Gunslinger Girl: Ultima Resistenza

I only finished watching the anime a week ago but I was totally hooked on this series and just had to write a Gunslinger Girl story. I hope you enjoy it. Please review and any tips or advice is most welcome. Anyway, let's get on with the story!

1: Conseguenze

The great city of Rome would have been silent, were it not for the intermittent roar of gunfire that tore through the delicate serenity of the deceptively peaceful city. The city seemed asleep, its citizens blissfully unaware of the battle raging around them. The explosions and screams were nothing more than an abstract lullaby, rocking the townspeople back to sleep. A thick black plume of smoke rose from between two towering church pillars, blotting out the early morning sun. A helicopter manoeuvred around it and a smartly dressed man peered down at the scene below.

Through his binoculars he could spot several armed men rushing out from a car which had just moments ago slammed straight into the fence of the church. The car had been chewed up by bullets and the rear left tyre had been blown off completely. The group of armed citizens sprinted across the road and away from the wreck, shouting frantically to one another. They disappeared down the alley drenched in the shadows of the surrounding buildings.

From his position Jean could see them clearly. He spoke into the small headset clipped to the side of his head and gave his orders. "Good work. The car is destroyed, but the targets have moved down the alley. They are moving towards the residential district. Cut them off before they drag innocent people into this."

"Understood." Came the crackled reply on the other end of the line.

Jean looked through the binoculars again and watched as a young schoolgirl with auburn hair swept past the car and down the alley. She carried a violin case with her, clutching it close to her chest as she ran. A man in a suit followed close behind.

As the helicopter swung around Jean could see the next few blocks and spotted the armed men. They were running down the street, sending wild, un-aimed bursts of gunfire behind them in an effort to halt their pursuers. This only brought a smile to his face.

"Hilshire cut off their escape route now. Surround them and take them down."

The armed men approached a white van. Its doors were swung open wide and in a blur of movement one of the men was taken down, thrown into the gutter and pinned down. The others swarmed around their assailant but a bright muzzle flash followed almost instantly. In the next instant three of the men were dead, their bodies ripped apart by a close-range shotgun blast. The other three were already running for their lives. The young blonde girl who had burst out the van was now running after them. The brunette schoolgirl trailed close behind.

"Alright, there are only three of them left. The targets are splitting up. Stop pursuit and regroup. The other teams will despatch them." Jean watched as the one at the head of the group ran straight ahead. He made it about thirty metres before his head erupted in a crimson mist. He collapsed in the road and lay still.

Jean smiled ever so slightly. "The runner headed north has been neutralised. Good work Rico. Marco, have Angelica take care of the one headed west."

"Alright."

The target skirted down another alley only to be torn apart by a quick burst of gunfire. He fell back and convulsed for a moment before passing over into death.

The final target headed east. He ran into a small hostel, one that had been previously bought out for just this occasion. Jean smirked at his own strategy and yelled his final command into his headset. "He's in the hostel, just as planned. Ferro, keep the back entrance secure and make sure he doesn't try and escape. Jose, have Henrietta take the front entrance."

"Got it." Jose snapped attentively. The young agent slid up behind the schoolgirl and pointed across the street to the hostel. "Henrietta. You know what to do. Take him down and be careful."

"Yes sir." Henrietta murmured, her voice soft, submissive. She ran up to the front entrance and knocked on the door, standing perfectly still as she waited. She stared dead ahead, deep into the old flaking timber door. The door opened just enough for the target to look out and as soon as he set his sights on the girl he seemed to tense up. He studied her up and down for a moment before addressing her.

"What do you want?" He demanded, his voice cracking. Sweat poured down his face uncontrollably.

Henrietta smiled sweetly and fiddled with the latch of her violin case. "Well, you see...I was wondering if I could come inside. I heard gunshots nearby." She bowed her head and frowned. "I'm scared..."

The man grappled with the decision and at last allowed the girl entry into the abandoned building. "Fine. Get in here and be quiet!" He dragged her inside and then slammed the door shut. By the time he was done locking the door he felt the cold bite of steel against his back. He glanced over his shoulder and found the girl had him at gunpoint. It had to be a dream. Little girls don't carry guns! They aren't soldiers! But then again his dead comrades might see it differently.

"This is crazy! What are you doing?" He cried, desperate to gain mercy from his sweet little executioner.

Henrietta smiled the smile of an innocent child. "I'm doing what I was told."

