The Persona Protocol - By Andy McDermott Page 0,143

you keep it?’

‘There is no disk,’ said Kiddrick in a dismissive tone. ‘Why would there be?’

‘You recorded Tony’s persona.’

‘That was just a precautionary measure. It was the first time we’d tried the full procedure on a person, so we wanted a point of reference. We didn’t need to do the same with you.’

Adam regarded him in cold silence. He knew Kiddrick was lying; Levon’s hack proved that. But how to challenge him without giving away his source?

He stood and crossed the room to the photograph. The younger Kiddrick, hairline slightly lower on his domed forehead, beamed smugly back at him. ‘What are you doing?’ the present-day version demanded.

Adam ignored him, pulling one side of the frame. The picture swung away from the wall, revealing a concealed safe. ‘What’s in this?’

Kiddrick jumped to his feet, eyes bulging with outrage. ‘Classified documents! What the hell do you think you’re doing?’

‘I’m finding out the truth. I think you did make a recording of my persona. Is the disk in here?’

‘That woman put you up to this, didn’t she?’ Kiddrick said, scowling. ‘Distracting you from the project, poisoning your mind. We should never have gotten her involved.’

‘This is nothing to do with Bianca. But it’s everything to do with me. Answer the question. Have you got the disk?’

‘This conversation is over,’ snapped Kiddrick. He stalked around his desk to Adam, slamming the picture back to cover the safe. ‘I suggest that you drop this, right now. Otherwise . . .’

Adam met his gaze without blinking. ‘Otherwise what, Nate?’

The use of the diminutive made Kiddrick twitch with anger. ‘Otherwise,’ he began, his voice almost cracking before he cleared his throat and repeated himself in a lower register. ‘Otherwise, I’ll report you for security violations.’

‘What security violations would those be, Nate?’

‘Asking about a disk that’s above your security clearance, for one!’

‘A disk that you said doesn’t exist? Are unicorns above my security clearance too?’

‘You are spending too much time with that woman,’ said the scientist, his face tightening. ‘Now look! I don’t know what’s brought all this on, but I’d advise you to forget about it.’

‘I’ve forgotten too much already,’ Adam replied. ‘I’m trying to get some of it back.’

Outright worry flashed across Kiddrick’s features before anger covered it. ‘I’ll remind you of something you’ve forgotten, for free: you asked us to erase your memory. In fact, you begged us to! We gave you something a lot of people would give their eye teeth to have – a clean slate, with all of that pain in your past wiped away. We did it before . . . and we can do it again. So drop it!’

He glared at Adam, who stared back at him without emotion. Kiddrick was the first to look away, ire dissolving to discomfort under the other man’s level gaze, but it was Adam who broke the silence. ‘Okay,’ he said simply. He turned and left the office.

Breathing heavily, Kiddrick watched him go. Even after the door had closed he remained still for several seconds, trying to compose himself – then he hurried to his desk and picked up the phone, stabbing in a number. He waited impatiently for the call to be transferred from Tony’s office line to his cell phone. ‘Tony!’ he barked, on getting an answer. ‘Have you been talking to Adam?’

Even through his tiredness, Tony’s sarcasm was clear. ‘Well, yeah. It’s a lot easier than using semaphore.’

‘What is this, comedian day? I meant, why did you tell him we recorded your persona when you joined the project?’

‘Because he asked? Look, what is this? I’m on my way home, but I can come back in if there’s a problem.’

‘No, no, there’s no problem.’ Kiddrick hung up without a further word, regarding the phone grimly as he pondered his next action before entering another number. ‘I need to talk to Admiral Harper.’

Adam entered the Cube. ‘What did he say?’ Bianca asked.

‘Nothing helpful. And nothing I liked, either.’

‘Did he say anything about the disk?’

‘Only that there wasn’t one. But I know he’s lying. I’m sure he’s got it in his office safe.’

‘Maybe we should use the PERSONA on him to get the combination.’

‘There’s an easier way.’ The coolly matter-of-fact way he said it made Bianca give him a curious, slightly unsettled look. ‘I think you were right, though.’

‘About what?’

‘About there being some sort of cover-up. Kiddrick didn’t say anything outright, but he implied that he knew what had happened to me before I joined the project. So if I really am a