THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT... By her own account, Rally Vincent should've been here about fifteen minutes sooner... but since she almost sideswiped another car racing to the warehouse indicated in Goldie's letter, she decided to pull over for a while until she calmed down. Now, as she pulled closer to the building, Rally made a quick assessment of the locale and surroundings. It was fairly deserted, save for the occasional stray dog, and little lighting - a perfect place to hide a hostage. She also noticed the loading docks of the building were bricked-over... and very recently, too. Stopping the Cobra, Rally exited the car, got out a flashlight and drew her gun, making sure it was loaded, and then raced across the street to the only door of the building. The first thing she noticed was when she opened the door of the warehouse, the corridor was lighted, which made her ill at ease. Placing the flashlight in her pocket, she slowly made her way inside, gun pointed ahead of her. Approaching the door at the end, Rally drew inside... and found she was inside the storage area. The low ceiling above her caught her attention, which also acted as the floor of the warehouse's second level: there were cracks in it, and the concrete looked as if it was crumbling. Some recent reinforcements of the ceiling were present, although it didn't look sufficient enough to hold it up. Rally's eyes then trained themselves to the office at the other end of the building, and the light leaking from the bottom of the door to it. She took notes about what she saw; the window to the office was boarded-up, as well as a scrap of plywood just leaning below it... and a new mat in front of the door. Cautiously, Rally crept up to the door, gun in her right hand as her left made its way to the doorknob and slowly turned it. "RALLY, DON'T OPEN THAT DOOR!!!" a voice shouted from behind her. "What?" she gasped, only to freeze with what she heard next - namely a click that didn't sound normal for a doorknob. "Oh crap," the voice grumbled as a figure - Alfie - came out of the shadows. "Now you've done it." "Alfie, what the hell are you..." Rally began as she turned to face him. "Don't move! Rally, listen, there's a concussive explosive behind that door!" Alfie shot back. "You let go of that doorknob or move off that mat and it'll go off!" "Huh?" Rally said weakly. Alfie then examined the door carefully before continuing. "Put it this way... I was contracted by Goldie Muso to rig a low-powered bomb to knock you off your feet enough so that she can send her girlscouts-from-hell out here and cart you off to her place to become her slave without much fuss. She put together the black box to the device, but neither she nor her girls had the experience with explosives to connect the explosives right. She had planned to grab your friend May, dope her up with Kerasine, and have her make the final connections, but for some reason couldn't find her. So she had her girls pull over and kill those cops sending me to the joint so that she can have my help." Rally thought this over. "Sounds like something that bitch would do," she said, looking Alfie over. "One thing I don't understand, though... why did you cross Goldie and begin helping ME? I mean... this would be something you would do to get even with me for busting you earlier in the week." Alfie then looked at Rally, sighed and said, "Well... at first it sounded like a good thing, getting even with you for busting me near that deli... but the more I remember seeing Goldie's face, the more I began to feel guilty about it... as well as all the other shit I pulled here and in Iraq that got me here." He bent over and moved the plywood scrap, which revealed a small opening in the wall. "That bitch is totally twisted, with all her sadistic lesbian fantasies. She'll only trust men so far, which meant she had a low opinion about me as well. I mean, she hires them... but only for grunt work, like this." "Well... you get no argument about Goldie from me," Rally added, trying to relax despite holding the doorknob. "Look... is there any way I can let go of this knob... I think I'm getting a cramp in my hand." "Sorry, but that's out of the question," said Alfie. "That doorknob is a 'dead-man's' switch, and if you let go, it'll set off the bomb. The same with that mat; you get off it, ka-boom." "Thanks