CHARTER 01
BEAUTIFUL MORNING

The melodic tune of Canon in D stirred her. Drowsy, she woke up and yawned, stretching her arms at the same time. She rubbed her eyes and looked outside the window. Sighing in delight when sunlight penetrated the curtain and enveloped her body, she jumped off the bed and approached it. Instantly the morning ray of the Mediterranean entered the room and heated its interior.

Mariel giggled. "Good morning, Sicily."

She headed to the villa's kitchen after quick shower and dress-up. The aroma of toast caught her attention, and her tummy growled in hunger. The desire for breakfast that was driving her crazy died out as she entered the kitchen; two of the mentors were quarrelling on what was on the menu.

"I told you it has to be toast and omelette!" Wolfgang Hartmann argued.

"Your menu selection is going to starve the children! Rice ball with roasted eel are better," Sophia Asakawa insisted.

"Rice ball? Eel? You and your strange appetite are scaring them!" Hartmann jeered. "That's why it's toast and omelette!"

"Why, hello Hartmann-kun, let me prepare the breakfast!" Sophia replied.

Mariel ignored the commotion and took seat next to Illiya. The tall girl greeted her with a morning hug and feverishly kissed her flushed cheek. "A very good morning, my sweet little sister," playfully Illiya spoke.

"Illiya, you're going to scare Mariel away," the eyeglasses-totting girl reminded.

Illiya chortled and stared at the girl. "Aw, I just want to play with Mariel," she replied. "You don't have to be such a meanie, Nadia. Okay?"

"You're even worse than I thought," she chided.

"ZA WARUDO!"

Both the adults jumped off their feet in surprise. They looked behind him and saw a man nonchalantly took the pot from Sophia. "Every time you start an argument," he said and stored the pot, "God kills a kitten. Please think of the kitten."

"What does kitten have to do with breakfast?!" Hartmann roared. The man simply ignored him and approached the tables, putting down what looked like a bag containing roast chicken and sat next to Mariel. The aroma of the food immediately made the girls crave for food, and they would have gotten their hands over it had the man not reminded them to behave.

"Aaron, you're being stingy," Illiya pouted. "I don't like mean people."

"Then a misbehaving girl won't have a piece of the chicken," the man replied and handed a drumstick to the awaiting Mariel. "Good girls always get the best part."

"Hey! That's not fair!" Illiya protested.

The man laughed and gave a piece of chicken wing to her. "Here's one for you," he said and did the same to Nadia and the brunette girl seated next to her.

"Aaron."

The elegant-looking man turned to her. "Yes?"

She smiled. "Thanks for the meal."

"What's our plan after this?"

"Let me see." Nadia took out her booklet, browsing through the pages as to look for her timetable. "We're scheduled to fly to Zagreb this afternoon. Then we'll take our flight to Istanbul before arriving at Odessa. Our trip is expected to take 15 hours depending on the circumstances. That is all." She closed the booklet and continued eating her breakfast. "I heard we're going to have a new recruit next month."

"A boy?" Illiya inexplicably squealed and threw her hands wildly. "Finally! My wish has been granted! I'm so excited!"

"What's that about, Illiya?" Nadia jeered. "Don't we already have Joan to take care of?"

"But Joan isn't manly enough to suit my taste!" Illiya retorted. Hartmann and Aaron fell to the floor, laughing uncontrollably at the answer. "Hey! It's not even funny. Stop laughing!"

"What's ironic about your wish is that Joan is already manly enough to become your groom," Hartmann mocked between his laughs.

(At the nearby beach, the said person was jogging when he suddenly sneezed. "What was that for?" he growled and rubbed his nose.)

Illiya's only response was to toss a knife at the instructor. It missed his crotch by an inch and made him stop laughing. "You just don't get it," she grumbled and left the meal untouched.

"Then I'll have to finish this for you," the brunette girl uttered and took the plate.

Nadia glowered at her. "You're an eating machine, Flay," she murmured. "Two plates aren't going to satisfy your greed." She kept staring at Flay who was unaware of what her 'sister' was doing. "But you aren't even gaining weight. I don't understand."

Their breakfast session ended after 15 minutes when Mariel finished her meal. She helped Sophia cleaning the table and washing the dishes. They were engaged in casual conversations, occasionally interfered by the spectacled Nadia who offered to help. Flay helped Hartmann and Aaron sweeping the kitchen floor, the latter twos complained at the house chores they were involuntarily doing, and shouted in protest when their female colleagues laughed at them.

"I thought we could stay here a bit longer," Mariel murmured. "It's the first time I've ever gone to Sicily. I kind of expected to spend our last day at the beach, at least."

