ENGLAND, THE HELLSING MANSION.... "A telly? You want to ask Sir Integra to allow you to buy a telly?" Seras Victoria queried Irene "Rally" Vincent as the two vampires made their way from the third floor landing. "Sure. What's wrong with buying a television, Master?" Rally asked, although she seemed mystified that Seras was a little confused about her request. The Draculina chose her words carefully, as not to unduly upset her servant. "Well... it's not a bad idea... but there's a perfectly good telly over in the ready room." "Yeah... when the Wild Geese aren't using it to watch either soccer, rugby or Formula One racing," the dusky vampire said. "I mean, even a girl has needs, you know." "And what 'needs' are we talking about, Rally?" Seras slyly asked. "Oh... all my Chicago sports teams, NASCAR and the like. Plus a few 'shoot-'em-up' movies to boot, not to mention a good hunting show," replied Rally, rather nonchalantly. Seras chuckled. "Oh... I've should have know, you and your pasttimes," she said as they passed Moria Hedgley, who was dusting around a painting. "Should have known what?" the maid asked, overhearing. "Oh, Rally was going to ask Sir Integra is she could purchase a telly for our room," Seras replied, turning to Moria, who blushed slightly when Rally turned to look at her. For her part, the blonde vampire ignored the maid's reaction, but took note of it as she added, "I would have guessed that she's been having some longing for some shows mainly around her hobbies - guns and cars, not to mention her American sports." "I guess," replied Moria, then looked at Rally and added, "but I was wondering how you were going to approach the lady about the matter of the license." "License? What license?" Rally asked, confused. "The license for the telly, what else?" Moria answered. Now Rally REALLY looked confused. "Now wait a minute," she said, "are you telling me that... that I have to have a license just to own a television? That just doesn't make sense!" "I agree, but it's the law here in England," Seras said. "I thought since living here for a year you would have known about it." Moria decided to stir the pot further by adding, "And I don't believe that the government would be willing to issue a telly license to a vampire... which is understandable since the general public doesn't believe in vampires in the first place." "Yeah, I guess that would complicate things," mused Rally, who thought for a moment before saying, "Looks like if I'm going to get the TV, I better ask Integra if she can deduct the license fee from my pay, then I can buy the set. How does that sound?" "It sounds like a waste of time and money, if you ask me," Alucard's voice said, which was followed by the No-Life King walking through the wall. "Granted, Sir Integra does compensate you adequately for your service here, but I feel that a television would be an extravagance you can do without." "So says you," Rally grumbled. "Look, just waiting here for a FREAK attack just happens to be one of the most boring things in the world! I like to be entertained while I'm waiting!" "So why don't you ask Walter if you can help him out building guns?" Alucard countered, smiling. "I'm certain he could use the added expertise you can offer." "I already help out Walter with the guns, thank you," Rally said curtly. "And quite admirably, I might add," Walter C. Dolnez added, walking up to the four. "So, are planning to approach Sir Integra about it?" "Don't tell me you approve of this, Walter?" Alucard mumbled. "Wholeheartedly," the old butler said. "Frankly, if Sir Integra agrees to this, I am willing to do the wiring work into Miss Victoria's and Miss Vincent's quarters." "Glad to hear, Walter," Rally quipped, smiling. "Now all that we have to do is to ask Integra about it," she added as her hand reached the latch of the door. But soon, everyone winced as a loud shouting was heard from within the office of Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAD LOST IT!?" the Hellsing leader bellowed angrily from the other side of the door. A few seconds of pause, then, "ARE YOU MEANING TO TELL ME THAT IT WAS LOST ALL BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO SAVE A FEW HUNDRED POUNDS TO SEND IT ON A BOAT RATHER THAN A PLANE!? I SWEAR, THE WHOLE LOT OF YOU IN THE INDIA OFFICE MUST BE A GIGANTIC ASSEMBLY OF IDIOTS TO TRUST SOMETHING THIS IMPORTANT, ONLY TO LOSE IT TO A TRIFFLING GANG OF PIRATES!! NOW TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW IN THE WORLD YOU ARE GOING TO RECOVER IT!!" Then the sound of a phone receiver slamming loudly on its cradle was heard. Alucard seemed unaffected by his master's show to temper, from the nonchalant stance he had. Rally, Seras