TS 2 Part VI Chapter 31

Chapter 31

July 3^rd, 2012

Zurich

On tiptoes, Konrad entered in his quarters and left his briefcase on the table as he moved his neck to his sides, trying to release the tension. 'If I'm so ruined at almost fifty-five years old, I don't want to know what it feels like to be sixty-five,' he thought. 'One mobster in disgrace in the morning, nine associates plotting against my cousin in the afternoon and I feel like if I would have been running a marathon in chains.'

'Ten years ago, this was just a boring day.'

Very carefully, he opened the bedroom's door, afraid to wake up Guntram at two in the morning but he found him sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard and working on a sketch pad with his old wooden pencil box. 'That's the first time I see him painting since he came back. Please, let it be just a traumatic stress disorder as the doctor and Goran think,' he prayed God once more.

He leaned over the bed and kissed Guntram on the forehead and he looked at him with a smile as his finger mixed two shades.

“Hey, don't think I didn't realise you were on the big run,” Guntram joked and Konrad looked at him a bit shocked but quickly hid his surprise at his bantering.

“We had quite an orgy at the meetings room. Imagine, Ferdinand, Michael Dähler, Adolf zu Löwenstein and Albert on video conference along with nine or ten associates, a pile of dry sandwiches and I.”

“No hot secretaries around?”

“They went home at 5 p.m. Michael was the only one who could understand the copy machine,” Konrad joked.

“Did you have dinner?”

“Some leftovers from lunch, but I'll survive. You look different tonight, Kitten,” he added softly.

“I feel much better. You were right, Konrad.”

“I'm always right. The problem is that people fail to see it,” he said very seriously and Guntram laughed with all his heart.

“Let's say you're right ninety-two percent of the time,” he commented with a smile and kissed him on the lips in a very tender way.

“May I have that statement in written?”

“So you can frame and hang it in your office?” Guntram chuckled.

“That's a really good place. You are also right some times, Maus,” he joked again, feigning an arrogant air.

“I think I want to give you something better for your office.”

“Ah yes? What is it?” Konrad asked and left his laying position on the bed to get his pyjamas folded from under his pillow before he began to undress himself, throwing the clothes over the armchair next to the window.

“It certainly looks like that Dieter suffers with you as “master”, Guntram commented as he passed the pages in his big folder and gathered the pencils scattered all over the damascene quilt to put them back in the box.

“Yes, after fifty years I can throw my clothes around and no one will tell me off in the morning,” Konrad chuckled as he carelessly dropped the trousers on top of the crumpled jacket and vest, but kicked the shoes to one side of the room afraid that Guntram may trip over them in the middle of the night.

“Are all of them accounted for?” Konrad asked, pointing at the pencil box as he lifted his covers to slid under them. “If one of them stabs me during the night, my kinesiologist will retire in the Antibes with what he will charge me.”

Guntram laughed at the complaint-protest and kissed him again, his heart melting at how willingly Konrad accepted the caress and shifted his position to get more. “I was thinking what to give you in Christmas,” he said shyly.

“Is it not a bit too early? We have my birthday coming soon.”

“In November,” Guntram protested.

“I want something better than a tie.”

“I was thinking on a book,” Guntram said very seriously and Konrad couldn't help to grimace. “Seriously, I was watching the boys play when I came home in the late afternoon and I realised we don't have a portrait of the three of them,” Guntram told him shyly. “I made some sketches and if you want to take a look....”

Konrad tore the sketch pad from his fingers and began to look at the sketches with some fierceness, ignoring Guntram's nervous comments over his own work.

'When did he learn to do this? Before he was good and ethereal but now, each one of the lines have a life of its own,' Konrad wondered as he looked at the brief and simple lines that tell him much more than was really drawn on the paper.

“They are very beautiful and I can see the boys' personalities reflected in each one of them,” Konrad whispered in awe. “This is the one I like most,” he said pointing at one sketch where Klaus was holding Kurt as Karl showed him a book and lectured him about the figures.

“It's looks almost like that painting you loved so much,” Guntram chuckled.

“I'm a man with strong convictions, Maus,” he announced proudly. “I like this one,” he repeated and smiled once more. “Maybe I was already dreaming about this painting when I saw the other,” he wondered. “This world is not so straightforward as I used to believe,” he mused.

“I don't understand you, Konrad.”

“It's nothing, but please make this one for me.”

Guntram kissed him. “Very well, I think I have a commission now. You were right that I needed to go out. When I returned home, I only wanted to paint again. Whatever happens in the future, will happen no matter what. I can't hide for the rest of my life.”

