47- Towel Kill

  Ashton was lying naked on the table, facedown. He started to rise and turn his head so that he could approve the beauty taking Katharina’s place, but before he could register what was happening, 47 rammed the bundle of cloth into the man’s face. The hitman then leaped onto the table and straddled Ashton’s back, simultaneously pulling the towels on either side of the Colonel’s head. The man’s scream was sufficiently muffled.

  But the assassin hadn’t counted on Ashton’s highly tuned reflexes and tremendous strength. He was a man in excellent physical shape, whereas 47 was suffering from oxycodone withdrawal and had spent the last year going a bit soft. Ashton managed to buck the hitman off him, knocking 47 to the floor. The naked man pulled the towels from around his face, threw them against the wall, and then climbed off the table.

  47’s cap had fallen off. He lay on his back, slightly dazed. Once again, the symptoms of sickness enveloped him, causing a momentary inertness.

  “You!”

  Ashton’s surprise at seeing a man he thought to be dead worked to 47’s advantage. The Colonel faltered too, for the man didn’t realize how vulnerable he was as he stood over the assassin. The pause provided 47 the precious seconds he needed to recover from the stun and see things clearly. The plan of attack was obvious.

  The hitman viciously kicked his leg up and slammed his shoe into Ashton’s groin. The Colonel yelled, this time a little too loudly for 47’s comfort. The killer jumped to his feet as his prey fell to his knees. Ashton’s face turned red from the agony, and his hands reflexively covered his privates, leaving him completely unprotected. 47 made a fist and delivered a right hook to the Colonel’s jaw, knocking the man against the massage table.

  The hitman retrieved the towels and continued what he’d started earlier. He wrapped a couple of them across Ashton’s head, then jerked the two ends of the towel with all his might, whiplashing his victim with such force that the neck snapped and severed the spinal cord. The Colonel went limp.

  47 took a breath and opened the small closet. It was empty. Ashton was heavy, but the hitman managed to carry and drop the body inside the cabinet. He had to stuff the man’s arms and legs within in order to properly shut the door. Then 47 smoothed his uniform, adjusted his cap, and left the massage room.

- Hitman: Damnation, chapter 26