Chapter 1: Judas Priest

Rome, August 15th, 2016

He barely looked up when he heard the door open. Maybe it was only his imagination. If the door opened that meant more work and he couldn't take that at the moment.

Somebody cleared his throat. Marco Renaldo. Who else? Renaldo was running Iscariot almost alone sometimes. Enrico Maxwell looked up and rubbed his temples. What time was it? Long after lunch, it seemed. God, he was tired. His head was throbbing.

Renaldo had another pack of reports in his arms. Enrico barely sighed, although inside something was screaming out in outrage. Not more of that! It wasn't fair! But – it was his own fault. He had let everything pile up and now the Vatican wanted those reports. As if there was nothing more important to do. He had spent most of his time looking in this Millennium thing and wasn't any further with determining who were the traitors even one month later.

Alexander was sleeping in his lap. The fawn-colored cat had been one of the best choices he ever made. Like so often his friends had been involved. "What?", Enrico asked warily. He would love to do as Alex did. Just lie down and sleep. He didn't know when he had slept more than four hours straight the last time. Probably last week, but the days became a blur by now.

"Chief, we have a situation." Renaldo, ever so calm, always there to run Iscariot when he couldn't. Enrico wondered what was going wrong. He was at least thirty years younger than the seasoned paladin. It should be the other way around.

"What's the matter?" Enrico was dismayed how blurry his words were. He had fought against his accent for years and he normally had it under control, even when under stress. But now the rolling R had sneaked into his voice again and he found himself having trouble thinking of English words instead of Italian. He needed to go back to Canada, maybe visit his parents for a while. The thought made him almost laugh. If only.

Marco put down the pile. "We receive news from an unusual amount of vampire attacks in Great Britain."

Enrico looked through him for a moment and Renaldo was worried. Maxwell was pale under his natural tan and had dark circles under his eyes. He seemed to have trouble concentrating. No wonder after all those hours of paper-pushing. The latest incidents had forced everybody to work overtime, but not like that.

"That's Protestant territory," Enrico finally said. He had automatically switched to Italian. It made it easier voicing his thoughts. "Why is that our problem? We should be happy."

"There were report about attacks in Northern Ireland," said Renaldo and then added a "Sir" for good measure. Maxwell looked like the angry, spiteful, disappointed child he had been not so long ago again. And tired. Very tired. He was a difficult person sometimes. Not bad, just... difficult. No point in pushing him.

He leaned back. "Fine. Great," he sighed. He had to think about that. What should they do?

"I have already informed Alexander Anderson. Is that what you wanted?", Marco enquired carefully.

Enrico smiled, relieved. Alexander. That was a great idea. "Thanks. Really. I wouldn't know what to do without you." Renaldo accepted the compliment with a nod. A quick rise to power was always risky. Sometimes he looked into those green eyes and wondered when the boy would finally snap. And how many would have to suffer then?

There was a bit more to the whole Badrick thing, but... No. Not now. "Sir, with respect, you look horrible. Go rest yourself. I will finish these reports and you can sign them later on."

Enrico was close to declining. But then again, in the state he was now in he wasn't helping anyone. Falling asleep on his desk again wasn't a thing he was eager to do. Last time he had barely been able to move the whole day. And a shower wouldn't be the worst idea either. "Fine." He stood up, carrying the wearily moving cat. At the door he stopped. Screw his accent. It would get better when he was better. In here, nobody cared. Renaldo knew worse things about him. "Thank you, Father."

Renaldo nodded and Enrico went on his way. The summer rain today had washed the air clean, but now the sun was shining brightly again. His little flat was only a few streets away. The perks of being a bishop. He laid Alexander in his basket, put out a bowl of milk and went into his room. Enrico vaguely remembered carelessly throwing his clothes on a heap before he fell into bed and the afternoon sun turned into blackness. Renaldo and Alexander took care of stuff. No need to worry. Finally sometime he didn't have to.

"Rico! Wake up!" Somebody shook him, first gently, then, when he didn't respond, more determined. "Your presence as chief is needed."

Enrico growled and pushed the hand away. Chief. Everybody was calling him that. A joke name, originally belonging to the heathen tribes of America. At least nobody could claim the Iscariots had no humour.

