A/N: Hello everyone, I am back with the next chapter of "Second Chance". I have some news, Chronic Guardian can no longer be my beta due to prior commitments so this is the last chapter he'll be editing. Next chapter, I'll be on my own.
Thanks to my beta Chronic Guardian
Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl
It was a rainy summer day around the city of Rome. As the rain rolled down her bedroom window, Elsa was in room her preparing. She was having a guest over and she wanted everything to be ready. As she finished, a knock came on the door signaling the arrival of her guest.
"Please come in." said Elsa, walking over to the door.
"Yo, Elsa. I'm here." said Petra, entering the room.
"Please have a seat." said Elsa, pulling out a chair.
"Um, whatever." shrugged Petra sitting down.
"I'm glad you came." said Elsa, "Please, take a seat."
"What's this all about anyway?" asked Petra curious.
"I just want to get to know my new sister." answered Elsa.
"Oh. Well that's sounds cool." replied Petra.
"I probably shouldn't do this. Heck, I already feel guilty about it. However, this is too important." said Elsa to herself.
"You're room is pretty barren compared to Triela and Claes." noted Petra.
"I'm have a different personality." said Elsa.
"I heard you used to be a total bitch." stated Petra, "Um, no offense Elsa."
"Well, I wouldn't use that term but, I was less than friendly before Signore James became my handler." said Elsa.
"Must be a hell of a guy." said Petra.
"He is a great handler. I love my big brother." said Elsa.
"You know that's probably just the conditioning right?" asked Petra.
"I know but, my feelings for him are still real." answered Elsa.
"That's cool." replied Petra.
"It seems like you aren't as devoted to your handler." stated Elsa.
"I got less conditioning so I'm not blindly loyal to Sandro." explained Petra.
"I feel sorry for you." said Elsa.
"Why?" asked Petra.
"Your loyalty to Sandro is not absolute." answered Elsa.
"I don't see why that's a bad thing." replied Petra.
"Your handler is the most important thing to a cyborg. We live to serve them and we must die for them. We are their sword and shield." explained Elsa.
"There is such a thing as being to loyal." stated Petra.
"That's just you're lack of conditioning." thought Elsa to herself, "Maybe you're right Petra."
"I'm not an expert or anything." said Petra.
"So, you and Sandro get along well." said Elsa, "I need to keep up my charade."
"Yeah. He's a bit of a jerk and he tends to think with this dick but, other wise he's cool. He took me to get my belly button pierced and we often smoke together so I guess that's kind of boding." replied Petra.
"It's so odd hearing a cyborg talk that way about their handler." said Elsa.
"So I've noticed. Though, Triela and her handler bicker a bit." noted Petra.
"She's just as loyal. That's just how they interact. It's not like anything is personal." said Elsa.
"I feel the same with Sandro." said Petra.
"Good to hear." said Elsa.
"I kind of feel bad for Claes though since she doesn't have a handler." said Petra.
"She did but, she doesn't remember him now of course." explained Elsa.
"That really sucks." sighed Petra.
"She claims to have memories of somebody she thinks is him though she cannot make out much." said Elsa.
"That's freaking amazing!" declared Petra.
"Yeah. It'd be odd to see if that happened." said Elsa, "If any other girl lost their handler."
"That would be weird to see." agreed Petra.
"Just like him." said Elsa.
"Who's that?" asked Petra.
"Some guy named Lauro. I know he worked here but, I can't find anything about him." answered Elsa.
"That's weird." said Petra.
"He is an enigma." said Elsa.
"Do you know anything about him?" asked Petra.
"Not really. I know he worked here but, I can't find much else about him." answered Elsa.
"That's weird." replied Petra.
"It seems like everyone has forgotten about him." said Elsa.
"Damn. That's pretty cold." said Petra.
"I couldn't figure out why that happened." shrugged Elsa.
"Man. This is weird." said Petra.
