Baccano:Volume4 Chapter4

From Baka-Tsuki

「Use」

29th December 1931

“The developments of this situation thus far are truly growing ever more interesting.”

Behind this mountain of information came a low, subdued voice. Inside the Director’s Suite in the newspaper agency stood a few people, including Nicholas, Elean and Henry. After hearing all the reports, the director summed up the current situation.

“Elean told Miss Eve Genoard the name of the Gandor Family, I informed the Gandors about the inner workings of the Runoratas, Nicholas sold information regarding Roy Maddock to the Runorata Family, am I right? How about your side, Henry? I heard Roy came looking for you.”

“I’m very sorry, because we couldn’t settle on a price, there was no deal, so he left without buying any information.”

As Henry stammered, he was secretly grinning a crafty, sly grin.

“Really, then nothing can be done about it. Nicholas, send someone to check on Miss Lia’s situation. That black case will certainly become the ‘trump card’ that determines victory.”

<==>

“---That bastard!”

Edith fumed angrily.

After she passed that black case to Lia, Edith quickly headed to work at the Gandor Family’s bar. When she arrived at the bar, she discovered that the bar seemed to have been attacked during the period in which she was late. Although she didn’t know who did it, she felt it was very likely that those Runorata Family folk were responsible.

Because she was late, she avoided a calamity. After cleaning up the bar with everyone else, they started business as usual. By the time it was time for her to get off work, the sun was already up, and just as she got home--

“That useless idiot, always causing me more trouble! What was he thinking…?”

Gripped in Edith’s hand was a note Roy left behind.

Written on it was stuff like how he didn’t want her to get involved, how he’d take responsibility for everything, how he won’t return until this incident was resolved, and so on.

<==>

“Can’t- can’t be here, can it?”

Far from Mulberry Street, the environment at Central Park along the 5th Avenue was of the likes Roy rarely saw. Other than to use the railway station in the vicinity, he had never visited this place before. But it was also one of the reasons why Roy, who hated capitalists, avoided this area.

Packed with high-class mansions, it was a veritable forest of villas owned by multimillionaires and high-class offices, so it was commonly referred to as the ‘Millionaires’ Row’.

Wearing clothes that did not match the area, Roy could clearly sense his own inferiority. He had successfully found the villa using the address Henry had given him. Although it was a little smaller than the surrounding mansions, it was definitely not one for the ordinary family. When compared to others with its classical style, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that it was a little more luxurious. That building was the original Genoard family’s residence— now it had become the secondary residence, and also served as one of the symbols of the Genoard family’s wealth.

“So, she lives here.”

Although he reached the door, Roy hadn’t the foggiest idea on how to proceed. As things were now, he obviously couldn’t just stroll in; even if he saw her, what should he say? He had also thought of barging in, but that’d just be as the last resort. Furthermore, a young lady living in such a luxurious villa surely must have hired fierce personal bodyguards. So at the very least he needed to wait until she was alone, or until she was a little distance away from this area…

In the meantime, unable to come up with better plans, Roy could only circle the house several times as he continued inspecting the grounds.

<==>

“Ooh, Miss! Are you feeling well today?”

“Yes, Mr. Benjamin. Although I’m still a little tired, it’s nothing to worry about. I’m really sorry, creating more trouble for you.”

“Balderdash! If something really happened, I, Benjamin, am willing to scoop out my own heart, if that is what’s required for Miss’s recovery. This is our duty.”

“What’re you saying? It’s not some satanic ritual.”

Eve laughed softly, with a heart filled with determination.

--Find them. Find the Gandors. Then, I must discover the truth. If Brother is really dead, if it’s at all possible, my brother’s revenge must be—

She wasn’t thinking of killing people, but at the very least she wished for the police to arrest them all. At this moment, another thought occurred to her.

--If Brother Dallas was really killed by them, then the ones who killed Father and Big Brother must also be--

The car sunk in New York Bay. It was unknown whether it was a homicide or an accident. Mangled bodies.

Everything gushed forth from her heart, at last forming a resolution.

Wishes and prayers could no longer call them back.

So, she could only rely on her own power.

That was the repayment she had to make to her brother.

If she shared these thoughts with Benjamin and Samasa, they were bound to stop her and say ‘let us deal with it’. That won’t do! This was her own sacrifice.

If she was killed by those Gandors, Benjamin and Samasa would definitely be devastated, right? If that really did come to pass, then dying a senseless death here was the same as betraying them.

At this point, Eve’s heart ached as if it had been slashed with a knife, but her determination wasn’t so simple as to be undone by that. In other words, it would be best if she didn’t die.

Although Eve knew that it wouldn’t be easily accomplished, she had been brought up in a sheltered world, so she could never have imagined the terror and cruelty of the Mafia.

The original plan was to return to New Jersey at the beginning of next month. Thus, no matter how, she had to see the Gandors before then. That was her sole aim, and nothing else.

<==>

A few ‘visitors’ came to the restaurant where Gustavo and his men were.

“Ah, so this is the current state of affairs. We beseech you, Mr. Gustavo. Mr. Bartolo is one of our most esteemed and respected customers. Please do not cause him trouble.”

Leaving these mocking words hanging in the air, the visitors left the restaurant. Gustavo gritted his teeth, firmly suppressing his rage as he sent them on their way.

“Fuck you! You arrogant dicks…”

The few people who had visited were representatives of Manhattan’s Five Families. Their words echoed unendingly in Gustavo’s mind.

“Ah, we came here today for just one reason, and that’s to give you a little warning.”

“You were a bit too reckless yesterday.”

“It doesn’t matter what you do to the Gandors and the Martillos. However---”

“Please bear in mind that that place acts as the only ‘border’ where our territories meet —”

“If there is even the slightest disturbance on our territories, we will treat this as a challenge against us.”

“We won’t wage war with you, but we will submit our protests to your boss, Mr. Bartolo. If this happens, what will happen to your standing? I believe you are well aware about this?”

“All incidents will be treated with equal weighting, even the tiniest ones. Even if the Gandors enter our territory, we won’t permit any action on our territory.”

“There are only three areas where you can do as you wish. The Gandor territory, the Martillo territory, and- and the DD Newspaper Agency. Just these three places. The police headquarters at the back is also fine.”

“The DD Newspaper Agency is neutral, or at least in theory it is.”

“Initially, we wouldn’t have recommended that you touch these three areas.”

“Us and Mr. Bartolo aside, where do you stand, Mr. Gustavo?”

“Do you know why we’ve never set foot in these three territories?”

“Of course, if we wanted to, we could mow them down anytime.”

“It’s just that we don’t want to disrupt the existing balance. Ah, the DD Newspaper Agency is an exception.”

“Now that you’ve mentioned it, you can say that that place acts as a public facility for us Mafia.”

“Even we don’t know when there started being an information shop.”

“But it was certainly around before we came.”

“Our bosses, and also Mr. Bartolo, frequently use that place to assist in obtaining reliable information.”

“But you won’t be able to. It’s best if you don’t bother The Informer after all.”

“In any case, the most important thing is to not bring any trouble to our doorstep.”

“Also, your ‘new drug’ must definitely not appear on our territory, so please manage your men well.”

“We’ve already spoken to Mr. Begg about the new drug, and it has nothing to do with you.”

“Please take care not to release more than the agreed quantities of drugs onto the market.”

“We don’t really expect much from you, so look out for yourself!”

“We just want to maintain friendly relations with Mr. Bartolo. Not you, please get that right.”

“You best reconsider the notion of ‘controlling’ this piece of land by yourself.”

“In other words, what we want to say is--- ‘think of the consequences before you act’.”

“You sons of bitches… did ya come here just to insult me?”

Although he was pissed enough to want to wring their bodies, his opponents were simply too powerful. In addition, he could tell that they respected his boss, Mr. Bartolo, from the very depths of their hearts. But why would they want to insult a subordinate like him? Did they not acknowledge him as a member of the Runorata Family?

If he forced his hand, he feared it would develop into a personal feud and degenerate into fighting. But he wanted them to know at the very least that he was working on the behalf of Bartolo, otherwise the end result would be the same.

“You better watch out… once we’re done with the Gandor Family, the next ones are damn well gonna be you!”

Suppressing the intense fury burning in his heart, Gustavo’s resentment towards the Gandor Family only grew stronger.

“Those fucking Gandor asses will pay for all the humiliation I’ve taken today.”

His mind focused on such petty matters, Gustavo picked up the ashtray and hurled it at the wall.

<==>

30th December 1932 Night

The underground casino on Martillo territory. As the overseer of the casino, Firo continued listening to the foolish chatter of someone who had lost every single cent on his body: Berga.

“Say, Firo, can’t you make these roulettes easier to score?”

“You dare say such things on other people’s territory?”

It was very rare for bosses of other territories to come to this kind of setting.

The three brothers of the Gandor Family and Firo had grown up in the same apartment. Despite this, if it concerned the conflict of interests between organizations, they wouldn’t let their personal feelings interfere with their decisions.

“Berga, what times do you think these are? You still dare to come to this kind of place? I heard you’ve already reached a point with the Runorata Family where just a spark is enough to set you off.”

The news had already spread to the Martillos? This was just something that happened yesterday.

