The Promise of a Daughter

Thomas rolled his eyes, "Oh chil out, the thing is I'm wondering if your a lesbian or ot, I've made virgins cum with a kiss before, and for you to be totally unattracted to me, well for me lust is a part of intimacy and if your not attracted to me this thing is dead in the water off of the bat."

One of the women came in saying, "Thomas we've got a job, eight hours from now an uprising in a blood diamond mine in Africa."

Thomas nodded, pinching his future wifes ass lightly but firmly he said, "You comming with us to see your man at work sweetie?"

“I have no means of self-defense won’t I weigh you down? The only thing I can do is kendo with a wooden sword!” She exclaimed as she swatted his hand away but then she grabbed his wrist, “and Thomas.” The proud woman took a deep breath and looked up at him, “I find you very attractive and I am surely not into women but” She stepped in closer standing on tip toe atempting a reach for his hair in an attempt to unbraid it, “ I hate the braid no matter how practical it may be."

She stood flat again unable to reach but looking up at him, “So what kind of clothing to I need in Africa? How long will we be there?” She looked him over hopeful he would lose the braid and have shaken his hair lose so she might see how it framed his face. Tara had been around plenty of men with short hair but her preference was with the long strands from the moment she laid her eyes upon him.

Thomas smirked, "Sweetie, if you get close enough for the enemy to touch you then I should just kill myself."

He pet her lightly moving back a bti as he said, "I was raised in the ways of a very old style of martial arts, older then the samurai, they wore their hair in a braid, thus why I do it, plus as you said it's practical."

4 hours later, Thomas, her and a dozen people were on a hover jet. Thomas stood in the ltest aromor. He'd mentioned it was mamde of polymers and titanium weaved with depleted uranium. in his right ahnd a H.A.C. 80 caliber achine gun. An extended drum magazine loaded into it. Thomas had mentioend the rounds were double stacked between thermite based incenderary rounds, and a powerful acid, both placed in hollow points. At his side was a pair of colt 1911's with extended clips. A pup action sawed off shotgun rested at his waist along with a katana on his side. He looked like he was going ot war with the bandoleer of grenades on his chest.

As they touched down a man moved towards them. He spoke quickly, "We're not sure when the virus got out, but it's tured the locals into the perfect weapon, bio hazard dumps, running on nerve impulses no cure, head shots kill them clean it up, good bye."

The man then proceeded to "Walk very quickly away". Thomas sirked, "Okay boys and girls, standard zombie infestation combat plan Athena, Artemis, take the 50 cals, and climb up, Bruiser you take my woman and cover them, me, Dozer, and shredder are going to go hunting."

The squad gave him thumbs up. And soon her team was climbing an old tower, probably a guard's perch when the place had been a diamond ine. Athena spoke "Huh, ew meat, it's alway funy when the boss brings someone along, not exactly the milk run we were exspecting but the boss and his paranoid planning eans this should be easy, I'm Athena the goddess of war, if it can kil I can do it, Artemis is our long range specialist and Bruiser is our close range guy he's going to watch our sexy asses while we watch the bosses."

They gave the girl a pair of binoculars as the two snipers set up their fields. Thomas investigating looking for the infected. It wasn't uncommon for drug tests to be done on the poor. Thoas hoped he was atleast ending their suffering as he headed towards the first hut.

Despite her nerve and distaste for the high pressure environment Tara somehow found the whole thing invigorating. Her look of Thomas changed slightly as she saw him as more serious now than he ever was and she almost liked him better that way. That was when she looked at the katana and amended her prior thought, she did like him better that way. The short four hours before they left gave her time to change and that was about it as she sported a camo spaghetti strap top trying to mesh with the rest of them but the denim cut off shorts tossed that out of the widow. She was silent the whole time looking from person to person realizing she was the only one without a weapon, not that she would know what to do with one.

Once off the plane she tried to keep up in her old combat boots from her short expressive months of college where she was able to dress in more gothic atire unlike now. That was when Thomas made her another man’s charge and she feared the separation. He may have been cruel and perverted but he was the only one who had made any indication that he would protect her. Then the possessive words of him calling her “his woman” made her heart throb and she had to admit the slightly possessive sound of it made her want it to be more true than it was. She dropped the thought knowing it was not the time nor place and she followed behind the rest staying close. Surprisingly she laughed aloud when Athena talked about their sexy asses and decided then that she was also fond of this woman. She took the binoculars looking through them trying to search for Thomas’s location.

