""We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."" "T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"" ""After the game is before the game."" "S." "Herberger" "Man, probably the most mysterious species on our planet." "A mystery of unanswered questions." "Who are we?" "Where do we come from?" "Where are we going?" "How do we know what we think we know?" "Why do we believe anything at all?" "Countless questions in search of an answer, an answer that will give rise to a new question, and the next answer will give rise to the next question and so on." "But, in the end, isn't it always the same question?" "And always the same answer?" "The ball is round." "The game lasts 90 minutes." "That's a fact." "Everything else is pure theory." "Here we go!" "RUN LOLA RUN" "Manni?" "Lola." "What's up?" "Where are you?" "Where were you, damn it?" "I got there too late." "But why today?" "You're always on time!" "My moped got ripped off." "It doesn't matter." "Yes, it matters!" "What's wrong?" "It wasn't my fault, Manni." "I went to get some cigarettes." "I can't believe how fast that guy was." "There was nothing I could do." "He was gone before I got outside." "I even took a taxi." "That dumbass drove east." "They got a Grunewald Street there, too." "When I noticed, it was too late." "It just didn't occur to me." "I was so screwed up because of our moped." "Doesn't matter." "And when I got there, you were gone." "It doesn't matter now anyway." "I'm done for." "But why?" "Help me, Lola!" "I don't know what to do." "You weren't there, and I messed it up." "I blew it. I'm such a jerk!" "Just calm down." "Now what happened?" "Just tell me what happened, okay?" "Lola, he's gonna kill me." "I'm gonna die." "Stop it!" "You're scaring me." "What's up?" "Did you get caught?" "No, but that would've been something." "Everything went really great." "We drove the cars there, and those guys came." "They paid, and that was it." "Easy as pie." "I got waved across the border, and then they dropped me off out there." "Then I went to see that cyclops, and he was finished in no time." "And everything was on time, except for you." "You weren't there." "Then what?" "Nothing." "Not even a phone booth." "I couldn't even call a taxi, so I walked to the subway station." "On the train, there was this bum who somehow fell down, and suddenly these inspectors showed up." "And I got out like always, an old reflex." "The bag !" "The bag." "The bag !" "I'm such a fucking amateur!" "A dumbass!" "This could only happen to me!" "If you'd picked me up, it wouldn't have happened." "I was so out of it." "You're always on time otherwise!" "Didn't you call the next station?" "Sure." "But it was too late." "The fucking bag was already gone." "And I know who has it." "That bum!" "That plastic-bag freak!" "He's on a plane to Florida or Hawaii or Canada or Hong Kong or Bermuda or whatever." "What about Ronnie?" "He'll kill me." "You gotta tell him." "Forget it!" "Why?" "He won't believe a single word." "I kept a carton of cigarettes once." "He noticed right away." "He doesn't believe anybody." "The jobs with those mercs was a kind of test to see if he could trust me." "How much was there, in the bag?" "100,000." "What?" "100,000." "A test." "Oh, shit!" "See!" "I knew you wouldn't come up with any idea." "I always said someday you wouldn't know what to do." "Not when you die, sooner!" "You said, "Love can do everything."" "So find 100,000 marks in 20 minutes." "20 minutes?" "At 12:00 by the water tower around the corner, Ronnie said." "ln 20 minutes." "Run away, Manni !" "No." "Why not?" "Nobody escapes Ronnie." "I'll go with you." "When Ronnie gets here in 20 minutes, I'll be a goner." "Stop it, Manni !" "What for?" "You can't get me 100 grand either!" "He'll rub me out, and all that's left of me will be 100,000 ashes floating down the Spree to the North Sea, and no more Manni !" "You can't do a thing !" "Shut up!" "Listen." "Wait for me." "I'll help you." "Stay put." "I'll be there in 20 minutes." "Okay?" "Gonna pawn all your jewelry?" "Where are you?" "In a phone booth, downtown, in front of the Spirale Bar." "Okay, stay where you are." "I promise I'll come up with something." "In 20 minutes, okay?" "What the