E.B.E. 21- the Hunt

by Peer Lehregger

  Hannes pulled out his face. "Possibly. But I don't think so. There's something completely different behind this. Please understand, if she were a terrorist, an intergalactic terrorist, then something would have happened long ago. At least, I think so. I, for my part, have found that she has a social nature."

  Sabine made big eyes. Hannes shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't always a forklift driver. I can do a little science, too. She helped me, for example."

  Sabine raised her eyebrows.

  "You remember seeing me yesterday with a bandage?" "Yes," Sabine said, "what happened?"

  "Accident at work. I'll be on sick leave until Monday. I scratched my arm along a crate when I fell. It was a deep wound. Clamped. Bleeding like a pig."

  "And?"

  Hannes raised his left arm, pulled back the sleeve of his sweater, showed his arm wordlessly. Sabine looked closely at the arm. "I can't see."

  "Nothing to see. She treated my wound and now I'm like new." Hannes grinned.

  Sabine looked suspiciously at his grinning face. "How?"

  "I'm not saying that." She didn't need to know what Ibby had done. I'm sure that would have seemed very funny to her.

  Sabine waved off. "It doesn't matter how; the important thing is why. Why did she help you?"

  "I helped her too."

  They were silent for a moment.

  Then Hannes continued. "Sabine, I have to be honest. I've been asked by her to propose a meeting with you." He leaned over the table to her. "She realized you were tailing us. She realized that you wanted to collect and share information. She recognized you as a danger and, I'm telling you honestly, she took you out. She kissed you and it triggered something, I don't know what. Is that right?"

  Sabine blushed. She was thinking. Then she said, "That's right. I was recruited by two men. Got out of the service properly and was then supposed to work for secret service and shadow you. I got a lot of money to get new clothes, got a new gun with newly developed ammo..." Hannes listened. "And I should shadow you. I had such a tight schedule that I had to work from five in the morning until midnight."

  Hannes shook his head. "It's not possible to work that much a day. Who recruited you?"

  "A man in a blue uniform, I first guessed the air force, but I don't know. And there was another man who was busy with his phone all the time. After I had resigned, I learned through a contact that the grey-haired man did not belong to an army. I know nothing about the other."

  "Sabine, please don't hold it against me, but you can't leave such organizations. You're fired, usually with lead, water, electricity, accidents. That's well known."

  "Yes, yes! I'm out. I'm working as a cop again. But I called in sick for the day. I had the impression this morning that I was supposed to come here." She waved her hand insecurely. "It looks like my feeling was right."

  Hannes pulled out his face. "Well, I'll be honest. I don't know how it's all connected yet, but we'll be able to sort it out."

  The thought that an unknown organization was after him already caused him headaches. "I spoke to her this morning. She told me the kiss was intentional. She wanted to take you out. I have physical contact with her..." Sabine again made big eyes, "No, not the way you think. For instance, she hasn't kissed me yet. And when I see what that's done to you, I'm glad she hasn't done it yet. What did that kiss cause you to be so out of line?"

  Sabine pondered, took her time with the answer. She wasn't sure if she could trust Hannes. I wonder if it was any of his business what happened to her. But she heard herself say: "When the woman kissed me, I had an orgasm as I had never had before. I think I've had my brain run out to my ears. I passed out." Sabine noticed that she was fiery red in the face. Hannes was unimpressed. "But last night it was particularly bad. I had a panic attack, I think. It was terrible. I always felt as if someone was looking for me, and if that someone found me, and I would die a horrible death."

  Sabine looked to the ground, she was embarrassed, Hannes waited. "But I desire to see the woman again, to kiss her again. And having sex with her. I'm very embarrassed." She turned to the side, pulled a handkerchief out of her trouser pocket and wiped her eyes, Hannes should not see that she had become so red in the face.

  Hannes sighed, "I have stood up for you, I have told her that this is not possible in such a way that no one should be treated in this way, which I now know. She suggested that the three of us meet somewhere. I don't know what the bottom line is. But I think she can and will heal you."

