And now, an important message from the previous chapter.

"This blows. Why the hell did bruder have to go play with his god damn boy toy and leave the apartment locked like that? Dick." Gilbert muttered as his red eyed swam to the broken window he had used to enter the apartment. In his defence, Ludwig had taken the key he always hid underneath the doormat which was totally not awesome. Sure Gilbert may not live in the apartment anymore after being kicked out but still, it was just rude to hide the key.

With a sigh Gilbert heaved himself off the couch and wandered into the kitchen to see if there was any microwaveable popcorn left since it was fast to prepare, filling and fast to make for the awesome Prussian on the go. Digging through various cupboards whose contents had been mostly emptied earlier yielded nothing and with a growl of annoyance and hunger Gilbert knocked several containers on the ground, one of them falling open and several bills falling from within.

"Score!" Gilbert enthusiastically declared as he scooped up the money and stuffed it into his pocket. "I'm gonna get so wasted tonight. It's going to be awesome." Gilbert crowed as he vaulted out of the window which was fortunately on the first floor of the building. "Beeeeeeer!" He bellowed as he ran down the street.

All was silent in Ludwig's apartment. The residence revelled in the quiet, the lack of noise reminiscent of the time in which a battlefield remained empty following the combat leaving only the devastation before the survivors returned to rebuild.

This silence was shattered as the doorknob jiggled for a moment. There was a pause followed by a scratching sound and a click. The door knob turned at last with the lock picked and the door eased open slowly until it was fully open revealing a bespectacled green uniformed man with blonde hair and a tall beige coat wearing figure with a childish smile.

"Th-this is the place Mister I-Ivan." Eduard nervously told his boss as he cautiously led the way into the apartment with Ivan following closely after. However, as soon as the Russian saw the room he lost his smile and glowered at the destroyed apartment darkly.

"Eduard, it would appear we are too late to interview the late Mister Beilschmidt." Ivan coldly stated as he looked around the destroyed room.

"Good lord." Eduard gasped as he noticed the dried red splashes on the walls. "What happened here?" Eduard asked in awestruck horror at the obvious signs of struggle in the apartment and the blood on the walls. Ivan tsked at the Estonian lightly as he took a step into the apartment and flipped a book on the floor to the side with the toe of his boot.

"Really now Eduard I thought it obvious." Ivan admonished the blonde lightly.

"I-it is?" Eduard asked as he squatted before a smashed coffee table and brushed some of the wooden splinters off of the carpet. Ivan chuckled and Eduard paused to cringe but no blows came.

"Of course Eduard. It would appear that this 'Matthew' and 'Yong-soo' are truly ruthless and cut throat. They must have located Ludwig the first day they were here and came to the apartment. They confronted him for the key but when Ludwig did not give it to them they killed him so that he could not tell anyone about them or hand over the key. After which they disposed of the body to ensure that there would be no evidence left from his corpse." Ivan explained as he examined the red stains on the walls.

"B-but how could they know? It took us three days after arriving here to actually find this place. H-how did they accomplish that s-so quickly?" Eduard stuttered noting that the blood stains on the walls were dry.

"It would be child's play for agents of their calibre to accomplish a feat like this Eduard. Remember that they have hidden their identities all their lives. Search the apartment, perhaps they made an error and left a clue somewhere." Ivan ordered Eduard, putting action to words as he flipped over a destroyed kitchen table.

"Yes sir." Eduard responded as he too began to search for a clue. For several hours the only sound was the two men as they searched the apartment top to bottom in an attempt to locate a clue until Eduard's excited voice cut through their silence.

"Mister Ivan! I found a daily calendar." Eduard enthusiastically declared as he pulled out the small stack of single sheets glued together with a date printed on it. Ivan grinned victoriously and approached Eduard, snatching the calendar from his grasp.

"Good work Eduard. Now then, let us see..." Ivan trailed off as he brushed some destroyed plaster off the calendar. After examining it for a moment the Russian let loose a loud curse and flung the calendar away, startling Eduard tremendously.

"S-sir? What is it?" The Estonian asked fearfully. Ivan just let loose another string of curses in Russian as he kicked the wall making yet another hole in the plaster. After several more destructive efforts, some of which involved Ivan's favourite faucet pipe smashing into the walls the Russian managed to calm down.

