A/N: Hello to everyone I am back with my tenth installment of "Second Chance" with the next rad against the Padania Red Guard.
Thanks to my beat reader Chronic Guardian
Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl
At the Social Welfare Agency a little blonde girl was busy packing. Elsa was getting ready for the next mission with her handler and was finishing preparing.
"That should do it." said Elsa just as a knock came on her door.
"Elsa, are you ready?" asked the unmistakeably gentle voice of James.
"Yes sir." answered Elsa as she grabbed her bag and quickly headed for the door.
"Let's go then." smiled James.
The duo then cut through the Agency complex, heading to James' car outside. It was a warm Spring day in Rome so most of the windows at the SWA campus were open. As they walked the eaves of the buildings, they caught a glimpse of the Agency's number two Jean Croce, with his ever obedient girl Rico right behind him.
"You're aim was off again. Improve or I'll recondition you." said Jean sternly.
"Yes sir." replied Rico clearly disappointed.
"Signore, why is Jean so strict with Rico?" asked Elsa.
"That's just his nature. Jean is a perfectionist, it's not really surprising to me." answered James.
"Then that's why he's so distant from Rico." mused Elsa.
"If you love someone, keep them at a distance." said James staring of into space.
"I don't understand." replied Elsa confused.
"Jean's distance from Rico is proof he cares about her. Jean has suffered great loss in his life and he knows Rico's next battle could always be her last as it could for him. He doesn't want to be hurt again and he doesn't want Rico becoming too attached to him because if he were to die then she would go through the same heartache." explained James his mind clearly somewhere else.
"Signore." said Elsa concerned.
"Let's go." said James shaking his head.
The two kept walking and soon they neared the door. But, as they walked the saw Bernardo walking there direction with a girl by his side. Elsa didn't know her but, James, on the other hand, was informed on such matters.
"Well, it looks like Gabrielle, or I guess Beatrice now, is finally ready to begin work." thought James to himself before saying aloud, "Well Elsa, it seems we aren't the new fratello on the block anymore."
"Nope. Allow me to introduce you two. James and Elsa, I'd like you to meet Beatrice." replied Bernardo with a hearty smile.
"Hello." said the girl in a monotone voice.
"She's stoic but, I plan to fix that." added Bernardo grinning.
"Well, you could." noted James, glad to get his mind off the last topic.
"So, you two will be taking our place against the Republican Faction." noted Elsa, giving the duo a measuring look.
"I guess you must not have been good enough." replied Beatrice in the same monotone voice.
"What was that?!" demanded Elsa, clearly offend.
"Elsa, she's new don't forget so she doesn't know you yet. This also gives you a clean slate." said James.
"I... am sorry for my outburst." said Elsa swallowing her pride, "The reason my handler and I are currently not following the Republican Faction is because we are hunting down the Red Guard, a small communist terrorist organization."
"If that is true you must be a good fratello." said Beatrice, now understanding, "If you are trusted alone, you must be a skilled assassin."
"Signore James and I are indeed." replied Elsa confident.
"I'll agree with that."added James.
"Well, we need to get going now." said Bernardo who then lead Beatrice away
"Hold on!" cried Elsa causing the two to stop.
"What's wrong?" asked James.
"The terrorist you're chasing defeated Triela one of our best cyborgs." said the blonde, "Be careful."
"Understood." replied Beatrice before leaving with her handler.
"That was thoughtful of you." said James patting Elsa on the head.
In Modena, the workers' council of the Padania Red Guard were in meeting. The meeting was concerning the government's sudden interest in the group. The triumvirate in command used their pseudonyms again to conceal their identities against possible spies.
"It seems obvious the government is out to do us all in thus we must fight them before they can battle us." began Castro, "If we choose the battlefield, our chances of success greatly improve."
"Exactly. Luckily, I have expert military training just like namesake did. Thus, I will begin training you in extensive guerrilla combat to battle the government swines. You have received basic training, this will turn you into an elite vanguard." added Che.
"What if they arrive here sirs?" asked one of the council members nervously.
"If that were to occur we would waste no time in cutting them down." answered Hoxha.
"We are prepared for that possibility." added Castro.
"How so?" asked another council member.
"I have designed a trap to ensnare anyone that comes here. Once our scouts see government dogs coming we will get into formation and eliminate them!" answered Che to loud cheers.
In the countryside of Emilia-Romagna a car was speeding toward Modena. Inside, James Harrison and Elsa de Sica.
"Okay Elsa, we'll be there in a matter of minutes." said James focused on his mission.
"Should I spare anybody sir?" asked Elsa.
