A Question of Time

by James Stejskal

  What most people didn’t understand unless they were assigned to the Mission or a senior Berlin Brigade staff officer was that, despite the existing Huebner–Malinin Agreement between the Allies and the Soviets, a Mission tour was not like driving on Route 66.

  Granted, most of the trips were routine, driving on back country roads, visiting small villages, and the like. Normally, the biggest danger was getting followed by the Stasi or the Volkspolizei. They were easy enough to lose because the Mission was equipped with Mercedes-Benz sedans and G-Wagons. The East German cars didn’t stand a chance and just couldn’t keep up.

  But where it got interesting and often dangerous was when the teams got close to a Soviet or East German military facility or convoy. Soldiers who were completely unaware of the agreement or took their job too seriously would often take potshots at the teams when they saw them.

  In the West, if the Allies caught Soviets in a PRA they would simply detain the car. The Russians and East Germans acted differently. They liked to “clobber” the Allies. Clobber was the accepted word for being run off the road or rammed by a military vehicle. In this case, a Mercedes didn’t stand a snowball’s chance of coming out on the good end after an encounter with a big Soviet tank or armored personnel carrier. Several men had been badly injured in similar “accidents” as the Soviets always called them. Or they blamed it on the Allies’ bad driving.

  The Russians also often sent in Spetsnaz troops to harass the teams. Woe to the team that got caught with their pants down, literally, while relieving themselves in the woods. Next thing, they were being beat up by a bunch of Soviet commandos as their car was ransacked.

  No one had been killed. Yet.

  Later that afternoon, Bright drove to the Brigade headquarters compound and parked in the rear of the main building. What had been a Luftwaffe district air headquarters during the war was now headquarters of the United States’ military and the diplomatic legation in West Berlin.

  Bright walked into the main building and through its long hallways winding his way through the labyrinth until he was at the southeast corner exit. He left the big complex and walked across a smaller parking lot to the back door of a much smaller facility. Designated “Building 66,” it was the home to the BOB.

  He punched a button outside the door and waited, not bothering to look at the camera perched above him.

  “Yes?” came the disembodied voice. “Steve Bright, I have an appointment.”

  No answer. The lock buzzed and the door popped open a bit. Bright stepped into the vestibule and waited for the second door. A minute or two passed before the inside door opened.

  “Come on in.”

  The voice was vaguely western sounding but it was attached to a very large and intimidating Hawaiian man. Bright was not small but, comparatively, his host looked to be a lineman for a pro football team.

  This guy must be their enforcer.

  “Welcome, Steve. I’m Jamie Wheeler. Follow me, please.”

  At least he’s a polite enforcer, Bright thought he as followed Wheeler.

  Wheeler led him back to the room which held the bubble and brought him inside. Already present were Murphy, the base chief, Becker and another member of Team 5, Nick Kaiser.

  Bright’s face broke into a grin when he saw Kaiser.

  “Nick! How are you?”

  Kaiser needed no introduction as he had spent several months with the Mission as a tour driver, including several trips into the East with Bright.

  “I’m doing well, Major. It’s been a while!” Kaiser reached over the table and shook Bright’s hand.

  Once Wheeler completed the introductions, Murphy took over and began the discussion.

  “Major Bright… Steve, if I may, as you may have gathered, we need your help with a special project. First, this is all classified at Top Secret SPECAT level. Jamie will have you sign the NDA after this meeting, but from here on in, you must not discuss the specifics of this mission with anyone outside this room.”

  “Understood.”

  “Perfect. The basic task is simple; however, its execution may be a bit dicey. What we need is for you to drop off one of our assets at a specific point inside East Germany during what should look like a regular multi-day tour visit. Obviously, the most difficult part will be to get to the drop point and out again without being observed.” “Getting in and out without notice will depend entirely on where the drop-off is. If we’re near a PRA or some other key point, it could be difficult. Who is the asset?”

  “Me,” Becker chimed in, “and the area is pretty isolated. Close to a forest and not near any major training areas. Nick has looked at the topography and has some thoughts, but it will all depend on your input and especially the most up-to-date Order of Battle on the Soviets and the EGs.”

  Kaiser unrolled a map onto the tabletop. It showed most of northern East Germany from Berlin up to near the Baltic coastline. Then he laid a slightly smaller map next to it. It was a large scale 1:25,000 map that showed the operational area in more detail.

  Pointing at the first map, he explained: “This is the general area we’re talking about, in the Brandenburg district—” and then to the second map, “inside this triangle formed by Neuruppin, Wittstock, and Rheinsberg.”

  “Off the bat, I see at least one issue,” Bright pointed at one section of the map. “There’s a couple of PRAs here near Wittstock. It’s the Gadow–Rossow firing range here and there are ammunition bunkers here. That specific area is guarded. There is also an airbase nearby.”

  “Where?” Becker said. He leaned forward. An airbase close by could complicate things.

  “Here, west of Wittstock. It’s a Soviet base.”

  “Our primary objective is here, further south, about twenty clicks from that base,” Kaiser noted. “I think any of these routes,” a pointer traced several roads into the area, “could be used for entry into the area.”

