Our Man in Havana

1

In February, Wormold opens his first telegram from M16. It demands new information, and Wormold is nervous that he is not up to the job. Realizing he must recruit someone to find information for him, he talks with his shop assistant, Lopez, about doing “personal services” for him for extra pay. Lopez misunderstands, thinking his boss wants him to act as a pimp so that he can have sex with a local woman. The conversation goes nowhere, and Lopez leaves.

2

At the Wonder Bar, Dr. Hasselbacher tells Wormold that he looks worried. Wormold says that eventually he wants to move with Milly far away from Havana and Captain Segura. He confides that he was offered money to be a spy. Hasselbacher advises Wormold that he owes nothing to the Secret Service. Since the information he must provide is secret and thus known only to him, he should simply invent it: “As long as you lie you do no harm” (58).

3

In Milly’s room, Wormold finds a directory of the members of the country club. He chooses several names out of the list to be his imaginary “agents” to report to the Secret Service.