a lot," Rally groaned. "How in the world am I going to save May now?" "What? You mean Goldie got May anyway?" Alfie asked. "Yes. I got the note about a half-hour ago. Would've been here sooner, but I had to pull over before I wrecked the car, mad as I was." Alfie moved away from the opening, then after thinking a while got out a scrap of paper and wrote on it. He then folded it and slipped it in Rally's pocket. "What's that?" she asked. "That's the address of Goldie's hideaway, where I think she's got May hidden," Alfie said. "You may be a pain-in-the-ass, Rally... but you always were square with me... even when you had that gun of yours in my jaw. And I think I better be square with you as well. I found out through her kids that Goldie took some time out of the country... some sort of business deal, I think." "What kind of business, Alfie?" she asked. "Don't know... all I know is she took two trips oversees, one to Brazil, the other in Switzerland. Rally... that woman is the devil on earth, and she scares me, and I think I'd be better off that you turn me in to the cops. At least I know with them, I'll be safe." Rally looked at Alfie's eyes as he related this... and felt he was telling the truth. "Thanks. Alfie... do you know how long will it be before you can defuse the bomb?" Alfie shrugged and said, "Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes, it depends. Besides, you got a look at this ceiling, did you?" "Yeah... doesn't look that sound," Rally commented, nervously studying the ceiling above them. "Worse than that," added Alfie, "I'm guessing the supports that were built into the building have deteriorated long ago and are now just holding on, either by luck or prayer, whatever is working right now. As for the reinforcing bracing Goldie put in... well... she may be good at creating designer drugs, but she's lousy as a structural engineer. If that bomb goes off, it's going to knock out the door or whoever's standing near it into the main supports at the edge of the level near us, as well as the bracing and send the ceiling down on top of us. The piers between the door and the middle look pretty sound, but all the same I wouldn't altogether rely on them if we have to get out of here in a hurry." "Still, I like you to go as fast as you can... so that I can save May," Rally grumbled, feeling a little queasy about the situation. "I'll try," Alfie said, ducking into the opening, "but you can't rush tricky explosives. I've got to work carefully or we're both dead." That wasn't something Rally wanted to hear. ANOTHER END OF TOWN, AT THE SAME TIME... Detective Roy Coleman had arrived where the limousine had stopped, but clearly wasn't happy about hearing what had happened. "Typical, just typical of what Rally would pull," he grumbled, "run off half-cocked in a dangerous situation without first taking time to think things out." The others were situated near the limo, with Becky 'the Nose' Farrah still trying to nail down Rally's precise position on her laptop. "Haven't you got where she is yet, Becky?" he snapped, causing her to jump. "Please, I'm doing the best I can, Roy, but these things are not as accurate as military units," she pleaded. "All I can get is a general location on where the car is, not a specific address." Feeling frustrated, Coleman turned his attention to Seras Victoria, who was still trying to get some idea of Rally's whereabouts by scanning her mind. "What about you? Have you got anything yet?" "Watch your tone, human!" Alucard snarled, appearing next to Coleman. "You are not in a position to order a nosferatu around in that manner! Only Sir Integra has that right!" "Uhh... sorry," Coleman said, startled. "It's just... I'm a little scared about Rally and May... and what Goldie has in mind for her." Again turning to Seras, "I'm sorry, Miss Victoria... but I would appreciate anything you might have." "It's alright, Detective Coleman... and please, call me Seras," the Draculina replied. "Anyway, Rally calmed down a little while ago, but now she's starting to feel... trapped, and a little scared. Sorry, I haven't been able to locate where she is. I can't get addresses, just what's she's seeing and a few mental impressions of what she is feeling right now." "Seras," Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing added, walking up to the young vampire, "Do you think it might be