Vlad the Hundjager

Vlad wondered if he should pity the man before him. He hadn't really done anything wrong, was in the wrong place at the wrong time for sure, but had the circumstances been different he wouldn't have bothered with the man at all. It had taken him a long time to find this man, and now that he had him, he was going to finally get the answer he was looking for. Vlad checked the man's handcuffs and made sure he hadn't kicked out of the ropes tying his feet to the chair. He looked around the warehouse, it was empty save the occasional rat surrying out of the light, leavng tracks in the thick dust blanketting everything.

Once Vlad was sure that the man was secure he picked up the rope that lay at his feet. It was such an easy thing to get people to devulge information that they wanted to keep hidden. It didn't take anything more elaborate that a piece of rope. The Americans went out of their way with their waterboarding, trying to keep from leaving markes on the body and all that. Here in Austria Vlad didn't feel the need to be so elaborate. He wrapped the rope around the man's neck and slowely closed off his airway. The fear of death is a powerful motivator, and choking is such a horrible way to die. You feel the air stop, something in your brain tells you that you need that air back as quickly as possible, but it doesn't come. Your lungs try and inflate but nothing comes. Then you panic, the panic makes you need more air, your brain tells you to get the air back as quickly as possible, but it still doesn't come, so you panic some more. The cycle repeats. Vlad had been tortured this way once when he was younger, he knew the fear, he knew everyone broke sooner or later. It was just too much to take. Dying this way was slow, you can actually feel yourself dying, you have time to think about how much you want to live. In the end the desire to live always wins over what ever other reason you have to keep quiet. Vlad let go of the rope and the man took a deep gasping breath and slumped forward in his chair.

"Are you ready to tell me what I want to know?" Vlad asked as he pulled the man's head up by his hair. "What was the name of the woman? The blonde woman with Prince Victor."

"Please no! If I tell you they might kill me." the man pleaded.

"If you don't tell me I WILL kill you." He was going to kill him anyway but there was no need to say that just yet. "You might die or you will die, what will it be?"

"OK, OK. I'll tell you" the man shook off Vlads hand from his head, trying to regain some kind of composure. "Her name was Adalind Schade. The blond woman. Her name was Adalind Schade."

This man was remarkably easy to break. He must have been paid not threatened. They always broke easily if they has been paid. The ones who were afraid for their life really tried to hold out longer. "And where was Miss Adalind Schade from my young Concierge?"

"She had an American passport and I think that she said she was from Portland. That is all I know I swear. Please I swear. Please let me go."

"And you are sure that you don't know anything else about this woman? And when Prince Victor came to your hotel he didn't visit anyone else? He didn't go to any other rooms or meetings? Just her, is that correct?"

"Yes. I am the chief concierge at that hotel. I made it a point to be there every time the Prince came in, I had to know everything that went on when he was there. The Prince came to the Hotel a few times around when you are asking, he always went to her room, and usually she left with him shortly after. She was blonde, pregnant, and very beautiful. That is all I know. What more do you want from me?"

Vlad was satisfied that he was telling the truth. A Hundjager was good at following a trail and he was almost at the end of this one. He looked down at the man again. He still didn't feel any pity for him. His job for the Verat forced him to be rather primal in his dealings, he had got used to it by now. "All I want from you now is your silence. I can't take the chance that anyone in the Royal famliy finds out that I have been asking questions about this Adalind Schade. It could prove costly."

"I swear I won't tell a soul. I swear! I have a wife and children."

"So did I my friend." Vlad said flatly as he wrapped the rope around the man's neck "So did I"

The concierge started to scream but it was quickly choked off as Vlad pulled the rope tight. Vlad stood in front of the man looking him in the eye as he killed him. Vlad put his foot on the center of the man's chest and with the rope wrapped full circle around the man's neck he leaned back, pulling the rope as he pushed away with his foot. Vlad was a strong man and this way he could put the muscles of his back into it, it was enough. He heard the man's trachea snap as it crushed, saw the man's face turn an unhuman shade of red, and waited until he saw the blood vessels of his eyes start to burst. He held on for another minute until every twitch was gone, just to be sure. When he was done he dragged the body, chair and all, over to the side of the room, opened the door, and looked out. Below him churned the dark waters of the Danube. Tying a sandbag to the chair Vlad pushed the unfortunate hotel man out the door and into his watery grave. The rope followed. Such an easy thing to get the information you wanted.

Now he had her name. It had been months searching, bribing, and killing to get to this point, and finally he had her name. He knew who was responsible for the death of his wife Sonja and his sweet little daughter Lisle. Now that he knew who was responsible all that remained was to find her, and kill her.