Chapter 8:

"I am going to KILL her!" Felix threw open Wolfgang's bedroom door in a rage.

Wolfgang blinked blearily at him, "That's nice, who is she?"

"Julia!" spat Felix. "That little, conniving –"

Wolfgang blinked slowly into consciousness; it had to be late afternoon. Fuck, his sleep schedule was getting messed up. The combination of nightmares and radically different time zones was draining. Felix viciously slammed the door and threw open the blinds on his window. "What did she do now?"

"Nurse Felder, oh yes Nurse Felder, she was going on and on about how attractive Nurse Felder was and oh how I would like my new caretaker very much. Never mentioned Nurse Felder's first name." Felix muttered limping rapidly around his room.

Wolfgang was beginning to see where this was going. Well played Julia, he thought Check and fucking mate. "Nurse Felder is a man."

Come to think of it he remembered Julia mentioning the physiotherapist when they met, he had just been too distracted to put two and two together.

Felix huffed irately, " Nurse Johan Felder is a man, a very large, very muscular man, loves skiing and the outdoors."

Wolfgang couldn't help it; he burst out laughing. "Did you enjoy your massage?"

"It is called physiotherapy and NO I did not!" and with that Felix stormed (as much as he could in his current condition) out of the room.

Wolfgang sighed, and stretched out in his bed. Kala was already at work; he sensed her fighting hard against exhaustion as she sat at a computer, entering data. He lingered on her for a moment, feeling a confusing surge of guilt and joy, compounded by the sheer absurdity of their whole relationship. He wrenched his mind away from her; he didn't have time to visit right now. Riley had already docked at Port Bilbao, she would be disembarking in a few hours, Wolfgang felt his heart-rate increase, the familiar nervous energy he would get before doing a job starting to fill him.

He had driven Felix down to the lake last night, both of them feeling too antsy to stay in the cottage after his confession. Felix had taken the news rather well, all things considered. They sat quietly staring at the lake for a long time; Felix reclined in the car seat. He had been curious about Kala, even more so when Wolfgang, had explained vaguely and awkwardly looking down at his feet that they were sort of maybe in a relationship, and no, he had never actually met her.

Felix being Felix, and laughed at him for that, especially since Wolfgang had stalwartly refused to get into a relationship for the entire he had known him. But, most of their conversation focused on the mechanics of the sensate connection, they had always shared a certain desire to know how things worked.

"I don't know," admitted Wolfgang, in response to Felix's insistent questions. "None of us know how it happened, and the other sensates we have met have not been very helpful."

Felix thought about that, "But you don't think you are just going crazy? I mean –" he hastily continued in response to Wolfgang's raised eyebrow. "I believe you, but hearing voices, seeing things, sounds like you are actually batshit crazy."

Wolfgang sighed; the night outside was very still, he didn't like it; he and Felix should be having this conversation in Berlin to the sound of rushing traffic. "There is something different with my brain," he admitted finally, "I have a...mutation... If doctors were to do brain scans and shit it would not look like a normal human's" he swallowed uncomfortably, "Not like any human's."

"So you are not quite –" Felix choked a little.

"I don't know," repeated Wolfgang, "Guess it depends on your definition of human." He tried for some lightness, "I didn't fucking come from outer space in a flying saucer."

Felix was silent, processing this. Wolfgang didn't like it. Felix was never quiet. It was one of the things he liked most about him, Wolfgang wasn't so good at carrying a conversation, but with Felix he never had to.

He stared resolutely into the darkness outside the cars windshield, if there was fear or disgust in Felix's eyes he didn't have to guts to check.

"Do you remember the time I broke my arm?" Felix said at last.

"Yeah," Wolfgang let out a slight chuckle. "You thought it would be a good idea to climb on top of that old railway station roof. " He rolled his eyes, remembering Felix's manic excitement, the petty shit they would get up to, just trying to escape the unfriendly reality of neglectful parents and schoolyard bullies. "I fucking told you that the roof would fall in."

