[[an excerpt from a KGB memoir ]]

From the moment he’d handed over his letter to Chuvakhin, I had kept all pressure off Wells. I’d asked nothing of him and expressed only profuse gratitude for the largely uninteresting material he’d been giving us.

“Look,” I continued, exaggerating, but not really dissembling, “our main concern—our one concern—is your security. I want you to know that for certain. Everything else is secondary. You tell me what you want us to do and we’ll do it—we’ll play by any rules you give us.”

I sensed Wells relaxing. He sat back in his chair. I pressed on. “But for us to be able to protect you, we need to know as much as we can about you. If your name is Ames, but you tell us it’s Wells, how can we watch out for you? We’ll be doing our best to watch for FBI communications about Wells. Something about Ames would slip right by.”

Wells thought for a moment. “Okay,” he sighed. “You’re right. I’m Ames.”

…

I steered the conversation back to Ames’s security. “It’s in your interest to tell us as much as you can about any of your agents inside the KGB,” I said.

“I know we have agents there,” Ames replied. “But what I don’t know is how you would apply the information if I gave it to you. I don’t know who else knows about our meetings. The difficult situation I’m in is making me tell you we have a lot of agents—but that makes my situation even worse.”

“How many agents?”

“There’s a very big network.”

“How can we protect you if we don’t know who’s in a position to inform the CIA about you? If you’re concerned about your security, it’s up to you and us to minimize the danger for you. We need to know whom to protect you from.”

Then began the second chapter of Ames’s spy career. He hesitated, then took out a notepad and paper and began writing down a list of names. He tore out the page and handed it to me. I was shocked. That piece of paper contained more information about CIA espionage than had ever before been presented in a single communication. It was a catalog of virtually every CIA asset within the Soviet Union. Ames said nothing about whether the men he’d listed should be arrested or removed. “Just make sure these people don’t find anything out about me,” he said.