“You see, if we hid on our own territory it’s likely we’ll be attacked, but if we’re at the Martillos, then the Runorata guys definitely won’t come over.”

“Go home. Don’t drag us in as well.”

As Firo spoke matter-of-factly, he led the cheater he had spotted out back. His conversation with Berga continued only when he was free again.

At the sudden mention of the name, Firo’s expression immediately changed.

“Claire, is it that Claire?”

“Is there any other Claire than that Claire?”

“I see… you look very happy huh. Is that guy really coming? Then the Runorata Family will lose for sure!”

Firo nodded nonstop, already predicting the disaster Claire’s existence would bring to the Runorata Family.

“What, that’s not certain yet.”

“They definitely will. That genius assassin is coming back. Nowadays, there’s not a single person on the street who doesn’t know the name ‘Vino’. If you still lose like this, then you’re just too stupid.”

Behind the two men who were conversing excitedly, a man slowly approached. He drew a small, long needle from his tie, and stabbed at Berga’s heart and back without any preparation whatsoever. But—

“Anyhow—”

A hand suddenly extended from the side, clamping down on the man’s arm. One hand grabbed the man’s elbow and the other gripped his other shoulder. In the blink of an eye, the man’s body had done a 180 degree turn and he fell to the floor, his face looking up to the ceiling.

The man groaned as a foot stomped down mercilessly on his chest. The impact immediately transmitted to his eyes, not even giving the man time to cry out.

“I can’t stand retards who attempt murder on my turf. Take him back!”

“Aah, yeah. Then, excuse me!”

Hearing Firo’s words, Berga dipped his head with a menacing look, picked up the man and left the casino.

“Honestly, that Tick fellow’s smile is gonna appear again.”

When he saw Tick’s innocent, smiling face in his mind’s eye, Berga couldn’t help but feel sorry for this guy.

Even so, the choice of ‘forgiveness’ never existed from the very start.

<==>

“Found that Roy bastard yet?”

Gustavo’s eyes lit up momentarily, but immediately became very discontent.

“Then, why didn’t you capture him?”

Questioned by his superior, the subordinate stammered,

“Um, he’s currently in ‘Millionaires’ Row’, which isn’t Gandor Family territory.”

“Blundering fools! Are you really scared of those kinds of threats?”

“B-, but Mr. Gustavo, it’s really bad, we were discovered when we were looking for Roy… Of course, we weren’t very conspicuous. Then five black-suited guys appeared, saying ‘this isn’t your play area, wanna help us? We’ll pay you money’!”

“Then, you snuck back just like that?”

“No, um, we left someone to continue surveillance. Roy doesn’t seem to be related with the people of that territory. But those guys are a real pain- they recorded all our features and even watched us, although from afar! Such a pain in the ass, those guys are real idiots, ugh ohhh…”

The poor man hadn’t even finished speaking and a large stone ashtray was already sent flying at him.

“So what if they do that? You shitty scumbags, you’re just saying we’re idiots!”

As he spoke, Gustavo continued punching and kicking the already-unconscious man.

“Scumbags… you sons of bitches.”

Seeing Gustavo fly into a rage, all the underlings quickly looked away. The only one who didn’t notice the gazes was just the berserk Gustavo.

“Out! All of you, out!”

The moment the underlings heard the order, they quickly left the room but forgot to report the most important detail. Or perhaps they intentionally omitted it.

Roy was discovered right in front of the Genoard family’s villa.

<==>

31st December 1931       Afternoon       Close to the Pennsylvania Station [Note]

In a small alleyway not far from the station, the three brothers of the Gandor Family were discussing something with a young man.

“Well, let’s go. Who should I kill first? I could only do some light exercise last night, so my body feels rusty. I want to do a job where I can get serious for once.”

This young man said freely to the head of the Mafia family.

Claire Stanfield. Although he grew up under the same roof as the three Gandor brothers, he wasn’t an actual member of the Gandor Family. He was a freelance assassin, with a nickname ‘Vino’, a powerhouse with a mighty reputation among the criminal society. Even assassins would run into many problems if they didn’t conceal their real name, and yet he didn’t think that other people learning of his name would become a hindrance.

If one had to pinpoint just one problem of his, it would probably be his eccentric personality. The exact opposite of killing for enjoyment and breathing lies like air, it was the kind of personality that walked the line between being normal and abnormal.

So when he met up with the three Gandor brothers again today, he said many bizarre things. Originally they thought he still wanted to delve deeper into the conversation topic, but he immediately started walking briskly towards the headquarters of the Gandor Family, as though in a hurry.

"Let's hurry and get this done and over with. After this, I have to look for somebody. Somebody who might marry me, ya know."

Hearing Claire’s words, the three brothers exchanged a look.

“You rascal, did you say something like ‘marry me’ again to someone you met the first time?”

“Something like that.”

"Something like what, you idiot! How many times do you think you've been dumped?"

In response to the words of an astounded Berga, Claire immediately retorted without any hesitation whatsoever,

"Heeey wait a sec, I wasn’t joking, nor was I trying to pick them up. It shouldn't be a problem since I'm serious. And the reason why I've been refused every time until now is definitely because there’s a better woman waiting for me in the future. Because, well, this world--"

"‘Revolves around me', am I right?"

Luck cut into the conversation at this point, as he always does. This was likely to be Claire’s most basic thought. According to him, ‘if I died, then this world is just a dream, and I’ll just have to continue dreaming this dream in the real world. That’s the way it is’. Of course, Luck and the others didn’t understand the slightest what this meant.

These sentences were enough to prove he was a man escaping from reality, but he did possess the power to make his dream real. To maintain this power, he worked at it constantly and never slacked off. This was the part of him that gave people the most headaches.

"In any case, Mr. Claire, what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't trust a woman who accepts sudden proposals."

Unintentionally, Luck called out Claire’s name. But Claire proceeded to say another baffling line.

"Claire’s dead. He no longer exists on official records anyway.”

---Again with this baffling talk. At this, Luck said calmly,

“People who don’t exist officially can’t get married.”

Hearing that, Claire’s footsteps stopped abruptly.

"Aw crap, what should I do? How do I buy a name?"

"I don’t really understand your logic, Mr. Claire. Well then, what should we call you?"

Claire resumed walking, as if nothing of importance was mentioned.

"Well, ‘Vino’------------ or you can call me ‘Rail Tracer'.”

“Lame!”

Luck watched with a somewhat stunned expression as Claire and Berga fought and argued loudly in an alleyway, then drew in a deep breath.

---What a wonderful pair of brothers these two fellows are.

Just as he thought that, Berga’s tooth came flying over. Seeing the tooth return to Berga’s body to regenerate, Luck broke out in a cold sweat and pretended he had seen nothing.

<==>

“Ye old geeza, walk propahly!”

Gazing at Samasa, who was raising a big fuss, Benjamin intentionally coughed twice.

“It’s all right to pay no attention to such a boorish person. Oh my, Miss, let’s leave quickly.”

“Eh? Ah, yes."

The steward’s words shook Eve out of her reverie. Because she was musing over something, she simply didn’t notice the two’s antics.

--Aah, how will I be able to meet the Gandors?

“Miss, you don’t have to worry.”

“?”

For a moment, Eve was dumbfounded by what the steward had said. Did they know what she was thinking?

“Just as I thought, the food that Samasa and I prepare for you is making you lose your appetite, is that right? I’ve already contacted a banquet organizer who is a friend of mine yesterday, and requested that he introduce another chef as well as a bartender. They’re coming here on a train today, and I believe they’ll arrive tomorrow.”

“Ah, ah, they even had to specially travel here! And, a bartender…”

The old steward already knew that Eve would ask this question, and so answered with a mischievous smile,

“Under this estate, I discovered a wine store that was here prior to the Prohibition, so I was looking for someone who could manage such a large quantity of wine. Merely ‘possessing’ wine isn’t a crime. And since we have a bar and since it’s such a rare occasion for us to come to New York, we thought we should at least let Miss experience that kind of atmosphere. I will pay the wages. Please forgive your humble Benjamin’s willfulness.”

“Mr. Benjamin.”

“So duncha get all worked o’er the muhney for hirin’ the chef. Right, Miz, we ken now focus on more import’nt things!”

Samasa said with a smile as she patted Benjamin’s back.

“That’s right! Hem hem. An extra person means extra manpower. The domestic affairs can be left to him, and we can concentrate on finding out news about young Master Dallas.”

--These two clearly aren’t people who can be dealt with half-heartedly.

They truly cared a great deal about her. For no reason, Eve found herself fighting back tears.

“Thank you, Mr. Benjamin and Ms. Samasa, really, thank you very much!”

Faced with her two benefactors, she decided she couldn’t allow herself to make anymore headstrong decisions. But that decision could no longer be changed.

When Eve and the others had finished their purchases and were on the way back to Millionaires’ Row, there was a hubbub in front of a general store.

“Hey, hey, bro, you’re really gonna buy it all?”

“That’s right! Put all of it into the car!”

“Buying all of it! It’s a monopoly!”

The ones speaking to the shopkeeper were a man wearing the ragged clothes of a Western shooter and a young woman in a big, red dress.

“No, no, of course I’m glad you’re buying it all, but, just what’re you gonna do with this stuff?”

