"Good morning, girls," said Babs, smiling at the group. "And boy, of course," she added nodding at Tony. "We're from the Guild. Please ping my colleague Peter here with your Guild ID." She gave fleeting smile of recognition to Laura and gave a slight shake of her head. "We've got yours, dear," she said. She turned to her colleague, who was studying his notepad. He gave a slight nod.

"Okay," she continued, turning back. "Just a quick word, no need to worry. I just need to ask, has anybody seen this man?" She tapped the screen of her notepad. Laura saw the face of the killer they had warned her of appear on Tony's screen. There was a general shaking of heads.

Babs stepped closer and lowered her voice. "We're asking because this man is a criminal that targets Listeners. He is extremely dangerous. Listeners have died. We are asking you all to be vigilant. Pass the photo on to your colleagues. If you see him, under no circumstances engage him. Contact the Guild immediately. We will deal with him.

"There!" Babs gave her matronly smile at the group. "That wasn't painful, was it? Thanks for your cooperation. Now, Peter and I will be around for a little while, if you need us at all."

They sat down on a spare couch, phantoms at the feast. For reasons she couldn't quite put her finger on, Laura felt inhibited with the pair joining them, like schoolteachers sitting at your lunch table.

"Headache?" said Peter, leaning over.

"Excuse me?" said Tony.

"I saw you holding your head as we came over. Do you have a headache?"

"Oh, a slight one, I guess," said Tony.

Peter nodded. "Thought so. I expect it's gone, now there are no more idiots shouting at you." He grinned and sat back, looking down at his notepad as his fingers drummed over the screen.

Tony blushed and smiled guiltily at Laura. Laura returned the smile, shaking her head, then turned to her own screen, scanning prospects her AI had trawled from Web.

Her email pinged, a message from Abby. Five years her senior, Laura had adopted Abby as a mentor when she first started practicing, but that quickly became a casual acquaintance. Abby seemed in many ways five years Laura's junior. At least, she hoped it was Abby, and not just Laura was aging before her time. Still, outside work, she could be fun, a commodity that was getting scarcer.

"Abby's throwing a Mind Meld tonight," she told Tony.

"Jesus, why does she insist on calling it that?" said Tony. "Why can't she just call it a party? Who does she think she is, Spock? What's the occasion?"

Laura shrugged. "Her cat's birthday? Who knows? She doesn't often need an excuse. Are you and Judy going?"

Tony shook his head. "No, it's all too, I don't know, intimate, I guess. You know there'll be way too many girls, and we get uncomfortable, me and Judy. I mean, it's not like anything would happen, but some of the girls get far too close to the knuckle, know what I mean?"

"Yes. You mean you and Judy are two married old farts."

"Said the lonely old maid." Tony grinned. "Don't tell me you're going."

"I might. I could do with a girly night out and a few drinks inside me. Besides, it's like you were saying earlier. We have to unite, us Listeners."

"Hmm. I'm not sure that's quite what I meant."

Babs appeared, standing between the two of them.

"Laura, dear, do you mind if I borrow your young man for a minute?"

"Oh, he's not mine, God no," said Laura.

"You could have said that a little less forcibly," said Tony. "How can I help?" he said, turning to Babs.

"My colleague and I would just like a quiet chat for a minute or two. Are you free?"

"Well, I'm next in line for a drop-in."

"Oh, the moment anyone turns up we'll let you go. We understand. Business first. After all, that's why we're here in the first place, to help your business."

Tony nodded his goodbyes to Laura, rose and allowed Babs to lead him over to the corner of the Post. Laura hovered her finger over the accept button for a few moments. The world accused Listeners of being aloof, of thinking themselves 'Special', as opposed to 'Normal', but it wasn't that Listeners preferred their own sort to others. It was the pressure from outside that pushed them together. Even the most liberal Normal threw up barriers in a Listener's presence. The only time a Listener could be normal was with other Listeners, who understood the limitations of the gift. She accepted the invitation with a sudden flick. She could always cry off, but how often did she let her hair down?

She made a few more calls, gave the contact sites a quick browse then decided lunch had priority over work. As she left, Tony was still in discussion with the two Guild reps, his finger jabbing the air as he made his points. Maybe he would make a good politician at that. He certainly seemed to have the passion for it.

After a pasta and tea in a local cafe, Laura hailed a cab and made her way towards the part of town Ted had rented an office for the afternoon. "I'm an animal of the streets," he'd say. "The city is my office." Meaning, he didn't earn enough to afford a full-time office. However, as so much could be done on-line, an office probably was over-kill for Ted.