hell." "I'll go over to the Bolle and get that 100 grand." "Cut it out!" "Ronnie said they make 200 grand a day, so they must have 100 grand by noon." "You're nuts!" "Don't do a thing!" "Just stay in the damned booth!" "I'm coming." "That's it." "I'll rob the store." "Are you cracked?" "Don't do a thing !" "Stay put!" "I'm coming." "Then what?" "I'll think of something !" "In 20 minutes I'll be dead unless I steal the money!" "No, wait!" "What for?" "I'll get the money somehow." "I'm going in there at 12:00 if you aren't here." "Okay!" "Who?" "Who?" "Dad !" "Lola, are you going shopping?" "I need shampoo." "Of course, I knew that Sagittarius was your ascendant." "Sure, the more I think about it, I don't know." "Yeah, but you're married too." "Hey!" "Get your eyes open !" "You bitch." "AND THEN" "It's worst at night." "I wake up and can't fall asleep again." "And then I'm afraid." "Me!" "Afraid of the dark." "I've never been afraid of the dark." "I've never been afraid before." "But I think about us," "and I just think it'll keep going on like this." "And you wouldn't dare..." "And then I ask myself what I'm doing here." "How long will this go on?" "The secrecy, all this damned lying?" "Should I grow old, waiting for a man who won't stand by me?" "Hey!" "You need a bike?" "Fifty marks, as good as new." "No." "Hey, man, I know that!" "It's not my fault it's so much money!" "500?" "What am I supposed to do with 500 marks?" "Thanks." "Your phone card !" "I have to go." "Meyer will be here in a minute." "Can we meet later on?" "Do you love me?" "What?" "Do you love me?" "Why are you asking now?" "Do you love me?" "Yes, I do, damn it!" "Then decide." "But not now!" "You have to decide sometime." "But why now, here, at once?" "Because I'm pregnant." "Hey, look at that." "Our little princess, Lola!" "What a rare pleasure." "Why the rush?" "Please, let me in." "Little Miss wants to see Big Daddy?" "Sure thing." "Sorry." "Tell me, do you want to have a baby with me?" "Yes." "Lola?" "Dad." "Your daughter?" "I'm Jutta Hansen from the board of directors." "Sorry to interrupt." "It's urgent." "It's okay." "I was just about to..." "What are you doing here?" "What are you doing here?" "Nothing." "Listen, if I tell you I need your help more than ever in my whole life, and you're the only one who can help me, would you help me?" "You look terrible." "Would you help me?" "What happened?" "I can't explain now." "Would you help me?" "With what, damn it?" "I need 100,000 marks immediately." "What?" "I need it within the next five minutes, or else..." "Or else what?" "Something terrible will happen !" "I don't understand." "What's going on here today?" "Please, Dad !" "You gotta help me!" "Please!" "I don't have 100,000 marks." "What about my life insurance?" "What about it?" "It isn't worth 100,000." "Please, Dad." "I'm serious." "This isn't a joke." "Yes, it is, Lola!" "You can't be serious!" "If you don't help me, he'll die!" "Who'll die?" "Manni." "Who's Manni?" "My boyfriend, for over a year!" "I don't even know him." "Why will he die?" "It doesn't matter!" "Okay, come with me." "Are you going to help me?" "Of course." "Go home and go to bed." "And tell your mother I won't be home today or tomorrow or ever again." "I'm leaving you guys and marrying another woman." "We're going to have kids, and I'll try to be happy because she wants me." "I'm so sick of hearing, "All you do is work." "You always play the boss."" "Maybe so, but so what?" "You guys have no idea!" "I'm so tired of being the fool, the one to blame!" "But Daddy's dough is good enough, huh?" "Well, not anymore!" "Anyway, I'd never have fathered a weirdo like you." "But you did, you jerk!" "No, I didn't!" "All I'm saying is you're a cuckoo's egg." "Now you know." "The guy who fathered you didn't live to see your birth." "Throw her out, please." "Come on !" "Get her out of here!" "Well, we all have our bad days." "See you around." "My dear, what's wrong?" "Do you have the time?" "This afternoon?" "All right." "No, forget it." "It's okay." "Yeah." "Wait!" "Don't do it!" "Manni, please!" "Wait for me!" "I'll be right there." "Please." "Manni, please, wait!" "Manni !" "Okay." "Okay." "Lie down on the floor!" "On the floor!" "Hands