Golgo 13 16

Golgo 13, Special Edition Volume 3, Chapter 16 (pp. 266~308)


<266>
Part 1: A Man Approaches


<267>
An Intersection of Murderous Designs


<268>
BWUSH!

SWUU—SH

ZWUU—SH

CRICK

=My, what a magnificent body you have!

=Amazing! It truly makes me envious!


<269>
=I've been a member for about 40 days, but you simply can't beat old age, eh? But I've kept it up for the sake of my health.

=I'm Jonathan Earp!//Earp as in Wyatt Earp. Unfitting name for a weakling like me, I suppose. Hah-hah-hah...

=You are Mr. Duke Togo, correct?

=Wh-Why... I just took a glance at the directory...

=Nice to meet you.

=A-Anyways, your body is truly magnificent!
SWICK!

=How about dinner together?//There's a very good restaurant nearby.


<270>
=And I know some interesting places too.

Part 2: We're Not Strangers


<271>
=A toast to your magnificent body!

=Heh-heh-heh... Pretty nice place, eh!?

=Alright, let's hear it...
=Huh!?

=The reason you called me here, Wyatt Earp!

=Uck!

=H-Hey, please don't call me that—Heh-heh-heh...//I see... Alright then...

BWUSH

=3000 dollars!//Not the kind of money you see everyday.


<272>
=Hmm, that's a lot of money...
=And it's all yours if you do me a little favor.

=Well!? Not a bad deal, is it?

=I never had any interest in bodybuilding in the first place.
=My only intention was to find a person like you.//A strong, agile person willing to hear me out...//I've been keeping tabs on you this whole week!

=Just get to the point...
SHWUCK!

=All you need to do is pull the trigger! And the 3000 dollars is yours. How about it?
=Hmm...

=So you're asking me to murder...
=Shh, let's not use that kind of language.//All you need to do is move your fingertips! And besides...

=There's no chance of us getting caught! Y-You see...//I can guarantee it. There's a good reason for this!//There's no danger whatsoever!
=Do it yourself if you're so confident...


<273>
=I wouldn't be asking you if I could! Please don't humiliate me like this!//I'm a coward, you see. Just thinking about it makes me shudder!

=Try elsewhere...
=A-Alright, I understand. But please don't go yet!

=That's not the end of the story! Please, hear me out...
=You're free to make your own choice after hearing everything...

=These are my observations from watching your workouts this past week. You begin by strengthening the arm muscles...
=That's nothing out of the ordinary, but...

=I was intrigued by the exercises you performed afterwards! The muscular rotation exercises where you rotate your wrists inwards and outwards—
=Then the palms, rotated inwards and outwards...//These exercises were what truly caught my attention...


<274>
=This kind of thing must make it easier to shoot a gun, I imagine...
=I know my own workout routine... Tell me what else you have written down in your notebook.

=Not much else, I'm afraid. I know you're staying in a cheap hotel, and...
=A-Ah, excuse me!

=And that you're currently working as a salesperson...

=Currently?
=Yes, currently...//I've made some inferences on my own, you see...

=And?

=Long ago... I mean, you're still young, but in your even younger days,//You must've been quite well off.//You probably went by some sort of alias given to you by a syndicate...

=You're now working as a salesman...//You must've gotten tired of the business.//But seeing that you've kept up your training, you're still being pursued!

=What if I'm just pretending to be a salesman?

=No, you see—
=Heh-heh-heh...


<275>
=People in the business have money. Even an amateur like me knows that.//I can't imagine one would choose to stay in a cheap hotel that's under police surveillance.//But they would never suspect someone staying at a first-class hotel.//Am I right?

=I'm right, aren't I! I've told you my secret by asking you to kill.//And now I know your secret...

=We're not strangers, after all... Please!//I must get this done!
=No matter what!

FWOO—SH...
=I will make all the necessary preparations...
=All you need to do is give the trigger a little pull...


<276>
Part 3: Client A

RRRR...


<277>
RRR...

