Oscar waltzed down the steps of the Palace Needle. He paid little attention to the towering and multicolored skyscrapers that filled Neo Arachnis' wealthiest district. Such things might be entertaining for a man like the president, but they were just lights and noise to Oscar. What was truly beautiful was the color of the blood and the intestines of a man cut in two by a cleanly sharpened blade.
As Oscar waited for his taxi he observed the passers-by, all wealthy-looking folks. That old man looked like he'd be interesting to kill, but old people often died from heart attacks the second the blood started flowing, and that was no fun. Maybe that woman in the purple dress would be better. Removing her head from her body would be quite the treat! He wondered if his value to the government would protect him from the law if he did it right here and now. Jailbreaks were such a pain…
At that moment the taxi pulled up and Oscar abandoned the idea. The idea of going up against Amido Amdahl was far more delicious, and legal troubles could cause the president to give the job to somebody else. So Oscar settled himself inside of the taxicab and contented himself with watching the lights roll by, singing one of his favorite songs to himself.
"I'm gonna rip you limb from limb, 'cuz you're my tasty prey. Beware, cuz this dog DAMN bites!"
He paused to take a picture of the taxi driver's face in the mirror. Oscar enjoyed collecting faces. He had an entire photo album of people who were simply uncomfortable with him that often proved entertaining to look at, though not as entertaining as the faces of people screaming before their deaths.
When the taxi dropped him off, it was in the slums of Neo Arachnis, in a thin street dimly lit by greenish streetlamps and crossed overhead by power lines hung with ivy. Whistling, Oscar made his way towards a glowing sign depicting a voluptuous and scantily-clad woman slurping up ramen, making sure to splash in all the puddles along the way. "Big Kathy's Noodles' ' was his favorite bar, though unlike most of the patrons he was just there for the food.
The bar was cramped and dimly lit by flickering lights. A few greasy looking men sat in the corners slurping noodles and guzzling beer. The bartender, a middle-aged woman in a low-cut red dress, shot Oscar a flirtatious grin. "Back again, sweetie?" she purred.
"Yup!" Oscar replied cheerfully, sauntering over the bar and seating himself before her. "Your biggest bowl, please!"
As soon as Oscar got his ramen his face lit up with pure joy, "It's time to chow down!" He messily slurped up his ramen with a loud slurp, disturbing everyone else in the restaurant, which was his intention.
"Hey now, boy, don't you go making a mess of the ramen I made just for you." The bartender said, with a flirty grin on her face.
"Haha! I don't care about manners! This ramen is just too tasty! Another big bowl please!" Oscar said, holding out his now empty bowl.
After five more bowls of ramen Oscar leaned back against his chair. "You know, Miss Bartender, I've been thinking recently that the only sensible way to live in this world is without rules. That everybody's morals, everybody's code— is just a bad joke."
"The things you say sometimes, makes me think you really are crazy." The Bartender said with a smirk.
Oscar smiled crazily, "Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to kill you right now, because you're just too much fun. Even though I'd definitely enjoy it…just imagine taking that beautiful face and slicing it up, or taking those bright blue eyes…and gouging them out!"
At this point the entire bar had left or were extremely uncomfortable eating their food. The only one who seemed to actually be having a good time was Oscar, who had a maniacal grin on his face.
"My my, you are in quite the mood today aren't you! You got offered an assassination, I assume?"
Oscar laughed, "Yup, and it's not just somebody random, I'm going to be paid to kill the people that called me a part of their team! Can you even imagine what fun faces they'll make when I kill them?! I'll have to take lots of pictures!"
The Bartender softly laughed and handed Oscar a glass of water, "That sounds like a big job for you, but I'm sure you'll be able to do it, being as talented as you are… perhaps you'll tell me the reasons why you've been sent to kill them?"
"No idea why you'd want that information, but why should I hide it from you?" Oscar took out a small knife and started quickly tossing and turning it around his hand, in quick complicated movements. "Apparently they have something to do with a group or something like that but…oh well, I guess I forgot."
"You… forgot?" She slowly sat down behind the counter in front of Oscar, "You forgot what your mission is?"
"That's right! I just have to kill these people!" He threw the knife onto the table, nearly stabbing the woman's hand. "I better go now. Nice talking to you Granny!" Oscar ran out of the bar, slamming the door behind him.
The bartender jerked her hand away and stepped away from the bar to a holographic communication console installed into the wall. She pulled a necklace with a sparkling star pendant out from between her voluptuous breasts and scanned it into the interface. A hologram of a man flickered in almost immediately. "Mr. Metalik, I think we may have the tiniest bit of a problem."