The Persona Protocol

12


The Cube


‘

You really are an utter shit, Roger,’ said Bianca. ‘What the hell have you dragged me into?’ Her tone was humorous, but it had enough of an edge to make it clear she was still angry about the situation.

Albion laughed. ‘Oh, come on, Bianca. What’s life without a little adventure?’

‘Your last little adventure ended with you getting shot.’

‘If life were completely safe, it would be very dull. Besides, I’ve struck up quite a rapport with one of the doctors here. I think that once the whole tedious doctor–patient relationship issue is out of the way when I’m healed, I might see if she’s interested in becoming my next ex-wife.’

She shook her head, amused. ‘You never change, do you?’ The amusement turned dark. ‘And speaking of ethics . . .’

Albion sighed. ‘Yes, I wondered how soon you’d bring that up.’ He looked at a wall clock. ‘Fifty-three minutes! Longer than I’d expected.’

Bianca pulled her chair closer to the bed, frowning. ‘Seriously, though. From what Tony and Morgan told me, Persona’s mission seems to be to fly around the world, kidnap people, steal their innermost secrets and then use them so that the CIA can pick targets for its robot death-planes.’

‘The targets are terrorists and other deeply unpleasant people. We’re doing the world a favour.’

‘I don’t want to sound like an absolute pinko hippie—’

‘Too late for that!’

‘—but terrorist suspects have rights, like anyone else – and one of them is “innocent until proven guilty”.’

‘Things change in war.’

‘You’re not a soldier. And I didn’t notice anyone else at STS wearing a uniform either. Not even so-called “Admiral” Harper.’

Albion cocked his head to one side. ‘Be careful when dealing with him, Bianca. Very careful. He’s not someone you want to make an enemy of. As the saying goes, you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.’

‘I don’t like him now!’

‘Well, that makes two of us. But really, try to avoid pissing him off. Just grit your teeth and stand in for me, and think about all that money waiting when you get back to England. As for how you stand in for me, we’d better get back to your training.’

‘What training?’ she protested, holding up a notebook. ‘It only took you fifty-three minutes to explain everything!’

‘Not that part of the training – I meant the part where you make it look as complicated as possible. If it seems too easy, they might figure out that they don’t need me any more and kick me out.’

She smiled. ‘Don’t tempt me. Besides, I’m surprised they haven’t considered hooking you up to the machine so Adam can load up your persona and work out the doses himself.’

‘I’m sure they have considered it. But fortunately – for me, at least – it wouldn’t be practical. We have a policy that a persona can only be imprinted on him once.’

‘Why?’

‘We found out the hard way that it causes . . . complications. So we don’t do it any more.’

‘What kind of complications?’

‘Severe headaches, confusion – and worse. When you only have one active agent, it’s not worth the risk of compromising his readiness.’

‘Are there plans to recruit more?’

‘People haven’t been lining up to volunteer.’ He adopted a gung-ho voice. ‘“Gee, I sure do want to undergo experimental brain surgery so I can think like a terrorist!” I’m not sure how it would be worded on the recruitment posters.’

‘So why did Adam volunteer?’

‘I have no idea.’

She was surprised. ‘Really?’

‘I know that he did volunteer, but he came to us – well, was presented to us, more accurately – from outside, about ten months ago. Harper had something to do with it. I think Adam used to be with SOCOM – Special Operations Command. Special Forces, in other words.’

‘You think? You don’t know?’

He shifted in the bed, his discomfort more mental than physical. ‘Adam is rather the elephant in the room at the Persona Project. There’s an unofficial policy of, shall we say, limited fraternisation. The team members are discouraged from getting too close to him on a personal level.’

Bianca made a face. ‘How does anyone have the right to decide who gets to be his friend?’

‘It’s a US government black project. Rights don’t enter into things. They can order you to wear different-coloured underwear depending on the day of the week, if they choose.’

‘You’ve worked with him pretty closely, though. You must be able to tell me something more about him. And by something, I mean anything. Seriously! The man is a literal walking enigma.’

‘Yes, I know. But there’s nothing more I can tell you.’

‘Because you don’t know, or you’re not allowed to?’

A wry smile. ‘Perceptive as ever. Let’s just say I have to wear a particular colour of metaphorical underwear on that subject.’

‘Orders from on high, eh? From Morgan?’ Albion’s eyes briefly flicked upwards. ‘Higher? Harper?’

‘No comment.’ His smile widened. ‘But knowing you as well as I do, that won’t stop you from trying to find out for yourself, will it?’

‘Am I that transparent?’

‘Positively see-through. But then, you are British – very pale-skinned from never getting any sun.’

She laughed. ‘Well, I doubt I’ll be in the States long enough to bring out my bikini, so I won’t be getting a tan. But . . .’ She became more serious. ‘I don’t want to find out more about Adam just to spite The Man. There’s something . . . well, wrong. Not with him, but about him, if that makes any sense. Nobody’s that unreadable – nobody who’s still able to function, anyway. But Adam’s so blank I’d consider it a form of catatonic stupor if it wasn’t for the rather obvious fact that he’s fully active and lucid.’

