“Interesting,” Matt replied.
“May I ask why you wanted this document in specific?”
“Various reasons,” Matt responded, with a telling smirk. “Do you have the other document?”
“Here,” Patrick said, reaching into his attaché for another folder and handing it over, “The dossier on Hans Schmidt.”
“Again, give me the short version,” Matt said, looking it over.
“He’s talked, alright,” Patrick said with a knowing glare. “We’ve been able to work through most of his confessions. Make no mistake… we know bullshit when we hear it.”
“We figured.”
“Luckily for him, my case officer also believes that it’s your bullshit and not his. Mr. Schmidt believes that what he is telling us is the truth. Mr. Schmidt is very, very fortunate. My case officer has a soft-spot for the youth, and has much pull with the Stasi. He is also not one for forceful methods of interrogation. But, since he doesn’t know anything useful, at this point Mr. Schmidt is alive only because your agency believes he is still of use to us, and we believe he is a bargaining chip for you. Whatever you are planning to do, you had better do it quickly. Because once we’ve figured out who your radio operator is, they will all lose their heads.”
“I suppose you would like that, wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t care in the slightest. I hate my country and I hate yours. I just want out. That’s why we’re talking.”
“But you realize that if we secure your defection, you will effectively be an American.”
“It’s much easier to leave America than it is to leave the GDR.”
“…especially if you are a rich American.”
“Like I said, I’m doing this for me.”
“Lucky for us.”
“Again, you had better work quickly,” Patrick said, his tone becoming more serious. “Lena has started lying to us on your behalf. Whatever you, your case officer, and she have arranged, you had best do it and get her out of the country as quickly as possible.”
It was a lie, of course. Patrick didn’t know if Lena was working for them or not. There was strong suspicion, of course—Lena had met with Matt, and Matt was the enemy. But Patrick also knew that Grandfather had a soft-spot for young people and wouldn’t tolerate imprisoning her with no proof. Besides, she was just dumb enough to make an excellent and unwitting courier for the HVA. If she was also an unwitting courier for the Americans, well, that just meant they could abscond with whatever she was carrying without her knowing. It just made things easier that way.
Fortunately, Matt had fallen for his ruse. For the first time since Patrick had met Matt York, his demeanor changed from the previous braggadocio to one resembling actual concern. Matt hadn’t expected this one, “What a fool,” Patrick thought to himself. “He honestly thought his plan would work out without a hitch.”
“Don’t make the mistake I think you’re making.” Matt said ominously.
“Oh, what mistake is that?” Patrick toyed.
“The girl has a guilty conscience. She has a guilty conscience because of you and the way the HVA trains the assets it doesn’t care for.”
“So you propositioned her, then.”
Matt didn’t respond.
“I take that as a yes.” Patrick said.
“Well… in one way or another.”
“Oh, dear lord,” Patrick thought, “That bastard.”
“She’s not my type, but I made it work.” Matt grinned wolfishly.
“Oh, so you two actually… honestly, I thought the bitch was lying about that.”
“Wait, what did you think I meant?” Matt asked in an irritated voice.
“Well, naturally I assumed that…”
“Wait, you think that woman is worth the trouble of us employing?! My God, man… with how bad your organization runs itself, I figured you would give us more credit than that.”
“It’s surprising, is all. I just thought that many of your interests… align.”
“Only one thing between her and I aligned, I assure you,” Matt gestured crudely. “I’d be lying if I said she wasn’t spying and running intel for us—but I’d also be lying if I said she had any clue that she was. That girl has such a big mouth, she practically… well, you get the idea.”
Patrick hated Matt. He had all the luck with the women and he knew how to rub it in. Getting to mix business and pleasure the way he always seemed to… well, of course Patrick had some ‘pleasure’ of his own, but that was beside the point.
“Either way, I know she’s lying to me,” Patrick said, dismissively. “And again, I don’t care. But I’m not putting my head on the chopping block if my team-mates get the wrong impression. So, whatever you are planning on doing with her, do it quickly.”
“And what of the other?”
“What other?”
“You know who I’m talking about.”
“Oh, Vivika?” Patrick said casually. “She was recently arrested as a spy herself.”
“She…” Matt broke his composure slightly. “She what? What did she do? Where is she?”
“Oh, you know how these things go,” Patrick replied with a grin. “She’s probably still alive, if I had to guess. What’s left of her, anyway. But you were saying something about Lena…”
“I want to know more about Vivika,” Matt said, flushing with rage. “Tell me where they have her.”
Oh, this was too good, Patrick realized. The poor fool had broken the cardinal rule of espionage: don’t get involved. It felt so good to have this over him. Not only did Patrick have another major bargaining chip, he had it against this conceited British moron, “Now, maybe I’ll finally get a little respect.”
“If they’ve…” Matt seethed, “If they’ve hurt her… I swear to God I will…”
“Well, hurting is a matter of perspective,” Patrick taunted. “They generally don’t start with anything too debilitating. But electrocution… I sure hope she doesn’t have a weak heart. Sometimes they stick the pins in the wrong places.”
“Tell me where she is, or I swear to God…”
“You will what? Ruin relations with your only remaining double-agent in the HVA? Oh, I’m sure daddy will absolutely love that.”
“It’s worth it,” Matt threatened, drawing himself up to his full height. “My Boss gives everyone a freebie.”
“Oh, calm yourself,” Patrick jeered. “They haven’t captured her at all. No one suspects a thing. Truthfully, she isn’t even doing anything worth arresting her for. She’s a failed asset that the HVA doesn’t want anymore, and barely a worthwhile informant for the Stasi. She’s utterly worthless to everyone.”
“She’s not worthless.”
“She is to me. But I can make her worth so much more, if you really want her to stay alive. She does have the perkiest tits I’ve ever seen, and I’m sure it’s nice and warm down…”
“If you touch her… If any of your people touch her…”
“Then what?” Patrick laughed. “What do you have? What could you possibly do?”
“Oh, I have something,” Matt’s countenance changed then, to something vaguely resembling cheekish. Given the circumstances, ‘cheekish’ probably dealt a greater measure of foreboding than any amount of anger he let onto in the past few minutes. “Would you like to see?”