A/N: I am back now with my next installment of my "Second Chance". I wanted to take this moment to say my next installment of my other story, GSG: The Twilight Zone, is now on hiatus until further notice due to issues writing it on my part.. Anyway, this story features the first mission of James and Elsa as a fratello. I'm not trying to offend anyone here so please don't take things the wrong way.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl
In her bedroom, Elsa de Sica was preparing her weapons for her use. It was a common for Elsa, sitting alone in her room cleaning and preparing her weapons was one of her most common activities. But, rather simply focusing on her task her mind was elsewhere today. She couldn't stop thinking of her shopping trip with James as she kept staring at the bracelet he bought her as it sat on her right wrist.
"My handler paid for this with his own money. It's a gift. It feels so weird. Like, I'm finally being given something I was deprived before. This feeling...it's love. I'm sure this is the conditioning. I think. I'm never letting this bracelet out of my sight." vowed the girl as she mused her situation before a knock came on her door.
"Elsa, it's me." said James from outside.
"Come in sir." replied Elsa blushing as she jumped up and quickly headed to the door to greet her handler.
"Hey Elsa, I've got exciting news." said James entering the room to face his girl, "You and I have our first mission together."
"Who is it sir?" asked Elsa eager to please James.
"His name is Gino Risasso and he's a Forward on the Padania national football team. An investigation into inaccurate tax returns revealed he's funneling money to the Republican Faction so we're going to kill him and make it look like a botched robbery." answered James.
"I understand sir." replied Elsa sounding more like a soldier than a young girl.
"We're leaving tomorrow afternoon so I want you to get target practice in before we go. Don't stay up to late so you can wake up early, okay." said James.
"Yes sir." replied Elsa as James left.
That night Elsa tried to sleep as James had told her. She was far too nervous to sleep with her first mission as James girl coming up. What felt weirder was Elsa felt like it wasn't her first mission at the Agency but, she brushed that off. Luckily, she managed to fall asleep soon enough and thus was able to wake up a descent time. Elsa quickly showered and ate so then headed off to the gun range so she would be early for James. She waited bundled in her jacket, beret and with her scarf around her neck as she waited in the cold morning.
"I hope James will be happy I'm early." said Elsa nervously as she awaited her handler.
"Hey Elsa." said Jose as he and Henrietta finished a round of their own and were just leaving when they noticed the blonde.
"Is your handler coming?" asked Henrietta.
"He'll be here. I was just early." answered Elsa in a huff.
"Alright then." replied Jose trying to prevent an escalation between the two before noticing James heading their way.
"Hello sir. I came early so we could practice as much as needed." said Elsa quickly running over to her handler.
"Good girl." replied James her which cause the blonde to blush.
"Good luck today." said Jose who led Henrietta away while Elsa shot the brunette a dirty look.
"Well, let's go Elsa. We don't have much time before we go." said James who headed to the gun range with Elsa following right behind him.
In the gun range Elsa excelled at her practice. James had to come to expect this after a week with the the girl but, this time something it was different. When it was just paper Elsa was shooting at James could handler it but, thinking of a young girl shooting and killing a grown man was making the ex-CIA agent antsy.
"It took some time to get used to seeing a twelve-year old using a gun. I'm okay with her shooting targets but, even when she fires at human targets I still get this knot in my stomach. I don't know if I can go through with this. Elsa is a little girl, she should be even holding a gun let alone killing terrorists. I don't know if I can go through with this." said James to himself as he watched the little blonde finishing her target practice.
"Was that good sir?" asked Elsa as she mad eye contact with James which made him uncomfortable.
"Yes Elsa. That was fine." answered James hiding how uncomfortable he was which only got worse when Elsa smiled at the response, "I've got to talk to the other handlers. Maybe, they can give me some advice."
"I'm ready to go sir." said Elsa snapping James out of his inner dialogue.
"That was fast." said James amazed.
"Thank you sir." replied Elsa and the departed the gun range only to spot another blonde heading there way.
"Hey Rico, what's wrong?" asked James noticing the somber expression on her face before realizing her left cheek was bright red, "What happened?"