SCREECH

GACHUK

[x2]CREAK

[x4]CREAK

=First, let's make it clear that I didn't arrive late. You arrived too early.

=Well? Has Jonathan Earp taken the bait?

=Yes! He saw my hand exercises...

=Good! Earp should take care of the rest.
=We just have to sit and wait.


<278>
=The payment of 20,000 dollars has been made to your Swiss bank account...//Confirmation is available...

=I wish you luck... Mr. Golgo 13!

[x4]CREAK

Part 4: Client B

GWUU—SH

GWHA—CK


<279>
*cheering*
[x3]CLAP

GAWHU—CK

GASHUCK
BEEP!

KAWHA—CK
BEEP
GAWHU-WHUCK


<280>
GRIP

CLACK

BLICK


<281>
GWUU—SH
GASHUCK
WA—

=Daddy—You're late—!
=I've been waiting for an hour!
=I'm sorry dear.

=N-Now now, we have a guest.//Cut it out!

=I'm a former pro-bowler, you see.//I run this establishment now...


<282>
=I always start my day off like this.

=A strike puts me in a good mood.

=Would you like a try?
=I'll pass...

GWUU—SH

GAWHA—CK

=Damn!


<283>
=Heh!

=Guess I'm not off to a good start.

=Th-That idiot! He's dozed off again!

=Bring him here immediately!
=Y-Yes sir.

=Daddy! Didn't you promise to take me to the Ali-Ali Club today?
=Something's come up today! Just go by yourself!

=Alone...?
=That's boring!

=Hey, wanna go on a date?
=D-Don't be silly, he's an important guest of mine!


<284>
=Fine! I'll just find someone else!
=Anne!

=Let's go guys!

=You idiot!

=Why can't you do anything right, Chuck!? Screw up, one more time,//And you're fired for good! I'm cutting your pay by 10% for now!!

=I-I'll barely have anything left...
=It's your own fault!//And watch your language! Refer to me as "Sir."


<285>
=What an incorrigible fool!

Part 5: Only One Target

BATHUMP!

=Please, take a seat.

=Don't worry... I can stand and listen...


<286>
=Now, allow me to explain my plan...
=This room is perfect for this sort of thing.

=And planning all this in front of the portrait of the man himself... It's quite ironic, really. Heh-heh-heh...

=The company president will depart Harvey Airport in Chicago at exactly 17:00.
=He will head north of Lake Michigan to his home in Gladstone.

=He follows this routine exactly unless there is some kind of emergency.

=He flies a Beechcraft C-33 Debonair, which has a max. speed of 314km/h.

=We will depart Zion at 17:15, circle above Lake Michigan at 2500m...//And await his arrival!
=Our aircraft is the Skyknight. Far quicker and more versatile than the Debonair!


<287>
=There's no way we'll lose him! One close-range shot will do the trick!//That's all!//The gun has noctovision, so darkness won't be an issue.

=He always flies alone?
=He's a stickler for planes, so he's always alone.//And you can trust my piloting.

=I may not look it, but I piloted cargo planes during the World War!//That's a secret that'll stay between you and me, of course...

=Once the job is done, you will be dropped off at my private airfield...
=And I will dispose of the Skynight.

=The ocean?
=I can't say!

=For each other's safety...

=The ABC Leisure Holdings is going to be all yours!//You don't think 3000 is a bit cheap?
=C-Certainly not, just think about it!


<288>
=I made all the preparations! I even bought the Skynight through a third party so nobody would suspect anything!//I also faked a license, which took up a great deal of my money.//All you need to do is keep the trigger pulled... I'm handling everything else. 3000 is more than enough!

=But you can't work alone...

=V-Very well, here's another 1000! But that's it! That's really all I have left!

=You haven't considered the possibility of me blackmailing you?//Or... Do you already have a plan to get rid of me once we return to the airfield?
SWUSH!

=Let me tell you something!//I'll be an important man once I become the new president of ABC!

