Mission 41 (
Summary[]
Yuri quickly disables Conrad
Yuri Briar is surveilling a room through a listening device as three men enter to make an illicit deal. He quickly assesses the position and skill of the men through their footsteps, determining that two of them are big and professional and that his target, Conrad, sits on the sofa. After Yuri announces they have made the deal, the Lieutenant tells him they are going in. The Lieutenant and two members of the SSS enter, arresting the men on suspicion of espionage. Conrad attempts to evade arrest through the window, only for Yuri, who is waiting outside, to disable him.
At the SSS building, Yuri's superior praises him for his work and gives him another assignment to investigate Franklin Perkin, a journalist who writes several books and articles that slander Ostania and sells them to Ostanian black market presses that release them to Westalis, and stop his work from influencing public opinion. The Lieutenant expresses some concern for the amount of work Yuri has been doing lately, but Yuri reassures him. Yuri is personally disgusted at Franklin for selling out his own country for money.
The Lieutenant notices Yuri getting tired
Yuri monitors Franklin, referring to him as Subject J-095, and carefully logs all his actions from waking up to sleeping, as well as the appearance of fellow passengers on the train and his conversations with his co-workers. The Lieutenant is impressed at the number of details but tries to persuade Yuri to let someone take over as he has pulled two all-nighters in a row. As the Lieutenant reads the report aloud, Yuri twitches in response to words that sound similar to Yor and gets told to rest.
Yuri gets mad at Franklin for threatening kids
At Franklin's apartment, the landlady loudly knocks on his door to demand he pay his back rent. Franklin tries to persuade her to give him a few more days and promises to pay up the day after tomorrow. After the landlady leaves, he prepares to head out and informs his father. Yuri and the Lieutenant nod at each other and follow Franklin. Franklin tries to find something to write about as he discreetly takes pictures with a camera hidden under his jacket. Several children run past him, playing with a Bondman replica pistol. Franklin walks up to them and snatches the replica pistol, throwing it into a nearby dumpster. The children quickly dig into the dumpster to find the toy, and Franklin takes a picture to show them as desperate and hungry street urchins. He then intimidates the boys when they threaten to report him to the SSS, which angers Yuri.
Franklin returns home to write a new article. His father is concerned about his activities, but Franklin says he wants to make the country a better place for his family to live and wishes they had more money so his mother would still be alive. As Yuri listens, he wonders if Franklin is motivated by concern for his family on the report but rips it out and crumples it.
On the 11th, Yuri continues to monitor Franklin, noting no signs of attempted contact with his publishers, but deduces that he does it during his work at the post office. After a load of mail gets cleared by the monitors, Franklin offers to handle the mail instead and, while hesitant to do so, discreetly slips the manuscript into the mail, all of which is seen by Yuri.
Yuri arrives to arrest Franklin
On the 15th, Franklin prepares to leave but sees Yuri and SSS officers waiting outside the apartment. Though shocked, he accepts his fate and tells his father he will not be back for a while. After Franklin walks outside, Yuri informs him that his publisher has already been arrested. Franklin expresses appreciation for them waiting outside, and Yuri tells him there was no reason for his family to witness his disgrace as he handcuffs him. Franklin asks which of the two is the true disgrace: the one who fights against tyranny, or the one who serves it, to which Yuri responds that he would never do anything to cause his family pain. As Franklin gets escorted away, Yuri says he will apply for his father to receive financial assistance, and Franklin thanks him.
Yor's reassuring smile
Returning to the SSS building, Yuri is congratulated by his boss, who promises to treat him to a steak dinner. Later in the evening, Yuri drops by the Forgers' home with the whole family in attendance (with Loid's presence especially irritating Yuri). Yor is surprised by his late visit and asks if something is wrong, to which Yuri replies that he simply wanted to see her face. Anya hears his thoughts and gives him a consoling pat, to his confusion. Yor pats Yuri on the head, praising him for working hard and deciding to make tea for everyone. Yuri is elated and his thoughts become filled with Yor, exhausting Anya as she hears his mental chatter.
Characters[]
Trivia[]
- This chapter shows an even greater similarity of the SSS to the Stasi of East Germany, as seen with their very detailed monitoring of the journalist's movements.
- On page 2, the SSS Lieutenant displays a badge which only shows the emblem resembling the Nazi eagle, not showing the "Shield and Sword of the Party" emblems which are part of the insignia of the Stasi.
- Yuri monitored Franklin from the 6th to the 15th.
- This chapter takes inspiration from the German drama film The Lives of Others, sharing a similar premise.[2]
References[]