Baccano/1934 Alice in Jails Street Episode Chapter Four/Recap

Russo Manor. Evening.

Placido Russo questions the Vice President, unwilling to accept the latter's claims that he just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. The Vice President tells Placido that the Daily Days office in New York will vouch for his identity, and that if Placido wants to find the people on the Wanted Poster, they, as information brokers, would be happy to arrange a deal.

Placido is not amused. Neither is Klik, who taunts the Vice President, before he's quickly shut down by a Death Glare from the latter. The Vice President demonstrates the extent and accuracy of his knowledge by letting slip the fact that the white suit worn by Ladd Russo during the Flying Pussyfoot massacre originally belonged to Placido, and that the police had planned to investigate Placido before dropping the matter.

Carol can do nothing but stand quietly and watch as the Vice President calmly treats the intimidating mafioso like he would any other customer.

Placido asks the Vice President if he knows the identity of the two robbers who stole their cash just before the Flying Pussyfoot incident. The Vice President agrees to make a deal for the information, and tells Placido the names of the robbers--Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent. He also tells Placido that the duo is close with Jacuzzi Splot, whose gang had murdered Russo men on the same day as the robbery.

Placido still doesn't have 100% trust in the information, so he decides to have the Vice President and Carol stay at the Russo Manor as hostages until at least Rail and Frank are caught. Carol panics, but the Vice President calmly abides. Placido orders for them to be sent to separate rooms, with Carol going to Lua's room.

Lua and Carol greet each other and introduce themselves. Carol thinks Lua looks so delicate she might fall apart, and wonders how long she's been held here. Lua gently smiles and tells Carol that she's also being held hostage.

Chicago, evening.

Several days later, the members of Lamia (sans Chris and Rail) gather at the rendezvous point. They discuss the fact that Rail's explosions were deemed accidents by the police, and the presence of an opposing force--most likely Nebula or Senator Beriam.

On the day they battled Graham, everyone scattered after Rail tossed out a smoke bomb. However, he never showed up at the rendezvous point that day. Neither of the twins had been able to locate him. Meanwhile, Graham was spotted conspicuously wandering the streets, drinking away the nights and working off the hangovers at abandoned factories--almost as if he was setting himself up at bait to lure them out.

The Lamia members are hesitant to attack Graham, figuring that Christopher's about the only one who could take him on--but there's no point in talking about someone who's not with them anymore. This also includes the MIA Rail. Frank starts crying, regretting that he didn't take Rail with him when they scattered--no one blames him.

Leeza blames Rail for the disastrous fight against Graham. Sickle shoots her down, reminding Leeza that finding Rail and accomplishing Huey's orders take first priority--Leeza shouldn't let her personal grudge get in the team's way.

Chi asks Leeza if they've been gathered today because of new orders or new intel on Rail. Leeza tells him that both are correct--Huey has officially designated Chicago as the location of the experiment. As for the latter, the twins figured out a connection between Graham and Ladd Russo--which means that the Russo Family is likely to have something to do with the wanted posters of them.

Their plan is to infiltrate the Russo Manor and get the facts straight from the horse's mouth--Placido Russo himself. It's not known if Rail is being held by the Russo Family, but they're likely to get some useful information from this.

Sickle wonders how they're going to get past Graham this time--Leeza replies that they'll simply choose a time when Graham's not around. If that doesn't work, they have a backup plan--a hostage. According to their intel, Graham has no family or loved ones, but there is a young gang leader in New York he thinks of as a little brother, and Ladd Russo, whom he hero worships. Sickle wonders if Larva will be taking the New York kid hostage, but Leeza says it will be easier to take Ladd hostage because Leeza's sister and her terrifying boyfriend are in New York. Ladd, however, is a prisoner in Alcatraz.

Rail, unconscious, dreams about the past.

He had been created less than fifteen years ago, and was a little older than he physically appeared. Rail first learned of how unnatural his existence was five years ago, when he was hacked apart by an apathetic Huey. Huey and the researchers treated him as nothing but a guinea pig.

Rail abandoned his sense of humanity, and saw himself and his fellow homunculi as far surpassing humans--the humans he had seen on his missions failed to live up to high expectations, and the thought that he was superior to human beings was one of the things that sustained Rail and gave him a purposeful existence.

When Leeza first told him that Christopher lost to a human, Rail refused to believe her until Chi confirmed it. Rail having always hero worshiped Chris, found himself having to adjust his opinion of what he thought of as lowly humans. The battle against Graham only served to necessitate Rail's shift in views.

