Mafia Hunt part 1

London, England

Hellsing Institute Target Practice Center

Seras was trying her hardest - she truly was - but she simply could never get this shooting ordeal right. She wasn't really concerned with ghouls and "sorry excuses for a vampire" as her master would say, but she was more worried about fighting targets with the same speed and skill as Sloth had. If she could put up a decent fight with her master, Alucard, and if she trained that kid under her wing the way Alucard trained her under his, then she was in for a rude awakening if she couldn't hold her own with blasting Sloth's head off or the kid. As Seras loaded a regular M&P9 JG pistol with about 16 rounds, she began to wonder how the new turned would be taught how to hunt like a true vampire. Would he be afraid to lose his own humanity just as she did? What was training with Sloth really like? She must be a lot harder to work with, being a trained mercenary and all. Maybe she wasn't a mercenary but a trained killer. Maybe she should stop thinking about scarlet-clad woman and concentrate on shooting the target!

"Why are you thinking about the enemy, Seras Victoria?" a familiar, deep voice questioned.

Seras jumped, not realizing her master was literally behind her in his full regalia - minus the wide-brimmed red fedora hat, and then turned sharply with her hand behind her head. Alucard was neither smirking nor grinning as he looked upon his fledgling's cowering form. It was rather apparent she didn't like seeing Alucard in the least bit angry, but if she continued to think about Sloth or her new fledgling he was going to blow a fuse. She scratched her scalp in nervousness, fearing the worst since she was caught doing as her master said. Of course, the worst that could actually happen to her is making her master displeased. He was normally forgiving...to a certain extent.

"I, uh, ahem...," Seras started, blushing. She really didn't know what to say.

"Explain yourself," Alucard demanded.

"Sorry, sir!" Seras immediately responded, flinching at Alucard's impatience. "It's just...well, I thought that if I trained harder, I might be able to put up a decent fight against Sloth if I should ever have to fight her or her new turned should you be gone, master."

Seras looked up at her tall master, noting that his eyebrow twitched ever so slightly - it was hardly noticeable, and blushed before looking back down. Alucard merely stood there very quietly before turning his back to her and walking a great distance away. It reminded her of the times when he was mentoring her on her new vampire senses. However, this time he was walking perhaps double the distance compared to those days. He turned back to her and within seconds fired several rounds from a regular M&P9 9mm pistol about several kilometers away! Seras ran through the open grass, dodging multiple bullets being shot from the great distance, and wondered if this was Alucard's way of punishing her.

'You're too slow...' she heard her master say. When the firing stopped, so did she; she continued to listen to her master as he spoke to her telepathically, however. 'If you were planning on trying to fight Sloth, your problem is not your aim but your speed. She may be more accurate than most of our opponents, but she doesn't depend on accuracy. She's a natural gunsman and hardly has to think about where she's firing the bullet. What you really need to train harder for is being able to keep up with her. She thinks about where you're going to be next not whether your aim is on point. She has an open spot. You have to find it!'

That's how the firing started again. She now knew what she had to do, so she made a determined grunt and tried to see where Alucard was from the kilometer-distance. For about as long as an hour, she kept dodging bullets to the best of her ability; unfortunately, she was hit several times in different vital areas, but the good thing was she wasn't a human anymore so she couldn't simply bleed to death. As their training progressed, she was able to close the distance on Alucard, but the distance was still great. In order to advance closer to her master, she reasoned, she would have to be faster than the bullets and find a spot where she could easily speed through. Her vision reddened then narrowed as she observed lead bullets flying through the soft wind at high velocities. Seeing one opening, she ducked her head to dodge one of the bullets then hurdled through the hole. For every time there was a hole in Alucard's firing, she advanced several feet closer. She was only able to truly advance towards him when he reloaded the pistol. She dodged several more bullets until her master stopped once again and it wasn't to reload this time. She felt a familiar presence somewhere in the distance and turned to see her master already at Sir Integra's side. Beside her, however, was the handsome Baron vanGouge standing tall and remaining quiet as he watched on. Seras blushed a bit, remembering vanGouge's deep and smooth voice from earlier this morning, and then shook her head violently before running to Sir Integra. Was he watching them the entire time? As she approached the group, Baron looked at the younger blonde and smiled softly before turning to Alucard and doing the same though adding a nod.

"Who is this man standing next to you, my master?" Alucard questioned, grinning a bit.

