Baccano! - Volume 10 - Chapter 4.5

Interlude IV The Daughter Is Fanatically Devoted to Her Father

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary The dining hall

“…So. What do you think’s gonna happen to us now?”

“…”

As Ladd muttered in a low voice, sounding amused, Firo’s only response was to take a bite of pasta in silence.

It was the day after Firo had gouged out Huey’s eye.

In the end, a guard who was one of the Shams had said, “I’ll take you two back up top. We can’t have you in contact with Huey anymore,” and they’d been returned to Broadway that morning.

The Sham who was Dragon, the Asian man, was already back in the adjacent cell, and Huey’s eyeball had apparently been taken out of the prison.

Firo’s cell wasn’t near Ladd’s; they hadn’t even spoken since the incident, but when lunchtime rolled around, they met in the dining hall again.

The dining hall looked as cold and institutional as always, but it was heaven compared to the underground cells.

Plus, the aroma of the soup that reached his nose was painting his world in bright color again.

“Wanna know how I’m feeling right now? I’m like a rug rat who just got his hands on a new toy, but better. Like the king of the playground who just found a ton of bugs for squishing and started wondering what color guts are gonna squirt out when he stomps on ’em. It’s kinda like that. I kid you not, I couldn’t even sleep.”

“Would you lay off the bug-squishing metaphors when people are trying to eat?”

The baby-faced young man looked disgusted, but even then, he kept silently shoveling food into his mouth.

It was the first time Firo had eaten with Ladd in several days, and unlike the last time, Isaac wasn’t between them. He’d heard they’d let him go that morning, but Firo was worried about whether he’d actually been released safely.

Maybe Huey, or whoever had ordered Huey’s eyeball, had him tied up somewhere.

All that aside, I doubt Victor would let him go that easily.

As a matter of fact, due to the trouble in New York, Victor was having problems sending and receiving orders, and so Isaac had been released. But at this point in time, Firo had no way of knowing—or even guessing—this, and the possibility that Huey might harm them somehow was always in a corner of his mind.

Noticing Firo’s sigh, Ladd spoke to him with a grin.

“I don’t wanna see you sighin’, Firo. I’ll tell ya a million times if I have to! Sighs don’t make anything happen, and they stain your mind with boredom. Boredom’s poison; it’ll rot your life.”

“At least try to enjoy being bored, all right?”

“Yeah, up until I was twenty or so, my pals and me tried all kinds of stuff to keep ourselves entertained. One time, I stormed the chairman’s office of this company, Nebula.”

“…Nebula? You mean the Nebula?”

Firo had meant to let Ladd’s reply go in one ear and out the other, but when he heard that word, the question left his mouth before he could stop it.

Nebula was such a huge conglomerate that it was practically a household name.

Even among denizens of the underworld like Firo, it was a big name, a synonym for the American dream.

And Ladd had dropped that name indifferently, like it meant nothing to him.

“Yeah, we had a bet. I told some old pals of mine, ‘If I don’t like a fella, I don’t care who he is, I’ll slaughter him,’ and they said, ‘Well then, what about the guy who’s kicking back way up at the top of that building?’ And one thing led to another.”

“…I never heard anything about their chairman getting offed, though.”

“Well, I got in there okay, but after that… See, it turns out he was the most boring type there is to kill. This old guy seemed ready to die anytime. So I just went home and—” Ladd abruptly cut off before he could continue his story.

“Hey there. Sorry to bust in on your fun,” said a man, sitting down beside Firo. It was Dragon. The Asian man flashed his sharp canines in a smile, and Firo responded with emphatic silence.

Ladd was wearing an odd expression, but Dragon spoke before he could say anything. “I’ve got a word of warning for you.”

“A what?”

“We don’t plan to mess with you guys anymore. Frankly, we don’t want to get hurt.”

Rubbing the raw wound on his face, the Asian Sham sent Ladd a heavy-lidded glare.

Firo was terrified Ladd would take a sudden swing at the guy. Ladd seemed to have something on his mind, though; he kept eating, just listening in silence.

“But Huey, he’s probably a different story… Well, not Huey so much as Leeza.”

“…”

“I’m not gonna beat around the bush. That kid’s not normal.”

What is this guy saying? Sham had said something unexpected, and Firo let his surprise show. He’s not exactly one to talk, is he?

True, it was hard to describe a girl in a prison like this as anything other than “not normal,” but even so, she had to be normal enough compared to someone like Sham… That was what Firo thought anyway.

However, Dragon snickered quietly, then coolly continued.

