Reason to Live
Chapter 2: First Actions
April 3rd,
Social Welfare Agency,
1300 hrs
(Claes P.O.V)
"Guten tag! Ich heisse Frederick!" That's how the new German boy in the agency introduces himself towards me after he got himself a room in the agency.
It was the first day he's on his two feet again after spending nearly a month in the hospital cause of his early operations for his new body. It's not a surprise since that happens to me as well when I first get here; what surprise me is…..he's a boy. Well, think about it: A boy…living in a girl's dormitory!? Not to mention, the room he's given belongs to one of our dead comrades: no other than Elsa's. Her room was empty….WAS empty until Frederick came in. Elsa's room started to look more like the Armory after that. Not that I mind another operative moving in, but this is the first time I see her room decorated with all sorts of things…boyish things, if I observe correctly.
"So….you'll be staying here?" I ask as he sets two old weapons no other than the K98K rifle with a scope attached on it and two MP40 Sub-Machineguns.
"Yeah. I'll be staying here. Though I didn't wish to since it kinda' feels like the girl's dormitory, but yeah, guess I'll be staying here." Well, at least he got the same thinking as mine.
"Oh…..where'd you get those?" I ask quite interested with the weapons he brings. I've never see those old weapons LIVE before besides in books I read.
"Oh, these? My handler collect old weapons….and decided to give em' to me. So…that's how I get these." I nod as he gets back on unpacking the ammo boxes and all he could carry
"Well….I'll let you get back to your job….I'll be going back to my room." I turn around and head to the door. But as I'm about to close the door, Frederick calls
"Um….I've introduce myself….but who're you? You just nod after I introduce myself…so….how should I call you?"
"Ich heisse Claes; Fleda Claes Johansson" I smile as I exit his room; returning to mine. It's good to know that there's another German speaker here besides Triela and I
(Henrietta's P.O.V)
When I caught wind of the new male operative, José took me to the firing range to see him. Actually, we just pass by on our training today on the obstacle course. It has been a month or so was I told since. He has been in bed, and is now his first day out in the range with his Handler. I don't really mind seeing the new operative, introducing myself and all…at least José is beside me. When I first saw him, he was still unfamiliar with his new body. That was proven when he tried to open a can of soda….which resulted in breaking the opener along with the can. A German semi-automatic pistol, the P230SL, came out to be his next victim when reloading.
Its funny, really to see him uses the pistol for the first time. I watch him intently as he listens to his handler, Koch about all sort of explanation about the weapon. Koch is quite old…older than José, and is gifted with wisdom and combat experience. But that doesn't make him the best around here because José IS the best around here. On the other hand, Frederick is energetic and sometimes careless…and maybe too much on the careless side. But, although he isn't used with his new given mechanical body yet, his skills and ability are acceptable. His shots are always on target. Almost perfect too…
But of course, the problem came during the reload process…
With Frederick's strength, he is rather bad with modern firearms. His reports from his earlier 'victims' came from the magazine. He tried reloading it as fast as possible, so he rather slams the magazine in and shatters the whole weapon! Now as I witness his second attempt with the P230 SL, I began chuckling as I can guess the results. No, it isn't the magazine this time…
...it's the pistol slide!
Frederick isn't used with his body, and so goes for his immense strength the mechanical body has granted. Thus, when he's reloading semi-automatic modern handguns, its either he pulls he slide too hard and breaks it, or slams the magazine too hard and shatters it. Either way, the cost of it goes to the Agency and Frederick still has a lot of stock on who's going to be his next 'victim'.
So we decided to approach them and introduce ourselves. It isn't much, really, but they feel welcomed. José make some small talk about the whole Agency, and how he and I caught wind of the new fratello team before we head out with them tagging along. They're new here, and requested for a little 'guide' to lead us to the obstacle course, in hoping to help Frederick familiarize his body more. Along the way, I get to know Frederick a little more. Frederick is 15 years old; which means that he's older than Triela and the rest of us. He's German, and he doesn't quite remember how he got here. All he remembers is he was in the hospital because of a car accident; was brought out here, and BAM, got himself a new body. He's grateful to the agency for helping him. Though, the truth and the reality of how he got into the hospital would be far more disturbing for him. It's actually our own fault for involving civilians such as Frederick. So, I guess it's the least the agency can do. Yes, he is no other than the boy I found at the Piazza di Spagna that day; no doubt about it! Brown hair, blue eyes, averagely built…not to mention the age, everything is connected.