"I was learning new defense maneuvers but, I made several mistakes so Jean scolded me." answered Rico upset but, disturbingly calm, "So he told me to practice my aim."
"Well, I won't distract you anymore." said James uneasily as Rico walked by him, "Elsa, head to your room and grab a spare cartridge in case you need it then wait at my car. I'm going to get one last debriefing before we leave.
"Yes sir." replied Elsa obediently before quickly taking off.
"I really got myself in a real fucked up situation." moaned James before leaving to find another handler.
Inside the Agency, work went on as usual. Priscilla, Olga, Ferro, Alfonso, Amadeo and Giorgio were doing their usual work and since things were going slow Hilshire and Jose were lending them a hand.
"I can't wait for the spring." sighed Alfonso as ran through evidence of cases the Agency was currently working on, "It's so cold even the terrorists are taking the day off."
"It wouldn't be so bad if Jean let us turn the heat up a little higher." added Amadeo.
"You two wouldn't last a day with the winters back home." laughed Olga.
"Well things are slow today. The only fratello on a mission is James/Elsa." said Hilshire.
"I saw them headed to the gun range a little earlier for last minute practice." said Jose.
"James actually seems like a nice person. I think he and Elsa could make a good team." said Priscilla.
"He can't be any worse than Lauro." replied Giorgio.
"I have to agree there. The way Lauro treated Elsa on our mission in Tuscany was low." said Jose.
"And with the way these girls are conditioned you can't blame Elsa for what she did." said Olga.
"Conditioning comes at quite a cost." noted Hilshire.
"We all the knew the cost when we joined. Defeating the Padania is what's most important." said Ferro dedicated as usual.
"Luckily, James is different from Lauro. Those two could be a much better team." said Priscilla.
"He can't be too soft though or Elsa might get weak." countered Ferro.
"The guy's ex-CIA, I doubt that will be a real issue." replied Giorgio.
"He worked there for over a decade so he's got plenty of experience." added Alfonso.
"He has seen combat. I read in his file a few years back she strangled a high ranking Al-Qaeda member to death with a garrote wire." replied Priscilla.
"I take back what I said about him being soft." said Ferro smiling.
"Well, that's what we all signed on for." said Amadeo.
"Before I forget." said Olga, "I actually saw his file myself and Jose, you'll be interested in knowing he served in the Kosovo War as part of the the peacekeeping mission mostly training members of what became the Kosovo Protection Corps. It was right after he joined the CIA too so this was probably his first time seeing combat."
"The Balkans was my first combat. I know he must have felt." replied Jose having flashbacks.
"At least he does seem to treat Elsa fairly well. So, if he does his job well and actually treats her right than I say it's a win-win." said Priscilla which stirred up a memory in Hilshire.
"I just remembered something, the night after the Tuscan mission I stopped by a bar for a few drinks and found Lauro there. We talked but, when I complimented him on the mission he shook it off. Then when I mentioned Elsa he just commented how useless she'd been. I tried to get him to ease up but, he wouldn't. Hell, I remember he said on the trip to Tuscany Elsa told him she would do her very best and replied by raising the volume on the car radio to keep her from talking." said the German clearly angry as the door opened and James entered.
"Speak of the devil." said Olga.
"You were talking about me?" asked James, "I wasn't sneezing."
"We were talking about your first mission with Elsa." answered Jose.
"That's why I'm here; I'm feeling cold feet about doing this." admitted James.
"That's common really. I was outraged when I first learned about the true nature of the Agency." replied Hilshire.
"I was apprehensive too but, I think if you treat the girls like girls then I can handler it." added Jose.
"Okay that's good to hear. I'm still a little iffy about this." said James.
"The more missions you're on the easier it gets." said Jose, "By the way, I heard you were in Kosovo in the late 1990s."
"Yeah. It's not something I'm too fond off." replied James tensing up.
"I know how you feel, I was Bosnia myself." said Jose, "Humanity as it's lowest."
"Amen to that. The whole Yugoslav Wars were like that." said James, "What's worse is the blatant bias and blind-eye turning."
"What do you mean?" asked Hilshire.
