Vlad was dressed in his usual outfit of black denim jeans, black silk shirt and sunglasses even though it was 12:00 am, well after dark. He had one thought on his mind, make the meeting on time. As he walked, he recalled the circumstances leading up to his midnight stroll. He had been contacted in the usual way. When he woke up that morning, he had seen a yellow chalk mark across the road on an adjacent building. It would seem someone had need of his specialized services. He certainly hoped so because money was tight at the moment. The yellow mark meant that he had a otential customer and should meet him/her in Central Park at 2:00 am.
He was already moving two hours early… always get to the meeting first. Always be sure the area is safe. Always be sure its a customer you’re meeting and not the police. He made his way towards the meeting place, stopping only twice. Once, to kick a stray cat he saw walking in front of him. Once, to grab a bottle of Jack Daniel’s from the hands of a wino, take a few swallows and throw the bottle away. He finished his initial search of Central Park and found nothing unusual. he completed his second earch of the area, again finding nothing out of the ordinary. Now the waiting began.
Vlad was experienced in waiting, one had to be in this profession. exactly a black car rolls into the park. Punctual, Vlad thought, a good sign. Vlad watched as two men emerged from the front seat. Both men had large bulges under their arms. High caliber handguns Vlad thought, very nice, very efficient, very professional. The two man walked to the side of the car, one surveying the area, the other slowly opened the rear passenger door. A tall man in an expensive suit, Brooks Brothers, if Vlad wasn’t mistaken, and Vlad rarely was. The man appeared calm as he began his wait.
At 2:15 Vlad emerged from his hiding place to “greet” his visitors. No one heard him approach. When he appeared the two men reached for their weapons, Vlad was faster. By the time the two men’s hands were just reaching into their jackets, Vlad had already drawn, and was aiming his own revolver at them. Laughing, Vlad said “come on boys, no need for those”. Addressing the man in the well dressed suit, he said, “why don’t you ask your friends to take a walk? The well dressed man smiled, waved his and, dismissing his bodyguards and said, “they said you were the best”!
Vlad replied “that’s what I’m paid for”. “Ah yes speaking of being paid”, the man reached into his pocket for something, Vlad could barely restrain himself from blowing the man away, but he thought that would be bad for business. The well dressed man’s hand emerged from his jacket holding a fat, white, unmarked envelope. He tossed the envelope. Vlad caught it deftly in one hand, still keeping his gun trained on the man in front of him. Vlad opened the envelope and saw two large bundles of hundred dollar bills. Also included, was a scrap of paper with a name scribbled on it.
The man was watching Vlad intently, as Vlad seemed to ponder something. After a few seconds pause, Vlad said “I accept”. Upon hearing these two words the well dressed man reentered his car, waited for his bodyguards to rejoin him and left. Vlad returned to his building, waited for the elevator and went up to his apartment. Now that he had landed a job he had preparations to begin. After unlocking his door, he replacing the thin piece of hair he kept on the door to know if the door had been disturbed, he went to his bedroom. Vlad looked at his watch, six hours until show time.
He pried a loose floor board up from under his bed, revealing a battered looking briefcase. Vlad took hold of the briefcase, lifted it out of the floor and replaced the board. After opening the case, he methodically checked and cleaned the contents. Once he was satisfied that all was in order, he repacked the case. Next, he went to his closet. He decided on a very ordinary looking black blazer, matching pants, and of course, his trademark sunglasses. Vlad smiled as the old adage “All dressed up and nowhere to go” flashed through his mind. Oh well”, he exclaimed “no where to go”, but only for the next five hours.
Vlad then fell asleep. Precisely two hours later, Vlad awakened, tidied himself up, washed his face, dressed and left his apartment. Three hours to go. Vlad hailed a cab and asked to be dropped at the UN building. Upon his arrival, he found a rooftop from which he could see the front lawn of the building, yet couldn’t be seen himself. Vlad reopened his briefcase and assembled its contents. After sitting this way for about three hours ( it seemed like more, but time moves slowly even for a professional of his caliber ) he spotted his quarry pproaching.
Five minutes later a car glided up to the driveway in front of the building. A man Vlad recognized from the news, emerged from the car. Vlad took aim…….. BANG!!! A loud explosion, a burst of red on a white shirt, silence, then a flurry of action. People scattered about as everyone at the scene reacted to the death of the Soviet Ambassador. The world would be plunged into chaos by this act of terrorism. Vlad surveyed the scene, smiled, left his sunglasses upon the ledge and carved one more notch on the stalk of his sniper rifle. Vlad then returned home to enjoy his new found wealth.