Claire Stanfield

**Felix Walken**, also known as **Rail Tracer**, introduced as **Young Conductor** and born **Claire Stanfield** is one of the main characters from the *Baccano!* anime and manga.

Claire is the little-known "fourth Gandor Brother" that decided to forgo the career in The Mafia for one much, more ruthless. Claire is the most effective assassin in America, known to strike anytime, anywhere, and with his only trace being the exceedingly bloody remains of his targets. Initially he appears as the seemingly unimportant young conductor, who is "killed" near the start of the 1931 arc. He also has been rumored to have something of a warped sense of justice.

In the AWA fics, Claire is set to appear in a future AWA storyline.

## **Appearance**

Claire is a handsome young man with a lean build, blood-red hair and red eyes. As a conductor on the *Flying Pussyfoot*, he wears a custom white uniform that later becomes coated in the blood of his victims. As a civilian, his signature outfit consists of a long black coat over a close-fitting black shirt and trousers.

When he disguises himself in 1932, he does so via a cheap set consisting of a hat, thick glasses, and fake beard. He later reuses them in 1935 when visiting Firo's casino 'undercover', albeit wearing a black business suit rather than his normal attire.

## **Personality**

Claire is a **solipsist**. He believes that the world is a dream of his own creation, and all the people are figments of his own imagination. He cannot picture the world without him in it, and so in his mind he "can never be killed." If he does die, he will simply 'wake up' from his dream. His solipsism has led him to eschew the idea of immortality, as "it can do nothing for him." He considers himself the center of the world and takes pride in being such a cynosure.

That he may be dreaming the people in his world does not mean he does not care for them; as dreams, they can still be hurt or wronged, and leave his world upon their deaths. He is irate over Tony's murder, pursues Keith Gandor's kidnapper with a killer's intent, and is similarly more than displeased when a murder attempt is made on Luck Gandor.

As the President of the Daily Days puts it, Claire operates outside the law through his own warped sense of justice. Claire is considerate of those he deems *innocent*, going out of his way to ensure the safety of people who are not his targets and/or pose no danger. Co-morbid with his sense of justice is a sense of pride and duty; he takes seriously the responsibilities of the jobs he takes on, even for jobs which he dislikes or pose personal problems. Occasionally, he can go overboard with his professional zeal; for instance, when he encounters a stowaway on board the train he briefly considers confronting her despite being in the middle of a bloodbath.

Claire immensely dislikes it when people attribute his skill to God or natural talent. He emphasizes that he worked extremely hard to improve himself, and he wishes people would acknowledge the effort he put in rather than dismissively calling him a prodigy. Such pride sometimes leads to bragging on his part, and on at least occasion sincerely asking others to *praise* him for his skill—and on another, to mock the weakness of those he defeated However, he does not believe that there is inherent pride in being a hitman, for society looks down on killers and places no trust in such social outcasts.

His pride and confidence in his abilities make him rather self-absorbed, which in itself has made Claire somewhat insensitive and socially oblivious—lacking any "common sense" when it comes to "other people's hearts." Prone to making tactless remarks on top on already lacking any particular eloquence, he has additionally failed to pick up on sarcasm at least once and in matters of love can be a tad awkward. It is rare for him to apologize, especially at the request of someone else, but when he does his apologies are usually sincere.

The same can be said for when he praises others; in both instances the other party has often earned his respect, and just as he is also honest in his criticism of others, he is honest in his praise and any accompanying enthusiasm or begrudging attitude. The value that he places in hard work and effort leads him to recognize and appreciate it even in those he might disdain as weak, and he will openly acknowledge strength that he admires—going so far as to call Firo a "genius" in 1927.

This natural sincerity can both endear him to or aggravate others; due to how straightforward he is as a person, his sincerity (whether in his beliefs, feelings, intentions good or bad) is is difficult to miss or dismiss. When he proposes marriage to Chané and promises to protect her father, it is his unmistakable sincerity in his intentions that gives Chané no choice but to believe he is serious. On the other hand, while Claire protects Melvi Dormentaire for Huey's benefit and out of a sense of duty toward his job, he does not bother to hide his contempt for Melvi nor that he plans on making Melvi pay once the job is done.

Claire has retained a sense of showmanship from his circus days, on one occasion sticking his landing with a performer's flourish, and on another catching and juggling knives thrown at him with malicious intent. During the Daily Days' raid of 1932 and the events leading up to it, he was especially fond of quoting the movie one-liner "*You ain't seen nothing yet!*" for dramatic flair.

## **Abilities**

Claire's professional name "Vino" is well feared in the criminal underworld, as exemplified by Gustavo Bagetta – who was so terrified at the prospect of having to face the legendary killer that he hired freelance assassins left and right just to stop him. Many powerful assassins would like nothing more than to defeat Vino in combat, since such a feat would prove their own strength.

His speed, strength and dexterity are far beyond the boundaries of an ordinary human, first showcased on the Flying Pussyfoot where he was considered enough of a threat to be considered an entire third faction of his own against several homicidal hitmen from the Russo Family and the Lemures; after all, he managed to take down and severely traumatize both parties. He also defeated the highly dangerous and well feared hitman Ladd Russo, known for his ruthlessness and killing capability, and even a homunculus by the name of Christopher Shaldred.

At a young age, he showed such promise that he caught the attention of Huey Laforet.

Claire's time in the circus allowed him to pick up and hone acrobatic abilities that would later serve him well aboard the Flying Pussyfoot, where he was able to move effortlessly atop the roof and below the cars despite how fast the train was moving.

His solipsistic persona also gives him somewhat controversial, but ultimately effective and surprising ideas in the midst of battle. For instance, Claire could tell that Leeza Laforet had thrown her chakrams at him from behind by noticing the chakrams' reflection in Christopher's eyes.

## **Trivia**

* Claire cameos in the opening of the 2007 anime as the nameless Young Conductor, purposefully misleading viewers as to his importance and true identity. However, in lieu of a nameplate, the champagne bottle he catches foreshadows his identity as Vino.
* The name 'Vino' refers to the exceptionally messy state Claire leaves his victims in, blood pooling around their corpses like wine.
* He is the franchise's most popular character. However, Ryohgo Narita has no intention about writing a story with him as the main character; he feels that such a story would "move too fast without any plot or action."
* Narita has called him "Baccano!'s number one problem child."
* The Funimation dub's ending credits credit Jerry Jewell as the Rail Tracer, despite Claire only speaking once as the Rail Tracer before his identity is revealed. Furthermore, he is the only character who has a two word name cited in Baccano!'s ending (both when he is credited as the Young Conductor and Rail Tracer).
* The red hue of his hair differs across media. In the light novels his hair is blood-red, in the anime his hair is lighter in the first few episodes. Some official artwork depicts his hair with a rustier hue.
* The 'vampire magician' Claire admiringly remembers in *1931 ~ Winter: The Time of the Oasis* is Doubs Hewley - a character from the Naritaverse series *Vamp!*.
* As a child, Claire's role model was Peter Pan. The narrative also draws parallels between Peter and Claire, who has been described at least once as an "adult who had never grown up."
* Huey Laforet and Chané Laforet traveled to Manhattan shortly before or in **September 1925** in order to seek out and attempt to recruit Claire after hearing of his skills. By that time, however, he had already joined the circus.
* The disguise kit Claire favors is cheap and sold in stores, and just so happens to be the same type of kit Dallas buys last-minute in 1935. It also just so happens that Nader Schasschule intends to disguise himself with a fake beard and glasses as well. As certain persons already associate this disguise with Claire, such circumstances are ripe for a case of mistaken identity.