TS 3 Chapter 7

 Chapter 7

 

October 15^th, 2015

New Zealand 

“What would you like for your birthday? Not a party like the one Kurt threw. I'm too old to survive another debauchery of clowns and ponies.” Constantin asked Guntram. 

“Turning 33 isn't that special. It's OK. You don't have to give me anything.” Guntram answered as his eyes went through the many birds illustrations scattered along the large wooden table. 

“It's customary to give you something. Kakapos and kiwis are out of the list, too.” 

Guntram laughed at the suggestion. “No, I'm not ready to have someone like Dick in my life. He's the crankiest bird I've ever seen.” 

“This one looks like him.” Constantin took a drawing of the bird and chuckled. “It has certainly captured his mean spirit. What are you going to do with all this?” 

“It's for the boys. They want a book with the kakapos and I agreed to illustrate it if they write the story together. That should keep Kurt away from Kostya's piano... and Kostya away from Kurt's toolkit. They can't keep their hands off from each other's stuff!” Guntram whined, tired of the constant arguments between the boys. 

“That's what brothers do,” Constantin shrugged nonchalantly. “They love to steal things from each other. Have you noticed that they even laugh when they catch each other with their stuff? It's a game they play to make you upset. Stop paying them attention, and it'll be soon over.” 

“You don't happen to know how Kurt got a special key to loosen the piano strings?” 

“No idea. He must have taken it from the man who tuned it.” Constantin answered calmly. 

“And you don't know where Kurt's mini robot is, do you?” 

TS3 Chapter 6 B

August 12^th, 2015 

Cavalli Islands. New Zealand

“There's something I want to show you,” Constantin shook Guntram awake. 

Still groggy, Guntram opened his eyes and watched the barely containing his laughter man. “We might have busted the trading ghost.” 

“What?” 

“Come with me,” Constantin pulled Guntram from the bed and the young man followed him, crossing the corridor to the library Constantin used as his office. “Just watch,” he pointed at the iMac large screen. “We have it in HD.” 

Guntram rubbed his eyes and heard a chuckle before Constantin pressed the play of a video of his children's corridor. Right under the Abstract blue painting, he saw Kurt's door open slightly, wait for a few seconds before his head emerged and peered both sides. On tip toes, the boy crossed the corridor and entered in his brother's room and quickly left it, carrying in his arms Kostya's beloved plush frog. 

“I'm killing him,” Guntram mumbled as he watched his son carefully closing his brother's door. “On top, he suppresses the evidence.” 

“It's not over,” chuckled Constantin as he fast forwarded the film some twenty minutes. 

Guntram never expected to see his youngest child's sleepy face to come out of his room and walk like a duck to his brother's room, disappear inside it and emerge carrying, half-dragging the very expensive Nao robot Kurt loved above everything. Just as his brother had done, he closed the door behind him but left his own one open in his haste to return to bed. 

“Little...” Guntram was speechless. “Tomorrow, I'll...” 

“Tomorrow you'll do nothing.” Constantin chuckled. “Now we know that the mix-ups weren't the maids fault. Let them be. They haven't complained, so don't start you.” 

“Little mobsters. Blaming each other and then the girls.” Guntram said outraged as Constantin laughed. 

“A few years more and I can turn over the business to them. I never saw anything like that in my own boys,” he could barely contain his fun. 

“Great, we have the next Godfather sitting at home. Double dose too,” Guntram mumbled and sat on Constantin's desk. 

“I could offer some advice too,” Constantin smiled and rose from his chair closing the distance with Guntram. 

“You? You weren't the bad ass everyone thought.” 

“Compared to you, I was a bully in the kindergarten.”