BRO' (Guest post Hanrahan by Guest writer, Big B)
Okay, guys, I gave it my best. Big B
My brother lives in a house you can only reach by goat cart, or so it seems. Jesus fucking Christ, I hate Switzerland. I hate everything about Switzerland. I hate their fucking cheese, I hate their fucking oom pah pah music, I hate that fucking Heidi, I hate their fucking mountains and most of all I hate the fact they were chicken shit so-called neutrals during World War II which really meant all the fucking Nazis had a place to store their plunder from the millions of people they murdered. Fuck them!
By the time I walk from the road to the door of his house, every muscle in my body aches from the climb. Fucking Swiss! Do they know how to level a goddamn path? Holding my hand to my heart to keep it from jumping out of my chest, I lean a shoulder into his doorbell. Brunhilda of the SS opens the door and says something in Kraut. I glare at the wide, sturdy looking lass and say,
"I don't spriken ze dutch, lady. Sean's my brother. Move."
She stands there like the Matterhorn. Huge, ugly and immobile. Fine. She has no clue who she's fucking with. "Bob?" My broher's voice. "I can't believe it! Bob!" He says something to Brunhilda and she gives way as my brother throws himself into my arms, almost knocking me over. I hug him tightly and then he kisses my cheek. I grab his handsome face in both hands to look hard at him. He looks wonderful. He got all the looks in the family, not that it caused him anything but trouble.
"How ya doing, kid?"
"I'm wonderful, seeing you!"
"What's going on?" I hear the limey pimp. He sprawls in the doorway as if to block it, staring at the two of us. Seanny pulls out of my embrace and says,
"Look Wren! Bob! He's come to visit!"
"That would explain the assassination of that South African rabble rouser in Lucerne this week," the limey says with a roll of his eyes. I just want to deck the little fucker, but I'm here to make nice with my brother. Sean ignores him. He is one hot piece of ass, I'll give Wren that. I wouldn't mind slamming him into a wall. Guess my bro' wouldn't appreciate that, however. I'm shown in and the house is incredible on the inside, something Teri would love. All glass and modern and monotone and sleek. VIews of an alpine lake on one side, a mountain on the other. Brunhilda, who just happens to be named Hilde, of course, tries to take my bag to a guest room, but I don't give it up. Sean politely excuses her. He gets it. Stuff in my bag I trust to no one.
"How long do you plan to stay, Robert?" the pimp asks. How subtle.
"As long as he wants," Seanny snaps at him. I smile. Blood-thick-water as they say.
"Nice of you to warn us. Are you on the lam? Should we be expecting the constabulary?"
"Look, you limey fucking pimp whoremongering little prick, don't try to pull the ace on me when we all fucking know how you've spent your fucking life, now don't we?"
"Stop!" Sean held a hand out towards each of us. "Bob, this is our home. You are welcome here anytime. But Wren is my partner and I won't listen to that. Wren, Bob is my brother and he's always welcome in my home. Are we clear on the concept?"
The limey and I share a guarded look. The one thing we have in common, we both love him. Fine, peace. Wren nods. I unpack my stuff in a huge guest suite with an incredible view of the water. Extortion pays well. Or whatever the hell they did to get this money. I join them downstairs. We have a drink in a glassy white room hooked to a conservatory full of plants so that even in the hard winters of this region, they have flowers. Seated on a wicker chaise in that room is a blond boy who reminds me of a younger version of the kid Kinney fucks. He's sketching something on a white pad, and two Siamese cats are curled beside him. I look at my brother. "Is that...?"
He nods. Wren goes into the conservatory and kisses the kid on top of his head, whispers something to him and he goes upstairs, trailed by the cats, pausing long enough to give me a friendly smile and a wave. I return it. He's beautiful and very calm. "His father was a monster, his mother a martyr in her own way," Sean says and then glances at me. I say nothing. I know about his father. I killed him. Happiest day of my life except for the fact I was almost killed myself. "He's mildly retarded, I guess you could say he's perpetually childlike. We don't mind that. We love him just as he is."
"Seanny, are you two..."
He narrows those brown eyes at me in anger. "Don't even complete that thought, Robert. It's too disgusting. He's our son."
"According to what law?"
"We've managed to make it official enough."
"Why?"
"He's like a sweet little kitten, always happy, always playful, always loving. Just what we need to bring some peace into our lives. We adore him."
I stare at him. I remember how Dunraven "kittenizes" boys to make them compliant. Seanny was "kittenized" once. So was Justin, Kinney's fuck. Neither of them will ever be completely free of that trauma. He sighs. "I know, Bob. But it's different. He was born this way. It's really quite lovely if you can get past the mystery of what it must be like to live in his world. All Wren and I want to do is to keep him healthy and happy. Is that so bad?"
"Given the fact Dunraven could still turn on you two any time they want, I'd say the kid could have safer places to stay."
"We've thought of that. If anything happens to us, we've made arrangements for Lucian."
"Lucian?"
"That's what we named him."
Re-named him. Like an adopted puppy. "What arrangements?"