"He's a mystery." agreed Elsa.
"Now you've got me curious. I'll try to dig stuff up." said Petra.
"I've tried but, nobody seems like they wanted to talk." said Elsa.
"I wonder if he was a traitor!" cried Petra excited.
"That did occur before." noted Elsa.
"Oh shit." said Petra surprised.
"His name was Ernest. He was a Padania sleeper agent and he used his girl Pia to aid the terrorist until he was killed by Henrietta." explained Elsa.
"I wonder if he and and this Lauro guy where working together." pondered Petra.
"That would make sense." stated Elsa.
"It couldn't be. There would be no reason not to say he was." said Petra.
"Actually, if he wasn't uncovered until later then maybe they could cover it up to suppress information about Lauro being a Padania." said Elsa.
"That kind of news would totally screw the Agency." said Petra.
"It seems there are some in Section 1 who don't like us." said Elsa.
"Oh damn. We're really surrounded." sighed Petra.
"Indeed we are and that's the type of thing that could ruin us. It makes sense Jean would cover it up." said Elsa.
"I'm guessing the fallout from the Ernest scandal hurt." said Petra.
"Luckily, we kept it out of the mainstream media but, Section 1 really hammered it in." replied Elsa.
"You know what Elsa. I'm going to find out who this Lauro guy was." declared Petra.
"That would be great. Thanks Petra." said Elsa.
"No problem. See ya." said Petra who took off.
"I might feel guilty but, this has to be done. I've told Petra my theory about Lauro without telling her one crucial thing: Lauro might have been my handler. Hopefully, you can help settle this." said Elsa to herself.
Walking down the hallways of the Social Welfare Agency, Petra couldn't think about anything but her conversation with Elsa. Petra wanted to know who this Lauro person was and why he as gone. Before she left Petra knew who she wanted to talk to and in good time she arrived at her destination then knocked on the door.
"Hey Claes, are you there?" asked Petra.
"I am." answered Claes from within her room.
"I was hoping to talk." stated Petra.
"Come in." said Claes.
Petra opened the door and entered the room. Claes was in the middle of a painting which she had stopped. Claes placed her brush aside and turned to face the redhead.
"I didn't mean to interrupt." said Petra.
"It's fine." replied Claes.
"Say, where's Triela?" asked Petra curious.
"She and Hilshire are out on a mission." answered Claes.
"Anyway, I was hoping you could tell me about Ernest." requested Petra.
"There's a name most people around here would prefer to forget." mused Claes.
"I was talking to Elsa earlier and she said he was a Padania sleeper agent." noted Petra.
"He was indeed. Many were angered by his betrayal especially Jean." said Claes.
"I can only imagine how crappy things must have been for Rico." mused Petra frowning.
"You pick up things quickly." stated Claes.
"It's hard not to." said Petra.
"Jose and Henrietta were sent after them but, they both kept managing to escape. We could only imagine what information the Padania got from those two." explained Claes.
"Elsa said that Henrietta killed them." noted Petra.
"After a long chase she did indeed kill both Ernest and Pia." affirmed Claes.
"I'm guessing that looked bad for the Agency." said Petra.
"Section 1 tried to use this to get us dissolved. However, the government kept us open." said Claes.
"Elsa mentioned they didn't seem to like us." said Petra.
"That's putting it mildly." huffed Claes.
"She did use the word hate." stated Petra
"That's more fitting." said Claes.
"Let's just hope he was acting alone." said Petra.
"An investigation cleared everyone else." noted Claes.
"I see. Well, that's a good thing anyway." said Petra.
"Last thing we need are spies among our midst." agreed Claes.
"I guess we can only hope they didn't miss anybody." said Petra.
"Luckily, I doubt that occurred. Jean led the investigation himself so he would have found anybody who aided Ernest or the Padania." explained Claes.
"I guess leaving the Agency isn't such an easy thing." shrugged Petra.
"Indeed." said Claes tensing up.
