F Paul Wilson - Sims 03 Read Online Free

dirty white roll-up garage door and
pressed a buzzer. She glanced up into the eye of an overhead security camera
and nodded once, signaling that all was clear. The door buzzed open.
                 Inside, a single dusty bulb glowed in
the ceiling. They found Zero, barely visible in the gloom, his tall lean figure
swathed in sweater, jeans, ski mask, dark glasses, and gloves, pacing beside a
beat-up Ford Econoline delivery van, once white, now soot gray.
                 “Have you heard any more about this
SLA group?” he said without preamble.
                 Romy sensed the tension in his voice.
                 “Nothing. I
called a few of the cops I know but nothing’s broken yet beyond the identity of
the corpse in the ashes: Craig Strickland, a twenty-four-year-old loser with a
history of assaults.”
                 “Doesn’t sound like your typical
globulin farmer. ”
                 “They figure he was security. He may
have tried to resist. As for the SLA , an all-points has been issued but they and their captives seem
to have vanished.”
                 “Two vans filled with human and sim
hostages and no one’s seen a thing?”
                 “Not yet.”
                 Zero slammed a gloved fist against
the already dented side of the van.
                 “Damn! Who are these psychos? What do
they hope to accomplish for sims by murdering humans?
Not that the world is any poorer for the loss of a globulin farmer, but killing
him shifts the focus. The public’s attention is on the murder now, not on the
sims the dead man was abusing.”
                 “Pardon my paranoia,” Patrick said,
“but maybe that’s the whole point. Maybe these aren’t sim sympathizers. Maybe
SimGen is behind them.”
                 “I don’t buy that,” Zero said, “but
let’s assume SimGen has somehow come to the conclusion that the gains from
high-profile murder will, by some stretch of the imagination, outweigh the
risks. If that’s true, and if they’re going to spray paint ‘Death to sim
oppressors’ at the scene, then why kill only one of the globulin farmers? Why
not make a real statement and kill them all?”
                 “Hostages?”
                 Zero’s expression was unreadable
behind his mask and shades, but Romy could imagine a dour look as he stopped
his pacing and faced Patrick.
                 “How many people can you see stepping
forward to pay a globulin farmer’s ransom?”
                 Patrick shrugged. “Okay. So much for the hostage idea.”
                 “‘Death to sim
oppressors!’” Zero said, slamming his fist against the van again. “Damn
them! Idiots!”
                 Romy had never seen him show so much
emotion. She found it oddly exciting.
                 Down, girl, she told herself as she
pulled her digital camera’s chip case from her pocket.
                 She said, “I may have another piece
to add to the puzzle. I took a shot of an Asian man—Japanese, I think—at the
scene. He ducked away as soon as he saw the camera. I’ve never seen him before,
and it may mean nothing, but he was definitely camera shy.”
                 Zero seemed to have calmed himself . He took the chip. “I’ll see if he’s anyone we
should know about.”
                 “But what’s the plan?” she said.
“What do we do about this SLA?”
                 “No choice but to wait and see. I
doubt we’ll have much of a wait. A group like that won’t want to stay out of
the headlines. But in the meantime, we’re ready to make our move against
Manassas Ventures.”
                 Romy stiffened. “When?”
                 “Monday, first
thing in the morning. Are you up for it?”
                 Monday…she’d have to