possible for you to communicate to Rally... let her know we're trying to find her and ask her if she can contact us?" "Why of course," Seras answered. "I couldn't do so before because she was so angry... but now that she's calm, I think that I can get in touch with her without getting hurt by her thoughts." "Please, do so," Sir Integra implored. Seras then settled into the seat of the limo and cleared her thoughts. "I suggest we get ourselves in the general area of where Rally is," Coleman commented. "Sir Integra, if you get any more information, call me on the cell phone." "I will. Walter, let us be off." "Indeed, Sir Integra," the butler said as Alucard joined him in the front of the limo, just as Coleman took off in his car. Turning to Alucard, he added, "Detective Coleman was only concerned about Miss Vincent. There was no need to get defensive back there." "I know, Walter," Alucard answered, smiling. "I just wanted find out about his self-control once I confronted him about his error." "You mean to see if he would lose control of his bladder by scaring him," Walter corrected. "That too," chuckled the red-clad vampire. THE WAREHOUSE... "Alfie... how much longer do I have to hold this doorknob? That cramp is getting worse," Rally whined as the former combat engineer worked on the bomb. "Hopefully not long," Alfie replied. "That's what you said five minutes ago," the dark-haired bounty hunter grumbled. "Well... you gotta be careful with these. Don't worry, it won't be long." Rally just sighed in discouragement as she felt her legs starting to get rubbery standing on the mat. She had spent the last half-hour standing on the hard ground with only the mat as a cushion and was getting tired. And the pain in her hand from holding the doorknob was only getting worse. 'Rally,' Seras' voice sounded in Rally's head, startling her, 'if you can hear me, please get ahold of us. Sir Integra and the others are concerned about you and would like to help. Please, contact us.' 'Boy, I'd really like to, Seras,' Rally thought to herself sarcastically, 'Unfortunately, I left the cell phone in the car and can't get to it right now.' Yawning as she scratched her head, an idea soon came to Rally. 'Wait a minute... maybe I CAN get in touch with them. Seras did say we have a link between us, and she can scan my thoughts. Maybe the link can work the other way around.' Taking a chance, Rally ignored her current distractions and pointedly thought, 'SERAS... CAN YOU HEAR ME?' THE LIMO, AT THE SAME TIME... Seras gasped, jerking straight-up. "SIR INTEGRA... RALLY JUST CALLED ME!!" she announced. "She has?" the Hellsing leader replied. "Remarkable... she must have remembered the link between you two. Seras, contact her. Ask her about her whereabouts if she can." The young vampire nodded, then concentrated again. 'Rally, thank goodness you remembered. Listen, we're headed in your general direction but we need a more specific location. Is there any way you can give us that?" THE WAREHOUSE... Before Rally could reply, Alfie called out from the opening, "Listen Rally... I think I've reset the doorknob switch. You can let go of it now, but SLOWLY!" Complying and holding her breath, Rally grimaced as she slowly turned the doorknob back to its original position... and was satisfied that the bomb didn't go off. Exhaling, Rally released the knob and shook her hand, flexing the fingers as well. "Thanks, Alfie," she said, "I was wondering if I was going to be able to use this hand again." Clearing her mind, she then thought, 'Sorry Seras, I was a little busy back there. You need an address... okay, here it is!' She then got out the address Goldie had supplied her and looked at it. 'Okay, I'm reading the address right now. Can you see it in your mind?' 'Yes... I do,' came Seras' reply. 'I'm writing down right now. Okay, Sir Integra's giving it to Detective Coleman. We should be there within five minutes.' 'Thanks. Listen Seras, you know I have no intention of becoming Goldie's slave,' Rally's face soon broke into a gentle smile, 'but... to tell you the truth... I wouldn't mind it if you were the one who held the leash to my heart. I got a call from my dad earlier... and from what I've heard from him... I just might be able to join you in London after all.' 'Really? I can hardly believe it!' 'Believe it, Seras. I'll be waiting for you,' Rally replied in her mind. 