MEANWHILE IN ITALY
A Gunslinger Girl fanfiction, based on works by Yu Aida.
Thanks to Professor Voodoo|Elio and Marisa, Kiskalo|Kara and Michele, theprodigalson|Nikias and Anastasia, and MP5|Allison and Brian, for the loan of their fan-characters.
CH18 – Stranger in Moscow
"I hate public speaking."
From her seat against the lecture theatre's flank, Kara glanced toward Alessandro Ricco, head swinging back through centre as her own handler replied.
"I thought you adlibbed all the time, Sandro."
"Charming a woman and charming a crowd are two entirely different animals Michele, as you well know." Giving the faintest hint of a sigh, the former security agent stood, straightening his suit. "Still, no time like the present."
Moving quickly to the wooden lectern, he spread out stapled notes before tapping at a button on the screen there to dim overhead lights, leaving just the stage spot. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Michele going through notes on an iPad while, to her other side, Petra watched her own handler with rapt attention as the hubbub of voices died down around them.
Shifting her interest, the Asian featured girl looked out over gathered bodies beyond the spotlight's edge. Like weeks before, during the chase for Massimiliano Anasetti, the Agency's massed fratelli sprawled across stacked seating, rising back into the dimly-lit space. This time however, the theatre would be serving it its primary purpose, as a place of learning rather than a briefing room.
Casting her eye more closely across individual faces she found Triela, near to the front, sitting beside Hilshire, the handler looking tired and drawn. They must have only recently arrived back, but their presence would make those gathered just about all the SWA could muster.
Except for the Alboreto fratello, deployed on a mission, and Mr. Blacker and Monty of course: though tonight's lecture would probably be somewhat redundant for both pairs anyway, one way or the other.
"Well, may as well make a start." At the words, her gaze returned to Mr. Ricci as he leaned almost imperceptibly closer to the microphone. "Ladies, gentlemen, welcome to Moscow Rules 101. As you're no doubt aware by now, the Padania are changing tactics, starting to play a longer game, an information game and so, for our sins, Michele and I will be running you through the basics of operating in a hostile intelligence environment. Personally I'm not old enough to have chased anyone from behind the Iron Curtain proper..." a glance back toward his compatriot, "...so will be leaving tales of their application against the dinosaurs to Pagani."
That got a few snickers, and Kara felt her ears heat hearing the light jab at her handler. It was in fun she knew, but still...
Their lecturer however was still talking. "...you all should have had course notes emailed through for today, but if not, see one of us afterward and we'll resend them. Obviously there are too many of you and too few of us for practical classes, but hopefully we will be able to at least pass on some theory which can be applied to help keep everyone safe, starting with..."
Taking her eyes from the speaker again, Kara looked once more over assembled personnel. She and Petra really did not have much to do for these sessions, so they could probably have sat with the others. However, just in case they should need to help instruct at some later date, both had been kept out front, and the positioning at least gave her a good view of the attendees.
Gaze shifting to the hall's far side, her eye fell on Raych, squeezed between her handler and Chiara, and a small smile twitched her lips. Even if it was a bit unusual to see generation ones and twos in regular company, the elder girl seemed to be mixing more, and the smile was replaced with a slight twinge. It had been nice, playing big sister to a new cyborg, but it would be nice also for Raych to have someone else to talk to and ask questions of, and for her, Kara, to no longer need to constantly hold the other's hand...
At least she could stop worrying that she was mother-henning her roommate too much now. She was finally starting to integrate on her own.
She looked happy in the lecture though, attentive and leaning slightly forward in her seat, which was more than could be said of her handler. A shift in gaze brought Kara's study to the bald man beside his charge, flicking at a tablet sat on the foldaway table before him. Occasionally he would peer up, before returning to bash at his touch screen again.
He had better pay more attention when Michele spoke.
At the podium, Sandro was wrapping up his introduction and, catching a movement in the corner of her eye, the cyborg turned to see her own handler stand, iPad grasped beneath one arm. Glancing at the approach of his compatriot, the younger man leaned back toward his mic.