and Moria, on the other hand, just stared at the door in shock. Walter said nothing, though, instead heading for the medicine chest to fetch the aspirin. "I... guess it would be a bad time to ask her about the TV," Rally finally managed to say. Both Seras and Moria nodded. Sighing, Alucard made a mental inquiry to Sir Integra, then turned to the others and said, "She'll see us, but don't count on anything easy. She is... how could I say this delicately... a bit perturbed right now." The three vampires then walked through the doors of the office, while Moria opened the doors and entered. Sir Integra was leaning over her desk, rubbing her temples with gloved hands. "Of all times for this to happen, why now?" she groaned. "Uhhh... what exactly happened, Sir Integra?" Rally asked, a little curious. Finally noticing her guests, Sir Integra looked up and said, "Oh, it is you. I am sorry if you heard that rather... brusque exchange over the phone with those idiots in MI-5's Mumbai office in India, but I am afraid that something has occurred... one that might complicate the manner of business that we conduct." "Might we ask what it is?" Seras offered as Walter made his way into the office with the aspirin bottle, a glass, and a carafe of ice water. "One moment, please." Sir Integra then took two pills from the aspirin bottle, swallowed them with a glass of water that Walter had offered. "There. Very well, I will tell you." The Hellsing leader then opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a manila envelope, opened it and took out a pile of pictures as well as some paperwork. "Recently, agents in Mumbai had intercepted from a courier what appeared to be another FREAK chip. However, upon a brief examination of the device, they had discovered that this chip was very different in construction from the others we had encountered." "Different?" Rally asked. "In what way?" "For beginners," Sir Integra continued, "the cursory examination they made revealed that the chip's architecture was vastly different from the previous design, leading them to speculate that this may be a new generation of FREAK chip, possibly with greater capabilities than the previous generation. As a precaution, the chip was encased in clear acrylic to prevent accidental implantation and arrangements were made to have it sent to London for a more detailed examination." She then let out a heavy sigh and added, "However, at the last second, the requisition officer in charge decided that it would be less expensive if the chip was first sent to Jakarta in Indonesia via watercraft, then flown to London rather than being flown here directly... and right through waters heavily infested with pirates, no less. And to make matters worse, the charter they had hired just happened to be also smuggling arms to guerilla fighters in the Philippines! No doubt, the most idiotic decision ever made!" "I would speculate that, from your reaction," Walter said, "that the ship... ran into a little trouble, am I right?" "That would be an understatement, Walter," growled the Hellsing leader. "Just before sunrise local time, the ship fell under attack by a single pirate crew and ship. Despite being superiorly armed, the crew was quickly overrun by a skeleton team and several hundred smuggled guns were taken - along with the chip as an afterthought!" "Did they know that the ship was carrying a FREAK chip?" Seras asked. Sir Integra shook their head. "I doubt they did. Besides the acrylic shell, the chip was being carried inside a locked case, which in turn was carried within an armored briefcase. The one good thing about the whole thing was, in the course of events, the pirates neglected to demand the keys. But somehow, I doubt it will stop them from opening the case." There was a pause of silence before Rally asked, "Is there any way we can find out who stole the chip?" "Well, there was contact information included with the chip," Sir Integra said, "however, it is locked inside the case as well. As for the perpetrators to the crime, Interpol is interrogating the crew of the ship to find out the identities of those responsible." "You mean the chip doesn't have anything to trace where they are, like a GPS circuit?" Moria offered. "Knowing those who shipped that chip in the first place," Alucard added, "it is doubtful they included one." "How right you are, Alucard," the pale blonde woman sighed. "Oh well, all we can do right now is pray that those pirates are not stupid enough to try to release that chip from the acrylic." "Provided they do not use it as a paperweight," Walter added dryly. Everyone else nodded. DAWN, THE WATERFRONT, ROANAPUR, A QUARTER OF A WORLD AWAY... "Okay, if you like, you can