I notice during his run in the obstacle course that Frederick is more liberal. He ignores his handler constantly, and abides simple instructions such as taking cover. He would rather jump straight into anything, firing his weapon all over the place. Reloading is also a problem for him. Again, after jumping into the area, followed with the all too familiar 'click', his time stops. That's his maximum time in the obstacle course. No more. No less. The amount of bullets in his pistol became his only barrier on breaking record time; excuse me, my record time.
"Frederick….you're still having problems with reloading the pistol."
"Yes sir, I know. They break easy."…is all Frederick has to say to make Koch grunts in annoyance
"I see…well here…try using this."
Eventually, this is how he acquired his side-arm. I never knew such weapons existed due to its odd-look. But Koch's explanation to Frederick clears up the question. The pistol is a Mauser C/96 'Red 9 variant', designed during World War I and literally, one of the first semi-automatic pistols. Reloading process is different than any regular pistol. The Mauser uses a stripper clip, inserted above the cartridge. The rounds are then pushed down into chamber, before discarding the stripper clip. The pistol comes in many models and many rounds ranging from 7.62mm Parabellum rounds to the 9mm Parabellum rounds. Good thing his weapon uses the same round as our pistols are.
Yes, it took lots of time to reload one simple pistol. However, Frederick is able to cope with it fast and eventually, reloads his little toy as fast as we reload our pistol which uses magazines instead of stripper clips! But that isn't enough for him. Soon, however, he asked Koch for another pistol; both the same type and uses stripper clips. He's new here, but shouldn't he try dual-wielding later? As his handler goes off to get his second Mauser 'Broom handle', I decided to go to Frederick and ask him
"So…you're using dual pistols?" I ask
"Yeah…sounds more fun basically; besides, I have more ammo to waste on pricks!"
"Just like Triela if she's not carrying her shotgun."
"Triela? Who's that? Well, whoever she is, that's correct. I'll be using two old pistols. But of course, pistols are just the beginning. I'll go for mastering dual sub-machineguns…if my handler and the agency let me accomplish that! Ich bin ein doppelter Pistole Benutzer!"
Wow…hearing his remarks about mastering dual-wield sub-machineguns causes the little fellow inside my belly to laugh and cackle while rolling around the floor! The next day, Frederick met Triela in the firing range. After he saw her performing with her shotgun, they got along pretty quick after they figured that both of them originated from Germany. It gave them ease to speak their native language all the time, keeping us from knowing what they're saying. Claes understands what they're talking, but I bet she'll keep quiet about it. The handlers, of course, understand them; especially Triela's and Frederick's handlers who originated from the same country as their operatives were.
The thing is, when Frederick told me that he's going to master dual-wielding Sub-machineguns…he wasn't bluffing. I was kind of surprised too. Five days later, Frederick jumps into his first field action using dual MP40 sub-machine guns as his primary weapon. Course, he throws his main weapons after they run out of ammo, immediately switching to dual pistols, finishing the remaining Padania forces.
(Frederick's P.O.V)
April 7th,
Disclosed Location, Rome,
1210 hrs
The room is quiet as I sigh and observe at the remains of the men once known as Padania. They're dead...and they better be dead or I'll just have to shoot them again. Though, I wish no one is still alive since I'm out of ammo. I'm just too lazy to go and pick both MP40's which are hidden somewhere under these bodies. It is my first day in the field, and I have proven myself as a huge threat to them after I cleared the whole room single-handedly without any support of grenades or extra explosives; only two MP40 submachine guns and my trusty Mauser C/96s. I first start by standing on the door, knocking innocently as a guy appeared and looks at me with utter confusion. It was then to his surprise when he noticed the two MP40 I had in my hand as he frantically reaches for his pistol. Too late for him! A burst from the SMG is enough to kill one man and alert the other. Not long after, I began charging inside; like dancing with live fire-arms, I kill all of them without wasting too many bullets on the wall.
