Portero’s eyes narrowed and his tone skirted with a snarl. “First off, I wasn’t about to nursemaid a bunch of monkeys. Second, they could identify us. And third, our people over in Basic Research wanted to look at their gonads, just in case they’d undergone any changes like the pregnant one. I covered that by taking hearts and kidneys and livers too—made it look like a harvest.”
Mercer clenched his teeth and stared at Portero. You shit! he thought. Just yesterday you stood right there and played all innocent about organlegging and xenografts.
He wanted to throw something at him but feared Portero might return it with interest. Or worse, shove it down his throat.
“What ice-cold womb did you spring from?” Ellis said, still shaking his head.
Mercer feared Portero might react violently, but the insult seemed to roll off him. And Mercer realized that neither of them could insult Luca Portero, because Portero didn’t care what they thought.
We’re of a different species, and our opinions are irrelevant.
Mercer watched as his brother closed his eyes a moment, took a breath, then said, “How did the globulin farmers know the father was human?”
“They asked the sim and she fingered Craig Strickland, the farm’s security guard—”
“The corpse that was found in the fire?”
“Yeah, him. Seemed he’d been spending some of his guard time diddling the livestock. Before he ate a few bullets.”
Mercer slumped back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. This can’t be happening.
“You realize what this means, don’t you, Merce.” His brother’s voice.
It wasn’t a question. Mercer lowered his hands to find Ellis staring at him. Yes, he knew exactly what this meant: the end of SimGen.
But only if somebody else found the sim first.
“Five million dollars,” Mercer blurted. “I’m raising the reward to five million for information leading to the successful ‘rescue’—and I want that term emphasized—of the missing sim. We’ll say the reason we’re willing to pay so much is that she can lead us to the killers of the twelve dead sims, and that nobody slaughters and mutilates our sims and gets away with it.”
“What if she’s dead?” Portero said. “She can’t be ‘rescued’ then.”
Mercer thought about that a moment. “I want her to be worth more alive than dead, so we’ll offer to pay just one million for her remains. But I want her alive, get it? Alive, alive, alive!”
Yes. Get their hands on this sim before anyone else. And once she’s safely tucked away, find out how she became fertile. Then take steps to make sure it never happens again.
Somewhere, out there, walking around, was living, breathing proof that humans and sims could cross-fertilize…Mercer’s worst nightmares had never even come close to such an apocalyptic scenario. If news of this ever got out, sims would have to be reclassified closer to human, too close to be property, too close to be leased…
Imagine having to announce that at the stockholders’ meeting next week. SimGen shares would crash and burn…they’d be the Hindenberg of the NASDAQ. He’d lose everything.Everything!
And so would SIRG.
“Find her, Portero,” Mercer said. “This is as important to your people as it is to me. All that SimGen stock they hold will be toilet paper if someone beats us to her. If you do nothing else in your life, you must find that sim. That is your number one priority.”
“Not quite,” Portero said softly. “There’s another, equally pressing matter that requires my attention.”
Looking at the security chief’s dark expression, and knowing his ruthlessness, Mercer was glad he was not that other “equally pressing matter.” He wondered who might be involved, then decided he’d rather not know.
“But don’t worry about your pregnant sim,” Portero went on. “I’ve got a good idea where she is and I’ll have men watching the area twenty-four/ seven. You’ll have your sim.”
22
NEWARK, NJ
Mans go way. Meerm hide in wall. Too fraid come out. Meerm feel something move inside. Not first time. Meerm feel before but nev so much. Move-move-move inside. What do that? Is why Meerm belly so big?
When sim come back work, Meerm climb out wall. Not leave closet because hear other man come. Yell-yell-yell.
“You, you lousy monkey bastard! You made me look like a jerk!”
Meerm hear Beece say, “Please, sir, Beece not understand.”
Meerm peek through crack. See big red-hair man stand over Beece.
“Don’t give me that shit! You lied to me!”
“Beece tell truth!”
“You said there was a sick female sim here! Do you see her? Where is she? Show her to me, you lying monkey bastard! Show me!”
Meerm see red-hair man raise fist. Meerm close eye, turn away. Hear hit sounds, hear Beece make hurt sounds.
“Hey-hey-hey!” Benny say. “You kill him, you replace him!”
Meerm hear other hit sound, hear more hurt sound.
“I oughta drop-kick your sim ass right out the window! All right, I’m outta here. If I have to look at another monkey I’m gonna puke!”
Man and Benny leave. Meerm want hide more but must see Beece. Beece friend, Beece hurt. Meerm leave closet. Find all sim in circle round Beece bunk. Beece eye swoll, nose bleed. Hold side. Poor Beece. Hurt-hurt-hurt.
“Beece! Meerm sorry! Ver sorry.”
Beece say, “Not Meerm fault. Beece fault. Beece want help Meerm but Meerm right. Bad mans. Ver bad.”
“Poor Beece!”
“Beece not tell ever again.” Beece look at other sim. “No sim tell mans bout Meerm. If tell mans come hurt Meerm like hurt Beece.” Beece close good eye now. “Beece tired. Sleep now.”
Meerm stay by Beece. Stroke arm. Poor hurt Beece. Meerm so sad. Keep hand on Beece arm. Stay by Beece all night.
1
MANHATTAN
DECEMBER 15
“This is fabulous!” Patrick shouted, venting his glee. “Ab-so-lute-ly faaaaabulous!”
He shuffled in a circle around the cracked concrete floor, punching the air, wanting to laugh aloud but fearing if he ever let himself get started he might not be able to stop.
Zero had called Romy and him to a meeting here in the garage without hinting at what it might be about. Patrick wished he could have watched Zero’s face, especially his eyes, as he’d laid the news on them about a sim made pregnant by a human. He hadn’t been able to fathom the mystery man’s feelings through the ski mask and shades, but Patrick knew exactly howhe felt. Suddenly his whole world had burst wide open in a blinding blaze of glory. Lawyers dream about an opportunity like this. Dream, hell, most of them didn’t even have the capacity to imagine something like this.
It was a home run.
In the bottom of the ninth.
With the bases loaded.
On Christmas Day.
With a winning lotto ticket waiting in the dugout.
Life was good, life was sooooo good!
Finally he turned back to Romy and Zero. As usual, Zero hung back in the shadows; Romy stood by the panel truck; both were watching him as if he were mad. He glanced up at the square of darkness in the ceiling above the ladder fastened to the rear wall. No eyes peering at him this time. But even if there were, it wouldn’t have fazed him. Not today.
“I get a feeling I’ve made Mr. Sullivan’s day,” Zero said, ostensibly to Romy.
“I think you made his year,” she said, her expression troubled.
Patrick couldn’t figure that. She should be beaming.
“Year?”he cried. “This makes mylife! A baby with a sim mother and a human father! Don’t you see what this means?”
“Of course,” Zero said. “Undeniable proof that humans and sims can cross-fertilize.”
“Right! And that means they have to be upgraded into the same category as humans.”
“It’s called ‘genus,’” Zero said, “not category.”