Blood Ties

by Alexander Hartung

  ‘A hand grenade?’ asked Balthasar, horrified. ‘What the hell are you going to do with a hand grenade?’

  ‘I don’t know yet, but it just feels good knowing it’s there.’

  ‘Have you ever used one before?’

  ‘No, but I thought you might know how to use them.’

  ‘Hand grenades?’ said Balthasar. ‘I’m a fucking pathologist! Where the hell do you suppose I learned how to use a hand grenade?’

  ‘You told me your dad collected weapons.’

  ‘Antique weapons, Jon! Flintlocks, muskets, wheel-lock pistols. You couldn’t kill a teddy bear with that crap!’

  ‘But you pick locks and forge documents . . . so I just thought you’d know your way around weapons as well.’

  ‘Jesus!’ Balthasar paused for a moment. ‘Well, I was a good fencer at uni. Does that count?’

  ‘Fencing?’ said Jon. ‘Van Berk’s men aren’t pirates!’

  ‘I didn’t fence to kill people. I did it because I fancied my trainer,’ said Balthasar, apparently justifying his actions.

  ‘Well, this is going to be interesting, to say the least,’ mumbled Jon.

  The pathologist looked at the clock. ‘We’ll be at van Berk’s in ten minutes. So until then, you might want to think up an alternative plan that doesn’t involve hand grenades.’

  Van Berk sat on the couch, staring absently at the floor and leaning on his stick for support. Every now and then he picked up his porcelain teacup and slurped at his tea. The security man standing beside him didn’t move a muscle. While they were waiting, Nik moved his fingers, stretched out his legs and wriggled his toes to prevent his limbs from going numb. He had to be ready if any opportunity presented itself.

  The bodyguard put his hand to his ear and listened to someone speaking before walking out of the room. After he left, van Berk reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a gun, which he laid down beside the tea set, making sure Nik could see it. A clearly visible warning.

  Not long after, Simon stumbled through the door. The security guard gave him a shove, causing him to fall to his knees. His hands were tied together with rope but he seemed unharmed. He gave Nik an acknowledging nod, as if reinforcing they were on the same side. Nik reciprocated the nod and smiled softly in an attempt to give Simon some form of encouragement in such dire circumstances. Nik considered his options. If he wanted to open his cuffs, he’d first have to get his hands to the front of his body and after that, he’d still need time to pick the lock. And even if he managed to do all that, he’d still be left facing two armed men, completely unarmed himself. Van Berk might be weak, but he would definitely be able to shoot a gun.

  The bodyguard handed van Berk a piece of paper. He skimmed it over before standing up from the couch and shuffling over to Simon. He peered closely at his face. ‘You remind me of him,’ he said quietly. ‘Elias also used to frown and purse his lips like that when he got angry. He’d usually stamp his feet and clench his fists as well, though.’ Van Berk looked away from Simon and nodded to the security guard. The guard took two steps back and reached for his gun.

  ‘Get your hands up or I’ll blast a hole right through your brain!’ It was a woman’s voice. Daniela Haas came into the room, holding a gun that was so small it almost disappeared between her fingers. Nik recognised it immediately as a Springfield Armory 911. The handgun was useless for large distances but deadly at short range. The sleeve on her right wrist was covered in blood but she didn’t seem to be harmed.

  The security guard had stopped dead in his tracks as soon as she had spoken and was now turning around slowly to look at her. When he caught sight of her gun, he raised his hands and moved to stand beside the trembling van Berk. The old man had clearly been thrown by the unexpected visitor.

  ‘Hello, Olaf,’ said the woman, keeping her gun directed towards the security guard. She nodded at Simon, who stood up and walked over to her. She took one hand from her gun and gave Simon a slap on the back of his head. ‘Didn’t I tell you not to move from the hiding place?’

  Simon gave a groan of frustration before lowering his head in shame.

  Van Berk looked the woman in the eyes. ‘That’s impossible!’ he said, increasingly distraught.

  ‘Did you really think I’d leave my son?’

  He looked the woman up and down.

  ‘Cosmetic surgery’s a marvellous thing,’ she said, smiling. ‘A little bit more chin, a slightly smaller nose . . . ears pinned back. All of that, together with a new haircut and a different colour. Oh, and not to forget how I lost the Spanish accent. I’m basically a new person.’

