SCENARIO ONE

THE THIEF, THE NEO NAZI, AND THE RUSSIAN

THE RUSSIAN

"Mr. Chekov, would you like some coffee while you wait?" Ernst asked.

"No," came the terse reply. "Sod off."

Ernst frowned and stalked off. Fucking commie. The only reason I'm being nice to you is you're taking that faggot out of here.

Klaus didn't care if the idiot was insulted or not. As far as he was concerned, Neo Nazis were the scum of the Earth. How long are these bastards going to make me wait? he wondered in annoyance as he lit his fifth cigarette since arriving—exactly on time. They have the gall to call themselves Germans? No self-respecting German would have this lack of punctuality.

Real Neo Nazis were bad enough, but this lot of wannabe German rejects were really starting to piss Klaus off. He was amazed that they had managed to pull off this operation without screwing it up at some point. Eroica must've been having a very bad day for you lot to get hold of him and keep him this long. He had expected to learn the thief had escaped when he arrived to make the exchange.

After what seemed an eternity, the office door opened and a man who had introduced himself as Otto appeared. Klaus could tell from his accent that he was American. In fact, all the Neo Nazis in this wannabe terrorist group seemed to be Americans. This idiot had very likely decided to take a "German sounding" code name. From the look of him, he probably had some ridiculously bland Yank name like Bob.

Klaus stepped through the door and stopped dead upon seeing Eroica's battered form. He turned a disapproving scowl in Hans' direction. "I thought you said he was unharmed," he said harshly, and in Russian. There was no way in hell he was going to deign to reply to these buggers' bastardized German with the real thing.

"The queer didn't suffer any permanent damage, Mr. Chekov," Hans replied smugly. "He tried to put up a fight."

That was probably a stupid thing to do, but I can't say I blame him. Klaus had to fight the urge to wipe the smirk off the other man's face with a well-aimed punch. He was, however, pleased when he saw him flinch.

"Do you have the money?" Hans asked nervously.

"As agreed." Klaus placed the case in his hand on the desk with a thump, initiating the arming sequence of the bomb within at the same time. He then held out a hand, inviting Hans to open it—and begin the countdown. He casually looked at his watch when the latches were opened. Five minutes from…now. He waited until Hans signaled to his men before turning to Eroica.

"Untie his feet," Klaus ordered. "I'm not carrying him."

"You might want to," Otto replied. "He kicks."

"I can handle a faggot who kicks," Klaus replied coldly as he crossed the room. That's the least of my problems. He saw scratches and bruises on Eroica's throat as he drew nearer and wondered which of the bastards had tried to strangle him. He turned his growing rage on the man who was nearest to the thief, glaring coldly at him. A moment later, the man was untying Eroica's feet.

Suddenly the door burst open. "Hans! The building's being surrounded by NATO!"

"What?" Hans gasped, looking at Ernst's panic-stricken face. He jumped to his feet and turned to the window, the others joining him.

About bloody time you morons noticed, Klaus thought. They've been out there for hours. No wonder nobody gives a shit about your half-assed operation. He watched in silent amusement as the men clamored to the windows.

"They must be after the queer!" Otto snarled, throwing a glace back at Eroica.

"NATO doesn't give a shit about a civilian faggot thief," Klaus replied coolly.

"He's one of their contractors!" Ernst protested in English, his American accent unmistakable. He realized his error immediately and repeated himself in German, which only served to annoy Klaus further.

"You stupid Yank, where did you hear that? The only interest NATO would have in this faggot would be to hand him over to Interpol."

"You commie bastard!" Hans snapped accusingly, spinning around to face him. "You led them to us!"

"Don't flatter yourself, you're small potatoes." Not even that, if this is how you react to a confrontation. My men will have you rounded up in an hour. "They're after me. I expect they're still upset that I took out one of their agents."

"Who did you kill that has all of NATO on your ass?" Hans snorted derisively. "Iron Klaus?"

Now why didn't I think of that? Klaus thought in amusement as he casually lit a cigarette and took a long drag on it. Then he met the man's accusing gaze and said calmly, "Yes."

The room was overtaken with an awestruck silence.

"You killed Iron Klaus?" Hans said in an almost horrified tone. It was replaced with one filled with rage. "And you led all of his men here! You fucking moron! I thought you were a pro?"

Otto decided this was his signal and reached for a gun. He realized his mistake too late when Klaus drew a weapon with a silencer on it. Considering how inept this lot of jumped up street punks were, Klaus was certain they would be more likely to hit Eroica rather than himself, and he was not about to let that happen. The last thing he wanted was a shoot out, but not one of the idiots had the sense to drop his gun, forcing Klaus to take them all out. He saw what might have been recognition flash across Hans' face a split second before he put two bullets in his heart.

He threw a quick glance in Eroica's direction before crossing to the desk and checking the bomb. Three minutes remaining. He quickly rifled through the papers on the desk and was delighted, as well as amazed, to see the information on a Neo Nazi demonstration that NATO had been trying to get specifics on for weeks. What do you know? The morons actually managed to get something valuable. He stuck the papers into his inside pocket before going on to reload his gun, being fully aware that he still had to get Eroica and himself to the lift. He would have to stay in the character of Chekov until they reached safety, which meant continuing in Russian.

He went back to the thief, removing the gag from his mouth. "I don't expect you'll be yelling for help," he said as he pulled Eroica to his feet. It will make breathing a lot easier, too.

