Liberi Reader

Robin's not a professional assassin?

Not at all.

Even I could tell that much. She had none of the air about her.

Looks like the material I had on her was correct. She really was a security worker. Her skills certainly should've invited trust.

But this all smacks of a little weirdness to me...

What?

Why they hire her is my question... but that's not too important. Skip it for now.

More importantly, it seems most of the assassins were like Robin in that they'd been hired solo.

They had no idea if they had any competition, and no clue who their employer was.

How many assassins did HydeBro hire, in the end?

Your guess is as good as mine.

But just like I said before, the Bros paid big to get rid of Anthony. Money with their blood and sweat in it.

How did the assassins get into the prison?

I'm sure you looked into it beforehand, too—Mansfield State Prison was established jointly by a few of the state's municipal governments, and it stands alone.

Mm. The way I've seen it described, the founding intent of the prison was to serve its state breaking new ground. Development was rapid, but crime rates stayed high, and rampant.

So at the time, it was a half-abandoned industrial platform.

It was Randal, the current warden, who suggested establishing the prison to the city governments. All at once, they had a solution for what to do with the platform, and where to put inmates.

Any questions so far?

Isn't the answer pretty obvious, though?

The idea is the prison gets used as a lockbox to shove every 'troublesome' person. And it's the people none of the cities want to bother with.

Getting inside isn't the tough part.

Ms. Kafka never told you how exactly she got in there, am I right?

......

Of course, the prison is still a prison. Getting out is tough.

Like I said, it only visits cities on the edge once every few months. The rest of the time, it stops in the barrens.

A convict escapes out there, they're stuck in the endless barrens until they die.

Here's the thing. Robin mentioned it. A mysterious person promised it. There was a way to get them out for sure.

So as long as they didn't slip up and get themselves killed in there, AND successfully ran the hit on Anthony, then they'd just need to wait for extraction.

But they sent in a lot of other assassins. Would HydeBro really be able to retrieve each and every one?

Of course not.

Which is why I said none of them knew about the others.

And once they were inside, even if they figured it out, there'd be no escape. Their only option would be to kill Anthony or die trying.

It's a simple, effective method.

......

But I still don't understand—why?

Simon Co. had shut down. Its core members were all in prison. HydeBro never once touched them. Why move against Anthony alone, of all people?

Oh. Do I actually have to start from there?

What do you mean?

Alright, Ms. Silence, now I know you really didn't care much about this in the past.

Buuut, maybe you pulled something so bold and brash—and succeeded—precisely because you didn't realize.

......

Sorry, sorry, I'm not making fun of you here. In fact, you can take it as me complimenting you.

Right, as for your question, first of all, let me answer it with a question—

Ms. Silence, have you ever thought about how if you wanted to dispose of Anthony in prison, assassins are actually one of the least efficient methods?

No.

Because there are much better ways. Buying off the jailers, maybe bribing the warden...

But sending an assassin to dress up as a prisoner, get into prison and kill another prisoner... when you hear it out loud, it sounds dumb, doesn't it?

Because they... couldn't?

Yep, because they couldn't.

Whoo, from the way you reacted to this prison's history just now, I'm gonna need to give you a walkthrough of this side from the top, Ms. Silence.

What do you mean?

Do you still remember Kafka recalling the prison's Superintendent Barton? What did he say?

We are Mansfield State Prison. State! Prison. We are a pilot penitentiary with special approval from the capital. We will serve as a shining example to the other states.

What about it?

Pilot. Special approval. You know what that implies?

What?

It implies business.

...?!

In Columbia, the most profitable business is wherever the power is. This prison's a model case.

What are you...?

I'm telling you this prison is in fact Warden Randal's money machine.

But it's a prison!

Sure is. A heavily guarded prison. Send whoever you don't like in there for a fate worse than death. Send whoever you wanna safeguard in there to be protected.

Whatever you need, as long as you have the money.

Don't you go 'wow, that's a super-sized business opportunity?'

......

But in that case... could HydeBro not just pay the warden the requisite amount, and he'd help them do their work?

One second you're stunned beyond belief hearing it, the next you force yourself to switch lanes and rail your thought in full steam.

You really are amazing, Ms. Silence.

I don't feel like you're complimenting me.

Your query's totally reasonable, but truth is I don't have a clear-cut answer either.

But we can work backwards—in conclusion, they didn't do that. And surely they tried it before. So the only possible answer is they failed.

Personally, I think it's because the warden didn't want to get himself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Or perhaps Anthony's mistreatment could be bought, but Anthony also had a massive influence in the prison. If he died, you sure couldn't handle it like a typical prisoner death.

A lot of people'd love Randal's position, and as far as I know, he's got major guile too. I don't think he'd take the risk.

Someone like him? It's more likely he took HydeBro's money and just did nothing.

I remember Anthony once saying he'd fled to Ironforge City before he was finally arrested...

