Plans and Reactions
"Just what the hell is going on here, Monica? Why in god's name is the Social welfare agency's main orphanage look like a battle zone," Giorgia Meloni railed slamming her fist down on the ornate mahogany desk.
"I don't know what you are talking about, it was just a gas leak from what I heard," Monica replied calmly.
"Bullshit, a gas leak doesn't selectively destroy rooms, and it was still crawling with soldiers this morning." Giorgia shot back.
"When I heard about the explosion, I sent over some units to help with the cleanup, I was concerned about the children, after all they are our future," Monica replied with a smile.
"Cut the crap, if I find out you had anything to do with this and the girls that are missing, I will bury you, portfolio or not," Giorgia replied.
"What girls, I thought all of the orphans were accounted for," Monica replied her voice full of concern.
"Bullshit, Angelica, Beatrice, Claes, Henrietta, Rico, and Triela, where are they, and those brothers of theirs," Giorgia yelled.
"I have no idea who you are talking about, they are not listed in the records," Monica said confused.
"Well isn't that convenient." Giorgia sighed. "Mark my words I get to the bottom of this," Giorgia said slamming the door behind her as she left the room.
"Yes, this is Monica Petris, I need to speak to the prime minister," she said waiting to be put through.
"Yes, what is it Monica," the Prime minster replied.
"We have a situation, Mr. Crueset," Monica replied.
"Explain," he ordered.
"The cyborgs have escaped," Monica replied.
"What," Mr. Crueset replied shocked.
"It seems the handers had something in the works when we found them at the training facility. We managed to capture the handlers but the cyborgs escaped. The final cyborg was taken from the agency after an unscheduled surgery to replace her arm. We think that the cyborg Triela was the one who took her from the agency. At this time we do not know the current whereabouts of the cyborg's but we believe they may be taking the Eurorail out of Italy." Monica explained.
"What about the explosion at the agency that is all over the news," Mr. Creuset asked.
"The labs, records, administrative rooms, and the armory, were gutted. The agency is a total write off," Monica replied.
"Good, they saved us the trouble of covering our tracks. What of the final handler, Bernardo," Mr. Crueset replied.
"At this time we have no evidence linking him to the actions of the cyborgs or other handlers, however," Monica said not believing the man's innocence.
"He is an expert with explosives, and I find it hard to believe that he did not have his own plans. Keep a close eye on him, he may give us a lead on our wayward cyborgs." Mr. Crueset said.
"Yes sir," Monica said.
"Good, I will also be mobilizing some other assets to help in the search,"
"Thank you sir," Monica said ending the call.
With their fellow sisters cleaning up, Claes and Triela were able to make a thorough list of the equipment at their disposal. They were pleasantly surprised to find two separate IDs for each of the girls and even a license for Triela, and Claes. This would make traveling and getting out of Italy much easier with legitimate licenses even if they barely knew how to operate their vehicles. Claes was currently huddled over her laptop taking advantage of the hotels free T1 connection. She didn't know how Angelica got her hands on a brand new Blackberry smart phone but she was pleasantly surprised it had a GPS function now she wouldn't get lost when she had to get back on the motorcycle again. Their electronics were rounded out by Henrietta's digital camera. While not the arsenal Triela would have liked the girls were fairly well off with each of the girls having their respective side arms and two spare clips along with an assortment of knives. She even found a few more grenades mixed in with Beatrice's stuff seriously that girl took her love of explosions a little too far but Triela wouldn't have it any other way. It wasn't enough to raid a padania stronghold but more than enough to protect them for now. Their main problem at the moment was a lack of funds between the 150 euros Claes had and the 500 Euros they found in their handlers bags.
"What's the next move," Angelica said coming out of the bathroom drying her hair.
"Well the Eurorail map I left in our room should keep them busy through the weekend at least," Claes said.
"Good job, that should buy us some time, but we really need to find a place to lay low before the withdrawal effects start kicking in for the rest of us," Triela said not looking forward to the pain of withdrawal. She remembered Claes and Angelica getting sick for a while and she didn't relish being bed ridden for a week, but it would be worth it in the end.
"Um, we could go to Jean, and Jose's place," Henrietta said as she and Rico joined the conversation.
"Yeah it's in Sicily, it's so cool, we could go swimming, and ………." Rico added.
"I'm sorry Rico but we need to get out of the country for a while, so Sicily will have to put on hold for a while, but it was a good idea," Triela said sadly giving her a pat on the head
"What about hiding out in the woods for a while, when Bernardo and I went hiking, I couldn't smell anyone around for miles," Beatrice added as they continued to get dressed.
"Beatrice, you're a genius," Triela exclaimed jumping off the couch. "Hillshire told me about his old vacation house in Baden-Wurttemberg. He said it's out in the middle of nowhere, and since we'll be in Germany that should be a good place to hide out for awhile." Triela said.