In his sleep, Rail sees Graham, and rearing up from his shadow, Renée.

Rail screams Christopher's name and cries out for help.

Christopher answers, wondering why Rail would need help.

Rail opens his eyes and wonders if he's still dreaming.

Russo Manor.

Rail is awake, and completely confused as to why Chris is here. He sits up and wonders where "here" is. Christopher gives a toothy smile and decides to express his happiness at Rail's awakening by picking one of three options: 1. Kiss a nearby girl, 2. Kiss a nearby frog, or 3. Do his best to kiss himself. A bemused Rail picks for him option number two, and Christopher replies that Rail must be properly awake if he can pick out the least pleasant option.

The realization that Christopher is alive and well finally dawns on Rail. Tears well up in his eyes as he laughs. Chris gives him a pat on the head and expresses his shock at having been presumed dead. He decides to blame Leeza and declares that Mother Nature will give her the divine punishment of being jumped at by grasshoppers.

Rail starts yelling at Chris, asking him where he's been all this time without so much as a phone call. Chris replies with even more questions, asking why Rail was caught up in his own explosion, what he's doing in Chicago, where Frank is, and if the Poet is still insane.

Rail continues firing away his own questions, asking if Chris really lost to a human, where they are right now, and what happened to all bodies of the researchers he blew up. He manages to answer Chris's last question, though--the Poet's gotten even crazier as of late.

Their shouting match ends abruptly when Ricardo tells them to be quiet, as Rail had to be snuck into the Russo Manor. All this noise might alert someone. Ricardo quickly introduces himself to Rail and advises him to hide in the attic for the time being. Rail is confused. Chris professes to being equally in the dark, and asks why there are wanted posters of Lamia. Rail thinks Chris sold them out to the Russo Family and delightedly tells him that he'd gladly take part in betraying Huey.

Ricardo can tell their conversations are getting constantly sidetracked. He stops Rail and Chris and tells them to start off by explaining each of their situations.

At the same time, Klik reports to Placido on the progress Graham's making--which is so far, none. They've posted watches at the main roads to make sure Lamia couldn't get out of Chicago so easily, but no luck. Placido reminds Klik that if the Russo Family becomes useless to Nebula, they're finished. He then gets one of the men to get the Vice President.

The Vice President is brought in, but he points out that since he's been held prisoner, much of his information is likely to be out of date. Placido lets the Vice President leave the Russo Manor to collect information, but warns him that Carol is still in their custody.

Once the Vice President leaves, Klik expresses his distrust of the Vice President. Placido tells him that if the Vice President does not return, they'll just have to sell off Carol and the camera.

Placido resolves to maintain what little strength the Russo Family has left, at least until Ladd is released from prison in a month's time. Klik wonders if Nebula's offer to give them the complete Elixir of Immortality could be trusted, but Placido believes that with the right cards, they can defeat even Nebula. He tells Klik to hurry and capture Lamia.

Several hours after Rail had awakened, Rail and Christopher are in the attic, having properly explained their respective situations to each other. Chris wonders why Rail is so gloomy, and pinpoints the exact reason--Chris showed Rail that they could be beings that surpassed humans, but Chris lost to one in battle and even ended up befriending one. Rail adds to that--did the new friend have to be someone so stoic and weak?

Rail complains that Ricardo is just a spoiled rich kid who even gets his own bathroom. He accuses Chris of just wanting to live a life of luxury, and is surprised when Chris doesn't deny it. Christopher tells him that living any kind of life--whether luxurious, dangerous, or tiring, makes him feel more like a natural human. Chris feels that dreaming of something natural makes life easier for people like themselves.

Ricardo comes up to the attic and tells Rail that they'll be transporting him out of the manor tomorrow--the Russo Family's on high alert for Lamia, so he warns Rail to not wander around the house until then. He tells Rail that they specifically bought a large suitcase to bring him inside with, and they'll be utilizing the same method again--it would be a terrible waste of an expensive suitcase if they didn't.

Rail doesn't take too kindly to this, and threatens to detonate a bomb in the attic, or show himself to the Russo men and get Ricardo in trouble for hiding him. Ricardo simply responds that he doesn't care, but following up on any of those threats might not be so great for Christopher.

Once Ricardo leaves, Rail complains about his attitude. Chris consoles him, saying that Ricardo's just a kid, and he's still not too good at separating his emotions from his actions. Rail wonders what the "emotions" would be in this case, and Chris points out that Ricardo might be jealous of losing his only friend Chris to Rail. Rail finds it both amusing and disturbing that Chris can say something so accurate yet self-flattering with a straight face.