He blinked against the bright light shining through the window. What time was it? The first this he saw when his vision cleared were dark blue eyes and dark hair falling in a grinning face. "Good morning, sleeping beauty," Lisa said and stroked his hair. It flowed over the cushion, even though he didn't remember opening his ponytail. That had been last... evening? Afternoon, rather. He sat up and stretched. His body felt a bit stiff, but well rested. How long had he slept? Enrico started to worry. Then he saw the digits on the clock. Only five? Three hours?

There was something to this power-napping after all, it seemed.

"It looked like you were lying stone dead. Scared the crap out of me," Lisa said, laughing.

"I'm not that old yet," he yawned.

The pleasant smell of pancakes and hot chocolate drifted through the rooms. Not exactly a traditional Italian breakfast. Lisa never got rid of her love for those small traditions. Not that he minded. It was more his style anyway. Sometimes he thought he was more Canadian anyway. Especially considering the green eyes and blond hair, which was completely unfitting for an Italian man with his tan.

He swung his legs out of the bed and rubbed his eyes. Lisa laughed. "Wow, you really were tired. Sleeping only in boxershorts."

He put on a random shirt and followed her into the kitchen. She continued, "I also read Renaldo's reports. They're great. You can sign them without hesitation." Pancakes and hot chocolate on the table. He just got to love her.

She stood beside the table and stroked his hair. She always did that. Like she was the older one of them. "You work too much, big brother." He only gave an inarticulate answer. Now that he was waking up, his hunger did, too. "Besides, Mum and Dad asked if we would come over sometime. Or they will."

"That sounds like a threat," Enrico mumbled.

Lisa shook her head, smiling. He was so hellish immature sometimes. "Mum wants to visit Rome again. Then we can celebrate all together."

"I'm pretty busy at the moment," he answered between two bites of pancake. That should be obvious, he thought. He really needed to thank her properly. What would he do without his wonderful little sister?

Speaking of that, what time was it again? Four? No, five. Three hours? How could she have read all those reports in three hours?

Lisa read his thoughts like so often. "You slept a whole day, if Renaldo was precise about your departure. 26 hours. And before you jump through the roof, the reports are all good and done."

Enrico didn't jump through the roof. He just tried to make sense of what she was saying. What? WHAT?!

"Tutto il giorno?" He blinked. "Why did nobody wake me?"

"Because you needed it," Lisa stated. Her tone implied that wasn't up for a discussion. Sometimes he thought they behaved like an old married couple, fighting against and for each other. Was it weird? Just because they were step-siblings? That was what some seemed to think. Most, actually. Enrico never had thought about her like anything more than his sister and best friend.

He had finished eating and put the plates away. Better check on news from Anderson and take a shower. Lisa followed, when he started picking up his stuff, which lay in a messy heap. "Ahem."

He stopped. Did he forget something? While he wondered about that, he checked his phone. One message was from Heinkel. The girls were on some tropical island at the moment. The mission had gone well (although he didn't like the quotation marks on the "well" - what had gone awry now?) and they would return home soon. He had received that yesterday at three o'clock.

And there was a text message from Lisa, saying: "Guess who's a paladin now?"

Enrico frowned. "The exam was scheduled for... oh, wait." He dropped the clothes on a messy heap, just before Lisa hugged him. He lost his balance and both crashed on the bed. "I can't believe I forgot. Congrats." Her hands were icy despite the hot weather. Like always. Maybe her Canadian blood.

"You slept a whole day. No wonder you're even more confused than usual."

"What do you want to say with that?", he laughed. "I'm not confused. Well, most of the time."

"Says you. Anyway, the only thing I need is a signature of Iscariot's chief. Any idea how to get that?"

He ruffled her hair. "Depends on where your form is." She jumped to her feet and ran to her bag. Somehow the paper wasn't crumpled at all. It was a secret he still had to understand. The mysteries of a woman, as far as he was concerned.

He read the report. It was everything as expected. She was a good fighter with both pistols and knifes – preferably knifes; she was good at throwing -, also bare-handed, a pious catholic, strong-willed – just a paradigm of a paladin. All that was needed was the signature of the chief. Enrico got his pen and did her the favour. The sooner she was with them the better. The green ink seemed to glow on the paper.

Enrico Maxwell

Head of Section 13, Iscariot Organization

"That was that. Can I go take a shower now?"

She grinned. "You better do. " He kissed her on the forehead and went to the bathroom.

When he was finished (though his hair was still wet – drying it was a nuisance) it was getting dark again and eerily quiet in the flat except for the sounds of the city outside. "Lisa?" There was no response. Frowning, he walked through the rooms while buttoning his shirt.

