In front of you he reclines on immaculate plush cushions. His body is fit and muscular, not an ounce of fat on him. He is exquisitely groomed. Hair is clean cut, face is shaven. His body is wrapped in a fine silk toga and a beautiful young woman, obviously his slave, is holding a dish of cured meats and cheeses at the side of the small stone table in front of him.

"But sit, have some wine. I also know you wouldn't be sitting here if you didn't have the proper attitude about these things. You need to know if I can actually deliver on what I claim. Let's see... Celebrities? Politicians? I suppose I could tell you about Gaius Publius Sulpicus. He was a Tribune, years ago. Something of a politician AND a celebrity. But then, aren't most Tribunes? As long as they pretend to oppose whatever the Senate wants, the plebs will parade them through the streets and give reverence more befitting of the gods.

"Sulpicus was different than most. The plebs honestly believed he was looking out for their interests. Needless to say, he provoked the ire of more than a few Senators with his constant vetoes. A few of them hired me, not just to remove him, but to publically humiliate him so their own standing would increase.

"Once taking their fee (and just so you know I usually claim half upon taking the job and the remaining half when it is complete) I followed him for weeks. I had to understand his habits, see where he would be most vulnerable. Well, as it turns out, Sulpicus tended to visit brothels. Not the most appropriate activity for someone of his standing, no? Because he tried to keep discrete, he would not allow his guards to go with him on his nightly ventures.

"So I found a few higher priced girls, (such expenses will also need to be paid, by the way) and lulled him into thinking a new pleasure house was being set up in the villa of Lucius Publius Herpio, one of the most notable patricians in Isirya. Sulpicus didn't even wait one day before sampling this new establishment. He entered by the back way, where the girls had instructed him, and there Herpio awaited him, for earlier I had let him know that someone was planning on violating his wife that very night. There, Herpio killed Sulpicus on his own property as a matter of honor, and when it came to light in the Senate that Sulpicus had attempted to seduce a patrician woman... let's just say my clients always get what they pay for.

"I am afraid I can't tell you of any I have done with my own hand. As I said, that would be unethical. I am able to tell you about Sulpicus because the men responsible have all likewise died... prematurely. How's the wine?"

"And besides, poisons are used by amateurs. They always taste horrible and bitter, it is practically impossible to poison someone without their knowledge. Although I hear of a mushroom that grows in Decia Minor that will kill as rapidly as a knife to the heart, yet tastes succulent and can be cooked like a common blackcap. And poisoned blades have some potential, but I have never trusted them. Poisons in general are not very reliable. It can take years of adding poison to food in undetectable amounts to have an effect. A blade is always much more effective.

"Robert, please don't let the decor fool you. I can 'blend in,' as you put it, in the seediest taverns and trenches in the Republic when need be. Assassins in general are often associated with the shadow and arcani in society, and truth be told, most of them are. But I have had a successful career, and my success entitles me to enjoy some of the rewards of my labors. In fact, since my clients nowadays tend to be the more respectable classes who can afford my fees, this rather un-spartan lifestyle is a perfect disguise. In fact, I am so well funded, I don't even need work any longer. But I do so for two reasons. First of all, a man who becomes a wine-bibber and a glutton will grow fat and lazy. I don't intend that to happen to me. Secondly, and this is about your question madame genevive, it is the nature of the job that is more enticing to me than the act itself. I won't kill any who don't deserve it, no matter how high the price. And I don't kill women, so really, its safe to drink the wine."

"So, do you kill your competition? Or, do you allow other professionals to operate within the city? I speak of professionals, such as myself--not the simple thugs you mentioned earlier."

"Of course, I will allow you operate. I have enough wealth to satisfy my fleshly wants, and in a city such as this I am sure there is more than enough work for the two of us. In fact, a knowledge of others in the business is useful when extra hands can ensure success. I have no problem with sharing.

"Death comes inevitably when a certain point is crossed. Before, you can dress the wound, remove the arrow, or give the antidote. But after, no matter what is done, death will come. Once you learn to recognize that spot, and to know that you have complete control over someone's fate, that is what slitting a throat is like. It is time when you have all power in the world and time itself waits on you while you watch the spirit flee a useless corpse. It is as addictive as a lotus flower seed, and twice as joyful.

"And the way you describe it is most seductive. But I do not know if I would be able to draw blood with my own hand. I have never killed anything bigger than a bug in my life. Still.." I close my eyes and imagine the pleasure of slitting my cheating husband's throat and the moment of realization on his face, "I cannot say that the idea does not appeal to me."