Monday . . .

11:53 P.M. . . .

Rising Sun Sector, Gaming Vicinage . . .

Neon signs lit up the sidewalks in front of the Un ga ii Casino as excited people walked the streets laughing and ready to gamble with their credits (this world’s form of currency). A few left the casino, complaining of their losses and tight slots.

A curly black haired man placed a doctor’s mask over his mouth and nose and approached the entrance. He wore a stethoscope.

A gadoman or guard stopped him before he entered. The husky gadoman stood six foot ten, weighed about two hundred and eighty pounds, and spoke with a deep Japanese accent. “I cannot let you go in wearing that mask.” He pointed to an ebony sphere above them in the roof’s overhang. Within the sphere was a camera. “You must remove it so the security station can see your face.”

“Really?” The curly haired man wore blue scrubs. He set down a doctor’s little black bag, he’d been carrying, put a hand to his mask covered mouth, and mumbled something.

“Nani?” the husky gadoman asked what.

“Oh.” The man dropped his hand. “Sorry, the Doctor has a bad habit. The Doctor was saying that the Doctor was quite new at this.” He scratched the top of his head and the black curly wig moved slightly. “Guess the best course of action would have been to go into the bathroom and put on the disguise.” The man reached into the little black bag.

The gadoman drew his weapon. “Hands up!” He tapped an earpiece, connecting to control. “Send back-up to the second front entrance.”

“Oh so sorry.” The man removed a business card and handed it to the tall Japanese man.

Wary, the gadoman lowered his gun, took it, and glanced at the card. A picture of a stethoscope was on it along with a barcode. “You are a Life Closer?”

“Yes, a Closer.” The man offered his hand.

The husky gadoman raised a dark eyebrow and said okay, “Oke. First time I had an assassin introduce themselves to me.” The guard then thought, “And one that talks about himself in the third person.” The gadoman’s eyes widened in horror as he blurted, “Wait!” He raised his gun, aiming at the strange man. “Am I your Closing?”

The assassin waved his hand. “No. No.” The Closer shook his head and the curly hair shifted on his head. “You aren’t the Closing.” He pointed. “The Mark’s inside.” He adjusted the wig so it sat better on his head.

“Oh.” The gadoman lowered the gun as a second then a third gadoman rushed up. “You would not lie to me, would you?”

Appalled, the Closer waved his hand again. “Of course not, the Doctor would never.”

The husky gadoman looked to the other two and pointed to the man. “He claims to be an assassin. One of you carrying a Guild Scanner?”

“Hai.” The second gadoman answered yes, a five foot two Japanese man, and removed a H.H.C. linked to the Assassins Guild. The Guild’s Emblem (a black dagger piercing a white mask) marked the top of the device. The second gadoman took the business card and scanned the barcode.

The third gadoman, a hakujin or white man, asked, “He actually told you he was a Closer?”

“Hai,” the husky gadoman replied.

“Why?” The Closer tilted his head. “Is something wrong with that?” He put a finger to his chin. “The Doctor’s memory isn’t the best. The Doctor tends to forget the little things.” The Closer blinked a couple of times, tilted his head again, and repeated, “Why? Is something wrong with that?”

“Yeah.” The hakujin thought this man couldn’t possibly be an assassin. “Aren’t you Life Closers suppose to move among the shadows? Blend in?” The hakujin motioned to the man’s outfit. “Not stick out.”

“Oh . . . Like the Doctor said, the Doctor is new at this.”

“The ID checks out.” The second gadoman handed the business card back to the assassin. “He is the Doctor, a Life Closer.”

“Still . . .” The husky gadoman moved forward. “We cannot let you in, knowing you are going to kill one of our guests.”

“Really? Hmmm . . .” The Closer scratched his chin through the mask. “I guess that means I’ll have to kill all of you.”

The three panicked and drew their guns, aiming.

Irritated, the Closer stood his ground, glanced at his little black bag, cracked his neck, and turned back to the guards. “You’ve got to be kidding.” He reached down and picked up the bag. “You think you’re going to kill the Doctor.” Infuriated, he bugged out his eyes. “Fools! Do you know why they call the Doctor, the Doctor?”

Nervous, the guards shook their heads.

“Come on! Think about it. The Doctor is the Doctor among assassins. Removes the malignant tumors, the cancers of society, and does it with precision. The Doctor is the giver and taker of life.” He gripped the handle of the medical bag. “Do you really think you three can take the Doctor?”

The guards looked at each other as the Closer patiently waited for their response. He held back his fury, after all he was a professional.