  Sabine took a deep breath. She didn't know what to think of the proposal. On the one hand, she was afraid, terribly afraid even of meeting an alien being, without knowing what and how it thinks and acts, what it intended or did not intend, of strangeness. Before the encounter with a being that was not a human being, of another, foreign civilization, before the knowledge of this being.

  If the knowledge was as great as she suspected, could she exist as a human being? While Sabine thought about these things, another part awakened in her mind, no words or concrete thoughts, but pictures. The woman and her, both naked, kissing, groping, caressing. The firm breasts, the lips, the curved neck, the firm butt, how would it feel to put her hand between her legs and explore everything there? What would it feel like if this being did the same thing to her?

  Suddenly Sabine was fully there again, it had clicked in the head and she had decided.

  "I'm okay with a meeting. I'll be armed, though. Anything happens, I'll shoot. Tell her that, please. Besides, I'd like to be first at our rendezvous point, you'll join us. Just the two of you. Are you okay with that?"

  Hannes nodded, yawned.

  "Am I boring to you? Where are we supposed to meet? What's your suggestion?"

  Hannes was thinking. "I was thinking, for example, of a brewery. There are a good meal and a good beer. Besides, there's a lot of people, which means everyone has to pull themselves together. There can't be any emotional outbursts. That would have fatal consequences, and all three of us know it."

  Sabine nodded. "Good. Which one and when?"

  "Sünner? Five o'clock this afternoon? Meeting point in the basement, at the table, left in the corner."

  Sabine nodded again. Sünner was fine with her. Sünner was near the police headquarters. Maybe she could organize something, just in case.

  Hannes looked at his cup. "Then, we have discussed everything." Hannes looked up. "On time. See you later."

  Sabine picked up her things and left the café without a word and without paying. Hannes had to grin a little, but he wasn't quite comfortable with the thought that he should go into such a public place with Ibby. Maybe Sabine von Hansenwerder would ambush them. But, he said, the greater danger would probably come from Ibby. He paid, left the café and walked into his apartment.

  Mike called the phone man. It was clear to him that Sabine had difficulties being alone and in the dark. That she had had a panic attack that was really massive. Yesterday evening, after a short time, he had lost interest in watching and listening to her but had had the events recorded. In the morning he had watched the video at random, heard excerpts from the tape, had noticed that Sabine had called in sick and was now on the road in the city. He called the phone man and asked where she was and what she was doing. The phone man first answered in amazement, then very angrily, that he had assumed that Mike had organized the surveillance outside the apartment. Mike gave the responsibility for the patchy surveillance back into the hands of the phone man, who was breathing air with a series of curses. They both hung up.

  Fifteen minutes later Mike had a paper in his hand, read it and called the cell phone man again.

  "What's up?"

  "We now know the stupid bitch spoke to Target One."

  "And?"

  "We also know they've arranged to meet this afternoon. In the brewery. Five o'clock."

  "Oh, yeah, we had been there, too."

  "We don't know what Hansenwerder is up to."

  "From Hansenwerder. We'll be there."

&
nbsp; "Then we have the opportunity to solve the problem once and for all. All three of us grab each other!"

  "Jesus Christ, Mike! Haven't you figured that out yet? You can't do that! We need the creature alive!"

  "My goodness, then, all right. She stays alive. What's the problem?"

  "The problem lies with the other guests. The three of them will only meet there when they're with people."

  "My god, you're stubborn! A little terrorist attack, what about it? I have three or four groups who would love to take responsibility for it. Then there'll be thirty, forty casualties. I don't give a damn. I want to solve the problem, and I want to solve it ultimately!"

  "Mike, you can't. We can't kill them or take them prisoner. We can't kill or capture Rachmiel either. I even believe that there will be bad consequences for us if something happens to Hansenwerder! Get this in your head, we have a date, almost like a contract. I want to solve the problem, too, believe me. But we can't right now. We are doomed to inaction. And Hansenwerders out of commission anyway. It won't be long before she jumps off the roof or in front of the train. We just have to wait and see."

