Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story. I'll expand on this later.

I. The Meeting

It was a dark and dingy room in an abandoned building, far away from the city proper. Why the client chose this site to be the meeting place, he had no idea.

Perhaps the client brought him out all the way here to test his abilities - as some of them do. If so, he found that amusing. His abilities were not a secret. Anybody who did their research should know that he was counted as among the best in the industry. If the client wanted to test him, he was more than ready for it.

Or perhaps the client had something to hide - as most of them do - but this particular one seemed to take great pains in keeping as much information about himself as possible. He found that amusing as well. Whether the client had a criminal record or not was not really his concern - a lot of them did. What mattered was whether the job would be something worthy of his time.

He could see the outline of the client's shadow across the room - and what a huge outline it was. The client was not tall, just thick around the middle. Hanging from his mouth was a clay pipe, where tendrils of white smoke wafted up, filling the musty air with the scent of... What was that?... Peppermint?

As he stepped closer out of the shadows, he noticed that the client had a white beard that flowed from his broad face.

"You're here," the client said.

"As agreed," he replied.

The client took a whiff from his pipe and exhaled. "I've heard that you're the best at what you do."

He didn't think the statement warranted a response, so he just looked the client in the eye.

"You're not the chatty type, I see," the client said, chuckling.

There was something odd about the way the client chuckled, as if he could not keep his lips from rounding themselves, resulting in a chuckle that sounded like "Ho, ho, ho, ho..."

The client stopped chuckling, smiled, then said, "Let's get down to business, then."

He nodded, ready to listen.

"The job...," the client began. "... is not an easy one. I've always done it myself every year, however... this year, I am having some..." He paused as he searched for the right word. "... difficulties, which make it necessary for me to seek your assistance."

The client inhaled from his pipe again, then blew soft billows of smoke.

"As you know, when my elf... err.. assistant... contacted you," he continued. "... my name's Nicholas. You've probably heard my other names - Kris Kringle, Father Christmas - " He paused. "... and the most popular one - Santa Claus."

He stared at the client.

"I need a transporter of your caliber to help me transport Christmas presents this year." The client took a deep breath, then continued, "Would you do it..." He then looked directly into the eyes of the man in front of him. "... Dr. Jackal?"

A/N: The full disclaimer is as follows:

Akabane Kuruodo, or Dr. Jackal, is owned by Rando Ayamine and Yuya Aoki. And Santa Claus is owned by... ummm.. I don't know who owns Santa Claus, but it's certainly not me.

Well, this is just me enjoying the Christmas spirit. Yes, I had (disturbing) thoughts of Akabane delivering Christmas presents (*shudder*). I don't really plan on expanding this story, since this is all I have :P Anyway, hope you all have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!