"Myclients believe that the best way to remove someone from the face of the earth is to kill him." "Killing is easy." "It's harder to forget." "I'm O - a full-time killer." "Ito!" "." "Ito!" "." "What a surprise!" "." "It's me" " Takeno." "I don't know you." "Imagine running into an old classmate here!" "." "I do not know you." "Speak Japanese." "How long have you been living here?" "." "I work at a sushi restaurant." "Why don't you stop by sometime." "Living abroad is lonely." "Life is hard." "We're expecting our fifth child." "You still play baseball?" "." "If it weren't for your notes at school, I would have flunked out." "No!" "." "No!" "." "A friend of mine once said that in our line of business you're bound to kill someone you know sooner or later." "What do you want?" "." "My name is Tok, and I'm an assassin." "I like movies, especially action movies." "Blockbusters, low budget, foreign or domestic..." "As long as they're not boring and have fresh ideas." "Take that movie from a few years back." "A guy in mexico with a guitar case, killing people right and left." "The movie was not that good, but it was my kind of movie." "I risked my Iife for this kind of shit money?" "." "Know what?" "." "A bloody cop could make more than that in a month or two." "The next one is going to cost you." "Who the fuck do you think you are?" "." "O?" "." "I'm way better." "For the kind of gigs I pull off, I deserve double more than O." "O is more efficient, and experienced." "He makes less noise than you." "That's why he gets the job he gets, and you get shit money!" "." "There's a French movie" " alain Delon." "I can't remember the name, but there's a scene just like this." "Go and get a copy." "I'II call you if I need you." "Fuck." "Fuck!" "Lovely." "Did you know him?" "." "The guy at the train station, I mean." "We were best friends at school." "Tough." "In our line of business you're bound to kill someone you know sooner or later." "We'II be in touch." "We'II be in touch." "Welcome." "Hello." "CLOSED" "OPEN" "I'm Chin." "I'm from Taiwan." "I know Japanese." "I work in a Japanese video store in Hong Kong." "The customers can never tell where I come from originally." "But does it matter?" "." "I'm just an ordinary girl." "Every day is like the next." "Chin." "I didn't have time to clean up." "Will you do it?" "." "Thanks." "Ono." "Yes." "My flat is on the other side of the road but I live here." "For a killer, it's safer this way." "Chin comes to my flat three times a week to clean the place for me." "She's my second cleaning woman." "I pay Chin on the 1 st of every month, and we meet at the same cafe." "We're both shy, and we don't have much to say to each other." "Mr. Ono..." "Why did you hire me?" "." "There were other ads on the notice board." "Why did you choose me?" "." "I don't have any special skills and I lack experience." "I think itwas because your ad had tear-off strips with your phone number on them." "Itwas easierto tear it off." "I see." "Thank you." "I guess I got things mixed up." "It was Nancy's ad that had the strips." "And Chin's note just happened to be at the same spot." "What a freak." "Thank you." "He probably looks even worse without the mask." "please come back again." "A strange guy turned up this week." "Every day he has on a different mask." "Just like in that Hollywood movie where the main characters wear the masks of American presidents." "I want to see what he looks like underneath that mask." "He might be good-looking." "A very confident guy." "Want to catch a movie this Saturday?" "." "Didn't you rent this one?" "." "Y es, but I never watched it." "I just moved." "I don't have a VCR." "But...you come here every day and rent movies." "I only rent movies that I've already seen." "Don't worry..." "I have a job." "Are you a businessman?" "." "I'm a professional killer." "A professional killer?" "." "Yes, that's right." "Are you pulling my leg?" "." "We suspect your husband's murderer to be an assassin that we're after." "Your husband might have known him." "Before Mr. Takeno was murdered, he was speaking in Japanese with this man, according to witness statements." "They must have known each other from Japan." "But why would a friend kill him?" "." "Mrs. Takeno, we need your help - your full cooperation." "We need your husband's photos and letters." "please understand." "please find the man who did this." "I beg you." "Makes you think, doesn't it?" "." "The people you meet in your life." "Oh, my God..." "That is a Iot." "Where are you?" "." ""DROP BY THE SHOP ON SATURDAY"" "I Iove trailers." "They show you the best the movie has to offer." "Just like when you die, and your whole life flashes before your eyes." "Even bad movies can have a good trailer." "Our lives should be just as exciting." "Just as exciting..." "Welcome." "This