Lisa had left a note on the kitchen table.

I'm at the HQ, getting my weapons.

Love, Lisa

PS: I cooked, so you can do the dishes.

Have fun

He grinned. An old married couple. Lisa left no doubts about who was the boss at home. He loved her too much to complain. Considering his usual attitude that was a miracle, even Enrico knew that. Mostly they weren't home at the same time anyway, so maybe that was better.

Alexander was still sleeping, so Enrico went alone. He didn't bother to make a ponytail. In private he preferred leaving his hair open when he didn't need to be formal. The night was still warm from the rays of the summer sun and would stay like that for a long time. That was one of the things he loved about Rome. A long summer, sun, warmth.

The headquarters were as good as deserted. Normally there were about three or four agents, mostly retired from active service, there to make it seem used at all. The real base was the orphanage outside the city of course. Except nobody really knew that. That was the point of it.

Iscariot HQ was established in a plain grey building with two storeys. On the ground floor there was the entrance, his office was on the first. There was a lot of space that wasn't used unless someone higher up came for a visit. But he liked the office. It had a nice view on St. Peter's basilica and he had made it as homey as possible.

On his office desk stood a huge pile of reports, comically resembling the tower of Pisa. Enrico was barely quick enough to catch it before it fell. Somebody liked building towers too much. It was quite easy to figure that out. The tower made up three piles when he finally managed to place it all anywhere it wouldn't fall. Enrico picked up a piece of paper that had slipped his grip. On it was another message ins Lisa's messy handwriting.

Just sign them, they're perfect

Love, Lisa

Would anyone ever take her seriously when she made all those hearts on her notes? Probably not. But she was a grown woman, that was her problem.

Enrico leafed through a few reports. They were excellent. The majority was by Renaldo, some – the older ones – from Heinkel. He briefly wondered if he had ever read a report by Yumie or Yumiko. He couldn't remember one. The girls were always together and Heinkel was a very good writer. Her reports always resembled novels, but at least that made it entertaining.

It only took about fifteen minutes to write his name under each one. Since he hadn't anything better to do – thank God for small miracles - he delivered them to the filing department personally. The boy watching it was so surprised to see him – a bishop, for God's sake! - that he almost fell off his chair. They chatted for a few minutes, until the boy was calm enough that Enrico could go back to the HQ and get the rest of the huge pile. There was still the business with Anderson and the girls should be back by now, too. Renaldo was probably sleeping. He had earned it.

When Enrico entered the HQ, he was greeted by girly laughter and chatter. It was almost ridiculous. Sometimes his best paladins were scarcely more than giggling school girls. But it brought a nice touch to the otherwise silent HQ.

He didn't switch on the lights. There was nothing to trip about and he knew the way even in the mere twilight the street lamps provided. "So, you're back," he said, louder than necessary, when he slammed open the door. The girls fell silent, but didn't seem startled, like he had hoped.

"That could earn you a bullet to the head, you know?", Heinkel said. "Or at least a nasty punch."

He smiled in his most charming way. "But, Heinkel, you'd never do that to me, would you?"

Lisa wore the habit of a male paladin now, expertly hiding her weapons. Enrico wasn't surprised. Out of the handful of female paladins in the recent history of Iscariot, only Yumie and a retired paladin named Josephine wore the clothes of a nun. He could understand the others. How could you possibly fight in a long skirt? He could barely imagine walking in that. The cassocks were horrible enough, so why would anyone wear that out of free will?

Lisa grinned at him. "Sit down, you've got to hear this." Oh yes, she sounded like a school girl. He told her so. She just winked at him. Lisa was sitting on the sofa facing the door. Between it and another one pointed in the opposite direction (one of his ideas when he moved into the office) stood a small table. Heinkel and Yumie sat on the other side. If they had gotten dirty they had already showered. Heinkel wasn't even wearing her sunglasses for once, which were totally inappropriate for inside anyway. Heinkel could easily confused with a man, looking like she did now. Both still were in "business clothes", meaning dressed like a nun and a priest.

They smiled. They had lovely smiles. Maybe that was part of their success. Who suspected cute girls like them to be trained assassins? Even the scars on Heinkel's cheeks almost disappeared when she smiled like this. Yumie was... Yumie. She was mad, violent... and a very good and reliable friend. One of their best fighters with next to superhuman abilities. Yumiko on the other hand, her "actual" personality, was shy and pacifistic. Enrico grinned when he thought about what "people would say". All of them didn't exactly match the Vatican's criteria of good Catholics. That was why they were Iscariots.

