Baccano! Manga Chapter 006

Title: Day 1

Date: February 22, 2016

Previous Chapter 005

Next Chapter 007

Synopsis
The chapter opens with Firo standing in the basement meeting room of the Alveare speakeasy. Firo appears nervous and unsure of what is happening, and he is told that the Family has decided to kill him slowly over the next six hours, starting from now.

After the title drawing, the manga cuts away to shots of the New York streets in 1930: people line up for free food and men walk the streets with signs over their torsos begging for work. Two recently unemployed men stand in one of the free handout queues and commiserate over their lot, wondering just how many people have committed suicide thanks to the Crash. In a sharp contrast to the mood, a well-dressed couple (Isaac & Miria) walk down the pavement and marvel at having finally reached the "big city." The unemployed men glower at this unwelcome and completely out of place good cheer, but the pair do not notice. Miria admits that everything's a little 'scary,' and Isaac reassures her that God is on their side. After all, He did not smite them after they stole religious garments hanging behind a church the other day. In other words, He is telling them that their actions are just. Miria is relieved, and praises Isaac as they hurry down the sidewalk. Isaac reminds her that they must not do anything to stand out until the 'job.'

Another unemployed man watches them with sourness plastered across his face while they go on their merry way. It isn't exactly the best sight to see when he is so desperate for work that he'll take anything he can get. As he is wondering what 'job' they plan to do in those outfits of theirs, he is stopped by Donald Brown and Bill Sullivan, who ask him if he has seen a "weird couple" in the local area. Surprised, the man asks if the two men are friends of the couple back there - as it turns out, Bill and Donald are with the Bureau of Investigation. The man realizes that the 'job' that Isaac and Miria were talking about was an illegal one. The agents point out that this city is a city of 'hope for some...like the two thieves and the mafia, anyway.

Elsewhere, Martillo Family associate Firo Prochainezo walks down a street (empty save for a beggar) on his way to a certain haberdashery. Firo observes the man begging -- "Change? Spare any change? The good Lord sees what you do..." -- and disparages him for "acting religious when it's convenient." He accuses the beggar of taking life much less seriously than other 'bums', but then pulls out his wallet anyway. Firo explains that he is in a good mood since today's a 'big day', and he takes out several coins.

The beggar eyes Firo's wallet (which is visibly flush with paper money) and bursts into dramatic wails over how kind Firo is. Firo irritatedly urges him to just take the money, but the beggar insists on giving Firo flowers (though Firo scoffs that they are probably wilted) and reaches inside his paper bag. Instead of flowers he pulls out a great big knife, and lunges for Firo's hand. Firo moves his hand out of the way, letting the coins fly into the air as he sharply compliments the knife ("that's some God you've got there...!").

His attacker laughs; unphased, Firo remarks that when someone is "nice to you...you should be grateful and take it!" - and he snatches the coins out of the air, balls his hand into a fist and punches the beggar square in the face. He slides to the ground, and Firo casually drops the bloodied coins into the other man's open mouth. Straightening, he spots the knife and decides to toss it into the river.

A voice orders Firo to halt as he bends down to pick up the item. The voice belongs to Assistant Inspector Edward Noah, who rounds the corner with two policemen. Firo coldly asks Edward what is going on as the policemen drag the beggar away, and Edward snidely counters that Firo should address him with a title: "Mister Edward" or "Assistant Inspector Edward." Firo stiffly corrects himself, and Edward reveals that the unconscious man is actually a murderer; he would pose as a panhandler and then run his victims through with a knife if they seemed wealthy enough targets.

Firo is mightily displeased at the thought that Edward was simply watching the scene happen when lives were at stake, but Edward nonchalantly responds that it really wouldn't be much of an issue if someone like Firo (that is, a criminal) were killed. Not for the cops, and not for Firo's organization - unless Firo's Family is so underpopulated it needs 'punk kids' to do its dirty work. It's weak, after all. Firo warns Edward that if he speaks another word Firo will treat it as an insult. The tension freezes at the arrival of Maiza Avaro, who calls out to Firo in greeting. He says that he had become worried when Firo didn't arrive for their meeting at the hat shop, and had come looking for him. Edward is immediately on guard at the arrival of a Martillo executive, and Maiza greets him politely, observing that the inspector is in especially good humor today.

