Fensterman neither confirmed nor denied.
Brodie thought about his cell phone conversation with Taylor when he was in Alexanderplatz and she was in a taxi—near the embassy, and well within range of the alleged SCS listening station on the embassy rooftop. And there were other times when he and Taylor had spoken too close to the embassy, like their meeting with Kim at the Reichstag. He thought too of his calls to Dombroski. And Anna. How far could those listening devices actually reach? He and Taylor had depended on their encryption app, available to any schmuck with a smartphone, which probably wasn’t good enough to overcome the National Security Agency’s capabilities.
Brodie regarded Howard Fensterman. He wasn’t supposed to listen to the calls or conversations of U.S. citizens—only non-U.S. citizens. But Brodie had no doubt that he and his staff listened and recorded the calls, texts, and conversations of everyone in the embassy, up to and including the ambassador, and certainly Sharon Whitmore. And quite possibly CID Agents Brodie and Taylor. If information was power, then Howard Fensterman was Superman. Brodie said to him, “I assume this place is bugged.”
Fensterman nodded, but assured him, “The devices are off, so we can speak freely.” He added, “I wouldn’t want anything I said or Trent said to be recorded or transmitted. This meeting never took place.”
“When did this become a meeting?”
“Call it whatever you want, Mr. Brodie.” He motioned to a seating area. “We can sit.”
Brodie replied, “You can sit. Ms. Taylor and I will stand.”
“As you wish.” He looked at Brodie and asked, “Why are you still in Berlin?”
“I’ve taken leave here.”
“You should come back in the spring when the weather is better.”
“Get to the point, Howard.”
“All right. First, as Trent has already informed Ms. Taylor, your life is in danger.”
Brodie glanced at Taylor, who said, “That’s why I wanted you to come here. To hear this.”
A phone call would have sufficed, thought Brodie. And he wouldn’t have had to meet Maggie Taylor’s former lover. On the other hand, it was interesting to see what kind of asshole she was attracted to. Also, when a CIA guy tells you your life is in danger, he is usually the cause of the danger. Then he offers to help you. In exchange for a favor.
Fensterman asked, “Does this subject interest you, Mr. Brodie?”
He turned to Fensterman. The guy had a sense of humor. “I’ve already been made aware of that danger.”
“By whom?”
“By two guys who tried to kill or kidnap me.” He confessed, “That’s where I got the gun.”
Fensterman seemed speechless, Chilcott seemed skeptical, and Taylor said, “Oh my God. Scott… what happened?”
“I’ll tell you later.” He looked at Chilcott and Fensterman. “Since you both seem to know that my life is in danger, maybe you can tell me who put it there.”
Chilcott replied, “I’m sure you have many people who’d like to terminate you, Mr. Brodie. Including your closest friends. But in this case, I’m fairly sure it is NordFaust.” He asked, “Have you heard of them?”
Just recently, actually. The neo-Nazi group in which the retired German colonel, Brandt, had claimed membership during his drunken racist rant last spring—before being interrogated by Mark Jenkins and Harry Vance regarding Brandt’s assault on the African American Army officer in Stuttgart. Jenkins did not seem to have taken NordFaust seriously and hadn’t even recalled the name when Brodie asked him about the incident.
“Mr. Brodie?”
“You know I’ve heard of them, or you wouldn’t have asked.”
Chilcott nodded and said, “We have good Intel that the two of you”—he looked at Taylor—“have gotten on NordFaust’s radar. In fact, you were followed yesterday—though I’m sure you picked up your tail.”
Chilcott was being patronizing, but in fact that explained the man in Neukölln who’d reappeared at the Hotel Adlon. It’s somehow comforting to have your paranoia confirmed on a regular basis.
Taylor asked, “Why were we being followed?”
Chilcott replied, “I was going to askyouthat. We don’t know. But clearly your activities in Berlin have put you in their… gunsights.”
Taylor asked him, “Who exactly are these people?”
“NordFaust,” replied Chilcott, “is one of several far-right and neo-Nazi groups in Germany. They have a presence within the Bundeswehr—the German armed forces—as well as the national police and local police forces. They are also potentially the most dangerous of the far-right groups.”
