Hans went home shortly after they departed. With her no longer around there was no reason for him to stick around either. Herman drove him home, and he looked drowsily out of the window, his mind full of the events of the night. He was excited that he saw her, but disappointed that she didn't show any feeling toward him…except distain. Their dance had given him a sliver of hope, but not much. Although it wasn't proving to be easy, he wanted her and he always got what he wanted.

The next morning was sharp contrast to the night before. He woke up to a call at 5 o'clock demanding that he show up at the office that instant. It was not the way he usually liked to be woken up and he was instantly in a bad mood. He had Herman rush him over to work, curious to find out what was so important that he needed to wake up so early.

His supervisor met him at the door and handed him a briefing. "This is a fucking nightmare!" His supervisor shouted for all of the building to hear.

"Calm down" pleaded Hans, for the many glasses of champagne he had last night were now giving him a terrible headache. "What exactly is happening?"

"I'll tell you what is happening, it's those damn Basterds again!"

Hans cringed at the name and silently cursed to himself. He hated being a failure at anything; it was that drive that got him to where he was today. But these Basterds were really giving him trouble and the whole assignment was like one big failure. He prepared himself to be berated for lack of finding the Basterds and entered the board room for the meeting. All of the other members were already there waiting on him and his supervisor.

"Where the hell have you been?" demanded General Major Heinz. He was a short man and his head was completely bald, but he was stout and his presence was very intimating, even for Colonel Landa.

"I was asleep, thank you," he said in a rather annoyed tone. Even though the General Major intimated him, it didn't mean that he wasn't afraid to push his buttons. He respected his higher ranking officer, but he felt that he was getting older and if Hans were to remain in the military, especially if they were to somehow win this war, it was his position the he was gunning for.

"This whole Basterds business is getting completely out of control! Do you know what happened last night while you were out partying Colonel?" asked Heinz while Hans and his supervisor sat themselves at the table.

Obliviously, he didn't know, but he could tell by the way that Heinz's vein in his forehead was sticking out that it wasn't good. Hans shook his head no and waited for Heinz to tell him.

"Last night there was a break in at the prison that is holding Hugo Stiglitz. He was supposed to be transported to Berlin today to being his trial. Hugo was the only prisoner since he is considered such a high risk, and there were over thirty highly armed guards there watching him. But, somehow a group of men were able to break in and kill every goddamn man in the place, except for one. Can you guess which man was able to survive Colonel Landa?"

"Herr Stiglitz".

"That is correct, now can you guess who the group of men was that helped Herr Stiglitz escape?"

"The Bastereds".

"Right again Colonel Landa, I guess that's what makes you such a great detective. But tell me, if you are such a great detective then why haven't we captured these assholes!" General Major Heinz screamed as he leaped across the table towards Hans.

Hans was taken back by the lunge and jumped back in his chair. This seemed to please Heinz and he sat back and calmly straightening his jacket as he continued speaking. "Hans I have no doubt that you are capable of finding this men and bringing them to justice. But we are running out of time. Hitler is hearing of these attacks on our men by this terrorist group and he is becoming increasing paranoid by them. When he hears news of this new event he is surely going to be more upset. It is in your best interest to find these men sooner than later. And since you are having trouble in this department we have decided to appoint you a partner to aid you in your search."

As if the berating wasn't bad enough, the last part hit him like a punch to the stomach. "Excuse me," replied Hans. "I don't think I need a partner. I promise that I will do my very best to get these bastards and I don't need the help." For the first time in this meeting fear crept into his mind. He wasn't afraid of much in his life. He could handle being yelled at, but what he was truly afraid of was being made to look inferior or even replaced. And he knew as soon as he heard it that receiving a partner was the first step to being replaced. First the man would be there just to help him, and then it would be to take over his job completely. It was true that he was unhappy with his job at the moment, but he wasn't ready to be dismissed so easily, not yet.

"It's too late Hans, someone has already been appointed for the position," said his supervisor gently. He liked Hans and he knew that this was going to be hard for him.

"His name is Lieutenant Heinrich Fuchs. He has only been in military for a few years, but he has risen quickly within that time. He is a brilliant young man and I am sure he will be able to help you greatly with your search. You two will be introduced tomorrow as he is on his was now by train from Berlin."

Hans knew he been beaten and that there was nothing he could do in this situation. He could fight, but it would only make his situation worse. He simply nodded his head, stood up and left the room in silence. He walked to his office, and told Herman who was seated at a desk in front of his office that he wished not to be disturbed under any circumstances and closed the door shut behind him. He hung his coat and hat on the rack beside his desk before he sat down. When he finally sat down, he turned his chair to face the window. It looked like a picture out of an old German fairytale, everything was completely covered in white, and heavy snow was still falling down. The only upside to this day was that he may be able to leave early on account of the weather.

He sighed deeply, and placed his head in his hands. He had never felt so tired before, so old. Maybe, he should start thinking about retiring soon after all. He had done more than what was considered his duty. But, if he didn't have this what else would he have? His work was his only purpose in life. Then his mind wandered to Elizabeth's face. He tried to shake the image out of his head, but he couldn't. So he continued to stare out of the window, pushing off the rest of the work that needed to be done for that day while wondering what Elizabeth was doing that day.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, it means so much to me to hear from you :) And I'm glad that everyone is still enjoying it so far! Sorry this chapter was so short, I promise the next one will be a little longer.