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Chapter One The best assassins aren't the famous ones. John Wilkes Booth was a ham and a showboat

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Chapter One The best assassins aren't the famous ones. John Wilkes Booth was a ham and a showboat who earned that bullet in the burning barn. Lee Harvey Oswald may or may not have killed JFK but he was an idiot when it came to keeping himself alive and free. Don’t get me started on that head case John Hinkley Jr., who couldn’t do the job right after getting within a few feet of his target.
The best are those whose names you don't know. You probably wouldn’t want to know them if you were an average citizen who liked the idea of staying healthy. They’re the whisper in the night, the unseen shadow, the heart of the dark. They’re the bogeyman that bad people, rich people, or people who fall in both categories absolutely shudder to think …show more content…

If the job's dangerous enough or requires a few extra toys, I'll get an advance to cover the extra expenses. As one of the top in my business, my rates are steep, and I’m worth it. I've never missed a target or been suspected, let alone caught. Satisfaction guaranteed for the right price. A little bit of creative corporate paperwork to make sure that the IRS never has a reason to do me like they did Al Capone or Mickey Cohen and all the bases are covered. So, as you can imagine, I was a bit surprised when two cops showed up at my apartment door six months ago. The fish eye view outside my door’s peephole showed me a uniform. The other one wore a suit with a tie, probably a detective. Did one of my clients decide to get cute and have me busted for doing their dirty work? I opened the door a crack, just the right width for your average citizen. I was already reaching for the four-inch blade I kept at my back when they broke the news to me. “Ms. Aline, we have some bad news,” said the older man in the suit. The somber look on his dark-mustached face reminded me of an ER doc who’d had to do this routine too many times to lose much sleep over it. “Okay,” I said, my hand inching away from the knife as I opened the door a little wider. “Your sister and brother-in-law have passed away in a car accident. You were listed as the next of kin on all of their records.” Forget what you see on TV and the movies. Everybody reacts a little differently to news of deceased relatives.

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