Chapter 09 - Fragment (Part A)

Chapter 09 - Fragment (Part A)

The assassin in the black parka and hood picked themselves from the ground where their victim lay. They entered a door through a wall on the side of a building in the alley. The assassin entered a restroom where they removed their parka, revealing plain civilian clothing, and cleaned themselves. However, we, the reader, do not yet know of the identity of the assassin, as their face and features are still obscured to us.

After cleaning themselves, they approached a lone door at the end of a hallway. They raised the back of their right hand against the door.

Knock! Knock! …Knock! Knock Knock!

First, there was silence. And then…

“Enter, please.” A strange voice answered from behind the door.

‘A’ lowered their hand to the doorknob, turned, and opened the door, revealing a pitch dark office. The light from the hallway shone past ‘A’ who stood in the doorway, pouring halfway into the dark room, revealing a fine, wooden furbished, rectangular desk. However, the identity of ‘A’ and the person behind the desk are still obscured from our eyes…

‘A’ begins to speak. “Boss, I finished taking out the trash.”

“Good work. Did the bag burst?”

“The bag didn’t burst, but I made a spill.”

“A spill?”

“Yes, a drop, maybe two, on my glasses.”

There was a moment of silence between the boss and the assassin, who quietly gulped from nervousness.

“…You’re usually meticulous.”

“Sorry, boss. I was hasty this time.”

“In this business, there is something you should know. Never rush cooking a satisfactory meal, even if the customer is impatient, famished, an aristocrat, or an asshole. If there’s a problem with a dish, such as uncooked meat, it’ll be returned, and that could cause a whole slew of problems that we don’t need. In fact, there shouldn’t even be any problems once an order is sent out. We’re cooks; we shouldn’t prepare foods that are more than we can chew, and we shouldn’t prepare foods that are half done. Take care to remember this.”

“Yes, boss. Please forgive me.” The assassin gently tugged at their shirt sleeve out of shame and embarrassment.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it. We’ve known each other for a while. Not once have you disappointed me. Though, please do take care of the mess on your glasses. We wouldn’t want a violation.”

‘A’ released their grip from their shirt and brought their arms dutifully by their sides. “Right!”

A line cook, walked up to the doorway. His face is obscured by the darkness as well. “Sorry for interrupting. Customers have entered the diner.”

“Splendid,” the boss happily remarked. “Take care of our customers, please. Give them the best experience as always.”

“Right!” ‘A’ dutifully responded. They turned their back, and walked away towards the blinding hallway light.

Now, only the line cook remained in the doorway. “Umm…boss, why are you using a voice modulator? And why are you sitting in this dark room?”

***************

-The Assassin’s Perspective-

Leaving walking away from the boss’s office, I entered a restroom to change into my chef trainee uniform. Upon turning the dial at the sink, water immediately flow down the drain, drowning out any sounds around me, all except my own thoughts.

“How could I allow my assassination to be seen? That’s a part of being an assassin, not to be seen! Stupid me!” I thought loudly to myself.

I splashed cold water onto my face in an attempt to calm myself. All it did was to lower the intensity of my thoughts, my anger, my self-depreciation, and to become more focused. I looked at myself into the mirror. My face was still obscured by my chef trainee hat. My arms were covered from the sleeves of my uniform. But, none of that matters. All that matters is…

“All that matters is successfully eliminating the witness. I can’t botch this again. I just can’t, or else…my dream…or else my happiness won’t become true!”

I quickly turned off the running water, continuing to stare into the mirror. From beneath the shadows of my hat was an illusion of my eyes were shining brilliantly like the brightest stars in the night sky, deadly like the fangs of a viper. If these eyes could pierce, this mirror would be shattered right now. If these eyes could pierce, it would be all I need to complete my remaining task, and it would be the last thing ‘Blondie’ would see.

But, these eyes of mine, they are normal just as any human on this planet. When you stop to think about it, we’re all just as normal as each other, at least at what makes us human. We may appear different, from skin color to hair, eyes and smiles, and even our backgrounds and education. Still, we’re only humans, no different from each other. No matter how much we deny and change ourselves, nothing can erase that from which we will be at our core: human.

But, I believe what truly sets us apart are our skills. It’s our skills that propels us towards our happiness. We all have our own skills. We’re all on a level of our own. Some people desire to rise higher for the sake of their ego. Some people are complacent with whatever level of their skills. If that’s what makes them happy, who am I to say if they are right or wrong.

Me? I’m not doing this for ego, and I won’t ever be complacent with whatever level I happen to be because…there is someone who believes in me, who believes I can do great things with the life given to me. I promised that I wouldn’t let them down. I promised that I would make my happiness become a reality. But for now, I have to focus on the work at hand, my main work: cooking!

My lips curled into an optimistic smile, a smile that not even I can deny. There’s nothing else for me to say right now except…

“Let’s get this show on the road!” I said aloud in one last effort to pull myself together.

