Playboy Interview: Kane

Convicted on 25 counts oj manslaugh­ter—and implicated in countless other unsolved crimes across the globe—the killer known simply as Kane is the only link to the illustrious criminul organization called The 7. Little is known about The 7 except that it is capable of achieving any nefarious objec­tive in any part of the world for the right price. Kane says he is not a professional killer because his two-year-old son shot him­self with his gun. He isn't a killer because his wife blamed him for it and left him. "I don't like excuses," Kane says.

Once a renowned foreign correspon­dent, contributing writer PETER STACK has deiwted the latter half of his projessional career tracking the operations of The 7. Slack's family was ripped apart when he and his sister were held hostage during a bank robbery in Scotland, a robbery Stack believes was committed by The 7. During this incident Stack's sister and brother-in-law were both killed, and Stack's only clue to the identity of the perpetrators is a small tattoo of a spade and a name. Months ago, Stack received anonymous CCTV Jootage of Kane's operation in Venezuela that left 25 dead. One of the masked killers is adorned with the riery same tattoo. Always fashion­ably dressed, it could only be Kane.

Stack met Kane minutes after a judge ordered his execution. By the time this

interview is published, Kane will have been transferred to California's San Quentin State Prison, where he will await his fate on death row. Stack reports: "The 7 is a group so feared and respected in the crimi­nal underworld that its name is rarely spo­ken above a whisper. And here sits Kane, the first concrete evidence that The 7 exists, validation for my entire career spent fol­lowing an organization that is little more than rumor and myth. As [approach, Kane calmly lights a cigarette, looks me in the eye and says, 'What the fuck do you want?'"

PLAYBOY: Do you deserve to die?

KANE: That's what the judge said.

PLAYBOY: Do you feel guilty for your

crimes?

KANE: I'm about to put on an orange

jumpsuit and gel on a bus with barred

windows. I sure as hell am not innocent.

I acknowledge the pain I've caused. But

I'll be honest and say that I'm not really

feeling much anymore. You get numb as

the years go by.

PLAYBOY: How do you want your family to

remember you?

KANE: [Pauses] I don't want them to. It

will be easier that way.

PLAYBOY: Are you saying your family isn't

important to you?

KANE: I'm saying my family is impor-

tant to me. That's why all they need to remember about me is that 1 was sorry that I left them when they needed me the most. I'd do anything to make that up to them.

PLAYBOY: You sound as if you're looking forward to your execution. KANE: That's what prison food will do to you. [Smokes] Not everything you're heard about me is true. Most of it is. By now, dying is the easy part. PLAYBOY: You've been linked with high-profile heists, bank robberies and mur­ders around the world. Was it hard to go to work every day?

KANE: In the beginning, yes. But I've never had the choice not to go—I've never had the opportunity to return to a normal life. I lost that privilege a long time ago. But yes, 1 did enjoy the money.

PLAYBOY: Tell me about The 7 KANE: [Smokes] That your lucky number? PLAYBOY: Or an international criminal organization that is believed to have stolen more than $14 billion in the past 20 years, leaving hundreds dead in the process. It's also rumored that The 7 is the only group to have ever successfully broken into the United States Treasury. KANE: You think you know a lot of things, don't you? [Pauses] There is no 7, not

anymore. There's just me. I hope you sleep easier tonight.

PLAYBOY: Are you saying you are the only remaining member of The 7? Tell me about the man called Flame. KANE: Flame? I don't know where you get your information, but you don't want to know any more about The 7. PLAYBOY: Do you remember a bank rob­bery in Scotland? The police found a man dead in a bank with an ace of spades on his forehead, covered in blood and a woman shot execution style at her home.

KANE: [Pauses] No, I don't remember. We lobbed a lot of banks. PLAYBOY: What does the tattoo on your wrist stand for?

KANE: [Pauses, rubs tattoo] It stands for "Go fuck yourself."

PLAYBOY: Before Venezuela, you had never been captured. What went wrong? KANE: Everything. Maybe we just got old.

PLAYBOY: It's been reported that the take on this heist was among the largest in history. KANE: It was supposed to be the last job

I would ever need, [looks around cell] I

guess they were right. Retirement jobs

are always too big.

PLAYBOY: If you hadn't been caught, what

would you be doing now?

KANE: It doesn't matter. I got caught, 25

more people are dead, and now I'm in

here. Planning my dream vacation isn't

going to change anything.

PLAYBOY: Is there anything you would

like to say to your victims?

KANE: [Smokes] See you soon.

PLAYBOY: How did you get the scar on

your right eye?

KANE: Everyone has scars in this business.

[pauses] 1 made a mistake once and the

scar is to make sure I don't forget about it.

Some of them are placed visibly; some

are more hidden. Depends on how big

you fucked up.

PLAYBOY: With all the horrors you've

seen, why did you continue to work for

The 7?

KANE: : I'm good at what I do, plus, once

you get involved you don't just decide

one day that you want to stop. These

things don't work that way

PLAYBOY: How do you respond to reports

that a movie and video game are being created based on your life and The 7? KANE: [Laughs] A movie about my life? I'm no celebrity- I wouldn't pay to see that.

PLAYBOY: : Is there an actor that you would like to portray you? KANE: Maybe De Niro. I think he can capture my sensitive side, [smokes] It doesn't matter. By the time it comes out. I'll be dead.

PLAYBOY: After working with The 7, did you fear for the safety of your family? KANE: Enough fuckin' questions about my family, you should start fearing about your own. When you work for The 7 they are your family. Next question. PLAYBOY: Tell me about Jenny. KANE: 1 think is where we stop. PLAYBOY: Please, if I could just have a few-more minutes.

KANE: I'm sorry. I don't have that many left. Nice meeting you.

FOR A COMPLETE PROFILE ON THE KILLER KANE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OF THE TRUE NATURE OF THE 7, READ PETER STACK'S BLOG AT PETERSTACK7.COM.

A candid conversation with a convicted killer about a final assign­ment that left 25 dead and why he looks forward to his own execution

"I received an anonymous e-mail through my blog that included this image. It clearly shows the mark of The 7 on the gunman's left wrist, and based on his attire, it has to be Kane"