“If you will just take a seat Mr. Thornburg, Mr. Stalls will be right with you.”

The girl was cute, the secretarial type, a good smile and the right personality but different than the last one. Just as the proprietor of the office had put a different girl in that position every two years for the past ten years since he had known the good doctor. It seems even the caretakers were not without their own set of sexual proclivities. No matter the reason, he didn’t care to speculate. He would do as he always had when he entered the place and take his spot in the second chair of the first row.

Not caring to look at the dull interior decorating job he grabbed the latest issue of National Geographic, out of all the magazines it had the most interesting of pictures and he would never read the articles, merely flip through the pages. He would usually make it three quarters through before he would be called into the office. Most of the pictures failed to capture his attention anyhow, bland photos of naturalistic landscapes. One picture made him stop upon stumbling on it. It was of a child soldier, most likely Sudanese, standing with AK-47 at the ready. His eyes were cold and unrelenting, the eyes of a broken and battle hardened man, though the child couldn’t be more the twelve or thirteen.

The irony behind the photo was not lost upon him as he turned the page. A photo of a child, made early into a man, posted in a magazine for soccer moms to lament upon as doctors figured out which pills their children should be loaded with. The fact that just a few hundred years ago they would have been the same parents sending their child to battle merely to drum to their death was also not lost upon Thornburg as he thumbed through the pages. It was fascinating what a mere few hundred years of monetary and resource driven progress could accomplish for a society.

The rest of the pictures he looked at failed to elicit thoughts worth pursuing. Luckily just as he had predicted, Stalls arrived three quarters through the magazine. He closed on a picture one of Humpback whales rising from the water.

“Pleasant day as usual Thornburg?” the man spoke as Thornburg passed by. He was a sharp looking young man, his suit and glasses accentuating the academic aura which he so naturally projected. The man was not quite six feet tall and, Thornburg guessed by his slender athletic build, quite in shape.

“Of course doc,” Thornburg allowed the doctor to move to the front and lead the way down the hall to his office.

Thornburg hated psychologist’s offices. Bland and, as a general rule, trite they usually were. This one proved no different as it had the numerous other times he had walked through over the past ten years.

The walk from the lobby to the office was short, and the routine which had been set during previous visits applied now. Thornburg walked to the seat in front of the desk and took a seat, not bothering to remove his jacket, but instead settling for unbuttoning it as is custom. The doctor went to his place behind the desk and sat, not bothering with any folders or paperwork, there was no need for that with this client. After sitting for a brief moment in silence, both men contemplating the other, the doctor would begin.

“Two more years Thornburg,” said the doctor. “I assume you have a few more stories of moral ambiguity?”

Thornburg gave a slight chuckle at the doctor’s choice of wording. Moral ambiguity was putting the situation lightly. “If anyone ever finds out what has been happening, the stockyards will be all that await you.”

“Patient confidentiality fortunately protects me from reporting your activities.”

“Don’t let yourself be deluded Stalls,” Thornburg pulled a polished gold cigarette case from his jacket. Pulling one out for himself and then handing the case to the doctor, who before accepting the case, had pulled an ashtray from his desk and opened the window behind him. “They have a special place in hell for the morally bankrupt academics.”

Stalls chuckled slightly at the man’s remark. “I suppose your right on that account. The world would not think too highly if this little experiment of ours got out.”

“You mean experiment of mine,” Thornburg tapped the ash from his cigarette into the tray before continuing. “You are merely the observer of what I have set into motion.”

The doctor took a moment to quietly observe his friend before himself tapping the ash from his cigarette then turning his chair towards the window.

“You seem to be surer of yourself since our last visit. You were having doubts about this little experiment of yours. I can only assume that either something has finally snapped or that you have finally found the answers to the questions you were seeking.”

“How do you suppose that I’ve found the answers when the questions eluded me from the start?” Thornburg shook his head. “No, I’ve merely come across a curb in the road which perplexes me at the moment, one which you will find quite amusing.”

“It’s a rare day that I hear of you having problems. You’re not choking now are you?”

Thornburg took a moment to think on his cigarette, his eyes moving from the man across the desk to the open window behind him. Out of all the offices in the world he had been in, this one held his favorite of all views. Even through the medium sized window the view of the San Francisco Bay was flawless.

“In one of the National Geographic’s in your lobby, there’s a picture of a child soldier,” Thornburg said.

