Chapter Text
How I see them for this story based on the music video for Ich Will:
Till: Boss of the group (the planner), medium sized mohawk, brace on the right leg at the knee and going down to the foot, walks with a skull head cane.
Schneider: Second in command and enforcer, short mohawk, blind in right eye with small scars around it.
Ollie: Marksman and spotter, pays attention to detail, somewhat short mohawk.
Flake: A strategist and medic, researcher, wild somewhat long hair, black framed glasses.
Paul: A collector and researcher, burn on the left side of his face mainly around the eye, bowl cut.
Richard: A collector and a fighter, left hand is damaged somehow and covered by a glove, hand still useable but weaker.
Arthur’s POV
I'm still not so sure about this. Thomas said that these people were the ones that would be able to help me get out of what’s going on and that while it would cost me, it would not be as bad as most people would think. These guys are criminals after all, and they aren’t known for being nice ones for the most part, but I don't have much of a choice since I'm not willing to throw any fights I have coming up and the pressure isn’t stopping. Thomas said that as long as I wasn’t willing to throw any fights and wanted to keep fighting in Germany, the best thing to do was to come here to this strip club, to ask for help.
The building itself is not one that really stands out amongst the buildings around it, but given that Rammstein is a bar and strip club run by criminals, I guess that is better for them to not stand out. There is also nothing about the building that makes it seem like a group of criminals would be running it which makes me wonder if everyone that comes to the club knows. Thomas is here with me and while he seems completely ready to just walk through the front doors, I grab hold of Thomas’ arm to stop him from going in just yet. Thomas looks at me for a moments and whatever he sees must have been enough to tell him the best thing to do, is just let me take the moment that I need before we go in.
“You don't need to worry Arthur, I told you they will help you and make the blackmailing stop right away, the assholes won’t bother you again. And if for whatever reason the ones trying to blackmail you piss off one of the guys, well no one will have to worry about being blackmailed by that group in the future. The guys here will only want some money and it will only be a one time thing instead of having to throw almost every fight you have in the future in Germany. What are you so worried about? You are not going to be attacked for coming to the club and you do not have to worry about if anyone here has seen your fights, they will say nothing if they have. You have been in a strip club before yes?”
Staring at Thomas for a moment in shock at the last added comment. I am glad that Thomas is looking out for me and trying to reassure me right now with what is going to happen, trying to tell me that things are going to be fine. Maybe Thomas isn’t doing the best job, but he is trying and that is what matters right now with me having to go into the strip club and talk to a group of criminals to ask for their help.
“Yes Thomas I have been in a strip club before that is not what is bothering me right now so you can just stop talking about that now. You never told me how you know these people or why you know that they will be willing to help me with this. That is what is on my mind since I am basically trusting these people I've never met with my life and my future, since if they won’t help me then I'll have to throw the fights or figure something else out.”
Nodding, Thomas gives me a knowing smile that I do not want to even try to understand right now, standing outside of a strip club run by criminals in an area that I do not really know or have ever been in before. While Thomas is a good guy and I know that he means well, sometimes I don't know how I am able to put up with him and his changing attitude. Figuring Thomas out is something that I'm not sure I'll ever be able to do no matter how much time I spend with him, but this might be a start.
“Ah okay, I'll drop the talk about your time in strip clubs in the past, but only for now we are coming back to this Arthur because you seem to have some interesting stories you’re trying to keep to yourself. I know them because I like this club here, they have good drinks, good music, and it doesn’t hurt that the girls are all rather pretty. And with Rammstein being owned and run by a group of alleged criminals, not many people try and start anything here because everyone knows that violence will not be tolerated for any reason. Anyone that tries to start anything gets dealt with rather quickly, and if they do start something it never lasts for long. Also the people that work here make you feel welcome when you come a lot, they recognize you and treat you better as long as you actually tip them a little. It wasn’t until I had been here a few times that I met one of the ones who run the place and learned who they actually are.”
