The Persona Protocol - By Andy McDermott Page 0,132
get some proper sleep.’
‘I think that’s a good idea,’ she said, stifling a yawn.
‘You want a ride to your hotel? I’m probably going to head home myself soon.’
‘Thanks, but there’s something I need to do before I go.’
‘Check on Adam?’
‘Good guess.’
‘It wasn’t a guess.’ He stood. ‘And this isn’t a guess either – you want to ask me about the side effects of having a persona imprinted more than once.’
‘You’re good at this. You should be a spy or something.’
Tony laughed. ‘I wanted to design skyscrapers when I was a kid, but things didn’t work out that way.’ He sat on the couch beside her. ‘The second time I took on Najjar’s persona, it felt . . . smoother, maybe, like it was quicker for me to adjust to it. But it was also . . .’
His expression became troubled. ‘What is it?’ Bianca asked.
‘It’s hard to describe. It felt like . . . like a tumour. Something that shouldn’t be there, growing inside me. It was a relief every time the persona was wiped, but . . . it made coming in for the next interrogation worse because I knew this thing would be back. I started getting sick to my stomach every time I went to the lab.’
‘Did you tell anyone?’
He shook his head. ‘No, because I’m a macho idiot.’ The self-deprecating admission made her smile. ‘And I wanted to bring al-Qaeda down using that son of a bitch Najjar’s own knowledge. Which we did – we took out a whole bunch of his top men. Unfortunately, not all of them. Al-Rais survived. And now we’re back in exactly the same situation.’
‘Not quite the same. This time it’s Adam doing it.’
‘Yeah. And I hope he doesn’t go through what I did, but . . . well. It’s like that definition of insanity: doing exactly the same thing and expecting a different outcome.’ He straightened. ‘You should talk to him. Persuade him not to be a macho idiot.’
‘That might be tough.’ They both smiled. ‘But yes, I’ll try.’ She stood. ‘And Tony . . . thanks.’
‘For what?’
‘For telling me all that. I know it must have been hard.’
‘Not as hard as actually doing it. If you can help Adam avoid it, you’ve certainly got my blessing.’
‘I’ll see what I can do.’
She left the debriefing room and headed through the corridors to the Bullpen. Only a few of the workstations were manned at this early hour, a skeleton night-shift crew standing in for the regular team members. She went to the Cube and hesitantly tapped on the door.
Adam replied immediately. ‘Yes?’
‘It’s Bianca. Can I come in?’
‘Sure.’
She entered. Adam had changed his clothes, an open wall panel revealing a small wardrobe. ‘Morning,’ she said.
‘Hi. Are you okay?’
‘That was going to be my opening question. Did you get any sleep?’
‘Some.’
She detected an unsettled air to his answer. ‘Did you have the same dream again?’
‘I always have it. But there was something about it this time . . .’
‘Was it different? Did you remember something?’
‘Not remember, as such, but . . . I’m more certain than ever that it was something real – up until the part where I see myself dead, anyway. Qasid’s got something to do with it. I don’t know how I know, but . . . I know.’ He shook his head. ‘As for how much sleep I actually got, it was enough to erase al-Rais’s persona.’
‘That must be a relief.’
‘It is. But you’re still worried about the effects, right?’
‘Yeah.’ She sat facing him. ‘I just talked to Tony about . . . about what he went through with Najjar’s persona. I want to make sure you’re okay.’
‘Thank you. I’m fine, though.’
‘You’re not just being a macho idiot when you say that, are you?’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘Tony’s words, not mine.’
‘Tony called me a macho idiot?’
‘No, that’s what he called himself. For not telling anyone what he was going through.’
‘Right.’ He said nothing for a moment, lost in thought. ‘It did feel different the second time.’
‘How so?’
‘It’s hard to put into words. It felt . . . like getting into character for a play, I suppose. If you’ve rehearsed it, it’s easier to do.’
‘So I assume you’ve acted in a play before, if that’s the first metaphor you thought of.’
‘Huh. I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe I was in the drama club at school.’
‘Well, you are a spy. There’s a lot of acting involved.’
A wry grin. ‘It’d be good to have a complete script once in a while.’