  Bright pondered the possible different routes.

  “The PRAs are fairly far away so we should be able to get into that area without a problem, hopefully without being seen.”

  “If we’re seen in the general area, it’s not that much of a problem. However, we need to get close to the drop-off point and away again without being noticed,” Becker clarified. “I was planning on doing a night drop-off. Sometime around 2100 hours so I will have a full night for cross-country movement. The weather should be good and maybe I will the benefit from the moon if it’s clear skies.”

  Murphy, who up to that point had let the army discuss the problem, interjected: “Nighttime? Can you find the drop-off point at night?”

  Bright and Kaiser all looked at each other and silently accepted the old Marine might not understand their capabilities. It was Kaiser who answered.

  “That’s what we do, we navigate cross-country. I can put you anywhere you want to go with a map and compass, day or night, to within 10 meters. We’ll also be using NVGs.”

  “NVGs?” Wheeler was really out of date.

  “Night vision goggles. We can walk or drive with them.”

  “Steve, are you comfortable with taking this on? Do you have any reservations?” Murphy asked.

  “I think it’s doable. I know and trust Nick’s opinion and he’s got the time on the ground with the Mission to know what we’ll face. But I think Master Sergeant Becker will have quite a time crashing through the countryside.”

  “The East German forests are easy to navigate. Their Forstmeister keep everything quite orderly,” Becker said. “How do we get you out?” Bright asked.

  “You don’t. After you drop me, you get out of there and do regular MLM business. I’ll get out by alternate means.”

  “Which is?” Bright’s interest was piqued.

  “I am afraid those details are not your concern, Major,” Murphy said. His tone was controlling.

  “Sorry, I was curious.”

  “It’s okay, we’re trying to keep the different aspects of this compartmented, just in case.”
>
  “Like, in case I get rousted by the Russians?”

  “Yeah, something like that. This mission is of the highest national importance. We can’t chance a compromise. The fewer folks who know all the details the better.”

  “Do I get an ‘L’ pill?”

  “No, we don’t issue those anymore. You’ll have to go out in a blaze of glory,” Murphy said.

  “Unfortunately, we don’t carry weapons,” Bright replied.

  As Bright enlightened Murphy on the fine print of the Huebner– Malinin Agreement and the prohibitions on weapons, Becker thought he should mention something, but then decided against it.

  It can wait.

  He saw Murphy looking at him and winked.

  “Okay, next subject,” Murphy took the cue to move on. “Getting into the East.”

  “How do you propose that we get you there,” Bright said, “besides in one of the Mission cars? So, hypothetically, we’re at the bridge. Where are you?”

  “I’ll be in the trunk.”

  “That’ll be comfy. Then what?”

  “Nick?” Becker said, sliding the question down the bar to his expert.

  “I would suggest you go from Berlin straight to the planned route and skip the Potsdam House. No need to go there. If you cross with two other cars about the same time, the EGs will have a hard time following all of you.”

  “Agreed. But, we only have seven tour teams to work with at any one time so we’ll have to figure that out with scheduling.”

  “One other point, he won’t have a Mission ID.” Kaiser was referring to the document required to process the Glienicke Bridge Checkpoint between West Berlin and East Germany or if stopped by the Soviets.

  Bright latched on to that. “What happens if you’re picked up?” “I don’t intend to get caught.”

  “That’s what you all say. And if you are?”

  “In that event, I will claim that I went AWOL. It will buy me a little time and cause an incident, but I probably won’t get shot.”

  “A master sergeant in the United States Army goes AWOL? Bull.

  Shit.”

  “My ID card says I’m still a sergeant first class.”

  “Like that makes a whole lot of difference. Is Colonel Stofall aware of this?” Bright asked.

  “Yes, he’s not happy but he really doesn’t have a say,” Murphy said. “The authority for this is echelons above all our heads.”

  “I wouldn’t want to be you if you’re caught.”

  “We don’t have a great deal of wiggle room here. We do have a back-up if things go to hell, but I accept that my decision to do this puts me in a lot of danger.”

  “Yeah, a whole lot of trouble. You better not get caught. It would be bad for us all, not just you.”

  Bright went back to the main issue. “Then what comes after crossing the bridge?”

  “We worked out a couple of possible routes that would take us to an offset well beyond the drop-off point. That way, whichever one we take won’t point directly at the location.” Becker laid a piece of transparent overlay onto the second map with the routes traced out in color.

  Bright looked at the overlay and nodded. “Those are good and we can use others if we need to. I would also assume that you would come out of the trunk before then?” he said.

  “On your call. When you think it’s safe to do so.” said Becker. “We can keep the rear window screens closed for the trip. That’s pretty normal. If we slow down in a village, you can go under a blanket. If we go in with two people, we need to continue being seen as only two in the car.”

  “Then we fishhook and make the run into the drop-off point. I’ll leave you near here,” he said pointing at a spot on the map, “and you get out of the area. That’s it, sweet and simple.”

  “We can do that but I’ll tell you one thing, I still don’t want to be you.”

