She almost laughed aloud at the thought that it might be hard to catch Hans Landa's attention.

When she had returned to Paris she had bitten down her nail on her left ring finger worrying about it, restless in her bed at night, exhausted as she brainstormed 'natural' ways to meet Landa again. Perhaps the market? A popular cafe? Could she catch his car around a German-controlled building, follow the stream of swastika marked men, until they led her to him?

All her plans had ended in nothing when she had been dragged into the car that morning on her way to work, sat squeezed between to SS officers as the car drove her to the Hotel Lutetia.

Sat at the stainless-steel table in the windowless room, she almost laughed.

She had been sat in there for two hours now, and she hadn't allowed herself to think of why she was there once. She knew how this worked. Arthur had taught her this, they starved your eyes sight and ears of sound, hoping you'd start to drag up your guilty thoughts. Do the work for them.

"Don't think them, don't think anything," Arthur had told her one night during a late walk around Paris. "That's the trick."

Aldo had trained her up throughout her night in the forest, telling her that her role was to foster a healthy interest and suspicion from the Jew Hunter. To be the pretty young orphan that she was, and to ensure that she was able to feedback to the Basterd's in a yet to be disclosed communication loop. They had simply taught her the phrase 'coca-cola king kong' and asked her to wait to hear it.

She smoothed her dress down her legs once more, looking about the room in quiet contemplation. Having no one was ultimately a freedom. No one to hold meant there was no one to hurt. No one to harm. Her heartbreak had given way to opportunity. Aldo had sat in front of her, giving an impassioned speech about the Tennessee Mountains, the fact that he and his men had been put on the 'god damn earth' to 'rid it of the foot soldiers of a Jew-hating mass-murdering maniac', and that she was allowed to join them. Not an invitation, an honour. She had nodded softly in front of the fire, finally feeling a sense of meaning, and for the first time since her parents had been murdered, a fire burned in her.

Audrey quickly blinked away the memories, reacquainting herself to the small room that held her and repeated the facts she knew to be true above all others.

She was Audrey Loewe. She had a purpose.

Audrey looked up at the opening of the door, expectantly straightening her posture for Hans Landa, but instead was greeted by a young face.

She blinked, taking him cautiously.

"Ah," he began in German, holding his cap in his hand. He was tall and blonde, looking no older than her age. "Would you… like… water….?"

"A… water?" She repeated, tilting her head carefully.

"Tea?" He offered. She let a small laugh cross her mouth.

"Tea," she repeated. He nodded. She could hear the goading calls of other young men behind him.

"A tea would be wunderbar," she said softly. "With milk. And sugar. Danke."

A brilliant smile took his face as he scampered away. She let the smile cement on hers, but her blood boiled underneath. Paris had become a stream of Nazi's attempting to flirt at her, taking in her blue eyes and blonde hair, imagining taking her home to glorious Germany. Aldo was right. They had no humanity. They'd not hesitate to put a bullet through that blonde head once the word 'Jüdisch' was uttered.

The young man had returned with the tea and had begun chatting idly with her, wasting away the minutes with pointless talk, all of which she took in with a sweet smile and an earnest nod.

How much time he spent in there with the charming Fräulein Loewe, Hans Landa did not know. Landa had returned from a meeting which had run long to find the young soldier, the son of a prominent Reich Minister, sat leisurely on the edge of the table, flirting with Audrey as though his life depended on it. Landa let his glare penetrate through the one-way glass as he watched the young man's hand reach forward and gently run his thumb across the bruise on the corner of Audrey's mouth.

Landa watched her respond with a coy blush, "I fell, I can be clumsy", and Landa had snorted with derision.

"Enough," Landa muttered to himself, straightening his tie before barging into the room with a fresh expression of friendly formidability. He watched the young man stumble from the desk, standing straight, yelling 'Heil' at his superior, his hand raised in the air.

"Halo Fräulein Loewe," he said. "Apologies for the delay."

"Don't apologise, Oberst Landa," she said with a soft smile. "Your Private took excellent care of me."

"I'm sure he did," Landa said, turning a quick closed-lip smile to the young man, but it never quite reached his eyes. "Go now."

He scampered from the room and Audrey softly shook her head, sipping once again from the cup in her hands.