check this out with the cargo received," Rokuro Okajima, also known as Rock, told a tall, burly-looking man with a scar across his face as he handed him a clipboard. The Black Lagoon had made it portside just as the sun had risen a quarter of the way to the sky, several men surrounding the boat as crates of firearms were being off-loaded from the boat. The man - commonly known as Boris, looked over the manifest on the clipboard, as well as studying the cargo offloaded, then said in a mildly-accented Russian voice, "I'll show this to the captain, just to be sure." "That's okay," Rock cheerfully replied, "take as much time talking to Balalaika as you want. We're in no hurry, after all." Boris simply nodded as he made his way towards two individuals on the docks. One of them was Dutch, who was talking to the other, a middle-aged but still beautiful blonde woman who wore a Soviet Union-era army uniform coat over her low-cut red business dress. Although she was beautiful, the woman's beauty was marred by heavy burn scars on the left side of her face, was well as patches of scars on her upper body. "Captain," Boris began, "we have the manifest for your inspection." "Thank you, Sergeant," the woman - Balalaika - said in an equally-light Russian voice. She then studied the manifest carefully, then said, "Everything is in order." Turning to Dutch, she added, "My thanks for cleaning up this mess before it gotten any worse. I mean... Sister Yolanda is getting more and more brazen with this gun smuggling. If those guerrillas had gotten ahold of those arms she sold to them, it would have proven to be bad for business - not only for Hotel Moscow, but for the Triad as well." "Well I'm certain Mr. Chang would appreciate the sentiment, Balalaika," the African American replied. "With all the problems happening on that part of the neighborhood, it would've interrupted a lot of your and his' drug smuggling routes." "Well of course he would, Dutch," Balalaika remarked, smiling. "Like I keep saying, you do smart work." "I'm glad to hear that," Dutch said. "Well, if you'll excuse us, we'll get out of your way while you take care of those arms." "That I shall." Balalaika then noticed Revy stepping out from below of the Black Lagoon, carrying an armored briefcase. "So Anego," she began, "doing a little side-work again?" "Wha-what?" the Chinese American sputtered, surprised by Balalaika's observation. "Oh that... well... yeah, Sis, it's something I picked-up while we were busy." "Yeah, after pistol-whipping that British guy first because he wouldn't let go of it," Benny observed, leaning against the deck. "Hey listen, asshole," Revy snarled, staring daggers at the tech expert, "how would you like to say that after I perforate your head with my gun?" "Maybe later," Benny mumbled sarcastically, "right now I better lock everything up before leaving." Dutch simply looked nervously at the scene before telling Balalaika, "Look, Revy found some guy holding that case as if it was worth something, so she decided to take it in as a bonus. It wasn't my idea." "I don't blame you, Dutch," Balalaika replied. "So Anego, what do you plan to do with that case now that you have it?" she said smartly. "What else?" Revy replied. "Get ahold of the asshole who wants whatever's in this case and ask for money to get it back." "I see," the Russian smirked. "And tell me, have you ascertained what is in the case yet?" "Uh... no," Revy shrugged. Balalaika cocked her head, then she said, "Well then, shall we open it then? Do you have the key?" "Key?" repeated the brown-haired girl, suddenly realizing a major glitch in her plans. "Of course." Balalaika pointed to the case and added, "That particular brand of case, if I recall, requires a special key to open in." She looked at Revy and further added with a smile, "Surely, Anego, you must realize that, in order to get to the contents within, you have to have the specific key that fits the lock." "You mean to tell me, Revy," Dutch began exasparatly, "that after pistol-whipping and virtually threatening that guy with his life that you neglected to demand the key? Do you realize how dumb you're looking right now?" Revy just hung her head down, but from the expression of her face, one can tell she was getting angry, if not with the others, then with her. "Sounds like typical Revy for you," Benny chimed in, catching on. "Go in with guns blazing and forget even the simplest of details." "Somehow it doesn't surprise me," Rock added, sighing. "She can, at times, be thinking of only her pocketbook." "Hey lay-off you two fuckers or both of you are going to be filled with hot lead!" Revy snarled. "Better give her room, Rock," Benny laughed, "or otherwise she might