Thomas walked into the hut, the LOUD echoiing bark of his rifle filled the air. Around them the ground seemed to shift as hundreds of obviously africans rose from the ground. Boils and odd disfigurments showed these were infected. Athena spoke, "Boss we got an Ambush they are crowding around outside the house!"

Thomas spoke back, "Got you Athena, Artemis, hold your arrows for now, when I give the word raign god's only justice on them."

The woman spoke back, "Amen father."

Soon Thomas himself was visible. Looking at her he winked. deciding to show her exactly how useful the old ways coudl e he strapped the rifle to his back. The infected had no commong sense, if they heard the sound of steel on bamboo they didn't show it. The sword glistened in the hot African sun. A real blade, who knew how many hundred it had already sent to hell. Thoas held the balde to his head before snapping into motion.

The first infected lost it's arm at the elbow, then it's head was flyign through the air. The hundred times folded steel severing muscle and bone as if they were paper and wax. Like a dance he moved, blood and death following him. No eemy survived and not one got back up. When he put them down they went down HARd and stayed down. Where the enemies were thoas simply wasn't. Sometimes taling out achilies tendons before sending a head flying, other times stabbing them through the heart before turning and cutting their head off.

Artmeis spoke, "Damn, the Reaper form of the Hellsing style, bastards just showing off."

Athena nodded, "Very much so, or he's trying to impress his woman, she mentioned skills with a wooden sword, maybe he's trying to show her what her prefered art used to be, the Hellsing sword school is ancient, supposed Tsun Tzu helped develop it, a mix of all the more leathal moves that a person knows."

Tara could look no more. She knew the people being killed were no longer human and that death was the best service that could be done for them but Tara hardly had the heart to watch it. When the mention of his showing off for her she simply stated in response, “I wish he wouldn’t I just want this over so that we can go home. I don’t want to see anyone hurt.” Tara was impressed by his abilities with a sword but she was more interested in the more refined arts such as singing, writing poetry, and all other things she was certain he thought were useless. The dry air burned her throat and the dirt made her eyes sting.

Despite all that she could not complain based off of what she had seen. Tara made the sign of the cross, two fingers to the forehead then to the left shoulder, the right and at last the center of her chest. She began to pray for the dead. She shut her eyes the sounds of guns making her heart hurt every time she heard one. She at last opened her eyes and looked again to make sure Thomas and the others were still alive and well.

A MASSIVE roar shook the sivannah. A horse sized lion strode out of somewhere, blood running from it's mouth. Pieces of skin nd fur missing from it's body. It roared again and Thomas smirked. Bringing his rifle to bare Thomas set it to three round bursts. the grounds firing into the charging creature. It dove at him but Thomas duced and rolled forward. A blade disk like somethign the Predator might use was tossed at the undead lion. It took off it's left front leg. Muscle bone and sinew started to regrow as it dove at him, fangs bared.

Thomas ducked, roling forward He spoke into the his helmet head set, "This fucker is pissing me off, rain the wrath of god on him."


The women smiled. The fifty caliber magnetic rifle super charged two projectiles. Both of them fired their rounds making a distinctive "Phsheeeew" and propelling the depleted uranium forward too fast to pierce the sound barrier. It smashed into the lion's body and blew half of it to red mulch. The second one blew the lion's head clean in half.

Thomas fired his rifle in full auto. As it clicked empty he ejected the old drum, and relaoded a new one.

She dropped the binoculars again and despite the sick feeling in her stomach she refused to throw up. Tara sat on the hard dry earth waiting for the whole thing to be over. She hated it here and she was sure she would have nightmares the rest of her life. She numbed herself pretending they were never real people but it only kept the tears away. Her heart was racing and she felt defenseless in the midst of all these people. She did not belong here and she was certain she did not belong with them.

Tara was incapable of killing and she knew that now but the truth of the situation was heart
breaking. She vocalized her growing distaste for the situation, “What is the expected time the mission is supposed to last?” Her jaw was set and she crossed her arms over her abdomen.

Athena chuckled, "Don't worry child, this is a small one, only a few hours, but now you see what the Boss does, what he's been trained to do, look at his face, me I can kill without mercy or remorse, but their are nights the sins weight on e ad I have to drink myself catatonic, but look at him."

Thomas was in his element. Like a god of death or an actual grim reaper. he killed men women and even infected children left right and center. A smirk on his face he was enjoying himself loving what he was doing. The creatures kept coming like sheep to the den of a wolf, and Thomas took them out just as quickly.