=The police will undoubtedly trust me more than you.//You have no evidence.//You'll be in no position to threaten me!
=The only evidence is the Skynight,//And I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to do with it...


<289>
=I see...
=Well, I could take your future into consideration too, you know...

=Let's have a little give and take!

=It's me! Load my ball into the car so I can leave immediately!
PLICK!
=You've cleaned it, right...? Good!

=That ball is my good-luck charm, you see.//Having it somehow makes me feel at ease!

Part 6: With the Ball On-Board...


<290>
=S-SWU—SH

=That bastard...
=Just you wait, heh-heh...


<291>
=When the time comes... Boom!
=Hee-heh-heh...

SWUSH

=That idiot!
=Hee-heh-heh...

VRRRR

RRR—


<292>
[x3]CLICK

=Is something wrong?
=This lighter appears to have died...
CLICK

=Everything dies, eh? We've got to get rid of the old and bring in the new, hah-hah-hah...!

VUSH...

TICK-TICK-TICK-TICK...

=Heh-heh-heh...


<293>
VROO—M

Part 7: Guns and Bombs


<294>
GRUCK

=Ohh...


<295>
=Hope that doesn't leave any marks!

BBB...

GWWW—

GWHOO—SH


<296>
KASHI—NK

=Very skillful!

=You probably don't need me to tell you this, but it's an Anschütz//With armor piercing bullets! Cost me quite a bit, I must say!

=Tell me something, as someone who used to be in the "business,"//What are the most prominent factors//Leading to the discovery of a crime?

=Escape routes, witnesses, and material evidence, don't you agree?

=These become the key factors for an investigation,//But not with our job!//We've set up the perfect crime!


<297>
=We're in the sky, after all! There are infinite possibilities for escape routes.//And any witnesses will only be able to catch a glimpse of the plane.
=Besides, the sun will be setting soon!

=And once I get rid of the plane, there will be no material evidence...//Isn't that right? Heh-heh...

=Hah-hah-hah-hah...

=ABC Leisure Holdings was named after its founders, Alver, Brown, and Craeter,//Correct?

=That's right!
=Craeter died in a car accident,//And once the current president is dead, the only one left will be Chairman Alver, who is already old and retired.

=He is my patron, you see...

=B-But how did you know all that!?

=He's here...
=Huh!?

[x3]BEEP


<298>
=Alright!
=I'm counting you!

=Heh-heh-heh... Soon... Soon...

TICK-TICK-TICK-TICK-TICK...

Part 8: The Shooting

GWHOO—SH

RRRR...


<299>
GWWW...

VWOO—SH

GWHOOO—SH


<300>
GWHOO—SH

CHUK

GABAAA—NG

GACHI—CK

BA-BA—NG


<301>
CHUK

=D-Did you get him!?

GWHOOOO—SH

=Y-Yes!
=Y-You got him—!

=Hah-hah-hah—
[x3]PAT


<302>
[x3]KISS

=Now all that's left is to drop you off at the airfield!

TICK-TICK-TICK-TICK...

RRRR—


<303>
Part 9: You are my Slave

RRR—

[x2]SCREEK

THU—D

BBBB...

=You may disembark here.//I'll escort you to the car parked over by the hangar.


<304>
=Aren't you leaving right afterwards?
=I always take this with me!

=Always...

=Hmm!?

RRRR...


<305>
SCREECH

=Uck!

GACHUK

[x3]CREAK

=Ch-Chairman Alver!?

=H-How did you..!?

CLACK


<306>
=U-Uhh..

=You've done the unthinkable, Arp!

=Huh!?

=Murdering Brown like that...
=Uck!

=I agreed to become your sponsor, but I didn't order you to kill anybody!

=Th-That bastard!


<307>
=Now that I know your secret...
=You're no longer an underling. You are my slave, Jonathan Earp!

TICK-TICK-TICK-TICK...

BOOOO—M


<308>
ZWUSH

VWWW—
VWOO—SH

=Something else must've been going on...
=Something that had nothing to do with me...

Published in October, 1969.