Chapter 16: Houses of the Holy
Royal family villa Krauney house, outside of London, September 19th, 2016
"Wonder how Heinkel and Vicky are doing?", Lisa said.
"They'll be fine," Enrico answered absently. It was a good idea of her to strike up meaningless conversation while they were being escorted to the conference, but then again, he wasn't in the mood for small talk. The Royal family villa was gigantic, even knowing the inner Vatican. The conference itself would take place in the largest room. They entered and thirteen disapproving and a few neutral faces stared at them. Only one person immediately smiled. Enrico didn't react to either of them, keeping up an air of arrogant self-confidence. These heathens would burn in hell soon enough.
The Round Table and Hellsing's butler glared while the Iscariots went to their seats. The vast room was lined with thin pillars supporting an overhead gallery. Probably guards everywhere. As if that was necessary with that vampire standing there and another one on the way.
"He was a teenager last time," Lisa remarked quietly. The fury in the vampire's eyes said he had easily picked that out, but what did they care? He wouldn't dare to attack. Besides, what was he fuming about? That was just a normal remark. ...Why the hell did Enrico think about it that much?
In the middle of the room was an impossibly long oak table. The Round Table members were positioned on the right side from the door, twelve important political figures, most of them fairly old. How symbolic, twelve of them and him as the Iscariot, literally. Caitlyn sat at the far end, in a conservative black suit with her hair in a tight knot. The ponytail had looked better. On the profile photo her hair was open and that certainly looked better.
Behind her, in the shadows, sat the Queen. She was guarded by two fairly identical-looking men. And everybody else in this room except for the three Iscariots. Enrico put down his briefcase and sat down, Renaldo next to him. Lisa positioned herself behind them, seemingly casual, but her weapons ready. Enrico unpacked a few files, but in fact he didn't really know why he had brought them. Just underlining how much information they had. His hand protested weakly, but he could ignore it. The wound had healed considerably well by now. Finally.
"How will we proceed?", Renaldo asked quietly.
"Depends on how Britain will react," Enrico answered. "The Holy Father wants me to offer our full cooperation. I'd rather aim for Lady Hellsing personally, though. They will try to appear as one unit, but that this is not the case is our leverage. And they know it."
It was silent in the room except for the occasional shuffle of clothes. The glares of next to everybody on him were so hateful he could almost feel them. It was amusing, actually.
His phone vibrated. Confused who would message him – everybody knew he was at the conference – he took it out, looking at the screen below the table. Renaldo didn't allow himself even to frown, but the elderly priest radiated disapproval. Enrico ignored him.
How was your flight?
He blinked and thrust Caitlyn a confused glance. She smiled at him. After a moment's hesitation he smiled back. Genuinely. He replied: Texting under the tablecloth? Are we in high school again?
She smirked. Not at all. I'm just bored. Heard anything new from Millennium?
Nice try. He couldn't help a smile. You'll hear about it soon. Btw, seems like we're the most hated persons in the room right now.
He was ripped from the conversation when Hugh Irons cleared his throat in a quite passive-aggressive manner. "Since now everybody is here -"
The queen interrupted him. "Lady Hellsing, has she not arrived yet?"
Enrico had to suppress a smile when Irons sat back down with a face like he had just bitten into a lemon. Caitlyn looked smugly satisfied. The whole situation was hilarious.
"No, your Majesty. But I'm sure she will arrive soon enough. Until then, we can surely -"
Enrico was distracted when Lisa said quietly: "Maybe it was a bad idea to use Anderson as a messenger?"
Enrico had similar doubts. Anderson was one of his most reliable men (technically the most reliable man), but when it came to that vampire he turned into a completely different person. Nevertheless, he said: "No. We had no other choice. Unfortunately, and unpleasantly, we are running in circles with our hands tied." Which would be even more the case if everything went according to Cornelius' plans. "All of our actions are completely devoted to these people. Without a veritable source of diligence we will not be able to touch them. Their collaborators have spread everywhere. Governments, militaries, the economic world, et cetera." He was very well aware that everybody could hear him, despite talking quietly. Caitlyn watched him with her head slightly cocked. "There are few people who can prevail against the temptation of eternal life." He saw the wary glances cast upon them and continued: "I should not be surprised if that holds true worldwide, including England and the Vatican. And probably even among those here. Damned vermin." The last words came out with less force than planned. He had caught Caitlyn's glance and half-smile.
Only seconds later, his phone blinked. Nice speech.
What do you want? In an actual conversation he would have sighed in annoyance.
Chatting. As I said. I'm bored. Mira will come here whenever and I can annoy the old farts.
He could barely suppress a surprised giggle which had made him look fairly ridiculous. He didn't really care about what the heathens thought about him, but otherwise he didn't need to act like a school boy. How mature. When we're already
He was interrupted when one of the little chocolates from the bowls standing in regular intervals on the table slid past him. He caught it a second after it fell off the tabletop. Caitlyn didn't look at him, but was talking to her butler. Frowning, Enrico opened the wrapper. A tiny note fell on the phone in his lap. Caitlyn must have prepared it earlier. He popped the chocolate into his mouth – it was excellent – and unfolded the note.
It was blank. Feeling somewhat made fun of, Enrico stuffed the wrapper and note in the pocket of his trousers. But was he really surprised? She was barely more than a child after all. He couldn't exactly expect more from her.