The husky gadoman put a hand to his earpiece as someone from the security station spoke to him. He nodded his understanding. “Hai.” He wiped sweat from his upper lip as he looked to the crazy Closer, not sure what he would do to their response. “Lower your guns.” The husky gadoman lowered his, followed by the second, and the hakujin. “The owner of the casino has given the assassin permission to enter.” The husky gadoman looked to the ebony sphere above them. “We are not to interfere with the Closer’s work.”

The guards stepped aside, allowing the assassin entrance.

The Closer looked to the ebony sphere, nodded his gratitude to the camera, glanced once more at the guards, and entered.

The hakujin moved to the side of the husky gadoman and whispered, “Talk about a freak.”

“But he is a bold one.” The husky gadoman turned, watching the assassin through the entrance glass. “Attempting a Closing in a crowded area with no apparent back-up.”

“Okay.” The hakujin shrugged. “So, he might have brass ones, but he’s still nuts. I mean come on. Who talks like that?”

Chapter Six

Tuesday . . .

12:17 A.M. . ..

Rising Sun Sector, Gaming Vicinage . . .

Un ga ii Casino . . .

The sound of slots and people shouting at the tables filled the large room. The Doctor gripped the handle of the little black bag and headed for the Blackjack tables. The stethoscope around his neck bobbed with his movements along with his curly black wig. He removed a H.H.C. from the little black bag, pulled up the Life Closer file, and looked over the picture of the Mark. “A male in his late fifties.” The Doctor read the file’s information. “He is a business man. A Mr. Toto. The file states he’s a regular here.” The Closer scanned the crowds. “He usually has two bodyguards with him. That should be easy enough.”

Guests of the casino moved out of the way of the odd man wearing scrubs and a mask. Some of them wondered if he was part of a show. The Doctor quickened his pace, knowing surprise would not be on his side for long. He needed to find the Mark and take him out.

The Doctor spotted Mr. Toto at a Blackjack table. One bodyguard or yojinbo stood beside him, observing the game, and the other yojinbo stood behind him, watching the crowd.

The yojinbo standing next to the Mark was huge, larger than the husky gadoman the Closer ran into earlier. The bodyguard may have been a sumo wrestler in his earlier years. The other yojinbo, small and lanky, was most undoubtedly quick on his feet.

“The Doctor will need to take out the bodyguards first,” the Closer thought, opened the little black bag, placed the Hand Held Computer inside, and removed a syringe. He pulled the cap off with his teeth and spit it on the floor. The Doctor made his way around the crowd so that the Mark and the enormous yojinbo watching the game didn’t see him. The assassin ran up to the short thin asian bodyguard, jabbed the syringe in his neck, and injected the solution. The bodyguard pulled out the syringe with one hand and pulled his gun with the other. He aimed, convulsed as his eyes rolled back, and fell to the floor as foam frothed around his mouth. A woman screamed, and the crowd backed away.

The Doctor continued his run and headed for the enormous yojinbo. He removed his modified stethoscope.

The enormous yojinbo turned, but not before the Doctor jumped on his back and used the stethoscope to choke the very large man. The assassin modified the stethoscope by threading wires through the rubber tubing, giving the instrument the strength he needed to complete the deed. The yojinbo grabbed at his back as the Doctor hung on, pulling on the stethoscope with all his might. The enormous yojinbo grabbed the Closer’s wig and pulled it off. The Doctor managed to keep his mask on through the tussle. The bodyguard’s face turned purple then blue, and he collapsed to his knees. The Mark fell out of his seat as he saw the Closer attack the last bodyguard.

The yojinbo slumped forward, dead, and the Doctor released him. The enormous yojinbo fell to the floor face first with a loud thud. The Doctor continued to the Mark as the crowd parted further. Several women gasped, a man or two looked as if they might jump in and help the Mark, but no one did.

“Help me!” Mr. Toto scampered through the people, looking for an escape. “Someone help me!”

“Oke people.” The husky gadoman (the one from the front entrance) arrived along with the other two and ushered the crowd back, giving the Closer the space he needed. “This is official Assassins Guild business. Nothing to panic about. Move on please. Everything is under control.”

A few people left, most stayed, glued to the horror they knew approached with the hand of death.

The Closer picked up his bag, removed the H.H.C., read the screen, cleared his throat, and stated through labored breath, “Mr. Toto, the Katana Corporation has decided that you violated your contract with them.”

“What do you mean?!” Mr. Toto exclaimed.

