Day Thirteen: Evening
The holes are finished and by God I’ll leave this island a fitter man than I came on. The punji stakes will have to wait until lighting is better. So I relax with water sans scotch and rocks and my constant companion.
I was never a writer in my former life. Perhaps that’s a sad thing as there were events well worth preserving if for no other reason than to show the young, up and coming criminals what not to do. And of course there was the occasional triumph. In either case I have developed quite an appreciation for the written word.
This entry is not at all about me though and should illuminate why I am beginning to think that if anyone I know is responsible for my current situation it is Janos. It was early in my association with him, when I was still a glorified errand boy and learning the ins and outs of his operation.
My trainer called me one day out of the blue. “We need you to pick someone up and bring him to the Castle.”
Well of course I complied as was expected and no questions asked. The Castle wasn’t really code speak for anything, though we used that from time to time, Janos really lived in a castle he had had moved from some other part of Europe to the mountains outside Saint Gallen, Switzerland. I used to think to myself that it had come from Transylvania. It was right out of a Hammer film.
The someone in question was a certain Chief of Police or something similar. He’d been on Janos’ payroll for quite some time and had decided that he needed a bigger piece of the action. I pulled up to his house in a limo and he got in. I was playing a role so I said nothing and just drove. Periodically I’d look back and see Herr Schwein sweating and drinking bourbon.
We pull up to the Castle and I escort him to the door, still not saying a word. After a few minutes waiting in the foyer and smelling body odor and sweat laced with alcohol, we were ushered in to the dining room. Janos was seated at the table tucking into a buffet. He gestured at his guest and told him to have a seat. “You too Karl.” He motioned me to a nearby couch. Janos’ butler brought the man a plate of food and then left the room. We three were the only ones there.
After what seemed like an hour of silence the man joined in. “Good food isn’t it?”
The greedy bastard nodded.
“You know they say that human flesh tastes a bit like pork.”
He looked at his plate. Looked at Janos. Looked back at his plate and spewed the food in his mouth into his napkin.
Janos chuckled. “Please, please. You think me such a bad host? Or worse a cannibal?” He put down his knife and fork and nodded at me.
I stood and moved around behind the unfortunate. His eyes stayed on his host and he started to speak. Janos flicked a finger and I pulled my thirty-eight and put it against the back of his skull.
“No. You shall remain silent. You lost your right to speak when you got greedy. A lesser man would kill you and be done with it. Someone else might kill your family in front of you, that trophy wife, your lovely daughter from your first marriage.” Schwein’s eyes began to bulge. “Calm yourself. They are alive, for now.” He slumped a bit. “Your daughter has been leant to an Arab friend of mine and I have your wife here, visiting my apartments below.”
The officer stood and I cocked the hammer back.
“Don’t be foolish. As long as you cooperate, they should both enjoy a couple of weeks in their new surroundings and return to you safe and sound. You will sign the piece of paper in front of you, a letter admitting to all manner of filthy things that you have done to women and boys that have come through your jailhouses. I will keep this letter and should you get greedy again I will not only make the arrangements for your women more permanent, but I shall forward this letter to the newspapers in your district.”
He signed it and quickly. I took him back to his home and dropped him off. Janos was true to his word and the man never did get greedy again. He told me later that the man’s family had been whisked off for a two week pleasure cruise and came back from it refreshed.
Well, on that note it’s time for me to put down the pen for tonight.
I was never a writer in my former life. Perhaps that’s a sad thing as there were events well worth preserving if for no other reason than to show the young, up and coming criminals what not to do. And of course there was the occasional triumph. In either case I have developed quite an appreciation for the written word.
This entry is not at all about me though and should illuminate why I am beginning to think that if anyone I know is responsible for my current situation it is Janos. It was early in my association with him, when I was still a glorified errand boy and learning the ins and outs of his operation.
My trainer called me one day out of the blue. “We need you to pick someone up and bring him to the Castle.”
Well of course I complied as was expected and no questions asked. The Castle wasn’t really code speak for anything, though we used that from time to time, Janos really lived in a castle he had had moved from some other part of Europe to the mountains outside Saint Gallen, Switzerland. I used to think to myself that it had come from Transylvania. It was right out of a Hammer film.
The someone in question was a certain Chief of Police or something similar. He’d been on Janos’ payroll for quite some time and had decided that he needed a bigger piece of the action. I pulled up to his house in a limo and he got in. I was playing a role so I said nothing and just drove. Periodically I’d look back and see Herr Schwein sweating and drinking bourbon.
We pull up to the Castle and I escort him to the door, still not saying a word. After a few minutes waiting in the foyer and smelling body odor and sweat laced with alcohol, we were ushered in to the dining room. Janos was seated at the table tucking into a buffet. He gestured at his guest and told him to have a seat. “You too Karl.” He motioned me to a nearby couch. Janos’ butler brought the man a plate of food and then left the room. We three were the only ones there.
After what seemed like an hour of silence the man joined in. “Good food isn’t it?”
The greedy bastard nodded.
“You know they say that human flesh tastes a bit like pork.”
He looked at his plate. Looked at Janos. Looked back at his plate and spewed the food in his mouth into his napkin.
Janos chuckled. “Please, please. You think me such a bad host? Or worse a cannibal?” He put down his knife and fork and nodded at me.
I stood and moved around behind the unfortunate. His eyes stayed on his host and he started to speak. Janos flicked a finger and I pulled my thirty-eight and put it against the back of his skull.
“No. You shall remain silent. You lost your right to speak when you got greedy. A lesser man would kill you and be done with it. Someone else might kill your family in front of you, that trophy wife, your lovely daughter from your first marriage.” Schwein’s eyes began to bulge. “Calm yourself. They are alive, for now.” He slumped a bit. “Your daughter has been leant to an Arab friend of mine and I have your wife here, visiting my apartments below.”
The officer stood and I cocked the hammer back.
“Don’t be foolish. As long as you cooperate, they should both enjoy a couple of weeks in their new surroundings and return to you safe and sound. You will sign the piece of paper in front of you, a letter admitting to all manner of filthy things that you have done to women and boys that have come through your jailhouses. I will keep this letter and should you get greedy again I will not only make the arrangements for your women more permanent, but I shall forward this letter to the newspapers in your district.”
He signed it and quickly. I took him back to his home and dropped him off. Janos was true to his word and the man never did get greedy again. He told me later that the man’s family had been whisked off for a two week pleasure cruise and came back from it refreshed.
Well, on that note it’s time for me to put down the pen for tonight.
© 2004 by Scott Roche
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