"Before I get too far giving you the view of the hunters though, I'll let Michele give you his introduction on being the hunt-ed."
Higher up, from his seat in the risers, Danilo watched as Ricci withdrew from the podium, making way for Pagani's neatly presented figure. On the projector screen above, the display changed to a new slide, and he flicked through course notes before him again to find the appropriate segment: Pagani at least seemed a bit more organised, so hopefully he would manage to stick to his own script, rather than leaping all over the place.
In fact, what he would really prefer, would be for the man to get through as quickly as possible and let him return to doing something worthwhile. It was all well and good giving people espionage basics, but that assumed those listening would actually need the things. What use was that supposed to be to him? He had been hired as a combatant, not a spook, not to amble around the streets in plain clothes and, even if he were to succeed in switching to a sniper position, he would still be safely out of sight and out of mind. Having to make a role change was bad enough, but this was just using up time which could be better devoted in trying to make that exercise a success.
If he were honest, he really did need all the extra time he could get too. The week had gone quickly, too quickly and, thanks to Fio forcing him onto the back foot, the whole thing had been spent trying to get up to speed, rather than ensuring C. Raych had a solid handle on her role, and refining her abilities. Doing things Neanderthal style was not coming easily, but at least he had stopped short of being actively asked to bang rocks together. He would probably be alright with the book of tables now, a freshly purchased copy sporting markers for his most regularly used information, so that would help keep his assessor happy, not that it would get used once free of Fio's clutches...
...but that still left C. Raych below par and, frankly, he was not entirely convinced their final training session would be enough to make her competent.
A glance sideways at the cyborg found her seemingly rapt in what Pagani had to say. Just perfect, something else to distract her from the actual task in hand; the last thing he needed at the moment was for her thinking about spies rather than sniping, but he couldn't exactly tell her not to pay attention now could he?
Well, fuck them all. If they were going to set him up to fail, then they could damn well reap what they sewed, and he sure as hell was not going to take the blame.
Returning his attention to the tablet, Danilo set back to finding where Pagani was up to.
Turning at the firing line's end, Fio started her slow procession back down the embankment's length, pausing behind each pair of trainees as she did so, occasional crack of a rifle making its way through her hearing protection as they went about free practice.
Trainees... that word still felt wrong: peers, peers she happened to be instructing.
She had not been overly enthused by Jean's orders when they were issued, and suddenly needing to become teacher to those she considered friends and colleagues had been just as awkward as feared, initially. Fortunately those under her temporary care had taken the role swap with good grace, and they had just about found a working equilibrium. Well, most had, others... her eyes flicked to the embankment end where Soni was laying next to Olivetti's cyborg, demonstrating something on her newer sister's rifle... others she was still trying to find her balance with.
Pausing behind Lupa in order to give her charge time to work, she turned her gaze up the range. Dreary weather which had frozen her earlier sessions showed no sign of abating, and in fact appeared to be getting worse, heavy clouds riding low to obscure mountain peaks beyond the far tree line, a light snow blurring targets against dark evergreen forest. If there were no improvement by tomorrow, evaluations were going to be just that much more difficult for those being assessed.
At her feet, Gattonero's weapon barked and, although she could not make out which target was the fratello's current quarry, the ringing report of a round hitting steel sailed back a second later. Those two were doing well and, giving the handler's boot a half-hearted kick to draw his attention, she pointed up the clearing.
"Lupa, Gattonero. Target Romeo, set to."
Head lifting from her Arctic Warfare rifle's stock, the younger of the pair looked past its lumpen telescopic sight, scanning the simulated field of engagement laid out before her. Romeo was not an easy mark today, which was sort of the point, set up far enough away that the snow would make things just that much more difficult, but it didn't take long for her to find the plate.
"Lupa, left hand side, a bit over three quarters back."
There was a moment's pause as her handler brought his own scope to bear.
"I see it."
