rental.”
“I know we pay you enough to afford
to buy.”
Of course they did. But Luca saw no
point in tying up money in real estate. He wanted no anchors. When the time
came to move on, as it inevitably would, he wanted to be able to pick up and go
without a second’s hesitation, without a single look back.
“It’s the way I’ve always lived.”
“I know. I’ve tried to explain that
to them. They don’t care. They want you settled in. I went out on a limb to get
you this cushy assignment, but if you don’t put down some roots, they’ll
transfer you out to Idaho . And
I’ll have egg on my face.”
Luca had spent a few months at the Idaho facility and had no desire to go back.
He held up his hands in surrender.
“Message received. I’ll see what I can do about buying this place.”
“Luca,” Lister said, smiling as he
put a hand on his shoulder. He rarely called him by his first name. “You’re
making good money. And you’ll be making better and better money. Enjoy it, for
Christ’s sake. That’s what it’s for. You can’t take it with you.”
Luca nodded. “I guess you’re right.”
But he was thinking, You can take it with you—if you’ve got it squirreled away in
a secret offshore account.
Luca believed in being prepared. He’d
learned that from his mother. She might have been a whore, but she was no
dummy. She always kept a roll of cash hidden away for what she called “the
rainy days,” when the cops periodically would raid her place and roust her out.
The cash had always kept her out of jail.
The same held true here. Who knew
when the weather would change? He could handle the proverbial rainy day, but
SIRG played rough, and if a shitstorm struck, he believed in having a safe
harbor to hole up in. His was in Hamilton , Bermuda .
He repressed a shudder. If SIRG ever found out about that account…
“But that’s only half the reason for
this face-to-face,” Lister said.
“If it’s about the missing sim,”
Lucas blurted, relieved to be moving away from his personal life, “I just
enlisted Mercer Sinclair’s help—a million-dollar reward.”
Lister was looking at him. “So you
told him?”
“Not yet. Not till I find the sim.
I’ve got people combing the city, visiting any place that uses sim labor. This
reward will flush out anyone who’s seen her. Once I have her, the Sinclairs can
take over.”
Lister frowned. “You might have had
this sewn up by now if they’d been on board from the start.”
“They’d have added nothing but
panic.” Bad enough to have Lister calling twice a day, he didn’t need the
Sinclairs yammering in his ear every free minute too. “And don’t forget, it
took days for the fire department to sift through all the rubble. Until they
reported no sim remains, we didn’t know for sure she was missing.”
“Still, if this million-dollar reward
had been announced days ago…”
“You know my problem with telling
SimGen too much.”
“This ‘leak’ you suspect?”
Luca nodded.
Lister shoved his hands in his
pockets and looked around. “I thought you were way off base with that at first.
Now I’m not so sure.”
“Why? What’s happened?”
“The Manassas attorneys met with the Cadman woman and Sullivan. What a farce. She could have
walked away with millions but she’s asking for billions in damages.”
Luca
“I know we pay you enough to afford
to buy.”
Of course they did. But Luca saw no
point in tying up money in real estate. He wanted no anchors. When the time
came to move on, as it inevitably would, he wanted to be able to pick up and go
without a second’s hesitation, without a single look back.
“It’s the way I’ve always lived.”
“I know. I’ve tried to explain that
to them. They don’t care. They want you settled in. I went out on a limb to get
you this cushy assignment, but if you don’t put down some roots, they’ll
transfer you out to Idaho . And
I’ll have egg on my face.”
Luca had spent a few months at the Idaho facility and had no desire to go back.
He held up his hands in surrender.
“Message received. I’ll see what I can do about buying this place.”
“Luca,” Lister said, smiling as he
put a hand on his shoulder. He rarely called him by his first name. “You’re
making good money. And you’ll be making better and better money. Enjoy it, for
Christ’s sake. That’s what it’s for. You can’t take it with you.”
Luca nodded. “I guess you’re right.”
But he was thinking, You can take it with you—if you’ve got it squirreled away in
a secret offshore account.
Luca believed in being prepared. He’d
learned that from his mother. She might have been a whore, but she was no
dummy. She always kept a roll of cash hidden away for what she called “the
rainy days,” when the cops periodically would raid her place and roust her out.
The cash had always kept her out of jail.
The same held true here. Who knew
when the weather would change? He could handle the proverbial rainy day, but
SIRG played rough, and if a shitstorm struck, he believed in having a safe
harbor to hole up in. His was in Hamilton , Bermuda .
He repressed a shudder. If SIRG ever found out about that account…
“But that’s only half the reason for
this face-to-face,” Lister said.
“If it’s about the missing sim,”
Lucas blurted, relieved to be moving away from his personal life, “I just
enlisted Mercer Sinclair’s help—a million-dollar reward.”
Lister was looking at him. “So you
told him?”
“Not yet. Not till I find the sim.
I’ve got people combing the city, visiting any place that uses sim labor. This
reward will flush out anyone who’s seen her. Once I have her, the Sinclairs can
take over.”
Lister frowned. “You might have had
this sewn up by now if they’d been on board from the start.”
“They’d have added nothing but
panic.” Bad enough to have Lister calling twice a day, he didn’t need the
Sinclairs yammering in his ear every free minute too. “And don’t forget, it
took days for the fire department to sift through all the rubble. Until they
reported no sim remains, we didn’t know for sure she was missing.”
“Still, if this million-dollar reward
had been announced days ago…”
“You know my problem with telling
SimGen too much.”
“This ‘leak’ you suspect?”
Luca nodded.
Lister shoved his hands in his
pockets and looked around. “I thought you were way off base with that at first.
Now I’m not so sure.”
“Why? What’s happened?”
“The Manassas attorneys met with the Cadman woman and Sullivan. What a farce. She could have
walked away with millions but she’s asking for billions in damages.”
Luca
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