  Van Berk nodded.

  ‘I also changed my name and gave up all my old friends.’

  ‘All of them except Ismail, that is?’ remarked van Berk.

  ‘His help was vital,’ said Daniela. ‘I wouldn’t have survived without it.’

  ‘I didn’t really have him down as a traitor. But in the end, he became a kidnapper and a murderer!’

  ‘We didn’t kidnap the children,’ said Daniela. ‘We protected them from you. They were doing fine.’

  ‘Tell that to Milan, who Ismail shot through the car window,’ said van Berk. ‘Or Vincent Masannek, whose body was found in front of some rubbish bins.’

  ‘They weren’t humans, they were beasts,’ said Daniela. ‘Just like you. They would have shot any child, and done it with smiles on their faces.’

  ‘Two deaths. Because of you.’ He pointed at her. ‘And now you’ve got Ismail on your conscience as well.’

  ‘I tried to stop him but he wouldn’t listen,’ said Daniela regretfully. ‘He thought it was his only option after the police rescued the children.’

  ‘What, to kill me?’

  ‘Of all the deaths, nobody deserves it more.’

  ‘And going by the blood on your sleeve, I know what happened to my second bodyguard.’

  She shrugged. ‘Ismail taught me a lot.’

  ‘I reinforced security precautions since he stopped working for me,’ said van Berk. ‘Even our former CID agent here couldn’t get past it.’ He nodded over to Nik. ‘How the hell did you manage to get in?’

  ‘Ismail wasn’t my only friend.’

  Van Berk took a moment to think. ‘Arthur,’ he said, sighing. ‘Our forever friendly and attentive Arthur. I should’ve made him retire a long time ago but little Aaron loved his brioche sandwiches.’

  ‘It was easy to get in with his security card,’ said Daniela. ‘And he always ironed the men’s jackets, which came in pretty handy.’

  In that moment, Nik realised how the tracking device had got under Masannek’s collar.

  ‘And now you’re looking for revenge?’ asked van Berk.

  ‘I have never wanted revenge. All I wanted was for my son to grow up in peace, but you just couldn’t leave him alone.’

  ‘Aaron is my only heir!’ said van Berk firmly.

  ‘We don’t want your dirty money, for God’s sake!’ she screamed.

  ‘Then you’re an idiot,’ he answered. ‘Look around you. The books in this room alone are worth more than you’ll earn in your whole life. Just like that!’ He snapped his fingers. ‘And all your worries would be gone. You wouldn’t need to go to work anymore, you could fly wherever you wanted in a private jet . . . places you’ve never even dreamed of!’ He started to cough. ‘At some point Simon will realise the value of money and he’ll employ a lawyer. The proceedings will start, and greedy tax officials will start looking into how I acquired my assets. And two days later . . . the whole prosecution team will be at the door.’ Van Berk shook his head. ‘I will not let that happen.’

  ‘There are more important things in life.’

  ‘That’s a loser’s excuse.’

  ‘What kind of person kills their own flesh and blood?’

  ‘He isn’t family!’ screamed van Berk furiously. ‘He’s the result of some pathetic affair between an idiotic child and his idiotic servant!’

  ‘Elias loved me,’ s
he said quietly. ‘And I loved him.’ A tear ran down her cheek. ‘We were young, stupid too perhaps, but our love was real and if it wasn’t for you we could have had a good life together. Me, Elias and Simon.’

  ‘But I destroyed everything because I’m a heartless bastard,’ said van Berk vindictively. ‘That’s what you always called me, a heartless bastard.’ He got up suddenly and took a step towards Daniela. ‘Well then. Let’s find out if I have a heart.’ He straightened his back and pointed with his finger to his chest. ‘This is where you need to shoot. That’s where my heart should be,’ he said provokingly. ‘Or are you too scared? You fucking whore!’ He spat on her.

  Nik wanted to say something but Daniela moved the gun to point it at van Berk and pulled the trigger.

