Chapter 25
Ferdinand von Kleist's Diary
December 12th 2006
Today I did what I never thought I would ever do. I rejected 2.15 billion dollars in perfect good health.
There's always a first time for everything, but I would have preferred to try something else. Ivan Oblomov met me in our offices at 2:00. Without any kind of preambles or niceties—should be glad if I got a “hello, Ferdinand”—he gave me a memory stick and said: “open, check it and tell me if everything is fine for you.”
“I hope it has no viruses, Ivan Ivanovich,” I joked.
“Buy a real copy of Norton Antivirus,” I preferred to keep myself quiet or we would have had troubles.
Everything was there and the transfers done matched with our records. Repin had paid everything back before February.
“Yes, but the interests should be recalculated. You have paid for a full year when it's only ten months.” I was desperate to find an excuse to stop what was coming next. We never thought that he had been serious about December. Hell, we didn't think Repin was able to meet February's deadline!
“We were thinking you would charge us for paying in advance,” he said ironically. “Boss says you can keep it all. He wants that you give Guntram back to me tomorrow. I'm flying to Zurich this afternoon. No need to pack.”
“I'm afraid it's not possible. Guntram is in London, taking his tests. Should finish in a week or so and I have to ask the Duke his opinion on the matter. The doctor was not satisfied with his general condition. Flying for so many hours might be taxing for him,” that was all I could think at the moment.
“We had a deal; the money is paid, we want the boy back. Repin will overlook that your boss was playing with his boy.”
“Guntram is not a toy that can be moved just like that! He has made friends in Zurich, attended a studio with a well known and respected teacher, has an exhibition in Berlin in a few weeks and has to finish several commissions for the Vatican, if I see correctly. We had a deadline of February and we intend to respect it,” I said and he was truly upset.
“Von Kleist, your Griffin is a son-of-a-bitch and an idiot if he thinks he can get away with this. Repin will start to send you your precious associates and representatives in plastic bags if you don't return Guntram as soon as possible.”
“It's not in my hands to “return” the lad! Take the money back and we'll speak in February as agreed.”
“We're perfectly aware of what you've done, naming him Consort and all that crazy chivalry shit of yours. Repin saw him first and was always good to the boy. Give him back before we start to visit your territory.”
“The minute you cross the border, my people will repeat what we did to Mrs. Repin, Oblomov. Guntram is one of us now and we have no intentions of betraying one of our kind. Lintorff will agree to renegotiate the terms of the original contract as the guarantee does not want to return to Russia, as he already explained twice to that brick-head you call boss.”
“Kleist, this will be war for all of us!”
“We must find a new compromise; Oblomov, you and I don't want to fight and are sensible businessmen.
Our bosses are like to two children fighting for their candy and we must find a way so they stop bickering. Tell Repin that Guntram has that Art show in Berlin and that he will return once it's finished. I'm sure he wouldn't like to ruin his chances to be known. It's in a trendy place and I saw pictures of his works and they're good. One is already sold to the Vatican. The exhibition opens after the holidays. I must have one of the catalogues right here.”
“You sound like a used car salesman, von Kleist.” He dared to use a derogative voice with me and I was nearly throwing him out of my office, but for Konrad's sake, and our own, I ignored his lack of manners. What else can you expect from a Russian?
“The lad does not want to come back to your employer,” there you have, Oblomov, remember that you're nothing but his lap dog, “and between you and me, the boy was never a real guarantee, your oil wells in Georgia were the real thing. The property deeds will be returned immediately. The documents could be ready in two days and we can sign them here or in St. Petersburg if you prefer.”
“If you set a foot in Russia without the boy, the boss will shoot you dead and send your body in a box to Lintorff.”
“Can we not be reasonable on this matter, Ivan Ivanovich? We can meet again, let’s say on the 15th, here and I'll have the papers ready. I can offer to return half of the interests.”
“No!”
“Your boss should be glad. Guntram is practically useless for what you want him. Twice per week or three if he's in an incredible good condition. Less than a wife! Repin gets rid of him and even gets compensation! The boy is permanently distracted when he's painting. Loses his pencils all over the house and now, he has a horrible dog and a flea infested teddy bear. Most of the time he doesn't know who he's speaking with or cares about it!”
“If he's such a nuisance, give him back to us. We all like him exactly as he is. We were all glad to have him around, even after he was so sick.”
I have no doubts about that. Guntram is a fantastic lion tamer. In the year he has been with us, Konrad is easier to deal with, and I dare say he's happy with the boy around. He has stopped seeing conspiracy plots everywhere and looks for more proof before reacting to challenges. He comes in a good mood to work and Monika has a very easy life nowadays. She only looks for art books and I've seen her running away for several hours to get one when she could just order it by Amazon, and Konrad said nothing at all! Holgersen and his people loaf the whole day and they don't have to get rid of lovers as in the past. Even Goran is nice and not so grouchy, musing the whole day in his office; looking for better ways to dispose people or checking if we all are loyal to Konrad. That only costs us a fifteen minute talk with the boy per week! Inadvertently, Guntram saved Albert's neck after the fiasco in Rome when he told Konrad that Albert had been very kind with him in the hospital and was truly concerned about him.
Guntram lives in another galaxy, exactly as Oblomov told us, but he's great to have around and loyal to Konrad (to the point of stupidity. If I were him, I would have never told him about the safe box… and he has even left the most valuable things in Konrad's bank!) He's nothing like his bloody uncle or family! Must come from his mother's side or the Guttenberg Sachsen. I assume, he's truly in love with Konrad—for some unknown reason—and I caught him twice already, quickly hiding the notes the lad leaves in his briefcase. I wish I could do the same with my Cecilia, but if Gertrud finds them, I'm dead in the courtroom!
“Is it really worth to start a real war between us just because of a boy?” Oblomov told me.
For this one, yes! He has even fixed the succession issue! “Not really, this is nonsense, Ivan Ivanovich.
Why don't you ask Repin how we could sort out this matter peacefully. Only with what he's saving from the interests he could get a full harem!”
“He had already one and preferred Guntram over it.”
“A new Picasso or a Van Gogh!”
