I'm a Profiteer in Cold War Germany

Chapter 231: Chapter 14: The Foreign Intelligence Department’s Transfer Order

Werner slid into the passenger seat. The car pulled away from the city center and headed for the outskirts.

The buildings outside the window became sparser, eventually giving way to forests and farmland.

"Where are we going?" Werner asked.

"You’ll know soon enough," Anna said, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. She didn’t elaborate.

Half an hour later, the car stopped at the edge of a patch of woods. A dirt road led into the trees, and a house was faintly visible at its end.

"We’re here." Anna turned off the engine and pushed open the car door.

Werner followed her out of the car and down the path into the woods. The air was filled with the scent of pine, and fallen leaves rustled under his feet.

The house came into view.

It was a small, two-story house with pale yellow walls and a red-tiled roof. A fence encircled the property, and several apple trees grew in the yard. Though they were bare now, it was easy to imagine how beautiful they would be in the summer.

"What is this place?" Werner asked.

"It used to be a vacation home for a West German businessman." Anna took out a key and opened the door. "After the Berlin Wall was built, he fled back to West Germany. The house was confiscated and put under Stasi administration." She turned to look at Werner. "I pulled some strings to get it for use as a secret safe house."

Werner walked into the house.

The house wasn’t big, but it was very cozy. The living room had a stone fireplace, several landscape paintings hung on the walls, and the bookshelves were filled with books. The second floor was the bedroom, with a large bed and a window facing the forest.

"Do you like it?" Anna stood behind him, her voice soft.

"It’s great," Werner said. "But why all of a sudden—"

"Because I need a completely safe place," Anna interrupted him. "In East Berlin, whether it’s my apartment or those other safe houses, people know about them. Only here, no one can find us." She paused. "From now on, this will be our place."

Werner turned and looked at her.

Anna’s gaze was calm, but there was a hint of vulnerability hidden in her eyes.

"Anna, what happened?"

Anna was silent for a few seconds before walking to the fireplace. She crouched down and began to build a fire.

"I might be transferred to the Foreign Intelligence Department," she said. "They’re expanding and preparing to send more people to operate in West Germany. I’m on the list of candidates."

Werner’s heart tightened.

"To West Germany?"

"Not necessarily." Anna lit a match, and the flame leaped up in the fireplace. "It’s just that after a transfer to that department, there’s a possibility of being sent abroad. It could be West Berlin, or maybe Hamburg or Munich." She stood up and dusted off her hands. "But I could also just stay in East Berlin doing desk work. It all depends on the arrangements from above."

"When is the transfer?"

"Next month, if things move quickly." Anna turned to face Werner. "The transfer to the Foreign Intelligence Department isn’t the problem itself. The problem is, if I’m really sent to West Germany..." She paused, her voice dropping lower. "Werner, you know my situation. I’m already walking a tightrope. If I really go to West Germany to work as a spy, the risks will be much higher."

Of course, Werner understood what she meant.

Anna was a double agent for East and West Germany. She could barely maintain that balance in East Berlin, but if she were sent on a mission to West Germany, any slip-up could expose everything.

"Can’t you refuse?"

"Refuse?" Anna gave a bitter smile. "In the Stasi, obeying orders is the number one rule. Besides, a transfer to the Foreign Intelligence Department is a promotion. If I refuse, I can forget about ever climbing higher." She walked to the window and gazed at the forest outside. "But if I’m really sent out..."

She didn’t finish her sentence, but Werner could feel the anxiety in her words.

Werner walked over and hugged her from behind.

"Maybe you won’t be sent out," he said softly. "You said it’s just a possibility."

"Mm." Anna leaned against his chest. "That’s why I wanted to find a place like this. No matter what happens in the future, at least for now, we can have a space that’s completely our own."

She turned around and looked at him.

"Werner, what do you think I should do?"

Werner fell silent. He knew this question had no easy answer.

Anna was an ambitious woman. She wasn’t content with being a mid-level officer for her whole life.

But going to West Germany meant greater danger, and she might never be able to come back.

"I can’t decide for you," he finally said. "But whatever you choose, I’ll support you. Besides, it’s just a department transfer for now. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be sent abroad, right?"

Anna stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled.

"I knew you’d say that." She let go of his hand and walked toward the kitchen. "I’ve prepared dinner and wine. Let’s have a good talk tonight."

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

Dinner was simple—dark bread, sausage, sauerkraut, and a bottle of Hungarian red wine.

Anna placed the food on a small table in front of the fireplace. The two of them sat on the rug, the firelight dancing on their faces.

"You know, Werner?" Anna poured two glasses of wine, handing one to him. "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if we were born in a different place, a different time."

"Like where?"

"Like in West Germany," Anna took a sip of wine. "No Stasi, no surveillance, none of this mess. We could be like a normal couple, go to the movies, eat at restaurants, have a picnic in the countryside on weekends."

"But we’re not in West Germany," Werner said. "We’re in East Germany."

"Right, we’re in East Germany." Anna smiled, a self-deprecating curve of her lips. "So we can only meet in secret, hiding in this damn place, pretending we’re free."

She took another large gulp of wine, her eyes turning a little red.

Werner reached out, grasped her shoulders, and pulled her into his arms.