"Most people only think of the Serbian crimes and while I'm not denying they happened or trying to downplay them but, they weren't the only ones." answered James.
"True. There were crimes all around." replied Priscilla.
"Exactly and we worked with these forces. When I was in Kosovo we worked along side the Kosovo Liberation Army which had been a designated terrorist group up until the war. While we aided them we completely ignored the fact the KLA were carrying out a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing against Kosovo Serbs and even targeted moderate Albanians. Look at the the Lake Radonjić massacre in 1998."
"Sad, but very true." sighed Jose.
"Now the same bloodshed is here in Italy." added Olga.
"Not after we're finished." replied James.
"So, you're finally on board?" asked Giorgio.
"Yeah. If Kosovo thought me anything it's you need to crush terrorists with no mercy. Any means necessary until the job is over. Talking about those days reminded me of that." answered James, "By the way, when I was leaving the gun range I saw Rico who had a red cheek which she said Jean scolded her."
"Yeah. Jean can...though at times." answered Alfonso.
"More like abusive." replied Amadeo.
"My brother has taken our past turmoils hard and can lash out." explained Jose.
"I'm very much aware of the Croce Incident but, I don't get why he takes it out on Rico." said James.
"Jean will snap at anybody if you cross him. As his cyborg, Rico is constantly around and thanks to the fact she's blindly loyal to him plus her body won't be harmed by the physical punishment, she takes most of it." replied Jose.
"Oh. Well, Elsa is waiting so I best be off." said James.
"Good luck." replied Hilshire and with that James left.
James quickly made it to his car were Elsa was waiting and they two took off. They driving to Florence which was long and largely quite. The silence between the two made James uncomfortable so as they need their destination he decided to break the ice.
"This is my first time driving through the Italian countryside. It really is beautiful. If only it were warmer."
"Sure sir." replied Elsa.
"Okay. So our target lives in a luxury home on the outskirts of the city. He's a member of the Padania national football team but, since they only meet yearly like the actual Italian national football team he plays for regularly. Most of the time he plays for ACF Fiorentina in Florence. "
"I think I might of heard of him." said Elsa looking right at James.
"He's quite popular so his death will probably get plenty of media attention." said James, "He's a vocal supporter of the the Padania movement though, he claims to not support violence."
"Then, won't that turn people off of our cause?" asked Elsa.
"Smart girl and don't worry, I've got it covered." answered James.
"I just want to let you know, I'm going to do my best." said Elsa who then felt James pat her on the head.
"That's all I ask of you." replied the man.
The duo soon reached Florence and they headed to the hotel nearest the city. James presented himself as an American business man on vacation with his niece headed to Venice but, stopping here. He said they'd only be a day and leave tomorrow which went unquestioned. They two went to their room and unpacked then went out "sightseeing". They headed down town to an meet and greet of players of AFC Fiorentina and sure enough their target was there. Gino Risasso was six foot eve, 130 pounds, had black hair, hazel eyes and a fair skin tone.
"That's him. Dead center with the facial stubble." said James as he pointed out Risasso to Elsa.
"I see him sir." replied Elsa before asking skeptically, "Are we going to kill him here?"
"No. There are too many witnesses now. Just follow my lead." answered James as he got in line with Elsa waiting until they reached the front when a woman approached them.
"Hello sir, which player are you here to see?" asked the woman.
"Actually, my niece dragged me here. She had to see Gino Risasso." answered James smiling politely as the woman turned around, took a picture and handed it to Elsa,
"Is Mr. Risasso your favorite player?" asked the woman as she handed the girl a picture of Gino Risasso.
"Oh yes. He's my favorite player." answered Elsa with a fake smile following the lead of her handler before walking up to the table and placing it in front of Risasso.
"What's your name cutie?" asked Risasso flirtatiously.
"Elsa de Sica." answered the blonde trying not to shoot the man right now who signed the picture and handed it back to her.
"Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me." said Elsa with phony enthusiasm.
"Well thank you uncle here. Coming all the way to Italy then bringing you here." replied Risasso.
"You can tell I'm American." said James with a laugh, "I'm actually only here on a business trip to Venice. My friends were worried about me coming here with all the violence."
