The Big Breach - Index of
The Big Breach - Index of
The Big Breach - Index of
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Big</strong> <strong>Breach</strong>; From Top Secret to Maximum SecurityCompliments <strong>of</strong> http://www.192.comSkopje. Small's close liaison with the Macedonian secret police meantthat he had no access to one <strong>of</strong> the main local intelligencerequirements, the ethnic Albanian PRI party. <strong>The</strong> PRI, and the Albanianpopulation in general, were deeply mistrusted by the Macedonian secretpolice. <strong>The</strong> intelligence on the PRI which they fed to Small was biased,so MI6 needed independent penetration. String Vest asked me to gettogether a cover to visit Skopje and cultivate the targets in the PRIleadership.Now that Ben Presley had retired, CF issued a new alias name, ThomasPaine, and I got myself documented again as a freelance journalist.After my nerve-jangling Belgrade visit, SBO1 insisted I acquire bettercredentials: `Get yourself down to I/OPS section and see if they havegot any contacts who can help.' I/OPS provided me with a letter <strong>of</strong>introduction from SMALLBROW, commissioning me to write an article for<strong>The</strong> Spectator on the effects <strong>of</strong> UN sanctions on Macedonia. `If anybodyfrom the PRI rings to check you out, he'll vouch for you,' I/OPS/1assured me. I was ready for my first trip to Skopje within a couple <strong>of</strong>days.It was dusk as a tattered taxi with a single working headlight drove methe ten kilometres from Skopje airport to the capital, but I couldstill see the scars <strong>of</strong> the 1963 earthquake that destroyed most <strong>of</strong> thecity. <strong>The</strong> clock on the central railway station was still stuck at tento five, the time when the first tremors started, and even 30 yearslater there were swathes <strong>of</strong> open ground in the town centre wherebuildings had once stood. Though the war to the north had not directlytouched Skopje, the signs <strong>of</strong> economic hardship were clear. Refuse layuncollected in the streets, men hung around idle on corners and raggedKosovo refugees kicked footballs outside the abandoned buildings theynow occupied in the run-down Albanian quarter.<strong>The</strong> relatively wealthy Macedonian-Bulgar quarter where Small lived wasbetter, but I did not envy his lot. His flat was owned by theMacedonian secret police and lay in a grim concrete block a shortdistance from the Grand Hotel where I had a reservation. After checkingin, I made my way over - Small had invited me for a drink to discussthe operational plan. Strictly I ought not to have been associatingwith him for security reasons. Skopje was not large and being seentogether by <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> other intelligence services could conceivablycompromise either or both <strong>of</strong> us. But String Vest and SBO1 had relentedon this occasion. <strong>The</strong>y decided that the risk was small and Small'sposting was lonely and boring so an occasional visitor would be goodfor his morale. Besides, he had been en poste for nearly three monthsand his knowledge would be useful for me.`Hi, come on up to the third floor,' Small greeted me enthusiasticallyon the intercom, which was still working. Stepping over the piles <strong>of</strong>human excrement which littered the floor, I made my way up the stairs.Small greeted me like a long-lost friend on his doorstep. `Welcome tosunny Skopje.' It didn't take him long to show me around the small,sparsely furnished flat and soon he cracked open a bottle <strong>of</strong> Scotch andwe sat down and got to work. Small had a quick mind and was anexcellent operational <strong>of</strong>ficer. His ability was wasted in the GS branch,but personnel department would not let him transfer to the IB. <strong>The</strong>rewas no point: keeping him in the GS meant that he could be posted topage- 101 - To purchase the original limited edition hardback version <strong>of</strong> this bookplease call 08000 192 192 or go to http://www.192.com