“Knock it down!”

“Knock it down, knock it down!”

Watching the distant couple speaking such mystifying things, Eve seemed to recall something.

---

Aah, that’s it.

It suddenly came back to Eve- they looked very similar to those two. The ones who turned up in her own home a year ago, the thief-couple who brought her happiness.

Then, walking into the crowds, their figures quickly vanished from sight.

Although she wasn’t certain these two and those thieves were the same people, but a little spark of hope lit up in Eve’s heart.

Now, they had to be bringing some other people happiness.

Thoughts of the incident a year ago and her happiest memories to date awoke at the same time.

Tears filled Eve’s eyes, and she became more certain of her own choice.

<==>

“It’s, been, a while. Have you, been, well?”

Standing in a bypath leading to the train station, two people were conversing.

“Yeah, Begg doesn’t look too bad either.”

Meeting Begg was an old friend of his.

“H-have you, have you met Maiza?”

Facing the shadowed figure that asked the question, Begg gave a light nod of his head. Compared to Begg, who was positively beaming, that shadow seemed a little sad.

“Begg, actually—”

“I heard. The, goods appear, to, have, been stolen.”

“—Yeah. Those explosives can’t be made public- they mustn’t fall into the hands of the police.”

“Of, course.”

“Will I still be hunted? By the Runorata Family…”

Watching the shadow who seemed a little anxious, Begg smiled a little and shook his head.

“Barto, lo, wasn’t, in, volved at, all, in this, inci, dent. I paid, for, ev, erything. You won’t, be, punished.”

The shadow seemed a little surprised at such a response.

“Why—”

“I, heard, about your, situation, from, the, in, forma, tion shop. I, wanted to, help you, but, couldn’t, direct, ly, give you, the, money.”

Hearing these words, the shadow’s expression twisted up.

“You’re such a good person- you haven’t changed at all. Thank you—”

“You’re, too, kind. I know, but, ever, since, I gave, up, being, an, alche, mist, all, I’ve had, to date, is, just, money. The, happi, ness, I, was, seeking, still hasn’t, been found. All, that’s left, I, can do, is, to, make, you smile, like, that.”

On the brightly smiling face of the shadow, a trace of sorrow surfaced in those eyes.

“That’s plenty enough. Thank you!”

The shadow and Begg embraced, and Begg used his left hand to stroke the shadow’s hair.

“Thank you, Begg. For—for not eating me.”

Watching the shadow smile faintly as tears streamed down his face, Begg couldn’t help but also cry.

“If, you, talk about, this, next, time, I’ll get, angry.”

<==>

“Oh, has Berga become stronger? He didn’t get hurt after a fight with me.”

Claire said with surprise. There was no trace of the big fight the two just had. Berga was immortal, so he had regenerative powers, while Claire on the other hand had simply come away unscathed.

Keith and the three others had returned to the office, and there was no one inside besides Tick. Of course, everyone had received the command and was waiting at home for further orders.

“Then, let’s get to the meat of it. Who should we kill? If it was Bartolo, then it’ll require a fair bit of planning. If it’s Gustavo, then doing it by today is OK!”

“Being meticulous, I see.”

“Bartolo’s hired me a few times before. That Gustavo guy doesn’t know a thing about me.”

“…Aren’t assassins supposed to keep their clients’ identities secret?”

“Hahaha, Luck still hasn’t changed, as finicky as ever. Ah, doesn’t matter. You won’t tell others, yeah?”

Luck, as the representative, explained the plan to the excited Claire.

“Then, Claire. First-- don’t do anything. Ah, before I contact you, please go have a stroll around this city.”

“What?”

Facing Claire, who had a somewhat confused look on his face, Luck narrowed his eyes as though scheming something.

“First, display your ‘suppressive power’.”

<==>

At the same time, in a room of a hotel, Gustavo was beside himself with rage.

“You’re fucking kidding me, Begg! They’ve been stolen and you’re just gonna forget about it!? I was looking forward to getting your bombs!”

“The, product, tion, process, has, been, given to me. One, month, and, I can, manu, facture, a batch.”

“That’s too late! Fuck! I want to blow up every bloody Gandor bar, casino and racetrack- now!”

“Is, that so?”

“Cut the crap! It’s useless now! Seriously! Your friend’s a fat-ass loser, huhh?”

Atypically of the usual Begg, he came up to Gustavo upon hearing such words.

“!? Wh-, what?”

“Don’t, insult, my, friend.”

He just said this one sentence and shut his mouth. Pressured for a moment by Begg’s imposing manner, Gustavo clenched his fists without noticing and forced out a line past his constricted throat.

“Ha! What’s up with that? For a businessman to lose the goods he’s trading- doesn’t that make him a downright trashy businessman!”

When he heard this, Begg was silent for a second, then burst into laughter.

“Ha, ha, ha! Really, it’s just, as you, said! I, haven’t, laughed, like, this, in, a while!”

With that, Begg turned and left the room.

“What’s up with that guy?!”

Gustavo didn’t understand in the slightest the real meaning behind Begg’s actions, and just savored the words he said.

For a businessman to lose the goods he’s trading- doesn’t that make him a downright trashy businessman!

Drugs. Roy. Theft. Responsible person. Me.

“Huh?”

He finally realized why Begg laughed, and hurled the third ashtray at the window.

“So he was laughing at me-------!”

<==>

That night, the executives held a reporting conference in the information shop.

“The most notable information today has to be the incident on the ‘Flying Pussyfoot’ Rachel took. It also seems Congressman Beriam is hiding something. I’ve confirmed with a friend from the railway company on the phone, but the information we’ve gathered isn’t complete. The question is about the ‘red monster’ Rachel saw aboard the train- I’m very interested about this. Because it seems the assassin ‘Vino’ was also on the train, so if we can talk to him, we should be able to get a good handle on the information regarding this incident.”

“Vino…… Are we talking about Claire Stanfield? Shouldn’t he have died in the conductor’s room?”

Nicholas’s question was answered with absolute certainty by the voice behind the mountain of information.

“This is just a hunch, but, well. It’s probably someone else. The face was destroyed and burned- this is the first step of the pretence. It appears it was done by that careless guy. Seeing as she, a freeloader, has already been released, she should have obtained the ticket from a certain someone. Stealing the ticket from the dead can’t explain why they let her off the hook so easily.”

“In that case, the only people with spare tickets would be the conductors.”

The person behind the information mountain agreed with Elean.

“That’s right, but both conductors are dead. From this point of view, it’s probable that she met Claire, and was threatened into keeping mum about this incident. She’s very particular about this kind of stuff.”

After a pause, he added his own thoughts regarding Claire.

“And, I don’t believe he’d be killed so easily- there isn’t anyone who can kill him. Whether it’s the Ronny of the Martillo Family, or Chane of the Lemures.”

He listed a few other names as examples, then finally reached the name of the person who was ‘bound to be mentioned’.

“Or— Felix Walken of the ‘Freelancers’. If it were him, there’s a high possibility he would win. Ah, but I’ve heard he’s already retired from assassination scene.”

“Felix Walken? He’s still in this city?”

Nicholas looked astonished at the sudden mention of this name.

“Aye, seems like because of his newly born daughter, he wants to abandon his past… Speaking of which, his most influential work in Manhattan back in the days would probably be opposing Lucky Luciano’s subordinate – Albert Anastasia’s ‘Murder Incorporated’. How can such a person retire when he wants to?”

The director immediately switched topics, to the Runorata-related incident.

“---So that’s that. Back to what we were saying- Nicholas, how’s that black case?”

After sorting out the entire day’s activities, the director started on the confirmation of information that he had yet to be notified of.

“There aren’t any problems. Only that two men went to Lia Linshan’s room. I think it should be her younger brother who had just arrived today, Fan Linshan.”

“They’re both Chinese? What strange names!”

“Their father was British, so perhaps that’s why. But perhaps due to some miscommunication, she and her younger brother had a dispute.”

“And the other man?”

“We haven’t confirmed it yet, but he should be a young man traveling with her younger brother, called Jon Panel.”

“Very detailed- you were able to find out so quickly?”

“Ah, no no no—Because they were both personnel aboard the ‘Flying Pussyfoot’, so this is just a lucky coincidence.”

The executives nodded their agreement. Finally, the director said,

“Then, Nicholas will send people to watch them. Our priority now is to grasp the ‘ceaseless movements’. Do you still remember the ‘wine of immortality’ from last year? The incident where everything was coincidentally centered around the wine. Ah, the movement of ‘wine’ then wasn’t fully predictable. Compared to that, the movements this time were observable from the very start, so it’s not difficult.”

<==>

“What should I do?”

Sitting in a first-floor room of a small apartment block in Little Italy, Lia Linshan gazed at the black leather case with a troubled look.

Although good friend Edith let me take care of this on her behalf, I can’t always keep it in this room that can’t be locked. But I can’t send it to the police station either- I should find some safer place to store it.

Although Edith said ‘you entrust it to someone trustworthy’, I’m still not sure who to pass it to. Although it’d be best to hand it over to Ronny and Maiza, Edith said ‘you must keep it a secret from the people in the organization’, so that won’t work either.

It’s still better to entrust it to Ennis. As the thought occurred to her, Lia picked up the leather case, when a knocking sounded on the door.