“The money is back into your accounts. I will come back on the 16th and the boy should be ready to leave for Russia. If not, order several plastic bags in XL size.”
“The Hochmeister does not respond well to threats, Oblomov.”
“This is no threat, just a warning. Good afternoon, von Kleist.” He slammed my door, and I knew that he was serious about it.
Konrad ordered me to keep the capital and return the rest. The lawyers are working full time to finish the papers and have them ready for the 16th and this time, he will negotiate with Oblomov personally. It's very obvious, he will not return Guntram under any circumstance and I wonder what he could have hidden in his sleeve. Repin is a beast when crossed. Blowing up a metro station just because he had some troubles with someone in the Interior Ministry! There were pieces of that journalist in a balcony after his car exploded!
The way he has been “cleaning his backyard” over the past year! Absolutely impossible! He killed all Morozov's people and everyone who had a connection to him! He was going even after his former wife’s friends!
Majardze should get rid of the problem in Madrid as soon as possible. The less we need is the uncle coming and telling Guntram that he loves him and wants to be a family again. The boy is so silly that he would believe anything that snake could tell him!
Guntram de Lisle's Diary
December 14th 2005
I'm back from London. I passed all the tests and I'm promoted to the third year. I'm very relieved because I was a pile of nerves the minute I was setting a foot out of Konrad's house. Heindrik asked me if I wanted to go to a Museum and I said no. I had enough with the Rome experience. His answer? “Excellent, we go to Forbidden Planet.
It's in front of the British Museum and I could take a look at the Star Wars merchandising,” I tried to refuse and impose myself but “… save me your tantrum, Guntram. You can choose something, too. I'll take you for an hour to the mummies.”
We went to the bloody comic store and I returned with a book about Ralph Mc Quarrie's Art concepts for the films.
I will start to work in the illustrations Coco van Breda, one of Meister Ostermann's students. She wants, and Ostermann is thinking about me, to publish a book of classical children stories illustrated by me. I'm supposed to make some drawings for Cinderella, located in Louis XIV court.
December 16th, 2005Frankfurt am Main.
A visit from Konrad von Lintorff himself was a reason of concern for the one hundred seventy-eight employees working in the six stores of the large crystal building in Taunusstrasse. Since 8 a.m. from the CEO to the last coffee boy had been running to have everything perfect shining and in order for his arrival at 11 a.m.
It was a bad omen that his only planned activity was a meeting at 3:00 with the CEO of TransCaucasus, therefore he should have time to make one of his inspections.
Upon his arrival, the Duke had locked himself in his office with Ferdinand von Kleist and Goran Pavicevic, ignoring the rest of the world and shouting with his own CEO, Martin Weiss, for daring to interrupt him.
It was a matter of time that the storm would explode all over their heads if the Duke was in such a bad mood and locked up in his office.
“Konrad, Repin wants Guntram and nothing else. Money will not be enough. Perhaps we could extend some credits to his subsidiaries, but we have checked his financial status and he stands much better now,” Ferdinand said desperately, playing with his pen with his fingers.“My Duke, I have removed several of our agents in Russia, but not all of them. Many of our associates have business there and have no time to leave their companies if he sabotages them. Only Fortingeray has invested three billion euros in steel and trains,” Goran added.
“So I should give him Guntram back? Is that your conclusion, gentlemen?”
“Never!” Goran shouted. “He stays here!”
“What kind of life would you give to the lad? Trapped forever in your house because the minute he sets foot out, Repin will jump to his throat? Remember Rome!” Ferdinand almost shouted and took a long sip of his coffee to release the tension.
“I can protect Guntram, Milan and Ratko will stay with him!” Goran said.
“Do you plan to sleep with him too?” Ferdinand asked and immediately regretted his choice of words when he saw the fire in the Serb's eyes. “I'm sorry Goran, I didn't mean to be disrespectful to you.”
“Watch your tongue if you want to keep it,” he only growled and focused his attention on the silent Konrad.
The Duke had not spoken a single word since the morning too focused on his thinking. He had only briefly talked with Guntram, when the boy was still partly asleep in bed. 'No one has ever been so generous to me ever,' he mused as he remembered his previous night’s kisses and tender words. 'Goran is right; I will never let him go.
He's my children's tutor and my only love.' “Gentlemen, I have to speak with Oblomov as he's the only person who can convince Repin to drop this,” Konrad said finally.
“Oblomov wanted the boy back too! It seems he keeps Repin happy and off their necks!” Ferdinand shouted.
“Ferdinand, Oblomov is more reasonable than his boss and willing to take over. A war with us will be more costly for him than for me.”
“If we get a single trouble because of Guntram, the associates will kick you out!”
“And they will learn the same lesson the de Lisles learned in 1989! The Council is on my side and they named him Consort! He got an ample majority!”
“The-boy-is-not-the-problem-but-his-former-lover!” Ferdinand shouted irritated.
“Any suggestions?”
“No, just don't charge like a raging bull!”
“Ferdinand, I'll make an offer and if they refuse it, we will proceed to the next level. Do I have your support Goran?”
“As always my Griffin. The Komturen are upset at the Russians' penetration of our territories and would like to settle the score once and for all. It's impossible to walk in the south of Spain without crossing them!”
“Has the issue in Madrid been solved?”
“Uncle Mladic is very pleased with my cousin, Slobodan Majardze performance.”
“Excellent. Shall we have lunch, gentlemen? There was this place near the ECB where I used to go with my father and they serve—”
“Not again Rouladen!” Ferdinand whined.
“There are other things too and the wine list is from is from Franken.”
“Ever heard of trying new things? There's a whole new world out there, Konrad.”
“No, why? If something is good, stick to it.”
Guntram de Lisle's diaryDecember 16th
I never thought that Armin and Marie Amélie could make so much trouble in so little time. I know they're sweethearts for some time and I'm glad for them, but today was too much for my taste. As they had still finals, till the 19th, both were coming here daily.
