Otto Staub's Story

Otto leaned forward appreciatively as Alice poured his drink. Holding it up to his lips, he regarded her over the rim of the glass. “Prost,” he muttered before tilting his head back and swallowing the amber liquid, his eyes never leaving hers. As he held the glass out to her for a refill, he smiled, moving his fingertips lightly over Alice’s wrist. “Forgive me for asking, but they say that if a man has enough money, he can get anything he wants. Do you find this to be a true statement?”

Uli, meanwhile, could not seem to take his eyes from Zobra. As she lifted her eyes to look at him, he stood completely rigid for a moment. His cheeks slowly began to grow pink and he shoved his hands in his pockets, shuffling his feet slightly before his lips curled into a small shy smile.

“I think you know what I have in mind,” he said softly, his fingers trailing up Alice’s arm. “I have plenty of money, but other than the whiskey, I can think of only one more thing I desire at the moment.” He nodded as Alice moved off to attend to another customer and leaned back in his chair. “Damn,” he muttered. Turning to the guards that surrounded him, he sighed. “I’m pretty sure I want a piece of that,” he grinned, staring at Alice’s behind. Three of the guards chuckled and muttered their agreement. The fourth wouldn’t take his eyes off of Zobra.

Otto nudged him, causing him to jump. “What’s gotten into you, Uli?” He followed the guard’s eyes again and groaned. “Whatever you spend your money on is your business. You wanna buy a piece of her, go buy a piece of her.”

Uli stood glancing back and forth between Otto and Zobra for a moment before taking a step closer to her. And then another. When he was at her table, he took his hat off and twisted it between nervous fingers. “My name… Uli…” he started, glancing back to see Otto and the other guards laughing at him. His cheeks reddened, but he looked back at her. “I like to buy you drink now.” Despite the harsh accent, his voice was actually really low and soft.

Otto chuckled at Alice. “Oh, you’ll make me your King, alright,” he nodded, holding out his empty glass for her to refill when she came back from tending to other patrons. “Name your price, Princess...” His hand slipped down over her hip and he grinned at her. “Negotiate with me.”

“Ah, Uli. No sign of her, I take it? I’m not surprised. The Schlampe is careful, but she’ll slip up at some point.”

While Uli’s voice was quiet and soft-spoken, the voice of Otto Staub pierced the bar with such command that one couldn’t help but look to the speaker once the voice was heard. With his fedora cocked rakishly on his head and his confident air, even Uli had to admit that his employer was a very attractive man. Despite all of his attraction, however, he was not as gifted as the four men around him at spotting details. Beside him, Frank, another mountain of a man just a bit smaller than Uli glanced over to Sergei, one of the other men. Sergei’s eyes were locked on the empty pint glasses at the table in front of Uli… but more specifically, at the lemon water that sat across from him. As if he had company. Both of the men lifted their eyes to Uli only to find that he avoided their gaze.

“Come, Uli. We’re all here. Mau Mau!”

Otto turned and the group turned with him, but Frank and Sergei looked back at Uli, brows furrowed. Something wasn’t right, and they didn’t like it. They didn’t like it one bit. Frank’s hand slipped into the jacket of his suit and he quirked an eyebrow at Uli, but Uli didn’t even look at him. Rather, his eyes kept straying toward the bathroom.

Elbowing Sergei, Frank tilted his head toward the bathroom, and both men followed an oblivious Otto across the room to his favorite table while keeping an eye on the bathroom door.

The pleasure that crossed Otto’s face at her remarks was simple and easy to read. “A lovely woman such as yourself would surely understand that there are diamonds in the rough. Sometimes it is worth it to venture into the shadier territories in search of interesting companionship.” He received the glass of wine from the bartender and took a sip before wrinkling his nose. “I admire your taste in wine, madam, however whiskey is more my flavor. I can see my attempt to impress you has done nothing for me.” Leaning back in the chair, he set the glass of wine on the counter before turning to the bartender. “Whiskey,” he ordered. “Neat.” And, because he’d heard from someone that politeness impressed the ladies, he added: “Please.”

