A/N: I'm sooooooooooooo sorry! I can't believe it has been so long since I updated. Life had just gotten in the way. I won't bore you with the details, you are here to read not listen to me whine. Lol Though, I promise to try not take this long again. And without further adieu, let the reading commence!
Lena
Chapter 10: Hallo, auf Wiedersehen
I strolled, with the two men, down the quiet village street. I was worried, at first, that Alfred and Ivan would blow our cover. However, they both pulled off remarkably believable French accents.
I silently walked behind them with a smile on my face. They were fun to watch as they bantered back and forth. They were both funny in their own way. Alfred had a loud and confident humor, while Ivan was darker. He was the type of person who would find a coffin typing over at funeral funny. It was strange to see two different personalities work so well together.
"Hey, Lena, do you have a special someone?" Alfred asked, slinging his arm around my shoulder, gently. I blushed and stared down at my borrowed boots, suddenly finding them very interesting. Alfred laughed at my flustered state.
"You do! So does your lover boy have a name? You can trust Big Nose and I."
"His name is Wilhelm Wicki. Though, he is not my lover boy," I said thoroughly embarrassed about the discussion topic.
"Is he a Nazi?!" Alfred practically yelled, recognizing the name as German. Ivan slapped him on the back of the head.
"Do you want to wake all of France, you idiot? Not every German is a Nazi." Alfred looked apologetically over at me. I just shrugged at his outburst. "Besides what makes you think a girl from the camps would pin for a Nazi?" Alfred laughed nervously at his foolishness. The trio stood outside the small tavern. They heard laughing and cheers.
They trekked down the stairs to the tavern below. My face drained of color when I saw the table full of Nazis. I glanced nervously over to my companions. My first urged was to run, but Ivan seemed to notice and gripped my arm.
"Act casually. If you run, they will follow," he whispered in my ear. We followed Alfred over to the bar and sat down on the stools.
"Can I get you boys anything?" the bartender asked casually while cleaning out a glass with a rag. His voice was slightly mumbled because the cigarette he held with his lips. Ivan chuckled at me being called a boy. He looked over at me and smirked. I just sent him a quick glare in return.
"Two whiskeys and a beer," Alfred answered, ordering for Ivan and I. The bartender quickly filled our order. Alfred slid the whiskey down to Ivan who glared at it and handed me the beer. "Also, do you do food?"
"Not usually. But we have some left over stew if you want it."
"Yeah. Little man here will take a bowl," Alfred said gesturing towards me. The bartender nodded and he disappeared into the backroom to get the food. I wanted to get upset about the 'little man' comment but the promise of food overpowered my anger.
As I waited for my food, I nervously glanced around the room. I sipped my beer as I noticed a fashionable woman smoking a cigarette by herself. I wondered if she was waiting for someone. She looked familiar, but I could not place her until she glanced up. She must have felt me watching her, because our eyes met. My eyes widened and I choked on some beer, which sent me into a coughing fit.
The woman smiled in amusement. She must be used to such a reaction. She was a movie star! I had only seen a couple of her films while in France. They were her early ones, but they were still good. For a while, I tried to style my hair after hers, but it never looked right on me. Before I could even stop myself, I rose to my feet and walked over to her.
"Hi," I barely manage to say.
"Hello," she said with a smile. She took a drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke above her head.
"I loved you in Der Schmerz Bitterer Tränen. It was really moving," I blubbered like a complete idiot.
"Thank you," she said. "It is always nice to meet a fan. What is your name, handsome?" My eyes widened at the compliment. She thought I was a guy! However, even if she thought I was a guy, I knew she was only being nice. There was no way Bridget Von Hammersmark thought I could be handsome in my sloppy get up.
I heard two sets of snickering behind me. I glared back at Alfred and Ivan, who just laughed harder at my embarrassment. It seemed my glare had no effect on the two dummkopfs. I gave up on them and turned back towards Ms. Hammersmark. I opened my mouth to answer her, but closed it. Should I tell her my name? I looked over at the Nazis. I'm sure news has reached Landa about the camp being liberated. He might be after me again.
"I'm Milo," I decided to say.
"Well, Milo," Bridget's starts. She grabs a napkin and autographs it. She kisses the napkin under her signature. She hands it to me and to say the least, I'm stunned. I nervously thanked her as I returned to my seat at the bar. I watched as one of the Nazis stumble his way over to her and invite her to play the guess who card game. I was brought back to my world by the bartender placing a sizable bowl of stew in front of me. My mouth watered at the sight.
"Eat slow. It is bad for your health to eat too fast or too much after months with too little," Ivan warned with a warm smile. I wondered how I was so lucky to find such caring, nice men.
I tucked into my food. I took slow bits and entered a daze. The sound of glass breaking drew me from my torpor. I glanced where the sound came from and saw all the Nazis standing in a formal salute. I was afraid to look at what they were looking at. For the first time I was happy for how I looked. The short hair and men's clothing put me in a disguise.
"Hallo, meine Lieben!" I heard Ms. Hammersmark greet warmly behind me. However, her voice faded as I cowered next to my bowl of stew, trying my best to disappear. I tried to act normal, by taking another spoonful of the lukewarm stew. The next voice shocked me to the core. I choked on the stew and was sent into another coughing fit that I managed to keep somewhat quiet. Both Alfred and Ivan tried to help by patting my back. When I could finally breathe, I nervously looked over my shoulder and sure enough, he was there.
