The exterior of Jin's office shines in the afternoon sun. A pair of joggers pass by as Jin pulled up to the curb to park. He exited his car and moved up the porch to the front door. Jin heard a muffled voice from inside, probably Sebastian on the phone. He is slow to put in his keys to open the door.
Inside, Sebastian heard the keys insert into the door lock. He is quick to hang up his phone conversation and he tossed the phone into the desk drawer. Jin opened the door and entered the apartment.
"Hey babe, how was your weekend?" said Sebastian playfully.
Jin laughed at the flamboyant greeting. "It was fine, did you enjoy the extra days off?" he replied.
"Of course, I did. I went down to Miami with the girls."
"Jessica?"
Sebastian made a face of disgust mixed with disapproval, "Oh no. We aren't on speaking terms right now."
Jin took off his jacket and moved over to his desk. "Oh really? That's too bad? Who were you on the phone with?"
"I would never be on my phone while on the clock. Don't you know–"
Jin raised an eyebrow while Sebastian stammered off. His voice trailed off while failing to gaslight.
"–Anyhow… there's a couple of new job lined up for you."
"That's what I thought," Jin said as he cracked open a can of beer from the minifridge under his desk.
"The gang war between the 202 Locos and D.C. Blacks has gotten out of hand. There is a contract out to kill a lieutenant on each side and frame it. That would incarcerate and kill 2 of the top leaders on both sides. At the office you can pick up the fingerprints and tools needed for it."
Jin mulled over the idea. He wasn't convinced.
In California there is a contract out on another politician. Pretty standard, although the dealer of the contract seems to be unlisted, which is bizarre."
"Wasn't governor Pines unlisted from last week?" asked Jin.
Sebastian scrolls on the computer to find the file. He made a few clicks to open the document.
"Actually, yes. That job last week was unlisted."
"Then scratch that one," ordered Jin.
Before the organization of H.I.S. was created, hitmen and other workers would take on contracts with certain governments. As time went on and their work needed to become more central and organized, H.I.S. employees would be tied to a single government. Workers such as Jin, Allen, and Hugh, were organized by the US Government through H.I.S. They were only supposed to take jobs that originated from American sources.
H.I.S. employees can transfer to other countries when approved by both sides, such as the case with Esteban moving from Mexico to the U.S. When a hitman's contract ends every three years, they are also free to apply and move to a different country/organization. Similar to a sports athlete that changes teams in free agency.
The danger with unlisted contracts, is that they can be unreliable. If someone were to hack the database for H.I.S. and change details on an assassination contract, or add a contract that shouldn't be there, it can jeopardize the whole system. If a hitman does this knowingly and they are found out, they will be blacklisted from H.I.S. which will result in either a prolonged suspension to prison, or the termination of a hitman altogether.
The reason for the creation of H.I.S. and other branches around the world came down to keeping jobs classified. During the cold war, hitmen were used by both the U.S. and Russian government. If a contractor were to take jobs on both sides, that means they would know classified information from conflicted parties. This, in returned, created a breach of national security, so H.I.S. was formed to keep information enclosed to certain countries.
Should a hitman change countries, their resources and database will be wiped from their accessible records. There is also an understanding within the organization that sharing secrets with your new country will lead to blacklisting and the termination of a hitman's life.
Most employees of H.I.S. are privately contracted and recruited through experience in the military. This patriotic source of hitmen typically keeps employees loyal to their original country. It also allows for a better floor for the skill that a H.I.S. employee has. Due to the danger of the job, hitmen are paid well to enjoy their lives as they are still living, since most don't make it to retirement.
Should a hitman decide to retire or resign from their work, They are debriefed from H.I.S. They are given their assets such as cash and property, but expelled from their resources of weapons and information. They are also given a procedure that wipes their mind of all work they've done, and employees are not allowed to visit or communicate with retired hitmen. They are essentially exiled from the life they lived in order to enjoy their life anew. Should a hitman's family be aware of their work in any way, they too will need to be debriefed and mindwiped.
Jin didn't want to go near an unlisted contract after completing one. Killing a high-level target was already risky, but if someone wanted multiple politicians dead and it wasn't sanctioned by the government, then there was something wrong going on.