Shaking my arms I rub my hands together to try and get some feeling back in them with the cold air making it hard to feel my hands or the part of my face and neck that is not covered by my clothes. The weather is something I never got used to, traveling a bit to where the better fights are means I am not always in the same place for long. Germany is where I have been for nearly a year now and that is by far the longest I have stayed in a country for fights, especially since they are not exactly legal.
“Alright I get it Thomas, you like the place and you come here a lot so you know things about the people here and what they might be able to help me with. I guess I just don't know what to expect when we walk in there since you haven’t given me any sort of warning of what I should be ready for. I don't know how many of them there are, how many are actually criminals, if the girls and everyone working at the bar is part of it, you haven’t told me anything other than they can help me not have to throw any fights. A little more information would be nice before I'm trusting my future to a group of people I've never met before just because you say that they can help me.”
“Hey hey, calm down its alright. There are six of them, and the other people who work in the club know what those six do to a degree, but they don't do anything other than handle what happens in the club. The only criminals working in the club are the ones that own it and use the place most likely to launder money. As for the six, they are a mix of people that can be a little overwhelming and off putting with how different they can be, but I'm not going to say anything else on that. I would rather not upset them by talking out of turn, just don't stare at any of them and don't say anything that could be insulting or insensitive about how they look. Eye contact is safe as long as your eyes don't wander, or just look at the floor or the wall behind them, that is always a safe bet.”
And with that Thomas grabs me by the arm and drags me right through the front doors of the strip club before I can get out a single word. Immediately I feel the music as well as hear it flowing through the club so loud I'm surprised that I could not hear it from outside more than the slight thumping of the beat. The lights are low around the bar and in the corners of the room but it gets brighter when you are closer to the stage in the middle of the room. Before I have a proper chance to look around the club more Thomas is dragging me towards some doors I am noticing for the first time set in the wall behind the bar. Stopping on the other side of the doors Thomas finally lets go of my arm before smiling at the women behind the bar serving drinks, and I find myself surprised by how she looks.
Unlike the women in the strip clubs I've been to, the female bartender is actually dressed in the black pants and button up shirt that most bartenders wear in any other bar or restaurant. I can see the dancers on the stage dressed in almost nothing, but the women moving around between the tables and behind the bar are fully dressed like you would see at a normal bar. Almost as if he knows what I'm thinking, Thomas is smirking at me before he turns his attention back to the bartender who is now standing in front of us with a smile on her face that is clearly not fake. She seems genuinely happy to see Thomas which makes me feel a little better.
“Good to see you as always Thomas and you brought a friend with you this time, I hope he will enjoy it here just as much as you do. Now what can I get for you two boys tonight? Beer? Whisky? Maybe a cocktail or a mixed drink?” The bartender even sounds genuinely happy to see Thomas and me which is interesting.
“Well I would love a drink and it is lovely as always to see you again Lina, but that drink is going to have to wait. I'm hoping that they might be able to see my friend Arthur and me for a few minutes if they have the time, would not want to intrude if they are busy. We can wait or come back if this is not a good time for them.”
The bartender, Lina, doesn't even hesitate before she is nodding to Thomas and looks at me for a second almost like she is reading me before looking back to Thomas. The smile does not ever fall from her face as Lina is looking around for a second before waving someone I can't see over to the bar. Turning slightly I see a tall and muscled man making his way over to the bar where we are with a serious look on his face that softens as he gets closer and seems to recognize Thomas. Nodding a hello to Thomas and giving me a quick once over like Lina did, the man then looks to Lina and smiles slightly at her in response to the smile still plastered one her face.
“Otto, Thomas and his friend Arthur wanted a minute of the boss’s time and they are willing to come back or wait around for a bit if needed. Can you go and see if the boss has the time to see them? Fritz is still in the bar so he can watch over things for a few minutes until you come back and we haven’t had any problems so far so things should be fine. If something happens, I'll run to grab you and some of the other boys if anything happens in the next few minutes, but I think that we will be okay.”
