Chapter 325 - 108: Shadow of the KGB

Chapter 325: Chapter 108: Shadow of the KGB

At seven o’clock that evening, Werner arrived promptly at Stasi Headquarters.

The gray building always felt oppressive. Even for a "collaborator" like him, every visit brought a sense of unease.

Von Brown was waiting for him in his office.

"Sit," Von Brown said, gesturing to the chair opposite him.

Werner sat, and Von Brown handed him a cup of coffee.

"Tell me about South Africa." Von Brown got straight to the point. "Who did you meet? What did you discuss?"

Werner gave a detailed report of his meeting with Van der Meij, the specifics of their deal, and what he had seen and heard in Johannesburg.

Von Brown listened intently, occasionally jotting down notes.

"You were in Johannesburg for three days. Besides Van der Meij, did you meet anyone else?"

"I met a few technicians from some mining companies, and also the middlemen responsible for transport," Werner answered truthfully. "All business-related contacts."

"What about Western intelligence agents?"

"I didn’t see any." Werner shook his head. "But I’m sure someone was watching. A place like Johannesburg... The CIA and MI6 definitely have eyes and ears there."

"What about your layover?" Von Brown asked suddenly. "How long did you stay in Vienna?"

Werner’s heart tightened, but his expression remained unchanged. "About three hours. I took a stroll around Schönbrunn Palace and bought a few souvenirs. It’s not often I get to go to Vienna, it would’ve been a shame not to see it."

"Is that all?"

"That’s all." Werner looked Von Brown in the eye. "Why? Is there a problem?"

Von Brown stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled. "Nothing. Just a routine inquiry. You know how it is. With a sensitive area like South Africa, we have to ensure there are no slip-ups."

"I understand." Werner smiled back. "It is, after all, a matter of national security."

"Good." Von Brown closed his notebook. "Werner, you’ve done a great deal for Koko and for the country over the years. We’ve all seen it. Keep up the good work, but also be careful. The Western intelligence agencies are always watching our core personnel. You, especially, need to be mindful of your safety."

"I will." Werner stood up. "If there’s nothing else, may I go?"

"Go ahead."

Only after walking out of Stasi Headquarters did Werner finally let out a long breath.

Von Brown’s questioning seemed routine, but every question was loaded.

That question about Vienna clearly wasn’t a casual one.

’Maybe Von Brown really has a lead, or maybe he was just testing me. But either way, I have to be more careful.’

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

Berlin in March 1978 was still cold.

Werner stood on the top floor of the Koko Building, gazing out the window at the distant Soviet embassy.

Under the gloomy sky, the Stalinist building looked exceptionally oppressive, like a crouching beast ready to pounce on its prey.

"Werner, what are you looking at?"

Gunter walked into the office, a file in his hand and a grim look on his face.

"Nothing." Werner turned around. "What is it?"

Gunter tossed the file on the desk, sat down on the sofa, and lit a cigarette.

He took a deep drag and then slowly exhaled the smoke. "Werner, we’re in deep trouble."

"What trouble?"

"That batch of CNC machines you handled last month, remember?" Gunter tapped the ash from his cigarette. "Procured from Switzerland, shipped to East Germany, then half were kept here and half were sent to Moscow."

"I remember." Werner frowned. "What’s wrong? Is there a problem?"

"Moscow is going crazy." Gunter’s voice was low. "The KGB guys are saying that in the batch sent to them, the most critical control modules are missing. They suspect we hid them."

Werner’s heart sank.

The relationship between East Germany and the Soviet Union was, on the surface, one of socialist brotherhood. In reality, it was more like an unequal relationship between master and servant.

The Soviet Union treated East Germany as a cash cow and a technology transfer station. For every piece of advanced technology East Germany acquired from the West, Moscow demanded a piece of the pie, or sometimes just took the whole thing.

Worse, this "sharing" was completely one-sided.

Soviet experts would come directly to East German factories, dismantle the equipment, and ship it back to Moscow, leaving East Germany with nothing but empty shells and empty words about "socialist friendship."

Most of the foreign currency Koko worked so hard to earn had to be used to repay Soviet debts or to support the Soviet Union’s so-called "revolutionary causes" in Africa and the Middle East.

Even Anger had complained about it privately.

But complaining was one thing. East Germany couldn’t survive without Soviet oil and military protection, so they could only swallow their anger and bear it.

This time, however, it seemed someone was no longer willing to bear it.

"How is that possible?" Werner maintained his composure. "I personally supervised the packing. I checked every single machine."

"That’s what I said, too." Gunter rubbed his temples. "But the KGB doesn’t believe it. They say the technical specifications of the machines don’t match the factory records from Switzerland, that several key components are missing."

"Then that’s the Swiss’s problem, not ours," Werner said. "Maybe they never installed those modules in the first place. Maybe what we received was a stripped-down version."

"I tried that explanation," Gunter said with a bitter smile. "But you know those KGB types. They don’t believe in coincidences. They think either we stole them, or the West German Intelligence Agency is playing games."

Werner walked to the window and looked down at the street below.

A few black Volga sedans—official cars for Soviet officials—were parked outside the Koko Building.

"Are the KGB here?" he asked.

"They are." Gunter stood and walked over to him. "They’re downstairs. They want to see you."

