Finn lowered his head and pressed his forehead to Ben’s. Then he stabbed and rammed Ben’s head into the ground. He stabbed and rammed the knife into his friend’s heart. The whimpering stopped.
As sudden rain fell on the two, Finn remained in posture while no sound was heard around him. All were silent. Then he heard footsteps approaching through the rain. Finn didn’t have to look up to know who it was.
Odin passed Fenrir, still whimpering in the mud, desperately trying to get up as if that alone would end his suffering. In vain. His former master did not dignify him with a glance and would not release him from his suffering as Finn had done with his friend. He had lost and disgraced his master.
When Odin stopped in front of Finn, Finn raised his head and looked the leader of the community almost defiantly in the face. No movement showed itself there. Then Odin suddenly struck and his powerful fist hit Finn in the temple.
Unconscious, Finn went down next to his dead friend, while Odin stood over him, looking down at him. He simply turned and walked out of the square past everyone who silently followed him with their gazes. As Odin passed the dogs, he let out only one command.
“Eat.”
Drooling, the dogs dashed off and pounced on the still-living Fenrir, whose yelps grew ever quieter. Finn and Ben, however, did not touch them, as if they knew the command did not include them.
10
“Ah, he’s coming round!”
Ben heard the voice as if from far away, but felt the blow with the flat of his hand.
“Come on, now! Wake up!”
Another blow with the flat of his hand. This time harder.
Ben concentrated on the pain, trying to perceive it in its entirety, trying to pull himself out of his unconsciousness.
Laughter.
“You got hit pretty good!”
Another blow. Again, harder than before. Or was he coming more and more to consciousness and could feel everything better now?
Ben listened inside himself. His legs still felt numb, his hands too. He felt they were tied up. His head felt as if it were wrapped in cotton. This feeling gradually disappeared.
He was still in the forest. Tied up and leaning against a tree. Opening his eyes a little, he saw several lights, flashlights. Directly in front of him squatted a man with a rather unfriendly expression on his face. In the corner of his mouth he had a toothpick, which he kept pushing from side to side. Judging by his accent, he was clearly of Russian origin.
Again, Ben was struck by a blow that finally brought him back to the here and now. Nevertheless, he kept his eyes closed and his head hanging. The darkness would also allow him to examine his bonds without anyone noticing.
Ben heard another voice. “Alexei, someone’s coming!” The man in front of him stood up, presumably Alexei.
“Pretty busy here tonight,” he said with amusement.
“Who do we have here? Guys, you’re meeting a celebrity now!”
Ben opened his eyes a crack, but without changing the position of his head. The area was well lit by the large flashlights and he could make out four men who seemed to belong together. They were joined by another man who was not Russian.
“Matteo. What brings you to this deserted area? And at this time of night, too?”
Matteo laughed, spread his arms and embraced Alexei, kissing him right and left on the cheek, while the other three Russians did not take their eyes off him.
“Ciao, Alexei. I guess I’m here for the same reason you guys are. My boss has also become a bit nervous about the events of this night. He has questions he’s only too happy to have answered.”
“If you’re looking for this Anna Kerkov, she’s not here anymore. Our boss also has questions and called her in.”
Ben had trouble sitting still. He would have liked to jump up and punch Alexei to tell him where Anna was.
Matteo nodded and put his hands over each other in front of him.
“So to the old sugar factory. Are you still using it?”
Alexei raised his finger to his lips. “Trade secret. But since you’ve already figured it out yourself, yes. I can understand Russev there. It’s secluded there, and you’re on your own.”
Matteo nodded. “Yes, I once had the dubious honor.”
Alexei raised his hands. “Wasn’t anything personal. After all, I’ve fallen into your clutches before. Business is business, and sometimes you get in each other’s way.”
Matteo smiled mirthlessly. “Yes. Do you think Russev will mind if I sit in on the conversation so I can report back to my boss?”