In the morning, I was ready to go to the studio to paint the whole day the in peace, but no, Friederich—
in league with Heindrik, had other ideas. Both caught me at the old Guards Hall where bodyguards, and sometimes Friederich, when he's not in his office, hang around. The Swedish was looking very comfy and immovable. “No, Guntram, it's too cold to be outside and it's snowing. Stay at home today and rest. You were running too much yesterday,” the House Manager told me. Is it my fault that Konrad came back from a long trip and wanted to spend some time with me and we were up till three or four a.m.? OK, we also celebrated my grades and according to him,
“you're very funny after two champagne glasses.”
“I'm going to the studio! I'll be back at 5:00,’ I said, but once Friederich has an idea, he has it and he's very stubborn.
“Miss von Kleist will be here at eleven for lunch and studying with young Armin. It would be very kind of you to accompany her.”
Heindrik snorted without lifting his gaze from his laptop's screen, checking who knows which figures.
“Can Armin not look after her? I'm in holidays! I don't want to see more books around!”
“It would be better if you are present, Guntram.” Yes, of course. I have to chaperone little Armin because he will jump to her bones and I don't think she will run away. For Christ sake! They're twenty-two years old and I'm twenty-three since October. What am I supposed to do? Pour a jar of ice water over Armin if he sits next to her? Come to think, maybe that's the idea because there's always one jar or water over the table; I hate this chaperone job!
“I don't want to look after a brat!” I complained
“Welcome to my life, Guntram,” Heindrik, the Wise smirked without raising his eyes from his work. I did want to show him the finger but Friederich was in the room
“You're so funny Holgersen,” I answered back, truly upset with him.
“It's not funny. It's the tragedy of my life. Make an effort and be nice for once. Stay here, warm and quiet. I'll take you for a round of chocolate and cherry cake to that place you like so much. I have to finish these reports or I'll get trouble with Dähler.”
“All right. Make it two pieces and we're in peace, Heindrik.”
“Fine, two. Now, get your dog too and let her loose in there. She's a better chaperone than you.” Sure, the minute one of them gets funny idea, Mopsi barks. I guess we should get her a husband soon. Defeated, I went to my studio to get my watercolours, pencils and black ink to work with the illustrations so it's not a total waste of time.
“Don't look so sad. I'll bake that apple cake you like so much for tea,” Jean Jacques told me when I passed next to him and I smiled.
As announced, Marie Amélie arrived at 11 a.m.—snotty as usual. I don't know what's her problem with me? Before, she ignored me and that was great, but since I'm with Konrad, she likes to be nasty to me and I have to put my best face as she's a lady… and I'm being very generous with the definition. Her mother also dislikes me. All right, Konrad should have gotten someone much better than me, but we are happy together as we are and I have never interfered with their business. It's not like I'm going to run away with his money and leave her penniless.
Both children behaved reasonably well and I only got one jibe: “Oh, that's the Cinderella story! Mama and I visited the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and I believe that would be an incredible set for it. You can feel very related to it, right Guntram?” I only smirked because pouring the whole ink on top of her head would be a waste of materials and I could ruin the carpet too.
“You're absolutely right, Marie Amélie. Your face would be perfect for Cinderella. She made a fantastic job with the prince,” I answered and she had the good grace to keep quiet for some time… till lunch. Armin, the charming prince, was too busy drooling over her to hear our exchange.
We ate in peace as both lovebirds were busy with each other, chatting in German and for some reason, Dieter, the butler seemed very uncomfortable with their talk. Once the table was cleared, we all returned to study and I forgot about the world as I was working. Mopsi barked once or twice but I shushed her because I wanted my peace to focus on what I was doing. I will shout with a clear conscience: “it's not mine!” if something happens.
Just before tea, at 4:00, I was expecting to get the cake; they decided to go out for a walk to the old hunting lodge four kilometres away. It's a small house, now with some sofas and chairs and very nice because it's by the stream and Konrad and I like to go there in the summer to read under the old trees. The grass around it is more or less destroyed because a mole lives there and it makes holes everywhere. Perhaps the animal is trying to dig out its own Pompeii. “It's a lost battle with them,” according to Konrad.
Of course, I protested against their crazy idea because walking under the snow for four kilometres is too much for me. She called me sissy and Armin, the idiot (hey, that's a good name for a future Hochmeister. If the Spanish had Carlos, el hechizado, we can have Armin, the mutton-headed) only laughed with her “joke”. “Come on, Guntram, don't be a grandpa or is the Duke already turning you into one?”
“No, dear. Uncle Konrad, is funnier than Guntram,” Armin commented. “It's just a walk!”
Sure!. Under the snow, at 2º C, with a heart condition. Totally forbidden to be in the cold as your body increases your blood pressure to fight against the cold. When I came here, Konrad or Alexei where taking me out for small rounds and only if it was sunny. In St. Petersburg, I was almost never out. “No, thank you, Armin. I'm not supposed to be out for so long in the cold.”
“Nonsense, Guntram. Get a good coat and come with us!” she ordered me like a real Lintorff.
“Why don't you go alone? It would be better.”
“Guntram, don't be dense. Join us. Friederich will never let us go by ourselves,” she told me. Great, you need me to cover your rubbish. “Pretty please?” she added and made her puppy eyes which are very impressive and moving.
“All right,” I gave up because I didn't want to have Romeo complaining and accusing me of being
“uncooperative” or a “minion” of Konrad (hey asshole, that's my boyfriend!) or a “sissy” (I wonder if you would dare to repeat that word to uncle Konrad or to Constantin)
I went for my coat and when I returned to the library, they both were ready. I decided to leave Mopsi and she was immediately running to complain to Friederich, who caught us by the foyer. “Guntram, outside is very cold for you.”
“It's only for an hour, Friederich. It's not snowing any longer. We're going to the lodge and back.”
“Take your mobile with you. If it starts to snow call Holgersen.”
“Perhaps it would be a good idea if we take the lodge's key with us, Mr. Elssässer,” Marie Amélie suggested. “If it's too cold for Guntram, we can wait there.”
Reluctantly, well, with a face that Ratko and Milan would love to have, Friederich got his keys out and gave me one. Wow, I was promoted to adulthood. I have my own key now. “All right, Guntram. Get some snow boots.”
No, adulthood can wait for me. Under the snickering faces of the other two adults, Armin and Marie Amélie, I went back for the bloody things.
