Free F Paul Wilson - Sims 04 by Zero (v5.0) Page B

the nearest tiled pillar.
                 “Hey,
don’t worry, buddy,” said a shabby guy a few feet away. “There’ll be another
along soon.”
                 Luca
wanted to kill him.

           11
     
                 SUFFOLK COUNTY , NY
                 Zero
stepped into the small, two-story farmhouse in the middle of a fallow potato
field, one of many that dotted eastern Long Island .
                 Good
to be home, even if he had no one to share the place.
                 He unwrapped the scarf from his lower face and removed
the hat with the pulled-down brim. Masking his features was relatively easy in
the colder weather, especially at night. Summer was a problem, forcing him into
a wig, a fake beard and nose, oversized sunglasses, and a floppy boonie cap.
                 He
shrugged out of his coat and turned on the three computers arranged around the
sparsely furnished living room. A couch, a recliner, a TV,
three folding chairs before the card tables holding the computers. Not
exactly the lap of luxury, but it served his purposes.
                 As the computers booted up he stepped to the mantle of the cold
fireplace where an eight-by-ten black-and-white photo of Romy Cadman leaned against the wall. He loved this close-up, taken with a telefoto lens shortly after a letter to the editor of the Times
had brought her to his attention. He felt a familiar ache as he stared at her
face.
                 Romy …were there other women in the world like her? If so,
he’d never met one. But then, really, how many women had he met? Nowhere near enough for a fair comparison.
                 He
ran a fingertip along her cheek, wishing he could do so in the flesh.
                 And
what did others matter, anyway? Romy was Romy , his Romy . He knew he
shouldn’t think of her as his, for she never would be, never could be. That
would require removing his mask for her, letting her see his face. And then
she’d reject him, turn away in loathing.
                 Well…he
didn’t actually know that, but he couldn’t risk it. Better this way. At least
he could see her often, be near her, talk to her, hear her voice. But once she rejected him, all that would be lost. And even if by
some miracle she, superior woman though she might be, didn’t reject him, the
whole relationship would change, and not for the better.
                 Tonight’s Romy ritual ended with a knock on the front door.
Even though he was expecting it, Zero jumped at the sound. A visitor here was
an occasion. Only one person knew where he lived, and his visits were rare.
                 He
laid the photo face down on the mantle and went to the door. When he opened it
he embraced his oldest and dearest friend, the man who was like a father to
him.
                 “How
are you?”
                 “Good,
Ellis. Very good. How are you?”
                 “Getting
better every day, thanks to what you and your group have been doing.”
                 Ellis
Sinclair did look better. Maybe a little grayer, but less
gaunt. Perhaps he was eating better.
                 “Come
in,” Zero said, shutting the door and taking Ellis’s coat.
                 He
felt a little awkward. He was unpracticed at being a host.
                 Ellis
did a slow turn, taking in the small living room. “Are you comfortable here?”
                 “Yes,
thanks to you.”
                 He
pulled a bottle of Scotch from the cabinet under the TV. He’d never developed a
taste for liquor himself, but he knew his guest was something of a hard
drinker. But Ellis surprised him by waving it off.
                 “Thanks,
but I’m taking a breather from the booze.”
                 Zero
almost said, Glad to hear it, but reconsidered.