For a moment, she was frightened, but the voice that came next lit up her heart.

“It’s been a while— It’s me, Sister.”

It was the voice of her younger brother who should be living in a faraway place.

“Ah, sorry for the trouble…”

Her younger brother and the young man traveling with him seemed to be planning to stay the night here.

He said something about suddenly losing his job on the dining car of a train, and that from tomorrow onwards he’d be staying with a rich family in Millionaires’ Row for work.

“Eeh? You’re going to live in their house?”

“Yes. All the luggage can be taken there, and they even have safes, so I brought over all the valuables with no worries---”

Hearing his words, Lia’s troubles could finally be put to a rest.

Because someone who she could trust and who had a safe place had appeared, just like that.

<==>

1932 New Year’s Day

“What to do… Roy, you bastard, just where'd you go?”

The past few days, Edith had been searching non-stop for Roy’s whereabouts.

Looking from a distance, Roy’s residence was completely surrounded by lackeys who appeared to be part of the Mafia. Roy also didn’t seem to have been stupid enough to return there. Which, at the same time, meant that Roy hadn’t been caught.

Clinging onto her only hope, Edith knocked on the door of the legendary The Informer. Behind the door with a plaque saying ‘Daily Days’, a few editorial staff were hurrying about, as if New Year’s Day had nothing to do with them.

“You’ve come a long way. Welcome to The Informer.”

The one greeting her at the beginning was a ‘man with a beaming face that repelled people’. Although she had some regrets after opening the door, it was already too late to go back.

“Are you here to subscribe? Or to enquire about ‘information’?”

Faced with the sincere-looking man, Edith nervously blurted out the word ‘information’.

“In that case, please come this way. My name is Henry. From now on, let’s get along.”

That smile on the reception man’s face became even more repugnant. He led Edith to the reception room.

<==>

At the same time, within the Director’s Suite, Nicholas was speaking to the director.

“That fellow, Henry, must be hiding something!”

“I know. His lying skills were never any good.”

“That fellow has no problems when it comes to collecting and providing information, it’s just that sometimes he’s a little too keen, so he becomes rather annoying.”

“He still hasn’t fully comprehended the ‘risks’ of information. Once he encounters that risk, I believe this quirk of his would be restrained.”

The voice coming deep within the information was tangled with an undercurrent of complicated feelings.

“If at all possible, I hope that every one of my employees would not undergo such an experience. After all, ‘information’ was born for this very purpose.”

<==>

It was because of my love for manipulating information that I chose this line of business. My impression of information shops in the past was nothing more than the secretive exchange of information in alleys or bars. But I never thought that such a ‘daring’ information shop still existed in this world.

By manipulating information, one could also manipulate other things connected to it. Sometimes it was money, sometimes people, sometimes life, sometimes the city- it was possible to manipulate even the country and the world.

What a delight it was to grasp all the ‘destinies’ in my hand! The most recent, trendy drugs were nothing compared to this. You only had to keep your wits about yourself at all times to be able to simulate the experience of becoming this world’s ‘god’.

This firm was also the same. The only person possessing information regarding the Runoratas and Gandors, as well as the fact that Roy was currently searching for Eve, was just me. This incident actually arose from a circle of tight relationships. I alone possessed this information. One could say, in this ‘world’ that had become embroiled in this incident, I stood on a more advantageous ground than anyone else.

Despite this, that guy called Roy has already come under the control of my information, so, even more so than before, I couldn’t stop my footsteps. Until now, because of Nicholas, Elean, and also the director, my plans have never really been able to kick off, but this time I must definitely give it my all.

What a useless fool. How could a young girl like that possibly know about the drug factories? How could she become a witness? In other words, even if he contacted her and succeeded in tricking her into threatening the Runorata Family, the Family ultimately would wipe out this information. Even if he escaped from the Runorata Family, he would end up the suspect of kidnapping. There simply wouldn’t be any proof linked to this newspaper agency, nor did I undergo any trade, because ‘this was just me talking to myself’.

Of course, if that guy had the money, I would proceed with legitimate business, and during that time I would plan to control him using the behavior of a businessman. Since in any case this guy would end up destroyed by drugs and become the scum of society.

Truly, he was a guy I loathed from the bottom of my heart. So I merely wanted to teach him a little lesson.

There were no problems whatsoever. None, none, none.

And now appearing on our doorstep as a client was this woman.

Was she Roy’s girlfriend, Edith? Now the situation was becoming more interesting. I really wanted to see how this guy’s destiny would turn out.

Controlling the destinies of a pair of lovers at the same time. This was a delight unrivalled by any before.

“I certainly know of Mr. Roy’s whereabouts.”

“Really?”

“In fact, I had a chance to speak to him in person a few days ago—”

As I recounted the ‘entire’ conversation I had with Roy, her face became whiter and whiter. It was just such a delight watching her.

“Wait a minute…? Then, what’s Roy doing?”

“I suppose he’s doing something to Miss Eve around now? I tried to stop him, believe me, I tried.”

“If we don’t stop him…”

Seeing Edith scramble to her feet, Henry spluttered,

“May I ask where you’re headed? You don’t know the location of Miss Eve’s residence, do you?”

Hearing his words, Edith gave Henry a savage glare.

“Please tell me. I’ll pay you! Whatever the cost!”

As she spoke, she hurled her purse on the table, yet Henry shook his head.

“You wish to stop him? Actually, this is the only path left to him. Even if the probabilities were lower…”

“I don’t think so. Didn’t you just say, because Roy had no money he could only choose this path? That’s to say, if proper payment was made, you would provide us ‘formal information’, is that right?”

“I’ve always admired people with character!”

Henry looked a little displeased as he tossed Edith’s purse back to her.

“Do you honestly think that information on escaping from the Runorata Family is something people like you and Roy can so easily get your hands on? Please, don’t be mistaken.”

Henry slowly got up from his chair, drawing closer to Edith’s face. His tone and gaze had changed in an instant, becoming like that of a god or a demon that ruled this world.

“Information is power. If you want to obtain it, isn’t it natural to pay a certain reward? So powerless people ought to die. That’s also natural. Power; that is the reward— how can folk with no claim to money so easily obtain something as good as information?”

Then, abruptly switching back to his original tone, he sat back heavily on the chair.

“---So there you go. Is everything clear now?”

Edith gazed at Henry and said determinedly,

“Then, let me ask you. What’s an example of information we would use to ‘exchange information’?”

Henry gave a smug shrug of his shoulders and, after a moment’s consideration--- he thought of last night’s meeting and said with a smile,

“The incident that happened yesterday on the ‘Flying Pussyfoot’, do you know about it?”

“In other words, in order to understand the important parts of the situation, we can’t do without the information that assassin ‘Vino’ holds--- his ‘testimony’, if you will.”

At this point, Henry drew in a deep breath.

“Ah, I told you earlier, I’ll tell you in exchange for the assassin called ‘Vino’. About the location of Miss Eve’s residence, and also about the way to escape from the Runorata Family.”

“Really? Then it’s a deal!”

Watching Edith about to depart without any delay, Henry suddenly asked another question.

“Why, why go to such an extent?”

“Because we promised. That guy spent a long time to keep his promise. But I don’t have anymore time. Because if I don’t hurry, that guy’ll die. That’s all.”

“? Is that really it?”

“That’s the way promises are, right? You can’t regret them no matter what.”

She didn’t even glance back, and opened the door with a resolute look in her eyes.

“I heard it all. You ass!”

A sudden voice exclaimed from behind, and Henry jolted in surprise.

“Have you no shame? You best be prepared for a cut in your salary!”

“Nic-, Nicholas.”

Henry whirled around, only to see the frowning English edition editor, who had at some point stood himself by the door at the back of the reception room.

“Wait, wait please. About Roy- because he had no money, I just gave him an alternative plan—”

“Oh? Then why didn’t you report that?”

“I felt it wasn’t within the field of our work.”

“Then, in that case, it’s you who didn’t work seriously!”

Nicholas grabbed Henry’s collar, and for a moment Henry sensed he would be given a beating. But the fist never came, and the hand gripping the collar unexpectedly let go.

“But since you were ultimately fighting for justice, I’ll forgive you. But what you’ve done is utterly inelegant. The Director was too lenient on you- now two incidents will cancel out each other.”

“???”

Watching Henry, Nicholas once again frowned.

“Eh? Can it be you don’t know what I’m talking about? ……I see.”

Nicholas gave Henry a pitying look, and turned to return back to his own seat.

“How pitiful! Ah, at least now I understand what the ‘risks’ the Director spoke about are. Only those who’ve experienced situations of life-and-death will mature greatly. You need to be careful, don’t really get killed.”

Henry, alone now, simply didn’t understand Nicholas’s intentions, and a great sense of unease settled over him.

--Just what happened? Geez, those who can’t obtain information sure are incompetent!

<==>

With the solid determination that came with preparedness to face death, Edith reached the Gandor Family’s office.

As she walked down the stairs leading to the basement, she once again reassessed her own thinking. Of the ones around me, the only people who might know information about assassins are just the three Gandor brothers. Or perhaps this isn’t possible at all- but now I can only try my luck.

