Baccano! - Volume 9 - Chapter 2.5

INTERLUDE I

MISCHIEF BELOW ALCATRAZ ISLAND

The federal prison on Alcatraz Island was said to be inescapable.

The island was generally a collection of prisoners who’d caused trouble already, and the especially difficult prisoners among those were sent to special cells known as the Dungeon.

These cells were a relic of the structure’s days as a fortress. They were enclosed in brick, and there wasn’t any light in them at all. The troublemakers were flung into that darkness.

The brick walls were fragile compared to concrete, creating a possibility that someone could dig a tunnel and escape, or so they said. As a result, prisoners’ legs were fully chained in the darkness.

Even farther underground, below that darkness, in the heart of the prison, in a location not marked on any of the plans in the facility—

—he and she were there.

It was a special cell that had technically been built for just one man. There were rumors that it had originally been a hidden storeroom for the fortress, or a space to hide noncombatant VIPs, but no one knew the specifics.

It was about the size of a modest hotel room; far too spacious for a cell.

As if in exchange, the only facilities in the room were minimal—a bed and a water tap—and as in the other cells, the only small articles in sight were things like soap and a tin cup. Unlike in the Dungeon, however, an electric bulb shone brightly, somewhat staving off insanity.

In this area, to which even prison guards were admitted only rarely—

—was Leeza Laforet, a small girl who clearly shouldn’t be here, yet secretly was.

Now that Huey, the original prisoner, had been joined by this spirited little girl, the size of the room felt just about right.

However, when you considered that this was a prison, she struck a sharp contrast with the rest of the picture.

As if to remind him she was there, the girl spoke, her childlike words and voice echoing in the cell.

“Say, Father? How long are you going to let Rail get away with that?”

Huey Laforet, her father, was sitting in the room’s chair, and he responded to Leeza with a faint smile.

“What do you mean, ‘how long’?”

“Playing decoy and drawing attention without permission right this minute, and yesterday, he said lots and lots of bad things about you, Father! Can I kill him, pleeease? Can I?”

Leeza wheedled like a child pestering someone for sweets, tugging on Huey’s clothes.

However, Huey stroked her head lightly and admonished her. He was still wearing that thin smile.

“No, Leeza, you may not. He’s your valuable companion.”

“Companion, my foot.”

“Then let me put it another way.”

At that point, he paused, and his smile grew even softer.

“He’s my valuable research subject. You mustn’t break him without permission, Leeza.”

“Ngh… But…”

“Besides, he’s growing, too. He may become more genial and begin to flatter me, you know.”

He sounded amused, but the emotion in his smile said he’d never expected him to do any such thing.

Quietly getting to his feet, Huey asked Leeza about the present situation.

“All the members have gathered in Chicago, then?”

“Uh-huh! Although we still haven’t found Chris…”

“Unfortunately, since he’s been out of contact for a full year, it may be best to give up on him.”

“You’re right.”

They discussed him as if he were a missing ballpoint pen, and it didn’t strike either of them as odd.

Putting an end to the objectifying conversation about Christopher, Huey calmly turned to their upcoming schedule.

“I’m told the immortal Victor sent in will be arriving on the island soon. I intend to summon him down here before long, but…first, I think it would be best if we began as well. Victor and his associates seem to have latched onto the decoy in New York, so…once things are settled, let’s begin the experiment.”

He didn’t go into what he meant by “the experiment,” but Leeza nodded vigorously, and her face seemed to say that she understood completely.

Meanwhile, she wasn’t finished complaining about Rail.

“But Rail really doesn’t know his place! He was about to cry when we found out that Chris was gone, but he still won’t stop bad-mouthing you, Father!”

“That’s because I did some terrible things to him, and the ones who took care of him afterward were Christopher, Frank, and Adele. Christopher seems to be the one who conversed with him the most.”

“Lately, he’s even started talking a little like Chris. It’s seriously irritating.”

“Rail is still a child, after all. I expect he’s easily influenced simply by interacting with people.”

Sounding vaguely pleased as he answered, Huey sat down in the chair and closed his eyes.

Thinking of the boy covered in suture scars, he began to relate his own thoughts without any change in his expression.

“If he becomes more human in meeting people, then that is a consequence as well… Even if he says he doesn’t want to work with explosives anymore at some point in the future, I won’t be angry. I’ll just create someone else to replace him.”

“But, but then, Father, if that happens, you won’t get mad if I kill the useless little thing, will you?”

“Leeza. When you speak of killing people, it’s always best to be prepared to be destroyed instead.”

For a lecture directed at his own daughter, the words seemed far too detached.

In response to Huey’s scolding, Leeza puffed out her cheeks crossly and argued, “…I wouldn’t lose to a guy like him. It’s easy: I’ll just get him in the back with one of my rings!”

“There’s no guarantee that it would be that simple.”

Still smiling, Huey admonished his daughter gently.

“I believe you have the strength to drive off an ordinary enemy. That is precisely why I granted you and the others the name Lamia.”

However, at the end, he abruptly began to brood—and added one more remark.

“That said… Encounters with anyone extraordinary weren’t included in my calculations.”