Alexei laughed. “I think your presence might make Russev a little nervous. Besides, he’s probably still in a bad mood with you. That business in Berlin is still bothering him.”
Matteo raised his hands defensively. “I had nothing to do with that!”
“But it had your handwriting on it.”
“Hey, we don’t get in each other’s way. That’s the deal.”
Alexei let a few moments pass, then nodded. “Yeah. Russev doesn’t really believe you guys will stick to the deal anymore, though. And now we have the mess. And I’m here to clean it all up.”
Matteo nodded. “Isn’t that usually Sergey’s job?”
Alexei laughed derisively. “Ah, were you expecting him here? Fancy another dance? Didn’t turn out so well for you last time. Well, anyway. Sergey screwed up and now I have to straighten it out. This Anna is with Russev now and this other guy too. That will take the problems off the table tonight and then it was all just a nuisance.”
Matteo nodded and then pointed in Ben’s direction. “And who’s that guy?”
Alexei shrugged. “A nobody. He just happened to be with that Anna girl. Must be a friend of that fucking Turk we whacked. I don’t know. We should just take this Anna to Russev and keep an eye on that one until we can get him to Russev too.”
Matteo walked up to Ben and squatted in front of him, looking him over closely.
“A nobody, huh? I saw what that nobody did.”
Matteo stood up again and Alexei spread his arms, laughing. “What do you want me to say? I have no idea who that guy is. His friend was snooping around and Sergey didn’t finish him off properly. Even got some himself. And now we’re here. A big mess, yes. But it will all work out. And then everything will be like before.”
Matteo nodded. “Well, not quite.”
Alexei was irritated, but laughed and looked to his men, who were also laughing. “Don’t worry, Matteo. We’ll get this fixed.”
Matteo smiled and nodded. The next moment he pulled out a pistol with a silencer. Before the four Russians could do anything, four soft shots rang out and Ben heard four bodies fall to the ground. Matteo waited a moment, then slowly walked to the bodies and shot each one again in the head.
Ben did not move, but he clearly heard Matteo come to him and crouch in front of him again. When Ben didn’t move, Matteo pressed the still-hot end of the silencer onto a free spot on his shoulder blade.
Ben cried out and Matteo pressed a little harder before pulling the gun back again.
“So our sleepyhead is awake,” Matteo noted, rising. “I guess you’ve been awake for quite a while now.”
Ben breathed heavily, fighting the pain. He looked with piercing eyes toward Matteo, who shone a flashlight into his face.
“What’s your name?” Matteo demanded.
Ben hesitated for a moment and took a few deep breaths, his cheek muscles playing and revealing his anger all too clearly. “Ben,” he finally managed.
Matteo nodded. “All right, Ben. Who are you? I know all the players in this strange scenario, but you’re a blank slate. Truly no one had you on their radar, and yet here you are. Why?” He paused for a moment before continuing, as if not really expecting an answer. “Oh yeah, your friend was murdered, all right. He stuck his nose into things that weren’t his business. Couldn’t keep his hands off it. Couldn’t let it go. And unfortunately started a chain reaction that led us here, and unf
ortunately it doesn’t end here. No, I regret. Good Alexei was completely wrong when he believed that everything would be all right again. Even before that, the old order had begun to shake. I would never have believed that it would happen like this and right now. It was clear that something would happen, but not yet.”
Matteo squatted in front of Ben again and looked directly at him. “Your friend made quite a mess of everything. Maybe it could have ended with his death, but I don’t believe in that either. Well, it doesn’t matter now. What does matter, though, because I’m dying to know, is: who are you?
“Your path is paved with a little too many corpses to be ignored. I certainly don’t, because that piques my interest directly. What you did there, that was not luck. I admit I don’t think much of Russev’s men. After all, they are all military trained. Okay, even that doesn’t mean much now, but they’re certainly ruthless. And yet you’ve made it this far. So who are you? And what do you know?”
Ben said nothing, just stared at his counterpart with a hateful look.