However, if I want to ask them about that, then I’ll have no choice but to tell the truth about everything. In that case, there’s a possibility I’ll be killed there and then, or, after helping Roy, be killed together with him. But, as long as there is that thread of possibility, I can’t give up.

I can also choose to escape with Roy from this city, but Roy will miss his family and friends he’ll be leaving behind. He’ll agree if I forcefully persuaded him, but he’ll definitely regret it for the rest of his life.

Deciding to become the shield against guns and bullets, Edith, in full awareness that she may die, descended the stairs step by step.

“Ah— Edith— Welcome—”

She only saw Tick sat at the side of the central table, whiling away free time. Who was the man sitting opposite him? Then, when she looked closer, there seemed to be some things laid out before Tick and the man. They were the numerous pairs of new scissors, shining and gleaming brightly.

“Not bad, aren’t they? I bought a lot. They’re very sharp!”

Tick said with a child-like smile.

The man opposite him stretched out a hand towards the table and picked up a pair of scissors.

Kann, kann, shukoo, kann, kan, kan, shuko, kan, shukokan shukokan shukakaka kakakakakakaka kakakakakakakakakakakakaka---

The tip of the scissors danced a quick tempo, back and forth and back, stabbing between the five fingers over and over again. They danced- rhythmically, powerfully. The tempo picked up until, in the end, the scissors were so fast only their after-images could be seen.

More incredibly, one would discover on closer inspection that every time the man thrust down the scissors, the blades would snip open and shut.

“Wow! Amazing, amazing— I want to try too!”

“It’s better if you don’t. If you get hurt, it’ll be very painful. Very painful indeed.”

“Then I’m better off not trying after all. That’s right, the next time I’m interrogating someone, I’ll test it on them!”

Hearing the two’s conversation, a chill trickled down the line of Edith’s spine.

--From the looks of this, there are scarier things than ‘death’……

She faltered for just an instant, but it was too late.

“Mr. Keith— Mr. Berga— Mr. Luck--. Edith’s here!”

Hearing Tick’s call, the silhouettes of the three brothers appeared at the door.

“Oh my— Edith. What’s the matter? Aah, the bar should have suspended business now, but wages will be issued as usual—”

“No, no, Mr. Gandor. That’s not it.”

There was no turning back. To save Roy, her feet were already drawing her towards hell one step at a time.

“I… I’ve betrayed Mr. Gandor.”

Hearing Edith’s confession, a troubled expression appeared momentarily on the three men’s faces— after a glance at his older brothers, Luck opened his mouth to speak.

“We understand what you’ve said, Edith. Honestly speaking, it’s a genuine pity that you didn’t keep your word. However, even if we’re very sorry, we don’t plan to find out the current whereabouts of Mr. Roy.”

Edith’s expression brightened at the answer.

“Really!?”

“Ah, Mr. Roy isn’t one of us. Frankly speaking, the organization’s rule regarding people we’ve never seen before is to not to use them. Although we don’t allow drugs on our turf, we really can’t control what goes on behind our backs.”

At this point, Luck’s smile had already been wiped from his face.

“But, Edith, the problem is you! You clearly knew we forbade drugs and yet you still hid the truth. Even though you’re just a waitress at our bar, but as ‘one of us’, this is an act of betrayal.”

Aah, that was certainly the case. I was already prepared for that, so even if I was killed, I still hoped Roy would be all right!

“Then, about how to deal with you— Frankly speaking, this is unprecedented. What should we do… What to do? Brothers?”

Luck asked his two brothers standing behind him; Berga said ‘This, that, what to do?’ as he looked at Keith, while Keith too seemed to be in a dilemma, lowering his head to play with the poker cards in his hand.

The three stood a little distance away, quietly discussing what to do with her.

“What to do?”

“Don’t ask me. What normally happens?”

“In Sicily, traitors are executed… But this isn’t the same.”

“Killing someone just over something like this is really idiotic. Isn’t this good? Say she’s innocent.”

“But we can’t ask someone to adjudicate. I don’t think that we can kill a woman over something like this but we can’t not do anything, so we need to undertake some suitable form of punishment.”

“Dock a month’s wage?”

“We’re not a corporation!”

“Then what should we do? If it were a guy I’d beat him up until all his teeth have fallen off then leave it at that!”

“We can’t do that! Raising a hand against a woman is the worst!”

“I know that! Then, just say she’s innocent!”

“But we don’t have any reason to… Aah, pardoning her is no good, using violence is no good either…”

“Give her a chance, how’s that?”

“Chance?”

“Didn’t we give that traitor Jogi a ninety percent chance that time? He ended up dying.”

“But, we used Russian roulette that time.”

“……”

“That’s it! Use Big Bro’s poker cards! If she gets a color Joker, then she’s guilty.”

“Right, right! We’ll take out the color Joker from the very start!”

“……”

Hearing this, a troubled expression once again crossed Luck’s face and he took a look at the poker cards in Keith’s hand.

“What? They’re all color Jokers!?”

“I’ve always wanted to ask- where’d you buy these kinds of cards?”

“You couldn’t have bought 52 packs of cards then took out the color Jokers one by one, right……? Big Bro?”

“……”

“Then, then let’s do this- if she gets the color Joker then she’s innocent!”

“I really don’t know what we’re doing!”

Just what kinds of terrible things were they discussing? Just how were they planning to kill me?

Watching the three men hiding in one corner of the room, Edith’s back broke out in cold sweat.

Seeing that the three had been whispering to each other for ages, Tick and the other man finally acted. The mystery man suddenly stopped playing with the five pairs of scissors in his hands and turned to say something quietly to Tick. As Tick ‘kachi’ed the new scissors, he called to the three brothers,

“Hey--- has Edith done something bad?”

Hearing Tick’s voice, Luck looked over with a perplexed expression.

“We can’t really say it’s anything bad- she didn’t break the law. Just did something that’s bad for us.”

“Edith’s hair is really long!”

“Eeh, yes, it is……!”

Suddenly, Luck understood. Tick’s abnormally innocent eyes were smiling faintly.

“Can I cut it?”

“I already thought this before.”

Amidst the sound of snipping scissors, the man playing with the scissors muttered to himself,

“Although it’s been resolved, you simply aren’t like the bosses of Mafia.”

Hair was a woman’s life. This was true regardless of the era- though trimming a little was a completely different matter. After Edith comprehended such a simple concept, she immediately lost all strength in her body.

“Let me clarify first- using hair to pardon you was the final resort.”

Although the initial suggestion was to shave her clean, ‘using scissors are very difficult’, so in the end only half her hair was cut.

Tick manipulated the scissors with practiced moves, and her hairstyle seemed to look even better than before.

“I’m dooone~”

Accompanied by the sound of a faint laughter, Tick halted the sound of snipping scissors.

And with this sound, this farce with no audience drew to a close.

“Then, let’s return to what we were discussing just now. What kind of information did that man at the information shop want from you? Is it information you can’t obtain without coming to people like us?”

This was it. She had merely passed the first test. If these three brothers didn’t know anything about ‘Vino’, then her current determination would be all for nothing.

Praying hard, she slowly said out the name.

“Um, actually, I wanted to find out where the assassin called ‘Vino’ is!”

The final words just left her mouth when the man challenging twenty pairs of scissors tilted his head back.

“…… Calling me?”

<==>

Just as night was falling, two figures appeared before the Genoard family’s villa door. After pressing the doorbell a few times, the magnificent front door opened and an old steward appeared before their eyes.

“Gracious me. I bid you a very good evening, good sirs. May I enquire as to who you are?”

At Benjamin’s astonished question, the Chinese- and Irish-looking young men smiled as they said,

“Er, this is Mr. Genoard’s household? We came by the recommendation of Chef Gregwall.”

“We here to cook.”

“Ooh, it’s you! Come, come, please come in.”

Under the direction of the old steward, they entered the lavishly decorated mansion.

“You must be the steward!”

“Aye, the archetypal steward. But I didn’t grow out a beard, sorry about that.”

The Chinese-looking chef was Fan Linshan, and the Irish-looking bartender was Jon Panel.

Up till yesterday, they had been working aboard the ‘Flying Pussyfoot’, but because of some incident, the dining car and train had been damaged. So, with the recommendation of the dining car head chef, Gregwall, they had come here temporarily for work. It would be a one-month probationary contract to start off with, and if they were found to be suitable, they would be taken back to the home in New Jersey as the permanent chef.

For this reason, the two were extremely hopeful about this job. The impressions they made and whether or not they were qualified enough to stay hinged on their ability to come up with delicious, quality dishes given existing ingredients.

As the two thought of various possible situations, they followed behind the old steward, and at last came to the large, grand door of a room on the second floor.

“Miss, miss! The new chef has arrived, would Miss please meet them—”

But, there was no response.

“Miss?”

The old steward didn’t know whether he should just open the door: if the mistress was sleeping, then opening the door without permission was absolutely forbidden conduct. Just as the old steward was fretting about what to do, Samasa standing at one side opened the door without asking twice.

“Miz, da chef’s ’ere.”

Samasa didn’t wait and just entered into the room, but Eve was nowhere to be seen. The steward, noticing this, ignored the fact that it was the mistress’s room and stepped in too.

“M-, Miss!?”

