October 30, 2011

Been working on this for a little while after watching Gunslinger Girl. It eventually reminded me of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and decided to do crossover between the two. Hope you enjoy it. More chapters should be coming.

I hold no ownership of any copyrighted material. All copyrighted material should go to their owners respectively.

It was noon time.

The dorm room was dark and no lights were on. The only place light came from was the windows. It was completely silent and only one person, Henrietta, was inside.

Henrietta was all alone. She had been sitting in a chair quietly, not even making a single sound. She stayed this way for a couple hours by now and no one else ever came in. Not even her roomate, Rico, or her trainer, Jose.

This, escecially Jose, was what was bothering her the most. It has been about two weeks ever since he disappeared and about a month for Rico. Day by day, week by week, members of the Social Welfare Ageny, a shadow organization training girls as assasians, and its acossiates either died or vanished without a trace. These included many of Henrietta's friends, and their friends and trainers. She was the only active cyborg left in Section 2, yet she could not go on missions because of her missing trainer. She had been told to stay inside her dorm room to prevent her from disappearing as well. The only people who came into her room were Section 2 members presently remaining such as Ferro, either to keep watch on her or to provide food and water.

It may have kept Henrietta safe, but it didn't stop her from worrying about Jose and the other cyborgs. Will she ever see them again? What exactly happened to them? And how was it all done without any one knowing? All that she could was think and wait.

The Pandinian faction, a nationlist terror organization of the Five Republics Faction in Northern Italy, was a likely cause. She had been eavesdropping on some conversations between SWA members near her dorm room about how Northern Italy was suspicious. There had been continuous blackouts of kinds occuring within the region. Nearly everyone who traveled into the region never left the area and this was where most of the disappearing members of the SWA last went.

However, there were still some doubts on that. The FRF may be against the SWA, but there was no way they had the resources to abduct secret officials or make region-wide blackouts such as those in Northern Italy. There were also disappearances and deaths of major government officials within the sourthern part of Italy. Even if they were the FRF's doing, the incdents were too common for them to be doing it all alone. There had to be something else going on.

Henrietta began clinging on to herself and shutting eyes tightly, but she still could not help it. She was worried. She was scared. Now, she was desperate.

She had to do something and sooner rather than later if she wanted to find her friends and Jose. She was losing her patience every second. It was like she is about to lose control just like she did a few times before. She had do something and she had to do it now.

Just then, Henrietta heard feint footsteps. It sounded like people were coming to her room. It also wasn't one person; she heard a group of people talking as they were approaching her room.

As she listened, one sounded like Ferro in a serious tone. "Again, Mr. Lambert. She can not participate in any missions without a handler. The cyborgs require them."

After that, a masculine voice responded, "You have no other choice. She is the only active agent you have useful to both of us. And we're just as desperate in finding our agents as your agency finding its own. Any kind of exceptional agent that is the right for the job is neccessary."

A second male voice spoke, "Lambert, don't tell me that you are putting me with an assassian like this as a partner."

"I know what you're thinking, Fisher. She may be a child assassian, but she'll probably be the best partner you'll have for the job. Do not underestimate her abilities."

By the end of that small conversation, Henrietta knew that something is going to happen and soon. This was something that she wanted all this time. She was tired of having to stay in her dorm room for days without a mission and all she wanted was to see Jose again.

As the footsteps drew up to the door, she looked at the door and heard Ferro say, "Well, this her dorm room. Just want to warn you as I did before, she's very attached to her missing trainer and would usually take orders from the Agency. She may find it hard following orders from other agencies."

"That is nothing to worry about." The voice named Lambert replied. "We're going down the same path. And Third Echelon is always determined to protect its nation's citizens just like you are with your country's. We will accept any cooperation we find possible."

The doorknob then started to open. Henrietta lifted from her seat and stood up straight just when the door opened, revealing three characters.

The first she immediately recognized as Ferro. The other two were new to her. The one in the middle was dark-skinned and was balding. He wore blue and black clothing and his suit had a metal nametag having the words "NSA" and "Irving Lambert". Just by that, Henrietta knew that the middle man was Lambert. The third one had to be the one named Fisher. He had a good physical appearance and was wearing black spy clothing. He was likely to be Henrietta's "partner".

This wasn't exactly what she wanted to see; she prefered to see Jose or one of her friends more. Neverless, these new visitors were good enough for her not to turn away. She walked slowly up to the trio as they paid attention to her.

After coming very close her visitors, she stopped and looked at Ferro first. "Hello," Henrietta said before turning to Lambert. "You must be Lambert," and after turning to Fisher, "And you must be Fisher."

"That is correct," Lambert responded. "Not exactly sure how you knew our names though."

"She heard us on our way here," Ferro answered. "They're are fitted with cybernetic implants, which enhace their abilities and senses. They also keep her alive and loyal to her handler."

"I undertand. Whether she has them or not, she is going to come with us."

Henrietta interrupted and asked, "Where's Jose? I want to know what hapened to him."

Lambert answered, "That is something we don't have the answer to. But we are looking for two of our own agents who have also disappeared recently. Since we are both looking for answers, you and the remaining members of the SWA will be working with us as we go to the place that has them."

"I want to know what happened to Jose first!"

"Henrietta, finding our agents is our top priority as of now. But not only do we need you, we may also find everyone you're looking for in the process."

"Including Jose?"

"Yes, including him. But if you are likely to see them again, this is the window of opportunity. You may not get a second chance at this."

Henrietta was already convinced that this was the way to go. If she going to see Jose again, this was the best time to do it. Besides, the SWA and the two visitors part of the "Third Echelon" were working together. She had no other choice.

"I understand." She replied back to Lambert.

"Come with us then, Henrietta." Lambert told Henrietta after her approval. "We have all the equipment you need, so you won't have to bring anything with you. The mission will begin as soon as we reach our destination."

The trio turned around and walked back down the hall as Henrietta followed them. She did not know what mission she'll be going on, but she was sure it would be something to do with Jose and the others.

As the trio, now a quartet, walked together, Ferro once again argued with Lambert. "Again, Mr. Lambert. She can not go on a mission without her handler!"

"That is no excuse for her not to be in missions at all. Fisher can cover for him as a subsitute."

"No, it not that simple. If Fisher is going to be a substitute, she would need reconditioning follow orders from him correctly. And that takes hours and even days."

Lambert then got more serious and stopped for second. "Ferro, you know who we are. You and your agency isn't working with the usual Italian government. You and the SWA are dealing with a branch of the most powerful nation on the planet. Once again, we will do anything that is neccessary in order to protect our nation and our allied countries, even if it means putting agents into service with out their...handlers. It's part of our Fifth Freedom."

Fifth Freedom? Henreitta thought. She did not know what Lambert was talking about. But she does know that she was going on missions regardless of the SWA's need for her trainer. She is also likely to find answers to some of her biggest questions. Because so, she immediately took it more seriously than when she was asked to join.

The four agents walked out of the main building and found the same van the SWA used for their mission. To the left was another van that was plain beige. This one was likely Lambert and Fisher's van.

"Ferro," Lambert called. "You take Henrietta to your van and I'll take Fisher with me. We'll lead you to the Osprey."

"Yes, Mr. Lambert."

They went to their appropriate vans, but before they got on, Lambert stopped and turned to Ferro and Henrietta. "And by the Henrietta," he called and soon as he got her attention, "Welcome to the NSA."