“Not getting sentimental on me now.”

“Every two years for the past ten years I’ve been offering contracts as you know,” Thornburg put out his cigarette. “I was merely speculating that I should try someone enslaved next. They might go down easier than the past one.”

“Has something happened Harry? Have you raised someone’s suspicions?” Stalls looked concerned as he said this. “It wouldn’t do to have my study cut short.”

“I’ve found a woman Richard.” Thornburg spoke this distastefully. “The cunning creatures they are.”

“Though this is an interesting development in your personal life, I don’t see what this has to do with your project.”

“Because she started out as a contract,” Thornburg rose from his chair and walked to the window. “I found her about to jump of the big bridge in jolly old, so I offered her a contract. I gave her the same set of instructions that I’ve given the rest. I offer them the chance for unlimited wealth for two years. At the end of those two years she, as the others, was informed that her life would be mine to dispose of. She started out like the rest, the first few months was spent living the life they never had. But she diverged from the rest during the second year, instead of falling into desperation and mourning the happiness that wealth failed to bring them, she instead has spent her time and money pursuing me, a tactic that has seemed to work.”

Stall’s had turned his chair and was now facing Thornburg directly in the eye. An interesting predicament his friend now found himself in indeed. He had become fascinated with the man, offering these contracts to people, like a modern day stealer of souls. The man had obviously been searching for something when he set about this mission. Maybe this was a breakthrough or an answer that he had been looking for.

“Well what are you waiting for, sit down and spit it out, you know the routine,” Stalls pulled a bottle of scotch from the desk along with two glasses and poured a liberal amount for both men, knowing it was going to be a long session. The few times he saw his friend he would call him in at the end of the day for this very reason.

Thornburg took one last moment to look at the Bay then turned towards his seat, procuring another cigarette from the case and taking the glass offered to him before taking his seat. He lit his cigarette and took a drink from the glass, then began the story.

The weather was bleak as usual in the jolly old, another rainy day across the pond. Thornburg would never understand the love that he had for this place, but for some reason he kept coming back. He found the lot of the people in London to be desirable for his temperament. A calm and collected society that relied on subtlety as much as a strong will. Hard to find people like that anywhere else save for some Asian countries.

This was being proven at the moment as he watched a lovely blonde in a bright summer dress walking dangerously close to the edge of the London Bridge. Her blue dress contrasted greatly with the gloominess of the day, and even with the somber expression held on her couldn’t damper the brilliance of the color.

Thornburg watched as he took a drag on one of a handful of spliffs he had purchased in Piccadilly Circus. He had seen that look before, watched it on the face of a man as he jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge while Thornburg was stuck in traffic on route to a friend. It was the last look some people had on their face as they took the final plunge to the afterlife.

The woman stood on the edge of the guardrails and began to climb up. The keep calm and carry on attitude ever present in the people around her as they walked by, most pretending not to notice, and the few people that did paid little more than a seconds worth of attention. The woman turned around for one last time, a look of disdain on her face as she gave one last internal smite on the world she wished to leave. But Thornburg noticed something in her demeanor that caught his eye, a strength that it seemed had been beaten down by whatever drove her to her current despair. It was enough to spur Thornburg into movement. It was exactly what he was looking for.

His movements were quick, he had no idea just how fast this woman was trying to leave this world but, he estimated he had less than a minute to make contact. The spliff went into the ashtray of the DB9 he drove when in London. He was out the door and walking across the street before the smoke fully cleared, hoping he would arrive before she made the jump. It would be close, she was already on the other side of the railing about to let go.

“Before you jump it would be a shame to see that beautiful dress go to waste,” he didn’t care how weird it was. If he could just get her to turn around for a second he knew he had her. His offer was too good for someone in her position to turn down.

It worked she turned for just a second with a menacing glare that didn’t match the beautiful features of her face. “What do you want creep?”

Her accent revealed she wasn’t English. It was more of an upper New York accent but Thornburg couldn’t quite place it. He couldn’t worry about such minuscule details right now, he had to get her back on his side of the rail.

“I have an offer for you, one that will change the course of your life forever, one that if you take will make more of an impact on this world than your corpse floating down the Thames,” Thornburg made an attempt to get a little closer now that he had her attention, to which she responded by moving further down the rail, nearly slipping in the process. “Give me five minutes, if you don’t like what I have to say then I’ll get back in my car and forget I ever saw you, and you can get back to killing yourself.”

