The surrounding industry leaders and their wives oohed and aahed, their eyes glittering. Kreutzer continued his fervent speech, going on about how the German Army would scatter any enemy, however fierce, to the ends of the earth, gesturing like an actor reciting a monologue. He even made the occasional morbid joke denigrating the corpses of enemy soldiers. When Kreutzer started making fun of men blinded by explosions wandering around no-man’s-land, Lila lowered her gaze, no longer able to look at the man.
Jörg wrapped an arm around her shoulders and announced to the crowd, “It seems my niece has enjoyed her drink a little too much. You must excuse us while I find her a place to rest,” and led her away. He sat Lila down on a nearby couch and asked a waiter to bring some water. When the waiter returned, Jörg handed the glass to Lila, then sat down himself.
He checked to make sure they were alone, before whispering, “I understand how you feel. To a man like that, the soldiers on the front lines are no different from fleas and lice. He would crush them between his fingers and not feel any remorse.”
“I know,” replied Lila. “But it still makes me want to cry. I want to give everyone like that a good smack on the back of the head.”
“Those aren’t the words of a proper young lady. Don’t forget there are eyes and ears everywhere.”
“But it’s so frustrating.”
“I know. This war will never end so long as people like that run society. But don’t worry; what he said was all just posturing. The German Army at Verdun is outnumbered. France recaptured Fort Vaux and Fort Douaumont, and the Germans have been pushed back to their position from before the Battle of Verdun.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Things aren’t going well for them at the Somme, either. The standstill there shows no sign of breaking, and all the while, wave after wave of soldiers keep dying. The number of casualties there is already equal to the fighting at Verdun. Including the injured British soldiers, they say the total number across both armies is more than a million. Just the dead alone number a hundred thousand.”
Lila hid her mouth behind her hands.
“The German Army can’t keep this up for much longer,” Jörg continued. “And if the US joins the war, the end will be in sight. There’s no way they’ll side with Germany. So just put up with this for a little while longer. If it gets to be too much, go back to Xandra.”
“No. I know I’d regret leaving now. It makes me feel sick, but I’ll listen for as long as I can.”
“Okay. It’s about time I made contact with Oskar. Will you be okay on your own?”
“I’ll be fine. Go.”
Jörg nodded and got to his feet.
He scanned the hall, spotting Oskar just as he was excusing himself from a lively conversation, wineglass in hand. Jörg approached and called out to the man, who stared at him with a searching look.
Taking a glass of wine for himself, Jörg said, “Let’s chat over there,” and guided Oskar toward a windowsill. The night air was cold, so they didn’t go out onto the balcony.
“I was told you’re a retailer,” remarked Jörg. “Your job involves bringing food into Berlin, if I understand correctly.”
“That’s right. I do business with our host here, too.”
“And you buy your goods from more than one region?”
“Naturally, we have to source food from multiple areas to fill everyone’s stomachs.”
“I’ve heard you do business with farmers in the west.”
“Yes, at times.”
“Would you be interested in transferring one of your routes over to me? Not for free, of course.” Jörg removed a small pouch from his jacket and let Oskar feel its weight. “Given the times we find ourselves in, I have prepared a payment that won’t be too cumbersome and has a favorable exchange rate.”
Oskar set his glass on a table by the window, opened the pouch, and looked inside. Yet his expression remained the same, not even betraying a hint of his greed.
“What region are you after?” he asked.
“Kleinerbrunn.”
“Do you really think those farms are worth all this?”
“Let’s just say there’s something there that’s worth this much to me.”
“Give me some time to consider it.”
“I’m afraid I must insist on an answer now.”
“That will be difficult. I have my own circumstances to think about.”
Jörg cast his gaze over toward Kreutzer, who was busily chatting with some friends. “Do you know that man over there? He’s an officer in the intelligence service. We’ve known each other for a long time and keep one another up to date on any information involving the military. In times like these, the lieutenant colonel has grown very sensitive to the intelligence activities of our enemies. He would immediately arrest and interrogate any German who has been in contact with a foreign agent. There would be no guarantee they would come out of it alive.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It would be perfectly fine to conduct business with someone from France during times of peace. But we’re at war. We must be careful who we choose to deal with. If the lieutenant colonel were to hear about this, he would come calling on you very quickly.”
“Where did you hear such nonsense?”
“The world’s a small place. There are eyes everywhere. If the lieutenant colonel were to ask around, I have no doubt people would tell him everything about your relationship with a certain French prisoner of war.”
Even then, Oskar remained silent. So Jörg gave him one more push.
The moment the name Fabrice LeRoy left Jörg’s lips, Oskar hurriedly said, “Fine, you can have Kleinerbrunn,” closed the pouch, and tucked it away inside his coat. “I’ll tell them our deal’s off the next time I go.”
“That won’t be necessary. You only need to stop buying from them. I shall take care of the rest.”
Oskar sucked in a deep breath, then practically spat out the words “This’ll only work for you the one time.”
“Of course. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Then if you’ll excuse me.”
Oskar picked up his glass, as if he’d just remembered it was there, and drained it, then headed toward the exit. His imagination must be dreaming up the possible horrors that could befall him if he stayed any longer.
Jörg took a sip from his own glass as he watched Oskar walk away. Maybe it was because his nerves had finally relaxed, but the wine tasted incredibly sweet.