“I neutralized two armed assailants and got out with no injuries,” I thought with a smile.  The smile quickly faded as a new thought occurred to me,  “how did they know where I was?”

The old axiom still applies, “If it comes down to a fight then you must screwed up every other option.” A stand up fight is the last thing any spy wants. If you win you’ve lost time, any element of stealth and you may have to make hasty explanations to the authorities. If you lose, well that should be obvious. When ever possible it is better to avoid a fight whether by planning ahead or thinking quickly on your feet. However if you just can’t find any other way out and you know the other guy is about to try and mop the floor with you, here are a few tips to keep you alive.

1) Fighting fair is for people who can afford to lose – Unless you’re a violent sociopath the idea of doing grievous bodily harm to another living person is repulsive. Most people can handle the idea of trading punches and kicks because we imagine those as causing only temporary damage. The idea of burying your index finger completely in someone’s eye on the other hand is hard to even consider. That is why street fighters beat trained Martial Artists with alarming frequency. The hardened criminal thug, gang enforcer or rogue Spetsnaz is perfectly ok with biting a chunk out of you and letting you bleed out from it. That’s because for them to lose is to die and the same is true for you even if you didn’t realize it before.

2) You are never just fighting one person – Whether you’re being threatened by a drunk in a fashionable night club or held up at knife point on your way from a briefing there’s never just one person. If you can only see one person then you have noticed the one or more that are with him. The drunk guy has friends, they may be trying to talk him into leaving but they will throw in with him if a fight starts. The guy with the knife in front of you is distracting you while some one moves in behind to hit you in the back of the head. Always be aware of your surroundings. Get your back to a wall if possible. While the pre-fight talk is happening get enough breathing room to look around and identify the others. Never get tied up with one person to the point you leave yourself vulnerable, leave the submission holds in the ring where a ref can protect you.

3) Know the second talking turns to fighting – The guy talking trash to you hasn’t decided to hit you yet but he’s working up to it. He’s looking for an opening or a momentary distraction when he can hit you. Either that or he’s distracting you while his partner sets up. Watch for the instant he decides to act, if you can spot that then you’ll be able to get the jump on him.

4) Have an exit strategy – Always be looking for an exit. No matter how good a fighter you are there’s always a chance you’ll get hurt. The best thing is to avoid the fight the second best is to exit as soon as the other guys down. In a bar or night club the bouncer(s) will be coming as soon as the fighting starts. You might be able to use him(them) to your advantage try to maneuver towards the door or the bartender while the other guy is still talking. If you can get within earshot of the bouncers and make a show of saying you don’t want a fight you’ve got a chance of having him and his friends ejected without a fight. In the street try to put obstacles between you and the assailant you want to get to a place with light and witnesses. If you get in a quick knock down on him don’t stay and wait for him to get up or even press the attack if you can just as easily get to safety. Remember his friends could come around the corner or he could have a gun hidden. Live to fight another day.

5) Be trained – If you absolutely have to fight then training will make all the difference. Bad training can have trying unrealistic and doomed techniques at best or at worst freezing up if the unexpected happens. Good training will keep fluid, dynamic and thinking clear even under extreme pressure. Find a school or instructor that teaches real world techniques and strategies for dealing with any type of situation.  My top recommendation on this is Target Focus Training. It has replaced Krav-Maga as the top real world fight training for anyone that cannot afford to lose.  In the years that I have dealt with them i have never heard a single negative comment from anyone who actually trained with them.*  Armchair commandos all have their favorite fantasy style of martial arts.  Don’t mistake what looks good on the movies or in a ring for something you could use in combat.  Target Focus Training has proven itself to me and a host of police, military and private security personnel across the world.

* As a favor to me, the people over at Target Focus Training have extended a special offer to my readers. This deeply discounted offer is available only to you, my agents to help you Be The Spy  -Click here now-

Dan stepped up to Mrs. Bjornson and said with a sincere smile, “I really can’t imagine how you managed to do everything else in your schedule yet still put together such a wonderful party.  You are a gifted woman, Mrs. Bjornson.”

She smiled at Dan and said, “You are too kind.  Mr. ?”

“Please call me Dan.  I consult with your husbands publisher on occasion.  I’m afraid that I don’t know even half of the people here though.”  Dan said flashing his most charming smile.

“Well Dan you must call me Lana.  As to the rest let me introduce you to some of our friends, I’m sure you’ll get along famously.”

A spy must be able to walk into a Diplomatic Reception or child’s birthday party with equal comfort and style.  A spy may attend an event to meet a contact, scout a location, establish a cover story or simply to befriend a target.  When doing this the spy must never seem out of place or ill at ease.  He must always give the impression that he is the ideal party guest.