We walked down the main road and it was truly cold, freezing and they took great pleasure in asking me if I had my snow boots, the overcoat, the gloves, the underwear, etc., with me. Back to high school, but in the Beverly Hills 90210 version. I was stuck with Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Wonder Boy! I started to walk faster to leave them to their own devices and I must have done it very fast because I left them behind after some minutes. Almost a full hour later, I reached the small house almost breathless because of the effort. Yes, I'm not so fitted as before and it was starting to snow again. I opened the house and switched on the heating, making a hot tea for me while I waited for them. Some fifteen minutes later, they arrived in good condition. Just when I was starting to worry because maybe they took that shortcut and with the snow you could easily loose the track.
But they were almost on fire. Really. I had to move aside when I opened the door so they wouldn't crush me in their haste to reach to the wall. Fuck, Konrad and I wait to be alone to make our own porn home movie and Constantin never did more than a few touches or a kiss in public (well, Ivan Ivanovich or Boris Malchenko) I felt truly uncomfortable and went back to the kitchen, closing the door behind me. When I was drinking my tea in peace, Armin, partly dressed, came in and told me to go home because he and she wanted to do it.
“It's snowing! All right, let me call Heindrik.”
“No way, if you do that, we'll get all of them here! Come on, Guntram, you can't be such a sissy!”
“I was happy at home and it was your idea to come here!”
“You get laid with my uncle and I get nothing and here I have an opportunity. Call Heindrik from the road!”
“It's snowing!”
Marie Amélie entered the kitchen only wearing her short dress, with many buttons off and those Eskimo fashion boots. “Armin, I'm waiting!” she whined and I blushed like an idiot because I was sure what she was waiting for and honestly to announce it so openly, it's too much for my taste. Maybe, I'm a prude, but women should be more modest.
“One second, baby”
“Are you still here, Guntram?” She noticed me.
“Having tea,” I growled.
“Be nice and leave us alone, will you? Or do you want to play too? Wouldn't be so funny like with Annette, but perhaps you can do something after all.”
I didn't blush this time because my brain was trying to connect with my ears. Did she want a ménage à trois? With me? Is she crazy or just stupid? I must have gaped at her because the next I knew was that Armin was shaking me from the arm.
“Go home, will you? Be quiet about this,” Armin growled at me very upset. OK, sports with Annette is fine, but another man in the equation is bad.
“Don't you want to stay, Guntram? Perhaps we can teach you something,” She pressed and I was very shocked and tried to hide my embarrassment by putting on the snow boots. “Or do you only like sugar daddies? Have you ever been in bed with someone who's not twice your age?”
“Mind your own business, girl!” I barked because I had enough of her.
“Armin! He's insulting me!”
“Insulting you? I still have not given my opinion of you and frankly my dog does not deserve to be compared with the likes of you!” That was not a nice answer, but at that point I had enough. I'm dragged here, left in the middle of the road and now called “rent boy”? There's a limit for everything.
“Fuck you faggot!” Armin shouted at me and slapped me like a little girl. You need some lessons from Massaiev to know how to hit boy! If you want to hit like your uncle, then know the rest too and be ready to go to the end. If not, don't do it. I returned the blow exactly as Yuri had thought me. One single hit and with “all you have, Guntram, your size doesn't give you the chance of a second,’ I broke his nose and lip and he went mad. Armin pulled out a knife from his pocket and brandished it over my chest very closely. Boy. That's not impressive; a stoned man twice your size is. I took one of the kitchen knives hanging from the metal bar and the minute he came toward me, I launched the knife against the opposite wall, not to hurt, only to warn, because the next was going to be on his leg or arm. Yes, I learned some things at the slum and then, Yuri taught me some more, like this Israeli fighting method, Krav Maga, “just in case you need it,’ The knife just passed along his head and neatly stuck on the wall.
“Next one is to your heart and Milan or Ratko are not here to hold your hand.”
“You fucking animal!” he roared, but changed his mind about attacking me, because I had the second knife ready.
“You're staining the floor, go to the bathroom, I had enough of you two,” I took my overcoat and left the house with the keys still in my pocket. Marie Amélie shouted several things at me but it's not worth to write them down. What was she expecting? She provokes a fight between two men and she thinks that we'll insult or scratch each other faces? I'm not tall or a super Alpha like all these men here, but I'm not a sissy!
I walked back home at fast pace, furious, nervous and with my heart hammering in a nasty way. I had to stop and throw up on the side of the road. Bad sign. I sat in one of the trunks because I felt bad with the cold, the snow and the previous fight. That's nothing for me any longer. Next time, I'll keep distance from those two and if he impregnates her, it's not my problem. Her father should be more careful! I'm twenty-three not forty!
A black Audi screeched its tires next to me and there was my favourite Viking, Heindrik, royally pissed off with me. “Get inside the fucking car, Guntram! Do you want to freeze to death?” he yelled at me. So much for the famous Swedish aloofness. “You should have phoned me the minute those two arrived and threw you out!”
“How do you know?”
“First, you walk in the snow without telling me, and now you do it in the middle of a storm? Do you want to give me a heart attack?”
“I just went out!”
“What were you thinking? You almost killed the little imbecile!”
“How do you know?”
“Video, boy! How did my men pass from watching Playboy TV to Kill Bill? Are you nuts?”
“He started and if you can't stand the fire, stay out of the kitchen!”
“Since when you know how to defend yourself?”
“I'm sorry, Heindrik if your job was endangered.”
“That's not the point here! You could have killed him!”
“And he not? Should I remind you that he pointed me with a razor and even threatened me with it? No!
How dumb of me! I should go to my knees and cry like a little girl because I'm the stupid boy your boss fucks every night!”
“Don't raise your voice to me! What he did was wrong! What if you missed? His nose is bleeding!”
“I won't. Do you want to try it also?”
“Where the fuck did you learn that?”
“Yuri Rimsky, my former bodyguard and Massaiev too. Former KGB and former French Army. I can disarm one of you if necessary. It's the Israeli method. I'm sick of their permanent jokes and be called a sissy or worse.”
“Yes, we heard it, but you shouldn't do that! What if you would have hurt him? He's Albert von Lintorff's son!”
