Disclaimer: No I do not own Gunslinger Girl. Raphael and his other aliases yes but the rest of them no.
Out side my taxicab stands this large office building. Beside me is my 'tour guide', this is my first time in Rome, I don't want to be here but it will have to do. If my actions need to lay low this will be the place.
"Sir. Benoit, that is the building you purchased, what do you think?" says the African man that I consider my tour guide.
"Well it's decent. I am a terrorist now so I guess I can't complain." Memories of my exile from my agency flash through my head at that moment.
"You shouldn't Sir. Benoit this structure you bought… it does not draw attention to it self."
"First of all stop calling me Sir, I am not of higher authority than you anymore, Mr. Benoit will do. Second what did you mean by that?"
"Of course Mr. Benoit; well Mr. Benoit we have here a 18th century made building, its walls are 3 meters thick on all sides yet it does not look like a fortress. You can perform any terrorist activity you want and no one will care or be able to notice.
"I see, where are my papers?"
"They are still in the safe house Mr. Benoit. We need to act fast though the government is growing suspicious of your presence. You did get here illegally."
"I see, about the government here… do they pose a threat?"
"The government Mr. Benoit, is corrupted. The police are corrupt; the only true threat to us is the SWA Mr. Benoit."
"The SWA? You mean the Social Welfare Agency."
"The SWA or the Social Welfare Agency Mr. Benoit, according to our Intel, is an agency who takes young girls at the brink of death, modify them with cybernetic parts and turn them in to assassins."
"I see, how much of a threat are they?"
"A major threat Mr. Benoit. Especially since our latest Intel tells us that they have a new recruit. We believe his code name is 'Raphael' he is a teenage boy who we believe has also gone under the SWA's training. He has successfully assassinated the Mafia's Thug Organizer Armando Estolas a few days ago. Here is a picture of him, please be careful our spy died taking this shot, the picture now costs 3000 Euros in the black market… is something wrong Mr. Benoit?"
Chapter 6 Conflitto
Conflict
"What? No, nothing's wrong. It's just that I think I recognized that kid from somewhere; never mind. Let's go back to the safe house shall we."
"Of course Mr. Benoit."
Raphael ey? Is that what they call you here? Well looks like my stay here in Rome will be a bit more entertaining now. I don't know what they want you to do but I am sure of one thing. It's nice to know that an old friend is around.
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"Soooo what is it?"
That's what we've been asking Raphael all morning as we referred to the necklace around his neck. Triela and Claes also seem curious too, yet they were the ones with him when he first put it on. I guess Raphael is keeping it a secret, but why?
"Henrietta, how many times do I have to tell you, I also don't know." Said Raphael as he prepared his guns.
We were all getting ready for some training since tonight we have an assignment that even Lorenzo is not fully confident about. There isn't much known about our targets so we are told to train extra hard to lessen mistakes. We ran the obstacle course 5 times already and now we are going to try the simulation rooms.
"So what are the instructions? We throw a flash grenade in and just keep shooting?" asked Raphael.
Raphael never pays attention to instructions left by the handlers he likes deviating and doing it his way. He does get the job done though, so their inability to scold him frustrates them. With Raphael on our side we were able to clear each room quicker. His accuracy meant we needed to fire less rounds and he also preferred smoke grenades to flashes since he seems to be able to look through the smoke or at least expect where the targets would be. Eventually Raphael and I were able to leave the simulation room even sooner that Rico and Triela! Triela was very frustrated but Raphael was able to ask Joze to take him and I to the lunch area before Triela could get back at him for beating her speed record in the simulation.
As soon as we got there we saw Triela and Rico close behind, so with Claes's help we were able to pack some lunch and suggest a pick-nick before Triela was even able to approach Raphael. We set the pick-nick in a nearby field and Raphael talked to Claes the whole time. I guess it was about the book she was reading since even Claes looked enthusiastic about the conversation.
Suddenly Triela got up and asked Raphael to get up as well. Raphael was hesitant but Triela grabbed his hand and pulled him up. As soon as Raphael was able to get his balance Triela threw him a fist. O my god Triela is actually picking a fight!
Unfortunately none of the handlers followed us here and so, no one was there to stop the fight. Fortunately Raphael had no plans of getting hurt. He evaded Triela's fury and got behind her. There he just wrapped his arms around her and made sure she won't get to hit him. If one did not know that they were fighting you'd think that they're just to lovers rough housing but all of us knew that Raphael held Triela's waist for dear life. Soon the pair lost their balance and fell on the grass. As soon as Raphael let go of his hug Triela spun around but ended up just millimeters from Raphael's face. They both sprang on their feet seemingly repulsed by the close encounter. However, as soon as both of them were up Triela kicked Raphael on the back. Raphael fell on the ground and was motion less.
"…Raphael?…Raph? I am not joking I am sorry. Raphael? Raphael!" Triela started panicking.
We saw what happened and rushed to Raphael's 'unconscious' body as well.
"Triela what did you do!" we screamed.