"This is Baron vanGouge, a man with potential to be Hellsing's new butler," Integra introduced, turning her head to look at Baron. He bowed before Alucard then stood straight again. Integra smirked at his calm demeanor, assuming he was scared stiff at seeing Alucard grinning like some madman. She continued, "I brought him here to meet with you before we part ways to our new mission location. Baron, here, will be serving you medical blood and making sure your weapons are in top shape for every mission. I learned he was a weapons specialist some time earlier, so I am eager to see his skills before we leave. VanGouge, this is Alucard, our number one agent in the Hellsing Organization and resident master vampire."

"Pleasure, sir," Baron greeted, letting no feeling cross his eyes for a second even though he was smiling.

"Countess," Alucard started, gaining Integra's attention, "why are you so interested in knowing what this man is thinking? Would knowing more about him satisfy some hidden desire of yours?"

Integra blushed then growled at Alucard. She had forgotten that he liked to enter her own mind to tease her about things, but that in no way meant she appreciated his invasions. She shook off her blush then said, "Unless you want to remain in that basement for eternity after I'm long dead, I suggest you know your place, servant! At least try to behave around your new caretaker."

"I am hardly such for this fellow," Baron scoffed, tucking a lock of salt and pepper gray hair behind his ear. "A man with this sort of spiritual energy should only see me as a plaything."

"Sp-spi-spiritual...energy?" Seras questioned, furrowing her eyebrows a bit at the man.

"Ah, I have mentioned this to Sir Integra earlier during lunch but not to anyone else. Seeing as though I am trying to keep my job, I suppose telling the both of you of my family is crucial to my staying here," Baron said, closing his eyes for a moment. "My eldest daughter works with a group very similar to the Hellsing Organization. She handles vampires just as you all do. What she learns in the church she works for, she teaches us when she returns home. Before we moved to London, she taught us all something quite valuable: the ability to sense a vampire's level of power and presence. It helps her a great deal when she does battle."

"This daughter of yours..." Alucard started, grinning fairly widely, "did you tell her that you were going to be staying with my master?"

"If I'm not mistaken, Sir Integra never truly made it official," Baron answered, smirking rather devilishly. "She currently only knows that I am capable of making damn good tea and doing diligent research for your missions."

"I am curious to see your fighting capabilities, Mr. vanGouge. Please," Alucard said, bowing, "show them to me."

Baron nodded, grinning probably just as wide as Alucard, and surprised both Seras and Alucard. His grin reminded them of Sloth. It was, in fact, very similar. At that point, Alucard had begun to reload the pistol with a new clip with an odd burst of excitement coursing through his body. Integra saw the master vampire's swift movements and began to worry that he was going to challenge her butler as an opponent. She simply watched on, feeling a gun going into her hand, and gave thanks to Seras for giving her a pistol just in case. Apparently, she was also a bit concerned.

Alucard followed Baron all the way to the artillery counter, waiting for his voice to change to a woman's or his body to change from muscular to curvier, and watched as Baron hummed in thought. He seemed to be stuck between a rifle and a pistol. Growing impatient, Alucard walked over to the counter and chose a pistol similar to the one he picked up to train Seras. He then held it out to vanGouge and watched him smirk from his choice.

"Does this one not suit you?" Alucard questioned.

"No, I just find it funny that you would choose this one," Baron said. "I thought for sure you would have suggested the rifle because it gives you a bigger advantage over me. This rifle is not automatic and is normally used to hunt deer or some form of game. You, instead, chose something of equal power to your own pistol. A master vampire such as yourself wouldn't have chosen a weapon for any regular opponent. Does this mean you are testing me, sir?"

"I must commend you, my master. You found someone I may actually like," Alucard said, chuckling. He heard Integra grunt, even from the long distance she was standing. He then turned to Baron, who was loading his gun with only one clip, and reached for two extra clips to give to the man. He hissed, "Granted you are not the same person I had the pleasure of fighting with some days ago."

"Oh, I will not need those," Baron said, taking the extra clips then placing them back down onto the counter. "I do thank you, however. If we are fighting each other, I only plan to aim for one thing. Also, this may prove that I am not the person you fought some days ago. I've never seen you before up to this point, I assure you."

"Perhaps you are not the same person, but I do hope you are hired as butler," Alucard dipped his head into Baron's ear, grinning when the man didn't falter. It wasn't often he meant with someone who didn't twitch or become tense when he was as close as he was to vanGouge. He then whispered quite softly, "You may be the only way I will ever have the pleasure of seeing your lovely daughter again."