Felix smirked, "Still came up with me."

"Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory." Wolfgang shook his head slightly, "We were fucking idiots back then."

"Still are," Felix turned his head to look at him, clasped his arm, "And we are still brothers, no matter what."

"Thank you," said Wolfgang quietly at last, a surge of relief rushing through him. "Thank you."

Nurse Felder was indeed a very large man, Wolfgang observed, when he emerged from his bedroom, fully dressed and hair still wet from his shower. The nurse was standing at the kitchen counter pouring over some notes on his tablet, but he looked up with a friendly smile when Wolfgang came in and introduced himself in a booming voice as "Johan Felder, at your service, Herr Bogdanow". True to Julia's word, he was a blond.

They chatted briefly in German, and Johan ran over his plan for Felix's rehabilitation while Felix sulked in his room. Wolfgang was satisfied, and then quickly excused himself when he felt Riley anxiously leaving the cargo ship.

"I have a important conference call," he called to Johan as he closed his bedroom door, "Please let remind Felix if you see him." Johan had just nodded good-naturedly and returned to his tablet. Wolfgang locked the door.


He joined Riley by the edge of the docks watching the bustle of Port Bilbao unfold around them. She was disguised as well as she could manage, sunglasses on and hair tucked under a baseball hat and a hood.

He had been here before, another reason they had chosen Bilbao. Many years ago, he had overseen several of his uncle's shipping operations, smuggling weapons from Europe to Africa. That was how he had met the two men he had hired today, under a false name. They were freelancers, not so involved in the business of the mobs that anyone would take notice.

"He is a tall Russian man wearing a green shirt," Wolfgang muttered. Riley nodded, spotting him. Will was reclined on a nearby bench wearing dark glasses, she had halved his morning injection so that he was just conscious enough, but certainly not lucid, to stagger off the ship, leaning heavily against her. He had lost so much weight she could almost completely support him. She had made some joking comments about an overindulgence in alcohol to the people that stared at them.

Wolfgang stiffened beside her. "He is here." Riley nodded and watched as the man, Daniil, approached her, pushing an empty wheelchair.

Lito and Sun were hovering nearby, and Nomi was sitting up staring at her blank laptop screen ready to leap into action. Wolfgang forced himself to relax.

"You Lena?" he had yellowing teeth and his eyes were flinty and dark, but overall he was not particularly intimidating looking. Wolfgang knew better than to underestimate him.

Riley nodded, and answered in German, where her Icelandic accent was less recognizable. "Yes, are you the one that is here to help me and my brother?"

Wolfgang didn't like the way he was looking at Riley. But Daniil finally nodded and held out a hand, Riley hesitantly shook it.

She followed him away from the heavily guarded docks, to a quiet square just off the seaside, wheeling Will carefully over the cracked pavement.

Daniil walked over to a large black car and handed her a duffel bag. "Did you get the medical supplies too?" asked Wolfgang.

Daniil nodded.

"Good, " Riley pulled out her phone and pressed a few buttons. "The money should be in your account, have a nice day." She turned to leave – Daniil roughly caught her arm.

"There is a search warrant out on your boy there, I would be careful." Riley froze, but Wolfgang took over. "He's bluffing," he murmured to Riley, "he wants to see if he can get more money out of you."

Riley shook Daniil's hand off. "I don't know what you are talking about." She turned and walked the opposite direction from where Seb the second man Wolfgang had hired was to pick her up.

Nomi was typing frantically into her computer, "I checked this morning there was nothing out on Will, their shouldn't be yet, we took care to cover his tracks before he left Chicago. Riley is a missing person, but only in Iceland – Shit!"

Wolfgang grimaced, "What is it?"

Nomi swore again "Whispers is on to me, I should have known. They have international warrants for arrest out on all three of us, they have just been using email's disguised as ordinary daily reports to communicate. Shit! Shit I should have been looking out for this. I don't know how Daniil could have known though."

