Ludwig wasn't sure how long it had been since he had lost consciousness. He had no sense of time, and where he found himself didn't reveal much. The only thing that confirmed he was still alive was a dull throbbing in the back of his head, just below the skull.

The place where he had found himself in question was a small, square, red brick room with a cement floor. He had been tied down to a chair, hands behind his back and each leg tied to the two front legs of the chair. One of the walls had a pane of glass, though he couldn't see anything through it. He guessed it must've been a pane of one-way glass, perfect for watching someone get interrogated without the person being interrogated knowing. Next to it was a wooden door.

Ludwig hadn't seen anyone else, and it felt like he had been there hours…months…years.

Did Feliciano escape? Did he survive? Mein gott (my god), I didn't fail as his bodyguard, did I?

These thoughts swirled around the German's head. None of them were pleasing.

Ludwig's head shot up from where he was staring when he heard a rather loud creek coming from the direction of the door.

The first thing Ludwig saw was a tall male with pale blond hair and purple eyes. Wrapped around his neck was a scarf, which seemed unusual considering the fact that it was quite warm.

After a moment, Ludwig realized this was one of the people he saw in Feliciano's room the night of the raid.

Behind him was a female who, while shorter, didn't seem to be lacking any demeanor. She had a black ribbon in her own pale hair and just stared at him, her expression unreadable.

Ivan walked over to Ludwig and said, "You will tell us where the Pope went, da(yes)?"

Ludwig felt a moment of relief when he realized that they hadn't gotten Feliciano.

He tensed back up and hissed, "I will protect the Pope, even if it meant sacrificing my life. I'm not telling you anything."

Ludwig felt something hit the side of his head, just above the temple, and it jerked his head and felt a wound that was gushing blood ripped open there.

When Ludwig made it apparent he still wasn't going to speak, Ivan brought the pipe down on Ludwig a second time, waiting a shorter amount each time before the next time he tried to beat the information out of Ludwig.

Natalya just stood there watching.

Ivan stopped after what felt like days, but was probably no more than a few minutes, and Ludwig took a quick tally of his injuries. There were various bruises and cuts. The majority of the cuts were already scabbing over, but a few of the worse ones were still losing blood. Ludwig tried taking a deep breath and winced. He must've gotten a few bruised ribs, if he was lucky they weren't broken.

"Natalya, maybe you could have him give the location of our friend?" Ivan asked, stepping back.

Natalya nodded and walked over to Ludwig. In one swift movement, she pulled out a small throwing knife and held it up to Ludwig's neck. "Tell us where the Pope is, or you'll not live to see another day," she threatened him.

Ludwig glared at her, saying, "I would sacrifice my life if it meant keeping the Pope safe."

Natalya growled, pushing the knife into his neck, breaking the skin to allow a slight trickle of blood to form, but suddenly stopped and put the knife away. She nodded, saying, "Yes" and walked over to Ivan.

They stood like that for about a minute, in complete silence. Ludwig was glaring at the two of them, daring them to try and get the information out of him, and they just stared back, looking like they weren't going to do anything and just watch Ludwig suffer though the injuries.

"I must say, you are quite willing to sacrifice your life. You're either strong willed or just an idiot," a voice from the doorway said.

Ludwig's eyes found the door again, seeing the one who must've been behind the whole thing.

"We were expecting you to spill by now, but I guess we could always find that other bodyguard and see if he would talk. He seemed all too willing to…run…" Lovino said, leaning against the doorway watching Ludwig.

Ludwig knew he was talking about Francis.

Lovino walked over, grinning, at Ludwig. "It's too bad; really, I was looking forward to showing him how you saved your own ass by turning him over."

"I have been trained," Ludwig growled. "Do with me what you want. I am not revealing where the Pope went."

Lovino chuckled, saying, "We'll see about that."

Ludwig gasped as he watched Lovino's hand glow gold and, with a sharp flick of his wrist, sent golden spikes flying at Ludwig.

