Jacob's Ladder
A heavy rain came down on Santa Destroy. A rare sight, as normally the city crackled with
a heat that showed the city for what it was. A hell on earth. Killers from all over the world came
here both for profit and to test their skill against one another. Their blood and bodies baking in
the sunlight. Becoming one with the pavement. But on a day like this it almost seemed that all
the cities rage and bloodshed could be washed away and cleansed of its madness.
Almost.
Those that knew the city knew that could never be. Shinobu Jacobs knew this well.
Every assassin in Santa Destroy knew that blood and violence were in no short supply and
Shinobu was one of the best at filling that demand. She had been a killer all her life. She had
no desire for peace. She was good at her job. But it was just a job. All jobs get tiresome.
This job took Shinobu all over the world, but no place did she love more than this one.
Santa Destroy, even after all this time and with all its change was home to her. It brought back
all her memories. Her first beating. Her first street fight. The first time she saw someone die.
The first time she killed. You know? Good times.
The dark skinned girl with cloud like hair and eyes as sharp as the weapon she carried
walk down the wet concrete street of a city it was dangerous to walk in. She could have had a car called for her, but she was in no rush to get to her
destination. This was her path to work after all.
In the years since Shinobu got wrapped up in the ranking battles she had traded in a
school girls uniform for a young womens business suit. In those ten years the assassins world
had faded from colorful psychos into one of private contractors. An assassin now had to look the
part to fit an ever growing corporate business of death. Shinobu thought the business was fine,
but masters of their craft had been largely replaced by punks killing each other in a hail of
endless gunfire. Easy pickings? Sure. Unsatisfying? Always. But it was what it was. You can't
have what you can't have.
One tends to think more about the past as they get older. The memories start to feel
more real than the present. The smallest thing can open a well of memory. An ATM. The smell
of sea salt. An old motel. For some reason this street always reminded her of the past. The
past always reminded her of one thing.
Twelve Years Ago
"What's thatcha got there, little girl?" said punk #1. A baseball bat leaning over his shoulder.
Shinobu found herself encircled by three of Santa Destroy's finest in one of the cities
many dark back alleys. Just another group of thugs from one of the many gangs that littered the
city. They wore sports jerseys that connected them to one of the worst. The Santa Destroy
Warriors. Everything is this city was some kind of front.
"Ahhh just look at her with her little Samurai sword. Bet she files her nails with it." chortled
punk#2.
"Are you guys sure about this?" I'm not gonna go easy on you." said the girl.
"That is so sweet. She thinks she's tough." said punk#3.
"It's not that. I just wouldn't want to fuck up your batting averages. It's not easy hitting a ball
with the bat in your teeth." she said. A wry smile starting to creep across her face as their
confidence
turned to anger.
"Then again, that might actually be fun to watch. Does anyone even still watch baseball?" she
said.
Silence hung over the air just a little too long until one of the men spoke. All humor now
gone from his voice.
"Okay. See, we were just having a little fun. But you had to go make it all personal. Now
the lines been crossed. Now I gotta teach you the rules around here." said punk#2 as he raised
an axe over his hea…
SLASH!
"It that right?"
A head fell to the ground. Not a human head but an axe head. In a frenzy the three
turn around to find a man in black illuminated only by the red light of a Katana.
"Go on then. Teach me something." said the man
"Who the fuck!?" That was my favorite axe, asshole! You're a dead man." said the punk.
"Wait a minute. Holy shit! Do you know who that is?. It's…"
"I don't give a fuck who he is. My mother gave me that axe." said the punk as he swung the now
blunt end of his once deadly weapon.
With a step the dark man disappeared from view like a shadow. He now stood behind
the punk with an arm around his waist.
"Sorry about that. Let me make it up to you with a free lesson of my own." said the dark man.
In a swift motion the man in black lifted the punk. Flipping him backwards head first
into unforgiving concrete. A classic move.
"There. I usually charge $59.99 for that." the man said as he leaped back to his feet with a
practiced flare.
"You fucking idiot. I tried to tell you. That's MASTER JACOBS!" said punk#1.
"Always nice to meet a fan." said Jacobs.
"Fuck this. There's no way we can beat this guy." said the third punk as he turned to run.
The first followed soon after along with the second. He stumbled back to his feet taking his
bleeding headache with him.
"This ain't over, man. You hear? This ain't over." he said.
It was over.
"Tell Bad Man I said hi." shouted Jacobs as he watched the men flee.
Jacobs looked back at the young girl behind him. She was staring at her feet with
her hands behind her back in that way children do.