That night, outside the Russo Manor.

A group of armed Russo men stand guard near the back door. They spot a man wearing a hat walking in their direction, but don't think much of him--until he walks right up to them. The man in the hat--the Poet--asks if this manor belongs to Placido Russo, and when the guards question him, he raises the brim of his hat and makes eye contact.

The Poet tells the guards that he's taking the next shift, and receives the key to the back door. The guards lose consciousness.

Sickle, Chi, and Frank join the Poet. Sickle wonders why they're engaging the Russo Family so directly--normally, they would have Leeza scout out the area and take a more tactical approach. The Poet replies that Leeza hasn't been responding to them for over an hour now. Frank worries that Leeza was captured as well, but Leeza finally responds. Her voice is shaking and she sounds anxious, but Leeza insists that she's fine, and starts mumbling about having to hurry and wake up.

Leeza's voice fades away again. Frank suggests that they go ahead and continue with the mission to rescue Rail. Sickle takes charge and orders the Poet, whose face is unknown to the Russo Family, to lead the way and put the guards to sleep. She will follow along with Chi, but tells Frank to stay outside because he's too conspicuous.

When they open the back door, they can see a completely unguarded route into the manor. Sickle tells the Poet to stay outside with Frank while she clears out the manor with Chi--she'll have him come in when they need to get some info out of Placido.

Once Sickle and Chi leave, the Poet recites another few lines of Purple Prose. Frank doesn't understand him, but the Poet's mind is elsewhere. He thinks about his own powers, and how even he doesn't understand how they work. The Poet tries to assure himself that everything will be fine, but he feels strangely uneasy--as if their actions have been being manipulated by some outside force.

Just as the Poet puts the guards to sleep at the back, a large transport truck emblazoned with the Nebula logo pulls up to the front gates of the Russo Manor. Renée jumps out of the passenger seat and misses her step, falling to the ground. She then walks up to the guard and tells him that she's here for the heath exam Placido scheduled earlier. The guards recognize her from past visits and agree to let her in, but are confused about the transport truck. Renée simply answers that they need a lot more staff members this time around.

As if on cue, a large group of men in labcoats exit the transport truck, all of them holding what look to be medical bags. Renée excuses herself for bringing in so many people, but the guard is speechless. He tries to protest, but one of the men in labcoats put him to sleep with a syringe. When Renée looks around, all the other guards are similarly asleep. She freaks out and wonders why no one reported to her before knocking them out, but is reminded that she did authorize this earlier. Renée then orders the transport truck into the manor and stationed at the backyard, to make sure no one catches them potentially transporting corpses.

Placido Russo, meanwhile, anxiously awaits the Vice President's report. The phone rings, and he is relieved to hear the Vice President speaking.

The Vice President apologizes for being unable to give the information in person, but he felt this particular piece of intel had to be delivered urgently--even more so than the information concerning Lamia's whereabouts. The Vice President tells Placido that if he values his own life, he should escape the manor immediately without confiding to anyone--in fact, he advises Placido to leave Illinois altogether.

The Vice President hangs up, telling Placido that he'll be coming back to pick up Carol, and if Placido is still alive and well, to fill him in on the details. Placido doesn't take to this well, and is about to call for Carol to be brought over, but is interrupted by Chi entering the room, followed by Sickle. Placido recognizes them from the descriptions on the Wanted Poster. Sickle questions him about the source of the Wanted Poster, and Chi informs him that all of his men are currently unconscious--some more permanently than others.

They are interrupted when another set of doors in the room open, revealing Renée and the men in labcoats. Renée cheerfully greets Placido, and takes a moment to realize that something is very wrong. Renée and her men instantly remind Sickle and Chi of Huey and his researchers.

Placido thanks Renée for coming, and confirms that Sickle and Chi are two of the people described in the Wanted Poster. Chi and Sickle realize that Renée may have been the one behind the Wanted Poster, and take Placido hostage.

Renée calmly asks her men how they should start. After a few false starts and catcalls, one man suggests just shooting, and fires a shot before he can even finish his own sentence. The other men follow suit, shooting at Sickle and Chi without a care in the world for Placido's safety.

In the attic, Rail once again complains about the luxuries Ricardo is afforded--in particular, the separate bathroom he gets to himself. They can hear the shower running downstairs.

Suddenly, Rail and Chris hear gunshots mixed in with the sound of the running water. Chris wonders if someone's come to get Rail. The shower stops running downstairs.

