Carla pulled out her cel phone, switched off its visual pickup, and dialed a number. She heard a ring, a brief pause, and then another ring again as the call was routed through a series of telecommunications grids. If Mitsuhama security was monitoring this call by picking up its frequency from a remote scanner, they’d log it as being made from a rented cel phone to an auto body shop in Renton. In fact, the call was only being patched through that number—and from there, through telecommunications grids in Vancouver, Hong Kong, Seoul, and San Francisco—and back again to a Seattle residence, where the young decker Corwin answered the phone.