Note: I'm glad many of you are enjoying my story so far. I'm sorry if it seems a bit too slow, but that's what I was going for since it is the introduction chapters.
I feel like a moron for not mentioning this before, but "P.T." is short for "Physical Training".
Enjoy Chapter 2.
Life, Liberty, And…
A Gunslinger Girl fan fiction by:
Sintendo
Chapter Two: Inspections (Part 1)
The Social Welfare Agency: Officer Ayanami's Quarters, Rome, Italy; 0430 hours, June 14, 2005
She awoke to an invigorating smell. It was the smell of bliss; sweet nectar and ambrosia mixed together into one aroma. Some would say that this particular scent was rank and musky, like the smell of a used shirt, but to her it was an aphrodisiac.
She opened her eyes to find the source of the scent. She became disappointed that her fiancé was not next to her, but instead already changing into his P.T. gear. Rising from her bed, she sat at the edge and studied Percival's every move.
"Have you been getting up at this time since you came here?" She asked in her native Japanese tongue.
"Of course I have." He replied in the same language, "You know how hard it is for me to break old habits."
"Like your annoying nail biting? Or when you crack your knuckles? Or when you scratch your nose when you get embarrassed? Or the way you sometimes moan in your sleep? Or your constant smoking?"
"Damn…" Percival sighed, "And you've put up with all that?"
"I like 'fixer-uppers'." She coyly responded.
"Right…" Percival sarcastically shot back, "Its 4:40, time to get dressed for P.T."
later
Since Bradley and Rei were unfamiliar with the layout of the Agency, Percival had to lead both of them for their ten mile run. The brothers, Jean and Jose, and their respective cyborgs joined them in their morning jog; Jean having gotten used to running in the morning with Percival, and Jose trying to establish that habit into his daily routine. Another pair tagged along as well. These two were new faces to Bradley and Rei: one was another Agent of the SWA named Marco. The other was an innocent looking 12 year old girl named Angelica, and was the third cyborg that Bradley and Rei have met since their arrival in Italy.
Bradley took notice of Angelica's stamina as they passed the five mile mark. Unlike Rico, who apparently had the strength of twenty or thirty men, Angelica was breathing as rapidly as he was.
"Angelica, are you all right?" The General asked.
"Yes, General, I'm fine." She responded. "Why do you ask, sir?"
"It's just that…" He hesitated a bit, then decided against reporting his observation, "Never mind; forget I even asked."
"Give her a few days, and she will." Marco grumbled from behind.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bradly asked, spinning around and running backwards to face the bearded Agent.
"Angelica has a small problem with her conditioning," Marco huffed, "The slightest injury can wipe her short term memory clean."
"And what have you done about it?" Bradley asked.
"Me, General?"
"Yes you, Agent." Bradley shot back, "You are her handler, am I right?"
"Yes I am, General." Marco replied, "But there's nothing that I can do, outside of re-training her over and over again." He shot a look of disgust toward Angelica, who was trailing the group.
"It's no use anyhow, General." Jean interrupted, "He's getting a replacement cyborg in a few weeks."
"And what happens to Angelica?" Bradley asked the man beside him.
"We have her discarded," Jean said loud enough for the three cyborgs to hear, almost as if he did so purposefully, "They're nothing more than tools, General. They're easily replaced when need be."
"Tools… I think not, Jean, tools don't talk back." Bradley returned his attention to Marco, "Have you given up on Angelica already, Agent Marco?"
Marco didn't respond. He looked at the girl that struggled to stay by his side.
"I see…." Bradley turned around and resumed jogging normally. "I don't like quitters, Agent Marco. Quitters get the rest of the team killed."
The Social Welfare Agency: Cafeteria, Rome, Italy; 0659 hours, Same Day
A gathering of nearly 300 male and female agents of the SWA, including the ten cyborgs, anxiously waited for the arrival of Major General Nowell and his small entourage. With the exception of Chief Lorenzo, Jean, Jose, Marco, Henrietta, Rico, and Angelica, everyone whispered amongst themselves. Most wondered why they were at work so early in the morning. Others wondered what type of person This "V.I.P." was, and what was he going to do here.
As the clock struck 0700 hours, the double doors of the cafeteria swung open; in marched the heavily decorated Major General with a Lieutenant at his left, and a Chief Warrant Officer at his right. Each officer carried their own electronic tablet.
Instantly anyone in the room hushed to a dead silence, staring at the Major General with inquisitive eyes.
"Attention!" Lt. Nowell shouted directly at the Agents.