Rail goes down to Ricardo's room just as Ricardo exits the bathroom. Rail wonders how Ricardo can remain so stoic when there are shots going off in his own house. Ricardo dries himself off with a towel and puts on his street clothes, leaving his pajamas in the bathroom. Rail is annoyed by how calm Ricardo is, and looks over at Chris.

Christopher asks Ricardo what he intends to do--hide, fight, or run. Ricardo suggests that they all make a run for it.

Ten minutes earlier, an abandoned factory near the Russo Manor.

Graham continues to act as bait to capture Lamia, but the plan has obviously been a failure. The gang complains that Graham's probably the only one stupid enough to fall for such an obvious trap, but Graham insists that he and Lamia are birds of a feather--he trusted that they would come to attack him soon. Of course, Graham is now sitting there, lamenting Lamia's "betrayal".

Shaft enters and suddenly interrupts Graham's ranting--the Russo Manor is under attack by Lamia. Not only that, a group of people wearing labcoats have also swarmed into the manor.

Graham decides that it's unpredictable things like this that make life so interesting.

Frank and the Poet stand by on a nearby street. The shots they're hearing from the Russo Manor worry them, so the Poet asks Leeza for a status report on Sickle and Chi. There is no answer, so the Poet is about to ask again, but is interrupted by a frantic Leeza screaming for her daddy. By the time they even realize it's Leeza, her voice is cut off.

The Poet wonders what is going on, when he hears a loud thump from the other side of the Russo Manor walls. He realizes that Frank has just jumped over the wall and tries to call him back, but there is no answer. He runs over to the back door and are met by Sickle and Chi, who are escaping from the gunfire. The Poet realizes that whatever is inside is too much for any of them to handle, and is about to tell Sickle and Chi about Frank--but he sees the men in labcoats coming his way with gun in hand, and follows after Sickle and Chi after a moment of hesitation.

On a somewhat related note, this was the exact time that a strange occurrence took place all over the country. Multiple women of all ages and backgrounds suddenly began screaming out of nowhere. Some were hospitalize, but were let go after being treated for hysteria. The event was never properly identified and disappeared into history.

Meanwhile, at Lua's room, Carol, clutching her camera, hides under the bed amidst the sounds of gunfire. She scolds herself for being so cowardly in the presence of a potential story, but Lua gently tells her not to worry.

Suddenly, there is a loud knock at the door. A terrified Carol tells Lua that she'll set off the camera flash to blind the attacker and buy them time to escape, and stands up. The door opens at that exact moment, and the Vice President enters. Carol bursts into tears of relief, and the Vice President pats her head and gently scolds her for getting so worked up.

Rail, Chris, and Ricardo walk through the halls of the manor, with Rail and Chris taking the lead to spot any potential dangers. Rail quietly asks Chris something he's been curious about--Ricardo's a girl?

Chris holds back his laughter and wonders if there's anything wrong with that. Rail is surprised that Chris knew, but Chris tells him that he's been living with Ricardo for a year--how would he not know? He explains that Ricardo never said anything about it, so Ricardo being a girl was just an unspoken acknowledgement. Only Placido Russo, several of the higher-ups, and the housekeeper are privy to the truth.

Rail finally understands why Ricardo got her own bathroom. Chris jokes that he originally planned to have Rail walk in on Ricardo while she was showering to see if she would scream, but after seeing her getting dressed so stoically in front of Rail, he doesn't think she would have been particularly startled.

Suddenly, the gunfire ceases. Chris leads the others to Placido's room, which is where the gunshots were just coming from.

Chris kicks down a third set of doors leading into Placido's room and runs straight into Renée and her researchers. Rail can't believe his eyes--he distinctly remembers that these are the people he blew up in the alleyway in the moments before he was rescued by Chris and Ricardo. He specifically saw Renée's neck snap.

Rail concludes that all of the researchers are immortal. Placido answers that they're incomplete immortals, but claims that the bodies of Lamia homunculi might be able to make them into complete immortals.

Chris, looking at the researchers' faces, realizes that they're all trained to fight--but Renée is the only one who's truly relaxed. The others are uneasy, even while laughing. Chris decides to buy some tie by bringing up the Mist Wall incident--he asks Renée if the 1200 incomplete immortals--the guinea pigs from the Mist Wall--were an experiment to pick out her personal guard dogs. Renée wonders why anyone would something so inefficient like picking out dogs from a group of rodents. Hearing this, Rail realizes that Renée isn't joking around--she's seriously out of her mind.

