"Okay, finished," Priscilla said as he applied the finishing touches of make-up to Claes. It was the morning of the flight to Geneva and both she and Petra had worked with the make-up and hair to refine the look Claes had at Piedmont.
Claes stood up and went over to examine herself in the mirror. She was dressed in a miniskirt of dark-denim with knee-high tan leather flat boots and a red short-sleeved Ferrari polo. With her hair style and makeup, she looked to be in her mid-teens.
Kara wore a tan business blazer over a white dress and tan knee-length skirt. Beside her, Henrietta wore her schoolgirl uniform with white socks and brown loafers.
There was a knock on the door and Giuseppe was standing in the doorway.
"Are we about ready?" he asked. The girls nodded and grabbed their suitcases. They all filed out to the front of the building where a Fiat Ulysee minivan pulled up. The driver got out and opened the back and helped the girls load their suitcases and the travel trunk with their weapons, radios and other items. They then all piled in and headed off to the airport.
The minivan exited the Grande Raccordo Anulare at the Superstrada no. 7 exit and drove out to the Argos VIP aircraft handling terminal at Rome Ciampino Airport 15km southeast of the city center where they were greeted by a staffer as they exited.
"Your plane is ready, Signore Pagani," the staffer said and escorted them through the sterile area and out onto the tarmac where Michele's Piaggio Aero P.180 Avanti was parked. The plane was white with stripes of Rosso Corsa – Italian "Racing Red". Next to the door were two small logos – one was for Scuderia Ferrari and the other was for the FC Barcelona professional soccer team. In black letters along the base of the tail was the plane's registry of I-WOLF. Michele walked around the nose to perform the pre-flight physical check while Kara stepped aboard.
"Welcome aboard Pagani Airlines Flight One with non-stop service to Geneva, Switzerland," she greeted. As they climbed aboard, they saw that the plane was quite wide and tall inside. A two-place divan was directly in front of the door against the starboard wall and beside the door on the port wall was a cabinet with drawers and doors. Farther down the cockpit were two sets of plush leather single seats facing each other. All of the seats were upholstered in a soft cream-colored leather and the walls were an egg-shell white with rosewood and brass trim. The carpet was a very thick natural pile that one's feet sank into with each step.
Henrietta and Giuseppe each took one of the aft pair of seats and Claes took the one facing across from Henrietta. Kara made sure they were all properly strapped in with the three-point harnesses and showed them where the life vests were and explained how the supplementary oxygen system would work. In the interim, Michele had completed his pre-flight check and had boarded the plane. A groundscrewman raised the lower half of the door while Michele closed and secured the upper half. He then headed for the cockpit.
After she had settled everyone in back Kara came forward and settled into the co-pilot seat where she helped Michele with the pre-departure checklist. After that, she started first the port and then the starboard engine and verified that everything looked good for departure.
Kara set the radio to 121.75. "Ciampino ground, this is India-Whiskey-Oscar-Lima-Foxtrot. Ready to taxi."
"India-Whiskey-Oscar-Lima-Foxtrot, Ciampino tower. Clear to taxi to Runway 15. Position and hold short. Contact tower on 120.5."
Kara acknowledged and taxied the plane to the edge of the runway entrance. She received take-off clearance from the tower and advanced the throttles to full power momentarily as she taxied out onto the runway, checking the displays, then backing off. Everything looked good so she looked to Michele, who nodded his head. She advanced the throttles to full power again and started the take-off roll.
The Avanti quickly picked up speed and in just under one thousand meters was rotating on her rear undercarriage and climbing into the clear blue sky.
"India-Whiskey-Oscar-Lima-Foxtrot, contact Rome ATIS departure on 121.85," came the call from the tower.
"121.85, India-Whiskey-Oscar-Lima-Foxtrot. Ciao!" Kara said and reached for the radio tuning knob.
"Go back and take care of our guests," Michele ordered once they had leveled off at their 12,000 meter cruising altitude.
"Aye, sir. You have control," Kara said.
"I have control," Michele acknowledged.
Kara slid back the seat and climbed out. A few minutes later, Giuseppe stuck his head in.
"Everyone settled?" Michele asked.
"Yes. Kara's serving refreshments," Giuseppe said.
"Have a seat," Michele invited, indicating the co-pilots seat. Giuseppe nodded and slipped into the seat.
"Nice ride," he noted.
"Thanks."
"So…" Giuseppe continued. "If you don't mind me asking, how does a fellow with your money end up working for a secret government counterterrorist organization as handler to a cyborg assassin? You obviously aren't doing it for the pension."
"No," Michele chuckled. "After two years running around Kosovo, Giulio Draghi ran into me one night at a bar and offered me a position in Public Safety. My father instilled in me a strong desire to serve the Republic, but I put that aside to pursue my passion for auto racing. However, when I was sent to Kosovo, those old talks we had came forward and I found that the Brotherhood of Arms had as much camaraderie as did a Formula One race team. When I left active military service, I found that I still wanted to serve, so I took him up on the offer. When Section 2 was created to start the cyborg project I was called in to offer some opinions."
