What Hilbert thought

For Hilbert, Popov was an experienced cyber thief who was able to penetrate places and corners that the FBI couldn’t even fathom. The Russian would be able to forge relationships with other thieves because he had the uncanny ability to feed the necessary leads that the bureau had spent years searching for.

Accepting the offer

Popov quickly accepted the offer. It was his way out. He could work off the charges under his name by going undercover. The setup was new to him because instead of implicating his colleagues and friends, he would work hard at capturing people he owed nothing to. He was going to be the mole, and he was going to be the best one there is, but not for the reasons the FBI thought.