The Virgin Vagabond

Chapter 14

Berlin turned out to be a cultural and colorful city. Kesia had never been there before, even though it was kind of close to home. Luke on the other hand seemed to know it very well and took Kesia to all the known and unknown places. The next couple of days, she enjoyed herself so much that she almost forgot about the smuggling thing. She and Luke had a great time. Apparently, after the half way point was passed, they got a few days to themselves before the game continued. It was enough time for them both to check their brains out of the game for a while and just relax. For the first time since they had started playing they had a chance to get to know each other for real and talk about other things, normal things. 

”So” Kesia started at the dinner table one night, ”can I ask you a personal question?”

”Yes, but I can’t guarantee that I will answer it until I’ve heard it” answered Luke and smiled a crooked little smile, as he did so often. 

”I expect no less from you” answered Kesia and smiled back at him. ”How did you first become involved with the mafia?”

Suddenly, Luke wasn’t smiling any more and he cleared his throat before looking at Kesia.

”You weren’t kidding. That is really personal.”

”Sorry.”

”No, no it’s okay. I can see that you would wonder.”

He paused and took a sip of water before continuing.

”It was when I was back at school, I think I was about 13 years old when they first noticed me. They had some business with my dad but they didn’t really trust him. Because of his drinking problem he became a liability. But I didn’t have a drinking problem and I looked innocent enough.”

”Why would they want a little child?”

Luke laughed a little.

”Children can be very useful, believe me. Anyway, they took me in and even provided for me when my dad couldn’t or was too drunk to be present at all. It’s funny really because they become sort of like a family. There is dedication and love, although twisted and unhealthy. It is still a huge comfort. Especially if you’re 13 and in desperate need of male role models to look up to. I think for a while that I was happy with them.”

”What happened to make you realize they were no good for you?”

”As I got older they started expecting other stuff from me, violence and crime, extortion and threats. At some point I stood up to the boss and got beaten to a pulp. That’s when I understood that I wasn’t there by my own will and I couldn’t leave by my own will either.”

”That’s when Cornelia showed up?”

”Yes. And with the new information that has come to light lately, I am going to ask her some questions about why she was there back then. It was really no place for a woman.”

Kesia didn’t know what to say. The topic of conversation had brought them back to the game somehow and she wanted to change the subject again. Just as she was about to offer up some information about herself, her phone rang. It was Matilda.

”I should really take this” she said and got up from the table. She stepped outside of the restaurant and answered the call.

”Hi Matilda!”

”Hey girl! So good to hear your voice! Now I know you’re alive. So, where in the world are you?”

”It’s better if you don’t know” Kesia answered and Matilda scoffed in the other end. 

”Ok, so what can you tell me?”

”I can tell you that the game gets more and more interesting by the day and so does Luke.”

”Oh, yes, Luke, the mystery man. Have you done it yet?”

”No, we haven’t done it” said Kesia and put a lot of emphasis on the last word.

”Oh! So, not ’it’ but other stuff? What other stuff?”

”You know, pretty much everything you can do without doing it” said Kesia and she could feel her cheeks blushing as she spoke. She was suddenly embarrassed.

”Give me some details!” begged Matilda.

”I can’t! I’m in a public place!”

”Ok, well, call me when you’re not. I miss our talks. And call your dad, he worries.”

”He talked to you?”

”Yes, call him, Kessie.”

”Ok, I will. Thank you.”

She hung up the phone and went back to Luke. He seemed lost in his own thoughts when she came back and looked up at her like he just woke from a dream.

”Are you okay?” asked Kesia.

”Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about me. I was just thinking about my dad and how he’s doing.”

”Do you wanna go back to Siena to check on him?”

”Yes, I think I should. But after we’re done of course. I have to finish this first. Who was that on the phone?”

”Just Matilda. She misses me and I her. Apparently she had talked to my dad. She told me to call him.”

”Do you wanna go do it now? It’s okey if you do.”

”Thank you but no, I’ll do it when we get back to the hotel.”

Luke nodded shortly and looked distant again. Kesia leaned forward and grabbed his hand. 

”Are you sure you’re ok?”

”Yes, I really am, but I might not be for long. Do you remember back in Italy, when I told you about the people that might come after me for leaving the mob?”

Kesia remembered, although Italy seemed a lifetime ago.

”Yes, of course. No one seemed to bother you back then though, right?”

”Exactly, nothing happened. I don’t think we were in Italy long enough for anyone to find out about us being there. However, I’ve had some contact with Ric since we left Siena and he’s acting kind of weird.”

”Weird how?”

”I can’t put my finger on it. He’s just not being himself somehow.”