She began to cry at this and slowly her hands started to slip from the rail, her body moving forward as she seemed to finally completely surrender. Thornburg lunged forward and put his arms around her lifeless body which was about to reach the point of no return. To his surprise she didn’t struggle, simply let him pull her over the rail as the tears now burst forward in full force

“I never wanted to do it,” she gasped out between tears. “I just wanted to forget about him. I just wanted to forget what that piece of shit did to me.”

‘Fuck’, he thought to himself as he let her recompose. She sounded like just another broken woman. Perhaps he had been wrong about her, should have let her just jump. He was looking for someone with drive and just the right amount of broken spirit to push forth. He had saved her however, so he would at least make his proposition, if she wasn’t satisfied with the agreement then he could always dump her back here.

“My car is over there,” Thornburg began to walk. “We can talk there.”

“We talk here.”

“Ok, then I’ll cut the crap,” Thornburg reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a black credit card. “This is a Palladium card. It is connected to an account that will allow you unlimited wealth for the next two years. Should you accept my contract, you will hold the pinnacle of power in your hands. You will be able to build an empire, to make up for past folly, to find the happiness you never had. Should you accept this you will have the world in your hands.”

Her eyes turned near glossy and she went into an almost hypnotic state, he knew he had her. It had been the same with all of the rest, he had perfected his pitch to be able to do it this fast.

“The condition to this offer is that at the end of those two years, your life will be mine.”

“What do you mean… my life?” her voice stuttered slightly. The offer was so real, the card right there in front of her. He didn’t seem to be lying, and just a few minutes prior she had been ready to die, so what did she care for. But the thought of signing away one’s life carried a certain heaviness that escaped not even her.

“I mean, that at the end of two years I will collect payment through your death,” Thornburg stopped to let it sink in and pull a cigarette from the case in his jacket pocket, offering one to her. “If you’re smart and wise with your actions then maybe you can survive past two years. But to date there has been no one which I haven’t exacted payment from.”

“Why would you make such an offer to people?” it all seemed so surreal at this point.

“Because I have the resources and the academic curiosity to keep my conscience at bay,” he pulled a phone from another of his jacket pockets. “Besides, what have you to care about, five minutes ago you were going to jump. The choice is yours, but know if you refuse me now you will never see an opportunity like this again. Do you accept my offer or not?”

The woman stood there for a minute, watching the stranger with a mixture of distraught interest and fear. “I do,” was her response.

Thornburg dialed a number into the phone then raised it to his ear. After about three short rings the call was answered.

“I have somebody.”

He handed the phone to the woman, “There will be a man on the other end of the line to take some information about you. Answer everything he asks.”

The woman took the phone in her hands and held it to her ear, greeted by a gruff voice on the other end.

“Jenny Winsor.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.
“Yes, thank you,” she handed the phone back to the man, who in turn handed her the card he held in his hand.

“Congratulations Jenny. You now have the world in your hands,” with this he turned around, heading back to his car. “We’ll see each other again in a few years.”

“Was there any interest beyond the contract when you first approached her?” Stalls was smoking on a cigarette offered during the story, as was Thornburg.

“Not at that point,” Thornburg admitted. “No, when I initially approached her it was because of what I saw in her. The nine other people I have made that offer to had all been well educated and on two occasions relatively affluent. They had all been selected because of their potential to maximize the opportunity given on the short time scale provided. But with all of them I had been wrong, they had all gotten to the top only to realize it would never bring them the happiness humans seek on a base level. Coupled with the knowledge that their deaths were impending, that they had traded their lives for wealth, they just couldn’t handle it. One of them killed himself before the time was up, and the rest just waited.”

Thornburg paused for a moment. Getting up from the chair and pacing around the office for a moment. Stalls was fascinated and could do nothing but stare, waiting for the man to continue. Finally after about three minutes, Thornburg sat back in the chair and continued.

“I thought if I chose someone so fed up with life that they were ready to end it, that they might be able to make the change those at the top could no longer grasp. I guess on some level I was right, but she was cunning, more so than I was prepared for.”

She had been purchasing at Harrods out the ass and had just moved from a Mercedes S Class to a sportier Porsche 911 Turbo. She had been spending like the poorer of the people he had made contracts with. It wasn’t unexpected, merely a tad disappointing. He had only made the contract a mere three months ago, however time was against her, and it seemed she was on the same path as those prior. The realization that money can never fill the void, only add more weight to it.