It had been months since I have seen Wicki. I knew I missed him but I didn't know how much until I saw him. There was Hugo and a new man I had never seen before. Though, I had little interest for the new man, all I cared about was Wicki and Hugo who stood not even six feet from where I sat. I watched as Von Hammersmark kissed each of their cheeks in a friendly manner. I had no idea that Wicki and Hugo knew the movie star. Sure Little Man talked about her. That is how I knew she has to be such a big star, even in America, which I was happy about. However, they said nothing then. Was it a set up? If it was, I was sure the rest of the crew was around here somewhere and Aldo was most likely pissed. If violence happened, they would be stuck in this basement. Papa always said, 'you never want to fight in a basement'.
I turned to rise from my seat, I ignored Ivan and Alfred's matching alarmed looks. They did not know Hugo or Wicki, all they saw was three high ranking Nazis. I rose from my stool, but the Nazi from the other table beat me. I watched as he fawned over Von Hammersmark, similarly to me but much more intoxicated and wobbly. She gave him an autograph for his newborn son. I choked back on my laughter as Hugo was actually nice. Not that he wasn't, he was. However, he was never nice to a Nazi. It must be killing him inside. They must have heard my snort, because glares shot up from the table at me, from the new man, and the enlisted Nazi. Von Hammersmark was the one who came to my rescue.
"This is my fan, Milo, boys. Don't mind the young man. He means no harm," she said with a wink at me. They ignored me after that.
When the new father left the table, I made my move, but the man once again cut me off. He sat down and I almost threw something at his head. Preferably, something heavy and sharp, I thought in frustration. However, while I was busy thinking, the man seemed to also royally piss off the unknown man at the table. As he yelled, all I could think was that he had a strange accent.
The commotion brought another newcomer to the eventful table. My heart froze with fear when I saw Dieter. I slowly walked backwards until the back of my legs hit the stool. I sat and spun myself back to where I was facing the bar. I gestured for Alfred and Ivan to lean in close.
"Are you carrying your guns?" I whispered.
"Always," they both answered seriously.
Dieter stood in front of the table as the other man's friends dragged the father away. I listened as Dieter asked about the man's strange accent and unknown man said some story about being in some movie and living in some mountain. I smelt the bullshit wafting off him from a mile away and I knew Dieter smelt it too. I watched in worry as Wicki breathe a little deeper. A tell-tell sign that he was nervous. He knew that this could could very well end in bloodshed, if that damn man didn't keep his temper in check and his mouth shut.
I knew Dieter toying with them when he sat down and hand the cards brought over. He hated the game even in school. He once said that he found it tedious and simple when I once had enough courage to ask him if he wanted to play.
I watched as they played I knew Dieter had guessed his card early on but was dragging it out. I knew all of Dieter movements. You learn a lot about a person when you observe them long enough. Such as I was once was school in love; I spent a great deal of time observing.
Dieter had the personality of a cat. Someone who watched and calculated. He did not play with others, unless it was someone he had back against a hard place and a rock, and he always played unfairly and cruel. And the movie man had successfully backed them into a corner and right into Dieter's grasp.
I was positive Dieter knew they were fakes before he even sat down, but the brash movie man had confirmed it when he gestured for three glasses of whiskey Alfred caught it too when he saw the English and American way of saying three with your fingers. I even saw Wicki and Hugo share a knowing look, as they realized that shit just hit the fan. They were as Donny would colorfully say, they were fucked. Alfred and Ivan rested hands on their guns as they waited for it to all unfold.
I watched as guns were pointed at each other and decided there was no time like the present as I stood from my stool. I grabbed a chair and dragged it to the corner of the table, between the English man and Dieter. They stared at me with wide eyes as I sat down. I lifted my head and stared at them.
"Hallo," I said simply. Dieter, Hugo, and Wicki shared a shocked look.
"Lena?" Dieter asked softlyand lovingly. Wicki glared daggers at him.
"Lena? I thought your name was Milo," the English man said.
"I thought you were dead," Dieter said barely above a whisper. He reached for hand but I pulled away. "I am so sorry, Lena. I never wanted you to face the camps."
"Are you really sorry?"
"With my whole heart," Dieter answered sincerely.
"Let us leave." Dieter was shocked with the request, but on some level expected it.
"Okay. For you, okay." He reached for my hand and this time I allowed him to grab it. He lifted my hand to his lips. He gently kissed my knuckles. He placed my hand back on the table. I raised my own hand a caressed his face. He leaned into my touch. For a moment I ignored the uniform and just saw the boy through the eyes of a star struck teenager and gently pressed my lips against his. It was not a kiss of passion, but a simple kiss of long-lost love. However, it was also a goodbye. Dieter was the first to pull away, saying he understood without words. He stood from the table and turned towards the table of the drunken enlisted men.
"Back to your bunkers!" he ordered the men. The men immediately filed out of bar as fast as they could. Some of them stumbled along the way in the desperation to get away from the frightening Captain. Dieter did not look back as he followed behind the men.
A/N: I hope it was worth the wait. This chapter was total hell to write and I am still not happy with it. I probably watched the 'Bar Scene' about a million times now. Lol Well, as always, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Also on a sidenote… Forty-freaking-two reviews, twenty-two followers and seven favorites! Holy moly that is… is just… WOW! Thanks soooo much! I never-ever expected this to take off as it has.
Also, CaliforniaStop, author of Game Theory, if you happen to be reading this story I am currently reading you story and it is brilliant! I am not even half way with the chapters that are posted and I am simply hooked. Your Landa is spot on! Please continue with your amazing story!