Chapter 13: Seek & Destroy
Rome, Iscariot-HQ, September 16th, 2016
A rain of sparks. "Goddamn it!", Enrico cursed. He leaned back, sighing in frustration. His "little gadget", like he had called it when talking to Lisa, had not been a big problem. It was a question of programming. Now they only needed to wait for Millennium to make the first step. But this... this was over his head. He knew it only minutes after he had started working on it a few weeks ago, but of course he could not just give up. His pride wouldn't let him. Now that things were picking up speed that left him with exactly two options: Trying to solve this himself. He was not an engineer... or quantum physicist. With God's help and a lot of luck and chance... not really.
Or he hoped the blokes from Section IV would be able to do this and return the sword to him once they were done. Meaning not only a quite awkward return to Signor Panini but also the problem of losing all direct control.
Enrico sighed and rubbed his temples, despite not the slightest hints of a headache. His hand was a wholly different matter. This might be a reason why it wasn't healing.
Since pride must have a fall. Oh God, now he started thinking in Shakespeare quotes. The Hellsing woman had gotten to his head. Either time to work or at least to make a decision. As long as he didn't think of her.
He had no choice. Pride came before the fall, the saying went. Enrico would be damned if he would fall. He shook his head angrily, earning him a confused glance by Alex, the cat, and drank the last of his chocolate. What kind of thinking was that? Lisa's nightmare had only been a nightmare, nothing else. By now he seemed to be more worried about it than her. But for some reason he would feel better having the sword ready as soon as possible.
His phone gave a discreet little ringing. Probably Heinkel writing they had arrived in Minnesota. Anderson had gone to London to catch a flight to Rio de Janeiro the same day. Heinkel accompanied them back to fetch Victoria from the orphanage, before they headed for the US. The girl had been excited to the point of jumping on the spot, but had tried to behave herself. She was nice. One day, not too long, she would make a great paladin. The only question was how to tell Alexander. But that was luckily still in the future.
Yumiko helped the guys in the archive and Lisa was training. Speaking of training, he needed to do that as well. Maybe now was the best time. The shooting stand should be empty. He sighed and got up to put the sword and all that belonged to his failed attempts of being a genius into the bag Cristoforo had given him. He would pay the boy a call and think about what leverage he had. Rather for ensuring he got the sword back than that the work was done.
"Guess I don't have a choice," he said to Alex, the cat. "Silly to follow my sister's nightmare, huh?" Alex didn't have an opinion on that or he just didn't voice it. Instead, he got up, stretched and rubbed his head on Enrico's leg. The bishop bent down and stroked the soft beige fur.
He got his coat and the bag. On the door, he turned around without stopping. "Phone. Right," he mumbled.
The violet blinking told him he had a new message. He checked it on the way out. It was an unknown number, but the profile photo was more than obvious. It was a pretty photo, actually.
Hi. Thanks for thinking of that. I forgot. Just a question, which agents did you sent to Brazil? I think neither of us wants a scene like in the museum.
After a moment's hesitation he answered: Anderson is on his way, but there should be no problem. Another moment where he wasn't sure if he should really do what he thought. Then again, why not? He grabbed the bag. Alex, the cat, decided he rather wanted to stay. His owner would check in this evening anyway and even if not, Lisa probably would.
Enrico sent the message before heading out of the HQ. Time for a bit of training before surrendering from his self-chosen challenge. Everybody had his talents. This wasn't his, obviously. Hopefully, nobody would see how much that bugged him.
A bit more than 1400 kilometers away, Caitlyn stared at her phone, unsure how to understand the second message Enrico Maxwell had sent her. And whatever it meant for everybody involved in this whole situation.
How the hell did you get my phone number?
Hotel Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 17th, 2016
Seras entered the lobby, walking behind Lady Vladimira, a picture of grace and somewhat eerie beauty. She was exactly the right person for this environment. Marble everywhere, tropical plants, an air-conditioned room in the heat – this kind of mission could very well happen a bit more frequently. It was amusing how scared everybody was of Lady Vladimira. If you were friendly, she was as well, vampire or not. Walter too, though he was a bit easier to anger. Seras didn't regret talking her fiancee into taking this job.
Lady Vladimira walked up to the girl at the counter. She couldn't be much older than eighteen and had the red hair in fluffy pigtails. "I have a reservation for a suite," Lady Vladimira said.