"If only those Stalinist tyrants in Rome would stop their oppression of the North. I don't condone terrorism but, they began this war." said Risasso which was warmly cheered by the crowd.
"I just hate innocent people dying." replied James as he quickly brushed off a painful memory, "Damn, I knew talking about the KLA would bring that back."
"But, of course if you don't want to start an argument never bring up politics or religion." joked Risasso.
"Amen to that." said James before returning to Elsa, "Well, I think it's time we go honey."
"Goodbye Mr. Risasso. Thank you for the autograph." said Elsa before leaving.
"Well that went well." said James as he noticed Elsa scowling, "I know you might not have enjoyed that but, it will work out in the end."
"If you say so sir." replied Elsa as they headed back to the hotel. When they did Elsa threw the autograph of Risasso away while James made a phone call to the Agency. After he hung up he picked the picture out of the trash.
"I just talked to Jean and we're all set. I convinced him digging into the dealings of Risasso could turn up more names and evidence so, we're going to stage a botched robbery and leave evidence this was an assassination." explained the ex-CIA agent.
"But, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of being undercover?" asked Elsa.
"That would be true except, we're going to make it look like the Republican Faction killed Risasso for being a moderate. That little speech I got him to giver earlier when he declared to that large crowd he didn't condone terrorism will be strong "motivation" and this will allow the Agency to take over the case. Plus, since he's so popular this could turn people off the Padania." answered James pulling out a cigarette and his lighter.
"You're so smart." said Elsa amazed.
"Jean said the same thing just not like that." replied James as she used the lighter to set fire to the autograph picture which in turn used to light his cigarette before throwing it in the trash, "Tonight, this star will be extinguished."
When night fell over the city, the two counter-terrorists made their move. James and Elsa slipped out of their apartment and made their way down the backstreets of Florence toward the home of Risasso. James was unarmed but, had a duffel bag with him while Elsa had only her SIG P229 semiautomatic pistol tucked into her pocket. Both were clad in black and had gloves on their hands to hide prints. The two then reached their location.
"Okay Elsa, I'm going in first and you stay close behind me. I'm going to stage the robbery then purposely create a noise to draw him out. I'll confront Risasso so we knows it's him then you jump out and kill him with your pistol." said James.
"I understand sir." replied Elsa as the two slipped into the backyard and made their way to a back window which consisted of a wooden frame and a dozen window panes in it.
"Even if he has a security system it doesn't matter since the police won't be able to get here fast enough and when they do finding him only helps us." said James who smashed a window panel close to the handle and opened the door heading inside with Elsa, gun drawn, behind him.
"How will we fake the robbery sir?" asked Elsa in a whisper as the walked through the vast kitchen and into a well furnished living room.
"I've done this before." answered James with a wink that made Elsa blush as he began grabbing items of value and tossing other things around for several minutes.
"He's still hasn't awoken." noted Elsa worried before noticing a smirk on her handler's face.
"He will now." replied James picking up a lamp and smashing it on the floor.
"Who's there?!" came the voice of Risasso from upstairs.
"Hide." whispered James as the star athlete ran down stairs to find James standing before him as Elsa hide behind a red couch nearby.
"You're the man from earlier!" cried Risasso.
"You got me." said James throwing his hands in the air, "I'm not a business man on vacation."
"The police will thrown you away!" snapped Risasso.
"Actually, being a counter-terrorist gives me immunity from that." replied James smiling, "Then again, funneling money to the Republican Faction when you claim to not condone terrorism is crime it's self and hypocritical."
"You son of a bitch!" screamed Risasso as he lunged at James.
"Now!" called out James who ducked while Elsa jumped up on the couch and emptied her entire magazine into Risasso.
"Target has been terminated." said Elsa who then felt James wrapped his arm around her neck.
"Good work Elsa. I've very proud of you." said the American which made the cyborg girl's face turn redder than a tomato.
"Th-The police should uh, be-becoming soon." stammered Elsa.
"I know." replied James as he pulled a ring out of his pocket, "And dropped in on the floor."
"What's that sir?" asked Elsa confused.