The cyborg however was already placing her cheek back against cold plastic and swinging the rifle around. That was good, they weren't wasting any time, and it didn't take Lupa long to re-focus the Zeiss optic in his hands, before flicking through a cheat sheet to read off adjustments. Never leaving her stance, Gattonero dialled them in by feel, shuffling her firearm into a minutely different position. Another heartbeat, another small movement, breath in, hold...
The gun barked its report again and, once more, the ring of steel replied a second later.
"Not bad. Carry on as you were."
Those two were not going to be a problem, and Gaspare would likely be fine as well, which just left the other pairs, Nikias and...
From the far end of the embankment came the sound of a raised voice, a raised male voice, and Fio's head snapped around, just in time to see Soni roll up on her heels, Olivetti propped up on one elbow and glaring across his own recumbent cyborg at her.
Fortunately the line was not long, and a few quick strides had her beside the trio, squatting down as Raych appeared to try further flattening herself against the ground. Eyes flicking between handler and cyborg, she eventually settled her gaze on the latter.
"What's going on here?"
Behind her shock of blonde hair, Soni gave a worried look. "I was just explaining to Raych that she cannot rely completely on her spotter, that she needs to read the target herself, and make..."
"Fio, a word in your ear?"
Olivetti's voice cut through the girl's quiet speech, truncating her sentence as he swung knees beneath himself. Watching him stand, Fio felt her eyes narrow, but she managed to keep her tone professional.
"Certainly." She glanced at Soni. "Wait here."
Standing herself, she moved to the back of the embankment where Olivetti beckoned. Not that the small distance would do much to mask what they said from the cyborgs, but if it made him feel more secure then so be it. Removing earplugs so they dangled around her neck, the temporary instructor looked across at her trainee.
"So what's going on, Olivetti?"
His reply was cold. "What's going on, Fio, is that your cyborg is recommending mine act in direct contravention of what I've previously told her. I've finally got C. Raych to a point where she follows orders as instructed, and I'm not about to have my good work undone because your charge says otherwise."
Fio opened her mouth to reply, but then paused, a look of puzzlement flickering across her face. "I'm not sure I follow."
"Your cyborg is telling mine to read targets herself and make her own adjustments, beyond what I, as the spotter and as her handler, have instructed, which is something she is not to do."
That took a moment to digest.
"With all due respect, but that is exactly what she has to do. A good spotter can get a shooter close, but if said shooter does not have a feel for what they're doing enough make minor corrections on their own, or take an opportunity if it presents itself, they're not going to be successful."
"You want to know what is 'not going to be successful'? Trying to have the cyborgs take initiative..." a sigh, "...I know it's not a popular view, but they are weapons. You don't ask a gun to think for itself, and the same goes for C. Raych, or for Soni, Kara, Triela, Chiara or any other cyborg you might like to mention. They obey us. I've tried loosening her leash, it does not work, and it is something I do not intend to repeat, so I would appreciate it if your unit would butt out of the running of my fratello."
Fio managed to bite back her immediate retort, but only just. "Unfortunately, for whatever my former sins, Danilo, I've been given the task of turning you and Raych into a sniper team, and I can't teach the skills and business of doing that by letting you carry on however you have been."
"So teach the skills and business, but how I choose to manage my cyborg and my interactions with her is my business, not yours."
"Part of the skill of sniping is working as a team, so I'm afraid at this juncture it is my business, because if shooter and spotter can't communicate in two directions you've had it."
Opposite his instructor, Danilo glared. How dare she meddle in his affairs, try to tell him how he was supposed to run his fratello. Gaetano had been bad enough, but he at least had shown the common courtesy to speak handler-to-handler. That was one thing, that could almost be called shop talk, but going direct to his charge was quite another, and C. Raych had enough poor ideas flying around her head from just her peers without a handler needing to get in on the action as well. By all accounts the woman and her underling were skilled and effective sharpshooters, but Fio had been riding herd on a cyborg longer than he had, and she should damn well know better. The SWA gave handlers leeway in how they managed their fratelli for a reason, and it wasn't so he could simply go sing directly from another's song book.
