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.The young man was twisting and pulling against his handcuffs, yet seemingly unaware of what was going on.It was uncanny and, even though she had embraced the concept of using telepaths for police and counter-terrorist work, Alice couldn’t help feeling terrified.The world was changing right in front of her.Once, years ago, she had watched a movie about a world where some of the population had been telepaths.The remainder of the population had had to know that their thoughts were being read whenever a telepath felt like reading them, but they hadn’t been able to do anything about it.The telepaths ruled the world and served as the police force, reading minds and using the evidence as proof of guilt.Their telepathy allowed them to declare that even thinking about committing a crime counted as guilt.Alice believed that that was nonsense, yet if Project Looking Glass ever went public, how would the public react?One of the most fundamental rights in the United States was the right to remain silent.A criminal could confess, if he or she decided to admit the truth, but they couldn’t be forced to talk.Even terrorists, captured on American soil, received some rights.A telepath, on the other hand, could simply reach into their minds and remove information – any information.She remembered the games she’d played with Captain Russell, back when she hadn’t really believed that he was a telepath, and shivered again.Everyone had private thoughts and feelings they wouldn’t want the rest of the world to know, but a telepath could bring them out into the open.She looked over at Captain Russell and scowled.He, at least, had a sense of ethics, but what would happen if other telepaths did not? Would some of them decide to read minds for fun and profit; would kids in school develop the ability to read the minds of their peers; would criminals seek to use telepaths for criminal activities? Part of Alice had been scared when she’d realised that his powers weren’t a joke, but now.she wondered if she shouldn’t just draw her pistol and put a bullet through his head.No, she told herself; it wouldn’t work.The CIA knew how to find other telepaths now.Damn it, she thought.Perhaps it was living in close quarters to him, perhaps it was something else, but she was finding him increasingly attractive.And, of course, he could read that in her mind if he went peeking.And he’d know that she had considered killing him.“Ouch,” Captain Russell said.He looked badly shaken and she had to catch him when he tried to stand up.His body was heavier than she had expected, but somehow she managed to hold him upright long enough for his legs to recover, aided by a mug of coffee brought in by one of the FBI agents.“That.that was not a pleasant experience.”The three agents entered soundlessly.“You spent nearly thirty minutes staring at him,” Manning grated.Alice didn’t need telepathy to know that he was questioning the wisdom of allowing Captain Russell to use telepathy, or even if telepathy really existed.“What did you find out?”“You were right,” Captain Russell said.He sipped his coffee gratefully.“That young man is in bed with the terrorists and the Emir is in New York.”Evens looked up sharply.“Do you know where he is now?”“Not at the moment,” Captain Russell admitted.He grinned, weakly.“Apparently our friend over there” – he waved at Patel through the one-way mirror – “isn’t trusted enough to know where the Emir sleeps at night.On their first meeting, he gave the Emir several thousand dollars in cash and left him to find his own resting place.I’m afraid that he and his allies in Pakistan have been quite bad boys.”He rubbed the side of his head before continuing.“We should have seen it at once,” he said, dryly.“Patel’s father owns interests in several freighters.The unwanted son – that guy has major father issues – has been using them to bring in the components of a very special bomb from Pakistan.The Coast Guard cannot find them where they were hidden, so they get to New York and are transferred to an old warehouse, where the bomb is being assembled.Once the bomb is finished” – he made a motion with his fingers – “BOOM.”Coombs couldn’t turn pale, but Alice had the sense that he’d nearly fainted.“What kind of bomb is it?” he demanded.Alice knew what he was thinking without telepathy.“Did they somehow get their hands on a nuke?”“A dirty bomb, apparently,” Captain Russell said.He scowled, gritting his teeth against the pain.Alice, who’d seen him fighting headaches before, opened her purse and produced an injector, which she offered to him.The painkiller was strong enough to dampen the pain of almost any injury, but Captain Russell refused it.It also caused drowsiness.“In a few days, the Mayor is going to address New York and announce that he intends to run for re-election.The dirty bomb will be triggered in Times Square or as near to it as they can get.”“And hundreds of people will be killed,” Evens said.“We have to warn them and snatch the bomb before they can trigger it.”“And that would risk revealing that we have picked up Patel,” Coombs pointed out.“We need to be sneaky.”Captain Russell looked up, angrily.“Are you saying that you are not going to act on the information I have provided?”“Captain,” Manning said, slowly, “telepathic evidence is not admissible in court.Even California doesn’t recognise psychic evidence, no matter how many people swear blind that they saw their dead grandmother in a séance and she really wants them to have the jewels that were left to the other sister.”“I am not a fucking medium,” Captain Russell snapped.“We know where the bomb is, we know where they are assembling it and we know what they intend to do with it.What should we do? Wait around for that asshole over there to confess of his free will? He’s still screaming for a fucking lawyer and the moment you release him, he’ll go running right to the Emir and warn him that they might have been detected.”“Or they might start moving up their plans because Patel was arrested,” Evens said.She frowned.“It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve picked someone up on a trumped-up charge in the hopes they would spill their guts.They’re probably wise to that trick by now.”Alice blinked in surprise.“Then we have to move now,” she said.“If we capture a dirty bomb – we’re not talking about an illegal handgun or an assault rifle, but a weapon of mass destruction – we’ll be heroes
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