"You don't need to know everything, Robert," Wren re-joined us. He sat beside my brother and kissed him on the cheek. Seanny settled close to him, Wren's arm over his shoulders as if to protect him or maybe to claim him. "Why are you here?"
I wonder if they managed to tap into Bia's enormous fortune through the kid some way. I hate to think badly of my brother, but that would explain a hell of a lot. "I have business and it has nothing to do with that shit in Lucerne, you cocksucker."
"What business?" My brother asks.
"Have you heard of a private hospital near here called something French that means House of Angels or something?"
"Maison d'anges. Yes, why? It's a very exclusive, very expensive rest home for wealthy recovering addicts or nervous breakdown victims or other things requiring care and discretion. It's on the other side of the village. Why are you interested in that place, Bob?"
"An old friend may be staying there. I thought I might pay him a visit."
Wren chuckled at my tone of voice. "Is that like Hannibal Lecter having an old friend for lunch?"
"Please don't cause any trouble in our backyard, Bob," Seanny pleaded. "We're happy here. Lucien is happy here. We don't want to move."
"Relax, bro'," I reassure him. "Nothing's gonna roll down hill to you. And trust me on this. I'd be doing the world a fucking favor."
"Funny how your doing favors for the world usually means someone dies, Robert," Wren said and I shrug.
"Yeah, it is, isn't it?"
I'm this close to Domino. I can feel it. I can sense it. It's taken me a long time, but I know he's at that fucking hospital and I know this is my one chance to rid Teri's world of that fungus. "So can I get some food here or what?"
Sean goes off to solicit Hilde's help, god only knows what kind of dick-shaped sausage they consider food in this fucking country. Wren lights a cigarette and says, "If you kick up a ruckus here, I swear to God, Robert, I will come after you myself and I hope you know what I'm capable of bringing."
I glare at the wiry little limey pimp and smile. "Bring it."
"I will, have no doubt about that."
"Sean would love to know you killed his fucking brother."
"He wouldn't know, would he? Unlike you, I don't operate on emotion. I operate on cold logic. I can execute a plan. He would never know."
"Shut the fuck up, Wren. I've dealt with little gangsters like you all my life. I took out your kid's father in front of a fleet of body guards. So don't threaten me. You only look ridiculous. And I'd never do anything to hurt my brother. And I would do anything to protect my brother. Remember that."
"From me?" He laughs. "I adore Sean. You're the one he needs protection from. You're careless and half-mad."
"More than half, pimp, more than half."
When Sean returns to the room, we're grinning at each other and he mistakes that for some sort of happiness or peace and he beams with pleasure. He doesn't recall that no one smiles more than a shark.
My brother lives in a house you can only reach by goat cart, or so it seems. Jesus fucking Christ, I hate Switzerland. I hate everything about Switzerland. I hate their fucking cheese, I hate their fucking oom pah pah music, I hate that fucking Heidi, I hate their fucking mountains and most of all I hate the fact they were chicken shit so-called neutrals during World War II which really meant all the fucking Nazis had a place to store their plunder from the millions of people they murdered. Fuck them!
By the time I walk from the road to the door of his house, every muscle in my body aches from the climb. Fucking Swiss! Do they know how to level a goddamn path? Holding my hand to my heart to keep it from jumping out of my chest, I lean a shoulder into his doorbell. Brunhilda of the SS opens the door and says something in Kraut. I glare at the wide, sturdy looking lass and say,
"I don't spriken ze dutch, lady. Sean's my brother. Move."
She stands there like the Matterhorn. Huge, ugly and immobile. Fine. She has no clue who she's fucking with. "Bob?" My broher's voice. "I can't believe it! Bob!" He says something to Brunhilda and she gives way as my brother throws himself into my arms, almost knocking me over. I hug him tightly and then he kisses my cheek. I grab his handsome face in both hands to look hard at him. He looks wonderful. He got all the looks in the family, not that it caused him anything but trouble.
"How ya doing, kid?"
"I'm wonderful, seeing you!"
"What's going on?" I hear the limey pimp. He sprawls in the doorway as if to block it, staring at the two of us. Seanny pulls out of my embrace and says,
"Look Wren! Bob! He's come to visit!"
"That would explain the assassination of that South African rabble rouser in Lucerne this week," the limey says with a roll of his eyes. I just want to deck the little fucker, but I'm here to make nice with my brother. Sean ignores him. He is one hot piece of ass, I'll give Wren that. I wouldn't mind slamming him into a wall. Guess my bro' wouldn't appreciate that, however. I'm shown in and the house is incredible on the inside, something Teri would love. All glass and modern and monotone and sleek. VIews of an alpine lake on one side, a mountain on the other. Brunhilda, who just happens to be named Hilde, of course, tries to take my bag to a guest room, but I don't give it up. Sean politely excuses her. He gets it. Stuff in my bag I trust to no one.
"How long do you plan to stay, Robert?" the pimp asks. How subtle.
"As long as he wants," Seanny snaps at him. I smile. Blood-thick-water as they say.
"Nice of you to warn us. Are you on the lam? Should we be expecting the constabulary?"
