The room was tiny and bare, except for a basic table and two chairs. Laura sipped her mug of tea and grimaced. It had to be tea, because it wasn't coffee, but that was the only saving grace Laura could think of to describe the brew.

The door opened and a suited man in his forties entered.

"Laura? Hello, my name is Mendes. I'm in charge of this investigation. I need to ask you a few questions about your abduction."

Listeners had lessons in basic psychology as part of their education. They tended to be poorer at intuitive psychology. Why try and read the subtle signs when you could Listen to them? He'd used Laura's first name, but his last name. He was 'in charge'. His phrases were short and to the point. He was still standing, looking down from the other side of the desk at her. He wanted Laura to know he was in authority, a natural alpha male.

"The other officer mentioned breakfast?"

"I expect we can sort that out later, but we have to do this now, while it's still fresh in your mind."

Like she could ever forget it.

He sat down.

"Just relax. I'm going to ask you a few questions about Andrew Christmas. Hopefully, that can help us to track him down."

"You know his name?"

"We've been after him for a little while. Anti-terrorism. You can do your country a service."

"How many people has he killed?"

Mendes raised his eyebrows. "Did he tell you he's killed somebody?"

"No. It's just ...." They didn't know about the Listeners he'd killed? How was that possible? Had the Guild covered that up? "You said terrorist, and I just assumed."

"There are other forms of terrorism. He's a traitor, we want to find him before he manages to cause any more harm. Now, just relax, and we'll get started. Okay?"

Laura nodded. Suddenly, unbidden, there was another presence in her mind. It was not the gentle sharing she'd experienced at the party, nor the subtle probing of the academy training exercises. This was rough and brutish, someone jumping into her thoughts roughshod.

"Get out!" she screamed, throwing up barriers and thinking the most obscene visions she could.

"What's up?" asked Mendes, sudden concern in his voice.

The unseen assailant was strong, maybe a level three. Laura threw all her concentration into blocking her.

"Get her out of my head!"

"What? Who?"

"I'm a Guild Listener. Get her the hell out of my head."

"A Listener? Shit. Why didn't you say? Linda, enough."

The unseen intruder left. Laura continued throwing up barriers, locking away all but the forefront of her mind, checking and rechecking for any lingering presence. Finally she opened her eyes. Tea drenched the desk, the shattered cup lying on the floor. Mendes stood several paces from the table, his expression unreadable, eyes fixed on Laura's face.

"You bastard!" she said, through gritted teeth.

"Why didn't you say you were a Listener? We didn't know."

"What, so it would be all right to mind-rape me if I wasn't one? What the hell are you playing at?"

"It helps sometimes, that's all. Witnesses can be confused."

"So you Listen? Without them knowing? Without their consent? That's illegal, and you know it. Doesn't matter that I'm a Listener. Do you people not read the newsfeeds? Haven't you heard of The Nielson committee?"

"Okay, okay, we made a mistake. I'm sorry, but you don't understand how dangerous this man is, how vital it is we find him as soon as possible. Let's start again, shall we? A fresh start."

Laura replayed the memory of that unexpected presence in her mind, barging into private thoughts, rummaging through places she had no right to be near.

"I'm leaving," she said, quietly.

"Don't be silly. You want us to catch this guy, don't you?"

Laura ran her thumbs down the seams of her trousers to occupy her hands, otherwise they would shake too much. She couldn't remember ever having been this angry.

"I said, I'm leaving," she repeated, carefully enunciating the words to remove any tremor of anger from her voice. She stood, jutting her chin out at Mendes, daring him to deny her egress.

"We can keep you here, you know. Prevention of Terrorism Act."

"You instigated non-consensual Listening on a witness. Go on, arrest me. Let's see who the court has more sympathy with. You think you could keep your job after that? You think you could stop them locking you up? Tell me, what's it like for a copper inside?"

"Look, I said I was sorry. You're one of them anyway. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal? The big deal?" Laura was screaming now, all attempt to control her rage gone. "Tell me, arsehole, how'd you like me to rip your thoughts out of you? You got any dirty little secrets? You want I should share with the rest of the station about every time you couldn't get it up unless you thought about little boys? You want me to shout about every self-doubt and insecurity you have? Does that sound like a big deal?"

Mendes took a step back under the barrage.

"Okay, okay, calm down. I said I'm sorry. What?" he demanded of the uniformed officer who opened the door. The newcomer stepped up to Mendes and whispered in his ear.

"So? Let them wait." More whispering. "Fine, fine, put them, oh, just put them outside my office. She'll be out in a minute."

When they were alone again Mendes, shook his head.

"Okay, you're free to go. Someone in your Guild knows someone high up in the Force. Apparently, I can't do anything to keep you here, but you might want to consider exactly who your friends are in the Guild."

"I know who my friends aren't."

"Don't be so sure, Miss Robinson. You might just prefer the frying pan, if you get my drift. All we wanted was information from you. Your Guild friends are waiting for you outside. You can still stay here if you want. Once the Guild has you, I can't help you."

"Aw, and you've been such a big help so far."

Mendes shrugged and opened the door. "Your choice," he said.

Laura lifted her head high and strode out of the interview room. Mendes led her through the corridors until she spotted a familiar group. Tony and Judy sat in an open-plan office. Peter and Abby from the Guild stood by them. Judy spotted her and gave a squeal, waving at her and trotting over.

"Oh my God! Laura! You poor lamb. God, it must have been awful. You must be ...." Laura's furious expression finally registered on her. "... terrified," she ended, unsure.

Peter faced up to Mendes, two alpha males testing each other out with stares.

"Your Commander had assured me that Miss Robinson will be released into Guild care immediately."

Mendes shrugged, as though it were of no consequence. "Sure. She was a victim of a crime, but if she doesn't want to press charges, that's her call. Do you want to make a witness statement, Miss Robinson? You don't have to go with them if you don't want to."

"Of course she wants to," said Judy, grabbing Laura's arm and hugging it close. "We're her friends."

Mendes stared at Laura for a few moments longer, as though he thought she might actually change her mind. Finally he turned, waving his hand dismissively. "Fine. Go."

"I want my notebook. And my other stuff," Laura said.

"No." Mendes faced her again. "That's material evidence in the pursuit of a criminal. You'll get it back when we're done with it."

"Give her the notebook," said Peter Lee.

Mendes shook his head. "No."

"You think you can keep it? I just need to make a few requests with my superiors and you'll be forced to hand it over anyway."

"Fine. You fill in your forms, I'll fill in mine, and we'll see who wins. In the mean time, my IT forensics people will scour it for evidence. We'll try and preserve any personal data on it."

The two men stared at each other. Finally Peter gave a curt nod.

"Have it your way, but your career will end if there's any unnecessary delay or damage. Come on."

The five Listeners turned and started back through the office. Laura caught the eye of a plain-clothed woman sitting at a desk. The woman rapidly looked away, and in that instant Laura knew.

"Bitch!" Laura said, loud enough for half the office to hear.

The woman glared back. "Get over yourself, Princess. Worse things happen."

"Yeah? Get over this!" Laura launched herself forward. Peter grabbed her and her friends gathered around.

"What's all this about?" asked Peter.

"She mind-raped me! She stuck her filthy mind in mine, thinking I wouldn't notice the stink. Whore!"

"I'm the whore? Want me to tell them what I heard in there?" The police Listener stood, fists clenched. "Bring it on, Flower."

"Enough!" Peter turned to Mendes. "You will be hearing from the Guild. Trust me on that. Even police Listeners are meant to have rules. Come on, let's get out of here." Guiding a protesting Laura, they made their way out of the building.