The target had no time to be struck by her words, for he was struck with a bullet first. The bullet passed up through his spine, rendering him paralysed. He dropped like a bag of stones, grunting like a wild animal.

"This world...Is..."

Henrietta lodged a bullet in his brain and his final words were left unfinished. The bloodied schoolgirl headed outside and skipped over to Jose and the crowd of waiting agents. They gazed down at her blood-spattered uniform and nodded to one another. The mission was complete.

Jose patted the young girl on the shoulder. "Well done Henrietta. I'm proud of you." Henrietta's cheeks went bright red and she giggled sheepishly. She reached out to hold his hand but fell short when she noticed the slick crimson fluid soaking into her delicate fingers. She closed them into a fist and placed her hands by her side, standing to attention like an obedient little soldier.

The agents filed into their convoy of vehicles and drove off, leaving the cleaners to take care of the bodies. As crazy as it sounds...It was just a regular day of work at the Social Welfare Agency.

The Social Welfare Society runs under the guise of a charity organisation, helping sick and wounded children. That's a half truth. The Agency does aid a select few of these poor children, but it is not for charity...It is for the Italian government.

The Social Welfare Agency is secretly a counter-terrorist unit, dealing with the many threats that face the nation and its people. The government's dirty work is their forte and ever since their conception they have been a vital part of protecting the country, however one section of the agency has been quite controversial.

Section 2, an anti-terrorism force like Section 1 but with a twisted little secret that has been hidden from the public eye ever since it's inception. There is one little fact that the public never heard about the sick children aided by the Agency. The children selected by the Agency are taken to a special hospital where state-of-the-art cybernetic implants are equipped to them. What follows is a process known as 'conditioning', commonly known as brainwashing. The children are trained to become the ultimate assassins, baby-faced killing machines. Each girl (or cyborg, depending on which way you look at it) is paired with a handler and together they are named a fratello, Italian for sibling.

Each fratello is its own unit and gradually more and more fratello have been recruited. Now there are a handful of them and when a fratello is sent out on a mission victory is all but assured. They look like any ordinary brother and sister, or father and daughter. Villains anticipate police or soldiers, not an innocent little girl. They never see it coming and that is why Section 2 is so brutally efficient. Regardless of the moral issues Section 2 stands strong. The young assassins face their fate with a beaming smile and loyally obey their handlers.

Back at the headquarters, each fratello sat around a large white table. Before them the chief of Section 2, Lorenzo, stood with his arms crossed. He appeared angry, distressed. Lorenzo was a man just over the other side of middle age. His short cropped hair was greying and receding. His skin was growing slack and wrinkles creased his forehead. He adjusted his spectacles and coughed to gain everyone's attention.

"Welcome back everyone. I trust the mission was a success?"

Jean nodded and handed a folder to the chief. "All targets were neutralised and there were no civilian witnesses. The cleaners are still working but the majority of the job is done by now." Jean was a cold young man with short blonde hair. Despite being a handler he was far from kind. Compliments rarely ever escaped him and he was quick to punish his cyborg whenever she angered him. Still, his efficiency granted him a high position and he was often seen as a leader among the fratello.

Jose, his brother was quite the opposite, desperate to keep Henrietta happy. He saw her not as a cyborg but as a human girl. He and his brother would have looked like twins were it not for Jose's dark brown hair. Despite their differences they were still brothers and with no more family to confide in they remained close.

The chief read through the report and then turned his attention to a whiteboard on the wall behind him. "Very well, I'm sure you've noticed the rise in Padania recruits lately. We have been discovering nests and hideouts all over the country and the situation is getting worse." The chief wrote a name on the board in large capital letters. "Christiano," He read aloud, "Was supposed to have been assassinated three months ago. As you know the raid on his mansion was a failure. Christiano was wounded but he managed to escape with the aid of two unidentified people. Although we were able to shoot them down and their car crashed into the river, we were unable to find his body. The others were discovered after a lengthy search but Christiano was no-where to be found."

"But that doesn't mean he's alive." Marco interrupted. "Angelica mowed them down. There's no way he could have survived that!"

The chief closed his eyes. "We have received reports that he was spotted in a hospital in Venice not long ago. He is wheelchair bound and will never walk again but he is not dead. By the time we had people dispatched there he was gone. We searched the entire city but there was no trace of him. It would seem he is trying to escape."