The Mauser C/96 has proven a quality pistol for me. Yes, it's outdated and reloading does take more time than the regular automatic pistols the Agency provides, but the stopping power is a killer! Reload time just needs a little practice and BAM; I'll immediately be able to outrun those using modern automatic pistols on reload time. Stripper clips prove to suit me more rather than pistol magazines. The MP40, however, is an exception. Reloading that thing isn't too hard. Though it's faster to switch to secondary firearms and start shooting again; kicking they're butts while they're pants are down.
…I just love German made firearms.
"Frederick." I turn around; Koch is leaning by the door looking around the room.
"Yes sir?"
"Well, you didn't screw up, but that was one of the MOST CLUMSIEST ENTRANCES I HAVE EVER SEEN!"
"Well, sir, it's my style; not yours. It's up to me how to…"
"SILENCE!"
"What? I took them all out…right?"
"Frederick, listen. Yes, you took them all out this time. But if they EVER prepare something more extreme than small firearms such as heavy machineguns you won't even stand half a chance!"
"Ah, don't worry about it…" I reply; kinda laid back "They won't have those around here. Too expensive, they won't be able to afford those."
"Mein Gott…how am I supposed to cooperate with you, Frederick?"
That's how I work with Koch. He rather disagrees with it, but eventually, he have to agree with it. I said to him soon after that he just have to be how he is since he's already helping me so much. He just smiled in response.
"That's just like you. Now we better move to the second floor and support Triela and Hillshire. Is the designated terrorist here Frederick?"
I haven't mentioned, but my mission is to find this little prick the Agency has designated. That question drives me to return back inside and check the whole lifeless shells of my victims; only to find that none of them is the man we wanted. Guys here were only idiots who don't even know how to use the AKMS properly. Of course, I didn't forget to pick up the MP40s in the process of investigating the bodies.
Since the rooms were connected, my job was eased with the assistance of Henrietta and José who clears the room on my right. None of them even has a chance to react a thing when we enter as a 'guest' and starts some reasonable chaos between them that sends them straight to the graves. Even though I was outscored by Henrietta on how many Padanias we killed, I enjoy the feeling and excitement when I charge into the room. Our figure helps us catch them with their pants down more often, giving us a huge advantage over small rooms.
"José, we're moving up to the second floor. You and Henrietta move to the basement and check if he's there."
Eventually, we split ourselves into two groups. José and Henrietta were assigned by Koch to move in down to the basement and checks if our wanted man is there while Koch and I will move up towards the second floor and assist Triela to clear out another room.
…this is going to be fun!
(Triela's P.O.V)
The wall is high…but it isn't too high. I don't like scaling walls, but if Hillshire told me to, I'll do it. If he told me to go up and shoot those Padania, I'll do it. If he told me to carry a bomb and run towards a Padania, killing me and the Padania, I'll do it. As long as Hillshire is out of harm's way, I'll be fine.
That's what I wish to think about right now. But somehow, it doesn't feel quite right anymore. Now if Hillshire told me to jump off a cliff, I won't go that far and would rather tell him to go to hell! Or, I would go and push him off the cliff! But for this one, this is just one exception. I'm on a mission and Frederick is up there waiting for my support to clear the room. His clumsiness in the shooting range already gives me a lot of thinking on how he'll do in the field. I just hope he isn't killed by the time I get there. But on second thought, I could go and ease myself for a while before I get up there and helps him clears the room because basically, he would finish the rest by himself…
The sudden crash above me followed with shattered glass and one unfortunate fellow falling to his death realizes me. His T-shirt is painted red, and I can assume it is Frederick's doing. The loud gunfire from above tells me that he is already up there causing chaos and panic amongst the unsuspecting group. With a thought in mind, I hurried myself up as I scale the wall and into the room.
