Der Beschützer (2021)

BKA officer Jan Schäfer lives a secluded life in the countryside and is assigned to high-stakes cases. Even before he is briefed on his current assignment, he demonstrates his skills when he manages to persuade a young Libyan man to abandon his planned suicide bombing outside the main building of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. His protectee, Fiona Weibel, witnessed from a hiding place as her boss, shipping magnate Urs Beerenberg, was murdered. She is also privy to the shipping company’s illegal dealings, which violate the War Weapons Control Act. Having escaped the attack by sheer luck, she now intends to testify as a key witness against her own company before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg. Since her flight number and arrival time at Hamburg Airport may have been discovered, Schäfer and his colleague Lansing pick her up in Hanover and take her to a safe house, where she is to stay for her protection until the trial begins. That evening, she receives the prearranged call from Claire Beerenberg, the opposing party’s plaintiff, who explicitly warns her not to testify against the shipping company. Fiona Weibel conceals from her protectors that she has a Plan B: a facilitator is supposed to pick her up so she can go into hiding. Using a mobile phone stolen at the airport, she contacts the man and leaves the house. Naturally, she is discovered, and Schäfer decides to find a new place to stay. During the drive, he notices a car that seems to be following them. They suspect that a tracking device has been placed on their car, so they order another vehicle from the BKA. While Lansing distracts the pursuers, Schäfer and Weibel wait at a rest stop for the replacement car. But their opponents see through the maneuver, and Schäfer throws away his phone, which he suspects has a tracker in it, and commandeers a private vehicle. Even so, their pursuers remain on their tail. A fierce shootout breaks out in a small town, in which Weibel’s facilitator is killed. As police sirens approach, the killers flee; Schäfer and Weibel disappear too. In the next town, they take shelter in a motel. Schäfer is now certain that communications between him and the BKA are being tapped and that his colleague is still under surveillance. He contacts him by another means, and they consider how to get rid of the criminals. When Weibel is about to get into Lansing’s car, two motorcyclists shoot her—this is Schäfer’s plan, for which he had previously given her his bulletproof vest. The killers now believe the witness is dead, allowing them to wait quietly for the trial to begin. The next day, Weibel gives her testimony. Having realized that she remains in danger, she gives Schäfer a medallion containing a chip with all the evidence needed for the main hearing hidden inside. This makes it possible to bring the guilty to justice, although shortly afterward she is shot from a great distance with a precision rifle.