"Jean decided that this group is too small and isolated to be of any use information wise so kill them all." answered James.
"Can do signore." replied Elsa confident.
"I have no doubts." said James.
"Sir, you mentioned something earlier about Signore Jean losing people close to him." began Elsa.
"You're wondering if terrorist were involved. They Republican Faction was behind the event. I don't want to say too much especially if Jean finds out I told you. The wounds are still open." replied James.
"They've been brought to justice right sir?" asked Elsa.
"Most have but, they mastermind escaped. He was caught in Egypt but was rescued a by a trio of terrorists: one of whom was Cristiano Savonarola." answered James.
"The leader of the Lombardy faction of the RF." noted Elsa.
"Bingo." said James distracted, "The second was a rouge CIA agent. We think the person who defeated Triela might be the other. Her description of him matches the one the guards gave that day."
"I see." said Elsa noting James' behavior.
"I mustn't forget, above all else make sure the ruling triumvirate is killed." added James to his previous orders.
"They're the three in charge." replied Elsa.
"My girl, on top as always." said James with a smile.
"A know a triumvirate is a political regime ruled by three powerful officials. Just like the First Triumvirate with Julius Caesar. " said Elsa.
"Oh yes our history lesson. Well, after Caesar's assassination the Second Triumvirate was established but, of course it collapsed into war ending the birth of the Roman Empire." said James.
"We left off with Octavian crowning himself Emperor Augustus." noted Elsa.
"Right. He crowned himself Emperor in 27 BC which led to the beginning of the greatest empire in history and Rome hit it's zenith." said James.
"The Roman Legions were practically invincible during this time." replied Elsa.
"During the zenith of the Roman Empire I would have to agree with you." said James, "Of course it wasn't just militarily that the Roman Empire flourished."
"They made many incredible cultural achievements too." noted Elsa.
"During the reign of Augustus, Rome entered the Golden Age of Roman Literature. It was during this time that Rufus, Horace, Ovid and Vergil produced their greatest masterpieces like the Aeneid by Vergil." explained James.
"Some of the greatest classics ever." smiled Elsa.
"Indeed. Now, shortly after Augustus came Claudius who would become infamous." began James, "He did have military success such as the conquest of England and Wales which became the province of Britannia..."
"But, mentally he wasn't stable." finished Elsa.
"Correct. Most people figured that out when he tried to make Mr. Ed a Senator." said James laughing.
"Who is that?" asked Elsa.
"It was an old American TV show about a horse, the titular character, who is supposed to talk. Of course it's actually a human providing the voice." answered James.
"Oh, and Claudius did make his horse a senator." said Elsa getting it.
"Yeah. Though he was a saint compared to Nero." replied James.
"I think Nero was a sociopath." mused Elsa.
"He was. He murdered his mother, ruled tyrannically and used Christians as an alternative fuel source." said James, "Nero was just bat shit crazy."
"He also fiddled while Rome burned." stated Elsa.
"That is a popular story but, he actually helped rebuild Rome with his own money after it the Great Fire of Rome." noted James.
"I guess the rumor probably comes from the fact most people disliked him." replied Elsa as the two entered Modena.
"Yeah. Besides, Nero was fiddling but, it wasn't because Rome was burning. It was because he bet his soul against the Devil for a gold fiddle." joked James.
"What do you mean?" asked Elsa confused.
"It's from an old song, "The Devil went down to Georgia", from 1979. Basically, the Devil goes to Georgia and sees a boy named Johnny playing fiddle so the Devil bets him a gold fiddle against his soul in a contest which Johnny accepts. Both play but, Johnny wins getting his soul and the gold fiddle. It's as he told the Devil "I told you once you son of a bitch, I'm the best there's ever been." Of course, it was changed to "son of a gun" on the radio." explained James.
"I get it now." said Elsa.
"I'm full of obscure references but, I'll explain them." replied James, "Anyway, Nero was greatly disliked and chose to take his own life rather than be killed by a mob."
"Right." affirmed Elsa.
"Future emperors enjoyed the great splendors of the empire though threats loomed. Germanic tribes were a constant threat."continued James, "Emperor Hadrian built a wall on what is now Northern England to prevent attack from tribes in what the Romans called Caledonia and what is now called Scotland. Marcus Aurelius was the last emperor to to rule over the zenith of Rome."
"After that the empire began to crumble." continued Elsa as the car stopped outside a building.
"We'll pick up later." said James handing Elsa a gift, "It's your own combat knife."
"Thanks you sir." said Elsa taking the gift and grabbing her pistol.
"Take this too." said James grabbing Elsa's SIG 550 for her and handing it to the girl.