"Is there anything else?" asked Jin.
Sebastian went back to contract listings, "At the moment, there isn't." Sebastian looked up from the monitor and glanced at Jin from across the room; who was sunken into his office chair. "Is everything okay?"
"You know… that's a good question."
"Well… how was the doctor's appointment. You never told me what happened?"
"It's nothing. They just recommended therapy."
"Okay, and…"
"And I went. It was fine. It was good, even."
"Well, I'm proud of you Mr. Shut-in."
"Thanks…"
Sebastian's phone kept vibrating away in the desk. He opened the desk drawer and pulled out the phone. "Do you mind if I go on this for a sec?"
Jin waved his hand, "I'm surprised your asking this time. I've never stopped you."
Sebastian's fingers blazed across the touch screen keyboard. "Some of the girls and I were thinking about hitting up Baltimore this weekend. Living it up at a few clubs downtown."
Jin contemplated to himself while Sebastian texted away. An idea slowly sprung from his mind and he rose up in his seat.
"Hey…" started Jin.
Sebastian paused from his tsunami of messaging, "Yeah?"
"I don't suppose…" Jin rubbed the side and back of his head, "You would, maybe, possibly, potentially, have room for one more in that trip."
"Oh?" responded Sabastian, surprised.
"If not, it's totally not a big deal."
"You can come Jin."
"I don't want to impose on anything." He insisted.
"Jin, really, I'd like for you to come," assured Sebastian.
There was a silence in the room. Jin had never shown interest in socializing with Sebastian outside of the office. While he was a bit surprised by the sudden inquiry, he was happy to let Jin join.
"Do you want me to add you to the group chat?"
"Oh, I don't know about all of that."
Jin got up from his desk. He set the beer back in the fridge to drink later.
"Look, I'm going to head into the office. Just, umm, keep me in the loop, okay."
Sebastian nodded as Jin walked to the door. "I'll be here till 6 if you need anything from me. Otherwise, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sounds good," said Jin. He walked out the front door and returned to his car. He started the engine, shifted it into drive and u-turned out from the curb since there wasn't any traffic in the neighborhood.
After a short drive, Jin pulled into the parking lot of the office. Outside the office stood Allen, enjoying another signature ice cream; but something seemed off about him. Jin parked into a spot and approached the building. As he stepped closer, he saw what was different about Allen.
"Allen… what happened to your hair!?"
Allen's hair was shaved off, a short stubble sprouted from his scalp.
"It's a long story Jin." Allen said finishing his vanilla treat.
The two walked together into the lobby. Allen pulled out his badge to scan.
"Oh, so you brought yours today?" Jin remarked, sarcastically.
The two quietly scanned their badges. Delores was in the middle of a mid-day nap. A book rested on her lap. It read "Sudden Dawn".
"Oh wow, she's on the sequel already," remarked Allen.
The two entered the elevator and Allen entered the code to go down to the office. The elevator doors closed.
"So, what brings you here today?" asked Allen.
"Just wanted to grab a couple of things at my desk and the armory before the weekend," he answered.
"Ah, makes sense. Totally. I'll probably do the same."
The doors reopened. Jin walked over to his desk and Allen went to the watercooler to chat with George and Esteban; they had cleared things up from the previous day's hijinks.
Jin sat at his computer and logged onto his personal email. There was the usual junk mail, along with an email from his father, which he quickly threw into the trash folder, and an email from his high school reaching out about a 15-year reunion. Due to covid, they weren't able to host a 10-year reunion, so the idea got delayed to 15. The hypothetical meetup was still a few months out, but the organizers were inquiring on volunteers.
Normally, Jin would've thrown the email into the trash. What would he do at a reunion? What would he even talk about with people that he knew in a completely different phase of his life?
"Oh wow, you're a doctor? Yeah, I'm in the assassination business myself. Maybe you've done surgery trying to save a few of my targets?" he thought to himself.
Jin placed the social invite into his "starred" folder. He was in a positive mood, and maybe doing something different would be a net-positive. As he was scrolling away, Hugh approached his desk.
"Hey buddy," started Hugh.
"What's up?" Jin responded.
"The boss wants to see you. I don't know what it's about, but be careful," he informed.