![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aguu A/N: The moment I become much thinner, I think I'd love to play dress-up for a really, really long time. Heeheehee. Always, always, I've wanted to dress up in a long ballgown and smile prettily at a party. But I didn't want the unwelcome attention that I was trying too hard. Nowadays it doesn't matter much, with the influx of cosplay...I really wonder if my soul is just quite old. When I get the chance, I'll make sure to hold a Victorian-style wedding.
Now, for the chapter. Since I myself do not know what Elizabeth looks like in her usual clothes, I think I'll just let the words come to me...but for now, I would like to prolong the moment, a little longer.
_________________________________________
Chapter 12 - Uncertainty
_________________________________________
October 12, 20xx
There wasn't a time that Adrian Nagant could remember when he didn't know what to do. He was always poised and calm, relaxed and unforgiving when work came. Work came as naturally as breathing, where his only goal was complete and utter annihilation of the target, clear-cut and simple. His only disconcerting moments were when he was without his pills, but after taking one (or two, or three) he usually felt fine.
Right now, there was a certain fear and sadness that the remaining amount of pills could no longer erase.
It was a cool Saturday morning, two weeks after that dubious trip down the Rosenrot Ruins. Lying on his bed, he tried to recall the events of the last two weeks. He barely registered Elizabeth's voice, her smile, her touch on his palm. The initial date for the mission was extended; mainly because his Godfather also had an interest in curiosities.
Adrian remembered the memory with frightening accuracy.
"What do you mean, an extension?" Godfather's voice was chilling over the phone, though, Adrian admitted that it could also be because of the file that was resting inside his mp3 player. "I mean, Godfather, that these ruins...they still had the original blueprints of the building. Before Rosenrot, there used to be a facility...they were developing something alive, it seems, for they had all these machines hooked up, without any specimens...but I found a lot of the skeletons on the floor."
After hearing the voices of his parents, Adrian had combed what he could of the ruins before forcibly going back to the surface for food. He had found machines that nestled liquid, rusted gurneys with IVs containing blood packs still hooked up next to them. Many times he thought he was being watched, brushing off the thought as paranoia. No one knew about the ruins. No one would come for him.
"Hm..I suppose. I'll give you two more weeks. Then the initial plan, the bombing has to occur, immediately. The client can't wait any longer, Adrian. I can't tell him that my own godson couldn't make time in his busy schedule, parading as a student when he's supposed to be sending me names of new recruits..."
"I understand, Godfather. Everything will go according to plan after two weeks."
And so the two weeks had come and gone; and he spent the better part of those weeks looking into the messagepad file that his parents had left. Aside from recharging his laptop, gaining sleep, going to school and the onslaught of delivery boys for food, he rarely went out of his apartment. It was clean and spacious, more than enough for one person, including his weaponry and work clothes.
Adrian blankly went to shower, letting the hot water hit his cool skin, watching the steam form in his bathroom. He raised his head, his red-black hair slick. There were no more pills, and the regular delivery would commence at noon. His muscles slowly relaxed, and his body softened and slumped. The bathroom was one of the private places where he could let himself go, for awhile.
A bitter smile painted his face as the water pounded onto his body, his face, his hair. "It's almost time," he whispered. "for the Black Captain to make his move." In his mind's eye, he saw himself wearing his work clothes, could almost touch the half-cape, the bullet-proof vest, his combat boots. He also had a helmet which obscured his identity, and worked efficiently to detect heat and ensured that he would never be lost in the dark.
Buzz!
The doorbell called, and Nagant turned the shower off, loosely draping a bathrobe to open the door. He nodded his thanks to the delivery boy, who carried yet another delivery for him. Signing the receipt with a flourish, Nagant closed the door, not minding that he was dripping water all over the carpeted floor, carefully setting the package down on his dining room table.
Packages were usually delivered to Adrian Nagant's spacious apartment at high noon, whether he was there or not, and it was often a welcome surprise when he would come back after a long, tiring day at the academy and see the medium-sized box on his dining table. After drying his hair and throwing on a white collared shirt and some pants, he went to his bedside table and grabbed a boxcutter.