She did not respond but simply waited quietly praying for the dead the whole time. She was marrying the devil she was certain of that. He was a monster and as she sat there she hated him more and more knowing that the smirk on his face would not give way to pain or remorse at any time. The man had no moral compos and her’s always pointed due north. Given the option she might just take the option of poverty and the suffering of her mother in place of selling her soul for a man who would care little for it.

Then an Idea hit her, a stupid and dangerouse idea and before she could rationalise her legs were moving and she was ready for the decent into the combat zone. She was bound and determined to find his humanity is she could even see it just for her. Just for him to protect her and she could survive.

Normally running into an open combat area was tantamount to suicide. However Thomas and his crew weren't normal. Thomas had ordered them to protect ad watch his newest lady friend, and these men and women would be damned a hundred times over before they failed a direct order from their superior officer. The Devil's Rejects were the best of the best, thus her jumping form the high up guard tower and not breaking both her legs was mostly shrugged off.

It took Athena and Artemis even less time to adjust their rifles and rain "Gods wrath" down upon any infected that got within a foot of her. A few of the rounds passing through her hair, or taking the fabric off of her top, but not a scratch was put on her and not a drop of blood drawn.

Shredder grabbed her around the waist before the two women's rifles had gone through half of their clips. The two were ejecting the clips as Shredder and the "Saved" woman were at the bottom of the tower. The armored being turned firing with a shotgun. Blowing enemies into pieces as the massive shotgun claimed life after life. The large and stocky armored person tossed her half way up the tower. Athena met them, having launched herself off of the top of the tower, six budgie cords supporting her. She contorted moving the girl up the towers. Wrapping her in the bungie cords she let the dumb woman hang by her ankle contorting herself to move up the tower almost supernaturally fast.

As Athena reached her rifle Artemis ((Who had been firing both rifles)) clicked empty. The infected drew ever closer, but Shredder triggered the miens he'd placed while chasing the princess. They were shredded as he climbed up the tower. Athena leaned over as her work was doe, and said to the still hanging woman "You EVER run into a situation like this again, and rick heiress or not I'll put a bullet in you myself understand?"

She lifted the bungie cord showing she was capable of lifting the girl's weight with one hand, so she could look into her expressionless mask.

As she dangled in the woman’s grasp she glared at her not caring about her shredded top. In a swift movement she was freeing herself from the cord and when Tara began to drop to the ground of the structure that had originally been her prisoner to watch the carnage. She caught herself with one hand and did a bit of a hand spring to land on her feet. Suddenly Tara was grateful for all the years of dance, gymnastics, and cheerleading. Her attitude could not be averted however when she looked back at the woman who had retrieved her, “Than you had better shoot me now because I will be damned if I sit by while he enjoys slaughter. This is all just a game to you people and the ones for you who express any form of remorse do it in such unconstructive ways!”

Fists balled at her sides, “And besides what would he care if I were dead? I am just another game to him! Another horse to be broken and another virus to be eradicated! I would rather die trying to find the humanity in that man than live a hundred years unsure if I will ever find it! Now give me a gun or something and show me how to use the damn thing because if I can’t get what I want this way I should at least get to go home at a reasonable time!” Nostrils flared and body trembling her hand shot out trembling slightly. From fear or anger was the real question about the quivering hand but no time could be given to the answer as the cold stare in her perfect features.

As she waited Tara reached down with the other hand in a squat to retrieve the binoculars where she left them and focused trying to spot Thomas while a hand still waited for a gun. Did he even notice that she had jumped into danger? She doubted he could with how hungry for blood he was. Tara hardly thought he was aware of her presence normally let alone while he was playing shoot em’ up.

She rolled her eyes, "Thomas ordered us to watch you, faith and trusting us, he put you out of his head, he knows we'll watch and protect you, so he can have his fun."

Thomas glared at her through the binoculars. His expression promising a serious talk later. It had the effect of leaving him open it's claws aimed for his back, only for Thomas to calmly turn and slit it's throat with the katana. Soon he'd gone back to his carnge.

Artemis spoke, "You need to understand Thomas's entire life and fortune is built on killing your father sold you into this life, now fucking calm down."

Tara slightly resembled a wild animal and she thrust her hand at the women again, “I mean it! I don’t want to stand idle waiting for something to happen to the man I am going to marry. Worse yet I am not going to stand here and just watch him kill judging him when I have never done the same thing! That is unjust and I cannot be that way. Show me!”