Konrad looked at him and felt the guilt slowly eating up his heart. “Maus, there's something I must tell you and you should not be too furious with me,” he said slowly. “I don't want to keep you away from this and you have every right to know it.”

“What did you do this time?”

“Where are your pills?”

“In the night table,” Guntram said with dread. “But I don't need them any longer.”

“This morning, Repin called me to my mobile phone,” Konrad spoke and anxiously checked Guntram's reaction but his face remained cold and composed as if he were in shock. “Are you all right?”

“What did he tell you?”

“He was just prodding me with a stick but I ignored him. He offered me a truce between us. He will leave you alone as long as I stop hunting him down,” Konrad said.

“What about Kurt?”

“He leaves the baby to you. He does not want him for the time being,” Konrad spoke without flinching a single muscle in his face. 'No need to tell him more. It will only make his life miserable, exactly as Repin wants.' “I agreed to his offer.”

“What? You can't make deals with him! He will attack you the minute he recovers his power.”

“Perhaps, but as you say, it makes no sense that I lock you and the boys up for the rest of your lives. Goran agrees with me. This has to stop at some point.”

“He will come back in the future. Don't you see he's always two steps ahead?”

“Repin was two steps ahead of us because we were divided and he could pitch against each other, Guntram. I hope this never happens again.”

“It will not happen again, Konrad. We both learned our lesson,” Guntram whispered.

“We will quarrel in the future but let's promise to each other that we will tell everything. We should always present an united front.” Konrad said seriously.

“Just like you told me the first time I saw you,”

“I was an idiot for setting those rules and not trusting your good judgement,” Konrad with a tired smile.

“I was an idiot for not trusting you more.”

“Repin is like the fox with the grapes in that old fable. Do you remember the story? She couldn't reach them and...”

“Said that such green grapes were not worth of her delicate palate,” Guntram finished the sentence and embraced Konrad.

“He told me he has enough of you.”

“Yes, he told me the same many times.”

“We know each other since more than twenty years and Repin knows how to choose his battlefields. You simply don't make the equation worth of the trouble. He's only looking for an elegant way out.”

“Konrad, you can't trust him,” Guntram protested feebly but decided to follow Konrad's tactics.

“I don't trust him. I trust his hedonism. It's the main driving force behind his actions. You just became an expensive diversion for him, Maus,” Konrad said and rearranged his position to take the frail looking man in his arms. “He loved you in his own selfish way.”

“I'm very fortunate to have you,” Guntram whispered as he kissed Konrad's hands.

“God blessed me the day He sent you to me in one of your stubbornness fits,” Konrad retorted softly and looked at Guntram with adoration. “If Repin wants to make trouble he will do it whether we want it or not. In the moment, there is nothing I can do and I hate the unfairness of the entire situation, but there's nothing I can do without risking you or the boys once more.”

“You are right, Konrad,” Guntram admitted and kissed him to prove his words. “Constantin had enough of me and I still wonder why you don't do the same,” he added with great sadness.

“Because I love you and I know you'll get better. God tested us and we passed his trials. This situation can only improve as it's improving for us,” he said as he spooned his body against Guntram's, kissing him once more.

“You have no idea how much I missed to hold you in my arms,” Konrad sighed contentedly. “I missed coming home to find you and that you would cuddle me just like now.”

“I missed to be your teddy bear,” Guntram replied as he adopted a more comfortable position that would allow him to caress the powerful arm laced across his waist and take the hand closer to his chest.

“Today I had a visit from several of our associates, Maus. They want to get rid of Georg as soon as possible and return me my Hochmeister title,” Konrad finally decided to tell once Guntram's breathing showed an even rhythm. “The offered me the required votes to remove him in the next Christmas meeting. I had no choice but to listen to them.”

“What did you tell them?” Guntram asked full of dread.

“That I'm going holidays in a week and they will have my answer upon my return. In September,” he replied, increasing his vacation by a full month compared to the original plan. “I'm more and more tempted to support their upheaval but force them to name Goran as interim Hochmeister. I want to spend time with you. We have so much to live together and if I return to office, we will be drawn into deep waters. The problem is if Goran wants the job. He has already seen what a piece of shit it is.”

“Goran is an excellent strategist and human character judge,” Guntram said softly. “But he knows nothing about finances.”