The entire room obediently rose to their feet and saluted to the three officers.
Major General Nowell positioned himself in the very front and center of the cafeteria, where he could see every face in the room. He saluted to the Agents, giving them permission to return their hands to their sides.
"Good morning everyone." Bradley started. "I am Major General Bradley Nowell of the U.S. Army. To my left is Lt. Percival Nowell, my son. To my right is Chief Warrant Officer Rei Ayanami, my assistant. I can see that you all are adamantly devoted to your work and ready for inspection."
A sudden wave of whispers and gossip spread throughout the room like wildfire. The words that came from all the Agent's lips were not pleasing to Bradley's ears. His blood nearly boiled, but years of martial arts and mental training kept him from doing so.
"Those of you, who know exactly why Lt. Nowell, Officer Ayanami, and I are here," He asked above the noise of whispers, "raise you rright hand."
A small trickle of less than a tenth of the entire room raised their hands.
Bradley counted the hands in his head, "Only 20 people know… what the hell...?"
Bradley turned to Officer Ayanami and whispered something inaudible, and foreign from any Agents ears. She nodded her head and began writing on her tablet.
"Chief Dragi, Chief Lorenzo, may I speak to your for a moment?" Bradley signaled for them to come over to where he stood.
Both Chiefs seemingly teleported in front Bradley, eager to please the Major General, and stood at perfect attention. This sort of behavior coming from Dragi was unheard of to Lorenzo, but in these circumstances, he could see the logic to it.
"Why is it that damn near nobody knows about our little visit?" Bradley growled.
"This is top secret, General," Dragi explained, "We felt that nobody, other than reliable Agents, needed to know about this."
"I understand that certain information needs to be kept buried, Dragi," The Major General stood face to face with the Chief, "But something as severe as this, something that affects everyone employed by the Agency, should not be kept secret. The Social Welfare Agency was a government organization, but as of last week the SWA became a private organization. The perks that came with their jobs are no longer available to them. What are you going to tell them come next payday?"
Both Chiefs stood there, dumbfounded, and utterly destroyed by their amateurish mistake.
"How much funding does the Agency have left until it dissolves?" Percival asked from behind his father.
"If we continue regular spending at the current rate," It was Lorenzo's turn to speak, "We'll last for 3 more weeks."
"Jesus, Maria, and Joseph…" The General took the words right out of Percival's mouth, "If it were up to me, this circus would have been crossed off the list of potential U.S.P. candidates at this moment, but my peers have taken a liking to your activities. You should be thankful for that. Remember that without your Agents, you two are nothing. Consider yourselves lucky that I am bound by my duty, gentlemen, and that I've come here to do my job."
"Yes, General!" Both Chiefs responded.
"I would suggest that you find some way to inform your Agents about our visit, gentlemen. For the few days that I am here, you should watch what you and your agents are doing, because it's only been a few hours since I've arrived and you're already on my bad side." He turned to Lorenzo, "Especially Section Two, Chief Lorenzo. So far, two of your agents have proved unsatisfactory to my standards. Additionally, even though your Agents' and cyborgs' combat and mission records are impressive, your Section's uninhibited spending on research and development on cybernetic augmentations is what brought you to your current position. I hate to say it, Chief, but it's mostly your fault that Italy left The Social Welfare Agency to rot away."
Dragi stood firm as Lorenzo looked as though he were shot through the heart. He felt empty inside, not only because he had been insulted, but also because everything that Bradley had said was true.
"You two are dismissed." Bradley finished, sending the two leaders back to their original positions.
The General looked at the curious eyes on each face of the SWA. "Inspection has begun, ladies and gentlemen. But before you start your work, I believe Chief Dragi and Chief Lorenzo have something to say to all of you."
The Social Welfare Agency: Section One Office, Rome, Italy; 1150 hours, Same Day
"Excellent," Bradley said to a nervous and sweaty Agent Fermi of Section One, "Looks like everything is in good order, Agent. Section One is definitely well organized. Your hardware and software are up-to-date; your Agents are familiar with the new programs; and files that date to the beginning of the SWA are easily accessible. So far so good, Agent, we're nearly half-way done with the inspection of Section One, and I'm satisfied with everything that I've seen." The General looked around the room, noticing the effort that each Agent was putting into their work. It reminded him of a beehive.
"Thank you, General!" Fermi exclaimed.
"You have no one to thank but your fellow Agents, Fermi." He took a quick glance at his silver Tag-Heuer wristwatch, noticing that it was nearly 1200 hours. "Shall we take a short break before we move on to the armory?"