…damn I hate myself for doing this…
(Frederick's P.O.V)
The sounds of gunshots, the smell of gunpowder spraying all over, the sound of empty shells falling, and to top it off; the sound of the target falling down with a 'thud'; I love them. I charge in with my twin MP40's and start shooting everything I see. Just like in the obstacle course.
The first guy I knocked crashes through the window and out of the building. There were all sorts of targets hungry for kills in the room after he fell. But Padanias who doesn't even know the proper way of using the AKMS? Bring it on! The next thing I knew, I'm racking up kills. After that first guy, the guy watching TV is next. His blood splatters all over the screen as I charge in and knock out three to four more guys, their weapons armed and ready. I dodge a couple of shots from them while killing another two before diving in towards the sofa ahead of me. My MP40's run out of ammo so I drop them and switch to my pistols, the Mauser C/96 hidden under my coat before I leap out from cover and kill the rest of the Padanias in the room. More rushers came from the connecting doors from the left and the right. My guns keep firing; they're not even a mere problem for me. The last survivor appears quite frightened. I aim both of my pistols to him for the kill and…
…well, you can say the all too familiar 'click' happens to come by…
Its close…maybe too close for comfort! After he noticed the all-too-familiar 'click', his frightened expression that reminds me of the painting 'scream' changes into a more blood thirsty Dracula! He enjoys his little victory as I frantically tried reloading both of my 'Broom Handle' with the 9mm stripper clips as fast as I can. I knew I wouldn't make it when he raises his pistol for the moment. However, things are different…
His face expression changes into something more filled with pain. He tried hard breathing, taking heavy breaths before he eventually fell to the ground…dead. I look up behind and saw who done it. Well, if it wasn't because of her, I would've been up there in heaven singing 'hallelujah'! Well…I could sing 'Hallelujah' right now for her appearance…
"THAT'S the use of bayonets on shotguns! Does that answer your question from three days ago, Frederick?"
"Well…you could've FIRED your shotgun!"
"Yes, I could. But do you want this guy to leap right to your face?" she asks in reply.
"Err…no."
"HA!"
"Yes, yes…you got me, you saved me." I pause for a second, laughing inside for my mistake earlier "Danke…" (Thanks)
"Macht nichst." (Don't mention it)
Our celebration is short lived, however. Soon enough, Koch arrived and examined the whole situation. After seeing the empty Mauser, Treila, and me standing in the middle with no cover, his face turns sour.
…I can guess there will be a long lecture from Koch when we return to the agency….
(Rico's P.O.V)
I have the eye of an eagle, watching the action, the chaos in the distance with safety as I search for my prey. My SVD Dragunov stands ready for the kill. However, the 'rabbit' we're after weren't present yet. Rather within my scope, I've been enjoying a couple of scenes starting from Frederick's first move into the room in the first floor, to the second floor action where a guy was shot out of the window, and a good chuckle from seeing Triela saving Frederick.
I was assigned here with Jean, sniping Padania in the roof and giving support fire to Frederick, Henrietta, and Triela as they cleared the whole structure. Mostly to Frederick and Triela, Henrietta moved to the basement after the first floor was cleared. I watched over Triela as she scaled the wall, taking out any guys from the rooftop trying to gut her down where she was most defenseless. Lastly, I supported Frederick and Triela as they cleared the room. Frederick had most things handled there, till he ran out of ammo. Right when there's a person in front of him.
…Actually, there were two Padania remaining in the room when he ran out of ammo; one on the right, the other on the left where Triela came in. I took care of the guy in the right, but Frederick and Triela don't seem to notice since the man was basically half dead when he tried to gut Frederick from behind. Still, there's no sign of the designated terrorist.
Jean's order came soon after. 'Scan the rooftops' he says. And so I did. I start scanning the roof from my scope, knowing that nothing would come up with Frederick and Triela around. I was hoping that this mission would end soon, so I could return back to the dormitory and enjoy my life there. But that wouldn't happen so easily. Our guy finally makes the decision to pop his little head out! Wow lucky me, a high value target! I don't know how he managed to escaped Triela and Frederick, but from what I see he's attempting to dash across and cross to the next building.
