1935-A Deep Marble/Chapter 3: No One Picks Up the Nobody When He Gets Out of Jail

Synopsis
On a rainy day in February 1935, Ladd Russo and Nader Schasschule are released from Alcatraz and protective custody at a New Jersey police station at the same time.

When Ladd introduces himself by name, Nader falls to the ground in clear fear. Ladd assumes that Nader must have heard of the Russo Family before, but notes that his reaction is the most excessive he has ever seen. Nader pleads for his life, but when Ladd yanks him to his feet and reassures him he will not kill him, winds up giving Ladd his name. That Ladd does not recognize his name comes as a relief, and he asks Ladd to leave him alone so as to not draw the Russos' attention to him.

Ladd remarks that Nader's cowardice reminds him of his friend Who, whose fate is uncertain following Flying Pussyfoot incident. Nader reacts to the name Flying Pussyfoot, and Ladd, intrigued, asks him what he knows. As Nader reluctantly gives in, Ladd slings an arm around his shoulders and warns him they are being followed by at least five men: two in a car; and three speaking together on a corner. The two ex-cons go down an empty alley, and when the car approaches them, Ladd hurls a brick through its windshield.

Back at the police station, Graham Specter, Shaft, and Ladd's fiancée Lua Klein have just missed their friend. They decide to go to the train station to meet Ladd there; however, as Shaft is driving up the road, he is shocked to see an automobile swerving down the road and Ladd on its rooftop – punching through the metal with his prosthetic while hauling Nader up with his real hand.

Once Ladd causes the car to crash, he leaps off and approaches Shaft's window to try and hitch a lift. As he realizes that Lua is in the backseat, Graham makes a dramatic exit from Shaft's car and drives his wrench toward Ladd's head by way of greeting. Ladd catches Graham’s wrench mid-swing, tossing him across the street, and Nader faints at the sight. After Ladd reunites with Lua and Graham hops down from the roof, Ladd introduces the unconscious Nader as his 'new buddy'.

Shaft privately observes that Nader's right hand is a prosthetic, and – thanks to the rain washing it away – Nader has been using natural makeup to cover burn scars on his face. At Graham's question, Ladd introduces Nader by his name and says that he plans on hiding Nader from his uncle Placido Russo.