Lifesaver [Engl.]

33. Twice

Rango:

"Crunchy, creamy, cookie, candy, cupcake.

Okay, everybody, let's take it from the top.

The stage is set, the day moist with apprehension. Alone in the room with the enemy, the hero is ready to disclose a secret."

"Why so surprised?" the turtle asked. "Is it a big surprise to you that I am still alive?"
Rango stood next to the table in shock.
That resemblance, he thought. The same face, the same figure, the same smile...
Immediately the chameleon shook its head and internally slapped itself.
Pull yourself together! He's not who he seems to be.
"You seem a little confused to me, Mr. Rango," the turtle continued. "Even more confused than the first time we met."
Rango narrowed his eyes. "I don't think we've seen each other before."
"Are you sure?" the mayor asked with a dark grin.
"Oh yes, I'm quite sure of that, John, or should I say... Frank?"
The turtle's grin vanished. There was a dead silence.
"Well, well," the turtle muttered. "You found it out."
Rango crossed his arms. "So you are Mayor John's twin brother."
John's brother let out a scornful snort. "How did you guess?"
"When I saw the oil paintings in the hallway in the town hall, I first thought it was just the mayor. But in truth they are two different people. The picture with the rifle in the hands was the mayor, your brother. And the picture with the bow and arrow. That was you."
"I've never thought you would find out so quickly. You really aren't stupid."
With these words he put his hands on the back of the wheelchair. "Well, if you already know, then I don't need to play the comedy any longer."
He struggled to get out of his wheelchair. Then he took out a walking stick and walked slowly towards Rango.
Rango automatically took a few steps back. Although he knew it wasn't the mayor, the sight of the turtle standing on two legs was very strange.
"Actually, I was hoping to fool you a bit longer," Frank muttered to himself. "But I was wrong about you."
"I'm sorry to have spoiled the anticipation for you," Rango said sarcastically. "But I have to admit, you played your part very well."
"Well, that's the advantage of having someone who looks just like you."
Rango wrinkled his nose. "And I thought there was only one person of John's kind."
John's brother laughed. "You may be right about that. We look alike, but we are very different in character. You will have noticed this when you saw our two paintings hanging in the hallway of the town hall. He preferred to hunt with a rifle, while I preferred to hunt down my prey the old-fashioned way, with a bow and arrow."
He passed Rango and stood behind the table.
"Back then I was faster with a bow and arrow than with a shooting iron. But John, like me, had the pure hunting fever. We were barely twenty years old when we had our own hunting ground in northern California. Much has changed over the years. Technical progress was what had always fascinated my brother. I didn't care at all. As long as I could hunt in my area, the rest of the world didn't care me at all. Until my brother got the idea of founding his own city. I thought he was crazy, but he never let it stop him. So he left the hunting business and moved to Southern California. First, he founded a simple hermit town in the desert, where was water, thank God. But it wasn't enough for him just to have a measly city. Oh no. Our family has always deserved better. He wanted to go with the progress and if he had to walk over corpses for it."
"How do you know all this?" Rango asked.
"He wrote to me often about his progress. And I don't know if he was just trying to annoy me. Anyway, I was very upset when I heard of his death."
There was a pause. Rango had pointed his revolver at the turtle again and looked at him defiantly.
"That's exactly why I'm here. So where is he?"
"Who?" the turtle asked hypocritically.
"You know very well who I'm talking about."
"I don't know about whom."
Rango's hand clenched on the pistol grip.
"Where's Jake?"
"Oh, he. Why do you want to know that?"
Rango's eyes narrowed. "Where's Jake?" He repeated in a firm voice.
Frank giggled darkly. "You know, this is the first time that someone has asked me about a rattlesnake..."
"WHERE IS HE !?" Rango shouted, banging his fist on the table. "Or do I have to shoot you first; so that you tell me in your last breath?!"
But John's brother didn't twist a muscle. Only his slight grin graced his face, which made Rango angry.
"Well, your friend has been just as smart," Frank continued calmly. He reached into his pocket and held up the photo that Jake had thrown on the floor.
Rango studied the photo carefully. It was very old and yellowed, but the image was still easy to see. A shiver ran down his spine when he saw Mayor John and his twin brother Frank, standing proudly on a hill, holding their hunting weapons dignified, like state heroes. Mayor John with his rifle and Frank with his bow and arrow. Several conifers could be seen in the background and behind them the massive shape of a mountain.
Rango quickly released himself from his stupor and came back to the reason for his "visit". He tried very hard not to lose the control.
"Fine. Jake knows it, too. But where is he?"
John's brother stroked his chin. "Do you want to see him dead or alive?"
Rango was breathing hard. This turtle's mock serenity drove him mad.
This turtle was just as sick as his brother.
"I'll repeat my question for the last time: Where is Jake?!"
Frank grinned. "If you really want to see him. ... Mr. Madog."
