Chapter 211: Chapter 121: Anna
Werner quickly gathered the ledgers, locked them in the safe, then put on his overcoat, turned off the desk lamp, and walked out of the room.
The hallway was pitch-black, with only a single, dim yellow bulb glowing by the entrance on the first floor.
He hurried downstairs, pushed open the heavy wooden door, and stepped into the night.
The street was quiet. Occasionally, a few pedestrians bundled in heavy overcoats would hurry past.
Werner walked along the sidewalk for a while, confirming he wasn’t being followed. Then he ducked into a small alley, and after a series of twists and turns, arrived at the "Song of the Workers" restaurant.
Werner pushed the door open and went inside. The restaurant was filled with the smell of boiled potatoes and stewed meat.
A program from the East German People’s Radio was playing on the radio. The announcer was proclaiming "the great victory of the working class" in a triumphant tone. A few customers sat in a corner, talking in low voices, their smoke swirling in the dim light.
Erich was already sitting at a table in the back, a cup of cold coffee in front of him. When he saw Werner come in, he immediately stood up, his expression tense.
Werner walked over and sat down across from him.
"So, what’s so urgent?"
Erich glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention to them, then lowered his voice. "Something’s happened to Anna."
Werner’s fingers froze on the tabletop.
"When?"
"Ten o’clock this morning," Erich said. "A Stasi internal purge team stormed her office and took her away in front of everyone."
Werner’s heart sank. He maintained a calm expression, but his fingers tightened into a fist unconsciously.
"How do you know?"
"At noon, the deputy editor-in-chief of our paper, Carl, attended an internal briefing at the Stasi." Erich wiped the sweat from his forehead. "When he got back, he was in his office discussing how to write the report with the editor-in-chief. I happened to be passing by the door and overheard some of it."
"What did they say?"
"They said Anna is accused of leaking intelligence to West Germany, and that the evidence is conclusive." Erich swallowed hard. "Master is in charge of the interrogation—questioning her personally. Carl also said the higher-ups are taking this very seriously. They want to make an example of her to thoroughly purge the ’unstable elements’ from within."
Werner lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. The smoke burned his lungs, but he needed the jolt to keep himself calm.
’Master... one of Lorentz’s men, from the faction that lost power. Von Brown’s sworn enemy.’
’This purge is escalating. The two factions are fighting to the death, each looking for a chance to eliminate the other’s people.’
’Anna might seem neutral on the surface, but if her identity as a double agent is exposed, ten lives wouldn’t be enough to save her.’
"Where is she being held now?"
"Normannen Street headquarters." Erich handed over a slip of paper. "Carl mentioned it, so I wrote it down. Also..."
He hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Carl said Master is dead set on making her the target this time. It seems he wants to use her to implicate more people. Mr. Betelich, I’m worried..."
He didn’t finish, but Werner understood what he meant.
’If Anna breaks and confesses her collaboration with me, I’ll be implicated too.’
’Master is already looking for an opportunity to go after Von Brown. If he can take down Von Brown’s most important informant in the process, it’d be a double blow.’
’But more importantly, Anna has helped me so much recently.’
’Now that she’s in Master’s hands, if I don’t do something, she’s as good as dead.’
Werner was not a sentimental man. Since transmigrating here, he had seen too much betrayal and treachery and had long since learned to protect himself. But Anna was different.
"I know what to do." Werner stubbed out his cigarette and stood up. "You go back to the newspaper and keep an eye on things over there. Let me know immediately if you hear anything. Remember, be careful. Don’t let Carl notice you’re asking about this."
Erich nodded. "Where are you going?"
"To see Von Brown."
Erich’s face changed. "That’s very dangerous. If Von Brown suspects your relationship with Anna..."
"I know," Werner cut him off. "But it’s the only way."
**************
At 8:00 PM, Werner appeared in front of a gray building.
This was a secret Stasi office. Von Brown often met his informants here, far from the prying eyes of the conservative faction at the Normannen Street headquarters.
A guard checked Werner’s identification, made a phone call, and then let him in.
Werner walked down a dim hallway and went up to the third floor.
The door to Von Brown’s office was ajar, a dim yellow light filtering out from within. He knocked.
"Come in."
Von Brown was sitting behind his desk, reviewing documents.
"Werner." He looked up, took off his glasses, and leaned back in his chair. "Coming to see me without an appointment? It must be urgent."
"Yes." Werner sat down across from him, skipping the pleasantries. "I’d like to talk to you about the Anna Claus case."
Von Brown’s hand paused. He put his glasses back on, his gaze turning sharp.
"I knew you’d come." His voice was calm, but held a hint of amusement. "Is she that important to you?"
"She’s my partner." Werner looked him in the eye. "She’s helped me a lot. Now that she’s in trouble, I can’t just stand by and do nothing."
"Partner?" Von Brown repeated the word, a slight smile touching his lips. "Werner, do you know what crime she’s accused of? Leaking state secrets to West Germany. That’s treason."
"I know." Werner took a deep breath. "But I also know that much of the intelligence she gathered was part of her normal duties. Her job is to maintain contact with West Germany and gather intelligence on them. That’s her mission."
"Mission?" Von Brown raised an eyebrow. "Then why does Master claim she leaked East Germany’s internal policies to West Germany?"
"Because Master wants to use her to get to you." Werner was direct. "Major von Brown, we both know the current situation within the Stasi. Master arrested Anna not because she actually committed treason, but because she associated with your people. He wants to use her to implicate more individuals and weaken your power."
Von Brown said nothing.
The only sound in the room was the TICK-TOCK of the wall clock.
"You’re not wrong." Von Brown finally spoke. "Master is indeed targeting me, and Anna is just his way in. But the question is, Werner, is Anna really innocent?"
Werner’s heart raced, but his face remained calm.
"She does have contact with West Germany, but that’s a requirement of her job."
"Is that so?" Von Brown stared at him. "And how do you know all this so clearly?"
Werner’s breath hitched.
’He knew he couldn’t admit to helping Anna obtain economic data from West Germany—that would drag him down with her.’
’But he couldn’t deny it completely either. That would be too disingenuous, and Von Brown wouldn’t believe him.’
"Because Anna has talked to me about her work before." Werner chose a vague explanation. "She said her mission was to maintain contact with West Germany and gather intelligence."
Von Brown stared at him for a long time, his eyes scrutinizing.
"Werner, are you and she really just partners?"
The question was so sudden it caught Werner off guard.
"Yes." He nodded. "We help each other, we need each other. That’s all."
Von Brown laughed, stood up, and walked to the window. With his back to Werner, he gazed out at the pitch-black night.
"That’s all?" His voice was laced with obvious mockery. "Werner, do you have any idea what risk you took coming to plead with me today? If I suspected you were in league with her, suspected you were also leaking intelligence to West Germany, you’d be arrested too. But you still came. For her."
He turned around and looked at Werner, an amused glint in his eyes behind the lenses of his glasses.
"How old are you? Twenty-three? Twenty-four?" Von Brown walked back to his desk and leaned against the edge. "It’s perfectly normal for a man your age to fall for a beautiful woman. And Anna is certainly charming—intelligent, capable, and very pretty. I understand, Werner. I really do."
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