by G S Eli
Before the argument got out of hand, the dog began to growl at them. They stopped fussing.
“Look, Simon, Leichman tried to kill me, too,” Mila said. “Have you seen Stephan and Rosa? They were right there when Leichman killed Korey, and Petre should be with them.”
“I think they’re with the others. All of the families are heading back to Romania, and the priest is organizing their passage,” Simon told Mila. “Most of the families are at the church. It’s become like a shelter.”
“They can’t be there,” Mila said. “They would have warned everyone. So, the families don’t know about Korey? You must go back and warn them.”
“Come with me. We’ll tell them together. And then I’ll kill Leichman myself!” Simon responded.
Simon watched Mila looking down sadly. He just told Simon the craziest story he’d ever heard, and that was saying something for a Gypsy pickpocket. If anyone besides Mila had told him such a story, Simon wouldn’t have believed it. But if there was one thing Simon knew about Mila, it was that he had a lot of integrity. Simon knew that Mila would only lie if he had to. And if his story of hitmen, corrupt cops, evil priests and murder was a lie, the truth would have to be even worse.
After hearing about the day’s crazy events, Simon was still not convinced that Mila should risk his life and go off on some crazy adventure with the Americans. He began to speak to Mila in their Gypsy language. “You can’t trust non-Gypsies,” he argued. “You know the gadje hate us. I can’t assist you in helping them. I’ve seen too much suffering in our people to trust any gadjo. They’re only good for their money.”
“I have no choice,” Mila replied. “I have to trust them.”
Casey came closer to the boys, the faithful dog at her side. Her beauty mesmerized Simon. For a moment, he could see why Mila was so eager to help her. “That man tried to kill all of us,” Casey added as she knelt to calm the dog again.
“This is nuts!” Simon blurted out. “OK, besides warning the family about Father Leichman, what do you want me to do?”
“We need some help to get out of Berlin. Leichman is searching for us, so we need to keep it quiet,” Mila told him.
“I don’t like where this is going,” Simon replied with regret in his voice.
“We just need some cash, and maybe a cell phone,” Mila said in desperation.
“I knew it!” Simon yelled. He turned away to head back to the church. “Look, I’ll let the family know that Leichman is an asshole, but I’ll be damned if it’s going to cost me any money!” he shouted over his shoulder.
He began to make his way back toward the woods. Then he heard the girl shout back at him. “We can barter with you for the money!” she yelled.
That stopped Simon dead in his tracks. He slyly turned back and looked directly in her eyes. “Well, now, pretty lady, just what exactly do you have to barter with?” Simon asked menacingly.
Mila and Jack looked at Casey, confused. What did she have to barter with? They had nothing. Simon turned again and started to leave.
“How exactly were you going to kill Leichman? With your bare hands?” she asked cunningly.
Simon stopped and turned back again. “Maybe,” he answered tersely.
“I think a handgun from one of Leichman’s own bodyguards might do the trick,” she said matter-of-factly.
Simon walked over to Casey. She pulled the gun from her purse. All four of them formed a circle around it.
“That’s the real thing, isn’t it?” Simon said to the others. Casey nodded.
“Damn, you know…I was kinda talking out my ass when I said I was gonna kill him,” Simon admitted.
“Whatever. The thing’s worth money, isn’t it?” Casey asked.
Jack looked over her shoulder at the weapon. “That’s a Glock 17,” he said with assurance. “It’s the most expensive gun they make, and who knows what the silencer’s worth.”
“Bre, this isn’t America! You can’t just sell a gun at the nearest pawn shop. I try to fence something that hot, I’ll probably get burned.”
“Here,” said Casey offering her credit card, “it’s got a $5,000 limit.”
“I’m a thief, but I’m not stupid. If the cops are after you, they’ll trace that,” he exclaimed.
He looked Casey in the eyes, seeing desperation written all over her face. It reminded him of his own pain. This is real, he thought. I have to help them, even if they are gadje.