blow-up." Thankfully, she didn't do anything, other than stomp away with the briefcase, still smoldering. After seeing all this, Dutch just shook his head as he returned his attention to Balalaika. "I'm sorry that you had to see that," he said. "Like I said before, getting that briefcase wasn't exactly my idea." "So was obtaining Mr. Okajima over there," the Russian added, pointing to Rock, "but at least he was able to be an asset to your company. Well, our business is done here, Dutch. Thank you for your help, as always. Let me know if you need any help in the future." Balalaika then accompanied Boris as the rest of her group departed the docks, leaving the owner of the Lagoon Company to ponder what to do next about their unexpected parcel. THE LAGOON COMPANY'S HEADQUARTERS, DOWNTOWN ROANAPUR, SOME TIME LATER... It was three hours since the four had returned from the docks, and now all of them were sitting around a briefcase they didn't know what to do about. Occasionally, one of them would either take a drag off a cigarette, a sip of beer or a bite of leftover pizza but nothing much. Every once in a while, Dutch would reach over, examine the case, then look disgustingly at Revy before settling down and try to figure out what next to do. As for Rock, he simply looked at the case intently. He had loosened his tie some time ago when the case was set down and had been quiet ever since. All the while, the one female member of the group would be staring angrily at the case, as if it was one of the New York policemen that had beaten her up many years ago - just because she was a poor street urchin. Benny, in the meantime, would glance over nervously at Revy, wondering when the explosion would happen. It was quick in coming. "ALRIGHT, I'VE HAD ALL I CAN TAKE WITH THIS FUCKING CASE HERE!!" she bellowed, drawing both her chrome-plated Berettas and aimed it at the case. "I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS, I'M GOING TO FIND OUT..." but was cut-off in mid-sentence by both Dutch and Benny grabbing her and trying to wrest her guns from her grip. Rock, in the meantime, was still studying the case. "GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, TWO-HAND!!" Dutch yelled, straining to keep Revy under control. "YOU REMEMBER THE LAST TIME YOU WENT OFF ALL FIRED-UP LIKE THAT!?" "YEAH, CHIEF WATSAP GOT ALL OVER OUR ASSES JUST BECAUSE YOUR FIT CAUSED HIM TO MISS-OUT ON HIS TEE TIME AND HE HAD TO STRAIGHTEN OUT THE MESS YOU CAUSED!!" Benny added. "WE HAD TO SHELL-OUT A THOUSAND DOLLARS EXTRA TO WHAT WE USUALLY PAY HIM JUST SO HE WOULD HAVE YOUR ASS SITTING IN JAIL FOR A MONTH!!" "IT'LL BE WORTH IT!!" Revy yelled, still trying to aim at the case. "I'VE SHOULD'VE CAPPED THAT WORMY BRIT'S ASS FOR NOT GIVING US THE KEY TO THAT THING!! NOW LET ME GO BEFORE I..." "Excuse me," Rock said calmly. All through the ruckus that was being raised, he was the only one that was still studying the case. "I think that I might be able to pick the lock on that thing." The other three stopped their fighting. "Are you sure of that, Rock?" Dutch asked, still holding Revy along with Benny. "Well sure," the Japanese man said. "It's not like I've haven't done it before." "Now wait a minute," Benny put in, "this has to be a top-of-the-line armored briefcase. What makes you think you can pick it?" Getting up from the couch he was sitting in, Rock made his way to the desk and got two paperclips from the desk and started bending them. "My old bosses over at Asahi Heavy Industrial use the same brand of cases that this one is. There were a few of them who, because they would be drinking too much during some party that I was forced to attend, would lose the keys and needed to access important papers. And naturally, I was the one they would call upon to either open it or lose my job." He began to work the lock on the case as he continued. "I gotten pretty at doing this, so whenever someone needed to go on a business trip, I was the one they would demand accompany them." "Must've been something, figuring out how to pick one of those locks," Revy added as the others released her. "It's really nothing," Rock shrugged. "I was studying the next generation of briefcase around the same time I was called to this part of the world - right about the time you guys kidnapped me." "Then I guess it must be fortunate that Revy had the bright idea to take you along," Dutch put in, ignoring Revy sticking her tongue at him. "At least this job is a bit more interesting than over at Asahi," laughed Rock. There was a few minutes of quiet while Rock continued to work the lock. Rock, working steadily, worked the lock over, stopping every once-in-a-while to wipe the sweat from his brow. Then, with