  "And what if, when they're sitting there, we cause panic? Expose you? Guys, there's an alien sitting there! She kidnaps people, mutilates animals, eats little children..."

  "Mike, you've really nailed up. We're in Cologne. You have to understand that, too. Here, clocks and people tick differently. At most, they'll buy her a beer and take selfies. In Cologne, the more exotic, the better. Believe me, Selfies are more likely than panic."

  "And? What are we gonna do?"

  "Nothing. We're in. I'm wondering if we could just sit down at the table and make ourselves known. We just have to make sure there's no physical contact. Believe me, if we can't do anything, they can't do anything. It's called a stalemate."

  "Oh, and you think that the five of us should spend a cozy evening in the brewery house? My goodness, I have specialists for such operations. This thing can be over in 15 seconds."

  "Mike, it's clear now. No operations. No specialists. Nothing. She won't be trapped or harassed or anything. The other two will not get caught, killed or harassed either. It won't work. We're obligated. Is that all I can tell you?"

  "What's the obligation?"

  "Mike, I can't tell you anything more. All we can do right now is watch. We'll have to wait for our meeting with the contact. If you want, we can attend the meeting and watch. I'll be there and you should come, too."

  "What happens if Hansenwerder loses control and starts shooting around?"

  "This may not be good, but little will happen. She gets rid of her gun really quick. That's all I think's gonna happen. Besides, she gave back our gun. Little's gonna happen to hers. She won't even be able to pull the trigger. Our target two is very fast. Really, Mike, really fast. Your specialists could cut themselves a slice of that. And after this meeting, our officer will have an accident. Don't blame me, I'm fed up. See you in Sünner just before five."

  The cell phone man hung up. Mike put away his phone, scratched his chin. Then he went to his desk, opened the drawer and grabbed a shiny chrome weapon inside. He checked to see if it was loaded, chambered a round, then put the gun in his shoulder holster. After that, he had a few conversations with old friends.

  Meetings

  Mike had talked to Yair on the phone. Yair had time and was in Cologne. The only one. He had been happy to hear Mike's voice after what felt like an eternity, and indeed, Mike had a job that promised a lot of money. Yair was a retiree, but when an old friend calls, can you say no? Yair did not say no. He lived in a small apartment, bed, closet table, chair, two hotplates. That's all he needed and what made him comfortable. One of his principles was to always travel with light luggage and always remain unrecognized. But Yair always needed money.

  Yair was almost seventy, but he was in shape, his eyes were fine, and he was still very fast and above all still accurate.

  When Mike told him what this was all about, he agreed. That was all, so he thought, no problem. And he had already successfully completed this kind of assignment three times. Although it was a problem that the action should be carried out in a closed room, the Desert-Eagle with a 50 caliber was out of the question, the CZ 75 had to be used. Not the weapon of his choice, but it would be enough, especially since Mike would bring new ammunition.

  He sat down at his table and began to clean the gun.

  Sabine changed clothes in her apartment. She had a knot in her throat, she was scared, her hands were shaking. She stood in front of her closet and had nothing to wear. She looked through different pants, blouses, shirts and sweaters and couldn’t make up her mind what to wear. A gnawing feeling of haste ran through her again and again and she began to throw her things from the dresser onto the bed. After endless trials and errors, she made up her mind. Less from a fashion point of view, as she herself noted, but only from the point of view of quickly tearing off her clothes when the opportunity arose to be alone with the strange being. When she became aware of this, her stomach cramped again, and she pressed her hands on her stomach. She briefly played with the idea of not going to the meeting, but instead making an appointment by telephone with the first psychiatrist and describing her worries and fears. And if the doctor would call the action with an alien a delusion, so what? She'd be safe. After her, the Flood.

  She was seriously considering the possibility of accepting help. Leaving everything behind, perhaps the opportunity would arise to return home. Then she would have to breed horses, grin stupidly into a camera at charity events and make stupid speeches. Everything would be very simple, she would only have to make a phone call and not be in Sünner at five o'clock, in 90 minutes. When she had decided to search the Internet for an emergency room that could take her in at short notice, she suddenly realized that she was in the shower and shaved her private parts again. She dropped the razor, leaned against the shower wall, and squatted down. Sabine von Hansenwerder sat in the shower and cried uncontrollably.