The order from Jean came soon after; shoot him. I aim my scope at his head and slowly squeeze the trigger. The bullet cruises through the air and misses the target. I keep my sight down and squeeze the trigger a couple more times. The bullets came cruising, but it misses his vital parts and instead hits his harm and legs which did stops him from running; but not what Jean had expected from me.
"Rico! What're you doing? Why can't you hit him?"
"Sorry sir; moving targets are rather difficult with the sniper rifle at this distance and height. The wind is also…"
"You'll go straight to sniper training once we return to the agency… how useless of you not being able to kill a moving target."
That word crushes me deep inside, but I bare it. It happens often, and I notice that. Triela told me once, that Henrietta was being treated by José more as a little sister. As for me, she said, I'm more like Jean's tool.
"Koch, Hillshire. The target is down on the roof. We must kill him now before we lose him! Send Frederick and Triela to the rooftops immediately!"
Somehow, I'm starting to envy Frederick's liberal attitude…
(Frederick's P.O.V)
Just when I thought it was over, it wasn't. Right after Triela and I step out of the room, Koch told me to go up the roof after our target. Triela will be joining me on the chase. We head up the stairs leading to the roof. As the door swings open, an immediate breeze of wind and hot air rush through me. I look around the roof and sure enough. We find a fool limping, or more precisely, crawling on the second building.
"There's our man" I said confirming the target by pointing at him. Triela knows this too.
"Let's get him before he gets away."
We move closer, leaping over a gap from one building to another. It's a short leap, so we'll be fine. If we fall from the third floor, we'll be ok thanks to our mechanical bodies. Maybe a few scratches on our way down, but we'll be fine. The terrorist is now at the edge of the building we're on now. Rico's sniper rifle can reach him, but was covered by brick walls and obstacles. The tension grows stronger as we get closer and closer towards our man when suddenly…
Another all too familiar 'clink' sound appears. Not from a pistol or a rifle, but from something small, green and highly explosive
"Frederick, look out!" Triela suddenly pulls her and me to the right where a ventilation shaft is located. An explosion occurred behind us. A grenade exploded…a GRENADE. Where in heaven's name did he get that? No one briefed me about grenade-armed Padania! Well, they told me some have grenades, but it was rare. Never thought we would be meeting one here. The ringing in my ear after the explosion…I hate it.
I thank her for that. But once again, our celebration is cut short as this little prick is trying hard to get away. As we got up from our position and went after him, he eventually crawls over the short brick wall that separates us from the next building. 'Oh look! He's trying to commit suicide' I thought to myself, which I figured that he wouldn't be stupid enough to do so. But he did anyway. Surprised by his action, we rush ourselves towards his position and found something else is down there; a truck drove out of the alley and into the city streets with a man on a pickup. Sure enough, Padania are there saving that man's ass. There's something important about this man. Something VERY important that makes Padania sure we don't get our hands on him or a bullet tattoo on his head. I bet our handlers will be feeling really dissatisfied about this escape.
"Frederick!"
"Triela! Where's the man?"
Both of our handlers came soon after, asking about our man or our target; who just managed to slip away from us! What else is there to say?
"Sorry sir. We tried, but he got away," Triela replies taking a glimpse at the alley below.
"Stuff like this happens sometimes, don't feel bad about it. Especially you Frederick, you've done a great job."
I nod after hearing Hillshire's remarks. I'm quite pleased with today's action…quite pleased. I was hoping I could do better, but that's just fine. Ah…its sad that everything is short lived. Now I'll have to listen to Koch's lecture…
April 7th,
Social Welfare Agency,
1900 hrs
I spent the rest of my free time at the Agency in Koch's room being lectured about reloading and taking cover. How knowing when to reload is better than how to reload, knowing what to shoot is better than when and how to shoot, all sorts of crap. All I need to do is nod with a little additions of 'uh-huh', 'yeah, ok.', and 'uh…sure'. Then he releases me from the terror at 7PM. The other girls are probably out with their handlers. Henrietta and Triela are out shopping with José and Hillshire as a kind of a reward for their work today. My reward is a long lecture by Koch all about my faulty mistakes today. Claes is out in her vegetable garden, checking if everything's in order. As for Rico…I don't know what she's up to.
