Kaiser was born into a family of killers. His grandfather, Wilhelm Roth, was a Pate (Godfather) of the Frankfurt Mafia, a complex and organized arm of the Clan-Based Criminal Network out of Munich. His father, Karl, was a high-ranking Capo who controlled the cocaine and money laundering portion of their illicit empire. His uncle, Franz, ran the gambling and extortion rings. Another uncle, Otto, dealt in human trafficking. Including numerous cousins and in-laws, there were 13 members of the Roth family involved in clan-based organized crime, known in Germany as Grobfamilien.

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Wilhelm had different plans for his grandson, Kaiser. His grand scheme was to bring someone into the family business, not as a soldier but as someone with a law degree. They had attorneys, of course, but none of them were blood relatives. They needed a man on the inside. They chose Kaiser. From an early age, he was shielded from the nefarious family activities. They made sure he was never arrested or even accused of a crime. At age 18, his record was spotless. He enrolled at Heidelberg University, where he earned his undergraduate and law degrees. At age 25, he became chief counsel for the family.

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Kaiser dutifully performed his duties of protecting the various members of the clan who were brought up on charges of all kinds: Extortion, racketeering, even murder. He was intelligent, well-spoken, and thoroughly corrupt. For five years, he managed to exonerate men with multiple charges. And those he could not exonerate, he arranged for a slap-on-the-wrist from the judges, most of whom were on the family payroll. Life was good for Kaiser. Life was good for the family. Grandfather Wilhelm was especially proud of his Counselor.

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After serving five years as legal wizard for the clan, everything changed. His wife, Anna, was murdered in a car bombing. It was payback from a rival mobster with a vendetta against the family. Kaiser was crushed, broken. The man responsible for the attack was Antonio Messina, a Sicilian mobster operating in Germany under the name Camorra. Kaiser demanded retribution. Messina had to die. Unfortunately, his grandfather disagreed. This was not an eye for an eye. An eye for an eye would be the death of the Italian attorney’s wife or a close member of the Messina family. This was not good enough for Kaiser. And so, he took matters into his own hands. But before murdering Messina, he struck a deal with the incoming boss, who promised not to seek revenge. It was a brilliant move.

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Kaiser then personally gunned down Messina in a restaurant in Munich. There were dozens of witnesses, but none would come forward. Testifying in a mob hit was a death sentence. As punishment for his crime, Kaiser was excommunicated from the family. Wilhelm dictated, however, that no one harm his grandson. Instead, he became a persona non grata. He was dead to the mob. It was as if he had never existed. Kaiser struggled with his newfound infamy. He was no longer a part of the mob, but he was every bit a mobster. His father no longer spoke to him but, through back channels, suggested he move to the United States, where there were opportunities for a skilled attorney. Kaiser considered this option but ultimately chose another path. He would become a freelance assassin, or, as he preferred, a Sicario. It had an international flair. Why not? The only crime he had ever committed was murder. Oddly enough, he enjoyed it.  

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The world of organized crime in Eastern Europe is an amazing labyrinth of underground communications, both large and small. One thing most of them had in common: Murder-for-hire was in high demand. For the first two years, Kaiser operated primarily in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Occasionally, he would be tasked with simple intimidation or coercion, but more often than not, he was paid to kill. He preferred murder. It paid better.

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He quickly gained a reputation for reliable work. No fuss, no muss, and most importantly, no trail for the police to follow. His fees reflected the caliber of crime and the difficulty of executing it. $50,000 for a hit on a spouse or inconvenient lover. They were typically the most careless in their activities. $75,000 for a job involving the rich. They usually came with a security detail. And $100,000 for a hit on a politician or high-ranking member of law enforcement. They were almost always on their guard for danger.

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      Once, and only once, did he assassinate a child—the seven-year-old son of a wealthy importer of foreign cars. The son was unintentional. He was unexpectedly in the same apartment as his father when the bomb went off. When he discovered his mistake, Kaiser was distraught. Although he had never had children, he considered them off-limits with regard to murder. A man has to have some boundaries. Later, he found out that the man who hired him had intentionally misled him into thinking the victim was alone. Kaiser took it upon himself to kill the man behind the entire scheme. It gave him comfort to know his betrayal had been repaid.  

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    The client he did the most work for was Wolfgang Muller, known as Mr. Wolf. Primarily, Muller worked out of Hamburg but was also known to have an office in Stuttgart. He paid exceptionally well for the work he requested. The contracts were straightforward and uncomplicated: an industry executive who strayed too far into another company’s turf. A mayor or Burgermeister dared to award a multi-million-dollar contract to the wrong company. The owner of a TV station who besmirched a rival station's reputation. The jobs were simple to execute. The trick was leaving no trail that would lead back to either Kaiser or Muller. None ever did.

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      One morning, Mr. Wolf reached out to Kaiser with an unusual request. It seemed that a French woman had stolen a client's personal diary. The client was Claudia Laurent. The thief was Lisette Bellamy. It sounded like an easy job. Unfortunately, Kaiser was already on assignment in Amsterdam. He wouldn’t be finished for at least thirty days, as it involved eliminating not one but three people. Mr. Wolf hired another assassin for the Laurent job: a man known only as Dietrich.