"Good to see you again, Captain Ravalo." "Jean..." "What do you want with a retired man?" "We need instructors at my new place of employment." "I heard "things" after you left the unit." "Seems you're involved with some shady organization." "It might be just the organization for you." "Revenge at all costs, huh?" "Wouldn't you like to return to the military police?" "That job was your life." "We could help you go back." "She's one of them?" "Yes, if you choose her to be." "Well?" "Will you choose her?" "She wears glasses." "Not a problem." "We can correct that as well." "We'll hand her over in top combatant form." "You talk as if you can do anything..." "Yes." "If it means you'll help us." "Will you choose her?" "She's as good as any." "OK." "Your first job as her Handler is to give her a name." "Me?" "Give her a girl's name?" "No, it doesn't need to be a girl's name." "You're free to name her whatever you like." "I suppose that would make the job more impersonal." ""Promise"" ""Promise" If that's how you see it." ""Promise"" "About time you hit it." "Don't come back until you can always hit it from 20 yards." "I'm going back." "Keep shooting, Claes." "Captain Ravalo." "Hmm?" "I haven't seen Claes at all today..." "Yeah, not since I told her to keep practicing at the range yesterday." "What do you mean?" "I haven't seen her since." "She didn't even give me a final report." "I see..." "It takes time to grow accustomed to implants." "Much like how you did with your bad leg." "Each girl is different." "Learning to move about should come before firearms training." "Musical instruments or dictation may be effective." "This wasn't in my job description." "Check the shooting range." "I'll bet you she's still there." "Why would she--?" "!" "Because you ordered her to." "Claes..." "Ravalo-san..." "I'm sorry." "I still can't hit it every time..." "Idiot!" "You can't get better by shooting for an entire night!" "Let's go." "Fleda..." "Fleda Claes Johansson..." "What?" "Ravalo-san..." "What is it, Claes?" "Did you sneak out of your room?" "Jean-san told me to see you." "He did?" "He didn't tell me." "Well, come in." "Yes, sir." "You certainly have a lot." "A lot of what?" "Books." "Ah." "Not all of my things have arrived yet." "There'll be much more." "Filling the bookcases'll be exhausting." "I'll help you put the books away." "Mind your own business." "Yes, sir." "We may not look it, but people in our profession read quite a lot." "Uneducated riffraff don't make good soldiers." "What kind of books do you read?" "Well, let's see..." "Right now, I'm reading about how to grow vegetables." "It'll come in handy for when vegetable aliens attack." "What kind of books do you read?" "They gave me several textbooks." "I'll read too, if that's what makes a good soldier." "I see..." "No firearms practice for awhile." "We're going out tomorrow morning." "Is this okay?" "It's not a holiday..." "Yeah." "Seems this is work, too." "I put the bait on." "Now gently cast the line underhanded-like." "Right." "I cast it..." "Now you sit and wait." "Bored?" "I was always bored whenever I went fishing with my old man." "I didn't know the joy of idly passing time." "I'm not bored." "I was just thinking that even though I'm in this situation" "I can still experience this." "I brought you because of work." "To be honest, I don't care about you." "I only care about returning to the military police." "Can I ask about your leg?" "An accidental pistol discharge during my MP days." "Three years at the agency and they'll help me go back." "That was Jean's promise to me." "In that case, I'll serve as your legs until then." "Knock it off." "Weren't you listening?" "Look!" "You've got a bite!" "Pull it in!" "We visited many other lakes after that..." "Lombardy, Veneto, Piemonte..." "At the agency, we were always silent and true to our roles as teacher and student, but for some reason, we always talked at the lakes." "It was our unspoken rule." "Alright, there goes the last train for the night." "We're gonna do a little on-the-job training today, so don't take them out except in self-defense." "If you can't handle these subway punks, you can forget the real thing." "I'll do my best." "Alfonso." "Claes has fired." "Keep the police off our backs." "Roger." "Ravalo-san..." "Alfonso, bring the garbage truck around." "I'm sorry." "You fool..." "Knowing when to shoot is more important than how well you can shoot!" "It's too late once you're in knife range!" "Don't hesitate to shoot next time." "Yes, sir." "Giuse." "Your girl needs to learn some consistency." "Easier said than done." "Are you suggesting I increase her conditioning?" "That's not what