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Mike explains Paul's task
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The Plot
CIA agent Mike Allen brings Paul to Berlin to act as go-between to exchange a convicted East German agent for an innocent American businessman imprisoned in an Arctic labor camp on espionage charges.
Charles Stuyvesant, the American being held in the USSR, is both wealthy and influential, and great pressure has been placed on the government to free him. However, the Russians are insisting that, because Moeller is an East German citizen, all negotiations be held with that country.
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Mike Allen describes Paul's cover story
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Allen explains that, since the United States government doesn't recognize East Germany, the US can't get involved in the trade officially, and Paul is the only American civilian Mike Allen can ask to handle the negotiations.
A cover story has been devised that Paul and Stuyvesant's estranged wife were lovers back in Ohio, and he's come to Berlin to assist her.
A dinner engagement is arranged for the two to meet publicly where Communist agents will be able to over-hear their conversation.
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Paul and Alicia discuss the exchange
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Alicia Stuyvesant outlines the situation her husband is in, and Paul says that the State Department could handle it better than they could, but she explains that they don't recognize East Germany.
'For the benefit of listening devices, Paul suggests that he try on his own, telling her it's not the first time America executed a trade using a private citizen.
He asks her for a photo of her husband, to make sure the East Germans don't try using a substitute instead of the real Charles Stuyvesant.
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Paul asks Rudy whom he should contact in East Berlin
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Paul crosses into East Berlin the next morning.
After checking into a hotel, he asks the operator to connect him with the local newspaper.
He arranges a meeting with a journalist friend Rudy Fischer, and asks him whom he should see to arrange the exchange.
Rudy suggests the Attorney General, but feels that he can be of little help, and though very friendly, declines Paul's invitation to dinner.
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Kleist refuses to believe Paul is operating independently
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That night, Paul wakes to find a gun pointed at his head, and watches two men rip all his clothing in search of something they don't find. After they leave, he receives a call to be at an East Berlin address in two hours.
He reports to the bureau of state security, and Major Kleist introduces himself. Paul's first words are about his damaged clothing, but Kleist denies any knowledge of the intrusion. Then he says that he understands Paul is a lawyer wanting to facilitate an exchange of Moeller for Stuyvesant. When Paul insists that he's not representing the US Government, Kleist declines to believe him.
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Paul and Alicia debate whether the room is bugged
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They continue to debate the point, and after reaching an obvious impasse, Kleist dismisses Paul.
Alicia meets Paul for dinner in a more private setting, an apartment checked for safety by Mike Allen. After eating, she tells Paul that, though long separated from her husband, she still has feelings for him, and is desperate for him to be freed, even though they will get a divorce upon his release.
Paul admits that he's made little progress, but has been assured by Mike Allen that Kleist is just stalling, and will call him again.
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Paul says he might not be able to complete the mission
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However, Paul advises that if the process would be drawn out, someone else would have to take his place.
Alicia is deeply upset by the thought of having to start all over again, and breaks down when she tells Paul about the frailty of her husband's health.
She says that he is a man who appears invincible to everyone, but is actually very vulnerable and helpless.
She is sure that, if they can't get Stuyvesant out soon, he will die.
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Kleist gives Paul the conditions for the exchange
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After the dinner is over, Kleist calls Paul back to his office in East Berlin. Kleist has checked on Paul, and noted the sudden departure from his law practice, as well as his involvement in incidents in Albania and Yugoslavia.
Paul again denies any connections to the CIA, and gets up to leave, but Kleist suddenly presents him with terms for the exchange of Moeller for Stuyvesant. Paul leaves, but he is not long in the street when someone comes out of the shadows and stabs him before jumping in a nearby car and driving away.
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Mike Allen promises to check out the license number
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Though bleeding profusely, Paul manages to make it back to his hotel in West Berlin.
He gives Mike Allen the license number of the getaway car, assuring him that the assailant's motive was nothing else but murder.
Allen seems far more concerned that such incidents might hinder the success of the exchange.
The next evening Paul meets Alicia in a café to tell her of his progress, and she thanks him again for his help.
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Lisa and Verner are startled by Paul
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Mike Allen is in Paul's hotel room when he returns, and has the name and address of the owner of the getaway car. Both men are shocked, as it is that of Kleist's aide, Karl Verner. When Paul goes to Verner and confronts him, Verner is with Lisa Dorfman, the former lover of Erich Moeller.
Verner admits the assault on Paul, and says that Kleist will have him shot if he finds out. He explains that he was trying to prevent Paul from freeing Moeller, out of fear that Lisa would go back to him. Lisa appeals to Paul, and declares that their lives are in his hands.
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"Stuyvesant" puts his glasses on the table
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The next day Paul is summoned to come to Kleist's office at 8 pm. When Paul arrives, Verner looks nervously at him, but Paul's glance implies that he's dismissed the stabbing incident.
Kleist offers the information that Charles Stuyvesant has been flown in to Berlin from the USSR, but tried to escape from a moving train, and suffered several injuries. He then calls a heavily bandaged Stuyvesant in.
The man removes his eye glasses, and Paul glances at them on the table beside him.
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Paul asks Louise Laine about Orsini
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Kleist is immediately aware of the observation, and calls the proceedings to a halt, saying that Paul has obviously seen that the lenses of the man's glasses were not prescription, and the individual that they have presented to him as Charles Stuyvesant is a fake.
Paul tries to deny that he noticed anything, but Kleist says that they will have to hold Paul in custody until the exchange is made.
When Paul asks, the Major admits that the real Charles Stuyvesant died of pneumonia two months earlier.
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Paul shoots a message into West Berlin
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Paul suddenly pushes the guard in the room aside, and jumps out the window.
Pursued by armed soldiers, Paul makes an escape, and breaks into a location where he obtains high-powered archery equipment. He shoots a message into West Berlin, and then turns himself in to the first soldier he sees.
The next morning, Mike Allen and Alicia wait at the West Berlin check point for the exchange to take place. Signals are made on both sides, and Paul approaches from his, a rifle pointed at him.
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Alicia realizes that her husband is dead
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Moeller and his escort approach from the other, but just before the trade takes place, a West Berlin border guard releases a curtain of steam to obscure the scene from those watching from the eastern side.
Paul races to freedom, and Moeller is taken away. Mike Allen congratulates him on his ingenuity with the arrow, but says he didn't understand from the message, what happened to Stuyvesant.
Everyone drives away, leaving Paul to give the bad news to Alicia. But she guesses before he tells her.
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