The girl smiled professionally. She didn't seem to notice the slightly off appearance of the guest. Maybe she was used to it. "Miss J. H. Brenner, right? We were told to expect you. Your suite is on the top floor."
This moment, Pip entered, in a suit himself, but slightly less fitting with his bandage and eyepatch. "Oi, over 'ere!", he commanded. The employees, actually four of them, were busy with the huge coffin that was now wrapped in a white tarpaulin.
"It's on the top floor," Lady Vladimira told him.
Pip responded with a "Roger" before turning back to the employees. "'ey, over 'ere. It'z ze top floor."
The girl at the counter wasn't comfortable raising her voice, no, she wasn't happy speaking to these people at all. In her career, Raquel had seen her fair share of weird people, some of which weren't comfortable to be around with, especially for a girl that looked ten years younger than she was. But this was a whole new scale of weird. The woman was... scary. Just scary. Maybe she was a cosplayer, judging from the red contact lenses she had to be wearing, but nevertheless...
But duty was duty. "Ma'am, excuse me, but we can't have you keep such large luggage."
Miss Brenner didn't even turn her head to look at her. Only those red eyes focused on her. "There's no problem," she said.
"Yes there is!", Raquel insisted. Duty. She loved her job, but maybe she should think of an alternative. "Something of that size in this hotel..." She froze when the woman turned around. Raquel wanted to step back when she extended a hand, but couldn't move. Miss Brenner smiled softly and touched the girl's forehead. "There. Is no. Problem."
Right. What had she been worried about anyway? "There. Is. No. Problem," Raquel repeated. Such a nice woman. She had been stupid to think anything bad of her. And that luggage didn't look like a coffin either. She was just overworked.
"There is no problem," Lady Vladimira repeated.
"No problem," the girl said. "None at all." Seras tugged at Pip's sleeve. Alright, maybe there was a bit more to the vampire after all. The girl was smiling and staring straight ahead as if she was in a pleasant dream. Or completely stoned.
"Let's go. Hurry and bring it up," Lady Vladimira commanded. Now Pip finally turned around and his gaze fell on the girl at the counter. He actually hesitated before speaking, which was a rare occasion. "Whadya do? Magic?"
Much more quietly he added. "Some kind of sex beam or somezing?" Normally Seras would have nudged him for that, but she wasn't so sure herself. Weren't vampires known to be hypnotists? Better not think too much about that.
Lady Vladimira smiled and walked to the elevator. "I didn't do anything. More to the point, what's holding up the luggage?"
"It'z just scary how easy zis is," Pip said. Seras kept silent, but could only agree.
Lady Vladimira stopped. "Perhaps." Seras somehow found herself shooting a glance to the men sitting in the lobby, all middle aged, all in suits. Businessmen, probably. Why did she have such a bad feeling? "Hmph," the vampire said.
Pip hadn't seen it apparently. "Somezing amiss?"
Lady Vladimira grinned. Alright, scary. "There's no problem." But after a moment, everything was back to normal. Or... what normal meant in this company. "This promises to be a fun holiday." Pip took his fiancee's hand. What the hell was going on here? Maybe he shouldn't have listened to her after all. She was like a magnet for trouble.
"I've never seen such a huge hotel before," Seras said quietly when they exited on the top floor. "At least not from the inside." Pip didn't reply. They were both speechless for a moment. They were in some kind of lounge, stone floor, arches as doors, plants, paintings. The suite had to be bigger than the first flat the couple had shared for a few months.
"Would you look at zis!", he complained theatrically. "I'm used to cheap thirty dollar downtown hotels!" Seras couldn't help laughing. He was always so overly dramatic. A French thing, she thought by now. "It's ruddy bourgeois, I tell you!"
"Cheap hotels have their own advantages," Lady Vladimira said.
"Is zat so...", Pip asked sarcastically. Seras nudged him.
"Why?", she asked. The vampire didn't reply. She grabbed the tarpaulin and flung it carelessly away. It revealed the black and golden coffin. Pip stared at it for a second. "So zat's your coffin zen, eh?"
Lady Vladimira sat down and grinned. "Yes. My final dominion. Here I am born, here I die."
"I reckon suites and whatnot must be pointless to a woman like you." Seras had stepped forward while they were speaking, to get a better look at the coffin. It was an extraordinary piece of work, that was for sure. Outside the doors, there were steps. Seras turned around, wondering who that might be. Of course, the closed doors revealed nothing. Outside was only a long hallway framed by two rows of pillars.
