Chapter 233 - 16: The Edge of the Arms Empire

Chapter 233: Chapter 16: The Edge of the Arms Empire

Snow began to fall outside the window. The flakes hit the glass with a faint rustling sound. The bedroom was warm, the heat from their bodies mingling as if to drive away the cold of winter.

Afterward, Anna lay in his arms, her hair fanned out on the pillow, her cheeks still flushed. She stared at the ceiling in a rare silence.

"What are you thinking about?" Werner asked, stroking her hair.

"I’m thinking," Anna said softly, "about how far we can go."

"Why the sudden question?"

"Because I’m scared." She turned her face to look at him, a rare vulnerability in her eyes. "Werner, sometimes I get scared too. Scared something will happen to you, scared something will happen to me, scared we won’t make it to the end."

"We’re both doing dangerous things," Anna continued. "You’re smuggling embargoed goods for Koko, and you could be targeted by Interpol at any moment. I’m running intelligence for the Stasi, and my identity could be exposed at any time. We’re walking on a knife’s edge. One wrong move and we’ll fall."

"But we’re still alive," Werner said, holding her tighter. "And as long as we’re alive, we can definitely make it to the end."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I won’t let anything happen to you." Werner looked into her eyes. "And I won’t let anything happen to myself. We’re both too smart. Smart people don’t die easily."

Anna smiled, but it was a bitter smile. "The smart ones are the first to die. Because smart people always think they can control everything."

"Then let’s be a little stupid," Werner said, kissing her forehead. "It’s better to live foolishly than to die smartly."

Anna said no more, just buried herself in his arms.

The snow outside fell heavier and heavier. East Berlin was blanketed in white as the entire city fell into a deep sleep.

"Werner."

"Hm?"

"Promise me, no matter what happens, you won’t give up."

"I promise."

"And—" Anna lifted her head, looking at him seriously. "If one day, I really don’t come back, I want you to remember me as I was tonight. Not Anna from the Stasi, not Agent Anna, but the Anna who belonged only to you."

Werner didn’t answer, only silenced her with a kiss.

Some words don’t need to be spoken. Some promises don’t need language.

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

The next day was Sunday, and the two took the rare opportunity to sleep in.

Sunlight streamed through the curtains, casting patterns of light and shadow on the sheets. Anna was curled up in Werner’s arms, sleeping soundly.

Werner watched her peaceful, sleeping face and was suddenly struck by how unreal the scene felt. This woman, who was normally so sharp, capable, and formidable, now seemed like an ordinary girl, fragile and soft.

"Have you had your fill of looking?" Anna’s eyes suddenly fluttered open, her tone languid.

"Never," Werner said with a smile. "A hundred more years wouldn’t be enough."

"Smooth talker." Anna stretched like a contented cat. "What time is it?"

"Ten o’clock."

"Heavens, I haven’t slept this late in years." Anna sat up, draping Werner’s shirt over herself. "I have to go. I have a meeting this afternoon."

"A meeting on a Sunday?"

"It’s a new department, there’s a lot to hand over." Anna got out of bed and started to get dressed. "By the way, Von Brown said he wants to see you next week."

"About what?"

"I don’t know." Anna pulled on a sweater. "Probably something to do with new business for Koko."

She finished dressing, fixed her makeup in the mirror, and transformed back into the capable Stasi officer.

"See you Wednesday," she said, grabbing her bag to leave.

"Wednesday?"

"Did you forget? Wednesday is our scheduled contact day." Anna looked back at him. "Don’t forget, Comrade Deputy Director."

Werner watched her go, listening to her footsteps fade down the hall.

The sunlight grew brighter, filling the room with warmth. Outside, the snow was already beginning to melt, and the sound of snow being cleared from the streets drifted up.

A new week was about to begin.

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

April finally brought warmth to East Berlin.

Werner sat in his office in the Koko Building, reviewing a procurement report. The monotonous and rhythmic bell of a streetcar sounded from outside the window.

"Deputy Director, Minister Gunter is looking for you." His secretary peeked her head in. "He said to go immediately."

"Understood." Werner put down the file and picked up his coat.

Gunter’s office was twice the size of a normal department office. The East German flag and the Party flag hung on the wall, and the bookshelves were filled with various trade documents and foreign-language materials.

"Close the door," Gunter said. He was sitting behind his desk, a cigarette pinched between his fingers.

Werner closed the door and walked to the front of the desk.

Gunter didn’t ask him to sit. Instead, he stood up, walked to the window, and said with his back to him, "Werner, how many months have you been with Koko?"

"Four months."

"Are you satisfied?"

"It’s been fine," Werner said, his expression unreadable. "I’ve learned a lot."

Gunter turned around, his gaze sharp. "What if I told you there’s an opportunity for you to learn even more? Would you be interested?"

The office was quiet, save for the TICK-TOCK of the wall clock.

"What kind of opportunity?" Werner asked.

