As I read it, the story sounds _exactly_ like the kind of thing I'd make up if I were the CIA and wanted to convince anyone that I didn't have an office in the

As I read it, the story sounds _exactly_ like the kind of thing I'd make up if I were the CIA and wanted to convince anyone that I didn't have an office in the area. It would nicely convince everyone that I was not present, I was unlikely to return because I had been resoundingly bested, and if I were to return, I would be so ham-fistedly obvious that I would be easily detected and so anything less obvious clearly couldn't be me. It'd be perfect. I suppose if I wanted to take it one level further I'd actually even make it real and have it play out as a script. I'd set up my real office somewhere opposite and unobtrusive and watch the fun. That said I agree with the other comments. I'm not really sure what the point of setting up an obvious office would be outside of the already mentioned recruiting or academic interactions which seem to have little need to be covert.