By Daniel R. Wickline

Panel One: The setting is a nice, yuppie type bar, with large glass windows in the front edged in wood trim and a set of glass doors edged in wood in the center. This is a very large and crowded bar with lots of tables as well as stools at the bar. The crowd is mostly made up of Yankee fans after a game. Outside it is pouring rain and night. Mike has just entered through the door. One of the glass doors is still open behind him. He is drenched. Mike is about 35 years old, stands about 5’6" and weighs all of 140lbs. Skinny and nerdy with a short-cropped hair cut and horned rimmed glasses. Mike is not an imposing man, actually Mike wouldn’t stand out if he were standing alone. His ill-fitting trench coat is dripping onto the floor. Under the coat he is wearing a pair of navy slacks, a button down shirt and tie with a dark blue sweater vest over it. Mike is not an ugly man; he’s just plain.

Panel Two: Mike puts his dripping coat onto the last open hook of a coat rack.

Panel Three: He moves through the crowded tables towards the bar.

Panel Four: He takes the last open seat at the bar, right by the end next to a somewhat attractive woman. The woman’s name is Connie. She has shoulder length, very full black hair. She is wearing a white blouse and a red skirt with the matching red coat hanging off of the back of the barstool. She is obviously an office professional trying to unwind. Her drink is just about empty.

Panel Five: Bartender comes up to Mike.

BARTENDER: WHAT CAN I GET YOU?

MIKE: A COLORADO BULLDOG.

MIKE: OH, AND REFILL THE LADIES DRINK.

BARTENDER: SURE THING.

Panel One: Connie turns towards Mike.

CONNIE: THANKS FOR THE DRINK.

MIKE: YOU’RE WELCOME. I’M MIKE.

CONNIE: I’M WAITING FOR SOMEONE.

MIKE: I’M NOT TRYING TO PICK YOU UP. I’M WAITING FOR SOMETHING MYSELF AND JUST WANTED A LITTLE CONVERSATION WHILE I WAITED.

Panel Two: Connie looks a little ashamed.

CONNIE: I’M CONNIE.

CONNIE: THIS PLACE CAN BE A REAL MEAT MARKET, ESPECIALLY AFTER A YANKEES GAME.

Panel Three: Mike gives her a comforting smile.

MIKE: NICE TO MEET YOU, CONNIE.

MIKE: YOU DON’T LOOK LIKE A TYPICAL YANKEE FAN. WHY ARE YOU IN HERE SO LATE?

Panel Four: The bartender has returned with their drinks. Mike hands him a Platinum American Express card.

BARTENDER: HERE YOU GO, ONE BULLDOG AND ONE LONG ISLAND.

MIKE: YOU CAN PUT THEM ON THIS.

Panel Five: Connie stirs her drink. Mike sips his. Artist note: It’s important to keep in mind the levels of the drinks as this story moves on.

CONNIE: THE EXCITING LIFE OF AN ACCOUNTANT, HAD TO WORK LATE. THOUGHT I’D COME IN AND RELAX A LITTLE BEFORE HEADING HOME.

CONNIE: HOW ABOUT YOU, WHAT DO YOU DO?

Panel Six: Close up of Mike, he’s holding his drink. He has a very matter-of-fact look on his face.

MIKE: I’M A HIT MAN.

Panel One: Connie is laughing. Mike is completely unaffected by her laughter.

CONNIE: NO, REALLY, WHAT DO YOU DO?

MIKE: I’M REALLY A HIT MAN.

CONNIE: YOU DON’T LOOK LIKE YOU COULD HURT A FLY.

Panel Two: The bartender returns with the check for Mike to sign.

BARTENDER: JUST SIGN AT THE BOTTOM, SIR.

MIKE: LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING, CONNIE.

Panel Three: Mike takes another sip of his drink. Connie is looking at him in a little disbelief.

CONNIE: YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT YOU KILL FOR A LIVING, THAT YOU SHOOT SOMEONE IN COLD BLOOD AND THEN GET PAID.

Panel Four: Mike turns towards Connie.

MIKE: ACTUALLY, I’VE NEVER SEEN ANY OF THE PEOPLE I KILL.

CONNIE: THEN HOW DO YOU KILL THEM?

MIKE: WELL, IT’S GOING TO SOUND STRANGE, BUT I HAVE A SPECIAL GIFT.

Panel Five: A teenage version of Mike stepping in to a time portal. The portal should look to be a little blob of space in front of him, like ripples of water on a lake. Off to the side we can see a clock showing that it’s 10:16 a.m. The daylight can be seen in the background.

BOX (MIKE): I HAVE THE ABILITY TO OPEN A PORTAL THROUGH TIME.

Panel Six: Basically the same as in panel five except Mike is now stepping through the other side of the portal and it’s now nighttime. The clock should read 10:16 p.m.

BOX (MIKE): BUT I COULD ONLY GO EXACTLY 12 HOURS AND ONLY INTO THE FUTURE.

Panel Seven: Close up of Connie, she has a puzzled look on her face.

CONNIE: THAT SEEMS TO BE KIND OF A USELESS POWER.

Panel One: Mike is checking his watch, still seems to be very disconnected to the conversation. Connie has turned towards him.

CONNIE: IF YOU COULD GO BACKWARDS, YOU COULD GIVE YOURSELF THE LOTTERY NUMBERS OR SOMETHING.

CONNIE: BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO BY JUMPING 12 HOURS AHEAD?

Panel Two: Mike is playing with his glass. We’ve pulled in on him.

