Alvin lay carefully on the roof of a department store, draped in a camouflage tarp...
Since he was some distance from the edge of the building, his view was partly obstructed.
Eager to find out what was happening, Alvin could only call 47...
"Hey, man. How's it going?"
On the other end of the communicator, 47 replied in a flat tone, "I've found two targets.
"I recommend waiting until Church and the others come out before we do anything else.
"The women from the Red Room are very skilled. If it weren't for the commotion near the Coffee Shop, I wouldn't have been able to find them, either."
Alvin heard him and said smugly, "That's called 'stirring up the grass to startle the snake'!
"It's an extremely sophisticated strategic maneuver...
"You might not believe me, but I deliberately let those people spot me just now.
"They're the 'grass.' I gave them a few whacks with my big stick, and that startled the 'snake' out of hiding, didn't it?"
As Alvin spoke, he heard 47 breathing strangely on the other end of the communicator. He chuckled and reassured him, "Hey, don't be nervous!
"We worked pretty well together just now...
"Honestly, your marksmanship really impressed me.
"How about you quit being a hitman and come work for me...
"Fifty an hour!
"I think the two of us would make the best agents in the world!"
47 listened to Alvin ramble on through the communicator for quite a while...
Finally, after the principal made a completely insincere attempt to recruit him, he hung up. He decided not to listen to another word from the big shot until the job was over.
47 and Alvin's actions had indeed been a bit like "stirring up the grass to startle the snake."
After all, Moscow