Baccano! Episode 01

The Vice President Doesn't Say Anything about the Possibility of Him Being the Main Character is the first episode of Baccano!.

1932, The Daily Days Journalists
The story opens with a small girl on a table, surrounded by open books, newspaper clippings,and notes, all illuminated by a single hanging light. As she opens a book, a door opens and we see a figure standing in the shadow, a glare coming from his monacle. He(the Vice President, Gustav St. Germain) addresses the girl as 'Carol' and tells her to have some grace, referring to the mess she's made. She quickly apologizes and says she got carried away. When asked what she's been doing, she claims she's been looking for more information about the 'story', saying she can't stop thinking about the strange events that began in November of 1930. Gustav begins folding a newspaper page, asking if she remembers what he told her on a train ride they took in the past.

Her Flashback
Carol admires a rainbow, from inside a train compartment. Gustav, reading a newspaper, muses that as children, we admire rainbows for their beauty because they are harmonious to our spirit, and that he has always wondered why that is. He notes that people with no knowledge of science or refraction of light might see the anomaly in the sky and consider it a harbinger of disaster, that something unwelcome might be coming down from that rainbow, offering a reason that perhaps there is a forest fire at the base of the rainbow. He continues that regardless, people still see rainbows with some fairy-tale wonder. He asks if Carol has ever thought of that, and she replies, simply, "No.", saying that even if she had it wouldn't matter, and that as reporters, it's not their job to wonder such things, but to report on events that have happened.

After a sip of coffee, Gustav "awards" her 319 points, and Carol worriedly asks how much that is out of. He begins folding a newspaper page, noting that what she said is true, but that as people they shouldn't just stop thinking, especially when they are obtaining information. He says that merely stopping at ascertaining whether information is true or false is foolish, and that it makes a mockery of those who report the information. Carol complains that thinking about something all day doesn't change its validity, but Gustav disagrees, bring down and popping the paper popper he had been making, striking her out of her flashback as he also does this in the current time.



Back to 1932, The Vice President and Carol
The Vice President refers to the popper, and then asks again if she recalls, as she solemnly nods and says she does. The Vice President says that what they report is neither unaffected nor perceived information, merely the precursor to a conclusion. He considers that she could have picked any date on the timeline but chose 1930, and asks why. He berates her for not having the answers to the questions and yet calls herself the assistant to the Vice President of the Daily Days. He asks if she wants help answering the questions.

He begins recounting a story, stating the date as the year 1711, where we see a few passengers on a ship gathered around what looks like a pentagram. Gustav then asks if they'd rather start with the guesome happenings of the Flying Pussyfoot, which were so terrible they were quickly covered up, as it flashes the scene to an orange-haired boy with a peculiar tattoo running down the halls of one of the cars on the alleged train. Gustav mentions those two instances and that there are several dozen other instances spread throughout the timeline and asks again why she chose November of 1930 for the beginning of the story.Carol answers that she wanted to make the story easier to understand, and so found the time when it was first brought to their attention. Gustav casually "awards" her 156 points, again prompting Carol to ask out of how many.

He ignores the question and says that while her idea was good, that it was still important not to focus on the timeline but on the characters. We are treated to a shot of a man with slicked back brown hair, Isaac Dian, get part of his ear cut by a flying dagger, as the woman next to him, Miria Harvent, cries out to him in concern, as Gustav considers them as the main characters, before switching the scene to aboard the Flying Pussyfoot, considering a young boy, Szeslaw Meyerwhom we see having a gun pointed at his head by a man in a white suit with bloodstains coating the front, Ladd Russo, who stares down at the boy before firing. Another shot shows Gustav considering "the Gandor family's brilliant young Capo", man in question being gunned down by several men at once.

Carol interrupts his thoughts and asks about someone, pointing to a picture on the table. Gustav looks down as we see a scene introducing the person.

Firo's Introduction
A homeless man is on the street side, begging for donations, as people pass by him, ignoring him. A voice calls out to the man, and we see the owner of the voice, Firo Prochainezo. Carol looks up at Gustav as the scene jumps back, noting that he seems "main character-ish". Gustav is confused about the "ish" part, and Carol just reaffirms her statement, as the scene returns, Firo telling the homeless man that he's in luck, what with Firo feeling generous today. Firo opens his wallet and fishes $2 out of the several in his wallet, which the homeless person visibly sees into, and puts the money into the man's begging cup. The man begins generously thanking him, and as Firo begins walking away, the man tries to stop Firo from leaving, reaching into a bag saying that he's got to thank him for the kindness. Firo declines, just as the beggar rushes at Firo with a knife..

Cutting back to the Daily Days journalists, Carol. blushing, asks if Firo is a good candidate, and Gustav seems to be considering him as we return to Firo and the homeless man, as Firo catches the knife with his right hand, catching the man by surprise, who reels back with it. Firo winces in pain as the knife goes back, slicing Firo's middle finger, and cutting off the ring and little finger. The man laughs a little as the fingers bounce to the ground, until he notices the blood from the edge of his knife moving back and flying towards Firo's hand, as the fingers on the ground fly up and reattach, the wounds healing completely. Firo takes his left hand off from covering his face. Firo, as the man shouts and waves the knife in front of him for the "monster" Firo to stay back, walks forward and asks if the man knew he was Firo Prochainezo of the respected Martillo family, pulling his right hand back and punching the beggar.

Back with the Journalists
Gustav laughs and says he can see what Carol meant by "main character-ish". However, he continues and says that for as many people as there are, there are that many sides to the same story. We cut away to show a small montage of gangsters shooting down casinos and speakeasies, and showing black and white shots of beggars, and the times, immersing us in the depressive ages of Prohibition and the Great Depression. Suddenly we are at a mansion, earlier in the year, with a large mafioso, Gustavo Runorata, giving a rousing speech to their several hired gunmen. Emphatically, he announces that he doesn't care what family they are, Martillo, Gandor, whatever, he wants them wiped off the face of the earth.

Cut to the Gandor brothers in a room together, as Luck tells Berga that he's having Chick Jefferson "interrogate" one of their "associates". A mobster opens the door and informs the brothers that a gambling parlor, speakeasy, and ticket window were all shot down, and they were lucky that "no one got dead". Berga jumps up declaring his disdain for the Runorata family. The mobster then says that they dragged one of the perps back, and Berga goes out the door to see him, and we can hear violent sounds coming from beyond the door, with Berga asking the poor sap if he thought he could get away wth messing with the Gandors, introducing us to the turf war going on between the two families.

It cuts back to the mafioso, Gustavo from before, talking to his superior, an elderly boss. The man nervously says that they recently shot up Luck Gandor, and that the Gandors would soon fall. He mentions that he's got intel about a new kind of bomb, and that with it, the Gandors along with the Martillos would be child's work, and he is interrupted as the boss stops him. The elderly man brings up a better task, pulling out a picture of one Dallas Genoard. We then see a young woman looking at a similar photograph, worriedly wondering where Dallas is, the girl being Eve Genoard.

Gustav, the Vice President has been looking back on these, considering each person. He then turns to Carol and smiles, asking if she thinks it's possible that the two of them are the main characters, which seems to excite Carol.

1931, The Runoratas
Back with the Runorata's he elder man asks Gustavo if he knows who Dallas Genoard is, and Gustavo replies that hes the second eldest son of the Genoard family. The elder man berates Gustavo for taking action without his say, and

Referbacks
None, being that this is the first episode.

New Characters
Carol

Gustav St. Germain

Isaac Dian

Miria Harvent

Szeslaw Meyer

Ladd Russo

Berga Gandor

Luck Gandor

Keith Gandor