I don't own Inglourious Basterds or any of its characters...

Author's Note: I saw this film when it first came out, saw it in theaters, and remembered a certain Standartenfuhrer in it making me flustered. I never found out his name until earlier this year when Django came out. Only just saw Django and I have to admit, the more I look him up, the more pictures I see of him, the more I'm forced to admit that Christoph Waltz is an extremely attractive specimen of man. The idea for a Landa fanfic lodged itself into my head and I still really don't know what this will be about. I've just got wheels spinning and the urge to start writing something. I hope this isn't copying anyone else's ideas, I haven't read all the IB fanfics here. What I do know is that I write in my own style and so at least the way the story is presented will be different if this ends up being similar to another story. Forgive me for any similarities. I hope you enjoy. Please leave me a review.

Secondary Note: Obviously, I don't speak any European languages and I doubt you'll want to have to translate so let us just pretend they're speaking such, yes? Okay.

A Plague I Call Heartbeat

Chapter One: The Jew Hunter

A foreboding man sat on the elequently forged metal chair outside the cafe in a mostly deserted Polish town. It was early on in the war and Nazi Germany only had one enemy so far, the British who were arming and doing what they could to fight the superpower that had grown like wildfire. Most occupants of this town were Jewish and had already been put on a train to an undisclosed destination. All that were left were a few shop owners and young non-Jewish couples or single young men and women who'd moved to Poland from other places.

The foreboding man wasn't visually foreboding unless he happened to train a specific look on you. What made him unnerving to approach was his reputation. Even those not involved in the military knew who he was. They knew his tendencies, his cruelty, his merciless nature. Unlike all the other infamous Nazis that the public rarely saw, mainly the doctors and those involved with the camps no one really knew anything about, he was always in the public eye. He seemed to love the reputation he'd earned and the fear that came with it. He seemed to relish being stared at from safe distances and whispered about when they thought he was out of earshot.

Though this man had a dignified and honorable ranking, his nickname summed him up more thoroughly to the public. The Jew Hunter. And he was a hunter. The most prime and skilled of hunters. Not just for his detective talents that could rival the British character Sherlock Holmes, but for his personality. He was detached and always three steps ahead of everyone around him. Contrary to popular belief, he was an emotional man. In fact he had an enormous rage of emotions boiling deep below the surface, whether he willed himself to admit it or not. However, he'd spent a long, long period of his life building up and perfecting self control. No one would ever know how he truly felt about something unless he wanted them to. That included Germany's blessed Fuhrer and all other officers above him. He was an accomplished liar and a professional at hiding things about himself, which made him an invaluable Jew Hunter. Who but the most talented at hiding on the inside would be the best at finding those who hide on the outside?

A deliberate charming smile split his face and he gave a finger wave to the young couple hurrying along the sidewalk to reach their apartment and be away from the occupiers roaming the streets and businesses. The gave a quick and nervous wave in return as the man dropped his keys once, hastily picked them up, unlocked their door, ushered himself and his girlfriend in, then slammed the door shut.

The slam of the door rang out on the deathly quiet street. A few nesting birds left nearby rooftops in hurried and frightened flight, greatly mimicking the couple that had disappeared into their building.

The Jew Hunter finished his coffee and set the small cup down before standing and adjusting his long, leather, SS overcoat. He felt eyes on him, which wasn't unusual, but looked up this time anyway.

A young woman at her open apartment window was staring at him with what he read on her face as a mixture of intrigue and disgust, but none of the usual fear. When he looked up, her eyes slightly widened in alarm and she disappeared before he could give a grin or a wave. The Colonel's brows furrowed, his interested had been snagged.

He took a glance at his watch and realized he couldn't yet pursue, he was due in a meeting within the next half an hour. With a soft sigh, he adjusted his jacket again, knowing appearance was everything to his superiors and comrades, and started to the car that was to take him to the meeting.

Anna rose to the window again, making sure she was out of sight, and stared down once more. She watched him walk to his car, get in, and have the driver take them away. Cursing herself, she left the window. The Nazi "cause" made her sick to her stomach. She'd watched too many good families, too many childhood friends carried away and forced onto the trains to go God know's where. Due to men like him.

A second voice in her head rose up, muttering that he might not be like the others and she squashed it. He's not like the others, no, he's worse than them. She thought with a scowl, not liking the other thoughts battling in her head.

She went back to the typewriter she'd worked so hard over the last few years to acquire. Lighting a cigarette, she took a deep breath and forced her mind to focus on the story at hand. A small smile spread her face and concentration narrowed her eyes as she began to type away. Not knowing how drastically everything in the life she was still trying to reign in and be happy with was about to be thrown out of control. Not knowing she'd accidentally caught the attention of the one man possibly more dangerous than Hitler himself.

**(( Okay, I really hoped you liked that. I feel a really great story brewing with this and I desperately hope you stick with this story and leave me reviews if you've read this. Thank you for reading. Please, if you can find the time, leave me some feedback. Let me know what you think. ))**