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Thursday, October 12, 2030

St. Mary's Island, Isles of Scilly

Star Castle in Hugh Town

Very few investigators were on the premises of probably one of the bloodiest scenes ever witnessed on the mainland, but those same few knew when they needed help. This case, especially, needed the help of experts with a stronger stomach and awareness of this small town's new enemy. Nothing like this had happened before. Hugh Town was normally a peaceful area with very little traumatic disturbances reaching the inhabitants of the island. Sure, there island thrived off tourism, but even tourists were expected to behave themselves when traveling this cultural place. Now, history frowned upon whoever caused chaos on this quiet world. Only one detective agency managed to establish themselves in Hugh Town, and that agency was as baffled as a fish to land.

"What the hell...is going on?" a mortician managed to question, feeling bile rise in his throat and acid eating away at it to emerge.

"Something we weren't trained for," a senior detective remarked. "Gonna need better forensic schools to get us prepared for this sort of bloomin' mess."

Nothing more was said as the mortician observed the dead bodies in the once serene family home. The two-man forensics team did their best to observe the blood samples, but there was hardly any trace of the attackers or a struggle. It was clear some of the victims were choked, but nothing else was evident as far as anyone could plainly see. Luckily, at St. Mary's Church, the reverend knew to contact the Hellsing Organization for such a disturbing case. After all, St. Mary's was a denomination of the Church of England, and any denomination had a right to contact Hellsing for troubling affairs. Now was one of those times. The most anyone could do was wait until someone from Hellsing showed up. That was when a black Escalade pulled up towards the house under investigation. A few security guards stopped the vehicle in question and asked for identification from the traveling passengers. A young-looking, well-dressed man stepped out of the vehicle to show a few documents and then opened the back door of the SUV to escort a woman out.

Integra was actually rather pleased with Baron vanGouge as her new butler as she waited to be escorted out of the dark SUV. He was now a full-time employee of almost two months starting this Saturday. No matter where the two went, he always kept her updated on each new mission and made sure she knew the full details of the assignment. It was refreshing to hear his smooth voice, even if it was wasted on talks of blood and vampires. Strangely enough, not once did the man ever complain about his work or having to care for Alucard and Seras. It could have been because he complained to his two children, who she had the pleasure of meeting and hiring, but even when she asked his daughter or son they said in all honesty that he didn't. Although, it all could have been a lie to keep their father employed. Even more surprising, Alucard likes Baron enough to try to hold conversations with him! (He never met his kids yet.) Since when did he ever talk to anyone about anything other than killing people? Never. Whenever she tried to ask Baron what he spoke about with Alucard, the man either responded "Oh, his usual teasing" or "It's a guy thing." Then again, she supposed the only real reason Alucard cares about Baron is because of the match they held when Integra introduced the two. It was such an amazing feat on Baron's part!

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"I beg your pardon, sir?" Baron questioned, now showing some emotion on his face.

Nothing fazed the man up until this point. Serving tea every ten minutes was one thing, answering directly personal questions during lunchtime was another thing, being tested for every damn thing was another thing on top of that, but once you threaten to harm his children that crossed one too many boundaries. No one touches Baron vanGouge's children. Not a werewolf, not a serial killer, not a molester, not a teacher, not even a master vampire, and he will for damn sure make this Alucard aware of that.

"Yes, this aura..." Alucard said, sniffing the blood rushing through the man's veins. He continued, "Bloodthirsty, angry, displeased... It radiates beautifully from your body!"

"Good," Baron remarked, chuckling for a brief moment, "because this will be the last time you ever talk about my daughter while standing this close to me!"

With that, vanGouge swiftly pistol-whipped Alucard's left temple then punched him several times with abnormal strength. Integra and Seras gasped at this, not hearing the exchange between them, but they didn't want to interfere with the match. Alucard smirked at the sudden attack, feeling excitement emanating from his very pores as he was swept off his feet. However, Baron wasn't quite through with the vampire and Alucard wasn't about to let Baron have all the fun. Baron shoved his foot onto Alucard's package, making the vampire double over, but the butler's victory on that was short-lived. The vampire quickly turned to mist in anticipation to see what his new opponent would do. Seeing as though Baron was remaining absolutely still, Alucard took the rifle that Baron was stuck between choosing and cocked it to fire. Baron took notice to this and turned to the vampire's mist with a raised eyebrow. He had forgotten that skilled vampires could turn into mist, but Len never did mention that they could also carry weapons while in mist form. However, he was inwardly thankful that Len told him the one way to get a vampire out of his mist form is by surprising him or her with an odd question or offer.

He raked a hand through his disheveled hair and sighed before saying, "Well, at least I know you're the real thing. Tell me, when you masturbate to my daughter's image, do you often shoot mist from your old age or does nothing come up?"

"What are you playing at? I don't do that kind of thing at all," Alucard argued, making his fanged mouth clearly visible.