Rango tried to turn around, but Madog was faster. In a flash the mongoose grabbed his wrists and slapped Rango's hand on the table and his revolver fell to the floor. Rango struggled, but Madog had a very firm grip. In vain, Rango tried to free himself from his grip. He writhed like crazy. But Madog used his resistance. He turned the chameleon over and pressed its upper body onto the table, while he also pressed Rango's hand behind his back. When Rango tried to kick him, he felt hard metal on his stomach.
"I told you we'd see again, Sheriff," Madog breathed in his ear and pressed his revolver tighter on his stomach.
He giggled darkly.
"Mr. Madog," Frank said. "Would you be so kind and take him to his friend, please? And take the opportunity to teach him a few more manners on the way."
Madog grinned. "With pleasure I will."
Rango gritted his teeth as Madog pressed his revolver against his ribs, almost brutally. Then he dragged him outside.
"Don't be so rude!" Rango complained. "I thought Asians would be more sensitive. Have you ever done yoga?"
"I have an aversion to reptiles," Madog replied gloomily. "Especially to snakes."
Without to answer Rango's arguments, the mongoose dragged him to a shed a few meters from the farmer's house away, which had previously been used as a grain store for the harvest. He pushed the door open and dragged Rango in with a stranglehold. Rango caught his breath.
In the barn, Jake had sprawled on the floor. Tied with several ropes. The other eight mongooses stood around him and watched him so that he couldn't run away.
Rango tore himself away from Madog and ran over to Jake. "Jake, are you okay?"
Jake was still a little dazed, but he recognized Rango immediately.
"What are you doing here?" He asked in a weak voice.
"Well, what do you think? Saving you."
"You can forget that," Madog scoffed, grabbing Rango by the collar.
"Hey! Let go of me!" Rango scolded.
But Madog ignored his protests and dragged him away from Jake.
Rango struggled like a mad man. He was so angry. When he tried to tear himself away from Madog, the mongoose slapped him on the face. Then he held his revolver directly in front of Rango's face. "If I were you, I would behave or you can eat lead."
Reluctantly, Rango gave up the resistance. Madog grinned triumphantly and pressed Rango with his back against a wooden beam. Another mongoose pulled his hands back and tied them together.
Rango gave Madog a venomous look as he let himself be tied to the wooden beam.
"As I can see we are all gathered here at last," he heard John's brother's voice, who had come into the shed, leaning on his walking stick. "Then we can finally begin the punishment."
"What punishment?" Rango asked angrily, pulling at his bonds.
The turtle raised his hand demonstratively. "Well, Mr. Rango. When I heard of my brother's death, of course, I came here straight away. Bill told me everything."
Rango snorted contemptuously. That Bill. He can never keep his mouth shut.
"And how life goes, and I think you will surely know that, I felt, as they say, certain feelings of revenge. And the first one who has to feel the vengeance should go to the one who has my brother on his conscience first."
He pointed to Jake, who was slowly regaining his mind. When the killer heard the last sentence, he hissed menacingly.
"But I knew that I would never stand a chance against Jake on my own," Frank continued. "Not even Bill, that coward, wanted to help me. Well, I thought, I'll get experts then. Experts, who know how to overpower a snake. And who better could that do than just one species?"
He threw a demonstrative wink at Madog.
"Mongooses was the answer. They are known worldwide for their reputation as snake killers. But I'm sure you know that best, right?"
"And what if you had killed Jake?" Rango asked. "There's something else you're up to do, aren't you?"
"I see, you are no fool," John's brother said approvingly. "Yes, that's right. If I had killed Jake, the next step would certainly have taken place."
"And which would that be?"
"To kill you."
Rango turned pale.
"After all, it was thanks to you that you thwarted my brother's plans. But in spite of everything, my brother had been far too petty to get rid of you immediately. Instead, he had been so foolish and arranged an old killer who didn't even kill you, but only chased you out of town with an unstable humiliation."
Jake hissed menacingly. He did not want to accept such an insult.
"You're a cowardly dog yourself if you don't dare to kill me alone."
"Shut up!" Madog yelled at him and gave Jake a hard lash.
Rango bit his lower lip. He didn't like that somebody hurt Jake.
Frank had deliberately ignored this accusation. "Don't worry," he said. "You'll be early enough."
"And what would you have done after that?" Rango asked further.
"If you and Jake had both been dead, nothing would have stood in the way of my plan."
Rango looked at him. He suspected it was a bad plan.
"Because then nothing would have stood in the way of my plan to carry out my brother's will. I will make the town, what my brother originally intended it to be. To turn Dirt into a pile of rubble."
Rango was startled. This guy wanted to destroy his city?
"And how are you going to compete against an entire city on your own?" Jake asked mockingly. "With your little band of cutthroats, you only make small children cry."
"Shut up!" Madog shouted at him. "Or I'll shut your mouth!"
Frank cleared his throat. "You may be right about that. But I'd thought of that for a long time. A secret weapon. And even against these normal living beings will not be able to withstand. Mr. Madog? Show him."
The angry mongoose nodded and walked briskly to some boxes. One box was open. He reached in with his hand and took out something long. Rango and Jake got a shock when they saw what he was holding.
A stick of dynamite.