"Yes of course, General!" Fermi replied, "Do you prefer that I take you to a restaurant or would you like something quicker for lunch? McDonald's perhaps?"
"I think I'll dine at the cafeteria, I have no time to waste." Bradley turned to his son and Rei, who were both busy examining several stacks of papers and taking notes on their electronic tablets. "Lead the way, Lieutenant."
"Yes, General." Percival said as he and Rei stood at attention.
They exited the office and entered the wide, moderately decorated hallways of the Section One building.
"Well then, General, I'll meet you back here in an hour." Fermi then saluted to the three Americans and re-entered the office.
"You hungry?" Percival asked, speaking to Rei in Japanese.
"Yes," Rei said in the same language, "I'm starving. The General didn't even give us enough time to eat breakfast this morning." She leered at the old man that stood next to her.
"You could have asked for a break." Bradley said in Japanese as he took off his hat, a secret "signal" that only Percival and Rei were aware of, allowing them to speak as freely they wished. "You know I won't bite your head off if you ask."
"Heh," Percival slipped a cigarette into his lips, "Let's go, dad, my kids are probably waiting for me."
"Then we'd better hur-, wait, what did you just say?" Rei asked as Percival lit his cigarette.
At the SWA cafeteria
Upon entering the cafeteria, Rei noticed that there were several young boys were sitting together at the very center of the room. She assumed that they were all cyborgs of Section two.
One of them, a young, fair skinned boy, stood at the edge of his seat, waving excitedly and yelling out, "Hey Percy! Over here!" His hair was a visual salad of black and white, almost unnatural in appearance.
"Hey there, Baldo," Percival waved back, "I'll be there in a minute."
"Is that one of your 'kids'?" Rei spoke in Japanese so that nobody near them would understand.
"Yeah," Percival smiled, "His name is 'Baldasarre'."
"What an odd name." Rei thought aloud. "Are they-?"
"Cyborgs of Section Two?" Percival finished her question, "Yeah, all of them are."
After the threesome retrieved a lunch platter containing turkey ravioli, a small side salad, a glass of juice, and a slice of garlic bread, they sat down at the same table where the boys were busy chatting away, something about how hot Rei was.
Percival immediately began introductions, silencing the boys.
"Dad, Rei, these are my boys." He started, "That tall one with the black and white mop on his head is Baldasarre, but we like to call him 'Baldo'. As you can tell from his Hugo-Boss outfit, he's very fashion savvy. Makes me question his sexual preference, though…."(Note: "Baldo" is the Croatian equivalent of "Baldasarre")
"Hey!" Baldo snorted, "Beneditto makes me wear this stuff!" The black, double breasted jacket he wore was unbuttoned, revealing the solid black tie clipped in place onto the white dress shirt underneath. His matching trousers were neatly ironed in all the correct places and were topped off with a black leather belt with silver buckle.
"Sure he does," Said a smug Percival, "The blondie next to him is named Dario."
"Pleased to meet you." The pale faced boy smiled as he greeted Bradley and Rei. He casually wore dark blue jean shorts that were almost as long as normal jeans, black basketball shoes, and a black t-shirt. His hair was messy and tangled, appearing as though he had just risen out of bed.
"To his left, the tall one with the black cotton ball for hair is called Ignazio." Percival continued, "He's able to control his body temperature, which why he's dressed like that."
"Greetings." He waved to them with a gloved hand. He dressed in unusually warm clothing: a dark grey turtle neck, black jeans that appeared as though there was another pair worn underneath, wool lined black leather boots, and extremely dark, black sunglasses. His dark brown skin was barley visible underneath all the articles of clothing.
"Ahead of Nacho is the silent one, Renaldo." Percival pointed to another blonde haired boy. (Note: "Nacho" is the Spanish nickname for the name "Ignacio", which is the Spanish equivalent to "Ignazio". And yes, Spanish is one of the many languages that Percival and Bradley speak :P)
"Hi." Renaldo said. His clothes, as well as his posture, were more relaxed compared to the others. The fair skinned, sleepy faced boy wore a pair of brown leather strapped and rubber soled flip-flops, blue basketball shorts, and a white tank-top. His head was covered by a faded blue baseball cap that appeared as though it would fall apart at any given moment.
Bradley shook his head and blinked several times; he swore to himself that he saw sleep bubbles escaping the top of the boy's head.
"And last, but not least," Percival pointed to a brown haired, fair skinned boy, "Next to Naldo, we have Enzo." (Note: "Naldo" is the nickname given to anyone with a name ending in "-naldo".)
