Hellsing Fan Fiction ❯ Amoare ab Hostis ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

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They arrived in England late in the evening, or early in the morning, however you wanted to look at it. Walter lept agilely down from the helicopter, careful to keep his head ducked and safe from the whirling blades above. He didn't recognize the building they'd landed on. It didn't look like any of the military headquarters he was familiar with. It appeared they'd landed on the roof of a very old, very large mansion. In the courtyards below he could see barracks and training fields, large enough to support a small army.

Confused, he turned to give Sgt. Graham a questioning look.

"Sorry kid," the Sergent told him with a shake of his head. "I would've told you sooner, but I was under strict orders not to do so."

"Where are we?" Walter asked tightly, his eyes communicating his suspicion.

"Hellsing headquarters. General Fargason wants to speak with you."

"Fargason?" He murmured to himself.

He'd heard one of his superiors mention the name in passing once. They'd been speaking about a particularly bloody case involving vampires taking over a whorehouse in South London. One of the commanders had mentioned something about informing "Fargason". Now Walter understood that it had meant informing Hellsing as well.

A door leading down into the mansion proper opened and admitted a young, handome man in his late teens or early twenties. He had sandy brown hair and warm hazel eyes. His genuine, easy-going smile put some of Walter's fears at rest. He greeted Sgt. Graham and the rest of the soldiers in a friendly manner, clapping them on the back and shaking their hands. When his eyes turned to Alucard, however, he gave a respectful nod.

"Alucard." He greeted the vampire.

"Arthur." Alucard smiled politely, before turning to Walter. "Good luck."

And with that, the vampire was walking away and disappeared into the dark stairway into the mansion. Directing his gaze towards the only man left on the roof, the man called Arthur, Walter waited patiently. Arthur did not disappoint him.

"I'm sorry if everything seems very suspicious right now, Walter. It wasn't my decision to keep you in the dark. That was my father's call." He told the boy.

Walter nodded, still slightly ill at ease with the situation. "Why am I here? Why wasn't I taken back to base?"

Arthur took a deep breath, shoving his hands into his pockets in a manner that seemed endearing and casual at the same time. "I think General Fagason is the best person to explain it to you."

"And who are you?" Walter asked directly.

"I'm Arthur Hellsing," the young man smiled charmingly, extending a hand. "Next in line to inherit the Hellsing organization, in all that it entails."

"Oh," murmured Walter in surprise, as he shook the offered hand. "I had no idea."

Arthur laughed, the sound full and hearty. "No need to sound so awed, kid. I'm just a regular guy."

"I don't know about that, but thanks anyway." Walter smiled.

"Well," Arthur shrugged. "Shall we?"

Walter nodded and let himself be led down the stairway Arthur had come up and down into the bowls of Hellsing mansion. He and Arthur made idle chit chat along the way, about Poland and how the mission had went. When Arthur seemed to notice how embarassed Walter was that he'd let the Captain and the Major get away, he turned and gave the boy's shoulder a friendly squeeze.

"Hey," he told him. "Chin up. We all make mistakes. Besides, it was two against untold numbers of ghouls and Nazi soldiers. No one could have expected any more of you."

Walter nodded. He liked Arthur. Something about the genuine personality and warmth of the older man made him feel comfortable around him. He hardly noticed the rest of the journey through the mansion until they stopped in front of a pair of heavy oak doors.

"Well, this is where you get off." Arthur told him, with a gentle punch to his arm. "Good luck."

"Thanks," said Walter.

That was the second person who had told him that tonight. He felt a sudden sense of apprehension, wondering just what he need so much luck for?

Deciding to take the bull by the horns, Walter stepped forward and pulled open one of the huge wooden doors, and stepped through. The room beyond was dim, but not dark. The lighting wasn't artificial, being only candle and firelight. It gave the room a strange, flickering quality, that was slightly unnerving. Perhaps, though, that had been its intention. Spying the top of a man's head sitting in an armchair with it's back to him, Walter walked slowly and cautiously around to another chair setting facing the man.

As he rounded the corner of the armchair before the fire, he saw that the man was actually two men. Or rather, one older man with a young boy of around five sitting on the floor at his feet. Walter looked from one to the other, slightly confused.

"Hello, Walter," the older man greeted him politely. "I'm General Fargason. This is my son, Peter. I hope you don't mind his presense here. I'm raising him to be a military man, and showing him how we go about enlisting new recruits."

The man seemed pleasant enough and Walter relaxed, sitting in the empty chair across from him.

"Hello, General Fargason...Peter." He returned with a nod.

"I'll get right to the point, son." the General grunted. "You did some impressive work in Poland. We here at Hellsing have been monitoring your progress in Her Magesty's service for quite some time now. We've received reports from your commanders that you show a particular excellence in crafting your own weaponry, such as those fascinating gloves of yours."

Walter smirked vainly. His gloves were a source of pride for him.

"We, along with your commanding officers, decided to send you to Poland with a squad of Hellsing soldiers, along with a...special agent, to oversee your skills in the battlefield. Hand-to-hand, use of cunning, how closely you follow procedure, and so forth. Those observing you were quite impressed."

"How do you know all this?" Walter asked curiously. "It was only just yesterday."

"I've been in contact with Sgt. Graham," Fargason told him. "He relayed to me his own impression of you, as well as Alucard's personal perspective."

"Alucard? When-"

"Nevermind that," the General gruffed. "The point is, son, you've been selected by the Hellsing organization for recruitment. This is not your average promotion. Some men spend their entire lives in Her Magesty's service and never are offered the chance you are being offered. Your age alone makes this an entirely remarkable occasion."

Walter stared at the General in absolute shock. He was being offered a position with Hellsing? Was this really happening? General Fargason took in his surprised expression and chuckled.

"Can't say that I blame you, kid. When I was first told that we were recruiting a teenager, I thought my marbles had been rattled from one too many fire fights!" He snorted. "So...you in, or are you out?"

Walter's mind was whirling way too fast for his tastes. He supposed he shouldn't be so surprised. After all, having been sent on a mission with Hellsing representatives, he should have expected that eventually he'd be recruited. However eventually was the operative word. He never thought this opportunity would be coming so soon.

Nonetheless, never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Walter nodded his head vigorously. "I accept."

"Good!" The General smiled. "You start training at o-six-hundred, tomorrow morning."

When Fargason and his son stood, Walter assumed he should do the same. The General came forward and shook his hand firmly, giving him a friendly smile.

"Welcome to Hellsing, son."

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