The Persona Protocol - By Andy McDermott Page 0,37
Levon James – his desk cluttered with Transformer toys – was the information and systems specialist, or as he jokingly put it, ‘chief hacker’. Smug hair-model Kyle had the improbable surname Falconetti and the title of surveillance controller; his job – as far as Bianca could tell from his boastful but vague description – was some sort of pilot.
There was another man, standing behind the others. Until Morgan gestured him forward she had barely registered his presence. Brown hair, dark grey eyes, far from unattractive but . . .
Normally she thought she was good at reading people, but this man was giving nothing away. His expression was neutral, body language unrevealing. But it didn’t seem a deliberate attempt to shield his true self.
It was almost as if he had nothing to shield.
‘This is our lead agent,’ said Morgan. ‘At the moment, also our only agent, but . . . well, we’ll see. Dr Childs, this is Adam Gray.’
The agent needed only a moment to perform his own assessment, she saw. No wasted time, just a clinical, almost machine-like sweep of his gaze over her. ‘Hello,’ he said.
‘Hi.’ They shook hands. Again, she could draw no conclusions about him. This grip was neither clammy like Kiddrick’s, nor as domineering as Harper’s. Firm, cool . . . blank. It told her nothing.
He released her hand. She expected him to say something else, but he stayed silent.
‘Okay,’ said Morgan. ‘Adam, Tony, I’d like Dr Childs to see a demonstration of PERSONA. Dr Kiddrick?’
Kiddrick led the way out of the Bullpen. The group headed through several security doors to a lab, what resembled an operating table in the centre with a pair of curved benches near its head. Computer workstations occupied the room’s far end, a large metal cabinet between them.
‘I’ll set everything up,’ said Kiddrick.
Adam lay on the table as the scientist opened the cabinet. The upper shelves were filled with row after row of what Bianca at first thought were DVD cases before realising they were somewhat larger, while below them were racks containing glass bottles and phials of various sizes. The drugs Roger had developed?
‘Need a hand?’ Tony asked as Kiddrick fumbled with the two weighty metal cases he had taken from the bottom shelf.
‘No, I’ve got it,’ Kiddrick muttered. He clomped back to the benches, putting one case on each side of the operating table. The first one he opened contained the piece of equipment from Kiddrick’s slide show – though Bianca noticed it was somewhat bulkier and less sleek than its illustration, with an almost jury-rigged appearance; a prototype rather than a production model. The other contained a similar device, but thicker still and with a prominent slot set into its front. ‘Who do you want to use for the demonstration?’
‘Who aren’t we likely to need?’ asked Morgan. ‘We don’t want to waste someone who might be useful in the future.’
Kiddrick took the second device from its case. ‘What about, ah . . . Wilmar, he’ll do. Conrad Wilmar.’
‘Do we have any video of him?’ said Morgan. ‘It would help to show Dr Childs how effective PERSONA is.’
‘There should be a recording on the server,’ said Tony, going to one of the computers.
‘Now, Dr Childs,’ Kiddrick said, ‘I’ll explain the procedure in more detail when the time comes to train you on it. For now, this,’ he indicated the first machine, which he had just connected to its companion with a fat length of cable, ‘is the PERSONA device itself, which handles the reading, transfer and imprinting of the subject’s synaptic patterns into the agent. Adam, I mean.’ Bianca glanced at the man in question, who was staring silently up at the overhead light cluster. ‘The other device is the recorder.’ His tone became critical. ‘It’s a separate unit because it was only intended to be used in lab conditions, but that plan went by the wayside.’
‘It gives us more flexibility,’ insisted Morgan.
‘Well, if it breaks, don’t blame me; I advised against it. Still, at least I don’t have to haul the whole system around. It’s rather heavy.’ The mocking look he gave Bianca suggested he expected that to be her responsibility.
‘I found the video of Wilmar,’ said Tony from the workstation.
‘Good,’ Morgan said. ‘Dr Childs, take a look at this, please.’
She went with him to the computer while Kiddrick continued to fuss with his equipment. ‘What am I looking for?’
‘Just get a handle on his personality,’ Tony told her. He clicked the mouse, and a video began playing.