Part 108, Chapter 1765
Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Sixty-Five
31st October 1966
Mitte, Berlin
Ben finally caught up to Kiki in Berlin, just the situation was a bit complicated because of things out of their control. That was why this was just a visit. When Ben met Kiki in the hallway outside her father’s apartment having just stepped off the elevator, she had let him know that.
“Please tell me you didn’t agree to any of that” Kiki said, as she sat in the chair opposite of Ben in the parlor. Presently, Kiki was under increased security because of the war in Greece and they were not going to be given any privacy, which was a bit disappointing. Ben had just finished telling her about Albrecht of Bavaria’s offer. He might have thought that she would be thrilled. It was a chance for them to have a life together on a fairly equal footing. Her reaction was quite different though.
“I told him that I needed a few days to think about it” Ben replied, “Still, he offered to make me the Freiherr of Frankendorf. That counts for something, right?”
“You need to drive a harder bargain with that Machiavellian vulture” Kiki said, “Frankendorf is a hamlet outside Bamberg with more cows than people.”
“Just how do you know that?” Ben asked.
“I looked it up when you told me” Kiki replied, “I’m sure that the hundred or so residents of Frankendorf will greet you warmly for the first five minutes and then ignore you for the rest of your life.”
That was quite possibly the thing most keeping with Kiki’s character for her to have done. Of course, Ben had not even thought to do that.
“Aren’t you being just a little bit harsh?”
“Hardly” Kiki said, “Leave the major cities and you’ll find yourself in the Fifteenth Century, even in Brandenburg. In Bavaria, which is much more backward in places, the people see the Reformation as a passing fad. I don’t think they still burn witches, but I would not be surprised.”
“What should I do then?” Ben asked.
“One thing that you need to understand” Kiki said, “Albrecht was offering you something with the understanding that you are a bit naïve about certain matters.”
Ben looked at Kiki unsure about what she was getting at.
“You already have the Knights Cross, House Order of Hohenzollern” Kiki said, “You won that in Korea, and the Pour Le Mérite you got for circling to Moon is another Chivalrous Order. That fraud was offering you something that he knew you already have. You just lack a formal title, but you are considered a Ritter until a higher title is conferred to you. Albrecht is offering you some version of the Military Order of Max Joseph, honorary Bavarian citizenship and a meaningless title.”
“What about this deal that Albrecht said he wanted with your father?” Ben asked.
“That much is obvious” Kiki replied, “Albrecht only cares about two things, hunting deer and furthering his family line. He sees that my father has two unattached daughters of marriageable age and neither of them have serious suitors.”
“Is that a joke” Ben said, “I cannot imagine that either of them would go for that. Rea is sort of nuts, and Vicky is, well, you know.”
“As entertaining as seeing Rea as the Queen of Bavaria would be” Kiki said, “She would never agree to such a thing in a thousand years. Vicky just might though, she always saw herself leading a rather different life than the one she ended up with. Home, family, whatnot. This might be a chance for her to have that.”
Ben leaned towards Kiki and whispered. “Wouldn’t they figure out that she is gay?”
“I doubt they would care” Kiki replied, “Let’s just say that Prince Franz of Bavaria is not one to let a Broadway revival pass him by. While his younger brother doesn’t seem to share that inclination, Max doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to settle down.”
Ben was a bit surprised by that. “Just how do you know that?” He asked.
“Franz proposed to me a few years ago” Kiki said, “The knowledge of the role that I would actually play was a part of that. No thank you.”
“You could have been the Queen of Bavaria?”
“I also could have been the Empress of Ethiopia” Kiki replied, “The Emperor offered my father a rather large herd of cattle for my hand in marriage.”
“What would your mother have thought of that?”
“She wanted me to marry Vittorio, the Prince of Naples” Kiki made a face that suggested what she thought of that idea. “Yuck.”
Santorini Island, Greece
George Bush had come to this island because it was close enough in proximity to keep an eye on the unfolding operation. The fact that in many respects this was the ultimate score for a man in his profession, multiple sworn enemies eager to buy what he was selling. Money was pouring in and he was having to make careful plans for his retirement because everyone in this current conflict would turn their guns on him in a heartbeat. There were also rumors the alphabet soup based back in the States was actively hunting him. He had to make himself scarce before they got too close.
Now he was finding that he had two problems. The first was water. The walled compound he was leasing was as bone dry as the rest of this island, so he had been having to have fresh water shipped in and that had turned out to be rather expensive. His men had been complaining about the heat as well. The second problem was Pauline Robinson Pierce, or Robin as she preferred to be called, it was also noticeable that her mother had changed her last name. She had somehow tracked him down and had written a tersely written letter that had arrived at the compound. The contents had been those typical of the angst filled life of a sixteen-year-old girl, it seemed that she was not getting along with her mother, hardly a surprise. She had hinted about him inviting her to Santorini, which was out of the question. Still, the arrival of the letter was proof that the CIA and whatever goon squad they brought couldn’t be far behind.
