level_act28side_03_beg

You're gonna take out a loan from the bank? Have you lost your mind?

What's your plan then, wise guy? How do you reckon we get to Trimounts in just a few days? This clinical trial is Tibby's last chance!

I'll think of some other way...

What other way? No way we're getting that kinda money without a loan!

...R-Right! Didn't we get health insurance for Tibby before? That should cover serious illness!

What the hell do you think I was doing all day yesterday? I went to the bank to cash out on the insurance, but Tibby's illness wasn't covered at all!

I'm begging you, please, let's not jump straight to taking out a loan, okay?

Just think about your sister. She only took a small loan, but it ruined her life. Remember how much she suffered until finally...

Her entire family died on their way to the frontier.

So calm down and think this through. There's gotta be another way.

Why do I see this stuff every damn time I come to the bank?

All the more reason for us to be here. And especially for us to attend this so-called 'welcoming party,' Franka.

If we don't witness these things with our own eyes... we'll forever remain left in the dark.

Is Fort Barron going to tow Davistown back onto its original route all by itself?

This request was made directly by the regional government. The outcome will affect Blacksteel's image and credibility. We'll give this mission our all.

Good to hear. We appreciate it.

All part of the job.

Would the two of you like beer or champagne? We're out in the sticks, so you may find our selection rather unsatisfactory. All I ask is that you bear with us.

...Unsatisfactory? You're too humble.

Take a look, Captain. This beer has no label on the bottle, but it's just as good as any niche brand from a craft brewery. The champagne's also high-end... I must say, excellent taste.

It's important to keep some luxury items on hand when you're stationed in a difficult area. We do have to keep up morale, after all.

Is cranking up the thermostat so high that people want to crack open an ice-cold beer also part of keeping up morale?

...Well, yes, as you've noted we do have a separate backup energy supply, which includes heating and electricity.

Funny how no one else seems to have this backup system.

That would be due to the prescience of our first president during the early planning and development phases. An important safety consideration.

The services provided by a financial institution are somewhat unique. Large amounts of money flow in and out, and be it systems or resources, it's always better to be more self-reliant.

Presumably, Blacksteel built their safe house here in Davistown out of the very same concerns. Isn't that right, Miss Franka?

Oh... I'm fine with just a glass of water. I'll leave the beer for your employees. To keep up morale.

We've sent people back to Blacksteel HQ to report the repair status of Davistown's power plant.

As the plant has not been restored to a state where it can support navigation, HQ will naturally have to formulate a new solution.

We are very appreciative of your company's contributions to our town.

However, until a solution is in place, we do have one humble request.

...What sort of request?

We were hoping you could help maintain law and order here.

I'm sure you've already encountered bandits on the town's outskirts. They've caused us a substantial amount of damage. Even more troubling is the fact that...

...a number of people living here are, to put it nicely, bandits themselves. To put it less nicely, they're the bandits' reserve army.

We would be very grateful if you could clear them out of Davistown. Here's a list of names—

Over the past few days, we've sent personnel to conduct security operations around the plate's perimeter. Based on their reports, I have little reason to believe that so many dangerous elements are operating here.

There are people here with no money, yet are unwilling to put in the work to pay back their debts. How can you guarantee they won't resort to more... desperate measures down the line?

...If you insist. We'll look into it.

You'll 'look into it'? Why must you verify it yourselves? You can't take us at our word?

If our trust is so fragile that it's broken just by double-checking a list, then it wasn't worth much to begin with.

...Do as you please, then.

But if you really want to check things, be sure to be thorough.

How'd it go? Any developments on your end?

Mm. The target's already entered visual range... Seems like he's not the only one here.

Is he working with someone?

...Seems to be someone from the plate.

Woodrow, sir, is that... possible?

Anything's possible. When the government here collapsed, some young'uns with too much time on their hands formed gangs and started making trouble all over the place.

But... what do they hope to accomplish by colluding with the bandits out in the barrens?

