The Big Breach - Index of

The Big Breach; From Top Secret to Maximum SecurityCompliments of http://www.192.compottered around the flat, adding to the growing pile of books, clothesand knick-knacks accumulated in the middle of the floor, ticking eachoff against the list. Awaiting my opportunity to sieze the notebooks, Ireflected that it was typical of SOU to take advantage of the offer andexpect me to carry back his entire worldly possessions.When the old lady popped back into the kitchen again, I bolted from thesofa and delved in the sewing-box. Just as SOU had assured me, the twolight-blue school exercise books were still there. I sneaked a quicklook inside them to be sure and they were filled with row upon row ofnumbers - meaningless to anybody except an expert. I slipped them intoone of the part-filled cardboard boxes.Glancing at the wind-up clock ticking on the sideboard, I saw that itwas 4 p.m., only half an hour before dusk. I wanted daylight tonavigate on unfamiliar public transport back to central Moscow, so itwas time to extract myself. When she added two pairs of SOU's brightred Y-fronts to the pile, it was the last straw. Using sign language, Imade her understand that I would carry only one cardboard box. Sheunderstood and started prioritising the items and I was out of thedingy flat five minutes later.Struggling back into the Metropol, briefcase in one hand, the heavy boxcontaining the precious notebooks under the other arm, it was sorelytempting to dump the excess baggage. There had been a fierce debate inHead Office about the merits of bringing back SOU's belongings. P5 hadbeen vehemently against it, arguing that they were an incumbrance and ahostage to fortune. But SBO/1 had argued that they gave me cover forvisiting SOU's mother-in-law. If apprehended on my way back to thehotel, I could feign innocence, claim that SOU was a friend in Englandwho had asked me to bring back some of his clothes and deny anyknowledge of the significance of the notebooks. In the end, SBO/1'swisdom won out, so I was lumbered with the heavy load back to theMetropol.The following morning, after a leisurely breakfast in the Metropol'sBoyarsky dining-room, I rang the British embassy and made anappointment to visit the commercial section's library, ostensibly toobtain information for East European Investment. The MI6 secretary whoanswered the phone asked, as arranged, if I would like to make anappointment with the commercial secretary. I accepted a meeting for11.30 a.m. and started on the short walk from the Metropol through RedSquare then over the Moskva river to the British embassy, directlyopposite the Kremlin. P5 and SBO/1 concurred that I needed to get ridof the notebooks as soon as possible, hence they had to be dropped offat the embassy from where they could be returned to London in thediplomatic bag. Even that option was not entirely straightforward. Thestation staff worked under the assumption that every room in theembassy was bugged, except the station's secure safe-speech room thatwas electronically swept on a regular basis. Like most foreignembassies, the embassy also employed a small number of locally engagedstaff such as clerks, drivers and cleaners, and these were also allassumed to be reporting back to the FSB. My telephone conversation tothe MI6 secretary would have been intercepted and the watchers in theclandestine FSB observation post opposite the embassy would havealready been briefed to expect a businessman to call in at 11.30 a.m.page- 87 - To purchase the original limited edition hardback version of this bookplease call 08000 192 192 or go to http://www.192.com