I'm a Profiteer in Cold War Germany

Chapter 284: Chapter 67: Project Autumn Leaves

Werner’s heart began to race.

He got out of bed and walked to the window, pulling the curtains aside just enough to see the street. It was deserted, lit only by the faint, yellow streetlights.

"Speak."

"The Stasi has deployed a new plan in West Germany, codenamed ’Autumn Leaf.’" Anna’s breathing was shallow, as if she were hiding in a small space. "The scale is unprecedented. At least twenty deep-cover agents, placed in politics, business, and the intelligence agencies."

Werner gripped the receiver tighter. "What’s the objective?"

"To monitor all West Germans with deep contacts in East Germany." Anna paused, her voice even lower. "Participants in the political prisoner exchanges, merchants in the inter-German trade, and—anyone who might leak East German intelligence to West Germany."

"Von Brown is personally in charge of this project," Anna continued. "They’ve already narrowed down the operational areas of several suspicious targets. Werner, you have too much contact with the BND, and you have too many West German connections. Once the ’Autumn Leaf’ network is fully deployed, your every move will be examined under a magnifying glass."

Werner leaned against the window frame and closed his eyes. His mind was racing.

"What’s the timeline? When does it deploy?"

"It’s already begun. Three coordinators are in place. Over the next two months, they’ll recruit other agents. Once the network is established, it’ll be impossible to dismantle."

Werner opened his eyes. "Can you confirm the identities of those three coordinators?"

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line.

"I can," Anna said. "But Werner, if we make a move, it has to be clean. Von Brown isn’t a fool. If he finds out it’s an inside job—"

"I know," Werner cut her off. "Just find them. Leave the rest to me."

"Werner—"

"Trust me."

Anna was silent for another moment, then said softly, "Be careful."

The line went dead.

Werner stood by the window, staring out at the dark street.

It was a cool June night in Berlin, but he didn’t feel the chill.

’If Operation Autumn Leaf succeeds,’ he thought, ’I’m in serious trouble.’

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

The next morning, Werner went to work at Koko as usual.

On the surface, nothing had changed.

Just like any other day, he processed procurement documents, signed contracts, and negotiated prices with West German merchants over the phone.

But every time he picked up the phone, he couldn’t help but wonder: ’Is someone already listening on the other end?’

At noon, Von Brown suddenly appeared at his office doorway.

"Werner, come out for a smoke."

Werner put down his pen and followed Von Brown to the window at the end of the hallway.

Von Brown handed him a Kabinett cigarette and lit one for himself.

"How’s work been lately?" Von Brown exhaled a cloud of smoke, gazing out the window.

"Very good. Orders for inter-German trade are up by thirty percent." Werner also lit his cigarette, his tone relaxed. "We’re still seeing the benefits of Ostpolitik."

"Mm," Von Brown flicked his ash. "You have quite a few contacts in West Germany, don’t you?"

Werner’s heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Of course. In our line of work, you can’t do business without West German contacts." He turned to look at Von Brown. "Why do you ask?"

Von Brown smiled. "No reason, just asking. As you know, intelligence activities from the West German side have been very active lately. We need to be more vigilant."

"As we should." Werner took a drag from his cigarette. "If I notice anything suspicious on my end, I’ll report it immediately."

"Good." Von Brown clapped him on the shoulder. "I knew I could count on you."

He turned and walked away.

Werner remained at the window, slowly finishing his cigarette. His fingers were steady, but his palms were slick with sweat.

’Von Brown is already testing me.’

’Time is running out.’

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

Three days later, Werner received the intelligence from Anna.

It arrived via the old method—a West German magazine with a microfilm roll hidden inside, mixed in with a routine Koko procurement delivery.

Werner retrieved the microfilm from his private safe in the office and examined it carefully with a magnifying glass.

Three names, three photographs, three dossiers.

Friedrich Hausen, forty-two, a Hamburg import-export merchant. On the surface, he runs a timber business, but in reality, he is the Operation Autumn Leaf coordinator in Hamburg, responsible for recruiting agents within the port, customs, and transportation systems.

Martin Stein, thirty-five, a freelance journalist in Bonn. He specializes in reports related to East Germany and has contacts in several West German government departments. He is Operation Autumn Leaf’s tentacle in Bonn’s political circles.

Kurt Weis, fifty, an economics professor at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He frequently participates in academic exchanges between East and West Germany and has contact with Koko and West German companies. He is responsible for monitoring the flow of intelligence in the commercial and academic sectors.

Werner burned the microfilm and sat in his chair, thinking.

’Three men, three cities, three networks. I have to sever all three, and I can’t leave any trace that points back to me or Anna.’

’How?’

’Tell the BND directly?’

’No. The BND would likely investigate the source of the intelligence. Once they found out about Anna, she would be in danger.’

’Eliminate them myself?’

’Even worse. Three "accidental deaths" would only make Von Brown more suspicious and trigger a much larger investigation.’

’West Germany has to discover these three "naturally."’

’I have to create "accidents" and "coincidences."’

Werner began to formulate a plan.

Werner knew that to deal with Hausen, he first had to understand his operation inside and out.

He spent two days pulling up all of Hausen’s company’s transaction records from the past three years.

Koko and Hausen’s timber company had collaborated seven times. Each time, they imported hardwoods like oak and beech from East Germany to be resold on the West German market.

On the surface, these were normal business dealings.

But Werner noticed a detail: every time Hausen’s company imported goods, the declared customs value was much lower than the actual transaction price.

This was a classic tax evasion tactic—under-declaring the value of goods to pay less in tariffs and import taxes.

This practice was common in the West German business world.

Customs usually turned a blind eye, as long as it wasn’t too excessive.

But if someone reported it, customs would be obligated to investigate.

Werner decided to exploit this vulnerability.

First, he needed a reason to get Reynard to pay attention to Hausen.

He couldn’t just say, "Go investigate this guy." It was too abrupt. There had to be a plausible business motive.

Werner called Reynard.

"Reynard, how’s the timber market in Hamburg these days?"

Reynard’s voice came through the receiver. "Not bad. Prices are stable, demand is strong. Why are you asking?"

"I’m considering expanding our timber import business," Werner said. "East Germany has a lot of quality timber, but we have too few West German clients right now. Can you help me look into the timber merchants in Hamburg? See if there are any suitable partners."

"Of course," Reynard said. "Which companies specifically did you want to look into?"

"Draw up a list for me. Mid-sized companies that do timber import-export. I don’t want to go after the huge corporations; they don’t need our supply. And I don’t want anyone too small; they won’t have the capacity to handle large orders."

"Got it. I’ll ask around."

Three days later, Reynard sent over a list.

There were over a dozen companies on it, and Friedrich Hausen’s was among them.

Werner studied the list carefully, then deliberately singled out Hausen’s company.

"What about this one?" he asked Reynard over the phone. "The Friedrich Hausen Timber Company. Their size looks about right."

"Oh, Hausen." Reynard thought for a moment. "I’ve heard of that company. They’ve been in Hamburg for almost ten years. The owner, Hausen, is a sharp guy, very... flexible."

"Flexible?"

"Yeah, well... you know how it is. In business, you have to know how to bend the rules a little." Reynard’s tone was a bit suggestive. "He has a good relationship with customs. His shipments clear very quickly."

Werner understood. ’So Hausen is definitely evading taxes, and he probably has other shady dealings too.’

"In that case, help me get in touch with him," Werner said. "See if we can discuss a partnership."

"Alright. I’ll set it up."

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