For that matter, Enrico had trouble imagining those two in any other job anyway. They were here and that was like it should be.

He wondered for a second if he should sit at his desk. Then he dismissed it. This was no official meeting and he really doubted that would help him in any case. He sat down beside Lisa. "How did it go?" His accent had disappeared again. About time.

Heinkel, her guns hidden under the long coat. Yumie, the katana leaning against the sofa. Two top assassins of Iscariot. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Enrico frowned. He felt a bit left out. As their chief he should be informed first. Maybe they should be tasked with writing those reports. "I'm dreading something," he said, barely concealing his anger. Lisa elbowed him.

After about a minute they had themselves under control enough to not start giggling when they looked at each other. An absolutely unfitting behaviour for a paladin.

"So, that mission was about a group of vampires on... Where were we again?"

"Key West, stupid!"

Heinkel elbowed her partner. "Did you never learn to stay polite?" She ignored Yumie's grimace. "One of the Florida Keys, anyway. Awesome landscape. I'd love to go on vacation there." She laughed. "Whatever. Those vampires." Enrico thought about the first reports they had received from a retired American priest. Probably about five monsters, causing panic and rumours. Not very good for business either.

"It's wet season, so there weren't too many tourists and Heinkel could easily hide her guns under a jacket," Yumie continued.

"Yeah, and I was baking there!", Heinkel complained. Her partner ignored her.

"But I had to leave my katana." She sounded annoyed. They took turns in narrating.

The vampires were weak monsters, just turned, inexperienced and out of control. They started as soon as the sun had set. Four vampires were obliterated easily. The fifth on the other hand...

Finding him had been a piece of cake. Killing him, not so much. Yumie had gotten her weapon and they had chased him into a dead end. Said dead end turned out to be a stage in front of a sold out theatre. Yumie stood in the middle of the stage while Heinkel climbed through the scenery overhead. "You should have seen their faces," Heinkel exclaimed, laughing. Whose faces she meant remained unclear. Yumie, the vampire, the actors, the visitors? Maybe all of them at once? She didn't say.

"I was not the one who decided to play Tarzan," Yumie shot back. Heinkel nodded, making a scene of waving it off, and went on.

In order to stop the vampire from escaping, Heinkel grabbed a chain holding the scenery and swung onto the stage. Said chain turned out to be too short. It interlocked somewhere, gave a huge yank and she lost her grip. Heinkel crashed straight into her partner from above. The vampire took his chances and ran for his unlife. When the girls had sorted themselves out – not more than ten seconds later – they chased after him, leaving behind a puzzled audience and even more puzzled actors. The chase ended on a jetty directly above the ocean. There were people around, so they couldn't break into an open fight. Yumie surprised not only the vampire by just tackling him into the ocean, where she could finish him off.

Yumie pulled out a sword, complete with a sheath, shining and covered in gemstones. "Look at that." Enrico and Lisa did so. "Are those real?", Lisa asked, incredulous.

Yumie nodded. "It's silver. Real silver and real stones. The handle is steel, I think. I found it in the theatre and thought it was just props."

"Obviously you ruined someone's plan for an unsuspicious murder," Lisa said.

"Well, shit me sideways," Heinkel said, her green eyes sparkling. She was obviously already making up a possible chain of events. "I never thought about it, but that might be true."

Enrico had laughed during the story, of course he had. Especially when he pictured Heinkel falling off that chain. But he was their chief and couldn't make exceptions for his friends. This was an outright catastrophe. Again. "You call that a success?", he growled. "That was the messiest mission I ever heard of."

"I thought better of you than to steal," Lisa said at the same time.

Heinkel interrupted them in the middle of the last sentence. "Messier than the one in South Africa where our cover was blown and Yumie tabledanced to distract them?"

Enrico scowled. "Don't remind me of that. I had to call in a really awkward favour from Section Eight to cover that up." He ignored Lisa's confused glance. He had sworn to himself never to talk about it and before he did so, Hell would freeze over.

Yumie punched Heinkel on the shoulder. "Shut up!"

Heinkel rubbed the aching spot. "Ow." She turned back to Enrico. "Anyway, we got them. Happy?"