Despite wanting to ignore her, he read the message reaching him shortly after.
Just wanted to check if that works. Which did you get?
He briefly considered not even dignifying this with an response, but the Round Table was discussing and completely excluding them from anything. He could feel Lisa's amused and Renaldo's disapproving glances. It was blank. Lady Hellsing, what are you playing at?
Call me Cait, she replied. Too few people do that. And I'm not playing AT anything. Just bored. Besides, I thought you like chocolate? Before he could respond, she sent another message: Super random question, but what spellcheck do you have? English or Italian?
He didn't know what to make of that question – she was right, that was random. English. So I take it I can ask you things as well?
Caitlyn got the message, but didn't respond anymore. Sir Irons had stood up again. "We should start. If everybody would be nice enough to direct their attention to the conference." He glared at Caitlyn and ignored Enrico. The bishop laid his phone in his lap, but didn't put it away. He might need it. Not very likely, but better safe than sorry, the proverb said. The briefcase stood between his feet. Normally he preferred to cross his legs, but he couldn't do that now.
"Since the guests always come first, maybe the Vatican should start with the topic of the day," a younger man, meaning around forty, said. Enrico didn't even remember his name. Maybe he should have looked that up. On the other hand, the Brazil situation had left him not an awful lot of time for that. "Is there a certain reason why they sent... some Iscariot?"
Enrico allowed himself a derogatory smile. He refused to point out that he was in fact the director of Section XIII. They knew that. "The Iscariot organization is trusted to handle this situation as the ones with the most experience in the field." He looked at everyone for a moment. "I don't need to summarize the situation, right? Very well."
He was interrupted when the door slammed open. Everybody turned and the vampire woman walked in. She was followed by a young blond girl and a man with long ginger hair and an eye patch. So those were the replacements Lady Hellsing had organized for her fallen men. Mercenaries. Interesting choice. The two humans seemed slightly surprised by the sheer size of the conference.
The vampire looked around. "Truly splendid, everyone's here," she said cheerfully. She removed her sunglasses, shooting the Iscariots a weird look Enrico couldn't place, and walked up to Lady Hellsing without paying the Round Table or the guards any attention. Her human companions took their posts on the left side of Lady Hellsing while the butler was on the right. Vladimira stopped and bowed.
"I have returned, my master," she said.
Caitlyn hesitated for a moment, as if she wanted to say something else. "Good work, Mira. Her Majesty would like to hear your report."
The vampire turned and walked up to the queen, ignoring the two bodyguards trying to stop her. Caitlyn, in the meanwhile, cast Enrico a short glance and typed something into her phone.
I had almost said "Thank you Captain Obvious".
He suppressed a grin, but didn't answer. What was she playing at? Trying to make friends? That seemed illogical and unlikely, given their organizations' enmity. He had told Cornelius and the Pope Caitlyn was gullible. Maybe she was. She was little more than a teenager after all. But it was not as easy as he had described it. Not with someone as perceptive and manipulative as her. He'd be the idiot Cornelius thought him to be if he believed she really wanted to be friends. Aside from the fact that it would never be possible anyway, her being a heathen. A pity.
"It's been a while, countess," the queen said softly.
"Indeed it has. About seventy years I'd say. You've become the queen since then." Vladimira knelt down and the queen touched her cheek.
"Nothing about you ever changes, my dear countess. Look at me. Just a wrinkled old woman."
"There is an own miracle in aging, young lady. You're still the same witty heroine I remember from long ago. No, queen. Now you are truly beautiful."
Uh-huh...? Enrico wasn't exactly sure what to make of all this. Even the queen of the heathens wasn't all too resistant against the 'opportunities' of eternity. Not that it was such a surprise among this godless bunch.
The queen chuckled. For a strange moment she reminded Enrico of the Pope. "Deliver your report. Vampire."
Vladimira turned and studied the congregation with a smile on her face. It was obvious how much she was enjoying herself. "Once upon a time there was an insane major in the SS," she began her tale. "He said: 'Let us make an immortal army. Let us make invulnerable soldiers.' They strove towards their reckless goal in a swelling sea of blood and madness."
"The Millennium organization's project," Caitlyn said, quietly. She seemed more scared than she should. A lot more. Just a frightened child. ...Why did he have the sudden urge to protect her, just like he had always protected Lisa?
"Correct," Vladimira said, with a hint of amusement. "But seventy years ago, in 1944, we put an end to that project. We being myself and Walter." Uneasy glances were cast to the vampire standing next to Lady Hellsing. He only gave them a polite, slightly mocking smile.
"However, they didn't abandon their true intention. Everyone forgot about them, or tried to. But they undoubtedly continue their vindictive existence in the depths of shadow, while slowly, slowly extending their abilities." Enrico caught Lisa's gaze. She thought the same as him: This speech was long since planned. Who the hell talked like that otherwise?
"Currently their dreadful researching is reaching its horizon of perfecting vampire production. A vampire Kampfgruppe, an invulnerable army of unhumans. The last remnants of the Third Reich." She grinned in anticipation, as if the monsters would jump at her right here and end this day in a bloody battle. "The Letztes Bataillon."
Enrico thought it to be appropriate to look at least fairly shocked and / or surprised, despite having known all of this for a while. The Round Table (or old farts, in Caitlyn's words, which was a far more amusing term) certainly were shocked to the bone. Good for them. They would be mad at Caitlyn, binding her only closer to Iscariot.
