John Rain
John Rain is a fictional character created by Barry Eisler. He appears in eight of Eisler's espionage novels as an assassin for hire who specializes in making his victims appear to have died of natural causes. Rain is a Vietnam War veteran who served with the Special Forces; he was later recruited by the CIA, but by the time he appears in the first of the "John Rain" novels, "Rain Fall", he is working "freelance," offering his assassination services to any client willing to follow his three rules: 1) No women or children, 2) No secondary team working separately on an assassination Rain is handling, 3) Principal actions only (i.e., no hits on family members, etc., in order to "send a message"). Rain's years of training in the Special Forces, CIA, and as an assassin for hire manifest themselves in a deep-seated paranoia, an inability to trust anyone, and the drive to eliminate any loose ends (usually through killing) that may leave him vulnerable to payback or revenge. Biographical information John Rain was born Junichi Fujiwara (Japanese: 藤原純一, Fujiwara Junichi) in 1952 to a Japanese father and an American mother. He is a freelance assassin whose speciality is assassinations that appear to be death by natural causes. He has undergone plastic surgery to hide his European heritage and has dyed his brown hair. In 1960, Rain's father was killed, so his mother moved them to Dryden, NY where she taught at Cornell. His passions include single malt whiskies and jazz. He is an accomplished martial artist with decades of experience training judo at the Kodokan and training Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil. During his initial contact with Dox in Brazil, he was also shown to be knowledgeable in sambo, as well. He is also a Vietnam veteran where he served with the US Army Special Forces and had his first encounter with the CIA that later led to his recruitment. After Vietnam, he became a mercenary, helping the Lebanese Christians in Beirut and the rebels in Afghanistan. Afterwards, he worked for the Japanese LDP, unwittingly for Yamaoto (a local powermonger) and Holtzer (a rogue CIA operative, later killed by Rain himself). Rain is a hand-to-hand combat expert, although he is also effective when armed. The character is featured in Rain Fall a 2009 major motion picture directed by Max Mannix and starring Kippei Shiina and Gary Oldman. Family Koichiro His 2½ year old son, the result of a night with Midori Kawamura, a jazz pianist, who was the daughter of one of Rain's targets. His mother intends to tell him that his father is dead, once he becomes old enough. They live in New York City and his mother has released a CD called "Another Time." Allies Dox Dox is an American former Marine sniper, also working as a freelance assassin. Rain meets him in Reagan-era Afghanistan. Built like a linebacker and originally sporting a goatee, Dox and Rain have formed a deep friendship, the former having turned down a chance