"Tea or coffee?" Landa asked as he took his hat off, laying it on the table and sitting directly opposite her.

"Tea," she said. She looked so relaxed, so at ease, that Landa gave a fresh cold taut smile.

"Do you wish to know why you are here?" He asked, laying his hands flat on the table in front of him with a smooth movement. The same playfulness clung to his expression, masking the preciseness that lay in his gaze.

"I am sure you will tell me when you are ready," she said politely, her head dipping with a smile. A fresh twitch of a smile hit his mouth.

"Well I will cut to the chase, we've wasted enough time, haven't we Fräulein Loewe," he said, hitting the table once and a grin.

"Oh dear, I'm not trying to waste your time Herr La-"

"Nein, Nein, Nein," he tutted, interrupting her earnest response, waving his hand in front of him. "Nien. Your time Fräulein. Your time. I have brought you here to answer a simple question."

She waited expectantly, blinking prettily.

"Where is the picture of your mother?"

He had expected her to flinch but instead, she gave a soft smile, her eyes looking sad as she slowly lifted her bag to the table, searching through it for a short moment before removing the black and white picture, pushing it across the table towards him.

"I took it," Audrey said softly with a contrite expression.

"You stole from an SS officer," Landa said lightly, his finger pressing the corner of the picture.

She nodded, her eyes still focused on the black and white picture of her mother.

"I forgot what she looked like," Audrey admitted quietly. She blinked away her tears and took a deep breath. "I took it because I… I forgot."

She looked up at him, a look of sadness to her expression, but a spark of dare in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Oberst Landa, I am. I didn't mean disrespect or…" she whispered, pausing as her fingers came to softly touch the edge of the picture. "My heart got the better of me."

He paused, eyeing her carefully.

"We can't punish you for having a heart," Landa said with a fresh and easy smile. He pocketed the picture with a flourish, eyeing her with clear suspicion.

She didn't break at all, she just watched him with the same soft expression, the same flicker of rebellion in her blue eyes.

"I'll walk you out," he said.

He stood and she followed, walking beside him with an air of calm that did not belong in the Hotel Lutetia.

"Are you busy today Herr Landa?" She asked politely as she walked beside him through the industrious corridors, swarming with uniformed men. Landa watched the eyes of the men catch her, her pretty face and frame as she bounced from foot to foot beside him, but she looked only at him with polite expectation. Her heels were unfamiliar clip-clop against the hotel floors, tinkling against the loud smack of military boots and leather shoes hitting the marble. She blinked her thank you to elevator attendant as they entered the elevator.

"Very busy," he answered. She nodded, politely, looking up at the floor numbers of the golden dial, waiting patiently beside him. The elevator binged when it stopped at the busy first floor. Landa smoothly moved his hand to usher her out and she obliged with a pleasant smile.

"You are finally living up to your reports," he said softly. "The friendly and lovely young woman I have read all about."

"I just take a moment to warm up," she said amiably.

He watched her smile easily. He queried her new warmness, compared to the chilly reception he had initially gotten from her, and couldn't help but shake his head in shame. He had so looked forward to a good old fashioned game of cat and mouse with a worthy opponent. Her new friendly face jeopardised it all and he felt himself burn with disgust for it. The mysterious blonde with a tragic backstory, suddenly was nothing more than another manipulative tramp, trying to weasel her way out of France, into Germany, on the arm of a powerful man.

Boring.

And to Hans, boring was a cardinal sin.

They continued to walk down the bustling corridor, the soldiers gladly moving out of the way of their formidable Standartenführer. She flittered beside him, smiling and sweet-faced, blinking in wait for his next words.

It made him sick.

"Audrey- may I call you Audrey?" He asked, interrupting himself with the question. He saw the soft blink of surprise she gave before nodding earnestly. He smiled with a friendly tilt of his head as they continued to walk through the busy moving corridors.

"You were as cold as the winter when we first met," he said easily, sounding almost mocking. "And now you are so warm! Your charming ents du bonheur, always-on display in the most lovely smile when I see you. What changed Fräulein?"

She considered the question carefully, listening intently as she took quick steps to keep up with his gate.

