The skilled undercover agents watch while the rank amateur bumbles around trying to make contact, then makes clandestine contact himself.

This is portrayed humoursly in the movie [*Mystery Men*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Men) (deleted scenes/director’s cut) where the characters think that the way to contact *The Sphynx* is to order a specific combination of dishes at a certain Mexican restaurant.  They make a specical of themselves ordering various combinations in an effort to guess the code. Meanwhile, a worker at the restaurant, later reveiled to be the civilian identity of The Sphynx, is watchin their antics with great mirth.