How To Catch a Russian Spy tells the story of Naveed Jamali's career as an amateur double agent in New York, which really sounds as if it ought to be a Sting tune, but isn't.
Jamali, the son of Pakistani and French immigrants, comes off as a bit of an idiot in the early chapters. His parents are brilliant academics who own and operate a high-end research company in New York, selling specialized texts to whoever needs them; Jamali's a shiftless nimrod who almost flunks out of high school. He likes cars and computers, and ends up working in "a frat house for nerds," also known as Harvard's IT department. Life is soft. Life is good.
Then 9/11 happens. Jamali rushes back home, mind a-whirl. Who knows what's normal any more? Suddenly he has ambition, a purpose: he wants to join the Navy, put his brains to use and become an intelligence officer.
Except the Navy won't have him.
This must have happened to a lot of people, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. There was a flood of recruits hammering on military doors, practically begging to be taken on. This is before Iraq, before the conflict that ate up all that ambition and willingness to serve. There are too many people for too few posts. To Jamali, rejection is a challenge. He will get in, whatever it takes. He needs a sponsor. He needs to impress someone.
He decides to impress the FBI.
The Feds have a long history with Jamali's parents. Early in the career of their research company, they were approached by a Russian diplomat who wanted them to get some books for him. None of them were classified or otherwise off-limits, so they do as he asks. The FBI's knocking on their door soon afterwards. What did the Russian ask for? They tell the Feds. Thus begins a long career of cat-and-mouse. The Russians present a book list, the Jamalis acquire the books, and promptly tell the FBI. This goes on for pretty much the Jamali's entire working career, and their son Naveed is well aware of what's going on. He's met the Russians, met the Feds.
He's perfectly placed to become a double agent.
By this post-9/11 point Jamali's parents are close to retirement, and the book business is changing. Less physical, more digital media. Perfect for computer nerd Naveed, who takes over the business and approaches the FBI with an offer. Why don't they let him pretend to the Russians that Jamali has access to classified material? Why don't they let him pretend to want to sell that material?
The FBI's reluctant at first. The Feds like things as they are: nice, quiet, a steady earner. Jamali's proposing some risky business, and whether it fails or succeeds, the steady earner's dead in the water. However, Jamali manages to get the FBI onboard. Now it's time to persuade the Russian, Oleg.
Oleg's the latest in a long line of Russian diplomats who've come to the store to buy documents. He's a bit of a boob, a peasant, but he's also a naval officer, an ex-submariner, who works for Russian intelligence. He's a spy.
Jamali spends the next three years trying to catch him. He teaches himself spycraft, from books and movies. He tempts, lures, dangles bait, and slowly but surely, Oleg's enticed into a trap ...
I'd recommend this book to anyone with an interest in spies, spying and real-life spycraft. It leans heavily to the Le Carre side of the equation, but then really, why wouldn't it?
One thing it definitely shows is how difficult it is to actually catch a spy. Jamali spends three years enticing one relatively small fish. Imagine if your Night's Black Agents players spent three years trying to catch one vampire. In fact, this is more a book for players than Directors, though everyone will find it useful. Jamali's the perfect prototype for the eager vampire-hunting recruit: ambitious, motivated, with one hell of a Symbol. Frustrated in his ambitions, he turns to shadowy less-than-legal methods to get what he wants. Of course it's all okay, really - he's working for Edom, right? Edom will be there to catch him when he falls …
Jamali went on to have the Naval career he wanted, and more recently ran for political office in Seattle. He's active on Twitter, and is very much involved in anti-Swatting and Doxing measures, after being Swatted himself.
Enjoy!
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