”What did he ask about?”

”He asked questions that felt like they were intended to sort of reveal where we are. Like he didn’t ask me where we were but sort of asked other questions that might reveal where we are. Questions about time, weather and such, you know?”

Kesia nodded slowly. Why would Ric have an interest in their whereabouts? 

”Did he say anything else about your dad?”

”No, nothing. But they don’t really live close to each other. I have other people I can call if I need to enquire about dad. I just…”

”You don’t really want to know?”

”I guess. Is that weird?”

”No, it really isn’t.”

Lukes phone buzzed and he picked it up.

”Oh, Cornelia is here. She is waiting for us back at the hotel. We should go meet her.”

Kesia went to the bathroom while Luke went over to the counter to pay for their food. They met up outside the restaurant and walked back to the hotel together. Kesia felt relaxed for the first time in so long. She felt a little sad that this was the last night before the game would start again.

Cornelia seemed stressed but also sort of hyped. She was pacing through their room while she was repeating all the information they already had about the commission and the smuggling business. Kesia followed her with her eyes but only listened with half an ear. She leaned closer to Conrad who was standing like a statue close to the door, like he was guarding it.

”I’m glad to see you’re ok” she said and he glanced at her. 

”Thank you, miss. I was never in any real danger though. Cornelia exaggerated I’m sure.”

Kesia smiled a little. She felt safer now that Conrad and Cornelia was here. 

”And remember” said Cornelia and suddenly stopped, ”Always refer to me as Anna Johnson, that is my name as far as you know. I’m not Cornelia von Arnold when were here. Got it?”

They all nodded and Cornelia looked pleased.

”Conrad, would you order some food? I’m famished!”

Conrad nodded slightly and picked up the phone to call room service. Cornelia sat down on the couch and sighed. She looked at Kesia and then at Luke.

”So, what have you kids been up to these days? You’ve had some time off right?”

”Yes, some well earned time off. We’ve just been doing pretty typical tourist stuff” answered Luke and sat down next to Cornelia. ”Hey, I have some questions about when we first met, now that I know a little more about you and your past.”

Cornelia looked at him and almost seemed a little scared.

”Do you really think now is a good time to ask questions about irrelevant things like that?”

”Irrelevant?”

”Well, given the situation we’re in, I’d say it is hardly relevant right now.”

”Are you sure? So what you did back then, dealing with the mafia, wasn’t at all connected to the fact that you were yourself head of the commission?”

Cornelia flickered with her eyes, looking very confronted. She didn’t say anything.

”And” continued Luke, ”you wouldn’t say that the commission itself is another kind of mafia? So what really went down back then was that you traded me for favors? Much like a business deal?”

When he was done the atmosphere in the room changed. Conrad looked intensely at Cornelia, waiting for a reaction or an order. Kesia looked at Luke, wondering how long he had been thinking about this and why he hadn’t said anything to her. No one said anything, no one had anything to say. Kesia became nervous and suddenly realized she hadn’t called her dad yet. Was it a bad time to go into the other room and make a phone call? Probably. Luke might need her. Kesia took out her phone and sent her dad a short message with promises that she would call the next day.

”Oh, Luke” said Cornelia and put a hand on his cheek. He moved away from her on the couch and Cornelia looked hurt. ”You’re right about some things” she continued. ”I didn’t trade you for favors though, but I did pay them money for your release. I can’t describe to you in words what I saw on your face back then. It was a look that immediately made me realize that I had to do something, anything, to get you away from there.”

Luke was suddenly on his feet, pacing. He didn’t know how to react and Kesia tried to make eye contact with him but he wasn’t looking her way at all. 

”I did the only thing I could” said Cornelia. ”And you’re right about the reason I was there. I was making preparations for the games that year. Your old boss was one of the investors. I don’t know if I would describe the commission as a mafia. Maybe. It doesn’t really matter I guess.”

Kesia realized that she had never seen Cornelia like this. She was always so professional and kind of cold when she was dealing with her. Now, she was like a mother talking to her son, trying to calm him down.

”Please say something” said Cornelia and Luke stopped, looked at her. 

”What do you want me to say? We have never talked about that moment, about what it was or anything. I have always just thought about you as my savior. Now I don’t know what you are.”

Cornelia looked like she was about to cry. She turned to Conrad.

”We should go to our hotel” she said and started walking towards the door.

”What about the food, ma’am?” He asked. 

”We’ll take it with us.”

Cornelia looked at Kesia.

”Take care of him. I’ll see you tomorrow. Consider changing hotels as soon as you get your clue.”

