Chapter 3

Contact with the resistance, and the CIA properly, was sparse at best.

A young boy who delivered milk from time was the contact to which Negev gave her written reports every day.

Despite not working for the right target, her employee was high enough on the echelons to give information that she considered useful to report back to the headquarters.

As the months passed by, she started to get a glimpse of the situation in the region

The German colonial government in Ukraine, the Reichskomissariat Ukraine, was a puppet government controlled by 3 factions who disputed the manpower and resources the Reich could extract from this place.

The first faction and most powerful one was the "bureaucrats", the main administrators of the komissariat, a bunch of nazi officials and associates of powerful conglomerates in Berlin, who viewed Ukraine as a good opportunity to enrich themselves through corruption or to climb up the ladders of the German administration. They were mainly concerned with the economic exploitation of the land.

The second faction and main opposition was the "colonizers". They were mainly comprised of the Ukrainian nationals who were sympathetic to the Reich, wishing to properly develop the nation as an ally rather than a colony. Their Slavic heritage was the main obstacle for them, but to their luck, out of all organizations in the Reich, the SS was the one to endorse their cause, as the colonizers pushed for a police of German immigration as to aryanize the population. They also gave a lot of conscripts for the SS units deployed in the region.

The third faction was the "clique", a circle of Wehrmacht officials and military governors from the units stationed in Ukraine. Their main objective was to keep the nation under the heed of Berlin, and were particularly cynical to the policies of the other factions. They wanted a strong hand in government, as to disperse the rebels and revolutionaries who plagued the countryside.

Speaking of the resistance, there was no central command to unify their efforts against the government.

Negev wondered how the CIA got a hold in the country in the first place, and which of the myriads of factions who fought against the Germans and themselves was the one loyal to the agency.

The main cities and highways, alongside the plains and river valleys, were the places where German strength was most felt. Every forest, hill or mountain was certainly out of reach and swollen by rebels of all kind.

Among the rebels, the Ukrainian Black Army was by far the largest group, a left wing revolutionary movement first found by Nestor Makhno during the collapse of the Russian Empire. It was suppressed by the Bolsheviks, but in the aftermath of World War 2 it was re-established and fought for an independent Ukrainian state.

Other notable resistances were the myriad Russian Bolsheviks to the east and the Hetmanate, a faction comprised of western aligned democrats and the right wing who didn´t bow down to the Germans, to the west.

Negev heard a knock on the door, and hastily hid the map she was making in a secret place in her apartment.

She arrived by the door in the second sequence of knocks.

"Hallo." Said Klara.

She was wearing a white floppy hat, with such a long ab she had to really make an effort to look up at Negev.

"Hallo, come in." Said Negev.

Alongside the hat, she was wearing a white peplum jacket alongside a long black skirt. On he feet was a pair of black derby shoes.

Negev prepared a small meal for both of them, and soon they were chatting by a table while eating cookies.

They had planned to walk along the many parks in Kiev, and maybe pay a visit to some historical places too, this weekend.

Klara bought a map of the visit, and soon they went on their walk.

Negev wore a cossack style shirt and the same pattern of colors as Klara. White shirt, black skirt and shoes. Since her hair-color was unique, she decided not to wear a hat.

As they both walked through Kiev alleys and parks, she couldn´t help to notice the state of decay the city was in. All of the sidewalks were cracked and needed repair. One could easily distinguish the Ukrainian nationals to the Germans by the quality and type of their clothing.

Those worked for the government usually wore the black or grey garments of the party, and walked with the proper aura of authority such symbols gave to them. The Slavic residents of the city, however, were much more relaxed with their standard of clothing, and their countenance was one of sadness and sorrow.

Despite being a proper nation, Ukraine had yet to enjoy it´s political independence.

The boots of the soviets were replaced by the Germans, and before that the Russian Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth also ruled these lands in the past, in a somewhat more merciful manner.

They wished to bow down to no one, neither to their brothers in the east or the aryans to the south, but the geopolitical arena never favored them.

It was a cursed fate, to be born a Ukrainian.

