Baccano! Manga Chapter 022

The title of Chapter 022 is "Epilogue."

Official Blurb
The spiral of events in 1930 New York City are coming to an end...

Synopsis
Assistant Inspector Edward Noah confronts the Martillos in the alley outside Alveare, flanked by two policemen who take aim with their handguns. He demands an explanation from Firo Prochainezo; when Firo proves less than forthcoming, Edward grabs his shirt and threatens to arrest him for violating the Sullivan Act, saying that the police have received multiple complains about gunfire in the area.

Everyone freezes at the sound of a gun going off, and look over to Isaac & Miria—who are standing on Szilard Quates' automobile, the former waving a machine gun in the air and the latter a suitcase. They declare that they have seized the Martillo Family's treasure, peculiarly insist that the Martillos have not 'done anything', and take off running down the street. At first, Edward wonders why a priest and nun are pulling a heist. Then he remembers the BOI agents' report on the costumed bandits, and he orders some of his men to chase down the thieves at once.

Donald Brown and Bill Sullivan—the BOI agents in question—enter the alley, and Edward immediately tries to alert them to the costumed bandits' presence. Donald ignores the situation and asks Edward to come help him with something; meanwhile, Bill lingers behind to ask Maiza Avaro what happened to Szilard. Maiza divulges that Szilard 'disappeared', but refuses to elaborate when Bill asks if he disappeared into him.

As Isaac and Miria flee from the police, Isaac reaches into the suitcase and pulls out fistfulls of dollars, scattering the Genoard fortune onto the streets of New York City. Bystanders stop to scoop up the bills, effectively blocking the police officers' way, and Isaac and Miria successfully vanish into the distance.

Back in the alley, Maiza asks Firo how he and the other Martillos became immortal. Firo admits that when he saved an old man the day before, he switched out the man's liquor with his own on a whim. Maiza realizes that Firo accidentally distributed the immortality elixir at his own party, and Firo muses that coincidences really do exist after all.

Elsewhere, Luck Gandor leans over an empty oil drum to greet Dallas Genoard, wrists bound and only just woken up. Dallas looks at him, Keith, and Berga and demands to know how they are alive, as he distinctly remembers shooting them dead, but Luck does not feel particularly obligated to give him a clear answer.

Keith dumps a pack of jokers into Dallas' barrel, and Luck compliments him on his kindness for giving Dallas something to do while he is on the ocean floor. As Luck explains to Dallas and his two friends—bound in drums in the same fashion—the three men are undying, not unaging, and that they will drown for another seventy years or so before they die of old age. He and Berga glibly brainstorm entertainment options, including a radio, chess set, and a book, before coldly asking Dallas to choose between them.

Edward, Bill, and Donald arrive at Szilard's hideout, where they find his coterie of old men as expected. They claim that they are investigating the men for illegally distilling liquor, procuring a bottle that they found in the ruins of an arson site the day before; all of the men realize it must be the liquor of immortality, chills running down their spines.

Donald admits that the Bureau of Investigation has known about the men's organization and Szilard for a while now, with Bill chiming in that one of their superiors is similarly long-lived. This superior ordered them to visit New York City and dispose of the liquor, which alarms all of the old men simultaneously. One of them is Edward's superior Police Superintendent Veld, and he calls for Edward to stop what he is doing—but Edward does not share his dream of being an evolved human, and he expresses disappointment in Veld choosing personal eternity over eternity for their country.

Citing his duty as an enforcer of the law, he hurls the bottle at the floor. It shatters, and Donald sets the spilled liquor on fire with a match before the old men can lap it up. Turning away, Bill remarks that Szilard "will not be back."

After exiting the building, Edward asks the two Bureau agents why they told him the truth of their investigation. Donald says that their immortal boss heard of Edward's incorruptible nature and strong sense of justice and took a shine to his reputation. Referring to Edward's Bureau application, Bill says that he and Donald look forward to working with Edward in the future.

In the alley, Maiza draws his knees to his chest and cradles his head, lamenting at what he has done. Firo crouches by his side and says no one blames him for their situation—in fact he is more happy about not having to die than anything else. Randy and Pezzo and the other Martillos follow this up with cheers, but Maiza remains morose. He says that Firo should know the pain of eternal life from Szilard's memories, and says that there is no point to him living any longer that Szilard is dead. Tired of living, he asks Firo to devour him—

—But Firo cuts him off, reminding him that the syndicate needs his bookkeeping skills. Maiza acknowledges this as a good point, only to then realize Firo would gain this knowledge if he devoured him. Firo scoffs at this possibility due to him being 'dumb', and further reminds Maiza that Camorra law punishes killing one's comrade with death. Most of all, he and the others will be lonesome without Maiza around.

Unable to counter Firo's points, and unable to stay gloomy in the face of Firo's grin, Maiza matches it with one of his own and the two of them burst out laughing. Ennis chooses that moment to approach Firo and ask why he saved her; leaping to his feet, Firo introduces himself with his full name and answers he saved her because he has a question for her: he wants her to tell him her name.

Ennis points out that he must already know it via Szilard's memories, but he says he wants to hear her say it. A few Martillos teasingly cheer him own; as they do, Don Molsa Martillo, primo voto Kanshichirou Yaguruma, and chiamatore Ronny Schiatto slowly approach them which shopping bags in hand. Yaguruma wonders what is going on; privately, Ronny murmurs that he noticed the liquor at the party but decided not to intervene, having had the vague notion that this group of people would weather immortality together for a long while.

He shrugs off Yaguruma's inquiry into his mutterings, remarking that it looks as if the Martillos are having fun. Molsa grins, and chimes, "It's good to be young."

At Grand Central Station, Isaac and Miria bid New York farewell and prepare to head out west, a bit regretful over the fact they did not have the chance to bid those whom they met farewell. They decide they will simply have to return again and pay everyone a visit.

The last two panels herald points to come in the eternal spiral of the future: the first a shot of the Flying Pussyfoot, and the second a blurry photograph of Firo and Ennis' wedding, at which are present the Martillos, the Gandor Brothers, Christopher Shaldred, and Rail.

== References =