Preparations
"Wow everyone sure seems busy this afternoon. What's the big event?" a statuesque brown-haired woman said as she watched various members of Section Two move about the compound laden down with packages and bags.
"It took you long enough, Elenora," Prisicilla said joining the taller woman.
"Pietro wouldn't know organization if it hit him in the head," Elenora sighed remembering the long day she spent trying to make sense of the mess that was Pietro Fermi's desk. He still had files on Section Two that she had to dig out for the department of defense. Why they wanted them, she didn't know, nor did she want to. Just seeing Henrietta lifting a full grown man off his feet that day in Sicily just for stealing her purse told her all she needed to know.
"Well, that's why we have Prisicilla 's not much good in the field, but she keeps us from drowning in paper work, so I guess it's ok," a short haired blond said joining the pair.
"Hey, I didn't do that bad, Ferro" Prisicilla shot back at the casually dressed blond.
"Oh please, if it wasn't for Triela, you would have been up the creek without a paddle," Ferro shot back.
"As much fun as it is to hear about Prisicilla's exploits in the field could one of you explain what all of the excitement is about? Is there another big mission coming up?" Elenora asked again.
"No, the girls are going out to the training fields to set off some fireworks," Ferro replied.
"Are the handlers going as well,?" Elenora asked wondering why Jose,
and Jean needed a rush job on some fake documents for Henrietta and Rico. It was no trouble for her to have them made up and drop them off before her girl's night out with the ladies of the Social Welfare Agency.
"Yep, they even decided to spend the night camping out there. Why was there someone you wanted to see?" Prisicilla added.
"Yes, I'm dropping some documents off for Jean," Elenora said still wondering why the Croce brothers needed fake IDs and passports for setting off fireworks.
"Elenora, you're here earlier than I thought," Jose called out spotting the woman easily next to her shorter companions.
"Yes, it wasn't a big job," Elenora said handing over the fake documents.
"I still appreciate your efforts, thank you," Jose replied with a smile causing Elenora's face to redden as she tried to look away from the good looking Italian.
"You're welcome," Elenora said failing to hide her blushing face.
"Thanks again, Elenora, but I have to get going," Jose said much to the woman's relief as he left to finish preparing for the evening's excitement.
"So you and Jose, huh," Prisicilla chuckled needling her friend in the ribs.
"Give her a break gossip need to get going if we are going to me make it over to Via Condotti in time," Ferro said dragging Prisicilla along as they made their way out to meet up with Olga for a night on the town.
To busy trying to prevent Prisicilla from driving Elenora insane with her insipid snooping, they made no notice of Claes as she returned from the local farmers market laden down with food for their upcoming excursion. The market was as profitable as usual for the teen as she was able to unload several pounds of artichokes, cardunes, peppers, and an assortment of herbs and spices from her garden for top dollar. Something about an orphan girl selling vegetables out of a small stand just made people want to buy some and for top prices. Something Claes was more than willing to take advantage of. Claes was quite happy with how she made out, picking up some Parmasean and Romano cheese, Pannettone, and a nice hard salami. While not much, it would keep them fed for awhile. She even had one hundred and fifty Euros left over after picking up a few guide books on Europe. The massive guidebook on the Euro rail system she hoped would prove especially useful as she began to thumb through it.
"Hey, isn't that Claes," a rough looking man said spotting the bespectacled girl
"Yeah, it is, Amedeo, I wonder what she is doing though," his companion asked as they watched the girl rush back into the dormitories with a fully loaded backpack.
"I bet she just snuck out for some shopping or something. You know how girls are, Georgio," Amedeo replied to his partner in crime.
"I know I have a twelve year old niece myself, might as well let her be. Jean can be a real tight wad sometimes," Georgio said as the girl disappeared back into the dorms.
"So any big plans for the weekend?" Georgio asked his fellow marine.
"Nope, it will be nice to relax for once. Even with the girls doing most of the fighting, the missions are getting to me," Amedeo said trying to work the soreness out of his shoulder. The body armor protected him from the bullet he took on the last mission, but the impact still packed a punch.
"Hey, I have an idea. I heard Prisicilla talking about a girls night out with Ferro, Olga, and Elenora. What do you say we stop by," Georgio said with a smirk, knowing Amedeo would go along with it.
"It would be nice to see Prisicilla outside of work for once," Amedeo said thinking of how he might impress the resident cutie of Section 2.
"You can have Prisicilla; Elenora is a real looker I still can't believe that she works in section one. That woman could have been a model," Georgio shot back as they headed to the parking lot.
"You have to admit Prisicilla is pretty hot, especially in that cycling get up of hers, ………." Amedeo added.