The man called Otto is nodding to Lena before he makes his way around the bar and disappears through the doors into what is most likely the back room and offices of the club. Lena turns to look at me and she must realize that I am nervous because she smiles at me again before moving a little closer to me. In part it might be because she needs to move closer to me to be heard using a normal speaking voice, but it could also be to make me feel a bit more comfortable while in the club waiting to know what happens next. Lena leans over the bar slightly before she starts talking to me.
“I'm guessing that you need some help with something, don't worry they can help you and most likely they will. Before I started working here I was having some trouble with a coworker at the last club that I worked at as a bartender who was stalking me. A regular customer noticed what was going on and he recommended I come here and ask for their help, and almost immediately after I did ask for help things got better. When I came back to thank them, I got offered a job as a bartender here and in addition to getting paid more pre hour, I was allowed to keep my tips for myself. I also could dress like a normal bartender and not wear some skimpy outfit like the last club made me, so I took the job and I've been here since. No matter how they look or act, they are good men so don't stress yourself out too much.”
Lena is talking slowly to me, her voice sweet and calm while she makes sure that I can hear everything she is saying to me. I really appreciate that Lena is trying to help me relax a little bit and it is helping a little. Even if we are not drinking here and no matter what remarks Thomas makes after, there is going to be a bit of money as a tip for Lena before we leave. She has no reason to be kind to me like she is, but for whatever reason Lena just seems to be a happy and kind person and I do appreciate that, it is starting to make sense to me why Thomas likes to come here so much. It isn’t just because this is a strip club with good drink and music.
“Thank you Lena. I'm sorry that you had to deal with a coworker that was stalking you, but I am glad that things are better for you now. I'll keep what you said in mind, I am glad that you feel safer working here and that you are happier now, getting paid more and don't have to dress in basically nothing. I'm happy I asked Thomas for help and that he brought me here, you have been really kind to me when you don't have any reason to.”
Lena is smiling at me and shakes her head before moving closer to me again from across the bar and starts speaking again. “Don't worry about it, maybe come back another time and have a couple drinks, we can talk and if you feel comfortable, you can tell me about why you need help and I can tell you more about why I needed help. I don't mind sharing my story, especially if it can help others in some way. Thomas got something out of hearing my full story and that is a part of why he comes back to Rammstein, the drinks and girls aren’t the only reason no matter what he might try and tell you.”
Before I can say anything else the doors behind the bar are opening and Otto comes back into the main room of the club followed by a man a good bit smaller than him. This new man is shorter but that doesn’t make him any less muscled or intimidating, and I immediacy understand the warning Thomas gave me about not saying anything about how they look. This smaller man has a pretty big burn scar that is covering a good deal of the left side of his face, going around the eye and more on his upper face and forehead.
“Thomas, Arthur. Come now.” Is all the man says with a strange smile that sends shivers down my spine before he turns back around not even bothering to check if Thomas and I are following him. Not that he needs to worry since as soon as the man said his name, Thomas grabs my arm and starts to lead me around the bar so we can get to the doors behind it.
As Thomas is still slightly dragging me after him while he is following the small man with the burned face, I look around a little but there is not much to see. Immediately through the doors the kitchen is right there off to the side and there are a few people inside who all look busy making different dishes for the people in the club. After the kitchen there are other doors on either side of the hallway, but all of them are closed which is just fine with me. I would rather not know more than I have to about what goes on here in the backrooms of the club, about what the men that own this place do here in the business they own.
The small man leads us to the very back of the building where there are a few doors and he stops in front of one of them, knocking firmly three times and waiting. Hearing nothing from the other side of the door confuses me, and we stand waiting outside the door for what feels like a really long time but is probably only a minute. Thomas has let go of my arm by now and while I am glad that he is not dragging me behind him anymore, part of me misses the grounding feeling of having Thomas keeping me physically close to him so I could not run.