MIKE: THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT AT FIRST.

MIKE: BUT THEN I FIGURED OUT HOW TO USE MY GIFT AS A HIT MAN.

Panel Three: Connie is putting her drink back down. Mike is playing with a bowl of peanuts. This should be a bigger panel with lots of room for the dialog.

CONNIE: HOW?

MIKE: WELL, TAKE MY LATEST ASSIGNMENT.

CONNIE: WHO’S YOU’RE LATEST ASSIGNMENT?

MIKE: THE PRESIDENT.

CONNIE: OF WHAT?

MIKE: THE UNITED STATES.

Panel Four: Connie pulls in close to Mike. She is in disbelief.

CONNIE: YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO KILL THE PRESIDENT?

MIKE: YUP.

CONNIE: WHY? HOW?

Panel Five: Mike looking at his watch again.

MIKE: THE WHY IS SIMPLE, FOR THE MONEY.

MIKE: THE HOW IS A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED.

Panel One: The front of a very nice, New York hotel.

BOX (MIKE): I FOUND OUT THE PRESIDENT WAS COMING TO NEW YORK ON THURSDAY, AND WHERE HE WOULD BE STAYING.

Panel Two: Mike being lead into a very nice room by a bellhop.

BOX (MIKE): I CHECKED INTO THE SAME ROOM AT 1:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY.

BOX (MIKE): I KNEW THAT THE SECRET SERVICE WOULD TAKE THE ROOM OVER THE NEXT DAY.

Panel Three: Mike is standing in the closet of the hotel room.

BOX (MIKE): I SIGNED THE EXPRESS CHECK OUT FORM, THEN STEPPED INTO THE CLOSET.

Panel Four: Mike in the closet, he steps through a portal.

BOX (MIKE): I STEPPED TWELVE HOURS INTO THE FUTURE.

Panel Five: Mike steps through another portal.

BOX (MIKE): THEN ANOTHER TWELVE HOURS.

Panel Six: Mike steps through another portal. Still in closet.

BOX (MIKE): ANOTHER TWELVE.

Panel Seven: Again through another portal.

BOX (MIKE): THEN ANOTHER.

Panel Eight: One more step through.

BOX (MIKE): UNTIL IT WAS 1:00 P.M. ON THURSDAY.

Panel One: Mike sticks his head out the closet door.

BOX (MIKE): I MADE SURE THE ROOM WAS EMPTY.

Panel Two: Mike opens a portal above the bed.

BOX (MIKE): I THEN MADE MY WAY OVER TO WHERE THE PRESIDENT WOULD BE SLEEPING THAT NIGHT AND OPENED A PORTAL ABOVE THE BED.

Panel Three: Mike fires a silenced pistol into the portal.

BOX (MIKE): THEN EMPTIED A CLIP INTO THE OPEN PORTAL, EVENLY DISPERSING THE BULLETS OVER THE ENTIRE BED.

Panel Four: Mike Walking out into an empty hallway.

BOX (MIKE): AND I QUIETLY LEFT THE ROOM.

Panel Five: Mike walking through lobby.

BOX (MIKE): THE SECRET SERVICE WAS WORRIED ABOUT KEEPING PEOPLE OUT, NOT IN.

Page Seven:

Panel One: Back in the bar. Connie doesn’t appear to believe any of this. Mike is checking his watch again.

CONNIE: SO, HOW MUCH DID YOU GET FOR KILLING THE PRESIDENT?

MIKE: $10 MILLION, HALF UP FRONT, HALF AFTER NEWS OF HIS DEATH.

Panel Two: Mike finishes his drink. Connie continues talking to him.

CONNIE: WHY ARE YOU HERE IN THIS BAR, TELLING ME? WHY AREN’T YOU OUT SPENDING THE $10 MILLION?

Panel Three: Mike is getting up from his seat. His glass is empty.

MIKE: IT’S SIMPLE. I’M IN THIS CROWDED BAR USING MY CREDIT CARD IN CASE I NEED AN ALIBI.

MIKE: I’M TELLING YOU BECAUSE I HATE WAITING ALONE AND NO ONE WILL BELIEVE YOU IF YOU TELL THEM.

Panel Four: Mike standing beside Connie, looking at his watch.

MIKE: AND I’M NOT OUT SPENDING THE $10 MILLION BECAUSE THE PRESIDENT IS JUST NOW BEING SHOT.

MIKE: IT’S BEEN A PLEASURE.

Panel Five: Mike making his was across the crowded bar.

Panel Six: Mike taking his coat off the hook.

Panel Seven: Mike walking out the door.

Page Eight:

Panel One: Connie sits at the bar, her eyes wide open. She is thinking about everything that just happened and everything Mike said.

Panel Two: The bartender is holding a remote towards a wall-mounted television.

BARTENDER: HEY EVERYONE, QUIET DOWN A SECOND.

Panel Three: A newscaster appears on the television screen. He seems a little unprepared to be on the air.

NEWSCASTER: REPORTS ARE COMING IN THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN SHOT. WE HAVE NO DETAILS ON THE SITUATION OTHER THAN SECRET SERVICE MEN HAVE RUSHED MEDICAL PERSONNEL TO THE PRESIDENT’S HOTEL ROOM.

Panel Four: Connie is running across the crowded bar. Everyone else in the bar is staring at the television.

Panel Five: Connie runs out through the double doors into the pouring rain.

Panel Six: Connie standing in the rain, getting drenched. We can see the street around her and that no one is there.