"How long have you known about Section 2?" Giuseppe asked.
"Since the beginning," Michele admitted. "I was there when they converted Angelica and Triela. I've helped prepare the documentation for each of the girls since my position allowed me to hide their true functions and identities from other government agencies."
"And they let you stay in Public Safety?" The surprise was evident in Giuse's voice. "Even knowing all that?"
"My skills were more valuable where I was and they could keep an eye on me there just as well as they could if I was in Special Operations," Michele noted. "Plus, I didn't really fit the model for a fratello as they were then defined. I didn't have a grudge against the Five Republics Coalition and after what I'd seen happen to Angelica and Triela, I wasn't sure I wanted to be part of that, anyway, when they expanded the program later."
"What changed you mind?"
"When Elsa and Lauro were ambushed, it was decided to leverage the work Claes had been doing on the enhanced biomechanics on girls 15-17 to create a new tranche of cyborgs to compliment the original ten. They wanted handlers with different backgrounds then those of you paired with the Gen 1 models. They were also afraid of some of the leaks that were getting out about the program, so they decided to choose folks from within the SWA. As such, they drew Alessandro and I from Public Safety and he got his Russian duchess and I, Kara."
"Alessando is certainly…different…in how he relates to Petrushka," Giuse noted.
"His training is definitely unconventional, I will admit. However, that is in part because of the difference in the conditioning. Your cyborgs are programmed to love you unconditionally," Michele noted. "I see it in their eyes every time I walk by - they're just waiting for me to give them an order to carry out. In the case of the new generation, that love is not present. Instead, they've been instilled to feel loyalty towards us and the Agency."
"For having a girl the same age as Petrushka, you seem a little casual about it all…"
"Our girls real-life peers are also 15-17 and girls that age act differently then the 11-13 year olds that are the peers of your girls. Kara walking around in a frilly dress with a parasol and teddy bear would be as out of place as Henrietta in a leather miniskirt and Doc Martens."
Giuse shuddered at the mental image of Henrietta that flashed into his mind.
"So Kara wears make-up, dresses in Giorgio Armani and Prada, and carries a cell phone and iPod everywhere she goes," Michele continued. "I've been able to keep Alessandro's…suggestions…at least somewhat in check. But her peers in the agency are the older girls, so I have to expect they are going to have an influence on her, though I do wish she'd take after Triela a bit more," he added with a smile.
"Don't we all," Giuse laughed. "It just seems…"
"Wrong?" Michele asked and Giuseppe nodded his head.
"The age of consent in Italy is 14 and Kara is 17 and Petrushka is 16. And Triela was close to 14 when the agency put her into the program and that was years ago. Almost all the girls are chronologically over 14, but because of the augmentation, they don't really seem to age so even though we live with them day in and day out for years, we think of them as much younger then they are because their physical attributes are static. They don't grow physically because of the artificial legs and arms and the growth inhibitors we pump into them, but they do grow mentally."
Giuseppe nodded.
"Take Claes for example," Michele continued. "She may have the body of a 12-year-old girl since that was when she was first augmented, but she's 15 chronologically which is what the passport she is carrying says. And yet, because of the conditioning and memory wiping we do to them, she doesn't have the depth of experience a 15 year old girl should, especially when it comes to emotional development.
"With Kara, being Asian she looks anywhere from 15 to 25 depending on the outfit and makeup. Everyone in the Ministries of Defense and Interior thinks she's at least 21 because when she accompanies me on official business she's in a business suit. So it will be easy to pass her off as my assistant. But even with the selective conditioning and memory wipes we employed, emotionally she would have a hard time passing as 21 amongst a group of women that age."
Giuseppe sighed. "It's the opposite for me. Henrietta has a very well-defined emotional response to me that I can't seem to dissuade her of without being cruel."
"Just don't turn her into a machine like your brother did with Rico," Michele said. "Kara really likes her and I admit to finding her earnestness more endearing then annoying."
"Want to trade operatives?" Giuse said with a smile.
"Get me a coke, will you please?" Michele growled, though he was smiling. He activated the radio. "Good morning Geneva Center, this is India-Whiskey-Oscar-Lima-Foxtrot with you at Flight Level 120."
Giuse patted him on the arm and exited the cockpit. A few minutes later Claes appeared, a tall glass two-thirds-filled with ice and coke in her hand.
"Thank you," Michele said. "Have a seat."
Claes shook her head. "I can see better from here if that is okay."
"We've just crossed into Switzerland. Down to your right is Lake Maggiore and the town of Piedmont."
Claes leaned over the back of the co-pilot's seat and craned her neck. "The whole world looks so small from up here," she noted. "The water is so pretty. Geneva is on a lake, is it not?"
"Yes. It shares it's name with the city. I was thinking of renting a sailboat if we have some free time."
"Do you sail?"
"Yes," Michele said. "It's very peaceful out there, the sound of the water rushing past the hull and the wind in the sail fabric. The smell of brine in the air."
"That sounds nice," Claes agreed.
"We can ditch the others and play hooky out on the lake," Michele joked.
"I would like that," Claes said, though she wasn't joking.