"Angelica," Georgio spat out surprised to find the young girl standing behind them with several overstuffed bookbags.
"You weren't going to try and hit on Prisicilla again, Amedeo," Angelica said with a smile.
"I wasn't going to do anything," Amedeo replied holding his hands up.
"I'm sure mister agent of love," Angelica mocked.
"Honest," Amedeo said, trying to hide a smile.
"Really, do I need to talk to Ferro and Olga," Angelica said with a matching smile while Georgio tried to control his own laughter.
"No, no, you don't need to do that, Angelica," Amedeo shot out remembering the last time he got into trouble with the two ladies. He still had nightmares from the last time he was caught oogling Prisicilla as she was biking around the compound.
"Really, I'm not so sure," Angelica said eying the man.
"Honestly, Angelica do you think I would do something untold to Prisicilla," Amedeo pleaded.
"Umm……," Angelica said holding a lone finger to the side of her head, "Yes."
"She has you there, agent of love," Georgio laughed.
"What do I need to do so you don't tell Prisicilla?" Amedeo asked shocked that he was being blackmailed by a girl.
"Well, I've always wanted to try out a cell phone, and that knife of yours worked really well on the last mission. Do you think I could borrow it for a while?" Angelica said with a sweet smile.
"Come on, Angelica," Amedeo pleaded not wanting to give up his brand new smart phone and ceramic knife.
"I can always tell Marco I need some more practice with my hand to hand skills," Angelica smirked.
"Alright, alright," Amedeo said as he handed over the phone and knife, Georgio laughing all the way.
"Oh, can you guys put the bags in the van for me?" Angelica asked with a flip of her hair as she walked off.
"Hahaha, she played you," Georgio laughed as he loaded the bags into the van.
"I know. But when did she become so devious?" Amedeo replied.
"What are those morons laughing about?" Jean thought as he looked down at the parking lot.
"Jean, what is it? I told you I would contact you if I discovered any more information," a voice sounded over the speaker phone.
"Philipo, I need you to do me a favor," Jean replied.
"I think I've done you enough favors, Jean," the Philipo replied. He stuck his neck out to testify against the Padania, and was now living in Switzerland hiding from his former associates.
"It's not for me; it's for Rico," Jean sighed.
"What do you need?" Philipo asked remembering the cute 11 year old that saved him in Florence a little over a year ago.
"I need you to set up a numbered bank account for Rico and Henrietta," Jean said.
"If this is for one of your missions, you can forget it," Philipo replied.
"It's not for a mission; it's for something they might need in the future," Jean said not wanting to go into detail in case someone was listening in.
"Alright, what do you need?" Philipo asked.
"I need you to set up a numbered Swiss bank account for Rico and Henrietta. I have already wired the money to you," Jean replied.
"Alright, I will see what I can do. When the account is set up I will call you with the number," Philipo replied.
"Thank you," Jean said.
Triela and Beatrice lucked out with Armed Forces Day falling on a Friday. With the fireworks tonight everyone at the Agency was busy or taking the day off, so the Armory was left empty allowing the pick of the litter so to speak. While Beatrice looked over a variety of grenades and other explosive devices, Triela was raiding the firearms. Their weapons were taken for a surprise cleaning and inspection earlier in the day which surprised Triela because in all her years at the Agency the girls cared for their own weapons. While she wanted to remain optimistic and hoped they would not need the weapons she was currently gathering, she knew that the government would not let their prized cyborgs go without a fight. She quickly grabbed her sisters preferred side arms including two HKP7's. The HKP7 is a good hand gun, but she really wished she could bring her M1897 shotgun. But like all of the girls primary weapons they were not the most concealed items. They would just have to acquire any heavy weapons they needed on the fly. After grabbing several hundred rounds of 9mm X 19mm parabellum rounds, she found Beatrice stuffing a bag full of a wide variety of grenades from harmless smoke and flash bang grenades to more dangerous concussion and incendiary. She never quite understood her compatriots' fascination with explosives, but everyone has their own hobbies; she collected Steiff Bears herself. Beatrice soon finished packing her small bag full of a medley of various grenades. With their errand complete the girls headed back to the dorms to finish final preparations for the night's festivities, one girl trying to figure out her next move, another one giddy with excitement over the fun she could have with her new toys.
"What are you girls up to?" Hillshire asked as he spotted the pair coming out of the armory.
"Just coming back from a little practice, and Beatrice came along to watch before she has to go back to the infirmary for the evening," Triela lied hoping Hillshire did not check their bags.