Pip in the meantime was trying to get something more out of their "client". Seras would have liked to have some of these questions answered as well. Like why a vampire needed a bodyguard. But she grabbed Pip's sleeve. They shouldn't stretch a patience they didn't know. "The investigation starts tomorrow, right? We'll be there in the evening, Lady Vladimira." The vampire even brought them to the door. "Oh, I can hardly wait. Looks like it will be fun, this place." She leaned in the door and watched them go. Seras could have sworn they weren't alone in this luxurious hallway, but then again, maybe she was just paranoid.
"Miss Victoria, Captain Bernadotte." They stopped, surprised by this formal greeting.
"Pip and Seras, Lady," Seras offered without hesitation.
To their surprise, the vampire just laughed. "The only Lady is Caitlyn Hellsing. Call me Mira."
"About thirty minutes ago an armed woman terrorist massacred several employees and guests of the hotel Rio de Janeiro. She is now barricaded at the top floor with approximately ten hostages. The military police are currently preparing for a confrontation. It is an extremely high-stress situation." A pause. "We've just been told b the authorities that the identity of the criminal has been determined." The screen showed a photo of a pretty black-haired woman in a suit and orange sunglasses.
"According to the hotel guest register, the woman is named J. H. Brenner. As she is believed to be extremely heavily armed, authorities have no choice but to exercise the highest caution."
Pip almost spat out his beer. Seras on his lap only stared at the screen with big eyes. "How...?" So much for a relaxing evening for two. That's what you got for turning on the TV for a bit privacy in a cheap hotel. First the scary sex beam thing the vampire did, then he found his cigarettes were gone, probably lost in all the hustle and now this. "Merde!" With that, they both jumped off the bed and began to dress.
Hellsing mansion, London, September 18th, 2016, 4.30am
Caitlyn was reading Shakespeare again. Not because this was a great time for reading. But she needed a few helpful words. Walter was on the phone with Sir Penwood. The Round Table wanted answers, they wanted a plan, they wanted a reason to either dissolve or take over Hellsing. Once this was over with, of course. So all the casualties would be blamed on her.
"Well hello there, Sir Irons." Even from her position a bit further away, Caitlyn could hear Irons barking orders. "I'm afraid that will not be possible. No Sir, I agree..."
"Give me Miss Hellsing!" The last order was loud and sharp enough even for Caitlyn to be heard.
Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot, that it do singe yourself.
"Lady Caitlyn, Sir Irons wants to talk to you." Caitlyn was distantly aware of being glad that not only she was angry. Being angry was better than being confused or scared.
Oft have I heard that grief softens the mind, And makes it fearful and degenerate; Think therefore on revenge and cease to weep.
"Sir Irons."
"What the hell is your pet doing?!" In the background, Penwood was trying to calm the other members, apparently without success.
"Mira is not my pet, she's my servant. Also, she hasn't done anything."
"How do you want to know? Have you spoken to her?"
Caitlyn looked at Walter. Sometimes she wished he would give her a hint, a tip what she should do. No matter how immoral or conscienceless it might be.
Conscience is but a word that cowards use, devised at first to keep the strong in awe.
"Yes. Just minutes ago. This is Millennium's work."
Unbelievable, but Irons had the insolence to ask: "Are you sure she said the truth?" He wasn't expecting her to lie. She was just a stupid little girl to them.
Caitlyn gritted her teeth. "Of course. There seems to be a misunderstanding as to the loyalty of my subordinates." I've been working better with a man that is supposed to be my foe than with my so-called partners. If that isn't rotten I don't know.
"Maybe. We will leave this matter in your hands, Miss Hellsing." Without saying goodbye, Irons hung up. Caitlyn put down the phone. Or tried to. Walter caught it before her shaking hand dropped it. "Lady Caitlyn?"
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
"Give Mira a call. If you can't get her, try Seras and Pip." She sat down on her chair. Her gaze fell on her smartphone. It was one hour later in Italy now. What were the chances?
Good early morning, Bishop Maxwell. What are the chances that you know who is involved in this situation?
"Lady Caitlyn, they have ceased vidding the hotel," Walter reported.
"So they mean to infiltrate." Caitlyn stared at the small black screen. What could she do? Was there anything she could do? "What will Mira do?"
"It's merely a hindrance on the way to her overall objective."
