You go very, very still. You've been shot before, shot fatally even, but you don't want to test your ability to survive death by switching imagos with something so immediately fatal. The gun at the back of your head feels large and you don't doubt the bullet would penetrate your skull instantly.
That's the last clue you need though. You know who this woman is, or you have an idea at least. Time to see if you are dead on the money or just plain dead. "You don't want to do that Minnie," you say.
The gun eases off a little and the woman behind you snorts. "I'm sure you have big dossiers on all of us."
You can't help but laugh, but you stop immediately when Minnie Fierro jams the gun back to your head. "You just said you've been watching Doctor Fitzgerald, you'll know all she cares about is her work," you say quickly, the words running together in the rush. "Besides, they all think you're me."
"Will," she gasps. "No, prove it first."
"I could change imago," you offer.
"No deal," replies Minnie. "There are at least two Diana operatives here."
"One," you tell her. "I dealt with the other. But you're right. The only way to prove it would be for you to shoot me dead and wait for me to switch imagos and come back to life. Frank told you about that, right?" There is no response from Minnie. "Look, they need to touch the tattoos to make them work. If I hold up my hands and change would that convince you? They still can't copy memories either - what If I tell you something that only you and I would know?"
"I'm listening," she says.
You take a second to think of something appropriate. "When you came to London just before the summer, we were up all night talking about that sleeper cult you and Frank broke up in Marrakesh, and then Bea came in because she'd had another nightmare."
"What was the nightmare," asks Minnie.
You swear under your breath, what will it take to convince her?. It takes a few moments to recall what Bea had told you. Her dream stuck in your mind because of the odd way Bea had described it. "There was a mirror. It cracked and fell and darkness poured out till it stained everything around her but Bea herself. That's when she woke up."
"Ok, you can turn around now Will," says Minnie, her voice clearly more relaxed sounding.
You shuffle slowly round, relieved to see that she has lowered that heavy pistol she favours. She's in disguise, as you'd expect: A red wig, coloured contacts and a couple of prosthetics to change the shape of her face. "The receptionist," you ask. There's a similarity between the way Minnie looks now and the girl you saw on the front desk when you arrived. That's the way Minnie's prodigies work - so long as she makes enough of an effort to disguise herself as someone, Sulva does the rest of the work and makes the disguise convincing to everyone that sees her.
Minnie nods. "Working with Hal on this place." She gestures at you. "You know what they do here." It isn't a question. She knows how your prodigies work too. "Why are you here?"
"They kidnapped Bea."
Minnie says nothing for a moment. "Is she down there?" You nod. "Then we get her back. Unless that blows your cover?"
You look at the rifle hanging at your waist. "Probably already blown. We need to move," you say, opening the door again. "The other Diana operative is down there already," you add as you follow Minnie through the door. You hesitate for a moment as you descend, not sure how to explain the next part. "She looks like Hilda." Minnie says nothing, she keeps bounding down the steps two at a time and you struggle to follow. "Hilda Gunnarson, one of us. They kidnapped her years ago and used the Diana agent to replace her."
"Got you," says Minnie briskly as she continues to run down the stairs. Is that all she has to say? Before she became one of the Stellae, Minnie was a contract killer. Maybe she's just used to taking shocks like this in her stride whilst working and worrying about it later?
"Pendleton sent her down to move Bea from the holding cells," you add, trying to keep up with Minnie.
"Where is Pendleton?"
"Upstairs in the conference room last I saw," you gasp. The doctor's body is too old and unfit to be able to keep up with Minnie. You almost switch to Miko's imago until you remember that you'd be under the effects of the poisons you picked up as her in Leeds. "He was supposed to co-ordinate a defence."
Minnie laughs. "I don't think that worked well for him." It wouldn't have. Malacandrae like Minnie are a lot better tactically than most other people. "We'll get him on the way out. Getting Doctor Fitzgerald and destroying her research are my priorities. What did you do with her," she asks, stopping for a moment to let you catch up.
"She's not coming back," you say firmly.
"Good," replies Minnie. "I wasn't lying when I said no one would complain if I had to put a bullet through the back of her head. Malaika and Rosalie would be too lenient on her."
You bite your tongue before you say Like Rosalie was lenient on you when you tried to kill me. "There would be nothing worse for Doctor Fitzgerald than having her research destroyed," you say instead. "And what she's done here needs to be destroyed. I've seen it myself first hand."
There is another keycard and numberpad lock at the bottom of the stairs. This one is much more formidable than the one at the top too - a heavy metal door that looks like it could take a significant battering. "I've got the card," you explain to Minnie when she produces a tiny screwdriver from somewhere inside the pockets of her suit. She nods before getting out of the way and letting you use the ID card you stole from the guard. The door slides open and you both go through.
"We'll split up," suggests Minnie. "I'll rescue Bea from the holding cells and you can destroy Doctor Fitzgerald's research."
It's a logical plan, really it is: Minnie is a much better combatant than you and that makes her the best choice to deal with Hilda's doppelganger. With the doctor's imago, you'll know exactly what needs to be destroyed, and where and how she hidden any backups. It just feels wrong though. "No!" You almost shout at Minnie. "No I have to be the one that rescues Bea."
Minnie looks at you, long and hard. "I understand. I'll destroy the research. Is there anything I need to know?" You tell her the long string of random letters that make up the doctor's network password. The doctor just used the letters G, A, T and C - her idea of a joke. Minnie doesn't even crack a smile. She nods and then sprints down the hall towards the labs.
The holding cells lie in the opposite direction. You grip your stolen rifle and march towards them. There probably won't be many guards down here now, but you prepare a lie in your head to explain why you have it if you are challenged. Even if every other member of the Spartacus team had been called upstairs to deal with Minnie's attack, the memories you took from the imago of Jenkins tell you that there would still be one guard left to watch over the holding cells.
In fact, there are two guards at the post outside the holding cells, but neither seems to be in any state to accost you. The pair are slumped over their stations unmoving. You approach cautiously, tying your cloak around both and with the knockout sigil at your fingertips. When you get to the first, the give him a gentle prod with your hand. No imago comes to you and the guard falls to the floor with a thud.
he's dead, you realise. You spot the little puncture mark on his neck. A dash of bluish foam has dried around it and blue track mark leads from the wound. Whoever did this - and you suspect it was the false Hilda - was in a hurry. You check the other guard. He has a similar mark on his neck as well. You hope you aren't too late.
You push the body of the second guard to the side. There should be a monitor here somewhere. Tapping into the imago of Jenkins again, you use his knowledge to turn it on and start cycling through the security cameras in each of the cells. All empty, damn it.
A hissing sound makes you look up from the monitor: The door to the cell area slides open.
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