TS 2 Part VI Chapter 22

Chapter 22

May 17^th, 2012

Zurich

Friederich looked at the young Serb standing in front of his desk in awe. “Do you affirm that Guntram is here?” he asked very slowly, still unable to believe the news.

“Yes, he arrived this morning but you must keep the secret. He's convinced that somebody in the house has targeted the princes. We need to search the castle thoroughly. I have the Duke's permission,” Mirko said with a firm voice.

“That's impossible! People work with us since several years! We have checked them all,” Friederich protested. “I vouch for these people.”

“Please, Mr. Elsässer. Do not interfere now. Where is the butler?”

“Dieter? He's in Zurich with the cook. They went to visit a wine merchant.”

“Good, we start with their rooms. Ask all the servants to stay in the guards hall. They should remain there. You also, Mr. Elsässer.”

“This is impossible!” he shouted. “What about Mr. Guttenberg Sachsen? He's writing in his room. He was the last who joined us...”

“I'll take him downstairs myself,” Ratko growled and left the group of five men standing in the old man's office.

* * *

Merry Christmas

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TS 2 Part VI Chapter 21

Chapter 21

May 17^th, 2012

Zurich

John parked the Porsche in the underground parking with a heavy heart. “Are you sure about this? Maybe he's working at this hour. If one of my employees tells me that someone...”

“Please, John, don't make it harder than it is. I have hundreds of doubts but he has to see me once more. You don't know the whole story behind our breakup,” Guntram said slowly.

“Don't you want that I take the little one for a ride? What if he's nasty to you? After all, it's his workplace. Can you not go to his house? I still think you should have warned the guy in advance...”

Guntram placed his fingers over the man's lips and sadly smiled. “You're my first option,” he muttered.

“It doesn't make me feel better, Fedia. I think even after this two weeks you never gave me a chance to prove you what a great guy and perfect for you am I. Heck, we are perfect for each other.”

“I know and I'm terribly sorry for this. I have no words to apologise to you,” Guntram muttered. “I wish I could have loved you but we would never be more than friends and we have to split our ways now. My boyfriend would never understand why we are friends.”

“Hey, staying together was my idea! Don't sweat over it.”

Guntram smiled and kissed him on the lips. “You're a great guy, John. I'm really going to miss you.”

John watched how Guntram released his sleeping baby from the seat and wrapped him over a small blanket to place him over his right shoulder. “Wait! I'll go with you,” he said.

“Thank you. It's just around the corner.”

“All right.” John buttoned his trench coat up ready to face the cold morning.

Both men climbed up the concrete stairwells in complete silence and Guntram felt his heart cringe when they emerged in the bustling Bahnoffstrasse. He tried to swallow but his throat was dry and the hammering of his heart numbed his ears. He took two steps backwards to let a group of young girls, dressed as secretaries and briskly walking, pass over them.

Still holding Conor, like a lifesaver, he turned around the corner and decidedly walked down Börsenstrasse the two blocks to the familiar turn of the century building and contemplated the caryatids guarding the upper floors. As usual, two men were discreetly guarding the crystal door. “It's here,” he whispered and stood frozen in the opposite pavement.

“Here? This is a private bank.”

“Yes, Lintorff Privatbank,” Guntram answered with his eyes fixed on the two towers of bodyguards already looking at the two pedestrians standing directly in front of them.

“Private banking means you have to have an account there if you want to enter. This is not a normal bank. This is only for VIPs. Come, Fedia. You should make an appointment with the guy before you go in there. There's no way you can....” John started to tell but the words died in his lips as Guntram simply crossed the street, ignoring him. “Shit!” he cursed. 'Those gorillas are going to eat him alive,' he thought and ran after the young man.

Echoes from the Past

Echoes from the Past

April 23^rd, 2006

Zurich

Dieter poured the hot liquid into the white china dish, glad that the chef had had the good idea of making it. As the Duke's favourite broth, perhaps it would lift his mood a little after Mr. de Lisle broke up with him two days ago. The butler stoically ignored the furious look he received from the nobleman once he had finished serving.

'He must be the guilty party, if Mr. Elsässer does not even want to speak to him,' the servant thought as he slightly bowed his head to the fuming Duke and took several steps backwards, clutching the tureen in his hands.

“Leave it here,” Konrad growled as he took the spoon in his hand, and Dieter obeyed.

'Guilty and furious. Bad combination.' The butler closed the door behind him. 'I hope Mr. de Lisle turns a blind eye to his misdeeds as usual. Nobody has so much patience as he has.'

* * *

TS 2 Chapter 20

Chapter 20

April 28^th, 2012

Stockholm

Both men looked leaned on the parapet of the bridge with their gazes lost in the horizon.

“It's certainly going to be boring without you, boss,” Dima said softly.

“Are you getting sentimental on me, Klatschko?” Constantin sneered.

“After so many years... Almost twenty now. Not many marriages last so long,”

“Twenty-two years working together,” Constantin remembered with a pinch of melancholia as he lighted another cigarette.

“Don't you want to try it once more? Just for Conor's sake.”

“If I run after him, I'll make a mistake and we will all pay for it. We are in their territory now. Oblomov must have told them everything.”

“It's a huge sacrifice, boss.”

“It's just a pause in the game. Let Guntram run to Lintorff. They will be so busy congratulating themselves that they won't notice a thing. When the times come, I'll get my Conor back. After all, he's the only good thing I got from his father.”

“He's a beautiful child indeed,” Dima agreed. “I'm sorry for Massaiev, he really liked and cared for them.”

“He was getting too old. Can you imagine him in a nursing home? It was a good end for him.”

“My family arrived to Puerto Vallarta three days ago, boss.”

“I'm leaving for Rennes tonight. It's time for Mr. Dubois to return home. France was always my second homeland.”

“I think you should consider another place, boss. It's like courting with disaster.”

“It's perfect. I almost went mad in the middle of the jungle. I need to see a theatre or a Museum now and then. What's the use of having so much money if you can't enjoy it? Maybe, I'll write my memoirs,” Constantin joked and Dima laughed.

“It would be certainly worth buying it. At least the whole first edition to burn it down before somebody reads it.”

“Good bye, there are no debts between us any longer,” Constantin said after some minutes spent in amiable silence and companionship and he offered his hand.

“Thank you, boss,” Dima said earnestly. “I'm really sorry it didn't work as you planned. We should have taken the boy the minute we saw him. He was perfect for you.”

Constantin sadly smiled and once more looked into the glistening waters. “Breaking a conditioning like his one is almost impossible, Dima. Didn't Massaiev tell it to us hundred of times? Guntram was seriously damaged since he was a child. A real pity. The world lost a true genius. I can already imagine his future; living in Lintorff's cage, terrified of his own shadow and sick. He won't last long. Sverdloff was not very optimistic after the surgery.”

“You should get your baby back before Lintorff drives him mad like he did with the father. He was very happy to be with you.”

“I will do it when the time is right. Good luck, my friend.”

* * *

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