• You must judge the makeup of the party guests. Make sure that you are not to under/over dressed for the occasion. Be ready to improvise if need be but a good plan is to always keep 2 sets of clothes in the trunk of your car one casual, one business.

• Stop at the entrance for a moment to survey the crowd. Identify people you know, obvious cliques and people of obvious importance. Even if you don’t see anyone you know smile and walk into the room as though you recognize most of the people there.

• Always greet the host as quickly as possible. A party is quite a bit of effort to plan and organize so they will be open to compliments when offered sincerely. Hosting a party is also seen by many as carrying a responsibility to help people mingle and make friends. If you mention that you don’t know many people at the party they will often be happy to introduce you around. This will also help to build an impression for the party goers that you must be an insider of sorts with the host, as you will be observed walking around in conversation with them.

• As you are introduced be sure to greet people with a firm handshake as though they were a friend you hadn’t seen in a while. As you shake there hand look them in the eye and repeat their name, this will firmly embed it in your memory but can be passed off as making sure you have the pronunciation correct.

• Be complimentary. Appear to be impressed by the achievements of the speaker and interested in what they are talking about. Remember to maintain a balance between too much interest or enthusiasm, which will make you seem weird or even mocking and too little which can make you seem distant and aloof.

Basic Practice – Being able to mingle in this type of situation has more to do with attitude than technique. You have to be comfortable and appear friendly. Practice starting conversations with strangers in your normal life. The person in line behind/in front of you at the checkout stand or other places. You will quickly find yourself becoming adept at small talk.

Advanced practice – Once you’ve become adept at starting conversations for a purpose work on starting them with a goal in mind. Pick a random piece of information and get it from the other person in the least obvious form possible. Don’t start with anything to personal. For a start try favorite food, favorite sport or where they went to high school. Don’t be direct work it out of them as a natural part of the conversation.

There on the table he found a note pad and used an old trick to lift a set of numbers.  He recognized them as map coordinates, but which map were they from?  In the corner of the room was the set of cubby holes that held the maps they had been using.  “Think,” he said to himself.  When Kovan had him brought in earlier there was a map on the table.  It was too far away to make out any details on it, but one of the cubby holes had been empty.  His mind raced into overdrive as he thought to himself, “Which one was it? Come on, think!”

A good memory is vital to a spy.  You may have to recall the blueprints you studied before the op or information gleaned from a hastily read computer screen while undercover.  Many times incorrectly remembered information can get a spy killed or cause the deaths of many others.  That is why a spy’s memory must be trained and honed to perfection.

First – regular physical exercise with cardio.  Your brain uses oxygen like any other organ.  A physical fitness regime with regular cardiovascular exorcise can improve blood flow and promote a more active and agile mind.

Second – use your brain in different ways to keep it flexible and open to learning.  Try writing with your non dominant hand, navigating your home without the use of your eyes or try to figure out who’s walking down a hall by the sound of their footsteps.  Try to think of something novel to try every day; you can reuse exercises as long they don’t become so easy you can do them without thinking.

Now for some specific tips about memory:

• Practice all the time – No matter what tricks or system you use to remember things if you don’t practice with them regularly you will lose your edge.  At random times during your day stop and try to remember some detail from earlier.  What song was on the radio when you started the car?  What did the cashier you bought coffee from look like?  Practice trying to visualize very detailed scenes with as much accurate information as you can recall.
• Focus and concentration are key - You must learn to be able to bring your full atttention to something.  You can’t commit something to memory if you don’t pay attention to it.
• Use all of your senses - When you are trying to remember something recall not just the pictures, but the smells, sounds and feelings from that moment.  You can sometimes use a strong sensory input to lock a memory into place. Try grabbing a scented candle and taking a whiff before and after you commit something to memory.  Later, smell the candle again when you try to recall the information.
• Positive feedback - When training your mind you need to keep a positive attitude and think in terms of improvement.  Don’t say to yourself, “I’ll never learn this.”  Instead you need to think in terms of how much you are improving and how much you want to improve.
• Mnemonic devices – These are basically codes you can use to recall information more easily.  Often they are visual metaphors; for instance if you meet a man named Bob you can remember his name by imagining him bobbing up and down in the ocean.  There are a nearly infinite amount of systems for using mnemonics and we will discuss specific ones at length in future articles but this should give you a basic grounding for now.

