the office chairs.

***Time Skip***

I stared at my blank screen as it shut down, frustrated. Not one damn clue…alright, the time to bit the big bazooka is becoming annoyingly close. If it was just Jay's firewalls, I could take them down easy-peasy, but when she mixed hers with the already existing security system…I'd admire her skills, if they didn't frustrate me so much. There's such a thing as taking too well to your lessons Jay! I sighed and shook my head, snapping up my briefcase and shoving the chair away from the desk as I stumbled to my feet. The hours of coffee, boredom, stress, and clue-pursuing had left me jittery and irritated, and I stuffed my arms into the sleeves of my jacket as I walked down to where the employee parking was.

As I did so, I stewed in my frustration and slight…okay, not worry, but concern. That Flora girl that Jay was friends with seemed nice enough, and the double-D lady following her seemed to be on the good side, if a little…out of it. I dunno, it was the same sorta aura I got from my boss, only much less…threatening. Like they were only looking at you because you were there, and half of them were somewhere else, doing something complicated. The only difference between the Seras-lady and my boss was that her "something" was like "must remember not to grip the vase like this when I clean it" and his was "how long can I drag out my worker's payments and worktime to cause the maximum pain and suffering".

I blinked at the flickering lights in the garage, then sighed and shook my head, stepping into the nearly silent and empty parking space, the sound of my sneakers bouncing off the bare walls. The lights suddenly flickered completely out, and an instinctive, demanding fear rose in my chest as I swallowed thickly. It's just the dark Al. Why the hell are you scared? You read creepypastas at midnight and don't even blink. Why is this so much scarier? I thought shakily, shuffling rapidly in my pocket for my minnie flashlight. There was a slight scuffling noise, and I dug my hand further into my pocket, my heart hammering against my ribs as it seemed to be coming…closer. The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I started to shake a little, sweat pouring down my skin as I realized my breathing was speeding up as well. I finally found the little round cylinder of salvation, whipping it out and turning it on, half-gasping, half-yelping as red eyes gleamed hungrily at me through the darkness.

"A little jumpy, aren't we Mr. Curtis?"

My legs nearly went to jelly at the familiar voice, and the impeccably attired figure of my superior stepped out of the darkness and into the beam of my shining flashlight, smirking a little. The red glow I had seen coming from his eyes was gone, leaving the normal sharp brown. Damn…my nerves are completely shot. And not in the way he usually fries them. I thought weakly, then shook my head a little as I returned to earth. "Mr. Frumos, I thought you were already at home. Sorry about that, but its pitch black in here, and my imagination was just acting up I guess." His smirk grew a little before fading. "Perfectly normal reaction from an individual of your caliber. I understand completely. Mr. Curtis." He tipped an invisible hat to me and promptly walked to my right, heading for where I remembered his car to be as I shuddered hard, the lingering terror dissipating with the faint and fragile beam of my little pocket flashlight.

The lights suddenly flickered back on, and I turned my head slightly, unable to stop myself, and swallowed hard as I saw that he was gone, and besides the end of the hallway, fifty meters away, and the concrete pillars, there had been nowhere for him to go. The hairs on the back of my neck rose again, and it was with a decidedly rapid pace that I walked to my car and got in, slamming and locking the door. Did that really just happen? I thought shakily as I pulled out, glancing in the mirror to make sure he –or anything else– hadn't popped up again. The words of Jay's friend Flora suddenly drifted into my mind again, and my fingers tightened on the wheel.

It's not stuff normal people need to hear. It'd be safer for you not to know.

Just what the bloody hell had I gotten myself into when I started investigating this crap?!