Hellsing - Blood Heritage

The next several weeks were the busiest of Syn's life. After waking up after that first night and finding that no, she wasn't dreaming the whole thing, she set about getting her affairs in order. She called Chris and explained that she was taking over the family business and wouldn't be able to work at the club anymore. She and Walter had gone out to her house to get her personal belongings - her laptop, clothing, and books, and brought them back to the manor. Dr. Corbin removed her cast on the third day after her arrival, and she had immediately been put to work. Well, Syn put herself to work on the guns for the vampires - but Sir Integra was the one who requested that she do a thorough sweep of the Hellsing armory to see what could be improved. Needless to say, there were A LOT of things that needed to be fixed.

The Hellsing soldiers were using sub-machine guns. Those things were meant to be used for suppressive fire. Either whoever was in charge of weapon assignment was a complete idiot, or they actually thought that usual military tactics would work against vampires and ghouls. Whichever it was, Syn was going to be making a lot of assault and battle rifles for a while. But the serious lack of appropriate firepower was only the beginning. The vehicles used for transporting soldiers were only outfitted with light armor. The men themselves had sufficient battle armor, but Kevlar was heavy and cumbersome when worn for long periods of time. Hellsing Manor itself had an inadequate defense protocol as well. Soldiers patrolled the perimeters and guarded the main gates - but there were a thousand different ways someone could get past them. Syn might be seen as paranoid, but if she was going to be calling this place home from now on, she was going to turn it into a fortress.

She put all of her findings and suggestions into a detailed report - along with designs for the vampires' weapons for approval. They had taken forever, but she had finally come up with something that she was happy with. Building the things was going to be a bloody nightmare, (especially the Police Girl's) but it would be worth it to bring them out of her imagination and into the real world. When Syn submitted the report, Integra glanced over it briefly before sending her away to make preparations for production. The woman seemed to trust her judgment, but Alucard would have the final say; as one of them would be his, and the other was for his fledgling. She gave Walter a list of everything she would need for the guns and their ammunition. It was a credit to the man's character that he didn't bat an eye when she asked for depleted uranium.

"Do you think you'll have a problem getting it?" she asked him. "I know it's restricted..."

"I'll have to call in a few favors, but I don't believe we'll have a problem." He replied. He glanced back over the list with an appraising eye. "We've been using silver melted from crosses for the Casull rounds. We'll have to call someone in to bless the raw silver..."

"You won't have to worry about that. I'll take care of the blessing."

Walter quirked a brow at her. "You know how to bless silver?"

Syn grinned. "Silver, water, you name it. I could bless the whole house, but Alucard and Seras would never be able to get back inside."

"Ah. Very good Miss Newsom." he folded up the list and tucked it into his breast pocket. "I'll put in the order and inform you when the materials have arrived."

With that done, there was little for her to do until her order was filled. Syn decided to head up to her room to take a much deserved nap. 'Maybe I'll curl up on the balcony...' she mused. 'It's actually nice out today...'

It was a pleasant day, considering it was April. It usually rained non stop this time of year. But the weather had decided to give humanity a break from grey skies and water, letting the sun shine out over the landscape. With such beautiful scenery, it didn't take long for her to drift into a light sleep.

The cooler evening breeze woke her several hours later. The sun was just beginning to set beyond the horizon line. Syn allowed herself a scant few moments to enjoy the sunset before going back inside. She let out a small sigh when she saw that she had company. Alucard had laid claim to the blue armchair next to her drafting table. His long legs were propped up on her desk chair and he had his red fedora pulled down over his face.

'At least he's not on the bed this time.' She thought to herself.

"You know, you randomly popping into my room stopped being shocking a while ago." She snatched the hat off of his face. "Did you want something, or are you just here to irritate me?"

Alucard considered her silently, then glanced at the drafting table. "I understand you submitted the final designs today..."

Syn crossed her arms over her chest and nodded.

