Father Alister Pendrake had been battling a combination of lung cancer and emphysema for many years before he met Enrico. It had been no surprise that he would die because of the condition, and when he finally allowed God to take his soul to Heaven, the now twenty-seven year old Maxwell was formally inducted as leader of Iscariot.

The transition of power was met as expected. Father Anderson said Enrico was a capable exorcist and leader, and no one questioned the man initially considered too young that now led the secret section of the Vatican.

Some of the others in the College of Cardinals had asked why Father Anderson had not been appointed as the leader. He had the most service to the Order. Anderson only declined, stating that he wished to remain on active duty, not be cramped away in some office. He insisted that Father Maxwell would be better suited for the position anyway; a younger man would live longer.

Before Father Pendrake passed away, he had requested that Enrico meet with the leaders of all the European agencies with similar callings to those of Section XIII. While these supposed sister organizations were made up of fools that would not be able to defend themselves in the face of a real threat of a vampire or any other supernatural creature, the most competent had been the British Organization. Sir Arthur Hellsing had seemed agreeable during their meeting. The two created treaties concerning Ireland and who would police the different regions, and with a handshake at a café just outside the National Gallery, Enrico had parted company with Sir Hellsing, wishing him good heath and prosperity.

What he did not realize was that Sir Arthur Hellsing would be dead within the month.

When he received the formal announcement of Sir Hellsing's death and the appointment of his thirteen year old daughter Integral as head of the Hellsing Organization, he only hoped that the daughter would be as enlightened as her father. The Christian religions did not need to quarrel, no matter how often the Irish Catholic leaders petitioned the Vatican to send troops in the name of their cause.

He sent lilies to Integral Hellsing for the wake and went on with his life. There were new recruits to be trained, terrorists and insurgencies to fight, and the possibility of moving part of his headquarters to Jerusalem.

There was no time to consider full-scale inquisitions as Father Pendrake had wished, nor was there reason. The western world was seemingly harmonious in its religious tolerance, and the east would soon follow suit because of the new Jerusalem office.

Father Anderson, along with the elder information specialist Father Renaldo, were finding more suitable candidates to join Iscariot's ranks than those in Enrico's class. There would always be those that could not handle the pressure and secrets of Iscariot, but with a more stringent selection process before training began, there were less drop outs that knew of Iscariot's existence.

Three years in to Maxwell's tenure as leader, he found two perfect candidates for his Order while traveling to parishes to thank them for their generosity to the orphanage that his Order kept. Both girls were orphans raised in Catholic orphanages, and neither had any ambition outside of their homes, though they were nearly eighteen.

Quick return trips to Austria and Japan brought the girls to seminary in Rome, and within a year he had helped create two perfect assassins from Sister Wolfe and Sister Takagi.

Through the entire time, he had not once thought of Hellsing or its child leader. He was preoccupied learning that Yumiko was in fact a berserker, and that Anderson had served in World War Two. Each day brought about a new surprise.

Iscariot had never been more successful in their missions. With three highly trained assassins and scores more of exorcists and knights, it seemed as if nothing could go wrong. Other continental organizations soon handed over their territory to the Vatican; they could not compete.

That was, until the end of 1997.

Maxwell had ten years in the service of the Roman Catholic Church, nearly eight in Iscariot. He had been allowed to return to Naples to give a sermon during the Midnight Mass at his home parish, much to his mother's delight. Heinkel and Yumiko had recently been a little too flashy with their mission in the Middle East, but their obvious success reminded him of his predecessor's wish; that Iscariot be an official army, not just a few brothers and sisters in Christ that eliminated one or two major threats per year.

The holiday was definitely what he needed to lift his spirit. Being free of the complaints of information suppression from the bishop leading Section III only added to the joys of seeing his nieces and nephews for the first time.

His father still complained of Enrico's long hair; his mother doted upon the fact that her son, none of her neighbors' sons, was still working in Vatican City as one of the higher officials of the Church. She had no idea of what he really did. Enrico had convinced her that he was working in the order that trained exorcists. It was mostly true, and it played well with his earlier fame.

