SIMS

SIMS Page 99

Luca's mind raced as he led his men from the emergency area to the lobby. First thing, he had to seal the building and cut off any escape. But for that he needed to know where the exits were, and the place to find out was Information.

As they stormed into the dimly lit, high-ceilinged lobby he found the reception desk empty; the entire population was two gray-haired ladies and an aging security guard clustered before a TV monitor fixed on a wall. He hurried over to grab the guard but stopped dead when he saw what they were watching.

Four humans operating on a pregnant sim.

The guard turned, saw them, and stumbled backward, reaching for his two-way.

Luca reached out and grabbed his arm. "FBI!" He shouted and pointed to the monitor. "Take us to that operating room!"

"W-wait," the guard said. "You can't just come in here and - "

Luca squeezed his arm. Hard."Now!" He shoved him toward a hallway."Move!"

As the cowed guard led them toward a bank of elevators, Luca turned to Stritch and pointed toward the old ladies. "You stay here. Keep them away from the phones."

Behind his visor Luca repressed a sigh of relief. No need to worry about covering the exits. The baby hadn't been born yet. No one would be going anywhere until that happened.