Now on the third park that they visited, Negev and Klara sat down on an old wooden bench, covered by the shadow of a tree, and removed from their bags some snacks to eat, alongside a bottle of tea.

On the center of the park there was an old orthodox church, broken and battered, but still standing somewhat, a crude repair effort could be seen by the wooden planks placed upon it´s stone structure.

"The situation has been kinda bleak lately, don´t you think?" Asked Klara.

"What do you mean?" Said Negev.

"I´ve heard a lot about conflicts in the countryside, and never have I seen such an air of hostility in the government before."

"Well, people didn´t get along since the start."

"Yeah, but… before they would at least discuss together the problems plaguing the komissariat, nowadays everybody seems to mind his own business." She said, looking somewhat worried.

Negev spoke as if not already knowing it, but friction between the factions have been boiling up since the komissar´s old age started to become apparent. Ruling as a dictator, with no child or a chosen successor, the komissar had been living a life of debauchery, seeking to enjoy life to the fullest before he ultimately passes away.

To see a little girl such as she worried with the future of this damned government made Negev feel disgusted. By the end of the day, her friend, despite being kind and cute, was still a tool of the Nazi regime, fooled by their hateful ideology.

As Klara sighed, Negev noticed a strange movement near the old church. A man, clearly a Ukrainian, was somewhat hiding between it´s wall. He made a sign with his hand, clearly identified with the resistance. Finally! The CIA was coming in contact with her.

"When the komissar dies, who would like to talke his place?" Asked Negev.

"?" Klara looked at her puzzled, then pondered. "Herr Otto!"

"?" Now it was Negev that was puzzled. "Herr Otto?"

"Yes. He would probably make a good komissar!" Klara said, as if trying to prove her point.

Negev sighed, there was no saving this girl.

"You are so lucky, miss Negev." Klara said. "To be able to work for him. He is by far the best governor in the komissariat."

She was fidgeting with her fingers.

"I must say I´m a little envious." Klara said. "He never accepted a secretary before. The first time they ordered him to employ one I almost decided to try, but everybody said I would be rejected because I was so short. Luckily for me, he never employed one until now."

Negev gave the signal for the man to wait, as he started to look anxious to leave already.

"You like him, don´t you?" Negev asked, with her eyebrows raised and a face certain of the truth in her words.

Klara blushed, and tried to hide her face with her hat, a task not so difficult due to it´s size.

"Don´t ask that so sudden!" She protested with a muffled voice.

"Heh?" Despite being sure of it, this also caught her a bit off guard.

"What´s the problem?! Can´t I love someone just because I´m little?!" Klara said.

Her voice was too high, some of the passerby's looking her way.

"!Shh!" Negev made the silence gesture with her hand, and grabbed her hat as to try and reveal her face. "Don´t you see there is people around here?"

Klara´s face looked like a red flower and tried to wrestle the hat from Negev.

"Let me hide then! Give it back to me!" She protested, and Negev gave back the hat to her.

Soon after, Klara dashed away, leaving behind and still covering her face with the hat, but trying not to fall to the ground or bumping into someone.

"Heh?" Negev was astonished. But this was an opportunity. She hastily placed both of her bags behind a bush and walked towards the church.

The man hiding on it was poor, judging by his clothing, and his stern and battered face, one of a worker or peasant who toiled all day under the sun, made him look like he was on his 50´s, despite his hair still not being totally gray.

He handed Negev a sealed document, after showing to her both the symbol of the CIA and of the Ukrainian Black Army.

"Miss, things have been evolving, have you heard the news?" He asked.

"No, what are you talking about?"

"The komissar is dead and, strangely enough, there has not been an effort by the government in Berlin to appoint a new one. Seems like the egg has cracked open."

Negev looked at him startled.

The document appeared to be quite heavy.

"Things will start to heat up, I encourage you to prepare yourself for the ultimate sacrifice." He said in an ominous manner.

A feeling of fulfillment started to fill her heart.

"I will see to it." She said with a stern face.

Soon after, the man bid her farewell.