Necropolis Read Online Free PDF

second surprise, which unfortunately came right on the heels of the first, was the nickel-plated Smith and Wesson that had somehow materialized in her other hand. It was cold as she pressed it against his neck at the juncture of skull and spine.
    And Kovacs realized, in that briefest of milliseconds, why Yousef had sounded nervous.
    Fuck m—
    His face exploded forward, drenching the windshield in clots of smoking brain. Drone shrieked and batted around like a trapped moth. It threw open every commlink it had.  
    “Officer down! Officer down!”
    Loretta turned. “You’re blocked, hon. No outgoing calls.”
    Drone processed this, and the inside of the car suddenly lit like a supernova, white light shooting out every window. As it faded, Drone gasped to see Loretta shaking her head, still very awake, rubbing the stars out of her eyes.
    “That was my highest setting! You should be down!”
    She pulled her hair back from the nape of her neck, revealing the blinking protective subderm. Then she yanked a small black slab from her garter belt.
    “Don’t you carry anything stronger than a neural disruptor?” she asked, checking the settings on the box.
    “Smarties don’t kill,” whined Drone, extremely confused.
    “Admirable.” She hopped onto her knees facing Drone, and reached over the seat with the slab, which had already begun to change shape. “Now, honey, this won’t hurt a bit.”

    ***

    Loretta waited under the street light, seriously hurting. If this bitch is late…  
    The woman showed on time, though. She was ill-defined in a lumpy raccoon coat and Empress Eugenie hat, a rolled-brim velvet thing with an ostrich feather. A heavy veil covered her face, obscuring her features. Strange combo. Loretta handed the smarty’s extracted data core to the woman, who nodded and produced a baggie full of dark brown chunks. Loretta’s whole body reacted to the sight of the godsmack.
    “Why’d you kill the cop?” the woman asked.
    A shrug. “He slapped me.”
    The woman nodded as if this were perfectly reasonable. “I need some volunteers. People no one will miss.”
    “I know lots of people like that.”
    “Then I’ll be in touch. Careful,” she added, nodding at the baggie. “That stuff’s very pure.”
    “Yeah, yeah.” All she could think about was getting back to her kit.
    The woman in the hat watched with amusement as the whore raced way into the fog.

6
    SATELLITE INTERCEPT
    TRANS00\INTERCEPT\GEOSAT231\110554 PRIORITY05-32\CLASS5EYESONLY

    WEBSQUIRT INTERCEPT AS FOLLOWS:

    (NAMES AND OTHER IDENTIFYING INFORMATION HAVE BEEN DELETED PER NSA REG 1037459324)

    1: He’s back.
    2: Who?
    1: The husband.
    2: What? You gotta be kidding. Are you sure?
    1: It was in the drone’s data core. Revival confirmed.
    2: How did this happen, boss?
    1: Plain old bad luck. The odds were, Jesus…  
    2: Hmmm. [THREE SECOND PAUSE] What’s his status?
    1: He’s a fucking mess.
    2: You think he’ll move on, or start digging?
    1: It was over forty years ago.  
    2: Not to him. And he’s a cop, remember?  
    1: He’s got enough to deal with.
    2: Loose ends, loose ends…  
    1: Should I burn him?
    2: No. You’re right. I’m overreacting. But watch him.
    1: Already done.
    2: What about our other problem? The good doctor?
    1: Nothing.  
    2: Hmm. [A LAUGH] Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone.
    1: Meaning?
    2: He is a detective, after all. Why not put him on the case?
    1: You mean hire him? [LAUGHTER] Oh, man. You are bad.
    2: It’s in my genes.
    1: It’s awfully dangerous…  
    2: He’ll never make the connection. Besides, if he does, we can always kill him again.

    END END END TRANS00\INTERCEPT\GEOSAT231\DATE END END END

7
    DONNER
    S he’s on the couch. I’m down in front of her. In my entire life, I have never been so terrified. Not even when that gangbanger held a modified Tech-9 to my head last year.
    Marry me, I blurt.
    Ooh, he got down on his knees and everything, Elise giggles. I kinda like you down