behind your head and keep quiet!" "Hands behind your head and keep quiet." "Open the cash registers!" "Open all the cash registers!" "Open them and lie down !" "I'll shoot anybody who bugs me!" "I'll shoot anybody who bugs me!" "Manni !" "Lola, where were you?" "I couldn't get here faster." "Will you help me?" "Can't we just get out of here?" "Not anymore." "You see the shit I'm in." "Why didn't you wait for me?" "I did." "You got here too late." "So, are you with me?" "Put your hands up!" "Fast!" "Come on !" "Drop your gun !" "Hurry up!" "Don't move." "The safety catch is on." "How does it work?" "The little lever on the side." "Girl, listen..." "Don't move." "Come here." "Cover me." "I'll grab the cash." "Hurry, before the cops come." "Don't move!" "Manni?" "Do you love me?" "Sure, I do." "How can you be so sure?" "I don't know." "I just am." "I could be some other girl." "Why not?" "Because you're the best." "The best what?" "The best girl." "Of all the girls in the world?" "Sure." "How do you know?" "I just do." "You think so." "Okay, I think so." "You see?" "What?" "You aren't sure." "Are you nuts or what?" "What if you never met me?" "What do you mean?" "You'd be telling the same thing to someone else." "Okay, if you don't want to hear it." "I don't want to hear anything." "I want to know how you feel." "Okay, my feelings say that you're the best." "Who is "your feelings" anyway?" "It's me." "My heart." "Your heart says, "Hi, Manni." "She's the one."" "Exactly." "And you say," ""Thanks for the information." "See you around."" "Exactly." "And you do whatever your heart says?" "Well, it really doesn't "say" anything." "I don't know." "It just feels." "So what does it feel now?" "That someone's asking rather stupid questions." "Man, you aren't taking me seriously." "Lola, what's wrong?" "You want to leave me?" "I don't know." "I think I have to make a decision." "But I don't want to." "I don't want to leave." "Stop." "Lola, are you going shopping?" "I need shampoo." "Of course, I knew that Sagittarius was your ascendant." "Sure, the more I think about it, I don't know." "Yeah, but you're married too." "Watch out, you stupid cow!" "Fucking bitch !" "Hey!" "You need a bike?" "No." "50 marks, as good as new." "But it's stolen !" "500?" "What am I supposed to do with 500 marks?" "Tell me, do you want to have a baby with me?" "Yes." "Even if it isn't from you?" "Hey, look at that." "Our little princess." "I'm in a hurry, please!" "Let me in." "Courtesy and composure are the queen's jewels." "Let me in, please." "A little anger is good for the heart, the circulation, the skin." "I don't care whether it was an accident or not!" "Great start for a new love!" "If you hadn't neglected me, it wouldn't have happened." "I have a family!" "I can't leave a sick wife and three kids just to please Her Highness." "Your wife is drunk from morning to night!" "So what?" "What do you know?" "Don't you see you're bothering us?" "Lola?" "Hi, Dad." "Why didn't you knock?" "What's going on?" "What do you want?" "Is she your daughter?" "Shut the door." "What do you want?" "I need your help." "You see that I'm busy." "There's no other way." "Damn it!" "Why are you disturbing me right now?" "I have a problem, you understand?" "Who's that slut?" "That's none of your business!" "Lola, leave." "Go home." "Leave me alone." "I can't!" "Why not?" "I need money." "Then get a job." "I will, but I need the money now!" "Okay, just so you get out of here." "How much?" "No, no." "I need lots more." "What do you mean, "lots more"?" "A whole lot more!" "Aren't you ashamed, barging in like this?" "Can't you see we're busy?" "I don't give a shit, you stupid cow!" "I have other problems." "Don't you dare..." "What?" "Hey!" "What's up?" "What's up?" "It just isn't your day today." "Doesn't matter." "You can't have everything." "Come with me." "Have you gone crazy?" "Think you can do anything you like?" "Shut up!" "You go first." "Girl, listen." "You don't know how to use that thing." "Let me make a suggestion." "Get away." "Listen, dear, we can talk it over..." "Fuck off!" "Shit!" "The combination." "Quiet!" "Lola, what..." "What the heck are you doing?" "Open up!" "Lola, there are cameras everywhere." "You'll