Caitlyn looked up. "They're just humans." As if that mattered. For neither of them. Why was she even asking a vampire? This was unfair, so unfair. She hadn't chosen this. The struggle for power, with external and internal foes, and the mind games with those two immortal monsters.
...She had just called them monsters. The one thing she had refused to do since the beginning. Those red eyes, beautiful, eerie, cold, seemed to see all that. He didn't mind. It was the truth after all. Walter smiled at her, patiently awaiting his orders.
Caitlyn had never felt that alone in her life.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 17th, 2016, midnight
Mira could hear them outside, hustling, the machine guns rattling, their nervous commands. Securing every way down. As if she couldn't just walk away if she wanted to. But why would she? If there was so much fun to come. They were back. Somehow, they had made it back from the dead and now it was time for war again. How beautiful that was.
Caitlyn must have seen this by now, even though it was the middle of the night in Britain. Alexandru too. What were they doing now? The whole world was watching. And if it was up to her, they would get to see a magnificent show.
Mira changed her clothes back to the red coat and placed her phone on a table in a room off the direct way. Caitlyn had gotten it for her and it shouldn't get damaged. Mira had begun to like the possibilities of modern technology. Photographs, for example. It had to be nice to have a picture of someone like he actually looked like, not like the painter adopted it.
The door was slammed open. But of course, the first room was empty. "There's no way down!", the leader shouted. "Find her!"
Mira closed her eyes, just for a moment, and smiled. Fools. Foolish mortals, throwing away their precious lives for the ambition of their commanders.
"Commandante!"
"What in the... a coffin?" Mira froze. Her coffin. They wouldn't dare to. They would NOT DARE TO!
"There's something written on it. The bird of Hermes is my name.. eating my wings to make me tame? What is this?"
"Don't touch my coffin." Mira approached them, barely suppressing a growl. The men spun, raising their guns. Foolish mortals. If they only so much as touched it... "FREEZE!" They still had a chance. But of course, mortals never saw them until it was too late.
"Don't. Touch. My. Coffin." They didn't move. Of course not. "Get away. Get away from my coffin." While you still can.
"FIRE!" The bullets tore through her, ripping flesh into bits until nothing was left but tatters.
War is such a beautiful thing. The dogs of war always remain. And they never negotiate. Fair enough, so do I.
"Thought I told you not to move, twisted bitch." The men were full of fear. Even now, that their enemy was lying on the ground, nothing more than bloody shreds. "We had orders to shoot to kill in the first place. But that was too much. I'd call it overkill."
"So what? We were told not to take any chances. But what the hell was with that woman? Was she just stupid?"
"Who knows? That's for our superiors to deal with." Puny mortals with small problems. Once they had left, they would take off the masks and maybe have a drink together and enjoy their pointless lives. Only that would never happen again. For their bosses they would now die, not knowing why, like so many before them and so many that would come. Mira sincerely hoped Caitlyn was watching this right now. And Alexandru. The Major was certainly watching. Walter would be happy to encounter them again. So he could finally settle some differences.
"Damned hounds." They spun and froze. Stupid humans. They should have run when they still could. "Your power is impressive. But a pack of hounds can't beat me."
She thought of the woman that had "tamed" her. The battle of a century, a battle hardly anyone ever heard of in the end. The only life claimed in the end had been Quincey Morris. Quincey P. Morris, whose brother happened to marry Doctor van Helsing's daughter, who happened to be Lady Caitlyn's great-grandmother. So it came around.
"I can not be killed," Mira said. Her substance reformed, formed a new body. It was so easy. Fools. "That which defeats a monster is always a man." Abigail van Helsing, the great vampire huntress, on that fateful day in what was now known as Romania.
She burrowed her teeth in the first man's throat. The blood was hot and bitter. She threw him away like a rag doll. That was exactly what they were. Talking dolls, ready to be tossed into the trash. The head came off easily. Blood splattered on his colleagues. Their bullets didn't even hit her. Another one was ripped to pieces, his life fleeing back in the great stream, if you believed in this concept.
Two.
She ripped them to pieces, squashed them, ripped off their limbs and heads. Three, four, five, six. Lives gone, in barely a minute. What else did a monster need to be the happiest?
The last one, the leader, wanted to flee. They always wanted to when it was already too late. The doors fell shut in front of him. He crashed into them, searched for a key, rattled the handles.
"They won't open," Mira explained like talking to a slightly retarded child. The man spun, taking in the bloodied figure, the teeth still buried in one of his colleague's throat. She dropped the body and heard the blood happily splatter on the floor.
