I'm a Profiteer in Cold War Germany

Chapter 244: Chapter 27: The Big Fish

Gunter was sitting behind his desk, smoking. When he saw Werner come in, he waved his hand to dismiss his secretary, then pointed to the chair opposite him.

"Sit."

Werner sat down and waited for the other man to speak.

Gunter stubbed out his cigarette, pulled a file from his drawer, and pushed it in front of Werner. "Take a look at this."

Werner opened the file. The first page had a black-and-white photograph of a man in his fifties, wearing glasses, with a serious expression.

Below the photo was a name: Erich Hagen.

Werner had heard the name before—the former deputy director of East Germany’s State Planning Commission, imprisoned two years ago after losing a political struggle.

"Hagen?" Werner looked up at Gunter.

"West Germany wants him." Gunter lit another cigarette. "They’re offering one million West German Marks."

One million.

It was the highest ransom Werner had ever heard of, dozens of times the amount for an ordinary political prisoner.

"Why so much?" Werner asked, though he already had an answer in mind.

"Because he’s worth it." Gunter exhaled a puff of smoke. "Hagen worked at the State Planning Commission for fifteen years. He holds the core data for East Germany’s entire economic plan. Industrial capacity, resource allocation, import-export structure, fiscal budgets—it’s all in his head."

"To West Germany’s intelligence services, Hagen is a gold mine. They want to know the true state of East Germany’s economy, want to know where our weaknesses are. That’s why they’re willing to pay a million."

Werner flipped through the file. It contained Hagen’s detailed dossier, including his professional history, the reason for his arrest, and where he was being held.

"But this money won’t be easy to get," Gunter continued. "Hagen’s rank is too high. There are people in the senior leadership who are strongly against releasing him. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in an uproar over it, too. Some say releasing him is tantamount to handing state secrets over to West Germany. Others say a million is too tempting to pass up."

Werner closed the file and looked at Gunter. "So you called me here to—"

"Push this deal through," Gunter cut in. "West Germany has already made a formal buyout request through Lawyer Vogel. But things are stuck on the East German side. We need someone to grease the wheels, to persuade the opposition."

He leaned back in his chair, a meaningful look in his eyes. "Koko is now formally in charge of all business involving political prisoner trades. It’s one of our revenue streams. We can’t let this money go."

Werner understood.

Gunter wanted the money, but it was inconvenient for him to personally lobby the various factions. So, he’d thrown this hot potato to Werner.

Werner realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

A one-million-Mark ransom would attract the attention of the highest levels of West Germany’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and intelligence services.

If he could successfully manage this deal, his status on the West German side would skyrocket.

’After this, I would likely move beyond dealing with mid-level personnel like Werner and truly capture the attention of West Germany’s inner circle of power.’

’This is the perfect opportunity to pave the way for my future.’

"I need the details," Werner said. "Where is Hagen being held now? Who’s in charge of the case? How strong is the opposition within the senior leadership?"

Gunter broke into a satisfied smile. Clearly, Werner’s questions meant he was willing to take the job.

"Hagen is being held at Horner Schonehausen Prison, under the direct management of the Stasi," Gunter said. "On the surface, the case is handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but in reality, it requires Politburo approval. The problem now is that there are two factions in the Politburo."

He ticked off the points on his fingers. "One faction, led by certain officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, believes that one million West German Marks is too important to pass up. We have a severe foreign currency shortage right now, and that money could buy a lot of urgently needed industrial equipment. Besides, Hagen has already lost power; keeping him locked up is useless."

"And the other faction?"

"The other is the hardliners in the Ministry for State Security." Gunter lowered his voice. "They say the information Hagen has is too sensitive. Letting him go to West Germany would be equivalent to leaking state secrets. Even if he’s lost power, what’s in his head is still there, and the West Germans will pick him clean."

Werner lit a cigarette, his mind racing.

"What you need to do," Gunter said, "is find a way to make the opposition shut up, or at least weaken their voice."

"What’s Von Brown’s stance?" Werner asked.

Gunter sneered. "Von Brown is a smart man. He won’t take a stand on this kind of thing easily. He’ll wait to see which way the wind is blowing, see who has the upper hand, and then he’ll side with them. Your job is to make him feel that supporting this deal is in his best interest."

Werner took a drag from his cigarette, thinking about his strategy.

’The key to this case is how to persuade the opposition.’