"And it was the best mission we had in months!", Yumie added.

"I'll take that sword, for one thing." Disappointed, Yumie put it back in its sheath and gave it to him. Enrico didn't bother to even look at her. "What were you thinking? Hunting in plain sight?" He didn't bother to lower his voice. If they got away with stuff like that, everybody would try. He had already let them get away too often. "You know how the Americans are! Any trespassing of their grounds by an outside force could cause a scandal. If that ever comes out, the Vatican will be in need of a scapegoat. And guess who that will be!" He had stood up and was angrily pacing up and down, the sword still in hand. Now he set it down on the desk, maybe a bit harder than necessary. He took a moment to calm down. Those two... They hadn't earned the nickname 'Chaos Girls' for nothing. "What about that theatre?", he eventually asked. Heinkel gave him a local newspaper.

"New playwright excels all expectations" The article featured a photo of Yumie standing in front of the panicking vampire, just as Heinkel lost her grip on the chain she was hanging from. Her shocked face was obvious despite the bad quality of the photo. Yumie had half turned around and looked at her partner open-mouthed. It was hilarious.

Enrico felt a smile creeping up on him, despite still being mad at them. He should definitely keep that article, even if it was just for the photograph. He shook his head. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. How much luck could two people have?

"You two should start playing the lottery."

"You know what the bible says about gambling," Heinkel responded with a dismissive gesture. Both paladins were obviously nervous. Lisa shot him a reproachful glance.

Enrico shrugged. "Fine." What could he do about it? Despite the chaos they produced on a regular basis, they were Iscariot's best paladins. Except Alexander Anderson of course, the trump card. A trump card he'd love to see right now, actually.

Enrico checked the phone again. Still nothing, but that didn't surprise him. Anderson would have called. He never adapted to anything more modern than a simple cell phone.

There was a silent knock on the door.

"Speak of the devil," he murmured. Then he called: "Come in." Anderson's broad shoulders filled the door frame. He had to duck to avoid bumping his head. "Ah'm back."

"I see that," Enrico said wrily. "How did it go?"

Anderson didn't look happy at all. Great. Not another one. "Thae damned Protestants dared tae interfere." This just keeps getting better. "Ah finished off the regular vampire, but then thon Hellsing woman turned up wi' ae vampire o' thair own. Ah swear Ah killed it, but... it just stood back up."

Oh hell.

Enrico didn't know much about the Royal Order of Protestant Knights, only that they had been revived five years ago after a so-called "unknown" heir to the position of Sir Hellsing was found. Caitlyn Hellsing, her name was. She was young, only sixteen, when she go the job. Everything else even Section Eight couldn't find out. It was all very top-secret of the British government. Enrico hadn't been chief back then and when he became head of Iscariot, Hellsing had gone quiet, so he didn't even think about looking into them. His own fault.

Oh hell, he thought again. This meant trouble.

Anderson switched from his "paladin" personality to a loving father to the orphans – which also Enrico, Heinkel and Yumie had been in the past – in less than a second. He smiled at the girls. "How did yer mission go?"

"Gut," Heinkel replied hastily. Inside she seemed to pray Enrico wouldn't sell them out. Anderson wouldn't scold them or anything – they were grown 'fowks' now. It was a matter of pride in front of their teacher. They didn't want to admit how unprofessional they had been. Maybe they could start acting professionally, then.

Enrico didn't want to let him off the hook just yet. "What about that Caitlyn Hellsing?", he asked. "You said she had a vampire. Somebody else with her?"

"Aye. Twa bodyguards. Ah dispos'd o' them."

Enrico was close to screaming with frustration. Anderson had made it even worse than he had imagined. The Holy Father wouldn't be pleased at all, to say the least. Oh hell.

He rubbed his temples. A headache was the last thing he needed now. "I'm going to get a hot chocolate. Anyone else?" Hesitating agreements.

"Ah'll help ye," Anderson proposed. The main quarter had an own kitchen, scarcely used, but still handy sometimes. Anderson put the milk in a pot and heated it while Enrico got a few cups.

"Hou bad did the lassies screw up?"

"Who said they did? They achieved their goal," Enrico said vaguely. There, he was doing it again. Family comes first. He sighed.

Anderson laughed softly. It sounded like bear snickering. What an odd thought. But in some way, Alexander did resemble a bear. A lot, actually. "Ah just ken thay're troublemakers," he said. "Ayeways hae been."