"Maybe that works for you Fio, but you don't have my cyborg, and just because you believe something works for yours doesn't mean it will work for mine."
"Then what's the point of you even being here?" Another pause, but only a momentary one, before the woman opposite threw her hands in the air. "Fuck it, fine. Have it your way Olivetti. You're on your own." With that, she beckoned to her charge, voice rising slightly to carry down the line. "Come away from there Soni, go help someone who might actually be worth teaching."
Scrambling up, the slender blond left C. Raych's position and her handler turned on one heel, marching off, charge in tow.
For a second, Danilo stood motionless. It was one thing to pass on skill and knowledge, but trying to change his entire M.O? This late in the game? Not to mention putting roadblocks in the way from day one: that was just making trouble, especially when the changes went directly against everything he had learned with C. Raych so far. The die was cast, all that could be done now was to try and get the rough edges off before tomorrow, because he had no intention of breaking and reshaping the mould at this stage. He could have used the help honing his and C. Raych's skills too, but if that was the line Fio was going to take, then it was help he could do without.
Drawing a deep breath, the handler let it out slowly, before allowing his gaze to wander over the other shooters. If anyone had heard his altercation then they were not showing it, and fortunately Stavropoulos was up the far end and likely out of earshot.
At least, he would have been, had Fio not run her mouth off.
Turning back to where his own cyborg was still positioned against her rifle, the ex-Guardia man knelt down, gathering up the loose lower extremities of his trench coat so they would sit flat and neat between himself and the shooter's blanket. Laying behind his spotter's scope once more, he checked through its eyepiece, swinging it around to range a new target.
His next words came out calmer than he felt. "C. Raych, plate Romeo."
"Yes, Danilo."
Occasional snowflakes still drifted down dormitory walls as Raych wiggled from the back seat of Danilo's car, floating crystals catching white against a darkening sky. Turning to retrieve her parka, the girl shrugged it on quickly before incessant cold could eat past her top's thin fabric. She did not know what had happened but, after Danilo had spoken to Ms. Asti, she had not seen Soni for the rest of the day. Had she done something wrong to the other girl? She did not remember doing anything wrong. She hoped she had not. Soni had been really helpful to her, teaching her how to find and adjust her scope's controls by feel, rather than look away from her target, how to stage her trigger, she did not want to repay her for that poorly. It was helping her get better. She thought she was getting better, though Danilo still seemed unhappy about something, she hoped it was not about her. Soni had said she was getting better... though the other girl had also said for Raych to deviate from Danilo's instructions, rather than following exactly what Danilo said. That did not seem right, why would she deviate from what Danilo said? Danilo was always right. Chiara had said to follow Danilo's orders, and Chiara had been a cyborg longer than Soni, so obviously she would know better too.
"C. Raych."
The sound of her handler's voice snapped her from her reverie. "Umm... yes, Danilo?"
"Close the door before I freeze."
She had not realised it was still open.
"Umm... yes, Danilo. Sorry, Danilo."
"Your evaluation's tomorrow, so have dinner then get plenty of rest."
"Yes, Danilo. Goodnight, umm... Danilo."
Closing the door, the cyborg stepped back so her handler could pull away, pausing to watch his car's tail-lights until they disappeared from view. Darkness closing back in on the dorm's warm puddle, she turned toward stone stairs. Get plenty of rest: that she could do.
She did not make it far however, a crunch of tyres announcing another vehicle's arrival.
Or had Danilo come back?
Spinning around, her heart fell a little at the sight of Mr. Dinapoli's white estate, rather than a black Lexus, rolling to a halt. Starting to turn away again, she was stopped by the sound of a door opening and Gattonero's voice chasing behind it.
"Raych! Wait up."