"Doesn't matter, we just stick to the plan," said Wolfgang calmly, they were circling around the square now, Riley struggling a little with Will's chair on the uneven ground. A white van with a handicap sign on window shield was parked at the end of the busy street. Seb was leaning against the driver's side door smoking a cigarette.

Riley breathed a sigh of relief when he silently opened the door and lowered the ramp for Will without a comment.

Wolfgang however was tense. He kept looking around restlessly as they pulled away from the curb, Will's head lolling to one side as they bumped over the pavement.

They were silent for about ten minutes.

"Did you touch the door when it closed?" asked Wolfgang finally. Riley shook her head subtly.

"Good." He scanned the road behind them again, "Do not touch anything if you can help it."

Riley felt another spike of fear, but kept silent. Wolfgang took her hands and made her look at him. "In a minute we are going to pull into an abandoned parking garage –"

"But that is not where we agreed!" whispered Riley.

"I know," Wolfgang made her look at him. "I need you to focus, when we pull in you are going to play stupid, ask him to help you take Will out of the car. Do not touch anything. " Riley nodded.

Wolfgang looked at her very firmly, "I am going to take over your body after that, and I need you to trust me, and not interfere. Can you do that?"

Riley swallowed nervously, but nodded again. Wolfgang squeezed her hand and then let go. He inhaled deeply and rolled his shoulders, why did nothing ever go easily?

The car stopped, Riley terrified but under control, followed his instructions exactly. He caught a glimpse of Seb's expression as she exited the car, it was one of satisfaction; he thought she would be an easy mark. Wolfgang cracked his knuckles.

As he knew it would a second car pulled up. Riley feigned shock and outrage. Daniil stepped out gun raised. Any thoughts Wolfgang had entertained about talking his way out of this vanished. Daniil and Seb exchanged a few words.

Suddenly, Daniil was pointing a gun at Will's head; he felt nauseous with Riley's terror but shoved that aside. She had promised him. I am so sorry Riley, he thought, I am so so sorry. He was not afraid; he only felt a certain sadness for what he was about to make Riley do. Seb was not guarding him properly, he noted. There was a definite advantage to being in a different body, especially one as innocent looking as Riley's.

"No, please," he begged in Riley's voice, "Please don't hurt him. I'll give you anything you want." He stumbled forward as if to go to Will, and got a few steps before Seb grabbed him roughly by both arms. Perfect.

Daniil was grinning a little, leering at him. He and Riley were filled with revulsion; perhaps he would not regret this so much. "First, " began Daniil –he didn't get to finish. Wolfgang leaned his weight into Seb and viciously kicked the gun out of Daniil's hands, smashing it upwards into his face. Wolfgang planted his feet, ducking in case Daniil accidently fired, and firmly flipped Seb over his shoulder. There was a satisfying crunch as his head hit the pavement. He walked over to Daniil and picked up the gun, he felt Riley's surprise when he did not fire it but instead switched the safety on.

"Bad choice, " he informed Daniil in Russian before smashing him violently in the head with the butt of the gun. Riley was not as strong as him, it took several attempts before he felt Daniil's skull crack.

Seb was struggling into consciousness, Wolfgang carefully crouched next to Daniil's limp body, it was all about the angle, the gun was covered in blood and cerebral fluid but Wolfgang took a firm grip and fired twice catching Seb in the shoulder and then through the gut. Good shots, but not too good - ones that could have been fired by a professional criminal, before dying of a head wound. The bag of medical supplies was still hanging off the back of Will's chair. Ignoring the gurgling whimpers of Seb as he died, Wolfgang withdrew a few sterile medical wipes, gloves, and a bottle of soap from Riley's bag he wiped down the gun, he placed it in Daniil's hand. Soaking a bandage in the blood and clear fluid that was steadily spilling from Daniil's head across the concrete floor, he spattered it liberally on Seb's hands and on the gun he knew would be in his coat pocket, it was of similar make and model to Daniil's. Good.