Enrico felt his eye twitch at that. Even though he never really wanted to admit it, of course he knew he had that little tic. And that made him even more angry. "You're the one to say that," he jeered. "Are you aware that this might cause an international conflict? Why did you kill her bodyguards?"

Anderson grunted. "Dinna tell me ye care aboot thae heathens."

Enrico leaned against the counter and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Not really. But after the incident in Morocco we just can't afford to get on bad terms with the Holy Father." He broke off before he could say anything else and break into another rant.

Anderson didn't reply for a few minutes. Then he put the milk in the cups, mixed it with cocoa and put them on a tablet. "Foin," he said. "Ye're right. And now?"

I wish I knew. "We'll see how this develops. You stay away from Hellsing. We all do, for now."

Anderson stopped, rigid. "You want us to falter in front of the enemy?", he growled. Again, it sounded like a bear. A dangerous one.

"That's called a stategy," Enrico snapped. "I'm not saying we let them do whatever they want." Before Anderson could say something else, Enrico took the tablet out of his hands and carried it inside. Lisa grinned at him like they were sharing a terrible secret. The terrible secret that this was the second hot chocolate they had today. Truly a fearful thing, Enrico thought and suppressed a smile. Sometimes he wondered how she did that. Always making the situation seem only half bad.

He did his best to keep the conversation away from how they would go on after this. He needed to do something, before this got any worse. But he was clueless what this something might be.

Cups were emptied and topics changed. Yumie changed back to Yumiko. It was dark outside and quiet, except for the noises of a nightly Rome. Lisa had all sorts of questions about "paladin stuff", as if she didn't know everything yet. Incredible enough, Enrico was already tired again. He suppressed a yawn.

"Ah'm going back tae the orphanage," Anderson suddenly announced. "Anybody with me?"

"Yeah, we better go." Heinkel yawned herself and stood up. Yumiko followed her example.

"Good idea." Lisa stood up as well.

Finally, nothing to do for now. Enrico picked up the sword. He had an idea what to do with it. If he found the time for that in all this mess. Turn it in to the armoury he could still do later.

They went to the exit all together. Enrico locked the door and activated the alarm from his phone. The system had been his idea and mostly his work as well. One could never be too sure. More specific, he didn't trust the other sections. Politics were a dirty business. Not that there was anything of great importance in the HQ.

They said goodbye. Heinkel and Yumiko went with Anderson. Most of the time they were home they spent in the orphanage, even though they - theoretically - had their own flats somewhere in the city. Enrico didn't know and had never asked.

Lisa linked arms with him. "Don't look so gloomy. Tomorrow morning everything will be clearer."

He sighed. "Probably. Anderson can be so..."

"Overzealous."

"Exactly."

"He's not the only one, you know?"

Enrico wasn't really listening. "Maybe." They reached the home they had lived in for almost four years now. When he had become leader of Iscariot and Lisa decided to become a paladin.

Enrico placed the sword on his desk. He could get to that later. While they got ready for bed – this time properly – Lisa listened to Ed Sheeran's "I see fire". She had a thing for that song the last days, even though it was almost three years old. Enrico didn't hear it. His thoughts were wandering. "Oh, damn, I forgot to tell Yumiko and Heinkel to file their reports themselves," he said to himself.

Lisa nudged him out of the way. "You're mean! They just came back from-"

"From a tropical island where they had the whole day for lying in the sun."

Lisa thought about it. "Well, you're not wrong. But it's still mean. Besides, you just want to have Heinkel's reports because it always reads like a crime novel."

"Mh-mh." Maybe he should look into that Hellsing organization. If they had a vampire he couldn't just leave them alone. Not that they had opposed the Vatican like that.

"You want to stand there all night?" He snapped out of his thoughts. Lisa stood right in front of him and grinned. "Goodnight, brother," she said pointedly.

He ruffled her hair, which provoked an indignant squeak. "Yeah, goodnight." He would. No way around it. But not today. At least he got all that old stuff off his chart now.

An international incident the Pope would be very angry about. And that if he was lucky.

Enrico could kill Anderson for being so stupid! Was that the same man that had raised him, at least for one year?

Hellsing was back up and they had a vampire not even Anderson could kill.

Badrick had been a treaty violation of the Vatican.

Meaning they owed those damned protestants something.

And he had no idea what he was to do about it.

Oh hell.