Had his mask become him? He would find out soon now.... They had never felt he had either the guts or intelligence to function in the field and he had reinforced their thoughts on that score. He smiled to himself. He had conned them all and in his own way had been the best of the spooks and they might never know it. For five years he had been the CIA nigger and his job had been to sit by the door.

The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1969)