A Bookstore in Berlin by Joseph W. Michels

Author:Joseph W. Michels [Michels, Joseph W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781532078422
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2019-07-21T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Elliott was on his way to the Berlin office of the Federal Intelligence Service when he got Capt. Perez’s call.

“Everybody okay?” asked Elliott after Perez identified himself.

“Roger that, sir…though I inflicted a body wound on one of the security men attached to the travel agency staff.”

“Start from the beginning, captain.”

“We observed activity by members of the agency’s staff that we believed involved packing up documents. Our assessment turned out to be confirmed during an encounter with several members of the staff. During that encounter we were able to ascertain that those involved in preparations for a vehicle egress from the neighborhood were five in number. Their roles and given names are as follows: “Marius”, person in charge; “Olek” courier #1; “Dmytro”, courier #2; “Bogdan”, security operative #1; “Miroslav”, security operative #2.”

“And the injury you report…was it committed during a firefight?” asked Elliott.

“Yes, sir…though it only involved a single shot on my part…taken to counter a lethal threat by security operative #1, Bogdan. The other travel agency operatives chose not to engage further, and we undertook to disengage.”

“What happened next?”

“A late model van with no markings drove up. The driver opened the rear doors to the van and prompted those inside the travel agency to quickly load up all the packed cardboard boxes. A heavily armed guard riding shotgun on the van maintained watch, along with security operative #2. The wounded man was placed inside the van…and shortly afterwards the rest of the travel agency personnel climbed in.”

“Colonel, we made no attempt to interdict the van, figuring a firefight involving perhaps a half-dozen or more shooters was not something that could be justified since we were not in danger and we believed any such shooting would make your job more difficult.”

“Good thinking, captain,” said Elliott. “I take it you got the license plate of the van.”

“Roger that, sir. We also took the opportunity to search the premises of the travel agency, and of an apartment located above the office where we believe one or more of the operatives had been living.”

“Anything of interest?”

“We’re not sure, sir…the agency seems to have been a real one—actually booking travel for various customers. The operatives left behind client files…which we examined.”

“The only thing that aroused our attention had to do with client destinations. In general, the agency seems to have specialized in travel to countries we’ve identified as constituting NATO’s “Eastern Flank”. And in particular, there seemed to be a special emphasis on travel to Moldova.”

“Hmm…might suggest the agency served a wider espionage function…facilitating the movement of intelligence agents into and out of Berlin that were regarded as friendly with Russia or with other ostensible adversaries of NATO,” mused Elliott.

“Couldn’t say, sir,” replied Perez. “Do you want us to pack up these files and bring them to your residence?”

“Probably not necessary, captain,” replied Elliott, “but in any case I’ll notify Capt. Becker and let him know the files exist…he may want his men to collect them during their inspection of the premises.”

“What about the apartment upstairs…anything come of your search up there?” asked Elliott.

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