Disclaimer: Don't own Baccano or any of its characters.
A/N: I wrote most of this almost a year ago. It's not exact to the story because I've only read two of the many novels, so it could be considered an AU. I have changed some small things to better fit what I want to happen. This story embodies life and times of Claire Stanfield, who he was before and what he did with his life after The Flying Pussyfoot.
~1~
It had been a few years since Carol found herself looking over the incidents involving the immortals and the events they took part in. She was infatuated with the stories she researched when she was a child, but those days were long gone. After she was promoted to Vice President at the age of 16 when the President of the Daily Days decided to step down, she rarely had anytime to herself. The promotion came as a surprise to her as it did to everyone who worked for the company. She suffered a great deal of harassment from the other workers who felt they were more qualified to have her position, though she tried to explain to them she never desired it. She somehow saw through the hardships of jealousy and managed to keep a good reputation over the two years that followed her new role in the business.
The Daily Days was more than a newspaper company; it was a business within a business comprised of spies, detectives, and liars. More than fifty percent of the Daily Days profits were made from information trades with criminals and gangsters alike. One advantage the Daily Days had over any other information agency in New York was their firsthand experience with people who never seemed to die.
When it came to the immortals and their whereabouts, that specific information was usually classified as top secret and wasn't easily traded. The former Conductor was NOT an immortal, though certain aspects of his life were involved with them. When information on him asked to be traded for an unusually large amount of money, his name was searched for in their information directory, since that said information wasn't recent or common knowledge.
Since the business started, there was only one copy of whatever information was found on a person or an event. It was usually taken down and approved by a representative before being filed. A worker would look through the files until the desired information was found, place the files back, and return to the client, giving the information after receiving the payment.
On that day, when this name was searched… there was no information to be found. Fourteen files involving his birth, his parents, their death, his adoption, his past jobs, his last known current job, and his part on The Flying Pussyfoot incident were all gone. Now it was Carol's responsibility to face her former mentor and current superior as to why it wasn't there. He wasn't going to be happy.
She took in a deep breath before opening the door. Gustav was much neater than the former president. The piles and piles of endless event and biographies of people were all cleared and filed away within the first six months of his reign as president.
"Hello Sir" Carol greeted.
"Carol…"
"You asked for me to brief you on the current situation?" Though Carol was nervous she kept her tone firm as she sat on one of the two leather chairs in front of Gustav's work desk.
"Yes…" Gustav paused as he turned his chair to face the large window behind his desk. His foot gently tapped the wooden floor as he glancing outside, watching clients walk in and out of the building. "How did we figure out information was missing?"
"A man came in 3 hours ago asking for it" Carol was quick and precise. She pulled out files of what she documented about the situation, but before she could continue she was interrupted.
"I heard Nicholas created an abrupt scene?" Gustav lifted a sharp silver eyebrow.
"Well... The man gave us the name he wanted information on, and as you were informed by the former President, Nicholas had a run in with the same man nearly 10 years ago… His reaction was rather unexpected and another worker, Charles, had to take his place since he refused."
"How was the client dealt with when we found out the information was not there?"
"Charles told him to come back tomorrow"
"Did he take down his name?" Gustav noticed her flinch mid-sentence.
"… I'm not sure, Sir"
"What information DO we have that's legitimate and documented?" Gustav's tone began to change. She could tell he was becoming upset, though he had a calm demeanor about him. This was the one question she had hoped he wouldn't ask. Carol swallowed the lump in her throat before quietly replying.
"None sir..." she paused. "The only information that we have is what we know by memory and what we have on the Flying Pussyfoot Incident, but most of that information doesn't include him, since his role was rather large it was placed as a sub-file in his folder, which was taken…"
Gustav's eyebrows furrowed. A long pause settled between the two as the President of the Daily Days began to form a plan.
"If the client comes back, we will have to deny him the information. Obviously we can't give what we don't have. I know the price he was willing to pay exceeded our usual standards, but we need to figure out who took this information and if any other information is missing. Begin documenting all that we know on Claire Stanfield. Contact any current and former employees that dealt with situations regarding him first hand. That includes Nicholas." Gustav ordered. With her instructions received, Carol promptly left the office of her former mentor without any form of a goodbye.
She sighed through her nose in frustration as she thought of all the work this project would take. So much for her plans for tonight. Nicholas was going to be hard to convince. She thought since his run in with Vino was so long ago the time frame would make him less frightened, but his reaction earlier that morning proved otherwise.
As Carol walked down the hall she recalled Gustav didn't do this much work when he was the Vice President. She shook her head of the thought and began looking over the notes she had already made.
Claire Stanfield, adopted son of the Gandor family, also known as the assassin Vino, also known as the Rail Tracer.
She placed the papers at her side and began walking to the information desk. She'd have to get the files on the Gandor's and The Incident with the Flying Pussyfoot to see if there was any documentation of him within them. At least she would be returning back to her first love when it came to information. The immortals played a huge role in the train event and from what she remembered the Gandor's were said to be immortals as well.
In the past, the Rail Tracer was her least favorite part of the story. Those who documented his murders were extremely detailed in describing them. It frightened her when she was a child. Tonight she'd get to learn all about the blood soaked Conductor and what he stood for.
It was going to be a long night.
What's next on Baccano!
A/N: Does our story begin here? Or is this the end of it?