"May I see them?"

"Did you just... ask for permission to do something?" She asked, arching a brow.

Alucard grinned. "Yes, I did. Do you think I have no manners at all?"

"Well, making yourself at home in my room whenever you please isn't very gentlemanly." She pointed out. she glanced at his feet. "Do you mind giving my chair back?"

He dropped his feet from her desk chair. Syn immediately sat down and pulled out the designs she had made for Integra. Alucard rose from his perch and moved to examine them over her shoulder. She pulled out the design for Seras' weapon first.

"Suitable for long range artillery support - as you requested."

Alucard's eyes wandered from the drawing to her. "Quite impressive." he said with a smirk. "I approve."

Syn allowed a small smirk of her own to touch her lips. "I'm glad you think so. I wanted it to reflect her personality. I think Seras is a sweet girl, but she's got a pretty powerful punch underneath it all." She gave Alucard a conspiratorial look. "Not to mention, it's going to be great fun to watch her flip out when she gets it."

The vampire chuckled. "How very wicked of you. And what have you come up with for me?"

"This one is yours." she laid out a drawing of a large pistol. "Now, obviously some things look great on paper but don't translate into real life well, so there will be some minor adjustments made during production. But overall, what you see is what you get."

He reached past her and picked up the drawing. "Is this drawn to scale?"

"It's a bit smaller than the actual gun will be." Syn informed him. "I know you wanted something bigger than the Casull, so I increased the length of the barrel to allow for more powerful penetration, and the entire body of the gun is a bit bigger as well. It's going to wind up being a lot heavier though...." she trailed off when she saw his face light up with mirth. "Are you listening to me?"

"I'm listening." he purred. "You said you made the body of the gun bigger and increased the length of the barrel to allow for more powerful penetration..."

Syn could have kicked herself. He was bad enough on his own, and now she had just handed him the perfect ammunition to shoot her in the foot with.

"You, Mr. Big Bad Scary Vampire, have a dirty mind that needs to be scrubbed out with turpentine."

He laughed. "You said it first. Perhaps you're the one with a dirty mind?"

"I didn't mean it that way and you know it!" She exclaimed in outrage. "And you're the one who asked for a bigger gun in the first place. Sounds to me like someone is compensating for something." Her eyes flicked downward to accentuate her meaning.

That ever present smirk on his face grew wider. "Is that what you think?" He leaned down until their noses were almost touching. "Don't tempt me my dear. I may be forced to show you how wrong you are."

The idea of him making good on that promise was a lot more attractive than it should have been - but Syn would be damned if she let him know it. In an attempt to get the situation back under her control, she pushed herself out of the chair and jabbed a finger into his chest.

"If you're trying to be intimidating, you can stop it right now." she said stubbornly. "You don't intimidate me. You don't scare me. And you certainly don't have anything I want."

"Is that so?" He took half a step forward, pinning her between himself and the desk. "I believe you're lying."

Syn tried to push him away, but he wouldn't budge. She glowered up at him. "You can believe whatever you want. But I'm not going to fall for this... whatever the hell it is you're doing."

He pushed her further into the desk. The edge of it dug into her back painfully, and she had to brace herself against it to keep her balance. "You don't know what I'm doing?" he whispered in a low, husky tone.

Okay, this had to stop now before she did something stupid. She moved to push him away again, but found she couldn't move her arms. Surprised, she glanced down to find Alucard's shadow tendrils pinning them to the desk. 'Oh crap.'

"So what, are you going to rape me now?" she asked, daring to glance back up. There was a part of her that didn't want him to answer, for fear of what the response would be.

"I don't think I could if I wanted to." he chuckled. He leaned closer, and the bridge of his nose brushed her ear. "I think you would enjoy it too much."