Matteo just smiled. “You see. That’s what I mean. That’s not the reaction of someone who doesn’t know how to handle a situation like this. You’re acting more like a soldier on a mission from which he can’t be dissuaded under any circumstances. If I hadn’t taken care of these guys, I’m sure you would have.”
He waited a moment. Ben remained silent.
“Still nothing to say? Okay, I don’t have forever either. You’ve heard that Anna is with Russev, and I assume he’s very displeased about what happened that night. This could be very unpleasant for her, and important questions will be clarified there as well. Therefore, I can’t deal with you forever and wait for answers.”
Matteo narrowed his eyes. “I’m guessing military. But German? Bund? That would be very strange. Anyway.”
With that, he put away his pistol and took out a switchblade instead.
Matteo rolled his eyes and smiled sheepishly. “Yes, I know: what a cliché. An Italian with a switchblade. Let’s just say I’m aware of the irony and that’s why I have it. Or for nostalgic reasons. Take your pick or leave it. It doesn’t matter.”
With that, he cut Ben’s shirt, but without hurting him.
“Military guys like you always have some kind of tattoo, after all, which might put me on the trail of...”
He paused and shone his light on the large symbol emblazoned on the left side of Ben’s chest. For a few moments he couldn’t believe what he saw there.
11
“So, you wanted to leave our community?”
Rarely was anger heard in Odin’s voice. This was reserved for all the traitors he always spoke of. Finn was now one of them.
He had been tied to a table, his arms and legs bound, as well as his naked torso, so that he could not move.
Only a few were gathered in the hut. Besides Odin and some of the oldest still comrades from Finn’s group, Erik, Matt, Gunnar and the others who were to witness Finn’s punishment.
“You even dared to endanger the community by letting one of them escape!”
“He was innocent!” spat Finn at Odin.
Odin’s face turned angry red. “He was inferior and a danger to everyone. It was only thanks to Erik’s prudent intervention that the worst was prevented. He had no qualms about doing the right thing and protecting his community. For this he was also granted the honor of the sign.”
With that, Odin stood in front of Erik, who looked at him proudly and presented his left forearm, on the inside of which, just below the elbow, was tattooed a skull, its bone encrusted with all sorts of fine runes. This sign showed the initiates that he had killed for the community and now belonged to the Deathbringers. Henceforth he would bring death to those on behalf of Odin.
“This mark is one of the greatest honors we have to bestow. The bearers are the most honored members of our community.”
He turned back to Finn and grabbed his left arm, emblazoned with the same symbol.
“You, too, once earned the honor when you were less restrained. But what you did today was against everything we and this symbol stand for.” He let go of Finn’s arm and his expression calmed again.
“For that, you will get a new mark. The mark of the outcast, so that everyone of those you tried to save will immediately know who and what you are. Who you consider your equals. Who you prefer to your people, to your comrades, to your blood.
“How dare you! To choose this filth over us! Who, with one look at the symbol, will make you feel their hatred. Who will punish you with contempt. Persecute you. Ostracize you. Spit on. Beat you. Abuse you. And kill you. Because they see you for the scum you are.
“Once we mark you, there will be no place for you to flee to. No one will give you shelter. No one will protect you. You will be ostracized as soon as you see the mark, the symbol.
“Let’s see how long you will protect these creatures then, and not resist them when it is you whose skin they claim.”
Odin stepped back from the table and the draftsman approached. In his hand he held the tattoo needle with which he had already drawn so many and with which he applied the symbol of hatred over a large area on the left side of Finn’s chest while he screamed at the top of his lungs.
12
“Now that’s surprising!” Matteo laughed, still trying to classify what he had seen. Then he shook his head. “If those guys had seen that, oh man, they would have made you bleed for it. They would have cut it right out of you.
“And Russev first of all...” he paused. “But your friend is of Turkish descent. How could he be your friend?”
Matteo laughed. “Man, you’re puzzling me more and more. Now I want answers more than ever. Who are you? And how did you get involved in all this?”
