It really doesn't need to be all that subtle. If it was subtle, there wouldn't be signs of a struggle. "Hey, Ben Urich. I got some juicy info for you on Tony Stark, the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. Meet me at the closed-down office of Henry Gyrich's failed campaign for state senator, 10 PM." Or '911, what's your emergency?' "Yeah, I heard gunshots coming from this old house a couple hours ago, and then I saw a guy leave ... yeah, I can meet a unit there ..."