chapter 38 A bad day at the office

Berlin, January 17, 1937

MB: Herr Fuhrer Heydrich is here, he says that he needs to see you urgently.

AH: Thanks Martin, you better show it then.

Reinhard Heydrich (RH): Thank you mein Fuhrer for receiving me immediately without prior notice.

AH: That's very good, which is so urgent.

RH: The Soviet ambassador and the NKVD station chief have just defected. Apparently they were next on the purge list, when a team of NKVD thugs landed at Tempelhof, the Chief received a tip-off. Causing both the Ambassador and the Chief to grab their families and run into the waiting arms of the SD.

Now, even though normally this would be a holiday, here and now it sucks.

AH: Ohh Fuuuuu**k, the converted spy ring. This will burn down the entire network, there is no way the Reds will believe that we won't interrogate the NKVD about any espionage activity in Germany.

RH: It gets worse, you were previously stationed in London and Washington.

AH: Son of a bitch, all our work was ruined because of Stalin's paranoia.

RH: Indeed we are already seeing the first departures of spies to the embassies and borders. We must hope that Soviet networks in Europe and North America will be wiped out. This will create an interesting situation, as soon the FBI and MI5 will realize exactly what kind of people are going on winter holidays to Moscow.

When they tell the politicians exactly how badly they were penetrated, shit will hit the fan. To make sure none of that rubs off on any of our people, I've already ordered our spies to go dark for the next few months. I will send similar advice to our esteemed colleagues in the Abwehr.

AH: Smart, tell me, has the creep ever been parked in Tokyo?

RH: No sir, and with all the other major networks gone, our man in Japan will take on a level of total importance. But the real kicker is that SD Obersturmführer Beck is one of the bolters, recently added to the Soviet spy network to feed them misinformation from within. He has now volunteered to run for "security" and try to provide the Reds with misinformation from Moscow. A truly dedicated man like this will almost certainly end in his death, as he goes blind and alone.

AH: A true hero of the German people, is he leaving anyone behind?

RH: A mother and a younger sister are now under the protection of the SD. We will take care of our own.

AH: I'll leave that in his capable hands, now I better get to my next meeting before Martin suffers a stroke.