way, please." "What's the matter?" "." "Don't you Iike this place?" "." "Is something the matter?" "." "Would you Iike something to drink?" "." "She'II have an iced coffee, and I'II take a lemon tea." "I thought you were Japanese!" "." "I'm Chinese." "I'm not Japanese either." "You're from Taiwan." "I can tell." "Then why do you speak to me in Japanese?" "." "I want to practice it, because I'm going to kill a Japanese guy." "I want to make friends with him before I kill him." "But he doesn't speak Chinese." "This syringe contains a poison that I've made." "After letting this settle for three, four hours you drain the water and the tobacco." "Then you only have the nicotine left at the bottom of the glass." "You can actually kill people with this?" "." "Yes." "You remind me of Emu in Crying Freeman." "She was a quiet girl..." "But she turns into a sexy woman when she meets an assassin." "Stop teasing me." "Sometimes I almost believe that you're a killer." "Just give me fifteen minutes." "I have some people to kill..." "I'II be right back." "Don't kill me!" "I'II pay you double!" "Triple!" "Don't kill me!" "How many do you smoke a day?" "." "Look at you!" "Don't you knowthat nicotine kills you?" "." "Did it go okay?" "." "I killed four losers and shot one up with nicotine." "And not only that:" "I shafted Asia's number one assassin." "Would you Iike to be a killer's woman?" "." "Where have I seen you before?" "." "He knew that we'd trace the fax back here." "Not bad." "Just letting us see enough." "It's him" " O." "It's not Iike him to leave a paper trail, right?" "." "He wants us to see him." "He's the best." "Won't let a psycho spoil his name." "He's called Tok." "No one knows his real name." "He's new, but I hear his name a Iot." "He mostly gets the undesirable jobs." "He's reckless and showy but he works cheap." "He's reliable and always gets the job done." "He wants attention." "What better way than to challenge you?" "." "You're the number one assassin." "Is that his plan?" "." "Is he challenging me?" "." "You want my opinion?" "." "Last time he put on a show for you." "That was his way oftelling you to step aside." "He knows your target, the location and that you case it the night before." "He's watching you." "I'II show you." "Hold it." "There you go." "Shoot." "No." "It's not loaded." "Aim..." "That's yourtarget." "Don't worry." "Don't move your elbow." "I sawthis movie..." "Leon." "Kill him!" "Shit!" "Are you okay?" "." "Got you there!" "The rifle puts a bullet in the chamber after every shot that's fired." "What do you think you're doing?" "." "I could've killed him!" "Do you think you're an expert already?" "." "It was yourfirst try." "You don'twant to be a killer's woman anymore?" "." "Are you seeing someone?" "." "I don't know." "It's a yes-or-no question." "I've known him for a year." "I clean his flat." "But during all this time" "I've never seen him in that flat." "Guys don't want to stay at home." "It's not that..." "It's like he's never lived there." "The place feels empty..." "Once, I put a Snoopy on his table." "I wanted to give the place some life..." "To see if he would notice it..." "But he never mentioned it." "Instead, whenever he travels abroad, he brings back Snoopys." "He likes you." "I've something to show you." "Every time he brings back a Snoopy I always check the news from that particular country." "I Iook for murders or assassinations." "This is the latest one." "I think the flat is used as a cover." "A misdirection..." "The place is always a mess, as if someone has been there." "But it looks like the mess has been made on purpose." "How come you started working for him?" "." "I put up an ad on a supermarket notice board." "And he hired me." "He said that the thing that caught his attention was the ad's tear-off strips." "But mine didn't have any strips." "He confused me with his previous cleaner." "You know what?" "." "The woman I replaced disappeared without a trace." "He said that one day she just didn't show up for work." "After I started working for him, the police paid a visit asking me questions about her disappearance." "Sometimes, I can feel his presence." "It's as if he's watching me." "I often change clothes by the windows." "Perhaps he's watching me..." "What's the matter?" "." "But the souls of the just are in the hand of God and no torment shall touch them." "They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead and their passing away was thought an affliction..." "(Where's O?" ". )" "If it's the pay..." "It's not that." "I've met a guy." "He's...a friend." "He needs me right now." "I see..." "Thank you." "Can you find a replacement in two weeks?" "." "I'II hate to lose you." "Hello?" "." "Do you have Chinese Daily and South China Morning Post?" "." "Yes." "In Chinese Daily it's on page C5, in South