"What are you doing out here Scarlet?" he said. Now with a serious parental tone.
Scarlet. That was a name few but the dead knew her by.
"I didn't need help" she said.
"I'm sure".
"Why did you let those guys go?" she asked.
"Because lions dont eat carrots." he said with a cocky grin.
"You know they're just going to do the same thing to someone else" she said.
"Maybe. I don't care about someone else. Stop changing the subject."
" Well. I just…..needed some space….from mom."
"Heh heh… She working you pretty hard, huh?"
"NO it's….. fine. I guess I just wanted to beat someone, okay?"
"Hmm. Well at least its working. You get all that confidence from her."
The young girls face began to turn red as the man ran his hand through her
curly white hair.
"Come on let's go. Aint safe out here at night."
"It's not safe out here in the day".
"Yeah well…...it is what it is."
Now
That memory always made her happy, until it made her sad. Her father, Master Jacobs
was her favorite person. An assassin has so little room in their heart for love. She loved her
father. Like so many things about those days he was gone. And she never knew who killed him.
She had her theories, but how do you find a needle in a stack of needles?
She was lost in her thoughts. Thinking about happier times as she walked had almost
made her miss the fact that she had reached her destination. She had arrived at the front of the
head offices of K-Entertainment.
The ad agency had grown quite a lot over the years from its humble three story roots
into a towering 30 story enterprise. Increased business and the tireless work of its current CEO
had made the company the 9th largest in the city. No small ranking. In years past its true Business was mard in secrecy.
Today it proudly advertised the business death. Usually Shinobu
would cut through back entrances and sneak into windows. Today she need only walk through
the front door. She only wished she was here to kill someone.
The woman at the front desk greeted Shinobu with a formal "Hello". She wore a plain
button shirt almost like a nurses uniform. A large streak of black makeup across her eyes
obscured her face like a mask and complemented long white hair parted to the side. A rigid,
stoic professionalism some would called "robotic" had kept her working for the company longer
than anyone. Most knew her only as "that creepy main desk chick", but Shinobu knew her
as Mimi Kamiya.
"Shinobu, nice to see you. The head is waiting for you".
"Good. Thanks Mimi. I just want to get this over with." Shinobu said as she walked past the desk to the elevators.
"May you find your truth path." said Mimi as the double doors slowly opened. For ten years she
had said that phrase to Shinobu and every other killer that walked through K-Entertainment's
doors and not one of them had ever asked what it meant. Perhaps they were all afraid of the answer.
Being here felt like entropy to Shinobu. A slow yet unavoidable draining of energy.
She really would rather have people shooting at her. No one becomes an assassin to take office work.
The elevator ride to the top floor seemed more like a decent into a personal hell. "An
exaggeration maybe?" she thought to herself. Perhaps this thing goes alright this time? Anythings possible, right?
"You're late".
Fuck optimism.
The voice called out to her as the silver doors open to a large ornate personal office. An
indulgently large desk sat at the opposite end and at that desk sat a woman. Scribbling away at
some corporate document or another.
"Huuuuh... no mother, I'm not. You only said I had to come in today. You didn't say
when." said Shinobu as she walked to take her seat. Doing her best to keep a neutral tone.
"That was a test. I wanted to see how long you would put this off for. Would you like to know
how you did?" said the woman breaking from her work to stare at the girl with a wry smile
Shinobu hated seeing.
"Mmmmmmhhh…." Shinobu grimaced unable to contain her discontent.
"Oh, calm down. I'm only having fun. It's been so long since we've talked in person. No need to
be grumpy." said the woman.
"Right. So is that why Im here? I could have just given my report over the phone." said Shinobu.
"Ah yes. You just got back from your assignment in Kyoto. Tell me all about that."
Your parent are like wacky fun house mirrors that show versions of your future self.
Sometimes better ones, sometimes worse. To Shinobu it was the former. Monica "Shinobi"
Jacobs. Former assassin and master thief. One of the few that survived the old days. She
looked to Shinobu like herself but better.
She wore a gray business suit but with the loose fitting pants of samurai robes. Long
curly white hair tied back behind her head. A Kimono draped over her shoulder with a black
Sakura tree design that reminded one of life and death. The woman's presence spelled death for those that failed to know of her ability.
She had made her fortune killing for the mafia and stealing all sorts of priceless things including
corporate and political information. Shinobu was a great assassin. This woman taught her everything.
