As he stood up an intercom box on Stahl's desk buzzed urgently. Stahl's plump finger touched a button.
"Mr. Stahl!" a voice shrieked from the box. "A gang of masked men—they just held up the radium vault in the bank downstairs again!"
The pink color drained from Stahl's fat cheeks. His thick lips fell open.
Steel's hand darted into his coat pocket and came out with his gun. He started for the door. "Come on!" he said. "If that's The Bear it's the second time he's struck today!"
It was. Sticking in the vaults lead wall was a gleaming white ice bear's claw. That was all—except the chattering crowd, a small army of Stahl's embarrassed guards, and Miss Lois Harmon who had seen the whole thing.
A masked gloved man had suddenly appeared at the teller's cage and at each alarm button—they'd seemed to know the layout perfectly, she told Steel. There were seven of them; four held pistols on the crowd while the other three emptied the contents of the vault into leadex bags. Then they'd marched out, stepped into a waiting tunnel car and streaked into the upper level tunnel. The girl's green eyes were bright with excitement. She seemed to be enjoying this like a telemovie.
"It was wonderful! I only wish they'd kidnapped me and taken me with them."
Steel looked at her with open disgust. Poor bored little rich girl—he felt like turning her across his knee and spanking that $200 girdle. "It was just sheer luck somebody wasn't killed here," he said. "Now you stick around. I hope the police lock you up as a material witness."
The cop on the corner had called the station and the squad was on the way. The gun in Steel's hand was all the authority he needed however. He cleared the crowd away from the vault and walked in. Hampton Stahl followed him, wringing his pudgy hands. "The second time today!" he moaned. "They're trying to ruin me!"