  Everything went quickly after that. Van Berk fell to the floor and the security guard, no longer in the line of fire, made use of the moment to jump behind the couch. Daniela pushed Simon out of the room, pulled over a heavy wooden side table and hid behind it. Nik heaved himself up with both legs and rolled over the side of the chair. A deafening shot was fired. The wooden side table splintered. Daniela crunched herself together tightly, held her head down and returned fire with her small pistol. The situation was perilous now and it wouldn’t be long before the security guard shot her. Nik had to get out of the handcuffs. He pulled his aching arms underneath his backside and stepped through them. He reached underneath his top lip with his thumb and index finger and took out a narrow piece of metal which he had stuck there earlier.

  ‘Always come prepared,’ he mumbled.

  Another shot sent splinters flying through the room. Nik put the piece of metal in the lock on his cuffs and turned it. Simon’s mother returned the fire again.

  After a couple of seconds, he had managed to get the handcuffs open. Nik waved at Daniela to get her attention. When she looked towards him, he made the sign of a gun with his fingers and signalled towards the security man. She nodded at Nik and pointed the gun.

  He stuck three fingers in the air. Three, two, one. Daniela stood up quickly and pulled the trigger. The shots might not have been as loud or powerful as those from the security guard’s gun but they still made him stay down. Nik ran to the couch, bent down and reached his right arm underneath. The thick upholstery made the couch heavy, but he was able to tip it over in one move.

  Van Berk’s security guard had not seen this coming. As the couch fell on top of him, the guard automatically lifted his arm for protection. It was a sufficient distraction to stop shooting for a moment.

  And it was exactly the reaction Nik had hoped for. He kicked the gun out of the man’s hand and darted behind him. The man was wearing a bulletproof vest so trying to shoot him in the torso would be futile. Instead, Nik pulled his right arm around the guard’s unprotected throat and squeezed as hard as he could. Had Nik been able to use both of his arms, the bodyguard would have been unconscious within seconds. But his left arm was still weak and offered him little support. It wasn’t going to be an easy fight. The man struggled into a seated position and pressed his legs into the ground. He tried to push himself up while ramming his elbows into Nik’s side, but Nik held him down in the stranglehold with all the power he could muster. The pain from the blows was almost too much, but he knew if he lost this fight, he would die.

  Still wrestling with the guard, Nik noticed something moving beside the couch. It was van Berk reaching for his stick. He started to climb back on to his feet.

  ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ groaned Nik. As if responding to the remark, van Berk turned to look at Nik and pointed to his breast pocket. The bullet was stuck in the material, having made barely any impact.

  ‘Thank you, Sir Caballero,’ he mumbled.

  ‘Fuck!’ Nik screamed. Miguel Caballero was a legend. He had developed bulletproof clothes so light and so discreet that even the US president wore them. Wear a shirt or jacket from him, and any shot will only leave a tiny dent.

  Daniela had also noticed Berk getting up again. She pulled the trigger but the magazine was empty. The bodyguard was gaining strength and manged to push Nik against the bookcase. Meanwhile, van Berk walked over to the couch and picked up the weapon from the floor. He calmly checked the safety catch and cocked the gun. But then, as he was turning to Nik, something solid smacked him in the jaw. The bone broke with a crunch, and he fell to the floor.

  Simon looked at the man for a moment before dropping the heavy black poker to the ground and bending down to grab the gun, his hands still tied together. He pointed it at van Berk, debating whether or not to shoot his grandfather. In the end he turned to the bodyguard and aimed the gun at his head.

  The man eventually stopped resisting but Nik kept his hands around his neck until he was sure he was unconscious.

  Simon let the gun fall to the ground as Daniela ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him. Wheezing, Nik crawled over to them and untied the ropes around Simon’s wrists.

  Daniela and her son stood still, arm in arm. Daniela was crying softly, the sound drowned out by Nik’s rasping breaths. Barely able to keep his head up, he noticed a dark shadow on the floor outside the room. Just as he was about to reach for a gun, a sleepy little boy with messy blonde hair and light green eyes entered the room. He was wearing white pyjamas and holding a teddy bear and looked barely five years old.

  ‘Grandpa?’ he asked cautiously, looking over at his grandfather.

  Simon released himself from his mother’s arms and went over to him. ‘Hi, little guy. You must be Aaron.’ He stroked the boy’s hair.

  ‘Is Grandpa OK?’ He tried to look over Simon’s shoulder but Simon moved strategically so he wouldn’t be able to. ‘There were so many loud bangs.’