Already halfway to the colonnade's slightly raised walk, she saw Fleccia also extract herself from Skoda's far rear door, long red hair warm under entryway lamps. Shut off from the car's heated interior, the two cyborgs trotted quickly to its boot, where Gattonero reached in to hand a heavy rifle case back to her friend, before extracting a matching one of her own. Apparently both fratelli had come together, again, and Raych kept watching as the shorter-haired girl said something under cover of the hatch, before pushing it closed.
Climbing steps rapidly, smaller companion following in her wake, Gattonero halted. "Where were you going, Raych?"
"Umm... Danilo said to go and have dinner, so I was going to go to the refectory."
The other girl held up her rifle case. "Let us dump these and we'll come with."
"Umm..."
"Oh come on, we'll be two minutes. No more, I promise, I'm starving anyway."
Without waiting for a reply, she turned away, friend in tow, leaving Raych standing alone again on cold stone, mind racing. Danilo had said to go get dinner, but...
...they would only be two minutes.
Pausing another second, she hurried after them.
Slowing as she approached the dorm doors however, the newest cyborg came to a halt, standing awkwardly before glass panes. Would following the others in be too much? Maybe she could ask them about Soni, they might know why she was not talking to her.
But what if they thought she, Raych, had done something wrong? Gattonero was nice, but she and Fleccia had known Soni longer than they had known her after all, and they were with the other more often too. What if they took Soni's side?
Maybe she should wait here. Besides, if she followed them she might miss them on the way out.
Yes, she would wait here.
It was cold now, colder than it had been on the range, and Raych zipped her parka up before shoving hands into deep pockets, breath misting in the air, forming glowing clouds under the warm entryway light.
Two minutes were taking an awfully long time.
Turning on the spot, she found herself facing the notice board. One new page, she leaned closer: a notice from Ferro to try and limit shower times now that there were more cyborgs present on campus. Moving on she found this month's duty-fratello roster. Nothing she had not seen before. She and Danilo were still not on it. Was that because they were re-training? But Gattonero was on it, as were Fleccia, Soni and Anastasia... Or was it that she was not good enough yet? The generation ones were on there too though, and generation twos were supposed to be more capable... or maybe it was because she had no street experience, maybe she needed to be better at that first. She would have to pay extra attention in Mr. Ricci and Mr. Pagani's lectures. She was paying attention anyway, Danilo had said to pay attention, but also... but also Mr. Ricci and Mr. Pagani were spies, like Monty and Mr. Blacker. She wanted to know more. Maybe, just maybe, if she paid enough attention...
The door creaked open again, causing her to jump back as Gattonero and Fleccia emerged, the former giving her a strange look.
"What on earth did you wait outside for? It's freezing."
"I, umm..." her eyes darted to the board, "...I had not read the notices for today."
"I still would have moved inside, don't need two minutes for that." Still talking, the black haired girl started to make her way back between stone columns, compatriots tagging along behind. "I mean, I'm enjoying the range time and all, but it was freezing there too, and I can't say I was unhappy to leave. It can be summer again now please."
Raych looked down at her feet. That was right: Gattonero was doing well at sniping, not struggling like her. She was doing better, she knew she was, she was doing exactly what Danilo told her to as well, but she was still not as fast as Gattonero, and Gattonero was more consistent than her.
"But of course, once it is summer, you will complain about it being hot and say winter can come back." Fleccia's tone was quiet, rounding off the jab's edges.
"That's only because it swings too far the other way. If they can engineer cyborgs like us then surely they can sort out the weather."
"I would umm... I would like to see summer."
The conversation paused, and Raych suddenly felt two sets of eyes boring into her.
Finally, Gattonero spoke again. "Oh of course, you wouldn't have seen a summer before would you? At least not one you would remember."
The newest girl nodded. "Is summer really that nice?"
"It really is."
"Except for the heat," added their companion.
"Except for the heat; though right now I'll take hot over cold. No, summer's great. Even with the heat you can at least open a window, so the dorm isn't so stuffy, or go relax under a tree. I kind of wish this whole spying thing had happened in summer, at least then we wouldn't all be all boxed in together so much, and could escape out onto the grounds."
