Journal Entry One: They told me to pack light when travelling to Venice - so I packed a gun.
I sat there cross legged, silently observing my target. Sitting a few tables down from me was a sharp, well-dressed thirty-seven year old by the name of Eduardo Giordano - a very wealthy businessman someone needed me to get rid of. The cup of tea in my hands was starting to get cold - it's not like I was planning to finish it anyway. I was nervous about the whole thing. I've never killed anyone before. I wasn't sure how I was going to handle the events that were about to unfold in the next couple of hours ahead. I've gone through all the training and desensitization but some part of me still wasn't sure if I had it in me. An ongoing wave of analytical deconstruction raged throughout my mind, consuming my thoughts. They told me this was going to happen before my first kill.
Just as I began to relax and enjoy the sounds of musicians gently playing their instruments in the background, I saw movement a few tables down - my target was on the move. Normally I'd request the bill and even throw some coins to the musicians, but I had to run. I brought out my money clip from my side pocket and lay down enough cash to cover three times my meal's cost. I surely didn't want a waiter chasing me down for a bill, only to find me in an alley way pointing a gun at some guy who was about to have a really bad day.
I put my sunglasses on and calmly rose to my feet. My guy was on the move and I was right there behind him, at least fifty feet away from him at all times. I casually followed him throughout the interweaving alley ways near the cafe. Wherever he was going he was definitely taking shortcuts throughout town. I studied maps of this place, I knew we were going to exit into an open market any minute now. I had to take him out right there and then - I had no way of knowing if a better opportunity would arise. At that moment, the corridors of that alley way were more than suitable for the kill. There was no one else in sight, only him. From what I could tell, the only thing that could interfere with my kill would be the hanging laundry falling down on me from above. How intimidating.
I undid my black, spring jacket a bit and brought out my leather gloves. I slipped them on. Tight fit, i thought, nice. I started to increase my pace, making my way down the long, narrow pathway as quickly as possible without alerting my prey. I was bout twenty feet away from him. As I began to get closer and closer to him, I slowly started raising my gun higher and higher. This was it. This was when I would take out my first target. I narrowed my eyes and aimed at my victim's back through the sights of the gun. Here it goes... may God forgive me... and may my client pay me very, very well...
Just as I began to squeeze the trigger, all of a sudden, an elderly lady holding a basket of fruits and vegetables emerged from the intersecting alley way. She looked at me for a moment, then looked at my gun, and then back at me. For a second there was nothing. Then: Screaming.
My target quickly spun around to see what was wrong. Me and him made eye contact for a moment then he started to bolt. There was only one thing going through my mind at that moment: Oh, fuck!I took a few quick shots at my guy but missed. I began after him, pushing the old lady out of my way. Her basket fell to the ground, fruits and vegetables scattering behind me as I ran after my target. Dashing through the narrow pathway, I could already smell the scent of fresh fish. This was bad. My target was about to exit out onto the Pescheria Market and at that time - noon - it's packed. I was close behind, but the moment he enters that market it's going to make it exponentially difficult for me to track him and silently take him out. At this point I wasn't even worried about taking him down silently - I was worried about him escaping.
I reached the end of the pathway and find myself amongst lively crowds of people going about their business. I quickly scan the crowds and see some guy pushing through a couple of tourists buying oil paintings from a stand. There he was! I waste no time and race towards him, pushing people out of my way as if they meant nothing. I vaulted over produce crates and sprinted between the various stands set up across the market ground. He was in my sights - this guy wasn't going anywhere. As I chased him through the market I made several faltering attempts to line up a nice shot, but there were too many people getting in the way. I had to get closer.
We neared the other end of the market. My target took a fast right, relentlessly trying to escape me as he made his way towards the Rialto Bridge, the oldest bridge crossing the Great Canal. Shuffling through the merchant stands, he suddenly tripped over a souvenir stall at the base of the bridge. His foot got caught on the side on the table and he fell over onto the other side smashing the side of his hip against the unforgiving ground. Tired and hurt, he began to crawl across the bridge, crying out for help. He turned around, only to find me standing by his feet, pointing a gun at his head. This was the end of the line for him...
"Please, don't kill me!" His whole body trembled, "I'll give you whatever you want!"
"Get up." I said calmly, dragging him to the very middle of the bridge - everyone on the bridge began to scatter, running and screaming as they made their way off of it.
"I've done nothing! Why are you doing this!?" The man cried out.
With the barrel of my gun touching his forehead, I slowly lifted him and put him up against the bridge. Holding him by the front of his shirt, I leaned him as far over the edge as I could without dropping him and said to him, "Just doing my job, Mr. Giordano." And with that, I pulled the trigger. Blood spouted out from the back of his head. I wasn't sure what was more disturbing - that I could see his into his head and somewhat see brain matter or the fact that his eyes were open, big and wide, and still looking at me even after his death. Either way, I had to drop this guy. Literally.
I let go of his shirt and allowed the body to drop into the waters below. Within seconds an eerie red haze covered the water below the bridge, slowly drifting off with the current. As I stood there, watching the body float gently down stream, I wasn't sure what I was feeling. I felt a sense of detachment, almost as thought I haven't actuallykilled a man. I was bound to feel something later, no doubt about it. Watching the body float away was like watching a piece of me leave - I just didn't know it yet...
Soon after, I returned to my suite in Hotel Monaco. I took a hot shower and robed myself. I poured myself a glass of whiskey and sat comfortably in front of my laptop. I put my feet on the table and starting drinking my worries away, waiting for a very special email to arrive. After four glasses of whiskey it finally came, and it read:
[Congratulations on accomplishing your first assignment. 1 Million Euros has been successfully transferred to your account.]
Moments later another emailed arrived. This one read:
[Your skills are being requested by a new client. Pay: 5 Million.]
I immediately sent back an email asking about the location of the next mission. Their reply:
[Tokyo, Japan.]
Nice, I thought to myself, I always liked sushi.
Written by: Ilan Bendelman