Glancing back to the woman, he spread his hands in a small shrug. “You caught me,” he admitted. “I am indeed searching for something.” Reaching into the breast pocket of his suit coat, he pulled forth two decks of cards. “The boys and I would dearly love it if you would join us in a game of Mau Mau.”

1d39

“I don’t want any more of your stupid excuses!”

The man screaming into his phone pushed his way into Gambits, immediately followed by four big burly bodyguards. All were dressed in suits and ties, hats squarely on their heads. If a person had seen enough television, they’d have the idea that these men were armed, and the way their hands were on the lapels of their jackets, their eyes scanning the room suspiciously, it was a pretty safe bet.

“You lost her… You need to find her. Period. End of story…. No, no, no, don’t give me any of that. I know how fuckers like you think. You think you can get more money out of me? Bullshit! Find her. Get her. End. Of. Story.” He moved over toward the counter, the muscle following him. “Must I remind you of Murphy? Yeah… That’s what I thought. I want her back. She’s been gone how long? Fix it! No excuses.”

He snapped the phone shut, finally looking up at the other occupants of the bar. As his eyes fell on Phinx, his lips curled into a slow grin. “Well, lookee here, boys…” His eyes slid over the Invictus guard and he sighed. “On second thought, I don’t feel like schmoozin’ some tramp tonight. Let’s play cards.” Moving to a table, Otto was already pulling a pack from his pocket.

Hearing the words from the snowman, Otto looked up from shuffling a deck of cards. Glancing around the room, he frowned. So many soldiers. So many weapons. So much that could go wrong. But one thing disturbed him more than anything. “It’s a freaking sausage fest in here.” His eyes moved over to Phinx again. “Ey, sweetheart, come join us. Play some cards. I’ll drown you in whatever alcoholic concoction you want.” Maybe he could negotiate a rendezvous up in his room later. “Why don’t you call some of yer female friends… good chances for you tonight…” He gestured to all the men in the room.

“Sleeze?” he asked Phinx with a raised eyebrow. “My dear, I fear you have the wrong impression of me. I am not sleezy. Sit, join us. I will show you just how unsleezy I can be…” But despite the words delivered in that honeyed tone, his eyes moved over the other female in the room appreciatively before returning to her. “So, you’re with the Invictus?”

Otto’s brow raised as he studied Phinx, leaning in a bit closer. He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes slightly before slowly grinning. Turning to one of his guards, he signaled that he wanted a drink, and the man wandered off to the bar. Feigning nonchalance, he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “Last I knew, that little pipsqueak was in charge… that young long-haired shlubb…” He reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and withdrew a cigar. “It’s good to see that your organization has come to its senses. Besides, I like a woman with power.”

As the guard returned with his drink, Otto nodded his thanks before taking a sip of the whiskey, regarding Phinx. Social life, hm? He couldn’t help but wonder how much of it had to do with Ilse. Glancing to September, he grinned slightly as he shuffled the cards once more. “And what is the kid doing with himself these days? He still with that German woman?”

“Ilse, yes,” he nodded, taking another sip of his whiskey before setting it in front of himself and lighting the cigar. “I ask because I knew her once upon a time.” He tilted his head and grinned at Phinx. “And I’ll just have to remember not to accompany you to a forest anytime soon.” His eyes moved down her body slowly, appreciatively, before returning to her eyes. “So, you have no time to date… but surely, you have interest in the… finer… things in life?”

Otto grinned and gestured for someone to bring Phinx another drink, whether she had plenty left in hers or not. “If you’re interested in men, I can offer to provide you with an evening or two of stress-relief… leading an organization like the Invictus has to be pretty taxing sometimes, am I right? A woman like you is entitled to some stress-relief…” He grinned at her meaningfully. “I won’t be offended if you don’t call afterwards. I’m not expecting an engagement ring or anything… just a few hours of uninhibited fun.”

Realizing that he might be laying it on too thick, Otto leaned back. “Didn’t those two have a kid? What was it? A boy? A girl? How old would it be now? About, what? Two?” His eyes slid over to Septa’s for a moment, a silent moment passing between them.