4: Terrore
Henrietta lay staring up at the ceiling, her eyes wide, still stuck in a look of unbridled fear. She had lived a life of violence, killing for nothing more than the affection of her handler. She had experienced wounds that would kill any other and yet she took it with a smile. And yet...This hurt terribly. Her face stung like it had been drenched in acid. It was tender to the touch and every time she absent-mindedly prodded it with a trembling hand it brought tears to her eyes. She had never felt such pain before...And the fear was worse.
That moment had not left her mind ever since Jose struck her. She had been so stunned by what her handler had done that she lost her balance. Her entire body went slack and she had just dropped to the ground. She had tried to stand, to move but she was unable. Triela had to carry her away; in fact it was Hilshire who drove her back to the dorms. She had not seen Jose since he hit her...And that was why she was afraid.
He had not helped her up. He had not stayed by her side. Instead he ran off. The thought of being abandoned forced fresh tears to the surface, streaming down her red, stinging cheeks. She didn't know how long she was lying there, motionless. It could have been a whole day. It could have been ten minutes. She didn't know anything anymore...At least, not now...
A knock came at the door and Henrietta sat up, expecting her apologetic brother. She was disappointed when it was just a doctor. Dr Bianchi strolled in and sat down at the desk by the window. He faced Henrietta and took out a notepad.
"Hello Henrietta, I heard there was some trouble between you and Jose."
Henrietta buried her face in her pillow. She didn't want to be reminded. It was already tearing away at her fragile mind.
Dr Bianchi continued regardless. "So, how are you feeling? You must be upset."
"Doctor...Why did he do it?"
The doctor frowned. "Well, you were endangering a comrade. No matter how angry you are with Rico there is no excuse for trying to shoot her. Those guns aren't toys and each and every one of you is vitally important to us. We can't have you attacking the other cyborgs. From what I was told Jose tried to reason with you but you had mentally blocked out everything around you." Henrietta averted her gaze. "Tell me, why are you so angry about this painting. It can be replaced quite simply and I'm sure Jose would have no problems getting another one. So why then, would you go against your handler's orders and attack a friend like that?"
"I don't...I don't want to disappoint Jose."
"So why did you ignore him?" Dr Bianchi asked, his question like an arrow through her heart. She had no answer to that and Dr Bianchi scribbled down on his notepad.
"Does Jose hate me?" Henrietta asked, her voice quaking. She was almost begging to find the answer.
Dr Bianchi stared at her for a second and sighed. "Are you afraid of being rejected by Jose?" The way Henrietta reacted to the word 'rejected' was answer enough. What little colour was left in her face vanished instantly and she immediately started to panic. Before the doctor could react she was hyperventilating and he had to climb up the bunk bed to check on her. "Henrietta! Calm down! Breathe slowly! Calm down!"
Henrietta doubled over and started to sob, her cries coming in ragged wheezes that sounded truly awful, as if she were suffocating on her own sadness. Dr Bianchi wrapped a blanket around her and reached for his phone.
"I need assistance now! Get Jose down here immediately! Quickly before she bloody asphyxiates!"
Henrietta was still wheezing and panting uncontrollably. The cyborgs were never usually prone to panic attacks and this was a complete mystery. Still, something had to be done fast before Henrietta...
Jean watched over Rico as she ate her breakfast. He observed the way she spun her fork around her spaghetti. He had decided to keep her in his sights due to the events at the training grounds yesterday. Henrietta had proven to be an aggressive and dangerous addition to section 2 and considering her behaviour towards Rico it was deemed safest to keep her under surveillance before the mission. There was little time before they would be sent out. According to the Chief the incident would be overlooked and the mission would go ahead as planned, without any further delays. It would be risky, but none more so that allowing Christiano to escape the country and re-arm himself. He had to be stopped no matter what and if that were to be the loos of a cyborg...Then so be it.
Rico was only a tool in his eyes. She was incredibly useful and it would be a shame to see her die, but hammers break. Saws go blunt. Inevitably all tools must be replaced. Still, he found it quite odd that he was so worried about Rico back at the training grounds. He was angry at Henrietta for opening fire against a comrade...But even if only he himself could tell, he knew he felt something akin to fear back then. Was he afraid he would get hurt? Was he afraid of the backlash from the chief? Or was he actually concerned about Rico?
"Jean?" Rico stopped eating and stared up at her handler. "Are you alright?"
Jean snapped out of his delusional thoughts and glanced sternly at his cyborg. "Of course. Eat. You need to be in good shape for this mission."
"But you haven't eaten anything at all..." Rico murmured.
Jean turned away. "It is not important. And besides...I'm not hungry."
