Day 38

[from Don't Say a Word]

That night, Shizukesa sat on the side of her bed for a while, thinking things over. While the mission seemed fairly straightforward, she was under no illusions about just how many things could potentially go wrong. It would take just one of those things to ruin the entire operation. However, it certainly wasn't impossible, and to their credit, Mitsukashi appeared to have taken a lot of time and effort to prepare her for what was supposedly an unimportant, low-stakes mission.

Inside the briefcase, as promised, was Shizukesa's payment: 40 million yen. There were also her funds for the trip, totalling about 5 million South Korean won, a fair amount for a tourist to be bringing in. There was a passport with her face on it, and her assumed name of Rei Kuroki. Since the corporations took care of everything these days, even passports, it wasn't a forgery.

The last item in the briefcase had been what appeared to be an ancient Game Boy Color handheld gaming console, nestled snugly inside a case with a few game cartridges inside a separate zip-up pouch. Attached to it, however, was a note that had explained exactly what it was:

"HEY SHIZUKESA. IT MAY NOT LOOK LIKE IT, BUT THIS IS YOUR WEAPON FOR YOUR FIRST MISSION. PLUG IN A CARTRIDGE AND IT TURNS INTO A POWERFUL ELECTROSHOCK WEAPON. SWITCH IT ON, HOLD THE TOP END AGAINST YUI AND PRESS THE A BUTTON, AND IT'LL DELIVER A 100,000-VOLT SHOCK. THE BATTERY HAS ENOUGH JUICE FOR FOUR SHOCKS BUT ONE SHOULD DO THE JOB. ENJOY! -J

P.S. BURN THIS NOTE."

An electroshock weapon was certainly not Shizukesa's weapon of choice. She would have to get up close to Yui to administer the shock, which would presumably mean having to gain entry to her hotel room. If a struggle then ensued, it was always possible that she could end up shocking herself by accident. Not to mention, 100,000 volts wasn't exactly going to be quiet.

There were, however, some advantages, the most obvious being that an inconspicuous-looking Game Boy could easily pass through airport security whereas a gun would never be able to. It wouldn't leave a mess like a gun or a knife would, either, meaning no blood spatters or shell casings. The shock would likely paralyze Yui's vocal chords, preventing her from screaming. All Shizukesa had to do was turn the TV up loudly and the murder would probably be drowned out.

Shizukesa checked to make sure there were no cartridges plugged into the console already. When handling a device this dangerous, she would want to take all necessary precautions to avoid accidentally shocking herself or, indeed, anyone else who happened to come into contact with it. Fortunately, James had even thought of this: though it had not been mentioned on the note, when one switched on the device they would be presented with a glitched, frozen logo screen, giving them the impression that the device was broken. This would, hopefully, deter any inquisitive youngsters from picking it up and playing with it, should they somehow manage to get their hands on it.

Having made sure the device was inactive, Shizukesa placed it on the side, and picked up the folder she had been given. As promised, her flight tickets were inside, along with the address of the hotel that she and Yui had been booked into, and  a set of detailed architectural plans of the hotel. Laying them out on the bed before her, Shizukesa began to plan. There was no way of knowing what hotel room she or Yui would have until she arrived there, so she couldn't take that into account, but knowing the general layout of the place would still be vital.

The first step, it appeared, would be to gain access to Yui's apartment. The easiest way would be to trick Yui herself into letting her in, which would first mean ascertaining which room she was in, and whether she was actually in it at the time that she tried to gain access. Neither of these would be particularly hard, and once she was alone with Yui, all that was left would be to administer the fatal blow and find a way to leave without arousing suspicion. With all that in mind, the plan slowly began to form itself in Shizukesa's mind. If all went well, this should be a fairly simple matter. If not, her first mission for Mitsukashi could very well end up being her last, one way or another.

Shizukesa continued to study the plans for a little while longer, making sure she had them ingrained in her memory, before clearing them away and getting ready for bed. She set an early alarm, allowing herself plenty of time to pack before heading to the airport, and headed off to sleep. The next few days were going to be very important indeed.