"You know my histoire," she said in French, no longer willing to speak in German as she glanced around the corridor. The tiny act of defiance caused a fresh smile to catch Han's mouth, his eyebrows jutting in joy. "You know what my interaction with your…. colleagues…. have been."

He gave a cool nod for her to continue, pausing to stand. The rushing uniforms moved around the two of them, him an immovable and impenetrable force within his own ranks. She moved to stand in front of him, looking earnest and almost contrite.

"I should have been shot on-site when I met you," she said matter-of-factly. "Morte… or… worse…"

She carefully glanced around once more, gulping as she continued. She cleared her throat, her lips pursed. He remembered how he had found her, battered face, eyes frantic. She subconsciously touched her lip, her hand dropping back down.

"And then you should have killed Marion," she murmured so only he could hear, inching closer. "And you didn't."

She looked up, eyes soft. They were close together now, and he imagined from the outside it might almost look intimate.

"You should of," she murmured, ensuring that only he could hear her. Her hands came to softly touch the back of his. "By my every interaction with your men… you should have shot me in the head."

She finally looked up, staring at him directly with a strange devotion he had not anticipated.

"You didn't."

He gave her an easy smile, leaning in, nodding benevolently for her to continue.

"I can feel… some warmness towards this," she said simply, dropping her head to gaze up through her lashes once more. "If the trade is, a few polite, friendly interactions with you Monsieur Landa, I can oblige."

"I can very well accept this explanation," he said with an easy smile, giving her hand a quick squeeze. "Apologise for the interrogation Mademoiselle Loewe, I am not used to a friendly disposition from the people of Paris."

She nodded and went to continue walking but he did not. She paused instead to see him watched over her head, an amused smile catching his mouth, eyes filling with cruel delight.

"Ah Landa!"

She froze, and Landa watched in relish as all colour drained her face.

The SS lieutenant walked towards them, each footfall hard stomps.

She seemed momentarily frozen, her eyes fluttering, lips softly parted. He saw the breath catch in her throat with the same severity that he could have achieved with wrapping his hands around it.

"Ah, Sturmbannführer Klutch," Landa called warmly in German, throwing his hands out to the side in a smooth swoop. "What a pleasant surprise!"

Landa smiled at his fellow officer, pointedly ignoring Audrey.

"And who is this?" The voice called.

"This is Audrey Loewe," Landa said affably. "An acquaintance of mine."

She turned slowly, her back facing Landa as she took him in, he grinned lopsidedly with a bemused expression at her response.

Audrey took in his weathered face, a new scar lined across one of his cheeks since the last time she saw him. Peppers of white hair in his black mane. He still stood an imposing 6'5 feet tall, his shoulders broad, his hands rough and huge. She thought her nightmares had hardened him, but if anything she remembered him with a soft veneer. The man that stood in front of her was infinitely more terrifying than the memories. A flesh and blood nightmare, wrapped in an SS uniform.

He smirked back at her, looking over Audrey with an unhidden leer.

"Guten Morgen Fräulein Loewe," he said easily. Klutch reached and took her hand, leaning down and pushing a kiss to it.

She said nothing. Her body was frozen as she watched the interaction occur as though it were a film.

"Audrey?" Landa called carefully, feigning confusion.

"I have to go," she whispered in French, she spun, bouncing into Landa. She took a tiny stumble before darting around him. "Pardon, au revoir… ah… Auf Wiedersehen."

"Auf Wiedersehen," Klutch said, a bemused expression pressed to his scarred face.

She faltered as she walked quickly away. Landa turned his head to watch her stumble into several soldiers as she walked, utterly frenetic movement beneath her stride. Shaking his head in soft delight, he patted the Sturmbannführer shoulder.

"I'll be eine Minute," Landa chuckled, shaking his head playfully. "She is a nervös thing, you know how these French women can be."

Klutch chuckled and nodded, taking his time to extract a cigarette as he watched Landa jog after the blonde beauty.

"Audrey!" Landa called. "Un moment s'il vous plaît!"

She couldn't hear him, blood rushed her ears as she felt her breath rush in and out of her body. She could feel the panicked tears prick her eyes, her lips trembling as she pushed a hand hard to her mouth, trying to keep her emotions inside.

She jumped when his hand landed on her, a choked cry hitting from her throat. She turned a terrified glance back to him.

