With the wining and dining accomplished, things move into the danger zone. Money can help formalize the relationship between agent handler and spy Recruiting If someone puts something on the table, you attack.”Īll the while, Ryan is assessing if the target is trustworthy or has any weaknesses. That’s Ryan’s opening to pounce with innocent-sounding questions: “‘Well, hey, what happened? You know, what's going on?’. Once the courtship ritual is underway, it’s time for one-on-one meetings at a restaurant where the target might bring up a stressful day at work. The target felt he could talk to Ryan about anything, including his innermost secrets. “There was a ‘bromance’ there,” Ryan said, describing their first, 45-minute chat. If you want someone to like you, ask for their help. Ryan created an informal, teacher-student type of relationship to open the door to a second encounter. “I was prepared to ask him certain questions - already knowing the answers to those questions - that would then lead and guide me through a discussion that I was controlling,” he said. In one case, Ryan took scuba diving lessons every Wednesday night in order to get close to his target, a married man who’d achieved a reasonable amount of success at his company and lived for his scuba club. It can last a year or two depending on the target, the country that they're from, and how difficult an operation it might be.” Ryan first move starts with a friendly chat: “Development can last three months. Suddenly, Ryan is not just a smiling stranger. Common ground implies an individual is trustworthy.