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Assassin's Play-Off — Hachette UK ebook edition
Hachette UK ebook edition

The DestroyerBook 201975

Assassin's Play-Off

When William Ashley, a programmer working at Folcroft, is found dead after a visit to a Scottish castle, Dr. Harold Smith suspects that his death is not accidental and sends Remo to investigate who killed him and why. Ashley’s damaged joints and exposure death suggest a deliberate message, but its purpose is unknown.

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When NSA programmer William Ashley is found dead at Kildonan Castle after a paid training visit with Winch, Smith suspects the deliberately staged killing is a message. Remo and Chiun recognize the four-blow pattern as a Sinanju disgrace ritual. After Remo kills corrupt Minnesota Assistant Attorney General James Bellamy Dawkins, he investigates the Ashley case. Winch arranges for Hawley Bardwell to rob and kill five Tenafly Trust bankers to draw Remo into a confrontation; Remo kills Bardwell, Lieutenant Fred Wetherby and Lynette, who admits she delivered the Scottish shoulder attack. The attacks leave Remo’s shoulders and leg severely damaged. Meanwhile Chiun returns to Sinanju, where Kim Il Sung’s government has seized the village tribute and Chiun’s nephew Nuihc seeks the Master’s title.

Remo travels by submarine to Sinanju and arrives as the village and premier side with Nuihc. Chiun offers his title to save Remo, but Nuihc refuses. Remo forces himself to fight and lands a final strike; Nuihc then collapses dead for reasons Remo does not understand. The villagers restore Chiun’s standing and Kim Il Sung promises to protect the tribute. Chiun later denies that he intervened in Nuihc’s death, leaving Remo’s suspicion unresolved, and tells Remo he may become the next Master.

Sources for this summary

Characters & places

Spoilers

Full articles

Characters 28

Places 39

Organizations 14

Groups 7

People 1

Lore 8

Works 1

Chapter summaries17 chapters · spoilers

  1. Chapter 1

    William Ashley pays Winch for martial-arts instruction at Kildonan Castle and dies after his limbs are damaged and he is left exposed. British authorities receive an anonymous tip; a staged body identification masks Ashley’s NSA/CURE work. Smith reviews Ashley’s compartmented program and recalls the dead President who founded the covert organization, then suspects the unusual killing carries a purpose.

  2. Chapter 2

    Remo kills corrupt Minnesota assistant attorney general James Bellamy Dawkins in the snow and leaves the death to appear suicidal. He flies to meet Smith at O’Hare; Chiun accompanies him and reveals his correspondence with Brian Kegan, an astrologer in Pittsfield.

  3. Chapter 3

    Smith shows Remo and Chiun Ashley’s body. Remo recognizes sloppy joint attacks; Chiun recognizes a pattern used in a Sinanju disgrace ritual but says he cannot explain the motive. Chiun departs for Sinanju and tells Remo to follow, while Remo describes the discipline’s survival basis to Smith.

  4. Chapter 4

    Bardwell, trained by Winch, murders five bankers at Tenafly Trust and Savings and awaits his target. Remo investigates under the cover Remo Slote, meets Bardwell and examines a banker’s body. Bardwell attacks; Remo kills him reflexively and conceals his corpse inside the coffin before interviewing Lynette.

  5. Chapter 5

    Remo questions Lynette over dinner about her husband’s training. She recalls the Jersey City police trainer as Fred Westerly; chapter 7 identifies him as Fred Wetherby, and Remo continues the investigation despite his worsening shoulder injury.

  6. Chapter 6

    Aboard the Darter, Chiun insists his trunks travel with him and stays ashore rather than fleeing when North Korean forces approach. The carpenter Park Yee’s granddaughter welcomes him, explains the village’s changed allegiance and the seized tribute, and asks him to protect the villagers. Chiun kills the Comrade Captain and disables a tank, then agrees to share the tribute at the girl’s request.

  7. Chapter 7

    Remo confronts police trainer Fred Wetherby under his reporter identity. Wetherby trains recruits brutally and then attacks Remo; Remo kills him and hides his body. Remo identifies the sequence as a Sinanju disrespect ritual and realizes Nuihc is behind it.

  8. Chapter 8

    Pak Myoch’ong investigates Chiun on the premier’s order, witnesses the Master’s power and returns with Kim Il Sung to Sinanju. Chiun persuades the premier of his loyalty and explains his choice to train Remo; Nuihc sends a message promising Remo’s disgrace.