“I'm perfectly aware of that. I would stay in the Council and help him. This unspoken rule of the Lintorffs should always rule makes no sense at all. I've probed Albert on this and he also thinks that it's a heavy burden for Armin. I certainly don't want to impose this on any of our boys. If they want it, they should fight for it.”

“Will people not say that this is another of your manoeuvres, Konrad? That Goran is nothing but your puppet and disregard his orders?”

“Goran my puppet?” Konrad chortled dryly. “He does what he pleases and when I protest he tells me: “I don't see your cousin Georg standing here. When Georg orders him something, he says; “I have to partake with the Council members. This an important decision for me to make alone. If you rub him in the wrong direction, he literally sends you to hell and goes for a beer with his “Komturen-buddies,” Konrad complained.

“Komturen-buddies? Did you just say buddies, Konrad?”

“They are all pals nowadays. His last killing spree won their everlasting admiration. The new Komtur in Spain told many stories about his performance in Buenos Aires.”

“His performance in Buenos Aires?” Guntram repeated in shock.

“With the police, of course,” Konrad lied, biting his tongue and cursing his slip. “Goran was putting some pressure on them to make them work.”

“I see,” Guntram answered who also preferred to ignore the sentence. 'Goran is a decent person and his violence is always justified. You can't deal with people like Constantin with a rosary in the hand. I have no right to judge him after all he did for me.'

“He's perfect for the position. If Goran would accept to be Hochmeister for a few years, things could return to normal. Goran has no natural heirs and it's only a matter than he chooses one from the Lintorff family, like a more mature Armin, who by the way married his goddaughter. Sometimes I wonder if he has not planned all this. If he decides to stay for many years, we risk that he favours our Kurt instead of Armin; he is way too in love with this baby,” Konrad considered and laughed at the idea. “You should have seen your son and he at the Königshalle today. He introduced Kurt almost as the next Kaiser,” Konrad said a bit concerned, but dismissed the idea once more.

“What about our traditions? The Lintorffs have been in power since the beginnings of the Order.”

“The Order has changed. It's not the same institution my father ruled. We need a military commander nowadays and blood and aristocracy are frankly outdated concepts. I'm a relic from the old times and if I impose my views, I fear that we will be doomed in two generations and which line rules will be the less concerning matter in the downfall of our Order.”

“Do you really want to change things so much?”

“What is the real difference between me and Goran? A hundred years ago, his people were uneducated and none of them would have dreamed of sitting in the Council. Today, Goran can lecture me on Strategy or International Politics, Guntram. The world changed but we did not.”

“The truth is, Kitten, I'm getting old and honestly I don't think I will be doing a good job if I return. I can advise him on economics, but I realise I missed the overall picture several times in the past. Repin beat me because I was too self-confident and blinded my own so called brilliancy. It's very irresponsible from me to believe that I'm a good ruler. I used to be one, but not any more. My responsibility to the Order lies in doing the best for it even if it hurts my own interests.”

“Goran has strong beliefs and works very well with Michael Dähler. He would be a fantastic Summus Commendator, or maybe Goran prefers Adolf zu Löwenstein for the position.”

“Will that not be Ferdinand's decision?” Guntram asked as he digested the long speech.

“He's also tired and sour with our associates. Today he lost his patience with them several times. Saint Claude is a valid option too. Michael is almost an outsider and the old lines could resent it. Zu Löwenstein could give “the required touch of distinction to the party”, as Goran calls me at my back.”

“Your brilliant plan has a hole. You still have to convince Goran, Konrad” Guntram said with a smile.

“That's your job, my love,” he replied with another smile. “Goran is another person since he has your son. I don't know how to express it, but he has changed. He's more confident of his leading abilities.”

“He sees Kurt as a second chance, a redemption for what happened with his brother. I had to fight with him today so he would return him to me. They went to the park and came home with a soft foam sword. Kurt went to bed with it and his teddy bear.”

“A man of clear ideas, it seems,” Konrad chuckled as he switched off his bedside light and turned around in the bed to sleep.

“Konrad?” Guntram asked after a long pause.

“Mmm?” he mumbled almost asleep.

“I saw my father today,” Guntram confessed with a small voice and feeling frankly worried about his lover's reaction. “We established a sort of truce.”

Konrad sat on the bed and quickly switched the light on. “When? Where?”

“At Goran's. He was there to complain about the Lintorff Foundation's finances. When did you name him CEO or something like this?”

