Loyalty in Death (In Death #9)(52)

With a nod, Eve took the pouch, turned it over in her hand. It was identical to the first. “The rest of the team’s on the way in. Where’s McNab?”

“How would I know?” It came out in something close to a squeak that had Eve glancing over to watch Peabody stuff her hands in her pockets, take them out, fold her arms over her chest. “I don’t keep tabs on him. I don’t care where he is.”

“Tag him, Peabody,” Eve said with what she considered admirable patience. “Bring him in.”

“Ah, the superior officer should send for him.”

“Your superior officer is telling you to get his skinny butt in here. Now.” Annoyed, Eve dropped into a chair and ripped open the pouch. She examined the disc briefly, then plugged it into the computer. “Run disc.”

Running…. contents are text only as follows….

We are Cassandra.

We are the gods of justice.

We are loyal.

Lieutenant Dallas, we enjoyed today’s events. We are in no way disappointed in our choice of you as adversary. In less than our projected time allotted, you located the described target. We are pleased with your skills.

Perhaps you believe you won this battle. Though we congratulate you on your quick and decisive work, we feel, in fairness, we should inform you today’s work was only a test. A preliminary round.

The first wave of police experts entered the target building at eleven hundred hours and sixteen minutes. Evacuation proceedings began within eight minutes. You arrived at target twelve minutes after evacuation had begun.

At any time during this process, the target could have been destroyed. We preferred observing.

We found it interesting that Roarke became personally involved. His arrival was an unexpected bonus and allowed us to study you working together. The cop and the capitalist.

Forgive us for being amused by your fear of heights. We were impressed that despite it, you performed your duties as the tool of the fascist state. We had expected no less from you.

In triggering the last device, we allowed time for containment. Lieutenant Malloy will confirm that without this time, without this containment, several lives and a great deal of property would have been lost.

We will not be as accommodating with the next target.

Our demands must be met within forty-eight hours. To those initial demands, we now demand a payment of sixty million dollars in bearer bonds in increments of fifty thousand dollars. The capitalistic figureheads that line their pockets and break the back of the masses must be made to pay in coin they worship.

Once confirmation of the liberation of our compatriots is assured, instructions on delivery of the monetary penalty will be issued.

To prove our commitment to the cause, a small demonstration of our power will be made at precisely fourteen hundred hours.

We are Cassandra.

“A demonstration?” Eve glanced at her wrist unit. “In ten minutes.” She pulled out her communicator. “Malloy, are you still in the target?”

“Just securing.”

“Get everybody out, keep out for another fifteen minutes. Run another scan.”

“This place is clean, Dallas.”

“Run it anyway. After the fifteen, have Feeney send a unit of exterminators in. The building’s full of bugs. They were watching every move. We’ll need the bugs brought in for analysis, but get out and stay out of the building until after fourteen hundred.”

Anne opened her mouth, obviously decided to save her questions, then nodded. “Affirmative. ETA to Central thirty minutes.”

“Do you think they got a bomb past the scan?” Peabody asked when Eve broke transmission.

“No, but I’m not taking the chance. We can’t track every damn building in the city. They want to show us how big and bad they are. So they’re going to take something out.” She pushed away from the desk, walked to the window. “There’s not a f**king thing I can do to stop them.”

She scanned her view of New York, the old brick, the new steel, the crowds of people jammed onto glides or sidewalks, the nervous, edgy traffic in the streets, the rumble of it in the air.

Serve and protect, she thought. That was her job. That was her promise. And now all she could do was watch and wait.

McNab came in, looked anywhere but at Peabody. He preferred to pretend she wasn’t in the room. “You sent for me, Lieutenant?”

“See what you can do with the disc I just ran. Make copies for my files and for the commander. And what is the status on Fixer’s code?”

McNab allowed himself a small, smug smile and a sly sidelong glance at Peabody. “I just cracked it.” He held up his own disc and struggled not to scowl as Peabody turned her head away and studiously examined her nails.

“Why the hell didn’t you say so?” Eve strode over to snatch it out of his hand.

Insulted, McNab opened his mouth, then shut it tight when he caught Peabody’s smirk out of the corner of his eye. “I’d just run the backups when you sent for me,” he said stiffly. “I didn’t take the time to read the contents comprehensively,” he continued as Eve jammed the disc home. “But a quick skim indicates he lists all materials used, all devices made, and there are enough of them to wipe out a Third World country.”

He paused, deliberately moving to the other side of Eve as Peabody shifted closer to see the screen. “Or a major city.”