He had picked her out of the hopes that she might understand, might realize that the only way to fill that void is to let other people in to it. By giving each person access to unlimited wealth, he had hoped that just one of them would put something in motion that could perpetuate and blossom into something self-sustaining and progressive. That someone could figure out a way to build something self- funding which could help future generations, beginning the reinvention of infrastructure in third world countries or even spreading wealth and furthering education for the improvement of poorer sectors of society.

It had all been for naught. Each one was like himself, trying to realize something too clouded and distorted to ever really understand, struggling to grasp the concept that each of us is merely a small ball of organic matter, stuck to a huge ball of organic and inorganic matter, aimlessly floating in a big black abyss. Thornburg was beginning to suspect that not a single person on the planet escaped the struggle to define and solve this illogicality.

It was something he especially understood, something he had been contemplating for the past hour as he sipped from a whiskey tumbler, his third. He hated the foul liquid, dumbing down generations of dullards one drop at a time. However, he would probably never stop his use of the substance. It quieted his mind, made the machinery switch into low gear, something that his mind never did naturally.

It was a feeling he was beginning to enjoy as he pored over the financial reports to date since he had made his contract with Jenny. Usually his mind was twisting and turning, pondering the condition which he found himself in, disillusioned and confused.

Disillusioned about the state human beings found themselves in. Ten billion people all trying to convince each other while they convince themselves just what the facts of life are. All looking to religion or other external creations to satisfy an internal void everyone carried day to day. Confused as to the fact that no matter what he did, no matter how much money he threw at the problem, nor how many people he talked to, he was never any closer to solving the problem. Dissatisfaction, it seemed was the predominant feeling for himself and kindred spirit, those other dissatisfied people who actively searched out the answer.

He finished his whiskey, no longer wishing to pursue such thoughts, they never led him anywhere. Besides it seemed that Jenny had ceased activities for the night, settling down at the fashionable L’Hotel located off the left bank of the Seine in the Saint-Germaine-des-Pres area of Paris. He set the glass down and shut down the programs he had been using on his laptop before closing that too. Before going to bed he moved to the window, taking in the vibrant view of Tokyo at night, from his advantageous location at the top of the Grand Hyatt. After a few minutes he let out a sigh, and then headed towards his bed in the other room.

As he moved the sheets aside and took off his shirt, his phone rang. It was the second phone he carried, the one that only one other person knew the number too, used only for this little experiment of his. He picked the thing up, it must have been important for the man to be calling at this time.

“Hello Dastun,” Thornburg answered.

“I just thought you might want to know that your target is on her way to Tokyo,” Dastun replied on the other side.

“That can’t be right, she just put up for the night at the L’Hotel in Paris.”

“She purchased tickets with cash and, according to the concierge, didn’t even go to her room after booking it,” Dastun replied. “Apparently she booked the room for two weeks. If I hadn’t been following her, she might even have gotten the slip on us.”

“Why do you think she would be heading here in such secrecy? She couldn’t possibly know where I am, so the possibility of killing me should be out of the question.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that Thornburg, she’s been withdrawing moderate sums of cash at a rate of about ten thousand dollars a week, and from what I’ve seen from following her is that she is quite resourceful when necessary. It wouldn’t be impossible for her to have retained a good investigator,” with this Dastun severed the communication.

He put the phone down on the table and went back to what he was doing. The flight would take a full day, leaving him plenty of time. In the morning he would get in touch with his people at Narita and get them looking out for her. Dastun would no doubt have a tail on her as well.

He could tell he had peaked Stall’s curiosity. For as long as he’d known the man he had found that a good story never failed to captivate his attention. His listening skills were one of the main qualities which had attracted Thornburg the most, and the reason which Thornburg found him a good confidant.

“Have any of the other ones come after you?” Stall’s asked.

“Not to date. Only one of them has even made a worthwhile attempt at escaping me. A man I met while traveling in South America. He was employed as a farmer on a coca field. The man spent his two years living modestly and transferring his credit into assets on the foreign exchange market. Towards the end of those two years he liquidated all of these assets and completely vanished from the grid. Dastun found him living in a small town in Croatia about one year later.”

“I see Dastun is still serving you well. Fancy having a friend that close, I’m sure it makes things much easier.”

“Dastun is the best at what he does. He’d be dead by now if he wasn’t.” Thornburg handed his glass over to Stall’s who refilled it. This was only the second one for each man. They had been drinking slow with each of them immersed in their part of the story, one the teller and one the listener.

“So I assume you took her in at the airport?”

“No, I let her be,” Thornburg took a sip from the glass. “It mattered not why she was in Tokyo. At least that’s what I thought at the time.”

“So she was there to kill you?”

“No, her motives were more cunning than just killing me. I think she understood that she would never be able to accomplish that, she probably even suspected that I had put a tail on her. But she was cleverer than both Dastun and me. I would find this out three weeks after she arrived in Tokyo, that’s when she made her move.”

He had been sitting at one of the patio tables in front of Ristorante L'Osteria, about a five minute walk from his hotel in Roppongi Hills. It was quite amazing what they had done with the development, and not a person on the planet could argue that the Mori Tower was anything if not a feat of architectural mastery. It far outshone any of the surrounding areas of Roppongi and was a truly impressive example of new urbanism, a movement Thornburg greatly appreciated, especially in a city as crowded and expansive as Tokyo.

The size of the city and the confusing nature of its layout all led Thornburg to make it a home while observing the people he made contracts with. He had taken into account that one day one of the people he had made a contract with might actually come to kill him in an attempt to forgo their impending demise. So far he hadn’t had to worry about this issue, but now he was glad he had made the decision. The streets were not labeled and with Tokyo being designed in the old days to confuse any invading army’s, he was confident that it would be a good place to get lost in the event that he was being tailed, such was the current situation.

Dastun had warned him that as soon as Jenny arrived at Narita three weeks ago she had gotten the slip on his people on the inside. Even though Dastun had lost her, he was adamant that she would be heading Thornburg’s direction. To this end Thornburg had been on the lookout the past three weeks, watching over his shoulder and making sure he didn’t stick to any particular routine. With the abundance of shops and restaurants in the area, it was a good place to keep variety. He had even gone so far as to move to a different room in the hotel registered under an alias. He had kept the room he had previously occupied simply to confuse anybody inquiring as to his room number.

He had yet to pick up on a tail. However as he sat at the table in the warm Tokyo weather, he began to feel otherwise. The feeling someone was following him had been present throughout the day causing a certain level of paranoia on his part. To this end Thornburg had been extra cautious in his observations of the surrounding people and the traffic which passed him. Even with all his precautions he had been unable to reveal a tail.

It was much to his surprise then when after about thirty minutes of sitting at the table, an extremely attractive young dirty blonde sat at the table in front of him. She looked quite different than when Thornburg had seen her on the London Bridge, a great deal more attractive but her eyes also spoke volumes more than they had that day. In them shone the determination which had caused Thornburg to single her out for a contract.

“Lovely day is it not Jenny?”

“Quite,” her eyes were defiant. “Not surprised at seeing me, are you Harry Thornburg?”

“It would seem you’ve been doing some snooping of your own,” Thornburg was rather amused at this. She was certainly something special, if nothing else. “I’m sure you had a great deal of trouble finding anything beyond that that name, you see I’ve been in this game a fair deal longer than you have.”

Thornburg sipped his wine, a 1985 Chateau Margaux which he had found to be quite exquisite from the first sip. The arrival of his unexpected guest had done nothing to sour the gratifying flavor the wine provided.

“I think you know it would be very unwise of you to try to kill me,” Thornburg said. “So that leaves the question of why you are here.”

“I thought you said I could do whatever I wanted with the money,” she smiled seductively. “Maybe I just wanted to see Tokyo. Is that a problem?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. Why are you sitting in front of me right now?”

“I wanted to learn a little more about the devil, that’s all.”

Thornburg laughed at this. He had been called many things by the people he had made his contracts with, usually hearing this from them right before he killed them. However this was the first time he had been compared to the prince of darkness. Usually the insults amounted to him being greedy and cruel.

“Maybe one of the lesser angels cast down from heaven, but the great tempter even I fail to supersede.”

“Mephistopheles then,” she said and then let out a laugh.

“I suppose that makes you Faust, would it not?”

“Touché, my tempter, touché,” she spoke.

She tapped her nails on the table for a few moments as she contemplated the man in front of her. He was handsome, but in a dark and almost haunting way. She would guess his age to be in the late thirties but she couldn’t be too sure. She also had to guess just from this second time of hers to talk to him, that he was quite intelligent too. But something had to be wrong, who else would use their money in such a debauched way.

Either way she would be the one to come on top in this game. She had something that no amount of money could ever give this man, feminine charm.

“Let’s get out of here,” she got up from the table and spoke into his ear before beginning to walk off.

“Why would I want to go with you?” Thornburg questioned.

“It’s better than sitting here in your quiet, bored contemplation.”

She had a point. If nothing else it would allow him to learn more about this woman who he made a contract with. She only had one and one half years of life remaining anywise. It might be cruel even for him to deny her such a simple request.

He pulled his wallet from his inside coat pocket then pulled out two ten thousand yen bills and laying them on the table. In other countries they would be hugely excited to receive the seventy dollar tip which he had just left. However in Japan it was a foreign concept. He would have loved to see his waitress scurrying to find him in the restaurant to give him his change.

“So tell me Jenny, where are we going?”

“This is my first time to Japan, so how about you show me the museum and view from the top of the Mori Tower.”

She turned around and gave him a seductive smile. She was a temptress of her own devices. It would be a challenge to see if she could tempt the devil.

“Don’t leave me waiting Harry.”

“So her goal was to seduce you the whole time was it Harry?” Stall’s was now completely hooked in the story. “It would seem that you picked one too cunning even for yourself.”

Thornburg lit the last cigarette from his case, taking a large drag as he contemplated his friend across the way. He had met the man at a party nearly twelve years prior which Dastun had invited him too. They had both been sitting at the bar nursing cocktails, avoiding the boorish realities of a room full of socialites boozed to the gills.

“Have we become those people we both so despised Richard?”

“What do you mean?”

“Have we become those pedantic socialites patting themselves on the back?” Thornburg returned to his place at the window, a darkness brooding over him now.

“I started this experiment to make a change, but it would seem as if the only thing I have done is to become what I despise,” he looked down at his suit as he spoke. “Exotic cars and five thousand dollar suits, that feeling of superiority as you look down at the weaker of the species and truly understand how great you have become. I loathe this place
in life.”

“It would seem that money and drugs will cannot quash the ego, as we once thought,” Stall’s spoke. “I’ve been having similar thoughts myself as of late. But we’ve spoke of such things before Harry, I’m sure that’s not why you came all of this way.”

“No, no you’re right Richard. There is a bit more to my story,” Thornburg returned to his chair once more and gave Stall’s one last look before continuing. “Her plan worked only too well. If there was one thing I wasn’t prepared for it was being seduced by that Succubus. What I wonder from you though is, would one be better languish to the wayside in love, or drown in money and power?”

“I never thought I’d see the day the great Harry Thornburg would be asking me about love,” Stall’s seemed quite surprised by where the course of the conversation had gone. “But I suppose even the greatest of men struggle with it from time to time. Will you be continuing with these contracts should you choose her?”

“That’s exactly the issue here Richard. I have yet to find any answers and yet may be forced to cut my experiment short. She’s quite convincing when she wants to be. I think that was her plan the whole time, to seduce me in order to spare her life. I’m sorry I’m even contemplating it.”

The La Tour Shinjuku Grand held a spectacular view of the Shinjuku area. They had moved into the penthouse about one year prior, exactly one year into her contract. He had no idea why he had done it, he found it nice to have some relatable company, and overall she was a good companion to have around. The problem he now faced was whether or not he would complete the contract she had made with him two years ago.

The door to the apartment opened, causing Thornburg to let out a deep sigh as he turned from the view. He knew he would have to make a decision today. She knew it as well, leaving him curious to see what her actions would be tonight.

She walked through the doorway and into the living room where he was standing, smoking a cigarette.

“That dress looks magnificent on you,” Thornburg commented, it was the dress he had bought her about two weeks prior, a beautiful jade green dress custom made by Yohji Yamamoto. Right now he didn’t think it would look better on any other woman in the world.

“Thank you darling,” she smiled and walked closer to him. “I wish I could say the same for you, but it seems that something is troubling you today.”

“Don’t be so light with the matter,” Thornburg spat out, causing her to retreat momentarily. “You know as well as I do what the matter at hand….”

Before he could speak anymore she was in front of him. Her hands snaked out around his neck and her lips dancing off his as she tried to bring him back to the present. He slowly returned the motion, his lips playing off of hers, just as he had done many times in the past year. He began to lose himself in her body, grabbing her by the legs and pulling her up to his height before pressing her delicate body into the window.

Everything seemed different this time, even though they had made love a multitude of times before, the moment at hand was more intense than he had before experienced with her. His lips moved sensually from her mouth to her neck, specifically the spot below her left ear which always got her. She let out a soft moan at this, just as he knew she would.

“For tonight my love,” she spoke breathily. “For tonight let us forget about this trifling matter. We have each other so isn’t that enough?”

He didn’t feel like talking, he knew nothing good could come of it. Five minutes before she had walked into the room he had been debating about killing her, so what good could possibly come of talk now. No, he would let his emotions guide him tonight, and hopefully the answer would come in the morn.

With this fading thought both bodies crashed to the ground, clothes being strewn about the room in the process. Both looked like animals, even more so after Thornburg pulled the polar bear fur blanket from the sofa and wrapped it around the two. What started out as the independent movements of two people quickly intertwined, creating one body with which both were trying to occupy. Thornburg had slowed down his thrusting to match the slow manner with which she was proceeding. It seemed like an eternity that both laid there, lost in each other’s bodies. If the world had ended at that moment then they would have known only each other. Finally, after about one and a half hours of ecstasy, both accomplished their goal of one mind and body, flowing into each other in a breathtaking climax.

Neither one of them spoke for at least ten minutes, each juxtaposing his and her own thoughts against the bustling night life of Shinjuku below them. The neon lights and tens upon thousands of people mingling and moving about like ants seemed to provide a framework for Thornburg to place his thoughts. Each of the people below, like him was looking to someone or something else to provide meaning in life. It seemed that somehow he had found just the person for that in his life. Even though her love had begun as an attempt to save her life, the consecration which had occurred only moments ago had come from a different place, though he hated the discontent that it brought to his mind.

“Tell me Harry,” she broke the silence. “Just how did you get all of this money, and how did it drive you to make these contracts with people?”

Thornburg sighed, summoning the thoughts which he could put into words, words which would have to express the horrors which had led him to this place.

“My first hundred thousand dollars came from my father after his death,” began Thornburg. He wrapped his arms around her and looked where her eyes had been focusing. She had been looking at a particularly crowded crosswalk, at the moment he guessed at least a few thousand people were trying to cross the street at once. “My father was head of a crime syndicate based out of New York. When he died I began working under his successor, learning the arts of taking people’s lives. For each person I was sent to kill, twenty thousand dollars was my reward. I knew the only way to get out of the life was with large sums of money, so I began to take from my victims, cutting part of the profits in with my employer. At the age of twenty-five I finally had enough to break away from my contract. Three years later I made my first contract, I gave the man the use of fifty million dollars with the same conditions I’ve used ever since, two years of life in exchange. I’ve given out ten contracts to date including your own. At the end of each of these contracts I absorb any assets and wealth which have been purchased by the taker of the contract. I started this out with nearly one hundred million dollars and have managed to double my wealth with almost every contract. I started these contracts to try and make a change in this world. I tried to pick unique individuals who had a chance of bringing about unique changes. Unfortunately they have all failed my expectations, all drowning under the weight of the money.”

“So why did you pick me for a contract?”

“Because of the look of determination I saw in your eyes. You seemed just desperate enough to make that change I’ve been looking for.”

At this a few tears came down her face. She rolled over and looked Thornburg in the eyes, seeming to contemplate something.

“I hated what he had done to me, what he had taken from me.”

“Who?” Thornburg queried.

“My ex-husband,” she replied after a few moments. “We were married for about two years. I met him in America then moved to his homeland of England. Everything was perfect at first. But as his wealth started to grow so did his cupidity. I couldn’t stand it anymore after those two years, he was constantly having affairs and the drugs were threatening to drown us both. Our final blowout was the night before I met you. I told him I was leaving, which pleased him none. He threw me to the ground and raped me, the last words I heard from him were that I was part of his possessions. My mind and body was his. That is why I was going to kill myself. I could never let him control me.”

Thornburg held tightened his hold around her, bringing her in closer to his body. He knew it would probably be a mistake but he needed another opinion on the matter. Dastun had said he should kill her. She chose to spend her time and money with him, but a contract was a contract. He just didn’t know if he could kill her. He would need a little more time with his thoughts, somewhere he could be away from her.