’The hardliners are worried about national security, but I know that in a system like East Germany’s, only two things can truly move the senior leadership: political gain and economic gain.’

"I have an idea," Werner said. "Since the hardliners are worried about leaks, we’ll approach it from another angle—the economy."

Gunter raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"Have the Ministry of Foreign Trade write a report emphasizing East Germany’s current foreign exchange crisis," Werner said. "It should list concrete numbers: how much foreign currency we’re short, how many factories have stopped production due to a lack of Western equipment, how much urgently needed raw material we can’t buy. Then, it should spell out what problems one million West German Marks could solve."

He flicked the ash from his cigarette. "Don’t mention Hagen’s name, and don’t mention a political prisoner trade. Just argue from a purely economic perspective how important this one million is to the country."

"You want the senior leadership to feel that releasing Hagen isn’t leaking secrets, but earning foreign currency for the country?"

"Exactly." Werner nodded. "And I’ll get Von Brown to apply pressure from the Stasi’s perspective. Have him write a report saying that Hagen has been interrogated for two years, everything that could be asked has been asked, and he has no new value. Continuing to hold him is just a waste of resources. It’s more practical to exchange him for foreign currency."

"A two-pronged attack?" Gunter said, looking thoughtful.

"Yes," Werner said. "Emphasize the economic benefits on one hand, and downplay the security risks on the other. As long as we can make the waverers in the Politburo feel that the pros of this deal outweigh the cons, it’ll be done."

"Do it. You make the arrangements. Tell me what resources you need. Remember, I want results, not a rundown of the process."

Werner stood up. "I understand."

"One more thing," Gunter said. "If this deal goes through, it’ll also be good for Koko’s reputation. We need the higher-ups to see that Koko doesn’t just do trade; we can also handle sensitive political transactions like this. There’ll be more business like this in the future."

Werner nodded, but his mind was on something else.

’Completing Koko’s mission is important, of course, but more importantly, this deal would firmly put me on the map with West Germany’s senior leadership.’

’If I can pull this off, the West Germans will see me as a key figure, a "channel" who can push sensitive deals through from inside East Germany.’

’That’s more valuable than a 300,000 Mark bank account. This is real political capital.’

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

That evening, Werner went to see Klein first.

They arranged to meet in a private room at their usual old restaurant.

As Klein listened to Werner’s plan, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"This is a great approach," Klein said. "Coming at it from an economic angle is much safer than talking directly about a political prisoner trade. I can write a report with detailed data and analysis."

"The report needs to have weight," Werner reminded him. "It has to make anyone who reads it feel that one million West German Marks isn’t just a simple sum of money, but a critical resource tied to the nation’s economic lifeblood."

Klein nodded. "I understand. I’ll list the key projects that have recently been halted due to the lack of foreign currency and explain which problems could be solved immediately if we had this million."

"Excellent," Werner said. "Once the report is written, you can submit it directly to the higher-ups."

Klein hesitated for a moment. "Werner, this Hagen case is very sensitive. If it succeeds, we all benefit. But if it fails—"

"It won’t fail," Werner cut him off. "I’ll make sure every step is played perfectly."

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

The next evening, Werner went to Von Brown’s office.

Werner showed his pass and went through three security checkpoints before finally arriving at Von Brown’s office.

"Werner." Von Brown looked up, a gentle smile on his face, and gestured to the chair opposite him. "What a rare occasion. What brings you here? Sit."

Werner sat down. "Colonel, you’ve heard about the Hagen case, I presume?"

Von Brown’s smile faltered for a second before he recovered, his tone light. "Of course, I’ve heard. The West Germans made a considerable offer. One million, wasn’t it?"

"Yes, one million West German Marks," Werner said. "Gunter was hoping I’d discuss it with you, to see if we can move this deal forward."

Von Brown leaned back in his chair and chuckled slowly. "Gunter’s appetite is as big as ever."

"This isn’t just Gunter’s idea. It’s a mission from Koko, and a necessity for the country. You know better than I do how much one million West German Marks can buy, Colonel."

"Werner, do you have any idea how hot this case is? Hagen isn’t some ordinary political prisoner; he’s the deputy director of the State Planning Commission. There are many people in the senior leadership who don’t want to let him go."

"I understand," Werner said. "That’s why I need your support. Without your help, it will be very difficult to move this forward."

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