China Morning Post on F6." "There's an ad in the Ieft-hand corner of Chinese Daily." "Do you see the ad in the right-hand corner of South China Morning Post?" "." "Pay attention - this is how the organization contacts me." "Read the fourth word of every sentence." "Put the two ads together." "Check the Daily first." "Tomorrow...3PM Singapore Outram..." "Park..." "Station..." "You're a fast learner." "My manager is setting me up." "He never gives me a job this quickly." "Where are you?" "." "You're somebody." "Someone I've seen before." "Excuse me..." "Where would you find books on the Games?" "." "please use the search function on any of our computers." "Thank you." "We'II search all titles beginning with the word "Games"." "O." "Police." "Where's the guy?" "." "I don't know." "How about his clothes?" "." "black." "Maybe grey." "You stay here." "Police!" "Stay calm." "Showtime!" "Good afternoon." "Police Emergency." "Can I help you?" "." "Hey, Hung, don't look back." "I guess this is your day today." "A smartie is watching you." "He's in black." "Hi..." "Do you have a lighter?" "." "Sure." "Police!" "Go!" "Go!" "This is our double." "Thank you." "Lok Tok-wah is in top form." "The gold is his if he hits the centre rings." "He missed!" "What happened?" "." "He's having convulsions." ""History Repeated." "China's Lok Tok-wah" "collapsed just like his brother Lok Gan-wah in 1 984."" "Check out Lok Tok-wah and his brother." "An order came in from Macao." "Contact me." "Ice said, "No guns tonight."" "I did the job." "I want my money." "I see the job through, even when it's a trap." "You've got guts, my friend, but no brains." "You obviously don'twatch enough movies." "And if you did, you'd knowthatwhen the organization betrays a killer, he'II pay back twice to the ones who have wronged him." "Even if he dies trying." "I've asked around, trying to find that fucking movie you were talking about." "No one has heard of it!" "Must be a real winner!" "What the hell are you laughing at, fucker?" "." "China won her first-ever gold medal in the free pistol event in 1 984." "Lok Gan-wah was in the lead, but he collapsed in the Iast round." "Just like what happened to Lok Tok-wah in 1 992." "His team-mate Hui Hoi-fung went on to win China's first-ever gold medal." "I have the absolute best manager." "When he gives me a job, he's already thought of everything." "I just do my job." "Get out of the way..." "We're too close." "Any shots we fire will go through her body first." "She's innocent." "You killed your classmate and hired a cleaner to die in your place." "We'II fire on the count of three." "1... 2... 3!" "You don't deserve the No. 1 title." "Two hours later, I realized that my manager had betrayed me." "My target was a member of the organization." "I never trust anyone - including my manager." "I gave him the phoney address." "But today's Monday." "Chin will come clean the flat!" "When there's a fax, put it on the board." "And never answer the phone." "Didn't you hit him?" "." "This is not a real gun." "Run for the exit on the count of three." "1... 2... 3!" "I'm sorry." "I'm a professional killer." "There's an industrial building across from my flat." "Unit 1 006." "Go there." "You probably have two questions for me." "One:" "Why did I betray you?" "." "Two:" "What's my relation to Tok?" "." "He's my brother." "Are you Lok Gan-wah?" "." "I almost made history by winning China's first gold medal." "Will you use your gun today?" "." "No." "You've made a name for yourself." "I'm a thing of the past." "In our line of business you're bound to kill someone you know sooner or later." "You shouldn't have set O up." "It's not honourable." "Stay out of this." "The flat is registered under a trading company called Ashki." "The registered tenant is a guy called Ito Hiroshi." "Guess what?" "." "There's an Ito in Takeno's list of classmates." "Do you think he'II come back?" "." "It's our only chance." "Too bad..." "There's only one missing." "The Hong Kong Snoopy." "Otherwise itwould be a whole set." "You've gotto take things easy, or you're going to lose it." "Windows have been changed..." "No curtains at all." "It's weird, because you can probably see the whole flat." "How could anyone arrange his home that way?" "." "What does it say?" "." ""Ms. Chin, please put all faxes on the board" "and make sure they don't overlap." "Thank you, Ono."" "Everyone, listen up!" "The suspect's here in the building." "I need you split into three groups." "Marco, take a team and guard the exits." "I'm coming down!" "Most of the tenants have moved out." "Get Mike to search from the bottom." "Police!" "Open up!" "If you step out the door with me, your whole life will change." "I can use this." "Freeze!" "Jump when I start shooting." "Marco." "Maintain surveillance." "Wait for my command." "Don't