"Eduard." Ivan began, turning to the cowering Estonian. Eduard gulped nervously and nodded.

"Y-yes mister Ivan?" Eduard stuttered fearfully.

"It would appear that they did this on the day that we arrived. It took them less than a day to find an unlisted name and address in the capital of Germany, confront him and kill him along with destroying any evidence that could incriminate them." Ivan hissed furiously. Eduard quaked but said nothing, realizing that anything he said would likely only exacerbate the problem. Ivan was silent as he stared at the newly damaged wall.

Abruptly Ivan's shoulders began to shake. Eduard nervously backed further into a corner of the room as he waited for his employer to explode in a devastating rage. Ivan's shoulders shook even more violently but then Eduard heard a sound. He failed to notice it before as it had begun quietly and the sound of his own heartbeat obscured it but, now that he was listening he heard a sound that made his jaw drop open in surprise.

Ivan was laughing.

True, it was his typical strange laugh that sounded like he was saying kolkolkol but it was laughing nevertheless.

"U-um, M-Mister Ivan?" Eduard ventured before Ivan broke out in full throated cackling, throwing his head back and a gloved hand over his eyes as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing was reality.

"It's glorious Eduard." Ivan cackled joyously.

"S-sir?" Eduard ventured, curious but still apprehensive. Ivan gradually let his laughter die down but still shook his head in amusement at his own private joke.

"Don't you see Eduard? Someone is better at this than me. Someone has dared to be better at this game of cat and mouse I have played since before the Berlin wall fell. I have not been challenged in so long I feel my heart thumping in my chest in excitement at the possibility that I am for once at a disadvantage from my opponent. I am playing chess in the dark for the first time in decades Eduard and I could not be happier." Ivan explained with such pure childlike glee that Eduard was taken aback.

"Uh, g-good for y-you s-sir." Eduard tentatively replied to the massive Russian. Ivan giggled again and grabbed Eduard in a bone crushing hug (almost literally) and spun around effortlessly.

"Da,it is indeed good. Now come Eduard," Ivan declared as he released the Estonian man only to grab his arm and fairly skip to the front door in joy, "we have lost the lead but we will retake it soon." Ivan cheerfully told his minion.

"Oh goody." Eduard muttered as he was dragged out the door behind Ivan.

()()()

"This is the place Kiku." Alfred whispered to his partner as they strode down the hall of the apartment building, numbered doors lining the walls on both sides beside them.

"Hai Alfred-san." Kiku agreed as they walked. The pair of agents were silent as they approached the apartment whose number was written on a small slip of paper in Alfred's hand. They stopped before the numbered room, Alfred raising his knuckles and rapping them on the door.

Much to their surprise however the door opened slightly with just that gentle prompting. The two agents exchanged a concerned look before they both pulled free a handgun from within their coats. The two men flanked the door with their guns at the ready until Alfred gave Kiku a quick nod and kicked the door open, both men bringing their weapons to bear and scanning the room. When there was no noise or motion in reply to their entrance and only the sight of the destroyed room they dropped their guns to their sides but kept them drawn.

"Wow." Alfred said in an awestruck tone at the scene of mayhem he was greeted by. "What the hell happened here?" He demanded rhetorically.

"Nothing good it would seem Alfred-san." Kiku uttered in interest as he began to move about the room, carefully stepping over the mess covering the floor lest he disturb the chaos. Kiku carefully padded over to the wall and examined the red stain carefully. The Japanese man was about to reach out to touch the burgundy stain when Alfred called out.

"Hey Kiku check this out." Kiku pulled away from the dry stain to return to Alfred who was examining several differently shaped holes in the wall.

"What is it Alfred-san?" Kiku asked as he halted beside the American and examined the destroyed wall.

"Look at this." Alfred muttered with a dark scowl, gesturing at a specific hole. Kiku squinted and leaned in to examine the mark, noting the L shape of it and how several small pieces of plaster were precariously hanging in the inside of the hole.

"It looks... recent. As in today recent." Kiku ventured as he glanced between it and several other holes in the wall. Alfred nodded in agreement of the Asians assessment.