She ripped off the rest of her top leaving her in the frilly pink bra she had under it and the shorts , even as her shy and modest nature fought her for the tiny bits of fabric she was doing her best to be practical in such irrational times as this. Tara felt useless and that was a feeling she could not stand, “And besides what the hell does he care if I die? HE hardly knows me and to top that off he will get my father’s fortune with or without me!”

She shook her head, "No he won't now sit down and shut up, we're almost done."

Artemis spoke, "We can tech you about guns and such later, but right now you'd just get in the way sweetie."

She accepted the fact with enough ease and looked again through the binoculars to see what was going on. She may be no help this time but the promise of usefulness in the future was enough to shut her up for the remainder of the mission. She was however starting to wonder just how mad Thomas was going to be.

Thomas's movements were much ore jerky now, much crueler as well. He took out knee caps and shoulders before killing the enemy, gutting them before decapitating them. Artemis winced lightly, "Oh he is royally pissed at us."

Tara felt guilt in her gut for the fact that she may have made him mad at his officers and she expressed so, “I hope I didn’t get you into too much trouble. I will tell him it was all my fault. I mean I am pretty fast and that was a very sporadic and stupid move.”
Tara watched him now more intently trying to see a glimpse of him relaxing or the fight being over but she had no real way of telling at this point. She hardly knew him so even his body movements were strange to her, “So when he gets mad what normally happens?”

Shredder spoke, "Thomas was raised with a group of gorilla forces when they get mad well, let's just say machete abortions weren't uncommon if a woman got caught cheating, the angrier he gets the colder and more sadistic, I'd rate him a six ow, notice how he's going for disfiguring and crippling moves before going in for the kill but he isn't actively torturing yet so yeah a good six."

Athena spoke, "And it is our faults, we grew complacent, he gave us an order we are supposed to plan and have a strategy for any and everything you could do, we assumed you weren't suicidally stupid and if you'd been a protected target yeah we could have lost you, our mistake and odds are we'll be punished for it accordingly, you won't be blamed because we were assigned to protect you it's our mistake."

Shredder spoke, "Gods dammit, my arm just healed up from the last punishment."

Artemis sighed, "At least with you it was just physical pain, I still feel remember the jumper cables on my nipples."

“Why do you let him do that to you?” Her eyebrows drew together at another cruelty she was going to have to face, “It doesn’t matter why. I will take the blame and do the best I can to avoid your being hurt. I’m sorry.” Her heart sank at the thought of the suffering the others had gone through. “Do you live at the house? I don’t think I noticed any of you at the house yesterday. Tell me how to stop him from hurting you and I will do the best I can alright?”
Her hands steadied on the binoculars again and she waited for the end to happen so she could leave this place behind.

Athena chuckled, "The solider of the Hellsing corporation are the best, we are trained with harsh punishments so we don't screw up again, Thomas has had every bone in his body broken at different times for punishment, now it's his job to carry out the punishment to help us learn."

Artemis picked up the next question, "And yes we were, Artemis and Athena aren't our names, it's code wards, all of the Devil's Rejects are, six Athena's have died in the last year, three Artemis's and around two dozen Shredders we aren't people we're symbols of the Hellsing Corporations killing skills we die and another will take up our suits, that's why none of our details can be made out we're nameless and faceless, drop us we come back and kill your ass."

Shredder spoke, "Athena, Artemis, Shredder, Atlas and The Boss, five fiures that are Helsing corporation's strike force against those that pay for us, we die we come back, we never fail even if we die, kind of fun working in the privte sector, and we sure as hell make alot doing it."

“Oh I see.” She gave a slow nod, “Still for what its worth I am deeply sorry and you have my word that I will never cause you to get into trouble again.” She realized a promise was likely worth nothing to people who had see what they had gone through, “And when I promise something I mean it. I will take my personal tirade against Thomas at home.” Her promises had to be rock solid if she was willing to keep the promise of a man who would trade his own daughter to a psycho. She edged up next to the girls looking down through the binoculars.

Tara was a beautiful girl when she wasn’t being a snob, both inside and out, but perhaps that was why she took the plight of others so personally. In the heat of the area, something Tara was not used to, her skin began to bead sweat down her body and she was certain much more of this and she was going to faint from heat exau…The sound of the binoculars dropping as she fell back passed out in their watch station was hardly the louder than the fluttering of a butterfly in the battle that raged on but to Tara in that moment everything was silent.

