Chapter Two
"Father!"
"You will never call me that again," Baron von Straus said.
The baron stood his with feet a shoulder's width apart. He raised his hands and began to take off his leather gloves, loosening them by pulling at the finger tips one at a time. When he had removed his gloves, he held them both in his right hand and slowly drew them through his fisted left hand. Then the baron dropped his hands to his side and looked back up at his son. He studied his son's face for a moment before he spoke. Erik simply sat in shock, realizing his father was responsible for his treatment. The slap to the back of his head was the first time in his twenty-two years that his father had ever struck him.
"But, father why –"
The baron's right hand darted out striking Erik across the mouth with his gloves.
"Shut up," the baron yelled.
"For years we have tolerated your behavior. We've even tried to straighten you out. That trip was supposed to be your introduction to the family business. Not your opportunity to sample the decadence of other countries!"
Erik lowered his head. He had never seen his father like this, and he would have never imagined his father would have had him kidnapped and beaten. He could not believe this was happening to him. The baron looked down on his son with a twitching mustache, quivering lower lip, and wild eyes. He clenched his fists and then began striking his open palm with the gloves he held tightly in his right hand.
"The daughter of a high level diplomat! Did you really think it would go unnoticed? She is pregnant."
"We are the same age, she knew what she was doing."
The baron struck his son full force with his gloves across the face. Erik's head whipped to his right, his cheek immediately becoming red. The stinging on his face almost brought tears to Erik's eyes, he gritted his teeth determined not to cry. He would not give his father the satisfaction.
"You are no longer my son. You will not return to our home ever again. If you cannot learn to be responsible with our guidance then you will learn on your own in destitution."
The baron turned and looked at the two men behind him. Hans tried to become invisible behind Otto, which was not hard to do, considering Otto's size.
"Wolfe will take you two men wherever you need to go. You are to leave this disgrace here. Untie him, but give him no assistance whatsoever. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," the two men said in unison.
The baron turned abruptly, without even a glance at his son, and walked from the warehouse. Otto stood looking down on Erik without saying anything. He waited until the baron had left the warehouse and the door had shut before he spoke. Erik sat looking at Otto the whole time, showing no emotion and not taking his eyes off of Otto. Hans stepped around Otto and spoke first.
"Well kid, we would like to help but, you heard the baron. You are on your own."
"We cannot leave him here. He would never survive to the end of the block. The boss would have never told us to do that. The boss would have at least told us to take the kid back to the train station," Otto said.
"The boss would do what the baron told him to do. I am not going against him. Are you?"
"We are taking him back to the train station. Do you have a problem with that?"
Otto squared off against Hans and raised his fists. Hans looked at Otto. He shrank back from Otto and held his hands up in front of him.
"Ok, Ok. But you just remember when the baron finds out. The boss won't protect us."
"We won't need protection. Untie the kid."
Otto relaxed his stance while Hans walked around behind Erik to untie his hands. After Hans untied Erik's hands he stood up behind the chair. Erik began rubbing his wrists.
"His legs too."
"He can untie them himself."
"I said untie his legs!"
Hans walked to the front of the chair and squatted down to untie Erik's legs. Erik sat rubbing his wrists, looking up at Otto. He did not know what the big man had in store for him. But, for now he decided he would behave himself while waiting to see what they would do. Hans finished untying Erik and stood up behind the chair. Otto and Erik locked eyes for a few seconds before Otto spoke.
"Unless you want to try and walk out of here, get up."
Erik stood up, still rubbing his wrists. Otto motioned Hans toward the door. The three men started walking single file to the door with Erik in the middle. Hans opened the door and the three men walked out into the cool night air. Wolfe was standing by the carriage. Otto motioned Hans and Erik inside the carriage. Otto walked over to Wolfe and laid his big paw on Wolfe's shoulder.
"We left the kid here. Right?"
"Yes, sir," Wolfe gulped.
"Take us back to the train station."
Both men climbed into the carriage. Erik sat between his captors in the back. Hans started to put the hood back onto Erik, but Erik balked, jerking his head back.
"Either you wear that hood or you walk out of here," Otto said.
Erik dropped his head forward again. Hans put the hood over Erik's head and then both men sat back in their seats. Otto leaned forward to tap Wolfe on the shoulder. Wolfe pulled out of the warehouse lot and started driving back to the train station. The drive back to the station was quiet and seemed longer. It gave Erik a chance to think about what had just happened. His father had threatened to disown him before, but he had never actually disowned him. His father had never struck him before either. He would wait until he was back at the station and plan his next move. One thing he knew, whatever he did, he would be on his own.
Erik knew when they were approaching the station because the carriage slowed, and then turned into the station. When they arrived at the station the cabs were all gone. Wolfe pulled up to the side and stopped the carriage. Otto pulled the hood off of Erik and then stepped out and held the door for Erik. Erik climbed out of the backseat and stood in front of Otto staring at him.
"What am I supposed to do now?"
"Not my problem. You are alive, you should be grateful. You would have never made it to the end of the block without us."
Otto sat back down in the carriage. He tapped Wolfe on the shoulder while he closed the door. Wolfe pulled away. Erik stood in the same spot, watching the carriage until it turned a corner and he could not see it any more. After the carriage was gone he doubled over in pain, dropping to the ground, a grimace sweeping across his face. He did not have to be a doctor to know that Otto broke ribs on his left side. There was just no way he was going to let those thugs know they hurt him.
He decided to stay at the station. When the morning train came through the cabs would come back, and he could take one to a doctor. He knew he would not sleep much, if at all. He did not really think his ribs were broken. He probably just cracked one or two. But, God he had never had pain like this. Of course Erik had never cracked a bone before, much less broken one, so he did not have anything to compare his pain too. Besides, the time alone at the train station would give him time to decide what he was going to do after the doctor's office.
Erik walked up to the boarding platform and sat down on one of the benches for waiting passengers. He replayed the entire evening in his mind for a while. Then he started making plans for what he would do. He did have degrees in engineering and medicine. He was not a doctor, but there were still ways to put his education to work for him. First though he would have to go to the doctor. If he did hurt a rib, instead of just bruising one, he would need to get his chest wrapped. Then he would have to find suitable accommodations for himself.
As Erik sat thinking about his future he fell asleep and began dreaming about his conquests during his six month trip on family business. His dream eventually took him back to the warehouse from the previous evening. Suddenly a pair of rough hands grabbed Erik, yanking him up right on the bench he had fallen asleep on. In Erik's mind this was still part of the dream, he was groggy and having a hard time waking up. When a large man took a step back from him and spoke. He h
ad Erik's full, wide-awake attention.
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