even try, orthey will shoot you down." "Drop your gun." "Drop your gun!" "Move it!" "Move it!" "Get the fuck out of my way!" "Ambulance..." "We have a patient here." "A female with gunshotwounds." "Massive haemorrhage." "BP 70/50, pulse 72, RR 32, GCS 243..." "Arriving in five minutes." "It's all in there - everything you've ever wanted to know." "It's all yours - but on one condition." "What do you want?" "." "The Snoopys." "You crazy son of a bitch!" "Everyone comes into this world with a role to play." "You learnt about me and O, so I think you ought to write a book." "A book of us." "For the cover, you could use the picture that O took of me." "The Snoopys!" "That night, Tok vanished right before me." "My boss asked me to see a shrink." "I decided to leave." "Fuck them!" "But I didn't go back to Singapore." "I wanted to stay here in Hong Kong." "Hong Kong was where Tok's and O's story had taken place." "So I guess the book is meant to be written here." "Sometimes, I didn't feel like writing." "I just couldn't do it." "The whole thing was breaking me down." "But the case files lay there and kept pushing me forward." "Like Tok had said." "I was the chosen one, and I believed him." "If I didn't finish the story, I would never be released." "But how is one to cap a story that hasn't run its course?" "." "O and Tok are still out there." "Their rivalry is unresolved." "I have speculated, trying to finish." "But whenever I reach that moment..." "Tok vanished right in my face." "I just can't bring myself to continue." "A book without an ending." "I'm writing a book without an ending." "Then, a turning-point." "Is Mr. Albert Lee there?" "." "Sorry to bother you." "I'm a friend of Tok's." "Tok asked me to come, so you can finish it." "Wait!" "That day, after O took me away from the parking lot we hit the road at full throttle." "Just when the excitement started to die down..." "Where's Nancy?" "." "I buried her in someone else's grave." "Did you kill her?" "." "I couldn't save her." "I knew her." "We weren't that close but she was my only friend in Hong Kong." "Nancy was so full of life." "She would often tell me that she suspected you of being an assassin." "Then, one day, she just disappeared." "I found that out when the police came to see me." "I'm from the countryside." "Life here can get so lonely." "I want some excitement in my life." "That's why I put up an ad where Nancy posted hers." "I wanted to work for you." "Sorry." "You wanted to?" "." "After I started working for you I was convinced that you were an assassin." "Every time I booked plane tickets for you I would look for news about assassins." "I collected the articles." "I could feel your presence from across the street." "During those two years I never got to know who you really were." "Let me finish!" "But then I met someone..." "He was really different." "He was there for me." "He talked to me about himself." "I could love him." "He was real." "Am I too late?" "." "Do you love him?" "." "I'm not sure..." "I'm thinking about retiring and finding a place to live my Iife in peace." "Would you come with me?" "." "Will Tok find us?" "." "Do you want him to?" "." "He said that the contract he wants the most, is the one for your life." "I'II settle this with him." ""Find O. Kill him."" "May I help you?" "." "I want to place an ad." "Don't cry." "This one's from me." "You speak fluent Japanese!" "It took me five years to Iearn." "I wanted to talk to you." "Then it turned out you don't like talking." "Isn't it ironic?" "." "With Tok around, things began to lighten up." "You...son of a bitch!" "Son of a bitch!" "Mother...fucker!" "Faster." "Motherfucker!" "Everyone had a good time." "Before we knew it, it was 1 1 o'clock." "Is it about time now?" "." "Y es, it is." "I'II be back." "Wait for me." "You play video games?" "." "Y es." "Have you heard of Metal Slug?" "." "I can play it all night with just one coin." "Good!" "Do you know where the hidden weapons are?" "." "I know it by heart." "Goodbye." "Goodbye." "So Tok killed O?" "." "What was the date?" "." "July 1 4th." "How?" "." "Micro Uzi." "Did he say anything afterwards?" "." ""I'm the gold medallist of assassins."" "As a consolation, they got what they wanted." "Tok wanted to be a legend." "And as for O, he just wished no one would've known his existence." "I guess death was the way out." "To seek for virtue and get virtue." "Yeah, that's right." "They both got what they wanted in this ending." "Thank you." "Suddenly, I realized how ridiculous I was being." "The book needs an ending." "When it's sold and turned into a movie what it needs is just an ending." "How much of what she said was the truth?" "." "And how much fiction?" "." "Does it really matter?" "." "Who am I to argue with them?" "." "Translation:" "Broadcast Text Stockholm, 2003"