Disclaimer: If I would get money for this, I wouldn´t be in the desperate need for a holidy job right now!
Anyone out there who needs a student to wash his car ;-) ??
We´re slowly reaching the plot now…
And don´t worry, the Twins aren´t that tame yet (*evil grin*)
**
„Isn't that Neo? "Asked Felice surprised and scrambled to her feet.
She pushed her bag into One's arms and glued her face to the shop window.
No doubt, the young man in the boring grey suit and the stern expression on his face was Neo, former known as the Chosen One.
Trinity's boyfriend and source of her present distress.
"Could we move along?" Two asked bored. Neo´s new attitude didn't impress him in the least.
"Yes, could we move along?" asked One.
Felice just looked at them.
"What has gotten into you? That man in there saved our lives only half a year ago. And now that he's changed that much you don't give a damn?"
Two snorted.
"We saved our lives ourselves, if I might remember you, darling! He was just a mere hanger-on, like Niobe or Trinity. In fact, the only ones who really helped us were Mr Barney and your father! And he's there on his own free will."
One smirked.
"Yeah, if he wants to play the idiot, then let him be. He would just waste our precious time!"
He laid an arm around her waist and pulled her close.
"Forget about him, you don't need him, you've-
"Got us!" finished Two and planted a kiss on her hair.
Felice freed herself out of the tight embrace. If the Twins decided to team up against her, the telepathically link kicked in and made her quite helpless.
She tried to get her head clear again.
"It's not that I would have any personal interests in him, in the contrary I find him quite boring. But I worry for Trinity and for her sake I will now enter this office and talk to him! And you two will accompany me!!" she said sternly. The twins might not care about other people then the three of them, but that didn't mean that she had to follow their example!
Resolutely, she opened the door and got in.
The Twins followed her reluctantly and flanked her on both sides. That affected behaviour lacked a bit of seriousness because they were loaded with full shopping bags like Santa Claus.
A young woman welcomed them.
"Good afternoon ladies and gentleman, how can I help you?"
"Yes, well….we'd like to talk to Mr…Landerson!" Felice said matter of factly.
"That should be no problem, please follow me!" the woman in brown said and led them to a small office.
They entered and One closed the door behind them.
Neo aka Teo looked up from his desk and a weak smile formed on his lips.
"How can I help you?"
Felice went up to his desk and looked into his face. His eyes were dull and he seemed to have lost weight recently. Not that he ever had been fat to begin with.
"NEO!!" Felice screamed.
"Don't you recognize us?? It's us, Felice and the Twins! Remember the hand cuff adventure in spring? We had so much fun, you, Trinity, Morpheus, Niobe and us!"
A bit of life came back into his eyes.
Must have something to do with Felices high-pitched voice, Two mused.
"Felice? Is that really you?" he asked unbelievingly.
"Oh of course, it must be you! Who else would voluntarily hang around with two albino killers? Are you still married?"
"Of course we are!" Two huffed and dropped his bags.
"Would we be here if it was different?" One sounded insulted.
"Yes, you're absolutely right…" Neo´s eyes got dull again.
"Is everything alright with you?" Felice asked worried.
"I'm fine!"
"You're looking ill!" she stated the obvious.
"Like I've told you, I'm fine! Is there anything I can do for you? Did you want to conclude an insurance?"
"No, we didn't…"
"We have life insurances, accident insurances, unemployment insurances and our special offer this week: a household insurance…"
"No, we-"
"Just 19,00 ,- per month and you´ll get a free coffee machine as welcome present!"
"We just wanted to say hello!" Felice said irritated.
"Well, hello…"
A moment of awkward silence followed.
The Twins had stopped smirking and seemed as puzzled as Felice looked.
Finally, Felice grabbed her bag and went to the door.
"Well, it was nice to see you again! Stay in touch will you? Good bye!" she said quietly and left his office.
Teo Landerson just nodded and returned to his papers.
**
Back at home Felice stormed into her private room to call Trinity.
The Twins dropped the various bags in the living room and helped themselves to a margarita. A big one.
They slumped onto the couch.
"Two?"
"Yes?"
"For the sake of Felices mental and physical health, would you consider not cooking today and instead order pizza or something?" One asked.
Two sighed. "If you're getting me the phone…"
One jumped up and grabbed the phone.
"He even didn't recognize us, Trinity! This is serious, I fear!"
