Newman was jotting down a list of instructions for Isa Boyian to follow for running the hospice in his absence when General Grisham called on the encrypted phone.

Last October, the trust was so high between General Gutierrez and the Carrillo Fuentes organization that the traffickers delivered encrypted cellular phones that allowed Mr. Carrillo Fuentes and his aides to talk freely with the general, his driver and other military officers, the testimony indicates.

Piero Fassino, national secretary of the Democratic Left Party, could have benefited from an encrypted phone before comments he made regarding a delicate bank takeover made the front pages.

He turned on the lights and went to the secure encrypted phone.

The secretary-general had requested that he and Novak speak on encrypted phones only, and the additional security probably increased the eerily noiseless quality of the signal.

He was using the STU-III phone in his office, the encrypted phone that was cleared for conversations up to Top Secret if the person on the other end of the line had his STU-III properly encrypted, which was certainly the case this morning.

Getting the pieces in place was mainly an exercise in electronics, lifting encrypted phones and giving spooky orders to people who, fortunately, were accustomed to such things.

Back in her apartment, Megan took out her digitally encrypted phone and dialed the number she had memorized long ago.