I'm a Profiteer in Cold War Germany

Chapter 248: Chapter 31: The Prague Loophole

"I’ve heard a little," Gunter said. "Something about him wanting reforms."

"That’s right." Werner nodded. "He wants to implement ’socialism with a human face,’ to loosen regulations. Even though nothing has happened yet, I believe—" He paused for a moment. "This inclination toward reform will attract Moscow’s attention sooner or later."

Gunter thought for a moment. "You mean there could be trouble?"

"Trouble means demand," Werner said. "If a situation truly develops over in Prague, they’ll need a lot of things. Supplies, equipment, even foreign currency. And with Koko—we can lay the groundwork in advance, get the supply chain established."

"Position ourselves in advance?" Gunter sat up straight.

"Yes." Werner walked back to the desk. "We start contacting people in Prague now. Build relationships, learn their needs. The moment something happens, we can be the first to get involved. And this isn’t just about Prague. We can operate this way across all of Eastern Europe."

"If we handle this right, we can expand Koko’s sphere of influence to all of Eastern Europe," Werner said. "Think about it, Director Gunter, if we control the supply chain in Eastern Europe, what would that mean?"

"Start with reconnaissance," Gunter said. "Your network of sources is extensive. Look into the situation in Prague, Warsaw, and Budapest. See what potential opportunities for cooperation exist and who we can approach."

"Understood."

"One more thing—" Gunter walked back to his desk and took a document out of a drawer. "This is the new list of trade quotas from Moscow. With Brezhnev in power, he’ll likely adjust aid policies toward Eastern Europe. Study it. See if there are any opportunities for us."

Werner took the document and glanced at it.

The list detailed the quota figures for various industrial raw materials and mechanical equipment.

"I’ll study it carefully."

"Go on," Gunter said with a wave of his hand. "Werner, this is an excellent idea. Over the next few years, we must seize every opportunity."

"I understand, Director."

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

At nine that night, Werner and Anna met at a secret villa on the outskirts of the city.

A strong fire burned in the fireplace, the logs crackling.

Anna, wearing a dark gray wool sweater, sat on the sofa with a glass of red wine.

"So, you’re Koko’s big hero today?" Anna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Something like that." Werner took off his coat and sat down beside her. "Gunter is now convinced I have a deep network of contacts in Moscow. Same goes for Von Brown. The entire Stasi high command is talking about me."

He pulled the document from Moscow out of his pocket and handed it to Anna. "What are they saying on your end at the Stasi?"

Anna took the document, glanced at it, then put it down. "Von Brown reported your intelligence up the chain. The higher-ups are taking it very seriously; they held an emergency meeting. Now, everyone thinks you have a high-level informant in Moscow."

"And West Germany?"

"It’s even more dramatic on their side." Anna took a sip of wine, a playful glint in her eyes. "I heard through my channels that the BND promoted you directly from a gray-list informant to a core intelligence source. Your code name is ’Eye of Moscow’."

Werner froze for a second, then laughed out loud. "’Eye of Moscow’? They sure give me a lot of credit."

"It’s more than just a code name," Anna said. "They’ve opened a dedicated clearing channel for you. Ostensibly, it’s to assist Koko’s foreign exchange business, but in reality, it’s so you can transfer assets safely. Werner, you’re no longer just some ordinary informant to West Germany now."

Werner leaned back into the sofa and closed his eyes. He could feel it; everything was going according to his design.

The night outside grew deeper, but the firelight from the hearth remained warm.

Khrushchev was out, Brezhnev was in.

The Prague Spring had not yet begun, but the seeds were already sown.

***********

「West Berlin, BND Headquarters, October 16」

Helmut sat in the conference room, a thick analysis report in front of him.

"So, we can now confirm that Werner has a high-level source in Moscow?" a senior intelligence officer asked.

"It’s all but confirmed." Helmut nodded. "He predicted Khrushchev’s ouster twenty-four hours in advance. Intel of that caliber can’t be a lucky guess."

"Then why has he only been feeding us trivial intelligence until now?" another officer asked.

"He was likely testing us," Helmut said. "Or perhaps hiding his true capabilities. It seems he was waiting for the right moment to prove his value."

"So what’s our next move?"

"Give him more resources," Helmut said. "The dedicated clearing channel is open. Now we need to ensure he can transmit his intelligence to us safely. We’ll also increase his compensation to show him how much we value him."

"And if he asks for more?"

"Then we give it to him." Helmut’s tone was resolute. "An informant who can track the Soviet Politburo’s movements is worth any price we have to pay."

A brief silence fell over the conference room.

"One more thing." Helmut flipped to the last page of the report. "Werner mentioned Prague in his call. He said, ’Things are about to get very interesting over there.’"

"What does he know?"

"Unclear. But according to our analysis, reforms are indeed brewing in Czechoslovakia," Helmut said. "If Werner can predict Prague’s moves in advance—"

"Then we can position ourselves in advance," an officer chimed in.

"Exactly." Helmut nodded. "So, from now on, every piece of intelligence from Werner, no matter how insignificant, must be taken seriously. We can’t afford to make another mistake."

Everyone nodded.

On either side of the Berlin Wall, the name Werner was being redefined in different ways, in different files.

In the East, he was "the intelligence expert with deep connections in Moscow."

In the West, he was the "Eye of Moscow," the core intelligence source who could predict the movements of the Soviet Politburo.

And only Werner himself knew that all of this stemmed from his knowledge of history from the year 2025.

He was like a man standing downstream on the river of time, already knowing which way the current would flow.

Now, all he had to do was wait patiently for the crests of history’s waves to appear, one by one.

Then, with each one, he would seize the opportunity, accumulate capital, and expand his influence.

The Prague Spring, four years from now, would be his first big stage.

But he had a lot to do before then.

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

East Berlin, November 1964. The rain was relentless.

Werner stood in the archives at Koko Headquarters, holding an economic report that had just arrived by fax from Prague.

The report was titled "Proposals for the Improvement of the Economic Management System" and was authored by the Czechoslovak economist Ota Hicke.

Werner stared at the dense rows of numbers and terminology, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved into a smile.

’Here it comes.’

As a soul transmigrated from the year 2025, Werner knew all too well what this report signified.

Ota Hicke’s theory of "market socialism" would, over the next few years, be gradually adopted by the Czech Party, eventually evolving into the Prague Spring of 1968.

But before that, there would be a brief but precious window of opportunity—the Czech Republic would enjoy the dividends of reform, economic activity would surge, the Crown would appreciate, and the Black Market would flourish.

Then, in August 1968, Soviet tanks would crush everything.

But it was now November 1964, and there were still nearly four years until that day.

Four years. That was enough time to get a lot done.

"Comrade Werner, I’ve found the other materials you wanted." The archivist was a young man with thick glasses, walking over carrying a stack of files. "This is Czechoslovakia’s foreign trade data for the last five years, as well as a list of their main trading partners."

"Thank you." Werner took the files and casually flipped through a few pages.

The Czech Republic’s foreign trade data was interesting—their trade volume with the West was increasing year by year, especially the border trade with Austria and West Germany.

This showed that the bureaucrats in Prague were starting to turn a blind eye.

’This is the opportunity.’

Werner packed all the documents into his briefcase and walked briskly toward Gunter’s office.

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