So this was the big revelation? Iscariot had known all of this and more before. Well, Cornelius certainly didn't know about the vampire butler, but that was about it. All this mess just to have repeated what they already knew? And for displaying assistance – making the heathens feel safe.
Now they still knew next to nothing about Millennium as it was now. Nothing closer about the who's who and whatever. If he didn't come home with any development, Cornelius would leap at him like the damned vulture he was and was sure to rip Enrico to pieces. And the worst part was, Iscariot's leader would have no means to defend himself.
"Tubalcain's blood gave us avay, didn't it? Really, I guess he vas good for somezing." Everybody spun. Enrico could barely keep his jaw from dropping.
The boy could not be older than fourteen. Except he had been like that for at least 70 years. He grinned at the conference, his pink eyes glowing slightly. He wore a uniform with short sleeves and trousers that was way too chilly for this time of year. His dark brown cat ears in the blond hair flicked once, studying everybody, pausing for a moment at the butler. All bodyguards drew their weapons.
Schrödinger raised his hands in defense. "Vait. I'm just a messenger. I'm not here to fight you."
That's impossible. He can't exist. Yet the cat boy was standing right there, just a few meters away from him. "H-How?", Enrico managed.
Caitlyn was completely calm. She had known about him before the meeting in the museum. That was the only explanation. Enrico cursed himself for not taking this seriously. Caitlyn shot him a smile. "Walter?"
"Our security is flawless. No signs of a break-in," the vampire stated calmly.
"Save your breath," the cat boy said cheerfully. "I'm everywhere and nowhere." He put down a mobile screen on the far end of the table, so everybody could see it. "Since eweryone from England und the Watican are gathered together here today, our Kommandant, Herr Major, has something wery important to say." He took out a remote and pressed it.
Nothing happened.
"Varrant officer Schrödinger?", a shrill male voice inquired from the screen. "I can't see anything. Vhat are you doing? Hurry and stand the brigadier general against ze wall."
"Major, please, stop this madness-", begged a different voice. There were shots. The screen flashed and showed the picture of bodies over bodies, shot down and lying in a pool of blood. A collective gasp went through the room. Caitlyn went white as a sheet.
Enrico was frozen for a moment, but then remembered his plan. Really, it had been just a vague idea, nothing that made sense if you looked at it rationally. But now he was glad to have trusted his instincts. All he needed to do was open a program he had installed on his phone and activate the gadget he had brought.
"Ah, zere's ze image." The man wore a white suit with a long coat and thick glasses. The blond hair was slicked back except for the left side, where it hung in his face in perfect order. He grinned at them, a small, fat man with just the disgusting expression Brown had described to Enrico months ago. The boy giggled. "Sounds like you haf your hand full zere, Major!"
He sighed. "It's troublesome having to deal with superiors who are cowards. But I finally find relief. It feels good. Wery good."
The cat boy turned around in surprise when Vladimira approached the screen. "Hi there, Major," she said with a smile.
"It's been a long time, dear Vladimira. I'm so very glad to see you again." The Major directed his gaze over to the far end of the table. Caitlyn was sitting there with her fists clenched, white as a sheet and trembling. It didn't need any ill volition to tell she was overwhelmed by the situation. The Round Table would rip her to pieces once this was over.
"Ah, the new Lady Hellsing," the Major said, amused. "I believe this is the first time we speak to each other."
Caitlyn needed a moment to gather her words. For some reason it seemed like she was reciting Shakespeare in her head. "Indeed it is, Major. I take it you're here to tell us what you want?"
He raised his eyebrows. "What I want? You mean my goal?"
"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall," she murmured.
"Excuse me?!" That was Sir Irons. He had jumped up. "As you see, Miss Hellsing is not capable of leading these negotiations-"
"Shut up!", the Major snapped. "I'm talking to her. It's been a vhile since I talked to a young girl, so don't interfere vith me, boy!" He walked along some kind of corridor, until he stood in front of a tied up and gagged man in a general's uniform. There was a sign around his neck saying Zum Henker Defätist. Now it would come in handy to have Heinkel present. Not that it was incredibly important what the words meant. The Major snapped his fingers and the vampires leaped at the unfortunate general, tearing his throat to pieces and splattering blood everywhere.
"That looks pret-ty severe," the cat boy said, laughing and rubbing the back of his neck. Nobody said anything. They just stared at the massacre.
Lisa took a step forward. Her hand brushed her brother's on the armrest.
"You're all insane," Enrico said plainly. The Major turned to him and grinned.
"You speak of madness to me? Vatican Section XII chief?"
"Yes, I do," Enrico said, gritting his teeth. "Not one of you is sound in the mind!"
"Thankfully, it's your God who guarantees my madness, you see," the Major said with a giggle. "Vell, let me ask you this: Who in the vorld guarantees ze sanity of your God?"
Enrico jumped to his feet and slammed his palms on the table. "Do you understand who the hell you are talking to?!" The next moment, an arrow of fire dug into his left hand. He managed not to cry out, but that was about it. He felt hot blood seeping into the bandage once again.
