In the Shadows of Hellsing

The sound of recoils rang in Alvise's ears while his nostrils were assaulted by the pungent scent of spent gunpowder. He saw nothing but the silhouette of a man, concentric rings blossoming from his head and heart. The man's form was riddled with holes, great gouges in his paper flesh. Alvise paused. He slipped off the protective goggles and unscrewed the earplugs from beneath his unkempt long hair, matted with sweat. He rubbed his eyes to clear the afterimage glare of his pistol. Looking at the target, he let out a sigh. He was too damn distracted to shoot straight. Those bloody...things, those vampires, had been at dinner the whole time. And they were drinking human blood. Maybe Alvise hadn't been on the most harrowing assaignments, but he knew creepy and deadly when he saw them. He didn't trust those vampires at all. And it was starting to show. He sighed again. Well, at least I didn't miss.

"Pretty sorry shooting, Perv." Alvise jumped halfway out of his skin. That was the second time that damn Katherine had snuck up on him. He turned slowly, trying not to show her how fast his heart was racing.

"Katherine," he said calmly. She interrupted before he could continue.

"Call me Kat,"she said airily,"or you sound like you have a stick up your ass." She headed for the gun locker.

"But, you said to call you...." The mercenary trailed off; Kat wasn't even listening to him anymore. God, who the hell does she think she is? He stood there, indignant, watching her grab a pistol from the rack. He thought he saw her wink before she took a stance in front of the firing line, right next to him. It took him a second to realize he was still holding his gear. He quickly jammed the foam plugs into his ears and flipped the googles onto his head moments before she started shooting. She squeezed off a clip in seconds, the gun barely twitching in her hand. Jesus, he thought, I never expected her to be that steady. She turned to him with a smirk.

"What do you think, Perv?" She had nailed every shot, blasting out the paper man's torso.

"First, "Alvise said, holding up 2 fingers, "you can call me Alvise. Second, you're not bad....for a girl" He instantly realized he had made a big mistake. Kat's eyes hardened and became dark slits, seething anger pouring out.

"You fucking sexist bastard!" she screamed. "I don't care what your god-damned name is, you're a pervert and an asshole! Get the hell away from me!" She threw the gun at his head, barely missing as he ducked down to avoid the flying handgun. When he looked up, she was halfway out the door. He was about to chase after her and apologize when he realized she wasn't going any further. She had stopped dead in her tracks. Alvise's skin went cold with fear, his muscles tensing instinctively. Kat started to back away from the stairs up to the mansion, back into the firing range.

As she scrambled frantically towards Alvise, he saw why she was scared. The master vampire, Alucard, was coming down the steps, heavy leather boots creaking with each footfall. His wide-brimmed crimson hat covered most of his wild jet-black hair, the rest falling down around the shoulders of his blood red greatcoat. Dark sunglasses masked his eyes, and his sinuous fingers were covered by rune-inscribed gloves. He wore a terrible half-grin, imposing and menacing on his sharp-featured face.

Kat grabbed Alvise around the middle, holding tight, trying almost to hide behind his slender frame. He flinched slightly as she embraced him with such force, but stood strong somehow, some inner missive of protection awakened within him. It became harder and harder to stay upright and stoic as the midian drew closer, a terrible demonic presence that seemed to darken the entire room. He stopped mere feet from the mortal couple.

"Clear out." The command was issued in a deep and ancient voice, laden with the authority of 100 years of power. "I'm testing the Jackal out down here. So get the hell out of my way." He pulled out an impossibly large gun, black as midnight, seemingly impossiblt to wield. Yet it looked as though it were made for Alucard. Perhaps out of bravery, perhaps out of fear, Alvise stood his ground, not moving an inch. The vampire scowled and aimed the gun at Alvise's head. The mercenary flinched, but did not look away or close his eyes. He stood paralyzed and afraid. He saw the barrel shift just to his right- directly at Kat.

"Stop it!" he shouted desperately, " she hasn't done anything!" A maniacal grin spread slowly across the ancient demon's face.

"You'll do," he announced quietly. Alvise panted, blood pumping madly in his veins, heart pounding a living rhythm against his chest. He had stood up to the legendary monster, commanded him to stop....to save Kat? He turned his head to look at her. She was pale, all blood drained from her face, sweat drenching her body. She was panting even more heavily than he. She looked over from the corner of her eye, then turned fully to meet his gaze. She moaned slightly as her legs gave out under her, clutching his lithe and muscular body for support. He bent down to help her up as Alucard walked to the firing spot closest to the wall. Pulling Kat up, Alvise saw him hit a button on the wall. The target moved back from 10 meters to 20...30...40...50...and stopped. Kat kept Alvise close, and he held her against him as well. They watched in awe as the vampire raised the combat pistol to rest on his arm and aimed at the back wall where to target was barely visible.

No way... Alvise thought. Alucard fired. The far-away target exploded in a shower of paper, metal, and silver bullets. The nosferatu turned towards the humans, fangs gleaming from his toothy grin. Kat gasped and ran for the door, alvise following close behind. He heard a hellish laugh as they both leapt up the stairs, madly running from that monster.