Shinseikhaan idled away as the people of Fatlington discussed with vigor down to the very end. He seemed entirely fascinated with his ability to cast a shadow of what appeared to be a dog with his hands, as though it were some kind of phantom upon the ground. He was snapped somewhat out of his mindless absence when one of his guards pounded a gavel upon a desk, indicating that time had lapsed. Finally turning to the conversation at hand, 'khaan found that there was a tie, between Crazed Rabbit and Sasaki Kojiro.
'Khaan frowned slightly, then tilted his head. Something wasn't quite right. Oh, yes. That was it.
As he peered around the crowd, he could not find Crazed Rabbit anywhere in sight. As the guards rounded up Sasaki, 'Khaan turned to Commissioner Fermanagh and whispered in his ear, querying as to where the Crazed one would likely be. Fermanagh paused a second, then his eyes lit up. He whispered back into the ear of 'Khaan, who nodded. 'Khaan jumped up from his post, and proclaimed to all of Fatlington to follow him.
With 'Khaan and Commissioner Fermanagh took the lead, followed by the guards who were detaining Sasaki, with the rest of Fatlington following behind. The group took the path leading to the Angler's Dangle. Sure enough, as they arrived, eyes squinting to use the last fading rays of the sunset, Crazed Rabbit lay sitting on the edge of the dock. He had a brush in hand, and was staring intently at a nearly completed mural on the side of the dock. The artwork, even in the dim lights coming down from the pier onto the long canvas, was quite beautiful. The group closed in behind, and despite the accusations brought upon him, all had to admit that they were envious of the man's artistic ability. The colors were sharp, clear, and bold. CR had heard the people behind him, but ignored them for the time being, as he contemplated his last few brush strokes. The group, wishing to see the final product, silently agreed to give him his chance to complete the mural. Finally, after several minutes, CR put the final details into place, the luscious red lips on a portrait of the new starlet, Marilyn Monroe. The group gave a muted round of applause. CR finally turned, a sobered look on his face, and two of 'khaan's guards apprehended him without struggle.
“Sasaki Kojiro, Crazed Rabbit. The two of you have been deemed by the people of Fatlington to be dangerous threats!” Khaan declared. “However, as they could not agree upon which of you was the greater threat, it has been left to me to decide your fates. I have made my decision, though I did not like it."
'Khaan paused for a moment, then finally shook his head.
“The two of you will be sentenced to death,” 'Khaan proclaimed in a somewhat distasteful voice. “I feel it is my duty to uphold the will of Fatlington, and it was made abundantly clear that they fear you both as murderers. However... I still rather like the both of you. And so, I have decided to make your deaths as pleasant as possible. Indeed, I have even gone into my own expense book for the both of you.”
Sasaki and Crazed Rabbit both raised an eyebrow at the director. What sort of execution required the director to spend much of their own money?
'Khaan whispered to one of his guards, then motioned for the rest to get going. The guards brought a large table and two chairs out to the pier, while 'Khaan quickly jaunted to his house before returning with a large sack. Sasaki and CR were both strapped into the chairs by their wastes, leaving their hands free. 'Khaan stepped before the two, with his paper bag and the entire town watching. He set the bag down, then revealed its contents. Six, 25. 4 ounce bottles of Kentucky Spirit, one hundred and one proof bourbon.
“I hope the two of you appreciate this, it really is my favorite brand of liquor,” Khaan explained. “The two of you are to each drink three entire bottles of Kentucky Spirit, until you are deceased by alcohol poisoning.” 'Khaan nodded to one of his guards, who smashed a gavel against the wooden pier. “And with that, GO!”
The two condemned men began drinking at an astonishing pace. The severity of the liquor barely seemed to faze either one. Astonishingly, after ten minutes, Sasaki had polished off his first bottle, with CR just behind. However, upon reaching the second bottle, the effects of the bourbon were visibly taking their toll. Both men were quite chatty for having been just condemned to death, and were swaying in their seats despite the restraints. The second bottle was taking the two longer. However, in a display of pure internal fortitude, both men finished their bottles at nearly the same time, after twenty minutes. The third bottle for each seemed to be the finishing point, however. The two were practically panting with the effort required to focus upon drinking more. CR's left hand was twitching uncontrollably for some reason, and Sasaki was beginning to convulse in his chair. However, with guns aimed at them, the two continued their brave attempts at downing the final bottles of bourbon. The third bottle was taking even longer than the previous two combined, and night had well fallen. The people of Fatlington had stayed, however, for the sight. Despite their previous death sentence just an hour ago, with the two condemned man in an insane drinking race, the townspeople began chanting and cheering “Go, Go, Go!” to their favored competitor. And so it was that the two men, both ready to fall out of their chairs if they had not been restrained, downed the last of their respective bottles.
'Khaan and Commissioner Fermanagh were both stunned. Neither had seen such displays of manhood and fortitude. Neither were remotely surprised, then, that not fifteen seconds after polishing off the last of the bourbon, both of the condemned men face planted into the table before them, tumbling down and bringing their chairs with them in two separate heaps of drunken mess. 'Khaan sent one of the guards to check the pulse of the men. The man stood back up after getting nauseatingly close to the smell of pure liquor, and informed them that both men were, in fact, snoozing on the ground.
“What?!” 'Khaan yelped. “What a waste of good liquor.”
'Khaan quickly grabbed a pistol from the guard, then walked up to the collapsed men. 'Khaan turned the pistol on Sasaki, and blew three shots into the man's skull. He then turned to CR, repeating the process.
