Lawrence Dobkin: "H-how could you? Our daughter's... where is she? TELL ME!"
Well, her name is Daisy, and she was born in New York City.
"Daisy? New York City? That's all you're gonna tell me?"
Oh yes, because that's what you asked for. So far, we have found out that you are married to a Russian spy, you have a daughter from a previous marriage, you like to play chess but hate cooking. You served in the military for ten years and studied criminology at university.
"Ten years in the military? Studying criminology? That's exactly what I told you! Why are you trying to deceive me? Where's Daisy?"
We found Daisy in her bedroom, where you were introduced to her. She's with your new wife.
"My new wife?! What the hell? I didn't marry anyone else! You gotta be kidding me!"
Oh no, she's pretty, well put together, also a bit of a slut.
"I don't believe it. My daughter, she's the only one who can vouch for me...where is she?
She's in your bedroom. So, now you're asking me to go get your daughter so that you can give her the bad news.
"I can't believe this! Take me to her!"
Okay, and do remember to stay calm. leads you to your bedroom
There she is, working on her homework. Daisy is sitting at her desk, reading through some papers, taking notes, and organizing her assignments.
Oh, keep it down, nobody wants to hear you yelling.
"Daisy, I need to talk to you!"
Look, your dad is a bit upset, but it'll pass.
"Upset? I'm furious! This is a nightmare! My wife...a Russian spy? How the hell did this happen? I thought she was an American!"
That's kinda the point. Spies are good at hiding their identity.
"You're right, but this is ridiculous! How could I have been so blind? How could she have deceived me like this? How could she have gotten into my life without me noticing?"
Well, there are many signs, and you probably overlooked them because you were too focused on her good points.
"I can't believe this! How could she have fooled me so easily? What did I do wrong?"
You weren't looking for signs of her being a spy, so you missed them. Also, she was able to attract you quickly, which is a tactic used by spies to make their targets trust them.
"I can't believe I fell for this! How could I be so stupid? How could I let this happen?"
It's not your fault. She's a very, very talented spy. But, you know, there are things you should know about her.
"What do you mean 'things I should know'? Is there more to this nightmare than I already know?"
Oh yes. Like why she became a spy, how long she's been spying, her training, her mission, her other identities, her cover story...
"Okay, okay, I get it. There's a lot more to this than I thought. But why should I care? She's a spy, she's deceiving people for a living, how does that affect me?"
It affects you because she's your wife. Not only are you being deceived, but she might also have knowledge of your past as an FBI agent.
"Wait a minute, my past as an FBI agent? How could she possibly know about that?"
A Russian spy would likely try to find out anything they can about you, especially if you're someone who has dealt with them before.
"Are you telling me that she knows about my past? How could she possibly know about that? I kept it hidden very well!"
Very few people knew you were an FBI agent, and even then, it's likely they won't talk.
"But she's a spy! Spies are professional deceivers! They can get people to talk even when they don't want to! How could she have found out about my past?"
If she's good, she can. If she's great, she will. And we haven't even talked about her training.
"What do you mean 'training'? What kind of training could she possibly have had?"
The KGB trains spies how to fight, use weapons both guns and hand-to-hand, escape and evade capture, lock picking, break into houses, etc. Basically, everything that helps them complete their missions.
"What about her mission? What kind of mission could she have been tasked with?"
Probably to get close to an important person or people, gather information, and either steal secrets or blackmail them. Those are the most common spy missions, but there are others.
"I can't believe this! All this time I thought I was living with a loving, caring wife, but she was a spy! A trained operative sent by the Russian government to gather information and blackmail people! How could I have been so blind?"
"But how could she have done all of this? How could she have kept her spy activities hidden? How could she have avoided all the security measures we had in place?"
Have you ever heard the phrase 'need to know basis'?
"Need to know basis? Wait, isn't that supposed to be something related to national security or something?"
Yeah, basically, only the people who have the information she needs to do her mission will cooperate with her. Even people who know her personally might not know her true occupation.
"So she's able to keep her spy activities hidden by only sharing information with people who need to know? And she uses these people to carry out her mission without them knowing they're helping a spy?"
Yup. And between you and me, she probably uses American spies as pawns. They tend to be easier to use than Russians.
"Are you telling me that she might have been using American spies to help her carry out her missions? How could she do that? How could she convince them to work for her?"