What gun and ammo?

[Pulpmeister]

To me an opportunity killing such as this one means a purse gun and no other aids but luck. The ideal gun for a lady is the Beretta .22 automatic, easily small enough to fit in a purse or small handbag. I have actually handled one of these, though not fired one, and they are compact and quite light. At the sort of range involved, definitely lethal with a single shot. Probably out of production, for all I know.

The one I handled was back in the late 1960s when I was "volunteered" to be the armed guard while someone carried 30,000 dollars to the bank. I'd never fired a handgun in my life, knew damn all about them except what I read in books, so I very sensibly slipped the magazine out, emptied the breech, and carried the gun in one pocket and the ammo in another. It was lunacy to send someone with no firearms training at all out with a loaded gun, and I wasn't crazy.

But I do remember what a hell of a neat weapon it was.

[BeccaPrice]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I thought it was a check book...

now, now....

Nicotine, if he's a smoker... A little dab'll do ya.
Stitchawl

If he drinks scotch, and likes the smokey, peaty scotches, he probably wouldn't taste the nicotine if you spiked his drink with it.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Pulpmeister

It was lunacy to send someone with no firearms training at all out with a loaded gun, and I wasn't crazy.

It's lunacy to send them out with an unloaded gun, too.

But sticking to the topic and the needs of plotting, I understand if you need something specific to happen in a certain way in the bathroom, then it makes sense to start there and work backward to contrive how it could have happened.
But if you are just looking for the realism of the opportunity, you should not be considering the bathroom first.
You should be considering what this professional assassin uses and carries all the time in her day to day life of killing people. What does she have years of experience with, what does she rely on to do her work and keep herself alive.
Establish THAT first, THEN figure how'd she use THAT in the scene in question.
Otherwise, the scene will read like The Stainless Steel Rat, where he always happens to have just the right kind of grenade in his pants at the right moment.

Sorry to Harrison fans.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by cromag

I gotta go along with crich70 on this -- if you're gonna whack someone in the bathroom you're liable to leave a paper trail.

hehe.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

now, now....



If he drinks scotch, and likes the smokey, peaty scotches, he probably wouldn't taste the nicotine if you spiked his drink with it.

Ah, but if he is a good Muslim he won't be a drinker. Of course with him being an assassin for hire I'd have my doubts as to his status as such.

[teh603]

Originally Posted by crich70

Ah, but if he is a good Muslim he won't be a drinker. Of course with him being an assassin for hire I'd have my doubts as to his status as such.

The original Hashshashin didn't seem to have any problems with their earthly delights.

[Pulpmeister]

Well, given it was Western Australia in the 1960s, when armed robbery was unknown, and no one carried guns of any sort--not even the cops--the need for an armed escort really didn't arise, and I certainly didn't like the idea of carrying a loaded gun in my trousers pocket. But the agency had the regulation in place since maybe the wild colonial days...

Other times, other ways.

But I agree with the thesis that you get the likely weapon sorted first, and then work out how and where it's going to be used. That's what I had in mind when I plugged the Beretta. It would easily fit into a small handbag, and be just the sort of emergency gun a woman killer might carry as a matter of routine. Smaller than a Walther PPK even, which is no huge gun.

[crich70]

I'd think she would also 'case' several possible places where she might get a chance to do the deed in advance. A pro would try to limit the element of chance as much as possible by following their mark around discretely for some time in order to learn their routine and develop the lay of the land. She wouldn't just strike without at least a sketched out plan of action. Since he's also a pro he'd be watchful against competitors and enemies who might decide that the world would be a better place without him in it. And that sketched out plan would include how/where to dispose of the weapon after she is done with it.

[Stitchawl]

But the OP said the premise was that it was a 'crime of opportunity.' No planning involved.


Stitchawl

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

But the OP said the premise was that it was a 'crime of opportunity.' No planning involved.


Stitchawl

But you can have a crime of opportunity and still have some planning. She could pick several possible places where a chance to strike might come up and go with it. Maybe the restaurant is the 1st place where he's alone long enough for her to strike. For that matter she could wait for him to go to the rest room, spike his drink with something to make him sick, then slip in ahead of him and when he comes in to relieve his stomach, bang! he's dead. They had a scene in the 1st Mission Impossible movie where they slipped something into the guys coffee to make him leave his office, she could do something similar. Otherwise she'd be standing round in the bathroom stall all evening waiting for him to have to go. The longer the wait, the more the chance of losing her concentration and therefore her edge.

[Kumabjorn]

No forward planning possible. She thinks her victim showed up to kill her. Pre-emptive self-defense, if such a term exists.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

No forward planning possible. She thinks her victim showed up to kill her. Pre-emptive self-defense, if such a term exists.

Good term. As any good street fighter will tell you, who ever strikes the first blow, especially if it's a surprise, usually wins the fight.


Stitchawl