never get out of here." "The police will be here in a second." "You said they always come too late." "Bag it, 100,000." "Come on, little miss." "Leave your daddy alone." "You don't want to hurt anyone, do you?" "I don't know." "I don't have it." "Why not?" "There's only 88,000." "I'll have to get the rest from downstairs." "Okay, get going." "Go, go!" "Hurry up, man !" "100,000." "In there." "Bye, Dad." "I don't believe it." "Hey, girl." "Get away." "Get away from there!" "Hey, girl, you want to get killed?" "Attention!" "This is the police!" "The building is surrounded..." "What a ruckus." "Do you have the time?" "Okay." "Hey, get away!" "Give me a lift, will you?" "Please?" "Wait!" "Wait, Manni. I'm coming." "I'm almost there." "Wait!" "I'm gonna make it." "Lola." "What would you do if I died?" "I wouldn't let you die." "Yeah, well, what if I were fatally ill?" "I'd find a way." "What if I were in a coma, and the doc said, "One more day"?" "I'd throw you into the ocean, shock therapy." "What if I were dead anyway?" "What do you want to hear?" "Come on." "Tell me." "I'd go to the Isle of Rügen and cast your ashes to the wind." "And then?" "I don't know." "It's a stupid question." "I know what you'd do." "You'd forget me." "No!" "Sure you would." "What else could you do?" "Sure, you'd mourn for a few weeks." "Not a bad idea." "And everybody's real compassionate, and everything's so incredibly sad, and everyone feels sorry for you." "You can show everyone how strong you are. "What a great woman," they'll say." ""She really pulls herself together instead of crying all day."" "And all at once this really nice guy with green eyes shows up." "And he's super sensitive, listens to you all day." "And you can talk his ear off." "And you can tell him how tough things are for you, and that you have to look after yourself and don't know what's gonna happen, and blah, blah, blah." "Then you'd hop onto his lap and cross me off your list." "That's how it goes." "Manni." "What?" "You haven't died yet." "No?" "Lola, are you going shopping?" "I need shampoo." "Of course, I knew that Sagittarius was your ascendant." "Sure, the more I think about it, I don't know." "Yeah, but you're married too." "Watch out!" "Sorry." "I bet you're sorry." "Fries and a sausage." "Give me another one." "I'll be damned." "Life's really crazy sometimes, isn't it?" "Come on, kid." "I'll buy you a drink." "You need a bike?" "A special price, 70 marks." "Lola?" "Mr. Meyer?" "Is everything okay?" "No." "Tell me, do you want to have a baby with me?" "Yes." "Mr. Meyer is here." "There's something else." "Not now." "Mr. Meyer asked if he should park, or if you're coming out." "Coming." "That's the nicest present you could ever give me." "Can we meet later on?" "Hi there." "Hi there, Ms. Jäger." "Hi there." "Hello." "Hi." "Nice to see you." "Hello, Mr. Meyer." "Dad !" "Wait!" "You know what?" "I just had a strange encounter." "Oh, yeah?" "Yeah, with your daughter." "With whom?" "Your daughter." "Dad !" "Shit!" "Shit!" "You've come at last, dear." "Thanks." "Wait." "So I decided it'd be best for me not to have kids." "I work so much that they'd never see me." "Watch out!" "What can l do?" "What can l do?" "Come on." "Help me." "Please." "Just this once." "I'll just keep on running, okay?" "I'm waiting." "I'm waiting." "I'm waiting." "I'm waiting." "You wanna get killed?" "How does this work?" "You buy chips" "and gamble them away." "Okay." "You can't go in there like that." "I have to." "Ninety-nine marks, 20." "What kind of chips?" "One for 100?" "You're short." "Please." "Place your bets, please." "Your bets, please." "No more bets." "Twenty, black, even, pass." "No series." "1,500 for black." "One hundred and 400 ." "Three thousand, five hundred for 100 marks on 20." "Here you are, 3,500." "Come with me, please." "Just one more game." "Please place your bets." "Twenty, black, even, pass." "Hurry up." "I need a plastic bag." "Stop!" "That's mine." "I know!" "I'm sorry." "And what about me?" "At least give me that." "What're you doing here?" "I'll stay with him." "What?" "Okay." "Manni?" "Manni?" "Hey." "What happened to you?" "Did you run here?" "Don't worry." "Everything's okay." "Come on." "What's in the bag?"