A quick slash with the ever-handy boxcutter revealed its' contents, stamped with the crest of his family. Along with the usual package with three bottles of pills, Nagant received a note from his Godfather.
"What was inside the ruins?"
It was such a simple question with such a complex answer. Staring at the note, written with a confident hand, he wondered what to say. In time his hands grew idle, and he decided to make a pot of tea with the china he happened to purchase while fulfilling another contract in England.
I can't say 'nothing,' because I found a lot of things...I can't tell him the 'truth', because not only would I be pulled out of the mission...I could be bound and executed, which is a really bothersome way to go...if I'm going to die, I want to die going -to- him, of my own accord...I'll just say I found the schematics of the third building...
Opening a fresh, new bottle of pills, he popped one in his mouth and drank from his teacup, rubbing a hand over his temple. The events from those ruins still bothered him, and the remnants of tears still surprised him. His eyes fell onto the old USB, which he had plugged into his own laptop, and there it rested still.
Mom and Dad were killed...because of this USB...what's inside it that was so important? Hngh...I should focus on my revenge...but Godfather...would he really have them killed, and then get me? No, that wouldn't be precise; I should have died with them, that day...so if it wasn't his minions, then...!
Quickly flipping open his laptop, he opened his e-mail, and reopened the folder from his Parents' USB. Along with the blueprints and the sound file, he skimmed the messagepad file. It was mostly unimportant, full of his parents' past, papers securing the permit that he could have two birthdays, and a file that said that the people that were chasing them were part of the long-dead "Forever and a Day" conspiracy, headed by an unknown individual. The details had long been obscured by time, and Nagant had been so absorbed in his training, he had forgotten many birthdays.
Apparently, the blueprints of the buildings was so important that--what is this..?
Underneath the report of his mother's platoon, there was a small note in tiny font. Enlarging it, he saw the words,
"Supersoldier rept on subj. 001 - attached. Codename, WD."
Curious, he went back to the USB's contents and searched for 'WD'. It took him to pictures of what looked like an old-fashioned journal, more interesting than anything he'd ever encountered before. The person had looping handwriting, and while there weren't any pictures, he or she had drawn pictures of small things, like rabbits, x's and o's, puppies and kittens, and even some more crudely macabre drawings in red. There were more than 40 images full of writing alone, but he only opted to read the first few entries.
Spring, 2009
The girl is well-adjusted and happy. He was wrong, there was no need for sedatives at all, although her emotion is down and her status is suicidal. She is a small girl, but surprisingly pretty. Her mother was wrong--there is nothing ugly about her at all. Where the Lord picked her up, I don't know, but she is a lovely lady, though very quiet. We can alter that soon enough.
Summer, 2009
It's the most surprising thing! She finally spoke, but the only words that came out were "man with green eyes." could be a part of her past, one I have to replace. Happy thoughts, little one. The Lord has explained for her training to start immediately. A young girl of ten years old, already in training to become the most perfect soldier. No one but the Lord has the perfect formula, one that the other companies would kill to have. There are numerous perfect assassins, but no perfect bodyguard.
She was most excited when I told her we were going to play a game.
All suicidal tendencies have stopped, and she is smiling, which is good. Often calls others by pet names. She firmly believes that the Lord saved her, as per his directions.
Submissive and responsive to positive memory suggestion.
Autumn, 2009
She is making quick progress. Gifted when given one firm task at a time. When I tried to get her to learn how to play the violin while telling her to feed a kitten, she grew unfocused and confused, meeting each task halfway. Easily distracted. Now she's asking for dresses of the 1500's, books, even wanting to learn how to play instruments. I blame the Lord for leaving around novels from that time period where she can reach them.
Raising a child while training her has been difficult, but using the rhyme "Ring around the Rosie," as a reward, I've gotten to ensure her focus. She has only heard it once, and yet craves for the rhyme more and more.
