Accused (Ganzfield) by Kate Kaynak Page B

still wasn’t something I wanted to think about. Not physically touched, okay? Everyone got that? I looked around the room at the collection of telepaths who weren’t even pretending not to listen. Can we all please stop thinking about it now? Subject change time! What’s this about the Feds still watching us?
    It’s not just about you, Maddie, Seth’s annoyance came through clearly. They’re still here because they’re watching all of us.
    I rolled my eyes. I know it’s not just about me; it’s about Colonel Hunter. Isaiah sicced him on us, but Coleman managed to get him committed yesterday.
    Hunter’s been released.
    “WHAT?” A fire blazed up in Trevor’s gut. The man who hurt Maddie is loose? The idea made him feel sick—sick and unusually violent. I want him DEAD. I want to kill him for hurting Maddie that way.
    Surprise sloshed around the room. Most of the others had never seen this intensely protective side of Trevor’s normally gentle nature.
    This morning, Seth explained. I don’t know how. He contacted the two DOD guys out there—the ones hanging back away from the main group near the gate. They’re looking into bringing a bunch of us up on all sorts of charges—everything from domestic terrorism to concealed weapons to witness tampering. I think he’s going after Coleman now. He said, “The lawyer was one of them,” which I guess is “one of us.”
    I gasped. Did you warn Coleman? I owed the guy big time.
    I did. Williamson quickly reassured me. He’s safe.
    I nodded as cool relief trickled through me. Good.
    So, they’re still planning to come in after us? Trevor’s jaw clenched and the trickles of relief dried up.
    Looks like it. Williamson nodded.
    I looked at Ann. And you want to learn to blast minds? Suddenly that seemed… well… like not a good idea, but less inappropriate.
    Williamson frowned at the two of us. She might be able to develop the ability. She should try.
    These are federal agents, Jon. If anything happens—if they come after us—we’ll need to incapacitate, not kill.
    Agreed. Most of the federal officers were good people who were following orders. They thought they were making things better—they were working to make things better. And the majority of them followed the rules, like Special Agent Forbes had back at the airport. We’d had people come after us before—trying to harm us or exploit our abilities—and we’d usually redirected them to other paths rather than killing them. An old Beatles song misplayed through my head: All you need is charm! Charm is all you need .
    Oh, wait. I’d killed both Dr. Vivisection and Michael at Eden Imaging. And hey, since I hadn’t been charged with their murders at the trial or hearing or whatever that was, I still could be someday.
    Trevor inhaled sharply and invisible arms drew around me. Over my dead body.
    I met Williamson’s gaze. I’ll train Ann . But only to knock out, okay? Not to kill. With Isaiah dead, I was currently the only person who could kill telepathically. I didn’t see much benefit to increasing that number.
    Williamson nodded. Fine.
    What have the sparks been up to since I’ve been gone? Are they still training?
    They’re up to speed. Williamson glinted with a green tinge of pride. They’ve also been handling the bulk of the patrols.
    Can they take down a helicopter without crashing it?
    Williamson smiled. Actually, yes.
    I grinned back. Okay, then. Excellent. Carry on. Like he needed my permission.
    I focused on Zack for a moment. Hey, have you tried charming the Feds to leave?
    “Twice.” His face tightened with disgust. “Someone keeps ordering in replacements. We need to charm the guy at the top if we want to get rid of them that way.”
    Seth? Do we know who that is? I asked.
    “Maddie, we’ve already considered these things,” Ann told me gently.
    Well, I haven’t. Help me get up to speed here.
    They just think of him as “the General,” Seth told me.
    Really? No name?
    I think