Jessica, they're about to disperse... Should we arrest them?

What do you think, Woodrow?

Wait and see. Now's not the time.

Then, umm... Don't do anything for now. Record where they showed up, and contact me if they show up here again.

Alright, no problem.

One sec. Which direction did the bandits go? I'm gonna follow 'em and have a look.

They went southeast.

Should I come with you?

Nah, I can handle this myself.

Head back for now.

Er, Jessica... is that gentleman someone from the plate?

Umm, he's been investigating these bandits on his own, so he should be able to help us out.

I... I'm not sure how to break this to you, but I feel like you need a reminder. Getting cozy with the locals rarely works out well.

Wh-Why's that?

Places like Davistown don't just go on like normal after getting reclaimed by the government. They've always got other plans on the docket, and when the time comes, the businesses, the infrastructure... even the residents will be replaced.

Replaced? Then, what happens to the original residents? Where do they go?

I don't know how Blacksteel usually handles it, but with my last employer, we were only responsible for kicking them out. What happened afterwards was none of our business.

How could they not care?! That's totally illegal! How could they just drive out all the locals?!

*sigh*... There's always an excuse when it comes to places like this on the verge of bankruptcy. Like, bad debts, tax investigations, security concerns...

Debts...

Not just me. Everyone left here is in debt. *sigh*... How do I put this? Well, I'll just give it to you straight.

You asked about a guy who walked out into the snowfield earlier, right? It's probably 'cause of his debts... That kinda stuff happens all the time here. After being forced into bankruptcy, he had no choice but to...

Jessica? Hey, Jessica! What's gotten into you?

I... I'm heading back first.

...that stubborn, good-for-nothing father of yours... starting today...

Huh?

...what nonsense are you spewing...

...let go of me...

Is that a child's voice?!

This brat sure knows how to whine. Guess he needs a gag and a good beating before he'll learn to follow us obediently—

Stop right there! Let go of him!

And why should I? Who the hell are you?

Help! They're trying to kidnap me!

Don't make me repeat myself—let go of the kid!

His father's in so much debt that even selling the boy off wouldn't pay it all back. So what if we kidnap him?

Debt? Are you here to collect debts? Wait, don't tell me you're working for the bank?!

...Mind your own damn business. Now get outta here!

Help! Someone, save me—

Shut your damn mouth—

Urgh... *cough*...

Last warning—let the kid go, and don't make any rash moves. Otherwise, my next bullet won't just be a warning shot!

...Tch, playing hardball, huh?

Let's get out of here. No point risking our lives over this damn brat.

*pant*... *pant*...

What's your name? Where do you live? I can take you back home.

I'm Benny... And you can just leave me at the diner. My dad's there every night, so I can wait for him there.

Is your dad... Leone Theremin?

How'd you know?

I've met him. Oh right, those two people back there were talking about his debt... Were they debt collectors sent by the bank?

Umm... At first, it was just collection letters. Then they started sending people to our house to cause trouble, and my dad chased them out. And this time, the bank probably wanted to use me to force him to pay them back.

But that's clearly a crime...

Who's gonna stop them? There's no police here.

...Can you show me your dad's bills? I might be able to help.

You... Are you serious? His bills are something awful...

I took a gander and... there ain't a whole lot more we can do for the ol' tower this time around.

I already told you, that Laura girl did a great job tidying things up and fixing what could be fixed. But you just had to come out here yourself.

Just wanted to see if there's anything Blacksteel missed, that we could handle.

What, you think they're gonna pay off your loans if you work overtime?

...I can dream, can't I?

You're better off praying for goldbacks to fall from the sky.

I told you, your only lifeline at this point is selling off all the shares you've got in the mine.

No.

I know you blew your life savings and took out loans to get those shares, but—

Hell no.

Then lemme ask you, how much debt is that payment from Blacksteel even gonna clear? I reckon it's nowhere close to even paying off the interest.