  24

  The classified conference room was packed. It wasn’t that big to begin with, but it was filled with all of Team 5, the base chief and his deputy, the MLM commander, Major Bright and his chosen driver, Sergeant First Class Jason Marazano. On one half of the front wall were the maps that had been used to plan the driving routes. Whatever was on the other half of the wall remained covered with a sliding door.

  Jelinek, Bergmann, and Kelly sat in front as the inquisitors waiting for the briefback to get rolling.

  “Good morning, Colonel Jelinek, Colonel Stofall, Sergeant Major,” Becker began. “First, I am going to begin with a general outline of the mission. After we discuss our infiltration, we’ll have to excuse the MLM personnel as the rest of the briefing is compartmented information.”

  With Marazano showing the route on the map with a pointer, Becker described the plan up to the point where he would be dropped off.

  “Any questions on this phase, sir?” Becker said. He directed all his comments to Jelinek as the overall commander. There weren’t any. “Colonel Stofall, thank you for your support to this mission. We wouldn’t be able to pull this off without your help,” Jelinek said.

  It was the indication for the MLM team to exit.

  Becker shook hands with Bright as he left.

  “See you soon.”

  Once the MLM crew had departed, he continued.

  “After drop-off, I will make my way on foot cross-country to here.”

  Becker pointed to the newly revealed large-scale map on the wall and the aerial photographs that had been taken by a “Live Oak” surveillance aircraft. OZ’s Dacha was clearly shown on the images. So clear, you could read the model number of the tractor sitting on the edge of the field.

  “OZ and I planned a link-up on a trail in the forest near his home. He will be taking his usual walks each day when he arrives and I will be located off the trail along one of the tracks around here,” again pointing.

  “Once I arrive, I will watch the house and set up in the forest approximately here,” he said tapping the map with a pointer. “In the early morning, I will leave a sign on the trail that we’ve agreed and when he sees it, he will give me a safe signal to indicate I can approach his house. Once OZ and I make contact, we wait at his home until our pick-up team arrives. That’ll be Kaiser and Mann. We will all proceed to the Landing Zone for exfiltration that night.”

  Colonel Jelinek got up and looked closely at the map.

  “What will you be wearing?” he asked.

  “An unmarked Czech army parka over civilian field pants and boots. I will wear a uniform shirt with US Army insignia underneath and I’ll carry my ID card in my true name.”

  “What equipment will you carry?”

  “A generic European rucksack and sleeping bag, NVGs, Silva compass, binos, the big map, some food, water, and a Walther P38 with suppressor and three magazines of ammunition.”

  “What’s the trail sign?”

  “A rock pyramid.”

  “What if you can’t find rocks?”

  “Then it’ll be three sticks laid out.”

  Sergeant Major Bergmann said, “What if you’re injured and can’t make it to the target?”

  “I have two RV sites, one close to the infil point and another about mid-way. I’ll try to make it there and wait to be picked up.”

  “When do you abort?”

  “Only if we can’t find OZ to get him out. I need to go in first to prepare him, but if I’m out of action, Kaiser and Mann will continue the op without me.”

  “Kaiser and Mann,” the colonel said, “what about you, what will you be going in as?”

  “We’ll be in East German uniform, sir. We’ll both be armed with Makarovs and everything needed for the extraction in the trunk.”

  “What ID are you carrying?”

  “We’re hanging it all in the wind. We have East German ID but we’re not carrying anything US. Our American ID cards won’t help us if we get nailed. We’ll only get our US uniforms back when we make the final RV, the rendezvous point, after the pick-up.”

  “You understand the impl
ications and consequences of that?”

  “Yes, sir. Major Kelly made us sign a release form.”

  Colonel Jelinek looked at his S-3 operations officer. “Regulations, sir,” Kelly said.

  “Destroy the forms, Kelly. I’ll take the heat. We won’t abandon anyone if it comes to it.”

  “Roger, sir.”

  “Okay, back to you two. How will you know if it’s safe to approach the house?”

  “We will be looking for a piece of twine tied in a bow at the center of the gate.”

  “If it’s not there?”

  “We’ll approach the house on foot and do a recce. After one hour, if no one is there, we’ll abort. We break off and head for the first RV to find Master Sergeant Becker and if necessary on to the second RV. We can’t wait around.”

  “Becker, where is the LZ?”

  Becker took a pointer and tapped a yellow triangle on the map. “This is the primary,” and then tapping a red triangle, “this is the secondary.”

  “How will the pilot know to go to the secondary?”

  “He won’t see any lights and we have the beacon with back-up radio comms. We are carrying two PRC-90s.”

  “One last thing, gentlemen,” Jelinek said, “Rules of Engagement. You can only engage the enemy if you are directly threatened, that means they are confronting you. Second, they must have the means to do you harm, that means they have the capability to hurt you whether with a firearm, a club, or a knife-hand strike. Last, you must judge they intend to harm you. Got that?”

  “What if they just intend to arrest us?”

  “Would that, in your judgement, harm you? Don’t answer me now. Contemplate the consequences of your actions or your inactions and do the right thing. Understood?”

  Everyone did understand. It was the clearest ROE any of them had ever received but that was typical of the colonel.

  Jelinek nodded and turned to Murphy. “Any questions, Mister Murphy?”