The Psycho Sniper says he wants blood money to end his terrifying murder spree - and he's opened a dialogue with cops to negotiate the payout.
The Beltway sharpshooter made his demand in a three-page note found after his latest attack, on Saturday night, federal law-enforcement sources told The Post.
The handwriting and some of the wording in the letter matches that of the "Dear Policeman, I am God" note scrawled on a tarot death card left at the scene of an earlier sniper strike, sources said.
An anonymous call to the sniper tip line led investigators to the note - which was found attached to a tree behind the Ponderosa steakhouse in Ashland, Va., where the crazed gunman had critically wounded a 37-year-old man.
The man was the 12th victim - and only the third to survive - in the mad marksman's three-week rampage.
The note demanded money and warned that the horrific slaughter would resume unless the cash was paid by a stated deadline, sources said.
It also contained threats against children - threats that prompted Richmond-area school officials to cancel classes yesterday and again today.
Officials were concerned because the deadline had passed by the time FBI evidence technicians opened the note, ABC News reported.
Police Chief Charles Moose of Montgomery County, Md., responded by holding a press briefing on Sunday night at which he told "the person who left us a message at the Ponderosa last night:"
"You gave us a telephone number. We do want to talk with you. Call us at the number you provided."
Yesterday morning, Moose held another briefing at which he again addressed the sniper:
"The message that needs to be delivered is that we are going to respond to a message that we have received. We are preparing our response at this time."
And then early last evening - apparently after hearing from the sniper or an accomplice - Moose asked for another call, because part of the message was inaudible.
"The person you called could not hear everything you said. The audio was unclear, and we want to get it right. Call us back so that we can understand," he said.
Moose refused to elaborate, explaining that it "would be inappropriate and detrimental to our investigation." But he did say police were sure they were dealing with the sniper.
The killer disguised his voice for the call, MSNBC reported.
He also may have disguised his voice in the call that led cops to his extortion note. It was made by a man with "an accent of unknown origin," CNN said.
In one phone exchange with police, the sniper boasted, "I am God," the Washington Post said.
Sources said the sniper's money demand has them all but convinced that he is not a foreign terrorist.
One investigator said cops are not sure if the killer is really negotiating for money or "just playing games with us."
In a dramatic subplot - featuring a police SWAT team - two illegal aliens were caught in a stakeout set up to catch the killer.
Police had traced the sniper's tip-line call to a Richmond suburb, where they staked out pay phones.
Yesterday, at about 8 a.m., two men in a white van with a roof rack and temporary license plates pulled into an Exxon gas station and parked at one of the phones.
One of the men remained in the van for 45 minutes; the other crossed the street to use a pay phone at another gas station.
The two men - one Mexican, the other Guatemalan - were detained by cops, and their van, which carried Bush-Cheney, Marine Corps and National Rifle Association bumper stickers, was towed away.
After hours of interrogation, the two men were cleared of any ties to the sniper and turned over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service for deportation, officials said.
The two gas stations were closed down for several hours while cops removed the pay phones, and searched for evidence that may have been left behind by the sniper.
Several cops said they feared the widely publicized SWAT-team action against the two men may jeopardize negotiations with the sniper.
Meanwhile, ballistics tests linked Saturday's attack to the Beltway sniper.
The victim remained in critical condition yesterday after his spleen and parts of his pancreas and stomach were removed.
In other developments:
* France notified Interpol about a French army deserter and known marksman who is believed missing in North America.
* The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that cops have found tarot cards at more than one sniper crime scene.
The only tarot card cops have acknowledged was found in woods near the Bowie, Md., school where a 13-year-old boy was shot.
* Officials said ballistics tests failed to link a shell casing found in a truck at a rental agency near Dulles Airport to the attacks.