Chapter 4

Seras looked out at the patrons enjoying themselves in the club. She tried her hardest to sense if there was a vampire among them. She could sense nothing except human activity, and scent human blood. She tried again to catch the scent of any other vampire other than Alucard. Her efforts again were fruitless. She rubbed her head in frustration.

Alucard placed a gloved finger under her chin tilting her head up toward his. "You try too hard Seras. If there are vampires here beside us they have found a way to hide their conditions. We may not be able to sense it, but I believe there are other undead in this club besides us. And I think they are closer to us than anyone else realizes." Alucard said casting a suspicious glance at Demir and Aiesha.

"Tell me, do you think it's the owners?" Seras asked.

"It's best not to discuss it here. If they are what we think they are then they can hear our every word. They can also read our thoughts if we open our minds. For now it is best to act as if nothing is amiss." Alucard answered.

"But they'll know what we are." Seras said.

"Yes. But they don't seem too worried at the moment. For now it's best we speak nor think anything more of our suspicions. We will just enjoy the surroundings until we are summoned."

As Alucard finished his sentence he looked up and saw someone coming toward their booth. It was the young woman in the blue velvet dress. She timidly approached the couple having no idea they were anything but human. "Seras...Seras Victoria? Is that you?" She asked shyly.

"Zoey?" Seras asked recognizing the voice of the young woman calling her name.

"You know this girl?" Alucard questioned.

"Yes. We were school mates for many years, and we both entered MI-5 together." Seras answered.

"Seras and I were the best of friends. Though she certainly didn't tell me she was in any type of relationship." Zoey replied.

"Oh, Zoey this is...um..."

"I am her husband, Alucard." He said calmly.

"Husband? Wow, I never imagined you would get married when you were accepted into MI-5. Then again I'd never imagined you were into the goth scene either. Those contacts are amazing." Zoey replied feeling a tad suprised.

"Well, um..." Seras stuttered.

"Have you heard about the two people who disappeared from the club a few nights back?" Zoey asked.

"Yes...actually..." Seras began again but was suddenly cut off.

"What happened to them?" Alucard asked.

"They were a pair of newcomers to the club. I think the woman couldn't handle her drink. For that matter I think she and her boyfriend both got rather tipsy. The owners helped them out of the club through the backdoor. I guess they didn't want two intoxicated people making a scene." Zoey exlpained.

Alucard's eyes widened at hearing this news. He looked intently at Zoey through his sunglasses. He didn't like doing this in public because it could alert humans to what he really was. But no one was really paying attention to the couple and the young woman now in their company.

Zoey's eyes suddenly glazed over and her expression became blank. Seras looked at her mentor with a slight sense of panic.

"What do you think you're..." She whispered before Alucard cut her off.

"Stay calm. I know what I'm doing." He said as he stood up.

"And if you're not careful so will everyone else." Seras whispered in an irritated tone.

"They suspect nothing other than two people are taking a friend home because she's had a little too much to drink." Alucard replied in a calm but hushed voice.

Seras rolled her eyes and put her arm around Zoey's shoulder so she would appear to be steadying the young woman. Alucard, Seras and Zoey stepped out of the booth. The site of them leaving attracted Demir and Aiesha's attention. They started making their way toward the trio.

"Is there something wrong?" Demir asked.

"Oh, my wife has met up with an old friend of hers. Unfortunately I think the poor girl has had a little too much to drink so we are taking her home so she can sleep it off." Alucard answered smoothly.

"Is there anything we can do for her?" Aiesha asked trying to mask her unease.

"No thank you. Seras and I will see the girl home." Alucard replied.

"Of course. I do hope the lovely young lady will be all right. Pity there are not more concerned citizens such as yourselves looking after a young lady's welfare." Demir said in a suave tone.

Alucard looked at Demir trying not to glare. He could feel something was not right about the club owner and his companion, but without proof, more importantly his master's command, he could do nothing.

"Yes. If you will excuse us we must take the young miss home before she passes out. It would be quite undiginfied to have that happen now wouldn't it?" Alucard asked in a voice that though mannerly, dripped with hidden venom.

Demir could sense the vampire's growing distaste for him and his companion. "Of course. That would be unfortunate wouldn't it. You never know who would be sick enough to take advantage of such a lovely creature in her impaired state." Demir answered. His tone had a hint of sarcasm to it. One that Alucard could detect very easily.

"Yes. Good night to you and your companion." Alucard said as he and Seras helped Zoey out of the club. They led her to her car and got in. Of course since Zoey was under Alucard's mind control, and everyone believed her drunk, she couldn't drive. Seras fortunately had learned so she got behind the wheel and started the vehicle up.