“You’ll see soon. Well, you’re immortal, so I doubt you’ll die, but…that’s a good reason to be extra careful she doesn’t just kill you over and over.”

“…”

“That kid—Leeza—is a fanatic. Her dad is the whole world to her. It’s like Ennis and the Martillo Family for you—the streets of New York, things like that. To her, all that is concentrated in one guy, Huey Laforet.”

“What are you getting at?”

Firo had just finished his last bite, and at his question, the smile abruptly vanished from Dragon’s face.

“I’m saying that you, and our group, took part of that world. And you’re the one who actually did the deed. Say some bastard took Ennis from you. What would you do?”

“…”

He didn’t even have to think about that.

However, Firo had only ever seen the girl when she was unconscious. He had the vague feeling he’d heard the name “Leeza” somewhere before, but he couldn’t remember where, so he decided not to trouble himself about it.

“As far as that kid is concerned, her dad is an object of worship—her god. Anybody who tries to take that away…”

Dragon seemed to be trying to stir up his unease, but…

Ladd cut him off. “I’ve heard that somewhere before.”

“Huh?”

“Come to think of it, I thought that kid looked familiar…” Ladd gritted his teeth as if he was remembering something, and a brutal smile lit his eyes as he asked, “She doesn’t have a big sister named Chané, does she?”

“…Heh-heh! Heh-heh-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Yeah, you’re right. It’s exactly what it looks like!”

“Huh…?”

Chané. Chané…

Firo knew he’d heard that name before. He thought about it for a while, and then…

…suddenly, the image of his redheaded childhood friend flickered through his mind.

Huh? Come to think of it, I don’t run into him all that often, but whenever I do, he’s with that doll who doesn’t say much. And her name was…

A jolt of electricity ran through Firo.

They do look alike.

He’d been really curious to know what kind of weirdo would agree to be Claire’s girl, so he remembered her very clearly…and just now, he’d realized her face looked a whole lot like Huey Laforet’s.

“Hang on. About Chané; can I ask—?”

Just as Firo tried to ask for details, the bell that signaled the end of the meal rang.

Dammit… Well, he’s in the next cell over. I’ll ask him later.

For the moment, Firo swallowed his question, shutting it away in his heart.

Unlike him, Ladd asked his question to Dragon’s back as he cleared his dishes. “So I haven’t gotten your answer from last night yet.”

“Last night?”

“About Lua.”

Unusually, there was no smile in Ladd’s voice. Just as unusually, Dragon gave an awkward grin.

“Right… I have bad news for you.”

Instantly, the air around Ladd turned cold and sharp—but only for a moment.

“She got away.”

Shaking his head with a wry smile, he offered one more rather unnecessary addition.

“And Mr. Placido…is probably dead.”

At the same time The special underground cell

“…Why…?”

A young girl’s voice echoed in the large cell.

The deep despair in her question seemed liable to call down misfortune on anyone who heard it—a roiling mixture of doubt and anger and impatience.

“What’s…happening…?” Leeza bolted up from the bed.

“What’s the matter, Leeza?” Huey asked from the chair. “It doesn’t look as though you’ve had a nightmare.”

He was holding an open newspaper with a strange name, the Daily Days—probably something Sham had brought in as a guard—and he’d been absorbed in reading a variety of articles as if they intrigued him.

“F-Father…”

Even her beloved father’s words couldn’t dispel the girl’s misery. On the contrary, she seemed to grow more discouraged. Tears filled her eyes, and she shook her head.

“I’m—I’m… Nooo… NOOOOooo…”

“Calm down, please. It’s all right.”

Deciding that his daughter’s situation was serious, Huey folded the newspaper and quietly crossed to her. Gently putting an arm around her thin shoulders, he embraced her.

“I’m here. Don’t worry.”

At Huey’s baseless attempt at comfort, Leeza’s despair faded just a little, but she still sounded as if she was about to cry. Nearly shrieking, she managed to say:

“Father… Father! I’m… I was… Lots of the me’s in Chicago got kidnapped!”

After hearing Leeza’s report, Huey thought for a while.

His daughter was crouched on the bed, discouraged, and he seemed to have decided to let her be.

Leeza’s consciousness had been given the name “Hilton,” and like Sham, she was scattered all across America. To be perfectly accurate, it wasn’t Leeza’s consciousness, but the consciousness of the liquid which had taken over her memories and knowledge. However, Huey had considered it pointless to differentiate between the two, and he’d continued to raise her as Leeza Laforet.

