The Persona Protocol - By Andy McDermott Page 0,86

the worst things was not knowing how much of them was still trapped inside. Up to a certain point in the illness, occasionally a flash of the real person would come through. And when it did . . . God, I would try to hold on to it so hard. But it always slipped away.’ A morose sigh. ‘I was always watching for those flashes, though. I still do. And . . .’

‘You think you’ve seen them in me?’

‘Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.’ She shrugged helplessly. ‘Your case is different. It’s not a disease, it’s something that’s been done to you.’

‘But you still want to hold on to those flashes?’

‘Well, I am a doctor . . .’ Bianca stopped, seeing that something behind her had caught his attention. She looked round. Two men had entered the bar. She recognised them: Spence and Fallon, members of Baxter’s tactical team in Macau. They scanned the room like human radars, locking on to Adam. ‘I don’t think they’re here for a drink,’ she said as they marched over.

‘Nor do I.’ Adam looked up as they reached the table. ‘Yes?’

‘We need you to come with us back to STS, Mr Gray,’ said Fallon.

‘Is there an emergency?’

‘I can’t say. We’re just following orders.’

‘Orders from whom?’ Bianca demanded.

No reply. ‘Well?’ said Adam. ‘Whose orders?’ Still no answer. ‘It was Kiddrick, wasn’t it?’

The two men were losing patience. ‘Mr Gray,’ said Spence, ‘come with us, please.’ The final word was an insincere afterthought.

‘Just a minute,’ said Bianca. ‘I think he deserves an answer.’

Fallon was unimpressed. ‘This doesn’t concern you, Miss Childs.’

She bristled, standing and rounding the table. ‘First of all, it’s Ms Childs, not Miss. And second of all, it’s Doctor Childs to you. He asked you a question – are you going to answer it?’

‘We’ve got our orders,’ Fallon said, patience fraying. He raised a hand as if to shove Bianca aside. ‘Mr Gray—’

Adam’s hand snapped up and grabbed his wrist.

Fallon’s reaction was almost instantaneous, the trained, automatic response of a soldier. He tried to pull his arm free, at the same time thrusting his other hand at Adam’s elbow to break it—

Adam was quicker. He sprang up, dodging Fallon’s blow. Faster than Bianca could even follow, he twisted the other man’s arm up behind his back. Fallon gasped, but the sound barely had time to pass his lips before Adam scythed his legs out from under him with a spinning kick.

Fallon crashed against Spence, both men tumbling to the floor. The bar’s other occupants looked round in shock. Bianca was in much the same state. She gawped at Adam – and found that he had a beaming, delighted smile on his face.

It widened. He grabbed her hand. ‘Run!’

Before she could protest, he pulled her with him, heading for an exit at the bar’s rear. Fallon and Spence struggled back to their feet, unhurt except for their pride.

That was enough to inflame them. Faces twisted in anger, they pursued.

‘Adam!’ Bianca cried, but his grip was unbreakable. He reached the door and barged it open. She had no choice but to run to keep up. They charged down a hallway. A glowing red sign marked a fire exit at the end. Timing his footfalls perfectly, Adam kicked the locking bar and sent it flying open. They barrelled through without stopping, emerging in an alley.

She expected him to head for the street, but instead he went the other way. ‘It’s a dead end!’ she protested, seeing only dumpsters in a ragged line against a brick wall.

‘Climb over,’ he said. Before she could reply, he had effortlessly swept her up and deposited her atop one of the bins. She gasped in surprise. Down the alley, Spence and Fallon burst through the door and charged after their quarry.

Bianca thought Adam was going to fight them, but instead he leapt up beside her. ‘Go on, climb up!’

Half scared, half exhilarated, she scrambled over the wall. The drop into another building’s loading dock was about twelve feet. She hit the ground hard and fell to an undignified landing on her backside.

Adam climbed over after her – but didn’t jump down. Instead he hung from the edge of the wall by both hands, feet up high to hold him in a frog-like crouch.

The mystery of what he was doing was revealed to Bianca a few seconds later. Metallic thunks came from the other side of the wall as Fallon and Spence climbed on to the dumpster. The latter’s face appeared over the brickwork