Gunter stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and walked back to sit at his desk. He took a file from his drawer, but instead of handing it to Werner, he began leafing through it himself.

"Werner, do you know what Koko’s most profitable business is?"

"Procurement of special materials?"

"That’s just small potatoes." Gunter looked up. "The real big business is arms."

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

"The Cold War has escalated," Gunter continued. "Proxy wars are everywhere. Cuba, the Congo, Laos, Vietnam—everywhere needs weapons. We have a large stockpile of Soviet-made weapons on hand. Good stuff—AK-47s, RPGs, mortars. These are in high demand on the third-world market."

He paused for a moment, watching Werner.

"The problem is, this kind of business is too sensitive to be done openly. It requires a reliable middleman, someone who both understands the Western market and knows how to mitigate risk." Gunter tapped the desk. "I want you to get involved."

"Me?" Werner frowned. "I don’t know the first thing about arms."

"I don’t need you to know about arms," Gunter said with a wave of his hand. "I need your connections and your brain. You’ll help me contact Western middlemen, arrange logistics and capital flow, without directly handling the weapons. You’ll start with that, and if you do well, you can be responsible for more core business in the future."

Werner knew this wasn’t a question, but an order.

"I understand, Director," he said with a nod. "I’ll do my best."

"Very good." Gunter smiled, satisfied. "We’ll start with a small order. A client in Laos needs a shipment of AK-47s and ammunition. Not a large quantity—five hundred rifles, one hundred thousand rounds of ammunition. You’ll help contact the middleman in Switzerland and arrange the funds transfer."

He took a manila folder from his drawer and pushed it across the desk to Werner.

"All the information is in there. Get it done in two weeks. Any questions?"

"No, Director," Werner said, taking the folder.

"Werner," Gunter called out suddenly as he was about to leave. "Only you and I know about this. Don’t mention it to anyone, including Otto. Understood?"

"Understood."

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

That evening, Werner went to the small villa in the suburbs.

Anna was already waiting for him there. She had changed into casual clothes—jeans and a sweater, her hair tied back casually. Firewood crackled in the fireplace.

"You don’t look so good," Anna said, pouring him a drink and handing it over. "Did Gunter want to see you?"

Werner took the glass and downed it in one go, then told her about Gunter’s assignment.

Anna listened in silence, then put down her glass and walked to the fireplace. The flickering firelight danced on her face, making her expression hard to read.

"So it’s finally happened," she said softly. "I knew Gunter wouldn’t let you stay on the periphery forever."

"I know." Werner stood up too and went to her side. "I couldn’t refuse."

"I’m not telling you to refuse," Anna said, turning her head to look at him. "I told you long ago, this is a road of no return. Now that you’ve stepped onto it, regret is useless."

Anna walked to the table and took out a pen and paper.

"We need to go over this carefully."

The two of them sat before the fire as Anna sketched out a diagram on the paper.

"First, what’s your role in this?" she asked.

"The middleman. I contact the trading company in Switzerland and arrange the flow of funds."

"No direct contact with the weapons?"

"No."

"Then remember that." Anna wrote down the first point on the paper. "Never, ever have direct contact with the weapons. No matter what Gunter says in the future, you only handle the funds and the contacts. Don’t even get involved in the transport."

"I know."

"Second, keep evidence." Anna looked up, her gaze serious. "Every instruction Gunter gives you, every phone call record, the time and place of every meeting—you have to write it all down."

"Is this for...?"

"This is to save your own skin," Anna said. "Werner, you have to understand, in this system, when something goes wrong, the first to be sacrificed is always the low-level operative. Gunter can say he didn’t know, that you acted on your own. When that time comes, what will you have to prove your case?"

Werner nodded slowly.

"How do I keep the evidence?"

"Recordings," Anna said. "Before every meeting with Gunter, put a miniature recorder in your pocket. I can get you one."

"If I get caught—"

"Just say it’s to record the details of your work so it’s easier to organize later," Anna continued writing on the paper. "Also, after every transaction is complete, write a detailed work log. On the surface, it’s for reporting to your superiors. In reality, it’s to cover your own ass."

"Where do I hide these logs?"

"I’ll keep them," Anna said. "The Stasi has a special secure archive. I can get a locker. Even if something happens in the future, those files will be safe."

"Third, tell me every detail." Anna walked to the fireplace, her back to him. "I’ll keep an eye on things from my end at the Stasi. If I hear so much as a whisper, I can let you know immediately."

"What’s in it for you?"

Anna turned around and smiled. "If you die, I won’t last long either. We’re tied together in this now."

Werner walked over and hugged her. Her body was warm and carried the faint scent of perfume.

"I’m sorry," he said in her ear. "I’ve dragged you into this mess."

"Don’t give me that," Anna said softly. "I chose this path myself. I can’t blame anyone else."

They held each other like that for a long time, until the logs in the fireplace had burned down to embers.