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Bonded in Death

Plot Summary

His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes…

Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds the Rossi case frustrating. She’s got an elderly victim who’d just arrived from Rome; a widow who knows nothing about why he’d left; an as-yet unidentifiable weapon; and zero results on facial recognition. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks Summerset—fiercely loyal, if somewhat grouchy, major-domo and the man who’d rescued her husband from the Dublin streets—may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then.

When Summerset learns of the crime, his shock and grief are clear—because, as he eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must—not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died. Summerset is one of those who remain—and the murderous mission is yet to be fully accomplished…

Spoiler warning!
This article contains plot details about an upcoming episode.

Timeline

Story Date: September, 2061[1]

…incomplete…

Urban Wars, London

Prologue

  1. Chameleon - actor
  2. Cobra - technician
  3. Fawn - teacher
  4. Fox - medic
  5. Hawk - mechanic
  6. Magpie - thief
  7. Mole - heiress
  8. Owl - scientist
  9. Panther - dancer
  10. Rabbit - soldier and the de facto leader
  11. Shark - cop
  12. Wasp - technician
  • They toasted to a successful mission and it was revealed that one of the group was a traitor.

Present Day, New York

Day 1

Chapter 1

  • Giovanni Rossi, aka Wasp, flew from Rome to New York at the request of one of The Twelve, Fox. Once in the limo the driver released poison into the sealed and locked back seat, killing Rossi painfully.
  • The driver parked the limo in his garage and placed a card in Rossi’s hand reading “Here lies the dead Wasp. He joins Fawn, Hawk, Rabbit. XII are now VIII. Soon there will be only I.”
  • The driver changed his disguise, drove the limo to an underpass, drove home in the vehicle he had parked nearby, and removed his disguise.
  • Lieutenant Eve Dallas woke from a sex dream when her communicator buzzed, alerting her to a dead body.
  • A pair of officers told Dallas the victim was holding a card with Dallas’s contact information. She identified the victim and determined it wasn’t robbery.

Chapter 2

  • Dallas and her partner, Peabody, mused about the meaning of the message, with Dallas confirming with her husband, Roarke, that he didn’t know Rossi.
  • They reviewed the security feed at the international terminal, seeing the victim arriving and the driver meeting Rossi. Going back to when the driver arrived, they watched him hold the card up to the camera with a smirk.
  • Dallas called Rossi’s wife-she didn’t know why her husband went to New York or who his old friend was, just that he made an oath and had to go.
  • Peabody thought it was a spy thing from the Urbans.

Chapter 3

  • At the morgue, Morris confirmed the COD was poison, an airborne gas rather than ingested from food.
  • Berenski said it was phosphine, which used to be used to exterminate pests, but had been phased out and banned over thirty years ago.
  • The head sweeper found a canister of phosphine in the limo dated 2024 and a recording of Rossi’s murder.
  • Whitney told Dallas Feeney’s code name during the Urbans was “Hound” and his was “Lightning.”

Chapters 4-5

  • Peabody found a lot of travel in Europe and the Middle East during Rossi’s time as an employee of Sicurezza Informatica, despite his job description as handling cybersecurity remotely for clients. There had been no unusual travel since retirement.
  • Rossi’s wife and oldest son came to Central, but neither of them knew anything about Rossi’s spy past. They gave Dallas and Peabody explanations for his myriad injuries, none of which were believable.
  • Since the card was left between two fingers that had been broken in the past, Dallas thought those wounds were particularly significant. It all went back to whatever happened in May, 2026, when he received those wounds and the knife scar along his left rib cage.
  • Nadine agreed to research bioweapons and what was going on in May, 2026 since the Urban Wars were largely over by 2024. She and her rock star boyfriend, Jake Kincade, were happily in love and living together in Nadine’s penthouse apartment. Her protégé, Quilla, was doing well and seeing Jamie Lingstrom, but not seriously since reporter+cop after graduation.
  • Dallas reluctantly decided to work with her pain-in-the-ass majordomo, Summerset, a medic and more in the Urban Wars, and his friend, Ivanna Liski, a spy during the Urbans.

Chapter 6

  • Roarke used his unregistered computer to research Rossi’s company, which was a front for covert operations during the Urban Wars (and currently).
  • When Summerset arrived home, he went to Eve’s home office in response to the message Roarke left. He saw Eve’s murder board and recognized Rossi.