“What if he hurts me? Do you think I stand a chance in a fight with a heart condition and my size? He's 1.85 and I'm 1.73! He learns combat training with Goran! But I forgot, he's rich and can be a brat all what he wants, fucking fourteen years old girls and stomping over all what's beneath him!”
“It's not like that! What you did was stupid and dangerous!”
“All right, next time, I'll shoot someone down,” I retaliated and had to get my pills out because with the shouting I was feeling worse and in a lot of pain.
“You couldn't get a weapon from any of us!” he said with a lot of self confidence. Well time to try our Argentinean pickpockets' methods. I learn several things from the children in the school. He parked the car and Milan was running to us with Ratko and four more bodyguards, almost unable to control their laughter, in tow.
“Should we stop the other two, Mr. Holgersen? It's pretty messy over there,” Hartick asked.
“Of course! Move there!”
“Pity, some more minutes and we would have gotten a winner for this year's XXX Picture,” Milan snorted. “I definitely would buy it! Where did you learn to hit like that? Right to the centre! Almost my style,” he said proudly.
“Wait we tell Goran,” Ratko added with great satisfaction. I guess I never saw him so happy.
“Please, I'll get in enough trouble with the Duke,” I said, realising in how much shit I was getting into.
“Not so cocky now, uh?” Heindrik smirked. “He even said that he can disarm us!” he snorted.
“Have you lost something, Heindrik? Something bigger than your mouth?” I asked like a little lamb and got his Glock from my jacket and offered to him. All of the men there paled.
“Give me that before you hurt yourself, little prick!” Heindrik shouted and advanced toward me and I knew that that was the moment where I had to draw the line to all those men.
“Stand back or I'll shoot.”
He charged and I shoot to one of the lampposts on the other direction to the Castle—no chance I would do it against a place full of people. The Serbs whistled in unison when the bulb some twenty-five metres away exploded. Heindrik stopped when I aimed at his head this time. Without problems, I dismounted the ammunition clip and threw the weapon at him and then, the rest. “I wouldn't have missed, Heindrik. First place in shooting championships for four years in a row. Retired at eighteen because I had to work. My medals are still in Russia.”
“Do you want to come hunting with us?” Milan said.
“I can't shoot an animal,” I answered.
“See, Heindrik? You and the Strolch were never in danger!” the serious Ratko chortled. “Go inside before you kill one of those pricks, although they deserve it.”
I nodded and went inside to be shouted by Friederich for walking under the snow. He said I was almost blue from the cold and sent me to bed… Yeah, with a hot tea and some apple cake. He never mentioned the shooting or hitting Armin and I'm sure he knows about it. I went to our bedroom and honestly I didn't care if Konrad was going to shout at me. I'm sick of all of them! Before they ignored me, but since I'm with him, some of them snicker or despise me. Not the Serbs or Alexei, of course, but Heindrik and all his boys.
I took a hot shower and I still felt poorly, very cold and changed into my pyjamas. I drank the tea Friederich had left and I felt slightly better. When he came to pick up the tray, he entered in the bedroom to check if I was warm.
“About today…” I started, but he shut me up.
“Sometimes, a man has to do things that are not in his nature in order to preserve it. The men learned a valuable lesson today: don't judge a book by its cover. Don't repeat your actions again because it's not our Lord Jesus Christ’s way.”
Constantin Repin had never been so furious in his life when Oblomov told him that Lintorff refused to give Guntram back. “It was to be expected,” Lacroix had told him. “Lintorff will not give up Guntram. I've asked around and the youth is everything he always wanted. It's more than the physical coincidence. We must convince Guntram to leave Lintorff. If he comes to the meeting, don't hesitate to tell him the truth. He will be shocked and leave with you.”
Oblomov had returned without the boy and Lintorff had taken the money but returned the interests, showing that he was willing to fight for Guntram. The excuse had been: Guntram has to work with his exhibition in Berlin, has a cold and is studying for his tests in London. He wanted to kill Lintorff with his bare hands!
“Do not worry, Mr. Repin, he's willing to meet his family. He wrote me in November and used the studio as his contact address. Obviously he has told nothing about me to Lintorff and wants to keep it quiet. I know he has given the jewels to him, but keeps the painting with him along with the teddy bear. He's clever enough as to give away what seems to be the most valuable in order to keep the Duke unaware of our contacts,” Lacroix tried to reassure the Russian over the phone after he had exploded to him.
“What was on the letter?”
“Nothing. Just a formal letter asking me if I knew something more about his father.”
“Did you answer it?”
“Not yet. I want to see how things develop between you and Lintorff on the 16th. If he refuses, we have another line to penetrate his defences. I've heard these journalists from The Independent Times plan to speak with Guntram during that charity party the Lintorff Foundation gives for its employees and volunteers. Somehow, a journalist, Linda Harris, was invited.”
“Will it not be dangerous for Guntram?”
“No, I don't think so. They're sent by Marianne von Liechestein, Lintorff's mother. She hates him with real passion and vice versa. Lock them in a room and Hiroshima will be nothing compared to their clash. She has been working together with Roger de Lisle and these activists. A dangerous and stupid strategy as they're unprofessional and believe that making a huge scandal could stop Lintorff.”
“Probably they will get a bullet in their heads when he has enough of their yelling,” Repin smirked.
“Yes, I saw them in London. Lintorff had a very bad time, but it didn't prevent him to do what he wanted.”
“The only way to destroy Lintorff or the Order is to attack him on a personal flank. Before it didn't work because the tool was reluctant to act, but this time Guntram will do his job well. Once he looses him, Lintorff will be devastated and you will let me work alone.”
“With all due respect, you have nothing to go against him.”
“Money is not the only driving force in this world, Mr. Repin.”
But here he was; sitting in front of a large meeting table with Ivan at his side, waiting for Lintorff. And the German was late. The Degas on the opposite wall was a good one but somehow out of place in the seriously decorated room.
“I apologise for my delay, Constantin. We had to take a detour. Some people demonstrating in front of the DAX,” Konrad said peevishly, advancing to the middle of the room, going straight to take the head of the table, followed by Ferdinand and Goran, sombre and grouchy as always.
“I understood punctuality was the politeness of kings.”
