4 - All You Can Eat Pizza

Daniel Snowflake worked for one of the many intelligence (and I use the term loosely) agencies that keeps tab on the state’s own citizens without their knowledge. He felt a pang of conscience and decided to go public with what the powers that be were doing. Despite his public promise to protect whistleblowers, the Chief Executive declared him a traitor, and he was forced to flee the country. He hired me thru third party to try and obscure the assassination as an official action, but I know where the money came from, and his critics won’t be fooled. He believes Snowflake is currently being granted asylum by one of the nation’s chief rivals, but I have my own sources that tracked him to his real location. If all their intel is that faulty, one has to wonder if the spying is really anything to be concerned about. But like most people, they fret over the idea of something more than the reality. No wonder the masses accomplish so little – lack of discipline, humanity’s greatest sin.

I do nothing for the first three courses. I don’t even look at my quarry. The last thing I want is to spook him and draw attention to myself. The client wants this to look like an accident so Snowflake doesn’t become a martyr. That’s no problem. All my hits are quiet with the case closed after minimal investigation.

By the fourth course my target is feeling relaxed and probably a little sick from gorging himself on pizza. Now is the time to strike.

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3 - A Rodizio Pizzaria

My reconnaissance tells me he will be dining at a local restaurant serving a rodizio of pizza tonight. He’s been so careful about guarding every word to conceal his identity and whereabouts. But no one is perfect. Everyone slips up, and his mistake will cost him his life. But that’s the price of crossing those in power. Maybe he’ll receive a hero’s funeral when they ship the corpse back home.

The restaurant is crowded, as I knew it would be. While it’s open daily for lunch and dinner, the rodizio of pizza is offered only on the fourth Saturday of each month. People begin lining up hours before the doors open. I’ve never understood why. One would have to be nearly dead from hunger to find it anything but edible. But I am a connoisseur with extremely discriminating taste when it comes to food, drink, and the finer things of life – something this squalor could never understand. I still can’t believe they live with open sewers running thru their neighborhoods. How can they not see … ehhh! It pains me to even think about it.

I find a table close enough to provide an unobstructed view of my prey but far enough away he won’t notice me. The client gave me full details on my target. Like most clients, this one felt it was important that I understand why the target must be eliminated. It makes no difference to me. Like any professional – lawyer, plumber, accountant – the why makes no difference. I just do my job.

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1 - A Small Banana Republic South of the Equator

Chapter I - A Small Banana Republic

The sun has finished his work for the day and is heading home somewhere over the horizon. The owl will soon begin its hunt. But it won’t be alone. Soon I will join it chasing a rodent of my own, only one much more clever who has evaded governments, spies, and small armies.

But he won’t escape me. No one escapes Thylacine.

I’ve tracked him across a dozen borders to one of the largest republics in the southern hemisphere. Only a few years ago this nation made headlines for its explosive growth and potential to become a major player in global events. But like so many rising stars, the reality couldn’t match the hype, and the people are left lamenting about what could have been.

It’s a perfect place to hide. The eyes of the world have turned far from here. And thanks to regular photos popping up on various social media sites everyone believes he’s on the other side of the world. This man knows how to hide, at least from normal eyes.

Unfortunately for him, mine are anything but normal. Hundreds have said good-bye to this world without ever knowing who stamped their passport. Even the majority of my clients have no idea whom they hired. But there are a few who know, enough to connect them with me, discreetly.

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