The Ghosts of Rome
A Gunslinger Girl fan fiction by:
Sintendo
Chapter 1
Giulio Draghi sat upright, preserving his posture and mentality; the thought that only a handful of the agents under his control would be allowed to work today did not deter his professionalism. He blamed multiple causes for the lack of any meaningful assignments: the ignorance of his seniors, the incompetence of his advisors; but most of all, he blamed the rapidly advancing group known as Section Two. Though they were allies, Giulio never thought of them as such; only seeing the relationship between his own section, Section One, and Section Two to be purely in name alone. He never despised the actual Section; no, it was the methods they employed. Section two used forbidden technology. Much like the alchemists of old, Section two used techniques that, in Giulio's mind, defied God himself.
This morning's meeting wasn't any different that any other. It consisted of a few assignments handed out to Section Two by several intelligence agents hand-picked by Monica-Maria Petrice herself – meaning they're damn good at what they do – and then a few meager investigations and interrogation assignments given to Section One.
"One more item on this list, gentlemen," Mrs. Petrice called out, just before she was about to call the meeting to an end, "We have a situation in the northern region of Bolzano. Inside sources say that Padania is concocting something that'll be, quote 'able to counter the Government's dolls'. We have reason to believe that they have acquired technology that will allow them to create soldiers similar to our very own cyborgs."
"What's the plan?" Queried an agent.
"This will be a joint operation between Section One and Two; the majority of our forces will be Section One field agents. We don't want to attract too much attention. Chief Draghi?"
The man sat still.
"I'll leave it to you to choose the Section Two Fratello that will accompany your men. The operation begins at the end of the week, which gives you 4 days to choose. That's all for today gentlemen; you are dismissed."
With that, everyone began to rise from their seats and exited the room. Giulio decided to take his time to stroll back to his office. An operation that required the use of both Section One agents and a few Section Two Fratello could give a chance to show what his Section was made of; maybe even using a few sabotages to insure that Section Two executes a fault. But then, he though, how would he be different than that of a terrorist?
Shaking off that god-awful idea from his chest, he sat in his office chair, relaxing a bit before starting the day's paperwork. It would only be an hour before there were knocks at the door.
"Enter." He did not remove his eyes from his work.
In came a blonde haired pair that he recognized as Jean and Rico. A nod of acknowledgement was all that Giulio gave to them.
"Chief Draghi," The blonde man spoke, "I was sent here by Chief Lorenzo to inform you that I will be accompany—"
"Did Lorenzo tell you that it was my decision as to which of you will come along?"
"Yes he did, Chief, but I am willing to volunteer as your back—"
"Where did you learn your manners, boy?" Giulio was firm, but still kept his eyes on his documents, "Did you not hear what I said? My orders are to choose a handful of you people, not the other way around!"
Jean sighed, "It's in your best interest to choose Rico and I, Chief Draghi."
"Is that a threat?"
"No, Chief, it isn't. I am merely stating that out of all the current Fratello, Rico and I hold the most accomplishments."
"I don't like brown-nosers," There was silences, and then, "Who is this 'Rico', by the way?"
"My cyborg."
Giulio spied the blonde girl as she stared at a shelf full of old books. It pained him to see such a young child being used as a doll of his very country.
If only…, He thought to himself, If only they knew the dangers of creatures such as yourself.
It was strange, but for some reason, this girl was not putting off an aura that Giulio usually felt when he ran into one of these creatures. To him, she felt docile, almost as innocent as a normal child. It was intriguing to find such a character within these walls of sin. This very concept only made him the more curiouser.
"You say that you are the best among your peers." Giulio stated, instead of questioning.
"That I am."
"Fine. I'd like for you to fetch your records."
"Rico—"
Giulio stopped the man before he could finish giving out an order, "I specifically requested that you retrieve them." And then, under his breath but loud enough for Jean to hear, "It's shameful for an adult man to ask a young girl to do a favor."
"Right," Jean said, "I'll get them right away. Rico, you stay here and stay out of trouble."
When Jean exited the room, Giulio continued observing the girl, who still laid her eyes upon his own collection of books. His contemplations gave birth to several revelations. He took the time to investigate the background of each Fratello, so he knew that years ago, this girl should have died due to organ failure. Yet here she stood, as normal as any girl. Were it not for the ways the cyborgs were implemented, the project would have his full support and blessing.
But then, what is a handful of lives compared to that of an entire country?
If it were not for her hand reaching for one of his most prized items, he would have fallen into a sort of trance.
"Don't touch that."
The girl quickly retreated from the shelf, still keeping here attention toward it.
Finally, out of curiosity, Giulio asked, "Do you happen to like books?"
The girl shook her head, "No. But I do read. Actually, I've read some of these before, but Claes doesn't have the rest of the series."
"Oh?" Giulio asked, "Which series?"
"The Odyssey."
"Impressive. You've read most of it?"
"Yes. All but the last 4 books."
How strange, Giulio thought, …like a normal child... If only you knew… how much pain your development has caused me…
If only you knew the price I payed for playing god...