"I don't know! I did not know I'd hurt him! Raphael!" Triela yelled with tears welling in her eyes.
With that Triela flipped Raphael face up just to see Raphael smiling back at us. Boy was Triela mad, she would have started kicking Raphael if it wasn't for the fear that what just happened would happen for real.
"You Sn of a Btch do you know how worried you made me?" Triela screamed wiping the tears in her eyes.
Raphael was laughing and sat up, "For I while I actually felt bad for scaring you; but that moment was just priceless. I thought you wanted me dead, suddenly you were screaming for me to live?"
Triela was really contemplating to whether kick him or not but then Ferro came by and told us to get in the car. It was time for the assignment.
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AAAhhh! Raphael! Why did you do that! Now my period is acting up again. Doesn't he know that when a girl gets a period she does irrational things? Wait he doesn't know I have one I guess. Now my thighs feel cramped up.
"Triela, you ok?"
First you scare the life out of me and now you ask me if I am ok? You really have a lot to learn Raphael, a lot to learn indeed.
"Listen I saw how upset you looked, if I really scared you awhile ago, I am sorry."
Wait what's he doing… damn he's holding my hand! O no I feel my cheeks turning red. I can't let him see this! Calm down Triela it's just a hand chill, chill! It's not working! sigh thank god we made it to the office without an incident.
"You can let go of my hand now." I told Raphael.
"What? O sorry, it's just amazing how the blood of many has flown on these hands of yours yet you get to keep them so nice." He complimented.
"I guess blood keeps hands smooth hehehe." You idiot what the hell was that? Why can't I think straight when I am talking to him? Hopefully he was not paying attention when I said that.
It seems that some guy got into Rome illegally and is residing in a mansion in the outskirts of the city. The building itself and its surroundings is pretty fortified and it has been confirmed that the people are hostile. I guess it's our job to welcome these people to Rome.
Raphael and I weren't beside each other in the helicopter on the way to the target house. On the chopper I was thinking about what happened in the field. I actually liked it when he hugged me from the back and when we were face to face I wanted to press my lips to his but my ego got in the way and I kicked him in the back instead. I blew it.
The ambush was not an ambush at all. As soon as those guys saw the choppers they fired rocket launchers at us! When Lorenzo said that they were hostile, it was an understatement. Fortunately none of us got hit. All us were able to land and as soon as we did we opened fire on the approaching enemies. They weren't just ordinary guys with guns. They seemed well trained. They were good but fortunately we were better. Slowly we made our way into the territory of the house but a barricade blocked us of. None of us had any ideas on getting through the defense, and then I realized that Raphael was actually firing at my side again.
"Triela listen, at the count of 7 we dash of to the corner of the barricade and open fire." He whispered in my ear. I did not need to whisper back at him I just yelled:
"You crazy! The guys there'll kill us before we even get to the corner. I know you are technically bullet proof Raphael but I am not!"
He smiled back at me and said "I won't want you hurt, trust me we'll eliminate this entire barricade together. Oh and don't forget to throw HE grenades as soon as we get there, throw as far as you can."
It was a crazy plan but I did trust him. So he started counting. 1…2…3…4…5…6…7! we both ran to the corner of the barricade with the handlers screaming at us to get back in line. Well aside for some bullets piercing the ground around me Raphael was right we didn't get hurt. As soon as we rounded the corner of the barricade I saw why, the entire line of men in front of us were still reloading their weapons! As Raphael said we threw some HE grenades over the men now panicking over their unloaded rifles. The grenades exploded on the men who were still had loaded guns a bit farther away. We opened fire on the men in front of us and advanced forward. None of the men further away had any idea that they had a breach and so we took them all by surprise. In the end both of us were able to wipe out the entire barricade!
When the smoke settled, I asked Raphael how he knew about… everything! Which he would tell me that he was actually counting the rounds the enemy was firing. The handlers and the other girls reached the barricade as well. The girls looked pretty happy to see us unscathed but the handlers looked both happy and disappointed at the same time, the same way they look at Raphael all the time. I guess this is what it feels when you deviated over something in a good way.
The people in the house were a lot easier to kill since they were already prepared to flee. Raphael and I got to the 4th floor of the house and we got into what seems to be someone's office. Raphael went straight for the safe and fired at the lock. He opened the safe and got what seemed to be a box.
He went through the papers and one by one.
"What are you looking for?" I asked.
"Anything that identifies the guy behind this whole operation." He said with determination.
He continued looking through the papers when suddenly he jumped back with fear in his eyes. Something actually scares him? This I have got to see. However, all I saw in the box was a piece of paper. On it was printed the symbol of an organization called Dorado Espada or Gold Sword in english. I looked at Raphael; he still had the fear in his eyes.
"Now we know more than enough about this guy let's go." He said.
"Why?" I said "Is this about this organization?"
"It isn't, l-l-lets go" he stuttered.
"What is it then? Why are you hiding things Raphael?!" I yelled as I picked the paper up.
With that Raphael pointed at the box and said, "Bomb!"