Die Informantin - Der Fall Lissabon (2019)

After her undercover operation against a dangerous drug dealer, law student Aylin is placed in witness protection and stays in Vienna. When she receives a distress call from her sister in Berlin that sounds very dramatic, she leaves her hiding place and travels to Germany immediately. No one but her sister knows that she is the mother of eight-year-old Ki Su, who lives with her sister Elif and is the reason Aylin is so worried. When she arrives in Berlin, she realizes that Ki Su and her sister are fine, and that BKA investigator Hannah used the trick only to lure her back. By violating the terms of the witness protection program, Aylin has blown her cover, which ultimately also means that her suspended prison sentence would take effect. Hannah therefore once again has leverage over Aylin and makes her go undercover for the BKA again. Aylin does so reluctantly, but has to comply if she wants to avoid prison and the unpleasant company she might encounter there. Her current target is influential lawyer Engelhardt, who is suspected of laundering money for a European terrorist network and thereby helping to finance it. Since the target is highly suspicious, Hannah did not want to use anyone from her team whom the lawyer might know. The BKA got its leads from an anonymous informant who called himself “Lisbon.” Two officers were killed during an initial operation, so Hannah wants to take a different approach this time. Aylin is supposed to befriend Engelhardt’s son and gather evidence against his father. Just how dangerous Engelhardt may be becomes clear when his law partner Wagner, who had been working as a BKA informant, is also eliminated. Hannah’s colleague and soon-to-be ex-son-in-law Jan is therefore far from happy that Aylin is being assigned the job. He is still in love with her and feels obliged to protect her not only professionally. Aylin, however, keeps him at arm’s length, and the fact that Engelhardt junior is attractive does nothing to make things easier for Jan. Aylin quickly manages to catch Alex Engelhardt’s attention. Like his father, he is a lawyer, and as a guest lecturer at the university he immediately notices the hardworking young law student. He introduces her to his father, who soon offers her a job at his firm. The head of the BKA is delighted by this early success, but Jan is increasingly caught in an emotional turmoil. If he does not want to put Aylin in danger, he has to stay away from her. Unfortunately, he was unable to persuade her to turn down the life-threatening assignment. She has already gone too far, and Jan’s jealousy even seems to motivate her. A logo on Alex Engelhardt’s football shirt makes her suspect that he is the mysterious informant “Lisbon.” Finding out whether that is true spurs her on, as does the chance to finally earn some money and perhaps one day be there for her child. Although Aylin’s relationship with senior Engelhardt is marked by distrust, he asks her to accompany him to a meeting abroad. He claims he needs her because she speaks Turkish. Aylin has no choice but to agree. This leaves her completely on her own, however, because the LKA can no longer monitor her once she leaves Germany. By now, though, she has no other option, since Engelhardt tells her openly that “they” know exactly who she is and what matters to her. He then shows her a photo of Elif and Ki Su. As they drive into Engelhardt’s garage, which is on his property, Aylin fully realizes how serious her situation is. Engelhardt’s client, Tarek, had unmasked Aylin and now has Alex in his power as well; Alex is being held there by armed, masked men. Aylin learns that Engelhardt has not been involved in Tarek’s money-laundering operations of his own free will, but is being blackmailed. Years ago, his wife and Alex’s brother died in what was said to be a car accident, and since then he has done everything to avoid losing Alex too. Seeing no other way, he has been giving the police information as “Lisbon” in the hope that it will finally come to an end. While Aylin and Engelhardt discuss how to get out alive, the BKA realizes that Aylin has not left the country at all. Through Jan, who continues to secretly keep tabs on Aylin, Hannah learns that she is on Engelhardt’s private property. Jan finds Aylin there, but is fatally shot in the ensuing exchange of fire. Engelhardt, Tarek, and his men also die, and only Alex and Aylin survive. While Alex has to go to pre-trial detention until the extent of his culpability in the money-laundering operations is established, Aylin has secured her financial future. Thanks to her skills as a confidence trickster, she now has access to three million euros.