Chapter 3: Job Interview
Jean leaned casually but seriously against the clean white hallway, facing a closed door beyond which Dr. Bianchi was performing a thorough and lengthy psychological evaluation on Triela.
After catching up with her on her way to the dining room, Jean had told Triela secretively that he needed to discuss something sensitive with her, and although reasonably suspicious, she obeyed and followed him to Bianchi's office. Jean stubbornly refused to answer any of her questions on the way there, even when Triela threatened to walk away and get her breakfast.
"She's hardheaded, I'll give her that," Jean huffed quietly to himself at the memory. The hallway was utterly lifeless, so there was no need to worry about being overheard, "She might actually be able to pull this off."
Finally, after an hour of waiting, the door before Jean swung open and Dr. Bianchi, somewhat portly but friendly and warm, slipped out.
"What do you think?" Jean asked quietly and confidentially.
The doctor replied, "Despite some of the concerns about her remaining lifespan, Triela is still mentally strong. She is displaying some of the amnesiac symptoms as Angelica, but in her case, it's nowhere near as severe. Triela is still able to hold onto the most vital and crucial memories in her head. She is even able to remember some of her previous targets."
"Well," Jean said in relief, "It seems like she'll qualify after all. Assuming you believe she's ready?"
Bianchi nodded carefully. "As we all already knew, Triela is incredibly mature for her age. However, she was never trained or conditioned to act as a handler, only to obey her own. Because of this, I'm concerned for her."
"She takes care of the other girls well enough."
"Helping a friend in need with personal problems and training them to become field operatives are two completely different things. I shouldn't need to tell you how difficult it is to be there for a cyborg as a brother, father, and teacher simultaneously."
"Each handler is different," Jean said sternly, becoming impatient and pushing past Dr. Bianchi. He gripped the doorknob and added, "If Triela shows results, then the handler replacements we find will have a head-start in training the twins. If she fails, well… we can always just let the new handlers take it from the top."
Jean opened the door to Bianchi's office and poked his head in. Inside, Triela was examining her teeth in the one-way window, but jumped and turned abruptly, stiff and upright, when she noticed the door opening.
"Triela," Jean said commandingly, "Come with me."
The pair made their way down the hallway toward the infirmary, leaving Dr. Bianchi shaking his head, worried for the Princess of the SWA…
"Celestina and Caterina Alvise, twin daughters of the amateur mafia boss Pio Alvise," Jean summarized aloud as he and Triela walked swiftly down the many identical halls of the Social Welfare Agency, "Involved mainly in human and drug trafficking as well as extortion. Twins born and raised on their family's estate in Terni, rumored never to have stepped foot outside the gates of their home. Their family was murdered, assumingly by their father's second-in-command, Lino Baldassare, based on his absence at the scene and the lack of evidence suggesting an attack from an outside enemy."
Triela struggled to keep up with Jean's long strides. "So the Agency's picked up twin cyborgs? What does that have to do with me?"
"Forgive me," Jean said in a rare, yet emotionless apology, "I'm doing this out of order. Last week, the bodies of the Alvise family were recovered from their estate less than an hour after their murder. The twins were barely alive and were brought here where their lives were saved. Seeing an opportunity, the Agency converted them into cyborgs without first allowing potential handlers to choose them, which is what we normally do. They were perfect candidates, after all. No family, no friends, and no connections to the outside world."
"What about Baldassare?" Triela asked. She jogged slightly to catch up again.
"He's what we call a 'small fish'," Jean answered coldly. "Anyway, three days ago the Agency found two possible handlers for the girls and we interviewed and approved them yesterday. Later that night, they were killed in a drunken car accident."
Suddenly, Triela stopped and fell behind, forcing Jean to cease his speed-walk and turn toward her. "So…" she asked, nervous to hear the answer, "What do you want with me?"
"You will act as a handler for the twins until we can perform proper scouting procedures and find a replacement. Marco Togni is already a possible choice, but he's on temporary leave."
"Je – um, sir," Triela protested, stunned by the idea that the Agency would want to put her in such a position, "I'm not cut out for that kind of thing. I'm more of a big sister than a big brother."
"Triela," Jean tried reasoning with her, "You are the only possible choice for this. The Chief and I have considered other possibilities and we both agreed that this would be the best option."
