[MO-Luds] Know Thy Enemy || Ludwig, Tino

[Alfred F. Jones]

it's a

revolution

Word count: 1107

Tags: Ludwig, Tino

Notes: I'm sorry this took forever. ;;

"You owe me one, Yulian."

It was the middle of the night and Alfred leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowed. The entire apartment was empty and quiet, the clock on his right read three AM. A mug of coffee sat next to a brightly lit laptop, half empty. "Suck it up, man. You're not going to get into any trouble, trust me. I just need a favor."

Alfred frowned as he leaned the phone against his shoulder and began typing into his laptop. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Provide me with a photo and I'll be set." A pause. "Of course I started; I knew you would agree." Another pause. "Yes, I can promise you that it'll be undetectable. If it wasn't I'd be dead or in jail by now."

Really a shocker that he wasn't. Alfred had been a little too close to the possibility lately, but Yulian didn't know that.

"Like I said," Alfred sighed, rubbing his forehead. "It's simple. You'll have the papers and half of the money by Friday and head to the Underground on Saturday. Pretend to look at the other mutants and then 'decide' on Ludwig. You'll sign off on a few things. You'll call me when you get out and we'll meet up four blocks away from my house, in that alley across from Central Park. I'll hand you the rest of the money. Then you'll be done. In a month you'll have to take him back for me, but that'll be a lot simpler. Like I said, I've got everything sorted out."

There was a squabble from the other side of the phone—mostly Yulian bitching about not signing up for this—but eventually the man agreed.

"Alright. I'll have everything done in the next few days. Meet me at the usual spot at 10 PM next Friday." Alfred picked up the phone again, an annoyed look spreading across his face. "Yes, it has to be at night. I'm not meeting you at any other time.

"...Alright, good. I'll see you on Friday." With that, Alfred hung up before pausing to examine his handiwork.

Well. It was done. Or at least, basically done. He'd call in tomorrow morning to make a reservation with...the Underground. Alfred's nose wrinkled in disgust. He hated the fact that he was doing this the legal way (or well...the semi-legal way), but there was no way around it. The fact that his money was going to those bastards...that he was supporting them... It made him want to vomit.

This was the only way he could keep his promise to Gilbert though. With recent events, the urgency of fulfilling that promise had faded, but Alfred hadn't forgotten. He never forgot his promises anymore.

Ludwig A. Beilschmidt. Alfred really didn't know much about him. He was pricey, which meant that he must win most of his fights and have some amount of crowd appeal. Ludwig was a fire-power, which would make sense with the whole winning thing. Alfred honestly didn't care too much. He just wanted to get Ludwig out.

He shifted his weight in the chair. He didn't really want to go to sleep quite yet. It was much nicer being awake and alert. Alfred didn't want to wake up with a knife to his neck or with another note on his desk, reminding him to stay put and be a good little instrument.

But still. He had to at least get a few hours of rest. After he was done with sorting out the purchase, Alfred had a con to pull soon. He'd need all the rest he could get.

Alfred sighed and closed his laptop before stumbling onto his bed. What was done was done. He'd fulfill his promise to Gilbert and then that'd be it.

Matthew...

Alfred briefly contemplated the thought of visiting his brother in the Underground again, but no. As much as he hated to admit it...he had been acting rashly. He'd gone in with no plan except for a lock pick, a gun, and a stolen uniform. If he was going to break Matthew out (and he did plan to break Matthew out), he would have to go in with a solid plan. It would have to be foolproof.

This was the least he could do right now. And maybe it'd distract him a bit as well. The con would bring back a sense of normalcy, hopefully.

Alfred closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep. It didn't come for a long time.

~~~

"Got it. I'll be there."

Alfred stood up and packed his laptop away, having just received confirmation that Yulian had left the Underground with Ludwig in tow. Picking up his coffee, he mentally calculated how long it'd take for him to get to the arranged meeting place. It was, what? A ten minute walk? Not too bad. Yulian would be there in about fifteen minutes, which was fine with Alfred.

The cold nipped at Alfred's ears as he began to walk briskly. He wasn't sure what he'd even do with a mutant. It would just be like...having a friend stay over for a month. Alfred would let Ludwig do whatever, really. Watch movies, play video games, go out for a walk...Alfred didn't really know what to expect. He'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

A few minutes later, Alfred rounded a corner and reached the meeting spot. He leaned against the wall as he waited, watching his breath float up in the cool air as he exhaled. Summer still wasn't here...was summer ever “here” in Russia? Didn't seem like it.

He was lost in thought until he heard footsteps. Alfred straightened and looked over to see Yulian standing with...well, he imagined it was Ludwig. Tall, about Alfred's height, but intimidating in a way that Alfred was not. Blond and good looking. Muscular. He was...surprised this was Gilbert's younger brother. He supposed he could see some family resemblance, but not a lot. Alfred walked over to where he could see better. Meeting at night sucked.

"Thanks, Yulian,” Alfred said briefly, nodding at the man. The man jerked his head and Alfred sighed before handing him an envelope. “I'm disappointed you still don't trust me. Don't blame you though. Remember, end of the month.”

Yulian took the envelope and with a nod, he left.

Alfred's posture relaxed as he turned to Ludwig. “Hey!” he said brightly, putting on a smile. “I'm Alfred. And you're...Ludwig, right? It's nice to meet you.” He stuck out his hand in greeting, wondering if the mutant would take it or not.

i suppose

by Worldie for Leia

[Ludwig A. Beilschmidt]

baby you're a firestorm you're a loaded cannon

Bought. When the guards had first come to his cell, Ludwig assumed that they had meant his cellmate. And then he assumed he had misheard. It had taken the exasperated lead guard fairly shouting in his ear to make things clear. As the mutant stood next to the bars and let his wrists be handcuffed together, he tried to process the information. It didn’t seem real; it didn’t even seem possible. Ludwig felt too genuinely shocked to even feel happy: he’d daydreamed about leaving the Underground on many an occasion, but to actually hope that such a thing would happen, after so many years — to him, that had seemed unrealistic. His price had escalated with his destruction of opponents in the arena, but those victories came at the cost of every single spectator realizing just what kind of damage he could do. The day Ludwig had realized that all of his studies at Weeds — all of his efforts to cooperate and behave and keep his head down, all of that had been for nothing because nobody wanted a fire-starter in their homes — that day had been a terrible one. He couldn’t even fathom who had bought him, it all seemed too unreal. A long walk to a waiting room, an exchange of paperwork and of money, a signature here and there, and Ludwig had the cuffs unlocked from his wrists. What? That was it? He turned to look back at the guards as they made their way back into the labyrinth of the Underground, but the man who had apparently purchased him seemed impatient and snapped at him to follow. So Ludwig obeyed. The man hadn’t given his name, the blond realized, but he looked anxious. Well… Ludwig could absolutely sympathize. He followed the man silently through more hallways and outside into a parking lot. The sudden openness of everything — a world without walls — caught Ludwig violently off-guard. His breath caught in his throat and he could feel his heart knocking violently inside his chest but after a moment, he managed to steady himself. Just in time, too, as the man had stopped at a car. He’d come to the Underground earlier, Ludwig recalled, but even then, he hadn’t given his name. “Get in,” the man commanded, opening one of the back doors, “put your belt on and stay quiet.” Ludwig nodded and did exactly that. The drive gave him the time he needed to collect himself and calm down; his thoughts kept returning to Gilbert and Feliciano and his other friends still trapped in the Underground, but he had to remind himself that even some of them had been out before. Did they feel guilty about being picked over other people? Ludwig would have to ask when he got back… and he would be coming back, he’d seen that much on the paperwork. The darkness outside prevented him from seeing the world properly, but even so, his eyes never left the window. Apartment buildings and houses lit brightly from within flashed by, giving him a freeze-frame glimpse of the scene within: people eating dinner, people watching a television, people talking with friends. They made him feel like a stranger in a foreign country, all of these humans living their unfamiliar lives. The car halted somewhere dark and Ludwig obeyed the order to get out, getting slightly tangled in the seatbelt he’d forgotten to undo first. The man led him into a dark alley; looking up at the gap between the two buildings, Ludwig realized that he could see the stars very clearly. They had only walked a little while before the man held out a hand to stop him, and Ludwig realized that they weren’t alone: a third party stood in the alleyway. His eyes adjusted quickly to the dark and he could make out a pair of glasses and a face with rather boyish good looks. The other man seemed much more at ease than his current owner, although there was something determined in his expression. Ludwig couldn’t place it. It was