  9. Chapter 9

    Remo’s injuries worsen while Lynette feigns intimacy and attacks him. She says she serves Nuihc and delivered the first shoulder blow in Scotland. Remo kills her during her attack on his thigh and is left badly injured.

  10. Chapter 10

    Remo realizes Chiun is the next target and calls Smith, who retrieves him from the Bardwell house. A doctor diagnoses separated shoulders and a torn thigh; Remo refuses medication and insists on going to Sinanju. Smith reluctantly arranges a secret submarine route.

  11. Chapter 11

    At Mindanao, Captain Leahy receives sealed orders to transport Remo to Sinanju. Remo boards injured and asks for a raft and rower; Leahy spots Chiun waiting ashore as the submarine approaches ahead of schedule.

  12. Chapter 12

    Remo arrives on the rocky coast and reunites with Chiun. Chiun breaks his cane and leads him through an unfriendly village to the ancestral palace. Remo collapses; Chiun removes his bindings and begins treating the injuries, acknowledging Nuihc’s approach.

  13. Chapter 13

    Chiun walks through Sinanju worried about Remo and bound by the tradition forbidding him to harm anyone from the village, including Nuihc.

  14. Chapter 14

    Nuihc offers Kim Il Sung service in return for help reclaiming the Master title. He argues Sinanju’s power must not pass to an American. The premier agrees to accompany him to the village the next day.

  15. Chapter 15

    Nuihc and the premier arrive with officials and soldiers. Nuihc threatens Chiun’s home until the Master agrees to meet him. Seeing Remo incapacitated and the village cheering Nuihc, Chiun prepares to surrender his title to save his adopted son. Chiun’s servant almost stabs Remo but instead breaks down beside him.

  16. Chapter 16

    Chiun offers to leave Sinanju if Nuihc spares Remo; Nuihc refuses. Remo appears despite his injuries, endures Nuihc’s attacks and summons enough strength to charge and strike him. Nuihc dies; the village renews its allegiance to Chiun and the premier promises protection for Sinanju.

  17. Chapter 17

    Remo tells Sinanju villagers he is proud to be American, while Chiun translates the speech into a flattering defense of Remo. Kim Il Sung agrees to protect the tribute. Chiun scolds Remo’s technique and says he may someday inherit the Master title; Remo jokes about reviving Nuihc.

Other mentions22 names & references

Editions & covers

Explore cover history

Edition · cover shown

Hachette UK

2014-08-21

ISBN 9780751558166

Edition details

References & notes

Sources 31 references
  • witness:00000057:ch01:p0133
  • witness:00000057:ch01:p0137
  • witness:00000057:ch01:p0163
  • witness:00000057:ch01:p0187
  • witness:00000057:ch01:p0023
  • witness:00000057:ch01:p0170
  • witness:00000057:ch03:p0058
  • witness:00000057:ch06:p0061
  • witness:00000057:ch06:p0083
  • witness:00000057:ch07:p0085
  • witness:00000057:ch09:p0061
  • witness:00000057:ch10:p0089
  • witness:00000057:ch12:p0089
  • witness:00000057:ch15:p0049
  • witness:00000057:ch16:p0025
  • witness:00000057:ch16:p0096
  • witness:00000057:ch16:p0099
  • witness:00000057:ch17:p0037
  • witness:00000057:ch17:p0051
  • witness:00000057:ch17:p0054
Edition and source notes

Names are the bibliography’s title-level “written by” attribution key, not a verified edition byline. credited_authors is null because no first-edition cover/title page was checked. A creator name in the general franchise metadata must not be treated as proof of sole drafting.

Assassin’s Play-Off:

Publisher's description: Remo and Chiun clash with rival assassin Nuihc, with their conflict culminating in Chiun’s North Korean hometown.

Presidential clues

No current or succession assessment is available; other retained presidential references remain in context.

The unnamed founder with a Boston accent

A deceased President who founded the covert organization, told Smith the constitutional government was inadequate against certain threats, and selected Smith to lead the organization.

  • Smith recalls him as “a now dead president” who summoned him (ch01:p0170).
  • The remembered founder is described as a “sandy-haired young man with the Boston accent” (ch01:p0171).
  • The organization is to remain secret and last no more than two years (ch01:p0173).
  • In the remembered exchange he is addressed as “Mr. President” (ch01:p0176).

primary text confirms role; personal identity unknown

The source gives a physical and accent description but no name, administration, term, date, party, or decisive identification; publication date is not a story date.

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