When Tara she'd see five people sitting around her. One in the shredder armor had an eyepatch on, obviously it was recent. Artemis was visible though her left arm was in a massive cast. Even her hand was wrapped up reporting broken fingers. Athena stood to the side, her leg and foot wrapped up. All were somber but serious. They were carrying the cost of their mistakes an eye removed, a shattered foot and leg, and an arm and hand as well as fingers. Obviously unpleasant but Thomas spoke not aware she'd woken up. The spinning of a revolver cylinder emptied in the dead silence of the transport. He spoke shortly after, "Tsun Zu ounce said that a leader's orders should be clear and concise and his soldiers should follow them, you three are good but you fucked up, and you've been punished for it, luck decided she didn't die and now luck will carry my fate as well."

Thomas held the gun up. A WW2 Webley colt. Thomas with an almost clinical detachment removed five of the bullets. Putting them on the table next to him he said, "As a general I must carry the weight of my sins, either giving my soldiers orders they couldn't do or giving them confusing orders, as such my punishment will be to ask the gods and lady luck to decide if I a guilty or not."

Thomas spun the cylinder again. Raising the gun to his head and pulling the trigger three times in rapid succession. No loud boom filled the transport, no blood or brains, or skull. Thomas put the revolver down, looking around he said, "Lady luck has spoken, any arguments?"

The four women present shook their heads. Bowing they spole as one, "Sorry Commander, we'll do better next time."

Thomas nodded as the transport landed. The soldiers walked off saluting one limping heavily. Thomas's back was still turned to her as he said, "Did you learn your lesson, or should I do Darwin a favor and see how your luck check goes?"

She flinched when she saw their injuries but she did not apologies to them here where he would know that she had. Tara had strongly decided that she owed the three of them her life and limbs in this case and she would do whatever she could for them. That was when Thomas pulled out the gun and fear struck her like lighting and she was moving to try to sit up but dizziness took over and she laid back again. He had not killed anyone so that was good at least. But then his request put dread in her stomach.

“Go for it Thomas God knows I deserve it far more than the people who were actually doing their job that you hurt. I mean think about it you said to protect me and what did they do when I put myself in danger? They protected me. I would say that was following orders but I am no commander here. Fact is they saved my life and had to pay for my actions so if shooting me is the justice I deserve than do it Thomas. It would only reaffirm the fact that you don’t give a damn about me or anyone else. Then again I guess I was just as selfish today. Know the difference? I regret my actions not revel in them.”
Tara managed to sit up though unsteadily and turned her face to look at his back as he stood there not facing her.

Thomas rolled his eyes, "Sometimes we are paid to do things we'd rather not do, kidnappings extortion, sometimes a daughter of a minster gets abducted and she decides she likes the rebels cause, our job is to get her out and kill anyone in our way regardless of if she wants to leave or not, my crew are trained to deal with unwilling protected people, as soon as you headed towards the end of the plank they should have injected you with a mild paralytic and dropped you for the remainder of the mission."

Thomas spoke easily, "I hate to tell you this princess, but they screwed up, they got complacent and in a mission that can mean they die, or worse the target dies."

He took a simple breath, "As a general I gave them an order, they failed it and thus they had to be punished, net time they wont' let their guard down, won't be complacent, hell what if you'd been an abducted you may have slit one of their throats, or if you'd been some spoiled rich girl hiding from her father you may have darted into the jungle and thus made us miss our exit transport finding you, they fucked up, they assumed you were stable and in this line of work assuming gets you and me a new ass hole blown into us, the life of a Hellsing is to always be prepared."

Thomas added, "I have a plan for invading aliens, for flesh eating super cock roaches, for fifty foot tall men and women from mars, for the IRA, Taliban, and Spetnaz to meet and decide to take over every Hogandaz in the country, if a plan or issue eists we have a plan and a evac ready in not following the plan for if the guard was stupid the entire plan fell apart, I was supposed to lure them into the house where Blaster and Slasher would open up on them with flame throwers, minimize risk of infection of the local wild life, but because you got into their area they split up their attack pattern half went for the guard tower, and we couldn't risk using the throwers until I did something to get their attention back on me, which required me cutting my hands to allow them to smell my blood, I faced a 98% chance of infection, because you decided to be suicidal I may die soon so thanks."