A/N: Hello to all, I am back with the next chapter thirty-six of "Second Chance". In this chapter, we continue where we left off last time.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl
Victor Hilshire was seated in office finishing off paperwork. The German man was finishing the work and fought through a severe hand cramp as he did so. As he wrapped up, a knock came on the door and Triela walked inside.
"What do you need?" asked Hilshire.
Triela walked in and shut the door behind her.
"It's Elsa." answered Triela.
Hilshire turned giving his full attention to Triela.
"What happened?" asked Hilshire concerned
"I went to visit Rico and found Elsa talking to her." answered Triela.
Triela stopped for a moment before continuing.
"I talked to Rico and she said Elsa was asking about her. I can only assume that she was trying to uncover information about Lauro." explained Triela.
Hilshire took a moment to think.
"Thank for telling me this." said Hilshire.
"What are we going to do?" asked Triela.
"This is getting serious. Elsa doesn't seem to accept our answers." noted Hilshire.
"I think her trust is eroding as well." replied Triela.
Hilshire was taken back by this.
"Damn!" snapped Hilshire.
Hilshire took a moment.
"Is she returning to her old personality?" asked Hilshire.
"Yup. The Ice Queen has returned." confirmed Triela.
Hilshire winced at this. His hope for Elsa seemed to have died.
"Earth to Hilshire." said Triela.
Hilshire blinked to see Triela waving her hand in front of him.
"Sorry. I got lost in my thought." said Hilshire.
"Geez. I should have expected that." sighed Triela.
Hilshire rolled his eyes being used to this by now.
"Anyway, we need to figure out to do." said Triela.
Hilshire closed his eyes and thought.
"Maybe we should be honest." proposed Triela.
Hilshire blinked in surprised.
"What made you think that?" asked Hilshire.
"I know the others really well." answered Triela.
"You must have been close to Elsa as well." replied Hilshire.
Triela bit her lip before shaking her head.
"Actually, I did not care for Elsa much." admitted Elsa.
"That's a surprise." said Hilshire surprised.
"Elsa kept to herself and shunned the rest of us." shrugged Triela.
"It's Lauro's fault. He neglected that poor girl." spat Hilshire.
"He never returned her love and so..." began Triela.
Triela trailed off then shook her head.
"We need to focus!" declared the cyborg girl.
"You're right." agreed Hilshire.
"Lying to her about Lauro lead to mistrust us." said Triela.
"You may be right." said Hilshire.
Hilshire rubbed his eyes and began heading for the door.
"Where are you going?" asked Triela.
"I need to talk to Jean." answered Hilshire.
Hilshire began to leave, but as he walked by Triela grabbed his arm.
"Hilshire, don't let Jean recondition her." requested Triela.
Hilshire adverted his head.
"I can't make any promises." said Hilshire.
"I understand." replied Triela solemnly.
Hilshire left and anxiously walked down the hallways of the Social Welfare Agency. Hilshire reached Jean's office and knocked, but got answer. Hilshire opened the door and found nobody in their. Realizing Jean must have been at a meeting, Hilshie decided to wait for his boss to return. After twenty-five minutes, Jean finally returned.
"Hello Victor." said Jean.
"Hello Jean." replied Hilshire.
Jean walked over to his desk and sat down.
"What brings you here?" asked Jean.
"It's Elsa. Apparently she is getting nosier about her former handler." answered Hilshire.
"I see." said Jean, taking this.
Jean sat back and thought for a moment.
"What else can you tell me?" asked Jean.
Hilshire thought for a moment choosing his words carefully.
"She is asking more questions." answered Hilshire.
"Okay. Has she been asking anyone in particular?" asked Jean.
"Not that I know of." answered Hilshire.
Jean stared at Hilshire for a moment before Jean accepted the answer.
"All right then." said Jean.
"Thank God. Now Rico can avoid at least one reconditioning." thought Hilshire.
Hilshire let out a sigh.
"Sir, are you going to recondition Elsa again?" asked Hilshire.
Jean looked up surprised at Hilshire.
"Most likely. I did not expect you to ask such a thing." answered Jean.
"I do not mean to be out of line, but I think that is unnecessary." replied Hilshire.
"You sound like Jose." noted Jean.
"My opinion sir." said Hilshire.
"You and Triela are our best fratello. I never expect this from you." said Jean.
"It is how I feel sir." said Hilshire.
"It seems that American has rubbed off on us all." said Jean.
Jean thought about Rico for a moment before shaking his head.
"I'll consider it." said Jean.
"Thank you sir." said Hilshire.
Meanwhile, the local coroner was busy at work. The man was preforming an autopsy The person died after losing control of their car on a patch of ice and crashing. The coroner just finished when a knock came at the door. The surprised coroner took off his gloves and headed to the door. The coroner opened the door to find a man waiting there. The man showed off a government badge to the coroner.
