Billy Squire

is the former leader of the Red Circus, and the main antagonist of the Red Circus Arc.
== Appearance ==
Billy is a tall man with medium-length hair and narrow eyes. He wears a black knit cap, a black shirt, and a jacket with the initials of the Red Circus on its left shoulder. He seems to have pale skin with some stubble on his chin.
Before joining the Red Circus, Billy had much shorter hair and was a clean-shaven man.
== Personality ==
Billy is a cold and hardened man bent on punishing the state for wronging the people and his allies. He is willing to do anything for his goals, even taking young students as hostages. In addition to his hatred of the state, Billy has a disdain for the elite upper class, seeing them as selfish and spoiled people, and believed that trait was carried on to their children. Despite his demeanor, Billy has a soft spot for children, as they remind him of his late daughter, Biddy, who was also a member of the Red Circus and killed in a protest.
It is later revealed that Billy was once an upstanding man who taught Biddy how to be a good person and instilled in her the importance of helping others. After Biddy's death, Billy became distraught, and after joining the Red Circus, pretended to forget about her to keep his anger and reason for living from melting away. While being aware that the group's methods were wrong, Billy chose to do nothing about it.
During the hijacking of the Eden Academy buses, Billy witnesses Anya Forger and the other student hostages fearlessly standing up for each other, despite their situation. Their acts make Billy recall his memories with his daughter and the lessons he taught her, causing Billy to have a change of heart. Wanting to redeem himself as a father, he decides to turn himself in to the police, taking full responsibility for the kidnappings.
== History ==
As shown in a photograph, Billy was a soldier before settling down to live with his wife and daughter, Biddy. At some point, Billy's wife disappeared from the family for unknown reasons, leaving Billy to raise Biddy on his own and teach her good morals and to be a caring and helpful young woman.
Because of her desire to help others, Biddy became an active member of the Red Circus (which was still a student movement at the time) and prepared to leave for one of their protests. Fearing that the group was shady and the government's strictness with protests, Billy worried his daughter would get hurt, or worse, and attempted to talk her out of going. Intending to be there, Biddy declared that while she is not scared to die for what she knows is right, she is of living in a world where no one is allowed to criticize what is wrong. After Biddy continued to ignore his pleas, Billy stated that he only wanted to keep their family safe. Later, Billy was devastated to find Biddy's corpse in the aftermath of the protest, which had gone violent. As her father, Billy became marked by the SSS and was offered help by the Red Circus to get out of the country.
Over time, Billy became the leader of the Red Circus, which changed to be more extreme in their methods. After most of the group was eliminated by both the SSS and the assassin group, Garden, Billy hid outside Ostania. He would later return to command a faction in Berlint in order to realize the Red Circus's goal of retrieving their captive members and finding refuge in a neutral country.
== Synopsis ==
=== Red Circus Arc ===
Billy boards an Eden Academy school bus with a fellow member and immobilizes the dorm tutor chaperoning the students. He learns that a car is going after them, so he heads to the back of the bus with a shotgun, opens the window, then shoots at the car. The shells hit the car's front tire, causing it to crash. One of the students screams out in fear, but Billy points his gun at her to shut her up. Billy then turns to the rest of the students and introduces himself and his group as the Red Circus, and that their bus is now hijacked.
Billy walks back to the driver's seat with the shotgun, scaring all the children. Bill Watkins suddenly stands up to tell his fellow students that their parents are important and powerful people and help is on the way, and Billy points the gun at him to shut him up. Billy begins to tell them that he knows how important their parents are, calling out students from influential families. Billy then states his goal to use the children's lives to negotiate with the government and tells them to pray that their parents use the power they have to rescue them.
Later, Billy hears Anya randomly shouting that she has to go to the bathroom and cannot hold it any longer, and he tells her to hold it in. A while after, Damian Desmond approaches Billy and tells him he has to poo, and that his eyelashes twitch whenever he gets an upset stomach, making Billy wonder if Eden is "a moron factory." As Billy grabs the boy by his collar, he notices Anya and Becky Blackbell opening the window and throwing something outside. Billy confronts the girls about what they just did, but they attempt to feign innocence. Billy grabs a device from his bag and puts it on Anya's neck, then tells all the students that it is a bomb, and if anyone on the bus tries to act against them, he will detonate it along with the girl.