Baron's eyes widened and out of nowhere he grabbed another rifle off the table and swung it like a baseball bat to hit the rifle Alucard had in his grasp. He then cocked the rifle and shot Alucard through his teeth, which earned him a nice spill of blood and saliva. The rifle Alucard managed to lift with his mist was quickly discarded, and slowly but surely Alucard's body was beginning to solidify to its normal form. Rather than watch, Baron cocked the rifle he used as a bat and readied his pistol to shoot at Alucard the moment his whole body managed to come back. When it did, Alucard was grinning with his eyes glowing that ominous red that entailed that sense of danger beneath them. Baron could actually see the hole through the back of his neck as Alucard stared at him. However, Baron remained strong beneath the blood red gaze and matched Alucard's grin with an amused, challenging grin of his own.

"Well, now I know you're a real vampire with an erectile dysfunction."

Alucard snickered a bit before guffawing and said, "You really are your daughter's father! Master!"

Integra jumped a bit from this and said, "What, servant?"

"I approve of this one!" Alucard announced, laughing a bit more maniacally.

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I wonder what really happened between those two... Integra thought.

"Sir Integra, the gentlemen wish to see your identification," Baron said, bowing before her.

God, how she loved having power over this man! Perhaps her most favorite thing about having vanGouge as her new butler was when he bowed down before her. That and the fact that he was good eye-candy for the soul. He lifted from his bow to receive his orders or extra papers but was surprised to see Integra hold up her hand to be led out of the SUV. Being Hellsing director kicked ass if it earned her a little spoiling from the middle-aged beauty. The man cleared his throat then took her hand in his and gently led her out. As Integra stood before the security officers, she walked straight passed them without so much as a word from her lips. The security guards tried calling her back but to no avail. She simply kept going. That's when Baron saw Integra's true colors burst to life when the security guard reached and grabbed her shoulder. She turned sharply, clenching the guard's hand, and twisted the man's wrist so painfully her action created a sprain.

Integra heard clapping then looked up to see Baron applauding her rather slowly. She said, "Mr. vanGouge, I shouldn't have to defend myself from lowly guards like this one. It would have looked a lot better on your part if you had handled the situation."

"Of course, sir," Baron said, kneeling. Integra, of course, got a nice rise out of having Baron grovel at her feet. He looked at her feet and said, "I apologize sincerely for not acting accordingly."

"See to it that it doesn't happen again," Integra said, a tad more seductively than it should have been. "Come, take me to the area of investigation."

"With pleasure, Sir Integra," Baron replied, rising to his feet and following behind his boss.

The couple walked towards one of the houses in question as the forensics team and senior detective observed the mortician's handling of the corpses. Integra walked up behind the detective while Baron stayed close enough without crowding her. The pair watched as the men stood puzzled at the ghastly scene before Integra decided to speak to break up the thick tension starting to envelope the fresh beach air.

"Who is in charge here?"

"AH!" the detective's assistant yelped, jumping out of his skin within seconds of the otherwise friendly greeting.

"Freeze!" the senior detective shouted, revealing a handgun.

"Hold your damn fire!" Integra shouted, silencing everyone's screaming and stopping Baron from snapping the detective's arm in two. And she wonders why he never intervenes with her assaults on other people. Ignoring vanGouge's swift reflexes to attack, she asked again, "Who is in charge here? I am Integra Hellsing."

"Y-you're in charge of the Hellsing Organization?" a forensics team member asked, walking towards the group with his partner.

"Didn't think they'd have such..." the female forensics team member started, searching for the right words to finish her statement. She hadn't noticed how lustfully she was staring at Baron until Integra and the butler walked right passed her. She gave up trying to figure out the right wording and just said, "Gorgeous men there."

"Watch it, Charlotte," the senior detective warned, frowning at her. "This is their case now. Any interference could ruin what little reputation you have."

"Sir Integra?" Baron called, observing the four corpses found in the cozy den. They were far enough from the group to speak privately now. He continued, "Your question was never answered properly. How do you intend to continue?"

"You're all I need in this investigation," Integra said, kneeling before a teenage girl dressed in some rather fashionable pajamas. "This mission hardly requires any authority other than mine. I only need your report from this site. What did you discover when you conducted your research?"

Baron looked upon the corpse of a father with a severed head then said, "Twelve townsfolk were reported dead within a matter of three days. Not including the multiple gunshot wounds or severed limbs, each victim has two points where blood had been drained. Each home has a forced point of entry near some window, and there is always one victim who has shown some sort of struggle. The meeting point of the attackers seems to be at some abandoned dock. They commute from there to the victims' homes."

"I see. Bring me a map of the city," Integra ordered, rising to her feet.