The old steward exclaimed, but there was no response in the room. The window inside was wide open and the curtains were billowing in the wind. Samasa and the others quickly rushed in, only to see a tall ladder stretching from the second floor straight down to the first.

“What is dis?”

Fan, following them into the room hot on their heels, held a letter in his hand.

“Quick, quickly let me see that!”

The old steward clumsily accepted the letter, his bloodshot eyes skimming through the letter.

The contents inside apologized for leaving the house willfully on her own, and thanked Benjamin and the others for kindly taking care of her all along. Then, when he read to ‘If I don’t return in three days—’, the steward’s heart leapt to his throat.

“Miss… It can’t be?”

“Aah, Miss… Why do something so foolish?”

Watching the old steward sitting on the sofa, still as stone, Samasa spoke,

“Dun worry, Miz is gonna be fine, fine.”

“How can I not worry! Samasa! How can you be so calm—”

The old steward looked up, and his angry words came to an abrupt stop. Samasa had changed into the shoes she normally wore out, as though preparing to go out.

“Where are you going?”

Fan and Jon at her side also looked outside.

“Even if we forgot about the train incident, this year is really turbulent!”

“Cannot be helped ah— cooking with no mistress is waste of effort.”

Facing the addled old steward, Samasa said an unbelievable sentence.

“Ah’m gonna find Miz- yu gonna come wit’ us or not?”

After a moment’s silence, the old steward shouted, like he was scolding his foolish self,

“Of course, of course I’m going. What’re we waiting for!”

“But ‘scoose me, wossat black suitcase yah be carryin’ ‘round?”

Samasa asked as she looked at the large black case in Fan’s right hand. Fan replied directly,

“This ah— this morning my sister let me keep this. She said I must put it somewhere can trust, and I think this place has a safe, so can put here?”

“Seems like some business wants to issue new drugs or something, so she wanted to put it somewhere reliable.”

Hearing this, Samasa patted her chest, saying,

“Oh my, then you should be givin’ it t’ someone reliable! Here’s a reliable and safest place.”

<==>

At night, Henry finished work and was preparing to head home when he suddenly saw a shadow standing to one side.

“? Aah, is this not Miss Edith? How can I help you?”

--Hmph, she must be thinking she can’t do anything and came back here crying. That must be it.

“Mr. Henry, you said so before, yeah? Information is power. If you wanted to get it, you must pay a reward.”

“Yes, that’s right. You have this power now?”

“I don’t have financial power, but— manpower’s the most important.”

“Eh?”

In that instant, a hand landed heavily on Henry’s shoulder.

“Good evening!”

Henry looked back, only to see a young fellow standing behind him. By young he meant around twenty years old, around the same age as himself.

“Good, eve, ning!”

The man repeated again, flashing a look at Henry out of the corner of his eye.

“You said you wanted to see me- how unfriendly.”

--It can’t be? ---No way!

“Didn’t you want to ask me about what happened on the train?”

Pulling Henry along, Claire walked out through the door.

“Then, let’s take the next night train. Should I give you a good experience of being killed, or an experience of the feeling of ‘power’?”

His will to fight drained as he lost control of his limbs. It felt like he was being engulfed in the roar of a ferocious beast

“The reward will be your terror.”

<==>

“This is Eve Genoard’s residence; you can leave the rest of the plan to us. First, Edith takes him to hide in the Gandor Family office. We will settle affairs with the Runoratas within a week.”

The news agency, after Henry had been taken away. Nicholas was explaining the cause of the various situations to the three Gandor brothers and Edith.

“Mr. Keith, I’ve already heard about your situation from the Director. After getting a handle on Gustavo and his men’s movements, we will inform you, so please wait for my news at your office or at your homes.”

There was a serious expression on Nicholas’s face, which normally was full of smiles when facing clients.

Elean waited until those people had left before exclaiming happily,

“Thanks for the hard work! Even though you were very busy, but you did very well!”

“Aah, damn it. As an information shop I still prefer to stick to neutral ground as much as possible. I’ve been viewing this incident rather subjectively, so sorry about that. But this’ll be the last time.”

“I see. But where’s that black case now?”

“Aah, I think we know where it is. Seems like Lia Linshan’s younger brother took that black case away. We still haven’t received accurate reports as to where it’s being taken, but we should have news of it soon.”

At the same time, the entrance door of the news agency was pushed open, and in walked a group of people of varying ages, genders and nationalities.

“Elean! I wanna ask yer t’ do sumthin’!”

A fat, black woman walked in, holding a large travel bag in her right hand.

Seeing that large, black bag, Elean muttered to himself,

“Now, not being ‘subjective’ is no longer an option.”

“……Spare me.”

<==>

“Wait a sec, you said ‘Vino’?”

Gustavo roared loudly in the hotel room.

“Yes, that’s the current situation, Mr. Gustavo.”

“The legendary freelance assassin, that Western idiot?”

“He’s not one of the Gandors.”

“Now that guy’s been fucking hired by the Gandor Family.”

Gustavo gave a look of utter disbelief, sucked deeply from his cigarette then press his hand on the ashtray.

“It’s already starting to spread among the delinquents on the streets. The news that just came to us said, ‘You guys are gonna be finished soon. Once that monster comes, Gustavo definitely won’t live more than three days’.”

“That’s bullshit!”

On the surface his stature and voice were very strong, but in reality his heart had already been filled with terror from early on.

--‘Vino’. That terrifying assassin? Why’s he together with that stupid organization? I heard that this guy was hired by Don Bartolo once. The core members of several organizations opposing us in New York were wiped out in just one night by him. In return for his services he received an unimaginable reward- can the Gandor Family really afford that much cash?

“The situation’s bad, Mr. Gustavo. A few men have already started quaking.”

“Shit, shit, shit! We need to find assassins too! Kill them off before they act!”

“It’s too late, our assassins are all directly under Bartolo’s control. If he could lend us some he would have lent us some bombs long ago.”

“Then find freelance killers or mercenaries! Find some, quick! Guys who won’t be scared shitless when they hear the name ‘Vino’! If they kill that guy they can definitely raise their reputation, so someone out there’s gotta wanna kill him! Find these kinds of assassins! And while you’re at it, raise the reward for the three damn Gandor brothers! Quick! Hurry the fuck up and go!”

“So famous- it’s just like the world of those Western flicks. Mr. Gustavo’s really lost his head.”

As Gustavo’s underling grumbled quietly, he unwillingly accepted the order.

In that instant, the ‘legend’ about ‘Vino’ finally became real ‘information’.

Quietly, surreptitiously— that information seeped into the depths of society.

<==>

--Slipping out of home without anyone noticing is well and all, but how am I supposed to find the Gandor Family?

Although Eve changed into something easy to move in when she came out, the obviously high-class clothing still drew a lot of attention.

Even though the sky was slowly darkening, the area around the Central Bus Station was the same as it was during daytime- filled with all sorts of noise and sounds.

--If not, it might be better if I just went to ask The Informer after all.

“Um, you’re Miss Eve Genoard?”

A weak voice came from behind. When she turned back her head and looked, she found it was an abject-looking fellow. Although he was also wearing unconventional clothing, when he stood next to Eve it was just like a comical comparison of contrasts.

A little baffled, Eve gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head.

“Yeah, I’m called Roy. Roy Maddock. Um, I want to ask you something so I called you… Can I?”

“Ask me? What could it be?”

“Um, it’s about your family.”

Eve’s countenance immediately changed.

--Right, this kind of reaction is ‘just right’. I only had to grab this girl then everything would be under my control. Use her as a shield to threaten the Runoratas, then Edith and me would be saved! After we’re both safe, I can let this girl go!

As Roy affirmed his thoughts, he approached Eve a little forcefully. Because he didn’t want his opponent to gain the upper hand, he tried his best to make his tone of voice become scary.

“Actually, I know your family’s secret.”

With such laughable words, Roy unknowingly triggered the situation to develop in a way he had never dreamt of.

“! Could it be you’re part of the Gandor Family?”

“Eh?”

“I’m begging you! Please, please let me meet your boss!”

Overwhelmed by her tough tone of voice, Roy’s thoughts became chaotic.

Why? Why did the name Gandor suddenly spring up here? Could it be, could it be I had yet to leave the illusionary world of drugs?

Although he could feel the reality of the situation, Roy could only stand there, blankly.

--Oh no, Edith, Edith, what should I do now--?

<==>

“Impossible! How, how could Grandfather and Father do such things! It’s impossible…!”

“Please, please, calm down.”

Seeing Eve dazed, Roy desperately tried to comfort her with a pained expression.

He had taken her to a nearby restaurant and explained himself. It seemed that this young lady didn’t know anything about her own family, so he could only tell her everything about her own family in one go. If she didn’t know, then he had to secure this girl after this and go trick the Runorata Family.

Watching the girl with trembling shoulders and a tear-streaked face, Roy finally sensed that he was one shameless, despicable bastard. Telling her the truth that he originally didn’t want to say to her, letting this girl who was different from him, someone who had a future and hopes, fall into such a state. Was there really no other way? Was there really no way to trick fate at the very end and let everyone wave their goodbyes with happiness and joy?

There was no such way whatsoever in Roy’s brain at that moment.

