I was with her here in Penang on George's instructions. As he kept on saying, 'If someone hits you and they threaten to hit you some more, you've got to stop them. Period.' But as always, of course, I was also here because I needed the money.

Suzy and I didn't know the whole story, and that was fine by me. Too much information gave me a headache, and Suzy probably felt the same. We were just small cogs in a big machine. I'd learnt the hard way that it's better to be just clever enough to plan and carry out the task you're given, and not to ask the reasons why.

The job was deniable. The Malaysian government had no idea what was happening – not because they couldn't be trusted: Malaysia had a strong, stable government and a good record against terrorism. It was just that the fewer people who knew what we were here for, the better our chances of success.

It was a joint US/UK operation, a first for me. There weren't many Americans on vacation in Malaysia, especially with the current situation, but a Brit couple was quite a normal sight. Being sent back to the UK had been a bit like going back in time because it was the Yes Man who had given us our final brief, the very person I'd gone to the US to escape. I couldn't say I enjoyed it much, but it was great knowing that I was only his property for a short while before I returned to the US and became George's again.

The other first was that I'd never worked with another K. In fact, it was the first time I'd ever knowingly been within a hundred metres of one. It probably never occurred to Suzy that I was anything but a Brit operator like her – my cover documents certainly wouldn't have told her. I was called Nick Snell again, the same cover as when I'd been a K.