Demir's eyes narrowed as he watched the couple and their guest drive away. Aiesha looked sharply at her companion. "Why did you let them leave? You heard the girl. She saw us 'escort' the man and woman out of the club! What if she knows more than she's telling!"

"Calm down will you? I doubt the girl knows anything other than seeing us take our prey from the club. If she knows more, then we will make sure she doesn't live long enough to exploit her knowledge. We must not make a scene in front of the patrons or else the entire city will be alarmed. I doubt the human keeper who controls Dracula will want press either. A human keeping a vampire as a servant will want as much information supressed as we will. We may yet be able to use this to our advantage. Now quit becoming hysterical before you alarm the other guests." Demir ordered with a sharp glare toward Aiesha.

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Integra sat at her desk enjoying a cigarillo and a cup of hot tea when she felt the connection of her servant being activated.

"Master..."

"Alucard, what is it? Have you and Seras learned something vital to the case?" Integra asked.

"In a manner of speaking. We found a witness. Or rather a witness found us." Alucard answered.

"What do you mean found you?" Integra inquired sharply.

"It appears that an old friend of Seras found us at the club. She says she saw the two victims were escorted out of the club the night they dissapeared." Alucard answered.

"Is she with you now?" Integra asked again.

"As a matter of fact she is." Alucard replied.

"Escort her out of the club. I'll send an agent to pick her up and interview her." Integra said.

"That won't be necessary master. We've left the club so we'll be bringing her to you." Alucard answered.

"You WHAT? Have you any idea the suspicion you could have aroused? Alucard, for the love of God tell me that she does NOT know what you and Seras are!" Integra snapped.

"Actually she doesn't know what planet she's on at the moment master. I've taken control of her will. She could be running around naked right now and she wouldn't care." Alucard answered smirking on the outside. That won him a stern glare from Seras.

"Oh shut up! Both of you return to Hellsing at once and bring the girl with you! You had better pray no one suspects anything about any of this!" Integra barked.

"Relax my master. Everyone thinks Seras and I are escorting a friend of hers home because she's drunk. Honestly, you wouldn't be so wound tight if you'd just get laid every once and a while."

"GET BACK HERE!" Integra's words echoed in Alucard's mind.

He shook his head for a moment and looked at Seras who was shooting him a rather irritated look. "What?" He asked casually.

"Running around naked and she wouldn't care? This happens to be a very good friend of mine you're talking about." She said sharply.

"I was only making a point." Alucard said fluttering his eyes innocently.

"Right." Seras sighed rolling her eyes.

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Integra sat drumming her fingers irritatedly against her desk waiting for Alucard and Seras to appear with their...witness. She took a sharp drag off her cigarillo to try and calm her nerves. Walter waited at the front of the mansion when he saw an unfamiliar car pull up. He quickly but calmly went down the stairs seeing Seras and Alucard emerge with Zoey in his arms.

"Alucard, please tell me you didn't. Sir Integra is in foul enough a mood as it is." Walter said.

"Don't worry Walter. This girl is a witness not my dinner." Alucard said as he walked past the aged retainer carrying Zoey with him and Seras at his side. The three vanished while Walter made his way back to Integra's office shaking his head. He was pretty sure she was not going to be happy when he greeted her.

Alucard, Seras and an unconcious Zoey all appeared in the Hellsing leader's office. She sat behind her desk glaring daggers at Alucard. It wasn't her policy nor her wish to have outsiders brought into the Hellsing mansion. But seeing as her vampiric servant had once again succeeded in putting her in a delicate situation, for the moment she had no choice but to have the girl brought there.

"Walter..." She said trying to keep her voice down.

"Yes Sir Integra." Walter answered knowing that at any moment there was going to be quite a scene made.

"Take Captain Victoria's friend and have a room prepared for her." Integra ordered. She gripped a pen tightly in her fist. Then her eyes turned to Seras. The young vampire swallowed nervously.

"Captain Victoria, may I ask how you and Alucard got the girl here without raising suspicion?" She asked trying not to openly gritt her teeth.

"We used her car sir. I drove so as not to arouse suspicion." Seras answered trying to not to appear too uneasy.

"Well, it is good to see that one of you has some sense. Now if you will excuse me I would like to have a few words with Alucard...alone. You are dismissed Captain." Integra said grinding the tip of the pin into the desk.

"It would be a good idea for you to go see to your friend Seras. I have a feeling it's about to get rather loud in here." Alucard told Seras mentally.