December 28, 1997, his mobile rang with the worst news his Iscariot had ever received. He nearly dropped his youngest nephew as Father Renaldo read the report.

Fathers Catussi and Ketrinkov, along with Sister Esteban had been found dead, murdered inside the rectory where they lived. While these were lower level agents, they had been stationed in Northern Ireland at a school for information retrieval in to the terrorist activities in the area. Near their corpses lay a note from the murderer stating "Thank you Section XIII, we now know all".

Renaldo apologized numerous times, requesting that Enrico return to Rome as soon as possible. Hellsing needed to be questioned, and no one was better at questioning than Maxwell himself.

He could not say no. Iscariot was his calling.

His family protested, but he promised that he would return each Christmas, if not more. The Vatican needed him now; demons were running rampant, making a mockery of the Lord's birth.

ooooooooooo

"Father Maxwell," Cardinal Molan whispered as he thumbed through the file once again, "The names and dates you mentioned are not recorded as members of Iscariot."

Maxwell only shrugged. "It became policy of my Iscariot to erase the association of those on active duty in order to protect their families from the truth. Father Catussi and Sister Esteban were assigned to the parish school as instructors and Father Ketrinkov was visiting from the African missions. That is what their official records state. In no way are any of my agents, less myself, solely associated with Iscariot. Alex runs the orphanage, and Heinkel is one of the sisters that teach there. Yumiko is a missionary that goes where she is needed. Even Father Renaldo, one of the longest serving members of the Order, was reassigned to be a delegate to the Anglican church in London."

The five cardinals were silent, all eyes were upon Maxwell. This sort of admission had to constitute something illegal.

"You are probably wondering why I hate protestants so passionately, correct?"

The cardinal in the center nodded, though he was not even thinking of such. The rest all chimed in with their support, and Maxwell smiled.

He would be cleared if he continued.

oooooooooo

The very next day, Father Enrico Maxwell stepped in to the terminal at London Heathrow, looking for the Hellsing butler. He personally arranged with Mr. Dornez that he should be met at the gate and taken to speak with Miss Hellsing.

The butler was nowhere to be seen.

He called Hellsing. A secretary answered the phone, stating that she saw no record that Walter was meeting anyone that day, and that Director Hellsing was on Holiday in France.

Nearly five hours passed before Maxwell gave up his wait, deciding to take the next available flight to Dublin to survey the scene and speak with the local authorities.

The trip to Ireland was short, but his anger with the obviously fickle Miss Hellsing had grown substantially while he sat wedged between an obnoxious rugby fan and woman holding a crying child. This was the reason his church never allowed women to have much power; they could not mentally handle the task.

Renting a car, he drove to the church and gave the local police his credentials, easily gaining access to the scene. The police captain was obviously Catholic; he pleaded that Father Maxwell give the bastards that did this hell.

Enrico had told the man that Jesus preached of loving thy neighbor and turning the other cheek.

When he saw the scene of the massacre and the photos of the mutilated bodies, Maxwell was certain that not even Jesus could forgive such a crime. The bedroom was coated with blood. A pair of women's panties lay askew near the closet; probably those of Sister Esteban. Quickly, he hid them inside his coat pocket so the labs at the Vatican could determine who the garment actually belonged to.

He ran a gloved hand upon the bullet holes that littered the wall, suddenly feeling cold as he turned to leave the scene. He wanted autopsies done by Vatican officials. Was the sister raped, he would personally kill her attacker.

"Father Maxwell," Walter Dornez smiled politely as he stood in the doorway of the room. "I was not expecting to see you here."

Enrico turned to face the Hellsing butler, folding his arms across his chest. "That much is obvious. You were supposed to escort me here from London."

"Yes, I do apologize for the inconvenience." Walter smiled slightly. "I also apologize that Sir Integra will not be able to meet with you. She is on holiday in France. I had not remembered that you were coming today."

Maxwell's lip curled in disgust. "Three of the clergy dead in a massacre on MY side of the Irish border with a note stating that whoever did this knows Iscariot's secrets, and you do not expect me to come immediately." His eyes narrowed as his features hardened. "I can only expect YOUR lot did this."

"I assure you, Hellsing would not kill your people."