“Your shipments of computer chips were junk. They lost hundreds of thousands of credits with the recall they had to issue. So, under the Life Closer Clause of your contract with them, the Doctor is authorized by the Assassins League to terminate your life.” The Closer placed the Hand Held Computer back in the little black bag and set it on the floor.

“No, no! Don’t!” Mr. Toto knelt on his knees and begged, “I will make amends. I will make amends!” He started crying.

The Closer grinned as he cracked his knuckles. “You look a little ill. Maybe you should have the Doctor take a look at you.” The assassin ran up to the man, pushed him on his back, jumped on his stomach with his knees, and forced the Mark’s shoulders down with his hands. “Maybe a little mouth to mouth?”

Mr. Toto grunted as the assassin landed on him. He looked horrified when the Closer made his comment about mouth to mouth. “What? You are mad!” Mr. Toto tried to get free of the assassin’s grip, but couldn’t budge. Terrified of his own demise, tears ran down his flushed face.

The Closer frowned. “Don’t worry, you aren’t the Doctor’s type. We’ll forego the mouth to mouth and go right to chest compressions.” The assassin made a fist, clasped it in his left hand, raised both of them above his own head, and thrust down, hitting the Mark in the breast bone. The Closer did this several times.

The crowd gapped at the attack, frozen in place as if they were watching it on TV. That it wasn’t real.

Mr. Toto fought off the Doctor at first, but with each attack he weakened and soon laid there quietly as the Closer pummeled him. The Doctor ceased, stood from the Mark, reached into the little black bag, and removed another syringe. “Now, no fainting yet.” The Closer thrust the syringe in Mark’s heart. “How about a little adrenaline.”

Mr. Toto’s eyes widened, he gasped and sat straight up.

“That’s better.” The Doctor punched him, and the Mark fell back, nose bloodied. “Now for the surgery.” The Closer removed a scalpel, breast bone cutters, and rib spreaders. He ripped open the Mark’s shirt, and buttons flew across the casino floor, pinging on the tile. The Doctor picked up the scalpel and cut across the Mark’s sternum.

Mr. Toto screamed, kicked, and punched at the Closer and finally knocked him away. Blood trickled from the incision.

“Ouch!” The assassin rubbed his jaw where the Mark kicked him. “Well, the Doctor doesn’t need this, if the Doctor’s to work.” He reached into his bag, removed a third syringe, and jabbed the needle in the Mark’s arm.

Mr. Toto fought the sleepiness at first, but soon succumbed to it.

The Doctor grabbed the rib cutters and placed the tip on the Mark’s sternum. A woman gasped and the husky gadoman turned around.

“Oi!” the husky gadoman shouted, hey. “What are you doing there?” The guard pointed to the sharp instrument and glanced at the rib spreaders.

The Closer paused from his work and looked up. “The Doctor is going to remove his heart.”

“Not on the casino floor!” The husky gadoman moved away from the crowd to the assassin. “There are guests here.”

The Closer tilted his head. “But the Doctor always takes the heart, it’s part of the Doctor’s calling card.”

The husky gadoman shook his head. “Absolutely no.”

The hakujin pulled away from the crowd incase he had to support the husky gadoman.

“Really?” The Closer sighed. “The Doctor isn’t happy about this.” He stood quickly, and the two security guards pulled their guns.

“But the Doctor guesses the Doctor is in someone else’s business during operational hours.” The Closer sighed again. “Fine then.” He removed a gun from his little black bag and shot the Mark in the head. “The Closing is complete. A Guild Prep/Cleanup Crew will be here shortly to take care of the mess.” The assassin removed the H.H.C., opened Mr. Toto’s file, and marked it Closed as he headed out of the casino.

Within a few minutes, the Guild Prep/Cleanup Crew arrived, dressed in biohazard gear. The three member crew removed the body and cleaned the area so that it appeared nothing graphic had taken place.

The hakujin walked up to the husky gadoman. “That Closer was crazy.”

“I believe you are right. He is not bold, but mad.” The husky gadoman remembered the incident at the entrance. “What Closer introduces themselves? Comes in wearing a disguise that draws attention?”

“Yeah.” The hakujin holstered his gun. “Aren’t Closers suppose to work in the shadows? Leave no trace they were there?” The hakujin glanced at the crowd still gathered. “That guy might as well have come in with a camera crew for all the secrecy he worked under. Over fifty people saw him shoot the Mark.” He shook his head. “Like I said, crazy.”

The husky gadoman nodded. “Mad and deadly.”