Drop off Dr. Goldstein and drill her on Tschau

Dr. Nora Goldstein wouldn't make the whole trip back with you to Washington's CEDIT base. Instead, your team had been ordered to drop her off at the western European installment... you hoped that didn't mean she'd be delayed in delivering the antidote to you. Still, you understood that she couldn't simply be slotted right back into position in a CEDIT laboratory, just like that... She'd been undercover for a long time, from what you'd heard on the plane ride. You imagined she would be rigorously tested in confinement to see where her loyalties lay, evaluating her mental condition thoroughly before setting her loose on the antidote designed to fix her own work. You wondered if at some point she should have stepped in to stop that work... maybe it was impossible in her position? You were polite enough not to ask about it...

... Still, as you accompanied her off the Gambit and through security at the CEDIT base, you thought you sensed her watching you. She knew you had something to ask that you couldn't ask in front of the others.

That's right! In the middle of all of this craziness with Adder, you'd forgotten to do much with the important task that Goodbye had assigned you: finding out more about the operatives in the Goodbye Girls. After all, one of them was potentially a murderer who had it out for her handlers, if not her whole team. If so, every mission like the one you'd just completed was one in which the criminal could potentially get their hands on world-threatening technology. Rooting out the individual at work here was almost as important as stopping the terrorists you could see.

Once you were away from other agents, you called out to Dr. Goldstein and asked her to stop. After explaining that you were new to your handler's position, you asked her if there was anything you needed to know about your agents...

The snake-like woman smiled, her eyes unreadable behind her glasses as she tilted her head. "Which one?"

You answered: Tschau. The ninja set you on edge every time you saw her... that defiant nature mixed with her superhuman abilities made her seem unreal. Besides that, she didn't seem to be on especially friendly terms with any of the Goodbye Girls, but especially you, their handler. You had all kinds of questions, but you tried to make your tone seem urgent: was there anything you needed to know?

Dr. Goldstein smirked, then crossed her arms. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were afraid of that young woman..." Without waiting for an answer, she continued speaking. "Well, sure. There's a thing or two. You know how this mission was about 'genetic programming,' right? You could say that Tschau's had a little programming done to her as well. Her own had nothing to do with genetics, though... you see, Tschau's body was cybernetically enhanced in a laboratory in CEDIT Russia. There was an incident involving the science team and some human research modification research, after which, CEDIT Russia was gutted and restructured. You remember reading about that?"

You told her you did, though the details were always vague. Also, why Russia? Wasn't Tschau German?

"Quite a mystery, isn't it? But all I know is that the original science team at CEDIT Russia left a dark legacy behind them and Tschau is tied to it somehow, along with a handful of other enhanced agents who are still active in the field. Enhanced how? That's beyond my paygrade, but the agents have all had mental evaluations and been ruled fit for work... Tschau, in particular, handles hers with a cold efficiency. Still, I have to wonder. What did they do to Tschau in that facility? You know how world organizations all bleed together, even across the lines of 'good' and 'evil?' It makes you wonder who the players in that Russian incident really were... and what kind of fingerprints they left on Tschau when they were modifying her..."

The conversation wasn't just engaging; it was critical. You felt like you were on the cusp of understanding something that could relate to the murders. Desperately, you questioned Nora for anything else she could tell you.

"I've said enough to get me in trouble already. This is a CEDIT science secret, Ciao... You'd best not let anyone know you're wise to it." The lanky woman flashed you a peace sign, then disappeared beyond security, where you no longer had a reason (and thereby, no longer had the clearance) to follow. "I'll be off the grid for a while! Good luck figuring out the rest yourself... I've got a blood-borne genetic disease to cure! You'd better wish me luck too, for your sake! Oh hey, if I can make a suggestion... why not give her a gift and be nice to her? That's a pretty good way to make sure she doesn't kill you! Geeeh ha ha ha ha!"

You wished her luck... while privately cursing under your breath that you hadn't found out a way to learn more from her.

When you met Tschau again, you couldn't stop thinking about what Nora had said... the ninja was a killer, one who may have had her mind altered by corrupt scientists from the CEDIT Russia incident. It made her dangerous, sure... but there was a sympathetic angle as well. As someone newly introduced to the concept of having your actions controlled in a very invasive way, you couldn't imagine what it must have been like to survive the Russian operation and live in its aftermath. You made a mental note to talk to Tschau a bit about it, once the two of you were close enough that you could afford to do so.

For now, you had a present for her. Once your team had finished up their business, you and your two agents reboarded the Gambit to leave for America. Feeling a little weird giving a gift to a girl who was both a stealth assassin and several years your junior, but determined to follow through on Dr. Goldstein's advice, you handed over a small gift bag. As the girl eyed it suspiciously, you sighed and revealed it was Nora's idea... but you'd hoped that you could get her something to celebrate a job well done.

The girl pulled out the tissue paper, then the item inside... it was a gray phone cover with a black cat's picture on the back. It was probably a bit cutesy for her, but... it was the only one you'd found that matched her outfit and wasn't just plain black rubber. Plus, it wouldn't stand out too much if she decided to whip out her phone on dangerous missions... which was apparently a thing she did.

The girl blinked her eyes a few times, then lowered her eyes to the phone case again. "... Don't expect me to repay the favor... I'm not the gift-giving type. I'll repay you by continuing to serve justice."

Well that was really more of a gift for justice than you... but it seemed like a decent promise all the same. You saw her immediately go to work putting the new phone case on. Maybe she was a little happier about it than she let on?

Vaarvel chuckled from across the aisle at you as the three of you began the somewhat awkward trip home...