3
"She is gone." Frederick said and I whipped my head around to look at him with wide eyes, and he quickly shook his head. "As in missing." I glared at him cursing him for not being clear from the start. But now I had other things to worry about.
"What do you know?" I now that I was fully sitting up and he straightened up and lifted his head some.
"Only what other soldiers have told me. But before I speak, I need you to tell me what you remember. You were the only survivor left from the shooting with the Basterds." he replied and I stiffened at his words. So my men were all dead. No matter. I looked down at my dry hands trying to remember what exactly did happen.
"I was surrounded by the Basterds, the Nazi traitor Stiglitz, I almost had him. But Nicholette got in the way… she wanted it all to stop, and I told her-"
then I paused immediately in my words. Frederick tilted his head forward and looked at me.
"Told her what" he asked.
I had told her I loved her before I was shot down and the look on her face was genuine shock and fear for me. She was afraid for me. "Find me." I turned to Frederick and shook my head.
"Nothing. Now tell me what you know." I snapped and he nodded once.
"Col. Landa has sent many gestapo soldiers out to look for the Basterds and Nicholette. He wants to question her and I doubt it will be pleasant." he said and I tensed and cursed looking away for a moment. I told him they were innocent, I know I did. Now I really had to find her before he does. "And there is something else you should know Dieter…" I looked up at him quickly my eyes already demanding he spit out what he knew. He looked uncomfortable already and he looked down and then back up.
"Col. Landa has sent word to Poland… Amon Goeth is coming to lead the parties in finding and eliminating the Basterds and finding Nicholette." he said and now my eyes widened and I had never felt fear build up so quickly that it physically hurt my body at the thought. Amon Goeth is pure evil and if this were any other situation, I would be overjoyed. But I knew this would end very very badly. I have met Amon a few times in my life time and respected his hatred for Jews and anyone who was not a part of the Nazi Party, but he was good at his job. He was good at hunting and he always achieved his task which was eliminating the rats that plagued my world. But now things were complicated and I and everything I stood for was compromised.
"When will he be here?" I asked and Frederick just looked down.
"Three days. I heard he was very excited to come here." he said and I nodded l nodded before pulling my legs over the bed and immediate pain shot through my body, but I didn't care. "Woah woah woah, what are you doing?"
"I will be no use to anyone while I am here. I need to get back to work." I said and Frederick came over and placed his hands on my shoulders stopping me.
"Hey hey stop!" he snapped. "You are of no use to anyone now. And we cannot overlook the fact that you harbor feelings for a Negro who may or may not be allied with American soldiers here in France. You have a lot of thinking to do."
"I am thinking clearly." I struggled.
"Are you? Who are your loyalties to her or the fuhrer?" he asked and now my body stopped and I looked up at him with almost weak eyes.
"My hatred for the Jews has never stopped nor is my will to kill any Jew rat or Negro I see… but I cannot help but find something different about her. It has been my life's dream to see the weak exterminated so the strong may inherit the earth." I said lowly and he nodded.
"Yeah five words: You're in love with her. You are conflicted and if somehow someone else found this out other than me, then you would meet an immediate firing squad, hell they may just shoot you in this bed while you slept." he said. I winced at his words knowing he was right. I shook my head still.
"I have to do something. I have to find her, for now Nicholette thinks I am dead. I cannot lose her in this war." I stated. There was no if, ands, or buts about it. I had to find Nicholette before Amon or Landa got to her. Frederick nodded before looking down in thought before looking up at me.
"Rest. I will be your eyes and ears. Once you are rested show Landa you are capable of joining the hunt for the Basterds. I have to join, too. If somehow I run into Nicholette, I will send her a message that you are alive." he explained. I nodded and winced a bit.
"She will not believe another Nazi soldier… go to my home and look in my room. Under my pillow case there is a jeweled barrette she was wearing at the opera house she sang at before the assassination attempt… keep it and if you see her give it to her." he said and Frederick nodded. I knew I could trust him.
"Okay… I really hope you know what you are doing." he said before moving over to the door. I lifted my head some.
"Where are you going?" I asked and he glanced over his shoulder.
