For anyone who works in coverts ops, names have a special power. Know someones real name and who they work for, you've got something on them. Out a spy in the field and you could get him killed, out a beaurocrat in a restaurant and you'll just piss him off.
The longer you run from the police, the more certain you are to get caught. There's a small window of time after a chase begins before backup arrives; before helicopters are deployed. If you want any chance of getting away, you'd best use this time to find someplace secluded and bail out.
In intelligence work, surveillance is called coverage. It's like basketball: you can run zone defense or man-to-man. Man-to-man is risky; follow someone too long they're going to get suspicious. Zone is usually the way to go. Stay put and let targets come to you. Less obvious, easier on the feet, and you can catch up on your celebrity gossip.
Explaining the rules of covert ops is always a challenge. It's a world where good guys look like bad guys, and two wrongs do in fact make a right.
As cover IDs go I prefer rich buisness man or international playboy to crazy thief, but if the situation calls for it you do what you have to do.
The term "shock and awe" gets misused a lot these days. It's a popular name for a military tactic known as rapid dominance. Whether you do it with a thousand pound bomb or turpentine and a power drill it's all about being spectacular. Kill the electronic brain of any late model car and it's dead; won't start, windows won't open, and you can pretty much do whatever you want.
Piss off a criminal organization and you could wind up dead, but if they don't kill you they've got plans for you.
There's no substitute for improvisation. Even the best plans can't anticipate everything. You better be able to roll with the punches.
They say you only get one chance to make a good first impression with an employer; it's doesn't matter if you are a store manager or a strong-arm guy - you have to put your best foot forward.
Any new employer is looking for the same things: are you willing to go the extra mile, can you take the initiative. Impress them.
In any new job there's always friction with your co-workers. They wonder if the boss likes the new guy better, if he's gonna make them look bad. In some jobs that can get you a dark look in the break room. in other that can get you a bullet in the back of the head.
Military firebombs are typically white phosphorous or chlorine triflouride. These are remarkably effective but they're also unstable, lethally toxic and hard to find at the grocery store. The main ingredient of a home-made firebomb on the other hand is styrofoam. A military demolitions expert can put something together in a few hours. An IRA trained guerilla can do it in 20 minutes, give or take.
Being a spy you have to get comforable with doing bad things for good reasons; doing good things for bad reasons. You do the best you can.
In any kind of covert intelligence operation it's important to be careful what you wish for. The information that you fight so hard to get may be everything you wished for, or it may just make your life more complicated.
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