You are a federal investigative officer. Your office has received
a tip that there is a cell of an international spy ring operating in your
city. Earlier, you intercepted a message from the leader telling two potential
recruits to meet her in a park at noon. She told them to look for a blond
woman wearing a yellow dress and carrying a briefcase. The recruits were supposed
to wear striped ties so she would be able to identify them.
You have
to set up the appropriate surveillance. You find a spot on bench
in the park and pretend to read a newspaper. On the bench beside you, two
young men are eating lunches out of brown paper bags. They're wearing striped
ties, so you keep an eye on them over the newspaper.
Just before noon,
you notice a blond woman walking towards a bench. Sure enough, she's wearing
a yellow dress and carrying a briefcase. She walks past the two men without
looking at them. A few seconds later, the two young men stand up and start
walking behind her.
Quickly, you fold up your paper. Trying to look
casual, you follow them. With the men a few steps behind, the three of them
leave the park and start to cross the street. Just then, a large bus passes
in front of you. When your view is clear, they're gone. There are two buildings
across the street, so they must have gone into one of them. The building on
the right has a man in a security officer's uniform at the door.
You
decide to ask him if they've entered the building. You don't want to gain
access to the building without a backup; you just want to determine if they
went in.
You have to think fast: the security guard may also be part
of the spy ring and you don't want the woman to know you were asking questions.
Your communication skills are going to be put to the test.
"As investigators,
(investigative officers] need to have excellent people and communication skills,"
says Lisette Miles, who works in national security.
Write down the
conversation that might follow, including the security guard's responses.
Remember -- you don't want to give anything away.