Page 484 of Edge of Eternity (The Century 3)

"Can I use that quote?"

"You may. He said it to me."

"Thanks."

"The president now believes that change in the Communist world is real and permanent, and we need to give it guarded encouragement, instead of kidding ourselves that it isn't really happening."

Jasper gave Maria a long look that, she thought, had in it a measure of surprised respect. "You're right," he said at last. "That is a better story. Back in Washington the Cold Warriors, like Dick Cheney and Brent Scowcroft, are going to be mad as hell."

"You said that," Maria said. "I didn't."

*

Lili, Karolin, Alice, and Helmut drove from Berlin to Lake Balaton, in Hungary, in Lili's white Trabant. As usual, it took two days. On the way Lili and Karolin sang every song they knew.

They were singing to cover their fear. Alice and Helmut were going to try to escape to the West. No one knew what would happen.

Lili and Karolin would stay behind. Both were single but, all the same, their lives were in East Germany. They hated the regime, but they wanted to oppose it, not flee from it. It was different for Alice and Helmut, who had their lives in front of them.

Lili knew only two people who had tried to leave: Rebecca, and Walli. Rebecca's fiance had fallen from a roof and been crippled for life. Walli had run over a border guard and killed him, a trauma that had haunted him for years. They were not happy precedents. But the situation had changed now--hadn't it?

>

On the first evening at the holiday camp they came across a middle-aged man called Berthold, sitting outside his tent, holding forth to half a dozen young people drinking beer from cans. "It's obvious, isn't it?" he said in a voice that was confidential but carrying. "The whole thing is a trap set by the Stasi. It's their new way of catching subversives."

A young man sitting on the ground, smoking a cigarette, seemed skeptical. "How does that work, then?"

"As soon as you cross the border, you're arrested by the Austrians. They hand you over to the Hungarian police, who send you back to East Germany in handcuffs. Then you go straight to the interrogation rooms in Stasi headquarters in Lichtenberg."

A girl standing nearby said: "How would you know a thing like that?"

"My cousin tried to cross the border here," said Berthold. "Last thing he said to me was: 'I'll send you a postcard from Vienna.' Now he's in a prison camp near Dresden, working in a uranium mine. It's the only way our government can get people to work in those mines, no one else will do it--the radiation gives you lung cancer."

The family discussed Berthold's theory in low voices before going to bed. Alice said scornfully: "Berthold is one of those men who know it all. How would he find out that his cousin is working in a uranium mine? The government doesn't admit to using prisoners that way."

But Helmut was worried. "He may be an idiot, but what if his story is true? The border could be a trap."

Alice said: "Why would the Austrians send escapers back? They have no love of Communism."

"They may not want the trouble and expense of dealing with them. Why should the Austrians care about East Germans?"

They argued for an hour and came to no conclusion. Lili lay awake for a long time, worrying.

Next morning in the communal dining room Lili spotted Berthold regaling a different group of young people with his theories, a large plate of ham and cheese in front of him. Was he genuine, or a Stasi faker? She felt she had to know. He looked as if he would be there some time. On impulse, she decided to search his tent. She left the room.

Tents were not secured: holidaymakers were simply advised not to leave money or valuables behind. All the same, Berthold's entrance was tightly laced.

Lili began to untie the strings, trying to appear relaxed, as if she had every right to do it. Her heart was like a drumbeat in her chest. She made an effort not to glance guiltily at people walking by. She was used to sneaking around--the gigs she played with Karolin were always semi-illegal--but she had never done anything quite like this. If Berthold should for some reason abandon his breakfast early and come back sooner than she expected, what would she say? "Oops, wrong tent, sorry!" The tents were all alike. He might not believe her--but what would he do, go to the police?

She opened the flap and stepped inside.

Berthold was neat, for a man. His clothes were folded in a suitcase, and there was a drawstring bag full of laundry. He had a sponge bag containing a safety razor and shaving soap. His bed was made of canvas stretched across metal tubing. Beside the bed was a small pile of magazines in German. It all looked innocent.

Don't rush, she told herself. Look carefully for clues. Who is this man and what is he doing here?

A sleeping bag was folded on top of the camp bed. When Lili picked it up she felt something heavy. She unzipped the bag and rummaged inside. She found a book of pornographic photos--and a gun.

It was a small black pistol with a short barrel. She did not know much about firearms, and she could not identify the make, but she thought it was what they called a nine-millimeter. It looked designed to be concealed.

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