'Shit. Shit shit shit.' Syn clamped her eyes shut in the hopes that maybe if she couldn't see him, he would stop. Unfortunately, she could still feel him - which didn't help her efforts at all. She held her breath when she felt him shift, then press his lips to the corner of her mouth. Syn didn't move, didn't dare to breathe for fear she would collapse on the floor or something equally awful. His lips moved to kiss her properly, then...

"Alucard."

Syn's eyes flew open and she jerked her head away to look at the woman in the doorway. Sir Integra was standing there with a lit cigar in her mouth, looking at the vampire in disapproval. "What are you doing?" she demanded coldly.

Alucard didn't move a centimeter from where he was. He simply turned his head and smiled as if he was proud of the fact he had gotten caught. "We were having a most interesting conversation about guns Master." he replied in a voice that was pure silk. "Would you care to join us?"

Syn's cheeks flamed in embarrassment. She saw Integra's icy blue eyes spark with anger, only to be replaced moments later with a colder, more calculating look. "I would prefer to converse with Miss Newsom privately." she narrowed her eyes. "Now leave."

Alucard dark laughter filled the room as he vanished from sight. With his weight no longer pressing against her, Syn's knees buckled, and she clutched the edge of the desk to steady herself. This is just great. She admonished herself. She stared resolutely at the floor, preparing to receive a verbal tongue lashing from the knight.

"Are you alright?"

Syn glanced up at the concerned note in Integra's voice. "I'm fine..."

The woman let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I apologize Miss Newsom. I've told him to leave you alone, but Alucard tends to be very stubborn when it comes to things he wants." She shook her head at the thought, then looked at Syn seriously. "I think it's time that you and I had a little chat."

Syn swallowed. "Am I in trouble Sir?"

Integra blinked in surprise. "Of course not. There are a few things that we weren't entirely forthright about regarding your employment here. Considering the current situation, I think it only best to inform you - since Alucard obviously isn't going to give you any peace..."

Information they weren't forthright about? Syn got the feeling this wasn't going to be a pleasant little girl chat. And the thought that Integra felt the need to tell her this because of how Alucard was acting made her more than a little nervous. She quickly nodded and invited Integra to sit down.

The knight took the seat that Alucard had previously occupied and clasped her hands in her lap formally. "What would you say, Miss Newsom, if I told you that Hellsing has had close contact with your family for a number of years?"

Syn frowned. "That depends. How many years are we talking about?"

"More than one hundred."

Her eyes went wide. More than a century? That would mean that members of her family had known Abraham Van Helsing. A thousand different questions bombarded her senses, but she didn't know if she wanted to ask them or not. She had a feeling that there was something more to this than their families simply knowing each other. Integra wouldn't bring it up otherwise.

"What exactly are you saying Sir Integra?" she asked after a moment's silence.

Integra took a deep breath. "I'm afraid there is no simple way to say this, so I'll be frank. When my grandfather captured Alucard, he had considerable difficulty in determining a way to bind him to our bloodline. As you are no doubt aware, your family has a gift for blessings and magics that affect vampires. Newsom was contacted to give suggestions for our fledgling organization, and to assist in the creation of Alucard's seals."

Syn's blood ran cold. "Are you telling me that my family is responsible for binding him?"

Integra nodded. "That is precisely what I'm saying." She leaned forward to emphasize her words. "I don't know how much you were told about this, but someone of your bloodline was instrumental in the development of Hellsing. They not only helped my grandfather bind Alucard to my family, but they took part in several research studies and experiments that made him considerably more powerful. And from what I've read, none of the magics they used could have been done without Alucard's consent - so they offered him something to ensure his cooperation."

'Oh shit.' She thought. 'Please dont say what I think you're going to say....'

"Please tell me you're joking." she said quietly, hoping that her voice didn't sound as rattled as she felt.

Sir Integra frowned. "I'm not I'm afraid." The fact that she didn't look happy about it didn't make Syn feel any better. The fact that the entire thing had happened over a century ago didn't lessen the sting of it.

Syn Newsom had been sold out by her own family.