Chapter 34! Sorry it took me such a long time - College Math is really kicking me in the *blocked by Canada's NOTICE ME sign*. Which reminds me, I need to start writing more Canadians.
Konrad hated his sister.
Not Katja - Gott, nein - Katja was his favorite out of his other four siblings. His younger brothers, the twins Gregor and Klaus, were right below the little girl on the albino's list, as crazy as they were.
And come on - you had to have a few screws loose somewhere if your idea of a good career involved skydiving, bungee jumping, free falling off buildings into massive airbags, and fighting with real swords (with death prevented by the mere self-control of your opponent).
Though, now that Konrad had actually seen some of his brothers' work, he couldn't say he wasn't impressed.
His other sister, however, was at the very bottom of Konrad's list of favorite people - even further down than Luka Vanko, a fellow mercenary who continuously belittled Konrad's skills in the assassian's circle. The only reason he wasn't dead yet was professional courtesy (which was a thread that Luka was wearing quite thin). Johanna Fritz, an up-and-coming pop star on the international circuit, was a self-absorbed, airheaded, manipulative brat who'd been given life on a silver platter.
That was all in her older brother's opinion, of course.
In Konrad's eyes, Johanna had no redeeming qualities - he considered all the charities she (a.k.a.: her manager) donated to as media fodder. Nothing but an excuse to smile for the press and build up a good reputation to hide behind. Konrad really, really, REALLY hated Johanna.
Unfortunately, Katja did not.
"Auntie Johanna! Auntie Johanna!" The little girl came running across the backyard, laughing and clutching something in both hands. "Lookie, look!" She held up her find. "I found a bug!" Johana cringed back a little, but put on a plastic smile.
"Oh! How….interesting!" She gingerly closed Katja's hands around the cricket. "Why don't you go and show Papa?"
"Okay!" Katja ran off, giggling. "Papa Prussia! Look, look! I found a bug!" As soon as the little girl was out of sight, Johanna groaned and returned to her laptop settled on her miniskirt-clad lap.
"Ooh, so cold." Johanna rolled her eyes dramatically at Konrad, who was leaning against the side of the porch. "You'r just lucky Katja thinks you're a saint."
"Oh please." Johanna flipped a hand. "You know I hate bugs." Konrad snickered.
"And that's why I gave it to her." He cackled. Johanna narrowed her eyes.
"Uncivilized murderer." She growled. Her brother snorted.
"Self-absorbed bitch." Konrad shot back. Johanna picked up her laptop, stood up, and walked away stiffly. The albino growled and jumped down the steps, sulkily following his sister around the house. Out in the front yard, Klaus and Gregor were rehearsing one of their stunts, using rattan sticks, with Prussia and Katja as an audience.
Though, their father was more entertained by the cricket his youngest daughter had found. Johanna had settled on the front porch swing, absorbed back into her digital world of tabloid stories and the international pop scene. Konrad walked over and sat beside his sister and father.
"Kesesesese! It's huge!" Prussia was laughing.
"I know!" Katja giggled. "I chased it all over Uncle Ludwig's garden!" The cricket chose this moment to excursive it's legs and leapt out of Katja's hand. The little girl shrieked.
"My cricket is getting away!" She jumped up after it. Prussia followed suit.
"Oh no it's not!"
"Get it, daddy!" Gregor and Klaus both had to stop as their father and youngest sister raced between them, chasing the wayward cricket. Klaus chuckled, wiping sweat off his forehead with one arm.
"That looks like fun." He looked at his twin. "We have practiced enough, ja?" Gregor nodded.
"Ja. We've practiced enough." The twins dropped their rattan sticks and rushed off after the cricket-chasers. Konrad laughed.
"Aren't you going to join the fun, Jo'?" He asked. His sister growled.
"It's Johanna." She hissed. "And you call that fun?" Konrad smirked,
"It annoys you, doesn't it?" He cackled. Johanna glowered at the albino and turned back to her laptop as Konrad's cell phone rang. The man pulled it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID. "Laura?" He shrugged and flipped it open. "Guten tag, Laura. What is up?" He asked, walking away from the porch.
Only a few steps away, Konrad stopped again. "Was?" He listened. "Ouch….poor kid…wait, why do I have to-" He stopped. "…..Luka did it?" He repeated. "Luka Vanko?" Konrad's eyes narrowed. "I'll call in some favors." He snapped the phone shut and looked back. No-one had noticed the phone call, so he decided to take his leave while he was unnoticed.
