The Persona Protocol - By Andy McDermott Page 0,146
a security door ahead. He inserted his ID. The wait for the green light felt interminable. He snatched the door open and hurried through, moving at a trot now. Any moment . . .
‘Help!’
He looked back, seeing through the door’s reinforced glass that Kiddrick had left his office. ‘Security, get security!’ the scientist yelled. ‘Help me!’
Adam broke into a run. ‘Clear the way!’ he barked. The people in the corridor hurriedly moved aside to let the agent through.
He rounded a corner, Kiddrick’s yells fading behind him. Another security door. ‘Coming through, move!’ he shouted. More STS personnel cleared his path. He reached the barrier and jammed his card into the slot. Waiting, waiting—
Green light.
He barged through the door – barely a second before an alarm sounded, a strident two-tone klaxon signifying a security breach. All the security doors were now locked, every exit from the building sealed, and STS’s squad of security protective officers placed on full alert to hunt him down.
It wouldn’t take them long to find him. And if Bianca hadn’t held the stairwell door open, their job would be even easier . . .
Another corner, and he entered the short passage leading to the emergency stairs. Bianca was there, with the PERSONA cases – and one foot in the doorway. ‘Open it!’ he shouted.
‘What’s going on?’ she asked, confused and scared.
‘We’re in trouble! Go!’
She picked up the cases and entered the stairwell. ‘What did you do?’
‘I persuaded Kiddrick to open his safe,’ he said as he followed. She was about to start down the stairs. ‘No, go up! They’ll be coming from below.’
Bianca reversed direction. ‘Who will?’
‘Security.’
‘I take it your persuasion wasn’t the gentle kind!’
‘Like they say, flattery gets you nowhere. Here.’ He took one of the cases from her as they reached the next landing. ‘Keep going, all the way to the top.’
‘Where are we going?’
‘The roof.’
‘Ah . . . why?’
‘It’s the only exit that won’t have armed men guarding it.’
‘But – it’s the roof! How are we supposed to get down?’
Adam didn’t answer. They reached the top landing. A utilitarian door marked with a DANGER: NO ADMITTANCE WITHOUT AUTHORISATION sign awaited them. He pointed to the corner of the landing. ‘Wait over there.’
‘What are you doing?’
He took a hemispherical object the size of an orange from the bag. ‘It’s locked. I’m going to open it.’ He peeled a plastic sheet from the item’s flat side.
‘What’s that?’
‘A bomb.’
Bianca spluttered in disbelief. ‘A – a what?’
‘A bomb.’ He slapped the half-sphere against the door beside the card lock. It stuck fast. There was a small switch set into the curved casing; he flicked it. A red LED started to flash. ‘Cover your ears.’
He ran to her and shielded her with his body. The light flickered faster, then turned solid as a shrill bleep sounded. Adam pressed his hands to his head—
A piercing bang shook the stairwell as the shaped charge detonated. Adam looked round. A ragged hole the size of a fist had been blown through the door. ‘Okay, come on,’ he told Bianca as he picked up the case again and hurried back to the exit. He pulled at the door handle. It rattled, but didn’t open. For a moment, he thought they were trapped – then something inside the frame gave as he tugged again.
He waved Bianca through. The echoes of the explosion had faded – but he could now hear another sound.
Charging footsteps. A security team was clattering up the stairs after them.
‘Adam!’ Morgan’s voice boomed from the building’s PA system. ‘Whatever it is you’re doing, I want you and Dr Childs to stop and turn yourself in, right now!’
Adam had no intention of doing so. He went through the door after Bianca. The rumble of machinery surrounded him as he entered the maintenance level. ‘Follow the yellow line,’ he told her, pointing at a painted marking on the concrete floor. ‘It goes to the roof access.’
She saw that he had stopped, and paused to wait for him. ‘What’re you doing?’
‘I need to slow them down. Go on, keep moving!’ He took out another charge and placed it facing the doorway at the base of a large metal tank.
Morgan spoke again, his tone more sombre – and threatening. ‘Adam, this is your last warning. If you don’t surrender immediately, I’ll have no choice but to declare you a category one security threat.’
‘What does that mean?’ Bianca asked.
He flicked the switch and raced after her. ‘It means they’re authorised to use deadly force.’