All squads are fully prepared and ready to return to the landship at a moment's notice.
Liskarm
Where's Jessica? Still can't reach her?
Laura
Her communicator... is broken again.
Franka
Twice in one operation? That's too much of a coincidence. What is that girl up to?
Laura
...
Laura
Jessica, you're finally back!
Jessica
...Sorry.
Franka
Don't worry about it. Laura's already packed your bags.
Jessica
It's not that... I...
Jessica
I'm... here to say goodbye.
Franka
Goodbye?
Liskarm
Are you applying for temporary leave?
Jessica
...I guess?
Liskarm
And your reason for doing so?
Jessica
Personal reasons. There's some personal stuff I have to do, no matter what.
Liskarm
And how long will you be gone?
Jessica
I don't know. Maybe a week, maybe a year...
Liskarm
Did you hit your head? Do you really expect us to grant temporary leave for up to a year?
Jessica
If that isn't an option, then... can I hand in my resignation?
Franka
You're quitting?!
Jessica
...
Franka
Ah, right. You said from the start that you're here to say goodbye. And goodbyes don't need an application.
Liskarm
I don't know what brought this on all of a sudden, but I need to remind you: If you leave the team, everything you've worked so hard for in Blacksteel will likely go up in smoke.
Liskarm
Whatever it is you need to do, are you willing to trade all of your efforts until now for it?
When using the welding gun, pay attention to the angle between it and the weld. Holding it too high causes spattering, and makes it easy to get hurt.
Jessica
For a woman who runs a diner, you sure know way too many things.
Helena
Heh. I spent more than two decades traveling across grand ol' Columbia. I had a lot of choices.
Jessica
...When you got dumped, did you ever think about going home?
Helena
Dumped?
Helena
Oh, I get it. Leone must've gotten the wrong idea.
Helena
Nah, I'm the one who dumped him. He ended up being a real by-the-books sorta fella... Didn't suit that gruff face of his one bit.
Helena
Back then, I was dead set on travelling across Columbia with him, but he thought I was too wild... Still, we supported each other across the barrens, and I ain't saying it was a bad life.
Helena
But one night, he suddenly proposed to me. Said he couldn't stand all that wandering no more, and he wanted to settle down on some plate.
Helena
Going through the same motions in the same place, over and over again? I couldn't imagine a worse punishment.
Helena
So I turned him down, left him all my money and possessions, and told him I'd make a terrible wife. Then I mounted my burdenbeast and rode off into the sunset.
Jessica
But... you still ended up in Davistown.
Helena
In his letter, he said he'd finally fulfilled his old dream, and wanted me to drop by to visit.
Helena
So I came here, thinking the whole trip about how to turn him down in a way that'd let him keep his middle-aged dignity.
Helena
But... you know the rest. I was too late. He'd already passed away.
Jessica
And then you inherited his diner and stayed...
Helena
I didn't inherit it, I recaptured it. It'd been ransacked by a gang of thugs. Must've fought off at least fifteen of 'em.
Jessica
Huh?
Helena
That's how life is. Romantic stories ain't always have romantic reasons. More often than not, the journey is just the punchline.
Jessica
All these years... Have you ever had any regrets?
Helena
Regrets?
Jessica
Like, for eloping, for breaking up, for not being able to see him one last time. Or for staying behind in Davistown... Stuff like that.
Helena
Nope.
Helena
I feel bad about a lot of things, but I wouldn't say I regret 'em.
Helena
I've enjoyed the results of my choices, and accepted the costs. All with complete peace of mind.
You made such a huge decision without even thinking it through?!
Jessica
That's not what I mean. I've given a lot of thought to your questions, and I've heard other people's answers too. In a sense, I even agree with them.
Jessica
But I can't just regurgitate what they said and let them make my choices for me... Because in the end, their answers aren't mine.
Jessica
I don't know if throwing away my past life is too steep a cost. I don't know if I'll regret this later, nor do I know what'll happen to me in the future.