"Audrey-"

"I have to leave," she interrupted, voice tight and dry. "Let go."

"Non," Landa said with a wolf-like smile. "Non, you will get lost. I'll walk you out."

He dragged her to a nearby elevator, feeling the frantic beat of her pulse beneath his grip. She didn't notice him show the attendant out, she didn't notice him slide the gold gate over, trapping them alone in the moving box.

"Are you ok Madmoiselle Loewe?" Han asked, releasing his grip on her the moment the box began to slide down the elevator shaft.

"What is wrong with you?" she whispered, her voice constricted by panic and rage.

"Pardon Moi?" Hans asked, blinking a false confusion.

"Don't 'pardon moi'," she hissed, eyes ablaze. "You know. You know who he is. Why did you do-"

"Do what?" He interrupted, mocking her.

"What do you want?" She whispered quickly, looking back at him with disgust and trepidation. "What is it? What do you want from me?"

"Excuse me-"

"Is it sex?" She asked brashly, the words coming quick and unplanned. "Is it money? Is it… what is it? What do you want for me?"

Landa playfully creasing his brows. "What do you mean Audrey?"

Her eyebrows furrowed, her hands trembling in front of her. Her usually carefully masked face filled with untempered consternation. It thrilled him that she would question him. Day after day people lied and lied and lied to him. Some good, some poor. Some so well crafted he viewed it with almost respect, some so pathetically put together he felt like snapping the neck of the speaker.

But she stared up at him from her diminutive frame with pure demand, her eyes doing the work of her words. He couldn't remember the last time anyone questioned him.

He paused, his face still patient and looking almost confused, if not for the cruel twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Landa waited for her to cry. He had been meditating on the fact he was yet to see her tears, and a part of him now yearned for it. The thought of extracting the salty water from her was becoming an infatuation he enjoyed behind closed eyes. He watched her keenly, keeping the same befuddled expression on his face.

He let out a shocked burst of laughter when she slapped him across the face. There was a tiny moment that froze between them, the echo of her hand against his cheek tinkling on the walls. He smiled with a bemused shake of his head.

He slammed the break on the elevator, thrusting her hard against the wall behind so quickly she had no time to brace, her head banging off of it.

The golden box shuddered to a stop, trapped between floors. Unseen by prying eyes.

She looked momentarily dazed and terrified and he let another low laugh come from him.

"I want you to not act so simple," he told her, looking amused but with a tremor of rage running beneath it all. "You are insulting me, thinking I'd fall for this stupid French flirtatious act."

He watched several frantic emotions run her gaze before a hardness set her features.

"That's better," he said darkly. "As for sex…"

He pulled a quick look of disgust.

"Don't flatter yourself," he said bitingly. He watched the hardened eyes take him in, her jaw clenching.

The feral little survivor, slick with the blood of lost loved ones and hardened by hatred, surviving freezing snow, breathing barely beneath the boot of the occupation. There she was. The girl he had read about. The girl he had been searching for.

"I want you to have some respect for me," he said lowly, his voice practically a growl, his eyes looking feral and delighted. "Have some respect for yourself Audrey."

She said nothing, her eyes burning into his with unmasked hatred.

"Much better," he praised darkly, lips twitching to a cruel smile once more.

His hand removed from her, and he quickly switched the elevator to move once more. It glided to the lobby, dinging open with a pleasant mundane 'bing'. Masking what had just occurred within its walls. He opened the sliding golden gate and smiled benevolently at her.

She threw herself from it, bursting through the wall of waiting soldiers, blonde hair disappearing across the beautiful marble floors of the grand hotel lobby. The men she had pushed parted, eyes following her footsteps as Landa watched her move quickly, doing her best to stop herself from breaking into a run.

"Adieu Audrey!" He called with a bright smile, waving his hand above his head with an almost cartoonish enthusiasm.

He watched her eyes dart back at her name, icy detestation running through her blue gaze. Her head flicked away as she pushed out of the doors, disappearing out into the bright day, her blonde hair bleeding into the burning sunlight rushing through the open doors.

Landa smoothed his hair down, moving back into the elevator with an easy smirk.

He would break down Fräulein Loewe, and then he would be the one to break her neck.