"Well, our Chief didn't want us to stay overseas for too long," the Japanese-Russian woman replied. "Besides, when Nadia said we're going to have a recruit, it means we'll have a new family member. Right?"

"I'm afraid Illiya will only abuse her authority to dominate that person," Nadia chided. "With due respect, ma'am, you're her instructor. Can't you do anything to regulate her?"

"Now, now, Nadia-chan," Sophia replied (and made the girl bluish at the suffix she was using). "Why don't you go upstairs and pack your stuffs up? We don't want to miss our flight. Da-ka-ra…"

"EN GARDE!"

The house occupants turned to the source of the voice. "Oh, looks like our Missus Dominator is channelling her anger towards her target," Nadia uttered.

At the living room, Joan was seen parrying Illiya's punches and kicks, shouting helplessly for help while jumping over all obstacles. "Somebody please tell me what's going on?!" he cried out and dodged Illiya's roundhouse kick.

"Should we help him, Miss Sophia?" Mariel asked.

The woman shrugged. "Sa…"

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Investigators are still baffled by the shootout incident which took place at the container dockyard. Whether it was caused by clash between crime gangs or internal disputes among syndicate members, they are still searching for evidences that will eventually lead to the discovery of the culprits. When asked whether there is any connection between the incident and government's secret agency, Chief Inspector Alfonso Columbus told news agencies his unit is currently searching for clues at the site and informed the discovery of a flower petal found in the area."

The iPod radio was switched off. Mariel caught her summer hat before it was blown off her head. Standing in front of the villa her team had lodged for two weeks she threw her sight to the open sea and gazed into the infinite blueness. None of her colleagues were present: Illiya, Hartmann and Aaron were carrying equipments into one of their rented SUVs; Joan, Flay and another child operative named Kyoko were cleaning the villa's interiors; Nadia stayed inside her room to maintain her tools of the trade. The lone girl was the only person not having anything to do on that day, and with her hands free she planned to have a quick stroll along the coastline.

"I surely will miss this place…"

She bunny-hopped off the staircase. Not taking care of Illiya who was calling for help, Mariel headed to the beach. She turned on the music player and tuned into one of her play-lists: most of the songs were of Baroque and classical genre and she was enjoying the music as she strolled along the sandy coastline.

Her steps met an abrupt end.

A red-haired girl was standing not far from her, gazing up into Sicily's afternoon sky. Holding a violin bag between her arms, she was unaware of Mariel or her presence in the vicinity, or the fact that the young Englishwoman was staring at her in curiosity.

"Umm… excuse me."

The red-haired girl turned to her, surprised by Mariel's presence. "Yes?"

Mariel approached her. "Are you new around here? I never meet you before."

She shook her head. "Not really. I've been here a lot," she replied. "What about you?"

"It's my first time," Mariel said. "Sadly today I have to go home. We must attend a family gathering."

"That's too bad." Slowly she approached her, her eyes glued on the iPod Mariel was holding. "What are you listening to?"

"Oh, this?" Mariel took off the left earphone, put it into her ear and turned up the volume. The girl listened to the music and found herself tapping her feet to its rhythms. "What do you think?"

"I like this song," she said. "It sounds familiar, somehow."

Mariel nodded. "It's Canon. I really like the composition. I wish I can play it on piano someday."

The girl cooed. "Canon in D? Oh, I've always wanted to play it on violin. I like the song, too."

They heard a loud horn coming from the car park. They turned around and saw someone waving from one of the black SUVs. "Mariel! Hurry up! We're going to leave!" the person shouted.

"Y-yes! I'm coming!" She turned back to the girl. "I'd like to know more about you, but I have to go now. My family's awaiting me."

She nodded. "Okay. By the way, what's your name?"

Mariel giggled. "Mariel. And yours?"

The redheaded girl smiled. "I'm Henrietta. Pleased to meet you, Mariel."

The silver-haired girl bowed and rushed to the awaiting van. Henrietta simply watched from faraway, as Mariel headed to the car park and embarked on one of the SUVs.

"I've been looking for you. Everyone's worried because you just disappeared without warning." Henrietta said nothing as she was busy watching at Mariel who was seen talking with some girls outside the van. Triela looked at the direction Henrietta was watching; her eyebrow batted up in curiosity. "Say, who are those?"

"A new friend," Henrietta said and waved back to Mariel when she waved to her. "Triela."

"Hmm? What is it, Henrietta?"

She looked up at her. "When we get back to our base, will you help me on violin practice?"

Triela's eyebrow batted upward again. "You never even told me of that. What's up with that? Trying to impress Giuseppe, eh Henrietta?"

Henrietta giggled. "That's not the case." She, then, threw her sights into the sky, grinning as she tightened her arms around her violin case.

"That's not the case…"