StreetWars in the Press

For an attempted assassination, there sure was a lot of giggling going on.

"I'm going to feel pretty good about shooting someone, if I don't die first,'' said would-be assassin Nicole Califano, who was drinking a beer, which was not helping to steady her trigger finger any.

Califano is one of 130 contestants armed with water pistols who are stalking each other this month throughout San Francisco, waiting to ambush and squirt total strangers.

I didn't know at the time, but that simple IM would incite a weeks-long cat-and-mouse game between myself -- a wild-mannered reporter -- and The Jackal, an "assassin" shrouded in mystery. But this game would be completely separate from the "StreetWars" game. And it would sorta freak me out.

By day, Franz Aliquo is a 30-year-old equities lawyer. By night, he's the Supreme Commander of the Shadow Government, an underground organization that operates a three-week watergun assassination tournament called "StreetWars," played by more than 150 New Yorkers. The game has also taken place in Vancouver, and there are plans to export it to San Francisco and Vienna this fall.