If you get them while they are still on the ladder they can't dodge it. I go into greater detail about this in a post that I just made. It's cheesy, but it seems to work!
The game is really fun but the modern day story stuff will probably confused you if you're new to the franchise!
Absolutely true. I was confused as hell about that but it happens so infrequently that when I do get desynchronized I usually have forgotten that this is actually some sort of simulation that some women are doing in modern times!