“I'm nothing more than a Duke. We were never Electors,” Konrad mocked Constantin's fury.
“Speaking of royals, there's one Vicomte missing in this room.”
“Vicomte? Ah, you mean Guntram. No, he will not accompany us today. He was very tired after flying to London for his tests. All of them passed with flying colours, but you should receive his grades pretty soon. He can start his third year, next spring.”
“You're perfectly aware of my terms.”
“Terms? Yes, the lawyers finished the papers this morning. They have been working non stop since Oblomov visited us, but everything is ready,” Konrad said and pressed a button only once.
Before Repin could explode, three young secretaries entered the room carrying several folders and silently left them over the table. “Thank you, Louisa.” The Duke waited for the women to leave the room before he spoke again. “Everything is there, Constantin, it was really unnecessary to come all the way from St. Petersburg.”
Constantin only looked once to the folders in front of him. “Do you take me for a fool, Lintorff?”
“Those are all the guarantees you provided for the loans. Nothing else. We have not charged you a penalty for returning the capital in advance.”
Constantin lost his patience for the first time in a long time, hitting the table with his fist. “Give me Guntram back!”
“Ferdinand, do you remember if we have any papers establishing that we took a person as guarantee?”
“No, my Duke. It's against all regulations, Sire. Slavery was totally abolished in 1895. I believe Russia was the last country to finish serfdom in an attempt to look just a bit modern,” Ferdinand answered.
“Therefore, our business is concluded, Mr. Repin, unless you would prefer to discuss some more investments in your region.”
“You have no idea what you have unleashed upon your head, Lintorff!”
“Guntram has expressed his desire to remain with his own people and he has been granted a position in the Order. He's one of us, now,” Goran growled. “Get yourself another boy because this one is no longer available.”
“Remember your words, Pavicevic.”
“It goes in both directions, Russian. I already visited your family once.”
Oblomov looked at von Kleist, hopeful that he would stop the confrontation as always, but the German remained unmoved. “There's no need to go to these extremes, gentlemen. I'm sure we could find a suitable solution for all of us.”
“I'm willing to negotiate with you, Ivan Ivanovich,” the Duke said. “I understand this is a hard blow for you, Constantin, but these things happen and we have to learn to live with them. I was in your place once and I would have given anything to have someone as honest as to tell me the truth in my face since the first day.”
“You messed with his mind! You drove him mad!” Constantin shouted.
“I? Who deprived him of the most basic medications for his condition? His doctor or you? Why did he try to kill himself? Because he loved you so much that he couldn't live without you?”
“Guntram was perfectly fine till you took him away! He was only shocked by the experience. He didn't realise what he was doing!”
“No, of course not. He broke a mirror with his fists and cut his wrists in the middle of the night, doing his best not to be heard by your man,” Konrad sneered. “Since he's living in Zurich his health has improved dramatically. My own doctor told me that he was not giving him more than a year! He had panic attacks, arrhythmia, fluid retention and something incredible for his illness; high blood pressure! If you take him with you, he will die within months! Is that what you want? To buy him a nice grave and visit him there?”
“Guntram suffered an ordeal and was slowly recovering! He was in coma for two weeks and the doctors were not giving him much hope! I stood by him during the worst and he returned to me! He was happy with my children!”
“With your children, not with you! He hated your business and your lies! What were you thinking? That you could hide a serpent like Olga Fedorovna? I've been forthcoming with him, even if it was against my interests and he loves me for that.”
“You? Forthcoming? Are you delusional or just the greatest liar I've ever met? You're warned, Lintorff.
Give me Guntram back and I will look after him much better than you! You have till January 7 th!” Constantin roared and left the room in a whirlwind.
Oblomov sighed and gathered the folders with resignation. 'After all, Troy started because of a similar mess.' “Ferdinand, speak with the Duke and I'll do the same with Constantin. Perhaps we can stop this bloodbath.”
“Ivan Ivanovich, giving Guntram to your boss is not an option. The minute we betray one of our own, our reason to exist, dies,” Ferdinand answered slowly. “It has been like this in the past and it's our way. Honour and Duty above all.”
Guntram de Lisle's DiaryDecember 16th (cont.)
I finished my tea and Friederich took the things away, ordering me to sleep a little, till the Duke's return.
I fell asleep almost on the spot because now, without the tension. I felt very bad and tired. I guess it was more than eight when Konrad woke me up with a kiss and asked me how I was feeling. I was totally taken aback. He should have been shouting at me for attacking his precious nephew!”
“I'm fine, Konrad. About this afternoon, I can explain it and I'm sorry I was so brutal.”
“It's all right Guntram. I'm just surprised you can do it so well, but you owe me a bulb for the garden.
You can pay for it now,” he smiled while he spoke. “Heindrik is very impressed and no one ever has stolen his weapon. Goran wants to know how you did it.”
“If you can steal a wallet, you can do with a weapon. Yuri, my former bodyguard, the one who saved my life, taught me some Krav Mag. Armin should have not drawn a knife on me.”
“I should be very careful with you. Who knows what you can do to me.”
“Nothing, you really know how to hit. I've seen you training with Goran. I'm not match for either of you.”
“Four years regional champion in your category?”
“I was lucky.”
“Tell me something, why are you still afraid of Repin?”
“Because he's unpredictable. The one who used to take care of me could hit me without a warning and he knew how to do it without leaving marks. Constantin was also brutal, he never hit me but in his own way, he terrified me because he could hurt anyone just to get his way. He always knew what to tell when he wanted to bend me to his will. He turned me into a child and you can't compare his men to yours; they're criminals. They enjoy to cause pain or humiliate people.”
“Do you think you could come downstairs and speak with Ferdinand and me?” He asked very softly.
“We'll have dinner later. Being in the cold for so long, all this excitement and walking so much is bad for your health.”
“You should be furious with me. I risked Armin's life.”
“If you draw a weapon, Guntram, you have to be prepared that your opponent does the same. He should be glad you were so calm about it. If he would do something so stupid to any of Repin's men…”
“He would have been dead in less than a second,” I whispered. “I know. I saw it happen once in St.
