Read The Need for Fear for Free Online Page A

installing new firewall software. Rather than watching progress bars, he did a search on Monk. He felt the slight burn of jealousy as he scrolled down through all the mainstream sites she’d been published in, the awards she’d won, and the people she’d interviewed. He reminded himself that he was an alternative journalist who kept himself outside of that sphere, but still … she had an impressive record.
    She was a good-looking woman too: a face too long and a nose too big for conventional beauty, but fine-boned with lively green eyes and full lips and that look of confident intelligence Chi always found to be a turn on. She had auburn hair worn in a short, wavy style. He was between girlfriends at the moment so, as he often did when he liked the look of someone, he found himself weighing up the odds of her being interested in him. She was gay so … no chance there, but he looked forward to meeting her anyway. It would be an interesting conversation. He blew his cheeks out and flicked his gaze out the window, half wondering if he’d catch her walking down the street.
    He clicked a fingernail against his teeth, and went back to the file he’d transferred over from the fridge’s hard drive. Pouring through the list of questionable words, he stopped and stared at one. He copied it over to the document he’d opened. Seconds later he found another odd one and copied that over, too. Then he added two more.
    He chewed his thumbnail, gazing intently at the four new words on his screen: aliens , UFO , abductions , and experiments . He exhaled a shaky breath and gripped the sides of the screen.
    â€œNo aliens, eh?” he muttered, jutting his chin toward the words. “Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, you old bastard.”

Chapter 8: The Copper
    Chi was staring out the window of the café, lost in thought, when a woman pulled out the chair beside him, plonked herself down, and smiled at him.
    â€œEh, would you like to sit down?” he said irritably, jarred from his musings.
    He felt immediately defensive, given everything he’d been through that day, though he was somewhat unbalanced by the smile and the confidence of her approach. He went through a couple of gear changes before settling on a new mental position: Here was a, not unattractive, woman showing interest in him—but he had to remind himself to stay focused on what was important. She was a little taller than average—it was hard to guess her height now that she was sitting down—with her hair cut in that short, practical style often favored by nurses or teachers, with feathered bangs left as a bit of flair. She had dark, resolute eyes and the kind of olive- skin Chi wished he could have had. Her strong, lean, rectangular features looked as if they normally had a rather stern set to them, but were temporarily warmed by the smile she wore now. The smile, Chi noticed, did not reach her eyes. This wasn’t going to be a social chat. Of course.
    â€œWhat’s your name?” she inquired.
    â€œWhy? Who are you?” he retorted.
    â€œMe?” she said lightly, flipping open a black leather wallet. “Oh … well, I’m a police officer, mate.”
    Chi felt his stomach tighten up as he looked at the silver badge, resembling the royal coat of arms, with the braille strip below it. A while back, he’d learned how to spot a fake police ID. Given his perpetual paranoia, it seemed a reasonable precaution to take. After all, how many people even knew what a real one looked like? This was the genuine article, identifying her as an officer in the Metropolitan Police. Harriet Caul, Detective Sergeant.
    This was turning into the weirdest day. Chi let out a quiet, hissing breath, trying to figure out what he’d done to bring him to the attention of the police. Could they have found out about the fight in the flat? Or worse, the fact that he’d helped the anarchists break into Gordon