The Need for Fear by Oisin McGann Read Free Book Online

tell her that they’ve perfected their technique … and I know what they’re going to use it for. Has she told you anything about the Scalps?”
    Caul sat back ever so slightly, a guarded expression on her face. He knew he’d scored a hit.
    â€œOkay, so what kind of stuff do you work on?” she said. “You’re not a crime correspondent—I know everyone with the papers and the main news sites and you’re a bit young to be investigating intelligence or politics. It’s normally a veterans’ game. Who do you write for?” She gestured at his laptop. “Show me some of your work.”
    Chi gave a tight smile, hesitating, before opening a file that contained links to a few of his best stories. He didn’t have much published in print—he doubted she’d be impressed with his piece in Paranormal Monthly on the likelihood of genetic manipulation on developing telekinesis (it was very unlikely, but he teased the reader along for a while before admitting it). Or the subversive and potentially illegal hacking tips offered in his articles for the underground magazine The Unspoken Truth. Most of the pieces he thought suitable were on his blog or other like-minded online publications. She perused the open windows, scanning through articles on how world domination had been achieved through the system of central banking. There were his thoughts on the September 11th attacks and his assertion that climate change was a centuries-old ploy of the Illuminati, who were suspected of working with an alien race to help them maintain their control of, and continue experimenting on, humanity.
    Caul’s face gradually lost all emotion as she flicked from one written piece to the next.
    â€œOh,” she said at last, her voice tired and flat. “You’re a conspiracy theorist.”
    â€œThat’s a contemptuous term,” he objected. “I’m looking for the facts about who controls our lives. Using dismissive labels to sideline people like me is just one of the ways the mainstream media avoids having to deal with the lies they peddle every day. It’s easier to belittle us, turn us into figures of ridicule, than to deal with the Truth.”
    â€œRight,” she sighed, rubbing her face with her left hand. “The Truth .”
    She moved her right hand as if to touch the laptop. Suspicious, he went to stop her and, in a fluid motion, she cupped her right hand over his left and curled her fingers around his, folding the ends of his fingers in painfully, squeezing the joints so they felt as if they were being crushed. He nearly yelped, looking around reflexively to see if anyone else was watching. She had really strong hands. He tried to pull his fingers free, but she squeezed harder, causing him to flinch and whimper until he held up his other hand to show he would stop resisting. Caul was staring at him, all civility gone from her face, her mouth a tight thin line.
    With her other hand, she pulled his laptop toward her and started looking through his browser history and searching through all of his recently opened files.
    â€œYou can’t bloody do that without a warrant,” he said, grimacing as he felt another squeeze on his aching fingers.
    â€œWho sent you here?” she asked. “This has a spook’s stink all over it. Who’s pulling your strings? It wasn’t your idea to come here, was it? And don’t play the innocent; I grew up with this nonsense and I’ve no patience for it.”
    â€œThis is assault!” Chi squeaked. “You’re going to break my fingers!”
    â€œI’m a female police officer who started to question a much larger male member of the public about something she happened to see on his laptop screen. He went to lay his hands on me and I defended myself. It’ll be your word against mine, of course, but giving testimony in court is something I do every day. My story will be better