Hey guys! Flora managed to work a few chapters in for Christmas too, so here we go!
Flora's POV:
"You know, I don't know whether or not to be mildly insulted that they don't think I can defend myself or extremely grateful that I don't have to try and fight a very scary vampire lord." Al said from beside me, resting his chin on his sweatpants. I giggled weakly and leaned back against the wall, inlaid with hundreds of blessed silver sigils, as well as various holy crosses and a kind of writing Seras said was Theban in origin. Hellsing was mobilizing, but there was a lot of red tape to clear out, being as Radu had been passing himself off as a semi-important government official, and it was unanimously agreed that I was to be hidden away until they had captured or killed him beyond a shadow of a doubt. Al, apparently, had to be hidden for similar reasons, as he was our only link to finding Radu if he potentially escaped, not to mention what the vampire lord might do if he found out how we knew where he was.
So here the both of us were, Seras standing guard on the other side of the room, in the cell that the original Van Hellsing had used to secure Alucard. I smiled briefly at the thought of him, and felt his welcome touch against my mind. 'You're still alright?' he asked worriedly, and I smiled and stretched a little, yawning. 'I'm fine, Alucard. A bit bored, but totally and completely fine.' I answered, and he chuckled. 'See that you stay that way.' I felt him let go, and jolted in surprise as Al nudged me with his elbow. "Up for a game of checkers?" he asked, pulling out a tiny board and bag of disks from his pockets. I shrugged and scooted around to face him, the board on the floor between us. "Dibs on white."
3rd Person POV:
"Well well well, isn't this a pleasant surprise. I thought Iscariot was too crippled to send out any fighters." Alucard said, glee thick in his voice, as Father Anderson glared at him evilly from his position buy the trucks. "Shut up, ye heathen filth." Heinkel Wolfe jumped out of the van behind him, landing on her feet and straightening calmly, cigarette dangling from her mouth. "As if His Holiness would miss out on the chance crushing the bugs that dared to attack the Holy See." she snarled, and Alucard grinned widely. "I seem to remember that your Holiness needed me to go in and clear up his city for him." he pointed out evilly, and both Iscariots sent him deadly glares. Sir Integra coughed pointedly from behind him. "Alucard, stop riling up our allies. Iscariot, I believe Sir Reginald wanted you in B sector." Both soldiers of God nodded, albeit reluctantly, and stalked off into the darkness. Alucard watched them go, a wicked smirk still plastered on his face.
"Allying with the Iscariots, Master? Have we truly sunk so low?" he asked impishly, and Sir Integra scowled at him. "We are dealing with a centuries-old vampire with a very large grudge against both you and the Vatican. It would be foolish to not combine our forces, especially when it is your mate he is so bound and determined to go for." She took in a long whiff of her cigar. "Why do I get that it's not just for revenge against you?" Alucard blinked slowly, looking off into the distance. It looked like he was not going to answer, but then he scowled slightly and spoke. "A vampire's mate can, in the extremely rare cases that the vampire in question has vampiric blood-relatives, ones that were related to the vampire in life as well as in death, switch their affections to the vampire's relations, whether through the event of their mate's death, or just prolonged contact with said family member."
Sir Integra blew out a long stream of smoke. "If they are compatible with one member of the family, then they may be compatible with the rest. An old precaution, in case the mate dies?" Alucard smirked and nodded. "My master is astute as ever." he chuckled, and his crimson eyes darkened. "Radu thinks he can seduce his mate from me. Mates are the halves of a whole, they give power to their lovers. He thinks he can steal my huntress from me, just to gain more power he could get on his own. Cheap, pathetic coward!" he snarled, and Sir Integra smirked icily. "You have permission; Search and Destroy. Let not a shred of his body remain, not a speck of ash. He has dared to attack the heir to the Hellsing family; you know what this entails! My servant, go!" she snarled, yanking her cigar out of her mouth and snapping it in half. Alucard spared a moment to give her a grin of thanks before he melted into a swarm of bats that raced off, chittering, into the night.
***Time Skip***
Everything was in place. Radu had sequestered himself in a towering office block to make his final preparations for departure, predictably a city in Romania, close to the former castle of his family. He was trusting on the fact of the building's many levels and access to the air, combined with his ability to shapeshift into bats, to allow him escape in case of attack. However, that plan was quickly thwarted by Integra's keen grasp of strategy. Alucard would approach from above, in a swarm of bats himself, and the Hellsing soldiers, British forces, and Iscariot would attack from below. The Hellsing soldiers would scour the basement, the Iscariots and other inducted military personnel guarding the exit. Once the basement was cleared, the Hellsing forces would continue searching the building. They'd radio in for help if they found the vampire lord, and with Iscariot pinning down the entrance, if he ran, he wouldn't get far. Alucard had the entire outside of the building covered with his swarm; there would be no escape there.
Radu cursed as he stared out at the swarms of humans, and irritably shot down one of his brother's bats as it flew past the window. He growled and jerked his head, holstering his gun, and the swarms of ghouls that were the building's former employees staggered downstairs, ready to meet the Iscariots and Hellsing forces head-on. It would slow them down, and possibly even give him room to escape… No. He cursed and shook his head. There wouldn't be any escape from here, not now. He knew, deep in his gut, that it had something to do with that former employee of his, the one he had most regrettably not dealt with in the parking lot. His hands, gripping the window frame, tightened, and the solid concrete cracked audibly. Oh, if he got his hands on Curtis…
No matter now. The leader had made a mistake in coming here personally, as well as sending in her best soldiers. Soon, his little surprise trap would be sprung, and it would no longer truly matter whether or not Alucard got to him first. He grinned slightly at that, allowing his façade to crack, but then his mask of imperturbable calm settled over his face and he walked away from the window, deliberately slow. He entered the room with his few remaining soldiers, and pointed to the map of the building. "Leave no human alive. Attack every living thing in this building; but do not, I repeat, do not engage Alucard." He bared his sharp fangs. "Alucard is mine. Do not engage the No-Life King, but kill everything else that moves."