--Drugs. I must’ve taken too much. My brain must’ve really melted from all the pleasures of the sensation of my brain melting. In the past, some strange liquid flowed out of my ears. That should be my brain. Damn, damn, damn, I, I was really a big fool, could I really escape together with Edith? Could I really give her happiness afterwards? Damn, damn, damn, Edith should have scolded me for being a fool several hundred times over. Because I really was a fool.

As Roy became caught up in the whirlpool of his own making, he desperately consoled Eve.

But there was one thing he kept to himself.

That was: her father and older brother had been murdered by the Runorata Family. He had first described the relationship Eve’s family had set with the Runorata Family and originally planned to give her ‘hatred for the Runoratas’ so she wouldn’t cooperate with them, but now that he thought about it, it was truly fortunate that he hadn’t spoken about it. If he told her about this, she may very well cooperate with him.

--But if I did that that’d be too evil. If I really did do that I’d be a villainous junkie. While I’m still rational, I must absolutely not tell her about that. If I said it, I’d really be a junkie, no different from a demon.

After more than one hour, Eve finally subsided and regained her tranquil state of mind. Calmly, anxiously, she said to Roy,

“I apologize for panicking just now.”

“Huh? Ah, aah. Sorry. If possible, please forget what I just said. Ah, but, no, since I’m gonna end up dead anyway. What to do.”

Although he was very nervous and shocked just now, Roy had already regained his reason.

“May I ask you a question?”

“What is it?”

“A while ago, my father and elder brother passed away due to a car accident. But, this incident, could it be—”

“No! No, I think. That information shop guy said to be, that was ‘just an accident’!”

“Is that so……”

A kind of relieved expression surfaced on the girl’s face, and, seeing this, he hated himself even more.

I can’t, I can’t sacrifice this child’s future any more than I have.

Then, using her name to threaten the Runorata Family was another way of robbing her of her future. If he was not careful, this girl would be killed even if he did everything perfectly, right? In that case, the Runorata Family wouldn’t be damaged in the slightest, but that would put his friends and family into--

--Eh?

He finally realized that this battle was one that couldn’t be won from the very beginning.

--That bastard at the information shop……

A surge of anger gushed up. By coincidence, Eve called Roy at the same time.

“I know.”

“Huuh?”

“I have a request.”

After hearing the details of the request, everything immediately went dark before Roy’s eyes. But he understand that, right here, right now, he had no way of refusing.

“Please take me to the Gandor Family right away.”

<==>

“See, this is the Gandor Family office.”

In an alleyway a little distance from Mulberry Street, Eve and Roy stood before the notice reading ‘Business temporarily suspended due to renovations’. This was the jazz bar Edith had taken him to many times. The Gandor office should be in the basement.

“I can’t show my face around here- go in by yourself. I’ll wait here for you.”

“I understand, and um, thank you!”

“Don’t, don’t, please, don’t say stuff like ‘thank you’ to me.”

Roy hastily shook his head with a sorrowful expression.

At this moment.

Ka-click

The door with the notice stuck on it suddenly opened, and the sound of metal on metal rang out in the alleyway.

Roy was so shocked his heart almost stopped, then, slowly, slowly, he turned his head towards the door.

“Oh my. Do you have some business? I’m really sorry, my apologies, but other than Mr. Tick there’s no one else here.”

Standing in the doorway was a beautiful young lady who was close to her thirties. With her willowy build, short, gold hair and delicate skin, she was just like a doll- it was as though she could be easily broken with a forceful hug.

“Um, um, we, we’d like to see one of the Gandors, um…”

“There are three people here called Gandor. Including my sister and I, that’s a total of five.”

Hearing this elegant answer, Roy and Eve asked without suspecting anything,

“Um, you are?”

The woman answered this question serenely.

“My name is Kate. I’m the eldest of the brothers’s… Keith Gandor’s wife.”

Keith and the others returned to the office, where there was just one person, Tick, playing with his scissors.

“Ah— You’re back---”

“Just now Mrs. Kate came by. I said you had left so she went back.”

Hearing Tick’s words, Keith frowned a little.

“Aah, I had said I was going back home for a bit today.”

“Been working all through the end of last year and the beginning of this one, so I never went home.”

“……”

As Keith shook his head, he hung his coat and hat on the wall. No matter what he couldn’t return home tonight either.

“Never mind, now’s not the time to go back.”

“That guy, Claire, he’s really slow. He couldn’t really have taken that guy for a ride on the night train, right?”

“If it’s Claire it’s very possible.”

“Geez, that guy, he’s always so strange. And he even said something like ‘I have something I want to ask the The Informer too.”

Claire, who normally looked aloof, was now smiling everyday, as though he were thinking of something to be happy about.

“Aah, that’s it, he wants to ask about the person he wants to marry, right?”

“Then, do you still have any other questions?”

Squatting on the roof of the night train, Claire asked Henry, who was lying flat on his back. Henry’s face was stark white, his half-open eyes just like that of a dead fish.

“If there’s nothing, then it’s my turn to ask. You seem to have provided information to a woman called Edith, so tell me some equivalent information, how’s that?”

Henry, with a worn out expression, nodded non-stop at Claire.

“You still haven’t lost consciousness yet- that’s really praiseworthy. Looks like you’re got very high endurance huh. Then, I’m gonna ask. First, it’s about a woman. And also, one more thing---”

On the express train, he happily asked with wide eyes everything he wanted to know.

“Is what you’re saying true?”

Late at night on New Year’s Day, in a hotel room, Gustavo questioned his underling.

“There’s absolutely no mistake. That guy, Roy, contacted Eve Genoard, then took her to the Gandor headquarters. Just as we were about to capture them, a woman suddenly came out of the office, then she drove them away. We’ve sent a few people to tail them- seems like they’ve reached a house outside of their territory.”

“You sacks of shit! Why the hell didn’t you immediately kill him the moment he stepped on Gandor ground?”

“Our most humble apologies, sir. We thought it’d be okay to check out where he was headed.”

“Ha! Then how did he even escape in someone else’s car!? You didn’t kill him for such a damn stupid reason?”

“A-, also, Mr. Begg told us to capture him alive.”

Once he heard Begg’s name, Gustavo’s face immediately flushed red.

“It doesn’t matter what the hell that formalin-covered guy says! Ah? Who’s your boss? Say it! Tell me now!”

“Of course it’s Mr. Bartolo Runorata.”

“Huh!?”

Gustavo instantly swallowed the retort he was about to throw back at his underlings. He initially thought that the name coming from their mouths would be his own, but he never thought it’d be Bartolo’s name. And there were quite a few other executives in the room, so if he lost his temper here it would represent his betrayal of his boss.

“……That’s right. I was appointed by that Mr. Bartolo Runorata to be in charge of this piece of land. So my orders are absolute!”

He had done a good job of defusing the awkward situation just now. Was he the only one who thought so? The others all thought he was just glossing over his mistake.

“Is, that, so?”

Begg, who had come in at some unknown point in time, just hmphed twice through his nose at Gustavo’s shout.

“You…”

“Mr. Bal, toro, has given, me full, con, trol, and, response, bility, over, the matter, of, drugs. In, other, words, my orders, a, bout, drugs, are also, absolute.”

Begg, restraining himself from smiling, openly challenged Gustavo a sharp look.

“One day I’ll annihilate that thinking of yours.”

There was intense hatred and intent to kill in Gustavo’s eyes.

“But, I’ve, never once, thought, that way. Then, I’ll, leave, the, live cap, ture to, you.”

It appeared Begg didn’t have anything to say after that, so he turned around and left the room.

“Oh y-, y-, yes, a, forma, lin-, co, vered guy, isn’t, half, bad. At least, he, won’t rot- that’s for, sure.”

On the western side of Manhattan, inside a house. This was the eldest of the Gandor Family’s- Keith’s- home. Until last year, the three brothers had always lived in a nearby apartment, but ever since the second eldest, Berga, married, they moved out to live on their own. Now only the youngest, Luck, still stayed in the old apartment.

“All right then, don’t waste time and start eating. Originally I wanted to have dinner with my husband, but that person’s always very busy.”

“Um, uh, guess I’ll help myself.”

Roy, who hadn’t eaten anything for the past few days, ravenously wolfed down the New Year feast.

Australian steak, Japanese sashimi, Italian spaghetti, and the list went on; there was every kind of delicacy from different countries, so even Eve, still rather polite in the beginning, picked up fork and knife.

“…Delicious.”

Eve too, who had been silent all along, couldn’t help but praise it. It was a very simple, truthful sentiment, but for her, her feelings about this still remained complex.

The woman before them called Kate didn’t look the slightest bit like a Mafia boss’s wife, but she herself felt that there was nothing she could do about it. What if, no, definitely- she was the wife of the person who killed her older brother, Dallas. Eve didn’t know what to do while sitting in front of such a person.

“Wonderful! I was worried it didn’t suit your tastes!”

Although Kate’s faintly smiling expression was very gentle, there was a nagging feeling that it was a little thin, like she was a woman made of mist.

“Then continuing from what we were saying—”

To ease her complicated feelings, she took the initiative to get straight to the point. They had heard a lot about Keith and the others just now, but from the looks of things Keith had initially planned to come home tonight to celebrate New Year with Kate. However, it appeared that there was something urgent today, so he didn’t come back.

