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"Of course."
Half an hour later Volodya saw Werner's car carelessly parked in front of the hotel. This cavalier attitude of Werner's seemed foolish to him, but now he wondered whether it was a necessary element of Werner's courage. Perhaps Werner had to pretend to be carefree in order to take the appalling risks required to spy on the Nazis. If he acknowledged the danger he was in, maybe he would not be able to carry on.
The bar of the Adlon was full of fashionable women and well-dressed men, many in smartly tailored uniforms. Volodya spotted Werner right away, at a table with another man who was presumably Heinrich von Kessel. Passing close to them, Volodya heard Heinrich say argumentatively: "Buck Clayton is a much better trumpeter than Hot Lips Page." He squeezed in at the counter, ordered a beer, and discreetly studied the new potential
spy.
Heinrich had pale skin and thick dark hair that was long by army standards. Although they were talking about the relatively unimportant topic of jazz, he seemed very intense, arguing with gestures and repeatedly running his fingers through his hair. He had a book stuffed into the pocket of his uniform tunic, and Volodya would have bet it contained poetry.
Volodya drank two beers slowly and pretended to read the Morgenpost from cover to cover. He tried not to get too keyed up about Heinrich. The man was thrillingly promising, but there was no guarantee he would cooperate.
Recruiting informers was the hardest part of Volodya's work. Precautions were difficult to take because the target was not yet on his side. The proposition often had to be made in inappropriate places, usually somewhere public. It was impossible to know how the target would react: he might be angry and shout his refusal, or be terrified and literally run away. But there was not much the recruiter could do to control the situation. At some point he just had to ask the simple, blunt question: "Do you want to be a spy?"
He thought about how to approach Heinrich. Religion was probably the key to his personality. Volodya recalled his boss, Lemitov, saying: "Lapsed Catholics make good agents. They reject the total authority of the Church only to accept the total authority of the party." Heinrich might need to seek forgiveness for what he had done. But would he risk his life?
At last Werner paid the bill and the two men left. Volodya followed. Outside the hotel they parted company, Werner driving off with a squeal of tires and Heinrich going on foot across the park. Volodya went after Heinrich.
Night was falling, but the sky was clear and he could see well. There were many people strolling in the warm evening air, most of them in couples. Volodya looked back repeatedly, to make sure no one had followed him or Heinrich from the Adlon. When he was satisfied he took a deep breath, steeled his nerve, and caught up with Heinrich.
Walking alongside him, Volodya said: "There is atonement for sin."
Heinrich looked at him warily, as at someone who might be mad. "Are you a priest?"
"You could strike back at the wicked regime you helped to create."
Heinrich kept walking, but he looked worried. "Who are you? What do you know about me?"
Volodya continued to ignore Heinrich's questions. "The Nazis will be defeated, one day. That day could come sooner, with your help."
"If you're a Gestapo agent hoping to entrap me, don't bother. I'm a loyal German."
"Do you notice my accent?"
"Yes--you sound Russian."
"How many Gestapo agents speak German with a Russian accent? Or have the imagination to fake it?"
Heinrich laughed nervously. "I know nothing about Gestapo agents," he said. "I shouldn't have mentioned the subject--very foolish of me."
"Your office produces reports of the quantities of armaments and other supplies ordered by the military. Copies of those reports could be immeasurably useful to the enemies of the Nazis."
"To the Red Army, you mean."
"Who else is going to destroy this regime?"
"We keep careful track of all copies of such reports."
Volodya suppressed a surge of triumph. Heinrich was thinking about practical difficulties. That meant he was inclined to agree in principle. "Make an extra carbon," Volodya said. "Or write out a copy in longhand. Or take someone's file copy. There are ways."
"Of course there are. And any of them could get me killed."
"If we do nothing about the crimes that are being committed by this regime . . . is life worth living?"
Heinrich stopped and stared at Volodya. Volodya could not guess what the man was thinking, but instinct told him to remain quiet. After a long pause, Heinrich sighed and said: "I'll think about it."
I have him, Volodya thought exultantly.
Heinrich said: "How do I contact you?"