The little blonde left the car and headed toward the building which was an abandoned garage. As she closed in she saw one birds nearby and heard one chirp but, refused to get distracted. She reached the door and let herself with ease. As she quickly moved around she encountered no resistance and got uneasy.
"This is too easy." said Elsa softly.
"You're correct." replied a voice.
Elsa looked up and saw a squadron of heavily armed Red Guard flanking three men previously hidden.
"A much thanks to Mario for his lovely bird call." added a second of the three leaders.
"Dammit. I shouldn't have brushed that aside." mentally cursed Elsa.
"And now...you die." said the last man.
The communists aimed and open fire. Elsa quickly ran and managed to slide behind several stacks of tires. She could hear the air escaping from the temporary barriers and realized her protection was rapidly depleting.
"After her." said Castro, "She must have back-up somewhere. We can use the girl as bait."
"On me men." said Che who led a group toward the stranded blonde.
The men went over to were Elsa was guns drawn. They were confident of victory but, when they approached Elsa to apprehend her they cyborg got the jump on them. However, Elsa got a jump on the man and managed to draw first killing the terrorists including Che with her SIG 550.
"Fuck." said Hoxha taken aback.
Red Guard members aimed at Elsa but, the girl quickly reloaded and unleashed a hail of gunfire that cut them all down. Elsa quickly grabbed out her P229 and followed up gunning down more Red Guard members until her cartridge was empty. Elsa then pulled out her new combat knife and before kicking the deflated tires to cause a distraction.
"Stay Calm!" cried Castro only to see Elsa engaging and killing member and after member.
Castro grabbed a knife he kept in his back pocket and swung at Elsa who ducked and stabbed him in the stomach. The little blonde followed up grabbing his arm and quickly slitting his throat.
"You're finished." said Elsa who turned her attention to the remaining terrorists.
"Fall back." ordered Hoxha who knew this girl had them on the ropes.
"No way." huffed Elsa.
Elsa then quickly reloaded her SIG P229 and fired killing the remaining Red Guard except for Hoxha who was shot in the leg and kidney but, managed to limp off.
"Little freak." groaned Hoxha.
"I'm not failing Signore James. I will not fail in my mission." said Elsa as she reloaded and went after the man.
"Damn. I guess those rumors about cyborg children were right. I have to warn the others. Another workers' council cannot be shut down." said Hoxha barely able to keep himself on his feet.
The man staggered away but, he was no match for Elsa who quickly caught up with her cybernetic body. Faced with his immediate death, Hoxha decided to try a bluff in hopes of luring Elsa into a trap.
"If you let me surrender then I can turn over information to help you. I'll co-operate if you allow me to." said Hoxha, knowing he had more guns in the office.
"How can I trust you?" asked Elsa obvious skeptical.
"Because I only got put into this position after my successor died." answered Hoxha lying.
"Jean decided that this group is too small and isolated to be of any use information wise so kill them all." echoed the words of James through Elsa's head, "No deal."
Hoxha then made a terrible mistake charging at Elsa. The blonde dodged his punch and the man soon realized he picked a fight with the wrong girl. Hoxha quickly found himself on the defensive but, got lucky and landed a solid punch on the girl's cheek, sending her to the garage door.
"You're dead." spat Hoxha, grabbing a nearby tire iron and stalking over to Elsa.
While on the ground, Elsa had a vision enter her mind. She was in a bell tower staring at a sniper rifle. Suddenly, Henrietta's handler pushed her aside apologizing as he did it. Elsa also got a quick gimps of Henrietta out of her corner of her eye.
"See you in hell, you little freak." said Hoxha raising the tire iron.
Hoxha then swung down but, Elsa countered with a leg sweep that knocked the man down. He manages jumped up only to get Elsa's left forearm thrust into his chest shattering several ribs. Elsa followed up with right hook that shattered his jaw and sent a few teeth flying. Hoxha crashed onto the ground as Elsa grabbed the tire iron. Raising it above her head, Elsa then smashed the tool into the man's head half a dozen, times killing him.
"Mission accomplished." sighed Elsa, dropping the tool.
The blonde then walked back across the dead bodies sprawled out distracted by the weird vision she had. Once she reached the others she saw James observing her work. The man then looked over at the girl.
"Excellently done Elsa." said the man.
A/N: Two workers' councils are now gone and the Red Guard is quickly getting into a desperate way. Not to mention the vision Elsa had, I'm sure you all know what it was, which she can't forget about. She'll get the chance to investigate next chapter when she talks to Rico and Henrietta trying to mend the last two bridges she damaged under Lauro. Please review.