Petersburg. A new boy answered back Ulianov and he just stabbed him in the neck. Massaiev took me away immediately, but I will remember it for the rest of my life. We were just going to the winter garden and they were there, arguing and in a second Ulianov killed him,” I told him.
“He has been disrespectful to you on many occasions. I always wondered why you never complained to me, but I see you can defend yourself very well.”
“I'm not a lady!”
“Never thought you were one, but you're sick and should not be under stress. Armin knows it and he deliberately provoked you and forced you to go outside. I'm most furious with him and with Marie Amélie!”
“They're just two teenagers with more hormones than brains, Konrad. Let them be,” I shrugged.
“No, you're wrong. I know them better than you and she had no right to tell the things she said to you.
Get dressed and meet us in the library.”
I did as I was told and went there. Ferdinand was already sitting there and Konrad looked like a volcano one second before it explodes. Not good at all. They asked me to sit next to Konrad.
“I would like to apologise for my rudeness to your daughter, Mr. von Kleist.”
“No, Guntram. I've seen the tapes along with our Hochmeister and I have formed an opinion of her behaviour. She knowingly insulted the Consort several times during the day and in the past, according the reports and endangered your health twice today. I support our Hochmeister's decision. She has proven to be unworthy of us.”
“Mr. von Kleist we all said stupid things today and I was the worst of all. I will apologise to your daughter tomorrow if you let me.”
“There's no need for that, Consort. Insulting a council member is a serious offence, even if you don't participate of our meetings. She's well aware of this. I thank you that you have never complained about her behaviour to our Hochmeister.”
“I don't understand,” I mumbled.
“She has insulted me with her vulgar remarks,” Konrad said, “and this, I don't consent. She has been expelled from our Order. She might remain under her family's care, but she will be no part of our companies. I have removed her name from my will and cancelled all the funds I established in her name.”
“But Konrad, you…”
“I would like to offer my deepest apologies to the Consort and beg for his mercy,” Ferdinand said gravely and I gaped at him.
“Mr. von Kleist, you and your sons have always been very kind to me. I would not like that today's incident would hurt your family in any way.” Perhaps this would soften the Basilisk.
“Very well, the Consort has granted his forgiveness to your line and renounces to any claim against you.
You should be thankful, von Kleist,” Konrad said. “You may keep your honours, but Marie Amélie von Kleist is shunned from our records.”
I wanted to complain about his decision and tell him that this was out of scale for some idiotic remarks and sending me out, but one sharp look from him, told me that this was not the moment to cross the Hochmeister or Griffin.
“Thank you my Griffin,” Ferdinand said and knelt in front of Konrad to kiss his hand in servitude. I was speechless. “My life is devoted to yours, Consort. You have granted my sons the opportunity to grow in the Order,” he intoned and kissed the ring I wear.
“Ferdinand, do not make Guntram weary.”
“Yes, Konrad.”
“May I retire, sir?” I asked, feeling very small.
“If you still feel all right, I would like to discuss the situation with Armin von Lintorff, Guntram.”
Konrad said. “His father will arrive in three hours and although I have an opinion, we would like to hear your side.”
“Konrad, we both behaved like stupid children. This should be left as a teenagers' school fight. We will speak and fix it by ourselves. It's nothing else or related to the Order.”
“The minute the next Griffin attacks the Consort with a knife, without mentioning his insults to your persona, it's a matter for the Council, Guntram,” Ferdinand spoke.
“There's a cut in your jersey,” Konrad pointed out.
“I threw a knife at him! I was not thinking at all! What if I would have missed? What if I would have hurt him? I'm as guilty as him!”
“He started the fight encouraged by my own daughter. It's very clear. We have seen the whole footage.
You did nothing wrong, were sent to the cold in the middle of a storm—when your heart condition is well known—and threatened with a weapon. You only defended yourself,” Ferdinand said very calmly.
“After I broke his nose!”
“After he physically assaulted you!” Konrad roared and I knew that we were treading on a very thin ice for Armin.
“Please, Konrad, don't become enraged. It will not help us to solve this problem. As Ferdinand said, I have not complained at all to the Council, therefore you have no right to interfere in our affairs. We both should be punished. He for not calculating the consequences of his acts and I for not evaluating the risks of mine.”
“Are we sure we don't want him in the Council in a few years, Konrad?” Ferdinand asked and I looked at him very surprised.
“No! There's nothing there for Guntram! He will run the Foundation if his health allows him to do it!”
“Please, Konrad. I don't justify Armin, but let us speak with each other and give us both a second chance. We will sort out our differences in a civilized way.”
“His father can take him home! I have no use for a spoiled baby in my house!”
“But whose fault is it? His or yours?” I counter attacked him. Ferdinand looked at me surprised but I continued. “He's a spoiled brat, I agree with you, but did you or any of your relatives do something to correct it?
Were you expecting that he would magically change his ways if you provided him with everything? If he shows not compassion or empathy for his brothers is it his fault or yours? Did you ever make him really work? I was raised in an environment very similar to his, but I had to fight for each little thing. Take care of my pencil's box because I would only get one per year. Get in time to work or they would fire me and I needed to pay rent or buy food. Going to help father Patricio because none of the rich people like all of you would dirty your Italian designer shoes in the mud.
You asked me why I was not furious with my father for not giving me all the money that was in that safe box and made me work since I was eighteen. In a way, I'm grateful to him because hardship taught me to be a better person.”
“I was trying to correct all this!”
“How? Shouting with him? A slap? Making him suffer under Dr. Dähler? It's useless because the final responsibility for his acts lies in you, not in him. He's just like a child in a harder boarding school! You said that to command he has to learn to obey; well it's wrong! To command he has to learn to be responsible! Like you are!” I raised my voice and had to lie down against the chair because the excitement was making me dizzy.
“Do you still have any doubts about his value as Consort, Ferdinand?”
“Not any more, Konrad. He's exactly as his father, but less bossy. A real Dachs. Löwenstein was also right,” Ferdinand chuckled and I couldn't understand him.
“Your arguments will be taken into consideration, Guntram. Let's go eating before Albert arrives,”
Konrad said and I thought I was in another place because they had switched their moods so fast that it was impossible to understand. Now, they were only concerned about their dinners!