Eroica moved much slower than usual, which was to be expected considering the Neo Nazi bastards had beaten the shit out of him. Klaus saw him wince, and had to admit to being impressed when the thief made no complaint. Obviously, he still hadn't figured out who he was yet. Otherwise, he would have been leaning against him and begging to be carried.

"Come on," Klaus said as he took Eroica by the arm. His observation was verified when the thief spoke to him in German rather than English.

"Look, whoever you are," Eroica said quietly, "I'm not going to be able to move very fast."

"Why?" Klaus did not even realize that he tighten his grip slightly in response to this until he'd done it.

"At the risk of sounding crude, they kicked me in the nuts. Several times. They thought it was funny."

Klaus's mouth dropped open. Then his eyes narrowed in anger. Goddamn bloody bastards. It's bad enough you beat up someone who can't defend themselves. "Then I'm glad I killed them," he said truthfully. I only wish I could do it again.

He led Eroica from the room and out into a corridor, making certain to close the door behind them. Then he made straight for the lifts. He did not acknowledge anyone, keeping one hand on the thief's arm, and the other in his pocket with his gun.

He only paused long enough to wait for the lift before continuing. Just as they were entering the lift, he heard the bomb go off, a small smile coming to his face. Perfect timing.

"Someone stop that fucking Russian!" a voice called from near the office as fire alarms started to sound all over the building.

Klaus gave Eroica a shove into the corner, putting him out of harms way. He pulled his gun and fired at anyone who even looked their way until the doors fully closed. Then he pulled out a radio unit. "Target acquired," he said curtly.

"Are you in position, sir?" Agent A replied.

"Yes. There are no other civilians in the building. Begin the operation."

Klaus saw Eroica sag further into the corner into which he had unceremoniously thrust him. He was about to ask if he were all right when A said, "We're ready, sir."

What they were ready for was to override all the lifts in the building and drop them to the basement parking level. Fast.

"Proceed," Klaus ordered. Then to Eroica, he said, "Hang on. This is going to be a fast trip."

Klaus braced himself in the corner as the lift plummeted to the basement parking garage level before jolting to a halt. He looked over at Eroica, who was now in a crumpled heap on the floor. He appeared shaken but otherwise unharmed.

The doors opened and Klaus flipped a switch that would lock the doors open. Then he went out to all the other lifts, doing the same, and cutting off this escape route. He was somewhat surprised to find them all unoccupied. The explosion had been a much better diversion than he could have hoped for.

"Lockdown completed," Klaus announced. "Concentrate on the stairwells."

"Yes, sir," A replied.

With all the lifts seen to, Klaus returned to the battered Eroica, who was still huddled in the corner. He looked completely exhausted. Without a word, Klaus knelt down and started to untie his hands.

"Are you going to kill me?" Eroica asked bitterly. "Say I was trying to escape?"

Klaus gave the thief an amused look before replying in English, "You idiot, haven't you figured out who I am yet?"

Eroica started and pulled off the blindfold, turning to look at him. Klaus wondered if the lift had a camera so he could get a print of the expression on the thief's face. He had never seen him look so shocked.

As Klaus pulled his long dark hair out from under a hat, he wondered what was going through Eroica's mind. His eyes were enormous.

"Major…" Eroica breathed finally. "You're not…" He put a hand to his head. "I don't…"

Klaus sat down, leaning back against the wall and lighting a cigarette. He then offered one to the visibly shaken Eroica. "Once my men have rounded up those animals, I'll have you taken to a hospital." I hope they all try to run so my men can shoot them down for what they did to you.

Eroica nodded absently. Then he seemed to realize that Klaus was in no hurry to leave. "You came after me," he said at last. "You negotiated my selling price and paid it."

"The money was counterfeit." As soon as he said it, Klaus wished he hadn't sounded so matter of fact.

"So, you wouldn't pay good money for me, is that it?" Dorian said bitterly.

"No. I knew I'd be blowing up the case and the office I'd left it in," Klaus replied succinctly. That sounded a little better.

"Destroying the fact that you got the information you were after."

Shit. "I wasn't after any information, although that's what NATO thinks I'm doing here. The fact that those idiots actually had any was a bonus."

Dorian blinked. "You weren't after information?"

"No."

"You were after me? Specifically?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Klaus sat thoughtfully a moment, wondering if he dared tell the thief the truth. "Because life would be far less interesting without you in it."

Dorian was obviously taken aback by this reply. "Is that the only reason?"

Klaus gave him a steady look. "For the time being."

When Eroica leaned his head against his shoulder, as he knew he would, he concentrated on not reacting in a negative way. In fact, he concentrated on not reacting at all.

"Major," Eroica said quietly, "despite all the outlandish things I say and do, I'd never do anything to jeopardize your career."

Klaus felt his heart miss a beat. He had hoped that this were the case, but never trusted himself to accept it. Never trusted the thief to even realize it, let alone be true to his word. Then Eroica disappeared at the hands of the Neo Nazis and he found himself scouring the intelligence network to find him for no other reason than because he wanted to. Needed to.

Klaus turned slightly, put a hand beneath Dorian's chin and lifted his bruised face in order to look into his eyes. "Never?" I think you really mean that.

"Of course not. I love you."

A pause.

"Oh, hell."

So saying, Klaus kissed the stunned Dorian very gently on the mouth.

— END SCENARIO ONE –