not much of a flourish, the lock clicked. "There, that should do it," he said, undoing the latch and opening the case. Four sets of eyes then set themselves into the contents of the case. "Boy, that was fucking disappointing," Revy growled. Packed within the foam insulation was a smaller steel box - locked - as well as a manila envelope. "I'll bet you that we don't have the key to open that one." "Not so fast, Revy," Dutch put in, opening the envelope. "I felt a set of keys in here." Indeed there was another set of keys, as well as several papers. "Benny-boy, see if these will open that box." The tech expert nodded, taking the key that Dutch had handed him. Picking up the box, he used the key to open the small box, then opened the lid, finally revealing the contents. But when they did, the faces on all for of them told the story. "THAT'S IT!?" Revy snarled as she saw what appeared to be a microchip encased in an acrylic shell. "ARE YOU MEANING TO TELL ME WE GONE THROUGH ALL THAT FUCKING MESS FOR SOME SHITTY PAPERWEIGHT!?" "What do you mean 'we', Two-Hand?" Dutch countered, shaking his head in disgust. "Grabbing that case was your idea." "Oh blow it out your ass, Dutch!" the girl growled, snatching up the object. "I knew I should've capped that Brit's ass! This was nothing but a big waste of time!" She then wound-up her arm in preparation of throwing the chip out the window. "Hold it a second, Revy, willya?" Benny quickly said, snatching the chip from Revy and studying it through the shell. "You see something, Benny?" Rock asked, his curiosity - and everybody else's - piqued. Benny said nothing for a few minutes, instead studying the chip. "Well this is something," he finally said. "It looks like your average microprocessor, but I don't see any leads or contacts that would make it normally useful in computers." "What are you talking about, Benny-boy?" the burly African American said. "What I mean, Dutch, is that normal microprocessors have some way to allow input and commands through leads or contacts," Benny commented. "However, I do see several places on the chip where possibly something like a neural contact could be installed. This could mean it could be some sort of medical chip - or something. Very unusual." "Yeah," Rock added, "bug why in the world would they put that chip in plastic? I know a little about acrylics, and I know that you have to place the object you're casting into an over to cure the plastic. From what I know about that electronic stuff, heat is a good way to ruin a microchip." "If that's the case," Revy put in, "then that fucking chip is worthless!" "But that English guy was willing to take you on, Revy," Dutch said. "That means it has to be worth at least something." He then pulled out several slips of paper from the manila envelope and read them. "This looks like a phone number, possibly in London." He handed the paper to Rock, "Let's ring these guys up. Rock, I'll let you be our rep on this. Who knows, maybe whoever they are might be willing to pay us for our trouble." "I don't really know about this," the Japanese man said doubtfully. "It's possibly still dark over in London. They could be pretty sore about being woken up for something like this." "Who care if they're pissed-off or not?" Revy grumbled. "Just all them up so that we can get paid!" Rock didn't say anything as he dialed up the number, but did look sourly at her. LONDON, THE HELLSING ORGANIZATION, SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE... All the humans - with the exception of few of the Wild Geese waiting for a call and a few of the domestic staff- had gone to bed hours ago. Looking out the windows as she stood in Sir Integra's office, Rally said nothing, her eyes glowing as she did. She had taken this sort of thing up ever since Seras had freed her, allowing her mind to explore the other minds around the compound - investigating a mystery that had plagued her since. After a few minutes of this, Alucard, not wearing his hat or glasses, decided to make his appearance, noticing the dusky vampire almost dead to the world. He decided wait a few extra seconds before saying, "Like a little company, Rally Vincent?" "Huh?" Rally muttered, surprised. Abruptly, she allowed her mind to return to her body, the glow fading from her orange-red eyes. "Oh, it's you, Alucard. Look, haven't you got anything better to do than to pester me? I'm a little busy right now." "Too busy that you ignore phone duty in Sir Integra's office?" the No-Life King countered. "Even since the Police Girl had freed you, I've noticed that you have allowing your mind to explore the mansion's grounds, probing many of the humans' minds. Might I ask why?" Rally seemed a bit