The Major grinned. "Maybe I should be vearing a black SS uniform?" Enrico fell back on the chair, his lips pressed tightly together, trying hard not to grimace at the pain. Lisa laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Ve are ze Schutzstaffel of the Third Reich, ve are-
"Brevity is the soul of wit," Caitlyn interrupted him. The Major broke off in surprise, not used to being cut off.
"The game is up," Caitlyn said. All fear had gone from her voice, although she was still very pale.
The Major giggled. "Wery vell. Lady Hellsing is right. Try to stop me zen, you self-styled standard of normality. But you are not my enemy, so keep your vords to yourself for a bit, Section XIII. My enemy is Great Britain. Nein! It is zis woman who stands there so joyful! And her partner, obviously," he added after a moment, almost softly.
Silence fell, only interrupted by the manic laughter of the vampires known as Vladimira and Walter. Caitlyn looked from one to the other, helpless and without a clue what she should do about this. The cat boy was still standing there, observing everything with a grin. Enrico was close to ordering they should get rid of him. Then Lisa stepped forward.
Schrödinger turned, and his ears shot up. For a moment they only looked at each other. Then Lisa stroked his blond hair. The Round Table was still too occupied by the vampires declaring war on this fat madman, but Caitlyn noticed. The two leaders exchanged a glance. Lisa cuddled with the cat boy and talked to him, though her words were intelligible in the turmoil.
Enrico felt like he would either start crying or laughing hysterically any moment. Cornelius would rip him to pieces. The Round Table would rip Caitlyn to pieces and then they were both screwed. He couldn't help it. He facepalmed, as it was called these days, not able to fight a slightly desperate grin, accompanied by a groan. God. Of all times possible, Lisa, the most reasonable person he knew, pulled such a stunt. She loved cats, of course, but what the hell was she thinking?!
And the worst part: He wasn't even surprised. If anything could go wrong, it would.
Time for Plan B. Or what he could use as a Plan B in the thirty seconds he had had to think so far. Considering he had not expected even to need a Plan A, that was not so bad. Caitlyn shot him a glance. She was just as speechless as he was, an incredulous smile on her face.
"Varrant officer Schrödinger?", the Major asked, and not for the first time. He was getting irritated. That was probably quite bad for his surroundings. The better for their enemies.
Schrödinger purred loudly and was too occupied with Lisa to listen to his boss. Yet.
The device had logged into the signal Millennium used without a problem. They didn't even try to cipher it? That got to be a joke. "Shut it Major. We're not talking to you," Enrico mumbled. He slid the controller to the right and the Major's screen went blank. Using the remote would have done too, thinking about it again.
"What the-" The man – someone from the Round Table, Enrico didn't even bother to check who – was cut off by a hiss. Caitlyn made a harsh gesture and stood up. It was silent, except for her footsteps. She took one of the chairs and turned it away from the table, so Lisa could sit down. The cat boy snuggled up to her, enjoying having his ears petted. He looked stoned. Maybe Lisa had brought catnip, for some mysterious reason? That got to be a joke.
"So, do you like it there?", Lisa asked. "Is everyone nice to you?"
"Ja, I like it," the cat boy said. "Some are not so nice, some are, but it's fine."
"Really? Who's not nice to someone like you?", Lisa asked, sounding genuinely indignant.
The boy giggled and purred. "I like pranks, zat's all. But ze Major is nice to me. Ze Doktor is often angry, but he likes me anyway. After all, he created me."
"Oh really? He got to be very clever," Lisa said. Caitlyn stood next to Enrico, who wasn't sure how to take all of this. He wanted to stand up and join in. There were so many questions he hadn't had the time to talk with Lisa about. Lady Hellsing took his hand to hold him back and smiled. Her skin was icy and slightly sweaty, he even could feel her pulse, now slowing a bit. She had been under a lot of stress after all. She let go after a second, a bit hastily.
Enrico returned his attention to his sister. Either she was crazy or a genius. Maybe both.
Schrödinger was praising the "Doctor" into high heavens. He was the one who had developed the vampire process, the complete base, also the zeppelins (Zeppelins? Really?, Enrico thought. Then again, it was not surprising that they were old-fashioned.) and everything else. He could do anything. Except a decent firewall.
"Sounds great. What about the others? Any friends?"
"Vell, zere is Zorin. She is a bit scary if you don't know her and rude, but she can be nice. You just shouldn't annoy her too much. She has zose cool powers of making you see stuff that isn't zere. But sometimes she uses it to scare me."
"That is really mean," Lisa said softly.
"Normally I go to Rip or Hans, but she's avay now and ze Captain doesn't talk."
"Really? Why not?"
"I don't zink he can. Besides, he's always with ze Major. He's his bodyguard." He paused for a moment and seemed to think things over. "Zose Valentines aren't nice either. Luckily, zey are not at headquarters." He sniffed, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like "hussies". Then he leaned his head again on Lisa's shoulder. "And Tubalcain was.. mhm, he was okay. Ve all had fun together. In ze past." He sighed, seeming nostalgic, and purred again. "Over zere. Ah, ja, zat's great. Danke." Lisa obeyed with a grin. She seemed to enjoy it just as much as the cat boy. Enrico looked at Caitlyn. She looked at him. They exchanged a smile that said I have no idea what the hell is going on.
"What does the Major want, anyway? He didn't say," Lisa continued.
The cat boy didn't answer for a while. "Var," he eventually said. "And defeating Alucard." He sat up and flicked his ears. "Though I zink it was quite a surprise to see Hellsing's butler... like this. Even to ze Major." Walter's eyes narrowed, but he didn't move.
