A Perfect Spy

Pym continues to write to Tom about his life after his meeting with Axel. Despite his hesitation and doubt, he never doubted that he loved the Firm “as much as he loved Axel” (352). As such, he served two masters. Axel and Pym devised a plan in which Pym could pass along information to his superiors from Axel under the guise of an elaborate cover story. He shared photographs of a nuclear power plant under construction and invented a grand and imaginary network of contacts. Then, Pym was posted to Prague under an appointment with the Foreign Office. At the same time, he recruited “genuine Joes” to bolster his growing network. During this period, Pym genuinely believed that—through his work with Axel—he was bringing a kind of freedom to an impoverished country. Axel carefully managed Pym at moments when his enthusiasm or conviction slipped. In exchange for good information from Axel, Pym passed along his own information about the British intelligence operation.

When Pym and Axel took a trip together, Axel proposed that Pym recruit Sabina as a new agent. She would provide him with evidence of the “serious mismanagement” at the Bank of Czechoslovakia. Sabina spent many years passing along information to Pym. During this time, Pym’s unhappy marriage to Belinda fell apart, and Pym was sent to Berlin, while Belinda returned to London, where she eventually met and married another man. During Pym’s appointment to Berlin, Rick wrote to him to say that “this Cruel summer is likely to be the writer’s Last” (357). Nevertheless, he proposed a scheme for smuggling cheap gold using diplomatic bags. Pym threw himself into the chaos of occupied Berlin, though he and Axel eventually intended to move their operation to the US. In Berlin, Pym was nearly caught but—after being led to the police station—discovered that Rick had been arrested, using his son’s name to plead for clemency with the German police. Pym helped his father out of jail and paid off those involved in Rick’s scams. A short time later, Pym met Mary, who was then in a relationship with Jack, and Pym joked with Axel that he and Jack were “sharing the same woman” (361). Axel hoped that Mary would be their ticket to Washington. Similarly, Jack suggested that Pym marry her to help with his career.

Pym recalls the period after his father’s death. He searched through his father’s possessions with two women who were with Rick then. The women assured Pym that Rick was “proud” of him. Pym paid for his father’s funeral.

Returning to his writing, Pym describes moving to Washington—as Deputy Head of Station—with Mary and their young son, Tom. At a party, he found Axel in a hidden room, and they congratulated each other on being “home at last” (366).

Pym describes the hard work of a Deputy Head of Station. The frank, open nature of the American people meant that, for Pym, “no country was ever easier to spy on” (367). He was unencumbered by the bitter class relations and social prejudices of Europe. Nevertheless, Pym began to hear “the first insidious whispers of suspicion” (368) about his loyalty. Axel warned Pym to get out and regretted that they were too greedy. The Americans noticed unfortunate patterns in the quality of intelligence when Pym and Axel were present in certain places at certain times. Pym planned to “sell Axel to Langley and buy [his] freedom” (369) but never followed through. The fear of being caught filled Pym with a sense of freedom. He and Axel continued to pass information to each other. In the loudly declared freedom of the US, Pym recognized “everything he still contrived to love about himself” (370). Axel, however, warned that the Americans were setting up an investigation team. Pym began to have doubts about his actions.

Axel recognized that his friend was tense, and Pym complained that he was being followed. He wanted assurances that during their time in Bern, Axel wasn’t a spy sent to follow him. Axel assured Pym that this wasn’t true. Pym mentioned that he was being sent back to Britain for a “hostile interrogation.” Axel underwent several such interrogations and still bore the scars, physical and psychological. Pym’s interrogation wasn’t nearly as violent as those that Axel endured. Additionally, Jack was present to “defend him.” When he returned to the US, however, Axel warned Pym not to contact him. During this time, Rick mounted his final scam. By this time, the Firm had formally apologized to Pym for the interrogation and doubt. Rick telephoned Pym, filled with “self-pity.” After fleeing from Britain to Canada and then to New Jersey, Rick began to focus solely on Pym. He wrote to his son, asking for money for medical treatment. Pym began to fear his father’s “pathetic ghost” and to see himself in his father’s diminished figure, recognizing “a failing con man tottering on the last legs of his credibility” (376).

Pym closes out his letter to Tom, not wanting to describe more betrayals. The Firm sent Pym to Vienna so that he could reassert his legitimacy. By this time, Pym and Axel both knew that he wouldn’t escape the accusations.

Mary sits in a car with Jack. They’re in the small Devon town where Pym hides, accompanied by a flotilla of police cars, including Americans. The local police have located Pym, and the waiting police cars are positioned outside Miss Dubber’s lodging house. The local superintendent quizzes Jack and Mary about Pym and any dangers he might pose. Inside the lodging house, Pym reads Miss Dubber a letter from her sister and feeds her cat, Toby. She encourages him to rest, and he insists that she take a holiday. She insists that she won’t. The telephone rings, and Miss Dubber answers, handing the telephone to Pym. Although the line immediately falls dead, he pretends to take a call. Miss Dubber sits quietly, not listening to Pym’s increasingly desperate ramblings. Then, she asks why he’s using a fake name. He convinces her that Pym is merely his first name and then escorts her to her bedroom.

Pym returns to his bedroom and examines the carefully assembled parcels. Each one is addressed to someone from his life, containing letters, money, and anything they might need. He leaves letters to Miss Dubber, Poppy, and Jack (but none for Mary), and returns to his letter to Tom. He writes a “last word of explanation” (382), explaining that he’s the bridge between his father and Tom. He disarms the burnbox and disposes of its contents, most of which is false information he and Axel concocted. He loads his gun and lays it on the desk. He removes his watch, undresses for a bath, and then lies down in the tub and shoots himself in the head. Outside, Mary doesn’t hear the shot. She watches the men skulk around the house and sees Jack. The men’s heads are turned, and Mary sees ambulances move in the distance. Jack stands like “a dead centurion at his post” (383) as Miss Dubber exits the house and approaches the police.