"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." said Petra.
"It's fine." replied Claes.
"Has anybody actually just quit the Agency and gone on to live a normal life?" asked Petra.
"With our line of work that simply isn't possible." answered Claes.
"That does make sense." admitted Petra.
"Ernesto and my handler are the only ones we've lost." stated Claes.
"She's lying." noted Petra to herself.
"Is something wrong?" asked Claes.
"Oh no. It's fine." answered Petra.
"It's hard to form attachments to people here. They could be killed any day." said Claes.
"That's harsh." said Petra surprised.
"It's the truth." stated Claes.
"A lot of girls don't seem to feel that way; Triela, Henrietta, Rico and Elsa all seem close to their handlers." noted Petra.
"That is the effect of the conditioning." replied Claes.
"You're a pessimist." said Petra.
"I'm a realist." said Claes.
"Hey you two. I didn't know you were coming over Petra." said Triela, entering the room.
"I just stopped by." replied Petra.
"She wanted to know about Ernesto so I told her about everything that happened." explained Claes.
"That was a terrible incident." said Triela.
"Claes told me about that." said Petra.
"It seems Elsa first mentioned him to Petra." noted Claes, narrowing her eyes.
"I see." replied Triela, knowing the subtitle message.
"We also talked about devotion to handlers." said Petra.
"Oh, that's interesting." said Triela, quickly peering over at Claes.
"It's just a good thing we've never had that happen aside from him." said Petra.
"That is true. One traitor is too many." said Triela, feeling slightly relaxed.
"We also talked about my handler and how he and Ernesto are the only handlers to be killed." stated Claes.
"Yup. It's bad that happened but, should should consider ourselves lucky it's only occurred twice." said Triela, giving a knowing glance to Claes.
"I should go." said Petra, standing up.
"See ya." said Triela as the redhead left.
"Something is rotten as hell here." said Petra to herself closing the door.
"Damn. This isn't good." sighed Triela.
"We might need to bring a handler in on this." proposed Claes.
"I don't want Elsa to undergo reconditioning." sighed Triela.
"I thought you hated Elsa." noted Claes.
"She's still my sister. Besides, that was before what happened that night." replied Triela.
Meanwhile, in the next building over, James was busy over going paperwork. He was at a dead end with the case of the dead Senator and the case was frustrating him. Going over what little evidence he could find, James was desperately looking for a clue.
"Looks like somebody is working his ass off." joked Sandro, walking over to James.
"I don't want to be rude but, I am busy." said James.
"Geez man. You're gonna work yourself into the ground." said Sandro.
"The killer is out there and I cannot rest until he's caught." declared James.
"Settle down there Jean." replied Sandro.
"I know Jean can be strict but, frankly I admire his dedication." said James.
"Man, way to be a kiss ass." said Sandro.
"I do not suck up. I prove myself through my work." explained James.
"Whatever you said." replied Sandro.
Just after Sandro finished his sentence, Priscilla came up to the two men. Behind her was a man in his late 30s.
"James, I have somewhere here to see you." said Priscilla.
"My name is Mario. I'm a detective with the Rome Police." introduced the man showing off his id.
"What can I do for you?" asked James.
"Actually, it's what I can do for you." answered Mario reaching into his pocket, "I understand you're the one investigating the assassination of the Senator."
"Indeed I am." replied James.
"This is a photo of the man we believe is he killer." said Mario, showing James the picture.
"How did you get this?" asked James stunned.
"We arrested a man for carrying an illegal firearm. During our questioning he cracked and gave this to us. It seems the guy was a rookie Padania not as hardened as his comrades." explained Mario.
"Thank you for this. It's a great help." said James smiling.
"This is your case so I'm just helping my fellow agent." said Mario.
A/N: So there is chapter 21 finished. I tried to stretch out the earlier scenes and I hope it was good. Next time, James and Elsa investigate the new lead. Please review.