The man dropped to the floor, sobbing, shaking, yet directing a weapon at her. "F- Freak!", he whimpered.
Mira slightly cocked her head and smiled. "I get that a lot, you know," she said softly. "What does that make you? A man? A dog? A freak?"
The man lowered the gun, his frightened eyes fixed on the blood trickling from her mouth. Ah look. Maybe somebody with the remains of wits. But no. She had expected too much. The man only put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Mira stared at him for a moment and then growled. Fool. All of them. Humans never changed.
She shook off the blood and took off the hat and coat while walking to the side room where she had put her phone. "Seras, Pip?"
"Yes, La- I mean, Mira," the girl answered immediately. There was more to her than it seemed. Mira liked that. She was not such a coward like all the others.
"Get yourself a helicopter or something and take the coffin. On the roof."
"A helicopter?", she heard Pip's incredulous voice, synchronous with Seras' confused: "On the roof?"
"Yes, on the roof. It won't be a problem. But take out the leaders first."
"Yes, Ma'am... Mira. Then... we'll pick you up there?" What a reliable team. You could actually get used to that. Provided they survived.
"Oh no. I still have to check out. I'll walk out the front door." She smiled at the coffin, that slowly got up and stretched. Mira rang off. Now this was done for. "It's been a while, my friend."
Indeed it has, master.
"Pip and Seras will pick you up. Take care of them for me while I'm busy. Lady Caitlyn would be very upset if anything happened to them."
Of course, my master. The coffin didn't move yet. Mira had to laugh. Interesting, how stubborn a piece of furniture could be. She tossed him a pack of cigarettes. If Pip had noticed them to be gone? When her invaluable partner had left, heading for the roof, she dialed another number.
Hellsing mansion, London
Caitlyn was staring at the closed book again. Maxwell had answered her – obviously still half asleep, considering the single typo – that he had not the slightest idea what was going on.
Great, just great. Then Walter had handed her a direct order from her Majesty. On the 20th, there would be a conference in Krauney house, the royal family villa. It was not just the Round Table. This seemed to be over the heads of even them. They would try to arrange a treaty with the Vatican. So the meeting would include representatives of the Vatican, probably meaning Maxwell, and Britain, meaning Caitlyn, the Round Table and even the queen. Kinda unfair, one person against more than a dozen. But that was probably the point. She would be surprised if Maxwell would let that intimidate him.
She jumped when the phone on the desk rang. The direct line? Please not Irons again.
"Hello?", she asked plainly. She was too tired for this bullshit.
"Lady Caitlyn, it's your loyal servant. Give me your orders, my master."
"What happened?"
She could almost hear the smile. She heard a ruffling of fabric. Mira was probably... putting on her coat? "As you no doubt know, immediately after our arrival we were besieged. Their reach extends further than we thought. Our moves are read. A specialized police unit attempted an infiltration just now." Caitlyn wanted to ask what happened, and couldn't. If she talked, Mira would hear how close she was to crying. She hadn't chosen this. Why did she have to decide about so many lives? Mira went on, as if Caitlyn had asked her anyway. "I killed them. I exterminated them. Down to the last man. Now, Caitlyn, give me your orders."
Why did this feel like some kind of test? Mira had played games with her before, Caitlyn recognized it, but never like this. Never on this level. And who could she turn to? Nobody. She was alone. She had to get through this alone. Like it had always been.
"The higher-ups of the police force are probably controlled by them," Mira said. "However, the ones who were just following orders to break in here, the ones I killed and will try to kill again, are just typical ignorant humans." Caitlyn could hear Mira's grin. She was greatly enjoying this. Why had she never seen it before? Monsters didn't know love and families, the things Caitlyn thought she had finally found on that confusing day five years ago.
"I can kill them. I can massacre them without even a bit of hesitation, an ounce of regret. Because I am a monster."
"Yes, you are," Caitlyn whispered. She wiped her eyes and directed her gaze at Walter, standing there with the hint of a smile. She really was the only sane person in this madhouse. Or maybe she was insane and couldn't even see it anymore. But if anyone was for playing mind games, then it was her. Mira talked, talked about killing and how it would be Caitlyn's will to end so many lives.
"Walter? A tea please."
