Chapter 2: "Un Gioiello"
Sony and her handler Lupa are in the midst of their mission in Giardini Reali park, disguised as tourists. Sony wanders through the souvenir booth, eyeing the various trinkets displayed while Lupa keeps a watchful eye on the boat pier nearby. The lollipop in Sony's mouth rotates as she shifts her attention between the souvenirs and her sunglasses.
"How do I look in these, Signore Lupa?" she asks, holding the latest pair of sunglasses up to her eyes.
Lupa glances over at her but quickly returns his attention to the pier. "We need to focus on the mission, Sony," he reminds her.
Sony grins. "I can do both," she says, testing another pair of sunglasses. "Say Signore, can I get one of these sunglasses?" the redheaded cyborg asks her handler.
Lupa sighs. "Haven't I told you that my budget isn't enough for this trip?."
"Why not? Don't you get paid enough?" Sony asks with raised eyebrows.
Lupa's expression darkens. "I'm still paying for my ex-wife's alimony."
Sony tilts her head. "Why are you still paying for it?"
Lupa shakes his head. "It's none of your business, Sony. Focus on the mission."
Sony nods, knowingly touching her handler's personal subject. While She still wanders around the booth looking at souvenirs, Lupa spots a boat docking in the jetty matching the description Jean briefed to him while their target disembarking from a boat at the pier along with his personnel. Confirming that his target is here, He murmurs into his earpiece, "Target sighted," and reports the news to Yarrow, who is operating nearby. Once receiving the message from Yarrow, he then shifts his attention to Sony.
"Our job is done. Moving to intercept the next target," Lupa tells Sony, who quickly follows.
"Who's going to handle the target?" She asks.
"Yarrow's team will take care of it," He replies while staring at the St Mark Campanile bell tower where Yarrow and his cyborg will conduct their operation.
"What's our next mission?" the Redheaded cyborg inquires.
Lupa hands her a newspaper with a photo of the target hidden in the front page. "The informant is meeting our target in Basilica di San Marco. Our job is to apprehend the informant alive so that we can question her."
"Her?" Sony asks again before looking at her target - a dossier of the female informant in her mid-20s.
"Yeah, the agency wants to know what kind of information we could get out from this suspect" He briefs Sony. "I suppose you carry non-lethal rounds for the Benelli shotgun with you?"
"Yes Signore, it's in my bag." She replies while pointing to her backpack.
With Lupa nodding after hearing Sony's answer, they make their way through the park and into the Piazza San Marco area heading towards the historic Basilica next to the tower, they notice the crowd starting to panic and flee from Piazza San Marco. Lupa nods in acknowledgment. "Looks like Yarrow has accomplished his part of the mission. Now, it's our turn."
However amidst the chaos, Sony bumps into a little girl who is crying uncontrollably, and in the confusion between the crying girl and rushing bystanders, she loses sight of Lupa.
"Signore Lupa?" The redhead calls her name, but with the crowd moving even faster, she was swept together with the crowd while holding the little girl's hand. It doesn't matter for her right now as she focuses her attention on the girl.
"Are you okay?" Sony asks while kneeling facing the little girl, trying to comfort her.
The little girl shakes her head and continues to sob. "I can't find my mommy," she cries.
"What's your name?" Sony asks, trying to keep the girl calm.
"Giulia," the little girl sobs.
Sony takes Giulia to the side and tries to comfort her again, asking her what happened and where her mother is. But as she focuses on the little girl, she loses track of Lupa and the mission.
As Sony comforts Giulia, she notices the little girl eyeing the lollipop in her hand. Without hesitation, Sony offers one from her shirt pocket. Giulia takes it, her small fingers unwrapping the candy. The sweetness of the candy seems to distract Giulia from her tears, and she calms down, letting Sony wipe off her tears.
"Thank you," Giulia says, looking up at Sony.
Sony smiles at her. "No problem. Are you feeling better?"
Giulia nods, the candy sticking to her teeth as she speaks. "Yes, thank you. What's your name?"
"I'm Sony," she replies with a smile that captivates and soothes the little girl.
