A/N: I DO NOT own Inglourious Basterds.
Booth's Gin
I cringed as a fresh wave of choking sobs emerged from the man before me, trying not to rip my hair out from the sounds of his cries.
Glancing down, I looked at his blood-soaked and bandaged hands, both of which were missing three fingers. After an hour we had gotten nowhere past the brick wall of pleas for mercy and excuses that he could say nothing.
From the way he looked around desperately, his eyes full of panic from impending doom, it was apparent he was going to break soon. That didn't make his wails any less irritating. I was ready to slit his throat and be done with it so I wouldn't have to listen to him a second longer.
"You want to do teeth next?" I asked Hugo in German and he stared up at me with those cold, empty eyes before giving a curt nod, and causing our prisoner in squirm and scream on the table.
Losing my temper I slammed my hands down on the table and leaned down close to him.
"Look! It's not going to stop unless you give us what we want. Tell us, and you can walk out of here with your arms and legs. If just teeth hurt can you imagine how it's going to feel when we get to your eyes and tongue?"
"No no no!" he blubbered, and I stepped back, running a hand through my hair with a sigh before reaching up and unpinning it, letting it tumble down my shoulders. Grasping a handful in frustration I bit my lip and turned to face the other direction.
In that moment, a rush of anger surged through me so powerful that I felt my body moving against my own will. Grabbing a pair of surgical scissors off the table violently I clutched them tightly before driving them into his eye socket, and yanking the small orb out without reserve so that he thrashed wildly, screams almost tearing my head apart.
"You could have killed him." Hugo said darkly and calmly, although from his voice I could tell he was close to strangling me himself.
Grabbing the eye I threw it to the ground, then tossed the scissors onto the tray one more, letting him scream, cry, and gag violently as he struggled against the restraints. Some soldier to restore the future.
"Now let's try this again. Why are you here?" I gritted my teeth, reaching down and grabbing his jaw with my hand and forcing him to look up at me through his only remaining eye.
He dared look at me then shuddered and looked away before swallowing, still choking on his sobs.
"I was sent here by Der Fuhrer! Der Fuhrer! He looks for The Basterds!" he exclaimed and I stopped where I stood, looking over at Hugo who only chuckled. The proclamation had unhinged me, though Hugo was watching as if the whole thing was a joke.
"Hitler does not know about us yet you fool." Hugo said. "You are a decent liar, just decent."
Decent enough for me to believe him. I thought but said nothing aloud. That probably wouldn't be the best thing to admit to Hugo right now.
With that, Hugo walked to the tray of instruments, some bloody and grabbed a knife then bent down and unzipped the pants of our prisoner. Standing in confusion, I watched in a mixture of understanding, horror, and something I couldn't even figure out as Hugo pulled the man's flaccid member from his pants and pressed the knife to his shaft.
"Talk." He simply said.
And to my surprise and horror, indeed, he began to talk. Hugo managed to cover the work I had been trying to do over the course of several hours with one word.
"It was Joseph Goebbels! He sent us to discover the location before Hitler knew of the attacks." R spilled, and Hugo glanced at me. Feeling my face redden I looked away, still unable to meet his eyes as I thought about my inadequacy and failure to get any information out of him.
"Coordinates." Hugo said, instead of asking and immediately he was answered.
Quickly, he spat the answers which I had tried so hard and failed to get, then Hugo turned back to me, wiping his hands on a blood-stained cloth.
"Kill him." He barked in German, and our prisoner pleaded for his life as Hugo left, leaving me to deal with a situation I had completely lose control of. With a sigh, I grabbed a knife then slowly dragged it across the skin of his neck, frustration and bitterness rushing through me like the blood which seeped from his skin.
"So how'd it go?" Aldo asked as I passed through the kitchen, not even paying attention to his presence and jumping as I turned to face not just him, but many of the guys who sat around the table, smoking and playing cards. Feeling my face heat immediately I shrugged, unsure of what to say exactly. That Hugo got something from him that I couldn't? That all the time I had spent in there was a waste? That Aldo had made a mistake by recruiting me?
"Fine, he gave us locations." I said finally, a light trickle of laughter catching my attention. Looking into the crowd, I noticed a thin blonde woman sitting on Archie's lap with her hand around his neck, leaning in close to the table as her cornsilk hair fell around her shoulders.