"Yes, Lady Caitlyn." With him gone, Caitlyn could put down the receiver, wipe her face and take a few deep breaths. She had nowhere else to go to. So she should better do her job properly. A strong person was able to admit weaknesses after all. And did she really have a choice? She picked up her phone.
"What about Seras and Pip?", she asked while typing.
"I've sent them away. Once I have my orders, I will walk out of these doors. It's time to teach our watchers a little lesson who they have picked a fight with."
Caitlyn's phone beeped. The answer was short: No.
"They are just human."
"So what?" Caitlyn winced. Monsters. That was what it really meant. Mira seemed to know her thoughts, even from that distance. Why was she that angry all of a sudden? She tried to hide it and appear calm, even patronizing, but Caitlyn could hear her rage. "What difference does it make? They came to us! To defeat, to kill, and make us rot away or to be defeated, and killed, and rot away themselves. That is all! That is everything! It's the way of war!"
"Maybe," Caitlyn said quietly.
"No," Mira said, sobered. "That's all there is. That's the sole truth."
Walter sat down a cup of tea in front of her. He was curious what had happened while he was gone. Caitlyn seemed to be calm, seemed to have made up her mind. She was stronger than she knew herself. "No, Mira. That's not true. Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings." She shot her butler a smile. "Free will. That's the sole truth. They will not force us to do anything, and if it is at the cost of our lives. Not as long as I am head of Hellsing."
Silence at the other end. Walter couldn't fight admiring smile. Impressive. Mira had been right when she said one day Caitlyn could be a fearful commander. Then Mira started to laugh.
"Of course, master. Then give me your orders, Lady Caitlyn Olivier Morris Hellsing!"
Caitlyn took a sip of her tea. There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. And: To do a great right do a little wrong.
"Leave the civilians out of this. Take the battle to somewhere the public isn't involved. I want the leaders, not the innocents that are only following orders. Defend yourself, but... keep the casualties as low as possible. Crush Millennium." Her fingernails dug into her palms. Caitlyn closed her eyes, trying to stay calm. Go wisely and slowly. Those who rush, stumble and fall.
"That was all." She didn't like the way Mira was laughing. As if her orders didn't change anything.
"Then watch closely, Lady Hellsing." The line was cut off. Caitlyn looked into the tea cup as if it would give her any advise.
"Walter? What do you think Mira will do? No... What would you do with those orders?"
He sat on the sofa, legs crossed, and shot her a charming smile. It was the first time Caitlyn didn't cringe slightly, knowing he was out of her reach. What had changed? Her? Him? Something else?
"Well, there is no doubt she will try to minimize civilian damage," Walter said slowly. "The question is... how low will that be in total?"
Vatican City, September 18th
The camera teams had picked up on filming the hotel again. It didn't seem like anything would happen soon, but Enrico could at least show a bit more interest in something he should be really worried about. His only comment "Millennium has finally chose to reveal themselves" had sounded strangely happy. And now he had decided his laptop needed a reboot? Or whatever it was he was doing there. It included a lot of code, as far as Lisa had seen that.
His phone gave a discreet ringing. Enrico was in the study, but the phone was here on the table. Lisa stared at it. She would regret this. She would probably hate herself for it. He would, if he found out. She picked up the phone and unlocked it. Of course she knew the pattern needed. Enrico knew hers as well. It was a matter of trust. A trust Lisa would now betray for the first time in her life. She should rather just call him and give him the phone, like she normally did. There was nothing happening in Rio anyway at the moment.
He had received a new message from Caitlyn Hellsing. They had exchanged a few before, Lisa knew that, though Enrico was still puzzling over the question how Lady Hellsing had gotten his number in the first place. The last message, just received, was only one sentence long. Is it right to sacrifice innocent lives to prove a point?
Lisa stared at the message. Why would Lady Hellsing ask Enrico of all people for advise? They had only met once, it hadn't gone too well. Technically, they were enemies, which didn't stop them, in Lisa's eyes, to fall in love at first sight.
She typed No and sent it. Then she looked in the contact info and copied Lady Hellsing's number into her own phone. What ever that might be good for someday.
"Anything interesting happening?", her brother's voice came from the study.
Lisa winced. What the hell was she doing here? She deleted the message and her response and put the phone back on the table. "Not really."
"Well, then I've got something." She looked at the screen a last time. Nothing. The police units were probably entering this moment. So she left the living room and joined her brother.