However, the answer for that question came soon after. As I pass by Henrietta/Rico's room, I hear faint cries and sobs coming from the inside. At first, I didn't want to go inside; hell, I wouldn't want to trespass female territory! But as they say, its all due to curiosity! So I decided to move up and knock on the door.
"Hello?" I ask
"Y-yes? Who is it?" A voice replies…a faint one.
"I-it's me, Frederick. Rico, is it? Is everything ok? Allest gut?"
There was a moment of silence…no replies.
"…May I come in?" I ask bolding myself.
"…Yeah…the door's not locked."
I open the door slowly and to my surprise, the lights are off. The room is near pitch black as I search for the light switch, so I can see what's going on. Rico's crying…I can hear her. As I switch on the lights, I was surprised to see what had happened to Rico.
"Mein Gott, what the hell happened to you!?"
No replies came from her mouth as she tried to cover the blood in her face.
Slowly, I move to her sitting in her bed. Gently, I sit down beside her as she tries to look away, best as possible.
"..Hey…I know it isn't appropriate for me to ask, but….if you need someone to talk to, I'll be willing to listen."
She turns her head towards me this time and nods, wiping her tears before she starts.
(Rico's P.O.V)
I told Frederick everything. I told him that Jean hit me a couple of times because he wasn't satisfied with my service with the rifle earlier that day. I couldn't hit him; I just couldn't kill him in one shot. After that, he took me to the firing range and forced me to hit the moving target with the rifle. No misses should occur during that time…I pulled it off. But it not before Jean hit me due to my lack of skill with the rifle. During all of the missions I've went through, I've never encounter any moving target before using the sniper rifle.
"You know…I'm terrible with the sniper rifle."
I lifted my head up after hearing Frederick's remarks.
"The thing is, Rico, even when I'm using my bolt-action K98K, I'm still unable to hit the target perfectly. As I saw you practice with your semi-auto SVD, I notice that…every shot…every bullet you fire counts as a bulls-eye." Then he pause, taking deep sighs before he continues "I saw Henrietta and Triela practice with the sniper rifle. Same as I am, they're having trouble keeping still and hitting the small red dot in the distance."
He lifts his head up soon after and smiles, "All I'm saying is, you have something that we don't have. And that is patience."
My head lit up after hearing that. Somehow, all the terrible feelings just disappear.
"You have the patience of a sniper to hit the target and kill it in one shot. You have the patience to even sustain the pain of looking through your scope waiting for the target to show up. I also notice, you even have the patience to sustain Jean's actions towards you over the past two days …and today."
He pauses again…
"So please…cheer up. You're the best sniper I've ever seen in my life."
I smile afterwards. I don't know what to say to him. I want to thank him, to show him my gratitude, but my lips won't move. So I just sit there keeping myself quiet the whole time.
"Ah, your wound; we better get that treated. Wait here."
Frederick leaves the room, returning the next minute with the first aid kit he stores in his room.
"Now, hold still."
Slowly and gently, he treats my cuts with cotton soaked in antiseptic. After that, he wipes the blood that remains on my face.
"There, good as new."
I kept myself silent afterwards, still unable to say a word to him. As Fredrick stood up to leave, somehow, my lips started moving again
"Frederick!" I call out to him.
"Yeah?"
"…Thank you."
"Keine problem," (No Problem) He grins as he leaves the room.
Henrietta and Triela return from their walk an hour later. Henrietta did ask me what happened, but I kept quite. I just say with a smile that my 'older brother' came and helped me. She must've thought it was Jean since she was giggling a couple of times before going up to her bunk bed. Spending my days in the agency, I always saw Jean as my 'older brother'. When Frederick arrived, things changed. Now I view Jean more my caretaker, a rough one. Frederick really made me feel like he's my 'older brother'; a caring older brother. One responsible for his 'little sisters'; just like Claes told me in books she's read.
…I love my life in the Agency.