Pushing open the door to the innermost room on the ground floor of the tavern, under the dim light, Arno Chinko saw a small table with a man and a woman standing beside it.
Upon hearing the door open, both individuals looked over, their hands stealthily reaching for their weapons.
Arno made three complex hand signals in front of his abdomen with his left hand.
The pair's tension eased somewhat, and they made different hand gestures in response.
The three of them spent half a minute exchanging signals before completing the complex but necessary ritual of verifying each other's identity.
"Comrade, hello, I'm Martin from Military Intelligence."
"I'm Amanda from Foreign Intelligence."
After both people revealed their affiliations, Arno also said, "I'm Bentek from the Investigative Bureau."
He gave a fake name, as he believed the other two did as well.
