I'm a Profiteer in Cold War Germany

Chapter 119: Chapter 29: Double Agent

Werner opened the door.

"It’s so late," he said.

"I knew you were here." Anna walked in, closing the door behind her. "Your light has been on."

Werner didn’t respond, walking back to the desk and sitting down.

Anna took off her trench coat, casually draping it over the back of a chair before sitting down across from him. She was wearing a black turtleneck sweater that completely covered her neck, and her hair was pulled back into a simple bun.

"Something to drink?" Werner asked.

"No, thank you," Anna said. "I won’t be staying long."

Werner poured himself a glass of water and drank it slowly, waiting for her to speak.

Anna’s fingers tapped on the tabletop a few times, then she lifted her head and looked Werner straight in the eyes.

"I know what you’re planning."

Werner’s hand stopped mid-air, the glass just centimeters from his lips.

"What?"

"Don’t play dumb, Werner," Anna said, her voice calm. "You’re preparing to send people to West Germany."

The air froze.

Werner slowly placed the glass on the table, his face devoid of any expression.

"What are you talking about?"

"You met with Joshua recently," Anna said. "We both know who Joshua is. His main mission in East Berlin is to help those ’who need help’ to leave."

Werner leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Did the Stasi send you to ask?"

"Not exactly," Anna said. "This falls within my jurisdiction. But I chose to come to you first, instead of writing a report directly."

"So I should thank you?"

"You should seriously consider what I’m about to say." Anna’s tone sharpened. "I need to use your smuggling routes to transport some things. Intelligence, documents, maybe other things. This is a Stasi work assignment."

Werner laughed.

"The Stasi needs smuggling routes to pass intelligence? Do you take me for a fool?"

"Not the Stasi." Anna paused. "My assignment."

"What’s the difference?"

"A big one." Anna stared at him. "If you agree, I can guarantee the Stasi won’t investigate your plan to transport people. If you don’t—"

"You’ll report me?" Werner cut her off.

"Yes."

Werner stood up and walked to the window. The street outside was empty, with only a few streetlights casting a dim yellow glow in the darkness. In the distance, the silhouette of the Berlin Wall was faintly visible, like the spine of a colossal beast.

"Anna." He turned around. "If you really wanted to report me, you would have done it already, not waited until now."

Anna’s expression flickered.

"Are you gambling?"

"It’s not a gamble." Werner walked back to the table, leaning forward with both hands planted on its surface to look down at her. "I’m stating a fact. You didn’t come here to threaten me. You came to negotiate."

Anna raised her head to meet his gaze.

The distance between them was short, so close they could hear each other breathe.

"You’re very clever," she said.

"So let’s stop beating around the bush." Werner straightened up. "You’re not just a simple Stasi agent, are you?"

Anna didn’t speak.

"You have another identity," Werner continued. "Maybe for West Germany, maybe for someone else. But whatever it is, you’re in an awkward position now."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because you’re desperate," Werner said, sitting down in his chair. "Before the Berlin Wall was built, you could move between both sides with ease. But now the wall is there. Your path is cut off. You need a new channel, and I have one."

Anna’s fingers tightened, her knuckles turning white.

"Your guess is surprisingly accurate."

"It wasn’t a guess," Werner said. "It was deduction. We’ve known each other for a while, and you’ve never been this direct. It proves you’re really at a dead end."

Anna stared at him for a long time, then suddenly laughed. The smile was a little bitter, and also a little relieved.

"Alright," she said. "Since you know everything, let’s talk openly."

Werner nodded, pulling a bottle of vodka and two glasses from a drawer.

"Care for that drink now?"

"Yes."

Werner poured two glasses, pushing one toward Anna. They clinked glasses and downed the drinks in one go.

The alcohol burned in his throat, and Werner felt his body grow a little warmer.

"Speak," he said. "Who are you, really?"

Anna put down her glass, her fingers tracing the rim.

"I am a Stasi agent, that part is true," she said slowly. "But I’m also an informant for the West German Federal Intelligence Agency. A double agent, serving both sides."

"Why?"

"For money, for my beliefs, for... survival." Anna’s voice was very soft. "You know what it’s like in East Germany. I have a younger brother studying in West Germany who needs money. The West Germans were very generous, so I agreed."

"Does the Stasi know?"

"No," Anna said. "If they knew, I’d already be in Horner Schonehausen Prison."

Horner Schonehausen. It was the Stasi’s most infamous prison, used exclusively for political prisoners and spies. It was said the interrogation methods there could make even the toughest nut crack.

"What’s your mission?" Werner asked.

"To gather intelligence on high-ranking East German officials," Anna said. "Who’s corrupt, who’s having an affair, who’s smuggling, who’s disloyal to the Party. That’s the kind of thing West Germany wants."

"Sounds simple enough."

"It used to be simple." A note of exhaustion entered Anna’s voice. "Before the Berlin Wall was built, I could go to West Berlin regularly and hand over intelligence to my contact. But not anymore. The wall is there, passes are getting harder to obtain, and Stasi surveillance is getting tighter."

She paused.

"The West Germans don’t care about any of that. They just want results, constantly pressuring me to deliver intelligence. I didn’t deliver last month, and they threatened to cut off my brother’s funding. I didn’t deliver this month either, and now they’re starting to suspect I’ve defected."

"So you need a stable channel for delivery," Werner said.

"Yes." Anna looked at him. "So I need your help. To use your channels to get the intelligence to West Berlin."

Werner considered this for a moment.

"What can you give me?"

"I work under Vonke. I can help you keep an eye on him."

"Not enough."

"Then what else do you want?"

Werner leaned forward, his elbows on the table.

"I want you to provide useful intelligence."

"What kind of intelligence?"

"The internal movements of the Stasi," Werner said. "Who’s purging who, who’s suppressing who, which officials can be won over, and which people to watch out for. That’s what’s useful to me."

Anna frowned.

"That’s very dangerous."

"Isn’t working with me dangerous, too?" Werner said. "We’re both walking a tightrope. The only difference is who has the harder fall."

Anna stared at him for a moment, then laughed.

"You really are greedy."

"I just want to survive," Werner said. "And to live a little better."

"In that, we’re the same," Anna said.

They looked at each other, neither being the first to speak.

Outside the warehouse, the sound of a passing train rumbled through, making the windowpanes hum. Werner looked at Anna’s face. In the dim light, her eyes seemed to shine.

"I have one more condition," Anna said suddenly.

"What is it?"

"If the day comes that I need to leave East Germany, you have to help me."