He tucked the blood soaked wipes and gloves into a plastic bag, and made sure there was no obvious stains on Riley's clothes or shoes, he would discard of them once they were far enough away from the garage. Wolfgang did some quick calculations, he was familiar with the area, and they were about twenty minutes from the apartment. As a final touch he put Riley's baseball cap over Will's head tilting it to hide his face.

"Nomi?" he murmured as he began to wheel Will away from the car, "Were there any security cameras?" She took a minute to recover - he realized, belatedly, - that she had never directly witnessed this side of him. Her voice was shaking, and he heard her clumsily fumbling at her keyboard before she answered that they were all clear.

Good. Wolfgang continued to ignore Nomi's panic. "I need you to look up any connections that BPO has with the Russian mob, or any of the Spanish underground." A few theories swirled around his head. "Most likely a mole in the police office, I imagine Riley and Will would net substantial rewards if they were to be turned in," he thought of Daniil and Seb's past jobs, "Maybe even a clean criminal record. " Nomi nodded grimly and Wolfgang left her to her research.

They were in an empty alleyway about half a block from the apartment when he let Riley take over again. She was sheet white, and shaking violently. He took her firmly by the shoulders and led her to a nearby gutter in case she threw up.

For a long time she didn't say anything.

"Hey, hey, listen," said Wolfgang, "What just happened, it wasn't you, it was me, my fault, and my responsibility." Riley was gasping slightly, but managed to nod. "You did really well, Riley, we are almost done. Julia is in the apartment with the light green door, when you get in I need you to take a shower, throw out your clothes and your shoes, and I need you to drink a glass of water and eat something. Can you do this?"

She clenched her jaw and nodded. He felt a quiet swell of pride at her strength, together they pushed Will the last few steps. He stayed with her until Julia answered the door; her hair dyed a rather dull brown, before he returned to his room. Riley turned to look at him as he left, he didn't meet her eyes to see if there was judgment in them.


He was sitting on the edge of his bed, face in his hands when Kala appeared. His fingertips trembled slightly. Everything about his posture, the curve of his back, seemed to say defeat. She could feel that he was terribly, terribly tired. Wolfgang looked up apprehensively at her, but didn't move otherwise.

He expects me to be afraid of him, realized Kala. She paused for a minute to contemplate the ironies of heroism and sin, before standing before him and gently taking his hands. Their eyes met, he opened his mouth to say something, but Kala already knew what it was going to be. I'm sorry, I am a monster, You should be afraid of me, I should have known better. She wasn't particularly interested in hearing any of those things, so she just leaned down and kissed his open mouth.

Thank you, she thought, thank you for having the courage to do what none of us could. He seemed to be protesting half heartedly, but some of that courage must have worn off on her because she just wrapped her legs around his hips and pushed him back so he was laying flat on the bed, her still on his lap. He stopped protesting.

Kala paused a minute to look at him. He was frowning a little, a crease between his eyebrows that she reached with gentle fingers to smooth away. She let her hand trail lightly, tracing the delicate skin under his eyes, the square shape of his jaw, the curve of his ear. He was watching her with an unreadable expression.

"I love you," she murmured, filled with an aching tenderness, before leaning down to kiss him again. She understood that he could not say it back.

At first it started slow and deliberate, she could feel how careful he was being, one hand buried in the hair and the other drawing slow tingling lines from the base of her neck down the curve of her spine. It didn't stay that way for long, couldn't not when she felt his desire as clearly as her own, felt the jolt of pleasure he felt she gently bit his ear, shiver down the side of her own neck.

She sucked his bottom lip hard as he flipped them, tasting toothpaste masking the bitter bite of cigarette smoke. He took her hands, pinning her down. There was a dark glitter in his eyes as he turned his attention to her neck and she wasn't quite sure who was making those soft whimpering noises, but she was fairly sure it was her. Heat was filling her and she was squirming against him just trying to feel more, mind blissfully blank.