"It must be difficult upholding such a large group, especially providing them with food and all, somewhere remote..."
"Where is your base?", Walsh fell in. Not only Schrödinger jumped. But the cat boy slid off Lisa's lap and looked around with a look of growing panic. He noticed the turned-off screen and sagged.
"You... you tricked me!", he said, his voice shaking. The pink eyes flashed angrily. And the weirdest of all: He seemed severely disappointed, as if Lisa had been a long-since trusted friend. "You tricked me into revealing stuff!" He hissed at them, a genuine cat hiss. "But you didn't get anything important anyway!" He vanished and appeared again next to the screen. He picked it up and was gone.
Silence resided.
Walsh seemed to shrink to the size of a chipmunk under the glares of not only Caitlyn and the Maxwell siblings. "You busted it," Lisa said plainly. If she was with someone she knew better, she would have gotten one of her incredibly rare freak-outs. Enrico didn't really want to imagine that. Walsh tried to find an excuse and couldn't.
"Caitlyn. Vladimira. And Walter, of course," the queen said into the angry silence. Caitlyn turned sharply. Unlike her vampires she was far from being happy. She seemed rather close to tears.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"This is an order. Bring them all down."
Half an hour later
"Come back immediately. God bless you."
"Amen." The line was cut off. Now then, there was a good chance that Heinkel and her student would be back before Anderson. He really went into a lot of effort to help them hide this. Then again, it would be worthwhile, once Victoria became a paladin, he hoped. It was certainly out of character for Heinkel to praise a trainee like she had. She was just as strict with everybody as she was with herself. And 'The Wolf's' standards were not an easy match.
Lisa had said she needed a bathroom break, but how long could that possibly take? Even Renaldo had gone off to somewhere. Enrico had been busy and hadn't listened what he was planning to do.
They were pretty much alone, except for the guards hovering nearby at every step, out of hearing range, but not out of sight. The Round Table had already left, as had the queen, presumably. Caitlyn and her vampires were probably still around. In the wake of Walsh's screw-up Caitlyn had gone undisturbed and even congratulated. Not ever mentioning it had been the Iscariot's work. But that was fine.
He just needed to check if his plan had worked out. Using an unciphered signal. Seriously? Of course it could still be a trap, but deep down he knew it was not. Those Nazis were even more backwards than expected. Before he could even start, his phone rang again. Headquarters.
"Si?"
"Chief, it's Yumiko." She sounded terribly upset, but tried to be professional and calm. Shouldn't she help out at Section X?
"Did something happen?" He had a really, really bad feeling about this. Something important had happened. Why else would Yumiko call? She hated phone calls.
"Yes, chief, it's... it's..."
Enrico rolled his eyes. He had really no patience left for this kind of behavior today. "Yumiko, just tell me what's going on," he barked.
For a moment, there was startled silence. Was she crying? What the hell was going on? "Bishop Cornelius is dead and everybody thinks you did it!", Yumiko blurted out.
"WHAT?!" For a moment he had to search for words. "When... how?"
"He... he was found this morning. Rat poison."
He heard Cornelius' voice, full of anger at his defeat and hate for his rival. "Be careful. Vermin gets exterminated one day or the other. A little rat like you will always land where it came from."
Cornelius had died of rat poison. How far off was it that Enrico Maxwell, leader of the infamous Section XIII, for whom breaking the rules was business, had taken this as a cue for his revenge? And even if he hadn't done it personally – why should he? – one of his subordinates, those professional murderers, would have done it without hesitation.
Enrico sagged against the wall. There was nothing he could do to disprove that either. It made just too much sense. How often had he thought of getting rid of Cornelius, just to discard the plan, because he would be the most likely suspect, no matter how Cornelius died?
"...Chief?", Yumiko inquired nervously.
He brushed through his open hair with the hand not holding the phone, a gesture he didn't notice, but showed just how confused and helpless he felt. Feeling like that made him angry. Everything had been going so well so far.
"Yes. Thank you. Do me a favor and find out if Section II will get involved. I'll get to it when I come back."
"Yes, Sir." There was a long pause, but Yumiko didn't hang up.
"Something else?"
"I... I... forgive me. Enrico, I'm asking as a friend." She seemed to gather all her courage. "Did you... are you responsible for Bishop Cornelius' death?"
Enrico leaned back his head and closed his eyes. If even his best friends were suspecting him, he was even more screwed than he had imagined. "No, Yumiko," he said calmly. "I had nothing to do with this. It's what Cornelius wants everybody to think."
"You... you're not mad, right?"
He sighed. Was he? No. Not even disappointed or offended. It was the character of Iscariot in purity. Nothing more. "No. I'm glad you asked. Something else. Heinkel and Vicky will be back in a few hours. Go pick them up from the airport if you will."
"Of course chief." She sounded more cheery now. No doubt she believed him. That was good. If nobody else would, at least them. There was nothing he could do for now. He could only hope Cornelius had been unable to put up a convincing scenario. He certainly hadn't planned on dying.
Divine punishment, Enrico thought, not sure if what he felt was bitterness or amusement.
"Also, there came an order directly from the Holy Father. Do you want to read it when you come here? I didn't dare open it."
He had to smile. That loyalty was exactly what a leader could wish for. "No, read it to me, please."
