Diary of an Assassin by Jen Waller

Entry #1:

My first assignment as an assassin, I would be lying if I didn’t admit to being a little nervous. Luckily, it appears that this will be an easy assignment. Most of the research was already completed before the task fell to the elimination department. The target package included everything that I could have asked for, and more. From the data that I was given I have my choice of a number of methods of elimination.

My target for this first assignment is a Mr. A. He is a prominent businessman and owns a software company that makes security software for government applications. Lately it was discovered that he was engaged in private discussions to sell this software to out of country buyers. Other departments within our organization were informed, and Mr. A. was warned against following through with the deal. Instead of heeding the warnings he has decided to push the deal. He plans to leave on a business trip in two weeks. He has planned secret meetings to close the software sale deal there. We have been informed that this cannot happen.

That is where I come in. My superiors have given me one and a half weeks to complete my task. If I cannot, or fail, an experienced assassin will be given the job. This assignment is a test; if I do not complete it then I will have failed as an assassin.

I do not foresee any problems. I have his medical history, his schedule, even a personality profile. The only constraint on my action is that only him and the buyers were aware of the impending sale. Not even his wife knew. So I have to make my move without arousing any suspicion. It must appear to be an accident, or random violence. About this I have no worries, I am already starting to form my plans.

***

I have made my move.

It is now early in the morning of New Year’s Day. I made my move last night at a party, and it couldn’t have gone better.

Mr. A. had a severe allergy to a common cosmetic ingredient. Because of a number of episodes where he had encountered the allergen the smallest amount could kill him. Because of the high level of anonymity at a party I decided to use this weakness to accomplish my task.

I arrived at the party after Mr. A. and his wife. I had observed them prior to them leaving for the party and knew which of them was carrying Mr. A’s emergency treatment. So the first thing that I did upon arrival was to sneak into the cloak room and remove the medicine from the wife’s evening bag. Then I waited to make my move.

As midnight approached I went to the ladies room to complete preparations. I reapplied a lipstick specially formulated with higher levels of the key ingredient, and a slight flavor. I also softened my hands with lotion also carrying the ingredient. Then I searched out my target.

Right before midnight I found him. Just before the countdown started I asked if I could have the first kiss of the New Year. The hand holding his champagne glass slipped around my midsection, signaling his willingness to honor my request.

The clock sounded midnight. We each took a sip of champagne and then his lips met mine. As he pulled back I let my hand rest upon his cheek and I observed him lick his lips to taste the flavor of the lipstick, just as I had intended. Then he was whisked away by another wanting a New Year’s kiss.

I was whisked in the other direction. But within minutes the revelry ended with the frantic cries of Mr. A’s wife. I watched in mock horror as she searched in vain for his emergency treatment. I watched in silence as the ambulance pulled away, without its lights on.

Only one detail was left, and that was accomplished on the way back. I stopped at the house formally occupied by Mr. A. and left his emergency treatment on his wife’s dressing table, right where she had assembled the contents of her evening bag. The tragic accident was complete.

… was declared deceased on Jan. 1 at Northview General Hospital. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.

The deceased was a prominent businessman who owned a software corporation. The business will be closed the day of his memorial so that employees may attend services.

This new assignment is a strange one. It came up suddenly and we don’t have time to gather our own intelligence within our department. For this reason I am being paired with a spy from another department within our “group.” The other department had been gathering intelligence on the target and his doings for some time before the order came down to take him out.

My partner for this assignment has been deep undercover within the organization that the target runs. What he has discovered on his assignment is the reason for the swift action that we are taking now.

My target is a Mr. S. He runs an arms smuggling organization. He usually sticks to the small time stuff; guns, ammunition, maybe a little heavier. Lately, however, he has had some strange requests from his clientele. Some of his regular customers have started to ask for weapons with a little more “kick.” In short his clients are looking for what the media terms “weapons of mass destruction;” nuclear, chemical and biological.

For a long time Mr. S. was unable to fulfill the requests of these clients. That changed last week. Mr. S. found somebody willing to supply the requested arms. He then traveled to South America, where the supplier was hiding to inspect these arms. My partner went as well, as an inspector. The verdict, these weapons are real.

The supplier will only sell if Mr. S. is the buyer, nobody else in the smuggling outfit will do. That means that Mr. S. must be removed, before he travels back to South America to pick up his merchandise.

I have three days.