Chapter 7

  • Summerset filled Eve and Roarke in on the identities of The Twelve and their mission.
  1. Chameleon - actor - Marjorie Wright
  2. Cobra - technician - Cyril Snowden
  3. Fawn - teacher - Alice Dormer
  4. Fox - medic - Summerset]]
  5. Hawk - mechanic - Leroy Dubois
  6. Magpie - thief - Harry Mitchell
  7. Mole - heiress - Iris Arden
  8. Owl - scientist - Ivan Draski
  9. Panther - dancer - Ivanna Liski
  10. Rabbit - soldier and the de facto leader - Sylvester Farr
  11. Shark - cop - Conrad Potter
  12. Wasp - technician - Giovanni Rossi
  • Summerset told them about the betrayal by Conrad Potter, which resulted in the deaths of Leroy Dubois (aka Hawk) and Summerset’s wife, Alice Dormer (Fawn), during their final mission. Farr (Rabbit) died of natural causes fifteen years ago and that was the last time the remaining non-treacherous members got together (for his funeral).
  • Rossi broke two of Potter’s fingers apprehending him, but left him to Summerset to kill; Summerset decided to let the court determine Potter’s punishment rather than killing him, and he was sentenced to life in prison, where he died five years ago.
  • Summerset thought Rossi was lured to New York by someone posing as him since being met with a limousine didn’t raise any red flags. He agreed to contact the rest of The Twelve (sans Ivanna Liski, who was already in New York). They would stay at Roarke’s mansion since that was the most secure place on earth, or at least in New York.

Day 2

Chapter 8

  • Over breakfast, Summerset gave Eve and Roarke more information about the final mission and how he came to join the Underground movement, including his background and the other members of the team. Potter had no family and acted alone when he betrayed the rest of the team.
  • At Central, Eve updated Peabody, who was delighted to be proven right that Rossi was a spy and even more excited to learn that a dashing young Summerset was one also. Dallas tasked Peabody with background checks on the living members, sans Summerset.
  • Dallas spoke with the warden of the prison where Potter was held after being convicted of war crimes. She didn’t buy that Potter died suddenly from an undetected brain tumor, especially after learning that the attending physician resigned a few weeks later and dropped off the grid. She enlisted assistance from her Interpol contact to have Potter’s ashes sent to New York to test the DNA.
  • Dallas asked Feeney to find the doctor who pronounced Potter dead and then disappeared a few weeks later.

Chapter 9

  • Dallas had a consult with Dr. Mira; the conclusion was Potter was “an egoist, a sociopath, and one who kills as much for pleasure as gain.”
  • Dallas presented the case to Whitney and Chief Tibble. Abernathy contacted her with the news that the ashes would be delivered to Dr. DeWinter by the end of the day.
  • Back at EDD, Dallas updated Feeney and filled him in on the spy stuff. McNab and Callendar hadn’t identified the limo driver yet. Dallas thought it was a disguised Potter, and since there were no blemishes or lines on the face, they agreed it was face putty.

Chapter 10

  • Dallas reviewed the notes Peabody had gathered for the team members, beginning with Summerset’s wife, Alice Dormer.
  • Peabody confronted Dallas about Ivan Draski since she recognized the name from Missing in Death. Dallas told her why she let him go and why she didn’t plan to arrest him this time either.

Chapter 11

  • Dallas and Peabody returned to the mansion to interview the spies. Ivanna Laski, who didn’t like Potter, was too polite to say that, but Marjorie Wright, who also didn’t like Potter, was not too polite to spill the tea about him. Dallas floated the “Potter is still alive” theory by each of them and they agreed that made the most sense.
  • Draski apologized for disobeying Dallas’s order to not return to New York, offering her the chance to arrest him after they apprehended Rossi’s killer, whom Draski was sure was a still-alive Potter. Dallas assured him she had no intention of arresting Draski, and Potter’s supposed ashes were on their way to New York to be tested for DNA.
  • The information on Potter was: selfish, bigoted, sweet tooth, fussy and vain with his appearance, hated cats, liked using people, and played golf. He stole art and other valuables from people he killed.

