I'm a Profiteer in Cold War Germany

Chapter 137: Chapter 47: Kindred

Werner sat where he was, slowly finishing the cold ersatz coffee.

He knew Klein would act. Not for Anna, but to protect himself.

If the Stasi truly traced the quota business back to the Ministry of Foreign Trade, Klein’s career would be over.

So he would use his network in the Ministry of Foreign Trade to spread a rumor: Anna wasn’t a West German spy; she was on a special mission to investigate suspicious personnel within the Stasi.

This rumor would make its way back to the Stasi’s top brass, creating the illusion of tacit approval from above.

The people at the Stasi would hesitate. They’d re-examine Anna’s case. They’d wonder if she’d truly been framed.

And that hesitation was Anna’s chance to survive.

Werner stood up and walked to the counter to pay. The waitress took the money, gave him his change, and said flatly, "Take care."

He walked out of the coffee shop. The sky outside was a dreary gray. The pedestrians on the street still hurried along, and no one looked up at the sky.

Werner lit a cigarette and turned, melting into the crowd.

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

A few days later, Anna’s case took a turn for the better.

Under pressure from the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Stasi’s investigative division suspended its investigation into Anna. Although she was still transferred from her original post to a do-nothing department, at least she hadn’t been arrested.

Werner breathed a sigh of relief when he got the news.

But he knew this was only a temporary solution.

He had to meet with Anna as soon as possible to discuss their next move.

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

Werner arranged to meet Anna at the Church.

Werner pushed open the heavy wooden doors and walked into the dim chapel.

Anna was already sitting in the last pew, wearing a dark gray trench coat. Her hair was loosely pinned up, with a few strands falling across her forehead. She heard footsteps, turned her head, and her eyes were as calm as a deep pool of water.

Werner sat down beside her without a word.

The chapel was silent, save for the sound of wind whistling past the windows.

On the wall, a crucifix cast a long shadow in the candlelight. The air was filled with the scent of wax and wood, and an indefinable sense of solemnity.

"You did this?" Anna finally spoke, her voice soft and flat.

Werner nodded.

Anna didn’t respond immediately.

She lowered her head, staring at her hands folded in her lap. Her fingers were long, the knuckles well-defined.

After a long while, she finally looked up toward the altar’s cross. "I thought I had prepared for everything. I designed an emergency extraction plan, prepared false identity papers." She paused, a hint of self-mockery in her voice. "But I never expected someone would expose me before I even had the chance to get out."

"Do you know who reported you?" Werner asked.

"Not for sure," Anna said. "It could have been a colleague, or someone I thought I could trust. In this place, anyone can betray anyone."

Werner said nothing. He knew Anna was telling the truth. In East Germany, betrayal was the norm, and trust was a luxury.

"Why did you save me?" Anna turned her head, looking directly into Werner’s eyes.

Her eyes were light brown, appearing somewhat deep in the dim candlelight. "You know perfectly well what I am. You know who I work for, and you know that if the things I’ve done were exposed, you’d be implicated too."

"Because you’re useful to me," Werner said, his tone as flat as if he were stating a fact.

Anna stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled. It was a faint smile, tinged with an unreadable meaning. "Werner Betelich, you really are a pragmatist."

"In this place, you can’t survive if you’re not practical," Werner said.

"You’ve got a point." Anna leaned back against the pew, her gaze returning to the altar. "But I’ve been transferred to a do-nothing department now. I don’t have any influence inside the Stasi anymore. Logically speaking, I should be useless to you."

"No, you’re still useful," Werner said. "Even though you’re in a dead-end department now, you’re still part of the Stasi. You still have channels, you still have connections. That’s enough for me. Besides..." He paused. "You’re more useful alive than dead."

Anna turned her head, her gaze falling on Werner’s face.

She studied him, just as she had when they first met, with a look of scrutiny and inquiry.

After a moment, she said softly, "How did you do it? Get the Ministry of Foreign Trade to apply pressure?"

"Hadn’t you figured it out already?" Werner said.

Anna’s expression didn’t change much. She just nodded. "You’re even bolder than I thought."

"I knew the risks," Werner said. "But there was no other way."

Anna fell silent. She lowered her head again, her fingers gently rubbing the fabric of her trench coat on her knee. The candlelight cast soft shadows on her face, blurring her features.

"Do you know what the most ironic part is?" she said suddenly, a trace of exhaustion in her voice. "I always thought I was playing a game, that I was in control of the situation. I navigated between the Stasi and West Germany, using everyone, including you. I thought as long as I was smart enough, careful enough, I could win."

She looked up at Werner, a rare sincerity in her eyes. "But this time, I discovered I’m just a pawn on the board. Someone can push me to the brink with ease, and I don’t even know who they are."

Werner didn’t respond. He just watched her, waiting for her to continue.

"And then you showed up," Anna said, her voice even softer. "You pulled me back from the brink in your own way. You knew perfectly well I’d been using you, and you knew saving me would put you in danger, but you did it anyway."

She paused, the corners of her mouth turning up in a very faint smile. "I don’t know how to define our relationship, Werner. We’re not friends, because friends don’t use each other. We’re not comrades, because comrades should have trust. We’re not even real partners, because we each have our own agenda."

"Then what do you think we are?" Werner asked.

Anna said slowly, "We’re two people trying to survive in the cracks. Neither of us believes in this system, but we both have to live within it. We both know what the other is doing, but we both pretend not to. We use each other, but we also depend on each other."

She turned to face Werner directly.

The distance between them was small, close enough to see the light in each other’s eyes. "We’re the same kind, Werner. In this godforsaken place, finding someone like you is already a luxury."

Werner looked into her eyes, which seemed exceptionally bright in the candlelight.

He suddenly realized Anna was right.

They were indeed the same kind—both walking in the gray areas, both dancing on a knife’s edge, both fighting this absurd world in their own way.

"So?" Werner asked. "What are you going to do?"

Anna leaned back against the pew again, her gaze shifting forward once more. "I’ll keep helping you. Not because I owe you a favor, but because..." She hesitated, as if weighing her words. "Because we need each other. There aren’t many people you can rely on in this place."

"Even if you’re in a dead-end department?"

"Even in a dead-end department," Anna said. "I may have been sidelined, but I still have some connections. Besides, sometimes it’s safer on the sidelines—and more convenient for getting certain things done."

"Werner," Anna called out to him.