Placido has had enough. He orders Chris to capture Rail, but Chris refuses, saying that he works for Ricardo, not Placido.

At that moment, Rail coldly mumbles for Renée to die, and tosses out multiple bombs.

The manor is rocked by the explosions. Carol, running through the halls with Lua and the Vice President, panics. Lua asks her if it's all right for her to come along with them, but Carol reassures her that as information brokers, they will find her a safe place to hide until her fiancee is released.

The Vice President advises Carol that it's unwise to stop to assist someone when one is in a dire situation himself. Carol answers that she doesn't consider herself to be in a dire situation because the Vice President is there with her. The Vice President concedes that Carol's brazen attitude makes her a good employee of the Daily Days.

Christopher and Rail are at the manor garden near the front entrance in search of Ricardo, who was separated from them in the explosions. When they find no trace of her, Chris decides to go back into the manor to find Ricardo. Rail doesn't stop Chris because he feels responsible for leading Ricardo to try and escape the manor.

Suddenly, Rail hears a familiar voice.

It's Graham, impressed with the way his boss's house was blown up. Rail makes the connection between Graham and the Russo Family, and wonders what he should do--he can't take Graham in a fight, but he doesn't think he can escape if he went back into the manor to find Ricardo.

While Rail hesitates, Klik and two other men show up. He condescendingly congratulates Graham for finding the kid, but Graham simply tells him to get out of the way and hits him on the side of the head with the wrench, sending Klik flying into the garden bushes. Klik's men are about to retaliate, but Chris tells them to get out of his way and smashes their skulls open. He then politely greets Graham, who recognizes him as Ricardo's bodyguard. Graham concludes that Chris is planning on keeping Rail away from him, and asks Chris if he's planning to fight.

Chris tells Graham that ever since he lost spectacularly in battle last year in New York, he's been afraid to kill anyone. However, he tells Graham that he's going to use this opportunity as a form of rehabilitation. Graham likes the sound of that--normally he doesn't like to take apart humans, but having to fight to the death to destroy one is a different story altogether.

Rail feels like Graham and Chris are in a completely different world from himself. Feeling abandoned, he wonders where his place in the world could be.

In the immediate aftermath of Rail's explosions, Placido curses his misfortune. All the researchers save for Renée are gone chasing Sickle and Chi. Suddenly, Renée points out that Carol, Lua, and the Vice President making their getaway. Placido despairs and wonders if the Vice President betrayed him after all. Renée happily informs him that the Vice President is an extremely able information broker held in high esteem among many people in the criminal underworld, and wonders why Placido doesn't know this.

Placido, now with the certainty provided by Renée, realizes that the names of the two robbers--Issac Dian and Miria Harvent--are most likely accurate, and decides to get payback on them and Jacuzzi's gang. Renée stops him, and asks Placido to show her his forehead. Placido complies, wondering if there's a harmful side-effect to the incomplete elixir of immortality. Renée tells him that even incomplete immortals recover instantly from injuries.

A confused Placido asks Renée what this is all about, but before he can finish his sentence, Renée puts her right hand on his forehead and thanks him for the meal.

Frank watches Renée devour Placido from outside the window. The sight is completely alien to him, and he decides he needs to tell the others right away. However, he is stopped by an intense pain in his leg--he's been shot.

Frank screams, but the researchers that are gathering don't seem particularly concerned. They wonder if the bullet ended up hitting the bone, as Renée looks out the window and identifies Frank. The men in labcoats report that they lost Sickle, Chi, and the Poet, but they happened to find Frank as soon as they returned. Renée realizes she's just been seen, but moves on from the subject. She tells the men to load Frank onto the transport truck and put him under anesthesia, and to sever his tendons to prevent him from thrashing around.

The sight of the men in labcoats terrifies Frank, who gets flashbacks to the painful experiments he was subject to by Huey's researchers. Frank screams Rail's name.

Rail snaps out of his trance when he hears Frank's scream. Without even thinking he runs back towards the manor to find Frank. Chris, distracted by Rail's sudden departure, is caught off guard. He barely manages to dodge a strike aimed at his head. Chris tries to talk his way out, wondering if Graham's willing to postpone the fight. Graham declines, but just as Chris is about to counter, a car comes careening in their direction, stopping right between Graham and Chris.

Graham, thinking that the driver must be a member of Lamia, is about to attack, but stands down when he realizes that the driver is Ricardo.