Chapter 12

  • Harry Mitchell added more of the same during his interview, plus details of the final mission and Potter’s success at getting him to leave his post, but Alice’s recovery and quick action to alert HQ of Potter’s betrayal, preventing him from escaping unharmed.
  • Roarke joined Dallas and Peabody and they decided Potter had a townhouse or detached house with a private garage where he was able to modify the limo. He’d want high-end, a lot of space, and droids rather than humans for domestics.
  • Feeney found the prison doctor living in Costa Rica with a new face and name.
  • Cyril Snowden told Dallas and Peabody Potter was fussy, disliked working with a gay man (Cyril) and thought women were inferior, underestimating Fawn. He preferred French food and enjoyed high-brow theater.
  • Iris Arden told Eve and Peabody about how she came to join the Underground (through Marjorie Wright and Ivanna Liski).
  • Summerset admitted to going Scary Roarke on Potter after he hit on Alice: Alice had handled the situation but Summerset waited until Potter was in the shower, then went in, took his cock in hand, twisted, and sent him to his knees. “While he gasped, I told him if he put hands on her again, Alice would surely send him off limping. But there were ways to break what I twisted in my hand, and I’d add that broken cock to his bruised balls.”

Chapter 13

  • Iris’s cousin called to meet for lunch at Chez Robert the next day, including Marjorie and Ivanna once she learned they were with Iris.
  • Since that seemed a bit too convenient and coincidences are bollocks, Dallas and Roarke visited the cousin. Darlie admitted her ’link disappeared after she used it at lunch.

Chapter 14

  • At Chez Robert, Roarke located and defused the boomer Potter planted under one of the tables.

Day 3

Chapter 15

  • Whitney reamed Dallas out for defusing a bomb instead of calling in the bomb squad and for proceeding as if Rossi’s murderer was Conrad Potter even though it had not yet been confirmed that he was still alive.
  • On the way to the conference room, DeWinter confirmed the DNA belonged to another inmate who had self-terminated three days before Potter’s alleged death.

Chapter 16

  • Berenski texted Dallas: the fingerprints on the boomer belonged to Potter.
  • Dallas outlined the op to take Potter while he was watching the restaurant, beginning at noon to try to locate him before the scheduled lunch.
  • Dallas and Peabody checked out a few apartments with good views of the restaurant, but didn’t find Potter. They visited the restaurant, where they learned that Potter lunched the previous day, leaving before eating, claiming the rest of his party had an emergency. Dallas hooked the server up with a police artist to work up a sketch.

Chapter 17

  • Potter was with a real estate agent viewing one of the available apartments. He convinced the agent to leave him in the apartment so he could walk through it with his wife, Alice, on the ’link. He texted Iris as her cousin, saying he was running late.
  • Dallas was sure he was in one of the apartments they checked, and headed back to check out the painters. Potter wasn’t there, but one of the painters told Dallas that a real estate agent had been through the vacant apartments, which tipped Dallas off to Potter posing as a man looking to rent.
  • Dallas saw Potter running away from the apartment building, but when he saw her chasing him, he pulled out a gun and shot her. When he saw Dallas keep running, he shot at two civilians. Dallas flung herself in front of the women, taking the bullet meant for them. A Good Samaritan only saw the part where Dallas knocked the women down, not the part where she saved their lives from a bullet, and in the melee Potter was able to get away.

Chapter 18

Character List

List of Main Characters Appearing in this Book

List of Secondary Characters Appearing in a two this Book

List of Recurring Characters Appearing in this Book

List of Minor Characters Appearing in this Book

List of Peripheral Characters Appearing or Mentioned in this Book

Trivia

YANNIs

  • Not a YANNI, but sounded off: Roarke was ready for a four-thirty a.m. call to Sydney, Australia (Chapter 1); it would have been 8:30 p.m. there, which seems an odd time for a business call.
  • Summerset told Dallas he hadn’t heard from Giovanni Rossi in nearly twenty years, but later said the remaining non-treacherous members last got together at Sylvester Farr’s funeral fifteen years ago.[3]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Giovanni Rossi “flew from Rome to New York in September of 2061” (Chapter 1). Later, Eve and Roarke are “an ordinary couple taking a stroll on a lovely September evening” (Chapter 14).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bonded in Death, Chapter 3
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bonded in Death, Chapter 7