There was the sound of paper tearing when Yumiko opened the envelope with a paper knife. She probably looked it over first, because he heard a gasp. No more bad news, please.
But when Yumiko began to read, her voice was high-pitched with excitement. "Preparations for the reconquista of Great Britain and defeat of the unholy forces of Millennium. As of this day, the Knights of Malta, the Order of St. John, the Hospitallers, the Order of St. George and the Swiss Guard are mobilizing. Section III, Matthew, is preparing weapons for anti-vampire combat. All further coordination falls to Section XIII. All mobilized forces of the Ninth Crusade will answer to the leader of the Iscariot organization, Bishop Enrico Maxwell."
Enrico blinked. "What?"
"Looks like you just got in line with Godfrey of Bouillon and Richard the Lionheart."
He felt a smile spread on his face. "I wouldn't go that far," he said. That was incredible. Literally. Just incredible. He had to be dreaming. "I'm not a knight," he murmured. "Was that order issued before Cornelius' death?"
"Uhm.. I really don't know. It doesn't say an exact date." Well, the Pope surely can't take it back all of a sudden.
"Fine. Thank you. I'll be back this evening." They rang off and he stashed away his phone. He'd check on Millennium from his office. The laptop worked a lot better anyway.
If this crusade was a success, Cornelius' death would only become a footnote in history. What if everybody thought he killed him? It wasn't important anymore. Of course, if the crusade failed, Cornelius would be the least of his worries.
"That must have hurt a lot." Enrico spun, startled out of his thoughts, his triumphant grin vanishing. Caitlyn smiled at him. "Hope I don't disturb you."
"Not at all." She had opened the knot and her hair was falling on her shoulders again. Also she had taken off the jacket and opened the first button of the shirt.
Where the hell were Lisa and Renaldo? Their flight was still three hours to go, but he didn't need to be around these heathens any more than ne-
Caitlyn took his hand, the left one, and held it. Enrico was too surprised to pull back. The wall behind him made it impossible to put any distance between them. Not that he thought of that right now. She had washed her hands and they were cool against his own warm skin. Her nervousness was gone and the impression of being close to tears.
"That was a very good strategy, sounding the cat boy."
"Thanks," he said automatically, "I'll tell Lisa."
"And thank you for helping me." He almost asked what she meant – he didn't remember actively helping her in anything – but only nodded. "You wrote I'd get to hear about Millennium soon. Didn't happen. So what did you want to say?"
What did he want to say? For a few moments his mind was completely blank as to this topic. There surely had been a few things they could have shared with England, but he couldn't remember right now. Before he started to stutter like an idiot, he just put on an enigmatic smile and shrugged his shoulders. Caitlyn shook her head in defiance.
"That's not how this works. Come on."
A thought shot from the back of his mind to the front. "We took care of a few... let's call them providers of... sustenance. Their links with the Vatican are cut for good as well."
She smiled. "It's really no base of a cooperation to fib, Father Maxwell."
Damn it. "Well, let's say all official and unoffical links. We still haven't found the spies, I admit that."
"Same for us. Then again, seeing Schrödinger can teleport, he would be the perfect candidate."
"Could be, but I doubt it. There must be insiders."
"Yes," she said quietly, looking down for a moment. She was still holding his left hand with both of hers. By now he was getting nervous. First off, Cornelius had already started to spread rumors about him and Caitlyn. Second, this made him utterly uncomfortable. Otherwise he couldn't explain the flutter in his stomach. He should fetch Lisa and Renaldo and get the hell out of here. There was a lot of work to do.
"Why don't you leave your hair open more often?", she suddenly said. He winced, but she didn't let go. "That looks really nice."
What? "Uh... it's a bit annoying when you run around all day. And it looks unprofessional." That second part probably sounded mean. Then again, she put her hair up as well when having a professional meeting. Maxwell, either you get yourself together, or you get out of here. Now.
Caitlyn laughed. "Yeah, you're right. Still, it looks nice."
"You... you too." So much for not stuttering like the idiot he obviously was. What the hell was she playing at? This wasn't even about anything important. Or forcing him to keep their little talks secret because they sounded too personal?
Caitlyn looked away again. Enrico had to look twice, because he didn't get it. She blushed. He as well, unfortunately. What the hell was-
Pain shot through his injured hand and finally ripped him out of whatever spell she had cast on him. He hissed involuntarily. Caitlyn winced. For a moment her cool, slender fingers brushed over his skin again, then she let go. Enrico hastily pulled back his hand, trying to ignore the pain in it. His heart was beating a lot faster than it should.
"You should go and have someone look at that," Caitlyn said. "It looks pretty bad." He couldn't help but check. There were a few tiny blood spots visible. It was a pretty thick bandage. Great. What if that hadn't healed until the crusade?
"I will." He cleared his throat and tried to sound mocking. "Is there any reason for your concern about my well-being?"
Caitlyn blinked at him. "That's what partners do, right?"
Now it was his turn to be confused. She actually saw them as partners? His plan was working better than he would have dared to hope. "...Right."
"Why do you think the signal broke off just as we were sounding the cat boy?" She looked him straight in the eyes and Enrico suddenly knew that she would know exactly if he was lying. He hadn't kept his "hobby" a secret for nothing. He would prefer to keep it like that.