Ricardo waves Chris into the passenger seat and hits the gas. Chris is surprised that Ricardo can drive, but offers to drive instead when he sees that Ricardo can't even sit down properly because of her height.

Rail arrives just in time to see the men in labcoats loading Frank into the transport truck. The men take out their guns, but Rail doesn't hesitate to aim a toss at them.

He stops, however, when the men take aim at Frank instead.

Renée pops out from the shadow of the truck and marvels at how Huey was able to create subjects that are capable of friendship. She asks Rail is he was created specifically for an experiment on emotions, or if he is actually a modified human. The other researchers advise her that it's useless to ask the subject about the experiments. Rail falls into despair at his own powerlessness and is reminded of the way he was treated by Huey's researchers.

Renée decides that the only way to find out more about Rail is to take him along and find out for themselves. Rail in particular is a useful subject to her because he was specifically experimented upon by Huey. The men in labcoats approach Rail, guns at the ready.

Rail is conflicted by his desire to kill all the men in labcoats and his desire to save Frank. He can't find a way to reconcile the two, and stands at a complete loss.

Then, Chris and Ricardo drive into the scene and pull Rail into the car in one smooth motion. Chris notices the bomb Rail is holding and tosses it out of the window, while driving away from them as fast as possible.

The men in labcoats duck just before the explosion, but Renée is too slow. She is blown back by the force of the blast.

Back in the car, Rail cries out Frank's name. Chris tells him that it's best to retreat for now, since Frank will be the one in most danger if they go back for him now. Rail falls silent.

Renée expresses her disappointment in failing to capture Rail. However, she assures herself that they can capture Lamia when they come to try and rescue Frank. Renée asks the men to keep quiet if Frank were to die in the meantime, and tells them to keep him alive if possible--after all, a living subject is more useful for experimentation.

Shaft drags Graham away from the Russo Manor, which now more or less resembles a battlefield. Graham's not even thinking about the danger, though--he decides that Chris will be an interesting opponent that could keep him busy until Ladd is released.

Chris drives away from the Russo Manor, but Rail asks to be let off at a lakeside park that they are passing by. Rail thanks Chris and tells him that he won't be joining them.

Rail walks into a wooded area and sighs, kneeling on the ground. Christopher comes in, having followed him out of the car.

Rail asks Chris what he thinks will happen to Frank. Chris hypothesizes that Frank would be taken to a research lab, either at Nebula Headquarters or a factory in Elson Hill. Having noticed the similarity in attitude between Renée and Huey, Chris tells Rail that if Frank is lucky, he'll be killed before they begin experimenting on him. Rail agrees.

Rail starts crying. He hates the way Renée looked at him just like Huey used to, and wonders if immortals can even be considered human--all the ones he's met so far had a screw or seven loose. Rail's tears give way to laughter as Chris watches silently. Rail wonders why he's laughing despite his sadness--he's laughing so much that he starts bleeding from the stitches on his face.

Chris tells Rail that he's too broken himself to help Rail pull himself together. But he tells Rail that if someone who isn't broken helps pull Rail back together, Rail would really be able to live like a human being.

Chris walks away and leaves with Ricardo. Rail thinks what Chris told him about living as a human is absurd, and screams his name, even though Chris is long gone.

Rail stops laughing and asks for Sham and Hilton's assistance. He decides that if Frank is still alive, he's going to go rescue him. Rail vows to blow up the men in labcoats, Huey, Huey's researchers, and everyone else who doesn't accept him and Frank--all in the belief that doing so will end his nightmare.

That day, around noon, Elson Hill is rocked by hundreds of simultaneous explosions. All of the damage is done to Nebula-related property, which leads to the assumption that the incident is an act of terrorism against Nebula.

The Poet and Sickle listen to the news on the radio, inside an old pub on the edges of Chicago. Chi had left Chicago for New York earlier that morning to help Tim and Adele. The Poet speculates that Rail must be behind the incident. Sickle, who is surprised that the Poet is speaking normally for once, agrees. The Poet thinks that Rail had some help from Sham and Hilton. Sickle says that the mass disappearances are likely all Sham and Hilton as well--not only that, Leeza has been missing.

The Poet calls the situation a checkmate against them, and claims that Alice (of Wonderland fame) isn't the city of Chicago, but themselves, the Russo Family, Rail, Frank, and Graham. The White Rabbit, in this case, is Nebula.

Sickle asks the Poet where the exit from Wonderland would be, and wonders if the Queen of Hearts would be Renée.

The Poet wonders if leaving Wonderland would even be the right thing to do.