“A few weeks ago. It was not easy and Gertrud fought like crazy with me but I threatened her with withdrawing all my financial support. I think he started to work two weeks ago,” Konrad answered innocently. “Even if I hate to admit it, your father has helped us as much as he could, and shared what he had on our enemies and troublesome little lambs. Without the material he gave me, I could never impose Goran's candidacy to the other associates. I will not tell you what to do regarding your relationship with him, but don't consider my personal opinion of him as a deterrent to your decision.”

“Since Constantin told me the truth, I thought I would kill him on the spot, but when I saw him, holding Konrad in his arms, I felt like I was six years old again. I know he's manipulative and always keeps a secret agenda, but I just couldn't punch him in the face as he deserves. I missed him all my life. I would have given anything to have him back when I was a child. Even now, I need to be with him. Do you think am I crazy, Konrad?”

“Guntram, this is between you and him. Blood is blood,” Konrad said softly. “You and I are very different. Perhaps you need him to close that wound in your soul. In a way, he and I are responsible for it.”

“Goran thinks I should let him enter in my life again. We can't tell the truth as it would ruin your reputation, but I should give little Kurt the right to grow next to his grandfather.”

“Without mentioning serving time for several years for him if the truth comes out,” Konrad added dryly.

“Yes, that's another thing,” Guntram mumbled lost in his thoughts.

“Michel Lacroix is almost the CEO of my charity foundation. There's nothing wrong with him visiting you in this house,” Konrad said after a long consideration. “Just please forewarn me of his next visit forty-eight hours in advance. I also need some time to prepare myself.”

Guntram bent his body over Konrad's and kissed him with gratitude. “Papa was speaking with me and Goran about the Foundation. He wants to accuse Gertrud of embezzlement and I'm afraid he could make her serve time in prison. His case is well documented. Goran stopped him until he speaks with you tomorrow. He has something to give you too.”

“He can do it only after two weeks there? Ferdinand will kiss him next time he sees him,” Konrad mused marvelled, still keeping Guntram against his chest.

“Gertrud is your cousin, Konrad.”

“She stopped to be blood of my blood the day she dared to attack you, Guntram. Tell your father to proceed,” Konrad said dryly and Guntram flinched. “This was in your father's hiring conditions. My aunt Elisabetta should recover the Presidency and give it to you or whoever she chooses when she feels like it.”

“Papa and I spoke for a long time. He's very sorry for all what happened. He swears to leave you alone, but I don't know if I should believe him. What if I'm wrong again and we run into another disaster like this one?”

“Kitten, your father and I are on opposite sides. In the moment, it's cheaper for us to be allies but we will never be friends. I swear that I will not rise my hand against him if he keeps his paws off our private life.”

“I really missed him all these years. Even when I didn't know it was him, it felt good to speak with him when we were at odds. It felt good to have another friend like Goran or Alexei.”

“Guntram, I will not forbid you to speak with him, just don't let him be in the middle of our marriage.”

“My father complained several times you didn't marry me,” Guntram chortled. “He says that nowadays you can do it in Spain, Holland and somewhere else if you don't want to leave Europe. Does he think I'm a damsel in distress, living in sin with you?” he commented with a chuckle, negatively shaking his head, still surprised that “Jerôme le Rouge” as his own family used to call him, was so conservative regarding his son's relationship. 'I can be gay, but I have to get a stamped piece of paper to be decent.'

Konrad considered his words for a long time and his prolonged silence began to drive Guntram more and more nervous, fearing that he had spoken too much and pressed his lover's buttons for too long. 'After all, Michel is still on probation.'

“If anyone comes closer to any of my children with something less than a serious mind, I would shoot her or him on the spot. I hate to say this, but your father is right, Kitten.”

“What?”

“I'm fifty-five years old and widower. You are almost thirty years old and single. We have three children and enough means as to support them. About Spain, I'm not so sure, but I can live with a Dutch marriage certificate.”

“Are you out of your mind, Konrad?”

“No, I was never so sane in my life, Kitten. I'm no Hochmeister any longer and I don't give a damn about people's opinions. In fact, I'm sick of people telling me what to do. Guntram Philippe Alphonse de Lisle Guttenberg Sachsen, will you run away to a small Dutch village and marry me this Summer and to hell with the consequences?” he earnestly asked.

Guntram gaped at him for a long time trying to see if it was a joke but he saw no deception in Konrad's eyes; just longing and a growing fear at his hesitation. 'I should never forget how much we need each other.'

“Yes, I will Konrad Maria Ulrich von Lintorff Sachsen Löwenstein,” he tried to unsuccessfully answer before Konrad's lips collided against his in a kiss full of joy and love.

Finis

November 16^th, 2011