Triela considered this for a moment. She had no problem waxing philosophical with Claes or talking romance with Henrietta, but actually being an official caretaker – a handler – was a daunting concept. Well, she reasoned with herself, I can't just abandon those twins. I guess I'll do it for them. "What would I have to do?" she asked, allowing her consent to remain implied.
Jean answered, hiding his relief behind his usual deadpan mask, "You will take on all of the responsibilities of a handler, except conditioning of course, because the twins have only been given their duties. However, that still leaves you with training regiments, weapon selection, evaluations, and mission reports."
"M-mission reports?!" Triela exclaimed in disbelief, "I thought I was just going to watch over these girls until you found someone to take them off my hands!"
Jean responded coolly, "Seeing as this will be a unique Fratello, you may find that together, the twins have unique abilities or specialties that no other cyborg or pair of cyborgs is capable of. Should these abilities have some use to us, then of course we'll require you to provide them."
"But, but…" Triela started. She stopped however, exhaling and seeming very much like a balloon deflating right before the point of bursting. The two of them continued toward the infirmary, slower this time as they were close to their destination. There was no use arguing with Jean on the matter of her obligations, so she pursued another issue. "What did you say about their conditioning?"
"For most second generation cyborgs, information about their duties, their handlers, and their weapons are implanted into their minds before they are placed into their handlers' care. However, because the twins' potential handlers were killed and their weapons have not yet been selected, only the information concerning their duties to the Agency has been given to them."
"Will the fact that I'm not their real handler affect their obedience to me?"
"That is likely. However I will tell you this, Triela. An effective handler commands both the loyalty and obedience of his cyborg. Loyalty is simple to obtain, as it only requires that both the handler and cyborg understand each other. The more time you spend with the twins, especially outside of training, the more loyal they will be to you. Obedience, however, is more difficult and can be obtained either through fear or love. The former is simpler and quicker, but alienates and confuses the cyborg. The latter tends to be more expensive, but also makes for a stronger bond between cyborg and handler. We'll leave it up to you to decide how best to interact with the twins."
Although grateful for the advice and impressed with Jean's knowledge of the dynamics of Fratello relationships, Triela confessed quietly and despairingly, "I think this is a mistake. I can help with their personal problems, but teaching them how to kill is beyond me. I don't know how I do it myself, it just comes naturally now. I've forgotten how I was taught; I only remember what I was taught, why, and how to use it."
Without realizing it, the pair had stopped in front of a closed recovery room where the twins were waiting inside. No sound or signs of life could be detected from outside the door. Jean hesitated to enter the room and introduce Triela, the new handler, to her cyborgs. He felt he needed to ease her nerves a bit first. "You'll be okay," he said in a surprisingly soothing manner, "All handlers start off scared. It's something that always begins as unfamiliar and alien, no matter who you are."
"Thank you, Jean," Triela mumbled, somewhat relieved at this bit of comfort. However, whether Jean was lying to make her feel better, she wasn't sure. She didn't care much either. No matter what anyone said, she was going to be scared. She decided to ask one more question. "What's the hardest part of being a handler?"
Jean thought for a moment and then answered slowly and wisely, "There are two. The obvious one is saying goodbye, as it's like losing a little sister. The second, more unexpected one is meeting them." He began saying this as he opened the door and concluded as he pushed Triela into the room and closed the door behind her.
"Wait!" Triela called out, turning around. It was too late of course, so she decided to face the music. She scanned the room and found that it was unlit and the shades were drawn, making it a very dreary and admittedly frightening place. The room was empty save for the usual furnishings of a hospital. In the center of the room, against the far wall, there were too beds on which two silent figures with identical blank blue eyes stared at Triela hauntingly, watching her.
"He-hello…" Triela stammered nervously. If it weren't for the unsettling atmosphere and the cold blue gazes, she would have been able to come off more warmly, as she usually does. However, something was different about this situation, and most notably these girls. They were not like the others.
"I'm… Triela," she continued futilely, still getting no response "I'll be taking care of you for a while." Suddenly, the vacant azure stares changed as the twins' eyes narrowed ever so slightly. The change was subtle, but there was no mistaking it. The girls were scowling at Triela.
She noticed this, flinching a little bit. Uh oh…