Charles Cumming - Alec Milius Spy Series Books 1 and 2 - A Spy By Nature, The Spanish Game

HarperCollins Publishers

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London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Published by HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Copyright © Charles Cumming 2011

Cover layout design © HarperCollins Publishers 2014

Charles Cumming asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2011 ISBN: 9780007432967

Version: 2014-12-16

Contents

Cover

Title Page Charles Cumming Alec Milius Spy Series: Books 1 and 2 A SPY BY NATURE and THE SPANISH GAME

Copyright

A Spy By Nature

The Spanish Game

Extract from A Foreign Country

Keep Reading …

About the Author

By Charles Cumming

About the Publisher

Harper

An imprint of HarpercollinsPublishers

77-85 Fulham Palace Road,

Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk

This HarperCollins edition first published 2011

First published in Great Britain by Penguin Books Ltd. 2001

Copyright © Charles Cumming 2001.

Cover layout design © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Cover photographs © Silas Manhood

Extract from The Sportswriter copyright © Richard Ford.

Published in Great Britain by Harvill Press 1986

Extract from The Uses of Enchantment copyright © Bruno Bettelheim.

Published in Great Britain by Thames & Hudson 1976

Extract from Rabbit Redux copyright © John Updike.

Published in Great Britain by André Deutsch 1972

‘Fake Plastic Trees’ Words and Music by Thom Yorke, Edward O’Brien, Colin Greenwood, Jonathan Greenwood and Philip Selway © 1994 Warner/Chappell Music Ltd., London W6 8BS. Reproduced by permission of International Music Publications Ltd.

Charles Cumming asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Source ISBN: 9780007416912

Ebook Edition © July 2011 ISBN: 9780007416905

Version: 2014-12-15

For my wife, Melissa

Contents

Cover

Title Page CHARLES CUMMING A Spy By Nature

Copyright Copyright Harper An imprint of HarpercollinsPublishers 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB www.harpercollins.co.uk This HarperCollins edition first published 2011 First published in Great Britain by Penguin Books Ltd. 2001 Copyright © Charles Cumming 2001. Cover layout design © HarperCollins Publishers 2011 Cover photographs © Silas Manhood Extract from The Sportswriter copyright © Richard Ford. Published in Great Britain by Harvill Press 1986 Extract from The Uses of Enchantment copyright © Bruno Bettelheim. Published in Great Britain by Thames & Hudson 1976 Extract from Rabbit Redux copyright © John Updike. Published in Great Britain by André Deutsch 1972 ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ Words and Music by Thom Yorke, Edward O’Brien, Colin Greenwood, Jonathan Greenwood and Philip Selway © 1994 Warner/Chappell Music Ltd., London W6 8BS. Reproduced by permission of International Music Publications Ltd. Charles Cumming asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. Source ISBN: 9780007416912 Ebook Edition © July 2011 ISBN: 9780007416905 Version: 2014-12-15

Dedication Dedication For my wife, Melissa

Epigraph Epigraph I remember, in fact, the Lebanese woman I knew at Berkshire College saying to me, after I told her how much I loved her: ‘I’ll always tell you the truth, unless of course I’m lying to you.’ Richard Ford, The Sportswriter

Author’s Note Author’s Note Were the events of this story entirely true, they would inevitably breach clauses in The Official Secrets Act. Nevertheless, members of the intelligence community both in London and in the United States may find that they catch their reflection in the account which follows. –C.C. London, 2001

Part One: 1995 PART ONE 1995 If we hope to live not just from moment to moment, but in true consciousness of our existence, then our greatest need and most difficult achievement is to find meaning in our lives. —Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment

One: An Exploratory Conversation