Enrico had leaned back. On the notebook screen, there was one big picture of a hallway filled with a heavily armed police unit. For a moment Lisa wondered what he wanted with that picture. Then she realized it was a live stream from inside the hotel. However he had managed that in only half an hour. Except he knew something like this was going to happen. You are keeping a lot from each other lately, aren't you?
The doors to the suite swung open and the vampire walked out. The red coat was carelessly draped over her shoulders, the guns blinked softly in her hands. She just walked along the corridor, as if the men weren't there at all. They wouldn't be so stupid, right? Of course they will. And they were. They actually tried to attack the vampire. And Vladimira killed them. The bullets literally ripped the men to pieces, not more than one shot was needed. Whatever gun that was, it was powerful. And Anderson had actually taken some of those bullets? One after the other fell, was reduced to a bloody mass on the ground, in barely less than a minute. The remaining units did the most intelligent thing of the whole evening: Running. Too late.
The angle changed and showed a different part of the hallway. The vampire had given them time to flee while enjoying a little snack, but of course the humans were way too slow. Blood splattered everywhere when the vampire chased after them. The cameras didn't transmit sound, but the roar seemed to echo in Lisa's head, like the screams of the dead. The team tried to retreat into the elevator, but something went wrong. The doors didn't close until a man fell out, shot in the head, and it was too late. The vampire opened the doors and went in.
Lisa took her brother's hand. She needed something to hold on to if she didn't want to go crazy. This was... this was just madness. Somewhere in the back of her head something tried to get her attention to her brother, to the way he was reacting to this. But her eyes were fixed to the bloodbath inside the hotel. The camera changed to the lobby, where dead employees of the hotel and guests were already strewn. The vampire left the elevator and for a second there was a picture of bloodied bodies lying above each other in a disordered heap. The vampire shot the few men in the lobby belonging to the police and looked around before stuffing away the guns.
Enrico stood up and hastily pulled her back into the living room. Just now Lisa got a better look at him. He was wide awake despite the hour, his eyes sparkling, there were even the hints of a smile on his face. Just now she realized she was holding his injured hand. Normally he was complaining about it all day, but now he didn't even seem to notice in his childlike excitement.
A frightened little voice inside of her insisted it was not because of his success in accessing the hotel security system from here. This frightened little voice asked her, almost inaudible, if that was still her brother, or a monster she had never known.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
"I'll take care of ze bosses," Pip promised. "Get ze helicopter."
"How am I... oh, bloody hell!" Pip had already run off, to the tent where the leaders of the police forces were sitting safely. "How am I supposed to get a damn helicopter?"
Her phone rang. "Yes?"
"Seras, get on the top of that hotel," Lady Caitlyn commanded. "Mira might need backup. There's a fire ladder on the back. Also... Also I need someone to tell me what happened off camera." She seemed to have trouble keeping calm. "Get out of the crowds now. As fast as you can." Then the line was cut off. Seras stared at the phone. Lady Vladimira needing backup? Was that some kind of joke? Lady Hellsing's shaking voice certainly wasn't.
There was a crashing sound. The ground floor windows of the hotel exploded. Shadows were flung high up in the sky. Seras could hear the journalists barking orders to get it on tape. Maybe they better hadn't. Maybe they just should have run.
The bodies of the policemen came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the flagpoles. The crowd gasped like one person. But still nobody wanted to flee. Seras could understand that. She was frozen in place herself. "Pip?", she whispered in her microphone.
"Oui, ma chére?"
"I think I won't be able to get the helicopter. And darling?"
"Oui?" Now he sounded surprised. Seras didn't really like nicknames.
"You were right from the beginning. We shouldn't have taken this job."
The door of the hotel opened and a graceful, horrible figure stepped out. Mira had the coat draped over her shoulders and the arms crossed in front of her chest, observing the gaping crowd with a slight smile, her shadow cast three stories high. These pictures were broadcasted into the world. Seras began to run.
Mira observed the crowd. The mercenary girl was pushing her way through them, headed for a destination unknown to Mira. Caitlyn's last possibility to influence this. Such a huge place, so many innocent onlookers, only kept alive by the idealism of a young woman thousands of miles away.
Free will. The famous quality. She smiled and spread her arms, an invitation to whatever agent Millennium had dispatched. The biggest lie humanity has ever told itself. "Now then, come on out. I've had quite my fill of the smorgasbord. Or do I have to fill this place with the dead?"