***

My partner, whom I shall refer to as D, tells me that Mr. S is very hard to gain access to. He knows very well the danger of what he is doing so he tries to keep a low profile. However, he does keep a legitimate front to his smuggling business. The front company imports finds from archeological sites abroad for scientific analysis in the United States. He usually lets the employees of the front company handle the details, but anything particularly difficult or dangerous he has to approve himself.

D has managed to become essential for both the front company and the smuggling operations. His backgrounds are in both archeology and weaponry. He initially was put in place in the company to investigate whether Mr. S’s front was selling some of the artifacts, but then he discovered the arms smuggling. Mr. S. decided that D’s talents could be put to good use there as well so he kept D on in both areas of the company.

The plan to gain access is to come up with a cover story good enough to gain access to D within the company, since he is the one other employees turn to when a particular job looks too dangerous for them to make a decision on. If he then needs further approval he turns the case over to Mr. S. personally. If my story can get me to D then he can get me in to see Mr. S.

My plan is to move in tomorrow.

***

I walked into the office of our poison’s control officer.

“Hey, Joe. I need a manicure, and a business card.”

“A combo job, huh? Ok, lets get the antidote in you first. You’ll need it for what I got in mind.”

Joe led me to his workroom, sat me down, and pulled a bottle from a shelf across the room. He partially filled a small syringe and them injected me with the antidote for the poison that I was going to use.

He told me to sit a few minutes while he gathered the supplies for what I had requested.

“Scent on the business card, Honey?” He asked.

“Lavender.”

“Standard alias?”

“Yep.”

“Ok, they’re printing. We’ll do your nails, then they should be ready.”

“Won’t you still have to apply the compound?”

“No, new paper. Those guys down in the lab made a paper that I apply compound to first, then the heat from the printer sets the compound. Actually more efficient than the old way”

I made a noise signaling a positive reaction, then watched as he applied the fake nails over my own.

“You have a color in mind?”

“Red.”

“Ok. You know how these work right?”

“Yep. Slight pressure from the underside breaks the seal and the poison is released onto whatever surface caused the pressure.”

“Good girl.”

He finished applying the nails. Then handed me my business cards.

“Good Luck, Sweetie.” He said as I left.

***

I walked into the office of the front company wearing a conservative black dress. My story was perfect. Mountain ranges and neighboring countries that are experiencing a political upheaval are always considered dangerous. I was shuffled through the ranks of the company, and soon enough I was seated in D’s office. I ran though the story once more with him, just in case anyone was listening. It was all for show, he knew that I had to switch to buying weapons as soon as I saw Mr. S. He looked at the black dress as I was talking, wondering how it fit into my plan. I took out a piece of paper from my handbag and wrote one word on it. He looked at the word and a smile came upon his face, he saw my plan.

As I finished retelling the story about mountains and political upheavals D called his secretary. “Irene, I have a client here with a job that I think needs to be approved by the boss. Can you ring him and see if he can meet with her? Thanks, sweetie.”

We sat waiting and minutes later the secretary, Irene, poked her head in and said, “Take her on in. The boss can see you now.”

D showed me the way to Mr. S’s office. D recounted what I had told him, then Mr. S. asked him to leave.

“I haven’t heard anything about this dig that you are asking assistance for. In fact, I heard that the country stopped all digs in that region until the political crises has died down. What are you really here for?” Mr. S. asked.

“You are a very knowledgeable man Mr. S…. I am actually here for personal reasons. Last week my brother was killed for playing with the wrong group of people. His wife and two-month-old daughter were also killed. They were the only family that I had left. I want to eliminate those that caused me this sorrow. I heard that you sell weapons that cannot be traced, and that sounds like what I need.”

“Lady, it sounds more like you need a hit-man. I know a couple of good guys let me see what I can do for you.” Then he picked up the phone and started to dial.

I reached out and grabbed his wrist. My nails bit slightly into his skin.

“No. This is personal.” I said.

He put the phone down and smiled at me. “Ok, give me a few days and I’ll see what I can do for you.”

I took out one of my cards and handed it to him. “Here is the number that I can be reached at.”

He took the cards and looked it over, then stuck it into his pocket. I shook his hand to close the deal and then he escorted me to the door.

***

This morning I received a call. It was D. Mr. S. had been found dead in his apartment. Apparent cause of death was heart failure. The smuggling operation was already collapsing; Mr. S. was the only one who had known everything about the operation. The front company had been established as a corporation, so it now fell to the shareholders to decide what to do with it.

… was found dead in his apartment by his secretary after he did not show up for work.

The deceased was the founder and CEO of a local import company that specialized in archeological findings. The company imported the findings and then distributed them for analysis across the country.

The deceased has no known surviving relatives.