Two more chapters, as things start to heat up.
For those of you who are dialogue afficionados, the single word "exit," whether in English or Italian, may seem a bit stilted as an order to clear out. One might expect a much more extended conversation. However, as a code word to implement a predetermined plan it does the job nicely, and minimizes the phone time, which for the security-minded Carlos would be the point. One doesn't protect one's position as a big-time international crminal by getting chatty over open phone lines.
Several readers have questioned why Spook doesn't cripple Carlos' activities by cutting off his access to his funding. The reason is really quite simple-I didn't think of it when I was writing A.I. If you prefer some internal logic, let's say that Jack and Spook were concerned that an inexplicable interruption in Carlos' access to his accounts might betray more of their ability to control the electronic world than they'd like him to know, because it might thereby increase his interest in pursuing Jack. Well, it sort of makes sense.