He took the gun and the card with a sigh and swiftly put them in his pocket. He took a seat on the ground, cross-legged, and reached into his other pockets to empty out his loot from the day. On the ground in front of him, he placed a wad of euros, a few American dollars, some jewelry, and the shiny new iPhone. The others stood over him, looking down at the merchandise.
“Well, come on, sit down,” he urged.
Casey and the two boys formed a circle on the ground, sitting cross-legged like Simon. What would it take to escape from Berlin? They would need everything Simon had, and maybe more.
“All right, work with me here,” said Simon. I can get five hundred euros out of that card before I have to chuck it, assuming it isn’t canceled already. It don’t matter how nice the gun is, I’ll have to sell it cheap, or I’m a dead man. What else you got?”
Mila pulled something from his pocket and gently placed it in the circle. It was the BMW key.
“It’s parked over at Bundestag Station. Ludwig offered me 200 for it.”
“Deal!” Simon said as he snatched the key.
Just like that, the barter was over. Mila told Simon that he planned to head further west into Germany, toward Bielefeld. Simon gave them the impressive cell phone and the two hundred euros he’d snatched as well. Then he remembered something else that might help Mila. “Sabina!” Simon blurted out.
“Who?” Mila asked.
“Sabina, the fortune-teller. She used to live in the camps with us back in Romania. She’s your aunt. Maybe you were too young to remember,” Simon reminded Mila.
Mila shook his head.
Simon recalled quite well the sweet lady who used to practice divination and cook for the whole community. He reminded Mila that if he needed more money or perhaps a place to stay, she now made her home in the city called Paderborn, not far from where they were heading.
“How would we find her?” Mila asked.
“That’s easy: just ask around town where the local fortune-teller is. That’s a sure way to find her,” Simon suggested.
“You think she would help?” Jack asked.
“It’s been years since I’ve seen her, but I remember she was a kind of Gypsy mystic. She taught me some English—mostly how to swear,” Simon recalled.
Their business finished, as if by silent agreement they all rose from the grass and shook hands.
“Don’t buy your tickets all together,” Simon advised. “They’ll be looking for groups. And keep the cell phone turned off. Use it only when you really need it—I don’t have the charger, and eventually the owner will try to trace it. You don’t want to get busted for something I stole.”
“Thanks, we’ll keep that in mind,” Mila assured him.
“One more thing. Do you think they killed Stephan…and the other twin—Petre?” Simon asked.
Mila paused for a moment as his eyes gazed off in the distance with a look reminiscent of the late Mystic, Nasta. “No… they’re alive,” Mila said with certainty. Jack and Casey wondered if that was just wishful thinking on his part.
“OK. Well…good luck, Mila,” Simon told him. He turned away from his new friends and headed into the park’s dark woods with the pistol and keys in his pocket. I wonder if it’s loaded, he thought.
XVIII
The Best Way to Travel
“The best way to see Germany,” boasted the Deutsche Bahn Railway posters adorning German train stat
ions. Unfortunately for Jack, Casey, and Mila, though, it wasn’t the quickest way. Using the stolen iPhone, they checked the train schedules for early that morning. For them, the next train to Bielefeld didn’t leave Berlin until 7:46 a.m. They spent the night in the park, where they hid in the clearing and tried their best to sleep on the cold, hard ground.
It was a three-hour train ride from Berlin to the city of Bielefeld. Once there, they would have to change trains and board a local to reach the small village of Wewelsburg. That would put them at the castle a few hours before closing time. With the cash Simon had so reluctantly traded away, they would be able to buy their tickets and even get some sandwiches for the trip.
As Simon had advised, they purchased their tickets separately to avoid being noticed. Jack got his ticket first; then Mila bought his. Casey waited a few moments before approaching the agent to buy a ticket for herself.
The agent noticed the dog, still at Casey’s side as she approached the ticket window. Transferring his reading glasses from the bridge of his nose to the crown of his head, the agent inspected the animal from the safety of his ticket booth. “Kann ich dir helfen?” he asked.