Ted had rented an anonymous cell in a block of identical soulless rooms. She knocked on the door and entered. Ted rose from his seat, a smile on his face.

"Listener Robinson," he said. "Come in. Can I introduce you to Mr Eddison and Ms Fielding? They have made an affidavit each, and they need to be certified."

Laura nodded to the middle-aged couple sitting nervously on the other side of the desk to Ted. The nervousness bordering on fear showing on their faces. A Listener! Would my secrets be safe?

"Good afternoon," she said. "I am a certified Guild Listener, and have been contracted to witness your affidavit with a level one scan." She smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way. "Sorry, I have to start with that, it's Guild law. I'm Laura. Have either of you been Listened to before?"

They shook their heads, eyes wide.

"Okay, I'll just talk you through what's going to happen, we'll get the paperwork out the way, certify your statements and I'll be on my way. In a minute I'll ask you each to read your statement out loud. While you're doing that I'll be Listening. It's not much more than an empathic reading." Laura saw the blank looks on their faces. "Basically, I'm not Listening to any thoughts, I'm just Listening to see if you believe what you're reading. I absolutely will not be listening to anything else. If you're smuggling penguins over the border, your secret will still be safe." She grinned to show it was a joke. The two witnesses stared back solemn-faced and slightly confused.

"Anyhow," she continued, crossing off 'stand-up comedian' from her future career choices, "before we do all that, I have to ask you to sign your consent to being scanned."

She handed her notepad over to Mr Eddison.

"If you could just read that carefully, Mr Eddison, and if you agree, just thumb the bottom."

While he studied the consent form, the woman nervously put her hand up like a kindergarten child with a weak bladder.

"Yes?"

"Will we feel anything? I mean, will it be ... unpleasant, at all."

"Not at all. I had to be trained to even notice if I was being scanned, and a level one is the least intrusive of all. Trust me, you won't know a thing."

Ms Fielding didn't look as though an undetectable scan was any more desirable.

"Your counsel has explained this," said Ted, gently. "If we're going to take your husband to court, we need to have the affidavit certified. You don't want to let him get away with this, do you? Honestly, there's nothing to it. I've been Listened to dozens of times."

Eddison thumbed the consent and handed the notepad back to Laura. She pulled up a new form on the screen and handed it over to the nervous woman.

"I tell you what, Mr Eddison. Shall we start with you, while Ms Fielding is reading the form? Just read your statement out loud, in full, while I Listen. Is that okay? If I need any clarification I'll ask, but otherwise I'll just sit here."

He nodded his assent. Laura started her mental preparation. Different Listeners used different techniques. She used the fisherman's net. First she threw it wide, becoming conscious of the minds in the room that had been nudging her subconscious. She saw them as shoals of fish, her net drifting in the air over them all. Gently, so as not to startle any of them, she let the net settle over Eddison's mind. The cords touched the edges of his thoughts so lightly hardly a fish stirred.

Laura nodded at Eddison, and he started his rendition. The words flowed over her. He read in a monotone that didn't inspire her to listen with any interest. Instead, she Listened to his guilt, his fear and his anxiety.

"There," she said, when he finished. "That was simple, wasn't it?"

He nodded, relieved. "And you were reading my thoughts all that time?"

"No, just your emotions, Mr Eddison." How many times would she have to tell these people? "Are you done there, Ms Fielding?"

Ms Fielding nodded, hesitantly thumbed the signature line and handed the notepad back.

"Same rules, then," said Laura. Netting her mind was even easier, the fear and embarrassment screaming out.

It was a divorce case, the details hazy in Laura's mind, but both witnesses believed their version of the truth. Fielding stumbled through her statement, Laura certified the affidavits and Ted evicted them politely from his office.

"Still putting the world to rights, then, one affair at a time?" she said, after Ted closed the door.

"Mock my profession, go ahead," he replied. "If it's so sordid, are you going to waive your fee?"

"Oh, if only I could," she said in mock disappointment. "But you know what it's like; Guild law. I have to charge you."

"The least you could do would be to take me out for a drink sometime, show some appreciation for all the work I put your way."

"Yes, Ted, but I'd be so embarrassed Listening to your wife's affidavit at your divorce if I did."

"Oh, she's open about these things. She says I can have an affair, providing I'm not cruel to my lover's seeing-eye dog."

"Goodbye, Ted."

"Because, you know, she'd need to be blind, because ...."

"Goodbye, Ted," repeated Laura firmly, as Ted's voice petered out.

"Goodbye, Laura," he said. "I remember when you enjoyed the cut and thrust of wit and repartee."

"I still do," she said, as she opened the office door. "You're just no match for me."