"Alright but how are we going to get there,….." Claes asked a little worried about driving again, as a knock sounded on the door.
"Who could that be, was the thought on everyone's mind as Claes answered the door while the girls stood ready behind various pieces of furniture weapons ready while Triela was waiting next to the door, their training and fears driving their actions. Their fears were short lived as Claes slowly opened the door revealing an older gentleman dressed in a crisp dark business suit.
"Yes," Claes asked.
"I was asked by Bernardo to give this to you, and to see to your needs while you are guests of the hotel. I trust that your stay thus far has been enjoyable," the concierge said entering the room hoping to put the girls at ease.
"Thank you," Triela replied taking the case from him before handing it off to Beatrice.
"Miss, do you need a doctor? You looked pretty banged up when you arrived here this morning," he asked.
"No, I'm fine, it wasn't anything serious," Triela blurted out. With her cyborg body she couldn't afford to let any doctor look at her or they might discover the true nature of her enhancements.
"Look, I know traveling on your own can be a frightening experience but it can be a lot of fun as well. If there is anything I can do to make your trip more enjoyable, just ask for Giovanni," he said hoping to put the girls at ease.
"Thank you," the girls chimed.
"Will you be you be dinning out tonight or should I have the service send something up for you," Giovanni asked.
"We are still tired from our trip we will call for some room service later," Triela said opening the door.
"Alright, but if you need anything do not hesitate to ask," Giovanni said as the door closed. "hhhmm I wonder what might help those loosen up a bit, they are on vacation, they should be enjoying themselves," He thought as he rode the elevator back down to the ground floor.
"Oh, open it up Beatrice," Rico urged her younger sister. Out of all the cyborgs Beatrice was the youngest chronologically and had been at the agency the shortest out of all of them.
"It's locked," Beatrice replied staring at the alpha numeric keypad.
"Well it is Bernardo's so you should be able to figure it out," Henrietta added as Beatrice started typing in possible combinations.
"How about his girlfriends name or something," Triela said calling over to the trio as Victor's password Rachelle made much more sense to her now.
"Which one," Beatrice deadpanned stunning her sisters.
"What do you mean which one, Marco only ever talked about Patricia," Angelica asked confused how Bernardo could have more than one girlfriend.
"He said it's ok if they're in another state, or across a river," Beatrice said as another name failed to open the case.
"Womanizer," Triela coughed.
"Why don't you try his most important girl then," Claes said hunched over the computer once again.
"Who is that," The others wondered as Claes slowly walked over to them.
"That, my dear is you," Claes said as she typed in Beatrice, causing the case to open with a soft click. "Now girls lets, give our dear sister some peace to look over what Bernardo left," Claes said shoeing the others away from their youngest sister. Beatrice took her time slowly examining each item in the case relishing the faint musky smell of her handler as he small hands carefully handled each item. Her eyes lit up when she found two ID cards along with matching passports in a side compartment, Beatrice Esposito the niece of one Bernardo Esposito, and Annabelle May Hopkins after an old animated show the girls caught on TV late one night while having a slumber party in the agency common room. She was instantly captivated by the characters and asked Bernardo if she could have the manga version of it to read. Ecstatic that Beatrice was coming out of her shell, he fully supported her new hobby until he found Beatrice giggling like mad in a destroyed bathroom surrounded by downed Padania agents saying it worked even better in real life. From then on Bernardo was constantly making Beatrice hand over her extra explosives much to her displeasure. In addition Beatrice found an Israeli Arms micro uzi with a spare clip much to her delight so now she could try to go two hands like Rev from Black Lagoon.
"What cha got there," Rico asked, the giggling Beatrice as she stared longingly at two brown packages.
"Beatrice, no explosions, wake up calls, and no making C4 heels. Better yet why don't I hold on to this for now" Triela said quickly plucking the two kilograms of high explosives out of her hands.
"You're no fun," Beatrice pouted as Triela took the high explosives for safe keeping.
"Don't worry you'll get it back," Triela said stuffing the C4 into her own bag.
"Did you find anything else Beatrice," Claes asked knowing there had to more in the case than guns and high explosives.
"Just some money, and this," Beatrice said handing over a stuffed envelope and a small cloth bag to her smart sister. Triela maybe the cool big sister to the girls, leading them in battle, helping them adjust to the agency or dealing with their handlers. It was Claes that they turned to when they needed help with home work or just needed someone to talk to, always having some witty comment or quote to fit the situation. The envelope contained 5,000 euros in various denominations while the small felt bag contained a much more valuable prize.
"Well what is it," the ever inquisitive Rico asked.
"A girl's best friend," Claes said as she carefully poured 150 carats worth of diamonds onto the small table she was working on as the shocked girls looked on.
"So that's where the diamonds Victor and I discovered in Venice disappeared to," Triela said as Angelica nodded her head in agreement.
"Wow," Henrietta gasped starring into the sparkling orbs while Rico and Beatrice were less than enthused with the tiny stones.
