The night stars glistened in the Riko’s eyes. The cool ocean breeze swept into his dark tanned face. His shaggy, chin-length blonde hair blew into his face as the tide rolled in.

“I guess this is as good a time as any,” he muttered to himself. He crept to the dark, looming mansion that rose above the cliff. The ocean waves crashed into the cliff wall one hundred feet below. Dressed in solid black, Riko pulled himself up onto a small window ledge. He continued his silent ascent until he hoisted himself onto a large balcony. He pulled two small needles from his back pocket and began to pick the lock on the large, Victorian style door. When he finished, he found the alarm system and disassembled it in a series of snips and pulls. He then opened the door without a sound.

So far, so good, he thought. He slithered into the room, hiding in the shadows. Reaching the door, he slowly pulled it open to reveal a well-lit hallway. He snuck out and down the hall until he was standing in front of a large double-door.

This must be it, he thought. He glanced down the hall both ways and then turned to the security system that covered the door. He disassembled it even faster than the first, and then he looked around again, before pulling a silenced PPK out of his jacket pocket. He had just now noticed the beauty of this old Victorian mansion. The flowered wallpaper, the sky-blue carpet, everything about it. Too bad that the current owner wouldn’t be able to enjoy it anymore.

Riko stepped into the dark bedroom, letting light from the hallway fall onto the bed, revealing the sleeping forms of his target stirring awake. A fat man of about fifty with chubby hands sat up and, squinting tried to shield the unwanted light from the hallway.

“What the… Who’s there?” He stuttered. A beautiful woman of about twenty sat up next to him.

“Alfred, what’s happening? What’s…” But her question was cut short by bullet in her heart. Riko turned the gun on the fat man.

“Wait a minute! Don’t shoot! Maybe we can work something out! Please, don’t kill me! Oh God, please don’t…” But a bullet entered his skull, cutting off his plea.

Riko turned and walked out of the room, down the hall, into the study, out the balcony, down the wall, and out of sight.

It was a very nice penthouse apartment. Five room, three bedroom, three bathrooms. The works. It was one of the nicest apartments in New York. But it was littered with every imaginable filth on the planet earth: beer cans, cigarette cartons, pizza boxes. It was the most unlivable place, but Riko lived in it. He didn’t necessarily like it, but he was either to busy or to drunk to clean it up.

He seemed the most unlikely person to ever be an assassin. But he was, and the best one in the business at that. Surprisingly, he was also in terrific shape, despite his many bad habits. He was built like a racehorse, and could probably run faster than one, too. There was no doubt; he was the best there was. His last job had been one of the easiest he had ever had. Some old company owner who had made the wrong business merger and got retaliated on. Riko didn’t chose sides; he worked for the highest bidder.

He was lying on the couch watching The Clockwork Orange when the telephone rang. He reached over the arm of the couch and picked it up, answering with a gruff hello.

“Yes, my name is Hirosho Kingochi. Am I speaking to Riko Mikea?”

“Yes.”

“Hello, Mr. Mikea. I own a software developing company in Japan. I hear that you have a talent of locating things, such as certain people, and erasing them.”

Riko sat up, “Yeah, that’s the rumor.”

“Yes, I need you to do a job for me…”

“What’s the pay?” Riko inquired.

“Five million dollars.”

“Whoa! What’s the job?”

There was a pause at the other end of the line, then the man answered. “I need you to infiltrate a highly secured software company called Xerotek and steal a file out of their computer mainframe and get out of the building before security is alerted. Then go to Herokoshoki Shin’s house and eliminate him.”

“Can I ask the reason for the job. I mean, you know, I don’t want get something that will put any country in jeopardy or anything. You know what I’m saying?” Riko said, pulling a cigarette out of a box and lighting it.

“Yes sir, I understand. I need the file to find out what Xerotek is about to do with the business. There is a rumor that they are planning to have me assassinated in order to buy my company, which would be vital to their company’s software progress. You see,” he continued, “I have a program that is worth trillions, and they want it. They would only be able to get it if they owned my company, and they know that the only way to get the company is in the case of my demise. Do you understand.”

This sounded like a new kind of job for Riko. This was also pretty big. He had only done one other job similar to this one, and all he had had to was get in a high security building; he hadn’t had to download any files from the computers. So much could go wrong with this job…Finally a challenge!

“Sure, I’ll take this job. But I’ve got one more question, do you have any idea about who they are sending after you?”

There was a pause at the other end, then, “It is said to be a Japanese man named Kaso, but that is just a rumor. I really have no idea. Why do ask?” Riko replied, “I was just wondering.”

