Brandenburg Police station was a hive of activity as Alfred made his way along to the main reception. The older Polizist that was behind the desk looked at him with suspicious eyes. When Alfred tried to explain, in english, why he was there, the man gave him a blank look. After several minutes of stumbling through his poorly remembered Rheinlandic, the man got up and led him to the officer's quaters. He was almost certain that he'd just informed the constable that the person he was meeting was his wife, and he seriously hoped that the man wouldn't say anything to his guest when she arrived as that would make things very awkward indeed.
Katja was glad to be finally back on Brandenburg after her fairly uneventful patrol. The station's busy hallways felt welcoming like a home away from home. Throughout the recent months this station was where she spend a lot of her off duty time as with her schedule it was simply more convenient than to leave for New Berlin. She made her way to the reception to ask if anyone has came to ask for her while she was on duty. The answer she got stunned her like lightning from clear sky. Katja already considered Alfred an odd case considering his would be dangerous interest in Rheinland's unlawful scene, but for him to claim he is her husband? After taking a few seconds to regain composure she double checked what she had heard. The receptionist seeing her distress smirked from amusement and explained that it might have been a communication error, lost in translation so to say, as the man that came to see her was not a native speaker.
With a sigh of relief she began making her way towards the officer's quarters expecting to find Alfred there. She quickened her phase hoping that she had arrived in time and this misunderstanding has not spread across the station's walls while she was gone, she didn't want to be stuck with a rumor that she is married to an older man from Bretonia. Once the policewoman arrived at her destination she realized a very crucial detail - she had only spoken to the man she was about to meet on two occasions, but had never seen his face. Surely it would not be that hard to find him here she thought to herself as her light eyes scanned the inhabitants.
While he was waiting, he thought about reading one of the nearby newspapers, to see what the local happenings were in Rheinland, unfortunatly, his Rheinlandic wasn't as good as it once was, and all he could read for certain was the weather predictions on the southern continent of Hamburg, which ment little to nothing to him. After giving up on the paper, he made an attempt to order a cup of tea, before being defeated once again by the language barrier. He was almost certain that every officer in the room could speak, at very least, understandable english, but they didn't bother. So he sat in the furthest corner twiddling his thumbs until someone looking equally as lost as he did showed up.
To Katja's observation the place was all but empty. On the tables around the place she could easily identify plenty of colleagues from the federal police enjoying their off hours with friends and Rheinbier. Those were the easy ones to dismiss by their standard green policeman uniforms. But there were also people scattered without such uniform, people Katja didn't recognize. Obviously Alfred was likely one of them as she knew he had arrived already and was escorted to the officers quarters, but which one would he be?
One of the patrons not wearing police uniform soon caught her attention - a middle aged man sitting on a table in the corner alone. To her it he seemed foreign to the rest of the people enjoying their evening around him as he seemed to be keeping things to himself and waiting for someone. Perhaps this was him she thought to herself before making her way towards him. Seeing that her approach caught his attention Katja smiled warmly and introduced herself.
"Hello, herr Steiner right? I'm Katja, sorry if I kept you waiting for long."
Alfred was quietly sitting at one of the side tables, busy observing the Rheinland pilots. He found it strange that an organisation designed to protect people would be so unfriendly, perhaps it was because he was a bretonian, or perhaps he vastly overestimated their language skill. It was understandable that an organisation that deals mainly with Rheinlandic matters would not waste too much time in learning another language that it's members would hardly ever use.
A short while later, a younger lady walked into the room, and he was slightly surprised at her looks. Twenty one years old and already a member of the special service was quite the achievement for anyone. She wandered over him and introduced herself in a straightforward but polite manner.
''How nice to meet you in person'' he said standing, offering his hand. ''I hope...I really do wish I spoke Rheinlandic as well as I could when I was your age'' he said offering an apologetic smile, knowing that she would be aware of what he ment.
The policewoman smiled back and shook his hand before taking a seat opposite to the one Steiner had occupied. She was still quite unsure about what this meeting will be about and it made her somewhat anxious. The idea to bring up the whole husband misunderstanding also creeped up in her thoughts. Though she still felt too much a stranger with Alfred to bring it up or joke about it. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding that could simply be forgotten, she figured before dismissing the whole idea. Her eyes locked on the table briefly, the man had not ordered anything to drink, something that made her think this meeting will be more serious than she thought.
"So," she paused at first, trying to piece together the words and break this start of the famous case of awkward silence, "what exactly was the reason you wanted to meet up here in this fine establishment?"
Katja actually knew better places than this, but for meeting with someone she didn't know well enough the headquarters of the federal police was a place she felt quite safe in. Looking back at Alfred she began wondering why she was this much on edge, he seemed like a charming man in his his middle age, even reminded her of her father a bit, if her father was a journalist or something similar and not a foreman at one of the industrial centers on New Berlin. Now why would such a person show so much interest in the criminal population in Rheinland and their struggles?
''Firstly, allow me to give you a proper introduction'' he said sitting back down ''I am professor Albert Steiner of the University of Cambridge's school of Sociology and Anthropology. I have studied people all my life, and Rheinland, if you'll forgive my saying so, is not the safest place in siruis. In fact it has some of the highest crime rates in the houses, almost on par with Liberty. So I have been sent here to find out why this is and to learn more about the various criminal groups do.''
He pasued a little, settling back into his seat, a wry smile crossing his face ''Believe me, I know exactly how this must seem. They've sent me, an old man which no knowledge of Rheinlandic history or culture or even language to talk to Criminals and he ends up talking to the police'' he chuckled at that ''I admit, it's odd, but I feel it is needed. You, as a member of the Police force, deal with the various criminal groups every day, or nearly every day. So I conclude you would have a good idea as to what is going on and maybe, to what their belief's are. So, I'll start here before risking my neck with the criminals.'' Again he paused ''I hope this has cleared some things up for you'' he said giving a kind smile.
One of the highest crime rates in the houses? Now that was a subtle blow to Katja's pride that she felt powerless to protest against. The idea that the Bretonian university should interview thieves and murderers in order to understand Rheinland's problems baffled her. It was obviously they would just spew their baseless propaganda about socialistic plans that will magically fix the fatherland once they defeat the Bundestag and gain power over Rheinland and it's people. Though in her experience all they had achieved thus far was plundering and murdering the innocent worker in Rheinland's corporations.
"Yes, unfortunately I have to deal with criminals in Rheinland's space on a daily basis. I'll be happy to answer your questions to the best of my abilities, herr Steiner."
''Wonderful'' he said ''So then, starting with the basics, what is the most common kind of criminal? The unassociated or one of the named groups, you know, Red Hessians, Unioners and that sort of thing. Then, why do you think they do what they do?'' He paused for a moment, letting his assualt of questions settle in. While she contemplated her answer, he produced a single sheet of paper from the bag he had brought along with him and he wrote down a handful of notes for future reference. He was most worried that she might mistake him for some reporter for a newspaper, which was far from the truth, but to the untrained eye, the distinction could be difficult to make.