Green Neon

11 A hooked nose and a very simple solution

The man behind the desk stared at him, silent and immobile, his face not at all threatening, just a little bored. It wasn't until the drinks were brought that he came back to life. He looked Tom in the eye and began a friendly speech:

"I am happy when young people from other countries visit my beautiful homeland. You know, Tom - I'm allowed to call you by your first name, yes? - I have many friends in Germany myself. I see it as my duty to help you in your difficult situation. That's a requirement of hospitality." He smiled generously and benevolently and added gently, "Of course, hospitality doesn't just mean friendship with a guest, but also the friendship of the guest. You are an intelligent young man. We will surely solve your problems very quickly."

Tom could hardly escape his paternal kindness. After his increasingly uncomfortable visits to the other police departments, he felt that his concerns were understood and that a real effort was being made to help him. Nevertheless, an inner voice warned him. The "friendship of the guest" thing sounded a bit like a threat. He wasn't sure exactly which police department he'd ended up with. The question just blurted out like this: "Where am I actually?"

The man continued to smile good-naturedly at him:

"The correct translation is "Secret State Police" (Geheime Staatspolizei). We take care of problems that the normal police cannot deal with so well."

GESTAPO. Tom started. Not that he knew exactly what this authority had done in Germany up until two and a half decades ago, but many people were still afraid of it.

He had known that ever since he had overheard a strange conversation between his parents. His father occasionally read a political magazine, "Der Spiegel". Although he didn't share its political stances, reading it was a must for people interested in politics. The editor of this magazine seemed to have done something extremely criminal, because the magazine was banned and the editorial staff arrested. It was something about betrayal of secrets, Tom had picked up that much.

His father had instructed his mother never to mention that he read the magazine and to burn all of their copies. And then Tom overheard him saying that you never knew which of their neighbors was or had been with the Gestapo.

Tom felt an intense scrutiny of the inspector. After a pause that seemed very long, the officer continued in his soft voice:

"A lost passport can be quite a problem abroad. But of course not with us. I already know a very simple solution."

Tom was torn. On the one hand, the term "Gestapo" scared him, on the other hand, this man was apparently really nice and helpful. After all, he also had German friends.

"You just go to the German embassy," the officer added. " Tell them that you lost your passport and I'll ask them to issue you a replacement passport. I'll give you my card and in no time at all you'll have a document with which you can move anywhere in Greece. For a whole week."

Tom was a little relieved. Of course he had already discussed going to the embassy with Christina, but surely it would all be much easier if he also had a recommendation from this official. At that moment his warning inner voice spoke up again.

Not a moment too soon, because all of a sudden a drastic change took place in the secret police officer. Without raising his voice, but in an icy, cutting tone, he said:

"But not leave the country."

"I don't quite understand."

Tom couldn't think of another answer because it was suddenly clear to him that the preliminary skirmish was over and that the core of the problem was coming to the table. What game was being played here, what did they want from him?