Giulia's eyes widened with amazement. "That's a cool name."
"Thank you," Sony says, patting the little girl's shoulder while the little girl enjoys her lollipop. "What brings you to Venice, Giulia?"
Giulia shrugs. "My family and I are on vacation. We're staying in a hotel nearby."
The freckled cyborg nods, thinking of her own mission. "That sounds like fun. Have you been to any of the museums or seen any of the art?"
Giulia shakes her head. "No, we've been mostly sightseeing and walking around."
"Well, Venice has some beautiful art and history," Sony says, trying to distract the little girl from her earlier distress. "Maybe your family can take you to see some of it."
The child smiles, her eyes brightening up. "That sounds cool. I'll ask my parents about it."
Sony nods, happy to have helped the little girl. "I'm sure they'll say yes. Now, let's go find them."
As they make their way through the busy streets away from the busy street, Sony wonders if Lupa has found their next target. She hopes that there's enough time for her to get back to her mission. Both Sony and Giulia continues walking along the picturesque Venice canal. but along the way, The little girl catches her attention with fascination towards the rings on Sony's finger.
"What's that on your finger?" the little girl asks, pointing to the ring.
"Oh this?" Sony replies, looking at where the little child is pointing "It's just rings," She replies with a smile.
"Why do you wear those rings?" Giulia asks her.
"It's a memento from my… fratello" the freckled redhead replies shyly.
"It's so pretty," the little girl says, eyes wide. "Can I have one?"
Sony considers for a moment before deciding to give one of her rings to the little girl. "Here you go," she says, taking off one of her rings and handing it to the little girl. "Now you have a memento of me." She cheers.
Giulia grins from ear to ear, looking at the ring with amazement. "Thank you so much!" she exclaims. "I'm going to treasure it forever."
The little girl's face lit up, and she rummaged through her pockets. "Wait, I have something for you too, a memento from me" she said. She pulled out a decorative hairpin and handed it to Sony. "It's not much, but I want you to have it."
Sony thanks her, placing the hairpin on her hair. "It's beautiful, thank you."
The little girl thanks Sony and puts the ring on her finger. Giulia grinned back at her. "What are you doing in Venice?"
Sony hesitates for a moment, wondering how much she should reveal to a stranger. But then she decided there was no harm in telling the truth to a child as young as Giulia. "I'm here on a mission, a secret mission that no one should know." she said softly with a smirk to her face to entertain Giulia. "But I took a little break to walk around the city."
Giulia nods her head, looking impressed. "Wow, that sounds exciting. What kind of mission?"
"It's a secret," Sony said, winking at her. "But let's just say I'm trying to help keep people safe." She explains to Giulia.
Giulia nodded solemnly. "That's a cool thing. My mom and dad keep telling me to always be safe."
Theycontinue walking down the path of the canal until the little girl points to a hotel in the distance.
"That's where I'm staying!" she exclaims."Mommy! Daddy!" Giulia exclaimed, running to them as she recognized the two parental figures at the lobby with a worried expression.
The relieved parents thanked Sony profusely for finding their daughter. Sony smiled and said, "It was no problem at all. I'm just glad she's safe."
As Sony turns to leave the parents rejoicing at their reunion, the little girl's mother calls out, "Thank you so much for finding our daughter," the mother said, tears in her eyes. "We were so worried."
"It was no problem at all," Sony replies with a smile. "I'm just glad she's okay."
The father chimes in, "You're such a kind young lady. Is there anything we can do to repay you?"
Sony shook her head. "No, it's fine. Really, it was my pleasure to help."
The mother reaches out and hugged Sony, thanking her once again. Sony felt a warm feeling inside, glad that she was able to help someone in need.
Sony felt a mixture of emotions; She was relieved that Giulia founds her parent again, but she was still upset with herself for losing focus. Her mind wanders back to the little girl and the hairpin she had received. It was a beautiful and thoughtful gesture, and it made Sony smile. She heads back towards Piazza San Marco and when she did arrive there, Lupa was already waiting there expecting for her arrival with a soured expression on his face.