"Alright, just make sure you are ready for tonight, and I'm sorry you can't come along, Beatrice. I know how much you were looking forward to it," Hillshire said wishing he could do something for the one armed girl, but she was not allowed to leave the compound due to her as of yet unrepaired injury.
"I have to go check on the other girls, and make sure Beatrice makes it back ok, Hillshire," Triela said quickly guiding Beatrice back to the infirmary before Hillshire could get any ideas.
"Take care, Beatrice," Hillshire said as he looked for a secluded spot as he called someone he hadn't spoken to in over five years.
"I wonder how upset she is with me," Hillshire thought as he dialed a number buried in the memory of his cell phone.
"Hell. Who is this?" an older woman's voice answered after several rings.
"Hello mother," Hillshire said apprehensively.
"Victor, is that you? Are you alright? What happened to you?" the woman said hoping she was talking to her son.
"Yes, it's me. I'm sorry I've haven't contacted you in awhile ,but I had something important to take care of," the man formerly known as Hillshire said.
"What are you talking about? You disappeared after that debacle in Amsterdam over five years ago. The controversy has died down and you can come home now," the woman replied hoping to be able to see her son again soon.
"I'm sorry mother," Victor said.
"It's alright; just come on home It's been far too long," the woman said hopefully.
"Mom, do we still have the old vacation home in Baden-Württemberg," Hillshire asked, thinking back to the secluded home where he had spent many vacations as a child. It would make a nice place to lay low for awhile after he got Triela out of Italy.
"Yes, we do Victor, but what does that have to do with anything," his mother asked confused that he would ask about their old vacation home after not speaking to her in five years.
"Oh, I was thinking of showing some friends my old stomping grounds before coming home to visit for awhile," Victor said.
"Don't lie to me, Victor. What is going on?" his mother asked the worry audible in her voice.
"Honestly, nothing is wrong. I just got caught up in some things for work, and I will visit as soon as I can," Victor replied.
"Victor,…." The woman pleaded.
"Sorry mom, I love you and don't believe everything you hear about what is going on in Italy. I have go,…" Hillshire said ending the phone call as abruptly as it started. He wanted to tell his mother everything, but it was just too risky. He needed to keep Triela safe, and the fewer people that knew about her unique characteristics the better. Now he just needed to check on the few other safe houses he had set up in case he ever needed to get Triela away from the Social Welfare Agency.
As if taking an unseen cue from his fellow handler, Marco was also making a call to someone he still cared for. "Patricia it's me Marco. You were right about everything. I've made some changes to the Prince of Pasta story so you can publish the real story this time," Marco said leaving a voicemail on her machine hoping she got the message. Now, he thought it was time to get some answers from the medical staff as he made his way over to the infirmary. He wanted to know. No, he needed to know if Doctor Bianchi knew about the true nature of the cyborg program.
"Bianchi we need to talk," Marco said barging into his old friend's office.
"What do you need, Marco?" the doctor said fixing his glasses.
"Where you involved?" Marco growled.
"Involved with what?" Doctor Bianchi said shocked by his long time friend's aggression.
"Did you bring me in knowing the truth behind the program? We have been friends a long time, and if you're lying to me, you will regret it," Marco snapped balling his fist.
"Marco, what the hell is wrong with you? What are you talking about? You know I was brought in to oversee the overall development of the girls in the cyborg program," Bianchi said worried by Marco's outburst. He seemed so much happier as of late with Angelica's recovery, and he had no idea what could have possibly set him off.
"This, Marco said throwing a copy of what they had discovered earlier on the doctor's desk.
"What is this?" Doctor Bianchi asked as he opened up the file and began to read the sordid truth behind the Agency he worked for, and the girls he spent hours caring for. He was shocked by what he read. He was a doctor who took his Hippocratic Oath of "first do no harm" seriously. He knew what the girls were used for, but he believed that it was the best way to develop new medical technologies to help many more people around the globe and worked tirelessly to give the girls the best life he could. However, what he read just turned his stomach. He could not believe what the current government was planning. One thing stuck in his mind, "ease their disposal", as he pulled out Angelica's file and looked over the conditioning drugs one more time.
"Fuck!" Doctor Biachini growled.
"What?" Marco asked.
"I never should have trusted that woman," the enraged doctor growled.
"What?" Marco asked again.
"Marianna, she is in charge of the conditioning process. I thought one of the drugs used in the conditioning process extremely dangerous, but she said it was necessary for the girls to function properly. But now I am not so sure." Bianchi replied.
"What, how dangerous?" Marco said shocked.