During the training session she sang the rhyme while killing her target, managing to protect the subject we gave her. Upon revealing that the subject used to be mistreated by the target, she smiled and then mutilated the corpse, crowning his head with red roses.
She curtsied when it was all over, and afterwards, she started to cry.
She explained that she had 'blacked out' and when she woke up, the corpse was there in a scary fashion.
May block out painful experiences or memories, choosing instead to blame them on someone she calls 'White Death.'
WD...White...Death...man with green eyes...that is interesting. I should check it later...ah, one o'clock...I feel a little peckish, and none of the usual menus do it for me. I think I'll eat something at the Cagier Nathias shopping mall before I completely erase it from Makati...
While he waited for the laptop to completely shut down, Adrian Nagant finished dressing himself with a vest and leather shoes, a coat and a pocketwatch chained to his pocket.
As he closed his bedroom door, he thought of the Porsche that was waiting for him in the basement of the first building, in a parking spot beside his Godfather's. He bought the car on his 16th birthday, but was prohibited from bringing it outside of the country, something he detested. Cabs were all right, but they were slow and having to pay for them was getting tiresome. He couldn't remember seeing a fare go below 250 pesos.
Not that it actually matters, when it comes to money.
As the elevator doors closed, he couldn't help thinking that he always had to maintain his cover as a regular high-schooler.
As long as I am on this mission, acting natural is utterly and completely, priority number one. I really should start compiling a list of new recruits for Godfather.
Even if he detested the older man's guts, he still had to serve under his legal guardian.
It was only proper for a gentleman, after all.
~~
The fun thing with writing about these two is that their bank accounts literally have no limit, thanks to the work they both do. A little bit of trivia: Adrian Nicholas Santiago Nagant has a black AMEX credit card. He has no spending limit, but of course, no one knows that. Well, Elizabeth might...but who knows, ne?
Haha, it may be just me, but I thought of Elizabeth wanting to set up a 'date' night for Adrian and the rest of the officers...it really would be cute, to have those two at a restaurant, with Nagant filling his glass with brandy and wine as Elizabeth chattered away. Maybe for a birthday episode...?
Fillers are quite fun to think about...(that and I just revel in the one-sided love. Nagant will do anything to ensure that he looks normal, and if that's what normal is, well, then...)
Now, for the chapter. Since I myself do not know what Elizabeth looks like in her usual clothes, I think I'll just let the words come to me...but for now, I would like to prolong the moment, a little longer.
_________________________________________
Chapter 12 - Uncertainty
_________________________________________
October 12, 20xx
There wasn't a time that Adrian Nagant could remember when he didn't know what to do. He was always poised and calm, relaxed and unforgiving when work came. Work came as naturally as breathing, where his only goal was complete and utter annihilation of the target, clear-cut and simple. His only disconcerting moments were when he was without his pills, but after taking one (or two, or three) he usually felt fine.
Right now, there was a certain fear and sadness that the remaining amount of pills could no longer erase.
It was a cool Saturday morning, two weeks after that dubious trip down the Rosenrot Ruins. Lying on his bed, he tried to recall the events of the last two weeks. He barely registered Elizabeth's voice, her smile, her touch on his palm. The initial date for the mission was extended; mainly because his Godfather also had an interest in curiosities.
Adrian remembered the memory with frightening accuracy.
"What do you mean, an extension?" Godfather's voice was chilling over the phone, though, Adrian admitted that it could also be because of the file that was resting inside his mp3 player. "I mean, Godfather, that these ruins...they still had the original blueprints of the building. Before Rosenrot, there used to be a facility...they were developing something alive, it seems, for they had all these machines hooked up, without any specimens...but I found a lot of the skeletons on the floor."
After hearing the voices of his parents, Adrian had combed what he could of the ruins before forcibly going back to the surface for food. He had found machines that nestled liquid, rusted gurneys with IVs containing blood packs still hooked up next to them. Many times he thought he was being watched, brushing off the thought as paranoia. No one knew about the ruins. No one would come for him.