Good practice exercises:

• Memory - This is the classic card game in which you place a set of cards face down on the table.  Each card has one and only one identical match.  On your turn you reveal the faces of two cards.  If the faces match you may keep the pair scoring one point.  On your opponents turn they do the same or if played solo you simply note how many turns go by in total and try to reduce the number upon repeated games.  This game was designed specifically to teach memory and concentration.
• The Box – This exercise requires a partner but may include up to a large number of people if desired.  One person puts a set of random items on a surface and covers them with a box.  Once the other(s) are ready the box is lifted and they have a predetermined amount of time to memorize the objects and they’re placement.  Once the time is up the box is replaced over the objects and they are given notepads upon which they may write as much detail about the items and their placement as they can in the amount of time given.  The written descriptions are then compared the actual objects.  This is an old and classic memory training exorcise referenced by Kipling in his book ‘Kim.’  The time variables as well as the amount and complexity of objects can be adjusted to preference to keep the exercise at the right level of difficulty.
• The Picture – This exercise is similiar to The Box.  A picture is selected by one partner from a book, newspaper or magazine.  The other partner may then study the picture for an amount of time before giving it back.  They are then quizzed on the contents of the picture.  The amount of time given for study and the detail of the questions can be adjusted to set the level of difficulty.

As he left the diner Dan checked the tracker he had pinned onto the inside of John’s jacket.  “Well at least now I know who sold us out,” he said to himself.

The most valuable skill a spy can have is the ability to discern a lie.  In the field you won’t likely have the luxury of hooking everyone up to a polygraph and even if you could it might seem a little suspicious.  So how do you know if someone is lying to you?

The first thing you need to do is calibrate to your subject.  Let yourself become aware of the patterns of speech and body posture as you talk to the subject.  Once you feel you’ve got a feel for their normal speech you’re calibrated to them.   Now you’re ready for the second step.

Ask the subject your question.  It is best to try and remain as casual as possible.  Allow them to think you suspect nothing.  Watch for any tells.  A tell is a physical indication that someone is lying.  Any one tell by itself is just a clue. There may be a good reason for a quirk in how someone interacts.  What you’re looking for is a pattern or a preponderance of tells.

Some common tells:

• A lack of eye contact – Many liars worry that their eyes will give them away so they will avoid eye contact when telling a lie.  It can also indicate guilt over the lie being told.
• A change in voice pitch or tone – Nervousness can cause the throat to constrict during a lie.  This can be very subtle or hard to miss depending on the person.
• A change in speed of speech – Some people will try to rush through a lie making a noticeable change in the speed in their speech pattern.
• A pauses verbal or silent – Pausing before or during a lie is common.  Sometimes its a silent pause but it can also be ums and ahs and throat clearing.  This could indicate the person is thinking up a lie on the spot if combined with rapid looking around as though they are looking for something.
• Asking you to repeat the question – This can be a stalling tactic if the person is thinking up a lie.  Its usually accompanied with them giving a word for word repetition of the question before they begin their answer.
• Uncomfortable body language – Lies can make aperson feel tense and uncomfortable.  This can show through in their body language as shifting positions and sudden tensing in the face or body.
• Forced humor – A liar can sometimes become desperate for a joke to defuse the tension they feel.  This can lead to unfunny and forced sounding jokes.  Usually the joke is accompanied by an attempt to change the subject.
• Forcing changes of subject – A liar may not want to tell their lie if they don’t have to.  They may also not have thought the lie through enough to be comfortable with follow up questions.  This can cause them to try and force a change in subject that sounds out of place.

For a complete course and full information on becoming a true human lie detector Click Here!

There are many circumstances where a spy may need spread disinformation, i.e. lie.  The techniques preferred will differ slightly depending on the situation.  In the most common situation you may need to spread your lie in casual conversation or simply claim to have received intelligence/equipment/aid/injuries from source B when source A was the actual origin.  The tips below will address that sort of situation.  They may not be applicable to an interrogation or lie detector test; those will receive their own article.

