THE ABSOLUTELY MOST ESSENTIAL part of any successful operation is accurate information. Even with the finest weapon and the most sophisticated equipment available, without accurate information you'll be all dressed up with nowhere to go. Or, worse yet, you may crash the wrong party.
HOMEWORK
Only a fool will rush right into a job without doing his homework. You have to know your target, whether it's a job for hire or a personal endeavor. Every scrap of up-to-date information you can gather inconspicuously should be assembled and studied to guarantee the success of you operation. Information requirements will vary, depending on the type and difficulty of the job. Even the most minute, seemingly unimportant detail can be just the very item you need. Everything your employer knows, you should know.
The best way to gather the necessary facts to plan your job is to use an information sheet as a guideline so nothing will be left out. You can have your employer fill it out himself, but you will get better information (once you have a bond of mutual trust and price has been agreed upon) if you ask the questions and fill it our as he supplies the information.
UNtil you actually do the job, the information sheet is just harmless data. However, if it falls into the wrong hands and you go ahead with the job, it could very well prove conspiracy. So keep it in a safe place away from prying eyes and nosy snoopers. After you do the job, the information sheet, along with any photos, maps, diagrams, house keys and other paraphernalia will become incriminating evidence linking you to the crime. So memorize and get rid of all your information before you leave to do the job.
The best way to rid yourself of this evidence is to burn it all, crumble the cooled residue, and scatter it in the wind. If you burn it indoors, flush it down the toilet. But make sure you are not near any smoke detectors or you may have company at the most inopportune time. Just see that all this information is done away with in some manner that will inhibit its reconstruction.
On the following pages is a sample information sheet to show the depth of the information required to plan an efficient, successful job. Each job will be different, so the categories will carry in their importance. For instance, if a man lives alone, it may become important to know is he has a dog who will bark, warning the owner of your impending intrusion or alerting the neighborhood that something is amiss. If a man lives with several other people, however, it may become important to know his regular routine and where he hands out when he is not at work or at home.
Your thinking, pattern and technique should be flexible and imaginative. You may want to develop your own information-gathering system based on your personal needs and preferences.
Using this information complete on the sample form;, we come to the following conclusions:
Items 1,2,3,5 and 24 supply physical information to enable positive identification of the mark. Edward Nathan Jones (AKA Eddie or Fat Boy) can be mentally pictures as a middle-aged, overweight man who is more than likely too out of shape to make any positive effort to defend himself against our onslaught. The photograph supplied will help greatly in making a positive identification. However, if the photo were not available, the indicated mole, scar and habitual cigar would be of great benefit, along with the detailed physical description.
Items 9 through 20 and 23 give clues to his emotional makeup. Our mark is basically a loner. He lives alone, has few friends or outside interests, preferring to remain within the confines of his apartment watching TV during his free time. He is a heavy drinker, although he does not abuse any type of drug. The that he is a homosexual will preclude the sudden appearance of a girlfriend. It was stated in item 23 that he is afraid of sexual contact of any kind since his brush with the law eight years ago. He may be jut a bit paranoid, since he does keep a loaded weapon close at hand in the apartment. His previous fighting ability will more than likely pose no threat, since his excess weight will slow him down considerably and make him short-winded.
Items 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 15, 16, 21, 22, 25,and 26 indicate again that his lifestyle precludes heavy traffic flow at the place where he lives. Although his job is an unimportant one and he drives to and from work alone, a study of the drawings in items 25 and 26 as well as the photos provided make the apartment the initial choice for making the hit. The fact that he does not deal of partake of illegal drugs and that he has no known sexual pastimes shows that he will usually be found alone. The absence of burglar alarms or watchdogs would indicate that he feels relatively safe within the confines of his apartment, relying only on his own abilities and the loaded .38 for self-protection. Since his own car is the only one usually present in the reserved parking area, a quick check of the tag numbers should be enough to verify he is alone before you make your move.
Items 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 20 offer potential methods for making the hit.
Items 7 shows that he travels to and from work alone. A well-planned "traffic accident" or "hit and run" might be in order. Or even a well-placed rifle shot from a distance.
Item 11 might inspire some other type of accident in the home while the mark is under the influence of the alcohol he is known to drink heavily. Or, some really good poison, like cyanide, might be added to a bottle of wine he has chilling in the refrigerator.
The negative responses to items 12, 13, 14 and 15 rule out "Accidental" death due to drug overdose. IF he were a drug dealer, a fake rip-off might have been used as the cover. Or perhaps he would have indulged in a bad bag of dope.
Since he has no dealings with women, item 16 is of little help. A woman would be no use in keeping him occupied or luring him to the spot of your choice.
Item 20 might be a good alternative. If the mark has a bad heart, the mere presence of a venomous snake in his bed or mailbox might bring about an immediate heart attack.
Based on the overall picture, however, quick, silent entry and the muffled blast of your .22 is the preferred route. The mark's physical attributes, his emotional makeup and his lifestyle would indicate that it might be days before any foul play is detected. The layout of the apartment complex and the position of his apartment make it an ideal place to make a hit.
The decision has been made.
