Chapter 289 - 72: Anna is Missing

Chapter 289: Chapter 72: Anna is Missing

For the next month, Werner heard nothing more from Anna.

The black telephone remained in the hidden compartment of his nightstand, but it never rang.

Every night, Werner would glance at the phone, hoping it would suddenly ring.

But it remained silent.

One afternoon in mid-September, Werner went to a secret apartment to check the mailbox as usual—it was another communication channel between him and Anna.

There was a letter in the mailbox.

No return address, just a serial number.

Werner tore open the envelope.

Inside was a single sheet of paper with a line written in the code he and Anna used:

A-9-23. Danger. Temporarily out of contact. Do not search.

Werner stared at the line of text.

A-9-23 was Anna’s codename and the date.

"Danger," "Temporarily out of contact," "Do not search."

’This means Anna is in trouble.’

’Or at least, she had a feeling something was about to happen.’

Werner held the note to his lighter, watching it slowly burn to ash.

***********

Werner stood by the window, checking the empty mailbox for the fifth time.

Still nothing.

Two weeks had passed since Anna’s "temporarily out of contact" message.

Over those two weeks, Werner had tried to contact her through every secret channel they had—the designated dead drops, the coded phone lines, even a few emergency rendezvous points known only to the two of them.

Complete silence.

It was as if Anna had disappeared from the face of the earth.

Werner lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

His mind raced, running through the possibilities:

’Was Anna captured by West German counter-espionage?’

’Recalled by the Stasi for an inquiry?’

’Or... had something worse happened to her?’

Werner stubbed out his cigarette, strode out of the villa, and drove back to his apartment in East Berlin.

’I have to do something.’

’If I wait any longer, Anna might really never come back.’

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

The next morning, Werner dialed an encrypted number. It was his emergency contact line with Werner, one they rarely used.

The phone rang three times before it connected.

"This is Werner."

"It’s me." Werner’s voice was calm. "I need to meet you. Eight o’clock tonight, the usual place in West Berlin."

Werner was stunned for a moment. Werner rarely contacted him proactively, much less with such a commanding tone.

"What’s happened?"

"We’ll talk in person," Werner said, then hung up.

He leaned back in his chair and lit a cigarette.

’I have to handle the upcoming negotiation carefully.’

’I can’t seem too desperate. That would make West Germany think I’m begging and would weaken my negotiating position.’

’I have to make West Germany understand that I have something they want, and I’m willing to trade it for Anna’s safety.’

’This is a trade, not a plea.’

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

At seven in the evening, Werner drove through Checkpoint Charlie into West Berlin.

At eight o’clock sharp, he walked into the nondescript little tavern.

Werner was already waiting in a booth in the corner, an untouched glass of whiskey in front of him.

Werner sat down across from him and ordered a beer for himself.

"You were in such a hurry to see me, what’s happened?" Werner asked, getting straight to the point.

Werner didn’t answer right away. He slowly took a sip of his beer, then looked up at Werner.

"I need your help finding someone."

"Who?"

"An East German woman. In her thirties, blonde hair. Went missing about two weeks ago. I need to know where she is, and if she’s dead or alive."

Werner stared at him for a few seconds. "Why are you asking me to look for her?"

"Because I suspect you have her," Werner said. "And I’m guessing you probably think she’s a spy."

Werner’s eyes tightened slightly.

"Is she important to you?"

"Yes," Werner said. "So I need you to let her go."

Werner let out a small laugh. "Werner, do you have any idea what you’re saying? If she really is a spy, why on earth would we let her go?"

Werner put down his beer glass, leaned forward, and looked into Werner’s eyes.

"Because I can give you what you want."

"And what is that?"

"Intelligence from Moscow," Werner said. "I know you’ve always wanted to know what the Soviet high command is thinking, what their next move will be. I can tell you."

The look in Werner’s eyes changed instantly.

"Are you sure you have intelligence of that caliber?"

"Last time Khrushchev was ousted, I told you forty-eight hours in advance," Werner said. "That should be enough to prove the quality of my sources."

Werner fell silent.

Werner continued, "And not just Moscow. I can also give you intelligence on East Germany. The inner workings of Koko, the Stasi’s secret operations, the power struggles among the East German leadership. This is all information you want."

"And what’s the price?"

"Her safety," Werner said. "No matter what she’s done, no matter what you’ve found out, I want her alive. And I want her to be able to return to East Germany without arousing suspicion."

Werner looked at him, his expression complex.

"Werner, do you realize what you’re asking? You’re asking us to let a potential East German spy go, and even help clear her of suspicion. This is no small matter."

"I know," Werner said.

Werner was lost in thought.

Werner picked up his beer and drank it slowly, not rushing him.

He knew he had the upper hand.

’Werner needs this intelligence. West Germany needs it.’

’And I’m the one who can deliver.’

After a long time, Werner finally spoke. "I need to report this to my superiors. A deal of this magnitude isn’t something I can decide on my own."

"I understand," Werner said. "Before you give me an answer, confirm one thing for me first—is the woman really in your custody? If she isn’t, then there’s no need for us to continue this conversation."

Werner nodded. "Alright. Give me two days."

"No," Werner said. "One day. Tomorrow night, same place."

Werner looked at him, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately just nodded.

"Fine. One day."

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

「The next afternoon. Bonn. West German Federal Intelligence Agency Headquarters.」

Five people were seated in a conference room.

The man at the head was Schroeder, the deputy director of the BND, a veteran intelligence officer in his fifties with graying hair but eyes that were still sharp.

Seated to his left was Knapp, head of the counter-espionage department, and to his right was Miller, director of the Eastern Europe intelligence division.

Werner sat at the other end of the conference table, a file from Werner placed before him.

"Brief us," Schroeder said.

Werner cleared his throat. "Last night, our asset in Berlin, the Eye of Moscow, reached out to me to propose a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"He wants us to release an East German woman suspected of being a spy. In exchange, he’s willing to provide high-level intelligence—including policy movements in Moscow and classified information from within East Germany."

Knapp, from the counter-espionage department, immediately furrowed his brow. "Which East German woman?"

"Anna Claus," Werner said. "The one we picked up last month. She’s our spy embedded in the Stasi, who was then sent by the Stasi to West Germany to operate under the guise of a defector. But we suspect she’s actually working for East Germany at the same time."

"That case is still under investigation," Knapp said.

A brief silence fell over the conference room.

Schroeder put down the file and looked at Werner. "This asset, Eye of Moscow, what’s his track record been like?"

"Excellent," Werner said. "He started providing intelligence for us in 1964, with an extremely high accuracy rate. His most famous contribution was in October 1964, when he predicted Khrushchev’s downfall forty-eight hours in advance."

"That was him?"