"Hm..I suppose. I'll give you two more weeks. Then the initial plan, the bombing has to occur, immediately. The client can't wait any longer, Adrian. I can't tell him that my own godson couldn't make time in his busy schedule, parading as a student when he's supposed to be sending me names of new recruits..."
"I understand, Godfather. Everything will go according to plan after two weeks."
And so the two weeks had come and gone; and he spent the better part of those weeks looking into the messagepad file that his parents had left. Aside from recharging his laptop, gaining sleep, going to school and the onslaught of delivery boys for food, he rarely went out of his apartment. It was clean and spacious, more than enough for one person, including his weaponry and work clothes.
Adrian blankly went to shower, letting the hot water hit his cool skin, watching the steam form in his bathroom. He raised his head, his red-black hair slick. There were no more pills, and the regular delivery would commence at noon. His muscles slowly relaxed, and his body softened and slumped. The bathroom was one of the private places where he could let himself go, for awhile.
A bitter smile painted his face as the water pounded onto his body, his face, his hair. "It's almost time," he whispered. "for the Black Captain to make his move." In his mind's eye, he saw himself wearing his work clothes, could almost touch the half-cape, the bullet-proof vest, his combat boots. He also had a helmet which obscured his identity, and worked efficiently to detect heat and ensured that he would never be lost in the dark.
Buzz!
The doorbell called, and Nagant turned the shower off, loosely draping a bathrobe to open the door. He nodded his thanks to the delivery boy, who carried yet another delivery for him. Signing the receipt with a flourish, Nagant closed the door, not minding that he was dripping water all over the carpeted floor, carefully setting the package down on his dining room table.
Packages were usually delivered to Adrian Nagant's spacious apartment at high noon, whether he was there or not, and it was often a welcome surprise when he would come back after a long, tiring day at the academy and see the medium-sized box on his dining table. After drying his hair and throwing on a white collared shirt and some pants, he went to his bedside table and grabbed a boxcutter.
A quick slash with the ever-handy boxcutter revealed its' contents, stamped with the crest of his family. Along with the usual package with three bottles of pills, Nagant received a note from his Godfather.
"What was inside the ruins?"
It was such a simple question with such a complex answer. Staring at the note, written with a confident hand, he wondered what to say. In time his hands grew idle, and he decided to make a pot of tea with the china he happened to purchase while fulfilling another contract in England.
I can't say 'nothing,' because I found a lot of things...I can't tell him the 'truth', because not only would I be pulled out of the mission...I could be bound and executed, which is a really bothersome way to go...if I'm going to die, I want to die going -to- him, of my own accord...I'll just say I found the schematics of the third building...
Opening a fresh, new bottle of pills, he popped one in his mouth and drank from his teacup, rubbing a hand over his temple. The events from those ruins still bothered him, and the remnants of tears still surprised him. His eyes fell onto the old USB, which he had plugged into his own laptop, and there it rested still.
Mom and Dad were killed...because of this USB...what's inside it that was so important? Hngh...I should focus on my revenge...but Godfather...would he really have them killed, and then get me? No, that wouldn't be precise; I should have died with them, that day...so if it wasn't his minions, then...!
Quickly flipping open his laptop, he opened his e-mail, and reopened the folder from his Parents' USB. Along with the blueprints and the sound file, he skimmed the messagepad file. It was mostly unimportant, full of his parents' past, papers securing the permit that he could have two birthdays, and a file that said that the people that were chasing them were part of the long-dead "Forever and a Day" conspiracy, headed by an unknown individual. The details had long been obscured by time, and Nagant had been so absorbed in his training, he had forgotten many birthdays.
Apparently, the blueprints of the buildings was so important that--what is this..?
Underneath the report of his mother's platoon, there was a small note in tiny font. Enlarging it, he saw the words,
"Supersoldier rept on subj. 001 - attached. Codename, WD."
Curious, he went back to the USB's contents and searched for 'WD'. It took him to pictures of what looked like an old-fashioned journal, more interesting than anything he'd ever encountered before. The person had looping handwriting, and while there weren't any pictures, he or she had drawn pictures of small things, like rabbits, x's and o's, puppies and kittens, and even some more crudely macabre drawings in red. There were more than 40 images full of writing alone, but he only opted to read the first few entries.