"Well what are you waiting for? Dismissed!" Integra barked. Seras quickly saluted and got herself out of Integra's office as quickly as possible.

She flagged down Walter who had Zoey in his arms. "I want to make sure she'll be ok. I'm afraid Alucard may be in a lot of trouble for doing this. I hope Sir Integra won't be too hard on him." Seras said with a nervous gulp.

"Don't worry Miss Victoria. Alucard can handle himself. This certainly isn't the first time he and Sir Integra have had words, and it probably won't be the last. It's just as well you caught up with me. You can help me get your friend here settled in for the night." Walter said.

Seras followed him as he took Zoey to a guest room and set her down on the bed. "I'll go get her one of my nightshirts." She said.

"Very good. I'll leave her to your care now Miss Victoria." Walter replied as he bowed and left the room. Seras hurried to her chamber and got a blue cotton nightshirt and went back to Zoey's room through a portal. She set the garment down and shook Zoey lightly trying to wake her up. The young woman's eyes fluttered open as she wearily sat up.

"Seras?" She asked rubbing her head.

"I'm here Zoey." Seras answered.

"What happened? I was talking to you and then the next thing I know I have this strange feeling in my head and..." Zoey stopped looking around. She suddenly realized she was no longer in the club. "Where am I?" She asked.

"Um, well...it's kind of hard to explain." Seras stuttered.

"Seras, shouldn't you be taking those contacts out now? It's not sanitary to leave them in for too long." Zoey said.

"Zoey, I don't know how to tell you this but..." Seras stammered trying to find the right way to tell her friend the truth about what she and Alucard were.

Before she could say another word she looked behind her and saw Integra standing behind her breathing hard. Her cheeks were flushed and her nostrils flared from her sharp breaths. Seras pondered for a moment whether or not she should open her mouth.

"Sir, Zoey...um..." Seras started cautiously.

"You might as well tell her the truth since she's already here. I'll figure out how to deal with this situation later." Integra growled.

"Seras, what's going on?" Zoey asked feeling thoroughly confused.

"Zoey, these aren't contacts in my eyes." Seras began and then opened her mouth wide. She displayed her canines for a moment then closed her mouth again. "And those aren't prostetic fangs. I'm a vampire...a real vampire."

"Seras, are you stoned?" Zoey asked not knowing what to believe.

"No, she's not." Integra replied firmly.

"Zoey, I am a vampire. So is the man who you saw me with. That's why you suddenly felt strange and have no memory of what happened to you. He hypnotized you and took control of your mind." Seras explained.

"Oh God..." Zoey gasped.

"It's all right. He had a good reason for doing what he did. You told us that you saw the man and woman who disappeared from the club being taken away. Alucard thought perhaps you might know something more but didn't want you to talk about it at the club." Seras replied.

"I'm not dreaming am I?" Zoey asked with a glazed look on her face.

"No. I'm afraid you're not. Have you been approached by MI-5 or any of the authorities about this matter?" Integra asked.

"No. I met up with Seras tonight and... what was his name again?"

"Alucard." Integra and Seras answered in unison.

"I want you to tell me everything you can about the night the parties in question vanished from the club. And I need you to be as specific with me as possible. This has turned from a missing person's case to a murder case." Integra insisted.

"Sir, I don't mean to be rude, but Zoey's still coming off of Alucard's mind control. I don't know that she'll be able to think too clearly right now. Wouldn't it be better to let her get some rest and then she can tell you what she knows in the morning?" Seras suggested. She braced herself for a rather boisterious reply. But suprisingly Integra kept her cool.

"Very well. You can finish getting your friend settled in so she can get a decent night's rest. I will not be requiring anything more of you for this evening Captain Victoria." Integra said firmly and left the room.

"Seras, I can't believe all of this is happening. You're a vampire?"

"Yes Zoey. It's true. It's a long story. I'll tell you after you've had a decent nights sleep. I've got a feeling you may be with us for a few days until this case is solved." Seras answered.

"I...I just don't know what to believe..." Zoey said with disbelief.

"It will be all right Zoey. You'll be safe here. Just trust me when I tell you it would have been dangerous for you to stay at the club after telling Alucard and I what you know. Try to get some rest now. Sir Integra will need you to tell her everything you can about what happened that night at the club." Seras replied.

"All right." Zoey said and tried to get herself settled in for the night. Seras walked out of the room and opened a portal back to her chamber.

