The Runaways

Disclaimer: I do not own Gunslinger Girl or its characters, which were taken from the manga series of the same name, all of which are the property of their creator, Yu Aida.

The Mole

Luciano sat at a bistro sipping a cup of coffee. He had taken some time off his work at Section 1 to meet a man from Section 2. One, he had heard, that was very unhappy with his work. You see, such individuals were easily persuaded to join the ranks of the Padania and having one in the SWA would be more than just an asset. An asset that if he presented to his unofficial bosses ... Luciano couldn't suppress the smile at that very thought.

The teenage girl was the first thing that caught his eye. Standing a bit over five feet tall, she was exceedingly pretty with an excellent complexion and black hair that tumbled down to her shoulders. She was dressed simply in a track jacket and jeans but even in that manner of dress she exuded an aura of elegance and beauty that only actresses have attained. At the same time he could sense a hint of an untamed animal under that aura that made her strangely alluring. Luciano's attention was not on her for very long. Standing next to her was a fairly big-sized blond man. He was dressed just as simply in a T-shirt, track jacket and jeans but what caught his attention were his eyes. Luciano had looked into the eyes of many men, and this one sent a chill up his spine. Those icy blue eyes were those of a killer. One who had and would continue to take lives for nothing more than a cause. The challenge now, Luciano thought, was to make the cause he kills for mine.

He gave a little wave and the pair walked over. "Come, take a seat. My name's Luciano. You must try the cappuccino here. It's excellent," Luciano said in as friendly a tone as he could muster.

The reply was cold and curt. "No thanks. My name's Walther, she's my co-worker Daniela and we're both here at your invitation. So what's your business?"

What a cold front, thought Luciano. "All you Germans talk about is business. No time at all for friendly small talk. Probably is difficult to be friendly, what with the two of you bringing your firearms to an informal meeting like this." He watched with a little smile as the cold front that Walther put up shattered into a million pieces in front of this formidable adversary. He leaned over to reassure the squirming German. "I just made an intelligent guess that appears to be on the mark. That's something that I do daily in my work at Section 1."

Walther was visibly relieved. "You really had me over there. I spent almost a week modifying these shoulder holsters for the both of us and thought you could still see them. How about a bit of what I do daily at Section 2? I see you're completely captivated by Daniela. She's at that age where her child-like innocence arouses your paternal instincts and her budding womanly charms arouses something else completely." He raised his hand to brush her hair and Daniela swatted it away, much like how a person might swat away an irritating fly.

"I see she's difficult to handle," observed Luciano.

Walther leaned forward conspiratorially. "The harder it is to hunt the prey, the more exciting the hunt becomes, wouldn't you agree?" Luciano laughed, understanding perfectly. "I don't think your life at the Section 2 is all about young maidens, right?"

At that Walther's expression darkened. "No. That was to illustrate a point. If she walked up to you would you kill her?" Luciano looked at those innocent eyes and shook his head. "Even if you knew that she was a highly trained assassin brainwashed by a government agency for complete obedience?" At that Luciano gave a little start. He thought it was merely a rumour in the underworld but here was one in the flesh, sitting right in front of him. "Santa Maria," was all that he could manage to utter.

Noticing that the Italian was completely speechless, Walther began to speak. "They are among Italy's finest. Brainwashed by a cocktail of drugs, they are then attached to an ex-military man to whom they obey mindlessly. If it is my will that she drown herself, she'd do so with a smile. Now they're being used to fight Italy's biggest undeclared civil war. The longer this war drags out, the more innocent lives get caught up in it. I joined the Border Guard in Germany to protect innocent people like these girls and using them to fight is really going against everything I stood for." Walther then lowered his voice. "In case you're wondering, bedding terrorists and then killing them is not Daniela's style. In less than a month we killed an arms dealer and a book-keeper in the most efficient fashion possible."

At that, Luciano snapped out of his stupor. Walther was right. The arms dealer was killed on the steps of his house by a sniper while the book-keeper's assailants didn't so much kill his bodyguards as executed them with short bursts of automatic fire and then killed the book-keeper by shooting him through the door of his room. Sitting in front of him was a duo that would be dangerous enemies and excellent allies. Now came the tricky part.

"I can offer you a solution. Work with me to end this and my organization will take care of you for the rest of your life." Luciano sipped at his coffee. He really needed it to steady his nerves.

"Does Section 1 take such good care of their workers?" Walther was really surprised.

Now came the risky part. "No. You see, to maintain a certain standard of living in Italy, I find it necessary to moonlight a little bit. It also helps to ensure that I'm on the winning side regardless of the outcome of this war you speak of."

Walther thought for a moment, and then grinned broadly. "You took a huge gamble, coming out like that. I respect that. Looks like wherever I go my job hardly differs. Fortunately for you me working for the Padania would involve killing criminals, not little girls." Luciano breathed a huge sigh of relief. He would live a little longer this time round. Walther carried on explaining his plans. "Tomorrow you would pick us up here and send us to Section 2 to resign from my job. After I tender my resignation I would really like to meet my new employers."

Something wasn't quite right here and Luciano could sense it. "I don't understand. Couldn't we meet after you've tendered your resignation?"

"Coming from organizations of that nature, I'm sure you understand perfectly. Did you really think that Section 2 would just let me walk out like that? When you resign you need to do it right. Besides it would really help me earn ... err ... brownie points among the bosses."

It took a bit of time for the full meaning to sink in. "You take bigger risks than I do. Ending a conflict by bringing down one combatant single-handedly is suicide, especially if their assassins are as formidable as Daniela here. I'd hate to lose a competent employee before he has even started work."

"Working with them for so long, you'd think I'd at least find out about their every weakness. Plus I'm catching them unaware with Daniela assisting me."

Luciano suddenly felt very eager to reprise his role as the escape driver.