"I will have to look into it more, but I think that this particular drug is meant as a failsafe system. The more conditioning the girls receive, the more they need the drug just like an addict. This cycle continues until they overdose killing the girls. " Bianchi replied.
"Then I've been killing Angelica," Marco said slumping into a chair remembering every time he gave Angelica the conditioning drugs over the years.
"That's the thing; she should be entering the final stages, but she has been improving as of late," the doctor replied.
"What about her being sick? Could it be the calm before the storm?" Marco sighed.
"That's it! I can't believe I missed it," Bianchi exclaimed.
"Missed what?" Marco replied.
"Marco, Angelica was sick with the flu awhile back, right?" the excited doctor asked.
"Yeah, and so was Claes. What's the big deal?" Marco replied.
"It wasn't the girls were going through withdrawal symptoms. Someone figured out what the drugs were doing. If we can get the rest of the girls off the meds and through withdrawal, they will live as normal girls. Well as normal as their cyborg parts allow, but they will no longer have a shortened life span," Dr. Bianchi said relieved that the girls could live a full life.
"I'm sorry," Marco said relieved that his friend had nothing to do with the conspiracy and that Angelica would be able to live a normal life once he got her away from the Agency.
"Don't worry about it, I would have done the same thing, now I'm sure you have things you need to do, and I need to take care of a few things myself. By the way the supply room is generally empty this time of day, and I think one of the helicopter EMT bags should have everything you could need," Dr. Bianchi said leaving Marco alone in his office.
"Bernardo, where is Beatrice?" Doctor Bianchi asked the usually upbeat man. However, it had been a while he had seen that side of him.
"I don't know? Why, are you going to fix her arm?" Bernardo replied wondering the same thing himself.
"Yes," Dr. Bianchi replied.
"That's great. When will the surgery be?" Bernardo gasped excited that his little buddy would be getting fixed up, and not a moment to soon. As soon as her arm was repaired, Beatrice and he were out of here.
"Bernardo, Triela said I could have some fun," Beatrice said as she came bounding down the hall with a large bag that he knew was full of explosive devices.
"Really, now, Bice," Bernardo replied.
"Yep, she said I could give Dr. Donato a wakeup call," Beatrice exclaimed.
"Yes, I did. I would love to give that worthless excuse of a man a piece of my mind," Triela said walking over to them her usually reserved manner thrown out the window. "What could they do, she would be long gone in a few hours," she thought.
"While I'm sure we would all like to give Dr. Donato some attitude adjustment, we have to get you ready for surgery, Beatrice. It's time we fixed your arm," Dr. Bianchi said surprising the girls.
"That's great, Beatrice," Triela said happy that girl would be getting her arm repaired, but it did throw off her plans to sneak her out with the rest of the girls tonight. She needed to think this over as she wasn't leaving any of her sisters behind. "Good luck, Beatrice. I'll have Claes make some tea and cakes for you when you get out," Triela said as she left to finish her own preparations.
"Well, let's get you prepped for surgery, Beatrice," Dr. Bianchi said hoping his handpicked staff could pull off the surgery without Dr. Donato or Marianna finding out as he was sure they were more involved in the program than he was led to believe.
"Bernardo, hold on to these for me please," Beatrice said handing over the bag full of grenades.
"She may be in a little pain after the surger, so why don't you make a little distraction for her," the doctor said as he led them towards the surgery ward.
"We've never been camping before. I wonder what it's like?" Henrietta asked her slightly older roommate.
"I don't know, but I can't wait to see the fireworks," Rico replied excited as always over a chance to try something new.
"I know, but sleeping on the ground could be uncomfortable," Henrietta said as she continued to pack her small backpack with her favorite outfits.
"But we will be outside watching fireworks, Henrietta," Rico sighed. She loved her roommate like the sister she never had, but Henrietta was as girly as they come she thought. Rico loved being outside and romping around in the dirt, whether it was a mission, working in Claes's garden or playing with the chief's dog. Anything that got her outside was ok in her book. Her sister, however, preferred the finer things Jose exposed her to like her violin or walking through the many exquisite plazas around Rome. She had a vague memory of Henrietta teaching her how to play the violin once, but she wrote it off as just a dream.
"I know, but we normally don't stay overnight out there. Is there anywhere for us to stay?" Henrietta replied curious about the last minute change Claes informed them of.
"I don't know, but it will be fun. It's too bad Beatrice won't be able to join us," Rico said hopping off the bed having finished her packing a while ago.
"Come on you two, it's time to go," Triela said entering the room as Henrietta stuffed a few last minute items into her bulging bag as Rico grabbed her own. As they shut off the light, neither girl realized this would be the last time they would see their home in a long time.