They were both panting when he rolled away from her. Trying to prevent things from escalating too fast. Kala laughed slightly at that, the insanity of the whole thing.

They laid in the comfortable yellow light of his bedroom lamp, breathing slowly returning to normal. She reached out and curiously traced the straight line of his nose.

"It wasn't your fault," she said at last, "You couldn't have known they would double cross you."

He made a little dismissive noise, but didn't respond.

It was a windy night, they listened to the rustling leaves outside mingle with the rush of traffic outside her window in Mumbai. They were both terribly grateful not to be alone. Kala could feel his chest expanding and contracting with his breaths, deep and slow. His eyes had fluttered shut.

She reached over and poked his side gently, "Take off your shirt."

He raised an eyebrow.

She blushed a little, "Not for that reason." He laughed at her expression, "I mean, so that you will be comfortable, you are falling asleep."

He dimpled a bit, "I don't usually sleep with pants on either."

Gods help her. Kala tried for a nonchalant air, "Whatever makes you more comfortable."

He clearly hadn't bought her act, but he sat up anyways and shucked off his shirt without a hint of shyness. The darkness in his expression was replaced with a great deal of amusement as he slowly began to unbutton his jeans, looking directly at her. Kala forced her expression into what she hoped was a neutral one.

He was wearing boxers underneath, she realized with some measure of relief and... disappointment? She didn't linger on that thought for too long. She also couldn't help staring a little, noticing the front was tented a bit. He was definitely laughing at her as she rapidly averted her eyes.

"Don't worry, just ignore it and it will go away." He switched off the lamp and slid under the thick duvet holding up the edge so she could join him. She did, hesitantly, lying so that just their shoulders were just touching. Kala wondered idly if her skittishness was grating on him.

"I don't mind it," he said in answer to her unspoken thought. "It is most certainly different from what I am used to, but I don't mind waiting."

He rolled over to look at her; she could only see his outline. "Anticipation is half the fun anyways, and I can be a very patient person."

"I'm not," Kala admitted.

"I know," Wolfgang chuckled, "It is funny to watch your nervousness war with your curiosity."

Kala made a face at him in the dark.

They were quiet for a while; she reached out and took his hands, softly kissing the palms.

"I don't want to fall asleep, "she admitted, "I can't stay with you if I do."

He wrapped his arm around her waist, gently snuggling his face into the crook of her neck. He was very warm.

She rested her cheek on the top of his head. "I want our first time to be in person," she finally whispered. "Would you come to Mumbai and stay with me for a while? Once Felix is better?"

"Of course," he murmured against her neck. "If you promise to come to Berlin with me afterword."

"I'd like that," she felt them drifting a little, "I have always wanted to see snow."

"It's nice," Wolfgang's words were almost a mumble, "All fluffy ... and you can throw it at people..." then he was asleep, snoring lightly into the crook of her neck, one arm still thrown possessively over her midsection. She could feel the bone deep exhaustion, that came after a rush of adrenaline, taking them both.

Kala fought as long as she could to stay there, the unfamiliar warmth of his body beside her simultaneously comforting and electrifying. She caught herself imagining their future. He loved Berlin just as she loved Mumbai, would they spilt their time between the two cities? She tried to imagine him sitting in her father's restaurant, eating spicy biryani and chatting with her sister. Would her parents have stopped tiptoeing around her by then? Would the sharpness of the worried and disapproving looks her mother now wore behind her back, fade into happiness? Would they stop treating her with that mixture of awed respect and deep skepticism?

Almost as if he could feel her worrying (he probably could) Wolfgang's arm tightened around her. She sighed softly and let her eyes flutter shut. She gave into the dizzying sensation of falling, falling, into her colourful sheets the scent of his hair still lingering in her nose, the phantom feeling of his limbs wrapped around her, before she knew no more.


Thank you for reading and for your kind reviews! Next chapter up on Wednesday, and thank you to dancingwithtime - my stalwart editor, my intrepid housemate and fellow fan-fiction addict.