He’d stationed a particularly large number of individual Hiltons in Chicago, and apparently they were being kidnapped by a mysterious group in black.

Most likely the work of Maestra Parmedes…

As he was visualizing his bespectacled former teacher, footsteps echoed in the corridor, and one of the guard Shams entered the room.

He’d unlocked the door a little more roughly than he usually did, and the first words out of his mouth were:

“Master Huey, we have a problem.”

His tone was calm as he began to deliver his report.

“What’s the matter? Has Rail told me to die again?”

Remembering the message from ever-rebellious Rail from an hour ago, Huey gave a quiet, wry smile.

“No, I’ve actually lost track of Rail at the moment. After the explosives work a short while ago, a little trouble broke out in Chicago, so I’ve come to deliver a report on that.”

“Trouble?”

“Someone has been kidnapping the bodies I have in that city, one after another.”

Although he was relating the exact same information as Leeza, Sham’s delivery was composure itself.

“You too, Sham?!”

At Sham’s impassive report, Leeza involuntarily raised her head—and her voice—from the bed.

Leeza hated Rail, and so she’d left the bombings he’d plotted in Chicago to Sham, but— Regardless of their respective actions, someone had been kidnapping bodies from both of them in rapid succession.

“Apparently, things are beginning to shift in earnest in the city of Chicago.”

There’s no doubt that this is Renee’s doing, but…

…the question is, how is she obtaining information about Sham’s and Hilton’s bodies?

As a rule, only Huey, the members of Rhythm, and the individuals themselves knew which humans had had their lives taken over by the twins.

Had Renee learned of Sham’s and Hilton’s true nature and discovered a way of spotting them that even Huey didn’t know? Or…

Huey considered a variety of hypotheses, but before long, he smiled faintly.

“Sham, an order. As previously discussed, please stall Victor and his men in New York in accordance with the Code Twenty-three plan. Begin the moment the incident is reported in the media, or whenever the fact reaches their ears.”

“Understood, sir.” Sham answered mechanically.

Huey thought a bit more, then added, “Before you act, tell Victor the following: ‘I’m afraid I’m going to cause trouble for you, Victor, and I’m sorry.’”

“Understood.”

“And then… Yes, please add, ‘I apologize for adding to that trouble, but…I can’t afford to involve you in the relationship between myself and Nebula at this point, and so— I’m going to tie you down just a little longer.’ If you say that, I expect he’ll understand.”

Then, imagining how flustered Victor was likely to get, Huey chuckled.

“Well, he may understand, but I doubt he’ll accept it…”

“And I’m certain he won’t forgive me.”

Even as she listened to her father and Sham…

…Leeza wasn’t focused on their conversation.

Internally, her mind was merely gazing at her own world, traveling to and from places that could have been either deep or shallow.

Why?

Why is this happening?

Why does Father have to be burdened this way?

He’s amazing.

He’s perfect.

He’s far, far more magnificent than anything else in the world, and yet…

Something’s strange.

Over the past few days, something—something about my world slipped out of place.

Where? What was it that slipped?

Where did the thread begin to unravel?

Up until just a little while ago, everything was going so well, but…

Did it start when Father lost his left eye?

When that Ladd guy slugged me?

When that jerk Graham got in our way in Chicago?

Everything—everything!—went perfectly before!

Here in this prison, Father and I could do anything, and now…

…

Him.

It was him.

It’s his fault.

When he came to the island, something definitely started to slip.

He came here and fouled up the air.

He poisoned this place.

Because he came, Father is worried.

He stirred up Ladd, and that’s why he hit me.

Maybe he took Ladd’s chains off.

And what I can’t forgive more than anything, anything, anything—

—he hurt my father.

He gouged out Father’s left eye.

He’s my father—mine and nobody else’s. His eye used to look at me, only me, and I used to look right back—and then he stole it. Defiled it. Insulted it.

He defied Father.

He insulted Father.

He trampled on Father’s kindness.

He held Father in contempt.

He denied my world.

He broke my world—my father.

And so, and so, and so, I have to hurry and repair that world.

Father said I didn’t need to make any moves, but…

…even if they aren’t necessary, some things have to be done.

I think that’s now. I think this is something I have to choose to do.

I’ll take back my world, and I won’t stop there.

I’ll make him suffer in a bottomless pit of regret.

I’ll kill everyone he loves with my own hands.

I’ll make sure he hears every last bit of their screams clear as crystal.

Firo Prochainezo.

I’ll never, ever forgive him.

Never ever, ever.

Never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever—

And when I’m done with him, he’ll be crying like a baby.