1 Shinde Inc.

Smoke was billowing out of his brand new yellow Lamborghini from a distance. Last Jimmy remembered was trying to control his car over the bend before it went zigzagging along the way. Feet were gathering around him, but he could not move any part of his body. Crying could be heard from a distance. He remembered a bump before the sensation of flight.

He could feel a warm, thick viscous fluid seeping through his T-shirt. His eyes widened at the sight of blood slowly pooling. But he could not respond. The jagged asphalt was hurting his face. A sharp pain shot through his lower back.

"Don't move him," a man's voice called out. "He might have a spinal injury."

"Derrick… we will do a roll."

"Dr Chan, I can help," another man's voice was heard.

Two hands grabbed his shoulders and squeezed while another few hands seem to be helping along. He could feel some movement. It was as though they were adjusting his position. Something was stuffed below his neck. Finally, he could see three pairs of tear-filled eyes.

"Yeah recovery position… How is Dr…"

"Don't say anything. Whoever we can save, we will save," the one whom they addressed as Dr Chan replied with a sigh.

"Hello, yeah, we need the police and two ambulances in Sha Mun road near Yipin Exercise center NOW. And the firemen too. Yeah, there was a very bad car accident, and the car has smoke coming out. Yeah, most of us moved away. Yeah… One is badly injured, still breathing. A doctor is attending to him. Yeah…the other…well…the other…I don't think she is going to be …oh my god…*haaah* …alive much sooner. We saw her falling…oh god, sorry …*aaahhh* let me calm myself down yeah. It is a woman…Down the ravine… oh my god," a woman with a London accent was speaking on her phone in a trembling voice. "Yes, my husband and I witnessed the incident. My name is Anna Sommers, telephone number 66132468, yeah we will be around to give our statements. Oh god this is horrible."

Fuck, Jimmy cursed. He had hit someone. His father will be furious. Worse, possibly another doctor. The courts won't take kindly to it. Neither would the public, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Doctor. There is some metal spike thingy protruding out of the spine," a girl answered. "EeeeeAHHH SO MUCH BLOOD!"

"GO TO THE NEARBY PETROL STATION, ASK FOR TOWELS!"

Again, a few hands were checking his back. The shock of everything all had numbed him. His body was growing weaker by the minute - too weak to hang on from the impalement. The grim shadow of dread weaved through his already frantic mind.

The murkiness of sinking gloom crept slowly as his senses started failing him. He languished in despair as his vision blurred.

"Ah FUCK MY LIFE… an unscheduled in Hong Kong," a bespectacled woman appeared in front of him, smoking a cigarette.

***

"We had a deal. One fucking life. Not two," I replied angrily on my iPhone. "Well, I don't give a shit if it is the Deity of Calamity, TELL THAT CUNT OUR OPERATIONS ARE NOT FOR HIS FREE FUCKING PLEASURE. I am SICK of explaining to Death."

That wasn't a pun. Death comes and pulls me into the unscheduled killing site for an explanation each time a screw up happens under our jurisdiction in the Asia-Pacific region. This includes Hong Kong.

Jimmy was the deal - scheduled for Death's collection. That woman whom Jimmy hit, was not part of the deal, and totally unplanned for. An overworked and grumpy Death was unhappy, being forced to take her under its superior's order.

Ghosts exist because those are too many unscheduled kills. When a location has too many unscheduled kills, it becomes haunted. When it becomes haunted, those spirits wreak havoc. NOT that Death cared. No one likes extra work piled on suddenly. Not even supernatural entities.

Opportunists. They are always out to get us. Free, of course. Worst offender, the Deity of Calamity. That's one lazy ass shit deity who decided that he could have a soul at my expense.

"Are… you… death?" Jimmy mumbled.

What the fuck now? He can see me? Ah yeah, because of that freaking Calamity cunt. The damn bad luck residue aura is still around.

"HELL NO," I blurted out, then pointed to the blackish aura waiting patiently in the shadows. "That's Death there."

"Wha…t are…you?"

Great question to ask before Death collects you.

"Chief Execution Officer, CEO of Shinde Inc.," I shrugged.

No harm in letting this fellow know, he is a deadbeat goner anyway.

***

"You must be our new human associate from Thailand. I am Kingyo, your personal orientation guide. Nice to meet you," a smiling woman with a pretty face greeted Mr Phaknip.

"Please follow me."

Mr Phaknip glanced around the plain yet classy interior of the lobby. Nothing ostentatious. At the far end, there was a neat Japanese zen garden with a tiny shrine in the middle and a water fountain. A large scroll of calligraphy adorning the wall adjacent to the lift lobby. So this was the secretive Shinde Inc. If he was not wrong, the translation was 'just die'.

"Now, our CEO is Kuro Shinde," Kingyo continued as he followed her into the mirror panelled lift with a nice Persian rug covering the floor. "Urgent last minute business in Hong Kong. She does extend her apologies."

Mr Phaknip wondered if it was a joke. The CEO's name almost translated as 'kill'. Then again, that was their business.

"Now you are aware of our commission basis, right?" Kingyo asked and pressed a button for Floor 4.

"50-50 split on commission for simple cases. 20-80 split on specially customised cases," Mr Phaknip answered as the lift softly dinged them on arriving at the selected floor.

"Any questions?"

"I don't get it. Why do you get 80% for specially customised cases?" he asked as they stepped out onto Floor 4.

"Because we exert more effort. Satisfaction guaranteed. Refunds unnecessary. It is cleaner than hiring an actual human assassin. Too bloody. Prone to human error. We can disguise it as an accident. Nobody knows. Not even the police, no matter how gruesome the request is. Your satisfied client will increase your business by word of mouth and you can increase your price to in accordance to your popularity, so a win-win situation," Kingyo explained patiently with a smile on her face.

"Or you can continue solo. If you could, you wouldn't be here today via a reference from your old master."

Mr Phaknip sighed. That was true. Business is terrible now, compared to his rivals. He could hear murmurs of people emanating from a room at the end of the long hallway.

"Here's our BMW seminar for rookies."

"BMW? I don't have that car," he mumbled.

Kingyo giggled and opened the door to a crowd waiting inside.

"It stands for the 'Black Magic Way'. Not the car. How to fully impress and convince your client that it is worth dropping down the money, before you even give us a call. Well, enjoy the seminar and we will see you shortly after."