"Hey…." Prussia spoke up a few minutes later. "Where did Konrad go?" Katja also stopped and looked around, cricket forgotten.
"…oh, brother does that sometimes, 'cause he's a ninja." She nodded sagely. "He'll be back soon."
Konrad flattened himself against the rotting wood of the Lancaster barn and pulled a handgun from a holster on his hip. He's already 'cleared' several Bratva members from the area, with a little help from America and Russia. Honestly, Konrad was glad to be in a different area from the two - Russia, on his own, was a scary bastard.
America, though normally kinda nice (if not naive) had turned into a terrifying, Bratva-felling machine in the space of a few hours. Konrad was honestly unnerved by the change, and almost felt sorry for the bastards ordered to 'interrogate' the Amereican's unfortunate son.
Keyword: almost.
The assassin edged around the corner and raised his gun. Two quick pops, and the mob members dropped, killed without feeling a thing, or ever seeing their killer. Konrad stepped over their bodies, ignoring the blood that got on his boots, and moved on. Honestly, he'd love to some looting - these guys weren't going to be using their stuff anymore, anyway.
But there was no time for that now. He had a job to do, and people to kill - looting could wait. As he rounded another corner, Konrad spotted a familiar figure sneaking out from behind a silo. He grinned.
"Guten tag, Luka." He grinned. "I believe you and I have some….issues to work out…" Luka paused for all of a minute, before he took off running. Konrad giggled before giving chase. "I love my job."
A while later, Konrad was leaning a low stone wall outside the barn, meticulously cleaning blood off his beloved weapons. They'd gotten a lot of use in the last few hours, and he was so proud - not a single one had jammed! He looked up as Russia exited the stable where Nathan had been found, looking just a tad more disturbed then usual. "Hey you," Konrad called. "You look disturbed." He chuckled dryly. "Witness a father-son thing?" Russia narrowed his eyes.
"You are as annoying as your father." He commented. Konrad just laughed.
"I take that as a compliment, you know." He pulled out the clip of his semi-automatic and started to refill it. "I take it the kid is fine?" Russia nodded. "Good." Konrad clicked the clip back into place. "Laura would kill me if I flew all the way back here and didn't obey her wishes."
"How did you get back so fast?" Russia asked. Konrad paused. He'd had to call up a lot of 'old friends' and dredge up some not-so-fond memories, mixed in with a little blackmailing for good measure. "Weren't you in Berlin with Kaliningrad?" Konrad froze.
"You know, he told me to shoot you if you called him that." Konrad mused, checking the sights on his gun. "But that would do no good, would it?" He smirked and slipped the gun back into its holster. "Let's just say…I have people who owe me. A LOT. They were very glad to help me out in a time of need, in turn for some of this favors 'disappearing'." This was half true. He'd promised to make said favors 'disappear'. He'd lied, though. It was much too fun to hold it over their heads.
"Ah. Very devious." Russia noted. Konrad shrugged. "I don't suppose you know where Luka went?"
"Luka?" Konrad put on an obviously fake look of innocence. "Who is this Luka you speak of? Surely not the bastard who thought he could oust me?" A smirk crept into the innocent look, ruining it. "Hmm. No idea. Perhaps he fell down a well with a few dozen bullets in his head."
"….you did not like him." Russia mused.
"No. No I did not." Konrad replied, pulling out a smaller handgun from another holster and checking its clip.
"You two had history, da?" Russia asked. Konrad paused.
"It would be 'history' now, wouldn't it?" He commented casually. "I do not feel like sharing right now, but take that as a yes." Russia tilted his head.
"I will ask later, da?" He asked. Konrad shrugged.
"I probably won't tell you then, either, but whatever pleases you, ja."
Yes, I will admit that the ending repeats, but it's all flashing back to the same event - repetition will occur. People asked for Prussia and kid(s) bonding time, and here you go - not much, but we're still following a plot, here. Once the Bratva storyline is all wrapped up, you can have all the Prussians you want! ^_^ Also, a question for all you reviewers: How would you feel about a "Children of the Nations" forum? Or, at least, a few "CotN" topics on a Hetalia forum? There is a poll up on my profile, but feel free to leave your opinion in a review or PM. Until next time!