We had dinner and Konrad and Ferdinand were only talking about business and I spaced out. They had coffee in the living room and I had to be there, drawing and quiet as a mouse, because they were busy with their things. At eleven, Albert arrived, very pale and I wanted to die in shame.
Konrad charged in his usual charming way. “There you are cousin. Tell me one good reason for not finishing you off.”
“My Griffin, it has been a horrible misunderstanding! My son would have never dared to raise a hand against Guntram! He has no reason to!”
“No, he raised a weapon against him. We should be glad his fighting skills are so deficient.”
“Please, Griffin, hear me as I'm the grieved part,” I said and Albert looked at me with true hate in his eyes. “We both fought over a childish thing. Children fight and it's part of their education. They forgive each other and forget the offences till the next time they quarrel. Let us speak and solve the problem between us and I swear that we will behave like adults in the future.”
“If the children say so,” Ferdinand supported me.
“I give you my word that we will never do anything like this, my Griffin,” I pleaded and Konrad looked at me, judging me in a cold and calculating way. “I have the upper hand if he ever tries something stupid again,” I smiled and that convinced him.
“I will give your eldest a second chance if he apologies to Guntram, Albert, but don't think he will not be punished for this.”
“We both should be punished, Sire,” I said softly.
“Rest assured we will speak about your behaviour later, Guntram,” Konrad said very coldly and I really felt afraid and cast my look to the floor. “The Consort has mentioned that all this is the result of our ineptitude as parents, Albert. I can't place myself in that category yet, but I agree with Guntram's view on the matter: Armin has no real idea of what responsibility is. He plays the serious young man and fools all of us but his acts never carry a real reward or punishment. We were born in the middle of wealth and never suffered a thing. Our Tutors did their best to teach us some humility and empathy but we never learned the lesson. How can we rule if we don't really know what the people under us suffer? How can we lay off someone if we never were in the queue of the unemployed? Did we ever have to strain ourselves to make the money last to the end of the month?”
“With all due respect, cousin, we run much more things than an ordinary man,” Albert said.
“Yes, of course. We, adult men but what about the children? How much money makes Armin in the bank, Ferdinand?”
“A normal salary, I think it's 2,000 francs.”
“No, he makes 1.456 francs and gets another 4,000 for his normal expenses,” Konrad said and I paled.
Shit! That's my account! “How much were you making in Buenos Aires, in dollars?”
“Fixed income was a little under $1,000 but with the tips it was almost $1,400.”
“And you paid rent and everything?”
“Yes, but the university there is free, not like here.”
“Including your medical expenses?”
“I had no medical expenses at that time. A box of aspirins, maybe.”
“Very well. From now onwards, your son will receive no allowance from any member of your family, Albert, including Aunt Elisabetta and Carolina. You will only pay for his school fees. He can keep his salary in the bank and Ferdinand, if he ever misses work or arrives late, deduct it from his salary. He will study in the mornings in the University and be in the bank every afternoon and send him to the office boy job. Someone has to carry the coffee for the traders. He's far away to be a Griffin. He will continue to live with us but will pay for his keep. How much was your rent, Guntram?”
“About $600 for thirty-five square metres.”
“He will pay Friederich 800 francs every month, Albert. If not, he's out. In five, years, if I'm pleased with his work, he will be considered as a candidate for my succession, but for the moment, he's out as he has proven to be a brat. Let's see if he can be a responsible man. He's also permanently removed from my will.”
“Thank you Konrad. We're grateful to you,” Albert said and I couldn't believe it.
“Armin doesn't deserve to lose all what he has been working for!” I protested
“Guntram, as you should know by your own family's history, physically assaulting the Griffin or any member of the council, including you, is punished by your line's total annihilation. It's in our Code and you have accepted it as all of us have,” Ferdinand said and I looked at him horrified.
“You have prevented my son's execution and you have earned my gratitude and respect,” Albert told me.
“This is our way, young man. I see that all this was a set up from another line.”
“I swear Albert that neither I nor my boys have any interest in the succession. Karl Otto wants to be CEO of one of the hedge funds and Johannes is a scientist only caring about bio-plastics,” Ferdinand said. “Perhaps Karl Otto will be in my place one day but that's for the next Griffin to decide.”
“Your daughter gave the cold shoulder to Armin since he was thirteen and the minute he's appointed Griffin she decides he's a good candidate? She started the fight and she had provided him with the drugs! It was a miracle he didn't kill Guntram with all the stuff inside of him! Your Johannes is a chemist!” Albert howled, ready to attack Ferdinand.
“Johannes is in Munich at the Max Planck! He has nothing to do with this! He and Guntram are good friends and there's not a single call or e-mail between Marie Amélie and he for the past three months! They don't like each other!”
“That's true, Johannes and I speak now and then. He's kind to me,” I supported Ferdinand.
“And I see nothing wrong in their friendship, both have similar natures.” Konrad closed the argument.
“That little bitch tried to be in your bed Konrad! Then she ruined Karl's wedding just because he was going to be your successor!” Albert shouted. “My son had amphetamines in his body for a full weekend! He doesn't take them! He says she provided them to him as a natural supplement. You have seen the bottles!”
“It's the word of one against the other and it does not excuse your own son's idiocy. Were I to judge them as I would like, none of them would see the next morning, but it's Guntram's right to decide what to do with them.”
Konrad used such a cold voice that I had to grip the armrests to keep myself sat. “You already failed me in Rome, cousin, and Guntram suffered. Your son endangered his life. Get out of my sight before I take justice into my hands and forget the Code.”
“Konrad!” I shouted rising from my place because this would end badly for Albert or Armin. “This is unfair! I've forgiven Armin and Marie Amélie. Consider this matter as settled! Albert and Ferdinand are your friends since the crib! If they were against you, they would have hit long time ago and not through me!”
He looked at me for a long time, irked, really furious, but suddenly his anger cooled down and came toward me. “Please, my friend, stop now. They're your family, not Repin,” I whispered and my head was spinning around from the tension and the fight.
“Very well, Guntram,” Konrad said. “Albert, bring your son back the day after tomorrow. Guntram, go to bed now.”
I did as I was told because I knew he was one step from killing.