Jessica
But despite all that, I have to do this.
Liskarm
I understand.
Liskarm
Nevertheless, I have to reject Jessica Brynley's request to be temporarily discharged from the team.
Jessica
I see... Then I'll have to resign.
Liskarm
Jessica...
Jessica
Liskarm... Captain?
Liskarm
Even the slickest, most experienced veterans who don't give two shits about their job wouldn't throw around the word 'resign' as casually as you do.
Liskarm
But I also have to imagine that maybe what I'm seeing here is... a Jessica who's finally cast aside her fears and self-doubt. A Jessica who's truly found herself.
Liskarm
I still object to your decision, vehemently, but if you've made up your mind...
Jessica
I'm sorry. I really am...
Franka
Give it a break already.
Franka
...And stay safe out there.
Laura
Jessica...
Jessica
I'm sorry, Laura.
Laura
To tell you the truth, I had an inkling this would happen when I couldn't contact you. But if you've already made up your mind, can I get one last hug? Think of it as a parting gift.
Before Jessica can answer, Laura has already taken a few steps forward and wrapped her arms tightly around her.
With her back to Liskarm and Franka, she also stuffs a tiny slip of paper into Jessica's pocket.
As she looks at the now-abandoned safe house, Jessica feels a soreness coming from her nose.
She sniffles and gives it a rub, then opens up the slip of paper from before.
Following the instructions of a few numbers scribbled on the note, Jessica turns to an inconspicuous corner of the safe house where she finds a partition made from wooden boards.
Jessica
Five, six, seven...
Jessica
The back of the eighth board is hollow...
The cavity behind the board is filled to the brim with equipment, all brought here by Jessica herself when she set out from Blacksteel's landship.
Sitting on top is another note in the same style of scribbles.
'I take it you have unfinished business in Davistown. This gear should come in handy.'
'Just forget about everything else and do it. I believe in the choice you made, so believe in yourself, too.'
At the bottom of the note is one last line.
'Goodbye, Jessica. Hopefully, we already parted ways on a high note.'
Sorry, I'm not late, am I? I needed some time to sort through my gear.
Woodrow
It's fine. We still got five minutes.
Helena
Where'd you get all this stuff?
Jessica
A parting gift from a friend.
Helena
Then I'll have to give 'em a right-and-proper thank you if we ever meet again.
Woodrow
One last run-down. After we go through the door, Helena and Leone are in charge of clearing any obstacles and grabbing the money. Jessica and I will be on crowd-control, then we catch up afterwards.
Woodrow
Once the deed is done, Helena takes the money with her through the secret passage, while the rest of us draw attention away from her. Any questions?
Leone
If only there were more explosives... We oughta give that bank a little surprise.
Helena
Settle down. If the info we got from Sylvia is correct, we'll need to save most of them to breach the last door.
Woodrow
The key to our success is speed. We don't have much time. The mercs on duty will be back in half an hour.
Jessica
Even if we can get the job done in that time, the explosion will definitely attract Blacksteel's attention. However, most of the mercenaries are back on the landship tonight, and it'll take them time to arrive.
Woodrow
If it comes to that, just leave it to me. I'll buy you the time you need.
You'll need to pass through a total of four doors to get to the vault. The first is the door to the reception area, which needs a key, but any employee can get it.
Sylvia
The second is a passcode lock in the reception room. The code changes every day, but there are certain rules.
Sylvia
From what I've gathered, today's code should be...
...And that's number twenty-two. Now you're all tied up.
Woodrow
Next up is—
Bank Manager
I never imagined these would be the circumstances we'd meet again in, Miss Brynley...
Jessica
I'd recommend worrying about your responsibilities first.
Jessica
Also, I've heard this bank keeps a series of secret numbers, two of which are held by you and this gentlemen here. I hope you're both willing to cooperate.
Woodrow
Now take a walk with us. If you're not feeling cooperative, well, guess I'll have to shoot you.
You got nothing to fear, sir. I just wanted to ask you a few simple questions.