Shaking his head, Enrico walked past Walter. "I do not have time to waste with commoners. I expect full cooperation from your director, and she will not argue with a heightened Iscariot presence in Ireland because of this terrorist act."

"Hellsing will do what it can to help in this investigation."

oooooooooooo

"I remember that incident. The group turned out to be a bunch of Pagans that bombed the Vatican not long after the incident in Ireland." The cardinal to the left of center sighed. "I lost one of my best friends that day."

"Sisters Wolfe and Takagi eliminated Abraham van Rogh and his followers. I was incapacitated in the hospital at the time; I was injured in that attack upon the Vatican as well."

"I don't see how that one incident with a handful of people could make you hate all Protestants so passionately. It's quite un-Christian." The cardinal on the far right stated. "I may not have been at the Vatican at the time of that attack, but we are all Christians. God loves us all, even if they do not have the same hierarchy structure as we do."

"You did not look a child in the eyes before he tossed a grenade in your direction." Enrico smirked, looking up at the cardinal. "Sir, may I have your name?"

"David Green."

"Thank you Cardinal." Maxwell continued to smirk, but stared at Molan. "If not for Iscariot, London would be a city of the Midian. If not for Iscariot, the rest of the world would see the realization of Hitler's dream. If you do not allow me to continue leading Iscariot, the world will return to the Dark Ages thanks to the grave mistake of the Hellsing Organization."

"That does not explain your previous hatred of Protestants."

Enrico scanned the group. Even the center cardinal appeared as if he would dismiss the charges. "Does my life story not give a satisfactory explanation?" His features softened as his eyebrows rose in feigned surprise. "I would still be a regular parish priest if not for that damned girl's Protestant relatives. Had Hellsing, the Protestant group, given us any help during the investigation of the 1997 Christmas massacre we would have not even seen the 1998 attack upon the Vatican which killed quite a number of the college of cardinals."

He had not tried to use his God-given abilities in years; Enrico only hoped as he stared glassy-eyed at each of the cardinals they would think he was only pleading for forgiveness.

Green's soul told of resentment and dislike. Molan was terrified of Iscariot and would most likely not vote against him. The leader wanted vengeance. The one on the far left was convinced of the need for Iscariot.

"Cardinal Roberto Verani," The man to the left of center jumped slightly as Maxwell spoke his name. He had never seen the leader of Iscariot before, nor had he spoken his name once in the council meeting. "You are confused about what my fate should be. May I ask what information it is you seek to either prove my innocence or condemn myself?"

Cardinal Verani exhaled, thumbing through the files in his hands. "I have read all of the information supplied to my Order, Archbishop, and I have in my possession documents that you signed condemning Sisters Wolfe and Takagi for their actions at Beka'a, and orders for a massacre of a communist terror cell. It almost seems as if you had some sort of revelation in the time between those orders. Can you explain yourself?"

"I have, Cardinal." Enrico smiled, lighting another cigarette. "I was in Naples, holding my nephew, when I learned of the massacre of three of my agents. Sister Esteban was raped by no less than four men, I found out one week later after I called for an official autopsy by an independent agency."

Verani scratched his temple, an eyebrow arched in confusion as he reread the reports in his file. "You took a personal vendetta against all non-Catholics because of the death of three clergy?"

"I have my reasons for my intolerance." Enrico shrugged, locking his gaze upon Cardinal Verani. "Was it wrong for me to follow Papal orders? Do go find those records. I believe that Father Renaldo has an official copy saved in our files, but I am certain you would rather go through the appropriate channels to find the original in His Holiness' files, or in the Vatican library, if your Order has already filed documents issued in the past month."

Verani slowly flipped the pages in the file, producing the document in question. "I have read His Holiness' order. In the Battle of London, you were to use Iscariot to the point of destruction, if necessary, to stop the invading Nazi army. He also apologized for you having to shoulder the burden of these events, and those that occurred fifty years prior."

He loved seeing Cardinal Green and the leader of the trial grab for the form, muttering about its authenticity and that it would mean that Iscariot and its membership had done nothing wrong in the eyes of the Pope.

Enrico only smiled.

"I, like my subordinates, was only following orders."