Let’s take Mr. Ray at his word...
If some guy came up to you and only gave a first name and asks you to buy binoculars and a file and to get a room in a specific hotel next to another hotel...
Why would you ever do it?
If you were one of my crank-addicted neighbors, you’d do it. But you’d screw it up so badly that everyone connected with the stranger who gave you the instructions would be destroyed, including innocent family members.