The mongoose grinned at their shocked faces.
"Yeah? Do you want to play with it?"
He threw the dynamite in the air. Both went pale when it landed on the floor. If they were to throw it at houses, nobody would have a chance.
"Well, is that nothing?" Frank asked and giggled. "Name me a creature that can protect itself from such an explosive charge. It will razor the city faster until you can say "dynamite"."
"Look here, mister," Madog interrupted. "But if you want to do this today, we should finally finish this."
He nodded at Jake.
Frank nodded. "Of course. Well. It's time to say goodbye."
"And which of them should we kill first?" Madog asked and held a knife in front of Rango's face threateningly.
"With him," Frank said and pointed at Jake. "He is the one who killed my brother. You can take care of him later."
"As you wish." Reluctantly, Madog took his knife away from Rango and walked over to Jake.
The turtle smiled coldly. "He should see what will happen to him later."
Rango didn't understand. "And what exactly are you going to do with us? I guess you don't want to just give us the headshot."
"Quite right." Frank nodded. "Basically, I have to thank you, Mr. Rango. Thanks to you, a new punishment came to my mind. As I said, I'm more of a friend of the old method. Not with a simple headshot. That is too easy and too pain-free. This would be a too gracious death that my brother wanted to carry out. He was always a bit forgiving."
Rango snorted contemptuously. If he called that indulgent.
"Although," Frank added. "Drowning someone like you in a safe, I think, was an original idea." He giggled. "No, if I want to get rid of someone, I don't like to let them die a slow, agonizing death. Scaring Jake with the ghost of my brother might have been a little too harmless after all."
Rango narrowed his eyes. "Shall I tell you something? You are no better than your brother."
"I'll take that as a compliment," the turtle said and turned away.
"But now we're finally coming to you."
His gaze wandered to Jake, who suspected that a very terrible punishment had been thought up for him. But his premonition was exceeded by what followed.
Madog had taken out his knife again and was gently stroking the sharp knife blade. He kept glancing at Jake.
"Well then", Frank began with his judgment. "Since you have unfortunately murdered my brother, you will pay a high price for it. But you only pay for your life at the end. Before that you should feel very strong pain."
Jake hissed menacingly. He didn't want to show that he was scared. "And what exactly are you planning to do? Wasn't that pain enough a few days ago?"
"Nothing is enough to atone for my brother's murder. Mr. Madog. Explain what I mean."
Madog pulled away from the wall. "Fine. Then listen carefully to me now. In India, we came up with a very nice torture. Killing a cobra became a bit boring over time. So we've got the idea to improvise something and make everyday life a little more varied."
In terms of content, everything sounded very harmless, but Madog's voice was utter mischief.
"First we thought about what for a venomous snake is the most important. Except head and heart. So we figured out how a snake would behave when it no longer has a tongue or venom glands."
Rango felt sick. Did Madog mean that seriously?
"When we had removed the tongue and the poison glands, we slowly cut out the hearts of our victims. Sometimes we even peeled their skin alive, which is what humans like to do with snakes in Thailand. Funny, isn't it?"
"Are you crazy?" Rango shouted. "You can't do that to us! It's against every animal protection act!"
"When I'm done with your 'friend'," Madog growled darkly. "Then it's your turn."
Rango turned pale with shock.
"Then we'll throw you both to the birds to eat. But enough talk now."
He gave a sign to three of his men and they understood immediately. They grabbed metal bars and used them to walk towards Jake. Jake tried to run away. But the ropes held him tightly to the ground. He had no chance when the mongoose opened his mouth with their metal rods and pushed the iron rods between them with all their might so that he could no longer close his mouth.
Jake struggled, but Madog, who was standing next to him, held out the knife threateningly.
"I can cut your throat if you prefer."
Before Jake knew it, two of the mongooses had grabbed his long black tongue and were pulling hard on it so that it hung almost completely outside.
Rango tugged at his handcuffs. "Leave him alone! I was the one who ruined everything for your brother! It is only because of me that he owes it that he is dead now!"
John's brother smiled mockingly. "Nice that you want to enlighten us. But the fact remains. Jake killed my brother and he will pay for it accordingly."
"If your brother hadn't played such a game, it would never have come to that."
"Save your arguments for something else."
He gestured to Madog. Grinning, Madog ran his finger over the blade of his knife again. "My favorite work. So far I've only tried out this on cobras."
Jake panicked and pulled like mad on the ropes. Although he tried to get his tongue back inside his mouth. But his efforts were in vain. The mongoose knew exactly where to tackle and held his tongue without mercy. Jake couldn't do anything.
Madog left Jake's fight completely cold. Without blinking an eye, he leaned forward and held the knife to the back of Jake's tongue.
"Stop it!" Rango yelled, pulling on the rope that had tied him.
Madog laughed. "The pain will be short, but the agony will be longer."
He grabbed Jake's tongue, which was still being held by the other two mongooses, and pressed the knife on it.
"NO!" Rango shouted. "Hands off from my brother!"