"Well sounds like you did better than you think. See you noticed our little friend here, Annabelle that there's Colette, resident pleasure assistant. That's what we decided to call you right sweetheart?"
"Yes, Aldo." Colette grinned, bearing white teeth and I furrowed my brow, unable to stop the petty jealousy which began to bloom within me. I had been the only girl in the house, the one grasping all the attention and desire. Now, my place was being claimed by a whore of equal or lesser value who challenged me with her eyes, telling me that I was on her territory, not the other way around.
"See this gentlemen? This girl here manages to do in a few hours what none of you can do in a few weeks, and looks a hell of a lot better doing it." Aldo stood up from the table, walking across the kitchen and giving me a sloppy kiss on the cheek. I tried to copse a smile, but found myself unable to, unsure of whether to let slip that it had been Hugo who really came through. I may have tortured the guy, but Hugo got the information, not me, and he was the last person I wanted to make enemies with.
"Well Hugo and I worked it together." I shrugged, and Aldo put an arm around me, pulling me close as several of the guys clapped over their cigars and drinks.
"How modest. Well I'm taking you out to dinner." Aldo grinned, putting a hand on his hip and several of the guys chuckled, including Colette who raised her thin eyebrows.
"He must like you, I never got dinner." She grinned through a heavy French accent. Archie whispered something into her ear and she placed a hand on his chest, tossing her head back and running a hand through his hair. Just as I prepared myself to say something and draw the attention back to my vain self, Donny walked into the room and my face burned, drawing back to the previous night.
However I wasn't the first thing he saw. The moment he entered the room he glanced at the corner, a smile crossing his face as he set eyes on Colette.
"Well hey there." He grinned, walking across the room and bending down to kiss her on the cheek. Colette grinned, pecking him on the lips and my blood surged.
"Welcome Donny. Got some good news, Annabelle here managed to get coordinates out of that fucker we got downstairs."
The moment my name was mentioned, Donny's head snapped up and he glanced across the kitchen at me, standing up straight like a man who had just been caught doing something wrong and giving me the quick impression that Donny and Colette didn't have a strictly platonic relationship. Why else would he have stiffened so quickly. Moreso, why would he have lied to me about having casual sex? It was evident Colette was a prostitute. Was there something really wrong with me?
"Annabelle I-I didn't see you there." He stuttered, and Colette glanced at him before her blue eyes settled on me uncomfortably.
"Yeah I can tell. Aldo, I'd love to go to dinner with you tonight. I think I should get cleaned off now." I said stiffly, before storming out of the room before anyone else could say a thing.
I stared at the thing wall that separated my room from Annabelle's, tapping my foot on the floor rapidly as I tried to summon up the courage to go talk to her.
After last night's events, I retreated to my bathroom and took a cold shower, trying to shake away the hazy memories of whatever had happened between us. She said we hadn't had sex, but I still wasn't sure what exactly to believe. It was hard to tell when I woke up naked beside her, and when the last thing I remembered was the two of us in a compromising position. It left me confused and overwhelmed. I needed time to sort out my thoughts, and sort out my life.
It was so damned hard. Annabelle was just so sexy, beautiful really with her long legs, big eyes and perfect body. But more than that she was funny, smart, and tough as nails. You never found that kind of combination in a girl. She was Annie Oakley and Mae West, with a bit of Vivien Leigh. She could fight, knew how to turn on the charm, and seemed to be the damsel in distress all at once.
She was right when she argued about me with her age. Sure she was 17, but that was only one year away from 18. Besides, I knew people wouldn't bat an eye if they saw the two of us on the street together, except to wonder what a girl like her was doing with a sap like me. She looked older than her age, she acted older, and she had seen more than most people ever did. She was a woman, plain and simple, and it had taken me up until now to realize that.
And like a woman, she came onto me so strongly it was hard to refuse. The way she talked about sex and the things she had done. It was intriguing and intimidating. She was more experienced than me even, but it seemed like she wanted me to do all the leading which I liked.
I told her I wasn't into meaningless sex, and it had been the truth. I was starting to really like her, she was more deserving than a brief sexual encounter and a goodbye. But I didn't count on her being offended by it, and I definitely hadn't counted on Colette coming into the picture.
Colette was a street girl Archie brought back a few weeks back, to keep all the guys busy while we were away from home, away from our girls and wives. All the way on the other side of the world a guy could get lonely, and Colette understood that. She was fun, and more than anything she liked to listen. I'd taken my turn with her, just like the others guys, and I didn't feel completely right about it, but I sure as hell didn't regret it.