I exited the restroom, walked into the kitchen, and washed my hands, all with intense pomp and elegance. I placed my hands on my hips, and powerfully and enthusiastically demanded, “Alright, what’s the order of our guests?”

Silence.

“I said, what’s the order of our guests?”

No response except faint music playing inside the kitchen. Annoyance slowly lurked up on me. My expression of enthusiasm faded into displeasure.

“Am I speaking to myself here?!”

I averted my attention towards the two line cooks on duty. They were lounging around, playing on their phones and watching a performance of the latest generation of Hololive singers. It appears the creators decided to take the approach to be inclusive to all kinds of people by combining wholesome and sexy for this generation by designing the singers to have cute, innocent faces and a bust three times bigger than the original Houshou Marine. Seriously, what the hell?

“What do you two think you’re doing? Didn’t you hear me just a few seconds ago?”

I am becoming more annoyed, about fed up with them. Though they are excellent line cooks whenever they perform their duties, for the most part they act without a care in the world. It’s like their realm of happiness is only limited to entertainment! Who am I to judge what makes them happy, but it shouldn’t be done while on the job!

“Yeah, we heard you loud…” Line Cook A muttered in a tone of disinterest.

“…And clear.” Line Cook B muttered after her co-worker, also in a similar tone.

“Look, you two. I’m all for doing what makes you happy as long as it’s not hurting anyone, but right now there are hungry customers waiting to eat. They should be happy too!”

“Yeah but…” Line Cook B started.

“…They shouldn’t get in the way of our happiness,” Line Cook A finished.

Line cooks? They sound more like drones!

“Oh for crying out loud! Do I have to do everything myself? Fine, I will cook take and cook their order, but you two go out and clean the dining room and restroom or I will let the boss know you’re slacking off! And leave your phones in the kitchen break table!!”

I hastily turned away from them, wanting them out of my sight. I snatched away the notepad and pen that was lazily tossed aside on the kitchen counter and began to walk, practically stomping, towards the door that lead to the dining area. Before I could open the door, before I could even put on a friendly customer service façade, something caught my eye. Something I least expected.

“Tch! ‘Blondie’ and ‘Snoozefest’!” I lowly growled to myself. Of all the people in this city, it had to be them as the customers. How can I off eliminate them now? There’s no way I can do it in public...or can I?

Rolling back the sleeves of my right arm, I placed my hand over my Orange Watch Series 29 and lifted it close to my lips.

“Albedo, open the wardrobe and apply disguise number three,” I whispered. Instantly, my chef’s attire changed into that of a typical diner cashier. I quickly pulled the visor cap to obscure my eyes. Boss is the one who installed this app onto my watch. I recall the conversation we had that day…

***

“Albedo is a useful app for this line of profession, your secondary job,” Boss explained. “It can disguise your appearance, your voice, and create a fake identification that can get you into places that you’d never think existed.”

“This app…sounds illegal.”

“It is!” Boss was too happy to admit to this! “Keep in mind what kind of work your secondary job is. If you’re going to do something illegal, you might as well go all the way. It’s all or nothing.”

(Disclaimer: the author does not condone any illegal activities nor should you follow the advice or actions given by the boss)

“You’re right,” I replied, as much as I hate to admit it. “But how did you come into possession of this app?”

“I swiped it off the database of a shadow organization in this city. No one is supposed to know about this organization. I think they call themselves Crux, or something like that. They can’t have all the fun to themselves.”

“A shadow organization…in Gossport City? Crux?”

“The cat’s out of the bag now. Haha! Listen, this stays between me and you. If any word of the app Albedo or Crux reaches the public, Gossport will be thrown into chaos.”

“Chaos? How so? What is this all about?” There are many things I’m not understanding. The more Boss speaks, the more I am thrusted into a vortex of the unknown, a figurative distortion of secrets. It feels like my mind is being pulled from all sides. My head feels like it was beginning to split into pieces.

“To put a lid on this conversation, let’s just say Albedo isn’t the only secret from this shadow organization. All I can tell you is that there is a lot more going on in the daily life of Gossport City…much more than you’ve ever thought of, much more than you may want to know, and much more than you could ever comprehend. Now that you are in possession of a secret that could change the world as we know, this cements our relationship as master and apprentice, both primary and secondary. This will certainly be an interesting business venture, wouldn’t you say?” Boss simply smiled. That smile…it was innocent yet so calculating, mysterious, as if it contained more secrets than the one I just heard…

***

…Back to the present time, I sighed loudly and whispered to myself, “Seriously, what the hell did I get myself into?” For a brief moment, recalling that memory made my stomach churn to sickness. Pushing that thought to the back of my mind, I begun to focus on what is expected of me and the task at hand, and whispered into my watch once more.

“Albedo, initiate voice mod.” I can’t keep up with impersonation of a deep voice. It feels as if my voice could give out at any moment. Now that I’m all set… “Let’s get this show on the road!”