"Lady Hellsing?" She took a step back and just now he realized how close they had been standing to each other. He could smell lavender again, just a faint trace now.
"Yes?", Caitlyn said. Was it his imagination or did she sound as disappointed as he felt for some reason?
"Millennium will not wait for long to attack. We have to prepare." Walter shot Enrico a sharp glance. So the little monster didn't like him. How fearful. "Will the envoys of the Vatican accompany us?" Caitlyn looked at Enrico in an almost pleading way. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to stay a while longer. This conversation wasn't over yet.
The hell? "I'm afraid that won't be possible. I have my own section to lead. We'll stay in touch."
"I'll be there in a minute, Walter." The vampire glared at the Iscariot once again and disappeared as fast as he had come. For a moment, there was uncomfortable silence.
"I have to return to the Vatican."
"Of course." She cleared her throat and smiled. "I'm glad we can face this problem together." The smile became an ironic smirk. "So we can go back to be enemies just like before."
He laughed. "Certainly. Well then, Miss- Lady Hellsing." She glanced at him with a raised eyebrow and he corrected himself. "Cait?"
That brought another one of those lovely smiles on her face. "Better. We both have to go back to our duties, I guess. Have a nice flight home."
"Thanks." They both hesitated, unsure how to properly say goodbye. A handshake was all that was needed, right? Caitlyn seemed to decide a pat on the shoulder would be fine, but hesitated again and it ended up in some kind of half-stroking gesture, brushing mostly his hair. She blushed again and chose the flight out front: She hugged him tightly, if only for a moment.
Enrico froze, but not failing to notice the smell of lavender in her hair. Then she hastily let go and made a dash for the door. "Goodbye."
"Bye," he managed, but only after the door had slammed shut.
WHAT?!
He stood there for almost a minute, unsure what to feel about what just happened. Enrico sighed and tied his hair back again. It would soon be time to go home and then he would finally be able to scoop up this mess.
Bishop Enrico Maxwell, the leader of the Ninth Crusade. How wonderful that sounded.
"You are an idiot, Enrico Maxwell." He turned around, startled. Lisa shook her head as she set down her bag and took out a small first-aid-kit. "Seriously, why put on such a show?" For a moment he had thought she was talking about him and Caitlyn.
Him and Caitlyn. As if that was a thing.
At her gesture he obediently sat down and let her remove the bandage around his hand. As expected, the fabric and his hand were blood-stained, although he had not the slightest idea where that might come from. The stitches were still in place.
"You're the one to say. Oh, by the way, a compliment from Lady Hellsing. How the hell did you get that idea?" He hissed when Lisa applied disinfectant.
"Don't be such a pussy. If you could take the blow, this shouldn't be a problem. No idea. I just did what came to my mind. That boy was super cute, don't you think?"
"I took that blow for you, remember? Be a bit more grateful," Enrico complained. Lisa shot him a weird glance, then wrapped a new bandage around his hand.
"There you go."
"Thanks. Now let's get going, I gotta call Anderson. We need to prepare."
Lisa frowned. "Prepare for what?" Enrico just shook his head and took his briefcase. They met Renaldo on their way out, still accompanied by the British guards, who cast them hostile glances. A car brought them back to the airport. They had to wait two hours for their flight to depart. In the meanwhile, Enrico set someone on the names the cat boy had mentioned and told everybody to hurry up, things were going to go down soon. Lisa wondered what he meant by that. He also made a few other phone calls, which Lisa didn't understand. What did Iscariot have to do with all the knight orders?
In the end it was almost midnight when they arrived in Rome. Even at that time, the city was bustling. Lisa was glad to be back home. So many things had happened, so much to think about. All she wanted to do is sleep. But Enrico had other plans, it seemed. He didn't even bother to take off the formal clothes from the conference before making another phone call.
"Anderson," Lisa heard him say. She had changed into pajamas and stopped in the door of the study. Enrico listened for a few moments, then put the phone on speaker. He had sat down in his chair and leaned back. Lisa felt something soft brush her ankles. Alex, their cat. She picked him up and buried her face in the soft fur for a moment. The cat was used to it and didn't struggle. He purred softly, telling his mistress she was home.
Lisa must have missed quite a bit of the conversation, because Anderson asked: "Hou was the conference?"
Enrico hesitated and flashed Lisa a brief smile that seemed ironic for some reason. "Interesting. We got a few names, but I'm already running a check on them, so don't bother."
A pause. "Hou was the vampire?", Anderson asked.
"Something the matter?", Enrico asked back with a frown.
Pause. "Nay. Jus' asking."
"I doubt I could tell if something was off about her," Enrico said slowly. "Anderson, did something happen when you brought the papers?" Lisa didn't like the sound of this. They had enough to do without Anderson getting into trouble again.
"Nothing." The answer was too sharp and given too fast to be anything but a lie. "Whit aboot finding their base?"
"Not necessary. They'll come to us eventually. The real problem is, they have their spies everywhere."
