Baccano!/Recap/1934 Peter Pan in Chains/Chapter One

Elson Hill, a suburb in the Chicago area.

This particular morning, the sleepy town of Nebula employees is violently awakened by a series of explosions. Rail, the one behind the blasts, mutters to himself that there is no turning back. Sham, standing behind Rail among a group of men of varied ages, disagrees. He tells Rail not to worry about Huey, who is currently occupied with more pressing matters.

Frank had been kidnapped less than a day earlier, and Rail had enlisted Sham's assistance in setting the explosives over town. However, he finds himself still unsatisfied by the bombings. He asks Sham if Frank was in the facility they had just bombed, but Sham doubts it. He points out that while Rail's rampage might be able to divert attention from Frank, Rail really doesn't have much of a plan. Sham suggests that they ask Huey for help, but Rail adamantly refuses.

Rail then realizes that the people behind him are all men--he wonders where Hilton is. Sham explains that Hilton is part of the "pressing matter" he spoke of earlier--Huey's eye was stolen. Rail is surprised to find that he's not particularly happy to hear that Huey has been hurt. He realizes that he's going crazy, and decides to continue to set off bombs until he can find a purpose--even if he becomes irrevocably insane.