surprised that Alucard would notice her behavior so soon. She then smiled and said, "I guess it wouldn't hurt." Settling down in Sir Integra's chair, she looked up to the red-clad and continued with, "When Master freed me, granted I was a little overcome with the new sensations my body was experiencing. I then decided to try out some of the new powers I had. I allowed my mind to explore the grounds around here. I saw nothing out of the ordinary, just a lot of the goings-on around here. But then all of a sudden, I caught a brief mental flash around here... someone thinking of treason." She shrugged her shoulders and added, "Unfortunately, whoever's mind it was noticed and clammed-up before I could get a better description on who it is. Ever since then, I've been using my spare time to try to find out who it is, but so far I've been coming up empty." "Have you told Sir Integra about this?" Alucard asked, alarmed by this revelation. "Not yet," the dusky vampire said. "Integra would demand that I have proof of this... traitor over here. And I dread to think what would happen if word about this traitor were to get out. We could end up with everyone not trusting everyone." "A wise decision, to be sure," Alucard said, nodding. "This could explain a great deal of things." "Like what?" Rally asked. "You do recall reading the reports of the Valentine Brothers' attack on these grounds a few years before?" the No-Life King asked. Rally nodded in agreement. "Those FREAKs had intimate knowledge about what was transpiring here and attacked this place while we were vulnerable. We did not find out how they got this knowledge, and it was believed the spy within had died when Incognito sprang his trap at the Tower of London. However, there are still several members of the household staff that survived the outcome, not to mention a new spy may have been place within this place, so I wouldn't be surprised about your concerns." He then sighed and added, "However, we cannot leave Sir Integra further in the dark about this for too long." "But what if she want proof of the traitor and we don't have it?" Rally asked. "Giving Sir Integra forewarning about the traitor may be an advantage we can use," Alucard answered. "Do not worry yourself about word about this getting out. I believe she can keep it secret for how long it takes to find the villain." Hearing this wasn't what Rally expected. "Whatever," she sighed, slumping her head against the desk. "As if Integra doesn't have enough problems, like that FREAK chip being stolen." It was at that time that the phone rang. Pulling her head up, Rally punched-up the speaker and began with, "Hello, this is the office of Sir Hellsing. May I help you?" There was a brief hesitation before a male voice said, "Uh... hello. I was wondering... is Sir Hellsing in and may I talk to him?" "Her," Rally grumbled. "Say again?" the voice repeated. "Sir Hellsing is a woman, you twit. Anyway, she's asleep and isn't taking any calls right now. I'm Rally Vincent, if there's anything you have to say to her, " Rally continued, picking up a pencil and paper, "please give me the details and I'll get them to her." "Well..." the male voice stuttered. "C'mon Rock," a female voice snarled, "spit it out already!" "Yeah, right," Rock said, "this is regarding a case that apparently belongs to you, and we were wondering..." "Wait a minute," Rally interrupted, putting down the pencil and discreetly pressing a button marked, 'Trace' on the phone, "did you say 'a case'?" She nodded to Alucard, who closed his eyes and telepathically contacted Sir Integra, as well as Walter. Rally, in the meantime, made a similar contact to Seras. "Yes," Rock continued. "I represent interested parties who have possession of the case and would like to discuss negotiations for it's return." Looking up at Alucard, who nodded, Rally replied, "Yes, we're contacting Sir Hellsing as we speak. So, how did you come about this... case?" ROANAPUR... Dutch walked away from the speakerphone and whispered to Benny, "At least we're getting somewhere. That's gotta be something." The blonde tech expert nodded. "True," he then noticed Revy, who was showing signs of impatience, "but I wonder how long it's going to last?" The African American also took note of Revy and added, "Hopefully, long enough." LONDON... Making her way into the office, Sir Integra, tying the belt to her bed robe, strode into the office, where Rally had got herself out of the seat. Walter, also in a robe, was close behind, followed by Seras, who materialized out of thin air. "What is this all about, Rally?" she demanded, moving to her place on the desk. "I think it's the guys who stole the case," the dusky vampire stated, then