Ben leaned forward. “I’m a nobody.”
Matteo nodded with a laugh. “If you see the symbol, definitely. You’ll get killed for that in the circles you’ve gotten into. It’s almost a duty.”
He shook his head again. “You little perverted asshole. It will be my pleasure to kill you. Yes, even a fucking duty. So I won’t find out who you are from you. That’s fine. All that matters now is Anna.”
Ben laughed.
Matteo laughed along at first, but then got angry. “What’s so damn funny?”
Ben continued to laugh and then seemed to calm down. “It’s so funny because it doesn’t matter who I am, what the symbol is supposed to be, or what’s going on with Anna. Not at this moment.”
Matteo clearly showed that he was angry. “So? Then what’s important?”
Ben’s fist crashed into Matteo’s face. “That I’m long past being tied up!”
Ben stood up and Matteo reached into his jacket for his gun. But already Ben was on him, kicking right at the spot. Matteo cried out and pulled out his hand, which contained a pistol, but Ben deflected the bullet with a blow against the barrel. The next moment he applied a lever and Matteo dropped the pistol in pain, but was able to block Ben’s next blow and deliver a blow himself that crashed against Ben’s forehead, causing him to stagger.
Matteo laughed. “That’s good! Just picking you off would have been too easy, too. Too good for you, you Nazi pig!”
With that, he reached behind him and pulled out a hunting knife with a sharp edge on one side and a serrated one on the other.
Ben nodded appreciatively. “Now that’s a real knife!”
Matteo smiled. “I’m going to enjoy ramming that blade into your eyes! And then I’ll cut that damn swastika off your body alive!”
Ben snorted. “The idea isn’t as new as you might think!”
Matteo attacked. Ben immediately noticed that Matteo had some experience fighting with a knife. He was not just a street fighter who had learned his skills in the gutters of Palermo. Maybe he had started there, but what he showed revealed a more specialized training.
Ben dodged Matteo’s thrust, but he noticed that his senses were not yet reacting as he was used to. Still, he could rely on his tra
ined reactions, which still made him one of the best fighters. Mo had never had a chance against him, just like his father. But there it was never a matter of life and death. This was different here. Matteo not only wanted to hurt him, he wanted to kill him. The mark of shame truly evoked the greatest anger in everyone, regardless of which side they were on.
Matteo was good, and a few times he almost wiped Ben with the blade. Ben kept managing to dodge the blade, which seemed to buzz with every attempt to stab and cut.
Finally, Ben managed to block one of Matteo’s attacks and kick him in the right knee. Matteo cried out in pain and Ben rammed his own knee into his side, immediately twisting his arm so that the Italian had to give up his blade. When Ben also pulled his leg to the side, Matteo went down. However, he did this next to the pistol he had just dropped.
Before Matteo could grab it, Ben grabbed the knife and jumped to the side as Matteo also fired his first bullet in his direction, tearing a hole in the bark of a tree.
“Not bad for a nobody!” Matteo said with a sneer. “Truly, we would have had less problems with the Turk.”
Matteo let his pistol circle, aiming at no particular target. He couldn’t see much through the darkness, either. Carefully, he reached into his jacket with his free hand and pulled out a full magazine. In a flash he had removed the almost empty one and replaced it with the new one. Only then did he reach for one of the flashlights lying on the ground, whereupon he crossed his hands and thus always shone in the exact direction in which he was aiming.
“Okay, this makes it a lot more fun!” he said. “I love it when my victim balks or runs away. It makes a fight like that so much more exciting. I admit to underestimating you. It won’t happen to me again!”
He waved the flashlight around, thinking he heard something, but he was professional enough that he didn’t just shoot. His senses were so heightened that they automatically reacted to typical outlines. Here in the forest, however, his senses and instincts were challenged to the utmost. Moreover, it was pitch dark and only the flashlights of the four dead Russians provided some additional light.
Ultimate Rage - Ragnarok (Thriller) Page 10