Whenever Matthew Dunn goes to a restaurant he
requests a corner table with his back to the wall.
This habit is a legacy of nearly six years spent as
an MI6 agent in the mid-1990s, taking part in
undercover missions across the world.
Dunn was a field operative in countries where, if
captured, his life would have been in danger. After
completing 70 missions he decided to draw a
curtain on his espionage days, and has since
forged a successful career as the author of the
Spycatcher novels.
So how do you take a first step toward what is
surely one of the most unusual jobs in the world?
"In my day I was approached at university by a
talent spotter," he says. "Back then MI6 had a
whole network of talent spotters spread across the
whole country, predominately but not exclusively in
universities. Essentially, that was pretty much the
only way to get in, i.e. they approached you, not the
other way round," he adds.
The skills (hic) to pay the bills
Intellect, interpersonal skills, powers of
persuasions and judgment are all tested, as well as
the ability to operate both alone and in a team.
And if that sounds a little run-of-the-mill, you also
have to be able to drink a KGB agent under the
table.
"One exercise was meeting a former, high-ranking
KGB officer. The brief was really straightforward --
he's requested a meeting and you've got to go and
find out why he wants to see you. Word of warning:
He has already polished off a lot of vodka and you
have to match him on that, otherwise there will be a
credibility issue. Also, you can't take notes during
that meeting because he's really twitchy about that,
so you have to memorize, with pinpoint accuracy,
anything he says, while at the same time match him
on a drinking level."
Unsurprisingly, there was more than one occasion
when young recruits were violently sick, says
Dunn.
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