part0026

P eeters tugged on the chains now securing one of the doors. The museum was a large complex, and whether the police had access to the rest of it wasn’t his concern. He only had to keep a small section secure for a short period of time, and thanks to fire regulations, he had doors where architects would have preferred there weren’t.

He spotted several police cars out front, their lights flashing, and had no doubt the place would be swarming with them any minute. Again, not his concern. He wanted the press. He wanted the world to see what was happening here tonight, and it would be his only demand when asked.

He returned to the atrium where his fellow soldiers of the Animal Protection Brigade had collected all the hostages into the center of the impressive room, then made a circuit around them, inspecting Karl’s homemade explosive devices retrieved from the van outside once they had secured the scene. He paused beside Karl.

“Everything set?”

Karl handed him the device. “Just flip the cover off the switch, then flick it. Kaboom.”

Peeters smiled, patting Karl on the back. “Good work.” He turned and headed for the front of the atrium, standing behind a podium set up for the planned festivities. He turned on the microphone. “May I have everyone’s attention, please?” A hush fell over the terrified crowd as they turned to face him. “Now, I will be making a statement to the press when they arrive, however I felt you all deserved to know why we decided to join you tonight. We are the Animal Protection Brigade. Who is that, you might ask? We fight for those who can’t help themselves—the animals of our planet. We fight for the equality of all Mother Earth’s creatures, from the smallest plankton to the massive whale, and all creatures in between, cute and cuddly, or vicious and ugly. And yes, that would normally include even yourselves.

“But sometimes to save the whole, you must sacrifice the part. Just as a diseased foot must sometimes be amputated to save someone from dying, sometimes a group of creatures must be sacrificed to save the rest.” He paused, then jabbed a finger at his hostages. “You are the disease. You are the infection. It is the rich of society who have the power to save the creatures of this planet, yet most of you sit idly by and do nothing. You wear furs, leathers, perfumes and makeups made from animals or tested on them. You hunt them for sport, you mount them on your walls, you tear at their flesh with your teeth as you seek out the most exotic meals as you jet across the globe. You disgust me.

“And today, you gather here to celebrate the discovery of a manmade creation that is an abomination. This Bible you are all here to see, written on one thousand pages of vellum, was only made possible because over five-hundred calves were raised and slaughtered, before their time, all for their skin, skin that would be turned into the pages you are all gathered here to gawk at!

“But that wasn’t enough for you, was it? It wasn’t enough for you to celebrate this atrocity. Someone here was set to announce to the world a plan to recreate the feat. To raise another five-hundred cows, slaughter them before they reached their prime, rip the skin off their flesh, stretch it out and dry it to create another thousand pages so modern scribes could reproduce a fifth copy, all to demonstrate the techniques that went into creating these…these…things! Someone here was planning to put their extreme decadence on display to recreate for their own entertainment and vanity something that should never have been created in the first place, for the price paid was too high. Two-thousand cattle, innocently slaughtered for the pleasure of man.”

He sneered at the crowd. “But after tonight, whoever you are, you won’t be able to fulfill your twisted desire. I intend to find out who you are, and put an end to your murderous ways once and for all.” He pointed at the bombs surrounding them. “Every one of these devices is a bomb powerful enough to kill everyone in this room.” Gasps and cries erupted anew at what they already must have surmised. “If anybody tries to leave, if the police try to get in, if anyone tries to stop us, then we’ll detonate the bombs and everyone will die.” He smiled. “So, you’re all reliant on each other. If you see someone trying to do something, it’s up to you to stop them, because if you don’t, you will die for their actions.”

His phone rang in his pocket and he fished it out, cursing at the poor timing.

He strode out of the atrium as he took the call. “Not a good time, sir.”

“What the hell are you up to?”

He was taken aback at the venom in his benefactor’s voice. And the fact he was calling at all. “I didn’t expect to hear from you. How did you find out?”

“It’s all over the Internet. Is it true you’ve taken hostages?”

“From what I can see, you’ve already got police outside.”

“How are you planning on getting out of there?”

There was a pause. “What do you mean you’re not?”

“I mean, we never were. Our plan all along was to play this out as long as we could in front of the cameras, and then when the police move in—boom—it’s all done. That way, the world will know why we did it and how resolved we were.”

“And you think that will make a difference? That a bunch of eco-nutbars killing themselves will make a difference?”

He tensed at the vitriol. “We’re not nutbars.”

“I’m not saying you are. I’m saying that’s what the world will think.”

“Well, the world won’t be concerned with our deaths. They’ll be concerned with all the millionaires and billionaires and the Hollywood types that are standing in that room right now, and the fact that they’re dead. Maybe then their friends and families and the one-percenters who rule us all will think twice about harming an animal in the future.”

Richter’s voice softened. “Perhaps. What about the Bible?”

“What do you plan on doing with it?”

“Blow it up with us. Nobody should be allowed to celebrate a disgusting creation like this, a testament to the death of five-hundred innocent creatures. Nobody will dare think of trying to recreate a copy using the traditional methods.”

“You know that’s fake news, don’t you?”

Peeters’ eyes narrowed. “I know what I read, and I believe those reports.”

“You fool! That’s my people who put those reports out there. You know that’s how we operate. We put out disinformation to confuse the issue, to gain support for our cause.”

Peeters mouth watered as his stomach churned. “What are you telling me?”

“I’m telling you that if you kill yourself today, there never was going to be another Bible created. If that’s the only reason you’re killing yourself, then don’t do it.”

The blood drained from his face as the speech he had made replayed in his head, as the speeches he had made to rally his people echoed. He drew a breath of resolve. “It’s too late now. Besides, killing all these people that secretly rule the world will still serve a purpose.”

“I highly suggest you rewrite whatever speech you’re giving so it doesn’t make any reference to a fifth Bible, otherwise you’ll go down in history sounding like a fool.”

He didn’t bother telling the man it was too late. “I’ll take it under advisement.”

“Do you want me to figure out a way to get you out of this?”

Peeters grew suspicious. “Why? You seem quite concerned about my welfare suddenly. Just a month ago, you refused our regular protest fee.”

“Hey, I’m not going to give a hundred Euros a day to people who can’t get more than a dozen out for a rally. If you can’t fill a bus, then you’re not worth my time or effort.”