  Mike had talked to several friends on the phone, but only Yair had time. Then he was on the phone for business. His interlocutor was not particularly enthusiastic when Mike expressed his wish, but command was command, Mike said, and his interlocutor swallowed a curse. He agreed that five men, nothing more would be possible, would sit down in the cellar, and yes, he would also have three men who could play waiters, and yes, the staff would be brought to safety beforehand and exactly this cellar would be closed to the public and yes, that would be all possible in ninety minutes. Mike would owe him a favor for that, of course. Mike grunted a half-hearted promise into the phone and hung up.

  Hannes had gone back to his apartment and didn't change, but Ibby disappeared into the bedroom and returned to the living room after about half an hour. She had tied her hair to a cheeky ponytail, single strands fell into her face from the sides, she had put on a T-shirt of Hannes and one of the good shirts, but it was a little too small for her; the buttons were stretched over her breasts. The jeans she was wearing were ancient jeans, probably from unknown depths and dimensions of Hannes wardrobe. For him, were too small, washed out, with torned knees, so that the skin was visible under the frayed fabric. Ibby fitted it. Tight, figure-hugging and fucking sexy, Hannes thought.

  Ibby smiled and crooked her head and looked at him questioningly. Hannes was impressed, nodded appreciatively. Ibby turned around, stretched her ass back a little and looked over her shoulder at him. Hannes had to laugh. As they walked into the hallway, Hannes looked at his watch, four fifteen, enough time. They dressed, Ibby put on the sunglasses and pulled the Norwegian cap over her head, plucked a few strands into her forehead. She looked at Hannes and Hannes was satisfied, only people would wonder why sunglasses were worn on this cloudy day, but in Cologne that was no problem. The more exotic, the better. They went down to the station and didn't have to wait long for the tram.

  Sabine reached the brewery at a four forty-five. She was cold, not only from the wind but also from her stom
ach, which felt like a lump of ice inside her. She was clearly afraid, she admitted to herself. And she was excited, no, she said to herself, just horny. She had opted for a wide Laura Ashley style blouse, one that could be easily pulled up over her chest, long, thick woolen stockings, a tartan skirt that went over her knees, but she didn't wear any panties. She also had her pistol in a belt holster on the left side. She was right-handed, but pulling her right out of a holster, which was also fastened on the right, was not practical for her. Better once to the left long, pull the weapon and fire from the movement, she could do that and with the loaded weapon in the holster, she felt quite safe.

  She went in, looked for the stairs to the basement and went down. On the stairs, she met a tall man with a grey beard and glasses, dirty clothes, swaying as if he had already drunk too much beer, short grey hair. It wasn't until Sabine walked past him that she realized it must have been Mike. She stopped, the man stopped, they both turned around and the man put his index finger on her mouth. Sabine understood and was relieved that she was not alone.

  She entered the vaulted cellar, looked for the indicated table and sat down on the bench, looked at the other guests. Five men sat two tables down and parried loudly. She understood that it was a bowling club preparing for some tournament. She was amused to discover that a large part of the preparation was probably drinking, countless empty Kölsch sticks were standing on the table. She was surprised that the glasses were not cleared, but when two men started to build a tower out of the empty glasses, she lost interest and looked around the room waiting.

  A waiter came down the stairs with a full tray and approached her, without her saying anything, a beer was presented to her. The men at the table had no more empty glasses to continue building the tower and ordered a new round from the passing waiter.

  Sabine took a look at her watch, seven minutes left.

  At seven minutes before five, Hannes and Ibby arrived at the brewery. Hannes had a red nose and sniffed, Ibby didn't seem to mind the cold. Ibby had hooked in with Hannes and the two of them walked towards the entrance. Shortly before the door, Hannes hesitated. "Ibby, I don't know..." he murmured. Ibby looked at him.