After watching Anya worrying for her life, he thinks to himself that the bomb is fake but he will use his last resort plan if they decide to plan anything else, but still warns her to stay put. Sometime later, Billy sees Damian get up and asks for the bomb to be attached to him instead. Billy acknowledges his courage, so he decides to put another bomb on him instead of changing it. Moments later, they are interrupted by a loud pop, and the bus starts to swerve around. The bus makes a stop, and the police surround the bus shortly after.
Billy and his squad are surprised to see that the Berlint City Police found them and wonder how this happened. The children, noticing the police cars outside, excitedly get up from their seats, but Billy stops them by shooting his pistol at the ceiling, threatening to shoot them if they try to leave. Over a megaphone, the police chief tells the Red Circus members to surrender. Billy asks Vadim if they can break through, but he replies that it will be impossible with their flat tires. The woman then warns Billy that the SSS is coming from the other side, so with no other choice, he grabs black sheets from his bag and orders the students to cover the windows.
Billy exits the bus with Damian and threatens to kill all the children in the stolen buses if the police plan on doing anything. Billy states his two demands: to free all seventeen of his comrades in prison and be granted safe passage to the country of Nortica, saying that he will release five students for each comrade the police free. Billy ends his discussion with the police and returns to the bus, where Vadim scolds him for not making a bigger threat to the kids. Billy responds that as soon as they give the police a deadline, the SSS will start storming the bus. In their predicament, their only option is to stall for time, which would cause parents to start putting pressure on the government.
As they wait, Billy notices some of the students squirming. He decides to let them go the bathroom, saying that one child each will go outside to do their business at the shrubs, and orders whoever needs to go to raise their hand. Emile Elman quickly raises his hand, and Billy reminds him not to run away. After Emile relieves himself, he admits being embarrassed at having to do it outside like this. Billy tells the boy that he has led a charmed life and to thank his parents for that.
At dusk, Billy leaves the bus to ask the police for the council's answer, to which they reply that they are still in the process of releasing three prisoners, and then request to bring the hostages food and water. Billy agrees as long as a teacher is the one who delivers the food. Eden housemaster Henry Henderson volunteers to do it and is escorted to the bus, where he notices the seriously injured tutor. Henry tells Billy that the man needs to go to a hospital, but Billy declines. After Henry negotiates to keep him in custody in exchange for releasing the dorm tutor, Billy agrees.
As the children chat and eat the rations, Billy stares at the children with a tender look. Henry notices this and asks him if he has children, to which he replies a daughter. Henry tries to appeal to Billy's parental side to convince him to free the students, but Billy interrupts that his daughter was murdered by the state, as she was also a member of the group. He explains how the Red Circus was originally a student movement asking for peace and equality, but the state went violent against them. He tells Henry that he will not take any criticism from a member of the establishment, and will make sure the state will reap what they have sown.
Looking at the children reminds Billy of his daughter and his final moments with her before her death. Tired of waiting like sitting ducks, Vadim suggests to Billy that they get their partner, Bruce, to get moving with the second bus. Because they are avoiding radio contact to prevent giving away his location, Bruce's hostages are their trump card. However, shortly after, the SSS captain announces to the Red Circus members that their comrades from the second bus are all dead. He tells them to surrender if they do not wish to meet the same fate as them, giving them until dawn to make their choice.
Billy is shaken and simply says they failed, but Vadim and their partner tell him not to give up already, with the former reminding Billy of their friends, goals, and his daughter, so Billy agrees to keep going with the plan. Anya approaches Billy, who asks if she needs to use the bathroom and tells her to hold it in. Unexpectedly, Anya says she is hungry and asks for more rations, shocking everyone. Billy yells at her and threatens to detonate her bomb. Anya is undeterred and says she is not afraid, mirroring one of Biddy's speeches. This unnerves Billy as he begins to see his daughter in the little girl. He begins to think about Biddy's words, some of which Anya begins repeating.
Billy snaps and removes the bomb from Anya, telling her to leave, as the girl is making him lose his resolve. However, Anya refuses, to everyone's shock once again. Billy yells at her, saying that the Eden students are selfish elites, but recalls Damian and Emile's courage for their classmates. Anya demands more of the rations, making Billy believe that the children are not eating enough at home. Billy's misunderstanding continues, thinking that even Donovan Desmond has fallen low since losing power and that Ostania's economy has collapsed with a food shortage while he was out of the country.