"Yeah. And I know one guy who runs around hitting things with something shaped like that." Alfred told Kiku darkly, glaring at the hole as though it were the culprit. "Ivan." Alfred hissed before looking back to the various stains of red on the walls with Kiku following suite.

"Hai Alfred-san. But those stains needed some time to set like that. I'm not sure if Ivan could have killed Ludwig-san in time for his blood to dry like that and leave these marks like this as well." Kiku told Alfred with a sceptical tone. Alfred scowled a little deeper but reluctantly nodded.

"I guess but still, Ivan was here and that commie bastard never means anything good." Kiku nodded at that, conceding the point to the American.

"True Alfred-san. However things are becoming complicated. Do you think that Arthur-san knew something?" Kiku asked his companion. Alfred stroked his chin in thought before slowly nodding in confirmation.

"Hmm, he could. But I doubt we could find him. He may be an asshole but anywhere that fashion or food isn't an issue he can blend in like a polar bear in a snowstorm. Oh man, this one time in Italy he got captured by these guys but broke out. They recaptured him like four times before I, as the hero, bailed him out-."

"Alfred-san." Kiku interrupted lest the American become even more sidetracked. "Does this mean that Ivan does not have the case?" Kiku asked the American. Alfred blinked owlishly at Kiku for a second as he tried to register what he had just been told before brightening, snapping his fingers in realization.

"Hey, you're right! He probably doesn't so we still have a chance. Awesome Kiku, way to go." Alfred praised his Japanese compatriot with a friendly slap on the man's back, nearly bowling the poor Asian over.

"Thank you Alfred-san." Kiku responded with humility, wincing a little as pain shot up his back from the congratulatory gesture.

"We better get going if we don't want to be left behind." Alfred quickly uttered, pulling Kiku towards the door. Kiku stumbled slightly at the sudden motion but eventually caught his balance as he was pulled along with the other agent out the door.

()()()

Mathias was woken from his nap on the chair by the sound of Berwald's phone ringing. Of course it was hardly a surprise that this occurred since the giant Swede had taken on the role of guarding the apartment with Mathias while the rest of their team searched for information on Ludwig. Their stratagem was that they searched in shifts of three while two remained in the apartment to ensure that they would have sufficient numbers to watch Yong-soo and Matthew if either wanted to leave the apartment for any reason.

Also to pull them apart should they start fighting which had occurred a few times when Matthew woke up to Yong-soo taking pictures of him, an oddly frequent occurrence considering they had been present in the apartment for only three days. When asked Yong-soo claimed that it was just for fun but Matthew rebuked that by shouting that he was sick of Yong-soo selling indecent pictures of him over the internet.

But that was beside the point. At the moment Mathias had been in the middle of his seven p.m. nap when Berwald's cell went off, filling the room with the sound of Abba singing 'Take a Chance on Me'. Suffice to say the Canadian, Korean and Dane cast awkward looks at Berwald as the stoic man answered his phone.

"'ello?" The other three members of the room watched as Berwald listened intently to the voice on the other end of the phone before nodding a few times.

"A' right. G'd bye." Berwald intoned into the phone before flicking it shut and turning to Mathias. Mathias sat up a little straighter at the piercing gaze of the Swede and raised an eyebrow curiously.

"What?" He demanded.

"Norge found a b'r wh're s'mone n'med Ludwig go's t'." Mathias lit up at the mention of a bar and jumped to his feet enthusiastically with a broad grin.

"Sweet! Where is it? Also, I need booze money stat." Mathias quickly exclaimed as he ran into a corner of the room where he had tossed his pants before his nap and began to enthusiastically pull them on. Berwald watched the display with his usual stoic countenance before reaching into his pocket and pulling forth several twenty euro bills. Mathias brightened at the sight and finally managed to pull his pants on before walking to Berwald and grabbing the money.

"Kick ass. So where is it?" Mathias demanded. Berwald grunted and wrote down a series of numbers and the name of a street on some paper before handing it to the Dane. Mathias grinned and grabbed the paper before quickly striding to the front door. "See you guys later." He called before slipping on his shoes and walking out the door.