"Look, you limey fucking pimp whoremongering little prick, don't try to pull the ace on me when we all fucking know how you've spent your fucking life, now don't we?"
"Stop!" Sean held a hand out towards each of us. "Bob, this is our home. You are welcome here anytime. But Wren is my partner and I won't listen to that. Wren, Bob is my brother and he's always welcome in my home. Are we clear on the concept?"
The limey and I share a guarded look. The one thing we have in common, we both love him. Fine, peace. Wren nods. I unpack my stuff in a huge guest suite with an incredible view of the water. Extortion pays well. Or whatever the hell they did to get this money. I join them downstairs. We have a drink in a glassy white room hooked to a conservatory full of plants so that even in the hard winters of this region, they have flowers. Seated on a wicker chaise in that room is a blond boy who reminds me of a younger version of the kid Kinney fucks. He's sketching something on a white pad, and two Siamese cats are curled beside him. I look at my brother. "Is that...?"
He nods. Wren goes into the conservatory and kisses the kid on top of his head, whispers something to him and he goes upstairs, trailed by the cats, pausing long enough to give me a friendly smile and a wave. I return it. He's beautiful and very calm. "His father was a monster, his mother a martyr in her own way," Sean says and then glances at me. I say nothing. I know about his father. I killed him. Happiest day of my life except for the fact I was almost killed myself. "He's mildly retarded, I guess you could say he's perpetually childlike. We don't mind that. We love him just as he is."
"Seanny, are you two..."
He narrows those brown eyes at me in anger. "Don't even complete that thought, Robert. It's too disgusting. He's our son."
"According to what law?"
"We've managed to make it official enough."
"Why?"
"He's like a sweet little kitten, always happy, always playful, always loving. Just what we need to bring some peace into our lives. We adore him."
I stare at him. I remember how Dunraven "kittenizes" boys to make them compliant. Seanny was "kittenized" once. So was Justin, Kinney's fuck. Neither of them will ever be completely free of that trauma. He sighs. "I know, Bob. But it's different. He was born this way. It's really quite lovely if you can get past the mystery of what it must be like to live in his world. All Wren and I want to do is to keep him healthy and happy. Is that so bad?"
"Given the fact Dunraven could still turn on you two any time they want, I'd say the kid could have safer places to stay."
"We've thought of that. If anything happens to us, we've made arrangements for Lucian."
"Lucian?"
"That's what we named him."
Re-named him. Like an adopted puppy. "What arrangements?"
"You don't need to know everything, Robert," Wren re-joined us. He sat beside my brother and kissed him on the cheek. Seanny settled close to him, Wren's arm over his shoulders as if to protect him or maybe to claim him. "Why are you here?"
I wonder if they managed to tap into Bia's enormous fortune through the kid some way. I hate to think badly of my brother, but that would explain a hell of a lot. "I have business and it has nothing to do with that shit in Lucerne, you cocksucker."
"What business?" My brother asks.
"Have you heard of a private hospital near here called something French that means House of Angels or something?"
"Maison d'anges. Yes, why? It's a very exclusive, very expensive rest home for wealthy recovering addicts or nervous breakdown victims or other things requiring care and discretion. It's on the other side of the village. Why are you interested in that place, Bob?"
"An old friend may be staying there. I thought I might pay him a visit."
Wren chuckled at my tone of voice. "Is that like Hannibal Lecter having an old friend for lunch?"
"Please don't cause any trouble in our backyard, Bob," Seanny pleaded. "We're happy here. Lucien is happy here. We don't want to move."
"Relax, bro'," I reassure him. "Nothing's gonna roll down hill to you. And trust me on this. I'd be doing the world a fucking favor."
"Funny how your doing favors for the world usually means someone dies, Robert," Wren said and I shrug.
"Yeah, it is, isn't it?"
I'm this close to Domino. I can feel it. I can sense it. It's taken me a long time, but I know he's at that fucking hospital and I know this is my one chance to rid Teri's world of that fungus. "So can I get some food here or what?"
Sean goes off to solicit Hilde's help, god only knows what kind of dick-shaped sausage they consider food in this fucking country. Wren lights a cigarette and says, "If you kick up a ruckus here, I swear to God, Robert, I will come after you myself and I hope you know what I'm capable of bringing."
I glare at the wiry little limey pimp and smile. "Bring it."
"I will, have no doubt about that."
"Sean would love to know you killed his fucking brother."
"He wouldn't know, would he? Unlike you, I don't operate on emotion. I operate on cold logic. I can execute a plan. He would never know."
"Shut the fuck up, Wren. I've dealt with little gangsters like you all my life. I took out your kid's father in front of a fleet of body guards. So don't threaten me. You only look ridiculous. And I'd never do anything to hurt my brother. And I would do anything to protect my brother. Remember that."
"From me?" He laughs. "I adore Sean. You're the one he needs protection from. You're careless and half-mad."
"More than half, pimp, more than half."
When Sean returns to the room, we're grinning at each other and he mistakes that for some sort of happiness or peace and he beams with pleasure. He doesn't recall that no one smiles more than a shark.