added telepathically, 'I already put an autotrace on that call. Maybe we'll find where they are.' She then vocally said, "They've called to negotiate about its return." "So they call it 'negotiate', haven't they?" the Hellsing leader said, then turned to the speaker and added, "This is Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. May I ask the identity of whoever I am talking to?" ROANAPUR... Rock briefly muted the speaker and anxiously said, "Dutch, they're asking who we are. What shall I tell them?" "Just tell them you represent the company, Rock. Don't give out any names," Dutch replied briskly. "Oh boy," Rock sighed as he un-muted and said, "I am a representative of the Lagoon Company, and I am not obliged to give out more than that." "I see," Sir Integra's voice replied. "And how am I supposed to know if you indeed are the ones possessing the stolen case?" Rock gulped. "Well... this case is open... and your number was in the envelope. I... guess that's proof enough." "If you have indeed opened the case," the Hellsing leader countered, "then there is a verification code included with the phone number. Read it out and prove yourselves!" "What does she mean?" Rock gasped, looking at Dutch. Quickly, Dutch grabbed the envelope. Reaching in, he found a 3x5 card. Reading the contents, he scratched his head and said, "Read it out... but it's a little bit macabre if you ask me." Taking the card, Rock broke into a cold sweat reading the contents. "Okay," he said over the speaker, then taking a deep breath, began, "A-hem... 'The Bird of the Hermes is my Name... Eating My Wings to make me Tame'." LONDON... Rally glanced over to Alucard, who was gritting his teeth upon hearing that. 'That's the inscription on your coffin! Why did you think Integra chose that?' she asked mentally. Alucard didn't answer, only listening silently. "Very well, I confirm that you indeed have the case," Sir Integra said. "So what is it that you want." ROANAPUR... "Boy, that was creepy," Rock said to himself, then centered himself and continued, "Okay, I would like to discuss terms for the return of the contents..." "You mean 'ransom', do you?" Sir Integra's voice countered. "There will be none paid out. You shall return the case immedietly!" "Uhh... I'm not sure if that's the correct course of action, Miss Hellsing," Rock mumbled. "You shall refer to me as SIR Hellsing," Sir Integra shot back loudly, "and as for that case, my terms are clear and non-negotiable: that case is to be returned to the Hellsing Organization immedietly! Do I make myself clear?" Now Rock was at a loss of words. Clearly he was dealing with a situation he hadn't been trained to encounter - namely a stubborn party that was not willing to part with any money! With his friends looking on, Rock then searched mentally for a possible solution - only to get shoved out of the way by a clearly-pissed Revy. "Outta the way, you're proving to be worst than fucking useless, Rock!" the brown-haired woman snarled. "Now listen, you stick-up-you-ass bitch, I've gone through a whole lot of trouble getting that case and I'm not about to fucking get stiffed! Now either you open up the pocketbook and give us what we deserve, or we'll find someone who'll pay better for that useless paperweight of yours!" "Well... it was good while it lasted," Benny sighed. Dutch just buried his face with one had in embarrassment. "WHAT!?" Sir Integra exploded over the speaker. "HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS ME IN SUCH A VULGAR MANNER!! THE HELLSING ORGANIZATION WILL NEVER LOWER ITSELF TO PAYING BLACKMAIL TO A BUNCH OF CHEAP PIRATES LIKE YOU... NEVER!! AND IF YOU KNEW THE DANGER OF THAT CHIP YOU POSSESS, THEN YOU WOULD SERIOUSLY RECONSIDER MAKING THAT LAST STATEMENT!!" The connection then broke off. Silence reigned for the better part of a minute before Dutch finally said, "Nice going, Revy. You succeeded in pissing off yet another person that's libel to look us up." "Oh shut the fuck up, Dutch!" Revy snarled, picking up her holsters and storming out the door. "I'm going to see if the Yellow Flag is open." "Rock, go with her," Dutch said, thumbing towards the door. "If Bao is stupid enough to have the bar open this early, at least you're the only one that has the guts to keep Revy from causing trouble." "Will do, Dutch," Rock said, then in an afterthought, offered, "Sorry I couldn't work things out with that Hellsing woman." "Don't think about it too much. Now get going." Rock then hurried out the door, making sure his tie was tied while doing so. Meanwhile, Benny took the chip into his hand and told Dutch, "If you don't mind, I like the chance to study that chip further. It might give us a chance to find