Legendary Spy Charlie Allen Knows the CIA's Secrets

His departure from government means that he is losing his encrypted telephone, a device that has been in Allen's Northern Virginia home for decades. "He is one of the few people I felt comfortable calling at home with a tough job at 10 p.m., because we all knew Charlie never really stopped working," says John McLaughlin, a former acting CIA director.

Allen can't list many hobbies, though years ago he enjoyed fishing. "I've still got a memory and a strong mind," he says, an hour after the CIA physician gave him a clean bill of health. He plans to continue working, this time for himself. "I'm going to do some consulting work," he says, "but no more 80-hour weeks."

• Read about Charlie Allen and a small band of reformers who tried—and failed—to change America's spy agencies.
• Read " Declassified: the Secret Soviet Documents of a Leading CIA Spy."