Someone walked through the crowds. A local in a white suit. He stepped onto the plaza and bowed, smiling at her from under his fedora. A vampire again. Mira would have sighed if not for all the fun she already had. "Goodness me," he said in a Portuguese accent. "Wasn't that a magnificent meal. But, after all, you are the much renowned Alucard."
Mira growled quietly, but he didn't seem to hear it. What difference did it make? Should they call her what they wanted. After all, they wouldn't do anything anymore in just a short while.
"My name is Tubalcain Alhambra. To those close to me, I am known as the Dandy."
Just another one of those fools. "Are you the one who sent in that pitiful bunch?", she asked, pointing at the impaled policemen. That was her nickname after all. Vladimira Tepec. The impaler.
"Ahh, those poor souls you mean?" Alhambra had pulled out a card, the ace of spades, holding it between two fingers like a shuriken. "They are there because their foolish superiors wanted it badly enough to sacrifice all of their men. Eternal life that is."
Mira laughed. "They're fools beyond redemption. In this world, eternity doesn't even exist."
He pushed the brim of the hat up with the card. "Even this wretched group proved useful to me, just a little. How many of those special bullets you're so proud of are left, Alucard?"
"My name is Vladimira."
He blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Vladimira. Like Vladimir, with an A at the end. Mark that, Major. Now that the pleasantries have been exchanged, what will happen next?"
"Now I'll take your unlife," Alhambra grinned. "The time has come for you to join the ranks of Millennium's insignificant samples." A flood of cards enveloped her. Mira looked around, wondering what he wanted to do with that. Smother her? Then there was an explosion. Razors cut through the air. Mira landed on her feet on the stairs. Impressive. Truly impressive. When the smoke cleared, Alhambra smirked at her. The pain set in later. A line of blood appeared on her cheek. Mira wiped it off and smiled at the red on her fingers. Astounding. "Of course. I knew it all along. Seems like you didn't learn anything from being destroyed once."
She easily dodged the cards. Alhambra dodged her shots. They hit the journalists still standing there like the mortal fools they were. They were cut to pieces and shot on the spot like traitors. Mira didn't aim for them, of course. Alhambra was just so hellishly fast. Really amazing.
Lady Caitlyn would not be happy about this. Then again, what did she want to do? Would the Round Table even try to oppose someone with such a powerful servant?
Free will is a myth. Everything has a mean, an end, a cause. You are determined by the world and the God that lets you down.
The bullet hit Alhambra in the head. How disappointing. But then his body turned to cards. Pain flashed when something hit her in the side. She stumbled and fell to her knees. She could feel hot blood flow on the ground. A lot of blood. Then there were the cards again and a new explosion.
Mira grinned at the Dandy and enjoyed his shocked face when he saw her on the wall of the hotel. Lady Caitlyn had given her orders to exclude the civilians. Or what was left of them now. So she better did that.
"Oh no, you don't," she heard the Dandy, but didn't really pay attention. Once on the roof, her legs gave way, just for a second. The bleeding didn't want to stop. There was more to the Dandy and his special cards than met the eye. She started laughing, every breath accompanied by pain. "How fascinating." How long had she waited for a real fight! The moment she had been freed from her long sleep by Lady Caitlyn she had known there was trouble to come. She had always known Millennium was still there. On its knees, but not destroyed. And how interesting it would be to see Lady Caitlyn become a real warrior, merciless and strong. Beautiful. She was holding up quite well so far. How refreshing to have someone in the lead with a conscience that extended even to strangers.
Steps behind her. "Are you prepared, Alucard?", Alhambra asked. "Go back to your homeland, the lovely depths of hell." She could have reminded him that Alucard was not her name. But what would that accomplish? Instead... Millennium was back and she could kill again. This was wonderful, just wonderful.
"What is so funny?"
At first she could barely speak, laughing as hard as she was. "I'm just so happy," she eventually exclaimed. "Happy to find that dreadful idiots like you still exist today." She turned around, the wound healing in her shadows. It would be lovely to see how long he could keep up with her.
"Millennium. The Last Battalion. The undead Kampfgruppe, led by the mad Major. To this day, the world is still brimming with madness." The modern people were so proud of their peace and laws, and didn't want to see that nothing had changed. It was wonderful.
She got up and grinned at him. This would be fun. Too bad Caitlyn would never see it. "Come let's have a little song and dance. Alhambra. You'll be squealing like a pig."
But still she couldn't silence the voice inside of her asking: Did I do the right thing?