'Don't worry, Rally... I'll be there soon.' Seras' presence in Rally's mind faded as Alfie crawled up from the opening, holding what appeared to be a complicated circuit board. "What's with you?" the former engineer asked. "You look a little misty-eyed." Rally wiped the tears from her eyes. "Just a little dust, that's all," she grumbled. "So, is that the control to the bomb." "Yeah. Goldie had a few techies put this together. She just needed me to wire the bomb and triggers to it.." "Sounds simple enough, but why all the wires?" Rally asked. Alfie studied the board, which had at least two dozen wires attached to it, all connected to a huge black box with an L.E.D. numeric display. "My guess is that she wanted to confuse anyone who tried to defuse it by designing in a few dummy leads... detach the wrong one and BOOM!" "Please, don't remind me," Rally shuttered. "So... what do you do next?" "Well..." Alfie scratched his chin and pointed to a solitary lead on the board, "I might as well start with this first. It's an antenna lead going to a transmitter, letting Goldie know when to send her kids to pick your unconscienous carcass and deliver you to her." "Is if safe?" Rally asked. "Oh sure," replied Alfie as he produced a pair of wire-cutters. "It just transmits a signal to Goldie. It's not like it's booby-trapped." He then cut the lead. GOLDIE MUSO'S HIDEAWAY, AT THE SAME TIME... Goldie was watching the display on her remote, waiting for the signal to retrieve Rally from the warehouse. All of a sudden, the display went blank, followed by the prompt 'No signal'. 'The signal's been cut off?' Goldie though in alarm. 'No... it couldn't!?!' She then went to the phone. "Send someone to the warehouse! Something's gone wrong!" Slamming the receiver down, she whispered, "I should've told Alfie about the booby-trap I've placed in the detonator." THE WAREHOUSE, AT THE SAME TIME... Suddenly, the display on the board changed, showing a rapidly-diminishing countdown from ten seconds. "OH CRAP!!! THAT BITCH DIDN'T...!?!? RALLY, GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!!!" Alfie then dropped the board, grabbed Rally and threw him and her away from the door. Just as the counter hit zero, the explosive went off, sending the door flying and knocking the main and secondary supports to the ceiling away. Rally was able to quickly clear the cobwebs out of her head, around the time she heard the groaning of the ceiling above. "Look Alfie, can you get up, we've got to get out of here!!!" "I think I twisted my ankle, but yes," Alfie said, both of them getting up. They soon made a sprint to the door, with Alfie hopping on his one good foot. Just as they got to the half-way point, Rally noticed a section of ceiling breaking ahead of them. Abruptly, she shoved Alfie ahead of her just as the ceiling behind them collapsed... pinning her legs under the debris. Getting up, Alfie looked behind him. "RALLY..." "NO!! GET OUT OF HERE, YOU IDIOT!! I'LL FOLLOW YOU OUT SOON!!!" Rally yelled as she struggled to free her feet from under the pile of rebar and concrete on top of them. Reluctantly, Alfie made his way to the door. Rapidly hobbling down the corridor, he had just exited when he heard, "FREEZE!!! STAY RIGHT WERE YOU ARE, ALFIE!!!" Coleman called out, his revolver drawn at him as the limo with Sir Integra's party arrived. "BELIEVE ME, I'M SAFER WITH YOU THAN FACING GOLDIE, BUT THERE'S NO TIME!!" Alfie yelled. "RALLY'S IN BIG TROUBLE IN THERE!!!" Coleman shoved Alfie aside and raced inside the warehouse, leaving Walter to confine the engineer. Running inside, he sees Rally, who was still on the ground trying to free herself... but fails to notice the ceiling above her about to collapse. "RALLY!!!" "ROY, DON'T COME IN HERE, IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!!!" Rally called out... just as the ceiling above let go, raining a pile of debris on top of her! Coleman stepped back, avoiding the dust that billowed out, and then stared in horror at the pile covering his friend. "NOOOO!!!! RALLY!!!" he yelled as he raced to the pile. Outside the warehouse, Seras staggered back, a sick look on her face. "Oh no... RALLY!!!" she called out, leaping the distance to the door. Alucard and Sir Integra exchanged concerned glances, and then raced inside themselves. TO BE CONTINUED...
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