V

Taking her leave from the meeting, Ferro's inner thoughts were a mess of emotion. Watching the image of Alessandro and Petra in illicit bliss had eroded whatever sense of control she had on her moral restraint. Thinking on the subject only made Ferro consider Director Lorenzo's proposition more and more. Alessandro and Petra had a certain special relationship; that much was true. The only question remaining was how far they would take it.

Arriving at her office, Ferro plopped down into her chair. Her body ached to be attended to, but for the first time in a while she denied it even a small tease. Alessandro couldn't hold on to his perfect woman, so Petra was inadvertently made in her image. If Ferro couldn't find her perfect man, why couldn't she do the same if only for a short time?

'Just remember to treat him as a tool,' Jean would say.

Smirking at the imagined response, Ferro delved further into her imagination. The further she probed her creative mind; more and more possibilities began to take root. Especially with the Agency's ability to modify the second-gen cyborgs to the handler's specifications, Ferro's mind began to take on a perverse nature. A sensuous smirk crossed her lips as she resisted the urge to lick her lips at the impending satisfaction her appetite would receive. With one deep breath, Ferro closed her eyes and let herself dream of all the things she could have done to her upon request at the obedient will of a cyborg. The sheer imagery was almost too sinful for the devil himself to look at.

Picking up her phone Ferro dialed the short sequence for Director Lorenzo's office. Leaning back in her chair, Ferro gingerly swiveled from one side to the other waiting for the good Director to pick up.

"Lorenzo," the Director answered.

"Hello Director, this is Ferro. Am I interrupting anything?"

"Not at the moment, what's the matter?"

"Well Director, I was thinking about your offer to provide me with a cyborg; to support me in much of the same way your Tea does for you."

"Ah, yes. I wondered when you would accept."

"If I may, I would like to search for a b…child myself. That is if you don't mind."

"Not at all, I'll just have Jean and Bianchi send over the appropriate files for the candidates."

"That won't be necessary Director. I have everything I need at my disposal."

"I see."

"I'll commence my search tomorrow first thing and notify Jean of my selection. I'm ahead of my work for the time being, so as long as there are no emergencies…"

"…Oh, of course; I see no issue."

"Also, sir; I'd like to speak to Bianchi before any…work commences."

"Very well, take a leave Ferro and I'll see you after the weekend."

"Yes, sir; and I thank you."

With the receiver back in its proper place, Ferro couldn't help grinning mischievously at the possibilities to come.


Back in her apartment within the SWA main building, Ferro poured over file after file of young unfortunates. Priscilla had been eager to hand Ferro a stack of files on potential female subjects, but quickly became nervous when Ferro scowled at her. Upon receiving the harsh instruction, Priscilla rushed to gather the files on potential male subjects taking a little more than hour, but Ferro's disappointment was felt as the male subject files hadn't even reached the female subject stack by half.

The first discretionary on Ferro's list was age; she had no interest in corrupting a small child, but rather a boy on the cusp of manhood. As a result more than half of the files were deemed invalid by Ferro's judgment. The second discretionary was body definition. What good was a well equipped young man if he still looked to be a child? Beyond that, everything else was merely aesthetics. Ferro preferred a fresh-faced youth as opposed to the rough and rugged type and that she would determine from her initial visits. Those who were born the former could have become the latter by whatever unfortunate means. Leaning back in her chair, Ferro huffed in frustration. Out of all the files she had just sifted through, only four had even the minimal requirements she sought. Walking over to her phone, she dialed a short sequence getting Priscilla on the other end.

"Records and Logistics," Priscilla said over the receiver.

"Priscilla, this is Ferro."

"Ah, y…yes ma'am."

"About the files…"

"Oh, is there a…problem?"

"Yes, there is. I want all the files on potential male subjects."

"Actually ma'am, you have them all."

"…All?"

"Y…yes, ma'am."

"How can that be? Accidents happen all the time, how can there be so few male unfortunates?"

"Personally, I blame it on this backward country."

"…How?"

"Well; when the boy's of a family are sick or injured, they are usually cared for over the girl's."

"I see."

"Even if both are either sick or injured, despite the girl being in a more, I guess you could say salvageable state, the family usually chooses to try and save the boy's over the girls."

"…So that the family name will carry on."

"That's pretty much the regard."

"…Men," Ferro grunted under her breath."

"I'm sorry ma'am?"

"Never mind, do you know of an alternative?"

"Maybe, the files we get are typically requisitions from the hospitals around the country. We could try international compact…"

"Priscilla, we had a hard enough time getting Petrushka. We keep using international compact, somebody is bound to look. Besides, they came to us. Do you have anything else?"

"Hmm," Priscilla said as she racked her mind so as not to displease her superior. "Well, there are the clinics."

"…Clinics?"

"Yes, ma'am; most foreigners and unidentified people are sent to smaller clinics as opposed to the hospitals. Unless there was a dire emergency of course, but the medical authorities have been getting really stringent with who is admitted if they aren't verified as an Italian citizen. There could be potentially tens or even hundreds of …um… boys…out there…for…you."

"I see."

"I…I wasn't implying anything ma'am!"

"What; oh, never mind that. I want you to get me a list of all the clinics.

"Yes, ma'am; I'll have that list to first thing in the morning."

"Why so long?"

"There are a lot of clinics, ma'am; much more than there are hospitals."

"I see, in that regard, don't bother sending it to my office. Just bring it directly to my apartment."

"Yes, ma'am; will there be anything else?"

"Would it be possible to get me a current listing of the patients at these clinics?"

"It won't be easy, but I'll try."

"Very well, thank you."

Hanging up the receiver, Ferro quickly picked it up and dialed a completely new sequence. After a fourth ring, Ferro became increasingly impatient. A fifth and a sixth ring followed before Ferro was diverted by Dr. Bianchi's voice-mail answering message. After the signature 'beep', Ferro wasn't amused in the slightest.

"Bianchi," Ferro began her message, "I am coming to see you this moment and I have urgent matters to discuss with you. If you are not in your office by the time I get there, you had better be busy or there will have me to deal with when you get there."