"Good afternoon." He said. His clothes resembled Baldo's, sans the sport jacket and tie. His white dress shirt was crisp and neatly tucked into his black trousers, supported by a black leather belt with gold buckle.
"Nice to meet you all," Bradley said, "I'm Major General Bradley Nowell, but just call me 'General'."
"I'm Chief Warrant Officer Rei Ayanami." She plainly said.
"Well now…," Baldo slithered his way next to where Rei sat, "Good afternoon, Miss Rei," He took her hand and gently kissed it, "You look absolutely ravishing today."
Rei was visibly unimpressed with Baldo's sad attempt to woo her. The other boys took note and laughed amongst themselves.
"Dammit, Baldo," Enzo spoke, "You couldn't charm your way out of a jewelry box. What makes you think you can get a beautiful woman like Officer Ayanami to fall for you?"
Rei was now visibly flattered at Enzo's statement about her; an action that Angered Baldo. In retaliation, Baldo threw a balled up napkin at Enzo's face.
"Quiet you!" He barked.
"I thought you said you hated girls, Baldo?" Nacho asked.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no!" Baldo slid his way over to Nacho and flicked his nose, "That is where your lack of grammatical skills fails you, my friend!" Baldo pointed to his own head, "I LOATHE girls. However…," He snaked his way back to Rei, "I admire mature women; Officer Ayanami is a flawless example of the fine work of Mother Nature."
"Ahem," Percival cleared his throat, "Don't act like that in front of The General. And besides, Rei happens to be my fiancé."
The mixed look of shock, awe, and sadness appeared on Baldo's face. Utterly defeated; the boy shuffled his way back to his seat.
"The loud one amuses me," Bradley commented, "What's your name again?"
Baldo's eyes lit up. He swung his butter knife to and fro, making "hi-yaa" and grunting noises as he did so, finishing his weird display by posing on his chair. "My name is Baldasarre Da Vinci; named after the Wise man: Balthazar, and the Renaissance man: Leonardo Da Vinci; THEREFORE I am easily THE best amongst my peers! Mwahahahahaha!"
The other boys simply shook their heads, both in disappointment and embarrassment.
"Baldo!" Percival warned, "Not in front of The General!"
"It's all right." Bradley smiled, "He reminds me of you when you were his age."
"My, my…," Baldo grinned, "How the tables have turned." He sat down and rested his chin on the palm of his hands, acting like a schoolchild. "Tell us more, General!"
"Before I do that," Bradley said, "Tell me why a boy like you has no interest for girls his own age?"
Blado retreated back into his chair; a look of shame painted on his face. The other boys snickered at Baldo's current mood.
"What's so funny?" Bradley asked.
"Well, General," Dario said through a laugh, "When Baldo first came here, he tried to get all the girls to be his girlfriend. As you can tell, he was rejected by every single one of them."
"Tell him about the time Rico denied him!" Enzo suggested.
"No, the one where Henrietta rejected him was better!" Nacho said.
"Yeah right, Rico shot him down like a duck on the first day of hunting season!" Enzo barked.
"Henrietta broke him down like a tower of building blocks!" Nacho growled back.
"Tell The General about Rico!" Enzo pleaded with Dario.
"No! Tell him about the time with Henrietta!" Nacho pushed Enzo out of Dario's way.
"You better not say a word, Dario, or I'll-" Baldo began.
"Enough!" Percival interrupted, "Can't you see we have guests here!"
The boys froze in awkward positions: Nacho and Enzo were at each other's throats, Dario was shielding himself with his hands, and Baldo had a knife in one hand and a fork in another, primed and ready to be flung at Dario.
"It's all right, son," Bradley said, "Boys will be boys," He motioned for the 4 boys to sit back down, "Now then. We have an hour before we get back to work; I'm sure we have enough time to hear all of Baldo's failed attempts at obtaining love." Bradley grinned.
Needless to say, Baldo returned to his broken state; curling up to a fetal position on his chair.
"I'd like to hear Renaldo's opinion on this matter," Bradley said, "Which story would you like to hear first, son, the story with Rico or Henrietta?"
The quiet boy sat up in his chair, "Actually…," he began, "The story of Baldo and Elsa is my personal favorite."
Nacho and Enzo had wide grins on their faces, "Ooooooh." Was the sound that same from their lips.
"I take it that this Elsa was the harshest?" Bradly asked Percival.
"I don't know," Percival shrugged, "I've never met her before, and the boys never told me about this."
