Marco, Hillshire and the girls returned late that evening, closer to 10 o'clock. Having already had a large meal, the girls went for the bathroom and water in the kitchen. Marco and Hillshire sit on the single chairs in the living room, looking at the TV News. Hondo comes down stairs to check on the activity, and pretends to go to the kitchen and do the dishes. The girls sit on the arm rests of their respective handler's chairs. This left Bink to sit alone at the far end of the sofa alone.
Marco: Girls, its late. Go wash up and get ready for bed.
Hillshire nods at Triela. Angelica and Triela then leave to go up stairs to do as they were told.
Marco: You too Bink.
Bink looks at Marco, trying to delay that order to the best of her ability but finds her programming not to go against a handler's orders too great to over come. She eventually gets up and goes upstairs to join the others in the bathroom.
Hondo kept his comments to hinself about the order- which would put 3 girls in the bathroom at once. It was Hillshire who made his question known.
Hillshire: You two a couple?
Hondo: What of it?
Hillshire: I was just asking. I know Fernando would not approve, for we know him to be a stickler for mission rules.
Hondo: And what rules would that be?
Hillshire: No romancing and emotional attachments during missions. The reason for it is quite clear: it alters one's perception of the mission and the importance of the objective.
Hondo: We will deal with it together as a team, but as for mission objectives- we know Tammy's completion of her mission is paramount.
Marco: Don't get Victor wrong. Its good to see a couple who are happy, even in a mission. Its that its been proven time and time again that couples in a mission often fail. I'm not saying that you two would, but the odds are against you if you are.
Hondo: Then you better have that same talk with Fernando and Tammy then.
Marco: I understand why I should with Tammy, but why him too?
Hondo: This little date of theirs turned into an engagement party of sorts. You should see the ring he got her.
Hillshire: So he finally fell for her too...
Marco: Wouldn't you if some female kept throwing herself at you constantly?
Hondo: What are you trying to say?
Marco: I'm saying that if they fell for each other, its for the wrong reasons. Much like kids with a summer camp crush. As soon as this mission is over, they are going to part ways and one of them is going to be hurt.
Hondo: I seriously doubt that about Tammy.
Marco: Then its going to be Fernando that leaves and Tammy that gets hurt.
Hondo: He would not dare do that to her.
Marco: And why not?
In a joined hotel room (2 rooms with a door between them, where the door is open or has been removed) in the middle of Rome's Tourist district, John, Pino and the girls arrive and look over the place. A few seconds later, a service person arrives to the room with a cart of 2 bottles of wine.
Bianca: Its not the honeymoon suite, but it will have to do.
John (as he grabs one of the bottles of wine and a couple of glasses): Who saids anything about marriage.
Bianca takes John by the hand, and leads him to the next room, before closing the door behind them. Michelle take her cue to stand in front of Pino, trying to make a sexual advance towards him, while asking a question.
Michelle: When we get those two, what would be my part of the reward?
Pino (trying to step back from her): What reward?
Michelle: The 2 Million Euros for their capture and bringing them to Mr. Christiano.
Pino: John and I wont get it because we work for him. Working for Mr. Christiano is reward enough.
Michelle: You don't say... So I'm not going to get anything from this?
Pino: Not if your work with us.
Michelle: Not even from you?
Pino: What do you mean?
Michelle looks over to the bed for a second.
Michelle: Well, you know...
Pino: No I don't.
Michelle: Why don't you sit on the bed while I get the drinks ready.
Pino: well, I'm really not that thirsty.
Michelle: YOU'RE GOING TO DRINK ANYWAYS!
Pino looks at her as if she were crazy, and perhaps she was from his viewpoint. Pino's interest was only in killing, he had no desires in girls or sexual attraction what so ever. John did him right by programming that out of him and programming him into a devoted killing machine, similar to what the SWA did with the girls. The difference being that the SWA's programming needs its conditioning medication and its programming is light as compared to other brainwashing techniques go. What John did to Pino was something that goes deep into his being- well rooted into his mind by excluding everything else, including the desires for food, emotion, rest and sex; a programming that took years to develop, and years to implant. In short, drugs, sex and alcohol can not deter Pinocchio from his appointed rounds. And that is how John wanted him to be.
