“Sit him up,” Otto ordered. The officers immediately complied.
“Where is he?” Otto demanded of Nick.
“Who?” Nick answered back.
“Who do you think?” Otto was upset with Nick’s apparent indigence. “Andrew, where is he, Nick?”
“I haven’t seen him since earlier this evening,” Nick was more cooperative now.
“He was here,” Otto pointed out the open suitcase, strewn about clothing, and the pile of black clothes on the bed. “You never saw him. You are lying.”
“I was passed out on the sofa over there,” Nick nodded in the direction of the sitting area with his head. “I only woke just minutes ago, I swear.”
Otto looked Nick over from head to toe. He finally nodded that he agreed that Nick was telling the truth.
“Why are you looking for Andrew?” Nick asked, after being allowed to sit down.
“Andrew is suspected of the death of Sergeant Schindler,” Otto explained. He sat down next to Nick. He motioned for the officers to take off the cuffs. Otto looked sad as he continued, “Andrew fooled us all I’m afraid.” He turned towards Nick and went on, “All this time Andrew was a Knight of VanHelsing and we never knew it. I suspect that with the plans to attack this Gothica castle, Andrew was setting us all up to be captured.”
“That’s in…” Nick began, but remembered Andrew’s note. He switched to, “That’s incredible. I mean I never suspected.”
“Ya, ya,” Otto agreed nodding his head in agreement.
“Like I said,” Nick added. “I never saw him.”
“I believe you,” Otto said. He rose to his feet and motioned for the other officers to follow him. Otto turned to look back at Nick, “Let us know.”
“I will,” Nick answered.
“Good.” Otto smiled and closed the door.
Once he was out of the room, Otto turned to the officers that were with him. “Keep a watch on him,” Otto ordered. “I am certain that Andrew will try and contact Nick.” They nodded that they understood.
Nick was relieved when Otto and his officers left the room. He went to the bathroom and took some peptol bismol. His stomach was still rumbling a bit, but he felt a little better. He left the bathroom and went back to the bedroom. Nick grabbed his passport and coat. He glanced around the hotel suite once more, and walked out the door and closed it behind him.
The Berlin Central Train station was a monument that offered state-of-the-art conveniences for travelers and considered the biggest train station in Europe.
Nick stood on a row of seats to get a vantage point over the menagerie of travelers mulling about. Out of all the hundreds of people in the station that day, a few really stuck out to him. He saw a mother with pink streaked blonde hair talking on her phone while walking ahead of a screaming child. Nick turned in another direction and saw a group of Chinese businessmen in a rush to catch their train. He turned for the third time and saw a couple with black hair wearing jeans and navy blue pea coats. They were walking with their arms around each other and carrying duffle bags. Nick felt a tap on his leg. He looked down and saw a police officer.
“Komm, bitte, nach unten,” he asked Nick to get down. Nick shrugged his shoulders that he did not understand. “Komm, bitte, nach unten,” the officer repeated, this time motioning for Nick to come down from the chairs. Nick finally understood and did as the officer asked. Once he was down, the officer left. Nick felt sick again and made a dash for the restrooms.
Otto peered down from the second floor balcony. He was using the glass elevator for cover. He had received a call that Nick had gone to the train station. Otto suspected that Andrew had made arrangements to meet Nick and proceed with their plans to go to the castle Gothic. But so far Andrew was a no show. Otto moved a little further over when he saw Nick go into the rest room. A few minutes later, a dark haired couple stopped in front of the restrooms. The man kissed the woman and walked in the men’s room. She stayed outside and waited.
Nick was washing his face in the sink when the guy he had seen earlier walked in. He smiled at Nick. “Bonjour,” he said before going into an available stall. Nick simply nodded and continued splashing cold water on his face. He heard the toilet flush and saw the man come out and walk over to the sink next to him.
“Je vois que vous ont ete suivies. Vous n’avez pas idee de qui je suis,” the man said.
“I have no idea what you just said.” Nick shrugged.
“Vous ne parlent pas francais,” the man said.
“French,” Nick recognized the word ‘francais’. “No I do not speak French.”
“Too bad,” he said. “You really should learn another language Nick,” the man replied.
“How do you know my name?” Nick was shocked.
“Kara and Talia are counting on us,” he continued.
“Andrew?” Nick took a closer look at the man with the black hair and full, trimmed beard. “Holy s-” Nick gasped when he finally knew it was Andrew beneath the disguise. “What the hell are you doing? The cops think you killed Fred. Did you?”
“Fred was a Knight of VanHelsing,” Andrew said. “Talia killed him to save me. I was knocked out and they set me up to make it look like I was a Knight of VanHelsing.” Andrew moved closer to Nick. “When you leave the restroom, I want you to get out of the station and take a cab. Have the driver take you around for a few minutes and return. By that time, the police will have left the station to follow you.” Andrew reached inside his coat and took out an envelope. “Here is your ticket. Don’t be late.” Nick took the ticket and put it in his coat pocket.
“Who is the girl?” Nick finally asked.
“Emma Strauss,” Andrew answered. “I met her when I came to the station early this morning. We sat down and started talking. Emma told me she attends the University of Berlin. She was on her way home to Zwickau. I asked if she would do me a favor. I offered her five hundred euros to help me out. She needed the money.”
“You are something else.” Nick shook his head.
“Now you’re going to leave first,” Andrew instructed Nick. “I will follow in a few minutes. Just meet us on the train.”
“Okay,” Nick agreed. Nick left the bathroom. Andrew followed a few minutes later.
Otto saw Nick come out of the restroom. A few minutes later the other man came out. He walked up to the girl and gave her a kiss and then they walked in the direction of the train platforms. Otto was disappointed. Andrew had never showed up to meet with Nick. Otto called on his radio to follow Nick and to keep an eye on him. The officers radioed back that Nick had gotten into a cab. Otto radioed back that they should follow him. Satisfied, Otto took the glass elevator to the first floor. He was headed towards the exit, but suddenly stopped. Otto thought back to the case he had worked on with Andrew. He recalled that Andrew always traveled with a suitcase with a variety of disguises, clothing, and identifications. Otto even witnessed Andrew’s transformation into a disguise on that case long ago. Andrew could blend in anywhere, anytime. Otto slapped his forehead. “Dummkopf! Andrew war der andere Mann im Badezimmer,” Otto realized that Andrew was the other man in the restroom with Nick.” Otto shouted in his radio to stop the cab Nick was riding in. He also told them he was going after Andrew. When the elevator doors opened, Otto took off in a full run towards the train platforms.
As planned Nick had managed to lose the police that were following him. He had just entered the station when he saw Otto running towards the train platforms. Nick also saw that Andrew and Emma had just boarded the “Red Train” Thalys for Zwickau
Andrew hustled Emma onto the train when he saw Otto rushing towards them. Andrew also saw Nick. The voice on the speaker announced that the train was now departing.