Vince Flynn - American Assassin

Herr Ohlmeyer was suddenly at Rapp’s side. “Michael, I see you have met Greta.”

“Yes, we bumped into each other this afternoon.”

“And my wife.” Ohlmeyer placed a hand on her shoulder

“Yes.”

Looking back at his granddaughter, he said, “Greta is our pride and joy.”

“I can see why. She is very sharp.”

“Yes, and so far the only one of my grandchildren who has shown any interest in getting into the banking business.”

For the next five minutes, Rapp got the family history. Carl and Elsa had two boys and two girls. One daughter was married and lived in London and the other was divorced and in Spain. August and Robert’s wives were currently on vacation with their sister-in-law at her Spanish villa. There were eleven grandchildren, of which Greta was the third-eldest. Elsa did not speak, although she did smile a few times. Richards, Hurley, and the two brothers were at the opposite end of the room, no doubt discussing matters of far greater importance, but Rapp didn’t beat up on himself too badly. Standing this close to Greta was worth it. Every chance Rapp got he stole a look. Her high ponytail had been changed out for a loose clip in the back that made her look much more mature than when he’d met her earlier in the day. She was wearing a cobalt-blue silk blouse and a black skirt with gray tights. He thought Herr Ohlmeyer caught him at least once ogling her and he had no idea what Elsa was thinking. She just kept smiling at him with that faraway look in her eyes.

The Ohlmeyers were kind enough not to ask him any personal questions about his own family, as he would have been forced to tell them a lie. Herr Ohlmeyer decided it was time to sit for dinner. He asked for his wife’s hand, but before she stood, she pulled her granddaughter close and whispered something in her ear. Greta giggled, while her grandmother pulled away and flashed Rapp an intriguing smile, before pulling her granddaughter close again. She whispered another few lines before finally taking her husband’s hand and standing.

Elsa took a step toward Rapp, and to his surprise, she reached out and gently patted him on the cheek. She gave him a warm smile and then walked away without saying a word.

Rapp turned to Greta. “You have a very interesting grandmother.”

Greta reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him close and walking him toward the dining room, but in no rush to catch up with the others. “Granny Elsa is an amazing woman. Unfortunately, she is not well.”

“What’s wrong?” Rapp said, as his stomach did flips over Greta’s touch.

“She has Alzheimer’s.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry. These things happen. Such is life.”

“I suppose,” Rapp said, turning toward her. She smelled so good, he wanted to bury his face in her mane of shiny blond hair.

“She has no regrets. She led a very active life up until just a year ago. I am living here now and working at the bank. This way I can spend time with her… while she still remembers me.”

“That’s nice.”

“We spend our evenings going through letters and photos. There is so much family history that only she knows. My grandfather is a brilliant man, but he has a hard time remembering the names of his own grandchildren.”

“Not yours. You can tell, he thinks the world of you.”

“Well… I work for him. I would hope he remembers my name.”

As they entered the dining room, Rapp said, “Do you mind me asking what your grandmother whispered in your ear?”

Greta gave him a nervous laugh and rested her head against his shoulder before releasing his arm. “Maybe after a few drinks.”

Rapp followed her like a puppy dog down the right side of the long table. There were chairs for twenty but they were only eight, so they clustered at the far end with Carl at the head of the table and Elsa to his left, followed by Greta and Rapp. Hurley was to Carl’s right, followed by August, then Richards, and finally Robert.

The wine glasses were filled and conversations that had been going continued while new ones were started. Richards got Rapp’s attention at one point and gave him a you-lucky-bastard shake of his head while darting his eyes at Greta. Rapp for his part struck up a rather boring conversation with Greta’s uncle, who was sitting directly across from him. When Greta had finished her glass of wine Rapp leaned over and asked, “So can you tell me now.”

Greta slid her hand over and patted his thigh. “One more glass, I think.” She held up her glass and one of the servants filled it. “So how does an all-American boy such as yourself end up in this nasty line of work?”

“We get recruited like any other profession.”

“So your background is military?”

Rapp shook his head and smiled. “I’m a fine arts major with a minor in poetry.”

Greta’s face lit up in surprise for a moment and then she caught herself. “You are teasing me.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Why?” she asked playfully.

“Because you know I can’t talk about my past… and I tend to tease people whom I like.”

“So, you like me?” she said with an approving nod.

He didn’t know why he decided to say it. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was his newfound confidence that he was finally making a difference, that he was part of something important, but he did nonetheless. Rapp leaned in close so only she could hear and said, “I don’t know what it is about you, but I’ve had a hard time thinking of anything but you, since we met this afternoon.”

She smiled at him, her cheeks flushing just a touch. “You are different. Not so guarded.”

Rapp laughed. “I’m probably the most guarded person you’ll ever meet. Just not with you, for some reason.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“I think it’s good. At least it feels good.” Rapp looked into her blue eyes. She was smiling back at him. He was about to really open up when Herr Ohlmeyer tapped his wine glass with his knife several times and stood. Ohlmeyer raised his glass and started giving a toast. Rapp turned his chair slightly so he could face him, and his right knee moved to within a few inches of Greta’s thigh. Then her left hand slowly slid over from her lap and found his knee. From that moment on, Rapp didn’t register a single word that came out of Herr Ohlmeyer’s mouth. Nor did he hear anything Hurley said when he rose to make his toast.

The main course arrived. It was a braised beef of some sort, served with mushrooms, potatoes, gravy, and vegetables, the kind of meat-and-potatoes meal Rapp loved. There was only one problem. He had just stuffed a forkful of beef in his mouth when Greta leaned over and told him what her grandmother had whispered in her ear.

“My granny thinks you are extremely attractive. She told me I should sleep with you.”

Rapp would have been fine if it had ended there, but it didn’t. As he tried to swallow the meat Greta leaned over once more.

“She said that if I don’t she will.”

Rapp froze, his eyes bulged, and a piece of meat got stuck in the crossroads of his throat. His brain’s autopilot kicked in and the hunk of meat came flying back up as fast as a major-league fastball. The only thing that saved it from pelting Richards in the face was Rapp’s quick hands. A fit that started out as a cough morphed into eye-watering laughter. Greta smacked him on the back a few times and had to hold her napkin over her mouth to conceal her own laughter and amusement that she had set the chain of events in motion. Conversation ceased and all eyes settled on the young duo.

Greta saved them by announcing, “I am sorry.” She dabbed at her eyes. “I told him a bad joke.”

Rapp finally got hold of himself and everyone went back to their conversations. Rapp noticed Hurley giving him a few cautious looks, but other than that no one appeared to notice the flirting. Shortly after dessert was served, Elsa tapped Greta on the arm and told her she was tired. Everyone stood while the two women made their exit, and then Ohlmeyer suggested they retire to the library. Hurley disappeared into the small soundproof office, and it was Rapp’s turn to talk with the two uncles. They gave Rapp a message service to call if he needed to contact them. He was never to call the office directly, especially if he was in trouble. Rapp kept looking over his shoulder, hoping to see Greta, but she did not return. About an hour into it the brothers thought they had made enough progress and agreed they would sit down again when Rapp came through town again in the coming weeks.