Ludwig growled, looking down at where two of the spikes had hit. The attack had disappeared, but there were now two slashes on his shoulders, one slightly lower than the other that clearly didn't come from the pipe.

"Now, why don't you tell me where my fratello(brother) is?" Lovino asked.

Ludwig shook his head. "You're lying," he hissed. "The Pope's brother was-"

"The official story was that I was kidnapped and never found," Lovino said calmly. "This, while not a lie, is still not the full truth, because who would want to admit they lost a child, especially one who was supposed to become the next pope, to the Mafia?"

Ludwig looked ready to retort, but Lovino cut across him saying, "Oh, they did find me. Well, I found them. But by then, it was already too late." Lovino chuckled.

Ludwig growled, "The Pope lost is brother but was reported to have been found a few years ago, but asked to keep his location unknown." He refused to believe this man in front of him, a crime boss to the Mafia, was the same person the Pope had lost. Though he had to grudgingly admit, the resemblance was striking.

"Lies," Lovino stated. "They found me all right, but they didn't want to have to tell people that their precious Pope, or the Pope's brother for that matter, had become a part of the Mafia. And not just any part, but the part. The major part of the Mafia." He chuckled, saying to Ludwig, "I'm the leader of the Mafia now."

Ludwig couldn't believe what he was hearing. That the Pope's older brother was the leader of the Mafia, and that he, despite reports, was in the very same city as his own brother?

Ludwig!

Ludwig's eyes widened, shocked. He could've sworn he just heard Feliciano's voice…

But that couldn't be right. Feliciano wasn't anywhere around here. He couldn't be.

Ludwig! Can you hear me?

"J-Ja(yes)…" Ludwig said uncertainly. He was sure he must've cracked.

It worked! Feliciano's voice said excitedly. Hey, where are you?

"Wait…you're not…" Ludwig muttered, aware that Lovino was listening to every word he was saying.

Si. I am, Ludwig.

Ludwig wanted to scold Feliciano, but he knew now was not the time.

Lovino suddenly stood up and said to Ivan and Natalya, "Come."

They left, making a show of closing the door. Ludwig didn't buy it, and he sat there for a few moments before muttering, "Feliciano, where are you?"

I'm with Gilbert, Feliciano replied.

Ludwig asked, "Mein Bruder(my brother)? Why are you with him?"

Feliciano answered, He saw me running to Arthur's house and said he'd drive me there.

"Tell me he didn't take the Jeep," Ludwig growled.

Feliciano didn't reply, but that was answer enough for Ludwig.

"I'm going to kill him later," Ludwig swore. He closed his eyes, getting his temper under control, and muttered, "How far away are you from Arthur's?"

Not too far, Feliciano replied. Ludwig, are you all right?

"Ja," Ludwig replied, feeling each rib and cut and bruise in clear pain. "Just get to Arthur's house and stay safe. And, mein gott, I can't believe I'm saying this, but tell Gilbert that he'll need to protect you for a while."

O-okay, Feliciano muttered, surprised by Ludwig's request.

Ludwig didn't hear anything after that, but somehow, he knew that Feliciano had broken the connection between them.

What Ludwig didn't know, was that Lovino heard every word. After closing the door he had opened it again, slowly so it didn't creek, and listened to Ludwig's half of the conversation.

"So, he's going to Arthur's home," Lovino muttered, watching Ludwig closely as the German tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

"So we shall go to, da?" Ivan asked, smiling.

Lovino nodded. "Ivan, Natalya, take both of your teams and head over there. See if you can intercept the car before they reach Arthur's house."

"And if we cannot?" Natalya's voice remained void of any emotion.

Lovino smirked. "Wait for me to show up so we can make a…trade…" Lovino never took his eyes off Ludwig.

"All right," Ivan said.

Lovino heard them leave to gather their teams.

"Fratello, you may have been able to escape this time, but it will not happen again," Lovino muttered, smiling as he watched Ludwig. "We'll capture you…one way or another…"

/AN

R&R Please!

And I don't own anything!

AN/