"Well that solves a few problems," Triela thought as she remembered Victor pricing their total worth between 500,000 and 750,000 euros. Their money monetary problems were a thing of the past if they could only find a place to off load the finished diamonds.
The afternoon soon passed into evening as the girls enjoyed a quiet dinner savoring one of their favorite comfort foods real pizza Napoletana, and Lazio, not that travesty Americans call pizza. Triela enjoyed a slice of Viennese topped with German sausage, while Claes enjoyed a mushroom packed capricciosa much to Triela's chagrin. Angelica went for the quarto formagio just like the four cheese pasta she liked so much. Rico and Henrietta went for the Sicilian style while Beatrice stuck to the original pizza margherita. Much to the hotel staffs chagrin the girls free from the draconian dietary restrictions of the agency the girls plowed through a pizza each while still having room left for tiramisu.
"Here are the traitors," a guard said leading Bernardo to where his fellow handlers were being held in one of the few remaining functional areas of the agency.
"You think you know a guy," Bernardo boasted a he sauntered over to the temporary holding cells at the Social Welfare Agency.
"You sold us out you bastard," Marco yelled railing against the bars.
"Now Hillshire or should I say Victor Hartman, you really didn't surprise me," Bernardo laughed moving up to the bars of their cell.
"Really, do tell," Victor replied moving closer to the bars as the guard left them.
"Oh, please, Triela was just a dumb blond who probably ended up at the agency due to her own inbred stupidity, and you only keep her around to satisfy your urges because you can't get with a real woman, urk," Bernardo said as Victor snagged his tie and viscously slammed Bernardo against the bars. Before he could react Victor landed a viscous punch on Bernardo's midsection driving up underneath his sternum.
"I guess I deserved that one to." Bernardo gasped, working on getting his breathe back as he drug himself into a standing position.
"Serves you right you bastard. Triela, means more to me than you'll ever know," Victor growled.
"Alright, drop the act, it's clear" Jean said as Bernardo held his side struggling to stand.
"Did the girls get away safely," Marco asked.
"As far as I know they did, that bitch Monica was in an uproar when the team sent to bring you in came back empty handed," Bernardo explained.
"Do you think she is in on it," Jean asked.
"Definitely, I would bet on it. She pulled Beatrice from her surgery before Dr. Bianchi could completely reconnect the nerves in her arm, and was livid that Bianchi even considered repairing her," Bernardo replied still upset over the aborted surgery leaving her with monoparesis. He hoped that someday she could find a doctor with the equipment and skills to restore her arm's full function but he had his doubt of her finding those skills outside of the Agency doctors.
"Was she?" Jose asked.
"Yes, Triela, got her out safely. Damn near broke me in two though" Bernardo said still feeling his aching ribs. "I see now where she gets it," Bernardo said.
"Bernardo what did you do," Victor growled.
"I needed her to hit me so I could help fake Beatrice's abduction so I called are resident German here a drunken dumbass with complex for domineering young blonds," Bernardo replied much to another man's displeasure.
"And you're still in one piece," Marco commented as the others nodded their heads in agreement. "Do we know where the girls are at the moment?"
"They made it to the Grand Hotel Primavera," Bernardo replied.
"What, how the hell did they make it all the way to San Marino," Jose asked
"Turns out Claes learned how to drive from playing Grand Turismo on her laptop, and Triela took my motorcycle with Beatrice after she made it to Rome. It's damn impressive if you ask me, who knew they could drive," Bernardo explained. They couldn't decide if between being angry that their little girls were driving or happy that they made it all the way to San Marino already. "However there is a small problem," Bernardo added.
"What," Jean asked.
"Dr. Donato let it slip that the girls had RFID chips implanted in them in case the agency ever lost them. From what I was able to determine the chips have a range of fifteen meters, so they will have to be pretty close to get a read on them," Bernardo answered.
"So now what's the next move," Marco asked angry that he would be unable to help Angelica from behind bars.
"Well there isn't much we can do from here," Jose added.
"Don't worry, Claes, left a eurorail guide behind in her room, so, the police, army, and cararbreni scouring Rome for them. Her little ruse has everyone thinking that the girls are still holed up here in Rome waiting to take the train out of Rome. That should buy them a few days at least," Bernardo said.
"Damn, Raballo trained her well," Victor whistled with a new found respect for both the girl and her departed handler.
"Times up Bernardo," Amedeo called coming in to check on the former handlers.
"Alright," Bernardo called.
"You know I really don't know what the hell is going on here, but Angelica made off with my new cell phone and I paid the contract in full up front to cut down on the cost. It had a full charge when I turned it over, I'm sure it still works. I made sure to get the extra durable model to. Come on Bernardo visiting hours are over." Amedeo said as he headed out of the room.
"Alright I'm coming," Bernardo said as Jean, shoved a hastily scribbled note into his hand.