I meant." "Do you wanna die?" "!" "Ravalo!" "Stop it!" "Shut up!" "What's she doing here if she can't even use a gun?" "!" "Did you assume it wouldn't jam because it's a modern gun?" "!" "Eh?" "!" "That attitude will be the end of us" "Ravalo-san!" "Behind you!" "Henrietta!" "Stop it!" "You're not at fault, Captain." "It would seem Giuse isn't fully devoted to her training." "The problem is their brainwashing tablature." "I now see it stands to be improved." "Are you going to redo their brainwashing?" "Giuse-san will likely disagree, but both probably need several pages rewritten." "But it'll shorten their life spans!" "That just comes with the territory." "Anyway, it doesn't concern you." "Once the agency lays the groundwork, you will be back in the military police." "Take some time off while she's recovering." "Giuse..." "I'm sorry, Ravalo-san." "It was all my fault..." "You're not going to have her brainwashing redone?" "Resistance is to be expected." "I see..." "I just don't know how to keep her from attacking both friend and foe." "Fighting violence with violence is all I've ever known." ""Good soldiers read." Yeah, right." "Err, I mean" "Don't tell Jean I was complaining." "What's with the MP captain?" "Doesn't know what to do with all his free time." "He might be at his breaking point now." "Probably for the best, considering the business we're in." "No need to force him to continue." "Ravalo-san!" "It's been a while, Claes." "Did you check out today?" "I managed to get out a day early!" "I've been looking for you!" "I heard that you're quitting the agency." "Henrietta told me when she came to visit..." "You've made up with her?" "Eh?" "Forget it..." "Don't worry." "All I want is to spend my time idly until you get officially released tomorrow." "Oh, yeah." "I have some things for you." "One is my room key." "From now on, you can take my books as you see fit." "Those are your old glasses." "Why did you keep these?" "I've tried turning you into someone stronger, but lately, I feel uneasy whenever I look at you." "One must think clearly before pulling a trigger." "Regardless of what the agency orders, you mustn't use your abilities outside of work." "I want you to be the gentle Claes whenever you put those on." "That's not a changeable order - it's a warmhearted promise." "Understand?" "I do." "Roberto Dandini." "Oh!" "It's you!" "Yes, we quietly looked into your proposal." "Yeah." "We're game." "No one has followed me for the last four days." "I'd like absolute secrecy on your end, too." "You're over-cautious." "No, no, it's all taken care of." "So?" "What's your story?" "Today?" "Now?" "!" "Where?" "Right." "Got it." "Ravalo-san's taking a long time." "Yeah..." "Claes." "Jean-san." "Captain Ravalo is dead." "He was in a hit-and-run two days ago in Rome." "He died instantly." "Jean-san!" "You can't tell her like that!" "You be quiet." "Claes...!" "Say something!" "Claes!" "Take her." "Unfortunately, this girl is no longer of use." "A once-established Handler is not easily replaced." "I have a proposal." "What is it?" "There is one thing we've been wanting." "If Claes would be kind enough to assist us..." "Preparations complete." "Bye!" "I'll be back soon!" "Yeah..." "Have fun..." "I don't participate in operations like everyone else." "I don't even step outside the agency." "To the best of my knowledge, this is the only way I've ever lived." "Change clothes." "You can put the book down there." "Claes." "Are you ready?" "I want to test your shoulder joints, so pull as hard as you can." "Yes, sir." "Let's begin." "How's her muscle output?" "Abdominal and back muscles still not at maximum." "Claes." "I said pull as hard as you can!" "Harder!" "Harder!" "Harder!" "Harder!" "Harder!" "Right shoulder dislocation near maximum level." "Claes, take a break." "We'll give you painkillers in a moment." "Send her out for repairs." "Right away." "Compare next week's muscle model with today's data." "As I do this each day, something often comes to mind." "Have time?" "Yeah." "What are we doing?" "I decided to plant a vegetable garden..." "Jean-san actually gave me permission when I asked him." "Why a vegetable garden?" "I suddenly wanted to, for some reason." "Say..." "Isn't it lonely?" "What do you mean?" "You always stay home alone, you know?" "I would die of loneliness if I didn't have Giuse-san." "Happy little girl." "I decide if I'm lonely or not." "Cooking food, drawing pictures, and playing music is all fun, and I have as many books to read as I want." "But most of all, I know the joy of idly spending my time." "I think my father or someone taught me it long ago." "I just get that feeling." ""Reward""