And I certainly didn't expect to walk into a room where both she and Annabelle sat, staring each other down like jungle cats. I could tell by the way Annabelle looked at me as she left the kitchen that she knew, and she was offended. She probably though I lied and just didn't want to have sex with her. The truth was, as my feelings for her grew so did the terror I might lose her before I ever even got the chance.
I needed to talk to her, but I couldn't work up the gull to go next door. It was only a couple of feet, a knock at the door.
But what would I say? I couldn't start with an apology. I couldn't tell her everything I was thinking. I felt like a kid, with nowhere to go and nothing to do.
"C'mon Donowitz, quit being a pansy." I breathed, pushing myself out of the bed and forcing myself across the room before I could overthink the situation. Throwing open my door, I walked to Annabelle's room and summed up all my courage, looking to God before knocking on the door carefully, clumsy raps that sounded nothing like the ones I was used to.
"Hold your horses I'm almost ready!" she exclaimed, and I listened in confusion and curiosity as the room erupted with shuffles, collisions, and swears as Annabelle seemed to run into just about everything in the room. Taking a step back, I stuck my sweaty hands in my pockets and spun around, facing the wall as I tried to think of what to say.
"Okay, I'm-" she threw the door open and stopped short. Turning around, I felt my jaw drop as I gazed upon her in a beautiful blue and white striped dress with white gloves. Her lips were coated in bright red lipstick, pearls in her ears and around her neck. She looked…sophisticated, exquisite. Like one of those high-society ladies on Fifth Avenue, walking their primped and puffed up dogs while shopping with their husband's money.
"Donny. I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you, did you need something?" she asked, looking down and I took as step back as she closed her bedroom door, completely confounded. What was she dressed up like that for? Who else could she be expecting?
"Good, you're ready. Hoping you wouldn't be one of those dames that took forever." Aldo said from down the hallway and I turned my head in confusion, watching as he approached in evening wear, his hair slicked back and a small bouquet of flowers in his hand.
"Well howdy there Donowitz. Good, now I've found you. You're in charge for the night, Annabelle and I are going out for a little date." Aldo grinned with bravado, handing the flowers over to Annabelle. Standing dumbly in disbelief, I glanced between the two of them and tried to find something to say as she quietly thanked Aldo for the flowers and looked everywhere but me.
"A date? What?" I grasped for words and they failed me.
"I'll go put these in my room." Annabelle said softly, then disappeared behind the door, leaving me and a gloating Aldo who rocked forward on his toes, chest puffed out like he had won some sort of prize. Well really he did. The one I was on my way to claim.
"She agreed back in the kitchen earlier you didn't hear me? Don't see why that'd be a problem for you, or how it's any of your business." Aldo drawled.
"It's not. Let's go, I need a drink." Annabelle interrupted before I could say anything, closing the door behind her. Aldo gave me a small salute and Annabelle took his arm, looking back at me one last time before the two walked down the hall, leaving me both speechless, angered, and frustrated beyond reason.
"Look Aldo, I guess I need to be honest with you. It was Hugo who got the information out of that guy, not me. I went at him for hours and all he did was cry and beg, it wasn't until Hugo stepped up that he finally started spilling the beans. I can't keep going on with you thinking I was some sort of aficionado down there when I couldn't get shit." I finally sighed as I sat across the table from Aldo in a fancy restaurant, not quite as popular as the best places in town, but it was the only one Nazi's and French socialists didn't frequent. It was the only place where we were really safe.
"You've got to give yourself more credit than that little lady. You loosened him up for Hugo, I bet you a couple more minutes and he'd be blabbing away to you." Aldo shrugged, taking a sip from his glass of champagne and I shrugged uncomfortably, still feeling somewhat guilty.
Nothing could assuage it. Not Aldo's assurances that I had done an admirable job, or the thoughts that there was nothing wrong with what I was doing. Though no matter how I thought about it, I couldn't get the look of Donny's dumbstruck face out of my mind when I opened the door and informed him I was going on a date with Aldo.
He had been coming to my room to tell me something, and I had completely fucked it up, as I did so many things. Perhaps it was an explanation? Or perhaps it was an admission that he didn't really want to be with me. I couldn't rule that out.
But what else could explain the sadness on his face when Aldo and I left? Almost…jealousy, it seemed. It could've been foolish for me to think so, just a silly young girl imagining things. But I could swear I hadn't imagined it.