“Sprechen sie English?” Casey asked in her best German accent.
“Of course I speak English,” the teller said. “But I’m sorry, miss, live animals must be crated for transport.”
“Oh, he’s not traveling with us—I mean, me,” she nervously responded.
The clerk gave her a puzzled glance and took another look at the animal, which was sitting right next to her. “Oh, I see,” he said skeptically. Still, he gave her the ticket.
“Your train will be leaving in fifteen minutes from track four. So, you’ll have time to figure out what to do with the animal that is not traveling with you,” he said, an edge of dry humor in his voice. “The dog will not be permitted to board the train,” the agent added in a kind tone.
Casey took her ticket and turned away. She looked down at the dog as she walked toward the track. As usual, he faithfully followed along.
“You’re getting me in trouble,” she scolded the animal that made a pitiful arhmmm sound, as if apologizing in dog language. Casey patted him, wondering what to do.
As they had planned, the boys boarded the train separately, leaving Casey to deal with the dog. She used some of her money to buy a hot dog, then removed the bun and fed it to the shepherd. Kneeling beside him, she petted the animal while he enjoyed the treat. “Look, I have to go…and you have to stay here,” Casey said.
“Hey, Mom, look! That dog looks like a wolf,” a small boy said as he and his mother passed by Casey and the dog.
“Wolfy,” Casey decisively said. “That’s your name.”
She gave the dog a gentle pat on the head, stood up, and turned away, walking toward the track. Wolfy swallowed the last of the meat he was enjoying and continued to follow close. Just as Casey was about to board the train she looked back and saw the animal still tailing her.
She turned back to him and pointed her finger with authority. “No, Wolfy! Sit!”
He sat. “Stay!” she ordered, her finger pointed directly at his eyes.
Wolfy gave her a doleful look but didn’t move a muscle. Casey was sad to leave him there all alone, but the last thing she needed was trouble from the conductor. She was surprised by how well Wolfy had followed her instructions. For a stray, he was certainly well-behaved.
Casey climbed the steps of the first car to board the train. Wolfy sat obediently on the platform and watched sadly as she reached the top of the steps. She glanced over her shoulder for one last look at him sitting there, obeying her commands to sit and stay. Then, regretfully, she turned away and proceeded into the car.
The German cross-country railway was different from the local lines—in fact, much nicer. The seats looked more comfortable, and at either end of the car were four seats arranged as if in a club car or a restaurant booth: two seats facing the other two, with a folding table between them. That looks cozy, Casey thought. Maybe I can find the guys and we can all sit there.
The train car held only a few scattered passengers: an older woman, a mother with two blond toddlers, and few others. Casey scanned the car in search of Mila or Jack. She spotted Jack first, sitting at a window and looking through the iPhone. Mila was a few seats in front of Jack at the end of the car, in the four-seater section. Across from him sat a voluptuous blonde woman talking on a cell phone.
Casey realized that the boys were not sitting together. Apparently, the plan to stay separate went for the train ride, too. She sighed, missing Wolfy already, feeling alone and a bit scared. She didn’t want Jack or Mila to be completely out of sight, so she squeezed past an older lady settled in an aisle seat and took an empty place across the aisle from Jack.
None of them had gotten much sleep in the park, and this would be a good time to try to make up for that. Before settling in, she took a quick look over at Jack, who was still fiddling with the stolen iPhone. Then she peered over the seats in front of her to look for Mila. His seat had its back to the end of the car so he was facing the rest of the passengers. She could see him perfectly. He was already fast asleep.
Casey turned toward the window and watched as the train pulled out of the station. As the city of Berlin drifted by, she closed her eyes from pure exhaustion. But as soon as she closed them, she saw a vision from her nightmare in the hospital; she heard a mob screaming and gnashing their teeth, she felt burning heat, and worst of all, she saw impenetrable blackness.
“Ticket, Miss,” the conductor requested.