She put an envelope on the table before she walked through the door. Conrad nodded as to say good bye and then he closed the door behind them. Kesia picked up the envelope and looked inside it. There was just booking information for them when they were ready to change to the new hotel, the one the commission wouldn’t know about. She put the envelope back on the table and looked at Luke.

”Are you okay?”

”It feels like the millionth time you’ve asked me that today” he said. 

”Sorry.”

”Don’t apologize for caring. I like it. This is all just a little upsetting.”

Kesia walked closer to him to hug him and just be near him.

”Of course it is. This is your life and she has never told you all that stuff? That is really messed up” she said in an effort to be supportive.

”No, I think it might be my fault. I have never asked about that day, about what really went down. I was just eager to get out of there, you know, I didn’t wanna ask about it, question it. I just thought it was too good to be true.”

”She should still have told you at some point.”

”Maybe she would have, if I had asked. I asked now and she told me everything.”

Kesia didn’t know what to say. 

That firm knock on the door that they had gotten so used to was the thing that woke them up the next day. Luke sat up in the bed, still half asleep, and dragged himself into the other room. 

”Who is it?” he said, loud enough for the person on the other side to hear.

”A letter for you has arrived” answered a female voice.

”Thank you. Slide it under the door please” answered Luke. He wasn’t going to risk anything. The letter came sliding in and he picked it up. He already knew what he would find in it and before opening it, he needed to wake Kesia up and have a talk about the second round. Everything was about to get a whole lot harder and he needed to tell her about that before getting started on the next step.

”Hey Kesia” he whispered and stroke her back.

”Mhmm?” she grunted.

”We got the next letter. Wanna open it together?”

Kesia slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes.

”Ok, go ahead” she said with a yawn. 

Luke tore the letter open and pulled out a piece of paper. They both read it quietly. It said All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

”I know this one!” exclaimed Luke. ”It’s the first line from Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy!”

Kesia also knew it but decided to let Luke have this one. 

”Impressive” she said with raised eyebrows. ”Is there anything else in the envelope?”

”Nothing” said Luke after taking another look. ”Then, we have to assume that the quote itself is also a clue to where we might find the key. Any ideas?”

”Not before I have my morning coffee” answered Kesia and slowly got out of bed and into the bathroom. Luke smiled a little and picked up the phone to order them some breakfast.

”There is something I need to talk to you about” said Luke when they had their breakfast on the balcony. It was a sunny morning and their balcony was very private.

”Go ahead” Kesia answered, stuffing her mouth with bread and cheese. 

”The first half is over and we are about to start the second half of the game. Much like football, it gets a lot more intense in the second half. Everyone involved knows more about the others now and everyone gets more desperate. In a way, it’s bad to come out of the first half and being in the lead, as we are, because all eyes now turns to us. It is not helpful that I have won once before either.”

”Geez, Luke, do you have any good news?”

”Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Since we are in the lead, we do get some perks now. For example, we get five bonus points that we can trade for information at any point, without loosing any of our other points. The downside to that is that our seekers also get perks, being the seekers of the leading team. They get the same information as we do, at the same time as we do. That means they always know where we are and where we are going.”

Kesia stopped eating for a minute and thought about what that meant exactly.

”So, we never get any kind of head start?”

”No, never. But another perk we get is a personal driver and a town car with toned windows. That only helps a little though, since we still have to get out of the car every once in a while. The commission is likely to put keys in much more open places now as well.”

”So, it’s really gonna get a lot harder now, huh?”

”Yes, a lot. And I think we should turn down the personal driver since we don’t really want the commission to know where we are all the time. Who knows what they will try to do to us?”

”Right. Can we still use John and Keren? They have been helpful in the past.”

”We have to talk to Cornelia about that, but yes, probably. Any help we can get is welcome, right?”

Kesia nodded slowly and turned her face to the sun. She realized that these were the last fragile, peaceful moments she had before the crazy started so she wanted to really soak them in. 

”Have you thought about Cornelia since last night?”

Luke sighed.

”Of course. I haven’t thought about much else. What do you think I should do?”

Kesia opened her eyes and looked at him. 

”You’re asking me? I would probably try and talk to her, just the two of you.”

”How could I? We aren’t allowed to split up.”

”We can for a couple of hours.”

”I don’t want to risk it. I would have to leave you alone. You would be exposed.”

Kesia thought for a moment.

”Conrad can watch me. If you think I need a babysitter” she snorted. 

”That’s not what I meant and you know it” said Luke.

Kesia laughed a little. 

”I know. My point is, if you’re scared something will happen to me while you’re gone Conrad can be with me while you are with Cornelia.”

Luke seemed to think about that but he didn’t say anything.