Getting nowhere with him fast, Michelle bursts into the other room screaming in frustration, yelling at Bianca and John about Pinocchio being some sort of weirdo. They were shocked out of a naked embrace under the covers, with John eventually say something to the tune of, "Maybe Pinocchio does not like girls"
After a few minutes of arguing, Michelle gathers her things and storms out of the room, telling Bianca that she would be waiting for her at an appointed bar. She slams the doors closed on her way out. Bianca and John continue onward with their lustful activities, with Bianca telling John that she would have to leave later on to get Michelle when they are done. John did not argued as long as it did not deter them from their activities.
Bianca meets up with Michelle over an hour later, who was 1/2 drunk with anger and fermented grape juice.
Michelle: What is wrong with that mouse! I'm throwing myself at him and he wont make a move on me!
Bianca: Maybe its like John says- maybe he does not like girls.
Michelle: He also said that we wont be getting any part of the reward if we work with them because in his words, ‘Working for Mr. Christiano is reward enough.'
Bianca: You don't say... So we're just wasting our time with these losers then. What a waste- And I was thinking that we could go back and ensure our share of that reward money. That rat was not even worth the wine he drank...
Michelle: I'm telling you, I'm getting tired of working with freaks and weirdoes. I say we go to talk to Mr. Christiano and get the reward from him ourselves.
Bianca: Look who's talking- Ms. Over 21 who can pass of for 10! But really, we'll go see him in the morning. Right now we need some money and a hotel room for the night.
Michelle: Money is not a problem, I'll work that guy in the suit over there, you work on his friend.
Bianca nods and the two of them head towards them, Bianca tells the bartender to server their targets an extra set of beers and to put it on her tab. They get there as soon as the beers do, with the bartender telling them that its from the girls. Then the scene starts to play itself out.
Later that morning, two men were found dead in the park, with their wallets and values missing.
In all, it has been a long night in Italy. Alex II and Agent 47 arrive home after midnight, being careful in not waking up the others. As the hours pass through the night, the computers data mine the various servers connected to the various servers on the global network. Information is compiled and cross references, making connections where mind would have speculated without proof. And like a spider, a web is formed. In the morning it is printed.
Marco and Hillshire wake up before the others, finding the print out on the output tray of the printer. They had woken up earlier than the others, before the crack of dawn. They tend to their needs and then start for together for the cyborgs and handlers' needs of breakfast. Hillshire goes over the computer print outs, not believing what he is holding in his hands- incriminating evidence, connecting Mr. Christiano to the terrorists and to Onyx. After a brief discussion with Marco, they take the meals to their rooms to feed the girls, and get them ready to take them back to the SWA Compound. Marco wakes Angelica up and orders her to go with Hillshire, as he is to get Bink and Tammy. Bink was found alone in her shared room. Tammy was not. Furthermore, it was difficult waking Bink up, as it snowed. The scent of snow kicks in a squirrel's hibernation instincts and even though Bink was a cyborg, she was still a squirrel. He orders Bink to join the others.
Only other place where Tammy would be is in Fernando's room. Finding the room lock, Marco exercises his lock picking skills to open the door. Long story short- he find Tammy sleeping in the same bed with Fernando, her head on his chest and her arms out to his sides with the blanket covering up to her shoulders. Marco tries his best to wake her up without waking Fernando, and manages to succeed. For a moment, they argued, but he wins- almost practically ordering her to get out of the bed and get ready for the mission- with an early morning meeting at the SWA compound- giving her little time to get dressed and eat. Several phone calls were made as they waited for her to catch up with them.
She tells him to leave so that he wont see her scampering around in her underwear. He gives her a couple of minutes to comply. She does her best to do so, meeting up with Hillshire and the others in his room. They gather together and get ready to leave quietly without disturbing the others. Tammy takes her meal on the run as they go to Hillshire's Mercedes Station Wagon, and take the long drive back to the compound.
Tammy left a note on her bed:
Quote:Fernando dear,
I had to leave with the other handlers to continue with the mission.
It is just a meeting that suddenly came up, so I'll be back as soon as possible. But its something I need to do alone, hope you understand.
Love
Tammy.