Firo makes his way over to Maiza, and Edward wonders uneasily as to why Firo is heading to a hat shop with a senior executive. As the answer dawns on him, the manga flashes back to the day before - to the scene in which the Martillo executives inform Firo that he is to be slowly killed over the next six hours. The scene continues this time: Maiza asks Firo what he would do if they told him such a thing, and Firo admits that he'd probably apologize even if he was innocent. He asks what he has done, and Molsa Martillo replies "all sorts of things. Too many to count."

Firo states that while there was a time where he would have done anything to survive, everything changed after he tried and failed to rob Yaguruma. Ever since then, he's devoted himself to the Martillo Family - he has done nothing to shame his comrades. He refers to himself as a "two-bit camorra," and Molsa corrects him - he is no longer a "two-bit camorra." Firo grimaces, and then pauses when Molsa tells him to buy a hat with Maiza tomorrow. Yaguruma and Ronny Schiatto lead the executives in clapping, and Firo realizes that he is to be promoted.

In disbelief, he asks if Molsa is serious; Molsa grins widely and says that Firo has racked up the most achievements out of all the young men. Maiza congratulates Firo as Randy and Pezzo look on.

The manga flashes back to the present day. Edward blurts out ''"Firo! You're getting promoted?" ''in shock to Firo's back, and asks if he is kidding. With a nasty look, he says that he's always thought that Firo had a 'girly face,' and asks how many people Firo slept with in order to skip to the top. Maiza pauses, and he turns to give Edward a threateningly polite smile. If Edward goes any farther, he says, they will treat it as an insult.

Edward grits his teeth, tries and fails to keep the fear from showing on his face and retorts that no matter what Maiza says he (Edward) will never accept 'mafia scum.' But by this time, Maiza and Firo have resumed walking away. With a light wave of his hand (and without looking back), Maiza corrects Edward: they are not mafia. They are Camorra.

Maiza and Firo arrive at the hat shop, and begin perusing the wares. Firo sighs that while this was supposed to be his big day, he feels like he tripped at the starting line. Maiza tells him to not be so glum, and he drops a hat onto Firo's head and asks him for his opinion. The hat (a pearl-green fedora) fits perfectly, and Firo is delighted. He thinks it's perfect, and silently glows with the thought of a present that the Family picked out just for him. Maiza pays for the hat while Firo muses at the mirror about buying a coat in the same color ("It'll stand out, but who cares?").

The two exit the door as Isaac and Miria enter, and Maiza and Isaac's shoulders bump against each other. Isaac and Miria sternly warn them to "be careful," and Firo wonders if the pair are some "rich guy's kids." He notes that the panhandler would have definitely targeted them, and follows after Maiza down the street.

Back in the hat shop, Isaac reminds Miria to not do anything ostentatious as they browse the shelves. They confer over what to get - maybe something normal to start with, though something eccentric might be more usefully distracting. They head to the register with a man's top hat, a lady's lace hat, a Japanese helmet and a wooden mask, and proceed to threaten the teller to forget their faces entirely otherwise...they'll hit him. The elderly man glares at them, and they dash out of the shop with packages in tow.

Panting in the alleyway, Isaac admits that the old man was tough - he'd made Isaac run away with one glare alone! Of course, if they had fought Isaac would have beaten him, and it would have been terrible if Miria had gotten hurt! After all, she and Isaac have committed a total of eighty-seven robberies, and has Isaac ever put her in danger? "About eighty-seven times," replies Miria, but Isaac points out that it hasn't even been a hundred yet. This is, naturally, amazing. Isaac grabs Miria's hand and assure her that after their last big job in New York they'll head to Miami and take it easy, where 'danger' will have nothing more to do with them.

The two dance gaily in the streets, spinning 'round and 'round, and are promptly hit by a car. The car stops, and its passenger warns the chauffeur to be more careful. The chauffeur apologizes and says that the couple just started dancing in the middle of the road. She notices that the two have started moving, and her passenger orders her to keep driving. After all, it has been three years since he was last in New York, and today is going to be a "special day" for him.

The manga end with three panels - one of the chauffeur and passenger, the second of Isaac and Miria shaking from the aftershock on the ground, and the third of Maiza and Firo smiling on the streets.