Spring, 2009
The girl is well-adjusted and happy. He was wrong, there was no need for sedatives at all, although her emotion is down and her status is suicidal. She is a small girl, but surprisingly pretty. Her mother was wrong--there is nothing ugly about her at all. Where the Lord picked her up, I don't know, but she is a lovely lady, though very quiet. We can alter that soon enough.
Summer, 2009
It's the most surprising thing! She finally spoke, but the only words that came out were "man with green eyes." could be a part of her past, one I have to replace. Happy thoughts, little one. The Lord has explained for her training to start immediately. A young girl of ten years old, already in training to become the most perfect soldier. No one but the Lord has the perfect formula, one that the other companies would kill to have. There are numerous perfect assassins, but no perfect bodyguard.
She was most excited when I told her we were going to play a game.
All suicidal tendencies have stopped, and she is smiling, which is good. Often calls others by pet names. She firmly believes that the Lord saved her, as per his directions.
Submissive and responsive to positive memory suggestion.
Autumn, 2009
She is making quick progress. Gifted when given one firm task at a time. When I tried to get her to learn how to play the violin while telling her to feed a kitten, she grew unfocused and confused, meeting each task halfway. Easily distracted. Now she's asking for dresses of the 1500's, books, even wanting to learn how to play instruments. I blame the Lord for leaving around novels from that time period where she can reach them.
Raising a child while training her has been difficult, but using the rhyme "Ring around the Rosie," as a reward, I've gotten to ensure her focus. She has only heard it once, and yet craves for the rhyme more and more.
During the training session she sang the rhyme while killing her target, managing to protect the subject we gave her. Upon revealing that the subject used to be mistreated by the target, she smiled and then mutilated the corpse, crowning his head with red roses.
She curtsied when it was all over, and afterwards, she started to cry.
She explained that she had 'blacked out' and when she woke up, the corpse was there in a scary fashion.
May block out painful experiences or memories, choosing instead to blame them on someone she calls 'White Death.'
WD...White...Death...man with green eyes...that is interesting. I should check it later...ah, one o'clock...I feel a little peckish, and none of the usual menus do it for me. I think I'll eat something at the Cagier Nathias shopping mall before I completely erase it from Makati...
While he waited for the laptop to completely shut down, Adrian Nagant finished dressing himself with a vest and leather shoes, a coat and a pocketwatch chained to his pocket.
As he closed his bedroom door, he thought of the Porsche that was waiting for him in the basement of the first building, in a parking spot beside his Godfather's. He bought the car on his 16th birthday, but was prohibited from bringing it outside of the country, something he detested. Cabs were all right, but they were slow and having to pay for them was getting tiresome. He couldn't remember seeing a fare go below 250 pesos.
Not that it actually matters, when it comes to money.
As the elevator doors closed, he couldn't help thinking that he always had to maintain his cover as a regular high-schooler.
As long as I am on this mission, acting natural is utterly and completely, priority number one. I really should start compiling a list of new recruits for Godfather.
Even if he detested the older man's guts, he still had to serve under his legal guardian.
It was only proper for a gentleman, after all.
~~
The fun thing with writing about these two is that their bank accounts literally have no limit, thanks to the work they both do. A little bit of trivia: Adrian Nicholas Santiago Nagant has a black AMEX credit card. He has no spending limit, but of course, no one knows that. Well, Elizabeth might...but who knows, ne?
Haha, it may be just me, but I thought of Elizabeth wanting to set up a 'date' night for Adrian and the rest of the officers...it really would be cute, to have those two at a restaurant, with Nagant filling his glass with brandy and wine as Elizabeth chattered away. Maybe for a birthday episode...?
Fillers are quite fun to think about...(that and I just revel in the one-sided love. Nagant will do anything to ensure that he looks normal, and if that's what normal is, well, then...)
