I'm a Profiteer in Cold War Germany

Chapter 103: Chapter 13: The Fatal Time Lag

Tuesday.

Werner was tidying up his apartment when he suddenly heard a car engine outside.

He walked to the window and looked out. A black sedan was parked at the warehouse entrance, and Vonke was getting out of the car.

Werner’s heart tightened, but he remained calm on the surface.

He went to the door and opened it. "Comrade Vonke, what brings you here?"

Vonke didn’t smile. His face was grim as he stepped into the room.

He scanned the room, then turned to Werner. "I need to talk to you."

"Please, sit." Werner gestured to the sofa and sat down opposite him. "What’s this about?"

Vonke pulled a notebook from his pocket, opened it, and stared into Werner’s eyes. "You’ve been active at the Church recently?"

"Yes." Werner nodded. "I help the Church transport some relief supplies through humanitarian channels. It’s a legal charitable activity."

"Charitable activity," Vonke repeated, his tone laced with sarcasm. "How many people have you met at the Church?"

"I don’t remember, about a dozen or so," Werner said. "They’re all just ordinary people in need of help—widows, the elderly, children."

"Just ordinary people?" Vonke sat down in his chair and leaned forward. "Werner, have you had contact with anyone... who wants to escape to West Berlin?"

Werner’s heart rate quickened, but his expression remained unchanged. "Comrade Vonke, many people come to the Church. Some of them do complain about life being difficult and talk about wanting to go to the West to find relatives. But I only help them pass along messages, through legal humanitarian channels. I haven’t organized any escapes or provided any assistance."

"Passing messages." Vonke stared at him, his gaze as sharp as a knife. "So, have you recorded any information about these people? Names, addresses, their requests?"

Werner hesitated for a moment. "Some... I thought the information... might be useful for the Stasi’s work, so I wrote it down."

Vonke said nothing, just continued to stare at Werner with that sharp gaze. The air seemed to freeze.

After a long moment, Vonke finally spoke. His voice was low, yet full of pressure. "Werner, we’ve received intelligence that Western intelligence agencies are contacting some East German citizens who want to escape, trying to establish an underground escape network."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Werner’s face. "And some of these people were contacted through the Church’s humanitarian channels."

Werner’s fingers tightened slightly on the tabletop, but he maintained a confused expression. "People from the West? I don’t quite understand, Comrade Vonke..."

"You understand." Vonke cut him off. "Western intelligence is turning these would-be escapees, making them into informants. And I want to know who gave their information to the Western agencies."

He leaned forward again, his tone growing sterner. "Werner, have you had any contact with people from the West?"

Werner’s mind raced.

’Vonke’s words revealed several key pieces of information: First, the Stasi knows the West is contacting people who want to escape. Second, the Stasi suspects the leak is connected to the Church. And third, Vonke now suspects me.’

’So how did the Stasi find out the West was contacting these people?’

’It was obvious—Hoffman.’

’Hoffman is a Stasi mole. If people from the West contacted him, he would definitely report it to the Stasi immediately.’

’And why would the West approach Hoffman? Because Anna passed the list to them.’

This was the exact purpose of the plan he had designed.

First, he wanted to test if Anna was a double agent for the West. Second, if Anna really did leak the information, the Stasi would then discover her betrayal.

Now, Vonke had given him that opportunity.

"Comrade Vonke, I have not had any contact with people from the West," Werner said, his tone sincere and firm. "But... I did tell one person about the information I overheard at the Church."

Vonke’s expression shifted slightly. "Who?"

"Comrade Anna Claus." Werner said, "She’s a Stasi agent. She’s been asking me for information about the Black Market and the underground escape network. I thought it was normal work, so a few days ago, I gave her the list of people who wanted to escape that I had collected at the Church."

Vonke’s expression became incredibly complex in an instant—surprise, suspicion, and a trace of imperceptible anger.

He stared at Werner for a long time without saying a word.

Werner feigned confusion. "Comrade Vonke, did I do something wrong? Isn’t Comrade Klaus investigating the underground escape network? I thought I was supposed to cooperate with her..."

"When did you give her the list?" Vonke cut him off. His voice was calm, but Werner could feel the emotion suppressed beneath that calmness.

"Last week, at a small diner near the train station," Werner said. "The list had the names and addresses of a few people, all of them people who mentioned at the Church that they wanted to go to West Berlin. I thought the information would be useful to the Stasi."

Vonke jotted a few notes in his notebook, then looked up. "Besides that time, have you had any other contact with Anna?"

"A few times," Werner said. "She was always the one to approach me, asking about the Black Market. I assumed she was on an assignment, so I cooperated."

"Did she ever ask you about the West? For instance, if you had any contacts in the West?"

"No." Werner shook his head. "She mostly asked about Black Market channels and the situation with the people who want to escape."

Vonke jotted down a few more notes, then closed the notebook and stood up. "Werner, from now on, if Anna contacts you, I want you to tell me immediately. No matter what she says or asks, report it at once. Understand?"

"Understood." Werner nodded, then asked tentatively, "Comrade Vonke, is Comrade Anna..."

"That’s not for you to ask." Vonke cut him off, his tone cold. "You just need to remember what I said. Also, you can continue with the humanitarian channel at the Church, but stop asking about people who want to escape. If anyone approaches you, just tell them you can’t help and then report the situation to me."

"Alright," Werner said.

*****************

Werner stood at the window, watching the black sedan drive away.

Vonke’s reaction confirmed his suspicion: Anna hadn’t immediately reported the list to the Stasi—at least, not before the West contacted Hoffman.

That time lag was fatal.

Werner replayed every one of Vonke’s expressions, every word.

When he said Anna’s name, the momentary surprise on Vonke’s face showed that Vonke hadn’t known Werner had given the list to Anna.

And the questions Vonke asked afterward— "When did you give her the list?" "Have you had any other contact?" "What did she ask about?" —were all part of an investigation into Anna.

’Now the Stasi would investigate when Anna reported this information to them.’

’If Anna reported it soon after I told her, she might be able to explain it away.’

’But if she delayed for a long time, or never reported it at all, then she’d be in trouble.’

Werner lit a cigarette and walked to the window.

’Judging from Anna’s recent behavior, she’s very likely a double agent for the West.’

’After getting the list, she wouldn’t report it to the Stasi right away. She would pass it to the West first. Then, after the West had successfully contacted or turned their targets, she would report some inconsequential details.’

’That way, she could prove her value to the West without arousing Stasi suspicion.’

’But she never expected that Hoffman, the man on the list, was a Stasi mole.’

Werner crushed out the cigarette, a cold smile touching his lips.

This was the result he had wanted.

’What will Anna do now?’