A cover that makes the agent legal in the country he’s working in. Highly flexible concept—almost metaphysical. Sometimes refers to someone with diplomatic cover, which means the agent can only be expelled and not tortured and killed. Legal is a good cover for Americans In Russia. The worst that can happen to them is that they can never go back to Russia. Legal is a tough cover for Russians. They go back to Russia, never return to the United States and get reassigned to Chad.