Lupa was waiting for her when she returned, looking angry. "Where have you been? We lost the target because of you!"
"I'm sorry, Signore, I got lost and…" She can't explain further and points her head down.
Suddenly, Lupa's voice broke through her thoughts. "So, where were you really?" he asked, his tone accusatory.
Sony feels a pang of guilt as she explains her encounter with the lost child. "I didn't mean to lose focus on the mission, it was just a coincidence, and i can't just leave the child right there..." she explains to her handler.
Lupa's expression softens as he notices the ring on Sony's finger that he gave to her last year is missing and the presence of a flower-pattern hairpin on her hair. "I see," he said, with and understanding ton in his voice. "Well, don't worry about that as Fio's team is already dispatched to cover this problem. In the meantime, let's enjoy our meal and move on from this."
As they arrive in the restaurant and order their meals, Sony is still feeling upset about the failure of their mission. She wonders if Lupa blames her for the delay. But just then, the parent of the child she met before greets them. They were so grateful for Sony's help that they bought Sony and Lupa's dinner. While they were eating, the parents mistake Lupa as Sony's father and compliments him on raising such a kind and helpful daughter.
Sony blushes at the misunderstanding, but Lupa plays along and said, "Yes, she's a good girl. I'm proud of her."
After the parents leave, Lupa teases Sony about her blushing.
She feels embarrassed at Lupa's teasing, "Stop it, Signore! You know I'm not your daughter."
Her handler sneers at her, "I know, but it's fun to pretend sometimes. Besides, you did a good job today. You found that lost kid and made her parents very happy. That's worth more than any mission."
The redhead cyborg smiles, feeling a bit better about the day's events. "Thanks, Signore. I guess you're right. Maybe I was too focused on the mission and forgot about helping people."
Lupa nods, "Exactly. We're not just here to complete a task, we're here to make a difference in people's lives. And you did that today."
Sony feels grateful for Lupa's encouragement and begins to enjoy her meal.
Lupa leans on the balcony railings, taking in the view of the glittering Venetian lagoon beneath the full moon. He glances back into the hotel room and sees Sony is sound asleep on the bed. It's quiet and peaceful, and Lupa is content until a voice from the next balcony over disturbs him.
"Hey Lupa. Mind if I join you?" Yarrow, Lupa's fellow handler friend, steps out onto the balcony while holding out a pack cigarette to him.
Lupa accepts the cigarette, taking one of them and thanks Yarrow. Yarrow helps him by lighting up his cigarette. Once lit, Lupa takes a puff from the cigarette and exhales a plume of smoke, turning his attention back to the view.
"What's on your mind right now?" Lupa asks his neighboring handler.
"Just admiring the view," Yarrow replies. "And checking on Gattonero. She's not doing too well."
Lupa frowns. "What happened?"
The tall blonde handler grimaces. "She's feeling sick and threw up all over the canal last evening."
Lupa raises an eyebrow. "What happened?"
Yarrow hesitates before admitting, "I told her to curse at me because I heard Alessandro's cyborg went sick when she did that to him, and turns out it's a real deal."
"Curiosity kills the cat." Lupa chuckles while he tells a joke to Yarrow.
His partner handler nods, sheepish. "Yeah, I know. I shouldn't have said that to her. But I didn't think it would affect her this much." He scratches his head.
Lupa shakes his head from the amusing story Yarrow has told him. "Don't underestimate the conditioning these girls have been subjected to. It's important to follow protocol." Changing the topic, Lupa asks to Yarrow again, "Has the informant been caught yet?"
Yarrow nods. "Yeah fortunately. Fio's team successfully captured the target. Alessandro's team assisting her in the interrogated now."
Lupa's eyes widen at the mention of Alessandro. "Wait, Alessandro's here?"
Yarrow nods again. "Yeah. I heard there's bigger operation after this. Something big must be coming."
Lupa's mind races, wondering what kind of operation would require Alessandro's expertise. He knows that whatever it is, his team needs to be ready for anything.
to be continued.