Through a series of twisted events one would expect from such a figure she had become
the most recent proprietress of K-Entertainment. The original business model was to take
contracts from various entities and distribute them to private assassins. In this brave new world
they branched out into scouting killers for organizations in need of new "talent". As well as
advertising many of the cities secret and not so secret blood sports.
"Not much to say really. I encountered the target attempting to escape with the package.
After a lengthy but ultimately successful engagement with the target I acquired the package and
confirmed it to be the "dragon matrix". I proceeded to the drop point to return the package to the
client. Standard procedure." said the girl taking much care to give the words a necessary air of
unnecessary importance. She had become very fluent in corporate speak.
"Tell me about the target" said Shinobi.
"It's a shame really. He was pretty good. Actually he reminded me of….. never mind.
It doesn't matter" said Shinobu.
"Oh? Do I detect a hint of sympathy? Regret for a young warrior cut down too early perhaps?"
said the woman.
"I didn't say that" the girl said defensively.
"Well don't. Do you know how a good thief stays alive, Shinobu?" said the woman.
"Yes. You've….."
"By only stealing from the right people. The boy stole from the wrong people. Now he's dead.
Nothing more, nothing less."
"Whatever".
"Anyway. Good work. Macro-Tech was very happy to have their little weapon back. But
that's not why I called you in.
"Okay. What is it?"
"A new kill order just came down. No one knows about this yet and this information is too
sensitive to discuss over the phone." said the woman. A rushed secrecy to her words.
"What?..."
"Take a look for yourself" the woman said placing a cream colored folder on the desk.
Shinobu picked up the folder. She expected it to be another typical story of some high
level idiot betraying their boss to make a quick buck. And it was. Except there was nothing
typical about the name and photo that accompanied the document.
Shinobu read the header of the document as…
TARGET: SYLVIA CHRISTAL
"Sylvia…." the girl said with a notable combination of shock and curiosity.
"Yes, Sylvia Christal. It's really not a surprise this would happen eventually. Sylvia always was
the UAA's favorite trouble maker. Whatever she did this time must have been a step too far even
for their sick taste."
Shinobu stared at the picture with a wistful feeling you could only call "nostalgia". This
felt like an old ghost from the past coming back to find her.
"Did you get a chance look at the price they're offering?" said Shinobi.
Shinobu hadn't. She was too lost in thought to consider it. Seeing the listing at the
bottom of the page gave her a new shock.
"FIVE MILLION LB$'s!" she said.
"That's right. Whatever that girl did it's going to light a fire under this city. "
"Okay. Sure, it's a lot of money. But it's not exactly like you NEED the money. Why is this one so
important?"
"Oh, you know me darling. As long as there's money I'll keep hunting. Aside from that the UAA
wants to make an example out of her. Everyone is going to be after this one and she won't make
herself easy to find. Finding her first will increase the notoriety of this firm even farther."
Shinobu wasn't sure what to think. All she could do was ask the same questions over and
over in her head. Why would the UAA be gunning for Sylvia? What did she do? Where would
she have gone?
"Is this going to be a problem for you? I know you met Sylvia but I wasn't sure how close you
were" said Shinobi.
"We weren't. I didn't even like Sylvia. I found her to be… frivolous."
"So you won't have any problem bringing me her head in a tasteful french handbag then?" said
the woman.
"Are you questioning my loyalty?"
"Of course not sweetheart, I would never question that. I'm simply questioning your ability.
Sylvia was exceptionally good at her disappearing act. Even better at playing false roles. Like I
said, it won't be easy to find her. You are good, girl. But I'm sure I need not remind you of past
failures."
Shinobu looked down at her right hand with quiet embarrassment. It was a black metal
prosthetic replacement. She had had it for so long at this point she hardly noticed it was
there. Except in times like this.
"Look, I know I can be mean sometimes…"
"Really? I can't imagine what you mean by that."
"BUT you honestly are the only person I trust with these things. It is the sole prerogative of
K-Entertainment to crush all rivals beneath its feet until only we stand atop the mountain."
"I know. You say that at every company meeting".
"What? There's nothing wrong with stating one's goals often and clearly. It's an important tool of
self actualization. So, can I count on you?"
The most annoying thing your boss can do is present an order as a friendly request. It's a
cheap way to create a connection that isn't really there. Perhaps even to make your inevitable
"yes" seem more like a choice. What was she to say?
"Of coarse. I'll get it done." said Shinobu as she rose from her seat. As the girl walked out of the
office she could hear the same words in her head that so often came to her.
It is what it is. It's just another job.