out why the hell they would want it back so badly." "You do that, Benny-boy. Just make sure you keep that little bundle of trouble in its shell," Dutch sighed, then made his way out the door. "Meanwhile, I'll see if I can get ahold of Balalaika, see if she knows anything about this Hellsing lady. I've got this bad feeling we're in for a lot of trouble in the future." LONDON... "HOW DARE THEY!! HOW DARE THEY!!" Sir Integra roared, her hands firmly planted on her desk. Alucard, along with Walter, looked as if they were not surprised about her reaction. Rally and Seras, on the other hand, were shocked, surprised by the Hellsing leader's show of temper. "THOSE... THEIVES HAD THE UTTER GALL TO DEMANT TRIBUTE FOR SOMETHING THEY DO NOT DESERVE!! WE SHALL MAKE THEM PAY FOR THIS INSULT!!" She then noticed the 'trace' button was on, then looked at Rally and said in a calmer voice, "Thank goodness you had the presence of mind to put a trace on that call! At least we can give those brigands the justice they deserve." "Y-y-yeah," Rally stammered, still in shock. Sir Integra looked up at her friend, then centered herself and said, "My apologies if you had to witness my behavior, but you can understand the circumstances." "I wouldn't blame you for losing your temper the way you did," Seras added. "Indeed." Looking up to Walter, Sir Integra added, "As soon as the information is available, have everything ready for a proper response." The butler nodded in agreement. "So, we're going on another trip?" Alucard purred, anticipating another battle. "Not you!" Sir Integra shot back. "You are needed here, along with Walter, in case something were to happen here!" She then looked over at Seras and Rally and added, "I am afraid the burden of recovering the FREAK chip is going to fall upon you two." "You're kidding?" Rally gasped. "I am not jesting, Rally." Sir Integra then turned to Seras and added, "You and your servant are to travel to... wherever those scoundrels are and recover the chip. Hopefully, no fatalities will be incurred but I cannot guarantee that. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes, Sir Integra... but what about you?" the Draculina asked. "I will follow as soon as you and Rally get the lay of the land," Sir Integra said. "I suggest you and Rally prepare your traveling coffins. I will notify the R.A.F. base you will be departing soon." "Excuse me, Sir Integra," Walter added, "but you said that I will not be able to accompany Miss Victoria and Miss Vincent. Surely you have someone in mind to see to their needs while they are on their mission." "That I do, Walter," the Hellsing leader said. Rally and Seras, in the meantime, looked over at each other. "I think I can speculate who Sir Integra has in mind of the person accompanying us." "Somehow, I have that same idea, Master," Rally added. A SECRET LOCATION IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA, AT THE SAME TIME... The small fishing trawler crept its was across the open seas, the sound of its badly-maintained engine sputtering loudly as it did. So far, this wasn't the kind of transportation that Natasha Radinov had in mind, but she had to make do with worse. She had to find all sorts of transportation in her career as an assassin, and a fishing boat was at least a leisurely way to travel, provided she got used to the smell of rotting fish. A small beeping caught her attention. Pulling out her satellite phone, she punched the key. "Da," she began. "Ah Major, it's you. Yes, I am on my way to Indonesia right now. With any luck, I should be on my way to Jakarta the next day." A slight frown crossed her face. "A new location? Really? No, it's no bother, although it is unexpected. Yes, I'm familiar with the area, I've done quite a bit of business there in the past. As a matter of fact, I do have... an old business client that lives there. I think I can go there to get the additional weapons that I might need." A pause, "No, I do not believe she knows of my little... misadventure over in Chicago, so I believe it's safe to see her. I will let you know when I arrive. Until then." She then switched off the phone, then made her way to the small quarters she had on the boat. As she arrived at the door, she noticed a small rat scurrying around. Quick as a cat, Radinov snatched the rodent up, entered her quarters... then bit into the rat and drained its blood. Then crushing the tiny body, she opened up a porthole and threw the remains overboard. 'How easy it would be to feast on one of the crew,' the Russian thought to herself. 'However, I cannot allow myself to be found out. Besides, I'll have plenty of prey once I reach Roanapur.'
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