“In the morning I will be leaving for a week,” Thornburg said to her. “When I return, a decision will be made as to your fate. You can be here waiting for me or you can try to run, either way I will find you.”

“So that is where things reside as of now is it?” Stalls had just finished his whiskey. “Harry Thornburg, confused and in love. It is an interesting predicament indeed.”

“Cut the shit Richard. I came to you for advice, now let’s hear some.”

Stall’s sat for a few moments, contemplating the man in front of him and all that had been revealed over the past hour.

“I think, my friend, that this is a decision you are going to have to come to on your own,” Stall’s said as he arose from his seat behind the desk. “Though I do think that no matter the decision, you will be stronger when this is all done.”

Thornburg also rose, shaking the hand offered to him before both man embraced in a hug. It would be another two years most likely before they would see each other again. Then Thornburg emptied his glass of whiskey and set it on the desk before head out.

“Goodbye friend,” said Thornburg.

He grabbed his jacket from the chair and walked out of the office, giving a smile to the secretary as he passed. He proceeded to the parking garage down the street where he had shelled out eighty dollars to park. Nothing he worried over, but incredulous none the less he thought as he paid the man after the short walk, his thoughts adrift about the current situation.

As he parked the Koenigsegg Agera R he kept for driving in Tokyo later the next day, his thoughts were more resolute.

Part of the reason he had selected this apartment was because of the high degree of security and privacy the place offered. The staff was courteous, and all knew what was going on while on shift. They made sure to keep anyone who didn’t belong from even making it in, as most of the tenants were relatively affluent people in society. Giving Thornburg the assurance he needed that anyone unhappy with him wouldn’t find him.
They had negotiated a one year lease with the option to renew for an extra three years, at her insisting. He had let her carry out her fantasy, knowing that this day would come, but it seemed in the end that it was really her who had been running a game on him. The Ferrari she had purchased was still in its spot, so if she had run then she had gone on foot, having a disliking of cabs. He would know soon enough.

The elevator ride to the forty-fourth floor was brief, the miracle of modern day elevators. It left him little time to rethink his decision. As they had rented the penthouse, the elevator took him directly into the entry hallway. He pulled his gun from the holster he kept under his jacket. He never kept it on him, instead renting out a storage facility in Shibuya to store it. He rarely needed it so it was no problem to keep it locked up for long periods, better than to be tried under Japanese gun laws. A silencer was in his pocket, which he attached to the gun. He put the gun behind his back and proceeded into the living room where she was standing at the window. He slid the gun into the band around his pants, not wanting to shoot out the window, and moved towards her.

“Have you reached your decision,” she queried.
He didn’t answer, instead continuing towards her, grabbing her in his arms and bringing her closer. He gently placed his lips on hers and proceeded to guide her backwards, placing himself between the window and her. She gave in, wrapping her arms around his waist. The moment was interrupted when her hands fell upon the gun. As she was making an attempt to grab it, a slight look of shock in her eyes, Thornburg pushed her away and pulled the gun from his waistband. His eyes were dead as he watched her trip backwards. The motion was fluid, one movement of the arm and one pull of the finger. Not a sound was made.

He pulled out his cellphone after this, the second phone he kept for special purposes, and dialed Dastun’s number.

“It’s done Dastun,” he said. “I’ll take care of cleaning up the situation myself. You can go home now. I’ll summon you again when you are needed.”

With this he placed the phone back into his right hand inner coat pocket, opposite the cigarette case which he then pulled out.

“I….I don’t understand,” she finally spoke up in a feeble attempt. The look of fear was still very much present on her facial features, but slowly the realization was coming to her that the bullet hadn’t hit her, and instead had gone into the wall to her right.

“If you truly love something then let it go,” Thornburg turned towards her. “At least that is what they say isn’t it. That it will come back should fate dictate.”

He took a drag from his cigarette and looked her over one last time before walking away towards the hallway.

“Be that as it may the two of us do have a contract, and I wouldn’t be a man if I didn’t keep my word,” Thornburg paused in his stride and turned to her, giving a heavy sigh. “That bullet was to keep off Dastun, who no doubt heard the ballistic crack from below. I will give you one year to evade me, with no help from Dastun. At the end of that year if you can survive, then our contract will be null and void.”

With this he turned and headed back the way he came. He had a gun to stash and a flight to catch. He needed to pick up something in Piccadilly.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 26.02.2013

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