“I’m in a car. Leaving the airport. I need you to meet me. I’m sending you an address.”
“What’s going on?”
“Not on the phone.”
It’s never good news when someone says that. He pulled up the encrypted text message:33 Kinzigstraße. Apartment 5A. In Friedrichshain.
She asked, “When can you be there?”
He punched in the address. “Twenty.”
“Okay. We’ll be there by then.”
“Who’s we?”
She paused. “Unlikely allies.”
“Taylor, I don’t like this cryptic shit. What am I walking into?”
She ignored the question and said, “Trust me.”
This was sounding strange. He and Taylor had a prearranged signal—clearing their throat—if one of them was under duress. But she hadn’t done that. “Okay… I trust you. But—”
“Scott, I have reason to believe you are in danger. So be aware—”
“I’m always aware, Maggie.”
“Okay. See you soon.” She added, “Be safe.” She hung up.
He put the phone in his pocket. What the hell was that all about?
Unlikely allies.
Which was another way of saying untrustworthy allies. In any case, he’d know soon what this was about. And he was happy to have a gun in his pocket in case he didn’t like what this was about.
He flagged a cab and gave the driver the address in Friedrichshain, and they headed back east through the Tiergarten.
Brodie’s phone rang again. It was Claudia Barese from the National Personnel Records Center. He picked up. “Brodie.”
“Hi, Scott. It’s Claudia. Got your message. How can I help you?”
“Are you at the office?”
“No. At home. Coffee’s not even done brewing. But you said it was important.”
“I need you to pull personnel files for me, for officers who were stationed in West Berlin in the 1980s.”
“Branch?”
“Every branch that had a presence in the city.”
“Rank?”
He thought a moment. In order for Odin to have had the kind of access he apparently did, the guy must have been high-ranking. Then again, Brodie didn’t really understand what the force structure or chain of command was like in such a unique theater as West Berlin and he didn’t want to make too many assumptions. He said, “O-three and above.”
“Okay… This is going to be a long list unless you can give me some more parameters.”
“I’m looking for an individual who I believe is still alive, who was stationed in Berlin by 1982 at the latest and remained there until at least October of 1989, and who was likely involved in intelligence work.” He suggested, “Send me those first.”
