Red winter

Chapter II

That same day, in the early evening, I went to the opera as usual. The big performance of the night was The Mikado, and like any great performance, the house was full, a veritable crowd of men and women of different ages, all very well dressed and uniquely elegant.

The first Act went as smoothly as possible, if not for the feeling of being watched. Even though the first Act wasn't over, I turned my attention away from the stage and the orchestra and began to observe the men and women in the audience.

And there was who I was looking for, a man, apparently tall, sitting in one of the galleries, red as a fox and with a well-groomed beard. He watched everything through a small pair of binoculars, that included me. And as he watched me I watched him too, so tension was created, both knew they were being watched, the question was who would act first.

And the first move was made by the red-haired spy. As soon as the first Act was over and the curtains closed, he got up and with quick steps walked through the doors into the hall. It was time to act.

Passing through the corridors and avoiding some people, with quick steps, I arrived at the entrance hall where a large part of the audience was waiting for the beginning of the second Act, but there was who I was looking for.

At the top of the stairs, as if waiting for someone, but it was clear that he was looking for a more discreet exit than the front door. Like a comic scene from an opera our visions meet and then despair. He grabbed the banister and ran up the stairs. It was the beginning of a chase through the Opera House.

We ran through the corridors that circled the hall, dodging people and employees, going up and down stairs. And somehow we ended up backstage, a labyrinth.

With the pistol in hand, which I have carried for security reasons since I became a member of Austria's high-ranking diplomatic team, I began a backstage hunt, among sets, costumes and other objects, with the utmost attention to find the suspect and not shoot someone innocent. Entering a corridor I find myself face to face with the person I was looking for, and in a joking tone I from being put at risk and under greet him: "Hello sir". And like a rabbit on the run, he turns and runs to a wooden ladder.

And climbing stairs and stairs in a mad chase we stopped at the scaffolding hanging over the stage. At this moment the curtains open and Act Two of The Mikado begins with the orchestra playing and the actors singing.

During the chase he stumbles, it was my chance. I pointed the gun and told him to stay still, he obeyed. For a minute we were silent, catching our breath, listening to the opera below us. So I asked the long awaited question: "Who are you?"

"The Scythe of Communism". And taking advantage of the entrance of the "Emperor of Japan" with the sound of the bass drums, he shot and hit me in the shoulder.

And while I was trying not to fall from a height of more than seven meters and prevent my pistol from falling too, he got up and fled.

In a last-ditch effort to find him, I ran through the halls, but found nothing but an open window and footprints. As it was impossible to go back to watch the end of the opera due to the bullet in my shoulder, I went back home where a doctor was called to attend.

It was official, we were being spied on. Now, I needed to warn of the danger and prevent the whole plan from being put at risk and under the threat of a diplomatic crisis.