Chapter 73

Mission 73 (: 73) is the seventy-third chapter of the SPY x FAMILY manga, written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo. It was released on December 26, 2022.

Summary
Going back in time, a younger Billy Squire confronts his daughter, Biddy, about going to a Red Circus protest. Fearing that the group is shady and the government's intolerance for protests, Billy worries his daughter will get hurt or worse. Biddy declares that while she is not scared to die for what she knows is right, she is scared of living in a world where no one is allowed to criticize what is wrong, notably with the government. Billy tells her the real world is not that simple, and Biddy brushes him off. Billy states that he wants to keep their family safe and asks what is wrong with that. Afterward, a stunned Billy finds Biddy's corpse from the aftermath of the protest while a Red Circus member consoles him. As her father, Billy becomes marked by the SSS, and is offered help by the Red Circus to get out of the country.

In the present, Anya Forger has read Billy's mind and witnessed the past he recalls from seeing the children. Tired of waiting like sitting ducks, Vadim suggests to Billy that they get their partner, Bruce, to get moving with the second bus. Because they are avoiding radio contact to prevent giving away his location, Bruce's hostages are their trump card.

At the warehouse hiding the second bus, an SSS agent counts how many people are inside. He makes orders to wait until all six are outside to strike, pointing out Bruce as the leader. Outside the building, a squad consisting of Yuri Briar and two other members wear gas masks while preparing some tear gas, then get orders to move in. Two members are immediately shot and killed, and the tear gas is thrown into the building. As more Red Circus members continue to fall, Bruce attempts to retreat to the bus. Yuri grabs and punches Bruce, then gets shot in the shoulder. He then expresses his disgust with Bruce for hiding behind kids and hits him with a knee strike. The agents report the hostages safe and one wounded, as Yuri's wound gets treated. While screaming out in pain, Yuri questions why he must suffer like this for Anya of all people. As the young man was lacking in motivation, he had an absurdly low threshold for pain.

Back at the first bus, the SSS captain learns about the results of the other bus. The disgruntled police chief gets off the phone and informs the captain that he has transferred command of the situation over to him. The captain thanks him and assures him that they will resolve this quickly. He then sarcastically remarks about laying the groundwork to claim they attempted a peaceful solution. The captain announces to the Red Circus members that their comrades from the second bus are all dead. He then tells them to surrender if they do not wish to meet the same fate as them, giving them until dawn to make their choice.

Vadim bursts out in anger, while Billy simply says they failed. Vadim and their partner tell him not to give up already, Vadim reminding him of their friends, goals of reviving the Red Circus and teaching Ostania a lesson, and his daughter. While Billy agrees to keep going, Vadim sees that he is completely shaken and cannot be counted on anymore. Vadim thinks that in the worst-case scenario, he will use their last resort: blowing up the bus and all the hostages with it.

Hearing his thoughts, Anya is shocked by this plan. Vadim plans on timing the blast to blow away the strike force as soon as they come charging in. Anya also hears the thoughts of the SSS guard regiment outside, ready to kill the Red Circus members in the bus. The SSS captain orders them to prepare to storm the bus, but the police chief protests, as he had told them they had until dawn. The captain states they will be attacking during the night, sick of playing games with the terrorists. He then orders the teams into positions, telling them to keep hostage casualties to a minimum.

As the Secret Police get closer to the bus, Anya worries they will all explode when the terrorists find out. Determined to do something about this, Anya bravely gets up from her seat with Billy Squire set in her sights, surprising Damian Desmond and Emile Elman.

Trivia

 * The SSS Guard Regiment uniforms appear to be inspired by the Diensteinheit IX, a special and covert counter-terrorism unit of East Germany that was active from the 1970s to the 1990s.