"To the theater. Immanuel Mimieux works there. The Negro who runs the projector there is Nicholette's cousin. I am to interrogate either her about Nicholette's or the cousin's ware bouts if she knows. If I can get to the cousin, then I can get to her before Amon or Landa." he said and my chest tightened and I just nodded and just like that he was gone. I knew I was playing a dangerous game here. If somehow anyone found out about what I was trying to do then I would be shot and they would hunt Nicholette down and do far worse to her. I couldn't believe I was hoping for this, but I hoped the Basterds kept her safe.
Nicholette's POV
There was no window I could look out in my room, so I just sat on the bed and pressed my legs to my chest. I couldn't help but feel utter emptiness. Dieter was gone- never coming back. This couldn't be happening. Why was it happening? Why me? Why did this have to be happen to me? I keep asking myself why I cared so much that Dieter was gone. Maybe it was because I got him killed. I knew Hugo was trying to kill him and still I did nothing. But what could I have done?
"I love you." Then bang bang bang bang! My head snapped up as the door opened and I saw Lt. Raine coming in. I stood up immediately as Hugo and Donny were behind him. This worried me.
"Ms. Moreau it's been brought to my attention that you wish to leave." he said standing at attention and I swallowed some and nodded.
"I… just want to get back to my cousin and make sure he is safe. I don't want anyone else hurt or dead because of me." I said and the man nodded.
"Well that is admirable, but now we- no you must face reality. You are now in the middle of a war-an even bigger war. We have intercepted communication between France and Poland forces and have found out that a ruthless German officer, Amon Goeth will be arriving in Paris in three days to hunt us down and you as well. He is a man that hell did not even want and he will murder every man, woman and child to find you. Now you didn't start this, and we didn't want this to happen for you but this is what is happening. Now we can let you go and we can let you go to your family, but you will not be safe out there. You and your family and your people will be hunted, tortured, and killed…"
Tears were streaming down my face as he spoke.
"Please." I begged wanting to stop telling me the horrors of this soldier I had already heard about long ago.
"And you cannot outrun the entire German army wants it fills Paris to hunt you down. Our new mission is that we are to kill Hans Landa and Amon Goeth once he arrives. As for you and your cousin, if he wishes to go, we have special permission by our government to have you sent to America to seek refuge. You will be safe and you will not be haunted by the tragedies of war. Now you have been given this privilege because of your connection to Dieter Hellstrom. He has been your tormentor making you a prisoner of this war and since he is dead on account of my men, it is only fair that you be allowed to leave and live a better life." he explained and my eyes just widened as he spoke. America. Actually be sent to America. I looked down wondering if this was a wise idea. Lt. Raine took a few steps toward me.
"So here are your choices, Nicholette," he said and I looked up at him. "We can let you go and we will never see you again as we will be in hiding and carrying out our mission, or you can stay within our protection and we still carry out our mission and retrieve your cousin and begin the process of having you both sent to America where you will no longer be tormented by war." he said and I looked at Hugo and he just stared at me with blank eyes. It looked like he was really trying to keep his true feelings hidden. I looked down in thought before looking up at him.
"I will still here on one condition." I said and Lt. Raine tilted his head.
"Well spit it out." he said and I tensed.
"There is a lot of racism in your America- so much that there is not much difference in mistreatment there than there is here," I said and he tensed some, but nodded. "If my cousin and I are to leave here then I want us both to be as safe as possible. I want us both to live somewhere with some type of equal opportunity. If you cannot offer me that, then I might as well stay here if we will not really be safe in your America." Hugo now raised his head some smiling a bit as if almost proud of my words. I was tired of people coming into my life and taking it over. If this was going to be my only choice then it would be MY choice. Lt. Raine nodded once.
"That is fair. Deal. Now we will bring you some food and talk later about trying to find your cousin." he said and marched from the room. Donny smirked.
"Don't worry, you're free from that Nazi fuck." he said and I just swallowed and nodded once at him as he followed his commander from the room. Now there was just Hugo and I standing there. I didn't know what to say to him and he just moved over to me and I tensed some not knowing what to do.
"I am sorry that I brought this down on you." he said and slowly wrapped his arms around me embracing me awkwardly. I wasn't expecting it, but for some reason his hug just made me feel better. I needed some type of protective embrace. I just leaned in and wrapped my arms around his stomach.
"No. You were doing your job." I whispered and he shook his head.
"And I wish that didn't involve you." he said lowly and I just nodded and held him close.