Christopher Pepper and Charlie Salt are nightclub owners.
This pair of ultra-cool friends and ultra-smooth operators, both in their early 40s, have been together for so long they probably cannot remember when they weren't. In the lingo of their day - which is the late 60s - they were known as swingers; today we would likely call them 'playas' (if I got that spelling write and if that term is even used anymore). These two have never met an attractive female they did not want to try to put the moves on, though they were good enough buddies to not really try to muscle in on the other guy's action (decent of them).
They are not spies. They would likely run from the suggestion of being one. They like what they do, thanks all the same, which is run their establishment, a swanky club in the center of Soho, London. Pepper handles most of the business end which also includes glad-handling the patrons to make sure they feel appreciated. Salt is in charge of the entertainment, usually a groovy-sounding ensemble, and even joining in as lead vocal each evening.
So if they are not spies, why are they mentioned in this compendium? Well, I blame the actual espionage operatives who have the indecency to find ways to force this pair into their sordid activities. In both cases that we have recorded, murder is just the starting point.
Pepper, a white man, is said to be "from the British upper class that had supplied the officers for the Bengal Lancers and other such groups that had ruled the old empire. He had the good looks that are only to be found among the very rich or very athletic". He is usually seen "dress in an impeccably cut tuxedo".
Salt, a black man, is described as "a small, wire, American Nego, whose every move showed the quick grace of a dancer - which he was - and the cutting skill of a featherweight boxer - which he was not". His usual apparel is once described as "the first example of what was to come after the current mod fashions".
It is important to note that at no time do either Salt or Pepper ask for any of the zany things that happen around them. They both would prefer to drink their alcoholic beverages (which they do a lot) and try their hand at seduction (again a very common occurrence) and just enjoy their lives. Dodging bullets and fists and death traps and explosions and, um, jail, is not on their wish lists. Too bad.