Ellis rubbed a hand across his eyes, then dragged it down his face. He looked ten years older than when he’d arrived.
Zero said, “But I will do this. I will push the search for Meerm as best as I can. If that pans out, then Manassas and ‘surge’ will be moot.”
“I pray so.”
Looking exhausted, Ellis rose slowly from the recliner and shrugged into his coat.
“Is there nothing I can say to make you change your mind?”
“I wish there were, Ellis. You don’t know how much it hurts me to go against you.”
“Hurt? You don’t know hurt, Zero. Keep on this road, and it will come to a very bad end. A terrible end. And you…you may end up the sorriest of all.”
Without another word, Ellis Sinclair opened the door, stepped outside, and walked to his car, leaving Zero wondering if he’d just made the worst mistake of his life.
12
NEWARK, NJ
DECEMBER 20
Benny come and go. Meerm can’t stay hide. Too many kick inside when Meerm squeeze into wall. And must go wee. Meerm go wee so ver much these day. Leave closet now.
Feel stuff on floor. Look see white powder. Meerm touch taste. Mmmm. Sugar. Why sugar on floor?
Meerm not know. Must go wee now. Meerm hurry to bathroom. Do wee. When Meerm finish she flush.
No-no-no! Meerm forget! Must not flush! Nev flush in day when no sim round! Benny hear!
Benny come now! Meerm hurry to closet. Climb to shelf. So hard, so ver hard climb. Squeeze into hole. Squeeze-squeeze-squeeze.
“I heard that! Goddamn it I might imagine a creak or a thump, but I know I ain’t imaginin no toilet flush!
Meerm squeeze into hole, push board back. Wait and listen.
“Ay! Lookit that! Tracks through my sugar! So I ain’t loco! Someone’s up here, an I know just where you are, man!”
Meerm hear bang-bang-bang on closet door. Jump with every bang.
“I don’t know where you was hidin before, but Benny gotcha now! Ain’t no monkey gonna outsmart Benny. Benny outsmartyou ! So come on out where I can see you!”
Meerm not come out. Meerm too scare. Meerm stay. Benny nev find Meerm here behind board.
Bang-bang-bang again. “Hey! You hear me? No sense draggin this out. It’s over! You tagged!” Meerm hear closet door open. “You—what the fuck?” Hear hangers move. “Hey! What’s goin on here?”
Now Benny start bang closet wall—bang-bang-bang! Ver loud to Meerm behind board. Meerm hold breath and hold ear. Now Benny bang Meerm board. No-no-no! Board move. Meerm see light.
“Ay, lookit this shit! Damn me, there’s a space back there! Ay, that where you are? That where you been hidin on Benny? Say somethin, will ya? Awright, dammit. That the way you wanna be…”
Meerm hear Benny go but Meerm stay. Not move. Then hear Benny come back. Hear chair drag across floor. Benny push board and big light shine in Meerm eye.
“There you are, you lazy monkey. Playin hooky from the job, huh? Wait’ll I tell the boss. Ay, you’re a plump one, aintcha. Whatcha been doin? Eatin all day? You—wait a minute. Wait a fuckin minute. You that sim they lookin for! The pregnant one! The five-million-dollar sim! Holy Christ! Holy Christ! You her! An I gotcha! I gotcha!”
Light go way, Benny go way, then closet door close. Meerm hear bumps against closet door.
What Benny say? Meerm pregnant sim. What pregnant? Meerm five-million-dollar sim. What five million? Meerm not understand. Meerm try understand later. Now Meerm must run. Benny find Meerm. Benny will call mans who hurt.
Meerm climb out on closet shelf and drop to floor. Push on closet door but door not move. Meerm push so ver hard. Push-push-push, but door not move. Door locked. No-no-no!
Meerm trapped. Meerm ver fraid and ver scare. Meerm shake inside and out, almost hard as kick-kick-kick. Meerm cry. Poor, poor Meerm.
13
SUSSEX COUNTY, NJ
“Mr. Portero,” Nowicki’s voice said through Luca’s office intercom, “I think you’d better take this call.”
“Who is it?”
“Calls himself Benny Morales and says he knows you. Says he’s got the pregnant sim.”
“Sure. Him and half a million others.”
Luca shook his head. How many times had he heard that since the fivemegabuck reward hit the news? People were crawling out of the woodwork with crazy stories, some wishful thinking, others outright lies. Meerm, or an equally pregnant sim, had been sighted in Chicago, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, London, Hong Kong. The world was suddenly full of pregnant sims.
“This Morales says he met you at the Newark crib when you came looking for the pregnant sim; says she’s been hiding there right under his nose all along.”
Luca remembered Morales now, a quick, jittery little ferret of a man. Remembered that damn crib too. After a weeklong fruitless vigil, he’d yanked surveillance from the place, figuring if the pregnant sim hadn’t returned by then, she wasn’t coming back at all.
But if she’d never left the building in the first place…
“Put him though.”
Luca’s hand darted toward the phone and hovered over the receiver. He let it ring twice before picking up.
A few minutes later, after listening to Morales’s story, Luca hung up and jabbed the intercom button. “Nowicki. Get Grimes and Alessi. Meet me in the garage. We’re rolling!”
This was it. Morales’s story hung together too well to be anything but the real thing.
We’ve found her!
Luca felt as if a magnum of Dom Perignom had popped open inside his chest.
14
NEWARK, NJ
The rain clouds that had been threatening all day opened up just in time to snarl traffic throughout the metropolitan area. So it was well after dark when Luca and his men arrived at the crib. Benny Morales met them at the front door.
“Upstairs!” he said, leading them up a narrow stairway. “I got her trapped, locked up tight inna closet an I been keepin an eye on it all a time ’cept for when I was watchin for you at the window so I know she still in there.”
Morales had reminded Luca of a ferret last visit; now he was a ferret on speed. Luca could understand that. The little man was going to be a multi-millionaire. But Luca was going to recapture his pride and his credibility, and maybe even his future, and that was worth more.
“There it is,” Morales said, as he led them into a bunk-filled space on the second floor.
“Where are the rest of your sims?”
“Not back yet.” He glanced at his watch. “Maybe half hour. But look here.” He stepped farther into the room and pointed to a door on the right. “She in there.” He held up an old-fashioned skeleton key. “I got her locked and blocked. She ain’t goin nowhere nohow.”
Luca smiled. Morales wasn’t kidding. He’d wedged a chair under the doorknob. Hiding his excitement, he held out his hand and Morales dropped the key into his palm. He stepped to the door, removed the chair, and poised the key before the lock.
“Meerm?” he said though the door. “My name is Luca Portero. I am from SimGen.”
He spoke softly, maintaining a calm, soothing tone. He wanted to take this sim with the least possible fuss and muss. Everyone—from the Sinclairs all the way to the top of SIRG—wanted her and her unborn baby alive and well. The better the condition he delivered her in, the better for him. But if she was going to make this difficult he’d come prepared. One way or another, Luca intended to leave here tonight with the world’s only pregnant sim.
“The company has sent me here to protect you, Meerm. We know you’re not feeling good and we’re here to take you back to where you can rest and get well. I’m going to open the door now.”