“Um, do you know when I can meet him?”

“Hmm this- he’s the kind of person who has to deal with unexpected events everyday… If the disputes have been settled, I think he’d come back everyday.”

“Disputes?”

“I’m not very certain about the details myself. That person never talks about business at home… So I think he won’t be coming back early tonight.”

Kate spoke about her absent husband with loneliness and happiness.

“Um… He is Mafia, right?”

Pupiruu! Hearing Eve’s words, Roy sprayed out some of his red tea.

“M-Miss Eve. That’s a little too direct.”

“Eh, but…”

Watching the two, Kate just quietly gave a faint smile.

“That’s right, though on the surface he is the manager of the jazz bar.”

Perhaps because she could sense what they were thinking, Kate started talking a little about her husband’s work.

“This organization was originally created by their father. At first, the boss of the original organization their father was part of suddenly said he wanted to give away part of the territory to one of the executives. Although it was very strange, that executive- their father- accepted it with delighted. And after that, they became embroiled in a very large dispute and the territory shrank immediately. It just so happened that the territory was hemmed in on all sides by territories of other large Mafias, so it became the boundary line. The former boss learnt of this, but he couldn’t just run away if he wanted to preserve his dignity, so he passed it over to their clueless father. He’s been on the run ever since with the money he’s earned— that’s how the story goes.”

When Roy and Eve had finished eating, Kate cleared up the table as she narrated, as though speaking aloud her own thoughts.

“But then there wouldn’t be much territory left for the organization, would there? Keith’s father was a very hardy man from long ago, and he always said ‘this organization I’ve accepted from boss must not disappear’, so in the end he passed away at an early age due to overworking. Inheriting their father’s will, Keith and his brothers have always been protecting this piece of land. So there’ve been disputes happening almost every day, and even I was almost killed twice.”

“Why, why then do you still live with such a dangerous person?”

Although she knew it was an impolite question, Eve had to ask. Furthermore, if it was Kate, she may very well answer this question.

After finally washing up all the dishes, she sat in front of an organ in the corner of the room.

The two turned their gazes to Kate, then, her slender fingers glided over the keyboard.

The music from the organ seemed to reflect the feelings of Roy and Eve at that moment in time.

In the beginning, there was a passage of the melody filled with unease and suspicion, then as they listened on, it gradually chimed in with the two’s feelings, and the tune slowly changed. Although it was just a five minute performance, it beautifully wiped away Roy and Eve’s fears and anxieties during this period of time, tying them together with the melody, giving one the wondrous feeling of harmony. Just as the performance came to an end, the two applauded and praised the music.

“Great, no, it’s absolutely amazing!”

“Just now you didn’t look at the score at all… Could it be an impromptu performance?”

Kate gave a light nod of the head at Eve’s question.

It was the year 1927, when silent movies were the only products on the world movie market.

Movie theatres hired organists to accompany the wide variety of silent tragedy-comedy movies, who would play impromptu melodies, sometimes according to the venue, sometimes according to the movie. This was the main trend at that time.

Back then, Kate was hired by the largest movie theatre at the time as the organist, and played all sorts of impromptu tunes. Sometimes it was according to the number of customers, sometimes according to the weather- always playing songs that best suited the occasion.

But one year. The era of silent movies finally came to an end.

The powerful and influential movie theatres produced what became known as vitaphones- in other words, ‘talkies’. With the rise of talkies, beginning with the birth of the movie ‘Don Juan' a year ago, movies gradually became more functional and the revolution of the world of movies began.

That year, the first feature-length movie ever to have sound, 'The Jazz Singer', became the talk of town, and it was decided that it would be screened at the movie theatre which was hiring Kate. In an instant, long queues of people turned up at the door a few days before screening, and thus created a sensation.

Among the swarming throngs of crowds was Kate.

She wasn’t interested in the talkie or the main actor Al Jolson. Because if these kinds of talkies became popular, she would become unemployed. Kate felt that recorded music paled in comparison to pure music. Performers like herself definitely wouldn’t lose. To ease her anxieties, she decided to enter the movie theatre with a sardonic smile on her face. She sat on a seat, waiting calmly for the movie to begin.

The organ that was supposed to be used for performance was covered up with a piece of black cloth. Just what kind of songs were they? What kind of music? She would definitely not lose against it. Absolutely not.

If spectacular music could flow from this movie, she would understand.

Then, the movie began.

Even though graphics appeared when the movie started, there was not a single note of music to be heard.

Was it broken? Just as Kate hostilely prepared herself to listen, the first sound rang out in the theatre.

That was from the audience at the screening—the tremendous, thunderous sound of applause.

By the time she noticed it, Kate’s face was already wet with tears.

---I’ve lost.

That was sound she would never have dreamed of. Or perhaps she was exaggerating. But Kate knew extremely well. That this was sound she could never perform. She could feel that she, whom she thought could triumph with song and music, who had intended to laugh sardonically, had become such an insignificant existence. She could sense that her own way of thinking was an enormous insult to other performers.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute—”

When tears trickled down from the corners of her eyes, the first dialogue was spoken.

These words, that would later become the world’s greatest and most famous line, struck a chord with her heart.

“You ain’t heard nothin’ yet! ”

She didn’t really remember what happened after that. There was a lot of dialogue afterwards, and the ending was also presented in subtitled format, but to Kate, this was unimportant- the audience listened to Jolson’s songs with touched expressions.

Then, movie theatres around the country successively adopted talkies, silent movies quickly fell out of favor and talkies finally took the stage.

She too, without exception, went down the path of unemployment and changed between many kinds of jobs. Then, one day, a strange man appeared before her. It was a man of few words, a man who, no matter how one looked at him, didn’t seem like he did proper business. Kate simply didn’t know what he wanted to say to begin with, but finally he opened his mouth quietly and spoke.

“At which movie theatre can I hear your accompaniment? You can’t see the accompanists’ faces at movies nowadays, so I don’t even know who’s who.”

She thought he was kidding at first, but this peculiar man seemed to always come to the theatre to listen to her accompaniment.

After saying this, the man didn’t have anything more to say, shut his mouth and didn’t talk anymore. In the end, she learned that this man was the boss of the Gandor Family, and she gradually gained an interest in his life.

As Kate gradually understood this man called Keith, she started wanting to perform for him.

Because he was just like a silent movie.

When Kate spoke about Keith, her voice became much more relaxed. In contrast, she almost didn’t seem to want to talk about herself.

So, to eliminate Eve’s queries, this performance became even more exquisite.

A young lady who said ‘I wish to meet the Gandor Family boss’, a young man who said ‘Do I not want to meet him or can’t I meet him’.

From Kate’s point of view, these two people had exceptional circumstances. Eve possessed some kind of anxiety and anticipation. As for Roy, he seemed scared and at the same time needing to do something- these kinds of complicated feelings.

But she could be sure about this: these two weren’t bad people. To her, just this was enough and nothing else was necessary.

“You two, do you still want to go back tonight?”

Hearing such a question, the two exchanged looks. To Roy, who never thought that Edith was searching for him at this very moment, a place he could go back to simply never existed. To Eve, if she went back now then she wouldn’t be able to come out like today.

Seeing their expressions, Kate smiled faintly.

“Then you can stay here. Let’s go back to the office to have a look tomorrow afternoon.”

The newspaper agency, late at night.

Sitting on the chief editor’s seat, Nicholas smoked heavily while silently staring up at the sky.

---I’ve lost count of how many years I’ve been doing this job.

Nicholas, who originally worked for the military intelligence unit, came here after resigning. He used every ounce of his strength to get to where he was today. Here, he taught those Asians how to use guns, and enabled The Informer to gain power to contend with the surrounding organizations.

--It’s not enough. This is nowhere close to enough.

Given that he was working at The Informer, he couldn’t completely eliminate his anxieties of attacks, even if he armed himself with more equipment. This was part and parcel of working at an information agency.

Manipulating information while being controlled by information at the same time. The experience from working at military intelligence was already telling Nicholas that this was an unpleasant fact of life.

--Information is power. But this power isn’t something anyone can monopolize. It’s like weather- even if one can forecast it, one can’t fully control it. I really wish Henry would learn to appreciate this…

Just as he thought that, the door to the editorial department was gently pushed open.

“Henry!”

Appearing at the door was a young man, who was ghastly pale from head to toe.

“Hey, get a grip. Are you still alive?”

Nicholas quickly caught Henry, who was about to collapse on the ground. Wide-eyed and shaking throughout his entire body, as though something was going to explode deep within his bones. His eyes weren’t focused, although the faint sound of his breathing brushed past Nicholas’s ear.

“Son of a bitch… Vino, you bastard, you’ve gone too far.”

While Nicholas cursed the person who was not present, he checked to make sure Henry’s life wasn’t in danger.

“So you’ve finally learned today what’s called fear- this is a little punishment.”

As he listened to Nicholas’s voice, Henry’s consciousness quickly slipped away. Just as he was about to pass out, his lips cracked open and started mumbling softly. Were his wits muddled?

“Already got it… this information… this power… it’s mine…”

Nicholas watched Henry’s face quietly, commenting to himself,

“Damn it, this is why you just don’t deal in this kind of business at an information agency!”

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