Albion’s demeanour suggested that he knew considerably more about the subject, but was not going to share it with her. ‘And you think you can help him?’

‘If I can.’

‘You haven’t changed much since you were my student,’ he said. ‘Too tenacious for your own good.’

‘You can’t achieve anything if you don’t stick at it.’

‘Just make sure you don’t get completely stuck. Anyway!’ He changed position again. ‘Time to polish up another of your student skills, and do some acting. I still need you to help keep my job!’

After another couple of hours at the hospital, Bianca returned to STS, driving the Ford Fusion that had been provided for her. The sedan was larger than her own car, and driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road in Washington’s traffic did not make the trip a comfortable experience. But the satnav, once she puzzled it out, at least meant that she didn’t get lost.

Tony was waiting for her in the fifth-floor lobby. ‘Hi there.’

‘Hi,’ she replied. ‘You look like you were expecting me.’

‘I had the security system beep me when you used your ID to get into the elevator.’ She had been issued with the card shortly before leaving the previous evening. ‘Thought I’d welcome you, it being your first proper day on the job.’

‘I can’t exactly say I’m thrilled to be here,’ she said, before softening a little. ‘Nothing personal.’

‘No offence taken. How’s the car?’

‘It’s nice. A bit too big with just me in it, though. Feels like I’m wasting petrol. Or gas, I suppose I should say.’

‘STS is picking up the tab, so don’t worry about it. And the hotel?’

‘It’s fine. It’s . . . a hotel.’ She shrugged.

‘We’ll set you up with an apartment soon. You don’t want to be living out of a suitcase the whole time you’re here.’

‘However long that is.’

‘So how is Roger, since that depends on him?’

‘Well, he’s started making divorce plans, so that’s hopefully a sign of improvement.’

Tony laughed. ‘Sounds like he’s getting back to his old self.’ They walked down a hallway.

‘How long have you known him?’ she asked.

‘More than two years. Since I came on to the Persona Project.’

‘Two years? I thought Adam only joined ten months ago.’

‘There was a lot of work needed to set things up. Let’s face it, what we do here sounds like science fiction – it’s complicated. And sometimes things didn’t go as planned.’

‘But everything’s working fine now?’

‘Yeah. Well, until Roger got shot.’ They reached a set of security doors. Tony was about to use his card to open them, before smiling. ‘After you.’

Bianca put her own card in the slot, getting a green light. ‘That’s a relief. I’d hate to get a red light when I was running for the loo.’

They went through. ‘You’ve got access to pretty much the whole floor,’ he said. ‘Everywhere except data storage and the weapons and equipment room.’

‘What, you’ve got your own Q Branch full of guns and spy gadgets?’

‘So we can mobilise quickly if we need to. It’s easier to have most everything we might need on site, rather than rounding it up from a dozen different places.’

‘What about the rest of the building? You said yesterday that STS has everything above the company downstairs. Is Persona only on this floor?’

‘Yeah. The floor below us is STS bureaucracy; it handles paperwork for operations here and at other STS facilities. The floor above’s like this one, with another Bullpen – projects can be assigned there if need be. There’s nothing active upstairs at the moment, though. Or if there is,’ he added drily, ‘it’s so secret nobody’s told me about it. Then there’s a machine floor above that with air-con, water tanks, that sort of thing. The building’s actually designed to be self-sufficient, by the way – if there’s a biological or chemical attack, it can be sealed up with its own air and water supplies for a few days. There are generators down in the basement.’

‘I hope I don’t get a demonstration of that while I’m here!’

‘Me too. But it’s best to be prepared.’ They arrived at the Bullpen’s entrance. Tony used his card to enter.

As on the previous day, there was little going on. Bianca recognised some of the people she had been introduced to – Holly Jo, Levon, Kyle – at their workstations. ‘Hey, brah,’ said Kyle, swivelling to face them as they approached. ‘Dr Childs.’

‘Hi, Kyle,’ Tony replied. He looked round. ‘Where’s Adam?’

‘In the Cube.’

‘The Cube?’ Bianca asked.

Kyle nodded towards a door on one side of the chamber. ‘Adam’s personal chill-out room. He meditates in there, or something. Me, I prefer playing Xbox in the break room. They won’t let us hook up to Xbox Live for security reasons, though, which kinda sucks. Oh, hey, Tony,’ he added, sitting upright with sudden excitement. ‘I just got off the phone with Brad. He’s got the new UAVs ready to test, says his guys figured out a way to increase speed without costing too much battery life. I’m going over later to play with ’em.’

‘Let me know how they perform,’ Tony said as he headed for the Cube, Bianca following. ‘And don’t forget to fill out the assessment documentation this time!’

‘Yeah, brah,’ Kyle replied with a dismissive wave.

‘What’s this “brah” thing?’ Bianca asked.

‘It’s like calling someone “bro”, but more annoying. It’s what all the hip young kids are saying today, so I’m told.’

‘You hardly look any older than him.’