Astonished by Anya's selflessness, Billy asks why she is so concerned about the food and if she is being forced to do this. Anya replies that she wants to make a world where kids don't need to cry, and Billy is shocked by this noble goal. Even more shaken, Billy starts contemplating that by labeling the students as elites, he is furthering inequality. However, Vadim asks if he has forgotten about his daughter and tells him that if he wants equality, he must make their enemies know the pain of losing a child, aiming his gun at Anya. Billy flashes back to the past, to the time when Biddy got scratched while trying to equally distribute food amongst the neighborhood cats because she cannot bear to hear anyone cry. Billy is proud of his daughter but realizes she used their food from the pantry to feed the cats again. Biddy giggles and reminds him that he taught her to "Be a giver, not a taker. Help each other up, don't hold each other down." Because Billy has always been teaching her these ideals, Biddy is proud to be the person she has become.
Back in the present, Billy realizes that he had never forgotten about his daughter but pretended to keep his anger, his reason to live, from melting away. Vadim says there is no time to waver, but Billy takes their guns and bags and then steps outside the bus. Billy knows that the Red Circus's methods are wrong but never did anything to stop them. However, he refuses to let his daughter die again, as he still wants to be able to call himself a dad. Billy puts down the weapons and surrenders, shocking everyone.
Vadim yells at him to get back inside, but Billy continues to tell the forces that he is the sole planner of the operation and to be lenient with his comrades, claiming that he coerced them into joining him. As his partner reluctantly steps out of the bus, Vadim attempts to take off with the bus, and Billy yells at him to stop. Vadim is quickly apprehended by the police and Martha Marriott. As the Red Circus members get taken away, Billy takes a quick look back to see a smiling Anya waving to a crying Becky, who rushes to her and Martha.
== Skills ==
Weapon Proficiency: Billy has good aim and good handling of guns, as he was able to shoot the tire of the car that was chasing them while the bus was moving. He also brought a variety of weapons with him when he got on the bus, like the taser he used to knock out the dorm tutor, or the two fake collar bombs he put on Anya and Damian.
== Relationships ==
=== Biddy Squire ===
Like any father, Billy loved his daughter dearly and always did his best to keep her safe. He raised her with the mindset of helping and supporting those who need it most, as he wanted his daughter to become a person with great values. Upon learning of her death, he was devastated and decided to avenge her, joining the Red Circus. He set out to hijack two school buses to pressure the government to release all the Red Circus members they had in jail and put pressure on them. He later realizes that his methods were wrong and that he really faked all that anger as he was afraid of forgetting his daughter. But in truth, he realizes he will never forget his Biddy, so he decides to surrender to the police and deal with the consequences because he still wants to be called her dad.
=== Anya Forger ===
At first, Billy is shown to be somehow uninterested in Anya as his priority is to have under vigilance the children with the elite parents, but the moment she throws something outside the school bus window, he gets angered and tries to threaten all the kids by putting a fake bomb on Anya. Even after this attempt, Anya does not hesitate to stand up in front of him and makes him remember why he joined the Red Circus in the first place: for his daughter. After seeing Biddy in Anya, he tries to set her free out of guilt, but Anya refuses again. After she tells him her motivation for acting this way, Billy is shocked by her noble goal. Billy begins to realize that he never forgot about Biddy and surrenders to the authorities, thinking to himself that he cannot allow his daughter to die a second time, referring to Anya.
=== Henry Henderson ===
Billy thinks of Henderson merely as a hostage, and when Henry attempts to reason with him by appealing to his parental side, Billy tells the headmaster that he will not take any criticism from a member of the establishment.
== Chapter Appearances ==
== Trivia ==
* His name may be a reference to the American rock musician Billy Squier.
* Billy is the third villain who have used bombs as resource, with the other ones being Keith Kepler and Snoops.
** Billy is the second antagonist who attached an explosive to one of the Forgers, the other being Keith, who wanted to turn Bond Forger and other dogs into suicide bombers as part of his assassination plot.
== Quotes ==
* (To Anya, and the other students): "Don't touch it. That's a bomb. Next time you try something funny, I blow your head off. Anyone else try something funny, I blow her head off. Anyone try to escape, I blow her head off. And of course, if anyone tries to take it off, it'll explode. You got that, brats? Your dear classmate's life is in your hands... Any of you screws up, and she's a goner."
* (To himself): "The Red Circus's methods are wrong. I've never had any delusions about that. And yet I never did a thing to stop them. But I can't… I can't stand by… and let my daughter die a second time. Because I still want to be able to call myself her dad."
== References ==
== Navigation ==
Category:Characters
Category:Male Characters
Category:Married Characters
Category:Fathers
Category:Squire Family
Category:Antagonists
Category:Red Circus