"Maybe if you ask nicely, the Padania will make their next move more seasonal," Fleccia's red hair swung as she turned to look at her friend, "and you should not complain too much, we at least have cause to get away each day."
"We do, though it's been that cold outside I almost wish I was in with Allison and Raymonde, doing book work."
"You would not last ten minutes."
"Still beats freezing to death."
Reaching refectory doors, Gattonero pulled ahead another step and shoved them open, leaning against one panel to hold it against sprung hinges. Passing through, Raych felt warm air gust over her, and she looked back at the other two as Gattonero let the entry swing shut again. She would like to be in the espionage stream as well, Allison and Raymonde were really lucky, but if Gattonero would prefer to be there though, did that mean...
"I umm... can we actually change?" Two heads again turned to her as their owners paused in stripping off heavy coats. "I mean, umm... I am happy sniping with Danilo, I am getting better with Danilo, but..."
"Having visions of joining Monty jetting around the world?" Gattonero's tone was not scathing, but did not encourage either.
"Umm..."
"I wouldn't get my hopes up." Leading her little party on through a rushing air curtain and into the refectory proper, the elder cyborg motioned them toward the servery's short queue. "You've met Monty now, so you can form your own opinions, but by all accounts she didn't learn much of her profession in a classroom, it came from Mr. Blacker. That sort of thing needs an experienced handler - and practice. Sniping at least we can learn on the range, spying means being on it from day one, in the field, no room for mistakes."
"Danilo does not make mistakes."
"How about you?"
"I do what Danilo says."
From behind came the scrape of crockery on crockery as a plate was lifted from the heater stack, followed by a voice. "Besides, it sounds like we will all be playing spy shortly, right here in Italy."
Spinning around, Raych found Triela standing next in line, as in front of her the other two also turned to face the new arrival. It was Gattonero who replied first, tone taking on a less casual note. "I thought I saw you in Mr. Ricci's lecture last night. You have finished up in... uhh..."
"Genoa," now the senior girl's expression turned sour, "and no we did not. Jean called Hilshire back."
"Will you be going again?"
"It's the only lead Hilshire has right now, but that will ultimately be Jean's decision..." her gaze turned on Raych, "...as is who goes into what restream."
If that were the case, then she should concentrate on sniping. If she failed that, and could not go to a different restream, what would she do then? It would disappoint Danilo, and if that happened she did not know what she would do.
"What would you like?"
Raych started, head snapping around to look at the chef who had addressed her from the bain-marie's far side, his voice cutting through her thoughts. She had not considered that yet. What would Danilo want her to eat? What had he chosen for her last time this selection had been available? She could not remember. Feeling panic start to rise, she looked across her choices: spaghetti with sauce, vegetables in butter, some sort of stew down beside the regular roast, the latter to which Gattonero and Fleccia had moved, grabbing snippets of conversation as it was carved for them. She had never had the roast before, so she should not get that.
"Well?"
Pasta, pasta was always safe.
"The spaghetti, please," she passed her plate across, "and vegetables."
Danilo would want her to have vegetables.
Waiting, the girl looked down to where Triela had also stepped around her, the two second gens saying something as she arrived beside them, which was answered in kind. She wished Kara were here, or Chiara, they were easier to talk too, but they were always busy now. Gattonero was nice, everyone was nice, but she did not know them as well as Kara and Chiara... she could have asked either of the latter about Soni.
Maybe she should just leave the others be. Danilo had told her to go back to the dorm and get plenty of rest, plenty of rest so she would succeed tomorrow. Maybe if she succeeded, Danilo and she would be allowed to go on missions again. She wanted to go on missions again, she could be useful on missions.
She should rest.
She still had the notes from Mr. Pagani's and Mr. Ricci's lecture too though, and Mr. Pagani and Mr. Ricci had said they would be important if she were to go on a mission... and they looked interesting. She might not be able to join Allison and Raymonde in full spy training, but she could learn enough to be useful.
She could.
Not tonight though, Danilo had said to rest.
She would do as Danilo said.