"Hello. I'm with Section 2. I'm need to talk to you." said the man.
"Please come in." said the coroner.
The government agent entered and they walked to the coroner's office.
"My name is James Harrison." said the government agent.
"What brings you here?" asked coroner.
"You preformed the autopsy of a man named Lauro de Sica." answered James.
"That case was closed." stated the coroner.
"It has been reopened due to new evidence." replied James.
"What evidence?" asked the coroner.
"That is on a need to know basis." answered James.
The coroner shrugged expecting that from the government.
"I need details of his murder." began James.
The coroner looked around.
"Aren't you going to take down the information?" asked the coroner.
James blinked and maintained his composure.
"I am." answered James.
The coroner was skeptical, but decided that discretion was the better part of valor.
"Let's see...he was brought in short after his murder." began the coroner.
The coroner could help but notice the intensity that James had as he listened.
"Lauro de Sica had died of a gunshot wound." said the coroner.
"Where was the shot located?" asked James.
"The fatal shot was in the back of his head." answered the coroner.
"How many shots were there in total?" asked James.
"Only the one." answered the coroner.
James shook his head in surprise at this.
"The official report says he was ambushed." noted James.
"It seems he was hit by one bullet." replied the coroner.
"That shouldn't be possible if he was ambushed in an open park." said James.
The coroner darted his eye back and forth.
"How close was the gun shot?" asked James.
"It was a good distance." answered the coroner.
James stared down the coroner who broke.
"It was at close range thought not point blank." confessed the coroner.
"Why did you lie?" asked James.
"I was nervous." answered the coroner.
"Yet your told me." said James.
"You are better then the last person." replied the coroner.
"Let me guess, he was named Jean." said James.
"Yeah. As if he wasn't intimidating enough, he had a midget guy with him named Rico who nearly beat the crap out of me." explained the coroner.
James opened his mouth to correct the coroner about Rico, but his professionalism stopped him.
"Thanks for the information." said James.
James turned and began to walk away, but stopped as he reached the door.
"Don't tell anyone I was here or anything about this." stated James.
"I know." replied the coroner.
James walked outside as he came to a conclusion.
"Elsa killed Lauro." said James.
Meanwhile, a cold wind blew in the Italian mountains. An "emergency meeting" was had been called by Cristiano though the validity of this was in question. The leaders of all FRF factions in Northern Italy had gathered and were waiting for the meeting to begin. The sound an electric wheelchair caught the attention of all the members as a person entered the room.
"Hello. I am glad you were able to make it." said Cristiano.
Gasps erupted as Cristiano stopped.
"You're alive!" exclaimed the Venetian representative.
"I managed to survive though two comrades and my nephew were lost." said Cristiano.
"I am sorry for your loss." said the Lombard representative.
"Thank you." replied Cristiano.
Cristiano closed his eyes thinking of Flanca, Franco and Pinocchio.
"I have called you here because of our current situation is." began Cristiano.
The other FRF leaders looked around knowing how dire their situation was.
"Since the raid on my mansion our cause has suffered severely and is on the verge of collapse." noted Cristiano.
"What do you propose we do then?" asked the Tuscan representative.
"I have brought in someone to help us." answered Cristiano.
That person entered shocking everyone.
"Hello gentleman." said Dante
"Could it actually be the famous Giacomo Dante?" asked the Piedmont representative.
"Yes. I have returned from exile." answered Dante.
The FRF members whispered among themselves.
"What is your plan?" asked the Venetian representative.
"Our problem is we are too decentralized." answered Dante.
The lead to gasps of shock from the other FRF members.
"The tyrannical overreach of the government is the reason for our revolution!" declared the Aosta Valley representative.
"If we collapse then our mission is dead." stated Dante.
"Why must we sacrifice our freedom?" asked the Lombard representative.
"We are not. We are combining our forces to deal with a real threat." answered Dante.
The FRF representatives murmured among each other.
"If we work together than we can force the government to submit to our demands. It is our only way." said Dante.
The FRF members looked among each other.
"Please gentlemen, I employ you to follow Dante. Our dream depends on it." pleased Cristiano.
"I am in." said the Lombard representative.
"So am I." said the Venetian representative.
"So am I." said the Piedmont representative.
"So am I." said the Tuscan representative.
The other FRF representatives joined in and the entire FRF was under Dante's command.
"What do we do now?" asked the Romagna representative.
"We will make a statement. And we will do it at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice." answered Dante.
A/N: There is chapter thirty-six finished and I hoped you liked it. Next time, we get started on the Venice Operation which will take several chapters. Please review.
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