Chapter 26
Hearing the gunfire again after Donny and Aldo went down the stairs made Gretel and all the men nervous for Donny and Aldo. Relief swept over them when they saw Donny and Aldo come up the stairs in one piece. There was also a little bit of relief just from the fact that there lead on the premiere was still alive and able to help them.
Once Gretel laid eyes on Donny, she ran to him and wrapped her arms around him.
He did the same.
They pulled apart and captured each other's mouths in a passionate kiss.
"I was afraid that they killed you," said Gretel gasping for air after the kiss.
"No, baby; I'm right here," said Donny smiling, holding her cheek in his hand.
They hugged quickly one last time before making their way out the door. Gretel and the Basterds got into the truck again letting Van Hammersmark down gently in the back.
Gretel looked around at all the men in the truck and noticed just how empty it looked, "Where are Wicki and Hugo?" she asked almost in a panic.
Donny and Aldo who were in the front of the truck looked at each other with grave looks not wanting to break Gretel's heart.
Gretel knew exactly what this meant and just sat there, silently in the back, thinking about how hurt Iris would be.
Gretel and the Basterds drove in the dark for a little whole longer until they came to a veterinarian. They had been driving around for long enough without finding a doctor for humans. They had to take what they could get as soon as possible. The truck stopped and Donny and Aldo went to the back to get Van Hammersmark out of the back.
Gretel looked into Aldo's eyes and saw nothing but shear anger. Hicox had reassured them that this operation would be safe whereas it turned out where two of Aldo's men were now lying dead in the Tavern basement.
They all went inside and once Aldo laid eyes on the veterinarian, he pointed a gun at him demanding that he tend to Van Hammersmark.
The veterinarian obeyed and Aldo laid her down on a tray in a separate room.
Aldo was not going to harm the veterinarian, but he was also not in the mood to be nice and did what he had to for the veterinarian to do his work as soon as possible.
They all went in the room and, in his anger, Aldo kicked the chair away that was set beside the tray where Van Hammersmark lay that the verterinarian was going to sit on during the operation.
Utivitch took the veterinarian by the shoulder and pulled him back further into the room to get in out of Aldo and Donny's way.
Gretel stood in the doorway watching in horror at the scene and trepidation at what Aldo would do next.
Aldo looked down upon Van Hammersmark with anger in his eyes. "What happened? Why are two of my men lying dead down dere? Why did you invite my men to a rendezvous in a basement?" demanded Aldo.
Van Hammersmark eyed Donny and Aldo before answering.
Donny was also leaning over her with a threatening look in his eye.
"I know that the German officers being there might look odd," said Van Hammersmark.
"Yeah, we got word for that in English; Its called 'suspicous'." He then stuck his index finger into the hole in her leg, pushing the bullet in, farther.
Bridget was in pain. She almost fell over the edge of the tray, but stopped herself. She told them about how one of the officers just had a baby and so their commanding officer let them have the night off to celebrate and that she didn't know that they would be there.
After Bridget told Aldo everything, he pulled his finger out and waved it to get as much of the blood off him as possible. He walked over to a table in the room, got a tissue, and wiped the remaining blood off.
Bridget then showed them how Archy gave them away. She said that he ordered three glasses by holding up his index, middle, and ring finger when he should've held up his thumb, ring, and middle finger. She said that the second was the German three. Since he did not hold up three fingers in the German way, a German officer immediately suspected that he was British. He suspected he was British and not any other nationality because he heard the British accent behind the German Hicox spoke. Van Hammersmark then changed the subject by saying that there was a piece of information she did not give Wicki, Hugo, and Hicox that the Basterds would probably be interested in learning.
"And what's that?" asked Aldo."
"The Fuhrer is attending the premiere," she said as she sat up on the tray.
This fact and this fact alone made Gretel's heart stop. She looked around the room at all the men and saw faces that read how she felt. Hitler being at the premiere was truly too good to be true. If everything went according to plan, they could end the war once the premiere ended.
Before getting too excited, Aldo needed to know that they could actually take this golden opportunity. He asked Van Hammersmark to show him the tickets that she had gotten for Hugo, Wicki, and Archy.
She asked for her purse.
Heischberg handed it to her.
She opened it and inside were three, white, slips of paper. She handed them to Aldo.
He looked at them and then lightly slammed them on the table. He was feeling confident all over again like they could actually accomplish something worth while.
Bridget was now acting like it was a lost cause.
Aldo gave her a curious look, his eyes squinting, "Why's 'at?" he asked.
"I have a bullet in my leg, bye-bye acting career, how do you expect me to walk down the red carpet?" she shouted at Aldo in frustration.
"Sure ya can; whats hes gonna do is hes gonna pull that slug out cha gam and then hes gonna wrap it up in the cast. You Germans like climbin mountains. You got cha'self a rock climbin story," he said as he snuffed from his box and ending by closing his box.
Bridget leaned back on the tray as she asked, "I know this is a silly question before I ask it, but...can you Americans speak any other language then English?" She also looked at Donny as she asked this question.
"We both speak a little Italian," said Donny, indicating both he and Aldo by looking at him.
"Its a nutrocious accent, no doubt. Germans don't have a good ear for Italian...That sounds good," said Van Hammersmark not sounding sure at first but then said the last part with confidence.
"Well, what else are we going to do; go home?" said Aldo.
"No, that sounds good," said Bridget.
"I speak the best Italian, so I'll be your escort. Donny here speaks second best, so he'll be your camera man," Donny and Bridget made eye contact as Donny nodded, "and Omar speaks third best, so he'll be Donny's assistant."
"I don't speak Italian," said Omar, sitting in the corner, holding a machine gun, and looking chill and confused.
"Like I said, third best. Just keep your mouth shut. Why don't you start practicin right now?" He said smiling, at Omar.
All Gretel did the whole time was sit and listen in on what was going on. This was certainly exciting that not all was lost and that they're plan would actually be going through with, but all along, she thought Donny would be safe. At first, Wick and Hugo were the ones who were going. Now Aldo and Donny were going to be in danger. Though this all was exciting, she could not help but be scared for her father figure and her lover.
So this chapter was mostly just a whole scene from the movie but you have to admit that it's one of the most important scenes in the entire movie so it had to be in there. I know that it's not word for word and I might have changed a couple minor details but I figured it's not important and as it explains the most important things and long as everyone knows what's going on, that's what's important. Hope you loved the chapter! Sorry this one took a little longer to post but be excited because there's lots more to come. ;-) Don't forget to post a review! It's much appreciated. ;-) Happy readings! ;-)
