KGB Candidate

1
October 30， 1984
Huddled into his threadbare overcoat， Drew Ellis stood
on the dimly lit platform feeling the cement floor tremble
under his feet as the trains thundered into the Friedrichstrasse
station. It was a dim， depressing place， with a thin line of
shuffling， shabbily dressed East German pensioners outside
the brown， duty-free shop， waiting to buy cheap presents to
take to the expensive West， or a week s worth of cheap
tobacco and alcohol to consume at home.
The shop was narrow arid long， a boarded-up cupboard
on one side， cartons of cigarettes pressed against windows on
the other， an aisle in betwe~， where a man and woman
worked with the patience of primitive robots. Posters in front
of the waiting room advertised holidays in the Harz moun-
ains and the cultural delights of the Pergammon. A trio of
East German Vopos， their drab green uniforms reminiscent of
WWlI films， walked in suspicious phalanx down the broad
flight of steps at the far end， which led to the crossing point
and the East.
Ellis huddled against the wall. The station was western
territory， and technically speaking he was safe there. But East
Germany was only two flights of stairs away， and as a senior
intelligence ottqcer， he should not have come; not alone，
anyway.
But he d had no alternative. He had to meet Emma.
He d lived without her for eight days， and those days had
seemed like an eternity. Besides， he wanted to be sure
Emma was safe.
Emma was Czech， and as a sturdy six-year-old， had
walked across the border with her family during that Prague