then that his owner took an envelope from the younger man, turned on his heel, and left. Bewildered, Ludwig glanced behind him — was he supposed to follow? And, for that matter, what were they doing in a dark alley like this? What had been in that envelope? Why had there been no introductions? Idiot! Ludwig snapped at himself internally, Dummkopf! Mutants were even supposed to get chipped right after leaving the Underground, and that clearly hadn’t happened — why hadn’t he been paying better attention?! All of this seemed suspicious, all of it — was he going to be ordered to burn down a building? Or kill somebody? Or maybe he’d just be killed himself— ”Hey! I’m Alfred. And you’re… Ludwig, right? It’s nice to meet you.” The man with the glasses was smiling and holding his hand out. Ludwig kept his face utterly blank. After a moment, he held his hand out carefully and shook. He felt like an idiot and he felt more anxious than he ever had, but he didn’t feel afraid. He could control fire. This Alfred, likely, could not. ”It’s nice to meet you too, sir,” he replied politely. He wanted to ask more: why are we in this alley, is this near where you live, what exactly is going on — but he’d been taught to only speak up when it was appropriate to. Right now just didn’t seem correct. Although… ”I’m sorry for speaking out of turn,” he led with carefully, ”but didn’t that other man buy me?” And if that was the case, Alfred, why are you even here? Word Count: 952 Tags: Alfred F. Jones Notes: Sorry for the delay! I hope it's ok for me to post now.

by worldie for lena

[Alfred F. Jones]

it's a

revolution

Word count: 767

Tags: Ludwig A. Beilschmidt

Notes: Ludwig's probably so confused, pfff.

Ludwig looked at Alfred's hand as if it was a grenade. Alfred waited patiently. For a moment, he thought Ludwig wouldn't take it. It wouldn't have been too surprising; Alfred thought that most mutants must automatically possess a degree of hatred for humans. Not to mention...Ludwig didn't know anything about Alfred. He didn't know why he was here or why Yulian had left. Gilbert had said Ludwig had never been bought, hadn't he? If their positions had been reversed, Alfred wouldn't be shaking any hands either.

But Ludwig took it, cautiously, carefully. It was a bit of an awkward handshake, a bit stiff and formal as if it was unpracticed and generally unused. But it was a handshake nevertheless and at least it meant that they were getting somewhere.

"It's nice to meet you too, sir." Ludwig was polite...too polite. Perhaps Alfred could change that, though he supposed it made sense that someone like Ludwig would choose to act so formally. Alfred frowned. Man, Ludwig was different from Gilbert. Gilbert had teased him, laughed at him, even mockingly hit on him a little. Ludwig on the other hand felt like a drill sergeant.

Ludwig's face was full of apprehension. He didn't seem to know completely how to react to any of this. That would mean a lot of explaining...which they should probably do somewhere else. They could talk on the way to his apartment; it was decently late and most sane people wouldn't be out wandering around right now.

"I'm sorry for speaking out of turn," Ludwig said hesitantly, "but didn't that other man buy me?"

Questions. Good. Alfred would've been more concerned if Ludwig hadn't asked any. And this was one he had anticipated.

He smiled at the man and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "No, not exactly. Yulian's involvement...is more of a third party transaction type of deal. He's a...friend of mine, or sorts. I asked him to buy you for me—though as I'm sure you could tell, he wasn't exactly eager to do it." Alfred shrugged. "He'll be the one taking you back as well at the end of the month. But no; I was the one who paid the money and gave Yulian all the documents he needed to get you out."

He left it there, even though Alfred was very well aware that his explanation probably just left room for more questions.

"Hmm, okay, let's walk and talk, shall we? Easier that way and I'm not a fan of the cold." Alfred began walking out of the alley before tilting his head towards the right. "My apartment's this way and I'll explain more on the way."

Where to start?

"Okay, so." Alfred rubbed his hands together. "No sir or boss or any of that. I'd much rather you call me Alfred." Alfred frowned a little. I mean if you really insisted on it I guess you could but it's not like you're working for me or anything. And I just dislike formalities in general.

"As for anything else..." Alfred tapped his chin. "You can basically do whatever. Ask whatever questions you want. I can't promise I'll answer all of them—or at least honestly—but I mean, I've been told it's your first time out. So loosen up a little."

They passed by a few closed shops and Alfred took another right at the next corner. He was taking a roundabout path to his apartment. Would Ludwig notice? Didn't really matter to him if Ludwig did...it was just Alfred being overly cautious.

"Only thing is I'd rather you not draw too much attention to yourself." Really an odd statement after everything Alfred had just said. I prefer keeping a low profile. So, uh, whatever you do, basically don't get caught, got it?" Alfred smiled a little at that. "If you need anything I can probably get it for you as long as it doesn't raise too many questions. You can go to the park and just wander around and I guess we'll go shopping since I don't know what you like. If there's anything particular you want to do, anywhere you want to go...I'll see if I can pull it off."

Alfred looked upwards. "Mm...and I guess that's about it. If there's anything you're not sure about, just ask."

He rounded another corner and could just about see his apartment. "Ah, we're almost here. We'll have to sort out sleeping arrangements and stuff...you can take my bed, I'll crash on the air mattress. Sorry, I'm not all that well-equipped for company..."

i suppose

by Worldie for Leia