“I’ll have a plane ticket sent to your apartment. It should arrive tomorrow. It leaves at three A.M. in the morning, so you should arrive sometime the next night. I will have my personal driver pick you up and bring you to my mansion. There, we can discuss the plans. I want to thank you for the service, and I will see you in a few days. It was nice talking to you.”

“It was nice talking to you, too,” Riko said.

“Goodbye, Mr. Mikea.”

“Bye.”

The phone went dead on the other end. Oh, God. Kaso is hired for Hirosho. He’s as good as dead. Kaso always gets his man, no matter what. Even death wouldn’t stop him.

Riko took a drag off of his cigarette and put it out in an ashtray sitting on a small wooden table next to the couch. He sat back and thought about the job offer he had just accepted until he fell asleep.

It was a dark night. Riko and his partner Kaso where on a job. This one was the death of a Romanian congressman. They had already penetrated the house and were sneaking down the corridor to the man’s bedroom. Kaso silently pulled his kitana out of its sheath. The deadly weapon was about five and a half feet in length. It was razor sharp and on of the deadliest weapons Riko had ever seen in his life. It had claimed the lives of many victims, whether it was in use for a job or just plain sport.

Now in front of the master bedroom, Kaso expertly pried the door open and entered the room with Riko right behind. Kitana in hand, Kaso rushed in the room and murdered the congressman before he even opened his eyes. Riko took care of the man’s wife with a hollow bullet in the head. Brain matter splattered all over the headboard of the wooden, elegantly carved king sized bed. Pieces of the man’s skin from his throat covered the tip of Kaso’s kitana. He pulled out a black rag and wiped the glistening sword clean.

Riko looked at Kaso. “Good job. Let’s get outta here.”

They ran silently down the hallway and out of the first floor window. A slight breeze made the trees sway, as if they were dancing to a waltz. It is exhilarating, to be able to run with the wind at your shoulders, Riko thought. They reached the black BMW that they used for jobs such as these.

“That was a very easy kill, wasn’t it?” Riko said, trying to find the car keys deep in his pockets. Kaso didn’t say anything for a moment, then he replied in his scratchy voice, “Yes. Yes it was. But not as easy as this one.” He lifted his kitana and swung with all of his might at Riko’s head and missed by inches as Riko jumped out of the way.

p“What are you doing, man!?”

“I’m sorry, Riko. I’m getting paid for this,” Kaso said as he swung the kitana again. Riko reached for his silenced gun and aimed it right at Kaso’s head. Kaso saw this and jumped out of the way, but not before Riko let off one shot that grazed the side of his face. Blood spurted from the open wound, and bone fragments flew from Kaso’s cheek. He grabbed the bloody gash on his face and ran into the dark woods. That was when Riko first heard the sirens. He listened for a moment. Police sirens! He jumped into the BMW and took off down the road and out of sight.

Riko jolted awake from the vivid dream. He hadn’t heard another word of Kaso since then, although he had heard off several assassinations that were done Kaso’s style. He knew Kaso well enough to know that Kaso always got his man, except for Riko. He was the only one who had escaped. He had no idea why Kaso hadn’t come after him. Maybe he wasn’t getting paid enough to finish the job. It was and might always be a mystery to him.

He drug himself off of the couch and walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. Opening the can, he walked over to the television and cut the static filled screen off. He pressed the rewind button and walked out to the patio.

Stars dotted the skies that looked over the city. It was a beautiful night. Riko often took nights like these for granted, but he occasionally admired them, and when he did, he really felt a closeness with the stars. He remembered his father telling him that the stars where a violent ballet of fire that was too small for people to see it. Riko sometimes thought of them that way. He stayed outside and then turned to go back into the house. He opened the door and went to the bathroom first of all. He took a sip of his beer and flushed, then went and plopped down on the couch.

Riko grabbed the remote, and when he finally found it, he stared at the tattoo on his hand. It had been there since he was a small child, when his father sent him to a Buddhist priest to learn the ancient arts of the Kitana.

The Buddhist priest had also been teaching another student, Kaso. That was where the two met. They had quickly become friends and did everything together. Then, after they finally finished their training, they went into the assassination business. They worked together for five or six years, until Kaso was hired to kill Riko. He still hadn’t found out who had hired Kaso. Maybe he never would.

Turning the TV on, he grabbed a cigarette and began to look for the lighter. It was wedged between the seat cushions, and when he finally found it, he didn’t feel like smoking. Riko just lay there on the couch. His eyes started getting heavy and in fifteen minutes, he was asleep.