Murder and Vengeance, Part One: The Assassin
Synopsis:
By Peter Silvestro
At a bank in New York’s Bowery, a team of crooks in animal masks pull off a robbery….
Justice Inc. member Smitty reviews his early life: as a teenager he was a member of a gang with a strict code of vengeance; he killed for the first time at sixteen and enjoyed it. As a semi-pro hockey player he was able to find some outlet for his violent tendencies, and earned the nickname "The Assassin" for his brutal reprisals on the ice. After his sports career fell apart, he worked as a bouncer until he was framed for the murder of an ex-girlfriend. On the run, he encountered Richard Benson—the Avenger—and ended up breaking both the man’s arms. Arrested, he spent three years in jail until his lawyer was able to find a witness who could clear him. Leaving prison, he was offered a job by Benson, allowing him to use his violence in the name of justice—but with the understanding he was never to kill save in self-defense. And Smitty abided by that rule…
…until Victor Santoro came to him for help. Santoro, a witness to the Bowery bank robbery recognized the voice of the gang leader. Many years earlier Santoro wound up owing money to the Syndicate. Their enforcer took Santoro hostage and forced him to watch as the cold-blooded thug repeated raped Santoro’s wife then calmly shot her to death. Now the man wants justice and the police are in the pay of the Syndicate. Smitty agrees to take the case. On his way out, Benson stops him and reminds him of the rule. Smitty leaves on his mission to kill a man, feeling more alive than he has in years….