The Persona Protocol - By Andy McDermott Page 0,99
when the Vityaz stopped was the driver, an overweight, bearded man wearing a large fur hat. He waddled to the terminal entrance and went inside. After a couple of minutes he emerged, now accompanied by Zykov and his two bodyguards. Zykov asked a question; the driver responded by pointing in the direction of the little town across the fjord.
‘Al-Rais is in the town,’ Adam said suddenly. ‘That’s where they’re meeting. We need to get over there.’
‘We can track him with the UAV,’ Tony pointed out.
‘No, no. Something’s not right.’ The agent’s concerns sounded incongruous in Browning’s staccato speech patterns. ‘You said yourself that al-Rais won’t take the RTG away by sea. Too vulnerable. And Zykov won’t be flying it out on his own jet. Far too risky. But there aren’t any other planes here. So how’s he getting it out?’ He stabbed a finger at the Vityaz on Kyle’s screen. ‘Mr Baxter just said that thing can go anywhere.’ Another jab, this time through the portholes at the cars parked by the terminal. ‘The road into town’s obviously passable. You don’t need something like that just to be a taxicab. They’re going somewhere else. Somewhere with no roads.’
‘They’ll have to come back to the airport, though,’ said Holly Jo. ‘I mean, this is literally the only way out of here.’
‘No! No it isn’t, young lady, no it isn’t. Sevnik’s an army colonel, he has command of helicopters.’ Zykov and his men clambered aboard the Vityaz. ‘We’ve got to follow them. Tony, how much more bribe money do we have? Roubles and dollars.’
The question surprised Tony. ‘I’m not sure. A few thousand of each?’
‘I’ll need it all.’
‘Why?’
‘We need a car. I’m going to follow them into town.’
‘The UAV can do that.’
‘Tony, trust me. I need to stay close. We can’t afford to lose them.’
‘If anyone’s going after them, it should be my guys,’ said Baxter.
‘I’m sure a team of armed commandos skiing through town will pass completely without comment,’ Adam retorted, to the Alabaman’s annoyance.
‘Okay. Adam, you go,’ Tony decided. ‘But don’t get too close – Zykov knows you. And take a gun.’
Adam nodded. ‘Bianca, come on.’
‘What?’ she yelped. ‘I’m not going out there!’
‘We might need the PERSONA. If we have a chance to record al-Rais’s memories, we have to take it.’
‘It’s too risky,’ said Tony, shaking his head.
‘He’s setting off,’ Kyle warned. The Vityaz lurched into motion, bending like a metal caterpillar at its central joint and making a tight turn back along the track.
‘Tony,’ said Adam, more forcefully. ‘We’re running out of time. I won’t take any unnecessary risks. Especially not with Bianca there. Zykov knows her too.’
‘Okay, go,’ Tony said, with reluctance. ‘Both of you.’
‘Don’t I get any say in this?’ Bianca protested.
‘Sorry. But Adam’ll take care of you, trust me.’
Adam was already moving down to the cabin to collect his gear. ‘Come on,’ he called over his shoulder to Bianca. ‘And wrap up warm.’
27
The Face of Terror
‘
So you bribed some poor Russian to borrow his car?’ asked Bianca.
‘I gave him enough to buy a whole new car,’ Adam replied as he carefully guided the ageing Lada around the edge of the bay. Even with chains on the tyres and following the Vityaz’s tracks, the snow-covered road was still tricky to navigate. ‘And then I had to pay off the others who were jealous that I didn’t choose their cars.’
‘Did you tell them why you needed it?’
‘No. That’s the whole point of a bribe. I pay, they don’t ask.’
She was already irritable about leaving the comfort and security of the plane, and being patronised did nothing to help her mood. ‘So, two new things I know about Dr Eugene Browning – he speaks Russian, and he’s a sarcastic git.’
Adam laughed. ‘Yes, sorry. Sometimes a persona comes through without my meaning it to.’
She regarded him quizzically. ‘You’re not in total control?’
‘Oh, nothing like that, no. It’s more a subconscious influence. Like picking up a local accent after moving to a new town.’
‘Or saying “I” instead of “he”, like you did when you were talking about that bribe Browning took in 1985?’
‘Just living the part. Less chance of messing up my pronouns in front of the bad guys.’ He looked across at her. ‘Are you warm?’
Despite wearing a thick hooded coat and padded overtrousers, she was hunched tightly in the seat, the medical gear and a case containing a Geiger counter in her lap and gloved hands wedged firmly under her folded arms. ‘Do I look warm?’