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If the tannery was hell then the Toad’s Dacha was a megalomaniac’s idea of heaven. When Sunil said that our host liked to keep things traditional, he wasn’t exaggerating. His team of house servants were all lined up outside his mansion, shivering and waiting to greet him as though he’d been gone for months and not just a couple of hours. His butlers all wore white gloves and the maids all had frilly white aprons over their short, tight, black uniforms. It was basically Downton Abby on steroids, set in Siberia with sexy housemaids who were probably going to get frostbite if they stood outside any longer.
If it hadn’t been for the soldiers with guard dogs and rifles, I would have laughed at the Toad’s clear display of over compensation, but I didn’t think he was the sort of man who would take being laughed at lightly. He struck me as the sort of man who would set his dogs on me just for shits and giggles.
Sunil, Mannheim, Olga, and I stood by the SUVs, flanking Von Zimmer and waited. The wind picked up and it started to snow. The maids and butlers stood to attention while trying to keep their shivering under control, even though their lips were turning blue. I wondered how many of them would end up with a nasty case of bronchitis or pneumonia. The Toad sauntered up and down inspecting each one in turn. His full length fur coat kept him warm.
Fucking selfish bastard!
I didn’t appreciate having to freeze my arse off while he traipsed around trying to prove what a man he was to Von Zimmer. My Patron, on the other hand, didn’t look too perturbed by any of it. He stood with his hands behind his back waiting impassively for the show to be over. He’d probably been through the performance before.
After he’d finished his inspection of his servants, the Toad turned and eyeballed us with the same scrutiny he’d given his serfs. Having his eyes rove over me made me flinch.
“This is the new victor from the island?” the Toad asked Von Zimmer in a surprisingly high-pitched voice. Von Zimmer only gave a curt nod in response.
“I’d expected her to be more impressive by now. I think your doctor is getting lazy in his old age,” our host said as he turned his back on us.
My mouth opened and closed like a guppy, and my fists clenched. I tried to take a step towards him, but Sunil gripped my hand and shook his head. Von Zimmer said nothing while Mannheim bristled, his face burned red.
“There’ll be plenty of time to prove him wrong,” Sunil said under his breath. “But now is not the time.”
“Come,” Von Zimmer said as he walked towards the Dacha. “They will only get out of the cold once we are inside.” He nodded at the Toad’s staff.
Sunil released his grip on my hand and we hurried up the stairs, towards the entrance.
I have to say those butlers move fast. By the time we’d made it through the door the Toad’s servants were taking our coats and picking up trays to hand us shots of vodka. There were roaring fires in every room. I didn’t even want to think about the carbon emissions coming from those chimneys.
Once we’d downed our vodka and been relieved of our coats, we were ushered into a warm sitting room where coffee and snacks had been laid out for us. The room was far more tastefully decorated than I’d expected it to be. Our host clearly liked the finer things in life, but once again his tastes ran towards the traditional. There were antiques everywhere, even the furniture looked like it belonged in a museum. I was almost afraid to sit on any of the chairs.
“Where is everyone else?” I asked Sunil in a whisper.
“They will be joining soon,” the Toad said from behind me. I hadn’t seen him and was surprised he heard me. “You are the first to arrive. Typical German punctuality. I doubt your Patron has ever been late for an event,” he said to me, but I doubted he meant it as a compliment. “Please enjoy the refreshments while your rooms are prepared. Once the other parties have arrived, the official festivities will begin.” He gave a curt bow to Von Zimmer, turned and left the room. The soft click of the lock after the doors were closed was a bit of a surprise.
“Did he just lock us in here?” I asked no one in particular. I also didn’t really expect an answer.
“It would appear that our host does not want us wandering the halls of his home and getting lost,” Von Zimmer said with a slight edge of sarcasm in his voice.
“I wonder what he’s working on,” Sunil said to Von Zimmer. “And why take the risk over this bullshit dispute? What do you think he’s playing at?”
“Those are all very good questions and ones we shall endeavour to discover the answers to, but not at this very second. For now we shall be content with terrible Russian coffee and the very good Beluga caviar,” Von Zimmer said while making his way over to the sideboard, poured himself a strong cup of coffee and popped a hors d’oeuvre in his mouth. “This caviar is particularly good.” He licked his lips and took a bite of another one. “Olga, you must find out who his supplier is.”
“Ja, mein Herr,” Olga said as she examined the room and wiped some imaginary dust off a table while shaking her head. She was clearly not impressed with the Toad’s housekeeper.
Doctor Mannheim sat on a couch in sullen silence. He reminded me of a dog who’d been kicked.