You may have noticed no personal information was requested from the employer as to why he wanted the hit performed. neither was their any reference to the employer, his name or location. It is not necessary for you to know why the employer wants the mark taken out. If he tells you, fine. Otherwise, don't ask. The employer is the judge. You are merely the executioner. Your job, once the information is provided, is to study it to arrive at your own conclusions as to how the job will be accomplished or whether additional information will have to be obtained on your own.
Give the employer what he has paid for: the cleanest, most efficient and professional services possible.
SURVEILLANCE
Surveillance can be a tedious and sometimes boring part of your job. It can mean sitting in sweltering heat or freezing cold for hours on end while you try not to look conspicuously out of place or draw attention to yourself. It means hoping to gather enough information to put together some ideas of how the mark thinks and acts so you can plan when and how to make your move.
When a complete packet of information is supplied by the employer at the time you make the contract, surveillance can be cut down to a few routine checks of places the mark is known to frequent and a couple of runs to establish positive identification and correct addresses. If for some reason the employer cannot provide the information required for advance planning, of course the fee he pays and the expense money advanced will Ben higher to cover the extra risks and time involved in assuring success of the job.
The key here, as always, is discretion. The use of disguises will enable you to move about more freely. It is much to your advantage that no one recognize your true identity or remember your actual description.
Surveillance techniques vary from job to job, depending on the area where the mark lives and his personal and social habits. A man in a large city will be much easier to watch or tag that a man in a small town or rural community. In the city, you blend with the crowd and the crowd tends to mind its own business. In a small area, an outsider will immediately inspire curiosity.
In some places, an unusual car parked on the roadside with a lone man seated behind the wheel for an extended period of time may have terrified mothers reporting its presence to the authorities. In other places, the same man could sit in the same car all day and no one would give him a second glance.
The object is to check the conditions that exist on each particular job before you formulate your plan. No matter how high your IQW, or how sharp your weapon skills, if you lack basic common sense, you won't make it as a professional in this field.
One fellow I know accepted a contract on an old country boy who has known to be a big drug dealer. The mark was always on the go and never in one place at the same time twice. And traffic at the mark's home was heavy, moving in and out in a steady stream. The hit man followed the mark for several days and never could establish the proper time or place to make a quiet hit. Finally, in frustration, he got into his "good OLE country boy" outfit and knocked on the mark's front door.
"Charlie 'round?" the hit man drawled as he spat a mouth of chew on the ground.
"Naw, he ain't here," came the reply.
"Reckon I could catch him over at Pete's Bar4?" our friend inquired as he bent to wipe the dust from his cowboy boots.
"Maybe later. He's out at the packing house right now," the young man informed him. "I 'spect him to come back by here 'bout five or six o'clock."
"Thank you much, "our friend said, tipping his hat politely. "Just tell him Clyde stopped by and I'll be seeing him later."
Back in his pickup truck, "Clyde" drove to the packing house he had surveyed earlier. he knew it was a cover for transporting the drugs cross-country. The decision now was whether to hit the mark here, or wait until later when he was known to be visiting Pete's Bar.
Luckily there was a vacant parking spot to the left of the mark's car. he turned the radio on and country music filled the air. Leaning his head back against the seat, he pulled hi hat down to cover his eyes as though he were napping. He was still in that position when the unsuspecting mark bent to unlock his car forty-five minutes later.
The muffled sound of three shots to mark's head went unnoticed by the workers in the packing house. The body was not discovered until several hours later when the shift ended. By then, our friends was safely miles away. A difficult hit had been successfully completed!
If you expect your surveillance to entail tedious hours of watching and waiting, there are some things you can do to make yourself more comfortable during that time. If it's cold out, dress warmly and carry a blanket to cover yourself so you won't have to run the car to keep the heater going. Pack a thermos of coffee or cold drinks and some food so you won't have to leave your position when you get hungry. Bring a portable radio of cassette player so you won't drain your car battery. Don't bring any reading material. You can't watch and read, although a book or newspaper may be used as a prop. To fill the time, you make check out books on cassette from the library and listen while you watch.
Fill your tank before you start out. You never know when the mark may be on the move, and many a tail has been lost because the tank ran out before the mark did.
If you can afford them and are able to get inside to plant them, quarter sized bugging devices are not available that will pick up conversation up to two miles away on an unused radio frequency. The bugs can be planted in the house, inside a frequently worn jacket, inside the car, and so on, giving you the leverage of knowing what is going on from a perfectly legitimate spot within a two-mile radius.
Binoculars, infra-red photography, Star-light scopes and bugging devices all have their time and place. Unfortunately, nothing will ever replace the basic sit and watch technique.
At night, perhaps circumstances will allow you to approach a little closer to take a peek, or even go inside for a preliminary investigation. But don't ever take risks gathering information that may not be necessary. Use common sense!
Remember these important rules: If, for any reason, you can be placed at the jobsite by witnesses, scratch that job for a later time or eliminate it altogether.
If you are working out of town and get a traffic ticket, Call the job off.
If you are doing surveillance and the cops come to check out your reason for loitering in the area, call the job off.
If you run into a neighbor or repairman while you are snooping around the mark's house, Call the job off.
Don't let any little detail link you to the victim.