I'm pulled out of my thoughts when the door suddenly flies open and I look up startled like a deer in headlights at the man who has just almost violently ripped opened the door. This new man is tall, a lot taller than the small man with the burned face, and he is taller than me by a few inches. His hair is shaved on the sides and back to the skin with the only hair he has spiked up into a short mohawk that is flat on the top instead of pointed. But what instantly makes my hair stand on end is when I look at his face, I immediately notice that the mans right eye is different than his left eye. The right eye is a much lighter blue than his left one, but the lighter one looks like it is foggy, clouded over which I recognize and realize that this man is blind in his right eye. Taking Thomas’ advice to look the men in the eyes to be safe to not insult them might not work for this one with how terrifying his eyes are. And on top of that, the complete lack of emotion showing on the mans face scares me even more.
“In you go.” The small man says and motions to the now open door which was previously blocked by the emotionless man who has now moved out of the way so we can walk past him into the room. Which I don't want to do, but the smaller man motions again to the door and Thomas starts to walk through before looking back to me and nodding a little. After a moment of hesitation I follow Thomas into the room, careful to not bump against the emotionless man still holding the door open for us.
There is no time for me to look around the room I'm now in before the loud closing of the door startles me and I turn around quickly to see the emotionless man staring at me from in front of the door. The smaller man isn’t in the room which means he is still out in the hall, but I don't have much time to process that before a hand is grabbing my arm and pulling me further into the bar. My attention now of the door and the man blocking it, I am relieved that Thomas is the one who grabbed my arm and allow him to somewhat turn me around to face a big desk before letting go of my arm again.
The only other person in the room is a large man sitting behind the desk, leaning forward in his chair with his obviously muscled arms resting on the top of the desk in front of him. This new man is studying me carefully, looking me up and down like he is taking me in and pinpointing my weaknesses or possible strengths. Never before have I felt so vulnerable from someone just looking at me, and I can’t say that it is only because of how uneasy I already feel being here in this room with the large man in front of me and the emotionless man still standing behind me somewhere. This is a serious man, one I do not want to cross for any reason because I will not be the winner of that fight no matter what the advantage I think I have is.
“Thank you for taking the time to see us, my friend Arthur needs some help and I recommended he come here to ask for your help. I swear that he can be trusted and that he will hold up his end of whatever deal you make. I trust Arthur, and if he breaks that trust by doing something stupid then I will face the consequences just like Arthur will for the inconvenience it brings to you.” Thomas says breaking the silence and the large man just stares at the both of us for a minutes before he is nodding and motions to the two chairs across from where he is sitting.
Taking it as an order and not a suggestion, both Thomas and I are moving closer to the man behind the desk when I don't really want to be closer to the man, sitting down in the straight backed chairs facing him. Sitting down might be better for me since I don't have to worry about my legs giving out from under me, but I feel more nervous now being so close to the large man. After we have sat down there is another minutes of silence as the man continues to observe me, his green blue eyes not wavering for a second as I try to keep eye contact with him.
Finally the eye contact is broken as the large man turns his head to where the emotionless man must be standing and nods to him sharply. Despite my curiosity, I am unable to turn around to look at what is happening behind me and I can see Thomas out of the corner of my eye casually looking around the room seeming as comfortable as can be. In the silence of the room I can hear the movement behind me, something being picked up and then placed back where it goes before the footsteps move closer to where we are sitting. The emotionless man moves back into my line of sight and I try not to shy away from him as he gets closer to me.
The emotionless man is carrying a fancy looking glass that has what could be bourbon inside and as soon as he has rounded the desk, the glass is passed to the man still sitting in front of me without a word passing between them. While the large man takes a sip of the drink before resting the glass on the desk, the emotionless one moves a little so he is now standing behind and a bit to the side of the chair the large man is sitting in. And in all that time, the emotionless man never seems to blink as he watches me with an intensity that only makes me more nervous the longer I am sitting here in the quiet room. Being a fighter on the illegal underground scene I am used to being sized up by the person I am fighting, but this is completely different and to a whole other level of intensity.
Finally the silence is broken by the deep voice of the large man who is speaking in a somewhat quiet tone, that can still be heard perfectly by me as it carries in the quiet room. “So, Thomas says that you need some help and he is willing to risk himself by bringing you here to us for that help, I hope you understand the significance of trust like that. What it means for Thomas to be vouching for you with us, putting himself on the line like he is in order to help you. Now tell me, what is it that I can help you with Arthur.”
