The Persona Protocol - By Andy McDermott Page 0,135

sort of stupid question is that?’

‘Where did you meet me? Before Russia, I mean. Where do you know me from?’

Confusion joined anger on Qasid’s face. ‘Why are you asking me things you already know?’

‘Answer the question.’

‘I won’t tell you anything!’

‘Yes, you will.’

‘Are you going to torture me?’ he sneered. ‘And you Americans call us animals!’

‘I’m not going to torture you,’ said Adam, taking something from a pocket. ‘But that doesn’t mean I won’t hurt you.’ Before Qasid could react, he pushed the prongs of a stun gun hard against the terrorist’s chest and pulled the trigger. There was an electric flash. Qasid instantly slumped into a twitching heap.

‘Jesus!’ gasped Bianca, nearly as shocked as the Pakistani. ‘You didn’t tell me you were going to do that to him!’

‘Did you want to put the cap on him while he was still awake and resisting?’

‘Well, when you put it that way, no. But—’

‘We don’t have a lot of time,’ said Adam, stepping back.

Still shaken, Bianca booted up the PERSONA before taking out the first skullcap and pulling it over the stunned man’s head. ‘What about the camera?’ she asked, glancing at the lens staring glassily down from above the door. ‘The guard’ll be watching us.’

‘We won’t be doing anything he hasn’t seen before.’ Adam started to put on his own skullcap.

‘You know, I don’t find that very reassuring.’ She secured Qasid’s cap and connected its cable to the PERSONA. ‘Okay, now I need to work out the drug dose . . .’

‘Don’t go through the full routine,’ said Adam. ‘We don’t have time.’

‘What do you mean?’ she asked hesitantly.

‘I mean, the whole charade Roger asked you to do so he can stay on the project.’

She looked up at the camera again. ‘I, uh . . . I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.’

‘It doesn’t have audio. Your secret’s safe with me. I said you can trust me.’

Bianca glared at him. ‘How long have you known?’

‘Well, you just confirmed it.’ On her horrified realisation that she had dropped herself and Albion in it, he went on: ‘But I suspected in Macau. You did things in the wrong order, missed out steps – but it still worked, so it got me wondering. After Russia, I was sure.’ He handed her his skullcap’s cable. ‘Is this on right?’

‘Do you even need me to check any more?’ she replied, both relieved by his discretion and irked at the amusement he was taking from her embarrassment.

‘I’d rather be safe.’ He dropped lower so she could examine the electrodes.

‘Looks fine,’ she said, plugging in the cable. ‘But if it gives you an electric shock, don’t expect any sympathy.’

‘I trust you not to let that happen. The drug?’

‘Yes, yes. How much would you say he weighs?’

Without the need for pretence, the correct dose did not take long to calculate. Bianca took out the jet injector. ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’

‘I’ve never been more sure of anything. At least,’ he added, ‘that I can remember.’

‘You’re starting to develop quite a smart-arsed sense of humour, did you know that?’

‘Maybe I’m picking it up from you. Okay, give me the shot.’

She put the nozzle against his neck. ‘Let’s hope it’s worth—’

Clack!

They both whirled at the sound of the lock. The door opened – and Tony entered the cell. His expression was the coldest Bianca had ever seen it. ‘Morning, guys,’ he said, the casual greeting not reflected by his tone. ‘How’s it going?’

Bianca was frozen with fear, but Adam simply asked: ‘How did you know?’

‘Because the system logs everything, and sends out “Hey, did you really authorise this?” warnings if an order’s issued under somebody’s login from a terminal they don’t normally use. If you were going to hack it, you should have waited for Levon to come in. I should probably ask how you got my login in the first place, but that can wait. Right now, what I want to know is: what the hell are you doing?’

‘What I have to,’ Adam replied. He looked down at the semi-conscious Qasid. ‘He knows something about my past. I need to know what.’

‘Harper said to leave him to the interrogators at Guantanamo.’

‘Do you agree with him?’

‘It doesn’t matter whether I do or not. If the Director of National Intelligence gives an order, it gets followed. End of discussion.’

‘But I’ve got to know, Tony!’ Adam cried with sudden desperation. ‘Qasid’s met me before – but I don’t know where, or why. This is the only way I can find