Mathias quickly made his way to the address on the paper, grinning ear to ear in anticipation. After all, how often does someone have the opportunity to get plastered at a bar for a job? The answer was not often unless you are involved in the legal profession. Putting such thoughts aside Mathias soon came upon the bar written on the note. Without a moment of hesitation the Dane entered the bar with a confident swagger.

The bar was a typical one. Booths against the walls and various tables scattered around with the serving area placed against the back of the wall, various drinks lining several shelves along the rear of the service bar. The time was nearing the evening so there was a small crowd in the bar scattered about but, even though Mathias may not seem like it often times he was a professional and knew that if Ludwig was indeed a regular as their information was then the most likely location to collect information would be the service bar as both the bartender and regulars tended to gather there.

The fact that it was also the fastest location to receive beer from was just coincidence.

Mathias strode up to the bar, grabbing a stool between a sandy haired blonde man slumped over the bar nursing a drink and a white haired man in much the same state. The Dane slid into his seat and thumped the bar authoritively.

"Yo barkeep! Beer me!" Mathias declared to the man behind the counter. The bartender gave an uncaring look at the Dane before quickly filling up a glass and handing it to him.

"Dankzij." Mathias brought the mug to his lips and downed nearly half the glass. "Whew, that's not bad brew." Mathias praised with a wide grin of acceptance. The white haired man turned to him at those words with a cocky grin and crimson eyes.

"It's not just fine. This is German brewed, the most awesome beer in the world." The albino held up his mug and pointed to the liquid within. "The texture, the colour, the flavour, it's all around awesomeness can't be compared." Mathias frowned at the boasting and turned to face the other man.

"I said it was good but it sure as hell can't but Danish brew." Mathias rebuked adamantly with an accusatory finger.

"Yer both stupid twatsh." The sandy haired blonde next to Mathias spat prompting the Dane and Prussian to turn and regard him curiously. "Theresh no comparishon to British beer ya idjitsh." Mathias raised an eyebrow at the clearly plastered man and was about to argue but the albino beside beat him to it.

"Pfft, whatever. That's just because the English have no taste." The albino laughed for a moment before taking a swig. He then paused and gazed in horror at hi nearly empty mug. "Aw, it's no fun to drink alone. I have to buy all my drinks" The albino muttered as he laid his head back down on the bar. "I wish Ludwig was here, he would spring for me." Mathias started at the name the Prussian mentioned and slowly turned to look at the man beside him with a splitting grin, noting that the British man had also started at the words. Quickly, the Dane downed his drink with a satisfied sigh and slammed the drink on the bar, noticing from the corner of his eye the Englishman leave his stool and wander off.

"Bartender, another round for me and my friend here." Mathias barked gesturing at the albino next to him. Both the bartender and Mathias's new 'friend' looked at him in surprise but the albino soon grinned as well and the bartender just shrugged in indifference and filled two more mugs.

"Awesome, thanks. I was getting worried that I would have to stop drinking. Name's Gilbert." Gilbert told Mathias, shoving his hand out in greeting. Mathias grinned back and shook the other man's hand warmly.

"I'm... Matthew." Mathias told Gilbert warmly after a second of thought on whether he should use an alias. "So, this Ludwig guy would usually buy you drinks?" Mathias asked curiously. Gilbert snorted sarcastically.

"You could say that. West always had a stick up his ass but he could hold his beer pretty well. Ah but he left town a little while ago so I've been on my own." Gilbert muttered darkly before taking a sip of his beer. Mathias's eyes widened in surprise and he quickly took a drink to hide it.

"West?" Mathias asked curiously. Gilbert glanced at him in surprise before laughing a little, a curious sound that resembled him saying kesekesekese.

"Yeah sorry. It's my nickname for him. He's west and I'm east." Gilbert explained. Mathias took another drink, digesting that information.

"So you guys are close?" Mathias asked with a raised eyebrow. Gilbert scoffed and stared regretfully into his mug.

"If we were he would have left me more money for beer. My awesomeness has been running low on cash and I can barely pay for my drinks anymore." Gilbert grumbled with a pout.