"All we need to frame the RF." answered James before he and Elsa made a clean getaway back to their hotel room, "Well Elsa, I think it's safe to say you and I have succeeded on our first mission."
"Sir, why did you drop those ring behind?" asked Elsa.
"There's a know Padania named Roberto Marin and he's a cop here in the city." answered James.
"So, he's the one were framing." said Elsa.
"He's not that innocent himself. We know he's a terrorist from intelligence but, he's also decorated so without physical evidence we haven't been able move. The ring I drop looked is one I bought at a pawn shop and it looks similar to one he is well know to possess. If they find that it gives a reason to bring outsiders into the case since he's a cop. Since "his ring" was the crime scene we'll come and and we'll tie him to the Padania with the intelligence we have so he goes down." explained James.
"You're really amazing." said Elsa awestruck.
"I learned a few tricks at the CIA. Besides, Jean liked it too and now two targets are gone with more possible."said James who spent the rest of the morning sightseeing with Elsa before the two headed home in the afternoon. The trip back to Rome was quite like the trip to Florence but, shortly after leaving Tuscany Elsa decided to speak up.
"I'm glad I was able to help you sir." said the blonde as she looked at her handler.
"You were perfect Elsa, I truly mean that. You need to give yourself more credit. You're not a failure." replied James with a smile that touched Elsa, "I have an idea, how about we continue or little history
"I'd like that." answered Elsa smiling.
"So, following prehistoric Italy came one of the first major civilizations: the Etruscan civilization based in what is now Tuscany, west Umbria and northern Latium with it's capital in Orvieto, Umbria . Much of Etruscan history was lost to the ages so we don't know were they came from."
"Is there any ideas?" asked Elsa.
"Some believe the might be Greek or Trojan but, the main hypothesis is they were from the Villanovan culture or possible from the Near East." answered James, "The Etruscan civilization was originally a monarchy but, some areas became oligarchic republics like the Rome would later do. Regardless, the Etruscan government was theocratic. The government was seeing as having power over all."
"What were their families like?" asked Elsa.
"Most tombs discovered had multiple people in it showing families were interred which allowed for the the growth similar to the gens in Rome and these Etruscan aristocratic families might have been the model for them. Couples were at the center of society and the Etruscan civilization was monogamous emphasizing pairings." answered James.
"So, they really influenced Rome." noted Elsa.
"Correct. Like Greece and Rome there was a significant military tradition in the Etruscan society. Like there neighbors, they conducted summer campaigns raiding neighbors and taking everything from resources to slaves. A POW would be ransomed back or possible used as a human sacrifice." said James.
"Distinct military traditions were common." mused Elsa.
"Right again." replied James, "The Etruscan civilization had a polytheistic religion. Like Greece and Rome they had multiple deities that ruled over the various aspects of life including deities seen in Grece-Roman traditions and Greek heroes. Their architecture was adapted from the Greeks and again heavily influenced Rome. Their art included sculpting and metal works with religion, specifically the afterlife, common themes. They even had their own language which is now extinct and our knowledge of is far from complete."
"And they were eventually conquered by the Romans." said Elsa.
"Correct you are, but they weren't the only ones here before Rome took over." replied James.
"They were Greeks in the South." said the blonde.
"Right again. You're a smart little one." said James tussling her hair, "In the eight and seventh centuries BCE, Greeks began to settle abroad setting up colonies in the Black Sea, Cyrenaica, Marseilles, Sicily and the southern part of the Italian peninsula. Greek culture was exposed to Rome and widely absorbed while cities like Naples took off. The Pyrrhic War ended this as the Greek city-states in Italy were annexed by the Roman Republic."
"Then came Rome." said Elsa.
"Yes. But, we're entering Rome now so let's hold off a little on that." said James who added to himself, "Elsa, you and I are a team. We'll stick together no matter what."
A/N: So, there is Elsa and James' first mission done. I know some of you might have been expecting something more dramatic but, this was an easy mission, they will get harder, and it's not the missions that's the main focus it's the relationship between Elsa and James that is the center of this story. Next time, James tries to help Elsa be nicer to the other girls and a meteor shower might just help. Please review!