Baldo shook his head in disapproval, "Not this one…." He groaned.
"Yeah," Dario agreed, "This one happens to involve me, so I'd rather not…."
"Do it for The General." Naldo teased him.
"Just tell it, boy," Percival said, "I'm sure Elsa wouldn't mind since my dad wanted to hear it."
"I hate to say it, Percy," Nacho said, "But Elsa is dead."
"Dead?" Percival questioned.
"Yeah, she was killed while trying to protect her handler, Lauro."
"I see," Percival said, "Then maybe we shouldn't talk about this."
"The best way to remember a friend is to reminisce about them," Bradley stated, "Go on, Dario, and tell us what happened between Baldo and Elsa."
Dario sighed, "The thing is, General," He started, "Elsa wasn't really what you would call 'a friend'..."
(Dario: narrator)
The Social Welfare Agency, Rome, Italy; 1130 hours, November 5, 2004
It was the morning of Baldo's 5th day at the Social Welfare Agency. He had already been rejected by all the girls, except for Elsa, so in his final attempt at getting a girlfriend, he spruced himself up. You know; a tux, cologne, hair gel, the works. He even had the gall to pick flowers from Claes' garden.
He was nervous, so he asked me to do him a favor and ask Elsa to meet him at the outdoor shooting range at noon.
I, being Baldo's senior by nearly a year, had to oblige, even though I didn't want anything to do with Baldo's love missions.
"Elsa?" I asked after knocking on her door.
"What do you want?" I heard her growl.
"I, uh…" I knew Elsa wouldn't leave her room for any reason, except if it had anything to do with her handler, Lauro, so I fibbed, "Lauro wants to see you at the outdoor range."
Like a bat out of hell, Elsa leaped from her room and dashed down the hall, making her way to the range.
After seeing the way Elsa ran out, I was now curious to see how she would react to find Baldo instead of Lauro, so I followed her.
Upon reaching the range, Elsa completely ignored Baldo and began searching for Lauro.
"It was I who called you to this place," Baldo said in a cheesy manner, "And I would be the happiest man in the world if you and I were to go steady."
A split second later, Baldo was literally flying in the air, eventually landing on a pile of wood about 20 or 30 meters away.
I couldn't help but laugh out loud, and in doing so, Elsa spotted me hiding behind some bushes.
The last thing I remember was being able to see an aerial view of the parking lot before everything went blank.
Baldo and I woke up in the intensive care unit 3 days later.
We both had severe concussions.
"There, you happy, Naldo?" Dario crossed his arms
"Yes," Naldo put his cap over his eyes, "Very much so."
"Dammit!" Baldo slammed his fist on the table, "Tomorrow I'll get my revenge!"
"Why, what happens tomorrow?" Bradley asked.
"We're having war games!" Baldo exclaimed, "The girls and their handlers versus THE MEN and our handlers! We're gonna rip them apart!"
"One thing though," Nacho said, "One of us has to sit out."
"And why's that?" Bradley asked.
"One of the cyborg girls, Claes, doesn't have a handler." Percival said.
"And why not?" Bradley was now intrigued; he began to take notes on his tablet.
"I'm not too sure," Percival said, "Maybe Jean or Chief Lorenzo might know."
Bradley continued taking notes, and making a memo for himself, reminding him to ask Lorenzo about Claes.
"I'll sit out." Naldo said, already half asleep.
"Great!" Baldo said, "You suck anyways!"
The Social Welfare Agency: Bradley's Quarters; 2300 hours, Same Day
Bradley was thoroughly impressed with Section One's organization, teamwork, and dedication; not a single agent left the room after the announcement of their current standings. Their disciplne was comparable to that of the U.S. Navy S.E.A.L.s or the Army Green Berets. Bradley's peers at the U.S.P. would gladly welcome Section One with open arms.
After typing the report of a successful inspection of Section One's entire portion of the SWA and sending it back to the U.S.P. headquarters via e-mail, Bradley retired to his bed.
He found it troublesome to fall asleep, though; the thought of Claes and her lack of a handler still lingered in his head. He didn't know weather it was Lorenzo's carelessness in realizing that she was just wasted opportunity or if he just pitied the girl; something was bothering him about Claes' position.
Mix those feelings in with the already established disgust toward Section Two and their many flaws, including the handful of agents stepping out of the cafeteria after the dreadful announcement from Lorenzo; Bradley was now a ticking time bomb of anxiety.
"Tomorrow is gonna be a long day," He thought to himself.
End chapter Two
Coming soon:
Chapter Three: Inspection (Part 2)