Spies never write anything down – or do we? I can tell you that over my career (of over three decades and still counting) as an International Espionage Agent for the U.S. Government, we certainly do.
TV and Hollywood would have you think that we commit everything to our iron clad, lightning fast brains. While that is true for most of our operations, there are many times that we have to commit vital and sensitive (and often highly complex) information to something else.
We have all kinds of cool gadgets, but the way we train and what we actually use is very low tech. It is virtually undetectable and instantly and completely eliminated in a flash. Meet your new friend, Water-Sol.
We are trained to use a product we lovingly refer to as Water-Sol. Water-soluble paper or “Water-Sol” is a paper-like material that is easily written on with ink or pencil.
It is just as easy to obliterate by dissolving it; hence “Sol”. It dissolves instantly in a very small amount of most any liquid including saliva, urine, coffee, soda, rain, etc.
When I first heard that I had to attend a training session on how to use water-soluble paper, I figured the whole thing would last about five minutes. But, the field training was several hours long and it needed to be.
Writing on the paper is the easy part. How to conceal it, protect it, retrieve it, dissolve it, and even how to write on it surreptitiously while taking your notes are all essential aspects of successfully using Water-Sol.
How much should you carry? Not much.
In fact, just a couple of small scraps that you can retrieve instantly from your person is all you should ever have on you in a hostile or foreign country (If, on the other hand, you are a citizen of the United States and are on your home turf, your Fourth Amendment Rights will give you the opportunity to carry and use much more Water-Sol as well as ample time to dissolve it.)
The reason you have to have unfettered access to it at all times is that your life may depend on you destroying it before anyone can get to it.
If it is discovered, even blank, among your possessions or on your body, it is tantamount to evidence of criminal espionage and that you are an operational spy.
If you do get rolled-up by local law enforcement, agents of foreign powers, local clerics, military, or some other form of authority figure where you are operating and you have it anywhere on your person or in your possession it will be all the evidence they need to convict you of espionage and apply their punishment (death, life-imprisonment, torture, hard-labor, or anything else).
So, lesson one is to have as little as possible on you at any time and make sure you can retrieve it instantly. The next lesson is brief but critical: do not use exotic foreign inks or any other possibly toxic writing media or products on your Water-Sol.
We did have one foreign intelligence operations officer who became violently ill as a result of eating his Water-Sol notes to prevent them from being discovered. He had written his notes with an exotic product native to the area he was operating in and it almost cost him his life.
The next lesson is how to use it. Of course, you are going to need two essential items: Water-Sol and a discreet writing instrument. I like to use tactical pens because they have dual utility and they are reliable.
Keep in mind, usually, you do not want anybody (including the individual providing the sensitive/classified/secret information) to see you committing information to paper. It causes them to worry that it may get discovered and traced back to them.
Of all of the “tricks”, the one I use is to keep a small scrap in my left front jacket pocket and then while seated at a table slip it on to my right thigh and then return my left hand to the table top.
Next, I use my right hand to jot down key words on the scrap that is on my right thigh/knee (WARNING: Do not let it slip off of your leg. It is virtually impossible to retrieve a scrap of paper from under a table while not being observed or sparking concern from everyone in visual radius.
You also have to be careful that your palms do not sweat on the scrap and dissolve it right there on your trouser leg – guess how I know about that.)
The last skill in correctly using Water-Sol is to have a viable plan to dissolve it every moment you have it on you. While eating it (actually, just put it in your mouth and it will melt) seems the easiest, it’s not.
I have found that I can carry on open topped beverage with me just about everywhere any time. If I need to get rid of my notes, I just drop the scrap from my palm into the beverage and it’s gone in an instant.
While I’m betting you’re not a spy, you never know when you might need to use a piece or even a small scrap of Water-Sol to clandestinely record information that you want to protect.
On the other hand, if you see someone suddenly slip a piece of paper into their morning coffee after a meeting with you, perhaps someone’s gathering intelligence on you.