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Alucard sat in his chamber rubbing his head. His ears were still ringing from the verbal bashing his master had just given him. He brushed the tirade off as he sat in his throne like chair. He'd resumed his typical Hellsing attire and clean shaven appearence. He heard footsteps heading toward his domain. The calm deliberate steps told him it was Walter. He entered Alucard's chamber with a fresh blood pack in a pail of ice.

"I thought you might be needing this after your meeting with Sir Integra." He said politely.

"Yes. Integra let me have it in spades this time. It's fortunate I am so powerful. Otherwise I'd be deaf for the next week." Alucard replied.

"Did Seras get her friend settled in?" He asked.

"Yes. I think I saw Sir Integra question the girl briefly." Walter answered.

"Wonderful." Alucard said sinking into his chair slightly.

"I took a fresh supply to Miss Victoria just in case she needed it as well. I think I saw her enter her chamber as I walked in." Walter replied.

"Hello? Am I interrupting?" Asked Seras as she stood in the doorway.

"No Miss Victoria. I was just about to leave to attend to my other duties. Good evening to both of you." Walter said as he left Alucard's chamber.

Seras walked up to Alucard while he sat in his chair. She plucked the bloodpack from its resting place and handed it to the elder vampire. She stood between is parted legs brushing a stray black lock from his face.

"Are you all right?" She asked softly.

"My ears are still ringing slightly, but other than that I'm fine. Master and I have had spats worse than this one in the past. Don't worry about me. I've learned to brush off her little outbursts off. Is your friend all right?" Alucard asked.

"Zoey, yah, she's all right. Confused as hell, but she's all right. Sir Integra wanted to interrogate her but I asked her to leave off on that til morning." Seras answered.

"You've gotten brave. Was Integra in a more agreeable mood when you asked this of her?" Alucard questioned.

"Well, she didn't yell at me. She said she'd talk to Zoey in the morning." Seras said.

"I thought it better to bring her here where she could be guarded. I don't trust Demir and Aiesha. Demir is not who he says he is. The more I play the image of his face in my mind, the more I recognize him for what he is...or rather what he was." Alucard replied.

"Who was he?" Seras asked.

"He was close to the Sultan. He also oversaw much of the torture I was put through when I was the sultan's prisoner. I didn't realize it then until a memory of those years was awakened. . His real name is Celik. In Turkish it means steel. And if there were any word that could describe him, it would be that one. I do not dare imagine how he was raised to bare witness to the horrors he saw and not flinch even the tiniest inch." Alucard explained, his expression becoming serious.

"Every day and night I could hear his voice either barking orders at the guards or screaming directly at me. He looked a bit different than he does now. His mustache was longer and he had a beard. Seeing him that first night at the club was like seeing a ghost. He must be undead. That is the only way he could be here now. But that I can't sense it in him nor see it on him disturbs me. He and Aiesha have found a way to mask their conditions." He continued.

"Alucard, you said Zoey would be safer here than at the club. Do you think those two would have..."

"Yes. No doubt they now know that Zoey is a witness. They certainly would not allow any...loose ends. She is safer here." Alucard replied cryptically.

"Zoey knew you were in MI-5." He said.

"Yes. We went into it together after we finished school. Her parents wanted her to be involved in the law like her older sister. She tried but it didn't quite work out for her the way it did with me. She was never really interested in it. She was only trying to make her parents happy." Seras replied.

"And what did Zoey really want to do?" Alucard asked.

"She always wanted to be an artist and have her work showcased in museums in Europe and America. Her work is really wonderful. But her parents were always on her about it. They said it was unrealistic and she needed a career that could provide her with purpose, not to mention a large bank account. But it never made her happy. They weren't pleased when she quit MI-5 and took a lesser paying job as a secretary for some company. Her father came down very hard on her for it. I...I don't guess they've spoken in quite a while." Seras answered.

"She seems to have faired well." Alucard mused.

"I guess. She does a good job of keeping things that bother her hidden. She hid the fact that she'd quit MI-5 for several weeks before she told her parents. I don't remember much about the day she left other than she said her parents were going to be very upset with her and she needed to be on her own for a while before she told them. I didn't see her after that. Tonight is the first time I've seen her in quite a while." Seras replied.

"I guess I should have warned our young guest that she's going to wake up with quite a headache in the morning." Alucard said.

"Oh don't worry about her. She's had hangovers that would have incapacitated most men." Seras commented.

"Well then, she shouldn't have a problem then."

"I still don't understand how two vampires could have enough power to hide their conditions. If they've learned how to do it, then what's to stop others from doing the same." Seras said.

"They're not going to be around long enough to exploit the knowledge if I have anything to say about it." Alucard replied.

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