the grand mute (spoiler)

I think there's a lot to be said for this film and many of the claimed nonsequiturs do resolve on careful listening (or relistening). However, I have failed to grasp the Grand Mute malarkey. Why does Rone need to wear a bag over his head? It's hardly as if the three people giving him information are likely not to understand it's the colleague they've been living with. Why make a half-assed attempt to prevent them realizing? Why not just tell them to tell Rone? Similarly, what's the use of the business with alternating finger clicks? According to Ward there will be a different code for each meeting and the clicks have to be in the correct number of series and add up to the correct total. Well, if you want an ID check on the mute, why not have him just give the right number up front and save everybody time? Or if you're really keen on alternating clicks, an obviously more secure system would be to give value to the sum of each pairing. Curiously, in the example given by Ward the series is 3 and the total is 18 and the only time we see the system used for real (with the Warlock) the series and total are... 3 and 18 again.

Also: was there ever a Kremlin letter or was it merely a fabrication of Stuydevant/Ward?

Btw I like the way Potkin cracks when he sees his 18-year-old daughter choosing to get up close and personal with an attractive black girl. Oh no, not that! Anything but that!

"I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken."