1925. The year the first volume of Mein Kampf hit the streets, John Baird was just about done tinkering with his television invention... And Berlin was the capitol of vice and entertainment. Though which came first was up for grabs.
Censorship had fallen with the Kaiser and the shock of defeat had left Germany scrambling for a desire to feel alive. And Berlin gave it to them...gave it to the world. Opium dens, Cabarets, cocaine tubes, Orchestras, Opera Houses, Homosexuals, Bisexuals, Transvestites, with about a 150 dens that catered to homosexuals, and triple that catering to everything else....Berlin was a hot spot for everyone.
And this is where Olinda Reiter opened BlumeVerboten. The Forbidden Flower. From the moment Olinda stepped into the city...rumors flew about her. She came in by an old style coach, being driven by a man nearly seven feet tall with skin the color of polished onyx. They say she did not step from the carriage but floated from it, her heel clad feet never actually touching the ground. She bought the three level brick house with jewels rather than cash. And that the women she brought in over the next weeks were just as abnormal as she was.
But well...what proof is there of that?
~
Alexander Donovan was woken rudely by the shouts and cheers of his comrades. What was it about vacation that made sleep seem like a hassle? One look at his pocket watch told Donovan that he had slept for four hours, which according to his mates was one hour to many.
"Come on Alex!" Randal said giving him a playful kick in the hip. "It's almost 10!"
Alex sighed and sat up peering at the faces of his colleagues. Like many scholars of their time the group had decided to take a break from the monotony of schooling to see the world...and the one and only stop on their two week trip was Berlin. They'd partied through the night last night and into this morning. Watching Operas and seeing Burlesque shows. They'd meet up with another group of gents and found themselves debating the War and politics and a plethora of other things till almost three in the afternoon...sleep indeed.
"what's it matter?" He asked looking around for the basin of water he'd brought up to wash his face the night before.
"We are going to the Flower tonight."
Ahhh yes, the gentlemen from the night...morning?...before had told them of the Forbidden Flower. And the stories they'd told had been surreal. But they'd all decided that they must see the show that seemed to have bordered on the fantastic this night, and one had to be there before 10:30...or the doors were shut. Once you went into the Forbidden Flower, the boys had said, You did not come out until the show was over. That was the rule. They went into lavish detail on the girls, perfection every one of them...
"But that Madam..." One said.
And all of them gave a deep sigh.
"What of her?" Randal had asked.
"Nah, mate, you'd have to see her."
And so they would.
Alexander washed his face and checked to see if it needed a shave. Deciding against it he shrugged out of the suit he wore the night before and slipped into a different one, though it was hard to tell...a suit made of tweed was a suit made of tweed. Though admittedly this one was a darker brown rather than the almost coppery one of the night before.
With a song on their lips and wallets full of money they marched off to the house of den, with no idea what they were really in for.
~
"What do we do? Knock?" Jameson piped up as the looked at the large door covered with ornate carvings of debauchery.
"Well...go on Alex...knock." Randal said pushing him towards the front. Alexander sighed and raised his fist, but the door swung open before he could knock. He stood there with his fist raised staring at the massive black man before him.
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph." Jameson said.
The others couldn't agree more. He was taller than even Alexander by half a foot, and the elegant three piece suit that covered him was stretched tight across expansive shoulders and an old bowler hat covered a perfectly bald head.
"How many?" The man demanded in a voice so deep it reverberated off the brick walls.
"Five." Alexander said promptly.
He looked them all over. "No weapons."
He looked at all of them, they all shook their heads and opened their jackets as if to show they indeed had no weapons among them.
"New?"
"Yes."
He smiled for the first time showing perfectly white teeth.