The Persona Protocol - By Andy McDermott Page 0,59

activity on the screen slowed. The rapid flutter of Adam’s eyes returned to normal.

Tony reached into a case and took out a piece of paper. ‘Cheat sheet,’ he whispered. ‘To check his memory.’

Bianca nodded, still watching Adam. His eyes closed and he took in a long, slow breath, a look of pleasurable relaxation spreading across his features. ‘Adam?’

His eyes slowly opened again. The look he gave her was sleepy, and she might even have taken it for dumb docility – if not for the hint of a far sharper intelligence hiding behind it. ‘Hey, Bianca,’ he said, voice languid. ‘Tony, hi.’

‘We need to do the memory check,’ Tony told him.

‘Sure, sure.’ Another relaxed breath, then he shuffled his feet on the carpet as if settling them into a comfortable pair of slippers. ‘Ask away.’

‘Your full name?’

‘Peter William Vanwall.’

Tony checked the sheet, nodding. ‘Your date of birth?’

‘September twenty-first, 1951.’

‘Place of birth?’

‘Wilmette, Illinois.’

‘Mother’s maiden name.’

‘O’Connor.’

‘The guilty secret that you would never admit to anyone.’

A pause, then a sly smirk slowly oozed across Adam’s face. ‘Well, I wouldn’t say that I’d never admit it to anyone, since my gambling buddies all know – hell, some of them have even been in the room. But I’d really rather you didn’t tell my wife that I’ve paid for a few, ah, sexual encounters. Okay, more than a few.’ He looked Bianca up and down, taking in her undisguised expression of distaste. ‘Jeez, Bianca, don’t get your panties in a knot. She lost interest in sex years ago. Besides, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?’

‘Except for STDs,’ she said, annoyed – before the realisation struck her that she was being repelled by the behaviour of somebody who wasn’t even there. She was talking to Adam Gray, not Peter Vanwall. Peter Vanwall was thousands of miles away. She didn’t even know what he looked like.

Tony put down the paper. ‘Everything seems okay. The big question now is: can you beat Zykov at poker?’

‘Hell, yes,’ drawled Adam, standing. ‘Unless they’re actually cheating, I can take on just about anyone in the whole world. And since we’ll be cheating as well, I figure that puts us over the odds.’

‘Is that Vanwall boasting about how good he is, Adam,’ said Bianca, ‘or is it you assessing his chances based on what you know about him?’

‘A bit of both,’ he replied. The smirk had gone, though a faint but seemingly permanent upward turn remained at the corners of his mouth, as if he had worked out the punchline to the joke that was life but was keeping it to himself. ‘Vanwall is as good as he says – as good as he thinks, anyway. He genuinely believes he’s a world-class player.’

‘Don’t all gamblers? I used to play the occasional card game at university, and I thought I was pretty good compared to my friends. But I’m sure I would have been cleaned out in five minutes if I’d taken on a serious player.’

‘I’m confident.’

‘You, or Vanwall?’

‘Both.’

‘I hope you’re right,’ Tony said to him. ‘You and Vanwall. Because if we can’t get Zykov’s persona, we won’t have any leads on al-Rais or Lamplighter.’

‘I’ll beat him,’ said Adam. He was more serious now, but Vanwall’s lackadaisical smugness was still present. ‘You just make sure everyone else is set to catch him.’

‘We will be. Speaking of which, it’s your turn to get ready, Bianca. I’ll turn you over to Holly Jo.’

‘God knows what I’m going to end up looking like,’ she said as she headed for the door.

Adam watched her go, paying particular attention to the sway of her hips. ‘I’m looking forward to finding out.’

Bianca looked at herself in the mirror. ‘Well, that’s . . . rather good, actually.’

‘I’m glad to hear it,’ said Holly Jo, leaning over her shoulder to fuss a powder brush over her cheek. ‘So? Happy?’

‘Yes, thanks.’ The combination of the new hairstyle and the slightly overdone but still elegant make-up was leagues removed from her everyday look, but she couldn’t deny that it was perfectly suited to her character for the evening: the wealthy English dilettante splurging money on a new thrill. PERSONA wasn’t the only way to take on a new identity.

‘Cool. Okay, get your dress and shoes on, then Billy should have some special jewellery for you.’

Bianca regarded her newly applied false nails. ‘Can you give me a hand with the zip? I don’t want to break these.’

‘No problem. Step into it?’

She did so, Holly Jo helping her slide the bright scarlet dress over