Triela, a cyborg with beautiful long blonde hair suddenly became stressed by the meeting. Painful memories of her defeat at Christiano's mansion were still fresh in her mind. Not only had she not stopped Christiano, but she only just managed to defeat Pinocchio, a specially trained human assassin and her arch nemesis. He could have killed her; in fact he would have if the car key he lodged deep in her eye had been just a little bit longer. The cyborgs are able to survive horrific injuries, but the brain is their weak spot. Just like zombies, destroying the brain is the only way to kill them. The rest of their bodies are just machinery and synthetic muscle tissue and flesh.

Triela cursed inwardly and brought her attention back to the chief.

"We have an idea of where he is headed, but it is not certain...However we lost word with a military unit stationed near the border of Austria. Last we heard from them the Five Republics were hiding out nearby but last week we lost all contact with them. There is a large base there and for them to lose contact is rather odd. We have no option but to investigate since Padania is involved."

"You don't think they've been killed do you?" Jose asked fearfully.

The chief bowed his head. "I hope that is what happened."

Jean nodded. "It's a remote location and a bombing on their location would not have been impossible. We've seen first-hand that Padania has some highly capable members. They may have been able to pull it off. But even so, if they are capable of defeating such a military force we could be in terrible danger."

"Indeed..." Lorenzo murmured sombrely. "They weren't regular soldiers. They were from Col Moschin."

"Special Forces?" Jose gasped.

"Yes. If they weren't killed in a bombing then it may mean that they have joined the Five Republics. It's not the first time the military has betrayed us. If so then we have a highly trained army against us. I suspect Christiano is headed there for protection and quite possibly flee to Austria. We cannot let Padania branch into neighbouring nations, nor can we tolerate the army siding with terrorists."

Jean leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. "So, you want us to infiltrate the base and find Christiano, as well as investigate the lost contact with the Col Moschin?"

Lorenzo nodded silently. "Correct. I want this to go smoothly without any casualties on our side. We will perform surveillance of the area before raiding the camp. I want everyone to be especially careful. We shall prepare to leave tomorrow. That is all ladies and gentlemen. Thank you."

The group filed out and went their separate ways, the cyborgs heading to their dorms, the agents to their own rooms across the other side of the building. Henrietta however tagged alongside her handler, saying nothing, merely appreciating Jose's company regardless of the silence that stretched half-way down the hall.

"What's wrong Henrietta?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing...It's just..." She sighed deeply. "Nothing. Never mind."

Jose stopped and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Henrietta, something is bothering you, then don't hesitate to tell me. I'm here to help you. Besides, you know you can trust me?" Henrietta blushed and looked away. Jose chuckled as he patted her on the head. "Don't be embarrassed. If you don't want to tell me that's fine. Whenever you are ready, I'll be listening."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. It's what big brothers do." The two shared a laugh before resuming their walk. "So, this next mission is going to be a big one. Are you ready for it?"

Henrietta nodded.

"That's good. You'll need to be on your toes for this mission. I couldn't bear to see you hurt. You know Hilshire was terribly upset with Triella being in hospital for so long."

Henrietta giggled innocently. "He bought her a lot of stuffed bears when she was released. Now she has twelve of them."

Jose stopped suddenly and clicked his fingers. "Oh, that reminds me. I bought you a present for all your hard work recently. Come with me." He led her to his room and hastily unlocked the door. He moved to his desk where a small gift box lay nestled between stacks of papers. He handed it to her and held his hands behind his back, eagerly watching his little partner as she meticulously undid the wrapping paper with such care to not tear it.

Henrietta's eyes lit up like stars and her smile was priceless. It brought familiar warmth to Jose's heart, warmth he used to feel around his beloved sister long ago. "Do you like it?"

"Is this...Us?" She whispered in disbelief.

"I found an artist in the streets of Milan who did portraits. I showed him a photo of us together and he painted this. Isn't it beautiful?"

Henrietta was silent for a moment, her eyes brimming with tears. In the next instant she lunged towards him and hugged him. "Thank you so much Jose." the two remained in each others arms for a while, Henrietta finally feeling the embrace of the man she adored. Jose buried the sorrow of his lost sister, in the back of his mind pretending Henrietta was the same cheery young girl who was tragically taken from him. Although neither would admit it, they needed each other.

Cos Moschin - Also known as the 9th Parachute Assault Regiment. They are basically the Italian equivallent of the SAS.

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