Holmes was up first thing, sitting and chewing on a cigar while Mary boiled some tea in the tiny kitchen of the customs house. Sokolov was still in a drunken sleep, so Corvo took him off his mind as the old man spoke up, waving his crutch at a map nailed to the wall.
"The Public Hospital lies within the heart of Mastrov Square, across from the Office of the City Administrator, a puppet installed by Barakhin. Guards at the front make sure that only loyal citizens are allowed to enter. The doctors and nurses are forbidden to leave without permission, and the patients are always under someone's eye. Vyklan will be on the top floor, which is off-limits to everyone except for one nurse whom he alone trusts." He motioned to Mary to prepare the tea as he steadied himself up. "Now, to get in, you have two options. The first is to enter the Administrator's office and steal the master key, or you can try to slip in through the staff quarters, which you should be able to find here." He tapped on a small area to the back of the hospital, where the walls were marked to show gaps from years of neglect.
Mary poured a cup for the Colonel. "Thanks, dear. Mary and I will work out who to target next. And before you go, I have something for you." He presented Corvo with a fistful of small balls.
"What are these?"
"A little powder mixed with trace minerals that explode when they hit solid material. They'll provide a useful distraction, but use them sparingly, because I can only make so many. Once we beat Sokolov awake, he might be able to find a cheaper recipe. Now be on your way."
Before he left, Corvo went through the house, taking several vials of red and blue medicine and two bundles of bolts, before climbing through a window to the top floor. There, he put on his mask and peered through the lenses at the streets below. White Legionnaires marched up and down the street, while marksmen prowled the roofs with their rifles cocked and ready to fire. Closer to the main square, a Watchtower, likely left over from the Imperial presence, monitored the side road leading to the hospital. A Wall of Light protected the main throughway into Mastrov Square. The Public Hospital itself was out of Corvo's sight, but he had no illusions that getting in would be difficult no matter which option he chose.
Would he steal the key? Or try to slip in? And would he keep to the shadows? Or cut his way in as he often longed to do?