She felt like only a minute or two had passed before he woke her, but the view from her window revealed it had been much longer. The glistening Berlin skyline had been replaced by the rolling green hills of the German countryside. All she could think of was her vision. Now she felt not just a little scared, but utterly frightened.
She handed her ticket to the conductor and looked over at Jack. He was now fast asleep with the iPhone lying in his lap. She looked toward the front of the car and found Mila, just in time to see the blonde woman leaving his section. Should I go sit next to him? she wondered. There are plenty of other seats, and if I sit with him, he’ll think I’m into him or something. Boys are so stupid…
Her thoughts roamed for a minute; then she realized she was the one being stupid, jumping to ridiculous conclusions. The fact was she was too frightened to sit alone.
The conductor left and proceeded to collect the tickets from the other passengers, including Mila. He looked back at her, and as she returned his look, he nodded his head. Before she knew what was happening, she had risen from her seat and made her way toward Mila, passing a sleeping Jack and several other passengers. Instead of taking one of the two seats across from Mila, she opted for the seat next to his.
Mila was busy putting his empty lunch bag under the seat. He didn’t notice Casey until she was right next to him. Her sudden appearance was a bit of a surprise. “I thought we were going to sit separately,” he said.
“Well, aren’t they looking for a group of three?” she retorted.
Mila looked over at Jack to see where he was. “He’s sleeping,” Casey said, knowing what he was looking for.
Mila gave her a “What are you up to?” look.
“Look, I’m afraid, OK?” she said.
Before he could ponder further, Casey grabbed the brown paper bag from between Mila’s feet.
“What did you get for breakfast?” she asked while searching through the bag. “Anything left?”
“Um, egg and cheese, and there’s still—”
Casey found an untouched apple. She held it up and gave Mila a doe-eyed look that could only mean “Can I have this?”
“Yeah, go ahead. I don’t like apples,” Mila said.
“Thanks. I gave my breakfast to Wolfy, so I’m starving now.”
“Wolfy? You named
a stray dog?”
Without answering, Casey began to shamelessly devour the apple.
“You’ve got a good appetite for someone so frightened,” Mila joked.
She looked at him and took the final bite of the apple, leaving only its core. “Yeah … don’t mind me. I guess I’m not myself these days,” she said, slightly embarrassed.
“I don’t know you,” Mila said. She looked down at her lap, not knowing what to say. “So how would I know if you always eat apples that way?” he added jokingly, trying to break the awkward moment. Casey forced a fleeting smile.
“I’m always hungry when I get scared. I’m even afraid to fall asleep again,” she confessed. “Back at the hospital when I was sleeping, I had a terrifying dream.”
“Nightmare,” he corrected. “They’re only dreams when they’re pleasant! Tell me what you saw.”
“I don’t know, I’m kind of afraid to talk about it …” she told him, rubbing the wound she had suffered in the bunker. The gash was now nearly healed, and so was her ankle.
“It will help if you can tell me. The nightmare will lose its power over you if you talk about it.”
She gazed out the window at the sprawling hills of the German countryside, abandoning the conversation for a moment. He might be right, she thought. She summoned her courage and began.
“Well, at first, it was a nice dream. I thought I was exploring Vienna or Berlin,” she said. “From the looks of the section of the city, I figured that I must be in the Arab district. Most European cities have one, right? I was thinking that must be it.” Mila shrugged his arms.
“Anyway, I was walking down a narrow cobblestone street packed with people, it was so crowded, I could even smell animals. But somehow in the dream the smells were stronger than I thought they should be.
“It must have been some kind of outside shopping mall. Everywhere I looked there were items for sale on stalls and merchants’ tables. It was so hectic, dozens of people were arguing, bargaining, buying, and selling stuff. The people all wore flowing linen robes that seemed strange for a modern city. Everyone seemed to have some kind of head covering, from simple white cloths tied up around the forehead to beautiful shawls covered in elaborate designs. It was all so gorgeous, and so interesting.
