Far From Wonderland

Chapter 3: Ein Problem Mit Deutsch

The next day, the gang woke up and got ready, then we set off to meet with a minor gang downtown. Blue and I tried to make minimal eye contact; the thought causing me to sigh mentally. I hate myself. The minor gang had proposed an alliance offer, and of course, I was already about to decline it. But I figured I wanted to play around with their thoughts. What fun would it be if we couldn’t see the wannabes be...wannabes, am I right?

    We got to the Pennesy Café; a lovely little place which had been abandoned since I was ten. That was the turf of the gang; Apollo Knights. I could’ve sworn someone had used the name before in this city, but I couldn’t place my finger on it. We get out of our cars and go up to the door. Yes, it is broad daylight. No, no one cared. The cops knew not to bother us, citizens feared us, and other gangs admired us. What worry were we to have? I knocked on the door in the pattern specified by their leader; a three-two pattern, and we were let in.

    The inside looked way better than it did on the outside. Just like the Macy’s warehouse. 

    The interior of the building was covered in black linoleum tiles and purple velvet. There were two stripper poles with some lovely young girls flaunting what they have, guys around them hollering and throwing bills. As we walked I slapped Blue in the back of the head and told him to stop gawking. I swore in my head afterwards, still remembering last night. Why do I care? He’s a gang banger for Christ’s sake!

    We made it to the back of the café, and there sat a throne of gold (probably plated) and a man. His hair was short and pitch black, with silver-blue eyes and a pure white smile. Handsome, I’ll give him that, but he looked too fake. He had a harem of girls who were barely dressed surrounding the throne, feeling all over him; lovely. The man saw me, and deprived his harem of his attention for the time being. The women huffed and walked into another room before he stood up. 

“Welcome,” he boasted, “to the Apollo Knights’ HQ!” The man stood up and walked away from the scarcely dressed women and made his way to me. He held out his hand and caressed my jawline. I swore in my head again, telling myself if he touched me again I would deck him in the face. “Ah, was für eine schöne Frau; what a beautiful woman.” He dropped his hand and smiled. I stared at him, keeping a poker face. “Ich bin nicht hier, um Komplimente zu haben. I’m not here to have compliments.” I looked at him, almost emotionless. “ You requested a gang alliance, am I correct?”

    The leader looked at me, probably stunned by knowledge of German. That tends to amaze, especially with my strong French characteristics. Thank you, Alice. “Yes, yes. Where are my manners? My name is Cristian Bludwick, leader of Apollo Knights. Yes, I have requested an alliance between us and Wonderland.” His accent was strongly, and distinctly, German. I walk up to him, and stare him in the eyes. My white hair fell slightly in front of my deep blue eyes. “Give me one reason why I should be your ally, and why I shouldn’t put a forty-five in your right temple.” I moved my hand near the pistol at my waist. Intimidation tactics I learned from my father when I was very little. Thank you, Dad.

    Cristian looked at my hand, then at me. His face’s smile suddenly faded at the sudden realization, then appeared again shaky. It was probably caused by nerves of potentially being shot. “Now, let’s not be hasty. Look, we’re a new gang on the streets, and we have something you would want.” He turns, and gestures for us to follow. We do, only to be lead to yet another room; the doorway lined in black and purple velvet. He opened the door, and as far as we could see were weapons, money, drugs, and other more, ahem, “perverted” items. The room itself was brick, and the lights were made of a purple or violet LED system. We soon noticed why, as further back we saw a few large marijuana plants growing in the invigorating light. Well, that seemed to be the only valuable thing in here, and that was just because we like to get high.

    My group looked in awe at the sight, and I just laughed. I’d seen this tactic before in new and upcoming gangs. Show them what you got to make themselves look more rich or powerful. “Hast du vergessen, wer mein vater war?; Have you forgotten who my father was? I’m the daughter to a rich man, and I inherited everything under his name. This was fun, but if you want to be an alliance of mine you’d better have more than cash and a few toys.” I motioned my gang, and we started to leave. Their faces still lit up with bewilderment as we headed towards the door.

    “Wait,” he chased. “I have one thing to say to you.” I turned around to see a Smith & Wesson pointed at my frontal lobe. It’s cold glint turned hazy by the LED lights shining into my eyes. “Sagen sie gute nacht kleines Häschen. Say goodnight little bunny.” Before he could even pull the trigger, I had my gun out, and the trigger pulled. The bullet flew, seemingly almost in slow motion as I traced it’s path to the center of his forehead.  I was learned many years ago the trait of marksmanship, and could quickdraw like I was born in the West. He stood for a split second, watching the red start to stream, then fell with a thud onto the linoleum flooring. His face still looking bewildered and in shock as the pool of red turned black in the lighting. When the stream had drawn thinner, his eyes glazed over, and his breathing slowed, then stopped. We watched the scene, Chesh and Hatter looking mortified, then took our leave from the café.

    We got into our respective cars, and drove to our own respective places. I was a little glad Blue wasn’t going to my place again. Even after killing a man, I find it humorous I was still worried about a drunken hookup. Hatter and I went back to our old, worn apartment. Hatter shuffled in his seat a little uneasily, before he spoke to me. “Do you feel any remorse for killing?” Hatter looked at me. We sat in the car, and I stared at the steering wheel. I gripped it tight, then released. The car remained silent for a few minutes before I sighed, closed my eyes, then opened them slowly and continued to look at the steering wheel.

    “Ich bereue nur, wenn ich Unschuld habe.”

    “I only regret when I have innocence.”

    Truth be told, I have no idea why my smart self said that comment. “I only regret when I have innocence.” I didn’t realize the real meaning of that phrase until long after it had been said. Little did I know then my whole world would be changed.

    Hatter and I made our way back to my apartment, tired and a little shell shocked from the meeting with the now-murdered Apollo Knights. I opened the door and fell through it, stumbling over my tired feet to reach, at the very least, a loveseat. Hatter followed closely in suit, falling on the couch and almost instantly passing out. 

    I sighed as I sat down on the loveseat across from him. His curly red hair framed his sleeping, snoring face as he laid there on the couch. I giggled quietly, finding his distinctly Irish almost comically adorable. It didn’t take long after my realization for my eyesight to blur, and my head to hit the pillows on the loveseat.