Well… he truly had walked into something big, hadn’t he?<br/><br/>Udo listened carefully to every word that Kristof spoke to him. His curiosity had been piqued slightly. From the moment he had set foot here he had in fact known that there was something more going on here. There had to be, that was the only reason that Jewish rat wasn’t being dragged down the hallway, why she was protected, and the more he listened the more he was able to put two and two together.<br/><br/>“’Things beyond?’ Well, now that you mention it, I had felt something was off the moment I arrived this evening,” Udo admitted. When Kristof looked at him with those eyes the way he did, he added, “I see…” He looked at something else in the room, not wanting to allow his gaze to meet Kristof’s for too long, outside of showing him he had his attention. There was something in those eyes Udo did not like and the way Kristof’s hand was on his shoulder wasn’t really helping. It vaguely reminded him of when he had first met the man in the corridor. Touching that hand or trying to step away would be a very bad idea. He could just feel it.<br/><br/>The temptation to accept that deal was there. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t the least bit intrigued by it. It was so simple, right? Just accept, the voice in his mind was telling him over and over. He’d have power… the power to do… to do… to do what exactly? What would this power do to benefit him? His only interest was doing everything he could for the future of Germany. What would power do for him? In his mind, he had all the tools he needed to carry out his duty as a citizen, and he didn’t need anything more than that.<br/><br/>But still… it was power! What other reason did he need than that?<br/><br/>Udo looked around at the others in the room once last time before he placed his full attention on Kristof again. This time he met his gaze, looking into those eyes. “It would appear I’m backed into a corner,” he said, though didn’t seem the least bit concerned about it despite the pull in the back of his mind screaming at him to take the deal. It was a stronger pull this time and it felt like a weight was on his shoulders. He did his best to ignore it; after all he had managed to ignore that temptation before. “However…” he continued, the pull becoming stronger.<br/><br/>He paused for a moment, lips parted. The words were slipping off his tongue… but Udo shook his head, “I’m afraid I must decline your offer.” A think smile appeared on his lips. “I simply have no interest in whatever power you’re promising.” He almost added ‘unless it benefited Germany’ but stopped himself. “What I am interested in, however, is taking care of that which threatens the Fatherland… I overheard mention of that woman, Darcy, before I’d entered the room. Something about her doesn’t sit well with me.” There was another long pause. He knew he was going to have to choose his words carefully. “If Germany is in trouble, then I will aid in whatever is going on.”<br/><br/>All for the good of Germany, right? Did he have any idea what he was doing? Of course not. In fact, he was telling himself that he was off his rocker for staying here. But something was telling him to stay, not because of Kristof’s threat, but because… well… he wasn’t sure to be honest. He just knew he had to be here.