Rico looked up at her handler and frowned. He always would be a mystery to her, but that was fine. Jean only told her what needed to be said. He didn't waste his breath on needless things. Content with his response she continued her meal all the while being kept under the watchful eye of her sibling.
Triela sharpened her bayonet, grinding it against a stone. She stared deep into her own reflection and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Claes asked, leaning down over the top of her bed to see her room-mate. "You look upset about something."
"Well...I feel bad for Henrietta. Hilshire told me we are leaving today, but she really shouldn't be going out on a mission after what happened yesterday." Triela set the bayonet down and started loading her M97. "I know we're cyborgs, but it would be nice if they treated us like normal girls for once..."
Claes adjusted her glasses and set her steely gaze upon Triela. "Hilshire buys you bears all the time. Jose spoils Henrietta with gifts...The Agency buys me books. They still treat us like girls, but only when the mission is completed. That is their incentive. It helps them validate the things they make us do."
"What are you-?"
"Our conditioning makes us obey them anyway, but by treating us to those little things it makes them feel less guilty about taking away our former lives. It's not so much a reward for us, but themselves. I'm sure you will get a lot of stuffed bears after this mission. Word is it's a big one." Claes groaned. "Meanwhile, I'll be tending to my garden..."
"Are you...Jealous?" Triela asked.
"No, I'm just tired. Both of us live repetitive lives. You pull a trigger day in and day out while I flip pages endlessly. I just wondered if there was something more for us out there in that big wide world?" Claes rolled her eyes. "I'm grateful for everything the agency has done...But..."
Triela placed her trench gun inside a violin case and made to the door. "It's best not to think such things. They might raise your conditioning if they heard that. Well, I have to go. I'll see you in a few days."
"Bye." Claes waved sluggishly, her nose already buried inside a book.
Marco stood outside the infirmary, tapping his feet impatiently. "For Christ's sake where the hell is he?" He snarled under his breath. He checked his watch and cursed. There was not much time until he would be sent off. He had to get Angelica's medication before he went to the heli-pad but Dr Bianchi was nowhere to be seen.
He waited another minute before taking a walk down the halls in search of the doctor. He wandered up to the end of the hall and found Angelica stumbling about as if she were drunk. She saw Marco and instantly straightened up, forcing it upon herself. She always pushed herself beyond, just to make him happy, to ensure she could go out on missions. There were times when he would really be proud of her, but those times were long forgotten...Especially for Angelica. Her memory had been terribly affected by the conditioning and it was as if every week were an entire new life for her. It was painful to watch her mind decaying like this but Marco endured. Just as Angelica forced herself to make him happy, he wanted Angelica to feel happy as well.
"Hi Marco." She chirped.
"Looking for me?" He asked simply. She nodded and started wavering on her feet. "I'm looking for Dr Bianchi right now. We'll get your medicine soon. Why don't you sit down until I get him?"
"No," Angelica smiled weakly, "I'm fine."
Marco rolled his eyes and continued down the hall. As he rounded the corner he was knocked over by someone running around. As soon as Marco was knocked off of his feet Angelica snapped into her defensive mode and reached out with lightning fast reflexes for the one who knocked down her handler. However the runner was moving so fast he barrelled into her as well and she too was flung into the wall where she sank down to the floor.
"Hey!" Marco roared, catching Angelica on her way down. "Watch it you son of a-"
Jose spun around to face Marco and there was genuine fear in his eyes. Not just a slight chill but absolute terror. Jose's eyes were bloodshot and vacant. His lower lip was trembling and he was shivering now that he was standing still. He said nothing and moved on, sprinting up the hall.
"Hey! Jose! What's wrong? Jose!" Marco called after his comrade but it was to no avail. Whatever had him spooked must have been more urgent than a clumsy agent. In the blink of an eye Jose had crossed the hall and was already ducking around another corner out of sight.
Angelica helped him up and after a short pause they continued on their way to find Dr Bianchi.
The Chief received two reports from his men. One was from a panicking nurse and the other was from Ferro. Both were of concern. The nurse cried hysterically at him about Henrietta having a stress attack. Dr Bianchi was already there but he was having trouble calming her down. Unfortunately that was not nearly as bad as what Ferro had to say.
Ferro sat down across from him and slapped a file down on the table. She stared him right in the eye, her face a portrait of stern and neutral detachment. "Christiano is still moving towards the military base. We still haven't re-gained contact with the base. We cannot waste any more time."
Lorenzo rested his head on his interlocked fingers. "Henrietta is experiencing difficulties in regards to her emotional stability. She may be a liability on the battlefield...But it could also be used to our advantage..."
