Mission 74 (
Summary[]
As nighttime falls in the Forger home, Yor calls Eden Academy to ask about Anya, as she has not come home. She is told that the field trip ran long, but Yor still feels unease, and she calls Sharon to ask if her son made it home. Sharon confirms this, saying that he did hours ago, to Yor's concern.
Billy looks back at Anya
At the bus, the SSS closes in while Vadim plans on exploding it once they arrive, and Anya decides to do something to stop all this. She gets up from her seat and confronts Billy Squire but realizes she should have thought of what to say before getting up. Anya considers telling them about the Secret Police's plan but fears they will explode the bus immediately. Anya thinks about what to say as Henry Henderson tells her to sit back down. Suddenly, Anya gets the idea to ask for more rations, as the police held back when the students were eating. Anya's bold statement shocks everyone, and Billy threatens to detonate her collar bomb. Anya is undeterred because she knows it is fake and says she is not afraid, mirroring Biddy's speech.
Billy sees Biddy in Anya
This unnerves Billy as he begins to see his daughter in Anya. He begins to think about Biddy's words, and Anya tries to parrot some of them while reading his mind. Billy snaps and removes the bomb from Anya, telling her to leave. However, Anya realizes he does not want to do his misdeeds while she is on the bus, so she refuses, to everyone's shock once again. Billy yells at Anya, saying that the Eden students are selfish elites, but recalls Damian and Emile's courage for their classmates. Anya demands more of the rations, making Billy believe that the children are not eating enough at home. Billy's misunderstanding continues, thinking that even Donovan Desmond has fallen low ever since losing power and that Ostania's economy has collapsed with a food shortage while he was out of the country. He is amazed by Anya's selflessness, embarrassing the little girl.
Biddy recalls her father's words
Billy asks Anya why she is doing this for everyone, and after some thinking, Anya repeats Loid's motivation for becoming a spy, wanting to make a world where kids don't need to cry. A noble goal, although she is a kid herself. Billy's resolve is even more shaken, but Vadim asks if he has forgotten about his daughter and tells him that if he wants equality, he must make their enemies know the pain of losing a child, aiming his gun at Anya. Billy flashes back to the past when Biddy got scratched while trying to equally distribute food amongst the neighborhood cats because she cannot bear to hear anyone cry. Billy is proud of his daughter but realizes she has used their food from the pantry to feed the cats again. Biddy giggles and reminds him that he taught her to "Be a giver, not a taker. Help each other up, don't hold each other down." Because Billy has always been teaching her these ideals, Biddy is proud to be the person she has become.
Back in the present, Billy realizes that he has not forgotten about his daughter but pretended to keep his anger, his reason to live, from melting away. Vadim says there is no time to waver, but Billy takes their guns and bags, then steps outside the bus. Billy knows that the Red Circus's methods are wrong but did nothing to stop them. However, he refuses to let his daughter die again, as he still wants to be able to call himself a dad. Billy puts down the weapons and surrenders, shocking everyone. Vadim yells at him to get back inside, but Billy tells the forces that he is the sole planner of the operation and to be lenient with his comrades as he coerced them into joining him.
Becky rushes to Anya and Martha
Enraged and unwilling to give up, Vadim tries to drive off. However, the police commissioner orders the armored vehicles to block his path. With nowhere to run, Vadim grabs Anya and rushes out of the bus, using her as a hostage. Before the SSS can fire at them, Martha leaps from above and shocks Vadim with a powerful taser, and catches Anya. The police move in to arrest the remaining Red Circus members and evacuate the students from the bus. As he gets taken away, Billy looks back to see a smiling Anya waving to Becky, who rushes to her and Martha in tears. The chapter closes with a breaking news report discussing the recent hijacking.
Characters[]
Trivia[]
- This chapter reveals that Sharon's son, who applied to Eden at the same time as Anya, was accepted and is a first-grade student in another class. And since he was able to return home hours earlier, it can be deduced he was not kidnapped, therefore he is in one of classes 1, 2, 7, or 8.
- Martha's surname is revealed for the first time.
- Biddy's full name is "Bridget" (ブリジット, Burijitto?). On page 12, Vadim tells Billy to remember his daughter. In Japanese, the furigana "ブリジット" (Bridget?) is attached to the kanji for "daughter" (娘, musume?) instead of musume. In non-English versions of this chapter, he refers to Billy's daughter as "Bridget" during this exchange. The English translation omits this.
References[]