"See me?"

"Yes." Gunter’s voice held a trace of worry. "Werner, be careful. These people are not to be trifled with." He lowered his voice. "You know how it is. We may be allies in name, but Moscow has never truly trusted us. The KGB has always believed that people from Koko—especially someone like you who frequently travels to the West—would sooner or later be corrupted by capitalism and bought by the West German Intelligence Agency."

Werner knew this, of course.

In the eyes of the KGB, East German officials were forever second-class citizens, perpetually in need of surveillance.

Koko was an even bigger thorn in the KGB’s side. The department wasn’t directly subordinate to the Stasi, and many members of the East German Politburo couldn’t even get a full look at its books. In Moscow’s view, it was practically a state within a state.

The KGB had always wanted to completely control Koko’s flow of foreign currency and technology, but Gunter was too cunning and had never given them the chance.

Now, their chance had come.

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

Three men were sitting in the conference room.

The one in the middle was a senior KGB official. He wore a dark gray suit, but there was a conspicuous bulge at his waist. Flanking him were his assistants—young, silent, like two statues.

"Comrade Betelich," the man in the middle said in Russian. Despite a heavy Moscow accent, his enunciation was clear. "Sit."

Werner sat down opposite them. There was a cup of coffee on the table, but he didn’t touch it.

"I am Andre Kuznetsov, First Deputy Director of the KGB’s First Chief Directorate for Foreign Intelligence," Kuznetsov said, getting straight to the point. "I have come to Berlin to investigate a certain matter."

"What matter?" Werner remained polite.

"The batch of Swiss CNC machines you were responsible for." Kuznetsov took a file from his briefcase and pushed it across the table to Werner. "This is the shipping manifest from the factory in Switzerland, and this is the receiving inventory from Moscow. Take a look and see the difference."

Werner picked up the documents and compared them carefully.

The Swiss manifest listed detailed components—spindles, controllers, servo motors, and several key logic control modules. But on the Moscow inventory, those same control modules were marked "missing."

"I don’t understand," Werner said, looking up. "These modules were all there when they were packed. I checked them myself."

"Then why did they disappear by the time they reached Moscow? Were they lost in East Germany, or during transit?"

"I don’t know," Werner said. "But I can be certain that the modules were there when they were shipped from Switzerland to East Germany. As for the journey from East Germany to Moscow..."

"The transport from East Germany to Moscow was by military train, completely sealed," Kuznetsov cut him off. "It would have been impossible for anyone to tamper with it. Therefore, the problem must have occurred in East Germany."

Werner fell silent.

He knew what Kuznetsov was implying. Either someone from Koko stole them, someone from the Stasi stole them, or the West German Intelligence Agency had a mole inside East Germany.

Any of those possibilities was a disaster.

"Comrade Betelich, in all your years working for Koko, what is the total value of the Western technology and equipment you’ve handled?" Kuznetsov asked suddenly.

"I haven’t tallied the grand total," Werner said. "But it should be over two hundred million West German Marks."

"Two hundred million." Kuznetsov smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "That’s a huge number. Did you know, Comrade Betelich, that for all these years, through all these deals, Moscow has been watching you?"

"Watching?"

"Yes." Kuznetsov leaned forward. "You are Koko’s most capable man. We admit that. But for that very reason, you are also the most dangerous."

Werner’s heart began to race, but he forced himself to remain calm. "I don’t understand what you mean."

"My meaning is simple," Kuznetsov said, staring at him. "You frequently travel to West Germany. You frequently deal with Western businessmen. You are frequently exposed to West German Marks and the glittering world of capitalism. In Moscow’s view, people from Koko—especially core officials like yourself—are the group most susceptible to corruption. The West German Intelligence Agency isn’t stupid. They would certainly try to infiltrate you."

He paused, then continued, "And to be honest, Comrade Betelich, although East Germany is our ally, we are also well aware that your interests and those of the Soviet Union are not always aligned. You want to keep some technology for yourselves, earn a little extra foreign currency to improve your lives—we understand all that. But there are lines that cannot be crossed. Critical technology must be shared. That is the rule of the Warsaw Pact Organization."

Werner understood the subtext.

The KGB’s visit, ostensibly to investigate the missing modules, was actually a warning shot. They were telling Koko not to get too independent, not to forget who was Big Brother.

"I work for East Germany, for the Warsaw Pact Organization, and for the Soviet Union. In all these years, I have never been a traitor," Werner said, enunciating every word.

"Is that so?" Kuznetsov leaned back in his chair. "Then why did the core modules from this batch of machines go missing? And why was it the most critical ones, specifically?"

"I don’t know," Werner said. "But I can investigate."

"There’s no need for you to investigate," Kuznetsov said coldly. "The KGB will conduct its own investigation. From this day forward, all of your dealings are to be reported to Moscow. Not to Minister Sokolov, but to me."

"What?"

"You heard me perfectly clearly." Kuznetsov took a business card from his pocket and slid it in front of Werner. "This is my contact number in Berlin. Every week, you will report all of Koko’s sensitive transactions to me—what is being procured, from where, to whom it’s being sold, and at what price. Anything involving high-tech or military applications must be reported immediately."

Werner glanced at Gunter beside him, but Gunter just kept his head down, saying nothing.