"I know!" Trinity sounded tired.
"Did you ask him to return to Zion?"
"I did, god knows I did! But he wouldn't listen! Neither to me nor to Morpheus! What shall I do, Feli??"
Felices gaze fell onto the letter on her desk.
Her mother's invitation.
"I think, I have an idea!"
"Dessert?" Two asked.
"Yes, please! Hmmm, tiramisu….and zabaione, lots of it!!" One said eagerly.
"Ooookay, here we go!"
"I don't see any problems there, Trin! My parent's villa is big enough, even with the whole family staying in it! Two more people wouldn't be evident!"
"But how do I persuade him into visiting you?"
"He needs a holiday! If he doesn't agree…well, technically Morpheus is his superior, isn't he? If he orders him to take a holiday, would he obey?"
"And a bottle of red wine!"
"Take two! And grappa, don't you forget that!" One smirked and lighted the candles in the living room.
"If he does not agree, you'll have to force him somehow. It's for his own sake!" Felice said.
"You're right. But I don't know if I can handle this all alone…"
"Oh Trin, inspiration just hit me! We can invite them too!"
"Who??"
"Morpheus and Niobe, of course! The baby's not coming the next three months and I bet she could use a holiday right now, couldn't she?"
"Well, yes…"
"Think about it, lush green woods, soft valleys and mountains, Weiss beer, pretzels, sauerkraut…"
"Oh that sounds so good! But still I think…"
Felice decided to play her trump card.
"Dirndls…" she said seductively.
"What did you say?"
"Dirndls! You remember how you loved to wear the one my parents gave to you in that one summer holiday?"
"You mean that red one…"
"Exactly, as we were sixteen and you have outdone me on that barn party…"
"We could get a new dirndl?" Trinity's voice sounded dreamy.
"Yes we could…" Felice tempted her.
In truth, she hated dirndls, oh how she hated them! But if it brought Trinity to her senses she would happily wear them all day long…
"And you would invite them too?"
"Yes!! And now you could talk to them, so I can phone my mother and arrange everything! Okay?"
"Okay!!" Trinity now sounded positive.
"I call you when I've booked your flights!!"
"What's that noise?" One asked irritated.
Two tilted his head and listened. Then he opened the front door and looked out on the corridor.
Mrs Wilson's shabby old dog cowered in front of her door and produced that ugly, nerve-wrecking whining sound shabby old dogs tend to make when locked out.
Two sighed.
Then a familiar scent tickled his nostrils.
He looked down with a disgusted expression.
"One!!"
"What is it?" asked his twin.
"He's done it again!" Two pointed at the pile of shit that decorated their doormat.
"That's his death sentence!" One hissed and took out his razor blade.
Two grasped his arm and looked at him quite shocked.
"Really, One. I won't allow you to torture a poor little animal!"
His twin looked at him surprised.
"You've already had your fun today! Now it's my turn!" Two smirked and whirled his own blade.
With a highly unpleasant smile that would even make up grown harsh killers cry; he approached the still whining dog.
"Come here, doggy, doggy, doggy! Come to uncle Two!"
Mrs Wilson's dog, whose tattered ears already testified several encounters with those friendly neighbours immediately stopped whining and bared his teeth.
One smirked and kicked the abused doormat across the floor.
Then he closed the door.
**
Since her mother loved to entertain the more guests the better, it wasn't difficult to get her approval to invite Neo, Trinity, Morpheus and Niobe.
She dropped the meanwhile smoking phone on her desk and got up.
That had been the easy part.
The difficulty would be to explain their new comrades to the Twins!
She left her room and entered the living room.
She met One in there, who seemed to be listening to something.
"What is that noise?" she asked as she approached him.
One tilted his head and merely smiled. Then he raised his hand.
"Listen? It stopped!" he grinned.
The door opened and Two got in.
A very smug Two.
"Where have you been?" Felice asked.
"Oh, just checking the letter box…why don't you go to the kitchen? Dinner's ready!" he purred and gave Felice a little push.
Felice shook her head and headed for the kitchen.
Two waited till she was out of sight, and then turned to his twin.
"There are dog hairs on your coat!" One teased.
Two brushed them away with his hand and grinned.
"A pity that it's fur was so shabby! Otherwise we could have made a nice cap for Felice!"
One quietly laughed.
"What have you done with it?"
Two just grinned.