How about this, then? Help me with the plant maintenance. We'll be able to keep it running off the fuel that Blacksteel brought.

I also happen to have a few days off. I'll pay you with the money Blacksteel gave me, and that'll buy you some time with the bank, at least.

No Miles, you earned that money. Besides, how's that any different from just giving it away?

Not like this, not like that, sounds to me like you got an excuse to say no to everything. It ain't gonna matter when you're bankrupt and the bank's stealing the shirt off your back.

...There's gotta be a way.

Beer, electricity, security deposit... Everything looks fine, and it's within the range of what I can cover...

What you can cover...? Are you gonna pay off Leone's debt?

If possible, yes.

Dad's more afraid of owing favors than anything else. When my brother passed away, he couldn't even afford a funeral. And when people offered to lend him money, he said he didn't wanna be treated like a beggar.

So he ended up following Uncle Woodrow around outside. Logging, hunting, fincatching... He worked so hard those two months that when he came back his fingers were deformed.

And how much money did he make from all that?

About two or three thousand?

...He'll never pay back his debts like that.

Wait, what... He's still one of the mine's shareholders?!

Forget it. After the mine shut down, he's had to pay all kinds of fuel fees, vacancy fees, and land management fees just to keep his shares... and he borrows piles of money from the bank every year to do it.

Th-That's practically an open wound they're bleeding him dry with. Even if I came in to help him, there's no way he'd be able to pay it off...

If he doesn't dump those shares, he's going to have nothing left.

Not happening. Dad loves that mine more than anything. He'd never dump those shares, even if we both got sent to the frontier for hard labor.

Benny, don't talk about your father like that.

By the way, Jessica, what's gotten into you all of a sudden? Is something wrong? Leone's still a shareholder in the mine, so the bank's not likely to make him declare bankruptcy anytime soon.

I saw someone try to kidnap Benny today... To force Leone to pay off his debts.

Kidnapping?!

They can go after Leone all they want, but to try to kidnap a teenage boy... Have they no shame?!

Benny, you're staying with me for now. When Leone finds out his kid's missing, I'll give him a piece of my mind and ask him what the hell he's doing as a father!

No... Don't tell him. I don't want him to worry.

We've gone way past 'making him worry.' He needs to know damn well the consequences of what he's doing!

I... I still need to go home.

Gah... How can such a stubborn asshole have a kid as sweet as you?

In any case, if he's willing to sell his shares, then that—combined with some tax rebates and preferential policies he never noticed—should be enough to cover the debt.

You sure?

I... I can practically guarantee it.

Alright. Sounds like he just needs a good reminder to stop messing around.

It's finally over...

So, why is the main switch for the entire building located just a hundred steps from the front entrance? Is this also some great prescience from the bank's founder?

...That's ridiculous.

...It doesn't make a lick of sense.

One step, two steps, three steps... There's a desk seven paces out, then make a left turn...

...Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six... Oops, bumped into the lamp.

Fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine...

One hundred.

Excuse me.

...Can I help you?

Is the bank still open? I... I'd like to take out a loan—

Sylvia? Get over here Sylvia, quick. I'd like to borrow some money from the bank. Can I count on you to get me a slightly better interest rate? Oh, I should never have been so mean to you...

What... What are you doing here?

Wait, you... What are <i>you</i> doing here?

I'm sorry, you two, but we're not open for business today.

Seeing the couple stare at each other in silence, Sylvia bows her head and steps away from the bank's gates.

The whole way back, the thick darkness that even the street lights do not penetrate lingers with her, caressing her neck affectionately.

Since her mother passed away, she's left work the same way every day, just like this.

...One thousand eight hundred seventy-seven, one thousand eight hundred seventy-eight. And, home.

Mom, I'm home.

She waits for a long time, but only silence greets her back.

After a moment, she takes out her keys, opens the door, wipes the soles of her shoes on the doormat, and leaves the suffocating darkness in the street behind her.