• Be the Lie – Before you tell your lie think it out clearly.  Imagine the situation where your lie is true and see it as it happens.  As you visualize this try to foresee what else would be effected if the lie were true.  Once you have a clear idea of the world in which your lie is true and exactly how it would differ from the real world you are ready to lie.  You can answer any follow up questions that may be asked.  By being ready before hand you accomplish two important things.  By setting this imagined scene as the absolute source your answers will be internally consistent.  You will also move the lie from the imagination section of the brain and into the memory section.  This will help to remove the give away of eye accessing cues.
• Eye Contact – This doesn’t mean you should force constant eye contact.  Become conscious of how much eye contact you normally make during conversation.  You’ll need to do this ahead of time.  Once you have a rough baseline try to maintain it during a lie.  This takes a lot of practice and awareness.
• Be casual about it – No matter how much you need to get the lie out you have to make it fit naturally into the conversation.  A sideways approach is also good.  Ask a question which you know will lead to an opening.  Again, don’t force it, just lightly steer the talk where you need it.  This is a skill you can practice in day to day life.  Pick something specific you wish to inject into a conversation and try to slide it in as naturaly as possible.  With practice this becomes so easy as to be laughable.
• Always sandwich a lie within the truth – When constructing a lie always include real facts and events that are verifiable without verifying the lie.  Keep the events/actions/words consistant with the situation and the people involved.  Beliefs are not based entirely on logic.  You can imply that if one thing is true the other must be and people will become convinced.  ie “I heard that Joe had an affair in Aruba.  I normally wouldn’t believe that but then I remembered, he did go to Aruba for that corprate training thing.  Now I can’t look his wife in the eyes anymore.”  Being in Aruba doesn’t equal an affair but I bet reading that you felt pretty sure he did have the affair.  Anyone listening can ask Joe if he went on the trip and when they do they will subconciously consider that all the validation they need.
• Never over sell the story – You have imagined an incredibly in depth scene.  You have thought through all the implications and effects.  You have ready answers for a dozen questions.  Remeber this though, just because you know all the details doesn’t mean you have to spout them off in a 10 minute long monologue.  When you are telling the truth you probably don’t give excessive detail without being asked.
  Lets take for example this truthful response to the question ‘What did you do last night?’
  “I grabbed burgers from that place up the street for dinner and watched TV, nothing big.”
  Now lets pretend thats a lie and tell it the wrong way for contrast:
  “After left work around 5:15 I went straight to Joe’s Burger Heven and bought a number 7 meal with a large diet soda.  My cashier was some guy named Bob with brown hair and achne.  I got my order and headed home.  I got there around 6:oo, let the dog out, and started eating.  I watched those 2 DVDs I borrowed from my brother and then I went to bed at 11.  Nothing big.”
  Which one sounds natural to you?  Give out enough information to sound natural.  If they ask for more answer them.  Mostly just try to seem like the information isn’t really important to you.
• Never commit to anything that wasn’t part of your scene – If they say “did you see my brother there?” you say “not that I noticed.”  Most people walk around never noticing their surroundings.  If you are asked about something that you didn’t plan on just say you didn’t notice.  You can say you were preoccupied with thoughts or a member of the opposite sex.  These are reasonable things.  Do not let someone make you feel pushed to commit to those details.  This is a common trick to catch a lie, don’t fall for it and do not let it make you feel nervous or panicky.  If they push to hard then contrast their invasiness with your indifference.  List off their questions and the answers you gave, characterizing them as way to pushy about weird things.  If you go this route only do it as a last resort because you run the risk of sounding defensive.  You can also try to sound consoling by asking them if they’re having a problem thats making them so curious about your business.  Again last resort only.
• Body language – The odds are that if you tried to act natural and looked relaxed, you would suddenly be and look very self-aware and unnatural.  Practice meditation and breathing for this one.  Don’t so much go for specifics just learn how to be calm and relaxed even if the situation makes that difficult.  A deep cleansing breath combined with a stretch will get you pretty relaxed to start and it looks natural in many situations.  Once you’re relaxed, just look for tightness anywhere in your body and let it go.  This will take practice both with meditation and with learning where you normally hold tension under stress.  Once you learn where you hold your tension normally it can become easy to monitor it and keep it from building.
• Never admit the lie – Once you have commited to a lie you must stay with it.  You can claim you were deceived by someone else or that you had misunderstood something but never admit to lying.  Remain calm, appear confused if shown conflicting proof.  Don’t allow yourself to be put on the spot, instead insist on framing it as you working with them to solve the confusion.  What you said was true based on the facts you had, the error must be somewhere else.

A Dead Drop is location where items or messages are secretly left for someone without requiring the participants to meet.

There are many variations on the dead drop. Usually some system is arranged to notify at a glance if there is something to be picked up. This can be any pre-arranged set up from a chalk to an ad in the classifieds. The dead drop itself can be anything from a book to a secret room. Cut-out devices are often employed such as a hollowed out brick or the famous dead drop spike. The dead drop spike a hollow spike which seals to be water proof and mildew proof. It can shoved into the ground or weighted and placed into a shallow stream for later retrieval.

Modern Variations

• On January 23, 2006, the Russian FSB accused Britain of using wireless dead drops concealed inside hollowed-out rocks to collect espionage information from agents in Russia. According to the Russian authorities, the agent delivering information would approach the rock and transmit data wirelessly into it from a hand-held device, and later his British handlers would pick up the stored data by similar means.
• A British al-Qaeda related terrorist cell, convicted of terrorist offenses on April 30, 2007, used an email account as a dead drop technique. By sharing the account’s password, members of the group could write messages for each other and save them as drafts, without leaving a permanent recording by actually transmitting them.