"I would advise that it is either you or me who brings the rubbish down to the dumpster, the next few days. We don't want her to get sad, do we?"
Felice loved dogs, no matter how shabby they were.
A habit that the Twins just couldn't understand. They didn't like dogs.
Well, they didn't like pets at all.
"We certainly don't want to!" One smirked and followed Two.
Felice entered the kitchen.
Her eyes grew big as she noticed the food: pizza, seafood, various antipasti and wine.
She sighed.
It seemed that One had persuaded Two into ordering something to eat and like always, they had overdone completely.
The food on the table easily sufficed for seven people, not just three!
Luckily, the Twins still were on the Merovingian's salary list as the snobby little Frenchman wanted to keep them quiet, so money wasn't a problem.
At the moment at least.
One opened the first bottle of wine and gave a full glass to her.
She gulped its contents in one swig and returned it to him for refilling.
One smiled approvingly.
**
As she reached for another piece of pizza, it knocked on the door.
Two made a disapproving sound in his throat and wanted to get up in order to beat anyone up who dared to interrupt their meal.
Felice mentioned for him to stay and got up instead.
Taking her glass with her, she opened the door.
The sight of a very grumpy Mrs Wilson greeted her.
"Mrs Jumeaux-
"It's Mrs Guildenstern-Jumeaux!" Felice insisted. Why were people never able to remember that?
"Mrs Guildenstern-Jumeaux then, have you seen my dog? Poor Rufus is missing since late afternoon!"
The old woman looked quite worried.
"No, I'm sorry, haven't seen him! Did you already ask downstairs?"
Now the old woman looked sourly.
"Of course I did! But even the portiere hasn't seen him!"
She suddenly eyed the doorframe.
"Are that blood stains there?" she asked and pointed at some red sprinkles in waist height.
Felice almost dropped her glass.
Two! She could´ve guessed it!
Now what to say, what to say??
"Ehrm, yes…I cut myself when I got home today. I cut myself with…the sharp end of my door key!"
Mrs Wilson looked at her like she was completely insane.
"You've cut yourself at a door key?"
"Yes!" Felice felt a blush creep up her face.
Oh, the Twins were going to pay for that!!
"Where?"
"Excuse me?"
"Where did you cut yourself?"
"Aeehhh…my ankles! I cut my ankles!"
She sent a telepathically cry for help.
"You've cut your ankles with your door key?" the old woman asked puzzled.
Suddenly Two appeared next to her and laid a hand on her arm.
"Good evening Mrs Wilson!" he purred in that low voice that always scared the poor woman out of her skin.
She clutched her bag.
"Well, I have to go now! If you see Rufus, just knock!"
"Don't worry Mrs Wilson, we will!" Two purred.
The old woman fled.
**
"Don't!"
"But-"
"I assure you, I don't want to know what you did to that poor animal!" Felice fumed and entered the living room where One had switched on the TV.
While showing no trace of guilt, Two refilled her glass.
One opened the grappa.
"Dear lord, we already talked about that too! You are no longer in the service of the local gangster boss! You simply can't afford that kind of attention!"
She sighed and looked at the screen where the news started.
"…robbery in the shopping mall. The victim described the culprit as white-skinned, white-haired man, clothed with a long light-grey coat and a grey suit. He is approximately 2, 0 m tall and wears dark sun glasses. The police warn that the culprit is extremely dangerous! Any observations can be reported on 0028…."
One switched the TV off.
Felice just gaped at the dark screen.
"Well, that didn't go as planned…" One stated.
Two looked slightly worried at their wife.
Felice still sat there, staring into space, mouth opened.
"Felice, darling!" Two waved a hand in front of her face.
The wife in question snapped back to reality.
"That's it! pack your bags, we're leaving!!"she got up.
"Whoaa, sit down Cherie! Where do you want to go?" One said and pulled her back onto the couch.
"It's better if we aren´t here the next few weeks. Better for your sake and surely better for my nerves! I'm going to book the next possible flights to my parents!"
One looked at his twin.
"On the road again, yeah!!"
**
You recognize the cliché, don´t you?
Well, I am german and I can assure you that we don´t run around in dirndls and yodel all the time ;-)
And like Felice, I hate dirndls!!
But I´m going to make fun of that, so prepare to see Trinity in a dirndl in some of the next chapters….
PS: No dog was harmed during writing this chapter!!