Chapter 27

The Kuenst district was an old industrial park to east of Berlin, constructed over forty years before to house military stores for the Red Army. Now the dirty concrete buildings were used by local manufacturers and retailers to warehouse appliances and other consumer goods. Traffic was light and consisted mainly of trucks which had been loaded during the day and would drive through the evening towards their destinations across Germany.

"How well do you know this man?" Wolfgang asked as he drove his Audi past a row of elongated warehouses still bearing faded signs in Russian Cyrillic, most of them spray painted over with obscene graffiti.

"He fucked me," Eva said. "If that's what you mean."

"No," Wolfgang glanced at his sister. "That isn't what I mean."

"I don't know him very well," Eva admitted. "But he's a businessman. Freddie liked him."

"A good recommendation, I suppose," Wolfgang said with a hint of sarcasm.

Eva let it go, turning her head to look out the window. This was easier for her, after what she'd been through, and what doubts she had were only those concerned with their safety. Wolfgang still struggled with his good conscience, with the bitterness of his own betrayal by the country he'd served. The sins of his father had weighed heavily and unfairly against him, forcing the man onto another, darker path. He didn't like what they were doing, however, and it had taken Eva nearly a week to persuade him that they had no choice.

"There," Eva pointed and Wolfgang nodded as he saw the black BMW parked near the loading docks of warehouse 1066, the numbers painted in white on the gray cinderblock wall.

He parked beside the other car and looked at his sister. "If something goes wrong, you keep your head down..."

"I know what to do," Eva smiled at him. "I wasn't a schoolteacher, Wolfgang."

"Hmph," he grunted as Eva pulled back the slide of her .45 and let it go with a loud, mechanical snap. She lowered the hammer to the safe, half-cocked position and put the weapon in her purse, leaving it unzipped.

"Let's go," she said lightly, reaching for the door handle.

Eva adjusted her skirt, a short one made of red vinyl, while she waited for Wolfgang. It showed her long legs to good advantage in their black stockings. She wore a black t-shirt over her braless breasts and a denim jacket over that. Her platinum hair was loose around her shoulders and her face made up with dark eye shadow and red lipstick. She'd grown more attractive by the day it seemed to Wolfgang and he couldn't help but smile as he suffered Eva's impatient gaze.

He carried his 10mm Glock 29 in a thin shoulder harness, with the attached suppressor reaching nearly to his hip as he stood up. It was a small pistol, but bulky nonetheless, and the wool overcoat Wolfgang wore over his suit worked well to conceal the weapon. He combed his thick brown hair back with his fingers, and moved to join Eva, both of them walking towards an open door to the right of the loading docks.

This was Eva's deal and the girl was plainly excited. Wolfgang suspected it was simply because they had been stuck in that small apartment for nearly a month. Even their daily exercise, the morning runs and the regular trips to a local fitness club, hadn't taken the edge off the continual waiting while they'd decided what to do. Neither of them had much patience for sitting around, although it had given them a good excuse to enjoy many pleasurable hours in bed together.

Now at least they were doing something, meeting a man whom Eva had tracked down over several days, getting a phone number and setting up a meeting. No specific reasons for the rendezvous had been asked for or given, but the understanding was clear. Eva and her new friend were looking for work, employment of a much different sort than what either of them had ever done before.

The man they were looking for was sitting in a small office with big windows on two sides overlooking the large warehouse. The desk was cluttered with papers, shipping invoices and schedules. A Seagram's calendar decorated the wall, two years old and featuring a busty blonde in a yellow bikini. Someone had penned nipples and pubic hair on her, Eva noted, and a Hitler mustache as well. It looked like a typical comptroller's office, down to the ripped vinyl chairs and the half-empty coffee pot sitting atop a dented, ash gray filing cabinet.

"Eva!" the man smiled at her and he appeared to be completely alone. "The last person I would ever expect to see in a place like this!"

He stood up from the desk, moving quickly around it despite his bulk. Wolfgang thought he looked rather like a big bowling pin with a huge gut and scrawny chest and shoulders. His head was round and balding, with thin black hair combed over the top in a vain attempt to hide it. His trousers were large and his white shirt wrinkled with the sleeves rolled up.

"Do you want a toaster oven?" he asked, gesturing at the neat stacks of cardboard boxes behind him, loaded on pallets and wrapped in plastic. "I have thousands of the damn things. Fucking China. They're killing us, you know? Hello."

"Good evening," Wolfgang returned the man's greeting, but kept his eyes wandering.

"Oss Fromme, this is my friend, Wolfgang," Eva made the introductions.

"Wolfgang," he said with a smile. "Good. You can relax. My men are gone for the day."

"You mean you really work here?" Eva asked, giving the man a petulant smile.

"Work here?" Fromme chuckled and waved his arm. "I own it! I have six more just like it too. Come into the office, I'll tell you..." he put his arm around Eva's waist, drawing an unseen frown from Wolfgang, " ... After the Wall came down, I almost bought apartments. But then I thought, who wants to deal with the tenants? Boxes are much easier, believe me! They just sit there. Do you want coffee? It's hot."