McCallister stepped back and shut it, and the magnetic lock snapped closed. Only then did Joe truly relax in his chair. “So,” he said, and laced his hands behind his head. “Nobody looks happy. Were the drinks watered? I hear that place ain’t much for quality.”
“Someone invoked protocol on her,” McCallister said, and sat down in one of the other two chairs on the opposite side of Joe’s desk.
Fideli immediately straightened up and got serious. “Deliberately?”
“Apparently.”
“Which one?”
“Sapphire.”
“Crap. That means whoever our friendly leaker is, they know way too much. And now so does our supplier.”
“Excuse me,” Bryn said sharply, “but could we please talk about
The two men exchanged looks, and McCallister nodded to Joe. “Seriously,” Joe said, “this is my job?”
“It is tonight.”
Joe sighed and opened up a drawer in his desk. He took out a bottle and three glasses, and poured liberal shots all around. He handed one to Bryn as he said, “Tell me how it happened.”
“I was … finishing my drink,” she said. “And then a man sat down and came on to me. He said I was going to get up and go home with him.”
“Just like that.”
“Pretty much.”
Fideli cast a look over at McCallister. “Any leads from him?”
“He’s been taken in by my guys, but I doubt it’ll go anywhere. According to what they’ve learned, he was paid to grab her and drive her to a drop point; he was told the protocol information, but I don’t think he knows who paid him, or why, or what was going to happen. And he was paid at a dead drop, in cash, no surveillance available on that area. Dead end.”
Fideli nodded, and transferred his attention back to Bryn. “And then what happened?”
Bryn felt herself blushing, and hated herself for it. “I … I said okay, I’d go with him. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t
Joe nodded. “Drink up.” He passed a glass over to McCallister, and sipped his own. Bryn tentatively took a taste, and almost choked on the rich, smoky liquor. Scotch. Serious Scotch. But it warmed the chilly places inside. “Go on.”
“He said it again, and said something about
“He specifically triggered the protocol,” McCallister said. “He knew what he was doing.”
Joe said nothing. He just waited for Bryn to continue, and she swallowed hard and did. “He made me go outside with him and get into the car. It felt like …”
“Like you had no control,” Joe said, when she paused. “You couldn’t stop yourself.”
“Yes.” It had felt that way right until the moment McCallister had broken the spell. “
“Afraid not, Bryn.” Joe turned his glass in slow circles as he watched her. “There’s a side effect to the drug you take, Returné. It has some fail-safes built in, and one of them renders you extremely susceptible to following orders. We call these fail-safes protocols. This one is Condition Sapphire. It was developed for military purposes.”
“You mean it could happen again?”
“It can happen at any time,” he said. “And it’s real damn dangerous, because it means that if someone orders you to reveal things, you won’t have a choice. You’ll just talk.”
“You said military. What kind of military purpose?”
“You could be given a covert assignment—like, say, an assassination—and you would carry it out without question. You couldn’t talk if they ordered you not to do so. Not even to save yourself,” McCallister added. “It’s the most easily perverted use of the drug we can think of, and we’ve been trying to find a way to turn off the protocols.”
“Wait. Wait just a minute. Who is
The two of them exchanged a look, and McCallister said, “For security purposes, I can’t answer that.”
“Which means it’s
“Bryn—”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this? Warn me?”
“Wouldn’t have done any good,” Joe said in a neutral, calm voice. “Warning you doesn’t mean you could do anything to prevent it. Once a protocol gets invoked, you’ve got no choice. And no resistance. It would have just made you paranoid, not safer.”
She downed the rest of the Scotch in a fiery burst, blinked away tears, and said, “You’ve got no idea how this feels. First I’m dead. Then I’m hooked on your stupid
They didn’t answer. McCallister looked down into his glass, but she saw how tight the muscles were in his jawline, and remembered the raw burst of fury she’d seen in him. So that answer was definitely a yes, then.
“There has to be
“We’re looking into it.”
“So until then, if some asshole comes up and talks about sapphires, I’m a slave? That’s all you can do for me?”
“There may be something else,” Joe said. “Give me a day to look into it.”
A day. The prospect made Bryn shudder, going out into the world again with that kind of astonishing vulnerability. “I can’t,” she said. “I can’t wait that long. I need help now!”
“One of us will stay with you at all times,” McCallister said. “You’ll be safe, Bryn. And we
Fideli nodded. “But, Pat, this changes things. It either means the leak ain’t the same guy as the one who knows about the protocol, and someone inside Pharmadene is trying to use her freelance, or—”
“Or the leaker knows about the protocols as well. That’s a very small pool of knowledge. And suspects. It may help us.” McCallister finished his Scotch and put the empty glass on Fideli’s desk. “How’s your security here?”
“Damn good. Blocking technology built right in for data and physical surveillance countermeasures. And as you can see, firepower’s up to the challenge.” Fideli shrugged. “As panic rooms go, it’s all right.”
“And you can get the family here in an emergency.”
“They know the drill. It’s as safe as anyplace we could go. We’ve got internal sources of food, water, sewer, medical supplies.”
“Airflow?”
“Three sources, one damn near impossible to block. Plus oxygen for emergencies.” Fideli’s usually cheerful expression went suddenly cold and blank. “You think they’re going to come after Kylie and the kids.”
“I think if this heats up, we’ve all got bull’s-eyes on our backs, from both sides. So watch out for trouble.”
Fideli inclined his head, just a little. “What about her?” Meaning, of course, Bryn. “Her apartment’s not exactly a hardened bunker.”
“I’ll do personal security tonight. Tomorrow, it’s your turn. And, Joe—check on the progress of our consulting friend. I think our time line’s been moved up.”
“Affirmative on that; I’ll see if I can get an update. You two crazy kids have fun.”
With McCallister?
Bryn was fairly certain that nowhere in the universe was that possible.