Anderson seemed relieved about the change of topic. "Ah widnae doubt it. Intelligence seems tae be leaking like it was kept in ae sieve. Ah've already been attacked three times since Ah came tae this continent." There were rapid shots, then a scream. Not Anderson's though. "Foor times," the paladin corrected himself. "As we reckoned, their arm's ae lang yin." He paused, probably looking over whatever he now saw. Lisa shivered. She told herself it was the attacker's own fault. If they wanted to be acolytes to these crazy mass murderers, they didn't deserve anything better. Iscariot was just doing their duty. She just wished this duty had not fallen to them, not to her brother. He had changed so much since he became a bishop and leader of Section XIII, and not for the better. Lisa couldn't help it. She hated Italy, and Rome, and Iscariot, and the people who did this to them. Even Enrico's quasi-family and her good friends.
Don't be stupid, she tried to tell herself. It's exactly what he wants. Which didn't mean it was good for him. Her brother was sitting in his chair, seemingly relaxed. But there was a tiny twitching in his face, a fire in his eyes she didn't like.
"But what Ah dinnae understand," Anderson said eventually. "is why they have nae sent yin vampire oot efter me." Even through the hundreds, thousands of miles Lisa could hear quotation marks around the word "vampire".
"They are trying to keep you occupied, buy themselves time," Enrico said.
"Probably," Anderson said darkly. "The question is whit are a' yon vampires up tae?"
Enrico stared at the ceiling for a moment and frowned. "Their target is Britain," he said, ending with an irritated snort. There was something else in his face Lisa couldn't place. Was it worry? Surely not about Iscariot. She had to smile. Some things didn't change.
"Maxwell, things have proceeded according tae yer plans," Anderson said. "Arenae ye bursting wi' joy?"
"Half of me is. However..." He shot Lisa another brief smile, twirling a blond strand around his finger. Should he tell himself whatever he wanted, Lisa knew what her instincts told her. She knew him too well.
"If ye're unhappy, why didnae ye talk back?", Anderson asked. "He even said oor God is mad!" His voice turned into a growl.
"He made it quite clear that we are of no concern to him. He's focused on Hellsing and their vampire pet. I doubt he would have regarded anything I said." Lisa winced when Enrico stood up, his hands clenching into fists. That got to hurt like hell, she thought. But it obviously didn't. Even if, Enrico was way too agitated to feel it. "This is no longer the time for words."
"Perfect timing," Anderson chuckled. "We'll hit them fae the flank wi' everything we've got."
"Yes!", Enrico exclaimed, in some kind of evil satisfaction. "At the end of all things, it will be us standing in the ring with our fists raised." A grin spread on his face, a gruesome thing that turned him into something Lisa had never seen before, something horrible. His baritone voice was not unlike a crazy, but intelligent movie villain, a professor Moriarty maybe. "A little while ago, mobilization orders came through from his Holiness."
"Hou?", asked Anderson, a grin in his voice as well, just as Lisa asked: "What?!" Enrico didn't regard her. He had forgotten all about her presence. Just like he forgot to tell me we are going on a crusade?
"His Holiness put the Knights of Malta, the order of St. John, the Hospitallers, the order of St. George as well as the Swiss Guard under my command. I already moved their headquarters. The Holy Relic administration bureau, Section III, Matthew, is also in motion. They are preparing weapons thought to be suited for anti-vampire combat."
Anderson chuckled. "Thon means we're just like crusaders."
Lisa involuntarily took a step back. "Yes," Enrico growled, his voice rising to a shout, the face a mask of rage, "Undeniably. But our enemy is not Allah. The God this time is Mars. It is fitting after all. We shall pile their corpses up from every high wall to every street corner just like we did once before!"
Lisa didn't hear what Anderson answered. She had turned around and fled to the only possible place: Her room. She crawled under the covers, rolled herself tightly into them, and didn't move anymore, staring blankly at her wardrobe on the other side of the room.
Deep down, she had always known of the darkness. Everybody had it. Some more, some less. Enrico was on the 'more' side. She had seen it in 1999, and a few times after that, and had sworn herself to be his guardian, just like he protected her. There was nobody else to do so, so she would. Always and forever.
It, the darkness, whatever you wanted to call it, had been there from the beginning, born and raised by whatever Enrico's biological mother had done to him a long time ago. He didn't like to talk about that time. But Lisa had made sure 'it' never became too strong. Strong like this. She had not wanted to see how much for the worse he had changed since they had left Canada behind. Sometimes he was still the lovely, silly, caring young man she had always trusted. But more and more this seemed like a charade, a cover for something else under the surface. She had made a huge mistake ignoring it. And just how many would have to suffer for that?
For the first time in her life, Lisa was scared of her brother.
She could only pray that it was not too late to save Enrico from what he was about to become.
Phew. This chapter was hard, although I've been looking forward to it ever since I planned out the fic. So I hope I made it as awesome as I always imagined the conference (I really loved that scene in manga and OVA).
Also, thanks to ninjadaleburg and kinniget for commenting, and to all those favoriting the story. Let's be honest, I'd continue writing without you, but this appreciation surely helps me get through writer's block and difficulties, and is a great reminder I still want to improve the quality of my writing.
For the record: Zum Henker Defätist means something like To hell, defeatist. "Zum Henker" is an idiom that would literally translate to "to the hangman". In the manga the translation given is "I am a defeatist", which would be "Ich bin ein Defätist".
Honestly, I'm not even mad about all the mistakes in the manga. Both Hirano as a Japanese and the English translators obviously don't know German, and I find the results hilarious for some reason. Also, I'm more or less copying the accents when I quote from the manga, but I've never heard a German saying "ist" instead of "is" when talking English, so I leave out things I think are too stereotyped.