‘I’m flattered! No, he’s only twenty-four, twenty-five, something like that. Actually, most of the project staff are pretty young – the ones in the Bullpen, anyway. They make me feel like a kindergarten teacher.’

She made a minor show of examining his handsome features. ‘I’d say you were about . . . thirty-five.’

‘Okay, I’m slightly less flattered than I was a moment ago. Only a little, though.’

They shared a smile as they reached the door. Tony knocked. ‘Adam? You in there?’

‘Yes,’ came the reply. They entered.

The Cube didn’t quite live up to its name, being rectangular in plan. It did fit the bill as a meditation room, however. The walls and ceiling were plain white, lit by soft recessed spotlights, while the carpet was a neutral cream. A low leather couch, similar to a psychiatrist’s, occupied the centre.

Adam, however, was seated on one of the matching chairs at the room’s far end. If he had been meditating, his pose showed no evidence of it; it looked to Bianca more as if he had simply been staring into space. His eyes fixed upon the new arrivals. ‘Tony. Dr Childs.’

‘You can call me Bianca, you know,’ she said. ‘Both of you. Now that we’re working together.’

‘Bianca, then. What can I do for you?’

‘We need to introduce Doc— I mean, Bianca,’ Tony gave her a sidelong grin, ‘to the exciting world of international espionage – or, as we call it, reading directives and filling out forms.’ The joke was only mildly funny, but still enough to produce a smile from Bianca. Adam’s expression – or lack thereof – remained unchanged, however. ‘I want to bring her up to speed on what we do and how we do it. Gently, though. I think there might be some culture shock.’

Adam nodded. ‘When?’

Tony checked his watch. ‘It’s coming up on lunchtime, so there’s no point doing anything until after then. How about we meet at two, in briefing A?’

‘Okay. I’ll see you both then.’

That was clearly the end of the conversation. Bianca and Tony exited. ‘So, is that what Adam does when he’s not on a mission?’ she asked facetiously as they crossed the Bullpen. ‘Sits in a plain room staring at the wall? I mean, he didn’t even have a newspaper to read.’

Tony was defensive. ‘He does a lot more than that. Assessing intelligence reports, briefings, physical training, weapons training – anything that can make him even better at his job. The personas he uses are only a boost to his abilities; he still has to be a top-flight agent in his own right. The Cube’s just where he goes for some peace and quiet. But,’ he said, in a more apologetic tone, ‘if he asked for anything else in there, we’d give it to him. He just hasn’t asked.’

‘Oh. Sorry, by the way. I didn’t mean to be rude. I know he must be your friend.’

‘Yeah. I suppose . . .’ For a moment, it didn’t seem as if Tony was actually sure. ‘Anyway, as I said, it’s close to lunchtime. How about I treat you to something from one of DC’s fine range of franchised sandwich shops?’

Bianca laughed. ‘How could I refuse?’

Kyle leaned over Holly Jo’s workstation, watching Bianca and Tony as they left the room. ‘So, guys – what do you think?’

Levon padded over from his nearby desk. ‘About Dr Childs?’

‘No, brah, about the Fed’s new fund rate. Of course about her, dumbass!’

‘I just think there’s something weird about the whole thing,’ said Holly Jo. ‘All the times they’ve told us that the PERSONA tech has to be kept ultra-secret, even from other parts of STS, no leaks . . . and then they bring in a foreigner out of nowhere?’

‘She’s supposed to be some old student of Roger’s,’ said Levon.

‘Supposed to be? Or actually is and you hacked into her file to see for yourself, and are just saying “supposed to be” to cover your butt?’

Levon put up his hands in a protestation of innocence. ‘She’s supposed to be, that’s all I’m saying.’

Kyle leaned closer. ‘Next time you hack in, can you look at my personnel assessment and see if I’m up for a raise?’

The hands went up again. ‘I ain’t doin’ nothing!’

‘So what do you think?’ Holly Jo asked Kyle.

He stroked his chin. ‘Well . . . I wouldn’t kick her out of bed.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ she sighed.

‘What? I wouldn’t! Sure, she dresses kinda frumpy, and her hair’s a mess, but you know what they say – it’s the quiet ones who get wildest in bed. She’s got a sort of sexy librarian thing going on. And, y’know, chicks with English accents – always kind of hot.’

Levon shook his head. ‘Man, one of these days you are going to come into work and find a sixteen-page sexual harassment lawsuit on your desk.’

‘Only sixteen?’ said Holly Jo. Kyle made a dismissive pffft! noise. ‘But seriously, you guys – what happens if Roger doesn’t come back for six months? Or ever? Is there even still a project without him? Would we all lose our jobs?’

Levon looked round as Adam emerged from the Cube. ‘I don’t think it’s Roger’s health we should be worrying about. If there’s one person the project depends on . . .’

Kyle shook his head. ‘Adam can take care of himself. Come on, he took out a bunch of terrorists single-handed and jumped off a friggin’ building, and there was hardly a scratch on him. That’s some Jason Bourne shit, right there. Dude’s a badass!’

‘I don’t think Levon meant Adam’s physical health,’ Holly Jo said as the trio watched the blank-faced man cross the room.