Anna didn’t struggle. She just rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

"Werner, sometimes I feel so tired." Her voice was very soft. "In the Stasi, you can’t trust anyone. Your colleagues might be spying on you, your superiors might be testing you, your friends might be betraying you. You have to wear a mask every day and think over every word before you speak."

She lifted her head and looked at him.

"Only when I’m with you do I feel like my real self."

Werner lowered his head and kissed her lips. Anna responded eagerly, her hands running through his hair as she pressed her body tightly against his.

The fire in the fireplace CRACKLED, and outside, the wind howled low as it blew through the woods.

They tangled together on the rug, clothes scattering piece by piece.

Anna’s breathing grew ragged, her gaze hazy.

"Werner..." she whispered in his ear. "No matter what happens later, at least tonight, we belong only to each other."

Werner didn’t answer, he just proved it with his actions. Their bodies intertwined, merging into one in the firelight and shadows.

That night, time seemed to stand still.

The outside world—East Germany, West Germany, the Stasi, Koko—none of it mattered anymore.

There was only this small house, only the dancing flames in the fireplace, only each other’s warmth and heartbeats.

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

Werner woke up just before dawn.

Anna was still in his arms, sleeping soundly. Her face was buried in his chest, her breathing steady and deep.

Birdsong came from outside the window. The winter morning light shone through the gap in the curtains, casting a faint play of light and shadow on the wall. The fire in the fireplace had gone out, leaving only a few embers that still held some warmth.

Werner carefully slid his arm out, got up, and put on his clothes.

He walked to the window and pulled open the curtains. Outside was a world of silver-white—it had snowed last night. A thin layer covered the branches and the ground, glimmering in the morning light.

"What time is it?" Anna’s voice came from behind him.

Werner turned to see her sitting up, wrapped in a blanket, her hair messy and her eyes still a bit hazy with sleep.

"Almost seven," Werner said. "It snowed last night."

Anna walked to the window, stood beside him, and quietly watched the snowy scene outside.

"It’s beautiful," she said softly.

"Mm."

The two stood in silence for a while.

Anna suddenly spoke up. "Werner, if... I mean if, by some chance, I’m really sent to West Germany, will you wait for me?"

Werner turned his head to look at her.

"I will," he said. "No matter how long."

Anna smiled, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Liar," she said. "You’re the most pragmatic person I know."

"Not with you." Werner took her hand. "For you, I can be impractical."

Anna rested her head on his shoulder, and they stood there by the window, watching the snow slowly melt in the sunlight.

After a long time, Anna finally said, "We should go."

"Mm."

They tidied up briefly, returning the room to how they found it.

On the way back to East Berlin, they were both quiet. The car drove over snow-covered country roads, the tires making a soft crunching sound on the snow.

As they neared the city, Anna suddenly said, "Werner, I’ve made up my mind."

"About what?"

"About the Foreign Intelligence Department," Anna said, looking at the road ahead. "I’ll accept the transfer. But if they really want to send me to West Germany, I’ll find a way to stall. For as long as I can."

"Why?"

"Because I don’t want to leave yet." Anna glanced at him. "At least, not yet."

Werner didn’t say anything, just reached out and took her hand.

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

The snow hadn’t completely melted before the streets of East Berlin iced over again.

Werner stood at the window of the Koko Building, watching the pedestrians in gray overcoats carefully make their way along the street below.

"Comrade Deputy Director, these documents need your signature."

His secretary knocked and came in, holding a stack of procurement requests.

Werner turned and took them, flipping through them quickly. Becoming a deputy director at twenty-four was practically unheard of at Koko.

"Change the deadline for this precision instrument procurement to two weeks," he jotted on the document. "And for these chemical reagents, go directly through the Switzerland channel. Don’t route it through Austria."

The secretary nodded and took notes, his attitude more than a little better than before.

Everyone in the Special Procurement Department knew that this young deputy director was the man of the hour.

After signing the last document, Werner glanced at the wall clock—five-thirty in the afternoon. He grabbed his overcoat and headed out.

"Have the materials ready for tomorrow’s meeting. I have to leave early for something."

Werner arrived at Anna’s apartment.

The moment he opened the door, he smelled the scent of shampoo.

"You’re here?" Anna peeked her head out of the bathroom, her hair soaking wet, her body wrapped only in his white shirt. "The water’s still hot. Want to join me?"

Werner tossed his overcoat onto the sofa, walked over, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Wearing my shirt again?"

"Yours is more comfortable." Anna stood on her toes and gave him a playful bite.

"Then don’t take it off," Werner said, kissing her lips.

They were kissing passionately when the telephone suddenly rang, sharp and shrill.

Anna’s body went stiff.

Werner released her, and she hurried to the living room to answer the phone.

"Yes... Yes... I understand... I’ll be there in twenty minutes."

When she hung up the phone, her expression had changed.

She quickly walked into the bedroom and started changing. Her movements were fast, but Werner noticed her hands were trembling slightly.

"What’s wrong?" Werner followed her into the bedroom.

"I don’t know." Anna buttoned up her coat. "Emergency orders. I have to go back immediately."

"The Stasi?"

"Mm-hmm."

Werner grabbed her wrist. "Is it dangerous?"

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