John Cheney - City of Spies

The Defense Minister paused before turning to Hans and Müller, not sure if he really wanted confirmation. “How did you get this?”

“I don’t have time to explain,” Hans said, “but I stole this from Comrade Scharf himself.”

“Scharf,” The Minister spat. He looked at the orders again, then swore to himself. “Thorwald. I should have known. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you before, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel Brandt. What more do you have?”

Hans shook his head. “This. I believe it’s a radio frequency Scharf’s commanders will use for their communications.” He handed the Minister the numbers.

The Minister looked it over and murmured.

“That also came from Scharf,” Hans said as he looked toward Müller.

The Minister moved to the phone on the desk. “While we’ve had little time to prepare for this situation, I do have a plan. It involves three actions, all of which must happen simultaneously. First, I will issue an immediate stand-down order to all armed forces. It won’t stop a rogue operation, but it’s a start. Then, the commanders of each branch of the armed forces will directly order their units to intercept, block, and impede the progress of any rogue troops. Second, I am calling up all elite security units of the People’s Police and military—with the exception of the State Security—to protect the First Secretary, ministers, and Politburo to ensure the continuity and security of our government. Third, I’ve appointed a task force, already at work, to find the leadership of this conspiracy and cut them off. We need only to know where to start.”

Hans pointed to the numbers. “If I’m correct and this is the radio frequency Scharf’s commanders will use, we can use direction finding to locate their position, jam their signal, and take out their headquarters.”

“Yes,” the Defense Minister agreed. “But simply trying to triangulate a radio frequency all across Berlin will take too long. Once those troops enter West Berlin, there’ll be no hope of containing the situation.”

The three men looked at the papers once again. Hans’ eyes caught the scrawled “BL” at the bottom of the operational orders. “There,” he pointed.

“Someone’s initials?” Müller asked.

“No, I don’t think so,” Hans frowned. “I think it’s a routing code.”

The Minister lightened. “A location?”

“Perhaps,” Hans said. I can’t be sure, but it’s all we have to go on.”

“Well, what starts with ‘BL’?”

“Blankenburg?” Müller offered.

“Possibly,” the Minister said.

“Hmm. What about Blankenfelde?” Hans asked. “It’s just south of Berlin, closer to the West than Blankenburg, but since it’s not near Strausberg or the center of Berlin, it’s a perfectly obscure spot to locate operational headquarters for an invasion. And it’s very close to the Berliner Ring, so they could move and communicate easily.”

The Minister weighed Hans’ argument and agreed. “We’ll start with Blankenfelde, and send a back-up team to the Blankenburg area.”

All three men knew they were playing a hunch—a risky one given the stakes at hand. But there was simply no time to weigh the situation further. They had to make a gut decision, and Hans’ gut was telling him he was right.

The Minister set down the papers and dialed a number on the phone. He gave the orders he had described to Hans and Müller, then hung up. “I have to see these orders are carried out immediately,” the Minister said. “I’ll meet back with you here in fifteen minutes.”

Hans saluted the Minister, who then left, forgetting to take the forged orders with him.

Hans picked up the paper, folded it, and put it in his pocket. Müller, who looked to have a concern during the conversation, now bore out his inquiry. “Where is Scharf?”

“Scharf’s dead.”

Müller blinked in naked surprise. “Dead?”

Hans nodded. “He discovered I bugged his conversation with Thorwald. It was purely self-defense.”

Müller nodded, not sure he believed it.

Hans paused, seeing Müller’s doubt. Finally, he pulled the arrest warrant from his pocket. “He had this as a formality, but he had no intention of taking me alive.”

Müller read the warrant and saw the Stasi Minister’s authentic signature affixed at the bottom. Alarmed, he looked up at Hans. “Were you followed?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I haven’t seen anyone since Neubrandenburg.”

“But you could have the entire Stasi on your trail. Until tonight is over, there’s no place safe from Scharf’s men.”

The tiny village of Dahlewitz lay just a few miles south of Blankenfelde. On this Sunday night, it was as sleepy and quiet as ever. Few lights shone from the houses, and the streets were empty as most of the residents had already gone to bed. The village was silent except for the distant whir of traffic on the nearby Berliner Ring autobahn.

There was one single farmhouse, hidden on the outskirts of the village between a long field and thick forest, where lights still burned brightly. Inside, General Thorwald was making final preparations for the invasion. In the living room, a large bank of radio and other communications equipment sat on two long tables. Four soldiers manned the equipment, each wearing headsets. Thorwald would communicate orders to the troops in the field from here through coded communications.

In the farmhouse’s small study, Thorwald gathered with his six top commanders—three generals and three colonels, who were overseeing the operation with him. Thorwald was about to make a critical decision—having heard nothing from Scharf for over seven hours, he felt he could wait no longer for his return.

“The troops are set and ready to move,” one of the generals said.

“And the enemy communications jamming?” Thorwald turned to a colonel in the Signal Corps.

“Ready on your order, Comrade General.”

The room was filled with an electric excitement and the men were eager to get underway.

“We can’t wait any longer for Comrade Scharf,” one of the border guard generals said, clearly impatient. “If we wait, we only increase the likelihood of detection.”

Every one of the men knew he was not only talking about NATO, but also the GDR’s own forces under the Minister of Defense. Scharf’s arrest revealed the plan existed, but not the time and date of the operation. The window for surprise was quickly closing.

“Yes,” Thorwald said. “We go now.”

It was 10:45, an hour ahead of the scheduled communications block. They would now move up the start of full operations to midnight. As Thorwald strode into the living room to give the order to the radio operators, he knew there was no going back.

High above the GDR countryside, three Antonov An-26 twin-engine turboprop airplanes flew in a circuitous route toward Berlin. They approached from opposite sides; two from the north, one from the south. Aboard each of the planes were 40 paratroopers, armed and ready to drop on their targets—the West Berlin airports of Tegel and Tempelhof. As the main commercial airport in West Berlin, Tegel would be invaded by two of the planes. Another twelve Mi-8 helicopters headed east from the 34th Helicopter transport base in Briest, near Brandenburg. The helicopters were loaded with 24 paratroopers each. The men would also drop on the West Berlin airports and other strategic strike points. The helicopters were escorted by another fifteen Mi-24 “Hind” gunships, powerful attack helicopters that would provide cover and firepower for the invasion. With their new orders, the paratroopers would launch their coordinated attack on West Berlin starting at midnight.

Hans and Müller stepped out of the office of the President of the People’s Chamber and headed toward the balcony of the grand foyer. The balcony made a complete rectangle along the second floor of the foyer. Two showcase sets of stairs connected to the floors above and below at the front of the building while two more modest staircases were situated to the rear.