How It All Goes Down
- We start out with a fake news story from the New York Times which tells us that France is expelling Cuban diplomats in connection with a search for the assassin Carlos (Ilich Ramirez Sanchez), who killed two French agents and a Lebanese informer.
- Then there's an Associated Press story that provides more details about Carlos and says he is being hunted in London. The book is telling us right away that Carlos is dangerous and tricky: a worthy villain.
- Carlos, the story says, is originally from Venezuela originally. He's the son of a Venezuelan Marxist lawyer. A spokesman for the Venezuelan Communist party says he does not know where Carlos is—so the assassin's whereabouts remain a mystery.