While I know that Thomas introduced me with my name, it is still a little chilling to hear the man across from me saying it so casually. It is almost like he is reminding me that he knows who I am as a warning of some kind, but I would be an idiot to try and cross him which was clear to me before even seeing him. Looking at Thomas briefly from the corner of my eye, I can see that he looks as comfortable as ever sitting in the chair next to me and that sitting in this office across from these two men isn’t affecting him at all from his body language. Looking back at the man across from me I immediately make eye contact with him and a shiver runs down my spine with how intense his eyes are.
“Yes sir, I do understand what it means for Thomas to have brought me here and him vouching for me, the amount of trust needed for that. I am a fighter who normally is in bare knuckle fights, and when I fight I don't let anything keep me from doing my best in each fight, but there is a group of men that want me to throw fights. I'm not willing to throw a fight just to make some extra money which I told them, but they won’t stop approaching me and have threatened that if I do not throw the fights, I won’t be fighting anymore. I'm not willing to throw the fights, but I want to continue fighting since it is all I know.”
The man nods while taking another sip from his drink before snapping his fingers at the man behind him. “Schneider.” Immediately the emotionless man, Schneider, is moving closer to the desk, looking down to the man in the chair. “Has there been any fighters throwing fights in the bare knuckle matches?” Schneider says nothing at first as he reaches a hand into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and pulls out a notebook, looking in it, then quickly putting it back into his jacket.
“Yes boss. Paul was tracking the fights and there have been a few that were thrown, he looked into it and a few names came up for who is making it happen. Bruno’s boys, the ones that left to make money on their own a month back.” Schneider’s voice is cold and emotionless, never changing in tone or pitch as he talks, just staying monotone while his face is blank but his eyes sharp and piercing.
The large man nods in acknowledgment and turns back to face me while Schneider retreats back a few steps back to his original place and leans back silently with his arms at the ready by his sides. “Does the name Bruno sound familiar to you Arthur?”
I nod immediately before responding. “Yes sir, Bruno is the second person who approached me about throwing fights after I turned the first down. He introduced himself and was not as nice as the first man had been, and I told him the same thing I told the first man about not being willing to throw any fights for any reason, but Bruno did not take it well. He started threatening me, telling me it would be in my best interest to throw the fights like he wanted me to do. Bruno said I would have three days to answer since my next fight, the one Bruno wanted me to throw, was in four days. Right after Bruno walked off I found Thomas and told him what happened and he brought me here.”
The man looks at me for a minute before leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest. “This is something we can help you with, for a price. Half the money you win in your next fight, and if you lose, half the money you would have won in that fight. Starting from the day of your fight, you’ll have a week to pay to give you time if you lose the fight to get the money together before I send my boys to bring you to me. Do you understand me?”
“Yes sir, I understand and I'll pay you as soon as I have the money, even if I lose you will get your money. Thank you for being willing to help me.” While I respond as quickly as I can, in my head I am going through the money that I have stored away so I will be able to pay him back as quickly as I can. I would rather not being in debt to this man, and I really do not want him to send his boys to bring me to him.
“Good. Schneider, escort Arthur and Thomas out and have Paul find where Bruno and his boys are then take care of it. I will send one of my boys to inform Thomas when the matter is taken care of so he can pass the message on to you, Bruno will not be bothering you anymore so do not worry about having to throw a fight. If you need something in the future as long as you stick to your end of the deal, do not hesitate to ask for our help. But Arthur, do not call me sir. Till will do.” A wave of his hand has me and Thomas both standing up from our chairs.
At that Till gestures to Schneider who immediately moves and grabs something that was behind where Till is sitting and is passing it to Till. As soon as he has it, Till is pushing himself up from the chair and leaning heavily on what I immediately see is a cane that has a silver skull as the grip. Trying not to be rude as he moves around the desk, I can't help but stare at the brace on his right knee going down to the foot. Till stands looking at us while Schneider steps around from behind Till and leads us to the door and opens it to see the small man is waiting for us.