"That blows buddy." Mathias agreed sagely as he nodded. "Hey, wanna give me a hand picking up some chicks?" Mathias asked animatedly, figuring that now that he had most of what he needed he may as well use the guy. As an apparent regular the other people in the bar may be more willing to open up with Gilbert alongside him. Also, two people would make it easier to spend the money Berwald had given him and make damn sure the Swede didn't get back a dime.

However Gilbert waved him off. "Nah I don't feel like it anymore." He told Mathias as he placed his chin on the bar and stared at the drinks opposite him. Mathias shrugged in response.

"Suit yourself. See ya" Mathias told Gilbert as he left the bar and began to move around the room dropping the odd question and beer at various tables and idling patrons.

"Yeah, bye Matthew." Gilbert told the Dane with a wave. Gilbert slouched at the table in a bad mood, not even noticing the Englishman return to his stool with a bleary look on his face.

"So what are you so pissy about? You need money too?" Gilbert asked snidely; glad to have an opportunity to take out his bad mood on someone. The green eyed blonde glared at Gilbert and waved him off.

"Shut yer trap. I don't need money, I have moniesh." The British man spat. "I could pay millionsh but I can't find that cashe." Gilbert raised his eyebrows in surprise but snickered all the same.

"Millions? Psh, whatever limey. How could you pay out millions?" Gilbert demanded haughtily, thoroughly enjoying teasing the British and clearly delusional man.

"Shut up. You don't know me! I could call up my government and pay if it meant we could get the cashe but I don't have it." Gilbert raised an eyebrow at that, interested. He knew his brother was involved in some business that was not always legal and often involved government authorities having included Gilbert occasionally. The Prussians job had been primarily for added muscle and strategy but Ludwig had disliked including Gilbert in his own work. It was not that Gilbert was bad at it, quite the contrary he was 'awesome'. Rather, Gilbert had little patience and so tended to jump the gun. However the man before him with eyebrows that nearly bordered on the ridiculous did not seem like the type to have a hand in such matters as espionage.

"So you're a spy? Yeah right." Gilbert told the man with a scoff. Suddenly he felt a pair of hands grab his collar and yank him towards the smaller man. Furious green met annoyed red in a stare off.

"You think you know everything huh Gilbert Beilshmidt?" The blonde demanded with the slur of the intoxicated. "Yer alwaysh jumpin inta shtuff and getting yer brother ta bail you out like when ya got kidnapped by Braginshky." The Brit chuckled at the shocked expression on Gilberts face and turned smugly away.

"H-hold on! How the fuck do you know that?" Gilbert demanded as he grabbed the blondes shoulder. The Englishman snickered and wagged a finger in front of Gilberts face.

"Knowledge ish power." The Englishman told Gilbert before taking a large swig of his drink. Gilbert rocked back on his seat, not believing that the man had such knowledge of him and his brother. Suddenly, the Englishman turned back to Gilbert, swaying a little before thrusting a finger in his face again.

"Tell ya what ya kraut. I'm lookin fer a cashe that some guy has manacled to his wrist. You sheem like a shmart fellow. I'll make ya a deal. You get me that cashe and I'll pay you enough ta keep ya from goin shober for yearsh." Gilbert brightened visibly and smirked at the offer.

"Kesekese, sure ya limey bastard. The awesomeness will find it so long as you can pay. So, what do you know about the guy who has it." Gilbert demanded the possibility of having his fiscal problems solved along with something to occupy him during the coming days of sobriety a keen motivator. The Englishman snorted and scowled.

"That'sh jusht it. Nobody knowsh. All they know ish that theresh two of them, one of them'sh Asian and they have shome freaky bodyguardsh. Nobody knowsh anything else. Not me, not Alfred, not Ivan-."

"Whoa!" Gilbert abruptly interrupted with a furious scowl. "Ivan, as in Ivan Braginsky? The crazy Russian fucker who carries around a lead pipe and likes to lock people in basements?" Gilbert demanded furiously, the fire of fury alight in his eyes. Green eyes blinked in surprise and nodded.

"Yeah, he'sh here lookin' for it." Gilbert smirked darkly and cackled in glee.

"Buddy, you got a deal." Gilbert told the British man with a firm handshake and another cackle of mirth.

Huh. I updated this faster than I expected. Special thanks to I Like Angst for the photo idea. Yay for me and yay for you if you choose to drop a review.