Carte Blanche

the poem Philly Maidenstone had so elegantly quoted, traveling fast meant traveling forever alone.

GLOSSARY
    AIVD: Algemene Inlichtingen-en Veiligheidsdienst. The Netherlands security service, focusing on intelligence gathering and combating internal, nonmilitary threats.
    BIA: Bezbednosno-informativna Agencija. The Serbian foreign intelligence and internal security agency.
    CIA: Central Intelligence Agency. The main foreign intelligence-gathering and espionage organization of the United States. Ian Fleming reportedly played a role in the founding of the CIA. During the Second World War, he penned an extensive memo on creating and running an espionage operation for General William “Wild Bill” Donovan, head of America’s Office of Strategic Services. Donovan was instrumental in the formation of OSS’s successor, the CIA.
    COBRA: Cabinet Office Briefing Room A. A senior-level crisis-response committee in the United Kingdom, usually headed by the prime minister or other high-ranking government official and composed of individuals whose jobs are relevant to a particular threat facing the nation. Although the name usually includes—in the media, at least—a reference to Conference Room A in the main Cabinet Office building in Whitehall, it could convene in any meeting room.
    Crime Combating and Investigation Division of SAPS, the South African Police Service (see below): The major investigative unit. It specializes primarily in serious crimes, such as murder, rape and terrorism.
    DI: Defense Intelligence. The British military’s intelligence operation.
    Division Three: A fictional security organ of the British government based in Thames House. Loosely affiliated with the Security Service (see below), Division Three engages in tactical and operational missions within the UK’s borders to investigate and neutralize threats.
    FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation. The main domestic security agency in the United States, responsible for investigating criminal activities within the borders and certain threats to the United States and its citizens abroad.
    Five: Informal reference to MI5, the Security Service (see below).
    FO or FCO: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The main diplomatic and foreign policy agency of the United Kingdom, headed by the foreign secretary, who is a senior member of the cabinet.
    FSB: Federal’naya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii. The domestic security agency within Russia. Similar to the FBI (see above) and the Security Service (see below). Formerly the KGB (see below) performed this function.
    GCHQ: Government Communications Headquarters. The government agency in the United Kingdom that collects and analyzes foreign signals intelligence. Similar to the NSA (see below) in America. Also referred to as the Doughnut, because of the shape of the main building, which is located in Cheltenham.
    GRU: Glavnoye Razvedyvatel’noye Upravleniye. The Russian military intelligence organization.
    KGB: Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti. The Soviet foreign intelligence and domestic security organization until 1991, when it was replaced by the SVR (see below) for foreign intelligence and the FSB (see above) for internal intelligence and security.
    Metropolitan Police Service: The police force whose jurisdiction is Greater London (excluding the City of London, which has its own police). Known informally as the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard.
    MI5: The Security Service (see below).
    MI6: The Secret Intelligence Service (see below).
    MoD: Ministry of Defense. The organization within the United Kingdom overseeing the armed forces.
    NIA: National Intelligence Agency. The domestic security agency of South Africa, like MI5 (see above) or the FBI (see above).
    NSA: National Security Agency. The government agency in the United States that collects and analyzes foreign signals and related intelligence, from mobile phones, computers and the like. It is the American version of the UK’s GCHQ (see above), with which it shares facilities both in England and the United States.
    ODG: Overseas Development Group. A covert operational unit of British security operating largely independently but ultimately under the control of the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (see above). Its purpose is to identify and eliminate threats to the country by extraordinary means. The fictional ODG operates from an office building near Regent’s Park, London. James Bond is an agent with the 00 Section of O (Operations)