Helena
Will you tell us the passcode, or do we tie you to this door and blast you both to pieces? Your choice.
Helena
Friendly reminder: it is not a crime to reveal secrets under life-threatening duress.
Bank President
You damn thugs—
Woodrow
Five.
Bank President
Don't even think about it. You bastards don't deserve a single penny! You all deserve to rot out in the frontier!
Woodrow
Four.
Bank President
You complacent idiots put all your eggs into the mine, yet still have the gall to whine to the bank after getting wiped out!
Woodrow
Three.
Bank President
Nobody gives a damn about your rotten minerals. It's the era of high tech and automation now! Your only value to Columbia is to be thrown out to the frontier, the sooner the better!
Woodrow
Two.
Bank President
You filthy, uneducated hicks! You idiots don't even have a damn clue what numbers mean! Serves you right for getting tricked!
Woodrow
One.
Bank President
Sixfivefourseveneightfour!
Woodrow
Hah... Never seen anyone spit out a string of numbers that fast.
Leone
Okay, now that your boss has squealed, it's your turn, ma'am.
Leone
Give me the passcode, or die.
Bank President
Hurry up and tell them already! Do you really want to die here?!
Bank Manager
...Mr. Theremin, what would you even do with the money? Do you seriously think you can get rid of us and start over out on the frontier?
Bank Manager
Of course you can't. We're everywhere. We will follow your footsteps, and find you no matter where you go.
Bank Manager
The money you steal will smell as sweet as honey. And soon enough, our local associates will swarm all over you to eat it up.
Bank Manager
And with the promise of a few extra benefits, they'll even personally deliver your heads to us on a silver platter—
Leone
What's the goddamn passcode?!
Bank Manager
*cough*, *cough*...
Bank Manager
Three... six... eight... six... five... four.
Bank Manager
Go on, take it. You won't accomplish a thing, my friends.
Bank Manager
Nothing will change. This tragedy is doomed to happen again and again—
Woodrow
Shut up.
Bank Manager
Shut up? It is human nature to be greedy, and Mr. Theremin here is a prime example. Had he not been so eager to cling onto things that never belonged to him—
Jessica
You shut your mouth!
Bank Manager
How far you've fallen to mingle with this sorry lot, Miss Jessica Brynley.
Bank Manager
Leone Theremin here could have left this place ages ago. Taken his children with him to Ironforge City, Nulaiteburgh, or Bunkerhill...
Bank Manager
What kind of blasting engineer wouldn't be able earn enough to put food on the table? How else would he have ended up like, if not for his greed?
Leone
You...
Helena
Leone, she's right! The door's open!
Leone
...
Leone suddenly turns to look at Helena without saying a word. She is shocked to see the panic in his eyes.
If you manage to open the first three doors, congratulations. The last is merely an extra credit question. It appears the most complicated, but the solution is the simplest...
Like a precise surgical operation, the steel bars buried deep within the concrete are located with pinpoint accuracy and twisted until they break under the force of the explosion.
The fuel ignites under tremendous temperatures, bursting into layers upon layers of flames that gently wrap around the steel.
Then, at the moment it lets its guard down, all its defenses are stripped away.
The powerful backdraft caused by the explosion tears apart the stack of bank notes floating on the upper level, and the shredded paper is sent spiraling down the underground cavity. For a few moments, the snowfall here is heavier than it is outside.
The four people present are rendered speechless by this 'snow' that so many people could only dream of seeing.
Woodrow
Breathtaking...
Helena
...Lord almighty, I've never seen this much money in my life.
Leone
But it's also nothing compared to what the bank has bled from us.
Woodrow
No time for idle thoughts, folks. Start filling those bags. We got more than enough to keep us busy.
Jessica
...
Woodrow
Don't just stand there gawking... What are you thinking about?
Jessica
Nothing in particular. It's just...
Jessica
This is the first time in my life I've ever wanted money so badly. It feels new... and exciting.