“What’s with him?” I nudged Sunil with my elbow.
“He’s sulking over what Kuznetsov said about him being lazy and that you weren’t up to scratch,” Sunil said as he sipped his coffee and pulled a face. “This coffee is shit.”
“I am not sulking,” Mannheim grumbled. “That...man is talking Scheiße. He is jealous because our Runner was able to defeat his without any enhancements or training. Arschloch!”
“Who was his Runner?” I asked.
“I think it’s Snezhana,” Sunil said. “She was the one you fought at the last marker before you made it to the arena. I think...”
“The really ugly one?” I asked.
Sunil, Mannheim, and Von Zimmer all laughed. Olga snorted.
“Do not say that to our host,” Von Zimmer said. “He was surprisingly fond of her.”
“Do you think he paid the fee to get her body back?” Sunil asked.
“It would not surprise me,” Von Zimmer said with a sigh. “If he has, things may get unpleasant. I received word that Victoria paid the fee for Elena’s body.”
“Verdammte Scheiße!” Mannheim swore again.
“Will Victoria be here for the settlement,” Sunil asked, pacing the room.
“I assume all the higher members of the Organisation will be in attendance,” Von Zimmer said and took an elegant sip of his coffee. His facial expression matched Sunil’s at the taste. “You are right, this coffee is terrible.” Von Zimmer put his cup down on the nearest coffee table.
“She’s not ready for this,” Sunil said, pointing at me.
“Yes, you have said so before,” Von Zimmer said, sounding a tad on the irritated side. “But unfortunately we do not have a choice. She had to be here and she must learn to adapt to her new world. Or would you rather we had faced the consequences if we had not brought her?”
“Of course not. That’s not what I’m saying,” Sunil grumbled.
“Then what are you saying? Please enlighten me as to what you think I should have done.”
“I don’t know.” Sunil shrugged in defeat.
“Should I have left her on the Island? Should I have let Victoria claim her? Or, God forbid, let Kuznetsov claim her? Or left her to rot on the island, unclaimed?”
“No,” Sunil said.
“Then what would you have me do?”
“I don’t know,” Sunil sighed.
“Neither do I.” Von Zimmer leaned forward and ran his fingers through his short hair.
“Perhaps that is the whole idea behind this little farce,” Mannheim offered.
“What do you mean?” Sunil asked.
I wanted to ask them what the fuck they were all talking about, but since they were talking as though I wasn’t in the room and disclosing things they wouldn’t normally tell me I decided to shut-up and listen. You never know what you might find out if you close your mouth and open your ears.
“Well...” the Doctor leaned forward and steepled his fingers under his chin. “You claimed her first and without the permission of the whole Organisation.”
“I had permission from the majority, which is all I needed, and Zelda was completely destroyed. There was a precedent,” Von Zimmer said in his defence. “I also claimed her long before The Race was completed.”
“Yes, you gambled on her and won. You also followed the regulations, but Victoria and Kuznetsov did not agree especially once she defeated both their prize mares. They would not want her in your hands. They would either want her destroyed or in their stables, so to speak.” The Doctor sipped his own coffee and smacked his lips. “This is not so bad.” He took another sip.
“But by the time they had voiced their objections it was too late. I had claimed her and they had lost,” Von Zimmer said, sounding pleased with himself.
“Yes, you gambled and won, but now you are no longer only gambling with a business deal. You are gambling with her life,” the Doctor said.
“And as I keep saying,” Sunil interjected. “She’s not ready.”
“Precisely,” Von Zimmer said. “That’s exactly what he’s driving at.” He nodded at Mannheim. "They know it is too soon for us to have her ready. They could not convene a new Race, but they could contrive a dispute. I would be forced to bring her out in the open.”
“But Victoria is not one of the parties involved in the dispute,” Sunil said.
“She would never be that obvious, but I can guarantee that she is behind it,” Von Zimmer said with a sigh. “That woman is relentless, and Kuznetsov has always been her creature.”
“One would think she would be grateful,” Sunil said. “Elena didn’t win her freedom and she doesn’t have to part with all that gold. It’s a win-win for her.”
“It is not about the gold,” Von Zimmer said. “She lost face in that arena. Her prize fighter was defeated by a novice. There is no greater humiliation.”
“And that woman’s pride knows no boundaries,” Sunil said.
“Precisely,” Mannheim said. “Things are going to get very interesting for you Fräulein.”
They all turned to look at me with varying degrees of concern stamped on their faces.
I was so beyond fucked it wasn’t even funny.