"Wait! What the hell is the captain doing? Why is he stopping?" Nora asked herself. However, before her brain could wrap around what was happening, She found that she was flying through the air.
"Ahhh!!!" She screamed.
"Aim for the head! it's the most accessible weak spot!" Adria's voice reached her as she headed for the vampire.
At this point, she already knew what to do. Her rods glowed brighter in their metallic shine as she brought her hands down on the beast.
The vampire sensed that something was off, and turned immediately to his assaulter. However, it was too late.
Blood splashed on the ground, and as Nora landed, so did the head of the vampire. It rolled towards her and she trapped it with her feet.
To her surprise, it still had some life, "I'm so..sorrriii..." It stammered as its bright eyes slowly darkened.
Adria had arrived just in time to hear the last words of the former soldier.
Both Adria and Nora stared at the head for a while. She couldn't help but notice the little tear drops that escaped those eyes as the light in them died out forever. Adria sighed. He squatted close to the vampire's head and carefully shut its eyes.
Even though the head had morphed a bit, Adria still remembered this soldier's face. He was the one that had invited him into the plane after his fight on top of it. He instantly could guess what had happened. This soldier had accidentally ingested vampire blood.
"Yeah! I know, it was not your fault!" Adria whispered lightly.
Nora observed his actions with surprise. This was a side to Adria that she had never thought he had. To think that he would show sympathy to the enemy was absurd.
Meanwhile, the plane had landed. Helen and Sasha had been watching the hunt for the vampire from afar. Soon enough, a medical team came to clean up the corpse. All this, Helen stared at attentively.
"Lady Helen. is this your first time seeing a vampire?" Sasha asked.
"No!" Helen answered in a low tone, her fingers still itching at the scar beneath her sleeve, "I have seen one before, but that one was dead and stuffed. It was at the royal museum for natural arts. This is my first time seeing one and it was even hunted before my very eyes."
Sasha saw the glow in her eyes and sighed, "I understand but trust me, it's not always as exciting as it looks. These are dangerous creatures."
"Oh, don't worry. I know vampires are dangerous."
"Hmm!? I was not just talking about the vampires, Darklings too!" Sasha's eyes were directed towards Adria, "especially that one."
A soldier on sentry entered the Mess area and hurriedly whispered some words to Sqautterbloat. Squatterbloat in turn whispered into Bridge's ears.
"Hmmm!" Bridges nodded. He stood up from his seat, "The threat has been nullified. You are all to go back to your duties." He turned and exited through the door he had come in through.
Sqautterbloat took to the stand, "You heard the base commander. This Parade is dismissed!" Squatterbloat turned and exited after Bridges.
Bridges went straight to the runway with a small entourage.
"Lady Helen of House Belmont. Welcome to the Citadel." Bridges had a hand on his chest and bowed deeply.
"Thank you! Brigadier general," she curtsied back. Helen had sharp eyes. She noticed that Bridges had not taken off his red beret before he bowed. Which meant that he took his stand as a general of the UC before his own country.
"I see you came with an escort." Bridge nodded.
"Yes, I did! This is Sasha. She is top of the darkling ladder board." Helen introduced.
"Oh, introductions are not so needed between us. I am very aware of who Colonel Sasha is. After all, she has been in my care before." Bridges smiled and nodded toward Sasha.
"Nice to meet you again sir!" Sasha saluted.
"Good! This is not the right place to talk about important matters, why don't we head to my office first." Bridges invited and the group headed towards the headquarters.
Meanwhile, Adria stood with a cigar stick in his mouth quite a distance from them. He could clearly see that Sasha was at the Hole as an escort. He could not help but wave from a distance of which she saw him from the side of her eyes but selectively ignored him.
She was not dressed like the last time. The business-woman look had been shed off. She wore a tight-fitted Darkling uniform and her red hair flowing behind her, added a layer of attentiveness to her beauty. However, his attention was less on her and more on the person she was escorting. Even from this distance, his sharp nose still caught the scent of her perfume.
Nora caught his eyes staring. Knowing Adria's nature towards beautiful women, she could not help but warn. "You should forget about that one captain."
"Huh!?" Adria turned to her.
"You should forget about that one." Nora pointed to the private jet in the distance, "You see that insignia at the tail of the plane? That's the sign of the Belmont family. That family is second only to the royal family. They have power and influence that stretches far across continents. Rumors have it that they even run the governments of some countries from beneath the scenes."
"So!?" Adria asked
"Simply put Captain. She is out of your league." Nora turned and walked away.
"Is that so?" Adria smoked his cigarette and watched as the entourage walked away. However, just as there faded slightly out of sight, Sasha suddenly turned sharply in his direction, sending him a deep glare.
"Shit!" Adria immediately averted his eyes. he could instantly feel beads of cold sweat sliding down his back.
Helen turned to Sasha, "Is there something wrong?" She asked in a low tone.
"No! Its nothing. Just admiring the place." Sasha smiled and they continued towards the headquarters.
Adria swallowed hard. No one needed to tell him before he knew that Sasha was warning him.
....
"Please take a seat lady Helen." Bridges offered.
"Thank you General," She sat on the sofa before he sat on the sofa facing her. Apart from both of them, no one else in the room sat.
"Would you probably like some tea and biscuits?" Bridges offered.
"Oh, thank you but that would not be needed. I am actually here on very important matters." Helen stated.
"Important matters!?" Bridges frowned a bit, but quickly resumed his smile, "And what important matters does the Duke have to discuss with me that he sent his own daughter to my doorstep?"
"This has nothing to do with my father. It is a matter between both of us." Helen smiled, "You see, I wish to enter the Hole..."