Guyon Espiner

Now the aim here is to tie up resources and spread uncertainty inside a system that became increasingly reliant on stealing tech to try to keep up.

So it really fits that when Kit Bennett is talking to his Soviet contact, that they would have to take it seriously.

It's worked for them in the past, so they do know it's feasible.

People in the West will exchange secrets for money.

Now, in the next episode, we'll look at how one American at the heart of the CIA's Soviet program was on the Soviet payroll from 1985, passing secret information to the KGB.

For now, let's remember that while we have had a second source until this point, from here on, we are having to take the word of Kit Bennett's

We have every reason to think he's telling it straight.

There may be slight errors around memory, as you'd expect, but this idea of money being part of the equation, it really does seem to make sense here.

In any case, as he comes to the end of his involvement in the operation, Kit Bennett brings in a new man to take over.

He tells Vladimir this guy can give him better information about the technical aspects of combat aircraft.

We'll come back to what happened to Vladimir.

But in the meantime, it's important for Kit Bennett and the CIA man, his close friend that he's never met before, to push the story on to the next level.

But of course they might not make the first meet because something's gone seriously wrong and they've been picked up or even replaced by someone from the other side.

Even then, this prolonged dance with Vladimir and the other operations he was running was clearly beginning to take a toll on Kit Bennett and his own relationships, particularly with his wife.

What does it do psychologically to be playing a double game like that?

So you can treat it a little bit like a sport.

Like you go on the rugby field, you're playing this guy.

And you know it's kind of a game.

Is that how you compartmentalise it in your head?

I wonder.