  ‘Your grandpa has just had a fall and needs to rest now.’

  ‘Who are you?’

  ‘My name is Simon. I’m your half-brother.’

  ‘Really?’ asked the boy, his eyes growing wide with astonishment.

  Simon nodded. ‘Really.’

  ‘My grandpa never told me I had a half-brother.’

  ‘I was away for a long time.’

  ‘And why are you just my half-brother?’

  ‘That’s because we have the same dad but different mums,’ he said with a smile.

  ‘I miss my dad.’ Aaron looked at the ground.

  ‘Me too.’ Simon gave the boy a kiss on the head. ‘But how about I take you back to bed now. Does that sound good?’

  ‘Will you read me a story?’

  ‘Of course. What would you like? Pippi Longstocking? Pinocchio?’

  ‘Do you know Fireman Sam?’ he asked excitedly.

  ‘Of course I know Fireman Sam,’ replied Simon. ‘And Elvis and Penny and Station Officer Steele.’

  ‘Grandpa gave me Tom’s new helicopter last week,’ said Aaron, his eyes shining. He took Simon’s hand and they left the room.

  Their voices soon faded into the distance.

  Nik pushed open the patio door. He walked across the garden and shone his torch on the oak tree.

  ‘You two can come out now!’ he called.

  ‘How did you find us?’ asked Jon, showing his face from behind the trunk.

  ‘Um . . .’ Nik faltered. ‘That trunk isn’t exactly wide enough for both of your . . . um . . . full dimensions.’

  ‘Full dimensions?’ asked Balthasar, obviously offended. He stood in front of Nik with his chest out and placed one hand on his hip. ‘Well, if you ask me, your hips could also do with a bit of exercise.’

  Nik closed his eyes and shook his head lightly. ‘What are you two doing here?’

  ‘We actually wanted to get you out of there,’ said Jon, moving to join the men.

  ‘Well, that was very nice of you. But why have you got army camo on your faces?’

  ‘So nobody sees us in the dark,’ said Balthasar.

  ‘And we’ve got revolvers.’ Jon was attempting to release his gun from his trouser waistband, but the hammer had got caught in his belt. He e
ventually gave up.

  ‘Why did you climb over the wall at exactly the same point as me?’ asked Nik. ‘That’s where they spotted me.’

  Jon and Balthasar looked at each other nervously, not knowing how they should best answer.

  ‘Because your ladder was still hanging there,’ answered Jon sheepishly. ‘And we forgot ours.’

  ‘How did you know we were in the garden?’ asked Balthasar, changing the subject.

  ‘Van Berk and his two bodyguards have been taken down. And Simon’s safe,’ said Nik. ‘I actually just wanted to make sure nobody else was on the property.’

  ‘So how is the murdering money-launderer?’ asked Balthasar.

  ‘Well, his chin got very well acquainted with a poker. So he’s unconscious but still breathing.’

  ‘OK. Then let him lie there and we can go home,’ suggested Balthasar.

  ‘It’s not quite as easy as that. There have been some . . . family complications,’ said Nik. ‘But I’ll fill you in on that at some other point,’ he continued, looking at a very confused Jon. ‘I called an ambulance about a minute ago. It would be slightly awkward if they find you two here wearing black clothes, with camo on your faces and pistols in your waistbands. So you need to get out of here. I’ll push both your backsides up the wall, OK? You still have time to disappear.’

  ‘Please don’t push me on the backside,’ said Balthasar. ‘I’m a little bit sensitive there.’

  ‘Stop complaining!’ Nik moved over to the wall and made a stirrup with his hands, ready to give them a leg up. The police sirens were ringing in the distance. ‘Hurry up.’ A minute later, Balthasar and Jon were over the wall and on the street again. Listening to their steps as they ran away, Nik started to laugh. They might be the worst task force in the whole of Munich, but they had risked their lives for him without a flicker of hesitation. He would thank them properly at some point. Once all this insanity had passed.

  Nik walked over to the villa entrance, opened the gate and waited for the patrol car. All there was left to do now was think up a believable story to tell Naumann about the fate of the stabbed man in the surveillance room. If he managed to do that, the evening might still turn out quite positively after all.