"Sir?" Ferro frowned, not understanding the Chief's idea.
"Henrietta has been acting very aggressive lately. Her temper has been flaring and she has been having very violent outbursts. If her anger can be directed towards the Padania operatives then this may become easier than we thought." The Chief sighed. "It is worth a shot. We have little choice in the matter. We need as many cyborgs as possible for this and Claes is not sufficient enough to replace one such as Henrietta. I'm afraid that prepared or not this will definitely have to go on."
"The cyborgs are expendable sir. If Henrietta malfunctions out in the field she can be disposed of simply and no-one will ever know about it." Ferro spoke with cold-hearted abandon. They were merely machines to her and nothing more. If they were incapable of doing their job then like any tool it would be replaced without a second thought. It was a cruel mindset, but it was efficient and had gotten her to the place she was today.
The Chief scowled at the file before him. A faded photograph of Christiano glared up at him. "I do not wish to see the girls harmed...But it is true these girls were bred for battle. If they are to fall in combat then it is as simple as that. They will have served their duty and finally be granted the death nature had intended before they were encountered by our organisation. I will have no regrets and neither will their handlers. This is a war after all. Casualties are to be expected and better it be a cyborg then a genuine human."
"Exactly sir. There is nothing to worry about. The mission can go ahead as planned."
The Chief nodded. "Yes. Check up on the situation with Henrietta and round up the other cyborgs. They are to depart in thirty minutes. The choppers will be waiting for them."
Ferro nodded and marched out. The door closed with a bang behind her. The Chief remained stuck in position, staring at the photograph of Christiano and the map of the Base. He had a bad feeling about this, but Section 2 was in danger. The higher ups were increasingly resistant towards the use of children in battle. The failure to capture Christiano or any particularly incriminating evidence at his mansion had severely set them back. Every member of Section 2 was skating on thin ice and if this mission to the Alps failed then that ice would crack and everything they had worked so hard to achieve would be lost in an instant. For the sake of the young lives he cruelly altered he swore to ensure the success of his section. But the true battle would be in the soft, gentle hands of the girls and not an old man sitting in a chair.
Lorenzo looked out the window at the sky. It was a rather dull blue, its brilliance marred by a sun hidden behind grey clouds. He could see the choppers landing on the Helipad. Pilots the size of ants stepped out and rechecked the equipment while others loaded weapons onto the two flying fortresses, two A129 Mangusta helicopters.
The Chief looked away and read through the file.
Jose barged through into Henrietta's room and found her on the floor with doctors crowding around her yelling like a pack of wolves over a carcass. He pushed through the throng of nurses and medics and kneeled over the poor cyborg. All he had heard was that there was an emergency involving Henrietta and that he was required instantly. He had rushed here as fast as possible.
There was some relief in that she wasn't wounded, but her breathing was deeply worrying. It sounded like she was only breathing in very rapidly, her shoulders heaving with every cramped breath.
"Henrietta?" Jose leaned over her and gazed into her eyes. They were red from tears and her frail, child-like body was trembling violently as if she were dying of cold.
"Jose!" Bianchi roared over the chorus of arguing medics.
"What happened?"
"She's having a panic attack of some sort. I don't fully understand what happened but something about being rejected by you seemed to set her off."
"I understand." Jose lifted Henrietta up into a seated position, ignoring the protests from the doctors.
"She's struggling to breathe. It's best for her to lie down." One nurse said.
Jose ignored them and hugged her. "Henrietta...I will never abandon you. We are a fratello for as long as we exist. Nothing will change that, so please...Please calm down."
Her breathing seemed to slow down after that. She was still hyperventilating but it was a start. The doctors watched on, stunned as slowly but surely Jose calmed her down. His voice soothed her in a way sedatives could not.
"You make me proud Henrietta...I am always proud of you. Don't ever be afraid of me...I'm sorry I hurt you. I can only hope you can forgive me." Jose whispered in her ear. Henrietta's shoulder's stopped heaving and the trembling slowed until it was barely noticeable. The teary eyes cyborg glanced up at her handler and reached out with a frail hand, placing it on his back in a weak attempt at a hug.
Henrietta opened her mouth to speak but she was interrupted as Ferro stormed into the room.
"All cyborgs are to depart in thirty minutes. Get her fixed up and ready as soon as possible." She said it swiftly and headed out the door before anyone could protest, not that they could. The Chief was set on this mission. It was to be the decider for the Organisation's fate.
Jose looked down at his cyborg and frowned. He had never felt so nervous in his life. In the back of his mind he knew it was time. The moment he had been dreading had finally arrived. He could hear Ferro barking orders to the other cyborgs up the hall.
So...It's time...
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