Read Accused (Ganzfield) for Free Online

move. This small cell was only about eight feet square. I could do it. I could kill him right here. What would the cameras show? Just that he’d had a massive stroke.
    Except the stroke would be like the ones that’d killed Del and his friends…
    I could fry Hunter, but that wouldn’t put an end to this mess. There were others now who knew about us. If I killed a military officer—even one as twisted and wrong as Colonel Hunter—it could bring down the hammer on all of Ganzfield.
    No.
    I had to protect them. I had to protect Trevor. And that meant… doing nothing.
    If Zack were here instead of me, he could’ve just charmed Hunter to let him go. Or Cecelia. Yeah, Cecelia should be here instead of me.
    No, that wasn’t fair. Oh, but if we had a full team in here, Trevor would disable the cameras before the charm told them to destroy Isaiah’s files and forget everything they knew about us. Drew could keep everyone from shooting us, and Hannah could heal anyone who got injured.
    But none of them were here—I was here alone. The things I could do wouldn’t get me out of here… or keep the danger away from the people at Ganzfield. I felt a grim sense of satisfaction, though, because no matter what he did, I was pretty sure Hunter couldn’t make me talk.
    “We’re going to clear out that place in New Hampshire, you know. Soon, you’ll have company here. Maybe you’ll be more cooperative once we have Trevor Laurence in custody again.”
    Threatening Trevor was a really good way for people to get their brains fried. I started to shake as the killing energy built behind my eyes .
    Don’t. Kill. Hunter. It won’t help to kill him.
    Hunter thought my trembling was from fear.
    I was afraid of this man. I’d disappeared down a dark hole in the ugly underside of U.S. military intelligence. I’d heard about the atrocities committed in places like Abu Ghraib. Yeah, I was afraid of what he could do to me, and that fear sunk cringing claws into my thoughts. But I was more afraid of what he was might do to all of us. That really pissed me off.
    And people died when I got pissed off.
    “Just tell me what I want to know.” Hunter’s falsely soothing voice licked at my thoughts. “There’s no need to put the rest of your kind at risk.”
    My kind.
    He didn’t say “my people” because we weren’t people to him. I feathered a thought into his mind. What’s the plan?
    His thoughts turned strategic. Helicopters. Armored vehicles. Lots of guns. I just wish the people going in didn’t have to be federal officers. I’d have more control if we could use military personnel. Apparently, the military couldn’t be used that way on U.S. soil and Colonel Hunter had to follow the rules—at least when there were witnesses.
    Maybe he’d consider ceding New Hampshire to Canada for the day, just so he could send in the troops.
    I forced down the panic that twisted up within my chest. Someone was blocking his plans or he’d have sent the attackers in already. Who’s causing the problem?
    The name “Dale” surfaced just as Hunter reacted. His fist slammed into the side of my head, knocking me against the wall. My shoulder took most of the impact before my head hit. I cried out as pain and nausea swamped me, and my vision swam with purple blotches. Hunter was out of the room before I could react, his rattled thoughts retreating down the hall and up the stairs. Did I give too much away? Freaky little telepath. I’ve got to break her before we commence the operation in New Hampshire. Could her knowledge somehow compromise the mission? A cold, yellow fist gripped my chest—Hunter made sure people who might “compromise the mission”never got a chance to succeed.
    His thoughts faded and I was a mental island again.
    An island of pain.
    I lowered myself onto the thin square of a pillow. My head throbbed like it’d been, well… slammed into a cinderblock wall. I winced as I touched the swelling bruise. When I opened my jaw, it