"You still with me sweetheart?" Aldo asked, and I glanced up.
"What?"
"I asked you want you wanted to order." He raised his eyebrows, and I flushed as I wondered just how many times he had thrown the question while I was lost in my thoughts about Donny.
"I'll just have whatever you're having." I replied blandly, knowing full well Aldo would likely order something I could never finish. I could see the flicker of irritation in his eyes as he leaned back in his seat. A lesson I had learned, there were some men who enjoyed ordering the same thing for their women, however, most did not. It showed that a woman did not have a mind of her own, enough to even order her own food.
"Aldo I'm sorry, my mind is elsewhere." I finally sighed, guilt seeping into me.
"Yeah I can see that. Something you want to talk about champ?" he took a sip from his glass of champagne and I began to open my mouth before shaking my head. A man taking you out to dinner was not the time to discuss the feelings of another.
"Go on, spit it out. Sounds like something you need to talk about."
"It's just…Donny. Last night he and I got a little drunk and he told me he didn't want to sleep with me because he respected me too much. Then today…"
I found myself spilling the tragically short story of my non-existent relationship with Donny as though it actually mattered. I spun the tale from the beginning back at the brothel to its conclusion, when the three of us met in the hallway, and all throughout Aldo simply listened, arms crossed over his chest and eyes staring deeply within me. When I was done, a man appeared with our food and Aldo placed his napkin on his chest then dug in without any acknowledgement to my emotional outpouring.
I simply watched him, stunned and embarrassed as he chewed and wished I could go back, never having told him the story. Finally, he took a sip of wine and leaned back into his seat, quickly wiping his mouth.
"Fact of the matter is Donowitz is smitten with you. The man's from Boston, respectable upbringing. No secret he wants you though. We've got a house full of that Annie, though I never saw you as the jealous type. Colette is harmless, just likes to tickle our fancy every once in a while if you get what I'm saying. You just got to remember, Donowitx ain't the only one that wants you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"I didn't just ask you out to dinner for nothing."
"I don't know Colette, I mean I really like her. I don't know how to fix this. She's off with Aldo now, and I know there's no way the man would take no for an answer. Not that he has to, he says one word to a lady and her undergarments drop. You of all people should know that." I said miserably to Colette, laying in my bed as she sat beside me with an elbow propped, listening to my problems.
In a way, Colette was a personal savior to each and every man in the house. For Archie, she helped him deal with missing his wife. With Aldo, it was overcoming his loneliness. Omar, his shyness around women. And for me, she was someone who listened to the things I had to say, something I hadn't come across in a long while.
I'd had one-night stands with Colette. We all did. It seemed only fair, if she was to stay at the house for a day or two to do our service and pay her. It didn't feel completely right, but it also didn't seem completely degrading because I cared about her, and she cared about me in the most platonic of senses. With Annabelle the very though frightened me, though now I could see it may have been a mistake.
"Then you must tell her how you feel Donny. I saw the way you two looked at one another earlier. She likes you also, it is obvious. A woman who wants a man cannot be tamed Donny. If she wants you to have her, then you oblige her. Or else you make her think you are not interested."
"I don't know. She's so…she's like you. She knows everything, she makes me feel like a kid."
"Well, why don't I give you a little more experience? Pretend I'm your Annabelle. Oh Donny, you're so handsome. Kiss me!" she exclaimed, pulling my arms around her and I laughed, before giving her a quick peck on the lips, unable to pretend she was Annabelle. Annabelle was one of a kind.
That didn't mean I couldn't have a girl to spend the night with though. Annabelle was out with Aldo, she'd probably end up going to bed with him tonight. Maybe I could try again in the morning, but for now, I couldn't stand being in my bed alone. I needed a warm woman to cuddle next to me.
"Donny I need to-"
We both broke apart and I looked up as Annabelle entered the room, still in her getup. It was the first time she had not knocked, why didn't she knock damn it! Because I knew she had seen the two of us kissing, and there was no way to explain what was going on between the two of us.
"Annabelle…hi." I managed to choke and she stared at the two of us, before backing out and slamming the door behind her.
"You should go talk to her. Or should I?" Colette asked, putting a hand on my cheek and I shrugged away from her standing up and leaving the room.
Hesitating in front of Annabelle's door, I sighed before continuing down the hall.