31st October 1966
Mitte, Berlin
Ben finally caught up to Kiki in Berlin, just the situation was a bit complicated because of things out of their control. That was why this was just a visit. When Ben met Kiki in the hallway outside her father’s apartment having just stepped off the elevator, she had let him know that.
“Please tell me you didn’t agree to any of that” Kiki said, as she sat in the chair opposite of Ben in the parlor. Presently, Kiki was under increased security because of the war in Greece and they were not going to be given any privacy, which was a bit disappointing. Ben had just finished telling her about Albrecht of Bavaria’s offer. He might have thought that she would be thrilled. It was a chance for them to have a life together on a fairly equal footing. Her reaction was quite different though.
“I told him that I needed a few days to think about it” Ben replied, “Still, he offered to make me the Freiherr of Frankendorf. That counts for something, right?”
“You need to drive a harder bargain with that Machiavellian vulture” Kiki said, “Frankendorf is a hamlet outside Bamberg with more cows than people.”
“Just how do you know that?” Ben asked.
“I looked it up when you told me” Kiki replied, “I’m sure that the hundred or so residents of Frankendorf will greet you warmly for the first five minutes and then ignore you for the rest of your life.”
That was quite possibly the thing most keeping with Kiki’s character for her to have done. Of course, Ben had not even thought to do that.
“Aren’t you being just a little bit harsh?”
“Hardly” Kiki said, “Leave the major cities and you’ll find yourself in the Fifteenth Century, even in Brandenburg. In Bavaria, which is much more backward in places, the people see the Reformation as a passing fad. I don’t think they still burn witches, but I would not be surprised.”
“What should I do then?” Ben asked.
“One thing that you need to understand” Kiki said, “Albrecht was offering you something with the understanding that you are a bit naïve about certain matters.”
Ben looked at Kiki unsure about what she was getting at.
“You already have the Knights Cross, House Order of Hohenzollern” Kiki said, “You won that in Korea, and the Pour Le Mérite you got for circling to Moon is another Chivalrous Order. That fraud was offering you something that he knew you already have. You just lack a formal title, but you are considered a Ritter until a higher title is conferred to you. Albrecht is offering you some version of the Military Order of Max Joseph, honorary Bavarian citizenship and a meaningless title.”
“What about this deal that Albrecht said he wanted with your father?” Ben asked.
“That much is obvious” Kiki replied, “Albrecht only cares about two things, hunting deer and furthering his family line. He sees that my father has two unattached daughters of marriageable age and neither of them have serious suitors.”
“Is that a joke” Ben said, “I cannot imagine that either of them would go for that. Rea is sort of nuts, and Vicky is, well, you know.”
“As entertaining as seeing Rea as the Queen of Bavaria would be” Kiki said, “She would never agree to such a thing in a thousand years. Vicky just might though, she always saw herself leading a rather different life than the one she ended up with. Home, family, whatnot. This might be a chance for her to have that.”
Ben leaned towards Kiki and whispered. “Wouldn’t they figure out that she is gay?”
“I doubt they would care” Kiki replied, “Let’s just say that Prince Franz of Bavaria is not one to let a Broadway revival pass him by. While his younger brother doesn’t seem to share that inclination, Max doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to settle down.”
Ben was a bit surprised by that. “Just how do you know that?” He asked.
“Franz proposed to me a few years ago” Kiki said, “The knowledge of the role that I would actually play was a part of that. No thank you.”
“You could have been the Queen of Bavaria?”
“I also could have been the Empress of Ethiopia” Kiki replied, “The Emperor offered my father a rather large herd of cattle for my hand in marriage.”
“What would your mother have thought of that?”
“She wanted me to marry Vittorio, the Prince of Naples” Kiki made a face that suggested what she thought of that idea. “Yuck.”
Santorini Island, Greece
George Bush had come to this island because it was close enough in proximity to keep an eye on the unfolding operation. The fact that in many respects this was the ultimate score for a man in his profession, multiple sworn enemies eager to buy what he was selling. Money was pouring in and he was having to make careful plans for his retirement because everyone in this current conflict would turn their guns on him in a heartbeat. There were also rumors the alphabet soup based back in the States was actively hunting him. He had to make himself scarce before they got too close.
Now he was finding that he had two problems. The first was water. The walled compound he was leasing was as bone dry as the rest of this island, so he had been having to have fresh water shipped in and that had turned out to be rather expensive. His men had been complaining about the heat as well. The second problem was Pauline Robinson Pierce, or Robin as she preferred to be called, it was also noticeable that her mother had changed her last name. She had somehow tracked him down and had written a tersely written letter that had arrived at the compound. The contents had been those typical of the angst filled life of a sixteen-year-old girl, it seemed that she was not getting along with her mother, hardly a surprise. She had hinted about him inviting her to Santorini, which was out of the question. Still, the arrival of the letter was proof that the CIA and whatever goon squad they brought couldn’t be far behind.
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