Perhaps his father had some involvement in the affair?

Hmm. Yeah, that's possible as well.

Ol' Smith used to be a fair household name in Bunkerhill City. Sending his son to prison for his protection wouldn't surprise me one bit.

But that doesn't answer my question.

I've already answered it, Ms. Silence. You're smart. You just don't want to believe it.

...I don't understand.

What I mean is they couldn't do it in Mansfield State Prison, but that doesn't mean they couldn't do it in Bunkerhill City Prison.

Wait, you don't mean his family...

Looks like you finally understand, Ms. Silence.

You said that HydeBro never touched Anthony's family. That's a faulty assumption.

The only reason they're not dead is because they don't need to be.

Maybe you just can't comprehend it, but in Columbia, death's far from the worst thing that could happen to a person.

Moreover, after dealing with Simon Co., HydeBro had no competitors left. They obviously wouldn't ever let the Simon family turn their next page.

They said as much, the Simons posed no more threat...

So once they discovered Anthony was in a prison they had no influence over, they decided Anthony was a threat?!

Correct. As long as Anthony lives, they always face the risk of a comeback.

So. HydeBro had a grip over their local lockup, but none at all on the prison a couple states over, Mansfield State Prison.

No. Wait! They're a business! Even if our Energy Section is backing them, what in the world gives them any say in the local prison?!

Well? What in the world, indeed?

You're—you're not—no, I refuse to...

Dinner's ready. Eat something, you guys.

Eep. You look like you've seen a ghost, Silence.

I need a moment to cool my head... Mayer, if I could trouble you to continue explaining the events to Director Muelsyse.

Hmuh? Sure thing~

Silence, you wanna eat on the side and listen?

No, I need somewhere a little quieter.

You can head into the kitchen, then. There's a table there.

Right. Thank you.

Okay, so where did you leave off?

We finished Robin's past and what she was doing in the prison.

Ah, I got it. Then next should be her first failed hit...

Uh, or from Kafka's perspective, her successfully getting in touch with Anthony.

Wow, so this is when the two of them cross paths?

Mmyup.

Let me guessy-guess. Robin's thing about entering C-Zone for cleaning.

It's that, right?

Mm-hm. Kafka went for it, too.

I imagine she heard it was the safest way to meet Anthony.

Ahah. Now that's straight to the punch. I like it~

All the middle stuff's pretty nothing. You wanna hear it?

Mmm... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued. I feel like I'd hear some pretty interesting things. But let's stick to the jailbreak itself first.

So you wanna hear Kafka or Robin's side?

I'll keep wiiiith Robin's.

Cool. It was a whole month since she went inside, then.

All the while, she kept her head down and worked. Finally clawed out the chance to go to C-Zone for cleaning.

Used every material at her disposal, made all the weapons she could count on. Packed them on her person.

Sounds like she was pretty amply prepared. Did she get sussed by Anthony, then? Or stopped by Kafka?

Nope. Something wild happened.

All present?

Here.

Here.

Here~

......

(Hey, you're fresh meat too, right? I've seen you before at the factory.)

......

Listen up. You've got new inmates among you, so I'll repeat the rules.

A-Zone and B-Zone are responsible for different rooms. The two of us will take you separately.

But you will all get one turn cleaning up Mr. Anthony's room.

Heheh. Why's that?

It's called respect. You understand?

...A-Zone with me, B-Zone with him.

I'll make it brief. Once you're in, don't touch what you shouldn't. Don't even think about taking what you shouldn't.

Do your work. Especially when it comes to Mr. Anthony's room. You are to clean his room like you care for your own mommy. Is that clear?

Heheh. Like I give a slug's ass about my mommy, hehey.

You, shut it. I'm saying this for the first-timers here. Don't give me trouble, you hear me?

I got it, I got it.

Behave, and we'll give you some playtime in an empty C-cell.

Whew, now that's a perk. I'll be good as a baby, then, heheh.

Enough! You all got your cleaning gear on you? If so, we'll get ready to go upstairs.

(So these are the C-Zone cells... I've finally gotten in.)

(Every story has four cells. Each cell only links to the elevator.)

(But the style of these cells is so different to ours. It feels like... there's no privacy at all here.)

Get down to it. Stop gawking around.

Over here is Anthony's... Mr. Anthony's room.

Looks like the other side's there already.

Just get in there and clean up. Don't think about brawling with B-Zone here.

I'll be watching you.

(This jailer's not like the others. Real domineering...)

(Focus. I finally get to see Anthony.)

(In all the photos, he's built crazy strong. If I took him on directly, I'd have no chance of winning.)

(But no matter how strong the person, as long as you can find a weak point, there's a chance...)

(Just clean up while you look for it. Even if finding a weak point's all I get, I'll take it.)

(Pop, protect me.)

Hm? What's going on?